My shortest chapter yet. I've been so busy with CSA (Chinese Student Association), essays, and exams... Unfortunately, I wanted this arc over fast so I could focus on more Character development, and isn't it depressing to watch Crimean troops suffer casualties at their own HQ?

I really hope you enjoy this chapter, even if it's short and (to me) not as exciting. I swear I'll make it up to you guys next chapter, just bear with me, ok?

Chapter 17: Melior Besieged

Rocks smashed against Melior's walls as the Confederate army tried to enter the city.

With thousands of Ludveck's men rushing to Melior, hoping to take some spoils for themselves, Djor found his task a lot easier. Yes, the only way Ludveck's men helped the Confederates was the fact that these Crimean rebels tried not to shoot them, but even so two armies attacking a city made the task of taking it much less painful.

Of course, for every conniving Confederate who tried to seize Crimea's capital, there was a brave Crimean warrior ready to hold his line to the last breath.

But, soon enough, they would be outnumbered, and when they were each soldier would have to fight like five men. From within the city young farmers and artisans scampered forth, asking for bows and axes and javelins to help the warriors on the frontline. Tagio, knowing that Melior's armory was larger than most, was willing to have them help as fire support. After all, his own troops couldn't handle this alone, and most farmers and artisans needed steady hands in order to complete their tasks. Steady hands would also prevent them from missing and striking a comrade, or so he hoped.

But there were only so many men still in Melior after the main army had set out for Ardor. There were only so many soldiers Tagio could use against the Confederate horde. This did not bode well, no indeed.

But Tagio wasn't afraid. If he was to fall today, he'd take as many Confederates as he could with him! Melior was Crimea's capital, and would never fall again!

With spear in hand and a fire in his heart, the old armored knight twirled his silver lance and called out to the brave men standing on Melior's battlements: "Her Majesty is coming, and we will not falter in our resolve before our friends arrive! You men have served Crimea loyally, and I ask that, in this dark hour, you continue to stand by her side. We may be surrounded men, we may be cornered men, but we are not yet dead men. We still draw breath. Brave warriors, draw your bows, raise your blades, and ready your spells.

"Today, those of us who fall will die hero's deaths. Brothers, sisters, today each of you shall be a legend, and once the Confederacy is driven out of sweet Crimea your names, like the names of those who gave their lives in the Mad King's War, shall be spoken of with sweetness and gratitude. Those of you who will survive this day can simply say: 'I was at Melior,' and those who hear you will reply: 'Ah, now that's a hero!' (1.)

"Prepare yourselves, my siblings, today we war!"

Wave after wave of red or white armored Confederate soldiers tried to climb the battlements.

As her fellow soldiers either gunned those invaders down or struck them in hand to hand combat, Wendy rushed to and fro, firing arrows at every helmet she saw that wasn't facing away from her. Quite a few troops fell from the battlements into their ally's shocked lines as she fired arrow after arrow alongside her fellow Snipers.

She had just been promoted, and thus had little experience, but that didn't seem to matter when every soldier of the Crimean army counted, when every weapon meant something, when even a rookie like her could achieve something greater than herself.

She gulped, knowing that the line could break at any moment and she'd be cut down by a blade, but that didn't matter. As long as Melior remained in Elincia's hands, as long as the Confederacy suffered for what they had done to Tellius, she'd die content.

But she shook her head. Why think of death in the midst of battle? No, she'd live through this, and so would her friends!... She had to believe that…

As smoke began to rise over Melior, Nepheene and Brom entered the city limits, or whatever part of the city was left that used to sit outside the main wall.

"Dat's not good… Deyz gonna get smashed once the enemy breaks down dat gate…" Nepheene gasped. (2.)

"Den we'll go smash dem first!" Brom smiled wickedly. He had enough of this.

The northern gate swung open, and Crimean paladins surged forth, slashing away at the Confederate horde. They swung about, trying to avoid running over Nepheene and Brom as the pair rushed into the gate. Horses and riders swayed frantically, trying to return to the gate swiftly enough to not get skewered by Begnion pikemen.

Even though his armor made it hard to move, and thus he'd be perfect for holding the gate, Brom knew that fighting from the battlements despite his lack of mobility would be the best move. They could not afford to let the perimeter be breached if he fell, and thus the gate had to be sealed at all costs.

With an unmatched fury, Crimean Royalist Forces fended off the Begnion horde and regrouped within Melior's walls. With no way to enter the city, Begnion's soldiers had no choice but to throw themselves at the enemy lines, killing as many soldiers on the battlements as possible.

Confederate forces tried climbing ladders to reach their foe's positions on the wall, but fire spells and excellent halberdiers and armored knights guarding the wall's sides kept them from ever achieving their goal. The fact that so many Snipers, including Wendy, stood behind those defending knights did not help, as their swift arrows took the lives of so many Confederate troops in mere seconds.

But no matter how many they fell, the Confederate warriors just kept on coming.

"At this rate, we'll get overwhelmed!" A Crimean Corporal observed. "Commander, where are our reinforcements?"

"We should assume that they aren't coming." A Crimean Lieutenant muttered bitterly.

"What? But, sir, with all due respect, we're being left to die if that's the case…"

"Stand down, Corporal. We who fight today will die with honor perhaps in spite of this Confederate horde. Even if our Comrades find Melior in enemy hands, they will find countless enemy corpses littering the streets. We chose this path of blood, and we shall uphold the honor that comes with it 'till our deaths." Tagio sighed.

His soldiers looked uneasily at each other. They vowed to fight for Crimea, but did that really mean that they'd die here and that Melior would fall anyway? Did that really mean that their lives were so meaningless?

No, they couldn't believe that. Crimea lost once against Daein, but now Crimea was a stronger nation… And, besides, Crimean soldiers had principles: Honor, Loyalty, Dignity, these were things that couldn't be taken away even through death. Even in their dying breaths they'd still love their nation. Even when their spirits left their bodies they'd keep the dignity of being moral, brave soldiers. Even though the battlefield was filled with chaos, death, pain, and blood, they'd stay human… Dead humans, yes, but they wouldn't die as monsters.

They would die heroes.

And with that in mind, they turned towards their foe's advancing spears. Let these Confederate bears come! Let these bloodthirsty wretches charge! In the end, these creatures would only taste metal, and in the end, it would be Crimea that remained in the right.

Calill, Largo, and Heather appeared from the west, running as fast as they could for the west gate.

Dozens of Confederate soldiers tried to intercept them.

With a swing of his axe, Largo split two skulls in twain. Raising her hand, Calill rained thunderbolts on her foes, frying about ten of them before they tried to run. (3.)

With a swift dash forward, Heather raised her stiletto, and with a flick of her wrist, an enemy soldier collapsed, drowning in his own blood.

Death had plenty of people to take in the minutes after Largo and Calill regrouped with the other Crimean Royalist forces.

The Crimean Royalist Army opened their south gate, and hundreds of troops moved out, finding themselves tying up Djor's personal guards. From within the city, the Aristocrats who were debating whether to help Ludveck soon found it prudent to maintain that false mask of loyalty, for by the time Djor spotted Largo hacking down his Guard Commander, it was already too late. Calill greeted the aging Field Marshal with an elthunder spell, and as the veteran tried to recover and counter her assault, Wendy stepped forth and aimed her bow at Djor's forehead.

The warrior never knew what hit him. Too delirious from the pain of Calill's spell, he could not defend himself from the young sniper, and as his armor fell to the ground with a clang, the surviving Begnion Confederate soldiers surrendered.

Melior was safe, and as General Geoffrey appeared from the west, with the mighty Crimean army eagerly following him, he found the city firmly in Crimean hands.

Never again would Crimea be conquered by outside forces. Never again!

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1. Based on one of Napoleon's speeches. Not bad for an NPC, eh?

2. I just love twisting country style accents into something borderline hideous, don't you? XD

3. Aayvee made a point that mages seemed overpowered in this fic, and if you think about it, a sage with Calill's skill should be able to fry several lower ranking Confederate grunts at once instead of just being able to kill one soldier at a time. After all, if Boyd can cut off six heads with one axe swing (at least that's what it looked like in the scene in Radiant Dawn where the Greil Mercenaries save Lucia), then Calill can fry ten suckers with an Elthunder.