Chapter 20
Peace can't last forever. Though Tristan had kind of thought it would last longer than a mere two years. Despite this wish the Shepherds had been called on after learning of a threat to Regna Ferox. After Virion had returned from his two-year absence with a wyvern mounted knight in tow and revealed himself as a noble from a distant land he warned of an impending invasion. Apparently, a warlord named Walhart the conqueror had just successfully taken over the entire continent of Valm, including the territory that Virion had led, and was now setting his sights on the continent of Ylisse. Virion had warned that they planned to take over some Feroxian ports to create a foothold on the continent for their invading forces. So Chrom immediately gathered the Shepherds and marched them up to support their allies to the north. A messenger that was sent ahead returned and informed the group that enemies had made landing and taken over four port towns. The Feroxian army was making strides to retake the territory but they needed assistance retaking the southernmost port. It was the location farthest from the main army and its where the largest number of enemies had landed. As the Shepherds neared the town, they could see a large warship that was docked. A large number of soldiers and supplies were being unloaded and in the sea behind it 3 other ships floated waiting for their turn to enter the port. It was fortunate that the massive size of the ships allowed for only one to dock at a time. The Shepherds assembled around Robin and Chrom to receive their orders for the coming battle.
"Alright, are scouts have reported that the enemy force is made up primarily of Cavalry and heavily armored units."
Gaius elbowed Tristan lightly, "that's me, I'm the scouts."
Tristan just rolled his eyes in response as Robin continued. "They don't have much for ranged units but as they are holed up in the city there isn't much room for our flying units or for archers. Mages are going to be essential for taking out their armored generals. The plan is to split up in pairs or trios to sweep and clear each street, eventually meeting up at the harbour to assault the main force. I'll stay up high and send in backup if anyone gets into too much trouble. Any questions?"
When none were raised everyone got busy getting ready for the fight. Tristan and Lon'qu were paired together for the assault and the two were finishing a check of their equipment. Tristan was securing stirrups to his wyvern partner while Lon'qu finished sharpening his killing edge.
"Will your friend be accompanying us?" Lon'qu asked glancing at the wyvern warily.
"No not for this one, city streets will limit his mobility a bit too much, I think. I just want him to be ready just in case."
Lon'qu nodded, looking a little relieved and Frederick's voice rang out ordering the Shepherd's to commence the attack. Tristan and Lon'qu got up and set off at a brisk jog. They had been assigned an eastern section of the town to clear out. The Shepherds entered the town as a group and Chrom, Vaike and Robin broke off to engage the soldiers that were guarding the town entrance. The rest of the group rushed past and broke off towards their objectives. Tristan and Lon'qu rushed down a narrow alley and came out into a small residential street. At the end of the street to heavily armoured cavalry men sat upon warhorses. Upon seeing the newcomers they rose their vicious looking lances in unison and kicked their steeds into action. They covered the entire width of the street, leaving no room for the two Shepherds to dodge. As the opponents charged them at full speed Tristan and Lon'qu got into a position to defend. Tristan crouched low and got ready to engage the enemy on the right. AS soon as they were in striking range Lon'qu jumped up to his left, he kicked off the wall and in an incredibly acrobatic move slashed the horsemen in midst of a spinning flip. While this was happening, Tristan stepped into the enemies charge, deflecting the lance with one blade and in a fluid motion sliced the flank of the horse with the blade on the other side. The horse toppled to the ground, sending its rider flying from the saddle. Before he could recover from the fall Tristan rushed him and thrust his weapon into the man's chest. After ensuring there weren't any other threats in the area the two Shepherds took off once again.
"Show off." Tristan joked with a grin, referencing Lon'qu's flashy maneuver. Lon'qu simply scoffed in reply, though Tristan thought he saw the swordsman's cheeks redden. Soon the men came to a halt yet again, the road had narrowed and blocking the path were two heavenly armoured generals. They wore thick plates from head to toe, with a helmet that only had a narrow slit for them to see out of. Their let hands held shields that were nearly as tall as them and they had spears in their right. Without hesitating, Tristan and Lon'qu closed the distance and unleashed a fury of attacks. The pair attacked with a flurry of blows but they were having trouble getting around the massive shields of their opponents. Even when they did manage to land a hit on the enemy the heavy armour rendered their blows ineffective. They both stepped back as their opponents made a few swings and thrusts in way of a counterattack.
"Sheesh, that armour is no joke." Tristan groaned. Lon'qu simply nodded in response, a frustrated grimace on his face.
"Guess it's time to call for some backup. Do you think you could knock one of their shields out wide?"
Lon'qu shot Tristan a quizzical look but nodded. "Ill do it."
Tristan grinned and raised his fingers to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle. At the same time Lon'qu rushed the opponent on the right, dodging a thrust and clashing with the man's shield. Meanwhile, Tristan reacted to the approaching sound of beating wings. He looked up and located a clothesline strewn across the street. Remembering Lon'qu's move earlier in the battle he jumped up and kicked off the crumbling brick wall, reaching up and grabbing the line with both hands. He hung for a few moments until the flapping sound could be heard right behind him, prompting him to drop. He landed in the saddle on Gandr's back and was jolted by the speed the wyvern had built up. They barreled towards the armoured duo currently engaged with Lon'qu. Tristan readied his weapon, gripping it like by the bar in the center of the bottom blade in a more traditional spear stance.
"Now!" he shouted at Lon'qu. The swordsman responded by putting his weight behind a slash against the side of Valmese soldiers shield, knocking it out wide, he then planted a firm kick to his midsection causing the man to stumble. He then dove to the side as Tristan and his mount came hurtling in. Just before reaching the opponent, Gandr dropped to the ground, sliding and turning to the side. Tristan put all the force from the moment shift into a vicious stab, which pierced the through the man's chest plate with a metallic crunch. He withdrew his weapon and the man collapsed to the ground, a pool of red slowly forming beneath him.
"Well I guess that worked." Tristan said grinning at Lon'qu.
"I suppose, but now we have to repeat the whole process." Lon'qu replied, gesturing to the other soldier who was beginning to step towards the pair.
"Oh don't worry, I'll handle the next one." Tristan leaned over and patted Gandr's neck. The wyvern took a few menacing steps towards the enemy, causing the man to take a reflexive step back. "Gandr, burn." Tristan said sharply, and at the prompt the wyvern shot off a deadly stream of fire from its maw. The man screamed in agony and crumpled to the floor, being cooked within his armour. Lon'qu stared at Tristan.
"What?" Tristan asked climbing down from his wyvern.
"You couldn't have done that to our first opponent as well?" Lon'qu asked bluntly.
"Where's the fun in that?" Tristan replied with a grin. He slapped his wyvern on the side, prompting the beast to take off again. The two men than resumed their sweep through the streets. They soon arrived at the docks and were greeted by the sight of most of the Shepherds already gathered and assaulting the docked ship. Chrom and Robin had made it aboard and were confronting the enemy commander. Tristan and Lon'qu looked around for any threats that they could deal with but it looked like the battle was all but over. Gaius wandered up to the pair with a smug look on his face.
"Well look who finally showed up. What took you guys so long?"
Tristan groaned. "Our master tactician didn't give us anything to deal with the armoured guys, so we had to get creative, it took a little while."
"Ah, we didn't have that problem. Sunshine was in my group, so she made quick work of those guys. And Cordelia took care of most the other guys."
"So what exactly did you bring to the team?"
Gaius shrugged "I was responsible for checking out their rears… er, covering the rear…"
Tristan rolled his eyes. "Also, why doesn't Cordelia have a nickname?"
"Eh, I'm working on it. My first thought was genius, but she kinda lost it on me when I called her that and she can be pretty scary, so back to the drawing board."
Tristan nodded. Meanwhile the battle on the ship had concluded and Frederick was calling for the Shepherds to gather. Tristan, Gaius, and Lon'qu fell into the group and listened as Chrom addressed the group.
"Good work today everyone. The rest of the ships shouldn't be able to dock now as long as we don't move the currently docked ship so we have some time to come up with a plan. Robin and I are going to meet with the Khan's in order to come up with our next move. The rest of you will be taken to an inn. Get some rest, I don't want to scare anyone but there is a good chance that this could be a pretty drawn out conflict if the Valmese truly plan to invade. So get your rest now, I'll need all of your strength in the coming days."
Chrom's words unsettled the group, but most didn't voice their concerns aloud. They began their march towards the capitol where they would be housed for the night.
"Well, I guess peace can't last forever." Gaius said lightly.
"True, but still, only two years? That's a little ridiculous." Tristan responded dryly.