The scenery around us changed as we moved south; the land became drier and arid. The thick grasslands of the steppe gave way to barren expanses, tufts of dry grass clustering around scraggly-looking bushes. The thick forests and verdant plains were now behind us, but along the river, a sense of that vibrant greenery remained. A few miles on either side of the river felt almost like home, and the carefully irrigated farmlands almost simulated the environments I'd grown used to since coming to Urth.

I'd spent my Souls to give us more casters. The amalgams couldn't be fought head-on; they had to be whittled down and then killed from within. I'd needed more mages, and much to the annoyance of the tribes, I'd made the pragmatic choice.

Humans started off with stats at F rank. Maybe E rank if they were a generational genius. Huskar started at B if they were subnormal. That didn't mean I'd neglected my human followers entirely. The Fangs, Kril, and the coven had all received significant boosts in power.

The Fangs had continued to lean into their physical attributes, which enabled them to cut through normal enemies like a scythe through a meadow. The coven had increased their magic potential. Grabel, Fay's other old friend, had been levelled and sent north to make more golems. The rest of the ladies had embraced the newfound respect of the warriors, having stood toe-to-toe with Ashrot; none of the chiefs dared cross them.

In fact, every single chief had petitioned to have their wives or daughters inducted into my cadre of witches. I'd swelled the coven's ranks a little. Kril had suggested half a dozen chiefs and kings who should be bound more closely to my emergent government.

Such a dirty word. I was now "the man". I was the thing that had sent me off to war fifteen years ago, a young kid with a penchant for violence and a lack of empathy. I was now the taxman, demanding my cut from everyone else. The exigencies of coordinating such a mass movement of people needed precious metals to grease the wheels, and I had no choice but to become the thing I used to hate.

I was sitting in the most heavily defended wagon in our column, Fay leaning against my arm with her head on my shoulder as we rolled along. The lowing of the aurox, so similar to cattle from Earth, provided a quiet background noise that left us content to sit in silence. I could feel the legionaries and the Fangs who surrounded our vehicle in the webwork of strands tying my soul to so many others.

"Why not just get as many levels as possible?" Haylin asked from the other side of Fay.

"It's a tradeoff, Haylin. Whatever I spend on levels, I can't spend on magic or boosting up more casters."

"You need to be thinking about keeping some Souls for your son," Haylin barked back, and the rest of the coven in the wagon nodded firmly. I was very much outnumbered here.

"He'll need to grow up normally to start with. Can you imagine a toddler who can snap spear shafts in his fingers? He'll get power when he's ready." In about fifteen fucking years, if he's lucky!

"So you'd leave him vulnerable and weak? Some boy from a rival family could just kill him in training!" another member of the coven snapped at me.

"He'll have the best care possible. Answer me this: would you want our empire to be inherited by a spoiled brat who'd always been able to kick the shit out of anyone who pissed him off? You weren't part of the Areskyn. Hakuban's spawn was a bully and a shit without any kind of power. If he'd grown up able to fling fire or stomp anyone he took a dislike to, all backed by his terrible father and mother… It doesn't bear thinking about." I was losing my cool.

"My husband is correct," Fay said, raising her head to glare at her colleague. "My son will grow up normally. I won't release a monster on the world. He'll be firm but fair." Her silken hair nestled back against my cheek as the matter was now settled.

I still needed to level up. I would keep a decent reserve of Souls, a couple more days, and I could buy some more of the increasingly precious mana and health potions.

I examined my status screen and frowned as my head lolled back against the side of the wagon. I was down to just over sixty thousand Souls, wealth more than I could imagine when I first arrived here, but every choice had to matter. I started doing the numbers in my head, and my frown deepened. After a few minutes of deep thought, I made my decision, for good or ill.

Level 150

Primary Stats: Body: SS- Mind: B+ Soul: A

Available Souls: 50553

Secondary Stats

Physical strength: 70 Reflexes: 60 Health: 700

Magic strength: 40 Focus: 30 Mana: 720

Muscles tightened, and my bones creaked. The increased Magic Strength increased the duration of all my spells by another five seconds. The extra Mana and Health gave me a sense of confidence. I'd started with less than a hundred in each stat, and even then, I'd been able to take a beating and dish out some magical damage.

Now, for how to dish out more magical damage… The only affinity I had that dealt direct damage was Fire, so I focused my souls there.

Affinity: Fire

Summon fire: Range- 134 metres, Intensity- +236%, lasts 20 seconds

Fire Resistance- +100%

Projectile: Speed- +90%, Detonation- 16.5 metres cubed.

Fire Wall: Area- 29 metres squared. lasts 20 seconds

Barrier: 220 HP, Area: 5 metres squared

Fire Spirit: duration 110 seconds

Burning Skies: Area- 140x140m, duration 20 seconds

Combustion: Self. Duration: 19 seconds. Cast once per day.

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Wildfire: Duration: 19 seconds. Cast once per day

Affinity: Life

Heal (self): 20 HP and 156% increased recovery rate for one hour. Seals moderate wounds.

Enhancement (self): 98%,

Resistance (all): 60%

Projectile: Speed- +156%, (heal other)

Rapid Growth: Area- 20 metres squared.

Projectile: Speed- +156% (Enhance Other).

Shapeshift (Minor): Duration- 110 seconds

Shape Soulbound Servant: Permanent. Maximum 2 shaped servants.

Shape Vegetation: Range- Touch, Duration 10 seconds.

Major Shapeshift (self): duration 14 seconds. Cast once per day.

Affinity: Space

Size: range- 54 metres, Intensity- 58%

Mass: range- 54 metres, Intensity- 58%

Area: 10.5m cubed (optional) lasts 15 seconds

Resistance: 100%

Pocket Dimension: 5.5m cubed

Spatial Tear: Range- 11 metres

Phase: Duration- 14 seconds. Cast once per day.

Titanic Majesty: Duration- 14 seconds, Cast once per day.

Affinity: Earth

Shape Earth: Range - Touch, Duration 15 seconds

Summon Earth: Volume: 0.5 metres cubed, Range Touch

Refresh Earth: Area 0.5 Metres squared.

Hybrid Spell (Earth/Fire): Volcanic Vent: Area: 50x50m, Duration 15 seconds

Imbue

Enchant

Soul Transfer

Aresk's Boon: Carrion Feeders Gaze.

Aresk's Boon: Divine Steed

I was down another twenty thousand and five hundred Souls, but my big hitters were all a lot more powerful. Burning Skies was now going to cover a huge area. I could cast it from a hundred and thirty-four metres away, and the fireballs would fall faster and blow up bigger. A faintly smug smile crossed my face as we rocked back and forth in the wagon.

Thirty thousand Souls left in the bank, and Fay's comforting weight pressing against my side made all the worries fall away for a few seconds, but then they roared back with a vengeance. Mortimer had at least one field army in the immediate area. There were more city-sized Amalgams out there. Some of the chiefs were angry at me for killing the looters and rapists who'd tried to sack Settall. I was going to be a dad soon… Shit. That last one landed the hardest.

I glanced down at the top of Fay's head, and my right hand reached out to find hers where it lay in her lap. She squeezed back gently as my fingers found her own. Her grip reassured me, taking some of the force out of my worries. I had been a loner, responsible to, and more importantly for, no one but myself. Now tens of thousands of lives hinged on my every decision.

Ray, your band of merry murderers is skirting Urkash's field army. You should take a look.

I sat bolt upright, dislodging Fay, who made an angry squawking noise until she saw the look on my face.

How far ahead of us are you? I sent Glimpse even as I reached out to borrow his senses. The sight made my face go pale, and Fay cut off what I think would have been an angry chiding.

"What is it, Ray?" she asked quietly.

"Glimpse has found Mortimer's field army and… Jesus Christ…"

"We'll smash the shit-sitters with magic-" I stopped paying attention to the sudden babble in the wagon as I struggled to parse what I was seeing via Glimpse.

A sea of dead flesh. More bandaged men than I could have imagined were arrayed around a series of strong points. A row of low hills a mile or so from the river and stretching five miles out into the uncultivated wasteland had fortifications built on top of them. Crude things, to be sure. The wooden walls wouldn't stand against the feral Huskars, let alone the legions, but human troops would struggle against them.

The little forts looked like islands rising from the water of the undead. Each hill was lined with fields of sharpened stakes up its slopes to keep cavalry away. Tens, probably hundreds, of thousands of the fucking zombies were standing like rotting statues in the dips and valleys between the high points in the landscape.

On the far side of each fort, human troops massed, huddled around fires in rudimentary camps. Their numbers were less than the zombies, but they still outnumbered my entire force. Glimpse narrowed one eye and highlighted an array of war-beasts, massive pigs and oversized elephants, lesser cousins to the mammoths for sure, but still formidable, all ready to be sent into battle.

Two hills, one at either end of the defensive line, weren't crowned with a fort or lined with stakes… They pulsed slightly, faint movements as the amalgams circulated gases within their bodies. They weren't of the same scale as Ashrot, but they weren't too far off. Big bastards, and we'd need to deal with the pair of them at the same time.

How far ahead of us are you? I repeated.

We've made good time. You're probably still four or five days away from the site they've picked out, Glimpse replied, but I could feel the edge of uncertainty in his thoughts. When you could literally follow a path "as the crow flies," it became difficult to put the distance into terms a terrestrial being could understand.

What about the assassins?

Janko and Herpatik are going to double back to try and infiltrate the human forces behind the lines. The rest will continue on to Urkash.

Good. Stick with the main force. Janko and Herpatik will have to operate independently for now, I sent back. I heard a caw of approval in my mind.

When you deploy independent forces beyond your immediate command and control, you have to trust them to use their best judgment. If the pair were captured or killed… that was in the lap of the gods. They didn't know anything that wouldn't be obvious by now. The horde was riding south, supported by the Huskar and titans. They'd already know that despite our best efforts to hunt down their scouts.

Despite my views on the gods, I sent a quiet prayer to Aresk for the lives of my infiltrators. Please let them succeed. Please let them escape afterwards. This attachment to my people had been normalised in my mind, but it still felt slightly alien, as though it had been implanted into me.

I ran the numbers as best I could in my head. Mortimer's forces were positioned so that they could catch our scouts, and the main force would crest a series of low rises and walk into a trap, but he'd underestimated us again. Even without Glimpse, the nomads on their hardy ponies would have given the army enough warning, even if dozens of them died to bring back the information. He didn't know what he was up against. Did I?

I thought I did, but that's the first step towards hubris. I needed more information.

How are they being supplied? I sent to Glimpse.

Boats on the river unload at a small town a few miles behind the defences. Then they ship the goods overland to the forts.

Send one of the assassins into the town. He should burn it down and disrupt their supplies in advance of our arrival.

And how do I mime that to someone who cannot hear my thoughts? Glimpse replied with an amused tone.

You're a smart bird. Figure it out. I want the humans hungry and demoralised before we even see the bastards.

You want to starve your enemies? Raymond, I never knew you had it in you! I'll find a way to send one of them to sabotage the town, Ray. Glimpse chuckled in my mind, and I cut the connection, letting it fall back to a passive awareness of the bird.

"I need to– I've got to go," I said to Fay, who was arguing with the other members of the coven. "There'll be work to do in the near future. The kind of work you did on Ashrot." I passed my gaze over the ladies present, and something must have changed in my eyes. None of them, not even Haylin, had anything cutting to say. Fierce glares came back and resolute nods.

"Go speak to the chiefs, love. I'll pick your brains tonight in camp." Fay planted a kiss on my cheek, and I rose to my feet. I leapt down from the back of the wagon and looked around.

"PERTABON! FANGS!" I bellowed.

"Aresk's hairy sack, Mond. We were right here!" said Kos as the Fangs condensed around me.

"Find Bon. And the chiefs. If they're still pissy with me in a week's time, I'll eat my indestructible tunic. We've found them!" I said with a smile. I loved it when a plan came together.

"The main army?" Jandak said happily. "Oh, this will be fun! No need to hide behind the women's skirts before we can face the foe!"

"I heard that!" Haylin called from within the nearby wagon, and Jandak flinched.

"We'll have some fun!" he said more quietly with a wink.

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