Chapter 53

Note: Thanks to Alex for beta reading this!

I took my place at the head of the meeting table. Night had fallen. The Myremanite army licked their wounds after their assault. That gave us a chance to plan. I had brought everyone who mattered. My monster girls and companions. Plus Halia, Kassie, and Fara. Sarkz was here along with Mayor Bevlin. Siwang arrived with his three companions.

The walls were repaired and strengthened now. The monster girls were back on their posts, ready for another attack. I looked out at everyone. I could feel the concern. Despite how many casualties we inflicted, there were still many, many more out there.

“If they could sustain an assault for longer,” said Hagane, “we would fall. We came very close in spots today.”

“Destroying their mangonels had to be something good, though,” Alizee said. “They’re wrecked. Those were devastating.”

“Yes,” Fara said. “I have done my calculations, and they could batter down almost any wall you could build, Lord Leo.”

“We could always abandon the village,” said Mayor Bevlin. “Withdraw the dungeon entrances to the mountains where the terrain will make it more difficult for the army to besiege us.”

“But all the homes will be burned down,” gasped Garnet.

“We can build new homes,” the mayor said. “We have new fields growing superior crops in the dungeon. Lord Leo can build us better quarters to live in to survive the siege. Once it’s over, well, he can maybe replace our homes with ... dungeon buildings.”

“It would be easier to move people around if all their homes are connected to the dungeon,” said Nina. “But I don’t like just giving up.”

“It’s good for them, though,” Mom said. She looked around. “We are trying to minimize casualties. If Siwang can reach his dungeon to the mountains, we could set up new walls.” “That would be the ultimate troll,” Crystal said. “The army wakes up and the city walls are gone, so is the dungeon. Then what do they do.”

Alizee burst into giggles. “Ooh, that would make such a great TikTok video!”

It was ... tempting. “But that doesn’t end the war, just protracts it.”

“Makes it safer for us,” said Mrs. Lucina. “Isn’t that what’s important? We have food growing.” “They will harvest the Astovin crops and have their supply chain with Myrecilla to the south,” Hagane said. “They could stay for years.”

“I want to end this,” I said. “I want to go for their leader. The king.”

Halia glanced at me. “Just cut off the head of the army.”

“Yep.” I looked around at my women. “That’s what I want to do. I want to take out their leadership. Get them to surrender.”

“Just come right up beneath their command tent, right? Just surround them with your dungeon and assault,” said Terra.

“Ooh, that’s perfect,” Kassie said. “Send up your monster girls while I teleport you into position beneath it.”

“The ones here,” I said, looking around. “I want to keep our strength on the wall. They won’t even realize that we’re plotting this until it happens.”

“We’ll be in the middle of their camp, though,” Mom said, concern on her face.

“Yep,” I said, grinning.

“God, I love it,” Crystal said. She conjured a dagger of ice. “Take the fight right to those fuckers!”

Smerta laughed while Sarkz pounded the table in delight, the dwarf grinning. Baaghi and Bjorni both growled with their agreement. Nina had a savage look on her face as she leaned back in her chair. The porn star looked ready to explode.

“I like it, Lord Leo,” Paetu said, her hands clasped before her. The gold bracers on her wrists gleamed in the light.

“We’ll need to have a group of us as an outer guard,” Hagane said, standing. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her shiny nose. “To keep the army from interfering. If we come up in five spots, very close together, we can form a perimeter and assault the king’s pavilion.”