Chapter 9 : The strenght is in the pack

Barkha returned to the fortress where his men were and he arrived there late at night. He had all the information he needed about the enemy but didn't know how to tell the others that Korsa and his bandits weren't humans. He needed to think about it and retired to his rooms first to take a bath. 

Before going to clean himself, he had left his things on his bed and the egg that he had left in a sort of metal bowl. While he was taking his bath, the egg started to vibrate again and cracks began to appear on it because the thing that was inside was hatching.

When the shell finally broke, something came out of it and it was a black mass that seemed liquid and moved strangely as if the mass was looking for something. 

 Suddenly, the dark mass began to merge with the metal bowl as if to take over its properties and when it was finished, the thing was now liquid metal in motion that once again began to move as if it was looking for something. The mass finally absorbed Barkha's claymore and daggers then it went to absorb the decorative swords on the walls as well as the shields before returning to where Barkha's claymore was before taking the form of the weapon to rest there. 

When Barkha returned from the baths, he looked around the room for the first time before closing the door but his movements suddenly stopped because something was wrong, he felt the presence of someone or something.

Suddenly, Barkha did an acrobatic backflip to dodge the sword that was planted in the door and looked at the object in shock when suddenly, long metallic limbs similar to spider legs grew on it which began to jump at high speed all over the surface of the room. 

"No, I'm too tired to play this. That's enough…" he said as he lazily and easily grabbed the handle of the sword carrying it in the middle of passing at very high speed and as he held it, needles suddenly came out of the handle, injuring Barkha at the same time who dropped the sword on the bed.

Strangely, once his blood was absorbed by the matter, the blade just vibrated for a few seconds before stopping completely. 

"That witch made fun of me, if I ever find her again…" He said angrily as he took the sword that attacked him again with needles but he ignored this insignificant pain for him before throwing the sword away out the window.

He took stock of everything that had disappeared in the room and complained seriously thinking that he had to spend money to buy another quality weapon but as he was drowning in his frustration, he saw the black shell of the egg on the wooden table. 

"You must consume the shell to be recognized by the elemental inside" he remembered Corell's words before taking a piece of the shell and putting it in his mouth. Strangely, the thing had a pleasant taste and melted on the tongue. 

"Not bad, not bad at all" He commented before pouring himself some wine in a glass cup and he returned to nibbling on the shell like a rich man in front of appetizers at a gala. He finished the last piece and looked to see if there was more when he felt a presence in the room once again and turned to see the thing now resembling a sphere of liquid metal approaching him timidly.

"You...you are really special..." Barkha said as he bent down and reached out to the thing that delicately mounted on the palm of his hand. 

"Can you tell me where you put my sword and daggers made of solid silver? Please, I don't want to spend on that again... please." Barkha said as suddenly, the thing took the form of a long silver dagger. 

Barkha:… 

(…) 

The next day, he joined his men and the dark circles under his eyes were an indicator of his sleepless night but instead of his normal claymore, the one he carried on him was made of solid silver and of high purity.

The happy and fulfilled look he had despite the dark circles left people perplexed. He held a meeting with his men and asked them to prepare for battle on three criteria the enemy is not normal but bewitched, their weak point is the head and lastly, not to get killed. 

It could be strange information but for the wolves who were guided and trained by Barkha for two years, it was information that would change everything about their automatisms and adapt them to combat because Barkha taught them to adapt according to certain situations.

They asked him what he meant by "bewitched enemies" and he explained to them that they use witchcraft to ignore injuries and become stronger. 

The wolves were surprised by this information and Barkha simply told them that they would know very quickly what he was talking about and insisted on the third point, not to get killed.

They had already inquired with the soldiers of Baran who had faced Korsa's men and they all gave them the same information, injuries do nothing to them and they fight like beasts. 

 He thought about the pseudo apostle he had killed, the latter had told him that he was one of Korsa's chosen ones and that meant that there were others like him so he immediately communicated other additional but vital orders to these men accordingly.

They didn't immediately understand why he asked them what he ordered but he gave them the guarantee that they might soon see what he was talking about. 

Barkha let them prepare individually and went to see the commander of the swan in charge of defense. He consulted Baran about the defense plan that the latter had prepared and the man arrogantly explained his plan to a Barkha too tired and at the same time happy with his discovery of this night to respond to his provocations.

He spent the rest of the day sleeping while Baran and his men were stressing out every minute that passed before making the preliminary preparations for the battle but unfortunately for them, things weren't going to go as they expected. 

*PROOOOOOOOONH* 

That night, someone blew the horn to alert the fortress as voices cried out for the enemy attack. They were supposed to have one more day but apparently, Korsa was in a hurry.

*knock* 

*knock* 

*knock* 

"My lord, we are under attack" Duro knocked on Barkha's door who immediately opened it as he had already worn his armor and was ready for battle like the rest of his men.

The wolves' armor was beautiful black armor but Barkha's was different, it was black like his men's but with golden engravings and a magnificent black wolf fur. He almost never wore this armor except when facing formidable enemies, that was his feeling about Korsa. 

They joined the others outside as the sounds of battle could be heard outside. Apparently, they had all underestimated Korsa who apparently was an excellent leader of men himself and had managed to reach the ramparts of the fortress in a flash thanks to his supernatural warriors by taking advantage of the cloak of night even though it was almost a full moon.

Barkha thought about the situation and it was nothing more normal, these guys were no longer human and had climbed these walls with the dexterity worthy of some lizards.

They began to confront Baran's men at the top of the walls when the wolves arrived as reinforcements, the difference in skills was quickly noticed between them. 

The enemies wore the armor and weapons of the soldiers they had killed in previous battles to sow confusion in the melee because many of them wore the armor of Baran's men who had fallen in combat, a total lack of respect but an excellent tactic by Korsa that Barkha recognized.

While the swans were struggling against the demons, a volley of crossbow bolts hit the enemy soldiers, most of them in the head. They looked up to the heights to see crossbowmen of the black wolves who guided the swans' shooters and advised them to aim for the head. 

 "Baran, it looks like your defense has seen better days" Barkha said as he joined Baran who was looking up with great anger and frustration. 

Baran: We were supposed to have all day tomorrow to finish the preparations. 

"A bandit rapist of women and children tells you that he will come to attack you in exactly two days and you take his word for it. Did you take him for a knight ?" Barkha asked shaking his head. 

Baran: This is not the time for talking, boy. Show what you are worth... 

"You'll see soon enough, I will end this charade with you in the front row to admire the power of the black wolves. (to Duro) You have command of our men here, I will find our friend Korsa and take his head." Barkha said as he left while wearing his helmet leaving Duro behind. 

 Baran: What did that fool just say he was going to do? Attack their leader? Alone?

"It's a habit of the commander, he goes straight to find and kill the enemy leader. We were trained to adapt on the battlefield according to certain situations without him, it gives him the freedom to do what he wants without being hindered. It's always like that with him..." Duro said in a relaxed manner before going out wearing his helmet as well to join his men outside.

He joined the fight on the wall where he took out his sword, a claymore just like Barkha and started fighting.

As Barkha had said, he quickly noticed that the enemy's speed and strength was slightly superior to that of average soldiers but that meant nothing to the wolves. Before Barkha had this rank, he fought as a captain within the Octavian forces and in two battles he asserted his status as an extremely effective leader and the strongest fighter, he stood another dimension above those who were considered the strongest before his arrival.

Admired by many, he had no effort to find volunteers to join him when he was appointed commander very soon after his arrival. He selected 2,500 talented soldiers instead of the 5,000 men he was supposed to enlist.

The fact was that these soldiers already belonged to different troops but they admired him so much that they all wanted to be under his command so he had tests done to keep only the most talented. 

Proud and enthusiastic to have joined him, these men thought they were strong enough to be worthy of fighting alongside him but Barkha had coldly made them understand that they were all still weak but that he could make them much stronger, formidable and autonomous on a battlefield but that they had to go through hellish and almost permanent training.

Determined to be as formidable as the young man who was as charismatic as he was strong, they agreed to follow his program and over the months, they saw their prowess in combat and especially their potential explode. 

 Of course, they suffered losses in each battle but that only hardened them and imbued the tactics, skills or tricks that Barkha taught them deep in their bones.

Today, the wolves have gone from 2500 to 1500 but those who remained have become extremely strong and the most formidable after Barkha who was a being apart were Duro and the squad leaders. 

Duro was significantly stronger than General Boscogn known for his monstrous strength and capable of slaughtering more than a hundred men and even Barkha had compared his strength to that of the pseudo-apostle he had fought.

The wolves were strong, very strong and it quickly became visible to everyone tonight. Duro charged into a group of enemies and in one blow, he decapitated 6 of them and continued to knock heads off, he was fast in movement, very fast in attack and he didn't rely only on his incredible physical strength but also on his excellent swordsmanship.

The swans saw the wolves fight and decapitate the enemies who were so resilient, they were shocked by their way of fighting and understood why the rumor said that a single wolf was worth 10 men or more on a battlefield.

The hellish training, the hundreds of intense training duels and battles paid off. 

They pushed the enemy back to the ramparts but suddenly, something forced the gates to give way even though there was no battering ram or other siege machine. 

"A MONSTER! IT'S A MONSTER! "They heard someone scream and Duro went down to see in the large courtyard a large reptilian creature nearly 4 meters tall, robust with a tail even longer than its body.

Baran, his lieutenants and all the others saw this and were speechless. They knew about the myths about certain creatures or monsters but they were only stories to scare children but there, what they had before their eyes was a very real monster, a pseudo-apostle even stronger than the one Barkha had faced. 

"Impossible...!! How can such a thing be...possible?" Baran said without noticing that behind him and his men stood a creature similar to the one Barkha had killed and when Baran turned around slowly after finally realizing the thing behind him, the pseudo-apostle bit Baran's head before tearing it off and chewing it savagely under the horrified eyes of the others who had become paralyzed by fear.

Seven pseudo-apostles appeared in the fortress and with their help, the cursed soldiers of Corsa regained the upper hand in the fight. 

"The boss was right...he...he was right. Go prepare the others, do immediately as he told us otherwise we risk all perishing "Duro said to the others who despite the shock of what they saw hastened to obey the order of Duro who jumped to land on the ground in front of the pseudo-apostle, some cursed soldiers rushed at him but he easily decapitated them before pointing his sword at the monster telling him that he will be his opponent. 

As for the other pseudo-apostles, three squad leaders came in front of them to face them each armed with a two-handed sword. Their hearts were beating uncontrollably, they had demonic creatures before their eyes but remained brave in the face of danger and applied what Barkha had taught them. They repeated a phrase that Barkha always said to encourage his wolves, "The strength is in the pack..." they repeated it by tightening their grip on their swords.