The water below him had long taken a red hue, parts of corpses floated silently to the surface. Gashes of brutal teeth marks glared out of the mottled green scaly outer skin of the creatures as the boat slowly cruised forward.

"You know, I thought that you would be more hurried in your approach to the d.a.m.n nest seeing as your precious crew are held hostage there." Tiamat drawled out, the original elegance that had surrounded him had long since dissipated revealing his interior sleazy persona.

"I would have too. But I trust Terrick. This is more a show of force than a rescue mission, if it was me alone then I would have gone in quick and brutal. With the cavalry however, I am more inclined to slowly drive them insane with fear.

I shall not kill a single person, I shall merely walk into their city, spit on all that they swore to protect and walk out. This shall be a message. This shall be one of the first bits of evidence to the world of the price of touching my crew.

I shall make them feel so controlled that it shall drive them insane." He said. Even the sea king s.h.i.+vered slightly at his tone, the man was not strong but still Tiamat's instincts screamed for him to get serious. He was in the presence of a predator.

With a simple look at his surroundings he gave a nod to the sea kings one either side, there was a lot of preparation that went into looking like a presentable representation of death after all..

*****

Bruma sighed softly as he looked over the carelessly strewn papers before him. He had gotten into quite a heated strategizing session with his brigand leaders, and even after combining the minds of three of the most brilliant minds of the wing, he was still unsure of his plans functionality.

The air had gotten much thicker than it was in the beginning, everyone was on edge. The soldiers wore grim looks, staring menacingly at the coming wave no doubt, compensating for the fear that they felt.

The brigand leaders had given their men speeches in the hopes that it would motivate them. But there was only so much motivation that could be given in a situation like now.

"Wing leader, the wave has entered the proximity of the nest, should we give the command for the frontlines to make a move?" the information officer called out, a snail in his hands.

"Ho, so the general finally got the priesthood's approval to engage the Yuda patrons? Fine send the first wave in. " He said, thankful that the divide that existed between the priesthood and the army still had not devolved to a state where one would have to harangue the other for something.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the water in front of the outer gate began to froth. Pale silhouettes could be made out below the inky water's surface as a horde of Yuda began to swim out of the nest.

This could be considered the final defense of the island so as to speak. Since the island itself was built on a Yuda nest, the nest would respond to any invasion that occurred to the land above it. Usually however, this would only ever take place if the vanguard were to collapse.

Suddenly the water parted as the most anxious of the young serpents leapt forward. Its body coasted clear o the water carrying it forward with a level of intensity that could only ever be displayed by a desperate predator.

Behind the first serpent another one could be seen, almost as if it had bitten onto the tale of the first.

At this point Bruma had still hoped. He had hoped that the serpents would be able to deal with the wave of enemies that had appeared. His hopes however, crashed almost instantly.

As soon as the first serpent came into the boats proximity the water before it split apart. With the below of water a opened maw arose, chomping onto serpents sides before dragging it forcefully into the water.

There had been no thras.h.i.+ng. No fighting, just an instantaneous death.

As if invigorated by the first of the dire beasts, the rest of the sea kings began to move. Still an almost lazy leisure accompanied their movements, though their eyes had curved into a savage light that gleamed hungrily.

The water below churned uneasily as Bruma s.h.i.+vered. The tropic condition of the island suddenly falling into a frigid crawl reeking of blood and gore. The huge sea king that had incapacitated the first of the Yuda surfaced calmly. The serpent still hung dead from its closed maw as a trail of blood dripped downward, the creatures blue mustache like body structure taking a sickening purple.

With a loud below it raced towards the huddled ma.s.s of Yuda, jumping into the mob of creatures and biting at anything and everything that it could get its jagged teeth on.

The intelligence operative had never seen such a scene of contained brutality before. His mouth hung open as the snail lay limply at its side, the creature already fainted from the shock of it all.

Within a matter of seconds the wave of serpents that they had been so proud of had been disa.s.sembled. Bruma felt a level of shame for ever considering these creatures as a means of somehow taking down the wave of monsters before him.

With a heavy heart he pulled his hands to his mouth and with the loudest voice that he had ever used screamed.

" MEN, WE GO TO WAR!!!!"

********

The eye in the room glanced around hungrily. His eyes shot around red like blood.

It glanced to the left, where oftentimes its food lay tied. It glanced to the right, where many times before it had had the satisfaction of seeing the sniveling wreck of it prey.

Then, it glanced to the center, where none but a solitary figure lay bowed and praying.

Psh, it had no need for the cattle's prayer. It wanted its food. It wanted its prey, and yet it faced only a small child that could probably fit through the gap between its fangs!

'Food, where was its prey?

Where was the delectable scent of fear in the air?

FOOD!' The eye was furious!

As it glared darkly at the small cattle that kneeled before it, its rage could only spiral higher.

'You summon me! YOU drag me out of my sweat o' sweat sleep, and you don't give me FOOD?! Then it is time to eat the cattle..'

The eye closed eerily as it reined in its hunger, from the side of the walls a thin strip of skin floated inward, touching the little cattle's head.

'Only a simply turn and I will be feed, NO! This shall not sAtIsFy me..' and so it touched her head gently, at the tip of its tongue a putrid purple fruit.

"EaT!"

**********

The midget general could not help but shudder lightly as the voice of the left wing leader blared through the speakers of the transponder snail before him. Over the past few minutes he had been quite literally bellowing through the d.a.m.n thing.

When he had just begun to believe that the thing had malfunctioned, he had heard the voice of his onetime superior.

Others may not have heard it. They might have considered it a chant of glory, a final riling cry before the army engaged. But, he had heard it, the desperate undertones in the man's voice and he was afraid.

Fear bubbled through his desperate body as he felt a crus.h.i.+ng sensation. 'They were not going to win..'

A part of him hoped that there would come a message of some death in the conflict, for that would mean that at least now the enemy had been forced to take his army seriously. At least now, the island could know that all of its efforts in grooming its soldiers, all its efforts in protecting its own would be somewhat valued.

But it was not to be, for as soon as the roar of battle came through the mic of his transponder snail he was seized with a sudden fear.

A cold feeling came through from his back, a feeling of a knife drawing blood, then no more.

Merla gasped inaudibly as she stared down at the body below her, she could not know what seized her then, what forced her to stab the man that lay bleeding out on the floor.

The only thing that kept her from curling up beside him was her belief. Her belief of superiority. A belief that had been strengthened by a never before felt rush that shot through her system. With a deranged grin she glanced loosely at the bloodied snail in the man's hands.

Her lord had gifted her strength. Her lord had given her purpose, he had given her a part of his divinity, and she would do nothing if not to extend his divine words to the heathenistic sc.u.m outside…