The landing operations that started the invasion of Albion had gone perfectly. So perfectly it was honestly dull in retrospect. Louise had spent the whole time worried something would go wrong, but Albion had followed the script to the letter. Their army had been drawn away from the real attack, their navy had run towards the diversion only to retreat when they realized the fleet itself was real. And the troops had taken the landing without a hitch.
And then nothing had happened.
Which was a bit of a problem. The expedition's leaders had planned to win a decisive battle when the Albion army moved to oppose them. Louise thought it was a really stupid plan, but it could be molded into a better one closer to battle. However the enemy seemed to be just waiting and hoping the invasion would go away. They weren't even conducting raids or skirmishes.
"What would Momiji do?" she mused mentally.
"Kill the other generals and take command?" Utsuho replied.
"I meant after that," Louise thought back. Still that reminded her to check up on the idiots.
It was a good thing too. General Marquis Handenburg and Chief of Staff Wimpffen were both reaching for their wands. Supreme General de Poitiers looked like he was going to step in, but Louise decided now was a good time to pull these fools back in line. "That's going a little far for a joke."
The three men froze before turning glares at her. They'd done their damndest to keep her out of these strategy meetings. But she'd bullied her way in anyway. Henrietta's orders had been quite clear on the matter.
"Are you claiming my honor is a joke, Ser Valliere?" the Marquis snapped.
"No. I just know neither of you is stupid enough to fight a petty duel with your fellow officers in the middle of a war," Louise replied. "Especially when advisors to the Princess and the Kaiser are sitting right here."
Kirche gave a cheeky wave to back up the statement.
The three men sank back down into their chairs, glowering. Louise ignored it. These fools weren't going to love her, so she was going to make sure they feared her. As much as she hated the thought process, Satori was absolutely right in this case.
General de Poitiers quickly regained his composure. "What then would you offer as a suggestion?"
Louise looked down at the map again and sighed. "It's obvious they don't think they can beat us in an open battle. Which means they won't offer one until we change the situation. Either give them an opening they think they can exploit, or a threat they have to react to. I just can't think of a good way to do either. We don't know anything Cromwell cares about other than his miserable head, and we can't really offer them an opportunity without weakening our army."
General de Poitiers sniffed derisively. "Not a strong plan, but I agree with the sentiment. We must change the situation." He pointed at a walled city along one of the larger paths to Londinium. "We'll march on Saxe-Gotha. Four thousand troops should be enough to hold the ports and our supply lines. Taking the city will give us an advance foothold and allow us to strike wherever needed."
Louise considered the move. It wasn't a terrible idea. The attack would do something. But she didn't feel it changed the situation much. If the loss of one city wouldn't bring Cromwell out of his fortress, two cities would hardly change his mind. All in all it seemed mostly action for action's sake. Good for morale, but meaningless otherwise.
If Momiji was here the wolf woman would probably patch together some deadly scheme using elite troops and organized tactics. But those plans needed a leader who could command from the front. And no one in this tent could do that.
She closed her eyes and reconsidered. Momiji's strategies wouldn't work. So maybe she should use a different perspective. 'War is politics by other means.' How would Satori see the situation?
Opportunity.
She opened her eyes and looked at where Saxe-Gotha sat. If Cromwell just sacrificed the city what would the other nobles think? How about the commoners? Especially with Tristain's troops spreading the 'gift of Brimir,' as people had started calling the new magic. Unless Cromwell showed up and bled for his kingdom, Tristan could plant the seeds of a new revolution.
"I think that's a fine plan, Supreme General," Louise said, ignoring the man's surprise. "I shall send word to Princess Henrietta to prepare additional supplies and a proper civilian liaison to govern the town after we take it."
"Very well. I think that concludes our conference," the General said.
After a bit of empty hospitality Louise and Kirche left. She expected the three generals to plan more now that she was gone, but she honestly wasn't skilled enough to micromanage a full army.
"You know they really don't like you," Kirche said. "I'm not sure why you antagonize them so much. Sure it's funny, but that can't be the only reason."
"Because otherwise they'd pat me on the head and tell me to go play with dolls," Louise replied. "You saw how hard it was to get into the meetings."
Tabitha met them outside the main headquarters. "Good news?" she asked as she fell in next to them.
"We'll be moving soon," Louise said. "So that's something."
"Indeed. It's been rather boring just sitting here. I think the troops have drunk half the beer in the city," Kirche said.
They walked through the streets, heading towards the makeshift hangar for the Zero fighter. They'd probably have to leave it here given the terrain made takeoff and landing hard. Kirche had nearly rattled their teeth out just getting it here. "I hope nothing got damaged," she muttered.
Apparently Kirche had overheard her. "Sorry sorry. Landings are hard. And the damn field was filled with stones. I have no idea how they farm here in Albion."
"I don't blame you. Utsuho said you did everything right. It's just a pain." Louise looked out towards the hills around the city. "And if I remember right Albions farms are terrible. They just barely make do."
"They have a lot of sheep," Tabitha said.
Inside the hangar Siesta was working on the plane. Surprisingly Guiche was with her tapping on one of the metal parts. "It should be fine Ms Takao. I can't make steel on my own, but fixing damaged metal is no problem for an earth mage."
"Thank you. I was afraid I'd have to find a triangle class mage to make a replacement," Siesta said. The black haired woman caught sight of them and waved. "Ah, Louise. How did the meeting go?"
"As well as could be expected," Louise replied with more tact than usual. Badmouthing the generals in front of her friend was one thing, but doing it in front of Guiche was another. "How's the Zero fighter?"
"Back in working shape." Siesta shrugged off the dirty smithing apron she used when repairing the machine. "There was some damage to the wheels and axles that could have caused problems later, but Guiche helped find and repair them."
Guiche fastidiously wiped his own hands clean. "As I said it was no trouble. Especially since you assisted me in my own endeavors."
"Hm? You looking into something for one of the siege battalions?" Louise asked. Guiche's father was a general, so as an earth mage that seemed the most likely posting.
The man shook his head. "No, I actually was interested in the bullets that this Zero fighter uses. Having a rifle that could fire as fast as a musket would be a great boon to the army, and figuring out the mechanism that allows that would be quite the feather in my family's cap." He caught himself. "Ah, but speaking of my battalion I should return to them."
Louise looked over at Kirche who seemed similarly intrigued. It couldn't hurt to look over the actual fighting units personally. And seeing what crew had gotten Guiche as a leader would be extra interesting. "Mind if we join you?"
Guiche looked surprised but recovered quickly. "Not at all."
As they headed out into the main camp Kirche spoke up. "I'm not sure those bullets will help you any though. I'd looked over them myself and the gunpowder is miles above what we can produce today. It burns so much faster it makes our powder seem dull."
"Indeed. But the shape of the bullet might have meaning." Guiche held it up. "There must be a reason they didn't use a simple ball. And you can't see it, but there's a hollow at the back where the gunpowder is. If my guess is correct, that pushes the sides of the bullet into the rifling, which would make loading a rifle just as easy as loading a musket!"
"Fouling?" Tabitha asked.
Guiche nodded. "Still a problem. I imagine it shall take some experimenting to figure it out. Fortunately the sergeant is willing to assist me in the matter."
"What's fouling?" Utsuho thought to Louise.
"Stuff gets stuck in the rifle barrel and gunks it up," she thought back. There was a bigger question she had though.
"Why would your sergeant be interested in bullets?" Louise paused. They weren't heading to the siege units. They were in with the infantry. And a squad of well uniformed regulars was moving to meet them.
"Good evening, commander. Who might your companions be?" Louise was glad for the cloaks of nobility because she didn't want to know how they'd be greeted without them.
Guiche strangely hesitated for a moment. "Ah, some classmates of mine that I had the honor of running into. Ser Louise Valliere, Ser Kirche von Zerbst, Ser Tabitha, and Lady Siesta Takao."
The troops looked surprised. "An honor to meet you ladies." He looked to Guiche. "I knew you were a noble but it seems you've got some friends in high places."
"I imagine his father is far more famous to the army than any one of us," Kirche said in a show of humility. It was true though. Louise was surprised General Gramant wasn't leading an army group himself, though they did need some people defending Tristain.
Everyone was looking at Guiche who seemed mildly embarrassed. "I wanted to gain honor on my own merits rather than trading on my father's name," he said. "Besides, after our misadventures I felt it would be best to start from the bottom and work up."
Louise was surprised. That was honestly commendable. Sure he'd gotten a commission just because of his nobility, but officers had to start somewhere. She looked over to see similar respect on the faces of his men. The brigade looked like a well kept crew as well, so Guiche might come out of this war with a better understanding of unit combat then she would. Momji's training couldn't match experience on the front.
Siesta smiled. "I'm sure you'll perform just fine, Guiche. You managed to stand up to Wardes when he betrayed us, and that took quite a bit of courage."
"You faced off against the leader of the Griffon Knights?" the sergeant asked. "You never mentioned that, sir."
"I feel facing off is a bit of an overstatement," Guiche admitted. "I merely stood between him and Lady Takao and prepared to be struck down." Louise saw a bit of a shiver and honestly she couldn't blame him. Her scar itched sympathetically. "I only survived because Lady Takao threw a bomb potion at him. Between that and Ser Tabitha and Ser Zerbst arriving with a dragon he decided to leave."
Several of the troops chuckled, and the sergeant gave him a slap on the back. "Standing firm when everything's gone to damnation is the hardest part of the job, sir. Keep doing that and you'll do just fine." He looked over at Siesta. "Though it's a lot easier to stand firm if you've got a bomb in your pocket. Is that spell something we could learn?"
Siesta looked surprised. "Ah, well I might be able to teach it, but I don't know if we have the right supplies. It needs some very specific mushrooms, and takes quite a while to brew. Not like healing potions or tinctures to purify fouled water."
The soldiers around went from curious to serious in an instant. "We'd love to learn that, Lady Takao. Ain't always time to bring someone to the water mages when you're in the middle of a firefight."
"Sure!"
Louise smiled as Siesta began explaining the materials needed to the soldiers. It quickly faded though as the sheer scale of what was happening hit her again. She was watching a complete revolution in battlefield medicine, and all with a spell that Marisa considered beginner level.
Beside her Kirche seemed to be getting a similar feeling. "In five years the Tristain and Germanian armies are going to be the strongest in the world," the redhead muttered.
Tabitha as always was a step ahead. "War will change."
"Within five years every nation will have adopted these spells," Louise agreed. "The princess was right. The changes can't be stopped now. If we want to stay ahead we'll have to develop something new."
"I guess we'll have to hope Guiche figures out those bullets then," Kirche said with a grin. "Or maybe they'll find something at that school Princess Henrietta was suggesting. Isn't that an interesting thought!"
"Maybe," Louise murmured, before turning her attention back to the history that was unfolding before her.
As he looked over the walls of Saxe-Goetha, Guiche forced down the fear that was boiling up inside him. It was strange. He'd been in far more danger when he'd faced Wardes, but for some reason he felt much more nervous now. Perhaps it was because he had to provide a good example to his men in the battle. Or perhaps it was because the outcome wasn't predetermined.
It wasn't going to be a simple matter either way. His unit had been assigned to the attack on the gate. With any city the gate was both the weakest link in the defenses, and paradoxically the most dangerous to actually attack. He could already make out several ballista set up on the barbican, and he was quite sure that his bronze golems couldn't stop those bolts.
"Don't worry your head about those sir," sergeant Nicola said, as if reading his thoughts. "Those ballista are set up to take out earth golems. They won't be the danger." The man pointed to several holes in the fortification. "Keep your eye on those. That's where the musket fire will come from. Bet they have murder holes inside too so be quick about leading us to the streets when the gate does go down. Leave cleaning out the fortress to the other squads."
"Right." Guiche swallowed his nervousness yet again and turned his eyes to the other nearby units. There was the rest of the battalion, eight siege golems, raised by earth mages, and a horse company with him in the vanguard. More units stood behind to capitalize on a breakthrough, but it seemed like a weak force to take the wall to Guiche's mind.
Once again the sergeant seemed to read his thoughts. "Hope we get some more units after the artillery barrage. They're never as effective as you hope." He looked over. "Don't suppose you know how many cannons they brought, sir?"
"I'm afraid not. Louise doesn't speak a word of the generals' plans. The Vallieres take their duty to the crown quite seriously." Guiche respected that greatly. For all Louise's faults she was quite loyal.
"Too bad."
The sound of trumpets signalled the units to make ready, and Guiche checked his line. As expected they were all prepared without him needing to do a thing. All that was left to do was draw his own wand and prepare to advance.
Cannons started to fire down the line, as the other units began moving against the walls. Trying to draw defenders out. Guiche waited for the artillery to begin striking the gate-
And then the entire gatehouse exploded.
Guiche was blinking stars out of his eyes for a good ten seconds before he could get a hazy view of the gates. Or rather the smoldering ruins that had been the gates. All that remained was the top 4 feet of the foundations, some splintered wood, and the last two feet of portcullis lodged into the ground.
This was Louise's fault. He was sure of it. Those walls had been enchanted to resist magic, so simply blowing them up wasn't supposed to be possible. It was probably that terrifying bird, but maybe she'd summoned some other trick up. She'd gone from class joke to utterly terrifying, and he really hoped she didn't hold a grudge.
But that was a problem for another day. His ears were still ringing, but even a fool knew now was the time to advance. He yelled the order, then motioned to the troops next to him before marching forwards. They'd get the idea soon enough.
He was quite pleased to see his unit managed to stop staring in awe and get moving before anyone else on the field. The golems quickly moved past them, but Guiche kept up a quick walk, the mercenaries keeping their line.
A ballista shot from the left hit one of the golems and shattered the construct, but the others easily reached the remains of the wall and cleared out the mangled barriers that kept the gate shut. "Double quick!" Guiche yelled out.
"Double quick!" Nicola repeated. "Double quick!" his subordinates confirmed. The line started into a light jog. The mercenaries could probably keep it up for hours, Guiche mused, but he'd tire quickly. Perhaps he should work on stamina.
He dismissed those idle thoughts as they ran through the gates. The stones weren't even hot, despite the entire upper gateworks having been vaporized. Well that wasn't his problem right now. With a wave he called out "Left wheel!" and set the unit up so they'd have an open field of fire to the streets on the left that led to the wall. "Stand ready!" he called as he placed his bronze golems at the flank in front of him.
The mercenary leaders repeated the commands, and the unit immediately took a three line formation. Not a moment too soon, as a group of orcs were running down the streets towards them. Nicola elbowed him in the ribs and Guiche yelled out "Fire at will!"
The mercenaries had been eagerly waiting for the order, because the first volley went out before he was done speaking. Most of the orcs staggered. A second volley rang out, and the demihumans dropped, save for a few in the rear who had been shielded by their comrades. Then the third volley resounded and they fell too.
Still the orcs had managed to get fairly close even with the fire. Guiche shook his head. "If they'd gathered ranks before attacking we'd have been in trouble."
"Yeah they're tough bastards. We're lucky they aren't smart," the sergeant replied. "If that's the best they've got we should be able to hold this alone while the army marches through."
Guiche looked behind and saw that was rapidly becoming reality. The cavalry was already heading down the main street and siege golems were clearing the walls. "I think we've won." It seemed too easy. But they'd breached the walls, and there was nothing to stop them from taking the city now.
"Yep. It's all over but the crying and the surrendering, sir." Nicola said. "Of course I bet it'll take a while for that to sink into everyone's skulls. So we've still got a job to do."
"Right, of course." Guiche felt chagrined by his sergeant's words. Bragging before you'd fully taken the field was a bad habit. He forced himself to scan the streets and buildings as compensation.
And his penitent search was rewarded by the gleam of a rifle barrel.
Guiche didn't even remember ordering his golem to move. The bronze lady was between him and the sniper before the flash. He heard the bullet slam through the shield just before the shot rang out, and his heart flipped at how close he'd come to death again.
The moment ended as soon as it began. There was a clatter as the bullet fell into the chest cavity of his damaged golem. Nicola was at his side asking if he was all right, and the sniper had, quite wisely, retreated away from his window.
Guiche took a deep breath and pointed his sword wand where he'd seen the man. "Sergeant, that man over there was quite rude. Please send someone to chastise him for his ill manners."
Nicola blinked, then grinned and slapped him on the back. "Yes sir. Markov, grab four men and go tell the asshole in that house not to be a dick to travelers, eh? The rest of you keep your eyes open! The battle ain't over until it's over!"
"Right! Come on boys, let's grab the bastard so he can apologize to the captain!" The men were smiling as they headed out. Guiche wondered for a moment if he'd said something funny, but then he recognized them as smiles of pride. They were proud of him.
His own face threatened to split into a grin, but he forced it down. For now he was the unflappable commander. Or at least he was trying to be. Guiche decided to focus on his golem so the men wouldn't notice his lips quivering upwards.
A quick look at the damage cut down some of his joy. Not only had the bullet gone through the shield, but it'd penetrated the golem's body and put a dent in the back. "I'll have to thicken the metal if I move on from bronze," he muttered. Iron might have splintered, and that would have been a mess.
Still that was for later. For now he smoothed out the damage and returned to his watch. They'd won the battle, and he was determined he and his men would live to see the victory celebration.
Henrietta looked at the missive before her. It was disgusting. An insult without peer. She wanted to tear it apart, to demand her armies march to Londinium and burn the whole town to the ground with everyone inside.
But she forced that down. Deep breaths and focus. She was the queen. She had to be better than that. And she could be.
Finally when she'd mastered herself she turned to Cardinal Mazarin. "I take it the army is in no shape to march?"
"No. The city had been stripped of provisions. Even with heavy foraging they'd run out of food right outside the walls of Londinium. The only way to move forwards would be leaving Saxe-Gotha to starve. Which means bandits would certainly attack our supply caravans." The man's report was blunt. "To be honest your highness I think it likely our enemies are similarly poorly supplied. Otherwise they wouldn't be asking for this formal truce for the Silver Pentecost."
Sadly he wasn't quite as good at pattern recognition. "Albion has broken every truce they've offered. If they were in danger they'd be threatening us. No, this is obviously a distraction for a counter strike."
"I'm not sure how they could accomplish that," the Cardinal replied. "But given their history of perfidery, refusing the truce would not be shameful. Should I officially decline it?"
"No." Henrietta shook her head and turned to Mazarin. "We won't be attacking, so I shall agree to the truce. It will be one more shameful mark of their record when they break it. Just tell our generals to be prepared for the inevitable treachery."
Mazrin bowed respectfully. "A wise plan, your majesty. I'll draw up the messages and cipher them myself." He pulled out another paper. "I take it we will also be continuing with your plan to send merchants into the city?"
"Yes. Doubly so now that they're short on food." She grimaced. "Though we'll need to send another note reminding our generals to punish price gougers."
"It shall be done your majesty." He made a quick note and turned, then paused. "Princess... you have taken well to rule. I know it was quite a burden, but I am glad to see how you have shouldered it."
Henrietta closed her eyes. "Thank you for your words Cardinal, but there's so much more I could be doing. I'm still fumbling around trying to fix our nation."
"Then you need to hear my words even more," the man replied softly. "We all wish we had a perfect ruler, but in the end we must simply settle for the best possible. And I honestly believe that is you."
As the cardinal's footsteps moved away Henrietta wiped her eyes. "I am not the wise emperor you think I am." She forced the traces of tears away. "But I will become one."
"I'll post as soon as I finish this arc"
5000 words later, still 4 segments minimum from arc end.
"Maybe I should just post what I got.