Chapter 4
The Fight Continues
Over at the Imperial Capital of the Saderan Empire, a senate meeting with the emperor, Molto Sol Augustus. The Imperial Senate are having a debate on how to deal with the invading forces in Alnus Hill and the Romalia Mountains in their large dome of white marble, numerous ornately columns, and pristine sculptures with a few gold ornaments. But the Imperial Senate is divided into two factions, the pro-peace faction that doesn't want their empire to be crumbled by the enemies' overwhelming firepower. Next is the pro-war faction that want to prove the empire's imperial might by any means necessary.
The senate are busy trying to decide what to do with the two opposing forces in their lands. Marquis Casel, a member of the pro-peace faction, speaks to the emperor. He takes center stage in the middle of the dome.
"My lord, the two gate situation is an udder catastrophe. I am sorry to report, but 77% of the Imperial Army is now gone." he speaks his concerns and worry. Yet those numbers are referred to the human troops, not the monsters.
Some of the council members mumble to each other on how serious the crisis is.
"How do you suppose we respond to this situation? How do you intend to lead with such a crisis over our heads?"
Emperor Molto, who is just as worrisome as the senator. "Steady yourself, Marquis Casel," he addresses in a calm tone despite his disposition, "No doubt things seem utterly terrible." But he sighs and places his left hand over his eyes, "Yes, it would appear that whatever military advantage we have has completely evaporated. But I believe that what really is troubling you is that our subordinating neighbors can combine their remaining strength and bring rebellion to the steps of our capital."
But he removes his hand and shows his grin, "That is the true threat, is it not?"
This startled Marquis as he is caught off-guard by what the emperor is saying. But this isn't his true concern. No, what he is truly worrying about is the two opposing forces might join together and take down the Saderan Empire since they lost their only military advantage.
"Everytime we find ourselves in a precarious situation, the emperor, the senate, and the people of the empire unite had thus manage to grow ever stronger from it, my dear Marquis. You cannot win every battle in war without losses. I will not hold anyone accountable in these two fights. I am sure neither the marquess nor the senate with to debates. Rather than having the castle surrounded by enemy forces."
Some of the senators snicker, grin, and whispered to each other on how right the emperor is. No one wants to go on for days of debates while being surrounded by not just the two armies, but also from anyone who wants to usurp the throne. For this, they now that it is true.
Marquis just look away and whispered to himself, "He has conveniently forgotten he started all of this." This was a big disappointed to him. Because the reason why Emperor Molto sent troops through the gates to start pillaging and gathering new slaves is because there has been some unrest with a lack of enemies to fight.
Something similar nearly happened at Aaron's cyber dominion if you recall. The Feudal Systems were going to start a rebellion with many kings, lords, and other such titles weren't being used as often as the high-tech space-age armies. He can simply stop this at anytime, but he wants a chance to be free from his boredom. So that's when the compromise came in.
"What are your plans, your majesty?" Godasen steps forward into the center with Marquis along with his cane. Godasen is an old man and a mage of the council and a member of the pro-war faction. "Two days is all that took for the army at Alnus Hill to cause such incredible losses. Yet it took one night for the army at the Romalia Mountains. Both of these factions seized the gates and are now holding a foothold in our lands! We try to take the gates once they arrived but it was a complete disaster."
Then he clenches his left hand, "We couldn't get close to them! I have never seen such sorcery from the army at Alnus Hill. As if they cast fire itself! As for the army at the mountains, they posses powers, creatures, and such a force! It's like they control nature, the heavens, and the underworld!"
"WE MUST FIGHT!" shouted Padawan. A member of the senate wearing high ranking military armor stood-up and wants revenge on what happened to his glorious army. "Our vassals must give us what we demand! Rebuild our army using their soldiers!"
Then another senator stood up to counter-voice Padawan, "That will only make things worse, Padawan!"
Then another senator pointed at Padawan, "That will only repeat the same mistake!"
Marquis listens to the voices of the senate that has argue among itself.
Emperor Molto then raises his hand to silence the senate before things get too out of hand. All eyes are on him now as he speaks, "Waiting for matters to worsen is not the answer." he addresses them in a calm tone rather than shouting. "Therefore, we must stand and fight. Send messengers to as far and wide as their horses can take them. Tell them we need their assistance in repelling the enemy forces and we need them right now."
Molto then stands from his throne, "Make it so! Have all of our allies rally to us so we can retake Alnus Hill and the Southern Romalia Mountains."
The senate claps for the emperor's answer. But Marquis step forward towards with his head down to the emperor who stands proudly, "Your imperial majesty." Then he raises his head up with a grin, "I believe we will have two more battlefields littered with the corpses of men." Then the emperor smiles back at him and gives off a faint chuckle.
While King Duran of Elbe, The Duke of League, The King of Mudwan, and 18 other vassal lords are busy with Alnus Hill, there are a few other noble lords at Romalia. They are actually younger than the other vassal lords. They are actually young lords that wish to make a name for themselves while they claim whatever inheritance through combat as well as earn imperial favor. While Alnus Hill gets wisemen of combat, Aaron gets a bunch of noble brats that are around 16 to 19 years of age.
But some of these brats have seen combat as two of the eight have been with Zorzal El Caesar during his campaign against the Warrior Bunnies at the Grasslands of Head-hunting Rabbits so they have an idea on how to fight. Although the rest are from the Imperial Colony that want to prove themselves.
The first is a man clad in dark blue armor with a lion on the chestplate and two lion heads on his pauldrons name Prince Galdeon Gul Nero, the Blue Lion of War. He has a fair complexion, short black hair and blue eyes, and is one of the two friends of Zorzal El Caesar.
The second man clad in black armor with a tiger on his chestplate and a white tiger skin cape is Duke Regardo El Titus, the Black Tiger of Death. He has a bit of a tan complexion, shoulder length brown hair and golden eyes like a cat. He is a master with a spear and skinned a white tiger when he was only eight during his first hunting trip. He wears that tiger skin ever since.
The third noble brat clad in red armor with hawk wings on his pauldrons and helm is Lord Chironeus Fal Galba, the Red Hawk of Bloodshed. He has a fair complexion with short spiky red hair and red eyes. He is known for his bloodlust and cruelty towards criminals of the Saderan Empire by means of torture. Chironeus is also known to be hot headed.
The fourth is clad in golden-colored armor with a shiny red cape is Baron Julianus Re Gilgam, the Golden Pride Baron. This man has charismatic features with a fair complexion with short, curly blonde hair and blue eyes. He isn't much fond of combat, but he does it to impress the ladies and takes pride of his name.
The fifth is clad in steel spiky armor with moose antlers on his helm name Viscount Alexander Dul Thrax, The Great Hunter. This young man has a short beard that is green along with his long locks and eyes and has tan skin. He is a master of the bow and known for cooperating his hunting tactics with his troops when in combat in forests and woodlands.
The sixth is clad in leather armor rather than steel with a golden shark emblem on his left-side of his chest name Lord Veroneus Krel Trident, the Scourge Shark of the Seas. A man with a tan complexion with a bald head and only one purple eye because one is covered in an eyepatch. This noble is more of a pirate who raids ships for his own amusement and his uncle keeps bailing him out of trouble in exchange for some of the wealth and goods he raided.
The seventh noble brat clad in orange armor with an emblem of a wolf on his left chestplate name Earl Beratior Mek Otho, the Wolf of Plunder. He is a young man with fair skin with a five-o-clock shadow, light brown hair, and brown eyes with a cold gaze that can freeze his enemies in place. Not only is he one of Zorzal's friends, he also loves plundering riches and fine tasting wine which is how he got the name.
The last and final brat clad in maroon armor with three golden lilies on his right pauldron is Prince Dunias Bur Geta, the Eighth Heir. He is fair skin with some scars on the left side of his face along with short blue hair and orange eyes. He is the eighth of his family and won't have much of an inheritance once his father dies. So, he joins the fight to claim his own lordship rather than getting what speck of inheritance.
All eight of them are in a tent to look at the map of the Romalia Mountains to get a good idea of the terrain. It is rugged with a few narrow passages that only one or two soldiers can enter through. But they are not interested in tactics, they are busy gloating.
"Haven't you heard?" Julianus says with a smile while sitting with his fellow young nobles, "I heard the Imperial Army is supporting those old vassals at Alnus Hill."
Chironeius is sitting all lax and smiles, "Guess they need some sergeant to wipe their asses since they have bowel problems. That's what happens when you get old."
The nobles laugh at such a gesture. "Guess they have more faith in us than those decrypted senile fools." Veroneus says to his comrades.
But what they don't realize that they are going to bite off more than they can chew. They heard the report from those who have surprise, but they figure that it must have been combat fatigue that made them delirious. All eight of them have a combine might of 150,000 close to the footholds of Romalia Mountains.
Day 1
In the next morning, Chironeus leads his forces though the mountain pass in Romalia with some of his men taking tortoise shell positions with their shields. Chironeus is on his horse as his troops march forward through the rugged terrain.
Back at the camp, Earl Beratior looks around and notices Chironeus and his forces aren't around.
"Where is he?" the young noble asks.
"My lord," a soldier reports to him, "Chironeus has taken his forces through the mountains. He wishes to have the honor of first blood."
"Chironeus is already have a head start? Dammit!" Beratior swears in anger and grits his teeth, "Prepare my forces! We have to join him or there won't have any riches left to plunder!"
Back over at the mountains, Chironeus and his forces continue to march through the passages to get to the gate. Yet they hear a strange sound.
"What is that sound?" the lord says as he hears a whistling sound in the air.
Then BOOM! An artillery shell hits the side of a mountain which causes a rock slide that stats tumbling down and crush his forces. Firing artillery in such terrain would be impossible, but using the environment to one's advantage should be enough to do the work.
Chironeus' horse got startled as he struggles to calm it down. Once he did, he then turns his gaze at what happen to his advance forces.
"What the hell just happened?!" he says with a shocked expression. "Did the mountain just erupted?!"
The more artillery shells hit the mountain sides that causes more boulders to tumble down and crushing the Red Hawk's forces under the rubble. Then more started firing that eventually caused the entire mountain to come down on him. He is unable to get away as he just stares and screams helplessly as a very large boulder comes crashing down on him.
Not too far away, Beratior approaches with his forces and heard all the explosions and saw an entire mountain come down.
"What just happened?" he says out loud after seeing all the smoke and dust in the sky. "Did an entire mountain erupted? An earthquake?"
His forces approach the site where Chironeus' forces are and they found them all dead with shattered polearms sticking out of the rubble along with some broken limbs. Pools of blood started to ooze out from under the rocks.
"What happened here?!" Beratior yells, "Where is Chironeus?! Where is the Red Hawk!?"
"So this is what the Saderanian Empire sent me?" says the voice from the top of the dead and rock who happens to be speaking his language. "A bunch of brats who lack combat experience? Pathetic!"
Beratior looks at the direction of the voice and sees Aaron van Dyke in his armor and armed with his blade standing over a large boulder in the middle of the carnage. "I thought your empire would send someone more challenging." he insults the lord. "Guess Emperor Molto must have ran out of good lords with actual combat experience."
Beratior's troops step in formation to protect him with shields and spears at the ready. "Who are you?!" he demanded.
"Sorry, not gonna answer!" he insults him.
Beratior was about to grit his teeth, but then says, "Ha! You must be foolish to face us all on your own!" He pointed and laugh at Aaron.
But Aaron raises his sword with the blade pointed at the ground while holding the grip with both hands. As the noble continues to laugh, he stabs the ground as three tornadoes of fire bursts from the ground and into the air. Beratior stops laughing as he is awestruck by the fiery tornadoes when they are about to take form. The form they are about to take is both shadow and flame. A form that would haunt their nights as the skies grows dark with thick clouds. The form the tornadoes took was not one, but three Balrogs!
All three of them roar and their roars echoed throughout the mountains as the Saderanian soldiers shat themselves out of fear. Then Aaron pointed his sword at the army.
"Get them." he ordered.
So the Balrogs created flaming hammers and strikes down the ground that causes fissures of fire to break the earth. Then Beratior retreated out of fear and horror with some of his troops to escape the horrifying, demonic figures that will burn them down. But what happens next will seal his fate.
"FIRE!" a man shouted at the end of the passage.
A round of musket fire brought down some of Beratior's troops and follow by a man wearing in red with his katana unsheathed and a smile on his face. The men, his samurai warriors and dwarven detachment, gave an echoing battle cry with some are saying, "SHI-MA-ZU!" The man in red is Toyohisa Shimazu from Drifters and he is going to claim the head of Beratior. Beratior immediately recognize the threat and drew out his sword.
Toyohisa then forces the young earl off his force and falls to the ground on his back with Toyohisa ready to take his head. But Beratior rolled out of the way and got back up. Then two Balrogs created walls of fire to cut off the earl's forces as he continues to fight for his life. A scout of Baron Julianus watches in horror as many of the earl's men are being cut down by the honed swords of the samurai and the dwarves' giant axes and warhammers behind the flames. Beratior continues to be on the defensive as Toyohisa's ruthlessly attack him with all his might and a scary face to boot.
Beratior and Toyohisa continue to lock swords as Beratior's men are continuing being slaughtered by either Toyohisa's men, or being burned alive by the Balrogs' flaming swords. What happens next is that Toyohisa completely destroys Beratior's sword. Beratior looks at his sword in horror as he no longer has the means to defend himself. In the end, Toyohisa decapitates the earl and claimed the bloody head as his trophy. The scout then dashes back towards the camp to report what happened with the look of horror and distraught on his face.
Once he reported what he saw, they find it hard to believe and their arrogance and pride will get the better of them.
Day 2
Lord Veroneus came up with the battle strategy of using the sea as an entry point to flank Aaron's new base. He and many of his troops will try to infiltrate while Regardo provides a distraction with some of Regardo's wyvern riders. Many of Veroneus' soldiers manage to make their way towards the forests, but another ambush is waiting for them.
What happened next is a small army of elves using bow and arrows to surprise the enemy forces and frighten them.
As arrows covered in shit fly and hit some of the soldiers, Veroneus screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" The next thing that happened is that he hears the laughter of what sounds like a mad hyena as the mysterious voice says, "Keep up the pressure! Turn them all into corpses!"
More arrows are fired as three arrows hit Veroneus on his shoulder and falls down. Once the enemy soldiers retreated back to the ships, Nobunaga Oda, also from Drifters, along with Yoichi Nasu and Shara of the same series, approach the dying Veroneus with his matchlock pistol with a scary smile on his face. He laughs as he gloats.
"You dumbass!" he says to the dying young heir. "I knew you were going to use the sea to sneak past us!"
Veroneus can barely understand what Nobunaga is saying, but he does understand WHAT he is saying. He understand that the shabby man knew he was going to use the sea to flank Aaron's base, but was out clevered by the old fox. With that, Nobunaga then raises his matchlock towards Veroneus' head and fires. Killing the young lord with a single bullet.
As for the wyvern riders of Regardo? Most of them were killed by Aaron's own wyverns from the video game, ARK: Survival Evolved. He uses fire wyverns, poison wyverns, lightning wyverns, and ice wyverns to have them killed. The blood-soaked helm of Veroneus is sent back to the other lords.
Day 3
"Grrr!" Regardo went as he slams his fists on the map table. In the tent in the approaching dawn, he and Alexander are all that is left commanding the remaining 40,000 troops out of the original 120,000. On the table is not only Veroneus' bloody helm; Galdeon's torn cape, Julianus' shabby chestplate, and Dunias' crushed helm. What happened to Galdeon is that he try to use invisibility magic from some of his mages, but Aaron had shades that are even invisible to them that are use as scouts and patrol the area. Not to mention that they can see all things invisible. Then Galdeon got himself killed by artillery fire and rock slides.
Julianus then try to march in from the other side of the mountains, but was ambushed by the undead in the middle of the night that sprout out from the ground. Zombies and skeletons ripped the army to shreds along with Julianus himself. Dunias then try to use some old cave systems, but the Iron Brigade blocked their way and detonated a few explosive traps that caused a cave-in that crushed the prince.
Regardo is furious at the lost of most of their forces. Not only that, 100,000 troops and most of their leaders at Alnus Hill have defeated them in 3 days. "How are we supposed to win!?" he yells after jumping from his seat. "How are we supposed to fight an enemy that knows this land and its dangers?!"
Alexander looks at the map with a few red X's where they tried and failed while crossing his arms. Not only the passages, but the caves as well. "A good hunter should know his prey before he acts. That is what my father used to say when he takes me hunting. But now we know what sort of devices and forces our enemy uses. After three days of reconnaissance and prodding their traps."
Regardo then slams his hands on the table, "SO HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DEFEAT THEM?! HOW ARE WE ACHIEVE VICTORY AND AVENGE OUR FALLEN COMRADES?!"
Alexander looks at the map and develops an idea. "A night raid under the new moon would work, but we have to wait another month to do so. In that time, we should gather enough manpower to sneak attack their headquarters."
Before Regardo gives an answer, they hear a loud chant coming from outside the tent.
"From Ancient Terra, the Emperor commands His Proud Sons."
"Uh?" Regardo turn his head to the opening of the tent after hearing the first chant.
"From revered Blood-stock these warriors are made his Proud Sons."
"What is that? And what language is it?" Alexander asked before getting up and checking outside.
"No fear they know, Adeptus Astartes, His Proud Sons."
They both walked out the tent and see the troops taking defensive positions around the tent.
"What is going on?" Regardo asked. But one of the soldiers turn his head and responds to his lord, "I don't know, sir. We think it might be some sort of attack."
"Humanity's foes, they defend all, His Proud Sons."
They try to scan the area with their eyes trying to see in the darkness as the clouds covered the light of the moon and their torches can't light much.
"Warrior's merit, unbreakable spirit, Astartes!"
"Is this some sort of spell?" Alexander asks. "Not sure, my lord."
"Supreme defenders, unchallenged in battle, Astartes!"
"Just where is that coming from?" Regardo demanded an answer as he then noticed something as the sun rises
"Courage and honor, Emperor and Primarch, Astartes!"
The light of the morning sun shines on the whole field and they can now see what is causing that chanting. The two remaining lords have their eyes widen as what they see before them is steel and doom. The White Scars Space Marines Chapter has come! One full company of Space Marines has come to seal their fate!
Then music start blaring with a captain shouting, "CHARGE!" and they all charge while firing their bolters at the enemy forces and gun down. Some of them are equipped with heavy bolters to take them out right behind them. The two lords retreated back in the war tent to duck and cover under the table. The tent gets ripped to shreds as bullets tore through it. They hear their men screaming as they are not only getting gun down, but they can also hear chainswords cutting through what sounds like metal and flesh. The fight continues with the remaining auxiliaries get slaughtered by a full company of Space Marines.
When the music was over, so was the battle. One of the Space Marines enter the tent and flips the table over while wielding his chainsword. The two lords cower as the sound of the chainsword starts up and about to finish the job. But the captain stops him with his power sword while saying, "No!"
The marine stopped and lowers his weapon. "We need them alive. Orders are orders." What happened next is two scout marines that disables their infiltrator ability and bagged their heads. With that, they are taken in as POWs and the battle has won.
The reason for the White Scars instead of the Blood Ravens is because Primarch Jaghatai Khan wanted his Space Marines the honor of apprehending the last remaining lords since he have been denied the honor of his chapter to fight on the planet Ares. Some of the dead are gonna be used as mindless undead builders to help build the settlement, after the priests and priestesses of Yog, Set, & Mitra harvest their hearts, lingering essences, and unblemished flesh for their gods. Because they need them to create avatars in order to defend the new settlement.
However, some of the dead bodies are going to be used as waypoints for a future project Aaron has in mind. As a matter of fact, some of the men will have their skin flayed off and placed on X's similar to the coat of arms of House Bolton. The house is extinct now, but their sigil is quite useful here in this world.
Back at the capital, Marcus, the emperor's retainer and internal minister of the empire, came to the throne room to tell the emperor about the events that transpired.
"Your imperial majesty," he says in a humble tone, "the damage sustain by the Allied Kingdoms' forces will reach up to 100,000 dead and injured along with the Colonial Vassal Forces that will reach up to 120,000 for a total of 220,000. The defeated armies have no officers remaining and some from Alnus Hill are making their way back home on their own while there is no such luck with the ones at the Romalia Mountains."
"Yes." he speaks in an unphased tone, "Just the way I conceded. The potential threat of our quibbling neighbors coming to raze the empire has been successfully eliminated. Torch all the towns and villages between Sadera and Alnus Hill. Poison the wells, her their livestock this way and burn the crops. That should keep the armies from eating and drinking our food and water. So we can plan a counterattack of our own."
"So you're planning a scorched earth policy." Marcus realizes what the emperor is planning. "That causes me worry in succession and tax revenue. Not only that, we do have a bit of a problem. Actually, more than one."
"What do you mean, Marcus?" the emperor asked.
"First is the rumors about a movement that supports Marquis Casel. They plan to use him to replace you at the head of the senate."
The emperor gave a little laugh, "Imagine how much service I'll get after I expose this travesty! Let the private council know that I'll be needing their services right away. But first tell me about the other problem."
"Then the other problem is-" Marcus got interrupted as the throne room doors open with a woman's voice yelling, "Your majesty!"
Piña Co Lada marches into the room, clad in her armor as Marcus bows his head and moves out of the way while the emperor says, "My darling daughter. What can I do for you?"
Piña quickly bows her head before speaking to her father. "It's about Alnus and Romalia, of course. It is my understanding that we were soundly defeated by two different armies near the gate. And our subordinate nations have been rallied to them a few days later. What is your majesty's response in this situation?!" Piña voiced her concern about what is going to happen. Yet she also wants a chance that her knights can do more than honor guard at parades and parties. She thinks that the emperor doesn't think highly of her and her knights.
Marcus then address the princess, "Obviously, we should be regathering our forces and create a plan to counterattack."
"Create a plan?!" she angrily says to the retainer. "We have not one, but two enemies on our doorstep! We must move now!"
"Piña my dear." the emperor addresses his red-headed daughter in a gentle tone. "You're right. You are absolutely correct. However, the issue at hand is that we know very little of them and their forces. But how does this sound to you? Take all the knights from the Order of the Rose and scout the situation at Alnus Hill for us. You are more likely to survive there than the rugged terrain at Romalia."
"What?" the princess says is surprise. Could this be the chance she has been waiting for? "Do you mean it? You want me to take my forces?"
The emperor is smiling while leaning his left cheek on his left fist. "Well, why not? You've been longing to prove that your knights are doing more than just marching in color garments. So, here's your chance."
With that, Princess Piña Co Lada is now given the chance to prove not only herself, but her knights as well.
The princess then kneels down to her father, "Consider the mission done, your majesty." Then she marches out of the door to address her knights that they finally get a mission.
"Now then," he addresses to Marcus, "what is the other problem?"
AN: Got another chapter up! I know the last chapter was long, this is the longest I have ever done out of all my stories. Don't forget to leave a review of your opinion or criticism. By the way, is it Saderan Empire or Sederan Empire? I use the wiki of Gate and they are both spelled like this. Which is it?
