>>6283108
>NAME: A'NUN 'VILEBEARD' ZYTREC II
>TITLE: The Bloodied (Demonology, Quality Minions and Strong Rituals)
>Gather/Summon an army and prepare for a Siege. Hopefully we can get a good bargain.

>>6283108
>Vilebeard
>The Mystic (Arcane, Jack of all trades option)
>Gather/Summon an army and prepare for a Siege.

>>6283108
>Vilebeard
>The Mystic (Arcane, Jack of all trades option)
>Just start lobbing spells over the walls for a few days then demand they surrender and make you ruler.

>>6283108
>Vilebeard
>The Mystic (Arcane, Jack of all trades option)
>Gather/Summon an army and prepare for a Siege.

>>6283111
>>6283113
>>6283143
>>6283158

You are Vilebeard, The Mystic! You are the mighty wielder of ARCANE MAGIC! You will see this world fucking bow down and grovel to you!

Every proper EVIL RULER needs an army! Unfortunately, you've not got many minions running around- you've got the token homunculi here and there, and the obligatory goons, but nothing proper army-like.

You spend the next few weeks recruiting the mongrel races (You know, harpies, goblins, orcs, the like,) nearby your tower, some by flattering words, some by offering loot, some by vaporizing their original tribe leader and threatening to do the same to the rest, as well as summoning a small horde of Arcane elementals. They're not the best in melee or most durable, but they're decent at lobbing magic bolts at the peons that defy you, and are decently intelligent and actually loyal.

Over the course of around 2 months, you've shitstompoed most of the mongrel and wild races near your tower and have assembled a rag-tag army, and have completed the construction of a Battering ram and a few siege ladders and towers.

Unfortunately, your conquering spree has not gone unnoticed, and when you arrive, the garrison has manned the walls and prepared for war, with a good chunk of the guard outside to meet you in open combat and prevent the siege machines from reaching the walls.

You order your legions forth, the collection of tribal warriors and summoned elementals surging forth in an wild charge. Annoyingly, the fucking guard do not buck and crumble like they should, but are quite clearly losing, even if they're killing many of your army in return, and the towers from the walls keep firing wildly upon your army, increasing your losses.

>Join the fray, killing anyone who looks important by lancing their head with a bolt of carefully aimed magic.
>Hurl bombs of arcane energy at the towers to cease their pitiful attempts at archery!
>Rain destruction upon the feeble forces of good fighting your army! Annihilate them like the specks they are so that your mighty warmachines may ravage their precious defenses!
>Bah! You will conserve your mighty magic for the true fight in the city, this fight shall simply weed out the weak amongst your warriors!
>write in

>6283162
Thread Theme:
https://youtu.be/jX5MX1ScY9c
>Rain destruction upon the feeble forces of good fighting your army! Annihilate them like the specks they are so that your mighty warmachines may ravage their precious defenses!
I figure we might as well show off for our minions. Best case scenario we get Bowser-Tier Loyalty out of them. Worst case they learn not to betray us

>>6283162
>Hurl bombs of arcane energy at the towers to cease their pitiful attempts at archery!

>>6283162
>Bah! You will conserve your mighty magic for the true fight in the city, this fight shall simply weed out the weak amongst your warriors!

Rolled 2 (1d3)

These meddlesome insects will cease their barrage of pointy sticks at once! You take aim and a swarm of purple orbs erupt from the ground, careening through the air and exploding upon the ramparts. The hail of arrows lessens as the defenders are blown to bits and others scramble for cover. You see a few unlucky sods fall from the wall as their section of the wall crumbles, careening head over heels, screaming all the all until they fall.

A few opportunistic harpies use this as a chance to dive-bomb the ramparts without fear of being shot out of the sky, further ruining the chance for them to launch another hail of arrows, though some overestimate themselves and are cut down in melee combat.

Your army takes the upper hand in the main engagement, your ranged troops no longer splitting their focus between the walls archers and the guard in front of them.

Your Battering Ram is in the thick of the fighting, and is moving frustratingly slow as the defenders cluster around it, desperate to stop it from reaching the gates. However, your siege towers are now advancing rapidly, the wall's defenders not able to shoot nearly as effectively.

>Begin destroying the defenders who dare try and impede your Battering ram.
>Continue firing upon the ramparts to further hasten the siege tower's advance.
>Use a spell to conjure an massive arcane hand to FORCE the ram through the melee- you'll crush your men, but theirs as well!
>Command your elementals to ignore the enemy and focus on pushing the ram.
>write in

>>6283205
>Use a spell to conjure an massive arcane hand to FORCE the ram through the melee- you'll crush your men, but theirs as well!
Hell yeah

>>6283205
>Use a spell to conjure an massive arcane hand to FORCE the ram through the melee- you'll crush your men, but theirs as well!

>>6283205
>Continue firing upon the ramparts to further hasten the siege tower's advance.
No need to focus on the ram when the towers work just as well
Hell, if we’re going to capture the city instead of raze it this way might be preferable

>>6283205
>>Use a spell to conjure an massive arcane hand to FORCE the ram through the melee- you'll crush your men, but theirs as well!

>>6283205
>Continue firing upon the ramparts to further hasten the siege tower's advance.

Incompetents and Slackjaws the lot of them! You chant, and a giant purple claw manifests above you, and rapidly flies towards the battering ram. It grips the hastily constructed warmachine and shoves it with great force.

It carves a path through the fight, crushing and flattening both your allies and the meddlesome guard. More guard than your army, but plenty on both sides. The sudden crushing path of the machine decisively turns the battle outside the walls in your favor, the guard splitting itself in two to try and stop your Ram's advance and other to fight the remaining horde, both getting cut down with their reduced numbers. The battering ram reaches the gates and mercilessly pounds them until they break.

Both retreating defenders and attackers flow into the city. As you make your way into the city, you note that a good chunk of your army has split off for wanton destruction and raiding according to their instincts- they are causing some defenders to break off to try and deal with them, and no doubt it's taking a shit all over their morale- you saw some orcs chopping down people running out of a burning building and chortling about it, but it's hampering your army's effectiveness against the main blocks of resistance blocking the way to the central palace in the city.

>Leave your minions to deal with the defenders and make your way to the palace yourself
>Take some time to find some more competent looking minions and order for them to protect you and make your way to the palace
>Make an example of those that have run off to fulfill their petty desires by killing them- they aren't helping anyways.
>write in

>>6283471
>>Leave your minions to deal with the defenders and make your way to the palace yourself

>>6283471
>Leave your minions to deal with the defenders and make your way to the palace yourself

>>6283471
>Take some time to find some more competent looking minions and order for them to protect you and make your way to the palace

Your goal is the conquest of this city, plain and simple, and you want to get it done FAST.

You make your way across the city, killing those that get in the way, but trouble yourself with little else- you run into a few squads of those that seem to have been tasked with hunting for you, but a few guardsmen who have never seen real combat are no real threat to you. Still, they slow you down a little, and when you get to the front of the palace, a "welcoming party" has been prepared for you.

A large group of soldiers in stylized white armor, led by a tall green-haired man with two swords, and.. ugh, an ABJURATION mage in white robes. These must be what passes for the elite guard in this city. You're pretty sure these are the commanders of the army- most ruling nobles in this part of the land tend to be shit at anything resembling real fighting instead of pissy 1 on duel saber duels where you just tap people with dull blades.

The green-haired one starts yakking on with a long speech about how you're a piece of shit and how he's going to ram your head up your ass. Or something about peace and justice and protecting innocents, you don't really care. You cut him off by trying to cut off his head with a disc of magical might, but the white-robed wizard raises his hands while chanting and your spell fizzles out, and the soldiers, lead by the mosshead, charge forth.

Ugh, this is going to be annoying.

>Fire off an overwhelming barrage of low-level spells to try and make the enemy wizard slip up.
>Put all your might into a large spell as fast as you can- the shit-wizard might not expect you to go full throttle so fast and even if he does manage to block, he'll surely be exhausted!
>Conjure a projection of yourself to command your minions to get their asses over here and help you already!
>write in

>>6283644
>Fire off an overwhelming barrage of low-level spells to try and make the enemy wizard slip up.

>>6283644
>Conjure a projection of yourself to command your minions to get their asses over here and help you already!

>>6283644
>>Fire off an overwhelming barrage of low-level spells to try and make the enemy wizard slip up.

>>6283644
>Realize that im doing all this because I am an incel and turn myself In To the authorities

>>6283644
>Fire off an overwhelming barrage of low-level spells to try and make the enemy wizard slip up.
Damn we shoulda gathered some minions

You spam-cast the ever reliable magic missle in an unending stream. The charge momentarily falters as the soldiers balk at the sudden blizzard of magical bolts, but the green haired man roars and re-rallies the charge. The wizard hesitates for a moment, wasting his energy on trying to counter the barrage of spells, but then closes their eyes and begins chanting a spell to enchant the armor of the soldiers.

While many of your bolts simply ping off the enchanted armor, some slip through the visors, or simply hit the faces of those that have only equipped armored caps. A few drop dead instantly, while others simply stumble, injured, but still alive. The group charges through the hail of bolts, reaching ever closer as more of them fall.

>Continue the barrage, they shall fall in this futile charge!
>Take the opportunity to smite the wizard with a lance of purple lighting as he's distracted!
>Who says wizards are weak in melee!? MAGICAL WIZARD DEATH BLADE, GO!
>write in

>>6284110
>Take the opportunity to smite the wizard with a lance of purple lighting as he's distracted!

>>6284110
>Take the opportunity to smite the wizard with a lance of purple lighting as he's distracted!
Fucking Abjurors, they're almost as bad as regular jurors.

>>6284110
>Take the opportunity to smite the wizard with a lance of purple lighting as he's distracted!

You grin as you cease your casting of magic missile- you clasp your hands together, extending your arms straight, and as the soldiers surge forth, a flash of violet lightning arcs from your hands and lances the abjuration wizard in the chest. He realizes too late your strategy, and lets out a scream as he crumples to the ground, and the enchantments rippling across the armor cease. You're... at least 65% sure he's not actually dead. Abjuration wizards tend to have a bunch of bullshit cast on themselves before they enter battle, but he's at least out of the battle for a good while as he lies there, smoldering and twitching.

As the first man closes into range, you are able to punch through his chestplate with a simple lance of energy now that they are no longer protected by magic, but they fall upon you, but you are forced to dodge and scramble, conjuring minor shields to deflect blows and flinging sprays of arcane needles when you can in the melee.

The green-haired man is the most annoying- he is either incredibly brave and determined, or incredibly fucking stupid to the point where he can't feel pain. He constantly presses the attack, and often dodges your close-range spells simply because you didn't think anyone with a working brain would try and keep attacking in his situation instead of dodging.

You aren't winning by any means, but you aren't losing, either.

>Release a magical explosion to push away the swarm of enemies.
>Apply your advanced intellect to adapt to the green-haired man's tactics and whittle him into a fine paste of dead meat.
>MAGICAL WIZARD DEATH BLADE, GO!
>Expend a large portion of your energy to quick-summon a few elementals behind the soldiers and get them to fire in their backs
>write in

>>6284314
>MAGICAL WIZARD DEATH BLADE, GO!
We've held ourselves back for long enough, nyeheheheh

>>6284314
>Release a magical explosion to push away the swarm of enemies.
Explosion!

>>6284314
>Apply your advanced intellect to adapt to the green-haired man's tactics and whittle him into a fine paste of dead meat.

>>6284314
>Shout at the top of your lungs that non of this had to happen if a women accepted you advances instead of choosing a martial over you.

>>6284314
>Apply your advanced intellect to adapt to the green-haired man's tactics and whittle him into a fine paste of dead meat.

>>6284314
>Release a magical explosion to push away the swarm of enemies.

The green hair knight isn't explosion resistant. So this deals with two problems at once.

Rolled 2 (1d2)

Screw this clusterfuck, you're going to make some breathing room by making some fucking corpses!

You duck under a pitiful swipe by the green-haired captain, and chant the words of power. A ripple of lines spreads into a giant circle made of purple light filled with arcane symbols with you in the center. The soldiers barely have time to react as a wall of arcane energy erupts from the center, throwing them away like rotten tomatoes aimed at a pillory.

Many of them simply drop dead, but a few struggle to get up- and you put an end to that as you launch of precise barrage of lasers to all of them still crawling on the ground. Suddenly, you a sword careens through the air- you evaporate it before it reaches you, of course, but it appears the green haired captain did that fucking thing where he had one last badass moment before fainting while still standing up without you noticing.

You raise your hand to blow off the head of the green-haired captain, but scowl as a shield ripples around the captain. Great, ab-fuck is back up, though he's bleeding. However, before you can start pounding away at the pitiful barrier, the wizard speaks.

"W-wait! We surrender!"
You scoff at his offer- without a proper commander, your disorganized rabble should win eventually regardless.
He continues
"If you spare us, we'll order our men to stand down- less of yours will die that way!"

Ugh. The wizard seems like a sensible one (as sensible as someone who specialized in fucking ABJURATION can be- just be a fucking cleric, man.) but the green-haired one is no doubt going to be a bitch to keep around as a prisoner. Absolutely is going to try for one of those shitty prison breaks where he gathers a cavalcade of characters and one of them dies holding off the guards mid-way in a emotional moment. Disgusting.

Well, your goal is to conquer the world rather than blow it up- at least for now, maybe establishing that you accept surrender and speed up your conquests in the future?

>accept the offer.
>accept the offer, then kill them after they've sent the message.
>"Nah. I want a wizard duel." *Blast him.*
>write in

>>6284690
>>accept the offer.
>"However, you," *point at wizard* "Are in for a wizard's duel when you heal. I want to know if there's even ONE abjurer who actually is worth the title of wizard!"

Which will inevitably end up as this, when he counters all of our spells and doesn't have anything offensive of his own: https://youtu.be/VV0A4gOJFlM?si=Et8qaW3PLSZZzVKV

>>6284692
+1

>>6284690
>accept the offer

>>6284690
>"Nah. I want a wizard duel." *Blast him.

"Our men" are a monstrous savge horde we press ganged from the local region, and promissed loot and bloodshed. If we start to run low we can just go around other regions grabbing more.

>>6284690
>accept the offer
Though if we know anything to enslave these bastards let's do it. Less emotional sacrifices in the dungeons that way and some of them might make useful cards to play.

>>6284690
>accept the offer.
But execute green later

You stroke your (Vile)beard and think it over.

Well, it's not like you're particularly attached to any of your "men" you recruited, and you can just summon more elementals, given time, but having to slow your momentum to build your army is a pain in the ass and might bite you in the ass eventually.

However, you fucking HATE ABJURERS.
"Fine."
The Abjurer looks visibly relived, but pales as you follow up.
"However, you, are in for a wizard's duel when you heal. I want to know if there's even ONE abjurer who actually is worth the title of wizard!"

It's not like Abjuration itself is a distasteful school of magic- it's just fucking asinine to specialize in it! His reaction is proof enough! What the hell is the point of learning all those counterspells and shields and enchantments when all it means is that you depend on some other chump to do all the actual fighting and all you can do is stall once shit hits the fan!? A proper wizard in their position would relish the idea of a chance to kill you! JUST BE A CLERIC AT THAT POINT!

He grimaces, but accepts. You both send out instructions for your men to stand the fuck down (one of you having to threaten to start blowing off heads if they don't cut their shit) and eventually, the leaders of the city are chucked into the dungeon, and you sit on the... well, it's not a throne, those are for kings and emperors, this was a governor...

Bah! you're going to rule over the land anyways, so it IS a throne now!

So... what now? You have a somewhat proper base of operations now- your dark tower was luxurious, but not really fit for a base to set up conquest. The monster hordes and tribes will have no doubt heard of your victory and will begin to flock under your banner, but news of your conquest will slowly spread as well. However, some interrogation in your spare time reveals that everyone expected some orc warboss was gathering up the tribes again, so they didn't send out any messages indicating that a badass evil wizard was going to kick their asses and they needed help.

Currently, you've chucked most of the former inhabitants of the city into prisons and shit, and your army has just kind of been trashing the city and welcoming new arrivals.

>try to establish an actual chain of command beyond you threatening to start disintegrating people if shit doesn't get done
>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest so your warriors can use weapons that aren't pieces of scavenged shit
>momentum is key- wait a bare minimum amount of time before preparing for the next target
>write in

>>6285150
>>try to establish an actual chain of command beyond you threatening to start disintegrating people if shit doesn't get done
We can't overextend. Chain of command, 'employ' the population, then move on once we have the process shaken out.

>>6285150
>try to establish an actual chain of command beyond you threatening to start disintegrating people if shit doesn't get done

>>6285150
>>try to establish an actual chain of command beyond you threatening to start disintegrating people if shit doesn't get done

An actual chain of command is needed at some point, and you suppose you might as well set it up now- even if your army all perishes like shitters, it'll at least give you some insight into how to manage this shit.

As far as you're concerned, the first order of business is to set up a proper right-hand to take care of shit and hold down the fort whenever you're not available to deal with any problems that crop up because you're no doubt tackling even greater, more urgent problems. After a brief scrying of your army, and perusing what counts as battle reports for the unorganized mob you've used to overthrew this city you've seen a few candidates that seem suitable for the position.

The first is a Gnoll Matriarch that was surprisingly tactical and cunning during the siege- her tribe took few casualties, and set to looting the best weapons and armor they could the minute the instructions were sent out. Has spent the downtime torturing the former citizens in various ways.

The second is a bear beast-kin that rampaged his way across the enemy lines, destroying and crushing all in his way. An unambiguously impressive warrior. However, he seems to not actually command any other beastkin or allies, and is just a lone warrior that happened to join up with you.

The third is a goblin shaman that seems to have sway over most of the lesser greenfolk in your army. You remember he was one of the few tribal leaders that were smart enough to see the writing on the wall when you appeared before them and joined indecently hastily. Knows a surprising bit of necromancy- nowhere near a wizard even half your strength, but somewhat impressive, nonetheless.

You should probably meet them in person first even if you're dead-set on one- just to double check, of course.
>call up the gnoll
>Call up the bear-kin
>call up the goblin
Of course, these are hardly the image of a perfect right hand, perhaps you could
>spend more time searching for more options.
Or even
>these are all fucking terrible- you'll just MAKE a right hand man! ...Will take a bit more time though.

>>6285312
>call up the gnoll

>>6285312
>call up the gnoll

>>6285312
>>call up the gnoll

We can probably make use of all three of them, though the bearkin is probably the least immediately useful; we don't know if he's a good leader and he would probably need training to be anything more than a figurehead or rallying point. The goblin, as a necromancer, would probably work well for logistics and support.

>>6285312
>call up the gnoll

You decide the Gnoll is the most promising option.

As you get some of your toadies to seek them and bring them to you, you consider the qualities needed for them to be useful.

In short, they needed to be able to hold themselves in a fight, be good at tactics, loyal, and inspire loyalty or enforce loyalty through terror.
Also, whatever group they belong to will inevitably be seen as favored by you and increase in number.

You quickly recall the knowledge you have on gnoll society- it’s kind of a fucking mess. While they aren’t inherently matriarchal and their Demon-God is male, it’s considered a sign of weakness or an outright bad omen for a pack to not have a female in a high-up position.

As such, less likely there will be any large morale issues over a gnoll woman taking the reigns in the non-gnolls, and even if there are, you can probably just set up a few duels (which may or may not be mildly rigged) and have them publicly slaughtered to shut up dissenters.

However, gnolls are incredibly violent and most will demand a steady supply of non-gnolls to kill, as their standing with their god is directly related to the amount of them they’ve slaughtered in life, the ones who achieve enough kills becoming his war-masters and/or harem-wives in the afterlife. Only those long-lived and those who have already killed many, many victims will not spend their downtime torturing and killing captives. Holding territory might be an issue with them if you want the original population alive.

They are good trackers, packs of hyenas follow large gatherings of them, and they have warlocks as their tribal casters. Also, they have a tendency to speak in the third person.


Finally, the gnoll Matriarch arrives. They are lean, powerfully built, and have a chainmail shirt they have undoubtedly looted from the defenders of the city, as well as blades clearly not made by traditional gnoll means.

They sniff the air for a few moments, looking at the surroundings, before clumsily kneeling at your feet.

“What has Lootsfang done to be summoned, Foully Bearded One?”

…Well, that’s better than the time someone called you Violent Bun.

“I’ve decided a need for a second-in-command, and I’ve determined you to be one of several promising candidates.”

Well, three is hardly several, but it’s best to not let those under you get a big head about them being an elite chosen or something.

Her eyes shine with greed and bloodlust, and her kneel gets a little deeper.

You begin going over the necessary qualities

Tactics

“Lootsfang is best-smartest in the mountains! Other tribes all get ambushed and killed by Lootsfang, and barely any packmates die in them! and Lootsfang knows to pick-grab best loot, not like some other tribes that refuse to use anything but bones and stones! Lootsfang’s tribe killed many stupid smoothskins during siege battle too!”
So, pretty damn good for a tribe leader in some bumfuck mountains- no, just pretty good in general- tribal warfare is generally high losses on both sides, so her lack of real losses indicates real talent.

Combat

“Lootsfang fight smart! Fight dirty! Kick dirt into enemy eye! Punch the dangle-bits! Scream about gut-ripping their loved ones! Never stop chopping!”

While all mongrel tribe leaders need to be strong to not get shat on, you suspect that her confidence is due to being soft carried by her better equipment and most people she’s faced not being used to/trained against such dirty tactics.

Loyalty/dealing with dissenters

“Lootsfang is loved-worshipped by own tribe for helping kill-murder many! Lootsfang beat-punish and kill-murder and gut-rip anyone that whine for nonsense reasons and feed rest of pack their body, but give second-best pick of loot to those who whine for good reasons lootsfang did not know about and fight good- first-best pick goes to lootsfang, of course!”

…Actually pretty good. Knows that you can’t just punish, you need rewards, and doesn’t hop straight to killing.

Well, she’s obviously eager for the position, so no need to ask if she actually wants the position- sometimes an unwanted promotion can be as bad as a harsh flogging. You’ve heard the tale of a master cook who went mad and killed the king and half his royal court with poison, screaming about how he wanted to go back to roasting sausages and grilling hamburgers instead of catering to nobles exotic and decadent tastes.

>Make lootsfang your second in command
>dismiss her and call in the Goblin
>dismiss her and call in the Beast-kin
>write in

>>6285760
>Make Lootsfang your second in command
Good enough for me! Let's get back to our WIZARDLY ambitions!

>>6285760
>Make lootsfang your second in command

File: 75dff74f86aae8a0c587a8068(...).jpg (157 KB, 850x869)

157 KB JPG

FUCKSHIT I FORGOT TO POST THE PICTURE!!!

>>6285760
>dismiss her and call in the Goblin
She seems good, but we'd have to listen to her talk like that aaaalll the tiiiime. Ugh. Nope.

>>6285760
>dismiss her and call in the Goblin
She has potential but better check more than one candidate

>>6285760
>dismiss her and call in the Goblin
Better get to know everyone before we make a decision.

You wave away the previous candidate, and they leave the castle to do whatever the fuck they were doing before.

Goblins, the sniveling, cowardly cousins of the Orcs. There’s a saying that says an Orc tribe at least has the decency to give your village a fighting chance, a goblin tribe will shit in your wells, ransom your children, and then burn down the village in the middle of the night- or at the very least, they’ll try their darndest to do all that. They reproduce like rabbits, and are somehow even more hated than the Orcs in many places. A race of cunning, cowardly, sneaky opportunists.

A notable recent development in goblinkind is that “civilized goblins” begun thoroughly despising their “wild” goblin brethren, as the wild ones have adopted the tactic of pretending to be a civilized goblin in order to sneak into towns to nick shit and slit throats, making their lives even harder.

The goblin necromancer arrives rather quickly- having obviously dropped whatever he was doing to get here as fast as possible.

He forcefully slams his entire face into the ground in what you think is supposed to be a reverential bow.

“Oh, great and mighty Vilebeard, what might your humble servant do for you today?”

Oh great, a suck-up. Sure, it’s nice having someone around to stroke your ego and is too scared to ever step out of line because they think you’re all seeing (you’re getting there, but not quite yet), but then they start covering up news that they think is bad, yes-manning terrible decisions, and it kind of spirals from there.

“I am considering implementing a second-in-command. You are one of several candidates, and I will examine if you are fit for the position. Give me your name first.”

He grins for a second, then suddenly turns very pale green but recovers, and babbles out something nigh-incomprehensible about it being a great honor.

“Er, my name is Beardo, Boss!”

You start reviewing his qualities.

File: Capture Beard.png (1.06 MB, 819x981)

1.06 MB PNG

Tactics

“Er- make sure your boys don’t shoot the other boys, stick the big ones with a spear, run over the ones without a spear with something big of your own, and- oh right! Send in the dead ones first cause you can just cobble em back together again unless the enemy is proper smashy. If I gets lucky, I don’t even have to send in the living ones, so I make sure to make as many as I canz, oh great vilebeard sir.”

A child who pays attention during their grandpa's war stories knows this much. At the very least, no delusions of grandeur of being some unstoppable green tide you’ve heard of in some other greenskins. However from what you are able to coax out of him, he is able to raise a surprisingly large number of undead- he would be one of those that would be favored from the start as a natural talent in magic if he was born as a less maligned species.

Combat

“Er- I stands in the back, and I chuck spells? Er, Sorry, oh Vilebeard, but uh, ever since I started raising the dead, which was quite a whiles back, I’ve not really needed to fight- the enemy either dies before they reach me or I runs away before they reach me. Used to be good at mud-wrestlin’ if dat’s relevant?”

Well, it’s not like you were expecting something impressive, but that’s really bad. At least he knows when to run, you suppose, and summon enough undead he's managed to get away with such piss-poor skills for long enough to have a beard.


Loyalty

“Uhhhhhhh…”
He is truly slack-jawed at this question.
“Well, uhs, well, I never had too much trouble with my boys cuz they knew if they clobbered me they wouldn’t have the dead ones to take the slashings and the stabbings for them no more, but uh, if I was yer second in kermand, wouldn’t everything I do be like, wotsit called- In-dorsaled by you? Who’d be stupid enough to defy yer words, oh great mighty bearded one?”

At the very least, you’ve weaseled out how likely he is to make a power-play for your position- about as good of a chance a snowball has in the palace of the firelords. He is so genuinely fearful of your power you’ve inflicted what some might call "permanent psychological damage” on him.

Maybe you should have caught onto that when he has been in the faceplant of a bow for the entire conversation and seems terrified to move.

As to as if he wants the position- you can tell he likes the idea of being important enough that you can’t kill him on a whim, but isn’t too jazzed about being the one responsible if something happens that pisses you off. -Of course, that means he’ll work extra hard at being a good right hand.

>make beardo your second-in command
>call lootsfang back and make her your second in-command
>get the bearkin over and see what he’s like
>write in

>>6285964
Yeah, no. A second has to have at least some initiative.

>get the bearkin over and see what he’s like

Though if our choice gives thecandidate's faction favor, and he has no faction... What does that mean?

>>6285964
Hmm... I'm not liking the look of this goblin. A cowardly simpleton whose only redeeming quality is that he's a decent necromancer.

>get the bearkin over and see what he’s like

If we've already gotten two, we should get a look at all three.

>>6285964
>>get the bearkin over and see what he’s like
Might as well at this point

>>6285964
>get the bearkin over and see what he’s like
Definitely not second in command material, we need someone willing to give us bad news.
His necromancy skills could still be useful elsewhere

>>6285963
>A notable recent development in goblinkind is that “civilized goblins” begun thoroughly despising their “wild” goblin brethren, as the wild ones have adopted the tactic of pretending to be a civilized goblin in order to sneak into towns to nick shit and slit throats, making their lives even harder.
Rings a bell.
>>6285964
>get the bearkin over and see what he’s like

>>6285964
> get the bearkin over and see what he’s like
Better get to know everyone.
Personal plan is Lootsfang for 2IC, Beardo for logistics, and the bear as a shocktroop vanguard leading beardo's undead.

>>6286148
We might want someone watching Beardo to make sure we're getting accurate information. His yes man tendencies make him a little unreliable in most places as we need accurate reports. We can't have him glossing over mistakes or telling us what he thinks we want to hear. So we either assign him under someone else or give him a lieutenant that will report directly to us the reality of whatever we put him in charge of.

>>6286280
it's easy to pit one goblin against another.

You wave away the previous candidate, and they leave the castle to do whatever the fuck they were doing before.

You recall what you know about Beast-kin. They are one of the in-between races of the world, you’re just as likely to see one working away at paperwork in some merchant city, and one covered in tribal tattoos raiding a fishing village.

Generally speaking, the more bestial they are, the more likely they are to be the latter. They don’t really have a defined culture or religion unlike some other races, though most of them respect nature a bit more than the average race owing to their heritage and have an ability to stomach food most “civilized” races do, resulting in many of them being wildsmen and hunters.

While they are accepted within wild tribes, they are generally mistrusted due to their half-nature. However, the opposite does not apply within “polite” society, surprisingly.

The warrior is extremely tall and bestial, more like a speaking animal than a humanoid. He is wearing rough, rugged wicked armor, and has an impressive blade.

Instead of kneeling, he stands straight, with his blade unsheathed and tip against the ground, resting his hands on the hilt. Technically respectful, you suppose.

“Why have you called me here, Caster?”

Well, he either doesn’t respect your authority, or doesn’t know how to show authority- neither of which are great. First indicates, well, a lack of respect, second might cause some shitheads to start getting ideas.

“I am pondering if a second-in-command is a good idea- and am seeing if you, out of several candidates, are suitable. First, your name.”

He sniffs the air for a moment. Not really reacting before slightly bowing his head.

“I am Moon-eye. Forgive me, I thought you already knew who I was.”

Normally that would be an insult, but you get the sense that if he wanted to insult you, he’d simply begin spouting off every foul word he knew and how they applied to you and your mother instead of something so roundabout.

Anyways, time to check if he's a fraud or not.

Tactics

“...I know where I should go to cause the most damage at least, and some basic things, like choke-points, and ambushes, but I don’t need em myself. Wouldn’t consider myself an expert by any means. I’m a mercenary, more used to being ordered around than giving them.”

Apparently, he was under contract of a kobold tribe that you recruited forcibly, and most of them died in the battle. He generally has a passable sense of tactics, but nothing particularly standout.

Combat

“I live for a proper battle, and a good meal afterwards. I have sold my services for many years, and many who normally turn up their nose at Beast-kin have set aside their principles for my services. Also, I have something special to me. Watch.”

He takes his sword, and he suddenly cuts off his own hand with barely a hint of pain. A few seconds later, the stump burbles and gushes with a strange silvery liquid, and his hand regrows, the old one slowly melting away into the same foul-smelling silvery ichor that came out of the stump.

“I sold my eye” he taps his blind eye “to the Moon to be able to heal like that. Hence my name.”

Well, you have no idea what the fuck that means, but that’s mighty impressive. Normally, someone with a skill like this would be well known, but since he apparently hires himself out solely looking for food, drink, and battle, he’s taken a lot of jobs in bumfuck nowhere.

“...My old name was blackpaw, if that matters.”
Good lord, how unoriginal.

Loyalty

“...Promise loot, drink, and food, and failing that, I’ll simply make an example of the dissenters. I’ll send any particularly difficult cases to you.”

Incredibly basic- pretty much what you’re doing now. Still, having him be the “first line” of punishment will probably make you seem your punishments to be scarier and less desirable in comparison.

As for if he wants the position- well, he appears to be a less extreme example of Beardo- he’s fully aware you can do whatever the hell you like to him, but if you had to say… he doesn’t seem to care either way, but he seems to dislike the idea of having to stay back and give orders in battles.

Picking him probably won’t affect the standings of the factions in your ranks too much, at least for now- there are currently no real significant gatherings of Beast-kin in your ranks, and even then, beast-kin only tend to group up with the same type of animal-kin. You might attract more mercenaries if his reputation is good enough? You get the sense he has no idea how well known he actually is, just that he assumed you would know since you lived in the same mountains as some insignificant kobold tribe you were keeping an eye on them.

>make Moon-eye your second in command
>Make Lootsfang your second in command
>make Beardo your second in command
>write in

>>6286422
>Make Lootsfang your second in command
Least bad option, and making a replacement will insult all of them by making them realize we consider them unworthy.

>>6286422
>>Make Lootsfang your second in command

As far as Mooneye and Beardo go... Mooneye might make a good team captain for some more elite warriors should we attract enough. Beardo can fit any number of roles but logistics and fortifications would be a good fit should we find a suitable lieutenant to keep him in check (perhaps per >>6286321)

>>6286422
>Make Lootsfang your second in command

>>6286422
This guy is decent but not as competent as the gnoll for our needs.

>Make Lootsfang your second in command

Moon-Eye and Beardo definitely warrant keeping track of, though. The bear in particular I think could make a fine assassin or adventurer for us.

>>6286422
>Make Lootsfang your second in command

Right, you've seen enough. Beardo and Mooneye aren't worthless and may be suited to other positions, but you'll have to keep tabs on them for sure, check if their rejection breeds any resentment. You doubt it- if anything, Lootsfang seemed the most likely to kick up a fuss if she wasn't chosen.

You call Lootsfang in, and inform her of her new position, as well as her new responsibilities. You half-regret it when she reacted to the news by howling loud enough to make your tinnitus return for a moment.

The... Knighting? Inauguration? Whatever it is, goes pretty well. You get up on a stage in what was the city center, announce that Lootsfang's authority is now second only to yours, and no one seems to take issue with it- at least not enough to start shit with you right there.

Of course, you can't be truly hands off- you spend a moderate amount of time explaining to Lootsfang more "grand scale" tactics, who/what you constitue too important to kill if they mouth off without your permission (currently, only Beardo and Moon-eye) and some other things as well.

A few weeks later, Lootsfang has attracted a considerable amount of Gnolls to the fallen city, and has begun implementing her tactics and doctrines in the assorted rabble. While some have grumbled about her "Konfiskating" any loot she thinks she and her pack deserves more than others, the general quality in equipment has gone up, and she's established her authority by brutalizing particularly uncooperative tribe leaders.

However, a lot more of your prisoners have died as a result of Gnolls spending their spare time torturing and killing them- either by accident during their fun or on purpose. They've become more rowdy, and a few prison break attempts have already happened- none of them have been successful on a large scale, but at least a dozen are unaccounted for, whether it be due to your army having their way with them and you not being able to keep track, or them actually escaping, you're not sure.

No doubt word has begun to spread of Enerica falling to the hordes surrounding it, but they most likely don't know about your presence yet.

>prepare to march on your next target
>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest
>the wizard has healed- perhaps it's time for the DUEL. Though... it wouldn't be very impressive, he's barely recovered.
>write in

>>6286422
>Make Lootsfang your second in command

>>6286533
Oops.
>>6286515
>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest

>>6286515
>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest
First things first, this'll make the future war effort much easier.

>>6286515
>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest.
Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.

>>6286515
>>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest

>>6286515
>enslave the populace and force them to start setting up the military industrial complex for your conquest

>>6286515
>prepare to march on your next target
Logistics are for muggles.

>>6283166
>Thread Theme
Also, thanks for this. I saved and shared it!

Rolled 35 (1d100)

The enslavement goes... less smoothly than you hoped.

First off, your army has been fucking around and pillaging the place for a little under a month at this point, so a lot of the supply stuff has been razed or desecrated, and there are less than you expected. It appears in terms of weaponry, there were periodic shipments from the greater cities, so there aren't many forges.

Also, many Gnolls put in charge of the slaves are just looking for excuses to punish them. Good for instilling fear, bad for making sure your slaves aren't all dying way too fast to get any useful work out of them. Lootsfang has enough sense to make sure those that have obviously valuable skills (blacksmith, pickler, etc) aren't killed and targets mostly the weak and useless, but doesn't seem to quite grasp how killing someone's 95 year old father might negatively affect their ability to work.

Nevertheless, after a few weeks, the amount of weapons and food you are able to force out of what remains of the industry in the city are enough that you note a marked improvement in your forces, and your supplies should enable you to march further out if you feel like it.

Your soldiers are getting a little bit rowdy with no one to really fight. Lootsfang has managed to keep order easily so far, but the occasional brawl is becoming far less occasional.

The abjuration wizard's health has taken a sudden downturn out of nowhere, and you won't disgrace yourself by dueling THAT.

>prepare you march on your next target
>get Beardo and make him official necromancer or something.
>get Mooneye and... Do... Something with him?
>write in

>>6287776
>get Beardo and make him official necromancer or something.
Resurrect the humans Lootsfang's forces kill o do some of the toil

>write in
How's our scrying capability? If it's not great, do we have more mundane means to scout out our next target(s)?

>>6287776
>get Beardo and make him official necromancer or something.

>>6287776
>prepare you march on your next target

I'm not opposed to scrying if it's an option. I'm also not opposed to having Beardo increase his summons

You manage to find Beardo again. Your "snivelling suck-up" impression of him does not improve with how he throws himself at your feet and starts babbling about how he is not at all bitter or displeased in any way that you did not pick him to be number 2 and no doubt a lot more whinging bullshit if you had not cut him off.

You make him... "The Deadraiser" kind of a fucking shitass title, but whatever, he'd be fine with being called "snotshit" if you asked him to.

His position is... a little more difficult to cement. Generally, most races don't respect goblins- but in the end, after a few minor disintegrations, you've set up a system where a good chunk of the corpses and bones are flowing to Beardo to be reanimated.

Beardo's undead are... terrible. Even by low-tier undead standards they are dumb, slow, and weak in battle. However, there's a LOT of them, and Beardo can command them effectively enough, though they are unresponsive to absolutely everyone else- Beardo is the only one actually able to communicate with them, he can tell them to "charge when master Vilebeard raises his mighty hands" but they can only remember a few of those types of commands at a time.

After much frustration, most of them are used as mules and put to task with simple work, improving the efficiency of your production.

You decide to begin looking at your next targets. There were two targets before, but now have an additional two due to your supply lines being better.

>Anokun
A port-town. While lacking in real defences- even walls, it’s main problem is it’s reputation as a neutral ground for those of the seas. Pirates, Navymen, Bounty Hunters, Adventurers, sea-people, you name it. You’ll likely encounter strong resistance and suffer constant raids after you take it.

>Minzog
A “Wild” Orcish “settlement”. More like a huge warcamp than an actual settlement. Would make great slaves, soldiers, and failing that, killing them all would surely attract more disparate rabble.

>Hillgreen
A pretty plain, unremarkable city, save for the fact that it has the largest adventurer/bounty hunter guilds in this region. Taking it out will help stymie the flow of meddlesome unpredictable do-gooders that have no doubt already begun acting out against you.

>Minthran
A rather famous city due to it’s ruler being a Wizard, who is a total fucking tool. Glintbeard the Glorious, master of the lore of metal. Glintbeard is a fucking fraud, he has a fucking MUSTACHE, not a beard! Likely very hard to take, but will completely fuck over morale if you succeed. However, holds little else of value besides that.

Some scrying reveals that Anokun knows little about Enerica’s current status. Minzog knows Enerica fell, but not to what, but don’t really care and are generally happy they fell. Hillgreen apparently knows that Enerica fell, and that “a wizard did it.” Minthran cannot be scryed.


>March on Anokun
>March on Minzog
>March on Hillgreen
>March on Minthran
>write in

>>6287932
>March on Hillgreen
Adventurers are unpredictable.

>>6287932
>March on Hillgreen
Better to nip this shit in the bud now

>>6287932
>>Minthran
We must have a wizard dick measuring contest with someone

>>6287932
>Minzog

>>6287932
>March on Minzog

Rolled 1 (1d2)

Bah! Adventurers… You’ll be damned if you put up with them constantly harassing your forces and sending out what are basically assassins.

You call your forces forth and announce your next target. Most of them are rather enthusiastic, a few of them having been “victims” of adventuring parties. (Of course, most of them killed a bunch of peasants or something first- you don’t know why so many others labor under the delusion of not being evil, just embrace it and you’ll be a lot happier.) Lootsfang organizes a team of overseers to hold down the fort while you and your army march forth.

Beardo manages to set up a rudimentary set of signals and gestures for them to use in controlling the undead used for labor- though the fact you almost immediately see one overseer nearly get mobbed to death because he used the “COME” command does not instill confidence.

You also dig out a few scrolls of sending to use to contact you in case of emergency. After a few threats to expand eyeballs and vaporize kneecaps if they fuck up, you leave the home base to the overseers, and march out with your army.
The journey is projected to be a rather short one, and soon enough, you are within distance of the city. And then you realize what with all the setup, you forgot to actually decide how to take the city. There are broadly, two options.

>Seige
You build a few catapults and trebuchets that you fire occasionally into the city, fling a few spells each day, you set up camp, kill anyone coming in or out of the city, and wait until they’re either sufficiently weakened, surrender, or sally out themselves.

Trouble is- no doubt there will be plenty of parties eager to conduct daring raids on your camp, and this city is a central hub- there will be reinforcements coming if you take too long, regardless of how thoroughly you make sure to kill would-be visitors. In the absolute worst case scenario, arriving adventurers that have evaded your notice build up their forces into a small army, ambush you in the rear, and manage to screw up your plans badly enough that you can’t even retreat while another proper army closes in.

>Assault
You kick down the door and start killing. Obvious benefit of not having to worry about above, obvious downside of fighting a bunch of fresh, full morale adventures and their guard garrison, many of which are former adventurers all at full strength. Also, they're likely not going to expect YOU to actually be there- for some reason, you find a lot of evil fucking wizards take considerably less pleasure in killing fuckshits who ruin their day than you think they should.


>Siege
>assault
>write in

>>6289150
>Assault
These are adventurers. If we give them time to scatter into parties and start taking quests to break the siege, we're done. Best to force them into a mass combat.

>>6289150
>assault

>>6289150
>Siege
but keep a portion of non-gnolls in reserve to deal with any adventures planning to ambush you

>>6289150
>>Assault
A wizard of our level is basically a weapon of war. Blast down the walls and anyone foolish enough to challenge us directly (and any enemy wizards that pop up). If we're worried about their morale or being fresh then we just use illusions and curses to debuff the fuckers.

>>6289150
>Assault
Let's go 2-for-2 on losers. they haven't yet earned the amount of our time that a siege would entail.

FUCK subtly, FUCK sieges, and FUCK adventurers.

You have an actual army, your MIGHTY EVIL FUCKING WIZARD POWERS, you are NOT going to sit around and let them fucking farm you for loot! Look at them! Look at those sentries! They're only mildly alarmed! They look scared, but composed! Hell, that fucker with the shitty mustache practically looks eager! They clearly EXPECT a siege!

They either think you're a lazy BUM who does not relish the sensation of disintegration, or WORSE, a FRAUD that's of zero threat! After a few seconds of seething, you slam your heels into your warbeast (some weird amalgam between a bear and a wolf) and charge forward, screeching while charging up a spell to SLAM through their FEEBLE WALLS.

Your army falters for a moment, and then desperately breaks out into a charge to keep up with you. You smirk as you see the sentries freeze for a few moments and then realize that shit is hitting the fan. And by fan, you of course mean the hand-waved feather poles- you suspect more intelligent birds shit on them on purpose because they realize how people get those feathers.

A few wayward bolts and stones are lobbed toward your army and you, but the "barrage" is pathetic, and you literally do not see a single one of your men fall.

As you get within range, your spell completes, and a giant purple orb manifests above you. At first, it appears it has fallen behind you as you charge ahead of it. Then it moves, slowly forward, but it begins speeding up, until it rockets past you and it slams into the wall. It doesn't explode in the traditional magical sense, but having a giant ball of arcane imitation marble slam into walls are generally not great for the walls.

A great yell of panic and terror rises up as the orb plows through the wall like it was made of flimsy wood, hitting the ground while rolling and flattening a few buildings before it winks out and disappears.

You and your legions pour through the breach, and you busy yourself with killing whoever you can see. A elf gets their head sliced off by a glowing guillotine, a troop of men are burnt to death by a gout of pink flame. A guy trips, and is trampled by a bunch of shoddy looking undead. That one wasn't you, but it felt pertinent to mention.

There's just one problem- you have no idea what the layout of the city is. You lived close-ish to Enerica for many years, so you had a general idea- this one, you've just read about the city, and unfortunately, your tomes about it were... pretty old.

>Bah! Just keep walking deeper in and killing! You'll reach something important in time!
>Take flight, and observe the city layout... They'll probably notice you and try to blast you out of the sky though.
>Attempt to take a prisoner and force them to tell you where the leaders are.
>write in

>>6289646
>And by fan, you of course mean the hand-waved feather poles- you suspect more intelligent birds shit on them on purpose because they realize how people get those feathers.
Kek.

>Take flight, and observe the city layout... They'll probably notice you and try to blast you out of the sky though.
We can solo a couple fliers or drop rocks on some helpless flightless archers.

>>6289646
>Take flight, and observe the city layout... They'll probably notice you and try to blast you out of the sky though.

>>6289646
>Take flight, and observe the city layout... They'll probably notice you and try to blast you out of the sky though.

oh right, due to a family member getting married I may or may not post for like, ten days or something. I'll try to get out a few more updates before I leave in a few days and remember to continue this when I get back. Just letting you guys know in advance.

>>6289646
>Take flight, and observe the city layout... They'll probably notice you and try to blast you out of the sky though.
Noice, noice...

>>6289673
Congratulations to your relatives, and thank you for letting us know.

>>6289646
>>Take flight, and observe the city layout... They'll probably notice you and try to blast you out of the sky though.

>>6289673
Have fun QM. Here's to hoping any drama doesn't directly involve you and is hilarious

>>6289673
Ugh another QM decided that real life is more important than entertaining a bunch of strangers for free

>>6289646
>Bah! Just keep walking deeper in and killing! You'll reach something important in time!

You boost yourself off the ground, your robes glowing cyan- and are immediately beset by an absolute barrage of arrows, bolts, javelins, and you're pretty sure someone threw some sort of small animal at you just now.

You weave out of the way of a few barrages and throw up a shield for a few more troublesome projectiles, and you take stock of the battle. You had a great initial push with your sudden attack, and your more well-armed monster force has further thrown some rookies and mildly seasoned adventures off balance, many of them dying due to their lethal blows pinging off what is normally exposed skin, now covered with armor. Not GOOD armor, mind you, but good enough.

However, the seasoned adventurers are making a very good account of themselves, and the many clerics, druids, and what-have yous that have healing mean you're wounding, not killing- most of them are dragged off before your monsters can finish them off.

As for the city layout... it's a complete and utter mess. It is FAR larger than you anticipated, and there seems to be no commanders tents or anything.

However, there are three points of interest, a group of Barbarians acting as a anchoring point, carving through their way through many of your forces, a group of what looks like peasantry in the middle of assembling a field trebuchet for off in the distance, and a cleric on a hilltop chucking heals into the melee- surrounded by what looks like a fairly elite-ish guard of... FUCKING PALADINS.

Suddenly, the cleric notices you, and you barely have time to react as she shouts a command, and you suddenly find yourself being charged by a swarm of assorted giant animals, who emerge from several hiding places surrounding you, mounted by various riders.

>Focus on taking care of the riders
>fly off to deal with the barbarian/trebuchet/cleric
>order your archers to fire upon the riders- they're probably good enough shots to not hit you.... too much... Probably.... who are you kidding, at least the riders won't expect it.
>write in

>>6296515
>Focus on taking care of the riders

>>6296515
>order your archers to fire upon the riders- they're probably good enough shots to not hit you.... too much... Probably.... who are you kidding, at least the riders won't expect it.
then
>fly off to deal with the cleric

oh, and welcome back, QM!

Rolled 2 (1d2)

You have no time to be swatting flies!

You project a quick message to your nearest group of archers and order them to wait for your signal, and fire as many arrows into the cloud of fighters as they can. You engage in this diversion for just a bit longer, dodging bolts, arrows, and one large eagle with tattoos turns out to be a druid who tries to literally wrestle you to the ground a few times. They are well coordinated, and you are unable to pick off riders without overextending and risking injury.

Finally, the riders are thoroughly distracted from the going ons in the ground and looking away from the group of archers, and you let loose the signal.

A swarm of arrows rockets through the skies in your general direction, and you dodge a few arrows ahead of the pack and finally throw up a shield as the bulk of the mass of arrows hits the dogfight.

Many of the fighters and beasts simply drop dead- others are rendered too injured to continue flying. The remainder realize that without the advantage of mass numbers, you will be able to take care of them much more easily, and they retreat. You still shoot some in the back of their heads out of principle, but you split off to take care of the cleric.

As you fly towards the hill, the cleric and her guard turn to look at you, some of them pulling out crossbows and aiming in your direction.

>Barrage them from the skies, they've lost their aerial guard already, they shall die in a storm of sorcery!
>Summon a swarm of arcane elementals behind them, your legions will crush them!
>Cloak yourself in arcane energy, and crash down like a comet from the heavens!
>write in

>>6297062
>Cloak yourself in arcane energy, and crash down like a comet from the heavens!
Hope you all have Point-Blank Shot, fuckos!

>>6297062
>Cloak yourself in arcane energy, and crash down like a comet from the heavens!
The cleric is surrounded by paladins, which is precisely why they won't be expecting this.

You envelop yourself in as much arcane energy as possible, becoming wreathed in purple flames. A few bolts empowered with holy light ping off your armor- a bolt manages to land in your stomach, but you ignore it- your magic burns it away anyways.

Then, you rocket towards the ground. The gathering lets out a shout and attempt to throw up defenses or run away too late. You explode, taking a large chunk out of the hill.

From your smoking crater, you can see that a mere two paladins from the original dozen or so remain fit enough to fight- the cleric is still standing unfortunately, in a glowing yellow bubble. You throw a few bolts at it, but it stands strong, and she begins chanting, her eyes flaring a pure blue.

The two paladins before you have their wounds rapidly seal, and their weapons- a crossbow and a hammer, respectively, emit white fire. Their armor glows a warm, holy orange, and the bearded man with a crossbow sprouts wings of pure light, while the hammerer swells in size along with his weapons and armor lighting even more ablaze.

On the plus side, the melee near the hill is turning in your favor as the cleric is no longer focusing on supporting the general mass of fighters.

>Ignore the two fighters, rush the cleric and smash through her shield.
>Ignore the two fighters, hail down destruction upon the enemies near the hill so that your army may come and aid you.
>Focus on taking out one of the two fighters
>write in

>>6297424
>Ignore the two fighters, hail down destruction upon the enemies near the hill so that your army may come and aid you.
Just levitate out of a swordarm's reach and drown them in chaff, lmao.

>>6297424
>Ignore the two fighters, hail down destruction upon the enemies near the hill so that your army may come and aid you.

>>6297455
The levitation is a good idea, too, +1

>>6297462
>>6297424

>>6297424
>Ignore the two fighters, hail down destruction upon the enemies near the hill so that your army may come and aid you.

>>6297455
+1

>>6297455
>Focus on taking out one of the two fighters
I think this is a better idea. Our forces were already being tied up by the barbarians and the fact is, we don't know how strong this cleric is. She's unlikely to focus on anything but us for the moment, so we should focus on KILLING her two guards, then her.

The army is already winning the battle at the hill so after we've killed one fighter, turning to help them should be more viable.

Alas...