The Issen Bridge
The narrow valley went more or less northward, winding between two chains of hills that marked the border between the kingdom of Alcaire and the duchy of Phrygios.
The rocky hills were covered with pristine snow that would also cover the nearby forests.
Here, the valley suddenly widened and a camp welcomed the small army of Verandia. After walking all day, the soldiers were unloading the mules to mount the tents. They were also busy digging latrines, piling stones for the campfires... in short, doing everything necessary to establish a cantonment. Sentries patrolled, while soldiers from the chores cut down the wood necessary for their installation.
A first tent had already been erected. It was a large canvas pavilion whose role was to host the meetings of the small staff of the expedition.
On a folding table, several maps lined up with the reports of scouts and spies. Artoria Pendragon had been forced to read them herself, regretting once again the absence of Bedivere. Her old friend had proved indispensable during her campaigns on the island of Britain. Not only did he read all the reports for her, but he also synthesized them.
Having placed her gauntlets on the table, Artoria massaged her forehead, fighting an insidious headache. Too many hours of walking, too little sleep...
"Let's recap! Tomorrow morning, we will enter a valley network that starts from where we are and opens eastward on the plain dug by the river Issen. The Orcs must undoubtedly prepare some ambushes in these valleys since the terrain is conducive to this form of combat. However, once this obstacle is overcome, we will have to reach the true objective of our expedition. Because, let's not forget, we came to take over the Issen bridge and destroy the dam that the Orcs are building to block this river. We must at least succeed one of these two missions; otherwise, the relief army will not be able to cross the Issen."
Artoria showed a report:
"Our main difficulty is that the enemy has prepared the sabotage of the bridge. That is in any case what our scouts testify. It will be necessary to take the enemy position very quickly, without giving the enemy time to destroy the bridge. Does anyone have a suggestion?"
Rin Tohsaka, with her arm crossed, had her face expressionless and focused on solving the problem. Beside her, Merlin seemed perfectly serene, leaning on his magical staff; he looked around the small team surrounding the table. Shiro Emiya scratched his head vigorously while grimacing, then sighed, apparently having nothing to offer. Gonderic de Bel-Amant looked at Artoria with a smile of apology. He obviously had no great plan to propose.
Finally, the first speaker was Estienne de Vigonne. The colossus had served as a mercenary in all the battles between the Bretons and their neighbors over the past twenty years. So, of course, he knew the Orcs well:
"Lady Artoria, I fear that taking the bridge intact is impossible. You have already faced the Orcs, you know that you cannot talk to them. They will never abandon the bridge without fighting. Malacath welcomes into his kingdom only the Orcs who died courageously in battle, so they are not afraid to fight us... on the contrary, they seek a heroic death. Moreover, they are persuaded to be superior to all their enemies and therefore not to be defeated. I mean, never would an Orc dare disobey his leader. If they have been ordered to destroy the bridge if the battle turns against them, we can be sure they will."
There was a brief moment of silence, then...
"We're lucky they have such flaws!"
Estienne de Vigonne turned to Tohsaka who had just spoken. His eyes were exorbitant and he seemed to believe that she had lost her mind. The Magus in red shrugged her shoulders and then lifted a finger in a professorial gesture:
"Give it some thought! Since the beginning of this campaign, we have been inflicting heavy defeats on them. Why? Because Orcs warriors seek to prove their worth in the sight of their god. Battles are not won by the charges of screaming madmen packs but by maneuvering units in a coordinated manner and capturing key battlefield positions. Using only the frontal assault is stupidity! As for their courage which impresses you so much, I see only a greater stupidity! The duty of a defeated soldier is to flee, save his life, and return to fight the next battle. Instead, the Orcs fight to the last. Not only do the Orcs needlessly sacrifice their soldiers, but they also lose the experience gained by these fighters. They should have understood long ago that the frontal assaults made them vulnerable to Excalibur or weapons Traced by Shiro. But no, over and over again, they suffer crushing defeats!"
Estienne seemed troubled by the arguments advanced by Rin, but she had not finished:
"You seem to believe that the blind obedience of the Orcs towards their tribal leaders is a quality... it is quite the opposite! A tribal leader defeated his predecessor with weapons, then all those who wanted to take his place. Certainly, that makes him a great warrior... but his strength and weapons skills do not necessarily make him a talented tactician or diplomat. Orcs have not understood that it is better to have a good brain than big muscles to lead! And in addition, since Malacath's law requires absolute obedience, this means that the more intelligent subordinates cannot contradict the tribal chief. A stupid plan will, therefore, be accepted and we can trust the Orcs to sacrifice "bravely" until the last because none will be "cowardly" enough to use his brain."
Shiro and Artoria exchanged a smile, their friend had not changed. Rin was a brilliant mind, a true genius as she constantly recalled (modesty not being among her qualities). Moronic actions were wigging her out and Tohsaka could be quite impressive when she was angry.
Saber coughed in her fist:
"Thank you for your explanation, Rin. Surely you have understood that the enemy's strengths are in fact his weaknesses. However, it doesn't explain how to deal with them."
The young Magus thanked Shiro with a smile for the cup of tea that he had just served, and then rubbed her chin. She finally sighed:
"I fear we are at a dead end. Since we left Koeglin, we have been fighting in tight terrain. The latter is favorable to the one who occupies it first. By blocking the passages, the opponent is assured of an excellent defensive position. Having numerical superiority, the Orcs can hold all the passages before us, while we will use only one. This means the enemy will have plenty of time to use the units in the other valleys for a counter-attack. Worse still, these fights make us waste precious time. We can stand for safe that the garrison of the Issen Bridge will be notified of our arrival. Taking the bridge intact will certainly be a challenge. However, Excalibur is an anti-fortress Noble Phantasm. The Sword of Promised Victory will have no trouble pulling down the dam."
A thoughtful expression appeared on Artoria's face:
"In other words, when we face the bridge's defensive positions, we will not have the effect of surprise and will have to confront enemies prepared to fight us."
Rin acquiesced, she suddenly seemed overwhelmed:
"And the sabotage teams will be ready to intervene. I don't see how we can secure the bridge before the enemy sabotages it."
Shiro intervenes:
"With Corvus' cloak of invisibility, I..."
But he was brutally interrupted by Rin. She had just risen and held out her fist as if to strike him, a furious expression on her face:
"Baka! I sent several of my familiars to the river. The bridge is made of wood and the Orcs have accumulated pitch barrels on the deck. They also removed boards to expose the structure. If you attack alone, you may be able to neutralize one or two of the sabotage positions... before hundreds of Orcs throw themselves at you. Even if you kill them all... the saboteurs will have plenty of time to take action. I don't want you to get caught in the fire, you heroic idiot. I wonder why Angra Mainyu didn't reincarnate you into an orc! With your talent for building a harem and your thick brute brain, you would have made an excellent tribal chief!"
It was Rin Tohsaka, absolutely merciless!
The other occupants of the Staff Tent looked at each other, rather uncomfortably... Tohsaka seemed to take malicious pleasure in these disputes. However, Artoria agreed with each of her friend's retorts:
"Rin is right, Shiro."
The Amber Eyed Hero remained for a few moments with swinging arms, no longer seeming to know what to say. He knew enough about his two friends to know that only the fear of losing him led them to contradict him so openly... but he still had the impression that he had been scolded like a little child.
The staff discussed for a good half hour, but no new facts emerged from this exchange. They had no valid battle plan to defeat an entrenched enemy before he destroys a strategic bridge for the liberation of High-Rock.
"Iaaaa!"
Saber shot down his sword on the harpy, the half-woman, half-bird monster had a short melodious scream before falling to the ground in a whirlwind of feathers and droplets of blood.
Already, a powerful werewolf threw himself on Artoria. The knight woman counters the clawed attacks by jumping back twice. With her eyes wrinkled, she looked for a loophole in the rhythm of the blows. When the monster raised his arm too high, she leaped forward, one hand on the pommel of her invisible sword.
"Hiiiieee!"
The blade plunged into the monster's groin and was covered with blood as it came out on the other side. The werewolf was dying. However, Artoria Pendragon's fighting instinct warned her that she was still in danger, twisting her side, she moved the monster like a shield... and the werewolf back was suddenly adorned with about ten arrows.
The Orcs archers on the rocky ledge began to swear, seeking to see her behind the corpse of the wolfman. However, they fell within seconds... each being pierced by a translucent prana arrow.
Repelling the body of the werewolf, Saber smiled to her lover who lowered the black bow of Archer.
Around them, the battle raged.
The expedition of Verandia advanced in one of the valleys which opened like a fan towards the larger valley than the Issen River had traced among the hills. However, as Artoria had predicted, the Orcs occupied them and multiplied assaults and ambushes.
In addition to the Orcs themselves, the green-skinned humanoids had gathered many allies such as harpies, ogres and werewolves, but also giant wild boars, Iliac's spiders, saber-toothed tigers and snakes as thick as tree trunks. These monstrous animals must have been under the control of their shamans.
Gonderic de bel-Amant and Estienne de Vignonne having eliminated their opponents, the vanguard of the army of Verandia charged to sweep away the surviving monsters.
Like the previous clashes, the Orc ambush ended in rout for the attackers. The losses in the Verandia's camp were limited because Merlin was watching. The wounded were suddenly enveloped in golden energy healing their wounds while their adversaries saw themselves surrounded by a violet aura weakening them.
However, their advance had been slowed. In fact, they had been immobilized, leaving them vulnerable to a counter-attack.
Leaning on her sword covered with blood, Artoria tried to catch her breath as a rumble made her raise her head. With horror, she discovered an avalanche descending towards the bottom of the valley. The snow rolled stones, tore trees to the ground, and rushed towards them...
Fortunately, Rin Tohsaka did not lose her temper. Wearing a heavy coat of fur, her neck surrounded by a scarf, she whispered something inaudible. Then she threw the runes "Elhaz" and "Issa". The first meant "protection", the second "ice". The two small pebbles marked with these runes and impregnated with Tohsaka prana released their power as soon as they touched the ground.
Immediately thick ice walls rose around the small army joining to form a veritable tunnel.
The avalanche passed over them, shaking their refuge, but without hurting them...
Tohsaka flickered. Exhausted by the effort, she folded in two, her hands on her knees. As Shiro, worried, asked her how she was doing, she rose up with arrogance:
"Who do you think you're talking to?! Of course, I'm fine! Protecting an entire army... it's nothing for me... I remind you that I am a genius like you see only one... per generation..."
Then she fainted without losing that little higher smile that often exasperated those who discovered her true (and irritating) personality.
The small army of Verandia camped on the heights of a hill. Below, one could see the bridge spanning the Issen. Between them and the river... a succession of barricades mixing tree trunks, earth-filled barrels, and sharp stakes protected several bivouacs where the smoke of campfire rose.
Having Strengthened his eyes, Shiro described the places to Artoria, Gonderic, and Estienne. When he had finished, Saber shook her head while pondering:
"It will be difficult to break through their defenses and seize the bridge intact".
Shiro shook his head:
"On the contrary, I think it's doable."
With his hand he pointed at different points on the bridge:
"There, there, there, here, and again, these are the points prepared for the sabotage. There is an Orc near each of them. I will eliminate them from the start of the attack and I will also kill all those who try to get close to the pitch barrels. All you have to do is break through the enemy's defenses to the bridge."
Saber beat her eyelids, a little surprised. It was a good plan... a simple and direct plan but had a chance to work. She nodded and smiled:
"Yes, Shiro, that's a good idea."
The Amber Eyed Blacksmith seemed to shine and the two youngsters were for a moment lost in their little world, even as Gonderic and Estienne looked up to heaven.
They were about to intervene, when Merlin came out of the tent the soldiers had raised. As soon as she saw him, Artoria approached him with an uneasy expression:
"Rin?"
The Magician of Flowers smiles with a reassuring air:
"She has nothing serious. She should just stop acting like Santa on a December 24th night".
Artoria and Shiro looked at Merlin with perplexed mines... as for Gonderic de Bel-Amant and Estienne de Vignonne, they did not even know who Santa Claus was and understood even less.
Merlin smiles with this little mischievous air that often wore before committing one of his unbearable antics:
"It is a father who asks his son: 'Tell me, Stevie, what you would like to do when you grow up? '" Changing his tone, the magician countered a child's voice: "I would like to be Santa." Merlin then resumed his normal tone: "Oh, to give gifts to the wise children?" After which he told of the punch line of this pathetic joke by counterfeiting a nasty exasperating child (or revealing his true nature?): "No, it is that Santa works only one day a year!"
Artoria's expression was something to behold. She seemed exhausted. With her eyes closed, she massaged her forehead:
"What does this have to do with Rin?"
"Oh? Did you not understand the comparison, Your Majesty? Santa may only work one day a year, but he gives gifts to all the children on Earth."
"In plain language, please."
A little surprised that no one understood his joke, Merlin sighed. After whispering something about the lack of humor of his contemporaries, he finally replied:
"My king, Rin has very powerful Magic Circuits... at least according to the Magi of her time. However powerful they may be, the Magic Circuits of a Magus can only transform a limited amount of Od into Prana every day. But Rin overloaded her Circuits to generate enough Prana to build a wall capable of protecting an army.
Shiro intervened:
"And it's dangerous?"
Merlin seemed astonished:
"The absurdity of the question does not surprise me on the part of someone who has failed to kill himself numerous times using Magecraft incorrectly! Of course it is dangerous! First of all, it can damage the Magic Circuits which -therefore- will no longer work as well. But it can also lead to more serious side effects: paralysis of a part of the body, necrosis, death..."
Saber's face hardens:
"Rin doesn't have any of that, does she?"
Merlin raised his hands in a reassuring gesture:
"No, Tohsaka was very lucky, she's just exhausted. She will no doubt have some difficulty moving during the next few days because the energies circulating in her physical body are no longer in phase with her etheric body. More seriously, she must absolutely not use Magecraft until she recovered. Not only would it fail, but she would probably kill herself... "
Merlin once again turned his gaze to Shiro:
"In any case, you have a very bad influence on her, young man! In a situation like the one we just experienced, an ordinary Magus would just have sought to save his life, not overloaded his Magic Circuits by seeking to protect ordinary men."
The remark was harsh, but in fact, the magician smiled. Saber also when she spoke:
"It's Shiro... he has the talent to push people to open their hearts. He makes them better."
"Starlight Divergence!"
Five wind cones fell on the fortifications of the Orcs. Each of them surrounded a stream of golden light. Stones, broken wood, and body were propelled in all directions.
Without giving the defenders of the bridge time to recover from the sudden attack, Saber jumped among them. Her invisible sword was sowing death around her. Orcs converged on the woman in armor, but despite the number, the fight was one siding. She twirled, jumped over a row of soldiers, ran, dodged. And always, Artoria handled her blade in powerful strokes. Those who approached her perished.
"Aaah"
The lateral blow severed the Orc at the hips, shattering its shield and crossing its armor as if it were made of paper. Sprinkled with blood, Artoria did not budge, merely shrinking her eyes and stopping the charge of an Orc armed with a weapon axe. Pushing him aside, she waved her sword toward heaven:
"Starlight Convergence!"
Momentarily freed from it scabbard made of wind, Excalibur appeared in all it golden glory. However light and wind escaped from the blade as in an explosion. Saber found herself in the center of a fleeting sphere of dazzling light and swirling winds.
All around her, Orcs were there thrown clear, bruised, and dazzled.
This powerful blazing signal also served as a sign to launch the general attack. Led by Gonderic and Estienne, the soldiers of Verandia broke on the battlefield... the defenses dismantled, the defenders paralyzed, it was not very difficult for them to take advantage. Of course, reinforcements converged towards them, but roots immobilized them.
Using one of her favorite techniques, Wind King's Slash, Saber rushed forward, too fast to be seen. Like a ghost, her distorted silhouette appeared simultaneously in several points of the second line of defense, killing the defenders. Then she leaps forward and falls back on the deck of the bridge.
There too, the ground was covered with blood and corpses. At the same time as her assault, Shiro had begun to make a void among the defenders. His arrows touched the killer whales that dared to rise, instantly striking them. not a single stroke was lost, yet he was more than a kilometer away, safe from any response.
Sheltered from a barricade, a man in a black dress tried to negotiate. Around him, zombies and skeletons betrayed his condition as a necromancer. Artoria, however, was offended to see that the Orcs continued to attempt to reach the pitch barrels while he pretended to demand the terms of a ceasefire:
"Mage, we only negotiate in good faith. I don't see the point in wasting my time chatting with you when all you're trying to do is delay me and destroy the bridge! In addition, it is presumptuous of you to seek a peaceful outcome when you only used violence as the only way to resolve your different when you had the advantage.
She jumped forward, slashing the undead in the process and then fell back next to the necromancer who lost his head... literally. Its skull, taken off by the invisible sword bounces two or three times before crossing the railing and falling into the river.
The battle ended around Artoria.
The harpies fled in a flurry of wings. Freed from the command spells of the shamans, the monstrous animals attacked everything that approached them. Only the ogres (too stupid) and the Orcs (too fanatic) still resisted here and there. Nevertheless, Shiro's arrows and Merlin's spells were soon emptied in their ranks.
The next day, going up the Issen, the small army arrived from the dam. There, too, the Orcs had gathered troops in charge of the defense. On both banks, they had built fences with watchtowers loaded with archers. Shiro showed places where shamans, trained monsters, or even traps stood. For an ordinary force, attacking would have been costly.
However, Artoria did not need to approach:
"Sacred Sword Released!"
Holding Excalibur in two hands, Saber watched the multiple layers of wind whirling away. A ring of golden fire appeared, revealing the handle, and then ascending releasing the guard and then the whole blade.
The Sword of Promised Victory appeared, spreading a golden light. Artoria lifted it above her head, closed the eyelids, and inhaled deeply. A brief moment, a bluish aura appeared around her before merging with the golden aura of the blade.
The brilliance of the blade then increased into a column of fire that soon rose to about ten meters above the ground.
Saber opened her eyes, expelled the air from her lungs before strike forward.
"Ex...
And the golden torch of fire fell to the ground, turning into a blinding beam that rushed towards the dam.
... calibur!"
The wave of clarity struck the wall of wooden logs. It did not stand a single moment, exploding and throwing debris around it. Yet the usual rampage of the Sacred Sword was not the end of the disaster. Tons of water had been contained by the dam. As it collapsed, foaming waves sprang up through the breach, widening it down below... sweeping the Orcs, knocking down the watchtowers, breaking down the barricades and palisades.
The river carried away everything (tree trunks, planks... corpses) before getting lost in the nearby valleys.
With a serious, sad face, Saber put the sword again invisible in the ground and crossed her hands on its pommel. The frigid wind played with her hair and lifted the bottom of her dress, making her armor click.
She was superb, royal; the perfect model of the knight... yet everyone looked at her in silence, in admiration or just terrified?
Merlin slowly shook his head, saddened. in the secret of his heart, he remembered the teenager who had snatched the Sword of Designation from the stone. "Why did I tell you to reconsider your desire to brandish Caliburn? I warned you that you would never be considered human again," he thought.
That day had begun the legend of Arthur Pendragon. That all knew... but it was also that day that Artoria Pendragon died.
Except...
Shiro advanced, crossing the circle of soldiers still frozen by the magnitude of the catastrophe.
"Saber, the meal is ready!"
As if she had just heard a magic word, Saber turned her eyes bright, with a smile on her lips:
"What have you prepared?"
The red-haired young man rubbed the back of his head:
"I thought the giant wild boars should be edible, so I tried a pork stew with white wine, raisins, bacon. The sauce is made with bread, meat broth, and egg yolks."
A roar of thunder surprised the soldiers, and then there was a laugh when one of them realized that it was Artoria's stomach that was gurgling. Once again a young woman, the legendary king blushed and coughed in her fist to try to save some of her dignity:
"Once again, you outdid yourself, Shiro."
Merlin laughs in turn.
Even he did not foresee the miracle that Shiro Emiya was. In his hands, kitchen equipment had realized what Merlin's magic had never succeeded in doing: returning her humanity to Artoria.
Maybe... yeah, maybe this time it wouldn't end on a hill covered with dead bodies and swords.