A tense silence roamed the Grasslands as Candy troops readied their weapons. Their hands trembled, their knees buckled, and their faces dripped in sweat. Some of the men were tremendously overwhelmed with anxiety that they puked as a result. Others on the other hand checked their weapons again despite having done so already numerous times. Either way, the wait was agonizing.
"Hold position," captain Henson said.
The company shifted uncomfortably and darted their eyes across the horizon. The enemy was there no doubt, and it was only a matter of time until both forces would clash against each other.
One recon team surveyed the Fire Kingdom Army's advance from a vantage point at one of the small hills. They observed the massive infantry columns approaching the general direction towards the Candy Kingdom.
"Sir, they're closing in 400 meters from the left flank," reported a squad member.
"Copy that," Henson replied. "Wait until they get a little closer..."
One recon member was holding a set of binoculars while another held a detonator in place. It felt like they waited an eternity until the order was finally given.
The triggerman held his breath as he clapped the detonator. From that moment, several explosions of cold air went off from the distance, approximately killing 60 fire troops. Their elemental bodies that once burned brightly now were smothered and completely extinguished from the blast that only their armor remained.
Henson shouted at the top of his lungs, "ENGAGE!" Immediately all the troops beside him were firing in a frenzy from left to right. As the first moments of battle commenced, a large horn was uttered throughout the battlefield to signal the Fire Army to charge.
The defenders fired a volley of arrows as large masses of fire knights advanced. Unfortunately, most of their shots were either blocked or deflected from the shields the enemy carried. As a result, the archers immediately ceased fire and lined up behind the knights for cover. In what seemed like seconds, shouts and grunts of pain echoed across the battlefield as men from both armies died. Dozens of bodies flew aimlessly as troops were either slashed, stabbed, or shot at. The battle had roughly started for 5 minutes and the grounds were already stained with blood pools of candy and magma.
"Hold the line," shouted a candy archer. He fired his automatic crossbow frantically changing targets. No matter where he aimed, each arrow was guaranteed to hit. The problem for him and his comrades was that there were too many enemies halt the charge. Even with the help of ground support vehicles, the fire troops eventually overwhelmed them in the first set of trenches.
As the fiery army retaliated with their own ranged weapons, one of the radio men stayed in cover and relayed the positions for some of the armored vehicles, "Control, I've got enemy APCs giving our boys a hard time, over. Sending flares to mark their location."
"Roger that, mortars inbound."
A few moments later, the targets exploded in quick succession. Chunks of metal and shrapnel scattered the field as flames engulfed the wreckage. Then, pillars of smoke billowed while the crews inside were roasted.
"There's too many, fall back!" Another candy archer waved to the company to retreat. He briefly diverted his attention to some of his cohorts and ushered them to move. Unfortunately for him, a stray fire arrow pierced his back before he could continue. He collapsed on his stomach moments later and drew his last breath.
With the first line of defense now breached, the fire troops quickly casted a large smokescreen to obscure visibility. Colonel Candy Corn observed the slaughter from the distant background and shook his head solemnly, "We need to buy our people more time." He surveyed the field again and spotted a particular tree that offered a significant vantage point.
He dropped his binoculars and radioed his forces, "Captain Henson, send out a recon team on top of that large tree. It's the only way we'll be able designate enemy artillery positions from this point!"
"Roger!" As he spoke, the clash of swords and explosions were heard in the transmission.
"These trenches will be their graves," a fire trooper sneered. As he moved forward with his unit, they threw several grenades into the defenses and waited behind cover. A few seconds later, a grin spread across his face as he heard his enemies screaming in agony, burning to death. Candy troops flailed their arms and tumbled onto the ground in a desperate effort to put out the flames, but it was too late. Within moments, their movements ceased as their bodies quickly became ash.
Slowly but surely, the defense forces were losing ground. While the infantrymen retreated to the next row of trenches, their tanks provided covering fire, shooting canisters of ice pellets. Dozens of additional fire troops were easily lost but it was still not enough to force a retreat.
"Captain," radioed a candy trooper. "The enemy is moving their artillery in position! They're gonna flush us out of our next line of defense soon if we don't do something about it!"
"I read you," he replied. "Standby for support."
After a few moments, a small squad of 5 members climbed upstairs towards the top of the tree fort. As soon as they began to set up defenses, they quickly marked their targets with verbal communication. Overall, they destroyed at least 8 artillery emplacements systematically until the remaining units nearby halted their advance and pulled back from range.
On the other side of the field, the Supreme General hardened his features as he looked through a large telescope. He surveyed the field spotting a few more bunkers and tanks until something else caught his attention and radioed, "They're using that vantage point to spot our friendlies! Destroy the treehouse!"
The artillery officer hesitated, "Sir, isn't that Finn's place down there?"
This only aggravated the superior, "Did I stutter, captain?! I'm giving you a direct order!"
"Copy. Coordinates received, firing for effect." Within seconds, the house was struck with a sudden barrage. The structure sustained numerous explosions before being left in a towering inferno. As for the recon team, their deaths were swift as one of the shells incinerated them instantly.
The general muttered to himself, "I hope that wretched human was in there too. If not, he better stay out of my way." He tightened his right fist as the former house collapsed and burned brightly into the night sky. "Artillery, push forward! It's time we drive them back!"
Thousands of fire troops uttered a deafening battle cry as they charged altogether for one last push to victory. With the battle seemingly in their favor, the armored units that once held them back were now driving in full reverse.
Candy Corn shook his head in disappointment again and began to radio the remaining candy defenders, "The Grasslands has been lost! I say again, the Grasslands has been lost! Fall back to the city on the double!" He ducked moments later as one of the tanks nearby exploded with its turret flying a short distance from being dislodged. "Princess, why have you done this to us?" He asked himself as he watched his comrades abandoning the remaining trench emplacements. Then, he regained his bearings, walked into the nearest armored truck with his escort, and fled without turning back.
While the majority of the defense forces withdrew, some of them found themselves trapped behind enemy lines. "Captain," a candy troop shouted in distress. "We've been cut off! What do we do now sir?!"
Henson surveyed the fire troops surrounding his platoon's position while pinned down in cover. He only had a few seconds to make a decision before the enemy would engage in close quarters. Finally after a moment, he yelled, "For the princess!" He vaulted out of cover with his sword in hand and began swinging it towards the closest fire trooper. Fear and desperation coursed through his body as he frantically led his men into a futile counterattack.
At first, the defenders seemed like they were making progress. They survived a little longer than anticipated and quickly gained confidence as they claimed about 15-20 fire troops. However, their hopes were shattered when they realized their bodies suddenly gave out from tremendous exhaustion. With no more endurance to continue, the defenders were quickly slaughtered one by one offering little resistance.
Henson was one of the few members to survive the longest out of the group. As he fought, an enemy combatant made a large cut on his right shoulder which caused him to drop his sword. Moments later, the young officer clenched his teeth and drew his dagger with his left hand. He stabbed his enemy in the chest first, then followed up with a quick slash across the neck. The fire knight twirled downward in defeat, but was quickly replaced with another approaching. As Henson heaved from pain and exhaustion by slaying the next knight, an enemy archer lined up his sights from a distance and fired one resolute shot.
The arrow struck the officer's right thigh, causing him to kneel instantly. He grunted to stay focused in battle, but was too distracted from the pain his leg emitted. Noticing this, another fire knight ran up to him with his body twisted to deliver a finishing blow. The last thing Henson could remember at that point was the back of a crossbow smacking his face before fading into darkness.
Sometime later, the Supreme General arrived at the battlefield with his hands clasped behind him. He observed the tents his armies had set up as a temporary base and watched the wounded resting in large groups. His expression faltered briefly however when he noticed the amount of body bags that were stacked in another area. Next to the bags was a table with a small chest that contained pendants from all of fire soldiers who had fallen from today's battle.
"Their deaths will only inspire us to finish this fight," the general said to himself.
Moments later, one of his subordinates approached him and saluted, "Sir, our forces have emerged victorious in battle. Demolition crews are scouting the rest of the field for additional traps before we could mobilize again."
The two walked alongside each other as the men around them lifted corpses with wagons and stretchers. Once they piled them to certain burial sites, they began using their alchemy to cremate the bodies. Tons of ashes began to fill the night sky at a steady rate.
"Excellent," the general replied. "With the Candy Kingdom being a straight shot from here, I expect to end this war within the year. Bubblegum's armies are virtually powerless without their allies so there should be no excuses whatsoever."
"Of course. One other thing, sir. What should we say about the house issue?" He directed his gaze towards the fallen tree fort, "Our leader might express concern about the human if she knows."
Phoebe's brother placed a hand on the major's shoulder, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure he left long beforehand. Unless he was living under a rock prior to these events, leave it to me to tell her. Until then, just focus on clearing the path for our infantry as well as cleaning up this mess."
"Yes, general." The major dismissed himself moments later.
Phoebe's brother pulled out his communicator, "Commander, do you read?"
"Yes, general," Erwin replied.
"Are your men in position?"
"They are, we're standing by, over."
Phoebe's brother nodded in satisfaction and began walking around the base, "Good, just set up camp in the meantime. Bubblegum's left a minefield in our wake that we'll be stuck for a while."
"Understood, we can't afford to charge recklessly if that's the case. Do you have a good estimate how long we'll have to hold out?"
He frowned, "Possibly a week at best, but I'll try to get you guys out of there sooner if I can. I know settling down there doesn't exactly offer ideal conditions in terms of comfort."
Erwin shrugged, "Gotta play it safe above all else. If it means ensuring our ultimate victory in the long run, then I'm sure the wait will be worth it. We'll be fine and I hope to see you on the other side, sir."
"Roger that, see you on the other side my friend." The general holstered his cell and watched his comrades inspecting the fallen candy troops with spears. As the defenders groaned in agony, the fire troops delivered a swift blow through back and stomach before proceeding to the next wounded soldier. No prisoners were taken during the whole process.
"Bubblegum is just delaying the inevitable," he said to himself. "When the time comes, the Candy Kingdom will burn into cinders and we will have our vengeance. And then, we will emerge as the next leading superpower among Ooo. One that possesses power, respect, and above all else honesty."
"Nooo...," Henson uttered weakly from the ground as he grabbed the general's right ankle with one hand.
Phoebe's brother looked down with a ruthless expression at the gesture and said, "Such heroic nonsense..." His tone was pitiful to his adversary. Moments later, the fire elemental powered his right fist effortlessly and shot a plasma blast without hesitation. His ankle was free instantly and began returning towards the command post. As he left, a small crater was formed on the ground above Henson's shoulders.
