My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 158: Vanguard

Kace stood on the city walls and looked out at the gathered army. It was an awe-inspiring sight that was to be sure. Although he had already been told how many there would be, it was still shocking to witness those numbers. Especially when they were all armed to the teeth and out for your blood. 

Along the walls beside him was about half of his goblin tribe. The other half were keeping themselves hidden in the shadows. This was so that they could ambush unsuspecting enemies during the battle. They all had vicious smirks on their faces, presumably because they were finally getting the chance to get even after so many years. 

Surviving this siege would only be the first stage of this war. Depending on the strength they had remaining, they would have to take the offensive afterwards. Sonja had declared that the heroes had to go. They could not afford to let them build their power base again after this. Kace wholeheartedly agreed with this. If the heroes were dealt a severe blow now, it would only mean less for him to face in the future.

Boots stomped across the ground as the vast army before him moved into their final positions. The vampires nearby showed no fear at the sound that they created. Usually, this would cause some kind of mental impact, but almost all of the vampires were seasoned veterans. They had centuries of experience on the heroes opposing them.

Despite being the ones to initiate the war, many of the heroes looked nervous to Kace's eyes. This was not surprising considering the majority of them had never been tempered on a proper battlefield. A bell chimed from the castle behind him, causing Kace to look back. There was a large open courtyard built onto the outside of the castle near the top. Standing there was Sonja in her resplendent armour along with her advisors. 

That space had been specifically built so that the queen could overlook the entire battlefield, giving her a bird's eye view of everything that was going on. She could then use the information to provide effective orders to counter whatever they were up against. Kace had already been alerted that the advisors would be the ones to bring any orders from their side. 

They hoped that Kace would act on them for the benefit of everyone. Essentially his tribe and himself were giving the position of a special operations team. With their fast mobility and battle strength, they could be reinforcements or a strike team to drive the enemies back. Further beyond the gathered army was Kace's first target, the heroes supply base!

This would greatly weaken their enemies chances of holding a siege for a long period of time. However, as things were now, there would be no way for him to act on this order right now. The heroes had held back a large reserve force alongside the camps guards. Getting in might not be a problem, but escaping would be too difficult. He had learned his lesson after his mistake in Stonefall. 

He had to be sure to keep a calm mind and properly analyse everything that was going on. At some point, a chance would definitely present itself. This battle would not be over in a single day, so there was plenty of time for him to worry about it later. For now, he could focus on killing as many heroes as possible. Especially since they would count towards the quest provided by Sylvan.

'I don't like the looks of this.' Sylvan suddenly commented.

'What's wrong? Did you notice something?' Kace inquired, he would not brush of Sylvan's statement so easily. Any little bit of information could be the key to victory in something like this.

'Hm, it doesn't make sense.'

'What doesn't make sense?'

'From what I can sense, there is only a single person at the Guild Leader level below.' Sylvan said this with a grave tone.

'Shouldn't we be happy about them having a lack of higher levelled combatants?' Personally, Kace could not see a problem with this. It should be something for them to celebrate!

'No. Somehow I can't imagine them expecting to take down the queen or this castle with just one person at that level. Did you not notice the other thing?'

'What other things? Kace had no idea what he was talking about. He looked out at the troops with a scrutinising gaze. Trying to guess what Sylvan was getting at.

'The soldiers don't look worn out. From what I understand, there should be quite a large distance between here and their fortress. If they were all carrying their own basic supplies as most armies would. Then they should be more fatigued by now.'

'You're right.' Kace eventually said as he contemplated the matter. 'But if they brought fewer provisions then shouldn't that be a good thing?'

'No. Usually, if they seem lacking in extra equipment, then there's a good chance that they are just the vanguard force'

Kace suddenly realised the scale of the problem that they were facing. If this was just a vanguard force, then the main army would be many times larger. If they appeared at a critical time, then the enemy would receive much needed, fresh reinforcements. Whereas the vampires had no aid to count on. The odds looked to be against them now, and Kace did not like it one bit.

'We should warn the queen.' Kace thought with a grim expression.

'No need. She's a seasoned commander. I doubt she failed to notice it. She's already sending messengers out with orders. Probably to try and reserve some people for when the main army appears.'

Kace nodded his head as he agreed with Sylvan's statement. He would just have to focus on the enemies before him and make it out of here alive. He was looking forward to the growth he should experience from this as he looked out at the invading army. In his eyes, each one of them was a walking experience crop, ready for harvesting.

A thunderclap sounded from high in the sky, as a giant lightning bolt descended towards the city gates