My Servant System

That night, when the dead rose and began to groan, I had been awoken by an annoyed Anput, the Jackalkin sighing as she gestured for me to grab my gear.

The others were also swiftly scraping on their armor and weapons, all while we listened to the slowly approaching horde of undead.

Exchanging glances, Anput muttered "Why the hell didn't we burn them?"

Nirinia responded with a yawn, the Knight looking bored as we began to climb up our tower, the other soldiers looking as tired and unenthusiastic as we were.

"Can't. Too much magic expended, and it leaves us open to another attack. Sadly, this is a common tactic amongst the larger, yet weaker armies. Send a probing attack and hope that the undead that rise afterwards can deal some damage. Though..."

Reaching the top, the Djinn sighed as she gestured over the pitch black plain, which was filled with the eery groans and occasional glimmer of metal under the dim light of the moons.

"Jahi, can you illuminate the field? Just a bit, nothing too bright."

The Demoness nodded, the golden runes that glimmered beside us visible to everyone.

Finishing the simple spell, Jahi sent out a rather large ball of golden light, making the undead flinch and glare up at the light.

With the field now illuminated, we could see that some of the undead were wandering aimlessly, but most were either trudging towards the castle, or...

"This tactic is honestly idiotic. You waist cannon fodder just for it to come back stronger and attack you. See, unless someone is extremely, extremely well versed in Necromancy, which is nigh impossible considering all research on the subject has been burnt, these hordes tend to be more problematic then beneficial. Y'know, since they tend to go after anything with a pulse."

I nodded as I looked over the vast horde below us, most of which was stumbling towards the castle.

With the light beating down on them, the undead grumbled and groaned as they grew more and more sluggish, becoming the perfect target practice for our archers.

"Anyways, lets get this over with girls. The faster this horde is dealt with, the quicker we can go back to sleep. And since we can actually see them..."

Grabbing the bow, Nirinia began to snipe at the shuffling ghouls and zombies, the decaying corpses falling back down to true death as an arrow pierced their skulls.

"Aim for the head; that'll keep them down. These are different from the Ghouls of Zhu'Rong Caverns, since they aren't 'monsters' in the sense that they have a core. They're freaks of nature permeated with death energies, and that energy pools in the brain. It's also why they're so interested in your brains, if you wanted to know."

Letting out a 'huh', we all began to kill the undead below us, all while watching the Western Army fend off the growing tide of undead.

Many soldiers on their side fell to the undead, and moments later they rose back up as undead themselves, which made me chuckle.

"Yeah, it is stupidly beautiful seeing this tactic on display. You tend to harm yourself more then do yourself any good when you toy with the undead. Anyways, this'll mean either a day of rest of another wave of soldiers sent to attack the castle. But, we should be able to sleep a bit longer because of this..."

That one statement energized all of us; yes, we were used to fighting, and yes we were used to getting little sleep, but...

The paranoia, different scenery, the fact we were in a war zone...

Each of those things made our sleep restless and unfulfilling, and I could tell that it was slowly wearing on the girls.

It was wearing on me as well, but I was used to sleepless nights leading into a demanding day, so I managed to transfer quite easily to this new, temporary lifestyle.

Slinging another wind arrow down into the horde, I listened to the familiar ding of experience before asking the System to shut it off, preferring to listen to the noise of the undead dying once more.

The rotting flesh of the ghouls tore easily under the onslaught of arrows and magic, and eventually we were looking over a calm battlefield, all while the Western Army continued to keep their horde at bay.

Dispelling the light sphere, the plains and castle were once again shrouded in darkness, and it was at that moment that I heard the twang of a bow.

Turning, I waved my hand and erected a barrier of wind, shattering the errant arrow as it impacted the wall.

Based on its trajectory, it was aimed at Jahi, which made the Demoness frown.

Trying to trace it back, I could only growl as I saw the dark outline of a cloaked figure slip away, dozens of feet away inside the castle.

Letting the barrier fall, I kept my guard up as we began to descend down the tower, Anput leading us as she created new paths via her Earth Magic, filling in the old ones and restructuring the tower.

Reaching our encampment, we all stared at one another in silence, before Nirinia sighed and slid into her tent.

Nodding, I took first watch again, keeping my mind sharp as I shrouded our camp with a thin, quiet gale.

The attacks had begun, but it seemed more like slight potshots would be the main course for now.

Glancing around the camp, I frowned as I began to scan each and every tent, wondering if the inhabitants were asleep or if they were assassins, waiting for the right time to strike.

Letting out a low sigh, I wondered how long this war would last, my thirst for blood battling with my wariness as I looked around.

Leone took over my watch eventually, and I sighed again as I gave the Vampire a quick kiss, comforting her and myself as I undid the straps of my armor and laid down in my bedroll, my fingers clenched around the hilt of my Protective Fang.