Chapter 44: Golden Dragon, Red Manticore, Total War
Que the Intro
(Song This is War) A warning to the people (Show the people of the Empire) the Good (Tatsumi stands with Night Raid, his generals and his new army in his new attire and flag of Night raid and Golden Dragon on shared pole held aloft by its standard bearer) and the Evil (Volgoth in front over a demonic host with the Six Arch-Devil Generals in front with Valtor's shadowing form and Mark in the background and Argardon towering over the rest of the Generals along with Boreth and his inner circle scheming) This is War. (Tatsumi and Esdeath protecting Makoto and his sisters) To the soldier (Bulat wearing Incursio without the helmet and Air siting in his lap) the civilian (Angela holding Ieyasu's hand as she rallies the people in the shield) the Martyr (Budo's dead body) the Victim (Kyoko being held and comforted by Tatsumi) This is war. (Armies clashing) It's the moment of truth (Isshin's Ghost without his face mask looking at Tatsumi) and the moment to lie (Volgoth grinning at his servants) , the moment to live (Tatsumi finding resolve in a fight) and the moment to die (Soldiers dead on the ground), the moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to FIGHT! (Que battle montage) To the Right! (Spear destroying a Dwarven Automaton) To the Left! (Esdeath killing a Revolutionary Army soldier with her new sword) We will Fight to death! (Sheele taking down a target yet to be revealed) to the End of the Earth! (Eden from space) It's a Brave new World! (Tatsumi kneeling before Supreme Matriarch Maltise) From Last to the First! (Emperors showing Tatsumi's Grandfather, Father, Uncle and Makoto) To the Right! (Bulat killing a Revolutionary Army General) To the Left! (Mine Firing away) We will Fight to Death! (Tatsumi slicing an enemy in half) To the Edge of the Earth! (Eastern Lands) It's a Brave new World (Strongholds of the Giants) a Brave new world! (Dwarven capital of Karak Hammerdeep) (End battle Montague and show Melitine under shadow of Volgoth with Red sky above) A warning to the Prophet (Syura clutching a Staff of Asha) the Liar (Volgoth sitting on the Imperial Throne with Graal and Lorhish to either side of him) the Honest (Aria with her new long hair and new outfit clutching her new sword) This is War. To the Leader (Najenda in her new get up and with her new ponytail with her Desert Eagles in hand and Susanoo at her side in a battle pose) The Pariah (Esdeath in her new outfit with her hair cut short levitating ice shards) The Victor (Spear in her new Teigu Armor Valkyrie with her new Teigu Greatsword Yadviga held aloft atop a mass of dead enemies) The Messiah (Tatsumi in the Golden Emperor's Armor with wings fully aloft and his sword Michael in one Hand and his shield Enoch in the other facing off against a Argardon) THIS IS WAR! (Mangled bodies of Volgoth's victims and of enemies killed by Tatsumi, add also Koro devouring baddies as Seryu grins maniacally) It the moment of Truth (Tatsumi with Akame his mother hugging him) the moment to lie (Boreth Falkland scheming) the moment to live (Tatsumi in bed with Merraid and Akame) The moment to die (Tatsumi killing the Skaven King) the moment to Fight! (Battles) the Moment to fight! (Tatsumi and Spear side by side) The Moment to Fight! TO FIGHT! (Night Raid vs the Arch-Devil Generals) To the right (Najenda firing her desert eagles) to the Left (Susanoo destroying a blob of Revolutionary Army soldiers) We will Fight to the Death! (Falkland's two generals killed by Sayo's arrows) To the Edge of the Earth (Map of Eden showing Tatsumi's journey so far) It's a Brave new World (Tatsumi overlooking the cities of the Lizardmen) From the Last to the First (Line of the Emperors of the Empire) To the Right (Spear driving her new Teigu Greatsword thru an enemy) To the Left (Akame slicing down several Skavan at once) We will fight to the death (Tatsumi fighting Volgoth) To the Edge of the Earth (Tatsumi overlooking a city not Melitine) It's a Brave new World from the Last to the First (Line of Emperors again with Tatsumi included) It's a Brave new world! (Empire's End logo appears) (Song End)
Erkana, stronghold on the Meekta Border, two days after the Revelation… Tatsumi looked out from the city walls; Erkana was a sizeable city that was the set of House Delvar and was a thriving metropolis and one of the ten largest cities in the Empire; the city was marvel with many great structures made out of marble and granite along with large statues made out of brass which were spread out thru ought the city. These statues depicted the patron god of the city and that god was Shanuuva the God of craftsmen, merchants, smiths and warriors; said statues weren't just a thing spread inside the city itself, seven such colossal statues stood outside the city each one overlooking a trade route and each one interconnected to the walls of the city for the statues weren't just a show of the city's wealth but also defensive bastions from which battalions of archers, gunners and engineers could hide inside and use a number of openings made to allow for them to fire outwards. Also adorning the walls were proud statues of Chimeras, Gargoyles and Harpies which while also decorative concealed further murder holes and in some cases allowed for hot lead and other things to poured outwards.
Tatsumi's gaze however was not on the City he had brought his newly assembled army to for the purposes of mustering but on the nearby province which could see not too far from the city as it was less than a mile off from the border of the two provinces; he could see in the distance a hillside hamlet and in that hamlet smaller structures. "You looking ahead?" Spear stated surprising him by arriving.
"Yeah; I'm- not so keen on this- its- new for me, I've never fought in an actual war before, everything I've done till now was just small skirmishes if you could even call them that and it really wasn't actually proper battles just raids" Tatsumi replied.
"I know that feeling; I felt the same thing you're feeling when I enlisted in Esdeath's army and on the eve of my first battle; don't worry things will work out just fine" Spear reassured.
"I know, Falkland may be smart but he's not on the level of the people I've got with me and I'm shrewder then he is; but that aside I'm still worried, and- I'm missing Esdeath already" Tatsumi replied, he had sent Esdeath back to Tokorra with Makoto and his sisters both to get them to safety but also to gather his main army along with getting Merraid to get the Oarburgh armies to join in. Still though he felt the absence deeply, that and Aria's absence as she had stayed behind with her sisters was even harder on him.
"Don't worry we'll see her again soon enough; but you've got me, you've got Akame and Kurome, along with Mez and Suzuka, you've got the Trio, and well a lot of other girls who are interested in you, don't think you're alone" Spear assured. Tatsumi took another hard look at the land as the sunset. "I'll be there at your side the whole way, and I won't leave it" Spear comforted and wrapped her arms around his chest and leaned on his shoulder; Tatsumi turned and kissed her tenderly for about a good minute before stopping.
"You don't know how much that means to me Spear: I think you'll make a great Empress" Tatsumi replied.
"And you a great Emperor; now don't trouble yourself about the future focus on the here and now; and right now you are as tense as a drawn bowstring and need to let loose and I know how to help that" Spear complemented, then clutched her stomach and ran to the side of the wall before vomiting, she then turned to him after she finished. "Best not have me do it: pregnancy is a pain, compared to it war is easy" Spear replied then laughed.
"Your highnesses" Womyn greeted walking in with the other two sacred blades along with the Elite Seven and Four Rakshasas, they had given Tatsumi his five minutes of alone time watching the wall entrances for any potential threats.
"Please Womyn don't address us so formally especially since you yourself are an Empress" Spear replied.
"I'm just trying to be polite" Womyn replied, then looked at Tatsumi, noting his still tense posture and expression.
"Here Womyn why don't you and the other two blades help him loosen up" Spear replied, Tatsumi nodded and was led off to the place that he had been provided for his arrival which in this case was the Delvar Castle. The large stronghold bastion was at the heart of Erkana on a high hill and in splendor in Tatsumi's opinion rivaled the Royal Palace, but it was nowhere near as big or as ornate.
Still though his accommodations were royal as he had a dedicated wing to himself and to his following; incidentally said wing was shared by Natsuhi's own chambers and those of her daughter Jessica which was expected given their marriage to him. Overall however he was tense and needed to let loose and do so in the way he was most comfortable with.
Shortly… "Oh!" Womyn moaned, she lay flat against a soft cushioned bed without clothing as Tatsumi equally bare licked her loins, both were on their sides and this was to allow Remus and Balluck to get in on the action, the former gave Tatsumi head while the latter massaged his calves which was a relief as Tatsumi hadn't had any sort of massage or back-adjustment since he'd left Tokorra which while that wasn't long ago he had built up a good deal of tension in his sides and back, fortunately Balluck was skilled with massages along with chiropractic from her time as an undercover agent for the Empire. Each lick of Tatsumi's tongue was like a small bolt of electricity to Womyn and each one intensified her moans.
That being said Tatsumi wasn't the only one good with his tongue and Remus was quite skilled with hers, despite her air-headed demeanor and shyness when it came to matters of the bedroom Remus was quite skilled and had learned well and had come light-years since their first time in an abandon flat in Melitine's slums, oral sex was her preferred position but when he took her in her pussy she made extremely cute moans. Remus finished with the foreplay however and rolled Tatsumi onto his side, he pulled Womyn upright to continue his current focus as Remus mounted him. "Oh Tatsumi-kun" Remus moaned then began bouncing her long blonde locks bouncing with her. Balluck moved behind Remus and tended to Tatsumi's balls: all four partners now were busy.
Outside the room… "Sis why did we get guard duty for this room?" Junko asked her sister.
"Luck of the draw sis, luck of the draw, also we were kind of the only ones available: Kurome and Akame left to catch up on things some more, and everyone else went shopping" Makoro replied.
"Still though the moans how long have those four been at it?" Junko replied.
"About ten minutes" Makoro countered.
"It feels like an hour; so much restraint I'm half wanting to run in there and tell them to keep it down" Junko replied.
"Really and I thought you'd want to join in" Makoro replied.
"Shove it bird-brain, I'm as much a virgin as you, and I'm not going to give it up based on tension: Amaterasu what do you think about this?" Junko replied turning to her Teigu who loomed over the two sisters.
"I think the whole concept of you two arguing about it is dull; besides I've got an idea to settle this: while we biological Teigu may not feel such carnal emotions we do however possess the anatomy requires to engage in them; well I do at any rate; I'll settle your little debate and have both you realize that you've better things to do: the next time he's alone you two will talk him and let him know how you feel" Amaterasu replied.
"Really that's your idea?" Junko replied.
"I like it" Makoro replied, Junko face palmed.
"Ok, we'll implement it, but not during the fighting goodness knows how long this is going to last" Junko replied, and both then ignored the noise which seemed to have died down. The main reason for that was that the four had taken a break so that Balluck could massage Tatsumi, following which each was going to give the other time to have Tatsumi for themselves while the others freshened up.
Meanwhile in Tokorra… "HEYAGH!" Air shouted as she struck Bulat's practice staff with another enthusiastic strike before side-stepping a counter parrying another blow and disarming Bulat. "I won!" Air cheered, having beaten Bulat for the second time that day.
"Ok Air I think that's enough for today: get something to eat and then some rest, we'll cover some more advanced stuff in the morning" Bulat replied.
"Awesome, thanks bro" Air replied then left. Bulat sighed and sat down, drained. He took a look at Incursio then at himself in a mirror.
"Man look at yourself; guys would kill for looks like this" Bulat said to himself.
"Hi" A girl said cheerfully; she looked a lot like Tatsumi and Bulat recognized her as one of his half-sisters Nessa; the oldest of them and well as beautiful as her brother was handsome; she was dressed in an Oarburgh style kimono that was bright peridot green in color like her eyes and decorated with imagery of red butterflies and gold dragons along with suns and stars in her hands she held a basket of food. "I brought you something to eat; I've been watching you train all day is it true you helped train my brother?" Nessa asked.
"Yep, thanks" Bulat stated taking the food; inside the basket was some well-made sandwiches, some grapes, a bottle of spiced wine and some smoked fish; Bulat eagerly ate the up the meal she provided him. After he finished, he took a look at her. "Thanks" Bulat thanked.
"Hey can we talk. I'd like to get to know you more" Nessa asked, Bulat then noticed her eyes which regarded him with interest and- attraction.
"Alright but first I should get the elephant out of the room out of the bag I'm- gay; I like men" Bulat explained, hoping that would deter her from flirting; instead of looking disappointed she smirked.
"Challenge accepted" She thought, She was indeed attracted to him and was resolving herself to wrap him around her fingers; he may have been older then her true but he was handsome enough that his sexuality wasn't going to deter her efforts; if her brother could be great with women and convince an ardent lesbian into being Bi she could do the same with a gay man like Bulat one who wasn't as ardent as Merra had been and was still to an extent. "I'll put my efforts up; get to know him and well soon I'll get him right where I want him and I'll have the husband I want" Nessa thought then having inherited her mother and half-brother's charm put herself to work building the relationship, talking for about an hour about their shared interests as the sun set in the sky.
Meeka, the border town of Negad, the next morning… "Get those softies in position, General Brezhnev's orders" a Captain ordered to his soldiers, the soldiers brought out the children and women along with the men of the village who were bound in ropes and began setting them up in positions; the town of Negad because of its position in the Empire's interior had no walls a mistake that general Nikata Brezhnev was now deciding to correct; the reason for the lack of walls in the first place was due to the village having been built 50 years ago during a period of relative peace and thus not prepared for civil war which had so far spared it by being in the heart of rebel territory; now however it found itself at the center of attention for a new civil war and Brezhnev didn't have the time or resources to erect barricades; the goal wasn't to hold the village but to delay the enemy long enough to scorch the earth and retreat. Thus, a wall was made according to Brezhnev's orders of human shields; hoping that it would deter Tatsumi from attacking long enough to strip the town of anything that he and his army could use and torch it which would take a couple days.
"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs" Brezhnev had said at the meeting and his philosophy for war mirrored his ideology, he would do whatever it took to win and to spread his radical ideology. Tatsumi's scouts a group of horsemen took a good look at the fortifications: Pais led this group and winced at the movement of people as human shields. "Dammit this will make it a whole lot more difficult" Pais thought looking thru her binoculars and then ordered her horsemen to withdraw.
Shortly... "That bastard! Only a coward uses innocents as shields" Najenda shouted after hearing the news.
"That makes things a whole lot harder; we can't abandon our people to deaths; they aren't expandable and on top of that Brezhnev will murder them if we don't act; we need to come up with a strategy" Tatsumi explained, the war council looked at him, specifically Natsuhi, Jessica, Najenda, Lydia, Nikola, Chiara Seryu, who'd been recently promoted, and Spear; his other generals had gone off to rally their forces on a broader front; the map on the table marked the Eastern provinces from the Matahai Mountains to the border of Kharadai the first of the neighboring Eastern Kingdoms: the lion's share of provinces both outer and inner were under the control of loyalists while a decent chunk of the interior provinces were under Falkland's sway; these territories however while rich in resources were short on manpower and thus his enemies were going to have to fight dirty to win. Tatsumi had expected this but hoped it wouldn't come to it though at this point he'd stopped being surprised to the lengths which evil people in the world would go to.
The broader strategy for the conflict as a whole was to envelop the enemy on all sides with loyalist forces then begin an interior push; relieving first provinces that were surrounded by the traitors and then going for the jugglier and crushing them in their strongholds; Tatsumi hoped to get Falkland's army into a position that he'd be forced to commit his armies to a win or lose battle during which he could be killed and with his death shatter the rebels on faction lines and mop up.
For this force Tatsumi had at his disposal forces from Zarteck's own elite soldiers, Lydia's fifth army along with her rangers, the household soldiers of House Delvar which were the bulk of the army, and whatever volunteers he could muster and mercenaries he could hire that could be depended on to not ravage the countryside. The core of these soldiers were heavy infantry; soldiers clad in reinforced titanium armor and equipped with all manner of weapons; they were clad in the purple and blue heraldry of House Delvar with the house's crest of Falcon emblazoned on it. The skirmishers were also a large part of the army and consisted of both gunners and archers, which were both bowmen and crossbowmen, these were mostly provided by House Delvar but a fair few mercenary archers were expatriate Easterners from Khasir and thus brought massive longbows and Chakram throwing discs. The light infantry were provided by the Fifth army along with a some heavy troops but Lydia focused on mobility and rapid marches supported by cavalry both light and heavy along with chariots and War Earth Dragons; this force was meant to get into action with the enemy quickly and thus wore lighter armor and used lighter weapons to allow for them to close distances quicker. The Rangers were exemplars of mobility, but they were actually heavy infantry disguised as light infantry; the trick being that they wore and used lighter armor made in the east that allowed for a great deal of flexibility and they were trained for any situation and used as black ops unit.
All these troops were backed up by a contingent of royal guard troops that had been flown in via Tatsumi's secret weapon that Boreth had no counter for: Air Mantas. Air superiority was going to be crucial for his war and there were a few projects that were in the making in Gallia that would allow for more ways to expand on that edge. The Air Mantas could with the help of Oarburgh trainers transport troops to different locations in flocks; Tatsumi had given Esdeath instructions to have Chelsea use them to transport royal guard units to his position; while using others to help move troops elsewhere on the many fronts; the Oarburgh Army was also on the march along with Esdeath's own troops and Tatsumi's troops that were under her; this allowed for a sizeable fighting force of about 200,000 soldiers that would be his hammer to smash the Revolutionary army: soldiers that were veterans of many battles from Esdeath and masters of asymmetric warfare on the part of the Oarburghs but also capable of being a deadly force in pitched battle with their ranks of heavy pike men, deadly bowmen and master gunners. Tatsumi expected that victory would hopefully take a couple weeks; it may have been presumptuous to think so but a look at his forces compared to that of Falkland's plus the amount of territory the two controlled and the fact that he had the advantage of having the best commanders the Empire had to offer meant that it was a reasonable assumption to make.
Of course it then took time to decide on how best to handle the newest development numerous idea were put forth but each had to be shot down as Tatsumi was insistent on making sure that the civilians weren't harmed, Tatsumi himself thought hard while his generals discussed various ideas until he came up with a plan.
"I've got an idea how to rescue them; a night attack should allow them to be freed: Lydia get your best rangers and give them their mission; they are to free the hostages by any means necessary: Najenda I want you to pick a Night Raid team to go with them, I'm putting Sheele in charge of the team" Tatsumi explained, he then had explain the rest of the plan in full before his other generals agreed to it, including why Sheele was to be in charge of the Night Raid team and not Najenda which Tatsumi had to take ample care not to reveal Sheele's status as the leader of the Sorrowful Ones as Sheele had explained to him that was to be kept secret for her sake and in line with the order's custom of secrecy.
Tatsumi after the meeting then took a good look at Seryu and Najenda. "You know I'd lose it if either of you were killed and to that end I'm going to have to go on inspection of the soldiers: I want you two to have the best bodyguards on offer if you two are going to insist on leading the charge" Tatsumi explained.
"I can see your point, but you know I'm more then capable of supporting myself" Najenda replied.
"It's not just you I want to protect Najenda; it's our child that sits in your womb; I know I can't convince you not to fight but I can at least make sure you and our child are protected" Tatsumi explained.
"I've got Koro; he's really all I need" Seryu replied, Koro woofed in disagreement. "Alright you're right you can't have my back all the time and you do need support I'll see if we can scrounge up some troops" Seryu relented.
"I want nothing but the best" Tatsumi explained.
"What about me?" Spear asked.
"You'll be by my side at all times: consider yourself my- I'm not sure how to put this guardian warrior, no Guardian Angel that's it or rather my Valkyrie" Tatsumi explained.
"I'll try to be worthy of the position though why you're choosing me for the job is beyond me my love" Spear explained.
"Because you've give the best advice, you taught me the way of the Imperial fist and because we make an excellent team" Tatsumi explained, Spear smiled at that then kissed him.
The four of them then inspected the camp calling out the best of the soldiers on offer along with bringing the Teigus he'd brought with them if he found a compatible person who could use the Teigu in question they immediately were a pick for the bodyguard units.
This selection process took a good few hours which was time that they really didn't have a better way to spend: troops along the lines began setting up positions; they weren't able to set up artillery however due to a few factors: the first being Imperial artillery took a great deal of time to transport and set up taking hours at a time, secondly the forces in question didn't have much of it as speed was a priority Tatsumi wanted to stomp Falkland's forces before they could begin an insurgency that would bog him down for months and thus prevent him from taking on the true threat that being Volgoth and the Demons, the third reason was that Tatsumi wanted to avoid civilian casualties and take their objectives most intact: artillery shelling wasn't exactly conducive to either goal and as such most of the heavy guns had been left behind or given to units whose objectives would have minimum civilian presence or were military targets in nature.
The threat of an insurgency was always a possibility but one Tatsumi had accounted for the way he was going to deal with it was to hit the enemy hard and fast before they had a chance to fade away or scorch the earth, essentially if he wiped out the armies of Falkland's supporters fast enough and rallied enough local support he could basically finish the Revolutionary Army off either destroying it entirely or reducing it to a state where it would fragment and fight itself thus giving him the ability to focus on more pressing concerns; once he had the Empire reunified and control of the Empire he'd be able to stomp them out for good. The key to this goal however was kill any Revolutionary army commanders that wouldn't change sides, any sort of leadership they had needed to be stomped out as the majority of the Revolutionary armies troops were people that basically were fighting on their commanders' orders without a proper chain of command they would fracture either returning to their old lives or turning on each other and infighting.
But all this was not Tatsumi's focus that at the moment was selecting sizeable bodyguard units for both of his wives that were insisting on leading from the front. This actually was easier than expected and fortunately took only a couple hours; by the end of it about a dozen protectors, four of each were Teigu users, were assigned to protect Najenda and Seryu: the commanders of both units interestingly enough were women. Najenda's group was co-commanded by two woman; a tan skinned blonde (Who resembled Mez) named Kaola was in charge of her unit which had four Teigu users, she had short curly blonde hair and like Mez green eyes, her uniform was the standard crimson of the Revolution army but was a bit more loose to reflect both her personality and her allow her speed which was even more important with her new weapon the Teigu Adayusa a powerful scythe capable of slicing thru anything and gave the wielder increased capabilities the more enemies it killed. Her co-commander was named Melissa and she was a young blonde-haired fair skinned woman with hazel eyes, her hair was short but not overly so and her attire was similar to Kaola's her Teigu was an empowered two-handed spiked mace called Vadugaa which was capable of shattering rocks with ease and could increase its reach at will along with detaching its head to become a flail. The Other two Teigu users were both men one being a large bulky man who wielded the Teigu Sunder which was another axe but it was intrinsically different from Belvaac in that rather than empowering the user with more kills along with being able to divide into two smaller axes Sunder was designed with bypassing the guard of any opponent and homing in on ANY opening in an opponent guard and it always connected. This man wore a mask and only stated his name was Gurk and he wouldn't say anything else beyond that, the other man was shorter and also masked his name was Jace and he wielded a Teigu shard-gun, it resembled a normal shot-gun but fired special crystal shards which would turn their targets into crystal statues: the gun had no name as it was lost to history and the only trace of it were the Dwarven runes inscribed on the side which none of them could read. The Rest of Najenda's unit were non-Teigu users but were selected by her and Lydia as their best.
Seryu's bodyguards were more humble as they were selected from Zarteck's city guard at the head of these was Katie, the guard captain who had admitted them into Zarteck and who was surprised by her rapid advancement; though this was due to the fact that Seryu wanted people that she could educate as soldiers of 'Justice' meaning they had to be young like her and while capable open and importantly willing to put up with some of Seryu's eccentricities. The overall process between selection and establishing the chain of command took about two hours and it was early afternoon by that time: Tatsumi then told a runner to go and send out more through scouting parties to identify the positions that were of paramount importance to take.
The scouts were followed up by Tatsumi sending in a group of 'deserters' to probe for the weaknesses and sow descent; these were troops that were loyal to him but played the part of spy. After these measures were taken Tatsumi did what he could do to keep himself busy; the chief of these was sparring with the soldiers under his command but chiefly the Three Sacred Blades.
Speaking of the Three had progressed exceptionally fast since he had started their training in Melitine: of them Womyn was the smartest and thus the team leader with her skills with a blade becoming quickly on par with his own and already matching Akame and the other Elite Seven blow for blow in sparring matches, a good number of which she actually won. Balluck was definitely however the most well rounded and experienced of the group; her skills with the blade were unmatched and she at the moment was the best swordswoman of the three though that would soon change at the rate the teams third member Remus was coming along. That aside Balluck lived up to her confidence and in the skirmishes that they had fought on occasion since leaving Melitine along with her obsession with Danger Beast hunting in her downtime that wasn't spent banging him kept her as the best the team had.
However Remus was rapidly accelerating in terms of skill and prowess as she proved to be a quick study; the shy girl who was also a bit of a clutz at times had changed when it came to fighting; she had taken the most out of Tatsumi's lessons and had developed a unique fighting style, she also had taken time to get her hands on fighting axe from the Grundewick Manor armory and employed deadly dual wielding style that with her new armor expanded it. Speaking of expanding arsenals while in Tokorra Tatsumi had taken the time and used Merraid's influence to arm his Three Sacred Swords with the best the city had to offer the armor in question worn by the three was rather uniform painted gold and green and made of light alloys that offered decent protection but allowed for greater movement.
"HEEYEEAGH!" Remus shouted as she parried a sword strike from Tatsumi's blade, she then smiled as she brought out a new trick, she used the back of her axe to hook Tatsumi's guard and pull the blade out his hands after delivering a stunning kick to his abdomen. Tatsumi winced as she knocked him onto the ground and pinned him in a tackle. "I win" Remus replied, both of them wore little, Tatsumi only a pair of black pants and Remus wore the same along with a white wrap that covered only her breasts.
"I'll admit you do congratulations on beating me for the first time Remus, neat trick; I'll have to note that one for future reference just in case someone else uses it in an actual fight." Tatsumi replied.
"Oh, I know you will, I'm- surprised; you know I really didn't expect I'd teach you something new" Remus replied.
"You learn something new every day, just so you know however don't employ that move in battle unless you've really got your opponent in the position to pull it off successfully; as you and I both know, in a real fight the enemy doesn't hold back" Tatsumi explained, Remus giggled.
"Oh, I know that, speaking of I have you at a disadvantage why don't I play with you my 'captive'?" Remus teased seductively, the dojo in question was actually a set of tents; each usually allowed for about 10 people standing room only, however this particular one was reserved for their use only and no one who didn't have a reason to be there would go there. Tatsumi smiled, looked at Remus who put on her best flirty face, caressed her blonde locks and kissed. They kissed tenderly rolling about on the floor their hands exploring their bodies and trying their best to remove any obstructing articles of clothing. Striping each other rather quickly Remus lowered herself to Tatsumi's level and began to slowly and methodically blow him her lips moving slowly from tip to mid-length, added to in pleasure by wrapping her ample breasts around it and massaging it with care: Tatsumi smiled letting her do her best to please him; letting go for the time being his worries and troubles, the now was him and her in passionate lovemaking.
"Oh Remus" Tatsumi moaned; Remus's eyes twinkled, Tatsumi indicated to her with a hand gesture to mount him; she did so, and he found her folds in front of him. Tatsumi eager began to invade those folds with his tongue caressing her vulva with it before going inside her vagina proper and navigating her folds with grace; his hands went to her ample rump cheeks and he eagerly fondled them causing Remus to giggle as she blowed him; she liked having her rump touched as it was rather ticklish.
Their shared oral experience lasted for a good ten minutes before they both reached their limits and covered each other's faces with a load of their juices. They then quickly cleaned up and Remus laid flat with her legs spread. "Oh, Tatsumi can you give my bum the attention it deserves I love it when you do that" Remus invited, Tatsumi needed little invitation and entered her anally pulling her against his chest as he did so and laying back in reverse cowgirl position. "Tatsumi-kun! Tatsumi-kun!" Remus moaned with each thrust her blonde locks waving and her moans intensifying as he fondled her breasts, he kissed her ears and neck as he gave her the attention she deserved, gently of course but enjoyable all the same. Their passions gave way and after time they melded, their loins embracing the other; their lips locked at Tatsumi's chest pressed against her breasts his length deep inside her folds, her held in his arms as they took the missionary position. Thrust, thrust, bounce, moans as his green eyes looked into her green eyes their lips locked and as Tatsumi broke a tender kiss he came to right nipple and drank eagerly while his hands held Remus's right hand and breast, Remus wrapped her remaining arm around his shoulder. "Tatsumi" Remus moaned and closed her eyes simply listing to the sounds they made and beating of their hearts.
Each sound however the two made was not unheard by Tatsumi's protectors outside, Akame left her post to find Merraid for some fun of her own and Mez was restraining both herself and Suzuka from joining in; Kurome simply smiled knowing that she had something 'special' for him that evening. The Elite Seven were not there neither were the other two Sacred blades. The former of the two had gone their separate ways getting themselves prepared for the Night Op as they had been selected by Sheele for the team that would hit the village and rescue the hostages, Shastavi herself searched for ways to amuse herself with the camp courtesans (Females only as she knew and doubted anyone would be better than Tatsumi) while her subordinates readied themselves in whatever way they saw fit. The other Two Sacred blades were doing combat training of their own while waiting for their turn with Tatsumi.
As the camp prepared itself the spies Tatsumi had dispatched had reached the village and fallen in with the enemy as planned: their goal being to cause as much trouble as possible without being noticed. They did this by making sure to sabotage equipment, mainly supply wagons and other logistic things that would not be noticeable: a task made easier by the fact that Brezhnev had tasked his regular troops with making sure the hostages didn't escape thus leaving him with less manpower to implement the planned scorched earth tactic. The competence of Brezhnev as a general was questionable as he was not used to having to fight on the defensive and preferred to overwhelm opponents with rapid attacks using his more maneuverable troops. This was not an option due to terrain, the size of Tatsumi's army, and their holding of the high hills that overlooked the village, this left him with few options, one of his surviving soldiers later remarked that "The General knew he'd only be able to slow the Emperor's army down and knew that he was going to lose this conflict but he decided to fight anyway to bring down 'as many of the bourgeoise' as possible before he died" which in his head he thought would ensure future revolutions. The general also didn't have the luxury Tatsumi had of being in a position that he could let loose and relax so he issued an order to his die-hards to sow fear in Tatsumi's ranks and show him what holding back from the attack would get him.
Tatsumi's fun with Remus was interrupted mid third round by Mez who informed him that Spear wanted to speak with him and that one of their scouts had reported shocking news. Tatsumi smiled at Remus and put back on his clothes and armor before heading to the command tent where Spear and a dire faced Pais waited for him. "Alright what's happened?" Tatsumi asked, Pais teared up.
"It's- horrible; they've started murdering the people of the village" Pais explained, this shocked Tatsumi, Pais then went into detail; apparently the leader of the enemy army had given the order that some of their hostages be brought up to plain view out of range from the snipers of the army and had begun doing horrible things; the people were raped by the fanatical zealots of Brezhnev's army, men raped by woman and woman raped by men and children raped by monsters of both gender; after the mass rape the victims were then hung from crosses to die; the scouts had saved some of them from death but most were dead by the time they arrived: a missive had been left for them too and a few enemy skirmishers who'd decided to lie in ambush had been killed by the light cavalry who'd scouted the position. Tatsumi was enraged.
"What does the missive say?! Hand it to me!" Tatsumi raged, Pais handed him the paper which was written with a fine script despite the hatred its writer held for anyone who'd write this fine: Tatsumi read it. "To the vile tyrant and head of the tyrannical Empire Emperor Tatsumi VII, thrice damned be your name; you claim to care about the people of the Empire and many of them here believed your lies: my soldiers took the most devoted and have made an example to you: your cousins and you along with all your armies and I will personally enjoy pulling the rope that drops the blade of your death to be the one that breaks the wheel; all the old noble order will be broken along with those ilk in the middle, the Revolution will rule and the blood of the Empire will be spent; I look forward to giving those little cousins of yours a bit of fun before I chop their heads off, Your regards his Glorious impressiveness People's General Nikita Leon Brezhnev of the People's Revolutionary army. P.S. You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs nor have a revolution without purging the old guard" Tatsumi read aloud then took one hard look at the paper before ripping it to shreds. "THAT MONSTER! I WILL CRUCIFY HIM! AND EVERY ONE OF HIS DIEHARDS!" Tatsumi yelled then kicked a nearby chair over.
"It won't do you good to get angry; you're playing right into his hands; he's trying to get you to attack so that he can blame the massacre on you" Spear explained, Tatsumi calmed down and took a good look at the shredded note.
"You're right Spear I did over react, but trust me that bastard will be dead by the end of this: I swear it and when he's dead I'll feed his corpse to my raptor and only after I've put out his eyes and had him gelded to death for saying such vile things about Lin and Koko; a good thing Esdeath has them nice and safe in Tokorra" Tatsumi responded.
"And I'll crush his skull" Jessica added from her spot in the corner.
"That's a good thing that those three are safe; besides those two especially deserve to be kept safe" Pais replied having recovered her composure she then clung to Tatsumi.
"How long until nightfall?" Tatsumi asked.
"About 4 more hours, and if you're insisting on going on that mission don't, you're too important to risk on that" Spear explained.
"And you'll have me lead from the rear?" Tatsumi remarked annoyed.
"No: just that your troops will want you with them not rushing off on a night skirmish! Tatsumi you are the anchor on which your army is kept from drifting randomly in the seas of battle, the banner they rally around. I'm not asking you to lead from the rear but rather to delegate and lead from the front. You're not just a soldier fighting for a cause anymore Tatsumi nor a member of a small team: You're the leader of an Empire, the Empire, you have people to handle these sort of tasks for you, you can't just leave the bulk of your forces behind and go off on your own, if the worst happens and you die because you were too impetuous or blinded by rage my beloved husband then we're all doomed, every single person on Eden will be doomed you're the last hope of the Empire, the last hope of Eden against the darkness threatening to tear it asunder the only chance to defeat the evil and end the killing once and for all, as such you need to be where it will have the most impact, leading the army and being at the heart of the battle not off on your own with a small unit of soldiers" Spear rebuked and lectured him; Spear's words drove deep much like her namesake would upon the battlefield.
Tatsumi said nothing just stood there for a minute with a solemn face; Spear was right he needed to be where his troops needed him most, he badly wanted to be out there though especially to watch Sheele's back and that of everyone under her command, but that was what the old him would've done, the old Tatsumi that was overconfident in his skills and rushed into situations without planning; that Tatsumi died the day Honest had nearly ended his life, and perhaps it was time for a new Tatsumi to take place, from Tatsumi the politician who tried to win his battles without fighting to Tatsumi the Leader- no the Messiah, the one who needed to win or else Eden would be doomed; the prospects of everyone on the planet dying as a result of him getting himself killed by overconfidence was enough to concede the point; Spear was right. "You're right Spear; I'm- just- well afraid to throw people's lives in danger for my sake" Tatsumi replied.
"That's the true test of leadership Tatsumi and bravery; the key to being brave and a true leader is being the only person who knows it, you need to inspire people to do great things you're capable of doing it, and I'll be right there by your side" Spear reassured then hugged him, closing her eyes and smiling.
"Spear" Tatsumi said comforted, he looked into her blue eyes.
"Promise me you'll still be there when this is all over, promise me you'll be by my side even in the thickest of battles, I swear that oath to you my husband I swore it the day we were wed and we need to have the same commitment" Spear asked.
"Yes. I promise." Tatsumi gasped out and pulled her into a kiss, a romantic one at which the only other two people in the room Jessica and Pais smiled at as they shared the same feelings as Spear did though her's were deeper in a way, Spear had sworn that she'd never leave him and that was a commitment that while Jessica and Pais could make it wouldn't have the same level of significance as Spear's had simply because Tatsumi had been so influential in her life, saving it from a monster in Nyau, taking what was in a way a political marriage and turning it into one of love and sharing a home where both could easily say they were at home, two actually.
The kiss lasted for a good two minutes tell both broke it though both still held each other. "I wish Aria was here with us" Tatsumi added, Aria was not with him she was with the army that would be marching from Tokorra because Tatsumi had given her that position out of a matter of trust, while Esdeath would lead the army and command it Aria was in-charge.
"Trust me Tatsumi she'll be with us when this is over: I don't think this war will last more than two weeks at most, not if we're fast about it" Spear replied. "Anyway, how about we get something to eat" Spear commented and that was enough for them to leave.
That Night Tatsumi would have been in bed were it not for the fact he was at the vanguard of his forces; the plan was in place; once the hostages had been freed by the strike team the rest of the army would attack all but one side of the village, as the force wasn't large enough to completely envelop the enemy force; however it did have the luxury of better equipment, soldiers and commanders then the enemy. That in mind Tatsumi was making the final preparations for battle, his Sacred Swords clad him in his armor, while his Four Champions readied his mount in battle armor outside, while the Elite Seven stood at attention.
A messenger entered his tent interrupting the last two touches his helmet and crown. "Your majesty, the strike team has begun its advance: any final preparations left must be done swiftly" The messenger stated.
"Send for my Chaplin, I'd like to make a pre-battle sacrifice" Tatsumi ordered, the messenger nodded, Womyn placed his helmet on and Remus placed the Golden Crown atop it; Tatsumi looked at himself. "Damn I've come a long way from being a country bumpkin haven't I" Tatsumi thought to himself, clad in ornate black painted and gold enameled plate mail which overlapped secondary coat of plates underneath, and underneath that was a thick gambeson made of raw-cotton layers overlapping a titanium scale hauberk, on his back was black and gold cape, his legs protected by greaves, his helmet was a fusion of a sallet and gallic helm, topped by the gold plated titanium figurine of a dragon, his swords Valruost and Smaug hung proudly on either side.
"Your mount is ready!" Mez shouted, Tatsumi walked out of the tent and inspected his mount which while not the same creature he'd tamed but he'd faced it's kind before and nor as large the kind he was used to but it was still a formidable specimen of his kind. "Personally I think you should ride a golden dragon but I don't think it'd be possible to find a gold dragon in this day and age, so we thought an Earth Dragon would do" Mez commented, Tatsumi took a look at the Earth Dragon which was named Hardshell and was a formidable specimen if ever there was one but Tatsumi's nature was enough to command respect in it, it wasn't as big as the beast he'd faced on his way to Melitine for the first time or again in the countryside outside the city with Chelsea it was however about the size of a pack horse.
"He'll do this is an interesting change of things, I never thought I'd well ever find a tame Earth Dragon much less get to ride one" Tatsumi remarked.
"It was much easier taming him then it looked" Merraid replied surprising him by appearing from behind the mount.
"I figured this was you're doing, you managed to get a giant butterfly for yourself yet?" Tatsumi replied in jest, Merraid giggled, dressed in a set of light armor that looked like a fusion of samurai armor, beetle chitin and lorica segmentata, topped by a plumed sallet with a carved butterfly engraved in and pearl circlet atop the brow Merraid looked exactly like he thought she would: absolutely ludicrous.
"I'll take that as a complement, don't worry I haven't given up on that particular field of Danger Beast searching but I figured I'd get you the best danger beast mount for the job: anyway I look forward to battle, let's see who gets more kills by the end of it" Merraid replied.
"I'll lose track honestly, but what would be the prize" Tatsumi asked curious.
"Winner gets do whatever they want with the other" Merraid replied, Tatsumi laughed.
"Anything?" Tatsumi asked getting ideas in his head, kinky ones.
"Anything within reason of course" Merraid replied.
"I'll take that competition, we both win either way" Tatsumi commented, Merraid smirked then drew her swords preforming a flurry of blade movements meant to entertain before sheaving them, Angulas arrived followed by her attendants and novices along with a few soldiers carrying with them a portable alter and dragging behind a sacrificial bull, bells were rung to get the attention of troops who gathered around the center of camp where the alter was laid down, Angulas and two of her novices prepared the alter incense was lit and the bull was strapped down.
"In the name of our Emperor and of this army we pray to the gods in the heavens above, we venerate thy named and offer up to you this sacrifice and asked for thy blessing and for thee to grant us this victory" Angulas began, she then pulled up her sleeves and removed her outer vestments to keep them clean of blood as was custom, this left her in garbs that wouldn't stain as easily and which would be washed as she would soon change into her battle vestments. "Avawahy: Lord of Life and Peace wash clean they servant of the blood of war, in the name of Myrmedia and Mallegia the twin goddesses of war and their father Selophant God of Battle I offer thee this offering which has been consecrated and set apart as a sacrifice to bless this army and those who fight for the rightful Emperor with victory in battle and war" Angulas continued, a figure approached the alter clad in white robes of white armor carrying with a white staff toped with the figurehead of a phoenix, his brow had a spider tattooed on.
"Wait I need to offer my own blessings upon the offering so that my goddess too may be honored" Syura explained approaching.
"You may do so: Afterall offerings to all the gods must be made if we are to have victory" Angulas replied, Syura approached the bull and put atop its head a spider figure which he secured to it.
Syura then spoke words in a language unknown to those present and then took off the figure from the head of the beast. "There my offering is made, the Eternity Queen will be pleased" Syura explained, Angulas looked at him confused, then resumed her ordinations and prayers before taking a ceremonial sword dropping it downward thru the bull's neck and with single strike, the blood poured into a basin beneath the alter which was then searched for signs.
"The Blood is clean! Much rejoicing victory will be ours this day!" Angulas proclaimed to applause, Tatsumi smiled; the crowd dispersed, and final preparations were made.
Within an hour the first riders arrived with the signal that the strike team had succeeded and to begin the attack. It took about 20 minutes to assemble the troops into battle formation Tatsumi and his retinue in the center of it. "Well this is it" Tatsumi thought.
"Having second thoughts? We can call the attack off if you don't think it's the right call" Spear asked next to him, clad in her Teigu battle armor Spear resembled a Valkyrie but with a whole lot more armor with no openings save for her face and that was because she had the guard up, in her arms she held her Teigu Greatsword Yadviga in readiness.
"No: We attack now, we can't let them escape; if we let them escape, they'll fade into the hills and we'd be fighting them for years: No, we don't have years and any day where war wages is one too long! We attack now! Soldiers of the Golden Dragon Army: Today a new Empire will rise, this is the beginning of a conflict that will see an end to senseless killing and crimes of traitors and tyrants! We will win today and on the morrow, we'll win more, and we'll keep winning until the day comes when we again have peace! Men and Women of the old Empire, you are of it no more this day we make our Empire anew!" Tatsumi spoke first to Spear and then to the rest of army in as best of a speech he could make at the moment. "Advance! For the Golden Dragon!" Tatsumi shouted, and cheers went up as the army advanced on mass.
Inside the town General Brezhnev looked over his troops and then at the approaching army, the accounts of what happened on this side come from undercover troops from the Emperor's army. The man's hackles were raised as he looked at the enemy. "Soldiers of the Revolution we are outnumbered and as such our only recourse will be to withdraw but I'd say doing so unless we destroy what they stand to gain would be folly: So for the Revolution I'll lead the brave men who will act as a rear guard to cover the withdraw of our forces!" General Brezhnev's booming voice went out, he then took his most fanatical troops, about 6,000 strong towards the front while the remaining 4000 troops began to withdraw, Brezhnev however was not a man who lead from the front he stood at the center behind his troops with one of his body-doubles leading from the front in a spare uniform. Considering the fact about 40,000 Golden Dragon troops were coming down on him the rag-tag but still professional and crisp uniformed troops of General Brezhnev were at ease; due to the general's habit of feeding his vanguard fanatics hashish to give them courage, it was a favorite habit of his as he often used the drug to calm his own nerves but not when he was ready to take his rearguard and bolt once things began to go really south for he had no intention of dying in a rearguard, a glorious end to be sure but not one he was remotely wanting to have any part of because at the end of the day he was after all a man who had no qualms about leaving other people to die for him.
The army advanced towards the enemy Tatsumi looked to either side of him with Spear and Seryu to his right and Najenda and Lydia to his left all protected by a disciplined bodyguard unit and with their weapons at the ready and each returning a smile; behind him was Natsuhi and her daughter Jessica with the household troops of House Delvar in lockstep and a few ranks to the right was Merraid and about 2000 Oarburgh soldiers who'd been moved east to join up with his force via air manta, Merraid had dawned a war mask and her soldiers wore similar ones that were meant to inspire fear in the opponents their armor was similar to Merraid's though they wore triangular helmets that resembled those of Ashigaru foot soldiers which these troops were but the armor they wore left no chinks and they favored Falcatas to Katanas though a few elites wielded large battle-axes and to the front of them were a number of keen gunners and bowman. Tatsumi's own protectors were some of the Empire's famous lockstep legions, these elite soldiers were clad in formidable armor head to toe with no part of their bodies exposed, they carried large thick rectangular titanium shields and wielded halberds as their main weapon and as a sidearm carried malachite Falcattas. But also, with him was a crack regiment of calvary riding of course Earth Dragons like himself clad in armor comparable to knights and armed with long lances and once those were impractical to use large maces and carried kite shields that would protect them in a slog. Tatsumi himself had a lance too but had no shield using both hands for the lance and when the weapon had served its use, he would draw both blades.
But all the blade work would be saved for after the skirmish line had thinned the enemy ranks, both sides had these and skirmishing despite the access to firearms was not where the real fighting was done and this was due to the process in which armor worn by both sides was made, the armor forging process created very strong armor that could easily take a bullet, and if sustained fire was met the soldier wore about three layers of armor that had to be taken down, only shots where chinks were available were guaranteed kills. Thus, both skirmish lines set up, gunners took rank positions in front of bowmen and crossbowmen and began to fire, the archers behind loosed their arrows and bolts at the same time.
The RA forces got the first volley off due to their defensive positions, but their shots did little damage about a couple dozen fell down and about a quarter of which were actually dead or mortally wounded the rest were knocked down by impact force. The Imperial troops returned fire and their attack did a bit more damage due to them having more skirmishers, however the armor again did its job, but the RA troops had lost about twice the number the Imperial soldiers did.
The Skirmishing went on like this for some time until the both sides had exhausted their ammunition and pulled back to re-arm with fresh ammunition, it was then that the signal came for a general charge after the skirmishers had fallen back. This was where Tatsumi smirked under his helmet face guard knowing that it was his time to shine and show his troops what their new emperor could do. "Charge!" Tatsumi ordered, all soldiers around him began the charge the cavalry easily moving ahead to Tatsumi's side his champions, his sacred swords and the Elite Seven readied their Teigus to fight alongside their Emperor.
With that in mind Susanoo and Amaterasu rushed out ahead and were the first to clash with the enemy as Tatsumi expected, the two biological Teigus were faster than even the cavalry and they showed their ferocity, Susanoo with his mace and Amaterasu with her Glaive, Tatsumi and his guard then charged.
(Song begin: It has begun by Starset)
For the moment a brief silence befell Tatsumi's mind and time seemed to slow around him then… Contact! Tatsumi's lance was thrusted both hands struck a deadly first strike impaling the first of many soldiers to die by his hands that day. "One" Tatsumi began counting then soon reached seven after brutal lance strikes in rapid but brutal succession killed about 5 regular conscripts and one corporal. Again he struck, killing about 5 more men before his lance stuck in an enemy, then he quickly on reflex drew Valruost and Smaug, his mount roared as it mauled troops with its claws and bisected troops with its mandible one unfortunate was thrown up and behind Tatsumi then bifurcated the man with a brutal strike from Valruost one which the blade itself had done on reflex, Tatsumi then dawned the Dragon Armor. To his side Spear drove her sword in a violent thrust thru five soldiers and bisected them in swift fashion, to his other side he noted four troops blown away by Najenda's Saiga and to his immediate side the Four Rakshasa Champions began their earnest slaughter with Suzuka and Mez decimating the forward line with their Teigu weapons, the swift strikes of Mez's naginata tearing deep and sweeping cuts from Suzuka's broadsword hewing down dozens at time while Akame was a blur of lightning strikes enemies falling over dead from the slightest strike of Muramase and brutal cleaves from Kiriichimonji.
But it was Kurome who was the deadliest of his four champions, she fought with fury and speed beyond her stature and with each strike new puppets rose to join her dragging down their comrades to their shock with Doya fighting to her side blasting enemies with her new Teigu pistols the Garrack Duo which fired bullets at such a high speed they pierced thru bodies. His Sacred Swords also killed their share but Remus amassed a big body count as she fought alongside Spear the two of them rapidly slaughtered about 200 troops in a matter of minutes, this due to the fact that Spear used her Teigu with rapid strikes in Imperial fist rings with Spear favoring the Fifth Ring which was the Onslaught Ring and was dedicated to rapid strikes and brutal counters to kill enemies on mass, Remus had adopted the same stance as Tatsumi had taught the trio in the martial art though Remus's skills were not as refined as Spear's but they were enough to rack of up a count. To his side Tatsumi noted a man in general's uniform and immediately sent a fireball his way frying the man to a crisp along with igniting three enemies near him this caused the enemy ranks to begin to buckle under the mass as troops began to lose cohesion with those in the rear having mixed reactions some rushing forward to force the soldiers in front of them towards the jaws of the enemy ranks which on the flanks were beginning a Trebbia envelopment, one massive gap opened at Tatsumi saw Jessica and her retinue men of war rush thru it Jessica shattering skulls with strikes from her brass knuckles and slicing a head off here and there with her colichemarde rapier which she sheathed as she rushed a bearded man in a conventional uniform.
"Break a few eggs?! I'll break you!" Jessica yelled over the cacophony of battle and delivered rapid blows to the man's abdomen bones cracked as ribs broke but before Jessica could finish the job, she had to fall back to avoid a halberdier's lunge thus requiring her to flank, the man then ran behind with a number of troops following after her. Tatsumi then lost track of her in the confusion as he was forced to slice down enemy after enemy which by this point his kill count was now somewhere in the hundreds due to a mix of swordsmanship and fling bolts of flame from Smaug's power at clumps saving the lives of a number of his wives' protectors. Also by this point he had chosen to dismount his Earth Dragon and jump into masses slaughtering enemies with ruthless speed his reflexes beyond those of any of the men and women on the field and to a point where he had become numb to the killing not even noticing who had been killed by his blades or his fire attacks.
In this mass of fighting no one noticed the retreat of General Brezhnev and 10 of his bodyguards, Brezhnev cursing his broken ribs but running with adrenaline to horse and riding off with his retreating troops along with about a few hundred more of the rear guard which by this point had crumbled but despite this the remaining troops fought on blinded by hashish and meth in their bodies which made them numb to pain and to their comrades dying left and right around them. Even then the 6000 troops had fallen about a tenth of their number still fighting on as the remainder fled, some calvary tried to pursue the routing troops but were bogged down in the town streets by hastily erected barricades that had been put in place before the battle and which about 500 reserves waited on still fresh, these had been in reserve as a pinning force, without these troops Brezhnev's routers would have been cut down by the swift cavalry.
(Song End)
However, within another half hour the battle ended as the RA troops were slaughtered to the last having resolved to die to allow their comrades to escape. However, this battle had cost Brezhnev dearly as about a quarter of his army was dead either on the field or in the town streets. This was not without losses on Golden Dragon Army's side either, however they were less severe about five hundred dead and seven score more wounded. Tatsumi noted the red haze that he'd been fade, however he had kept track of the kills he had made in the fighting, for every soldier that died on his side he had killed just as many and about three dozen more besides rounding his count to 536 dead at his hands, about half as many by his bodyguards in a combined total. Spear too had amassed a sizeable body count though she had lost track round about 300 and after wiping out two squads with a thunderbolt from her armor. At the same time Tatsumi noted Najenda going about the enemy wounded delivering mercy kills to the mortally so, where her bodyguards collect the less wounded.
Within half an hour Tatsumi took down the banner of the Revolutionary Army from the town's flagstaff and raised his own flag, one of many tailored banners and the first of many to rise across the fronts as his armies marched taking down their initial targets with lightning strikes. The Dragon now flew in place of the Manticore and Tatsumi took the standards of the enemy and pilled them up. "Now what to do with these?" Tatsumi asked to himself.
"Torch em" Jessica chimed.
"No, that would be in bad taste, I think I'll have them modified as a new standard for this army, it's a bit of hodgepodge at the moment and I think a unifying symbol for the troops would do for a bit more cohesion, replace the hammer and sickle with an olive branch and a sword, one for diplomacy the other for force" Tatsumi replied, Jessica smirked at his ideas.
The day closed, while on other fronts the other armies had moved in to secure targets and wipe out enemies: the Gallian armies under Generals Gunther and Wallace wiped out the minor pockets of RA troops in their providence, the North General Takemori and General Barton pushed and crushed the forces of General Merack Vakati taking the two provinces of Mar dock and Valathrae while to the south the Gassarnel siblings launched three separate strikes that overwhelmed the southern RA provinces and in the west, well- Esdeath had that under control.
The burial of the dead on both sides was brief Tatsumi ordered the dead to be buried in two mounds both for either side, the cleanup was done swiftly as Tatsumi wanted to capitalize on the momentum. The town was liberated and the people of it returned to their homes, after this Tatsumi had his troops march until the fatigue caught up and they pitched camp after it began to grow dark.
That evening… Tatsumi laid back on his bed, Kurome walked into his tent accompanied by Natalia and Amuria who had been among those who went with him to Zarteck; the two smiled and wore fine dresses and jewelry. "Are you worn out?" Kurome asked.
"Not really" Tatsumi replied half-laughing inside, Valruost had given him all the more stamina per kill, Kurome smiled as did Amuria and Natalia.
"Good I had something special planned for tonight and I think the three of us can see to wearing you out" Kurome replied and with a nod the three of them discarded their dresses under which they wore rather skimpy and seductive underwear. The Three climbed on the bed and relieved Tatsumi of his clothes and their own garbs soon all three were naked as they day they were born. Tatsumi simply laid-back Natalia sat on his face and he began his tongue work, Kurome mounted his length moaning audibly as he went deep and Amuria began caressing his balls with her tongue while tickling his nipples with her fingers. Both Kurome and Natalia moaned loudly as Tatsumi did his work, Amuria was silent apart from the slurping of his balls and the rimjob she gave Kurome before licking his balls again, the stimulus caused Tatsumi to orgasm faster than normal filling Kurome to the brim with his seed, Kurome moved aside to allow Amuria to blow him and joined him in process while Natalia joined in soon after Tatsumi smiled as he licked Natalia's honeypot and continued the process until both him and her orgasmed, Natalia then took her place on his length, Amuria on his face while Kurome licked his nipples.
Passion blinded the three and the last beams of Eden's suns set, elsewhere in the galaxy events played out that would have a major impact on Eden's future as a blockade ended and dark lord took the place of his master, while on Eden other forces schemed and Volgoth sat atop his throne scheming and plotting while his Generals expanded the range of his armies restoring some of the more repairable nexuses.
What happened next was anyone's guess at this point but for the moment Tatsumi was happy, his enemies lamented their fallen and his commanders plotted the next moves in what would be the first step to ending the killing.