Wizard World Irregular

An army that numbered tens of thousands marched down the Cloudwall Mountains—their destination was none other than the Duchy of Morgau.

Several years ago, the Humans there had attacked the Ratmen as the latter was running from the Lizardmen of the Slarka Swamp. Since then, the Ratmen had kept their grudge bottled up.

They weren’t originally an aggressive race and were fine living in their colony. However, when bombarded with violence and brutality, even the gentlest creature would have no choice but to adapt or die as per the rule of natural selection.

Perhaps it was this sense of desperation that made several members of this pitiful race give birth to individuals with the ability to use magic.

And one among these special individuals had the vision to ensure that his race would thrive enough to be capable of seeking vengeance on those who almost pushed their race to extinction.

His name was Keznir.

And he was now the Rat King of the Pestis Empire.

When he came of age, the Deity of Pestilence spoke to him in a dream, and a contract between them was forged.

Using this power, he gave his brethren the ability to spread pestilence and corruption across the land.

Wherever a Ratmen died, that place would be corrupted, and only those born from corruption could live in it.

Keznir wanted those who had forced them to migrate to feel the same desperation they did. He wanted them to understand what it meant to be driven away from their homeland, and forced to become vagabonds, with no place to call their home.

The Human villages and towns at the base of the Cloudwall Mountains had long been abandoned.

Their residents had long moved to Major Cities, which had a defensive wall and guards protecting them.

Having already anticipated the attack from the Ratmen, they had chosen the farthest settlements to ensure their safety from the inevitable invasion that could end their lives.

Seeing that their original targets were nowhere to be found, the Ratmen continued their march, but this time, they didn’t move deeper into Human lands.

No.

They headed straight to the Slarka Swamp, which belonged to the Lizard Men.

The Ratmen hated the Humans, but the hate they felt for the latter paled in comparison to the hate they felt toward the Lizard Race, the culprit for the disruption of their peaceful lives.

The Lizard Men, aware of the Ratmen’s intention to take revenge, attempted to send messengers to the Pestis Empire in order to negotiate terms for a peace treaty.

But Keznir ignored them.

The Ratmen would no longer tolerate living under the same sky as the Lizard Men of the Slarka Swamp, so they sent their army for the kill.

The Lizard Men, who had also been anticipating the Ratmen’s advance, had created defensive moats within the swamp in an attempt to delay the Ratmen or force them into a battle of attrition.

Since they could swim quickly in water, they planned to use guerilla tactics against the Ratmen, whittling down their number and forcing them to retreat.

However, the Ratmen didn’t attack the Lizard Men without a plan.

They had come prepared.

As soon as they entered the territory of the Lizardmen, the Ratmen didn’t advance toward the settlements of the Lizard Men right away.

No. They first went to the water source of the swamp.

Upon realizing where the Ratmen were headed, the Lizard Men felt alarmed and rushed the execution of their pre-planned guerilla tactics. With it, they hoped that it would deter the enemies from reaching their destination.

However, the Ratmen were no longer the pushover race they once were.

Knowing that their enemy would attack them in the middle of their journey, they placed countless scouts in the surroundings, who would warn them if the Lizard Men were approaching.

These scouts were blessed with exceptional senses, allowing them to hear, see, and smell the approaching Lizard Men. The moment they deem it fit, they would warn the bulk of their army to prepare for a surprise attack.

When the two forces clashed, blood spilled into the swamp, dyeing it red and green, gradually mixing into brown.

No matter how many Ratmen died, none of them backed down, and all of them relentlessly massacred the enemies that were trying to get in their way.

The Ratmen who died were deliberately left alone on the ground. For their race, they would serve another purpose even in death.

“Killsss themsss!” the Commander of the Ratmen, who went by the name Kharirr, ordered. “Wipe them outssss from the face of the Slarka Swampssss!”

“You wretched Ratzzzz!” the Leader of the Ratmen Army roared. “We will kill you allzzz!”

The Ratmen and Lizardmen shouted their warcries and fought each other with savage brutality.

Their hate for each other was clear as day. One side was trying to defend their home, and the other was taking revenge for what had been done to them in the past, which made them lose their home.

Several skirmishes would continue for half a day until the Ratmen finally reached their destination.

The Ratmen had headed to their former homeland, which was right beside a massive waterfall that they formerly called Krakova Waterfall.

Upon their arrival, all of them began to dump a yellowish substance on the water of the Waterfall that flowed toward the swamp.

They intended to contaminate every water source that was connected to the waterfall, which would be a faster way to deal with the Lizardmen Race.

As the pestilence-filled water slowly spread into the swamp, the fish living in it started to stir and swim as far away from the source of the corruption as fast as possible.

This mass migration resulted in a frenzy, causing countless number of fish to jump out of the water in an attempt to escape the deadly poison that was swiftly spreading in the waters of the Slarka Swamp.

The Lizardmen also panicked, having realized what the Ratmen were trying to do.

They were trying to kill the land entirely, corrupting it and making sure that the Lizardmen would not be able to live in the Slarka Swamp ever again.

After dumping all the jugs filled to the brim with pestilence into the waterfall, the Ratmen started their advance toward the Ancestral Lands of the Lizardmen Race.

Their revenge had only just begun, and they would not stop until the Lizardmen paid for their arrogance with their lives.