"The fight continues, Claude has showed up us his cards, it is time for us to hit back" Edelgard said as the troops awaiting under the cover of the forest started to approach their side of the river. Among them, he could see many flying units.
"The archers on the bridge were the main reason I was keeping our flying troops waiting, but now with the bridge destroyed and with most of the archers gone it is our opportunity to strike back. Petra, lead the spearhead towards the troops of the Alliance to the other side of the shore. Those who aren´t able to fly, try to get behind those who can. Linhardt, Lysithea, Hapi could you use your warping abilities to send some of our troops immediately to the other side?"
"Not the entire army, but I´m confident I can send some troops to the other side" Lysithea said as she started canalizing magic.
"Opposing your command would be more annoying than doing nothing, but don´t blame me if my reach is shorter compared to hers" Linhardt sighed.
"I´ll do what I can, but don´t pressure me too much with it"
"Thank you, everyone!" Edelgard nodded as the atmosphere started to charge with magic. "Soldiers! Prepare the remaining boats. Imperial troops, the main bridge has been destroyed, we´ll need to prepare auxiliar ones! Start to prepare them so by the end of this day we can get some way to allow our main forces to travel to the other side of the battlefield"
…..
"We got a good hit against the fangs of the Empire, but the cost was high" she thought as she stood up again after the giant explosion. Her forces had been able to pull her out of the burning mesh. The use of elixirs had probably saved her life, but she still could feel the burns on her arms after the battle against the little Emperor. "She has a surprising strength, despite her height".
She had to admit that she thought that the Emperor would be an arrogant being that could be taken down with a good aimed hit, but she hadn´t been able to overcome her. Underestimating an enemy was a thing that younger warriors did, so it was a bit embarrassing that she had committed the same mistake. "I guess that the little boy was correct about his assumptions" she thought as her troops guided her to one of the fastest horses of the Leicester Alliance.
The plan of the bridge had been a risky bet. Placing many explosives in the bridge in the hopes of getting a chunk of the Empire army and at the same time blocking the main entrance to the Alliance was a plan that no other general could have imagined. Such proposal had even shocked herself, but as the new ruler of the Alliance, she had decided to support Claude´s plans to the bitter end.
"Even if that means a retreat from the battlefield" she muttered with a sore taste in her mouth. That was betraying her own principles, but Claude had made her sworn that no matter the situation, after achieving the main objective she had to retreat.
"You are the greatest hope of the Alliance. You´ll hit directly into the throat of the Empire and while it howls, they will be unable to find you, since you´ll be already gone. As long as you stay alive, this Alliance will have a chance"
Claude´s words were wise, but she wasn´t the only hero that the Alliance could use. Goneril was another great house that was supporting Claude´s house while he was keeping in order the complicated alliances between the different factions. The fact that someone so young was capable of thinking so ahead was really inspiring.
Around them the small forests were alternating with lonely hills as the fires of war were left behind.
"Commander, what direction should we follow?" said one of the men of his personal guard.
"We´ll head to the first forts to the north, then we´ll prepare the awaiting divisions to launch a counterattack"
They were already in a secured area, but the enemy was still close. If she could arrive to the next defense line, they could drag the fight down even longer. Claude needed all the time he could obtain to prepare an ultimate attack to tear the Imperial forces apart…and her role was to put the maximum pressure on them until he was ready.
"They are chasing us!" the shout of one of her soldiers made her look back. They were in the skies. A group of wyverns and pegasi flying towards them.
"Anyone with a bow, shot at them, but keep moving!" she shouted as she whistled. Claude has granted her some weird devices. It was about time to check if they were effective enough.
Suddenly the sound of an explosion reverbed in the air as a heavy sphere of iron pierced through the sky. It hit nothing, but the mounts of their enemies were surprised and confused by the unexpected projectile.
"Shoot at the same time, at least one of them should hit them!" she shouted, the moment she did, the thunderous sound extended through the until now silent land. The projectiles were the size of a head. Only a handful of them were able to hit the flying enemies, but the disruption of the enemy formation allowed their archers to score some free hits, the number of casualties of the enemy side increasing.
But it wasn´t enough. The gift from Claude was too costly in terms of time to be able to attack again, its cadence of fire hilariously low compared to a well-trained archer and the wyverns and the Pegasi behind them were coming even closer. At this rate it was obvious that they would be unable to arrive to the forts ahead before they had to face them in battle.
"Tsk, there is no other option" she thought. They were coming from her, they wanted her head for what had happened, but that could be an opportunity to prepare the grounds for the collapse of the invasion. "You, take this" she said as she threw at the captain of her guard a small bag. "Inside of it there is a safe conduct. Head to the west and never stop until you arrive to Galatea, then show them the letter within"
"But…"
"It is my command, soldier. Fulfill your duty, before this land is completely occupied. I won´t be leaving this world without giving a good fight" she said as she deviated her course. The lonely rider kept riding in the same direction while the others followed her.
"That hill will be suitable enough for what we´ll be doing" It was a lonely hill in the middle of a small forested area. A suitable place for the last act of her life. Now, the only thing she could do was to wait.
…..
"So, you have finally decided to surrender?"
"I am a commander of the Leicester Alliance. Surrendering to you would be a betrayal of my principles" she said as she looked at the enemy approaching the hill. They weren´t a numerous group but so they were. The ones that caught her attention the most were the Emperor and a silent knight with green eyes and hair. "This must be the Professor; Claude has been telling me about" she thought. The only important information about him to her was that he was a capable fighter and the wielder of the Sword of the Creator. Bringing him down could be a decisive strike, but she wasn´t completely recovered.
"I must recognize your insistence. Even with the fastest horses of the Alliances you were capable of catching us"
"If you cannot run you can just fly. Your army fought well, your strategy was brilliant, but the first spearheads of our army have already entered the Alliance. You can see the fires behind us. It is the living proof that, in the end, you were only able to buy some time. However, many lives can still be saved. I will spare the lives of those that had been fighting if they surrender. If you do so, many will be following your example"
"I´m not going to be the commander that kneeled before the Emperor while the Eagle feasted on the corpse of the deer. An eagle should know that a deer has horns and they can be used to give a fatal blow"
"I see. Then there is no point on negotiating on this matter. Are you willing to fight to the last man?"
"We only need two. I challenge you to a combat under the eyes of the Goddess. Our last fight in the bridge was just a little practice. If your ideals are stronger than mine there is nothing to fear, right?" she said as she drank her last elixir.
"Judith, that is..!"
"A combat under the watch of the Goddess means that we are obliged to obey the result!"
"You are still a young guy, observe and learn. Even if you end up as a prisoner now that´s not the end of all things. That´s the only thing I can offer to you, Emperor. If you refuse a battle to the last man will take place, even from the skies an eagle can be shoot down"
"I have no fear of your challenge. After all that has happened during these years the only thing I can do is going forward" she said as she unsheathed a silver sword from the Professor´s belt. "I appreciate your resolution and your conviction; they are not that different to mine"
"You have guts, that´s something I must admit" she smiled as she unsheathed her last weapon. It was a magnificent sword that had been with her for years. It was the living proof of everything she had learnt during her entire life. To her it was her true son.
Swords impacted against each other, their song resonating in the lonely hill. Her movements were agile and fast, but so were hers. Her hair was all messy after a whole journey of battling, but she knew that she didn´t have the best looks neither.
"I thought that you would be afraid of getting some dirt on your pretty face"
"I am pleased to have subverted your expectations then"
Every attack was quickly followed with a counterattack. The silver sword of her enemy had a shorter reach compared to a battle axe, but it was faster, allowing the Emperor to parry her attacks, but she wasn´t using magic this time. She could feel it.
"This is a battle with no hidden aces. I have no reason to use magic on this occasion. Otherwise, the ideals of my cause would be weaker than yours"
"You might have in the end the soul of a soldier" she said, a small smile forming on her face. If they weren´t battling for their lives it could even be leisurable activity.
With a feint, her rapier was able to pierce through the leg armor of her adversary, the blade turning red with the iron kiss. Now it was her chance, her chance to give a quick killing blow while her adversary´s forces were at its lowest. She aimed the tip of her sword to her neck…but her strength was abandoning her. Looking down she could see the handle of a sword, the pointy end behind her.
"When your adversary is at its lowest it is the moment when you are the most vulnerable. You relaxed your guard and that was what decided this outcome"
"You really have…a warrior spirit" she said as she fell to the ground.
"Rest in peace, Judith, the star of the Alliance. You really gave your best. That is something I will never forget"
…..
12/29 Ethereal Moon
"The Alliance Troops have been steadily retreating since our last clash at the border. The areas with more resistance are scarce and they will fall under control in a short while" Edelgard said as she observed the map. They were in the central areas of the Alliance. They had been steadily advancing since the initial invasion, but the initial attack had left a soar taste in her mouth. The fall of the bridge of Myrddin meant an important obstacle to her advances that had caused a detour of most of her forces. Even though some temporal bridges could be placed, only the lightest equipped divisions could traverse through them, the possibility of bringing the food carriages through them an impossible task.
"Such advance is something beneficial to put an end to this conflict quickly, but there are also risks that come with it. The food carriages and most of our forces have been forced to make a detour and the time that will take for them to arrive here is yet unknown, but it could take weeks… and that could put us in disadvantage"
"The Alliance has been kind enough to burn their crops before leaving these areas, so it means that our resources are even more scarce. The use of our flying units to bring provisions from the rearguard has proven to be useful, but that means that our numbers of battle-ready troops are even more limited" Hubert pointed out.
"Some of our allies in the Alliance have already started to provide us help in terms of provisions but they are still careful enough to avoid overstepping until the end of this campaign is clear. As some would expect from a land of merchants, they will not be risking unless the certainty of victory is in front of them"
"The provisions they are providing us are enough to keep our advances. However, now is the time to take an important decision. Should we attack the heart of the Alliance or should we wait until more troops arrive? Each option has their advantages and disadvantages but I would like to listen everyone´s opinion about this matter" She said as she looked at the council in front of her.
"How about we continue? With the Professor we were able to defeat many guys without even needing an army, we can do the same thing in the next battles" Casper said as he raised his hand.
"An…interesting opinion" Ferdinand said as he raised his voice. "However, I think that for such attack is wiser to prepare accordingly. Derdriu is an important city, one of the biggest in Fódlan and it is well communicated. Even if we are able to breach through its defenses a counterattack could take place at any time"
"We could prepare a siege to attack the city while we prepare a perimeter with the troops that are behind us"
"But the docks of the capital are immense. They could keep bringing provisions and troops while we try to prepare a siege and the risks of an attack from the Holy Kingdom would increase as time passes"
"We know Claude from our school years, we could offer him generous conditions in exchange for declaring the capital a free city"
"I highly doubt that he would agree to such offering. He will probably use the time of negotiations to prepare a counterattack"
It was clear to hear that most ideas were contradictory, but listening to such proposal was important to prepare a strategy. She then looked at him.
"What do you think about this matter, Byleth?"
"The situation is difficult. If we wait for more troops, we will allow the Alliance to have more time to prepare its defenses. It is clear that they aren´t retreating without a plan. The fact that they have left nothing behind is intended to leave us in a difficult situation so they can attack us with all their strength. If we approach now, they will not have time to prepare a proper line of defense. However, our troops will be ill prepared and we will have a lack of siege weapons to open additional entrances to the heart of the city. In a conventional war we´ll have the odds against us"
"In a conventional war?"
"Yes. A common strategy would be to place siege weapons and isolate the city to make it fall under our control. However, the fact that the city is well communicated and the high possibility that it will have plenty of resources means that it will cost many material resources to pierce through it. And the worst of all, it will take a lot of time under such conditions. As we continue attacking the capital, the pressure on other areas will increase. In the worst case, the Holy Kingdom could try to enter the Alliance through the west to attack our troops from behind. That´s the strategy I would follow if I were them"
"Whatever we do we will be in a difficult situation, what is the purpose of being here then?" Linhardt complained.
"The upcoming battle won´t be battled only by conventional methods. Ironically, Claude has showed us the way to new strategies that can be highly effective. It is highly probable that he will have another strategy prepared for the upcoming battle, but I also have a plan"
"Please, tell us"
"Many troops of the Alliance are retreating. Among them, many will be probably heading to Derdriu to prepare the lines of defense. We could place among the retreating troops some of our own, those that have the accents of the Alliance"
"The enemy within. Interesting" Hubert sinisterly smiled. "However, only with a handful of soldiers inside the city, the possibilities of achieving victory in a short amount of time is still too slim"
"The objective of such troops would be to sabotage the different entrances to the city and mainly the port. If we can block the port it would mean that the city can´t receive help from the outside and the sabotage of the entrances would mean that the loss of time would be minimized. Naturally, we will still need to face the resistance from within, but that´s the best of outcomes I can think of"
"But Professor, that would be against the classical rules of war that generations have respected in this land" Ferdinand objected.
"Ferdie, they blew up a bridge with us there. I haven´t heard of such books, but if we have an opportunity to take an advantage of the situation, we should take it. That way we would minimize the loss of lives, right?"
"Probably so, lives will be lost, but we could minimize many of them"
"I see, I will think about this matter. For now, feel free to have some rest. Byleth I wish to discuss you another matter. Hubert, stay here as well"
"As you wish, Lady Edelgard" Hubert bowed while the rest of the Strike Force left the place.
"The pieces of artillery we found were made in Almyra. There is no doubt about it"
"Do Almyrans sell artillery pieces to other countries?"
"No, as far as I know the inhabitants of Almyra hide their secrets pretty well. After all, this knowledge is one of the assets they could use in future invasions. The fact that the Leicester Alliance have such pieces of artillery means that they have deals with Almyra.
That would explain why our spies have reported lack of military forces in the far east of the Alliance territory. They aren´t expecting an attack coming from that side"
"If they are lending them weapons it could probably mean that we could face forces from Almyra"
"For now, we haven´t faced such forces, but it is a risk that we cannot deny. Explaining such fact openly could be demoralizing to the troops since the Almyran troops are well known because of their lust for battle…and that could alert the spies of the Alliance that might be on our side"
"I understand. The Almyrans are specialized in mounted archers as well as wyvern riders, but they lack magic users. We could counterattack their main forces with the use of powerful spells in the case that they join forces with the Alliance. Any reports to the north?"
"Our forces might be probably facing the Kingdom ones by now, but there are no signs of any movement from the Church forces. But in a few days, the news from our invasion of the Alliance will probably arrive to the ears of the Archbishop. We cannot exclude an attack to take advantage from our division of troops"
"This was certainly a risky bet, but if everything goes accordingly, we will be able to focus exclusively on the troops of the Holy Kingdom and the Church, with increased resources from the Alliance. This land is wealthy enough to provide us with many resources in the war effort" Hubert pointed out.
"I see, but I would like to ask one thing" he said, making sure that they were completely alone. "When are we going to face those who are awaiting in the shadows, the Agarthans"
"We have been keeping a close eye to their movements. They are currently focused on the border between the Adrestian Empire and the Holy Kingdom, mainly committing sabotages without openly revealing their position. They think that they can act without any consequences, but their time is about to come. And you are perfect for the task ahead"
"What Hubert means is that we are planning to have an operation against them. Currently in the Alliance there have been reported signs of their activity to the east. Openly attacking them could jeopardize our current operation, but the plan is to get rid of them with capable fighters" Edelgard smiled as he looked at him.
"I understand. A small group of well-trained units could be able to get rid of them before they cause any harm"
"Exactly and for such operation…"
"I´ll be taking part" said a serious voice behind him. It was Jeritza. He had been observing them in complete silence, its dark armor fusing with the darkest part of the tent, his cold eyes showing no emotions. "I´ll accompany you, the task is to kill all of them and I´ll achieve such objective, they will be crushed and drown in their blood, such is their fate"
"How they die is irrelevant, but do make sure that there are no witnesses…and Jeritza do not dare to use the scythe. That would be an open declaration of war against them and the time to strike is yet to come"
"I don´t obey you, don´t dare to order my something or you might be losing your tongue the next time"
"Jeritza, remember your vows, you can´t attack any of us, you are bonded by your own blood"
"Tsk, when this petty war ends you´ll have to reward me accordingly" he said as he looked at him.
"If what you want is to die by my sword, so be it. But now it´s not the time, not the place" he said as he looked back at Edelgard. "Is he the only one that will be accompanying me?"
"Yes. Since we lack most parts of our troops I´m planning to send members of the Black Eagle´s Strike Force to the lands of Lord Edmund. He is a noble that can provide us with some reinforcements and crucial information about this region. You´ll be going to the same direction on a different path. We can´t never be sure about who is watching us. Meanwhile I´ll send scouts to the north to prepare for our next battle"
"Understood, I´ll complete the task and return as soon as possible" he nodded.
"Jeritza, you won´t be able to use your own helm until you have completed this task. Its features are too unique for a stealth mission like this. You´ll use one of the generic helmets at the armory"
"In that case one that completely covers my face. Without a mask…I feel weaker"
"Of course" Edelgard nodded. "I know that I´m asking for too much, but that´s the best we can do with the resources we have. You will depart before dawn. I hope for the best of outcomes"
"Don´t worry, with both of us this will be a bearable task. I´m counting on you, Jeritza" he said nodding at him while Jeritza just looked at him. He was planning to use this opportunity to know him better. The Death Knight was a great warrior, but he wasn´t sure about how much of it was within Jeritza. He already knew that Mercedes was Jeritza´s sister, but he didn´t have an opportunity yet to talk with her about the matter. "Whatever you do, I´ll eventually come to see your true face under the mask you have worn for so long" he thought as he observed the lands of the east on the map.