*Crack!*
The brittle branch gave way beneath a careless boot, the sound sharp as a snapped bone in the otherwise quiet forest causing several heads turned instinctively.
"Watch your step, men," Stahl ,once a farmer boy now promoted to the rank of section commander, whispered, his voice low but firm as he glanced back at his men. "The trees are not our enemies, no need to warn them we're here."
One of the younger soldiers muttered under his breath in response, "If the trees grows limbs and start fighting us, I'm transferring to city guard!"
A stifled snort came from somewhere in the sprase line of men.
"Shut it, sleepyhead" another whispered. "You can't even stand guard duty for a few hours without falling asleep!"
They moved carefully between the tall pines, jackboots sinking softly into the needle-covered forest floor, as sunlight filtered through the canopy in thin golden shafts, covers thier white uniform in shifting patterns of light and shadow.
Ahead of Stahl, Elena thier commander, moved with measured steps, one hand holding a battle-rapier. Her posture was steady, as she ready herself to command her troops. Two scouts fanned out slightly before her, rifles angled forward, shoulders straight, gaze sharp.
Behind him, one soldier adjusted the strap of the morse-code signal backpack, whispering to his partner, "If this thing explodes, I'm blaming the lord."
"It won't explode... probably." the operator replied quietly.
"Probably?"
"Quiet!" Stahl warned softly, though the corner of his mouth twitched.
Despite the tension, the men carried themselves with the easy familiarity of those who had drilled together for weeks and shared jokes in whispers barely louder than breath.
Fortunate for them, the forest absorbed most of it and not the enemy.... at least not yet.
But in that moment, Elena suddenly raised her fist.
The troops halted all at once in response.
Conversations died mid-breath, as everyone are now on guard.
Elena crouched slightly, studying the ground ahead. The undergrowth thinned subtly. The pine needles were disturbed. A faint scent of smoke lingered in the air.
She made two quick hand signals.
Spread.
Slow.
Stahl mirrored the gestures down the line. The entire company of infantry fanned out, spacing widening instinctively as thier boots pressed softly into the earth below.
A scout ahead lowered himself near a tree trunk and pointed subtly.
Beyond the next line of pines, through gaps in the trunks, crude shapes could be seen.
Fur tents, Rough wooden racks and still-lit campfire.
Elena's expression hardened, as they had reached the outskirts of the enemy's territory.
No more jokes.
No more branches snapping.
As Stahl hold his breath and one hundred soldiers stay still waiting for the next command, the signal code were sent out to coordinate the formation with other company of men led by John.
-----
Under the shadow of the thick fur tent that was once home to the family of the beastman chieftain of the Hundred Leopards Tribe, a lone ginormous snow leopard beastwoman sat alone in a depressing state. She wore white fur clothing decorated with many precious stones. Beneath her was a rug made of wolf fur and moose leather. Beside her sat her little daughter, who was munching on the last of their meat stockpile.
Her fluffy snow leopard ears twitched as they caught the snapping sound of a small stick far away in the pinewoods on the southern edge of their half-abandoned camp. A signal of an intruder in their territory.
Both her mate and her only son had gone out to fight in the land of humans. Both had died there, leaving her and her daughter behind in this cruel world.
She took a deep breath before commanding her weary yet tall body to stand, her face filled with determination. It was probably either the Albino Goblin tribes, the Frost Kobold clans, or the Snow Fox tribes seeking independence or tribute.
Since her mate, her son, and most of the fighting-age men of the tribe had already passed away, the responsibility of leadership now fell upon her. She knew better than anyone that accepting their demands and living in peace would be wiser. All these raids and wars had left them with nothing but misery.
As she stepped out of her tent, the sight before her was appalling.
The weak.
The wounded.
The malnourished.
They lay scattered throughout their miserable settlement of tents, weakened by disease, wounded from battles with rival beastmen tribes, and starved because most of their hunters had died in pointless wars and petty revenge.
She walked through the settlement until she reached her tribe's shaman's tent and entered without greeting or permission. She had long since fallen out with their shamanic faith in the bestial gods, which had failed to protect either her mate or her son.
Inside, the tent was dark and oppressive, thick with the smell of animal blood, bone marrow, and entrails. Animalistic talismans and bone-carved statues of various bestial gods surrounded the interior.
"Could I?" she asked, her blue-gray catlike eyes staring into the darkness before her.
"Yes. Please come in, Chieftess," the elderly snow leopard man in a black fur cloak replied. He sat amidst the shadows.
She stepped inside quickly. The air felt heavy with unease. The enemy could arrive at any moment.
"The invaders are coming."
"Your ears sensed it?"
"Yes."
"As expected from that person's mate," the shaman said as he cast a pair of carved bones onto the ground.
"What are you doing?" she asked, her expression perplexed.
"Clairvoyance for you. Is that not why you came?" he answered quickly, his cataract-clouded eyes fixed on the bones as though he had already known.
"Yes… but—
She didn't even finish speaking before the shaman continued in his shaky voice.
"The Lion, whose claws are made of steel, is coming from the south. And the false kin of the dragon, whose eyes never shut since your husband died, are coming from the north."
As he spoke, he slowly lifted his gaze toward her. The white fur marked with black spots along her arms bristled in fear.
"Two separate tribes are coming?" she asked in rising panic.
The shaman nodded, his face showing only dark despair, as if their gods had truly abandoned them. She believed that already, ever since their losses last winter.
With that response, she quickly ran out of the tent to prepare for the attack. She began gathering everyone into a single defensible area and collecting anything of value so she could offer tribute to the invaders, hoping they might spare the tribe instead of slaughtering them all.
-----
"What the hell are they even doing?" Elena quitely swore, her sharp, ruby-like eyes gazing through the bronze binoculars, another tool Victor had granted to all officers as observation equipment.
What she saw was a group of wounded, weak, and malnourished beastmen huddled together in a single area, while the only somewhat strong-looking beastman there, a woman, hurriedly gathered bundles of fine furs, precious stones, and other valuables into one large pile.
"Do they know we're coming and are trying to bribe us away?" she wondered.
She then gave a hand signal for everyone to hold position as she recalled the objectives of the operation, which are:
1. Test out the new weapon.
2. Get real combat experience.
3. Make everyone inside this forest fear our new weapon.
And caveats are, cause as little loss of men and resources as possible and only kill those who refuse to surrender.
If those were the objectives, she would be more than happy to simply show up in a small group, fire a few shots into random trees to demonstrate the rifle's power, accept the bribe, and withdraw. If they resisted, she would just shoot a few live targets until they were fearful enough to surrender their tribute.
No loss, Minimal ammo expenditure, Got a lot of treasure in return.
With that in mind, she whispered her plan to the signaler, instructing him to send a message to the other company to remain on hold. As she was about to practice some "Auftragstaktik"
All the while, unaware of the fact that another force of dragon-kin was approaching from the opposite side of the settlement… thinking pretty much the same thing as she.