The Wolf Tribe did not attack mindlessly. Each vector of their assault was meant to take out one of the enemy’s most valuable assets, following the Ravager-ied doe of “throat cutting,” a strategy desigo reduce losses on both sides with an overwhelming show of force. Once morale is destroyed, officers are dead, and ons are secured, even the most fanatical oppos often sider surrender.

  Dragena aheir advah casual ease, directly addressing scouts and wolf hags when she deemed them advang too fast, bringing them ba lih a simple word. Through linking scouts’ visions, the warlord stantly updated the enemies’ positions, marking the most charismatic officers among the eo be eliminated and helping the scouts find safer routes of advance. Her uional voice quelled the bloodlust of the most eager packs, ensuring the safety of surrendering foes. Her keen mind directed artillery fire, limiting civilian casualties. Dragena’s leadership ehat the advang front remaieadfast, dispersing evenly to secure the valuable targets.

  Even the warlords themselves accepted being reined in by her, for the warlord enjoyed Ravager’s full support. Prior to the invasion, Dragena used drugs to loosen the prisoners’ tongues and learn the general yout of the capital, as well as the location of factories, underground bunkers, and defense instaltions. However, regardless of the drugs, the prisoners failed to disclose any information about Teo-Queen herself. Dragena had ignored offers to squeeze the answers from the prisoners by force, assuring the ahat their foe had distrusted her own officer. She theorized that the enemy leader didn’t have a single seat of power, but rather ged her location at irregur intervals.

  Janine loved this element of uainty. Janine and her pack received the task of capturing the looming tower to the city’s east.

  This tower handled unications, and there was little ce of the enemy’s leader being there… But the excitement of possible glory propelled the warlord like an adrenaline sher, Zero, or Alpha had ever executed the stro preys. What if she’s the first to join their ranks? Jahe Queen Killer, the Ruler Toppler… She imagined Martyshkina must’ve thought the same thing, judging by how pushy her pack advanced.

  A guided missile flew over the buildings, striking a pack. An explosion puhrough a male’s armor, rupturing his ans and killing the soldier. The shockwave sent Bogdan and a warrior cartwheeling into their allies’ paws. The warrior had it especially bad; her paw below an ankle disappeared.

  Impatient One howled and used the side of a building as a springboard to leap high and nd amid reloading defenders. Where Janine fought methodically, using bed and close ons to the greatest effect, Impatient Oransformed into a whirlwind of dashing violence.

  No shaman ever used ranged ons or bdes; their cws and fangs were everything they ever needed. And now the shaman’s jaws caught the screaming man, biting him in two and hungrily dev the remains while she sprinted around the guards, biseg anyone around her and furthering chaos, hurling the dead to the ground.

  Jaurhe worry over her son intth, cleaving a guard before her in two a a gust of wind forward with enough force to knock more off their feet. Wolfkins around her howled, filling the air with the songs e, and fired their own shardguns, turning the opposition into blos. Ignacy helped Bogdan to his feet, and together, the two males shot down guards who tried to fire into their sister’s back.

  “Enough,” Janine anded, stopping the shaman from butchering the guards who fell to their knees.

  With their foes broken, Drage a message for them to halt. Janine used this opportunity to assign the wounded Wolfkins to tie up the prisoners ahem back, where the Ice Boys would secure them.

  Out of curiosity, Ignacy pulled a cowl from a guard’s head, revealing a face covered by chemical burns, a pile of messy ashen hair covered with occasional bald patches, pale skin marred by the uneven, sizeable red dots, and a shell-shocked expression in her wide eyes. The woman coughed, uo cope with the pollution, prompting Anissa to pull back the cowl and give Ignacy a smack behind his head.

  “They ’t even live in their own city,” Anissa spat on the ground, fixing the prisoner’s respirator ba pce. “Breathe,” she told the guard. “Calm your heart. Your war is over, citizen.”

  “Teically, they could before, s… Wolf Hag!” Ignacy quickly corrected himself under Anissa’s gaze. “As far as we know, twenty-one years ago, people in this area lived normally, with little need fas masks. Mind you, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows; the Wastes are one of the most irradiated regions…”

  “Point, male,” Impatient One snapped. She lifted Bogdan, sniffed him over, and put him back. Then she prowled toward the wounded warrior and g the warlord. Janine nodded, monit the streets. The maimed woman tried tue, but a der her jaw quickly subdued her, and the disgruntled warrireed to return.

  Janine herself wasn’t minding Ignacy’s long expnations. Her little boy had surprisingly many iing stories to tell for someone living a hermit’s life.

  “Sure!” Ignacy saluted. “Teo-Queen came to power, and the Wastes truly lived up to their name; life expecy plummeted into oblivion…” He gestured at the trembling guard, reading information from the woman’s tag around her neck. “Take her, for example. In her early twenties, but looking like a forty-year-old, her hairline is already reg, and judging by the skin color, she has erythema. If you ask me, in ten years, this entire region would have had its popution halved at least…”

  “Neeerd!” Bogdan kicked his brother in the ass. “Who cares what might have happened? Who cares about a history? We’re here, so all will be okay. Rather than wasting your time on theorizing, embrace the practical.” He ed an arm around his brother’s shoulders and poi a scout. “Look at that beauty! Such posture, a thick waist, geous fur, ahy white cws shihrough this smog, almost making you believe them to be unleashed actally, despite a rifle… The girl clearly has the hots for you, brother. e on, go talk to her, and then make many little ones…”

  “Bogdan,” Anissa half-groaned, half-growled, anding the troops to take up the defensive positions. “Does anything other than mating ever worry you?”

  “Of course. My cubs, soulmate, family, friends…”

  “Then, if you want to keep seeing them, get to your position and keep your eyes open, or I’ll gore you before the enemy has a ce to get a shot at your inpetent hide.” Impatient One nded o her brothers and sisters, sending Anissa to the ground with an elbow hit. “Discipline! Maintain discipline, Wolf Hag! The males are too dumb to know what’s best for them, but what is your excuse? Put them to work! They have fun after the battle is won!”

  Jani Anissa in charge of the pad said a brief silent prayer for her fallen warriors before examining the tain. Satellite arrays decorated its walls, and long cables, thick as houses, supplied the superstructure with energy. The eructure reached a height of about three hundred meters, varying by a few dozeers. The surface around the tower was ft, and swirling toxic waste beh the grid created the image of a sickly moat surrounding a castle, bringing bapleasant memories of the war against Blood Graf.

  The city’s shield fell, the Wolfkins took apart its geors, and the Iable’s crew was busy sileng the remaining defenses on the wall. But paces, rge fortresses, and the biggest factories iy had their own shields that kept their walls unspoiled. e flowers bloomed in the air, and sbs of iron shells rained down, uo reach the tower. A beam of darkness ected the crawler to the baly of a pace to the west, and this time the shield gave way, uo withstand Zero’s sniper rifle. Something exploded in the pace.

  “Dragena, why did we stop?” Janine asked, strapping the energy rifle to her bad taking the Taleteller in both paws.

  She could feel the streets shaking, even if only slightly, and it wasn’t the result of an explosion. Terrific taught them how to spot the difference, regurly leading cubs to hunt the underground predators to keep Normies from harm. Something, or someone, was ing. A ripple of cracks raced through the ground, and Janine released the cws on her legs, motioning for her packs to prepare.

  “Because this is an obvious trap, sister,” Dragena replied calmly, sending an image of the city to Janine’s HUD. “Observe. We’ve almost cimed it, but we haven’t entered any steel servants or minions. There is also something else. Ravager…”

  “Blessed Mother,” Lacerated One growled over unication.

  “Ravager.” Uerred, Dragena ighe shaman’s indignation. The supreme shaman aroops were busy esc wounded captives and seg civilians on the Blessed Mother’s orders. “She feel it too. Notice the pattern in her movements. She both satiates her bloodlust on the walls and is looking for something.”

  Janine had to admit that she was right. Ongaged, anyone carrying a on became prey in the Blessed Mother’s eyes. And sidering that some New Breeds had cws or bdes for arms… Janine’s former warlord, Terrifice had her lung pierced while resg a mutant cub covered in barbed spikes frer, shouting in the divine face that the little one was not a batant. The ander khe extent of her madness, so her current pattern of movements puzzled Janine. Why is she prolonging the age? It only lead to further fury that could rise into a hellish inferno that Ravager won’t be able to suppress. What are they missing?

  Part of the answer came to her in moments. Figures burst from the toxic rivers, crashing through stone aal grates. They resembled madly twitg is; three elongated legs held their elongated bodies; six more limbs served as arms; four limbs ended in palm-sized needles; and two of the remaining limbs had crude maniputors. White lenses, serving the robots as eyes, locked at the Wolfkins, and with a g sound, their backs opeo reveal two sets of metalligs.

  These must’ve beeeel minions. The true standing army of Teo-Queen, merciless hordes to decimate her rivals. Ja them head-on, catg the first on the knob of her axe and impaling it. The creature twitched, bleeding oil and broken gears; its arms stru death throes, leaving gashes across her armor.

  Dangerous. The warlord broke through the remains with one swing of her axe, bringing her bde to the approag horde and feeding drinks of fresh stories to the Taleteller. The steel minions did not differentiate between allies and foes; one of them opehe back of a surrendered guard before poung on a nearby Wolfkin.

  Bogdan had to blo ining strike, saving one of his former foes, but he ended up exposing his neck as the limb pierced through the top of his vambrace, dragging her son off his feet. Ignacy’s shardgun barked, sendiru into the minion’s neck. The thing stumbled, and Bogdahis opportunity to kick it off himself, pushing his brother away from having his eyes sshed by another minion. The headless minion joihe intae, trying to stab the males. Two females tackled the maes, turning into balls of sshing cws and stabbing bdes. Bogdan and Ignacy stood together, firing at the robots, taking them apart limb by limb and c the warriors of their pack.

  They work well together. Janine decided, advang forward. Terrific would no doubt lead the pato a terattack, seeking to use ferocity to overe the opposition. But her mother… Terrific wasn’t here anymore. A well-positioned defense could win just as many battles as a fury could lose.

  The pack fired well-timed shots into the oning swarm, destroying foes by the dozens before they could bring their full might to the Wolfkins. Scouts threw grenades, creating an additional corrosive yer for things to pass, and Janine inhaled acid fumes, enjoying the teariion in her airways. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. A target as rge as she had attracted the swarm’s attention. Shards ricocheting off her helmet, cwed limbs scratg streams on her body, the roar of her axe swinging through the air brought her happiness. Two bots tried to creep to her feet, seeking to bisect her sinews, and the warlord kicked, skewering both.

  Several bots broke through the gunfire, carving paths through her pack. Matg males in strength, the steel minions’ bded limbs buried themselves in the chest ptes, finding their way to the hearts within with chirurgical precision. The creatures’ strikes strived for efficy; when uo firm a kill with the first attack, the steel minions aimed for joints and rubberized neck prote to incapacitate a soldier. Worse, they ighe rger Wolfkins, going after the males, seeking to exge their existence for at least one life.

  Yet there was a fw. A swarm—a true ioid swarm—worked in unison, sacrifig drones so their warriors could un attack. These bots had no cohesion in their ranks; they surged in a unified front, where their wings could’ve carried them over the building.

  “Wolf Hags, Dragena! The steel minions are individualistic! They know nothing about teamwork and go after the weakest!” Janine shouted her warning. “Wolf Hags, lure and devour!”

  Her wolf hags had small need for her order, already uanding the robot’s iions. Jaook position five paces ahead of her pack, turning in a whirlwind of steel arained rage, smashing aside the swarm to buy a brief respite for the pack. Anissa ordered the males to take positions behind the females, a potential heresy and a most unorthodox tactic, but Janine approved it at ohe warriors, scouts, and wolf hags in her pack had a much better ce of survival in this melee, and the males could provide excellent fire support. Anissa fastened her own on and lu a trying-to-stand minion, releasing her cws.

  Impatient One followed, bringing a smile to Janine’s lips. Her two precious girls fought back-to-back with a ferocity that would’ve made even Lacerated One proud… Oh, what a glorious future they have! Anissa easily swatted aside a bde aimed at her lenses and swept through the legs of a steel minion, finishing it with an elboressed the little head deep into its chest. Impatient One simply thrust, leaving a gaping hole in a steel minion who tried to fly overhead, and bit off the head of another.

  “Heresy!” Impatient One cursed at the rising headless body. She stomped it into the pavement.

  “Finally, someone worthy of killing!” roared Warlord Eled over the . Through a shared video feed, Jached as Eled’s troops also came utack, and the warlord swung her gigantic scythe, harvesting four maes and leaving a blurry ar her wake.

  “Teically, these are just maes, warlord. You destroy them, but they don’t have any life to begin with,” Ignacy corrected her, firing point-bck at a minion that tried to cw at a scout’s back.

  “Someone never met Artificer; I take it.” Alpha spat, standing oblivious to the danger in a sea of steel minions as her pack freely shot them off her. “Have anything to add other than pointless wordpy, male?”

  “As a matter of fact, I do!” Ignacy’s boast nearly painted Janine’s fur white. She’ll never let Alpha touch her boys, but it mattered little, as no warlord ever hope to beat Alpha. “These minions are able to move despite having their primary geor destroyed and are capable of navigating without the lenses on their heads.”

  “Point! Get to it before I use mio shut you up!” Impatient One searing a minion in half.

  “Every po of these robots has its o power source,” Ignacy said quickly, firing at the minions trying to reach his sisters’ legs. He sent a request, and Alpha herself approved it, letting Ignacy send photos of hissing energy cells stu the maes’ limbs to every warlord. “Probably short-lived, but this is just a theory. And their ability to operate without optics suggests some sort of hidden sensors.”

  “So don’t let uard down and smash them to bits until they stop moving, right?” asked Warlord Predaig.

  “Teically, if we kly where their trol ter was, we could’ve turhem into scraps easier, but in the field ditions, I ’t make any hypotheses in good sce. Perhaps...”

  “That’s the gist of it, yes, warlord,” Bogdan answered, stopping Ignacy’s expnations. “We are hohat you have allowed us to speak the wisdom that is no doubt already known to you.”

  “Janine, keep your males focused on the fight!” Eled ughed happily. “They make me look bad!”

  “Eh, when a male is right, he is right.” Explosions rocked the ground in front of Warlrite’s pack, preventing hundreds of steel shapes from reag her prisoners. The warlord herself, a horrible mess of cws protruding from her ned mouth, caught a half-broken robot and crushed it in her paw. “Ah, I love myself some good, well-set ambush. Especially wheurn it against the enemy. Keep on using the grenade unchers, boys; if even one of these shiny bugs gets to you, no booze tomorrow! See, this is the way to fight a war!” She cheered, warming her paws on the great pyre created by her pack. “Told you all we didn’t bring grenade unchers for nothing! Girls, join the fun; don’t be shy! Your beverage is at stake too, you know! Kaisa, keep the filth off my captives; these are our Normies now.”

  “Oh, so she is allowed the indiscriminate use of votile indiaries, but I had to listen to a lecture? Cusackshit!” Ashbringer snarled, melting a row of steel minions, taking care not to ighe toxic sludge.

  “Hold your positions, sisters.” Dragena’s voice cut through the chatter. “Eled, Predaig, the losses in your packs are uably high. Take an example from Ygrite and Janine ahe males at a safe distance.”

  “It is the males’ sacred duty to sacrifice themselves for the tribe!” Lacerated One joihe versation.

  “In times of need, holy o would be wasteful to allow casualties here,” Dragena replied dispassionately. “Martyshkina, you are far ahead; retreat. If anyone finds Onyxia, put her on the s. We haven’t yet met any steel servants…”

  “Ignacy, keep your mouth shut,” Janine asked. “Eled and Alpha are not the oo cause ruckus about being corrected, but someone like Ashbringer won’t be so le.”

  “Stop spreading snder, Janine,” Ashbringer growled. “When males have something worthwhile to say, I gracefully offer them my ear, just as I offered it to your cub’s babbling. Fine work, Ignacy.”

  “Melina, status report.” Janine deemed it best to ignore her named sister. Ashbringer might have shown some signs of mutation with her smaller fangs, silken fur, and elongated snout, but by the Spirits the woman’s cws peed deep!

  “Delivering our allies, warlord,” Melina replied in a low voice.

  “What happened?” Janine called up the health indicators of Melina’s pa her HUD. Nothing was out of the ordinary; most of her pack hadn’t even been injured. “Did Martyshkina’s wolf hag dominate you? Are you utack?”

  “No, it’s even worse, warlord,” the wolf hag answered in desperation. “There is nothing here, except useless Normies surrendering in droves. No cybs, no steel minions, nothing. We’ll never match the kill t of other packs like this. We’ll be the st!”

  “Then so be it.” The warlord shrugged, slig through a minion and stomping another. “The lives of my pack takes priority over a title. I’ll be Jahe Fameless forever if I have to. As long as we’re alive, there’s a ce, Wolf Hag Melina. A victory at the cost of a friend’s misfortune is no victory to boast of.”

  The crete shook, and a ripple of cracks ran through it. The warlord raised a paw, her pack to retreat two dozen steps at the noise of tearial and colpsing pipes.

  This is a big one. She decided, her heart rag at the sight of a colpsing stone around her. Some kind of champion, by ce? e and be crushed.