Primordial Villain With A Slave Harem-Chapter 730 - Troublesome Western Front

730: Troublesome Western Front

730: Troublesome Western Front

Maelstrom cleared his throat, letting the wind he seemed to command gently ruffle the corner of the maps on the table.

His eyes swept across the gathered leaders, lingering on none in particular, before his voice, calm, low, and faintly distorted by wind magic, rolled into the pavilion.

“The Western Front was hell.

From the very moment we crossed into their territory, the ground felt wrong.

The air was stale.

The border was oozing with rot, as if the very earth itself had been soaked in necromantic residue.

We expected resistance.

We didn’t expect that the Covenant of Eternity had stationed so many of their necromancers on that front.”

He let that sit for a second, then continued.

“They sent us waves upon waves of the dead.

Night and day.

Bones, rotting flesh, cursed armor and blades, stitched together horrors.

The kind of undead you don’t just raise in a day.

These were the results of centuries of work, used for a single purpose: to stall us.

Drain us.

Break us.

We estimate over a million undead were thrown against our forces.”

Gasps, mutters, and wide eyes met the number, but Maelstrom pressed on.

“But the Covenant aren’t just necromancers.

That’s only a symptom of their obsession.

Their core goal is undeath, or transcendence as they call it, the shedding of their mortal flesh by any means necessary.

They’ve got death knights, cursed monks, parasitic mages, pain-forged berserkers, and warlocks who feed off the decay of magic itself.

They even deployed Abomination Vessels—things that don’t fall into any known category of class or race.

Illegal creations.

Aberrations.”

He unfurled a side-scroll showing black-marked battle sites, all sketched in with great detail.

“We pushed through three lionkin cities that were fortified and flooded with these Covenant parasites.”

He pointed to the first.

“Gravehold, a border fortress turned charnel pit.

They used it as a necromantic battery to fuel the surrounding areas.

The air was thick with curses, and it rained blood for days.

Our Veil Walkers had to sever the soul anchors in the catacombs beneath the city to finally collapse their hold on it.”

His finger moved to the next city.

“Velkaris, a former trade hub.

It became a breeding ground for pain-based classes, such as blood magi, flayers, and tormentors.

Most of our casualties came from this siege.

They lured us into street battles and used civilians as living bombs.

But we broke through after surrounding the city on all sides and sending in our Veil Walkers for surgical elimination of their leadership.”

Then the last.

“Dregwyn, a city that didn’t fall.

It was offered.

The lionkin surrendered it to the Covenant willingly in exchange for protection.

When we arrived, the city was half-flesh, half-stone.

The Covenant had already begun corrupting the architecture.

We had to raze the entire thing.

No prisoners.

Nothing left standing.”

Vex’s eyes gleamed with interest.

Silver, for once, looked concerned instead of offended.

Even Rajah’s perpetual frown had deepened.

The beastkin were not familiar with the Covenant and their dark magic, for that syndicate had lain low up until recently and quietly gathered their strength for many millennia, only causing minor issues to the Ravenshade Duke, whose territory they occupied.

“Despite the resistance, we triumphed.

We lost five thousand Consortium members, but for every one we lost, they lost hundreds.

Creating undead on that scale isn’t easy.

It takes a tremendous amount of time and mana.

They’ll feel that loss for many decades.” freёnovelkiss.com

Skarn grunted in approval.

Gorruk gave a deep nod.

“Good work.”

“And your Veil Walkers?” Rajah asked, eyes narrowing.

“They’re the reason we’re still standing,” Maelstrom replied simply.

“We mobilized a hundred of them, our greatest enforcers.

They move between shadows, kill silently, assassinate leaders, disrupt rituals, and hunt the unkillable.

If not for them, our casualties would have been multiplied many times.”

Vargis gave a satisfied grunt.

“They’re second only to the seven of us occupying seats in the Obsidian Circle for a good reason,” Maelstrom added proudly.

The rest of the war meeting went swiftly.

They discussed tactics on how to best go about the siege, who would attack when, and from which direction, etc.

As they seemed to finish, I decided to speak up for the first time since the talks began.

“My lover’s family members are likely kept as slaves inside Lionheart’s walls.

Would it be possible to do a hostage exchange with the lions?

I’m willing to pay 1,000 gold coins for their release.”

Rajah turned his amber gaze toward me.

His voice was gravelly once he addressed me, though there was no hostility in it.

“We can’t do that.

The lionkin didn’t just take your people.

They’ve been sweeping up hostages from every beastkin settlement they conquered, be they foxkin, wolfkin, tigerkin… many of our soldiers have entire families locked behind those walls.”

He gestured loosely to the maps spread before us.

“If we try to bargain only for your lover’s kin, what message does that send to our own?

That some lives matter more than others?

At best, we lose morale.

At worst, we spark desertions or insubordination.

You’re not the only one with something to lose.”

I clenched my jaw but didn’t speak.

I understood.

Skarn grunted.

“Besides, it’s true that 1,000 gold is a king’s ransom.

But the lionkin aren’t starving mercenaries.

They’re cornered beasts.

This siege decides whether they live or get erased from the history of the world.

Money doesn’t mean a damn thing to them now.

Only survival does.”

He looked toward the looming silhouette of Lionheart beyond the distant hills.

“They’ll burn every coin they own to buy one more day.

They’re not in the business of financial deals.”

I sighed.

Of course not.

Seeing my troubled state of mind, Vex gently placed a hand on mine, squeezing once.

Sensing her gentle, warm skin around mine, a sudden thought occurred to me.

It would be incredibly risky, stupid even… But there was a chance of success.

A smile emerged under my mask as I addressed my girls.

<Get ready for Operation Fluffy Liberation: Volume 2.

We’re getting them out of there.>

CREATORS’ THOUGHTS

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