Ignacy found Elzada in front of the wall. The wolf hag stood on a pile of crates, barking orders and coordinating several maintenance teams. Her pack also hurried up, carrying supplies inside the bastions. The wall surrounding Houstad was a technological marvel, far from the single monolithic structure it appeared to be from the outside. Its interior was honeycombed, creating a labyrinth of compartments containing barracks, generator rooms, defensive installations, medical and prison facilities. Secret passageways opened easily in the heat of battle, releasing soldiers for a clever counterattack or unleashing a deadly New Breed to claim the head of an enemy commander. Whole sections moved around freely, sparing the most valuable compartments from destruction.
Tanks and APCs already filled the narrow tunnels, and walkers created from the samples of Techno-Queen's machines loomed over them, making it impossible for the supply trucks to bring in additional ammunition, energy cells, or repair parts; so troops rushed back and forth, adding to the surplus of supplies by emptying the storages.
The rumble of a mountain range of machinery reached his ears. Gears grinded, pistons thundered, elevators carried defenders to their positions, and generators activated with a hiss. On any other day, Ignacy would've made every effort to sneak in and at least admire this feat of engineering, or at best, try to learn a little or be of any help. Or maybe he would have spent his time admiring the lone Iternian VTOL at the airport and talking to its crew. But not today. He had a more important goal.
A Wolfkin nearly dropped the crate, the size of a modest cusack, on his leg, and Ignacy helped the man regain his balance, holding the grenades alongside him until a scout arrived. He slapped his paw on the knee and turned, sensing Elzada's eyes at his nape. She somersaulted off the crate, landing gracefully with her arms outstretched, then scowled at the pain in her stomach, her magnificent amber eyes shining with a mixture of concern and anger.
"I love you," Ignacy said, and the bonfire of anger vanished. The two of them embraced, forgetting for a selfish moment the world, their pain, the friends they had lost, and every worry. Nothing existed but them, and the Wolfkins and Normies nearby redoubled their efforts, grinning at the scene. "Are you going to fight today?" Ignacy whispered.
"No," Elzada answered. She bit him lightly on the neck, and he responded in kind, drawing blood and tearing meat. By tasting flesh and vitae, they sealed the soulmate pact in front of everyone, and until death separated them, the two became part of a greater whole. "Half of my pack is either dead, and the rest are wounded or too young. They may hate me, but I have accepted the warlord's order. We will escort the refugees to Stormfiend and then to the Wastes to…" A cheeky smile flashed across her lips. "… breed a new generation. Up to the task?"
"Always wanted to see the place." He took her under the arm, teasing Elzada. "And in good company. I heard Stormfiend's spires are incredible. Pity I am more interested in other things than exploring them." He returned the smile. "Are you okay?"
"Nervous," Elzada sighed. "But I enjoy being a mother. Time to gift siblings to our boy."
Horns blared warnings, and the two tensed, looking up to see the crimson light appearing on the plates of the radar arrays. Laser beams struck, bringing in the cacophony of a titanic blow from the outside that didn't overload but tore through the force fields capable of withstanding nuclear strikes. The hiss of burning logs, the explosion of ammunition silos, the opening of fissures during an earthquake, and the billowing of the fiercest sandstorm were in this wailing. Purple lightnings flashed in the sky above as the shield reformed itself and the batteries answered, shaking the very ground.
"DEVOUR THE WORLD!" The words, accompanied by the boastful laughter, crept in, echoing off the buildings in Houstad and reverberating in the eardrums.
Fears for Marco's safety and worry over Elzada almost paralyzed Ignacy; he pulled his beloved after himself, and they walked away on the shaking legs. Panic spread around them; the haughty battle cry brought the promise of utter devastation and pointless death to all who opposed a literal god stalking the ground. This paper barricade won't hold us! Thundered in the laughter. Nothing can save you! Clouds of smoke coated the outer side of the shield, shrouding Houstad in darkness.
Then his fears were washed away by a distant, faint, yet so familiar howl that shook everyone present. Its sound ripped through the Wolfkins, energizing the wounded and the healthy alike, absorbing their despair. Even the Normies blinked, shaking at the nightmare. The howl did not call for slaughter or shame for cowardice. Nor did it summon armies to battle.
A promise that everything had not been in vain sounded in that call, bringing Ignacy memories of Dad and Mom purchasing an entire cake to celebrate the New Year, and how no squabbles occurred that night, and how Mom insisted they eat the chocolate off the cake before it melted away. He imagined a paw on his shoulder and even said the name.
Along the way, they encountered an Ice Fang; the knight-captain held a paw to his head, his eyes wide open and the mouth agape as he drooled unsightly. Instinctively, Ignacy reached for the man, and he felt a presence pass from him and Elzada, who held him by the shoulder, to the white-furred, and he imagined seeing two titanic bodies reflected in the crimson eyes. It couldn't be them; the two had the fur of the purest snow, and their eyes shone brighter than plasma.
"The Holy Trinity." The Ice Fang gasped and straightened up. "It is restored," he said, awestruck.
"We are not holy," Elzada giggled, full of unexpected joy. "We're, like, the opposite of anything holy." She tapped her metal leg. "And don't flatter yourself, ice boy; you are not divine either. Survive, traitor."
"Same to you, kin."
Bogdan's laughter resonated in the howl, competing with Dad's encouragement and Mom's love. Death approached Houstad, and life answered it, stubbornly refusing to kowtow or disappear. And the Wolf Tribe howled, mocking and teasing the hordemen, inviting them to set foot near the gates, their fears forgotten. Ignacy, Elzada, and the knight-captain added their voices to it and darted in different directions, as if slapped by a mother irritated by their procrastination.
The Butcher Maiden answered with her own promise. The sun will shine.
****
Janine raised her snout to the smoke-filled sky and howled, answering the call. An urge kept shaking her body. She could almost taste the Spirits permeating the very foundation of Houstad and driving the Tribe into action. Janine wanted to kill. No, wanting wasn't sufficient. She needed to kill someone, and she needed to do it now.
Mother and daughter charged across the streets, parting ways, and Chak's clanking legs trailed after Anissa, carrying him along the buildings' walls. The Inevitable activated its engines, firing the first volley above the walls, and the trucks carrying the wounded hurried to leave the battlefield. Rivers of amber-eyed figures filled the streets, heading in perfect unison to their assigned positions, the deafening cacophony of their battle cries answering the booming laughter.
Alpha overtook Janine, saying nothing, and leapt thirty meters into the air, continuing running on the rooftops to not step on her kin. Onyxia, wreathed in the shadows, appeared briefly in a window alongside Anji, and nodded once. Janine's HUD activated, and she instructed her unit to reinforce the defensive posts. Jacomie obeyed, and Reaper entered the sewers, creeping toward the ambush point.
Even through the preparations to repel the assault, the packs found time to say their farewells. Impatient One met Elzada and Ignacy on her way and gave them both a quick blessing. Wolf hags selected to participate in the defense good-naturedly roasted several wolf hags responsible for protecting the citizens, promising to solve any grievances in the future dominations. Kalaisa's own cameras showed Janine the wolf hag standing in the crawler's shadow, addressing her pack as they prepared to leave Houstad.
"I won't be asking forgiveness for my misdeeds. Don't deserve one," Kalaisa said plainly. "I was a shitty leader, a terrible sister, and a worthless human being. But I can fight to buy you time. To give my family a ghost of a chance at happiness, and to spend my life securing my pack's retreat. This much I can do. Lead the pack well and try to forget me," she asked her sister.
"Should we wish you a good death?" the scout asked sarcastically.
"Pretend like you never existed?" the brother added.
"Is that how it should end?" Kirk's shaking voice joined theirs as he struggled to look at his older sister. Unable to bear the fear, the male concentrated on his legs and clenched his fists. "What, you die and we'll be sorry and forgive you, K… sister? Screw that! Live! You don't get to get off the hook so easily! Never forget what you've done! Want to atone?! Keep on being a better person! The dead can't make amends. A dead sister is worth nothing but grief!"
"Grief…" Kalaisa repeated, Kalaisa repeated, and Janine switched the HUD's view and saw the woman smile. "Thank you. I know I didn't earn it, but thank you so much. The future exists."
"Concentrate on today, dumbass!" her sister advised. "Let your claws breathe, shoot, explode, and kill. Hurt them!"
"Don't worry about that bit, sister. I itch to fill the graves," Kalaisa growled, and her brother hugged her, her sister patted her, and Kirk stood aside, breathing heavily. Then they parted, the siblings escorting the armored trucks, and their wolf hag raced to join the ambushers. Ygrite assigned Kalaisa to one of the safer places, desiring to preserve the future warlord. Short of anything impossible, she will survive.
Safe challenges, kin. Janine wished to her.
And throughout the city, the scene repeated itself in countless variations. Old grudges were forgotten, forgiven, or cast to the wayside; the Wolfkins exchanged heartfelt apologies and hugs, wishing each other survival. Rivalries erupted over who would claim the biggest tally, and the Tribe marched merrily to war. Thoughts of death vanished from their eyes. Even Janine didn't think about it. A colossal weight had been kicked off her heart, and the faint, barely audible call brought her hope.
It isn't over. Let the Horde come.
And come they did.
A wall of flame rose to the west, its tongue licking the very clouds. Scanners and cameras bypassed the heat, and drones swooped down, showing an orderly host of infantry and vehicles advancing, shaking the ground with the thunder of tens of thousands of armored boots and the wailing of numerous engines. Hoverbikes flanked the host, their riders ready to charge the second the wall was breached. Mechanical, arrow-shaped flying transports danced above, waiting for an opportunity. For now, they focused on taking out the drones, cutting them in half with bursts of small-caliber weaponry.
Iron Lord led from the front, riding calmly between two mobile shield carriers, Slavetaker and Widowmaker, at his side. New plates were welded to his body, metallic tendrils writhed at his back, and the cannons on his shoulders shifted constantly, searching for targets. He replaced the destroyed glaive with a similar one and pointed it at the defenders in a silent promise.