The next morning all three beastmen raiding armies departed at the same time, advancing towards the city in a measured pace, though it was clear that both bloodlust and excitement ran high among the troops. The groups strayed separate, though close enough that it was clear to Jack they would combine their forces during the siege itself. The supply carts were left further behind, with a small yet no doubt capable group of no doubt aggrieved guards left to protect them in case some trickery was a foot. It was not entirely impossible for the humans in the city to try and send out a hail mary in an attempt to ensure mutual destruction after all.

  Three groups of approximately thousand men each approach the city in a measured pace, the sound of their boots hitting the ground in a chaotic rhythm resounding across the area. Their lust for blood oozing out of them into almost visible vapor above them, like an ethereal entity whose ever greedy tentacle-like appendages stretched out in search of prey, lightly sliding over the walls that enveloped their food.

  Defenders stood atop the four meter tall walls, their faces etched with worry and grim determination, though not one of those faces showed even a trace of desperation. They had their own strength to fight back the attackers. They had the weapons and armour made by the mysterious stranger who had led them here to begin with. They had their walls to press their backs against to steady themselves when needed. They had their leaders to rally their spirits and strategize a way to overcome the trial ahead of them. They had their own powerhouses in the form of Spartacus and the odd maids that served the mysterious man who was the beginning of it all. And they had the man himself.

  Plenty of those defenders saw him at this very moment, his veiled and obscured form found among their own on the wall. Unlike the rest of them, he seemed relaxed, giddy even, as the air around him exuded not one bit of the same grim but determined resolve as others did. He sat on his chair- his form relaxed and languid- as he gazed towards the approaching army. A simple looking bow and a large barrel of arrows sitting right next to him.

  Some seven hundred meters away from the wall, the three armies suddenly stopped in near unison. Then, the sound of thousands of spear shafts striking the ground began to fill the air as three riders- one from each of the three units- rode out from among their lines and approached the city walls in a relaxed and measured pace. Their mounts were surprisingly calm, as though the bloodlust and the sound of countless spear shafts striking the ground meant nothing to them.

  The riders approached, a white flag raised as they did so. Clearly, they wanted to have an exchange of words before any fighting began. They were allowed to approach, not a single arrow released in their direction. If experts of third awakening or higher could be found within the steppe such gestures would always be viewed with more caution, the power of a single, fully equipped level fifty and above master, too great a threat to ignore and allow anywhere near defensive fortifications that could be made null by one of such an experts attacks. However, with that not being the case, such pre-battle negotiations were still a common occurrence, no matter whether among beastmen or human tribes. It had to be said however, that such a thing happening between a beastmen force and human held fortification was a first in who knows how long.

  The wolf bestman's horse took a step further with light tap on its flank, bringing it and its rider ahead of his companions. Then, he cleared his throat for effect and spoke, only to stop a few words in as if realizing something.

  "Right, you savages do not speak civilised. Slave tongue it is then." he snickered before changing languages.

  "Well, then, as much as it would be fun to besiege and smoke you all out of your little turtle shell, we are all busy folk, so let's just skip all this and get straight to you surrendering and us taking the place, yes? It will result in way, way less of a hard time for you."

  Left unsaid was of course was a rather important 'In the immediate future'. Anyone who knew anything about human fate as a beastman slave would never agree with said statement.

  A moment of silence descended as the defenders either thought his words over, or were scrambling in search of someone who could even make such a decision. Only the constant sound of spear shafts hammering the ground in the distance filled the void. It did not last too long however, as mere minutes later, a woman appeared above the wall, accompanied by another, dressed in a rather peculiar black and white clothing, earning a snicker or two from the wolf beastman.

  "Of course a dumb bitch is in charge." he snickered, speaking in beastmen language in a voice low enough that only the two other riders alongside him could hear it.

  The odd looking woman at her side leaned closer to the lead woman's ear, whispering something that made the lead one's face develop a bit of a smirk. The black and white clad one did give off some odd vibes, making the three beastmen look at her with suspicion and weariness.

  "The dumb bitch, as you just put it, would rather like to see you all try and take our home. Let us see just how many of you will live to see the day after. Only a fool would believe a word a beastman speaks. Ride back to your men in haste, lest we make pincushions out of you before the battle even starts."

  What came next was a mind boggling situation, as even before the wolf beastman in charge could respond with a jab of his own, another entity came into view on the wall. This one cloaked in a rather loose robes that concealed their features, holding a rather unassuming bow in their hands. The voice that filled the air around him immediately identified the entity as a male.

  "Why waste your breath and such a perfect opportunity on mongrels that can be nothing but mortal enemy?"

  Then, without much care for propriety, protocol and honour, he notched an arrow into his bow, drew the string and released it within a mere moment. The arrow flew faster than the trio on horsebacks could react, piercing one of the wolf beastman's companions' chest, leaving a bloody, easily perceivable hole the size of a fist in its wake. A moment of stunned silence descended, with all those present staring for just a moment before the remaining two riders cursed profanities at the cloaked man. They did more than just that however, their horses urged as they delved into a full sprint away from the wall.

  Jack notched another arrow in his bow, drawing the string back as he tracked the other 'attendant' of the wolf beastman even as their horses grew smaller and smaller by the second. Then, with another 'whoosh' the arrow pierced the sky, chasing the retreating figures of the two riders.

  "Iron cage!" startled, but not stunned into inaction, the rider targeted cried out, a skill shimmering to life at his command, and in the path of the launched arrow. It was not enough in the end however, the arrow struck true, shattered the defensive skill and pierced the beastman's belly, leaving a similar hole in its wake. It did not kill the unlucky bastard straight away however, making the last few moments of his life quite excruciatingly painful.

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  "That should do it." Jack nodded with satisfaction, not even bothering to notch another arrow. He had done plenty of damage as is and was sure he had earned quite the ire from the opposing side. That and he was not sure he could actually kill the wolf beastman leader from the distance with the rather ordinary and simple arrows he had decided to use for the time being.

  "If a clearly hungry and half rabid wolf walked to the outer edge of your camp and demanded you give it a few of your children for food, would you entertain the beast, or shoot it on near sight?" Jack asked, already anticipating the question from Selin/ "it's precisely the same here. You should know. You have heard plenty from my maids about their time as slaves under the beastmen rule."

  Jack noticed the slight conflict etched on her face, elaborating on what the could perceive to be the cause. "You are worried the rest of the tribes will hear of this and might employ it as a tactic in the future, yes? Fear not. Not only do you have the future pillars of their might under your wing, right here we are dealing withe the bogeyman of the tribes of the outer steppe. More aggressive and unyielding approach is the correct choice."

  By the time Jack was done explaining, the wolf beastman was back among his raiders, the three armies now angered and approaching in unison- their shield raised and spears jutted outwards, ready to pierce whatever got in their way.

  The beastmen might have some experience in sieging cities, but it was sorely lacking, such events occurring extremely rare within the inner steppe and not at all during their raiding times. Humanoid tribes were nothing but roamers, all too scared to settle down in a place, lest they become a simple prey for beastmen raids once they return to their area. It did not mean beastmen were totally helpless in the matter however. They might be short on siege equipment like battering rams and catapults, but they more than made up for it with caster classes.

  Once within hundred meters of the wall, the defenders began their own response as well as dozens, even hundreds of arrows were launched through the air, all aimed to end as many of the attacking beastmen lives as possible. It would not be so simple however as both raised shield walls and wind spells blocked and repelled most of the launched arrows, with rare few actually finding a target to strike and fewer still ending the life of whoever was hit.

  Jack was a rare exception to this rule. His arrows seemed to almost always strike true. He did not shoot with great speed, however each arrow whistling through the air eventually claimed a life, shattering spells and shield alike as it found its mark, leaving exposed holes in its wake.

  "Suppress that damn archer! Or better yet, killed that fucking bastard!" yelled out Rungwald, pissed off to no end for both the way he was forced to frantically retreat as well as how effective he was at punching holes into their shield walls as they approached.

  The three units still closed in at a visible pace, soon enough reaching the distance of some fifty or so meters from the walls, at which point a proper attack began as their own casters began to pepper the walls and their defenders with their own magic, only to realise that it would take more than a few stronger blasts against the wall to take it down. It was properly reinforced, making simple magic do next to no damage to the structure.

  Thankfully, they were not entirely unprepared for the attack, with several mage squads joining together to conjure earth ramps that led to the top of the walls that were immediately used to send their own troops up and push the defenders back. One might wonder, why not use the same tactic to create an enormous ramps such as the few already there? The answer was rather simple to it as well. Thanks to magic casters, and earth element ones in particular, defenders had long since come up with ways to make such actions as difficult as possible for the attacking party. The way walls were built, one needed to exert a great amount of effort- usually in the form of many mages joining hands in the casting- to create even one such ramp, let along a gigantic one that made walls pointless. As such, a few. much more narrow ones were possible, but that was about it.

  It did not matter all that much however, since once their men would reach the walls, it would only take a short while before the gate too was theirs, and with that an open path to easily invade and slaughter the defenders. For that was what fate awaited them now. Not only had their refused the generous offer to surrender, they had even killed a few of beastmen men as they were delivering the terms of surrender.

  Unfortunately, that plan too got stuck surprisingly quickly. Sure, the beastmen suffered some casualties as they rushed the ramp to reach the top of the walls, only to then be stopped dead in their tracks by the defenders stationed there. What awaited there was no bunch of soft, squishy humans who would quickly fall to their superior level, skills and equipment. On the contrary. Once on the walls, their fighters were greeted with sharp, dangerous feeling weapons and extremely sturdy armour that seemingly bounced off their attacks with ease.

  "The fuck!" cried out Nurmalak the Swift as he noticed the struggle of his own men in trying to take over the walls, both rage and incredulity clouding his mind. His men were dying in near droves as they climbed the walls and earning no ground for it. Understanding that the situation was growing more and more dire by the second, he took the only logical action to sway the morale back in their favour.

  "Move!" he roared out as his rabbit feet propelled him forward, pushing him to the very front and up the ramp his raiding party was using, seemingly denying the physics as he snaked his way through the line advancing up. In just a few precious moments he was up the wall and with both feet now firmly planted on top of it, his hands both holding a slightly curved sword each, both glimmering with slightly bloody and sinister sheen as though they were both alive and moving blood hungry beasts released to drink their fill.

  Nurmalak jumped forward, his hands moved to one side and subsequently sliced the other way one after another with slight delay, first knocking a shield away and revealing the defenders torso to him, then cutting a deep, gnashing would across it with the second blade while blowing the body of his victim away with the sheer force of his strike. He turned a bit towards the next defender that was within reach, ready to repeat the same action he had just a moment ago, only to crouch slightly and jump back, barely avoiding several arrows lightly puncturing the reinforced brick floor he had just stood on mere moment ago. His gaze shot towards the direction the arrows came from, locking onto an archer in a rather odd, black and white coloured dress, suspiciously similar to the attire that the assistant of the woman who had appeared to rebuke Rungwald had.

  'Some special unit then?' he thought quickly in his mind, his target switching from the nameless soldiers to the clearly more dangerous entity. Once again he utilized his superior speed to dash forward, straight towards the archer who did not panic, much to his regret. Like a seasoned warrior, she quickly pulled the string of her bow and released it a mere moment later, no arrow in notched. Screams of danger rang throughout his mind and Nurmalak immediately jumped sideways, abandoning his previous plan, only to notice out of the corner of his eye as a shiny, energy arrow passed him by, penetrating the wall behind him now.

  'Fucking hell!' he cursed in his mind, realizing that if that arrow had struck him, he would now have a solid holke in his flesh the size of the arrow in question. Danger. The archer was fucking dangerous. And worse of all, she was also a second awakening expert just like he was. What was supposed to be yet another, simple and overall enjoyable season of conflict just turned into a bone chilling fight for life and death.

  He did not remain rooted in place for more than a moment, his legs already bouncing him around to avoid the possibility of getting impaled by an unexpected arrow. He also had to adjust to a slightly different attack pattern, so he quickly sheathed one of his curved swords and drew throwing daggers with the now free hand, launching a few towards his current opponent. It seemed that the rest of the troops had reached a tacit understanding of not sticking their noses where they did not belong, leaving the two superior fighters on their own devices.

  The throwing knifes shot towards the black and white clad archer, only to be dodged by the smallest of movement, the blades of them seemingly almost touching the fabric as they passed by. The woman did not leave the attack without her own response, launching a couple of her own energy arrows in return, yet again making Nurmalak to dodge.The two were about to engage into a cat and mouse game. The question, one that did not have an answer quite yet however remained: who was the cat, and who- the mouse?

  Jack Raja(?)

  Age- 27

  Species- human(?)

  Level- 37

  Class- Awakened twin aspect of Creation and Destruction(Ex)

  Stats unassigned: +14

  Attributes:

  Strength- 34 (14+7+13(gear))

  Vitality- 28 (12+8+8(gear))

  Dexterity- 29 (15+6+8(gear))

  Intelligence-20(15+ 5(gear)

  Spirit- Spirit- 30 (20+10)

  Skills- Wisdom of Creation and destruction(EX), Choice of the creator(EX), Eyes of procurer(EX), Matter storage(EX), Arukain language(C), Spark of inspiration(EX), Origin of matter(EX), Unbound by laws of the lessers(EX), The end made manifest(EX). Destroyers presence(unique legendary).

  Spells- none.

  Titles(unlocked): The real Monster, Big Game Hunter, The brilliant rookie, The insane Solo. Monster debugger.The actor. Executioner. Survivor. Pioneer, Record breaker.The new champion supreme. Slavemaster, Eldritch garbage disposal(legendary).

  Gear: Two handed sword(t3)+ 5 str +5 vit: Armor 3str +3 vit +3 dex; Ring 1 - spatial storage, ring 2 +5int, ring 3 +5 str; amulet +5 dex.