September 6th, 2016 of the Gregorian calendar
When Michael was a boy he wanting to join the army just as his grandfather had before him but he didn't think of himself dumping bodies in a mass grave. He spend the rest of the previous day throwing the rotting corpses of Saderan soldiers in their resting place, from the report he got 2,235 Saderan bodies had been recovered while 8 Americans had died with another 30 had been wounded.
After that the curly haired man guessed he had washed his hands for at least half a hour, the terrible stench still engraved in his mind. Now he lay in his sleeping mat in a small cottage as Company A of the 1st battalion, 27th regiment were spending the night at the village and surrounding foxholes to not only keep it our of enemy hands but also to use as a spring board to attack the second line which protected the fort itself.
Michael felt eyes get heavier and heavier under they close and he allowed himself to drift asleep, or at least that was the plan as once his ryes closed he was wide awake while a blood curdling scream could be heard along with gunshots. Collins, Cork and Zhao all got up as well and quickly got their gear on before heading outside to see what was going on. Soon the whole garrison was up and wondering what hell was going on. Then he saw a man clench his throat as a arrow went straight through.
"It's a ambush!" He yelled as he along with his comrades attached flashlights to their rifles and searched for any tango. Dozens of fire arrows flew at the steep angle came flying from their left side and they took cover only for another volley to fly from the other direction. "Holy fucking shit!" Cork said, the usually cheerful man terrified and had zero clue on what was going on.
Using the houses and single humvee as cover while taking potshots at their unseen attackers. Someone climbed into the humvee's turret, loaded and cocked the weapon and screams of pain from the bushes were heard as hot lead was sent down range.
After thirty minutes arrow and gun fire ceased as the Infantrymen let out a sigh as what was left of the village burned. Gunfire from the other positions indicated the battle wasn't over and was on high alert. Johnson thanked god thank it was over and only hoped nothing bad would happen soon but as fate would have it he would be awake all night.
"Vivat Imperium!" His blood froze as hundreds if not thousands of yells cut through the night, sending chills up everyones' spines. Quickly they all got in positions and prepared to fight off a attack. Moments later figures began moving through the dead trees and the sky lit up as tracers flew like fireflies. Johnson on the North side fired at everything that moved in front of him, terrified of them getting close.
"Flare out!" A red flare was shoot and illuminated the battlefield in a hellish glow. Giant sickly green Ogres came lumbering through, while they were still vulnerable to gunfire, they were tougher and was a living nightmare for the light infantry who only had M4s and grenades.
"Aim for the head!" Screamed Collins as he dumped the remainder of his mag into a Ogre who fell down with a loud thud, the others following his command and soon the Ogres were dwindled down but not before Johnson saw a Ogres send a soldier flying with his club. Instinctively he fired off six or so rounds into the thing before it fell dead. But they could hold forever as howling could be heard, "What is that?" Johnson asked as he looked to Collins who for once looked fearful. "Fall back." Johnson aimed the flashlight on his rifle to the hill and saw the most terrifying thing he'd ever see in his life. Dozens of giant black wolves with glowing yellow eyes and rider on top charging.
Frantically the soldiers gave their all and sprayed bullets, downing some but they relentlessly continued. When it became clear they'd be overran booked it like there was no tomorrow. The acclaimed 'wolfhounds' lost most discipline and retreated but the monsters were faster. Soldiers were slashed by swords, beat to death with clubs and maces, impaled by spear and torn apart by the giant dogs that feasted on human flesh. Johnson ran and didn't looked back, fearing if he did he'd be the next once to be pounced on.
His legs burned and his lungs screamed for him to stop but he wouldn't. "Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" He cursed and suddenly in the darkness he tripped on something and soon tumbled his way down. After two minutes of him rolling down he thankfully stopped.Still hearing shouting and gunshots crawled his way into a dead, hollow trunk and stayed there for the entire night hoping he could forget this nightmare in his dreams.
- Cereous 16th, 687 of the Imperial calendar
Juno like any good Saderan loathed the Avionese with a burning passion, he had longed for a day where the empire could snuff out its arch rival and take it's rightful place as the sole power of Falmart. But that would have to wait as the Avionese ambassador had asked to a meeting in Volgolia. The Avionese empire wasn't as large as Sadera's but was the undisputed master of the sea with a extremely powerful navy and colonies spanning from the Chiem ocean in the far-east to the warm waters of the Alzo. The Saderan republic before it had assisted in the Avionese wars of unification naïvely hoping a unified Avion would be loyal but it quickly backfired and the two would butt heads ever since though neither able to dominate one another.
He now sat in a carriage with the the ambassador Deris sitting on the opposite side, staring at him in a uncomfortable manner. The elf instead of bright blonde hair and skin that would radiate the sun's glare looked like a uncanny mockery. He had thin, slimy black hair and pale near deathly skin while his light blue eyes had a almost wild look to them. "You seem to be bored, rest assured, we're nearly there." His voice like a serpent, sending chills down Juno's spine. "What is so important that you take me to remote woodland? It seems that Avion has a taste for wasting time." He insulted but Deris' facial expression didn't change and disturbingly formed a smile. "Hmm...I cannot understand the arrogance of you Saderans but this may be the key to winning your little war." He replied.
Then the carriage stopped in front of a clearing, with a perfect view of the meadow. A servant opened the door and the two climbed out with Juno thanking the gods he was finally out of that box. Immediately he saw three large bronze tubes placed on small carriages with four large wheels each. "What in the world are these?" Juno glaced at the elf with bewilderment. "They are Kanonis, a brand new type of artillery we have been developing for three centuries of sweat and tears." He answered while he grinned ear to ear. "Now let me show you how they work." Fifteenth men divided themselves in groups of five but only the first went into action as Deris explained the operation.
"First, the powder charge filled with a special powder called Solin is placed into the tube by the load which is shoved to the back with a rod by the rodman who does the same thing to the iron ball. Juno watched how perfectly each man's actions were, like a synchronized dance.
"The second loader takes a pin and stabs it throw what is called a touch hole and takes out a special wooden container filled with Solin, then overs the hole with said powder." It seemed unusual but he continued to watch. "If adjustments are needed to be made then the two loaders will manually turn the carriage for horizontal or a slab of wood on the rear vertical. Finally the decanus orders to let loose and the primer using a prime stick drops a pole with a burning cord at the end on the touch hole, setting of the weapon."
A split second later there was a thunderous sound and the Kanoni rolled back as sparks flew from the front, Juno's ears for a few seconds ringing from the blasted contraption. He could see a stone wall a third of a league away smashed. 'So they can make load noises and can take down some rocks.' The second group then started to load the weapon but instead of a solid ball they used a dozen smaller balls aimed at a much formation of old armor.
"Let loose!" This time Juno covered his ears as the balls were sent flying and to his surprise absolutely obliterate the 'formation', sending pieces of metal everywhere.in his mind he would imagine a army being annihilated, man torn apart, monsters having chunks of flesh blown out and the sound of a thousand small thunders cut through the air. It hit like bricks that if a army was equipped was these then they'd be the most powerful force ever. He turned to Deris, "How many c-can you give us?" Deris took a second to consider but let out a short, slimy chuckle. "We can give 500 of these for 2,000 Suwani, no more." Juno knew that many wouldn't agree and would downright scoff at the notion but the Empire was at stake.
"Deal!" Quickly he snatchedthe elf's hand shook it violently, "Are there any way we can equip the common soldiers with these?" "Yes, we call them Hand-Konanis." He replied blandly.
Here's a quick little chapter on Christmas eve, I didn't intend to post until the 26th but boredom got the better of me and decided to post before celebration starts. I won't post until near the end of the month to spend time with friends and family, and now that the Saderans and Avionese have cannons their chances of victory got increased by 0.00002 %. See you all later and Merry Christmas!