The Great Warlock War - Bakugo x OC Femreader

Chapter 65: Ships on the horizon

Ida had been sent to the northern outpost with a few men from the main troops, they had been tasked with alerting the king at the first sign of enemy movement. So, he'd spent the last two nights keeping watch from the outpost's main tower.

From his position he could just make out the shoreline of Fuyu Island and somewhere beyond that was Deika city, the last settlement under the rule of King Endeavour, though it had been left to the city mayor to govern since the fall of the ice dragons. Ida didn't agree with the king's decision to leave the northern people to fend for themselves after the last war, and he couldn't help but think that was most likely the cause of this conflict to begin with.

He yawned and shivered as the first light of dawn peaked over the horizon sending glittering rays of orange over the surface of the ocean. He blinked and rubbed his eyes; he was sure they were playing tricks on him, but what he saw didn't appear to be a figment of his imagination. A fleet of ships was approaching from the west. They were flying barbarian colours, each ship decorated with flags of various tribal crests, the most notable of which was that of the Bakugo Clan which depicted a red dragon with its wings outstretched.

He signaled for someone to take his place before heading down the wooden ladder to find his commanding officer. "Sir! A fleet of Barbarian ships is approaching the coast. Permission to head a team to meet them."

"Permission granted. They should be on our side, but don't let your guard down. The Bakugo queen might be trustworthy, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the tribal leaders."

"Yes Sir." Ida nodded and left to gather a group of men.

Once they were ready, he mounted his horse and led the party out of the fortress gates. The ships weren't aiming for the harbor, they were heading into an old cove a way to the west of the base. The frost coated grass crunched under his horse's hoofs and his breaths escaped in a heavy mist. It was still so cold this far north; very few people ventured beyond the lonely mountains, and other than the northern outpost, there were only one or two small hamlets nearby, all of which had been evacuated to Hosu city by order of the king.

He steered his steed down the overgrown path to the cove in the cliffs. The land was steep and rocky, it had been decades since this cove had been used as a harbor. The western outpost was now the main northern port and the king's naval fleet, when at home, were split between the northern outpost and the main port at the capital's harbor. Yet here and there were remnants of its last use during the great war with the ice dragons. A wrecked ship that had been abandoned long ago was caught on the jagged rocks at one end of the small beach and various slats of driftwood from its cargo littered the sand and surrounding grassland.

The barbarian ships had made anchor and a few smaller vessels were heading towards the shore. Ida dismounted and stood waiting for the boats to make land. The first boat to run up into the sand brought a hulking barbarian man with fierce eyes and long tusk like teeth. He stepped out of the boat, leaving his men to drag it away from the water's edge. He strode over to Ida with intimidating confidence. Behind him, in the second boat to arrive, was another person who he assumed must be a tribal leader. He was a much younger man with thick dark hair and a green cloak, he followed after the first man who waited 'till he and the other tribal chiefs were gathered before speaking to the knight.

"You're with the king's army." He grunted. It wasn't a question, it was a statement and Ida wasn't sure how best to respond to such a blunt introduction, but the barbarian continued saving him the need. "Has the enemy arrived yet?"

"No, not yet. What should I call you? My name is Sir Tenya Ida, it's nice to meet yo-"

"Introductions are unnecessary, just lead us to the battle." The brute dismissed him and turned to the men behind him, ordering them to offload the supplies quickly and prepare to head out.

Ida didn't know how to react, but the younger man who had come up second, stepped forward. "Don't mind Vlad, his people skills are a bit lacking. I'm Yo Shindo, head of the Shindo tribe. We've also brought allies from the dragon kingdom who were willing to help. Why don't you give us an update on the situation?" He held out his hand for Ida to shake, who took it gladly and started explaining the location of the main troops and the proposed strategy outlined by the king as they headed back towards the outpost fortress.

Ida and the king's envoy took the lead on horseback, leading the new arrivals out of the cove and along the coastline. He had just finished updating Shindo on the king's plan when one of the men behind them yelled and pointed out across the sea. Ida and the tribe leaders stopped and looked across the open ocean. A giant purple dome seemed to be engulfing the edge of Fuyu Island like a huge dark cloud.

"What is that?" Shindo asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good." Ida replied. "We should hurry."

He sent a messenger on ahead to the outpost and Shindo and Vlad commanded their forces to pick up the pace. When they reached the fortress gates, the messenger was returning.

"Sir Ida! The anomaly on Fuyu Island, we believe it was a portal. A similar darkness appeared south of here at the same moment."

"A portal!? But one that big would require an immense amount of magic to conjure... Is the enemy really that powerful?"

"It doesn't matter how strong they are, we will destroy them." Vlad King shouted. He turned to face south and without any more discussion commanded their forces to march to battle.

Ida turned back to the messenger, "I'll head down with the barbarians, send ravens to the king and commander and let them know the enemy is on the move and that we are in pursuit."

The messenger nodded and headed back inside. Ida turned and urged his horse to catch up with the tribe leaders. A few dragons had taken to the sky and were soaring overhead. 

This was it; the war had begun.