Genji sat in the grass checking his spell rifle, he checked the loading mechanism, the barrel, the aiming sights, everything. He would be going into combat in a few hours. The last thing he wanted was equipment failure in the middle of combat. Satisfied with his weapon he took to counting his rounds, each rifleman was given 30 rounds. This may not sound like a lot but there were systems for resupply once ammunition ran low.
"How many times are you gonna check?" Varian asked
Genji turned and saw Varian leaning against the tracks of his squad's armoured personnel carrier. To Genji this creation was one of the gods, he had been told this machine relies very little on magic and is mostly the product of craftsmanship and engineering. He found that hard to believe, it could travel faster than a horse and had inch thick plate armor as its frame. The vehicle was open topped allowing the troops to shoot from within as it sped along the battlefield. There was also a turret atop the with an autogun allowing for fire support for each squad. At the front was something else, it was a rotating grinder for chewing through obstacles and enemy men. This meant that the APC acted as a ram if needed further making pushes with the vehicle harder to stop.
"Better safe than sorry." Genji replied as he counted his rifle rounds.
"You've been checking your equipment since yesterday." Varian said
"If you fail to prepare…" Genji said
"You prepare to fail, yeah yeah I got it." Varian replied
"You seem cranky, nervous?" Genji asked as he looked up from the rounds in his hand.
"No…" Varian said looking away.
"It's ok to be scared you know, we might not see the sunrise tomorrow." Genji said as he fiddled with the round in his hand.
"I'm not scared!" Raigon replied hotly
"You aren't? Well I am…" Genji said with a self deprecating smile.
At those words Genji watched as Varain turned to look at him in the eyes for the first time in this exchange.
"You don't look afraid." Varian said.
"I'm terrified honestly, I've got a wife and three little ones back home. A child shouldn't have to grow up without a father and wife shouldn't have to raise her children without a husband." Genji said as he raised his head and looked up at the bright blue sky overhead.
"All my life I've wanted a place in this world, for myself and my family. A place under this bright blue sky." Genji said.
"So it's ok to be afraid you know, however bad our lives were there were good times too. It's scary to leave it all behind." Genji said with a chuckle.
"Sorry I snapped at you…" Varian said sheepishly.
"It's fine. You remember what the Field Marshall said?" Genji asked
There's no courage without…
2 Hours ago
ACHTUNG!
At those words the forces of the Ordo Malleus stood at attention and in perfect unison threw up a crisp salute. Gathered was the entirety of the Ordo Malleus forces in the Draconic Theatre. At the wings of the formation were standing their allies from the Baharuth Empire, on the left stood the elite shock troops of the Empire, wearing thick plate armor and wielding two handed swords. On the right atop their mounts were the the pride of the Empire, the emperor's elite shock cavalry, the famed Arwintar Hussars. Their mounts armored in fine gleaming armor, in their hands they held silver gleaming lances that shone in the bright noon sun.
The gathered soldiers watched as an elf woman wearing the red garb of the Ordo Malleus walked atop the wooden stage flanked by a pair of officers. She had the long ears of a high elf and her uniform was filled with ornamentation. On her back flowed a great cape of red gold and on her head she wore a peaked cap that seemed more a crown that a hat due to the fine golden embroidery on the hat.
Soldiers of the Ordo Malleus and brave allies of the Baharuth Empire
I stand before you as the Field Marshal of the Ordo Malleus
I am the commander of all the souls that serve in my Ordo
Before me I see both veterans and fresh recruits
Though your nations may be different, your faiths, your creeds, your experiences all different
Yet all of you share one thing
You all fight for hearth and home
This nation is a door
A door to your homes, your families
If the beastmen break through it will be your homes they burn
Your gold they steal
Your loved ones they will eat
Those beasts are knocking on your door will you let them in?
"NEVER!" the thousands of voices shouted in unison.
Good, I expected nothing less
For countless millennia I have served such is long lives my race enjoys
My staff and myself, along with your own commanders and your sovereigns we have been working towards one goal
That goal is to win the day and bring each and every one of you home to your families
To that I confess we will not succeed
But if there is one thing I know without a doubt
It is that heroes are not born
They are made
They are forged in the crucible of war, upon the anvil of valor
Today when you face your foe remember this
There is no courage without fear
Present Day
"No victory without sacrifice. Honour your comrades for their sacrifice and they will honour yours." Varian said
"She's quite something isn't she." Genji said
"Yeah hard to imagine fighting wars for thousands of years." Varian said with a chuckle
"One war at a time my friend." Genji said as he stowed away his rounds and picked up his rifle before standing up.
"Come on let's go for a walk." Genji said as he extended his hand to Varian.
"You didn't finish counting your rounds." Varian said
"I think I got it right the first twenty six times." Genji said with a laugh
Varian hearing this let out a laugh of his own and grabbed Genji's hand letting himself be pulled to his feet.
"Come on if today is to be our last day in this world we might as well enjoy this good weather." Genji said with a smile.
"Aye I can live with that." Varian said with a smile of his own.
2 hours later
"MOUNT UP!" the vehicle commanders shouted in unison.
Genji boarded the APC and took his position, on his left stood Varian. It was finally happening he could hear the thundering of thousands of hooves moving towards them.
"Steady men! For the Re-Estise Kingdom, for Queen Renner." Gazef shouted
"HAI HO!" the army answered as shields locked and pikes were lowered.
Genji could hear the braying and snorting now as the rumbling grew ever louder. He couldn't see beyond the line as he was behind at his designated position. He looked around and saw his division were all now in their APCs. The formation was simple, it was a small wedge at the tip consisting of three dreadnoughts. Behind the dreadnoughts was two rows of APCs with a 10 metre gap between them. In the gap were the Arwintar Hussars, who rode in sets of threes screened by the armoured vehicles on their flanks.
Every three APCs there was a light armoured tank, it was manned by three soldiers at the top there was a fully armoured turret with twin auto spell guns for added fire power. At the front was a gimballed auto gun as well, when front facing this vehicle unloads a hail of spellgun fire. It was an outdated model, chosen for its ease of use and low impact even if captured. This model the Wolverine light tank has seen limited use recently on the other worlds. Ordo Malleus high command has preferred the use of the heavier Panther medium tank with it's spell enchanted Prismatic Adamantium composite armor and it's heavy 150mm main gun. This is in stark contrast to the Wolverine's Mithril Steel composite armor which was non enchanted and it's 40mm spell auto guns.
It wasn't that the Ordo Malleus did not wish to spend the resources on the local forces, the reason was actually much simpler. The better the tank the more complex it is to operate, which implies a longer training period. The best tank the Ordo Malleus had at its disposal was the Takemikazuchi Super Heavy Tank, it has 2% Abyss and Prismatic composite armor, with 10th tier defensive enchantments. The tank did not use tracks or wheels like the other models. Instead, it uses a hover enchantment that allows it to float across the terrain, making it immune to being slowed down by terrain. As for it's weapon it had twin heavy Rail Spell Cannons capable of firing a yield equivalent to a 10th tier offensive spell. There of course is a cost to all this power, due to its complex internal systems and expensive components it takes almost ten years to train a crew and almost a century to construct one. Whether this investment was worth it was debated by both the Ordo Malleus and the Ordo Mechanicus extensively. However, the discussion ceased when during a particularly costly and brutal campaign one of these tanks took a direct hit from the spell [Fallen Down] and although heavily damaged remained combat effective. It appears that the Abyss component of the armor served its purpose well even though it was only 2% of the armor. Of course any material consisting of the Abyss is absurdly expensive and difficult to manufacture. So difficult in fact that the initial project was aided by Successors from both Momonga and Amanomahitotsu. This means currently there are only 40 of these tanks available in an army that guards thousands of worlds. After that event the Takemikazuchi model earned a new nickname, the Honey Badger because to put it simply, it doesn't give a shit.
Soon Genji heard the crash as the two lines met in melee, he stood standing in his APC trying to steady his breathing. He could hear the cries of rage and pain all around him, he looked around and saw most of the rest were pale with fear.
"I think I'm going to be sick." someone behind him said.
"Save it, do it once we're past the lines then you can puke on some beastmen." one of the Arwintar Hussars said
"Yeah you might make one of the beastmen slip." another Ordo Malleus soldier said
At those words there was a round of laughter at the comments. Genji could sense the anxiety start to ebb away after that joke.
"Take heart men, your foes are but beasts throwing themselves against a wall. We will show them there is more to war than brute strength." Genji's vehicle commander said
The vehicle commanders were all soldiers from Eden, they lead the squads of the divisions. It was a good thing too, Genji was sure none of them could lead well in combat.
Finally the call came and he could see the dreadnoughts in front of him lower their metal frames as if preparing to run. He could see messengers running behind the line in front of him. Then he heard the horn, he watched as the line in front of him opened up like a set of double doors. The beastmen clambered over shouting for blood.
"FORWARD!" Fenix roared at the front of the formation. As he began to charge, followed by the rest of the formation. Genji looked across the line and could see the same thing happening on the far end of the line as well.
"Los los los!" the vehicle commander cried as the engine on the APC roared to life and Genji felt the lurch as it began moving.
"Here we go…" Varain muttered
"Come on, we can do this." Genji said stiffly
Genji looked ahead and saw the dreadnoughts plow through the beastmen lines, the APC's that followed matched their speed and followed after them. Like that the entire column began to move carving a line through the beast men forces. The area that had chosen was where the beastmen were thinner. The light tanks began firing at the surrounding beastmen to help clear a path, Genji himself followed his training and began firing at the nearby beastmen. With each kick of his rifle he saw a beastmen fall as hole was blown from their bodies. There were so many that he barely had to aim, he just had to point into the mass of bodies and fire.
In a few minutes they were out of the mass and running at full speed along the plains. Genji turned to see the rest of the column were still exiting the mass but the beastmen could do little to the armoured vehicles. The vehicles on the right side started to peel away and the Arwintar Hussars broke off from the formation and began moving towards the flanks. Genji watched as the Hussars started attacking the rear of the beastmen flanks. The beastmen now divided in three were now free to be engaged piecemeal.
High above Echo 1 flew with the rest of his wing as they covered the advancing eastern spearhead. The Empire's heavy cavalry were decimating the east flank of the beastmen and the gap was being widened as the shock troops of the empire cleaved their way through the beastmen hordes. From his vantage point he could see the centre line beginning to bend under the weight of the beastmen advance. The men were holding thanks to a briefing by the general staff for utilising an elastic defence.
"Hostile Manticores 11 o'clock high." Echo 3 said
"Alright brother's and sisters, it's time to earn our pay." Echo 1 said
The wing broke off into three squadrons as they sped ahead to intercept the manticores. Echo 1 raised his rifle as he approached and fired off a [Fireball] enchanted round, the round left a blue mana trail as it sailed toward the manticore. The manticore rolled midair and dodged it but one of his fellow's managed to get a lucky shot in. The Manticore shrieked as the spell exploded at it's shoulder.
"Engage!" Echo 1 commanded as the Fallschirmjagers shot towards the manticore some had bayonets raised others were readying spells.
Genji looked up and could see the flying figures dancing around the Manticores.
"Glad we got someone watching out for us up there." Varian said
"Yeah, if those Manticores got to us…" Genji said but faltered halfway as he went pale.
"Manticores! Three targets, 10 o'clock high." A soldier shouted
"Captain! Three more bogeys heading to the spearhead." Echo 3 cried as he dodged a hail of spikes from the manticore he was dueling.
"Squadron 1 break off, squadron 2 and 3 engage the current targets." Echo 1 commanded
Echo 1 and his squadron broke off from the fight as they shot towards the three manticores heading for the spearhead. Echo 1 realised they won't make it in time so he made the judgement call.
"Squadron 1 anti-air bombardment, full power." Echo 1 said
"Sir, if we miss it'll hit the spearhead." Echo 3 responded
"Then don't miss." Echo 1 replied curtly
Genji held his rifle shakily as he aimed at the incoming manticores, even from afar the manticores looked huge. He could hear their blood curdling screeching as they flew towards them.
"Hold." the vehicle commander said
Genji looked to his left and saw Varian's rifle was shaking like a leaf in the wind. Whether it was from the shaking of the APC as it sped along or if it was from fear Genji could only guess. However judging from how Varian was hyperventilating and his face was the colour of parchment, Genji could make an educated guess. In training they shot blocks of wood and cloth targets, real combat was much… much more terrifying.
"Hold." the vehicle commander said again
"How much longer would they wait? Until the manticore lands on top of them and rips them into pieces?" Genji thought privately.
"HOLD!" the vehicle commander shouted again.
The orders have come down between the vehicles, Genji's APC would be the starter. The rest of the surrounding spearhead would fire once Genji's APC started. He could see the turret gunner tapping the trigger of his auto gun anxiously. The manticores were getting closer now they looked ten times more terrifying at this distance.
"FIRE!" the vehicle commander commanded.
Genji pulled the trigger on his rifle and felt the kick of the recoil as a streak of blue flew towards the manticores. All around him he heard the crack of rifles and the roar of the autoguns. A hail of blue flew up towards manticores they shrieked and flew up to avoid the fire but many shots still hit home. Genji's heart sank when he realised their shots did mostly negligible damage. It was then he saw a volley of gold light fly at manticores from the Fallschirmjagers high above. The gold streaks struck the manticores and explosions bloomed where the shots struck. The shockwave was so great that Genji could feel it from his APC. At first he was elated but then he saw two of shots had missed and were heading straight in his direction.
"Oh no…" Varian said as he realised it too.
"DOWN!" the vehicle commander shouted too late.
Genji watched as the shot impacted five metres away from his APC. The shockwave knocked him backwards along with most of his fellows. Genji felt his back slam into the man behind him and the whole squad collapsed on top of each other in a heap in the APC. Genji sat on top of another of his squad mates for a moment stunned, all he could hear was a ringing in his ears. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Varian grabbing his shoulder shouting something at him. Varian extended his hand and Genji took it and was pulled up.
Genji staggered to his feet as he peered over the edge of the APC he saw a bleeding and screeching manticore flying towards him, he instinctively ducked and the beast flew inches over his head. He whirled and saw the manticore barrel right into a group of Arwintar Hussars before slamming into the side of an APC.
Genji looked on horrified as the APC was thrown on it's side emptying the men out onto the field. The Arwintar Hussars that were knocked over ended up in the path of the APCs.
"DON'T STOP! LOS!" one of the vehicle commanders shouted. The driver trained to obey orders kept the APC moving, running over the knights.
Private Viskar lay in the grass as the world spun around him, slowly the world righted itself and he staggered to his feet. On instinct he looked around for his rifle, he found it lying in the dirt a few metres away. He staggered towards it struggling to keep his balance, his head felt giddy but he needed to get to his rifle.
Rifle in hand he looked to see his APC lying on it's side in the dirt, then he heard the screeching. From behind the APC emerged an injured and very angry manticore. Viskar blanched pale as he saw the bleeding livid monster. There were other survivors, one of them, Private Jory was standing right next to the beast. He turned and saw the growling manticore, he fired off a shot in panic at the manticore.
The shot bounced off it's hide ricocheting far into the distance. The manticore roared and leapt at him, the talons of the manticore flashed and Jory was carved in two. The manticore grabbed his torso in his maw before swallowing it down its gullet. Next to the manticore one of the survivors was on the ground injured. He desperately tried to crawl away from the raging beast. The manticore took notice and brought it's claws down on top of the soldier with a sickening crack. The soldier let out a gurgling cough as he coughed out some of his crushed organs. He didn't have to suffer for long though as the manticore brought its head down and bit him in half.
Viskar looked to his right and saw two more survivors join him, they didn't say a word they merely lined up and aimed their rifles at the manticore. Training dictates that when faced with armoured monsters the best course of action is to fire at where their hide is weakest.
"Go for the eyes." Viskar said shakily
The others didn't answer; they merely took aim, their rifles shook as they aimed at the feasting manticore. They watched it stagger slightly as blood dripped from its body staining the grass below.
"Should we shoot? I don't think it noticed us…" one of the soldiers on his right said.
"And what run? You do realise that thing flies right?" Viskar replied.
"Yea but our shots don't do anything." the soldier whimpered.
"It's better than just dying with our tail between our legs, are you a man or not?" Viskar said
"I don't want to die…" the other soldier whimpered.
"We aren't going to…" Viskar started but was interrupted as a hail of shots descended on the manticore.
The manticore shrieked as shots pierced it's body, it staggered again and Viskar looked up to see figures flying towards them. The manticore let out a roar and flexed its wings getting ready to take off. Another hail of shots flew towards the manticore but this time the manticore darted off to the side and only got hit a few times in its back legs.
"Crap we need to keep it still!" Viskar shouted as he put the pieces together.
"Go for its eyes." Viskar said
The other two hearing the order raised their rifles and fired a volley at the manticore's face. One of the shots got lucky and struck the manticores eye. The manticore roared and wheeled around glaring at the trio with its one remaining eye. The manticore began to charge them, it's maw wide open, fangs bared intent on ripping them limb from limb. Then another volley struck home, manticore staggered into the dirt. The manticore struggled and raised itself again the volley struck again. This time the manticore could bear no more and collapsed.
Viskar took a sidelong glance at the two next to him, Viskar felt stunned and still not completely believing they had survived. He felt his legs go weak as he fell to his knees, his rifle falling to the dirt.
"Are you wounded?" a voice said
Viskar looked up and saw the red coat of Elysian Fallschirmjagers, he looked to the masked visage of his saviour.
"No, thank you for saving us." Viskar said breathlessly
"Just doing our job, now then soldier. Pick up your weapon, this battle is far from over." the man said
Centre Front Line
Ser Johovar was a knight of the Re-Estise Kingdom, for ten years he has served in it's armies. For eight of those years he has fought in the dreaded Katse Plains, now here he stood his shield up bracing against the beastmen tide. His division was right in the middle of the line, his men were taking the full force of the beastmen assault. When he fought the empire the lines were always neat, one shield wall against another. This battle however was like fighting the sea, the waves crashed and retreated against the shore that was the soldiers of the Re-Estise. The beastmen only retreated long enough for their fellows in the front to fall to make room for the next line of warriors to clash.
Ser Johovar could smell the putrid breath of the beastmen in front of his shield, he saw a flash of steel and he ducked his head to the left narrowly dodging a crude cleaver that swung down from over his shield.
"Thrust!" Johovar heard someone shout from behind.
He saw pikes go past his sides and stabbed into the mass of frothing braying beastmen. There were cries of rage and pain in the horde but the pressure and the attacks kept coming. The beastmen in front of him began to go into rage and it slammed it's horns into his shield. The shock traveled into his arm numbing it. The beastmen reared it's head back and headbutted the shield again and again until he heard the sound of his shield bending and denting under the strain. Johovar gripped his sword and thrust it from the side of the shield. He felt the steel sink into something soft and he shoved the sword deeper. The beastman in front of him roared in rage. To his shock the beastman opened its mouth and leaned forward and bit down onto the top of the shield denting the edge of the metal plate with the force of the bite. He could feel his sword being pulled along as the beastman leaned forward. He felt the sword jam against something hard as it was brought upwards. He assumed his word was pressing against a rib, which means this one's lung was punctured. How the hell was it still able to fight?
Johovar groaned as the weight of the beastman pressed against his left arm, his left arm felt like it was on fire as it strained to support the weight of the shield and the beastman before him. The beastman was now leaning on top of his shield and it raised its arms and brought down it's cleaver in a haphazard swing. The blow came down and glanced off his shoulder armor, he could feel there was not much strength left in the brute.
Johovar mustered his strength and attempted to shove the beastmen back, he could feel his sword sliding inside the beastman as it grinded along its ribs. The beastman defiant to the last bit down again on his shield refusing to let go.
"BLOODY MONSTER! GET! OFF!" Johovar roared as he forcibly twisted his blade, he felt the rib crack and withdrew his sword before thrusting it again.
Blood spilled out of the beastman's mouth as his sword reentered its body. The blood dripped down over the edge of the shield staining his left arm. With one last heave he shoved the beastman back and the last thing he saw of that beastman was its eyes going milky and unseeing as it fell away from his shield.
Panting he looked over his shield and saw the tide and pulled back and was now once again charging at him. He raised his shield and braced for the charge, he felt the impact rattle his armor as his feet slid back along the dirt a few centimetres.
"Thrust!" a voice shouted.
As the pikes thrust forward over his shield he felt the pressure give way somewhat. Then he caught the side of an axe being thrown over his head. He heard a crunch then a gurgling cough from behind him.
"Great, they are throwing axes at us now." Johovar muttered to himself through gritted teeth as he strained against the tide.
"MINOTAUR!" a voice cried far to his left.
[Shukuchi Kai] Brain intoned as he slid under the swing of the Minotaur, the axe came down a centimeter away from his head. Brain did not flinch, he did not hesitate, [Whistling Wind] Brain intoned as he released his slash at the minotaur's belly. He let the momentum of his swing carry him off to the side, using [Shukuchi Kai] to glide over the bloodstained earth.
Brain calmly sheathed his sword as he turned and looked to the minotaur kneeling in the dirt clutching it's entrails. He surveyed the battle field and saw a group of Re-Estise soldiers battling another Minotaur. The soldiers on their own were no match for a minotaur, what they lacked in strength they made up for with tenacity, ingenuity and sheer grit. The soldiers were hurling javelins that were tipped like harpoons. All the while the archers were pepperring if with fire arrows. The minotaur roared and swiped at the surrounding soldiers while some got hit and died the rest scattered and continued their assault. The minotaur taking missiles from every direction was soon put down as it fell to the ground looking like a giant pin cushion.
[Six Fold Slash of Light] Gazef roared as his six blades slashed the Minotaur before him. The minotaur blocked one with the rest slashed deep into its body. The Minotaur staggered back as blood poured from five grievous wounds. The minotaur stood shakily for a moment before crashing into the ground. Gazef turned to look at the rest of the line, this elastic defence strategy the field marshall proposed was working very well…
If it was a simple shield wall they would have been overrun by now, the Minotaurs and Centigors simply had too much breakthrough potential. Whenever a Minotaur contacts a section of the line the shield wall collapses in short order. In a normal line that would spell the end as the enemy troops poured through the breach.
However, this time breaking through the shield wall merely let the beastmen enter a killzone. Behind the shield wall were reserves consisting of mainly pikemen and missile troops. When a breach occurs the pikemen surged forward creating a wall of spear tips, then the javelin throwers began to hurl their deadly javelins into those unfortunate enough to be on the wrong side of the line.
If the breach was too large then the elite troops came in to cull their numbers. That's where the martial houses came in, they would hew their way through the assailants until the line could reclose the gap. This strategy meant that the line was constantly shifting, although this weakened the defence it also weakened the attackers much more. When a breach was created the assaulting forces would find themselves surrounded within the line. Easy pickings for the archers and javelin throwers.
Minotaurs were deadly melee combatants but it couldn't withstand 20 javelins embedded in its body. The minotaurs were brutes they often would rip the javelins out when they were struck, buying time. Also since the javelins had hooked blades when the Minotaurs haphazardly tore the javelins out they ended up widening the wounds.
As for the Centigors they stood little chance against massed pikes. After all, their lower half was that of a horse; a few good hits with a pike to their lower body was more than enough to mortally wound one.
Gazef looked to the breach and with a warcry that was answered by his warrior band they carved their way to the breach with the regular soldiers behind rushing to close the gap. With the line not succumbing to shock and their best troops being destroyed in pieces behind the line the beastmen found their all out assault stalling while their flanks collapsed around them.
Draconic Kingdom Palace, delegates meeting room.
Draudillon sat as she observed the magic projection before her, she watched the line bend but did not break. The minotaurs and manticores that have decimated and routed every army in her nation now lay broken and dead upon the dirt. She watched as gaps were opened and swiftly closed the javelin throwers calmly walked forward and recovered used javelins ripping them from the corpses of dead minotaurs.
If only she had such tactics when her nation still had its strength perhaps the invasion would have been halted or at least slowed down preserving more of her citizens.
"What I would give to know about such tactics when the beastmen first arrived." Draudillon lamented.
"Indeed this is much more effective than I could have anticipated." Gunther replied
"I admit I had my misgivings when the plan was finally revealed to me." Renner admitted
Draudillon turned to see Renner sitting at one of the tables next to Jircniv as they watched the screens with rapt attention.
"I confess I had mine as well, the basics of how we wage war have always been great lines of shielded infantry. The goal was to create a wall where the attackers will break themselves upon." Jircniv said as he watched the gap close. The beastmen have lost 200 centigors and 4 minotaurs and many more common infantry at the cost of just a 10 metre wide gap worth of line infantry.
"Soldiers in combat have very narrow vision, when a breach is created they instinctively attempt to charge the breach. By giving the enemy small breaches we waste their time and bottleneck the enemy troops. They expect a collapse of the line instead they are met by a secondary defense line. As the line bends the enemy thinks they are winning, they push ever harder not realising that they are losing more troops than they can afford. Soon their breakthrough forces are depleted and the assault stalls. Then even if they retreat it would still be a decisive victory." Elwing said calmly as she watched the battle unfold.
"The Ordo Malleus are truly formidable in their tactics." Draudillon said
They watched as the two groups of Arwintar Hussars smashed straight into the unprotected flanks of the beastmen routing them almost immediately. Now all that's left was the centre mass of beastmen. The spearhead continued to speed along the plains in their fast moving vehicles the noose was closing around the neck of the beastmen horde. The troops now freed up by the disintegration of the flanks began to encircle the beastmen. The force of the Ordo Malleus took their positions at the rear of the beastmen and held their position waiting for the rest of the army to arrive and complete the encirclement.
Draudillon watched as she saw the soldiers of the Ordo Malleus begin to run forward and place strange metal boxes in a line in the front of the formation. The rest of the soldiers merely held their position and although clearly in firing range of the mass of beastmen they held their fire.
"Why aren't they firing?" Draudillon asked perplexed
"I'll explain later, enjoy the show for now." Elwing said with a smirk.
Draudillon nonplussed turned back to the screen and saw the beastmen were mobilising a force to destroy the troops to their rear. All the while the troops began to gradually encircle the main force.
The beastmen let out a bellow as they charged haphazardly towards the line of Ordo Malleus. The line held fire waiting for something. Draudillon could see the commanders had their hands up signalling for the men to hold. Then the beastmen reached the line boxes, Draudillon watched as the commanders lowered their hands in unison. Then there was the sound of the air being ripped as a line of explosions fired off along the line.
Draudillon looked on as the dust cloud blew towards the beastmen lines, bits of bodies flew out from the cloud splattering along the grass plains. The beastmen not caught in the blast stopped their charge and tried to peer through the cloud of dust.
"These ones don't seem as fierce as the ones at the front." Draudillon commented
"Of course, you put your best troops at the front, the ones at the back are usually reserves." Elwing replied as she took a sip of Ambrosia from her glass.
Then there was the sound of a great horn being blown, Draudillon looked back at the screen and saw from the dust cloud emerged the dreadnoughts they charged across the plains, the ground shaking with each step. The beastmen facing them were not cut off the same cloth as their fellows crashing against the front line. Some ran and others stood their ground, those who conquered their fear had their courage rewarded with a 5 metre long cleaver that splattered them into paste. The cleavers were so large and targets so soft that very little technique was needed, the dreadnoughts were using their blades more like bludgeons than swords.
The other beastmen seeing the decimation before them turned and ran back towards their fellows, all the while the encirclement continued to close. As the beastmen now cowered in a mass the Ordo Malleus began to fire. A shower of blue streaks fell upon the beastmen, cutting them down in droves as the roar of spell rifles echoed across the battlefield.
Draduillon watched as the soldiers slowly but surely began to encircle the beastmen army, this fight was over. The noose has been tied and now the execution may begin.
"Checkmate. The shock of the line of explosions, Dreadnoughts to break their charge, fire from the spellguns to suppress their troops. This gives them no chance to break out." Elwing said as she took another sip of her drink.
Behind the main line Maeve stood next to Arche as they patiently waited for the signal. She could see the attack was slowing as the word of the encirclement started to spread among the beastmen. The beastmen were beginning to waver as the reality of the situation started to set in.
"Remeber be as flashy as possible." Maeve said to Arche
"Got it." Arche replied softly.
"Good now let's see if we can get his attention." Maeve said with a grin.
At those words she heard a message come in, telling her the encirclement was complete.
"Now the show begins." Maeve said as she conjured her mask and readied her twin abyss blades.
To her right Arche's butterfly mask materialised on her face and her staff appeared in her left hand.
[Life Hunt] Arche intoned as black shadow scythe appeared at the end of her staff.
[Oblivion Awaits] a black cracked mass appeared around her right hand forming into black revolver that pulsed with a purple light.
Then all around them horns were blown as the signal for the final clash was given. All around them the soldiers shoved the beastmen back as pikes extended forward spearing them.
Maeve jumped over the front line followed by Arche, Maeve looked down and saw the terrified faces of the beastmen as they were compacted together. As she landed in the mass her daggers flashing and bodies falling.
"Jormungandr, Midir, come forth." Maeve commanded as the eldritch forms of the two bestial abyss lords revealed themselves.
They roared as they plowed into the massed beastmen, Midir opened his maw a jet of purple flame roasted dozens of beastmen to ash. Jormungandr hissed as he opened it's maw and sprayed jets of corrosive black poison.
Above the chaos Arche flew gently over the battlefield behind her flapped large black moth wings. She calmly aimed her revolver and fired off a shot of purple energy. There was a crack as an explosion of purple fire blew the surrounding beastmen to ash. She let out four more shots before the revolver disintegrated.. She was still weak; she could only fire five shots before the spell deactivated.
Arche dived into the mass and cleaved half a dozen beastmen with one swing of her scythe. They were but mortal flesh, chaff before the might of the abyss. The great black scythe reduced all those that stood before her to ash as the scythe drained their bodies of their life force.
Jircniv watched as the two caused chaos in the centre of the beastmen army, he had no doubt that these two alone could have killed the beastmen army. The rest of the army was just a pen to keep the beastmen in place to be slaughtered like cattle. He knew if the army scattered the defeated army would quickly become raiders and bandits. Defeated human armies often resorted to banditry when scattered, if that is true for humans then how much more so for the savage beastmen?
Jircniv looked to the cage of steel that would be the grave of the beastmen, the pikes shot forth drawing blood with each thrust. With each stab the shield wall took a step forward, pressing the beastmen closer and closer. Those who attempted to charge the wall were meant with the swords of the Re-Estise soldiers. Sword blades found torsos, throats, arteries and the beastmen fell. They fell to the ground coughing their life's blood upon the red grass, their bodies twitching upon the earth as the might of the human nations strode over their corpses.
From his view of the battlefield he knew breakthrough was impossible, around the encirclement were the Ordo Malleus and Arwintar Hussars ready to respond to any breach in the encirclement. The Ordo Malleus were impressive, their power was nothing to scoff at but their main strength was their operational ability to command their troops. The Ordo Malleus troops knew to target the nearest enemies first and there was very little overlapping fire. When the soldiers formed up in one area the Ordo Malleus would reposition. They behaved like a well oiled machine, if there was one word to describe them it would be efficient.
The encirclement slowly closed with each step and for the next hour the gathered sovereigns watched as the beastmen that have so long plagued the Draconic Kingdom were systematically culled. The estimate was that the beastmen brought 100 000 troops to face the combined armies 40 000 troops. It was astounding really, the encirclement of superior force with an inferior one.
"The battle of the Cannae plains." Draudillon said
"No the slaughter of the Cannae Plains." Jircniv said
1 week later
A small force of the Ordo Malleus, Re-Estise soldiers and the Arwintar Hussars marched through the streets of the capital of the Draconic Kingdom, the city of Arah Dracarys. The people cheered with a fervour not seen in decades. At the head of the parade were three Ordo Malleus APCs, behind the armored vehicles were towed large four wheeled wagons filled to the brim with the arm bands of the fallen beastmen.
In the Draconic Kingdom these armbands were prized as trophies amongst adventurers and nobles alike. It was a show of power, it showed that a great foe had been bested and the owner had returned triumphant. Even the greatest adventurer team Crystal Tear had only 13 armbands to their name. The crown itself possessed only about a thousand over the many years of conflict, 200 of those were dropped at the feet of Queen Draudillon when Solanna and Quacey arrived in the Draconic Kingdom.
Now tens of thousands sat in wagons as they rode through the streets of the capital. Behind the APCs were two wolverine tanks followed by three dreadnoughts. The metal frames showed the might of the Ordo Malleus as the common citizens looked on in awe as the massive dreadnoughts strode past cracking the cobblestones with each step. Behind marched the brave soldiers who bled the most in that great battle, frontline troops of the Re-Estise Kingdom. Their armor gleaming in the colors of their nation, their footfalls striking the ground as one. Behind them rode the Arwintar Hussars their heads held high, proud in their triumph.
As the parade neared the steps leading up to the palace the three dreadnoughts released a blast of their horns eliciting even greater cheers from the crowd. The stairs leading up to the palace had two flights of stairs. The first ended at the halfway point where a stretch of flat ground was, then the second flight continued to the main gate. At the top of the stairs stood the rulers of the Draconic Kingdom, the Re-Estise Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire.
Draudillon looked down at the cheering citizens and march of the triumphant soldiers. To the untrained eye this was a victory plain and simple. Draudillon however knew the beastmen still held three major cities and although their invasion force was annihilated they still have to deal with the garrisons within those captured cities. Although the tide has turned this war wasn't over.
When the parade reached the base of the stairs the procession stopped. The soldiers of the Ordo Malleus then disembarked and disconnected the wagons. The dreadnoughts approached and grabbed the ends before effortlessly lifting them up. The dreadnoughts ascended stairs and stopped at the top of the first flight of stairs. They placed the wagons at the top of the stairs and turned to face the crowd of cheering citizens.
At the top of the steps Draudillon walked to the edge of the stairs and raised her hand. The cheers died down as the citizens realised their queen was about to speak.
"Today we celebrate the great victory at Cannae, we celebrate a victory that will make history. The generations that come after will remember this victory and cheer while our foes will remember their defeat and quake." Draudillon said as her magic enhanced voice carried over the crowd easily.
All around the three nations magical projections showed the events to the rapt attention of all those present. From the town square in Carne to the court of Arwintar, nobles and commoners alike listened in awe as the once invincible beastmen were brought low before the combined might of the three nations.
"For too long we have cowered from the beastmen, they treat us as food, they come to our land and take what they wish. Today I say NO MORE!" Draudillon shouted to the crowd as they cheered.
"At the plains of Cannae we have won a decisive victory against the beastmen. The army of the beastmen horde, their warriors 100 000 strong charged like a tide against the line of stalwart defenders. They had hoped to break us in their assault, instead when they met the wall of steel they were in turn broken." Draudillon said
All around the three nations commoners and nobles alike let out cheers of agreement. In the adventurer's guilds of the nations many adventurers banged their armor, shields and weapons in response.
"Their force of 100 000 strong once proud and unbeaten now lies broken upon the plains of Cannae. Their army was slaughtered to the man, there is now no army to contest the reconquest of the Holy Kingdom. Soon our nation will be returned to us and no more shall we fear the beasts to the north!" Draudillon declared to thunderous cheers.
"But this victory was not the doing of any one nation, it was the amalgamation of efforts from our three allied nations." Draudillon said as she gestured to two rulers beside her.
"We stand together against the tide of darkness, our nations must stand as one or fall together. This victory was won using the strengths of all three nations." Renner declared
"We stand here today both to celebrate this great victory but also to make an announcement." Jircniv said. At those words the talking and cheering died down across all three nations.
"Some of you may know of great champions of the old gods, they serve the faraway nation of Eden. Over these months we have been in discussion with representatives from Eden and we have reached an accord. Our three nations and the nation Eden will sign an alliance guaranteeing mutual protection from foreign aggression. No more will our futures be determined by others, the only way they will wrest our future from us is if they rip it from our cold dead hands as we lay choking on our blood!" Jircniv declared. As the citizens cheered the ruler of a foreign nation.
Across the Empire shouts of their emperor's name was on every lip as they rallied behind their bloody emperor.
"We will build a future that everyone has a part in. No more will be held by petty divisions, race, creed, religion. There will be no more persecution, we will make a world for all this world's inhabitants." Renner declared
"As of this moment, all persecution of demi-humans and worshippers of the 41 will cease across all the nations. We will make a better world than the one we found ourselves in." Renner said as she flashed a radiant smile across the crowds drawing further more cheers.
At those words most of the citizens cheered for the name of the 41 has been rising amongst the populace for a while now. Now a promise of a fair world and brighter future tempted many a soul within the nations. But while the citizens cheered the priesthood quaked as they realised the sun was setting on their religion's supremacy.
"This is but the first of many steps to usher in a new era!" Draudillon declared.
At those words the dreadnoughts lifted the wagons and dumped the tens of thousands of rings onto the steps causing them to cascade down the steps. The clinking of silver and gold sounded like ethereal applause to the declaration. The excitement of the citizens reached a fever pitch as the famed symbols of beastmen status were laid at their feet in numbers beyond counting. The wave of rings scattered among the people some picked one up almost disbelievingly others picked one up and raised it in the air and cheered.
Draudillon looked to her people down below, although her nation did little in this victory she was determined that in the next battle her nation would give their all…
Cannae Plains
"Are you certain there are no prying eyes?" Kel'thuzad said to the Ordo Malleus officer.
"Yes my lord, the line has pushed forward to liberate camps and recapture villages." the officer replied.
"Good, the mortals here are not ready for the truth of this world. It must be given to them slowly lest their minds fall to fear and terror." Kel'thuzad said as he gazed at the gathered 100 000 corpses before him.
"Now rise my host." Kel'thuzad said as magic circles wrapped around his hands as he weaved his great spell.
As one the fallen beastmen rose from the ground, their eyes glowing with red light. Their bodies rose and picked up fallen weapons. Some of the more mutilated corpses stitched together forming massive abominations of flesh and sinew. The stronger beastmen rose as death knights in service of their unholy lord. Some formed into Soul Eaters while Plague Ghouls rose among them. As Kel'Thuzad gazed at his unliving host he uttered,
Come my scourge, we will do great works in my lord's name…
Author's Notes:
Hope you like this new chapter, the world tension is rising around the realm. Lines are being drawn and things may get ugly soon.
Once again tell me what you think, did you like it or hate it? Every review makes me motivated to write so please leave a review. On that note please let me know if the flow of the battle was difficult to understand. I have the picture in my head but I'm not so sure if you guys are getting a clear picture.
So once again see you guys in the next chapter!
