“You can’t fight them. They have nerve gas and anti-magic artillery.” one of the witches cried, desperate hope her tone but not her words.
Wolfe walked over and gave her a hug, then patted her head. “I’ve been out here killing them since the day they arrived. My friends and I have taken out dozens of supply convoys and reinforcement columns.”
“You’re the Snow Demon. We thought it was a myth they used to hide a resistance army after the villages fell.” The witch breathed in shocked realization when Wolfe’s words sank in.
“I know I’m impressive, but I’m not quite mythical. At least not yet. So what do you say, will you all join me? Or should I free you and let you leave for wherever you like?”
“We will fight. We’re all proud soldiers of Myrrh.” Another witch in the group declared in a steady voice.
“Myrrh Coven? What are you doing this far east, and how did you end up prisoners?” Wolfe asked in shock.
“We came to reinforce Sylvan. We brought a thousand soldiers with us to start, but we got split up. The mundane army isn’t trying to conquer Sylvan. They’re trying to loot it.
Coven Command suspects that they wanted to take the Fortress City so they could regain witches for themselves now that the mines and oil fields in their region are drying up. Liberating the human population in the villages was their official cover for the invasion, but we weren’t forcing them to stay in the first place. This is their home.
But their advance isn’t happening fast enough to be sustainable. They’re starving and beginning to lose the war, so they’ve begun to raid the treatment camps for prisoners.”
That explained the sudden increase in witches in the vicinity. The Den was right in the middle of the easiest way back through the mountains, and the mundane army was retreating. While that was concerning and highly dangerous, it was also very convenient. They wouldn’t have to send groups on multiple day-long missions if the mundane army was coming right to them.
Wolfe grabbed his radio to send a message. [Snowman to Danger Floof. The humans are bringing us gift-wrapped presents. We need an Easter egg hunt before they all freeze. Tell our friends I will reward them for any that they bring back to me.]
Then he informed Stephanie directly. [Tell the others that the witches in the area are most likely being held prisoner, and the humans are trying to run away with them.]
There was a short pause, and then Stephanie’s happy voice sounded in his head. [They understand. They’ve split into four teams with lots of guns, and they’ve got a map of known human army groups from the locals.]
[I’ll take this region and collect all the witches that I can. The humans want magic users back in their nations because they are running out of resources.]
The sound of fast-moving vehicles disturbed the lingering silence as the convoy that the guards had called for came into sight. They were kicking up a lot of snow and making a huge racket in their hurry to get the prisoners to safety, but under normal circumstances, a patrol group from the villages wouldn’t engage a convoy that large.
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“Don’t blow up the vehicles. Half of them already have witches in them. They’ve been picking up all the groups I was looking for this morning. I will target the ones that only have soldiers.” Wolfe told the group while the servants began rummaging through the corpses for keys to free the prisoners.
“There we are; I’ve found the keys. Line up, and we will get you free. Just stay down for now, and we will deal with the convoy.” Mio told the prisoners.
“I’m going to block the sensation of my mana use from you all so that I can use an array at full strength. Without your help, it won’t be enough to do this cleanly.” Wolfe warned his Servants and began to prepare a [Gravity Array] to target only humans like the one that he had made at the airstrip.
Only this one would be much larger and more intense. Ten times gravity had pinned them to the ground, but fifty times should totally incapacitate them.
Wolfe waited while the trucks skidded to a stop, and guards jumped out with rifles to grab the witches that he had just rescued, then he activated the Array. The humans hit the ground instantly, and a horn began to blare as the driver of one truck was forcibly pressed into the steering wheel.
The witches didn’t hesitate when they realized that a spell was restraining the guards and quickly finished off the soldiers guarding their trucks, then freed themselves from their manacles.
“Who do we have to thank for this opportunity?” One of the witches asked the girls from the first group that Wolfe rescued.
“The Snow Demon. Apparently, he’s with the Sylvan Army.” The girl replied with a smile.
“Ladies, welcome. I will offer you the same opportunity that I offered these fine young witches. A chance to get vengeance on the mundane army and thwart their attempts to take prisoners to make up for their dwindling resources.”
“You really think you can do that?” An older woman in a Myrrh Coven formal uniform with a lot of shiny bits and medals on it asked skeptically.
“I should have prepared a speech, but I didn’t think there were so many of you when I left home this morning. I’ve taken out more than a few supply convoys while working alone, and the members of my team can do the same.
Once we cure the damage that you have suffered from the nerve gas, you will be able to take them out even in five witch squads. My goal is to prevent the mundane army from leaving the area or getting any more supplies.” He explained.
“In that case, we are with you. They’ve gone crazy, and we can’t let them enslave an entire Coven to make up for their shortsighted ideals. Do you have a safe place?”
“We do. It’s being expanded right now for additional guests. The witches will lead you there. Who knows how to drive a truck?”
There were plenty of volunteers among the soldiers, and they managed to squeeze everyone into the available trucks after making sure the humans were really dead.
“Don’t throw out the supplies. We need them. If you see anything edible on the way, hunt it and bring it back to the den. I’ll go look for more groups now that we know what’s going on.” Wolfe ordered.
“Is it safe to go alone?” Mio asked as Wolfe looked at his map for more potential prisoners.
“I’ll be fine. But there are a lot of new people with nerve damage, and they’ll need all of you if they’re attacked. Leave the trucks out front. We will have to build a garage later.”
Mio smiled at him. “This is great. We’ve got a whole unit again, and they just need to heal. Good luck, and we will see you soon.”
