“They certainly make for an impressive sight.” Enna muses, “All gleaming armor and heroism, champions of humanity riding off to confront the unknown evil.” She bares her teeth, a look of anticipation on her face. She probably wants to get in there herself.

  “Foolishness.” With an extended claw, my protector points out several figures, “See, little queen. Their champion leads them from the front, his troops rally behind him, protecting a few mages in their midst.” Flicking her wrist, my soldiers respond and bristle their blades, preparing to meet the charge head on. “Stupidity, to charge an unknown foe.”

  “Well…” I search for an answer, “They are probably panicking, I mean, they need the ballistae to stop devastating their army.”

  Enna shakes her head, “No, I have seen this before, humans who think they are invincible. The man with the greatsword is likely around level forty.” She pauses to consider, “The mages too, I should think. They are overly confident, they must think us some rabble of mindless monsters, nothing a high-level warrior can’t handle.” Her face contorts into one of disgust, “Humans are pathetically short lived creatures, hardly any of them achieve real power. And yet, they puff themselves up, pretending they are powerful and important.”

  “I don’t know if all humans are like that…” I respond quietly.

  “You are young, your grace. You shall see, watch as it unfolds before you. Humans are nothing more than insects.” She spits.

  I decide not to argue with her or bring up the fact that I used to be human. She isn’t exactly wrong anyways, but I dislike blanket statements like that.

  The Karnakans are approaching my soldiers now. My archers open fire as soon as they are in range, the enemy mages are quick to erect a barrier to protect their party. Still, the barriers fail to cover everyone, the soldiers around the edges are caught in the fire, their horses collapsing under them and the soldiers themselves catching multiple barbs to the face.

  “What do they hope to accomplish with such a small force?” They are only around three hundred strong.

  Enna speaks with a voice full of venom, “They think to push through our ranks, with the high-level warrior being the tip of the spear. Their goal is to disable our ballistae.” She glances down at me, softening her gaze and tone, “Worry not, little queen. Your knights are more than capable of shattering that spear.”

  The Karnakan infantry collides with my soldiers, carapace meeting steel. The charge is stopped dead, my soldiers proving to be an immovable wall. Karnakans are thrown from their horses, their swords turned away by thick carapaces, and the deadly blades of my soldiers begin retaliating. The invader’s armor protects them somewhat from my soldier's blades, turning a lethal hit into a glancing blow, my soldiers aren't able to completely overwhelm them at first. The strength of my soldiers is in their relentlessness.

  My summons begins swinging their blades and they do not stop, turning into a blending wall of death, advancing relentlessly towards the enemy, pushing them back. Skills and magical barriers protect the humans, but they only have so much stamina and mana, I am confident my soldiers will win.

  The tip of the spear, however, is a problem. The warrior in silver armor cleaves through my soldiers with his giant blade, two mages behind him provide protection and covering fire. They move with lethal efficiency, chewing through my lines, until they burst onto the other side. The common human soldiers are unable to follow them. Undeterred, the warrior and his two mages charge up the hill towards the ballistae, moving with frightening speed. I keep forgetting high-level individuals have insane stats, turning them basically superhuman.

  “E-Enna?” A whine slips out. Oh god, they want to kill me.

  “Shhhh…” Enna hushes me, pulling me closer to her. “All is well, no harm will befall you, your grace.”

  A silent command reaches my knights, who immediately launch themselves down the hill. Towering plates of chitin, moving far faster than they should, it is only a few moments before they collide with the warrior.

  Eight of my knights descend onto the hero party. My low stats prevent me from really being able to follow the fight, it's all whirling blades and bursts of powerful magic. One of my knights is knocked back by a bolt of lightning, but the damage itself is light, it immediately rejoins the battle. The warrior blocks and dodges, returning blows when he can, he is struggling, but he isn’t a complete pushover like Enna would have me believe. The mages have encased themselves in a powerful barrier, launching spells towards my knights periodically, I get the feeling they mostly are focused on keeping the barrier up.

  The warrior’s blade gleams with a bright golden light, and easily cuts through the blades of a knight, disarming half its weapons and opening a grievous wound across its torso. The human champion then whirls around, following through with a devastating divine cleave, cutting one of my knights in half.

  Enna crouches down to embrace me, when did I start breathing so heavily?

  “Be calm, young queen. That skill is strong, yes, however, skills such as that often come with a great cost. He shan’t be able to use it much more.”

  True to her word, with each attack the sword loses some of its luster. The hero kills two more knights before the sword completely loses its shine. Three knights now face down the human, while another keeps the mages in their bubble.

  The champion is covered in wounds and is breathing heavily. My knights descend upon him in a storm of blades. A few moments later, the storm relents, the human impaled on the blade of a knight.

  The mages panic at that, a staff glows with blinding power, bursting their barrier and sending a shockwave out that knocks back my knights. The spellcasters quickly flank the wounded warrior, a spell is cast, and the world begins to warp around them.

  Enna hisses and is suddenly gone from my side, reappearing before the trio. The warrior is too out of it to react, one mage screams in panic, the other is too focused on his spell. My guardian swipes a claw out, catching the screaming mage across the throat, the screams turning into a wet gurgle. Another lash from her claws, aimed for the second mage, instead connects with the warrior’s arm; separating it from his body.

  And then the world twists, the trio are gone, leaving Enna standing alone, licking blood from her claws.

  Upon noticing their leaders disappearance, the attacking army retreats, their mission a complete failure.

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  +100,000 XP

  Congratulations you are level 48! +10 Wis, +3 free points!

  Returning to my side, Enna huffs, disappointment clear in her tone, “Two escaped, a pity.”

  “Enna…” I exhale.

  Enna looks me over, checking to make sure I am okay, “As I said, all is well.” She gestures to where the warrior’s arm lay in a pool of blood, “They will likely be unable to return to the fight anytime soon, not soon enough to make a difference.”

  “So…” Am I in shock? No, no I was too far away, I only killed them indirectly, I dunno, I think I feel weird somehow.

  My caretaker scoops me up, carrying me towards the palanquin, “So, now we simply continue our bombardment, and wait to see if they send any other high-levels towards us.”

  I snuggle closer to her. She continues speaking, “We will soften them up for a few days, then we will send in our soldiers and knights to clean up.” She pauses and looks down at me, “It is vitally important that we let their high-level fighters battle each other before we intervene further. Once they are tired out, it will be safe for us to move in. I expect the invaders might get desperate and use one of their trump cards to get past the gate.”

  “Trump cards?” I echo.

  “Yes” She sighs, “The Karnakan army is sure to have a mage in their third evolution, they have been keeping it quiet, but I am sure they must. There would be no other way to breach the capital’s gate if things continue as they are. Since they are not retreating, they must have something.”

  The inside of the palanquin brings relief, participating in a war is a lot more stressful than I anticipated. Enna settles me into a chair and then excuses herself to prepare my meal. One jumps up on my lap, yipping and licking my fingers before settling down. I run my hand down his smooth back, eliciting a content sigh from him.

  Enna returns before long; a steaming bowl of stew is placed in front of me. Handing me a spoon, Enna pats my head a few times before sitting, legs crossed in the other chair. She leans her head on her hand, speaking softly, “You are doing well, young queen. Are you tired? Do you wish to sleep?”

  I lean back from my stew, “Maybe later, I wanna stay up and watch the battle for a while.” After a few more bites I add, “Hope we can get some spices or something, I would like it if my meals were more varied.”

  Enna tuts, “Sweetheart, the meat would taste so much better if you just ate it raw.”

  I shake my head vigorously. I did eat some raw meat before, at her insistence, and it was good, great even. It just freaks me out a little with how bloody it is, I kinda want to hold onto a few human things if I can, like cooked food.

  My caretaker sighs, “You may eat whatever you desire, of course. I think you would like fresh meat a lot if you just gave it a chance, it would be easier for you to digest too.”

  My stomach does struggle to digest vegetables now, fruit too. It seems that I have turned into a carnivore, limiting my stews to just have meat in them, it’s all really boring. Maybe I should give it up and just eat it raw, but I still need to be able to eat cooked food around humans, if I don’t want to completely freak them out.

  I finish the last of my stew, dropping my spoon into the bowl. Enna gives me a few moments before getting up and declaring, “Bath time!”

  “Ugh, do I have to?”

  “Yes, you do sweetie~” Enna sings, “Because it’ll be good for you, it will help you relax.”

  I know how to pick my battles, and this one isn’t it, no matter how lazy I feel. Enna just picks me up and carries me into the bathroom, then strips me of my dress and undoes the braids in my hair.

  “Did anyone even see me?” I half whine. All the time that was put into my appearance didn’t seem to matter in the end.

  “Yes, I am certain the warrior and mages got a good look at you.” Enna throws my clothes into a basket. She then turns me around and lets out a little squeal, “Aww honey look at your little tail coming in!”

  “Tail?” I let out a squeak of my own and turn around several times, trying to catch a glimpse.

  Laughing at my antics, Enna stops me and guides my hand to the base of my back, right above my butt, I feel a small nub jutting out. “I-is this normal?” I ask, my voice a little panicked.

  “Yes, it is sweetie, don’t worry.” My caretaker soothes.

  “How long is it gona get? Am I going to need all new clothes?”

  Enna smiles gently at me, giving me a brief hug, she turns to inspect my stub again, “Not too long, about as long as your arm, about as thick too.” She seems excited that I am essentially going through a puberty I know nothing about. “Don’t worry about your clothes either, it is easy to modify them for the tail.”

  A window in the wall is opened and the tendrils of a squire dump a bucket of steaming water into my tub, followed by several more until the tub is full and the window is shut.

  I am plucked from the ground and deposited into the tub. The hot water instantly gets to work relaxing my muscles and easing the tension from my body. I reach up to find the horns on my head, they sprout from high up on my forehead and gently curve until they are pointing behind me. “Hey, are my horns done growing?”

  Picking up a washcloth, Enna lathers it with soap, preparing to wash me, “I believe so, perhaps they will get a tad longer, but not by much.” She proceeds to gently clean my body, being extra gentle around the sensitive nub of my new tail.

  Enna is once again right, I am starting to feel pretty relaxed. In truth, watching my knights tear that warrior apart was alarming. My stats are so pathetically low compared to pretty much anyone else, it leaves me feeling really vulnerable. But that’s what I have the Vess for. Honestly, it is kind of a relief that I am not responsible for my own safety, I have no idea how to fight anyways, and I’d rather not spend years training or anything difficult like that.

  +70,000 XP

  I snap upright in the tub, “What was that?”

  My caretaker hums, putting a hand on my shoulder, gently guiding me back into the water. “It seems the humans have decided on another tactic, an assassin. Not aimed at you, he was targeting the ballistae, although he did not get close.”

  “We got him?” I swallow heavily and try to relax into the tub again.

  “Yes” Enna confirms with an easy smile, “He didn’t get close, the knights detected him instantly, I doubt they will try something like that again.”

  “Right…”

  Enna growls, glaring at the wall towards the human army beyond, “Insolent humans, disturbing your rest.” She clicks her tongue, “And just when I was getting you calmed down too, the next assassin that shows his face is mine to rip off.”

  “I-I’m okay Enna, really.”

  She relaxes her posture and continues cleaning me, humming quietly as if nothing ever happened. It doesn’t take her long; she lets me soak in the water for a bit before getting me out and drying me off. She dresses me in fluffy pajamas, or at least as fluffy as the Vess can make them, which isn’t very, and I am tucked into bed. Enna seems to follow my line of thought, “Humans are quite clever at making things I suppose, we will have to get you some better pajamas when we get the chance.”

  I nod, curling up while the war rages on outside. At some point it started raining, the sound of water hitting the roof of my shelter relaxes me and helps to drown out any noise from outside.

  Enna looks pleased, “Rain, excellent. That will demoralize the invaders, make things even more difficult for them.”

  Shutting my eyes, I decide not to observe the battle and let myself do what I do best, fall asleep.