Hey guys MT here!
Chapter is ON TIME!
I hope you guys like this chapter, though it might be a bit calm since it is mostly just before the battle starts.
Anyways, ENJOY!
UPDATED 8/5/15
Chapter 21
The morning of the Valkyrie's arrival…
"General Marcus is everyone prepared?" asked Saito, riding on a horse up to yet another squadron of soldiers.
"Yes, Supreme General! The dragon knights are all poised and ready to attack when you announce which plan to use. The soldiers are all prepared to carry out the strategy you developed and will be fully prepared for enemy attack," said Marcus.
"Good, good. The scouts said that the Valkyrie are approximately one hour away so make sure your troops are on their toes," said Saito, calmly. The general nodded and Saito moved back over to his own base camp just behind their line.
"Saito, are squadrons 1 through 10 ready to attack?" asked Agnes who was speaking with some Commander Generals (I made it up putting them just below Supreme General. The order is Supreme General - Commander General - General).
"Yeah, all of them are the same. Ready to attack and waiting for whatever plan they are supposed to initiate for the dragon knights. We have plans A through E ready, right?" asked Saito, already exhausted from going all around for hours.
"Yes, you should rest now. We will need you when the Void mage and his familiar appear," said Agnes. Saito took her up on her offer and fell down into a pile of hay, leaning back into it.
"Saito, are you ready?" asked Louise, sitting down next to him and clinging to his arm.
"As much as I can be. I still can't believe they made someone like me Supreme General," said Saito with a grin as he held Louise to him.
"Well you came up with a great strategy and you could easily lead everyone to battle if you had to," said Louise.
(I'm going to explain the strategy Saito came up with now. Saito made up a formation in which there will be 3 lines of soldiers. The first row will be swordsmen and those wielding maces who will be wearing thick plate armor to act as tanks, the second row will consist of cavalry who will begin with spears to plow through the enemy lines when they first hit and will switch to swords after the initial phases. The third row will be armed with a multitude of weapons and lighter chain armor and thinner plate armor and will be accompanied by close range magic casters. After those lines, there will be archers and long-range spells casters to shoot in waves at the enemy from a distance. Behind them will be mage who can cast healing magic and fortification magic to protect and strengthen the defensive lines.
The dragon knights have 5 plans that they were informed of. They differ only in the direction and speed in which they should attack their opponents and how deep they should enter into enemy territory. They will automatically use plan A when they are given the signal to begin their assault but will switch to different plans depending on the speed of the enemy forces and their attack patterns.
The ships are positioned in a line, their cannons facing the direction the enemy will come from. They will fire upon enemy ships as soon they are visible and, should there be no ships, they will fire upon the enemy forces.
Saito took references from as many war strategy books and shows as he could when he devised the full strategy.)
"Haha, I guess…but really I just took strategies from my world and applied them here," said Saito, modestly. "Louise, this is going to be dangerous. I want you close to me all the time okay?"
"I know, Saito. There's no way I would leave your side, if I did you might lose focus worrying and get hurt," said Louise, clinging to her husband, tightly. "I love you, Saito."
"I love you, too, Louise, so much," said Saito, lightly kissing her. The kiss held for a bit before they were interrupted by Asuna who was fuming from seeing the man she still loved being so lovey-dovey with someone other than her, I mean she totally understood that Louise is his wife and all but it doesn't make it any easier.
"Hey, Supreme Dumbass. What are the Void mage and familiars supposed to be doing? I mean I'm assuming that you and Louise will be at the front of the army but what will Tiffa, Gwen, and I be doing?" asked Asuna, impatiently.
"You all will be with Louise and I. We are going to be in the middle of the army and when we begin to run towards the enemy army, ours will follow us in, in the shape of an arrow. We are going to 'pierce' into the enemy forces to try and get deeper into their forces," explained Saito. "Louise and I will be heading the front and Tiffa will be on our right, you on our left and Gwen behind us. She will be casting fortification magic using wind and water magic and will help attack while also using area healing spells."
"Wow, you really thought of everything, Saito," said Asuna in surprise. I am so hot for him right now, thought Asuna, mentally slapping herself for being perverted.
"Saito, should I focus on wiping their memories or just go on the offensive?" asked Tiffa, a bit more confident than usual.
"The latter, I want you to give them hell with your new nature magic and try mixing it up with some triangle spells," said Saito, happily. Tiffa wore a bright smile, excited to be useful in a fight unlike during the battle with the Ancient Dragon.
"What about the elves?" asked Asuna.
"The elves are currently following the Valkyrie from behind at a distance so as not to be spotted. They will attack from their side once we send out the signal which will be right after the enemy hits us. They are going to use a similar strategy but with their own tweaks. They also have around half our army with them so that they don't get wiped out. The pincer strategy that Agnes came up with is genius. In our world, there were many times that the same strategy defeated the enemy forces easily," explained Saito.
"Really? I don't remember any like that," said Asuna, a bit confused.
"I'm not surprised; you slept during every world history class. Didn't you fail that class?" asked Saito with a grin. He obviously thought it was funny that Asuna was a moron when it came to history but sometimes there are things people just aren't good at.
"I passed it with a C! Gosh I'm not that bad at world history," said Asuna, pouting and crossing her arms in front of her.
"That's because I snuck you the answers during the final and let you copy all my homework," said Saito, bluntly. Asuna blushed, violently, in embarrassment and Louise and Gwen giggled lightly.
"Supreme General!" shouted one of the soldiers. "The Valkyrie army is in sight!"
Saito leapt up after hearing such a thing and he grabbed Derf before slinging him over his shoulder. He also adjusted the katana he had which his father had bought him after he had told him they were going to war.
"Everyone to their battle stations," said Saito, calmly. He ran out, followed by Louise, Gwen, and Asuna.
When the four burst out you could see some Valkyrie coming up over the horizon as they walked towards the Halkeginian army. The four made it to their positions and were poised and ready to attack. They watched as the enemy walked over the hill on the horizon and they could see tens of thousands of soldiers peaking over the hill, all clad in beautiful, decorated armor.
After almost 10 minutes the army was completely in sight and they could see the army extend out all the way towards the horizon. Saito walked out towards the army when he saw Ivarod walk out and beckon him over.
"You can always surrender now," said Ivarod after Saito was close enough.
"You wish we would. We aren't going to let you take over Halkeginia, it's our home," said Saito, sternly. Ivarod grinned, evilly, at him causing Saito to tense up.
"I'm very glad to hear you say that. I wanted to have the pleasure of crushing all your hopes," said Ivarod, darkly. Saito gritted his teeth and glared at Ivarod, both spun around and quickly walked to their respective armies.
"Everyone! It's time to defend our homelands! Prepare for battle!" shouted Saito after reaching his army. He spun around to face the enemy army and could see those around him preparing for battle from his peripheral vision. Asuna had asked Chichi to transform into his claw form and was ready to attack; meanwhile Louise and Tiffa had their wands out. He could already see the cavalry men with their spears out and the front line soldiers holding their shields.
On the other side of the empty battlefield before him, Saito could see the enemy army preparing similarly and he pulled out Derf in his left hand and the katana in his right.
"You ready, Partner?" asked Derf, calmly.
"Ready as I can be," said Saito with a grin. He could hear the enemy army roar in the distance and he knew that the enemy was about to move. "EVERYONE! TO BATTLE!"
Their army roared in anticipation and followed Saito as he ran into battle. The army began moving from Saito's position outward to form a kind of spear shape. The enemy army ran towards them at the same speed and they came closer and closer, both sides roaring as they neared each other.
Louise was running next to Saito and had been chanting a spell since just before they began to run towards everyone. Saito recognized it as her Explosion spell and found it strange that it took her so long to chant it. They ran towards the enemy and just before reaching them, Louise stopped chanting.
"EXPLOSIONNNNNNNN!" shouted Louise, suddenly. An enormous ball of light protruded off of the tip of her wand and glowed a bluish-green, and then it was encased with a blue, like water, and then a deep forest green, and then an orangey fiery color, and lastly a white light. The ball flew out and caused an enormous explosion in the middle of the army.
The war has begun.
So? What did you guys think?
I know I dragged it out a bit but I wanted to give you guys a full chapter, add in a bit of humor to lighten up the mood, and not dig into the battle more than the last scene (which btw that last scene has been in my head since I started this story. I was so excited to write it!)
Review and let me know what you guys think about it so far and any ideas you guys might have!
Anyways, until next time...byeee :D