God Rising: The Cult of Ainz
Written by: AtheistBasementDragon
Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots
Chapter 148: The Fall of Crossroads
...Crossroads...Previous Day...
"So... we've been right screwed now, haven't we?" General Boabdill asked his staff and the city's representatives. Around the table sat nobles of the city, the governor, lower officers beneath his chief aides. The faces of soldiers were stone, but those of the citizen leadership, were animated, anxious, and angry.
The governor sputtered furiously in answer, "It's because of your incompetence that we're..." He did not get far into his statement before Vice Commander Ira smashed her fist down on the table, rattling everything and spilling large quantities of tea. Through gritted teeth the young vice commander snarled at the governor.
"Our soldiers cannot do everything, 'you' were supposed to have guards enough for everything we couldn't do, your 'watch' managed to accomplish exactly nothing. Your watch was supposed to handle curfews, the only thing I could count on them to handle was their beer! We do not secure the public streets against thieves, that is 'your' job. We do not patrol the streets against murderers, that is 'your' job. We do not know this city, that is 'your' job! Not ours!"
The sputtering was about to begin again, and from the corner of his eye General Boabdill saw that Commander Heikeren was gearing up to interrupt just as Ira had before him, and so, the General raised a hand to preempt it.
"This is a problem, but it is not the end, however we do need to make some contingency plans." The General said patiently.
"What sort?" One of the noble ladies at the table asked suspiciously.
"I believe all of this is gearing up to something, I want every soldier up early and ready to fight, governor, I'm exercising my authority given from the government in Kami Miyako to take over command of all soldiers and guards under your command, all your militia are to be activated for immediate use." He said without a hint of compromise in his voice. "As of right now you are entirely stripped of your authority." Sputtering began around the table as the high citizens of Crossroad City went wide eyed with disbelief as their authority was taken from them.
"Understand that arguing with me on this matter constitutes mutiny, and mutiny is a death penalty offense under martial law." He said sternly, and that cut off the sputtering quite firmly.
He folded his hands in front of him and spoke in a calm, even voice, clipped and professional, his penetrating eyes finding each person at the table one by one, and holding that gaze until they looked down or away in deference. "Now, what's more, we need to ensure we have a way 'out' of this city, I will do my best to hold it, but I'm not foolish enough to think that our victory is now as certain as it once was. Without enough bolts to take down dragons, they control the skies, our mages can fight them, but I doubt they can defeat them. Our scriptures are better than their best, but our scriptures are few. If they break that gate, this city is done, we can fight house to house, we can fight street by street, we might even inflict large casualties, but we will lose. I don't like losing. However there is one truth of war that General Enri might not know."
"Sir?" Commander Heikeren asked with an eyebrow raised.
General Boabdill smiled sagely as he answered. "Retreat. Is not. Defeat. As long as we have an army, we have a means to resist, or as these rather troublesome rogue elements have shown us, as long as we 'live' resistance is possible. I want to make General Enri pay a price 'if' she breaks through, to that end, we will set up 'juncture' fortifications, nothing dramatic, but we'll want to be able to fight at every intersection point and slow them down. Therefore Vice Commander Ira, you will designate units to delay our enemies, use as much as fifty percent of our scripture forces, I want this to 'hurt' her when she comes on, the entirety of the militia will also be used. These are their homes, it is proper that they fight for them, and up to twenty percent of our remaining army."
"Commander Heikeren, you designate two areas at the weakest area of the siege, we've mapped them extensively now. There you will create some break out tunnels, as they pour in, I want you to be able to pour out. We will punish them for every cobblestone they step over, but they will not destroy us." General Boabdill finished his statement with an edge to his voice and grim determination on his stoney face, his lips were pursed and the table was silent.
Finally the governor raised his hand.
"Yes?" The General asked with some annoyance.
"What about us?" He asked with fear in his voice, "We all know how these undead worshipers behave, we have it straight from Kami Miyako!" His voice was shrill with fear, and though the rest of the table was quiet, they were obviously just as anxious.
"I don't know how the rest of the undead worshipers behave, but I have it straight from our own soldiers which she took captive, that they were treated fairly, moreover we've seen no evidence of wanton slaughter at Ikari. The worst she's done is free the slaves and punish those masters who held out against her amnesty offer." General Boabdill said, keeping his voice even as he explained. "If I had any reason to suspect your mistreatment, I would take you with me in the event of a withdrawal, but as it is, I can't do that. If you're truly concerned then hire some private citizens for impromptu bodyguards for yourselves." He was almost bored as he finished the statement, and outrage formed on multiple faces.
"General Boabdill, I will be lodging a formal complaint in Kami Miyako over this. You can't just abandon us! The priests, the nobles! The Cardinals wouldn't stand for it, and I'll have you know Cardinal Dominic is an old friend of mine!" The Governor said with barely suppressed rage.
Boabdill's response was wholly unexpected, he laughed, he laughed hard enough that he actually had to wipe tears from his eyes and he slapped the table. His reaction was so unexpected that there were only dumb stares in response, from both his aides and from the nobles. "Governor, please be my guest and try. If we defend the city successfully, Kami Miyako will not care. If we lose and I am killed, your complaint will be irrelevant. If we retreat and I survive and this city is captured, then you won't be sending any complaints anywhere."
The governor began to twitch with barely suppressed outrage, his round belly heaved with fury and his large eyes bulged out of his head, yet he feared to press his anger too far as Commander Heikeren kept a hand wrapping and unwrapping around the hilt of his sword without ever breaking contact with it.
"Now, if that is everything, get to work, then get some sleep, it'll be a busy day tomorrow." The general said and quickly stood, the table stood with him and his aides saluted promptly to carry out his will, while the nobles saw to themselves.
As officers, Heikeren and Ira were second to none and saw to their tasks with great alacrity, if not without difficulty. So though they finished their tasks, they each fell to their beds exhausted.
But for all that preparation, nothing prepared General Boabdill, Commander Heikeren, or Vice Commander Ira for the events of the following morning.
General Boabdill was up early and getting ready to go to the gate when the soldier burst in, no salute, no knocking, just pounding feet and fearful face. "General! The gate! The main gate!"
"What about it?" General Boabdill asked as he moved swiftly toward the door, gesturing for the soldier to follow.
"Something happened! It's opened and we can't close it!" The soldier shouted, though he was but a foot away.
"Oh those clever bastards. The last few escapees, they did it, I don't know how... but they did it." He said with admiration and dread alike. "And Vice Commander Ira?" He asked.
"She sent me, they're already fighting at the entrance, and I passed fallback positions on my way here, Sir. Everyone is ready." He said, his fear giving way to a moment of pride.
"Good. Let's go do our jobs then, and let the gods sort it out." General Boabdill said as the pair rushed for the outside.
Enri couldn't believe what she was hearing, let alone what she was seeing as Lupusregina rushed back telling her to attack, but within a moment she'd gained control of herself and given the order. Wolf Riders, Centaurs, heavy human cavalry, stormed the open gate of Crossroad City with whoops and hollers of glee.
She waited until they hit the gate and the sounds of fighting hit her ears, she could feel the anticipation of the dragons behind her. "General Enri, the dragons?" Sun reminded her.
She smiled a sweet little smile that, pursed as it was, was also somehow predatory and had a definite edge to it, much like the hard unblinking watchfulness of her gaze. "Not yet, good Sun. Not yet. Wait for it." She whispered.
"Wait fer what?" Lupusregina asked as she got back to where Enri sat on her mount. Enormous booms sounded from within the city.
"That." Enri replied quietly, then after the third enormous boom, she looked over her shoulder. "Dragons, go bring them your lunchboxes, oh and then, go have fun!" She shouted.
Dragon roars deafened the field as they launched in unison wearing their shining armor and bearing their deadly cargo. A 'lunchbox' full of soldiers did not carry many, but the few it carried were terrors on the battlefield and could wreak havoc when dropped at key positions.
They took to the air like fish to the water and soared towards the city, the scorpions fired as fast as they could, but with the runic armor to deflect the blows and now the knowledge of the need to be cautious of human artillery, they neatly avoided most shots and the few that struck, skewed away instead of penetrating. That did not keep them from revenge for the injury done to their family member however, and they raked the walls and towers with sheets of ice, locking the dead upright, frozen in ice still trying to reload. The famous lunch boxes were loosed, crashing hard into the city at ground level behind those who were trying and failing to stop the cavalry from penetrating the gate.
The gate itself was a desperate melee, wolves bit hard and threw the hapless defenders into their brethren, goblins gutted human warriors as easily as a farmer broke up soft soil, blood soaked dark fur and green skin enough that both turned red as Theocracy reinforcements poured into the position to buy time for the rest. Vice Commander Ira took up a position atop a building nearby and oversaw the fight as best she could. Their archers poured arrows into the dense knot, centaurs fell hard, when they fell at all. Shouts and curses and calls for aid were on the lips of friend and foe alike. From atop the wall the Vice Commander saw the impossible, an elf dragged a human free from under his fallen mount, a human defended a wounded centaur as he lay bleeding in the street where a knot of combatants had formed around them.
As she saw this unfold, an inkling of understanding cracked its way through the lifetime of contrary teachings. But nothing so shattered her illusions as the iron discipline of the goblin warriors, they fought as a unit, not as gibbering animals as she had always seen of the wild ones that occasionally had to be put down in the forest and mountain regions of the Theocracy. They carried themselves with discipline that would have been commended in the finest of human armies. Even more disconcerting on a more… individual level, she felt as if she was being watched. She trembled for a moment and looked around with uncharacteristic anxiousness. 'You're being paranoid, Ira. It's just the battle getting to you, stay focused on command, and stay mobile. Nobody is coming to get you. You are not being watched.' She thought to herself, and shouted directions down at one group to make a left turn and reinforce another position.
"March!" Enri shouted, and the boom of her drums echoed her command. Behind her the thousands of stomping feet warned the city that her infantry was coming, not that such a warning mattered anymore. "Lupu, what do you think?" Enri asked.
"I'm proud of you, that's what I think." Lupusregina said in a rare moment of seriousness. "This city is done for, whatever happened in there, it was your preparation that made us ready to act on the opportunity. You've served the Sorcerer King well."
The sound of fighting grew more distant. "Thanks Lupu, I try." Enri said seriously, "Shall we go?"
"Yes, I think we should." Sun said, stroking his beard as he always did. They spurred their horses forward in a low trot, and as they drew closer, Enri could see that the gate had well and truly fallen, her soldiers were advancing along the walls, the crash of weapons and armor was growing loud again.
When they reached the gate Lupusregina dismounted, and a moment later it was not a combat maid, rather it was a werewolf queen who stood in front of her. "I'll keep you safe, never fear." The rough and hungry voice that replaced that of the beautiful red headed girl, promised her.
"Don't even need to say it Lupu. My life is in your hands." Enri smiled warmly as they passed through the shadow of the gate. She glanced at the walls, the murder holes there would have wrought a terrible toll, if she'd had to fight her way through them but... as it was, hardly any casualties from those.
The city was in an uproar, the screams of citizens fleeing the advancing army drowned out commands, the fleeing bodies of those terrified citizens got in the way of troop movements, however Vice Commander Ira's strategic use of obstacles quickly became a thorn in the side of the Sorcerer King's forces. In the distance, three booms went off. "I don't like the sound of that." Enri said unhappily as her horse moved forward one step at a time.
Overhead, a dragon swept down and annihilated a defensive position. Enri saw it down a side street as it happened, it was ringed with the bodies of her soldiers. "The price of a last stand." She said in a relaxed voice, at ease with the death sweeping the area around her.
Street by street and block they moved. From up ahead, a cadre of Slane Theocracy soldiers burst out of hiding and charged screaming for blood, straight at General Enri. She looked at them calmly, and watched with hard eyes as Lupusregina rushed in and tore them to pieces, her claws ripped through armor like a knife through wet paper, her teeth bit into flesh as if it were tenderized meat, armor crunched in her grip, and just like that, a half a dozen died, their blood blending into her fur as if it were a part of her body.
"My Theocracy counterpart has done an admirable job." Enri acknowledged reluctantly. "Without the dragons and high level goblins... and that help from whoever raised the gate, I doubt we would be doing this well."
"That may be, but do not sell yourself short, General Enri." Sun said as he looked around. Sweeps were taking place in quick, professional manners as office buildings and administrative centers were occupied and flags of the Sorcerer King were raised.
"How long do you think the city will hold out?" Enri asked thoughtfully.
"They've prepared well so... most of the day, barring any truces for prisoner exchange or gathering the wounded." He said and looked at her pointedly.
"No." She said simply.
"No?" Sun asked with surprise.
"No. No more of that, we will move forward until the last of this city falls. No truces, no negotiations. My ambulance corps will take the wounded of both sides, but we won't be pausing a damn thing. I want this over, by whatever means necessary." Enri said in a voice so cold she shocked herself.
But she did not relent in what she'd had to say. Sun nodded in approval, and Lupusregina beamed at her with pride, and Enri rode on in silence as cobblestone by cobblestone, the mighty Crossroads fell.
Eire ran. As soon as she saw people run past her building shouting that the apostates, the heretics, the undead worshippers were coming, she ran. Where she thought she was going, she had no idea, but her animal instinct had kicked in and she ran like nightmare was on her heels, and as far as she knew, it was.
Some part of her however, retained its senses, and when she saw a stable, she rushed in and found a large pile of hay, she buried herself under it, curling up deep within like an unborn child safe in its mother's womb. She shut her eyes and shut her ears and tried to pretend it wasn't happening, that the monsters weren't coming for her. 'Petyr... gods forgive me, I don't know if I want you to have told the truth so that I don't die... or for you have lied so that I did not get you killed for nothing...' She thought to herself, and passed the hours away like that, tormenting herself with an abiding fear of what the day would bring.
Go Gin was ecstatic, he actually smiled as he approached the little fortification. There were a number of dead Black Justice soldiers around it. He should have pitied them, he knew that. But he didn't. This was war after all. "Ho! You beyond the barrier! I am Go Gin, war troll and arena ch- former arena champion of the empire! Come out and announce yourselves so we can fight properly!" He shouted enthusiastically.
Silence greeted him. "You're strong, right? You killed these, didn't you? Come out!" He shouted further.
Silence ruled the space between them.
"I know you're there, I'm just going to break the barrier if you don't comply!" He warned them patiently.
[Ability Boost] [Greater Hardening] [Penetrate Up] [Quick Recovery] [Dull Pain] [Lesser Strength] [Agility Boost] [Fortress] He heard all these martial arts as a flurry of voices spoke, then as if born from the wind and with the beauty of spring flowers, as if those were the causes of their name, the Windflower Scripture members tore out from behind their barrier to attack the War Troll. There were six of them, and even at a glance they were strong and proud and the latter was easily justified by the former. They came for him with death on their minds, quiet voices and deadly resolve etched on their faces.
A sword stabbed out, and Go Gin avoided it, a dagger turned backwards was snapped back at his kidney, throwing knives flew at him and a fireball was hurled his way. That was the moment when he knew disappointment again. 'Will I never again find an opponent like my master? This is vexing. I am vexed, I am terribly vexed.' He thought unhappily as he smashed his warclub into the head of the scripture member bearing the sword. The one bearing the knife had only a moment of horror to realize it was over for him, as Go Gin spun on his heel and brought the club up into his jaw, shattering it and the rest of his head for good measure. 'I don't even need to use my martial arts.' He thought with annoyance.
Go Gin counted himself even tempered, but faced with a scripture, even part of one, people who should have been champions in their own right, and not even having to try? It got the better of him, all he wanted to do was finish them off so he could try to find 'someone' strong. He let the fireball burst against his armor and charged in to finish the most distant opponents, the dagger thrower and the magic user fell quickly, and he demolished the barrier with a few swings. He then brought his club down on two who had been using the barrier to hide themselves as if intending to use archery, and moved on to find somebody better. 'I wonder if my master would let me fight one of his guardians… might be worth asking at least, when all this is over, that is.' With that hopeful thought coming to mind, he had a spring in his step for the rest of the slaughter.
Commander Heikeren waited while the drums sounded at his direction. The three booms called the bulk of the army together. As Vice Commander Ira did her duty and bought time, the rest of the army moved to make its escape. He looked out in the distance, flags were starting to go up for the Sorcerer King. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in fury as he saw the inevitable unfold.
"Angry?" General Boabdill asked quietly. "Me too." He said without waiting for confirmation of his guess. "I didn't expect her to adapt this much, but they're paying a butcher's bill for it, taking stock afterward will buy us ample time, we'll move south, link up with another army and prepare to fight again. Take heart, we are not finished yet."
"Sir. What about the Vice Commander?" Commander Heikeren asked as evenly as he could.
"All we can do is hope she makes it." General Boabdill replied sadly as he shook his head. "I've lost many good officers over the years, but that is war. We learn to live with loss, the silence where a joke would be, the occasional empty chair... but this, I know, is different. We may lose everyone and everything. But just like all those other times... all you can do is hope they make it and prepare everything as best we can. Come on, we have enough now to take on the skeleton force besieging the southern gate, we break through that, we're safe for some time before she knows we've gone."
"Sir, as you say." He said and they descended from their position and led their soldiers out. Between the gate and their unexpected 'bolt holes' the mass of soldiers took the southern gate's forces by relative surprise, and after a short and brutal melee, broke through the thin line and began to make their way south, while within the city, step by step, the city continued to collapse.
Enri had one primary destination, the main administrative building. She moved past the dead and the dying with grim purpose on her face, the undead mount and her perfect armor, along with her straight rigid posture and beautiful, hard appearance, made her appear as an angel of the battlefield come to summon the honored dead to their reward. But she did not stop to speak to anyone, there was no time for that.
But as they drew closer, the resistance grew ever more fierce as people struggled to get in her way. Sometimes Lupusregina tore them to pieces, sometimes one of her approaching units attacked from a side street and all she had to do was wait for the melee to end.
She moved to wipe some of the blood from off of her face and swept it down to the ground dismissively. "Ugh, I'm going to need another bath after this." She said with annoyance.
"This is a problem?" Sun asked with surprise.
"No. That is." Enri said, gesturing to Lupusregina. "It is her unstated goal to make me blush in as many compromising positions as she possibly can. She's the lewdest virgin I've ever seen." Enri sighed heavily as her horse stepped over a corpse.
"I-I see." Sun said, awkward for the first time since she'd known him.
Enri smirked a little, suddenly understanding a little bit of Lupusregina's motivations.
Entering the administrative center required dismounting from her horse, but much to her surprise, the guards were already dead and none of her own were among the casualties. This surprise redoubled as she walked within the well decorated center and continued to find only Slane Theocracy casualties, the dead littered the halls or slumped against the walls, blood streaks were everywhere, but not a single corpse bore any of the armor varieties of her soldiers. "This is strange." Enri said slowly, "Lupusregina, anything?"
Lupusregina listened and sniffed the air. "There are a few living people here. There's so much death it's hard to say but... not many, maybe two or three, no more than five."
Enri nodded, "Well if they're anywhere, they're in the head office. So let's get going."
When they reached the large dark wooden doors that led to the administrative center's head office, Lupusregina approached the door, at a look in her direction, Enri stepped back by several paces, only then when Lupusregina nodded her approval again, did she open the door.
Much to their surprise, there sat a man at a desk with his feet propped up... a slew of bodies around the room, a woman leaning back against the wall with her arms folded indifferently in front of her, and one little fat man tied up and trying to shout or squeal or something Enri couldn't quite work out.
"Hi there." He said with a pleasant wave.
"Um... Hello." General Enri said politely, "I'm here to take the surrender of this city."
"Well good luck with that and all, but I can't help you. He can though." The man at the desk jabbed his thumb at the man tied up on the floor, who was now wiggling like a worm on a hot rock.
"OK but... who are you exactly, what is happening here?" Enri asked, slowly reaching for her sword.
"Relax hon, we're not your enemies." The woman said with a charming smile and a wave. "He's Kirak, I'm Shanda."
"Well, those are names... but... more details please, as you can see, my bodyguard is getting antsy." Enri cautioned them, and Lupusregina responded with a growl and a flex of her claws.
"Ah, yes of course, that's fair. Here you go, this should explain everything." Kirak said and took up a letter from the desk and held it out.
Enri went to take the letter, only for the heavy grip of her body guard to stop her. She sighed but relented, and allowed the werewolf queen to reach out and take the letter in two claws, she then handed it to Enri, keeping her charge behind her at all times.
Enri opened it and read the contents. Tears welled up, "Moira... Moira lived?" She asked in a hushed voice.
"She was alive last I saw her, she and Rascal were going to do something about the gate. Looks like they succeeded, don't know anything more after that." Kirak informed her patiently, and then relayed the story as he'd heard it from Rascal, and a stunned General Enri was forced to sit down to listen to it all. When it finally concluded, she could only say, "That explains this morning… but still, if she hadn't escaped, she'd have been free that day." She clenched the letter tight in her fingers and looked up from it.
Her voice took on a hopeful note and she asked, "Do you think… she might still be alive?"
The pair traded a look, and Shanda spoke up, "Hard to say, the three of them were brave, had the element of surprise, and at least one of them made it into the tower to open the gate. Whether any of them are alive or dead though, you'll find them there."
"Thank you… I'll honor your pardon before the Sorcerer King, even staking my life on it if I must." Enri replied, confident it would not come to that.
Finally she turned her attention to the tied up figure on the floor, she approached him and removed his gag. "You're the governor I assume." It was a statement, not a question.
"I'll accept your surrender now." Enri said sharply.
"I no longer can offer my surrender, the city was placed under martial law." He added with a downcast look.
"So? Do it anyway, enough people will believe you that I won't have to kill you all." Enri said calmly, and as if to underscore her point, the rock of a mangonel crashed somewhere outside, and a dragon's roar split the sky again.
That was all the convincing it took. He could not sign fast enough.
Vice Commander Ira was frustrated, tired, and if she was being honest about it, scared. After repeatedly changing her location to stay one step ahead of the advance and trying to retain control of her units, three quarters of the city was lost. "General Boabdill, Commander Heikeren... please be OK." She whispered quietly to herself as she moved again. Stubborn resistance was being stubbornly attacked, she'd seen more of her country's soldiers die so far than in all her life previously.
Suddenly she saw the unexpected, a hand atop the roof where she stood. "No..." She said in disbelief, but denial did not erase it, the hand pulled up a body, and red eyes stared into hers.
"Yes." The vampire replied calmly.
She drew her sword. "Alright then." She answered, and wasted no time on the attack, her sword thrust out, it spun in, forward past her lunge, and struck her hard in the back of the head, she stumbled forward and fell. The vampire was on her faster than she could move. She tried to roll over, but it pinned her wrists and though she struggled, it was massively stronger than she was.
"Kuh! Kill me!" She screamed, desperately praying she would not be turned.
"No." He replied with the voice that she had only a moment to think of as 'seductive', before he struck her again, and darkness enveloped her and her body went limp.
AN: OK full disclosure... I've been really sick the last five days and I wrote this while mostly delirious, soooo... thankfully the editors were just drunk enough to help me out when I remembered I'd written it. I really don't remember much of the other day. Has 'Crossroads' been my best work in general? Nah I don't think so, holds up pretty well, frankly I could have easily done a 200,000 word story detailing 2-3 weeks behind enemy lines like that. If I were doing it over again, I'd have written it as a side story instead of part of the main GR plot. OR I'd have cut it dramatically, but I wanted to try something different. But now with the fall of the city, one of the four major events has taken place which will kickstart the CURBSTOMP to follow.
Anyway, reviews are welcome so... yes please. :) Also... here's a little teaser. An excerpt from my original work, "Scales of Trust" found for free on my discord, or you can support the work on patr3-on at slash tellingstories:
Ayente followed, as did, with no welcome to be had for them, the handful of other shame children.
"You received one of these?" Archos guessed as they entered his new residence together.
"I did." She said bitterly.
"It was not to your liking." He guessed again.
She shook her head as they went with Archos into the hut that had been made for him. "It was not. It said that unless I was redeemed to the voice of the gods, I would destroy our tribe." She fell to her knees and clutched her body, hugging herself, "I rejected the prophecy, I rejected the gods, I refused my mother's plea to honor their will. Our chief, he was like an uncle to me. He did not press me to obey. Now he has been punished by the gods, and the prophecy is nearly fulfilled."
Archos looked to the others as Ayente fell to weeping.