The Void Wolf

The end of the week arrived smoothly for Ira. He ran some "errands" with Harper, and Charles dropped off the prosthetic. On the other hand, the week went by a bit more hectically for the Kingdom. Those who previously eavesdropped on Lance's party began spreading information on Ira. By the end of the week, anyone who boasted a position of power knew that Ira could be identified quickly by his black hair and yellow eyes. Though the Intelligence director already knew what Ira looked like, they had to temporarily change their plans after confirming he was the strongest Mercenary.

As for Ira himself? He sat at the dining table on the first floor of his house, and of course, Harper sat next to him. Currently, he was reading the black book; it was apparent that the sigil of two wolves on his left hand were seals of some sort and he wanted to find a way to remove the next one. Other than annoying whispers only Ira could hear, the book didn't yield much, for now. With a wave of his left hand, he put the book away. Harper's head was on the tabletop, showing she was busy napping. Ira reclined in the chair and closed his eyes.

"Keeper of the third moon."

He said under his breath as he seemed to be searching for something. Deep inside the emptiness consciousness, there was a small, spherical, red stone. It began growing and growing until it could no longer be called a rock. It grew so large it was evident it was the moon. Ira tried to interact with it, he didn't know what it would do, and the boy he would meet during bouts of unconsciousness wasn't forthcoming with information.

Ira continued concentrating on the moon and all of a sudden it began spinning very slowly. He could feel it activating; it began to exert its influence, he could feel his body showing some small signs of change. Not just him, Harper immediately shot up and stared at Ira. She felt something was happening, her blood seemed to stir, and the source could be traced to Ira. One of the three circles on her forehead turned red in color. It wasn't just Harper who felt it, within the Capital all beastkin and even dark elves could feel something strange, and no matter where they were, they all looked in one direction.

Eventually, the feeling stopped as Ira opened his eyes. Traces of red could be seen at the edge of his yellow irises. It faded, restoring his original bright yellow eyes. Under the influence of the third moon, his irises seemed to change to a red color, similar to the boy. Ignorant of the phenomenon he just caused Ira smiled at his discovery.

He began putting two and two together, as he pulled out his status card.

Name:

Ira

Rating:

S+

Growth Capacity:

SS+

Bloodline:

Unknown

Blessings:

Unknown, Keeper of the third moon (Ulta Majoris)

Mana Capacity:

Low

Passive Skills:

Supernatural: Strength, Agility, Reflexes, Senses, Regeneration, Endurance

Predatory Instincts

Kinetic Vision (Inactive)

Greater: Metabolism, Beast Manipulation, Night Vision, Physique

Self-Adaptation

Temperature Regulation

Aging Immunity

Bloodline Resonance

Genetic Mutation (Inactive)

Lunar Force Empowerment

Partial Lunar Force Control

Advanced Swordsmanship

Expert Martial Arts

Primal Awareness

Active Skills:

Short-Range Teleport, Call of the Third Moon (Inactive), Run Amok (Inactive), Nothingness(Sealed), Matter Alteration, Gravitational Alteration, Quickdraw    

"Partial Lunar Force Control."

He couldn't help but chuckle excitedly. If there were three moons, did that mean the Lunar Force was split into thirds?

"What was that, Ira?"

Harper asked with scrunched eyebrows.

Instead of answering Ira looked at the three circles on her forehead. Traces of red could still be seen on the highest one. The red circle seemed to measure 17 millimeters, while the second was around 8 millimeters, and the final was 4 millimeters. If that was representative of the original sizes of the moons, did that mean he held a majority of the Lunar Force?

"You'll see soon."

Ira said while almost trembling in excitement. He looked towards the front door and stood up.

"Go grab the arm."

He said as he walked to the front door. He opened it just in time to see Samantha's hand in the air, behind her stood Lance's party. They visited throughout the week for details about the wedding and the exact time to go.

They all wore dark colors, the girls, Samantha included, all wore midnight blue sundresses. Lance and Gerald both wore a black tail coat, white button-up, black trousers, and black shoes. Gerald's suit looked a bit funny on him, considering he was 6'5 and 275 pounds. It was a miracle the suit fit at all. Everyone looked at Ira strangely, he was underdressed, to say the least. Noticing their expressions, Ira spoke up.

"They should have something for me to wear when I show up."

He shrugged. Harper came out of the house with a box in her arms. Inside was the prosthetic Charles worked on. Ira grabbed the box with his left hand and stored it away.

"We have to make a quick stop first."

Ira grinned as he led the group away. Their destination, towards the deeper part of the commercial district.

........................................

Under the guidance of Ira, they arrived in front of a large smithy. Around twenty Dwarves stood guard outside of it, each dressed in thick armor with either an axe or a hammer at their sides. Above the smithy was a broken hammer insignia which almost made Lance and his party stop in their tracks.

"You do know where this is, right?"

Lance looked at Ira curiously.

"Yup. I just need to grab something."

Ira responded. As they went towards the smithy, the Dwarven Guards grew cautious and shouted.

"Halt!"

Two Dwarven Guards blocked the way. After they had recognized Ira, they eased up.

"It's just you, Go ahead. No entry for your friends though, Tel-Goron doesn't like strangers in his smithy."

The Dwarf made way for Ira and Harper. Lance and his party couldn't help but be even more surprised.

"Tel-Goron!"

Gerald shouted in disbelief. Samantha's brows raised, she seemed to have heard of him before.

"Isn't he a famous blacksmith?"

She asked after she remembered a few details.

"That's an understatement. Any weapon Tel-Goron makes can cause an uproar. He rarely sells, and when he does the price is too high for ordinary people to even think about."

Lance added as he watched Ira and Harper walk into the smithy. Tel-Goron, a great Dwarven Blacksmith, not even at the height of his years. He was in his 40's and already was deemed as a genius by the Dwarven clans. He roamed from region to region looking for inspiration; he felt as if he had more to gain. The Dwarven clans supported his decision and allowed him to move under the stipulation of an armed escort at all times. So how was Ira familiar enough with him to walk into his smithy?

A few weeks ago, Tel-Goron was attacked by a squad of would-be kidnappers. Something that was more or less normal for him, the criminals were easily killed until "accidentally" fired a crossbow bolt toward Tel-Goron, Ira "appeared" at the right time and blocked the bolt before Tel-Goron was killed. Tel-Goron and almost all Dwarves took debts seriously, so when he "coincidentally" ran into Ira in the Capital, imagine his surprise.

In reality, that never happened. The "errands" that Ira and Harper ran were nothing more than him looking for a blacksmith to melt down the statue and make a sword out of it. After hearing about Tel-Goron, Ira found his smithy. Waited for until night, when most of the Dwarven Guards were asleep, and instructed Harper to fiddle with their memories. It wasn't difficult since the attempted kidnapping was an experienced shared by all the guards and Tel-Goron himself. All she had to do was weave Ira into their memories, so to speak. The hard part was getting them all together; Ira had to knock out the stragglers and avoid killing the ones that attempted to fight back.

Ira was more than impressed with her illusion ability and asked for an explanation, but Harper wasn't a scholar. She could only describe a pile of napkins stacked on top of each other, pouring enough juice to stain all the napkins, but not soaking the napkins thoroughly. Though it was simplistic Ira understood it a bit better. If she overdid it, they would either go insane or realize it's a fake memory.

While Ira and Harper walked deeper into the smithy, he contemplated finding someone to train her in magic. He'd most likely have to pay for it though, seeing as most mages would probably have a higher resistance to illusions.

They passed dozens of weapons lined up, some unfinished some looked to be complete. Further, in the workshop, a short, stocky, bearded man, wearing a brown apron and some worn leather boots, polished a dark gray sword that sat on a table next to a saber and some armor. It was Tel-Goron, he looked up and smiled upon seeing Ira.

"You're the talk of the town these days."

Tel-Goron smiled amicably; he had a deep and gruff voice that filled the room. Harper's eyes briefly flashed blue; she made small repairs to the illusion she placed in his mind.

Lies can easily be unraveled by finding out new information, and she actually could feel the illusion slightly weakening upon mention of Ira's name being spread in the rumors. Luckily, it was too weak to cause any harm, and she just tampered with his memories for good measure.

"I've noticed."

Ira returned a friendly smile as he went to examine the weapons. Tel-Goron stood next to him and began explaining the details.

"Your weapon is a typical longsword, so it's a bit longer than the silver bastard sword you use. Needless to say, you can use either one hand or two, especially in your case. I should also mention the sword is far denser than normal, it's a bit of a bitch to use for anyone accustomed to lighter swords, I'd say it weighs between 15 and 16 pounds. The saber, on the other hand, is as light as can be, weighing in at a half pound. Also, both weapons have black leather scabbards."

Tel-Goron explained as he looked at Ira with questioning eyes. Ira noticed it and was prepared to knock him out at the first sign of trouble.

"That metal statue you provided is unlike anything I've seen before. It's too easy to change the hardness, flexibility, or weight just by adding a few more metals. The Saber is made with Windsteel, which is usually put into throwing knives because of its lightness, but doesn't have a lot of practical use in swords. The Longsword is made from Great steel, which is used for heavy armor and heavy weapons. The metal you provided was a perfect bonding agent for both of the materials."

Tel-Goron began to go off topic as he looked on with admiration.

"Forgive me, I just wanted to know why you'd waste such a precious metal on a statue in the first place?"

Tel-Goron wanted to ask for larger supply to send to the Dwarven Clans for analysis, but he knew it would be impolite to, after all, he already sent a few tiny samples back after obtaining Ira's permission and he thought was already enough. After hearing his question, Ira relaxed, Tel-Goron was real close to being beaten half to death if he asked the wrong question.

"I found it like that."

Ira raised his hands defensively.

"I see."

Tel-Goron took it as Ira not willing to speak about the source of a precious metal, so he did not pursue the matter. Instead, he changed the subject.

"With the leftover metal, I made a few pieces of armor, like you asked. I have a set of lightweight armor with female specifications. This was also created with Windsteel, the total weight of the armor shouldn't be more than ten pounds, but should protect just as good as any armor weight ten times that amount. I've opted not to create some parts, leaving a chest plate, gauntlets, greaves, and a tasset belt. If you find a bit more of that mystery metal, I'd be more than happy to make something for you or Harper there."

Tel-Goron smiled widely, as he finished his explanation on the armor. He wasn't lying about being more than happy to create some more. He was excited to see all the possibilities of the mystery metals, he felt as if he just touched upon a small trace of what it could its become.

Ira waved his left hand and collected everything on the table except for the longsword. He undid the scabbard holding the silver bastard sword and stored it away, equipping the dark longsword in its place.

"Thanks a lot, Tel-Goron."

Ira smiled brightly as he patted the scabbard.

"Don't mention it. I owed you after you saved my life. Now if that's all, I have the strangest craving for steak."

Tel-Goron waved his hand with a smile. Ira shot a glance at Harper upon the mention of steak. It seemed she accidentally leaked in her own desires with the illusion, but it was something small, and there wasn't really anything to be worried about.

After a few more exchanges of words, Ira and Harper left. Lance and his party noticed Ira had a different weapon. As Ira led them away from the smithy, Gerald spoke up first.

"Did Tel-Goron make that for you?"

He whispered with a careful look.

"Yeah, he kinda owed me a favor. I'll tell you about it some other time."

Ira said casually as he shrugged. Lance and his group had dozens of questions, but they saw Ira was unwilling to talk about it. They soon arrived at the Capital gate and saw a carriage with the Thynne Family insignia. Ira recognized the driver and nodded before he climbed in. Harper hurriedly climbed in behind him and sat next to him. Samantha followed behind and sat next to Harper, and finally, Lance's group made their way in.

The carriage had more than enough space to accommodate everyone. The carriage quickly departed.

.................................

Inside of the Thynne Family Manor. Avery was in a large room, standing in front of a tall mirror. Several servants and assistants stood near the door, and behind Avery stood Lauren and Casey.

Avery wore a long, black, sleeveless, high-collared, gown with dark gold embroidery. On her head was a small dark golden-winged circlet. Lauren and Casey wore similar colored dresses, though they had less embroidery and they weren't dressed in any circlets.

"Have all the arrangements been made?"

Lauren asked the assistants.

"Yes, Ma'am. Everything is in place for the ceremony."

One assistant immediately replied.

Lauren nodded in response and smiled. Casey moved closer to Avery and began fixing her hair.

"Gather everyone in an hour, he should at least be on his way by then."

Casey said as she grinned at her daughter. The servants and assistants bowed and left the room.

Avery's face held its natural expression of indifference, but if one was to look closer, there were signs of anticipation in her eyes.

"Avery, you should go select a dagger."

Casey said as she finished with Avery's hair.

"Yes, Mother."

Avery responded as she turned around and walked to a nearby table. Rows of small sheathed daggers filled the whole things, some looked very intimidating in appearance, and some looked exquisite. Various unique designs and carvings were on each of them. Avery's hand hovered over the table as she evaluated each one. There was one particular dagger that caught her eye. An Ivory Dagger with a Wolf's Head carved into the pommel. It seemed oddly fitting, given Ira's mysterious lycanthropic bloodline and his behavior overall. She picked up the dagger and unsheathed it. The stainless steel blade had a bright shimmer that was pleasing to the eyes. Avery placed it back into the sheath. She turned around to face her mother and grandmother.

"This one will do."

Avery smiled faintly.

..........................

A few hours later, Ira and his "guests" arrived at the Thynne Manor in the early evening. Ira and the others stepped out of the carriage, and the first thing he noticed was a large group of servants and assistants. The second thing he noticed was the colder temperature, winter would make itself known in a few days.

"Hello, If you and your sister could follow me please, the guests will be escorted to the banquet area."

A female assistant bowed lightly as she greeted Ira. A few other representatives went to accompany Samantha, and Lance's group to the back of the Manor.

"Come on, Harper."

Ira smiled as he followed the female assistant into the Manor. The inside was mostly empty, except for servants, cooks, and attendants who were still moving back and forth.

The attendant showed Ira and Harper to two rooms.

"Your clothes are inside."

The female attendant gave a bow before turning to leave.

"Wait. There should be a girl named Amy here with Aldis. Can you give her this."

Ira waved his left hand and produced a plain brown box. The female attendant was surprised to see something appear from thin air, but she didn't let it show.

"I'm not sure if she is here, but I will look for her."

The attendant took the box, that was heavier than it looked and left. Harper stood in front of the door to the adjacent room and looked at Ira.

"Go get dressed, kiddo."

Ira said as he entered the room for him, Harper nodded and went into her room. After a few moments, Ira stepped out. He wore a black, dark golden trimmed shirt with a mandarin collar. On top of the shirt was a black suit jacket with a dark golden trim around the jacket cuffs and the lapel. Also, he wore black trousers and black shoes. Harper walked out shortly after him dressed in a matching black sundress. A few attendants made their way to Ira after seeing him emerge from the room.

"Sir, shall we tidy your hair?"

An old male attendant asked. Ira looked at Harper who in turn looked at him. Her own hair was very wild at the moment, and he was no different.

"Get someone to braid her hair, and I guess I need to brush mine."

Ira responded with a shrug.

"Yes, Sir."

The senior attendant left to retrieve a brush, while the female attendants moved to Harper, and began braiding her pale blue hair. They quickly finished, leaving Harper with one long braid that hung to the middle of her back. Ira gave her a thumbs up, and she giggled in response.

The senior attendant returned with a brush and a hand mirror which he gave it to a female assistant. She walked over to Ira and slowly reached for his hair, seeing as she decided to brush his hair for him, Ira didn't show any resistance. His wild hair began to be tamed by the brush strokes, the female attendant slightly blushed as she stood close to him, the other female attendants looked a bit jealous.

If they could impress him and get a proper evaluation, their status may go up within the Manor, seeing as they were extended family. They would never think to attempt to seduce him though if they tried, it was highly possible they would be murdered by a Valkyrie or even Avery.

After some more brushing, the attendant stepped away and held up the hand mirror. Ira looked at his hair which was now brushed into place, he ran his hand over it and shook it a little, undoing a bit of the brushing. Having his hair wild was a bit of personal preference, he wasn't a fan of the nobles with orderly hair, but he somewhat understood the need for it in situations like the one he was in.

"I'm ready now."

Ira smiled at the attendants, a few blushed even more until the older male attendant coughed meaningfully. The Thynne Family was no place with those who grew overly ambitious.

"Right this way, Sir."

The senior attendant led Ira to the back of the Manor, outside there was a large gathering of people. The luxurious tables were set up in the same order as the previous banquet except for a band of musicians and a small table with two seats in the central spot where the Valkyrie table was. The currently empty, Valkyrie table was moved to the side and out of the way of it. While the change may have seemed small, the symbolic nature of it wasn't. It showed the ones gathered just how much the Valkyries valued Ira. The Valkyries would change their mind for no one except one of their own, and that was only if the Matriarch was the one to change her mind.

Ira noticed a circular marble platform stood a few feet off the ground, on top was a stone block with a metal bowl on top of it. That was most likely where the ceremony would happen. He turned his head and saw Aldis sitting at a table with Amy and a few other people. Amy smiled gratefully at Ira as she waved her prosthetic arm. It was better than she could have asked for, though it would take some getting used to. Ira just nodded with a small grin as he walked to the top of the circular stone platform. Harper was led away to sit with the females who had yet to awaken, technically after the wedding they would be sisters in law. Seeing Ira take his place on the platform, the musicians began softly playing music. A combination of a violin, a piano, a harp, and a flute were all played in a soft harmony, coupled with the setting sun, it made for a tranquil scene.

Soon an attendant signaled, and the music was played even lower. The sounds of tandem footsteps emerged from the Manor. Avery was escorted by the Valkyries, who stood on both sides of her. Lauren and Casey stood on her left and right respectively. Many people were shocked upon seeing Avery in a dress, her beauty was indescribable, even to those who grew a bit numb to the attractiveness of others after seeing the Valkyries. Even Ira was stunned, though he couldn't imagine Avery in a dress so that only added to his surprise.

Avery was escorted to the circular platform, and all the while she had a grin, the ones who had never seen her smile couldn't help but look again. As she took the platform, Ira showed a beaming smile. Causing some of the females present to stare at him a few moments too long. Lauren followed Avery to the platform and stood behind the stone block which was placed between both of them. In one hand she held a long white ribbon, and in the other, she held an ivory dagger. She put the ribbon in the bowl and began to speak.

"The bond between the two of you shall be recognized in blood, Avery."

She unsheathed the dagger and nodded toward Avery, who in turn raised her hand over the bowl.

"Ira, I'd like you to slow down your regeneration for this."

Lauren said, he raised his hand over the bowl and nodded in response.

Lauren raised the dagger and cut deeply into the palms of each of their hands, while neither of them flinched. The blood dripped down quickly and dyed the white ribbon red. When the ribbon was entirely red, Lauren waved a glowing hand over both of the wounds and easily healed them, she then placed a hand over the metal bowl.

"Fire." She chanted softly as a small flame filled the bowl, instantly evaporating the blood and even turning the metal bowl to a bright red color showing the metal was almost at its melting point. Strangely, only the red ribbon remained untouched. When the fire stopped, Lauren retrieved the red ribbon.

"Turn and raise your arms toward me."

She said with a smile. Both Ira and Avery turned their arms toward Lauren, she began tying the red ribbon around both of their wrists, leaving a little room in case one of them would accidentally move their arms too far. Usually, after the ritual, it would be resistant to breaking after the ceremony, but Ira seemed to defy the very word "usual."

"And with a kiss, the ceremony is complete."

She finished tying the ribbon and stepped back. Avery and Ira turned toward each other and did as instructed, though neither of them was unwilling. They moved closer and gently kissed under the gaze of the ones attending. The music began playing louder as people rose to their feet and began clapping. Ira chuckled happily, while Avery had a full smile. They walked down the platform and went towards the small table set just for them. After they sat down, those attending the wedding finally ceased their clapping and sat down too.

The music continued to play as servants brought out dozens of carts full of food and began serving the guests. They went to Ira and Avery first and then the Valkyries, before serving everyone else. Lauren and Casey walked to the table, Lauren held a bottle of wine, while Casey held four glasses. Casey placed them onto the table, while Lauren began pouring the wine.

"Thank you...Uh, when does the ribbon get taken off?"

Ira asked curiously as he and Avery picked up the wine glasses and began taking a drink. Lauren and Casey had given meaningful smiles. Lauren had spoken before she and Casey sipped the wine.

"With both of your combined efforts, you'll be able to remove the enchantment tonight."

Lauren smiled meaningfully.

Ira almost choked on his glass of wine, causing the three women to laugh softly. Lauren filled both of their cups again before walking to the Valkyrie table. Casey looked at both of them and spoke.

"When all the guests have their cups filled, you two have to toast."

She turned and joined Lauren at the Valkyrie table. A few minutes later, everyone had their cups filled and looked toward the table. Ira and Avery stood up, raising their cups with them. The guests raised their cups in response. Avery and Ira tapped their glasses together and began drinking, the guests followed their actions.

After they had sat down again, Ira smiled.

"Let's eat."

He said enjoying the moment.

In the same row Aldis sat in, Eric was present. After interrupting the banquet last time to suggest Avery marry someone else, he was "lightly" punished by his mother, Judith. Though the word "lightly" rarely applied to anything the Valkyries did, as he was forced to spar with sisters and female cousins for a few hours, which couldn't be called a fight by anyone with an ounce of sympathy.

It was evident the beating only furthered his humiliation within the family as if it wasn't bad enough he already heard that Ira was the strongest Mercenary in the Kingdom. Currently, his guild master, the former number two in the Kingdom, and former classmate of Avery Thynne, Carter, sat next to him. Eric always sought validation from his mother and the other Valkyries, but he knew where to draw the line. He wouldn't be so dumb as to make a scene and attempt to bother Ira. Even if he were that dumb, he would be incredibly lucky to not be killed by Avery on the spot.

"I hope to be able to talk to him at some point, but I doubt today is the right day."

Carter said as he sipped his glass of wine.

Carter was a man in his twenties with a short beard and a crew cut to match. It was evident he was in shape as he had a visibly healthy body, but a gentle and heroic face. In his guild, Smallthorn, Carter always gave off an older brotherly temperament. It would seem like he was a bad person based on the way Eric tried to suggest him as Avery's marriage partner. The truth is, he never asked for that, Eric took it upon himself to suggest the wedding, to gain prestige within the family.

At first, Carter wasn't mad, he didn't even know who Ira was and only mentioned having a one-sided crush on Avery while they were in the Capital Academy together at some point to Eric. He knew she didn't even know who he was and most likely still didn't. The moment he heard Rhys was replaced by Ira, and after confirming it was the same "Ira" Eric mentioned before, he began to get upset.

It wasn't that he was scared of confrontation, it's just he didn't know what type of person Ira was, and his whole guild could be put at risk. To make up for his mistake, Carter made Eric bring him to the wedding so he could apologize and explain himself, but it would seem he lacked the chance at the moment.

Carter took another sip of the wine in his glass.

"Guild leader, I'm sorry."

Eric apologized with clenched teeth.

"It's fine. I'm sure Ira is a good guy, he probably won't hold a grudge over something so small."

"But Guild Leader-"

"Call me Carter, and like I said, it's fine. Worst comes to worst I'll give him a fight, but if he's anything like Rhys I'd be better off apologizing."

Carter's eyes showed unwillingness at the mention of Rhys. He had attempted to get her to join his guild by winning in a fight against her. To this day Rhys has never been associated with a guild or partner, so it's safe to say he lost. The truth of the matter is he nearly lost his life, luckily Rhys didn't talk about it.

"Guil...Carter, you really think he's stronger than Rhys?"

Eric asked with a little bit of suspicion.

"I'm willing to say yes, but I don't know just how much."

Carter finished his glass as he looked at Ira and Avery. If he was honest, Avery looked even more beautiful than she did when he first saw her in the Academy. Deep down in his subconscious, a small amount of envy formed, especially noticing that Avery smiled when she was with Ira.

"I need another glass."

Carter raised his cup and called to a nearby servant.

While the wedding banquet went on, a situation was quickly forming on the Eastern Border of the Kingdom.

...................

A large rock crashed into the walls of the Eastern Valley Fortress. The reinforced stone cracked and shot debris at soldiers on the wall, most were left with light injuries, while three died on the spot.

"Someone get on those fucking catapults and return fire!"

Commander Belmond roared his commands as he looked over the ramparts, the Diavol weren't stupid, they sent a few small squads to scale the surrounding mountains, and a few messengers were caught and tortured, after learning they were going to ask for reinforcements, the Diavol stopped being cautious and assaulted the Fortress. Currently, 2000 Diavol soldiers were attacking the fort, while the others were making preparations, they decided to siege in waves. 2000 attack, while the other 8000 rest. Such a tactic didn't offer those in the fortress much respite.

"AAAAAAAAARRRGH!"

One of the three giants yelled as it slowly moved toward the fortress. Dozens of arrows and boulders fired onto the walls in a steady rain.

"Lieutenant Commander, get oil in the moat for fuck's sake!"

Commander Belmond yelled as he manned a massive ballista. Veins appeared on his neck as he lifted the 150 pound bolt and loaded it by himself.

"I'm on it, Commander!"

The Lt. Commander responded as he ran to the Fortress steps and descended to the lower levels. With a loud snapping sound, the bolt fired from the Ballista flew towards the single Giant and bore into its shoulder.

"AAAAAARGH!"

The Giant recoiled backward from the pain and nearly fell. The formation of 1000 archers didn't falter as they continued to rain down on the fortress periodically. Large wooden shield-like barricades sheltered the soldiers from the relentless arrows, but not everyone could be so lucky as nearly a dozen soldiers were the recipients of the arrow rain. If things couldn't get, any worse 2 siege towers were assembled and were being pushed toward the fortress.

"Load the explosive jars and fire the fucking catapults you bastards! So help me, Gods, if any of you fucking miss! You better show those fucking assholes what you're made of!"

Commander Belmond nearly turned red with his vigorous screaming, his temperament served to inspire some of the soldiers, they knew the Commander was usually lax when it came to Fortress rules, but he had a hot temper. Although his verbal abuse never transcended into physical, and he even knew some of the soldiers personally.

"On it commander!"

A few men responded in tandem. They waited for the rain of arrows to finish before running to a nearby Catapult covered with a tarp. One of the men pulled the tarp off, while another assisted with prepping it. Two others moved into the fortress before returning with a large circular sh