Keeping a sizeable group of people staying in essentially the middle of nowhere in a land that tended to be arid fed and provisioned was not a simple undertaking. While it wasn’t winter, so they didn’t have to worry too much about the temperature, the area seemed to have been through a bit of a drought, so even water was a concern. And there just wasn’t much growing around here, compared to what it could be. The Empire had accumulated a sizeable force right now. Tim’s original party was manageable enough, but they also had Owin’s reinforcements, Dan’s reinforcements, and some remaining flying drones to worry about. Because of that, they really couldn’t afford to delay.

  Dan didn’t want to care about that kind of thing. It wasn’t what he wanted to focus on, or be responsible for, or have to worry about. He still did, worry about it at least, he just didn’t like that fact. But he was one of the commanders of their little expeditionary force, so he kind of had to deal with it.

  It helped that some of their number were Hivekind, who could find enough food here. It meant dedicating a bit of their time to scavenging and harvesting, perhaps, but even the grass, shrubbery and trees were good enough eating. Unfortunately, the majority of their people were humans. Each group had brought some provisions, but they were running out.

  It was suggesting another possible motivation regarding why Tim had talked to that mage from Veragles like he had, something Dan hadn’t thought about before. Maybe he wanted to barter for supplies.

  Either way, the situation raised another question, one Dan had, in fact, thought about, and he wasn’t the only one. Where did their enemies get their supplies? Obviously they had to have brought some along, too. But those wouldn’t keep forever. They were effectively shut off in the base right now. Well, he supposed they could be sending messengers through the tunnels on the other side, although they had been trying to watch those. They definitely would have noticed a supply delivery, and it wouldn’t exactly be inconspicuous or very safe to cart it from their city, anyway.

  They must be waiting for new supplies which would come along with reinforcements. That was the consensus Dan and the others had come to. And that, of course, gave them almost more time pressure than their own dwindling supplies.

  Right now, they had the forces to take the base. With their enemies reinforced, it might not be as easy.

  For the moment, however, they did have the advantage, and he was confident. Tim had conferred with the commanders and set a time for their attack; pretty soon, given all of these considerations. Another night attack close to dawn might be expected, given it was when they’d previously attacked, so instead, they would be attacking in the evening, around sunset, after a hopefully long and exhausting — or tiresome and boring, he wasn’t picky — day for the defenders.

  They had Tim’s party, veteran fighters from Owin’s and his company, and Zephyr. The question was more whether they could manage to keep any of the enemy forces from getting away than beating them in the first place. Something they’d taken into consideration in the planning.

  “Are you ready?” Tim asked him.

  Dan turned his head toward him and smiled. Neither of them moved from where they were crouched behind a conveniently placed boulder. They didn’t need to. “I am. Are you?”

  “More than ready,” he replied with a tight smile. “It’s about time we find what’s left there.”

  Dan nodded and scooted back a bit. “Then we’ll move on your signal.”

  He skittered back, still crouched down, and followed a slight dip in the terrain to the side. It didn’t take long until he reached the vanguard of his company. Slotting in between Geoff and another soldier, he tapped them on the shoulder, then focused on the entrance to the base, which he could just make out. His men would be the first wave of the attack, but they weren’t fighting alone.

  After just a few minutes, enough for Tim to coordinate with the others, a faint tremor ran through the earth under his hand, barely perceptible. Dan glanced back at the others, then raised his hand. “Go!” he murmured just loud enough for them to hear.

  They moved. Dan kept in the front row, but made sure not to fall out of step with the others. He drew his blade, preparing himself. They were attacking silently, something that felt weird, but he didn’t dwell on the thought.

  Their enemies spotted them, but it was too late. Speeding up once it was clear, Dan ducked under an arrow, then charged and slammed into the first human, piercing his leg with his sword. The man stumbled back, falling, and his right blade-arm followed, finding his armpit, exploiting a gap in the armor. The man gasped, but Dan stepped over him.

  The sounds of combat enveloped him, and he had to take a moment to get the lay of the land. They were fighting fiercely, but his attack had managed to surprise the southlanders just enough. More of them were joining, closing ranks, but his company had already managed to win some ground.

  He slowed, yelling at them to keep formation, then turned to face the group of enemies that had formed a knot in front of him, bristling with shields and weapons. Dan twirled his sword, examining their expressions for an instant. “For the Empire!”

  The next moment, the mages launched their attack. Fireballs, Magic Missiles, and more exotic Spells rained down on the enemy. A flickering shield rose over them, catching the next few attacks, before it was overwhelmed.

  Dan didn’t hesitate. He launched himself at the enemy, taking advantage of the magical attack which was now petering off, his comrades beside him. He slammed into a shield, pushing with all his strength, twisting to get a blade-arm or his sword into a gap. Someone pushed behind him. Then something gave and he stepped forward, his blade seeking the throat of another enemy. Someone got him in the side, cracking his shell, and burning pain stabbed through him. Nothing vital, he assessed in the back of his mind, as he sidestepped and faced his next enemy. Then Geoff slammed an axe into the human’s skull and Dan found himself briefly without opponents.

  “They’re retreating already,” Geoff said. “They’ll hold the line further back, have a better defensive position prepared.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Dan nodded. He could already see that. A few of them were still fighting, those further back had already turned to run. “Regroup!” he bellowed, turning to his men. “Wounded to the back, defensive formation at the front!”

  “You’re wounded, too,” Geoff pointed out.

  Before Dan could respond, and assure him he was fine, a healer had already stepped up to them and was catching his hand, using the physical contact to more easily work the healing magic. He grimaced as he felt his side knit back together, the hard material of the shell pinching as it slid into place and fused.

  “Interesting anatomy you’ve got there,” Zephyr commented. “I see I neglected a few other important discussions I could have had with the Empress.”

  Dan gave him a dirty look, but left it at that. “Here already?”

  “Everything is proceeding as planned,” Zephyr answered, unruffled. “His Imperial Highness sent me to reinforce you for the push into the base through the main entrance.” He glanced around, clearly noting they were ready to proceed with said attack.

  “Fine. Please focus on keeping us protected, I don’t think we want to risk too large magical attacks down there.”

  “Understood. I’ll make sure you all get out of this in one piece.”

  Dan nodded and turned to talk to his officers, who were guiding the troops into place. They switched out the front line to make sure those who would bear the brunt of the attack were rested and fully healed, and interspersed mages in the following rows. The relatively confined quarters meant he couldn’t bring all of their numbers to bear, but it was still better to have them available.

  Then Dan took his place in the front row. He preferred to lead from the front. “Company, advance!” he called. “Hold steady. Keep tight ranks. Let’s show these bastards what we’re made of. For the Empress!”

  They repeated similar calls, and advanced. Dan trusted his men to have his back, to keep in step with him, and marched down the entrance at a fast pace.

  It took longer than he’d thought until they met resistance. Clearly, the enemy had decided to set up at the exit of the tunnel into what Tim had called the vehicle bay. It made sense tactically, since it would give them more room, but it also meant he only had to overcome one chokepoint before they were in.

  Magic swelled around them, letting him almost feel it like a static charge in the air around them. Dan hefted the shield he’d picked up somewhere and his sword, then sped up. His vision went white for a moment and he felt heat on his face, but the magical protection held against the Firebolt. He focused on keeping his feet, keeping going. Then he covered the last few meters and charged with his men at his side.

  The initial crash knocked the air out of his lungs. He had to take a moment before he could remember to push with all his strength, relying on those behind him to give him momentum. The human men forming a small shield wall in front of him staggered back just a little. Dan pressed on. Someone thrust a spear over his shoulder, and he shifted his weight around his shield slightly to catch a blade that would have gotten his side. Then the enemy in front of him fell away and Dan moved into the breach, stabbing out with his blade-arms.

  Something slammed into him and he barely kept his feet. He stumbled, crashing into one of his men. A moment later, the human fell away and he almost bounced off the rocky wall of the cavern. Not far enough, he thought dazedly. We’re not far enough.

  Someone grabbed him and he almost stabbed them, only his blade-arm was twisted at an unnatural angle, and then he realized it was Zephyr, who was pulling him upright.

  Some kind of magical attack had scattered his men, but they were already reforming. Some bodies laid on the ground, but he couldn’t focus on that now — a quick look showed he still had enough men.

  “To me!” he shouted, raising his sword. “Push them back.”

  “For the Empress,” Zephyr muttered, just a bit of irony in his tone. He snapped his fingers and a few torches the enemy had placed around the cavern exploded, sending tongues of fire at southlander soldiers.

  Others repeated the battle cry, and they pushed forward again. Dan lost himself to the rhythm of combat. The push and pull, stabbing and blocking and thrusting his blades into vulnerable spots. He liked to rely on passive Skills instead of active ones, so he rarely activated any Abilities. Others did, and the flashes and sudden jerks of increased movement shaped the battlefield’s rhythm, but Dan was an experienced dancer of such halls. He worked his way forward, barely seeing past the enemy in front of him and yet intimately aware of the flow of battle.

  Suddenly, he found himself at the opposite end of the cavern, and facing someone he hadn’t expected. He blinked, wiping a hand across his eyes to soothe the stinging of blood spattered across his face. “Ash?”

  “We did it, Dan!” His little brother grinned. “We’ve taken both entrances, and Owin’s men are securing the corridors as we speak.”

  Dan looked around for Zephyr, then grinned as well and slumped a bit in relief. Now that he was looking, he saw more of the second and third teams. Zephyr had helped open another path before he joined him, which Anuis and her people must have taken, and Tim and Owin had taken the other entrance from the tunnels.

  “There were more of the golems on the other side, I assume?” he asked.

  Ash nodded. “That’s why you had to deal with most of the men. Where are their commanders?”

  Dan wiped his sword on a convenient piece of cloth armor. “Let’s see about them.”

  Fortunately, he didn’t have to look for very long. One of the wounded his people were taking into custody had been identified as the enemy second-in-command. The commander himself was unfortunately dead, fallen to a stray ice spear while trying to defend the bay. That must have been around when their resistance crumbled. Dan was glad they had good scouting reports to work with, and just hoped there was no critical top-secret intel only the commander had known. That seemed unlikely, though.

  After all, they still hadn’t found what the real prize here was, as far as he could tell. And now it was the Imperials’ turn.

  “Good work,” Tim told him when they finally found each other in one of the corridors leading to a larger room in the lower part of the base, what must have been a central section at one point. It seemed to have been converted into their headquarters for now.

  “Our people are still sweeping the base,” Owin said without having to be asked, “but I think we got all of them. We just have to be careful of traps now.”

  Dan smiled. “Good. And did any escape?”

  They both turned to look at Tim and Anuis, who shook their heads. “Not that we can tell,” Tim said. “We’re still collecting reports from the scouts and counting the bodies. It doesn’t help that a few are a little too mangled to be sure of an exact count.” He threw a look at Zephyr, who had showed up behind Dan at some point.

  The mage shifted his weight and grimaced a little. “I remember how many there were, if that’s a problem.”

  Tim waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not a problem, we’re just still regrouping after the battle. But this is a victory to be proud of, my friends. We accomplished what we wanted to.”

  “Now we just have to see if it’s worth it,” Dan added.

  Zephyr cocked his head. “Well, I get the impression your information was not completely off, at least. I wouldn’t have noticed it if I hadn’t known there was something to look for, but the ambient mana in the lower reaches is just the slightest bit off. It will need more investigation, but I am certain we can find it.”

  Dan nodded, as did Tim. None of them were mages, and Zephyr was definitely the most powerful and skilled one here, so they’d have to take him on his word. At least until Galatea showed up.

  He’d given up wondering where she was off to. She’d said she was going to talk to Tim, but Galatea, Dan was starting to learn, might not be the best at sticking to a plan, even her own. She’d turn up sooner or later. Maybe even with word from their Hive Queen.

  Until then, he would focus on securing the base and leaving the magic stuff to others to worry about. They might still get enemy reinforcements sent this way, after all, and someone had to make sure those were defeated just as crushingly as their compatriots. And, unfortunately, their enemies’ dead weren’t the only ones they had to care for.