Sounds fill these woods, these war-ravaged woods. The sound of a black cloak dragging on the ground. The muffled steps of heavy wooden clogs. And the precise mechanized grinding of treads and measured footfall, all in perfect syncopation.
The long precession moved slowly through the thick woods; they were far more used to the open roads. Even their leader would have preferred to take to the roads, burning and destroying everything they saw, spreading terror throughout the land…but instead the leader had to be satisfied with trampling the young vegetation that grew on the forest floor. Crushing them and violently taking their life was the next best thing to slaughtering innocents.
His black robe snagged on a tree branch, and his impatience increased. He was level-headed by nature, but this trek was turning his mood sour. But this route was necessary. They had to reach the next battleground undetected, lest the enemy interfere with this vital stage in the plan. If they didn't reach the next HQ in order to launch the next attack, the punishments would be severe. And Lord Von Bolt did not forgive easily.
The leader's name was…well, there were few who knew his real name. But the entirety of the Bolt Guard knew his codename. He was known as Koal. He was a Commanding Officer in the Bolt Guard, the military group that had forcefully taken control of the mighty Black Hole army. For a powerful figure, he looked rather foolish. He barely reached the 4.5-foot mark, and his face was round and childish in build. But for the hardened, wicked expression on his face, he might have been a small boy in a Halloween costume. His face was totally white, but his eyes and mouth were surrounded by red paint, a shade of red as brilliant as his hair. A ponytail erupted off the back of his head.
Innumerable troops followed in the wake of the tiny Commanding Officer. Hundreds of infantry, outfitted in spacesuits with machine guns replacing the right hand. Thousands of futuristic vehicles, all painted black. As black as Koal's robes. As black as coal.
Koal glanced over his shoulder at the soldiers ceaselessly marching in rhythm. "There isn't much further to go! Keep up the pace!" His voice was shrill, an 8-year old's. The soldiers kept marching. They always did.
The next few minutes were mostly calm and silent. The only noises were the precise sounds of the advancing army, and Koal's own footsteps.
Then there was a sound that was not part of the army's rhythm. A pair of footsteps not in time with the others, like a single violin not following the conductor's baton in a symphony orchestra. A 6-foot tall soldier had come crashing from the line of infantry. His breathing was labored. It too was not in time with the perfectly in-tune Bolt Guard.
"Lord Koal!" he rasped. Koal's eyes flickered up to look at the soldier. A space helmet obscured the soldier's alien face, complete with red eyes and a snout. "Lord Koal!" he repeated. "Urgent message from our recon squad!" Koal's red-rimmed eyes narrowed ever so slightly, a sign to go on.
"The-there are enemy forces ahead of us, at the end of the woods!"
Koal's expression remained unchanged. But his hands, tucked inside his wide sleeves, unfolded. He pulled his hands out of the black fabric, and the soldier could see that his leader's right hand was wrapped around the handle of a whip.
"Get back in line!" hissed the CO, and the soldier gladly obliged. "Listen!" Koal shrieked to his massive army. "The enemy lies ahead! We have been intercepted! We will meet them on the battle field and reduce them to embers!" A rousing cheer from the army.
"Infantry, in the font lines! Tanks, behind them! Artillery, in the rear! Transports, heavy troops, take the sides! Quickly now! Forced March!"
Koal spoke the last words clearly and loudly. He cracked his whip, and it suddenly was lit with a burning light. The Bolt Guard advanced forward, faster then usual due to the effects of the CO Power.
Koal's eyes blazed as he and his army moved ever faster through the woods. The blood-thirsty CO had the light of battle in his eyes. And the light of anger. What right did Blue Moon have to throw a wrench in the Bolt Guard's perfect plans? They were supposed to reach the HQ at the end of the woods edge, with Blue Moon none the wiser until Koal stormed through their pitiful peasant villages at dawn…
But no matter. They would only meet their doom a day earlier. Koal's painted mouth split into a malicious grin. He eagerly cracked his whip again, still glowing brightly, the sound somehow even worse then the spray of machine guns and the explosion of bombs.
The trees began to thin. The sunlight grew stronger. The troops speed increased. As the army left the forest, they saw the enemy spread out on the fields and roads before them. Blue tanks. Blue mobile rocket launchers. Soldiers in blue uniforms. They began to move forward. Clouds began to drift across the sky, and the lightest of snow fell to dust the battlefield.
The Blue Moon army was closing in. The Bolt Guard was closing in.
Both armies were ready for a fight.
The battle would be over in three days.
Koal cracked his whip once more. He pointed its burning tip down to the enemy. His childish face split into an evil smile.
"CHAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGE!"