It was a peaceful morning for just the moment of the Alfheim village that sat about 10 miles from Kirito's castle. It had no walls around it, just earthen barriers topped with what looked like torches for night time. It was a small village, mainly a farming community that if anyone had swayed to them would provide with some more food and money to grow with. Its roads were made of simple cobblestone as the houses were made of thatch roofs, stone bases, and wooden walls as they only had the most basic of things a family needed within them.

For any small lord, it was something that could give them an early boost in the game to help expand and as Kirito marched his small force towards it, he knew he would need it in the coming wars. He didn't like waging these wars, rather he was an adventurer and dungeon clearer and since becoming a Alf lord, he had to quickly readjust how he was to keep up with his new responsibilities.

Just behind him was Klein and Sinon with his entire army of 3 Alf swordsmen and 2 Alf Archer units as they walked behind him in their black colors and with his black banners fluttering over their heads.

But as Kirito neared the small village, he knew that this peace he could see here would be shattered very soon. It had been reported by some light cavalry that Leafa sent out that Eugene was marching his force of 4 Alf swordsmen that looked like regular Salamander infantry along with a single unit of Alf Archers that also looked like Salamander infantry.

Kirito was slightly nervous since Salamander Alf Lords got the bonus of having tougher infantry while Kirito's fellow Spriggan lords had bonuses to sneaking and soldiers set to ambush. Although there was many other bonuses that went naturally to the other Alf species, Kirito couldn't be bothered to remember them all and only felt concerned with the most important of Alf Lord around him.

"You think he'll know we're coming?" asked Klein as they began to near the entrance of the town.

"Doubt it.. he has no cavalry with him from what Leafa told me." said Kirito.

"Where you for me to set up with the archers?" asked Sinon.

"Behind the swordsmen. We'll provide a buffer against Eugene's army."

Both commanders nodded and as they began to walk into the village, many of the NPC's suddenly stopped and ran into their homes as few of them remained to stare at them. It unnerved Kirito quite a bit, being stared at by the NPC because their stares were quite fixed when they did stare.

But just as they were nearing the center of the town, suddenly they saw red and orange banners appear with the symbol of the Salamanders on it fluttering ahead of them and Kirito held up his black blade to halt his force, they watched as Eugene in new Salamander Lord armor as the general appeared with his forces just behind him as he held his blade, the Demonic Sword Gram.

Almost as soon as he saw Kirito with his black and grey armor and with his two blade swords, he could only smile as he said, "Oh, so you finally decided to come out of your castle and face me... took you look long enough."

"Well, I don't know about you but I'm more worried about building up for the long run. I don't need you, however, being a total nuisance and ruining it." said Kirito.

Eugene grinned as he then said, " Well, sorry to ruin the good mood but I'll be needing your castle... along with everything in it..."

"Not today... Swordsmen!" Kirito felt Klein walk next to him as their swordsmen formed ranks behind them and held up their shields and swords as Sinon set her archers up behind them as the archers strung their bows with arrows.

"Tear them down!" Shouted Eugene as he leveled his sword towards Kirito's force and his Salamander swordsmen came charging towards Kirito as any NPC still around for whatever reason gave screams and ran for any nearby cover.

"Archers! Release!!" Shouted Sinon just as she let loose her bow she had only recently gotten, the Shining Bow of Shekhinah. It was one of the few legendary bows she had been working hard to obtain and now she did have it, she was getting better and better at using it.

The archers fired and as Klein took out his blade, the Soul Blade Kagutsuchi, and watc h it burn with fire from his Salamander magic, he said to Kirito, "Oh to be back in the swing of things... well, expect for the permadeath part."

"Oh don't bring some of those memories back up... Still, being in a real battle is exhilarating..." said Kirito just as he took out his two, black blades and held them before him.

Between the two forces, there was a large water fountain that seemed the serve slightly as the town's center. It was here, just as the four units of Salamander Alf swordsmen under Eugene reached it, that Sinon's archers arrows came crashing down upon their loose, mobbish ranks. Men screamed as the arrows pin cushioned some of them to the ground while others were hit with merely one or two arrows but as the large mass continued to charge the Spiggans lines, Kirito was then swallowed into his troops ranks with Klein as both kept their blades up and as the wall of red came ever closer, he shouted to Sinon, "Aim for their archers!" just as the Salamanders crashed against the Spriggans lines.

Spriggans held up their lines well as the Spggans almost towered over them with their shields and swords and as Spiggans raised their swords to slash and chop and stab, the Salamanders were merely a frenzy of movement as they attempted to simply smash the Spriggans lines asunder.

Sinon heard him and as she aimed up higher, she let loose another arrow and as dozens more joined hers, they came crashing down on Salamander Alf Archers as almost the whole unit was taken out in a single volley but the scant remains of a mere 11 archers fled the area and as Eugene gave a short curse, he then began to walk towards where Kirito and Klein were fighting as the mob of Salamanders met against the Spriggans.

Kirito blocked a blade on the edge of his of one of his own blades as he pushed the swordsmen back and as he watched Klein stab under the shield of another, the small patch in between the two clashing sides was starting to have bodies pile up rather quickly. Blood splattered Kirito's armor and face as his blades slid through a weak point in a swordsmen simple chainmail armor and as the man fell hard to the cobblestone road they stood on, blood was beginning to pool all around as Klein shouted to everyone around him, "Hold the line! Hold the lines!!"

Spiggans began to form up into tighter ranks just as Sinons archers fired just above their heads and as several of the Salamanders hit the ground hard from the arrows, Eugene had had enough of this and as he came to the fighting, he brought up a war horn from his belt and blew into it as he watched his men suddenly recede, like a tide on a shoreline, from the Spriggans lines as many of his men were dead but the Salamanders had taken losses as much as he did.

Kirito watched as he took a step out from lines as Eugene come closer and as Eugene held up his blade, he shouted to Kirito, "Come and fight me. Lord to Lord."

Kirito looked to Eugene as he was about to say yes but then shook his head as he said, "No... I will not waste time with you when I know I will beat you like last time."

"How are you sure of that?" asked Eugene.

"Because it doesn't take a tactician to know you are doing something stupid against some like me.. it'll be a while before you and I are on the same level." said Kirito.

"YOU BASTARD!" Roared out Eugene as he tried to charge but suddenly an arrow hit him and as Kirito looked back behind him, Sinon was stringing up another arrow to shoot and then he looked back.

Eugene realized, quite quickly, he was not going to win this battle and as he looked at the remainder of his men, he then said to Kirito, "One day... I will beat you... and kill you!"

And with that, the remains of Eugene's force accompanied him as they fled the village and as Kirito looked around, Klein then shouted, "Cheers for Lord Kirito!"

"Hoowah!" The Spriggans shouted and as Kirito looked around, he then watched as several of the lampposts suddenly unfurl his flags from them and as he watched a few of the NPC's go back to everyday life, he then said to Klein, "I shall go back to the keep with Sinon. I want you to begin making a militia here and then see to what help you can do here."

"Alright, Kirito. See you around later then." said Klein with a wave as then he began to then walk towards the village center with his company of Alf swordsmen.

The Portal stood towering, tall enough for one of Kommando's Bone Giants to walk through with ease. It s structure was made up of Bone, DarkStone, and Blood gems as it was a simple, rectangular frame that towered into the sky. Statues of the goddess Hel was on either side as she had her arms stretching out as if she as reaching for your soul as she wore her cloak and her hood obscured her face from being seen.

As he watched along side of Midnight, Reaper, and Mantis as several hundred skeleton and Alf outcast builders continue to build up the portal and the defenses around it, he looked to Reaper as he said, "Are you prepared for the main quest to begin?"

"Heh.. yeah... but.. do you really think Aincrad is within the sky?" asked Reaper as he looked to Kommando.

"I guess we'll have to wait... still.." said Kommando as then his Spriggan wings came out from his Necromancer cloak.

The wings, like his friends and the Alf Outcasts, were all tattered and shredded like a cat had just did a field day on them. In the lore of Kommando's event, all of the Alf Outcasts had their wings torn and shredded to prevent them from flying ever again. This was to show all other alfs what happens when you choose to anger the Alf Kings and queens of Alfenheim.

Although, in exchange for not being able to fly, the whole group used mounts such as their horses or perhaps even demon helhounds to rid around in and move around quickly. Although Kommando and Midnight used horses of their respectful power, from Kommando's Darkness Horse to Midnights Zombie Undead Horse, to ride around in, Reaper used a nefarious Helhound to ride in as it could tear apart anyone right before it and Mantis rode a Gryphon that could fly around and tear its prey apart with its beak and claws.

It was these that they all were on currently to overlook the work and as Reaper looked to Mantis, he asked her, "Say, how long is that castle going to hold out?"

"I think it still has a long time before it falls. You don't have that many trying to take it.. just lost of swordsmen... course, that's what we all are using, aren't we?" said Mantis with a small sigh.

"Something wrong?" asked Midnight.

"You all are starting to feel it, too?" she asked them.

"Yeah... the weight of Aincrad is on us... even though we cannot see it..." said Kommando as then he turned his horse of shadows around, its red eyes glaring from its dark body, as he then said, "Still, I must prepare my forces as usual for the Vanguard assault... I think I just got a few Bone Giants to boost my forces."

"Bone Giants?!" Bone Giants were towering skeletons that the four of them could obtain with the right materials and with enough resources. They could easily clear out whole armies by themselves and were so powerful, each unit of them had only 1 of them.

But if Kommando293 already has some, thought Reaper, it means he plans on smashing the other player lords completely in one blow and possibly even steamrolling them... means I need to step up my game...

"Say, Kommando, any word from Hel herself when we can begin to build the portal?" asked Midnight.

"Soon.... very soon..." said Kommando.