Here's my first update for a long list of overdue updates. I was going to make this chapter longer, but decided against it... I wanted to release this ASAP to prove that yes, I'm still alive.

Chapter 20: Falling for Bait

Haar shook his head as streams of rain struck his face. With his eyes narrowed, he peered into the distance, but could hardly see the Fortress from here.

"Who gave Soren the bright idea to do recon in this kind of weather?" He groaned loudly. "I can't do anything at this rate… I'll fall back for now and get the hell out of this storm."

Fortress Sella, standing about forty miles from the Coalition's main encampment, was Soren's newest target. Taking that fort would not only give the Daein Loyalist Army a huge boost in morale, it would also ensure that Izuka's army would not be so arrogant in its belief that the Coalition was like a weak array of dominos. If his soldiers were dominos, Soren reasoned, then they were made of lead and would break any finger who tried to knock them over, let alone topple over.

But it seemed that, in this weather, gathering Intel on the enemy's position, movements, and the types of defenses they had prepared for Sella was impossible.

Therefore, Soren decided to toss his bait.

Skrimir grumbled as his unit moved out.

"Why did that puny beorc have to group me with weaklings like you?" He turned to Wendy, who shirked back at his glare.

Having been promoted to a Marskman, equal in rank to both Shinon and Rolf, Soren placed some newfound faith in the girl. She might have started out as a low ranking Sniper, but in a very short time she collected more kills than Rolf, Nepheene, and even Zihark combined. As a Sniper she proved deadly against their foes, and with more Ravens and enemy Falcoknights having shown up in the past few weeks, with additional enemy halberdiers and sentinels, Soren knew that Wendy would make for great fire support as Skrimir tore through the enemy lines.

Ranulf shook his head. "Stop complaining, Skrimir. Be glad that we have a decent Marksman watching your back in case Ravens start to mob you."

Skrimir grumbled. Those ravens were pesky foes indeed. They'd always dodge when he pounced at them, and they'd usually reward him with multiple pecks and slashes from their talons. He sighed. Maybe it was good to have a Marskman there to gun them down...

Their unit slowly inched towards the enemy's main encampment, and like a fish spotting the worm, an enemy Gold Knight moved out, followed by a swarm of Paladins.

"Oh great, I hope Soren has our reinforcements ready for us…" Ranulf muttered when he spotted the Killer Axe the Gold Knight was sporting.

Skrimir ignored his subordinate as he roared and leapt forward towards their advancing foes. With a sigh, Ranulf scurried to the left, hoping to outflank any soldiers that Skrimir missed, while Wendy began to fire frantically at the advancing Begnion army.

From a distance Soren smiled at his handiwork. As he predicted, Skrimir would grow mad with bloodlust, and that would be the perfect situation for him, for the enemy would be so terrified of Skrimir that they would prove easy pickings for that young lion's massive paws. It may have been reckless to send Skrimir and have him run ahead of his comrades, but knowing Skrimir and knowing their enemy's average morale, they'd all be fine. Soren had to wonder, though: Who in the Confederacy's right mind had the shamelessness to call himself the Confederate master strategist?

The bait was tempting, too tempting.

And the hook was sharp, very sharp.

It was sharp enough to tear through flesh and slaughter the fish, which, unfortunately for them, was what Soren was aiming for.

Skrimir alone tore a whole platoon of paladins to shreds before Ranulf, Wendy, or Zihark could arrive to help reinforce him. Alone, the young lion proved to be more than a match for those "trained" Confederate soldiers. Zihark and Ranulf could only exchange worried glances. It was a blessing that fire sages did not appear today, or Skrimir would have been a large hunk of fried meat.

Skrimir became so engulfed with bloodlust that when he turned his head and spotted Zihark, he mistook the trueblade's robe for that of an enemy's, and pounced, forcing Ranulf to snarl, pounce forward, and tackle the red lion. Before either could hurt themselves, Calill frantically cast Elfire and forced both to leap away.

While Soren had Rhys heal Ranulf, he personally cast Sleep on Skrimir, hoping that some rest would bring that lion back to his senses. Even when attacked, Zihark would not deliberately hurt a laguz. A feral one was another story, but to hurt a laguz would break Zihark's sense of honor. Soren respected that enough to not force Zihark to betray his values, no matter how foolish he knew it was.

"General Dalia, enemy forces have reached the gates of Sella. Your orders?" A Marksman clad in black bowed before a Daein Mage Paladin.

She scoffed. "Why didn't our legion at Nebula intercept them before hand? Now I have to mobilize our soldiers out to face them immediately. Half of those idiots are probably too terrified to deploy so quickly."

"Milady?"

"Oh, right. Tell all your fellow archers to position themselves at the parapet. The moment they hear an explosion from within the fortress, they should be ready to fire upon any enemy they spot, if the enemy hasn't emerged already. I want to shock our foes with a loud noise and use your cover fire to pin them to those encampments before our gates, and once that task is successful I'll send in the cavalry to crush them all. It may be a simple ploy, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to take down the Coalition's army."

The Marksman bowed, but before he left a Begnion Saint appeared and motioned for him to stay.

"General Dalia."

"What is it, Numida?"

"I hear that those barbarians have already made it to the clearing nearest this position, and yet you failed to stop them beforehand. Woman, do not forget that the Confederacy does not tolerate such incompetence. Izuka may have found favor with you and made you a Steadfast Rider, but I will not accept your authority. Don't expect any reinforcements from me if you fail here."

"Hah! Keep that mouth closed before my men slice it off. You expect me to need your help? You call me an ally, yet you continue to treat us Daeins like inferiors. What kind of ally belittles his comrades? Senator, if you would so kindly leave the premises immediately, then there won't be a report of 'friendly' fire on this battlefield."

Numida turned up his nose. "Woman, don't speak to your superior in that fashion."

"Superior?" She raised an eyebrow and turned to the Marksman. "Hmph. Lieutenant, please deal with this nuisance accordingly."

"Understood, ma'am." The Marksman bowed and grabbed Numida.

"How dare you, woman? I will inform Senator Lekain of this!... You shall…"

"Oh, just shut up." She scoffed as she gave him a punch to the face. Thankfully, Numida was knocked out cold.

"Er, ma'am, what should we do?" The Marksman turned to her cluelessly.

She smiled. "Get one of those Begnion soldiers given to us by Lekain and make him direct an empty supply wagon with this idiot as the only passenger. The enemy will capture Senator Numida and that fat oaf will be too terrified when he wakes up to say anything to Lekain. In the meantime, our main unit can fall back. Unfortunately Numida wasn't completely wrong. Our forces have low morale, and with the enemy so close to our position they will be too scared to strike them effectively. If we are to preserve our fighting force, then we'll have to fall back. Consider my earlier orders null and void. Let them take Sella for now. They won't have it for long, I assure you.

"Still, we should leave several Snipers to slow down their progress or maybe even pin them. If we succeed in keeping them grounded, we can have some riders tie them up in combat, and when I return with reinforcements the enemy could be finished… But that's only if everything goes according to luck. Pack your bags, soldier. We're most likely going to regroup elsewhere for the next few months."

"But Milady…" The Marksman protested.

"Listen to me, warrior, he who fights and runs away can live to fight another day. In the face of this onslaught, would you so foolishly throw your life away? Bringing Glory to Daein would mean to crush the enemy, but we obviously can't achieve that when the enemy is the one with the upper hand.

"Rather, make them think they're winning, that is our plan. We will let them take the fortress but leave nothing in it for them to use. Then, after they've made themselves comfortable, we surround and strike them from afar, using every distance tome and ballista we have!

"Struck from all sides, the fortress will eventually fall and Daein will prevail over traitors and warmongers. It's sad that we cock the knee to these Confederates, but as long as we play our cards right Daein will emerge victorious over all."

The Marksman's eyes widened at the notion that Daliah wasn't going to bend over and let the enemy win. Smiling, he nodded enthusiastically and relayed her orders. Hopefully, just hopefully, Daein would prove its superiority to the enemy and, in the long run, to those Begnion fools themselves.

Squads of halberdiers and sentinels rushed forward and found themselves having to take cover when the Daein Confederate troops unloaded every arrow they had on the Coalition's first wave. Though Soren knew that sending more soldiers in that kind of arrow rain was pointless, he couldn't afford to let Daein reinforce Fortress Sella and crush the Coalition's momentum.

Thus, Field Marshal Zelgius found himself advancing upon the enemy stronghold with multiple armored knights and Generals by his side.

"Our forces may be pinned, but arrows are nothing to us, right men? Stand strong and march through this pathetic rain of metal bits and we'll crush them. Once we've broken their lines, Master Soren will send us ample reinforcements. March forth!" Zelgius called, clanking forth with his sword outstretched. Naturally, countless Begnion Imperial, Crimean, and Daein Loyalist generals followed him.

Soren stroked his chin as he observed the battle from a distance. Turning to the other veterans, he spoke: "There are flags stationed in several areas on the sides of the enemy fortress. They're either making an ambush, or they're trying to make us think that their army's bigger than it actually is. If they were planning an ambush, they'd use different tactics, like a sudden flare or a bomb, to startle us and then make an attack. They wouldn't be stupid enough to set up brightly colored flags that everyone, including our forces, could easily see.

"Therefore I believe that they're trying to exaggerate their strength. We won't have to send Zelgius or his company additional reinforcements. Once he and his men slam through the gates, the enemy will be finished… But that must mean that they're planning to retake Sella. Men, don't be too surprised if we get attacked in the next few days, but rest assured that at the very least we'll have Sella's walls to help us withstand a siege."

"Soren… We should petition for additional supplies, and have cavalry troops defend them. We can't afford to let the Daein army send its full force upon us. They would have had the time to refresh themselves and keep their men full of stamina. The sooner they strike, the more tired our men will be. We have to keep that in mind." Lucia added.

With one swing of his silver blade, Zelgius split the gate in twain.

"Idiot… How are we supposed to repair it in time when the enemy assaults the fortress?!" Soren sighed.

"Hah! You're complaining when you're the one who failed to inform him in time? And you call yourself a master strategist. More like disorganized, runty planner." Shinon laughed.

The soldiers glanced at each other. Shinon had a point. Was Soren losing his touch?

"Everyone, maintain order! Since we haven't moved from our positions, we'll definitely have the energy to repair the gate after Marshal Zelgius takes them out. He's straining himself against the enemy while we argue amongst ourselves. Show some respect to your comrades! Especially you, Shinon. Stop mocking people in such a manner." Geoffrey scolded.

Shinon grumbled and went silent while Gatrie just shrugged his shoulders.

"Why're you so worked up, man? At least the scenery's pretty nice." Gatrie stopped talking for a moment to glance at Astrid, but Jill shot him a dirty look before he could try anything, so he hanged his head.

Shinon just shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, I already have one dumbass to worry about. Why waste my patience on another?"

Tauroneo sighed as he watched the younger man plow through thirty enemy snipers, thus finishing off the last of the enemy's unit. "I was a Steadfast Rider once, but, truly, age makes one far less competent for war. At least there's a new generation to take my place." The old man sighed thoughtfully as Zelgius ordered their unit to stand at attention.

Once he noted that their forces were in order, Zelgius turned to Tauroneo. "Commander, would you like the honor of raising our colors over this fortress? You are the Commanding Officer of the Daein Wing, after all."

Tauroneo smiled. "Why, thank you, Marshal."

Zelgius shrugged his shoulders. "Why thank me when this is your right?" With a smile, he handed Tauroneo the coalition's flag, which the warrior eagerly hoisted up Sella's flag pole. When they saw that flag, the army cheered and rushed into the fort.

Oscar and Astrid were in charge of guarding the supply convoy as it moved forth. Soren ordered Kieran and Titania to join them. For the first time ever, Oscar outranked Titania, and, in his eyes, this wasn't a comfortable situation.

But, on the bright side, Soren was kind enough to have Astrid with him. The strategist knew that if they were together they'd probably fight better, knowing that the other was by their side. It was obvious to the entire army that they were an item, so why not let them feel happy being together?

To Soren, it wasn't like they'd ruin his plans or anything. Oscar wasn't Boyd, and Astrid was far from incompetent. If anything he'd trust that they'd do well, especially with Titania's guidance. Besides, with those two lovebirds out of the way, the single veterans among his forces wouldn't be distracted by their, well, blatant displays of affection, and thus they'd fight with a lot more focus.

The fall of Sella did not go unnoticed by the people of Daein.

But somehow, the enemy failed to capture Numida and that blasted Senator escaped.

"General Dalia… Your obvious incompetence in dealing with the enemy proves to me that you are unworthy to be a knight of the Confederacy. Since Izuka has given us authority over you, I hereby order you to hold Fortress Nebula. Confederate forces shall move the majority of Nebula's men to Fortress Nox to avoid the enemy and fortify our supply lines between Begnion and Daein. If you fail in this mission, then rest assured that you will be executed if you do return to base in accordance with our military law. Hopefully, you will prove your skill on the battlefield and defend the city and its fortress from the horde of enemy forces. Both the Coalition and that blasted Dawn Brigade are in the area, so you will have to be quite vigiliant."

Dalia gulped. They were just sending her out to die like cannon fodder? She couldn't understand… Why did she deserve to be so readily sacrificed? "Understood, Senator Lekain."

"That is good. Now go forth, Confederate warrior, and hold the city from those bloodthirsty fools."

(1.) Mage Paladin: Tier Three Mage Knight. Because of their focus on warfare rather than research, those few mages who decide to become mounted and forfeit the path of a Sage become Mage Knights, and when they develop their abilities as riders and mages they become Mage Paladins. These classes are most common in Daein due to their martial focus (but Daeins did not use Mage Knights/Paladins during Ashnard's war due to Ashnard's apparent disdain for them.)

Mage Paladins can also be found occasionally in Begnion due to the fact that it's the largest beorc nation. Crimeans, however, frown upon Mage Paladins for their war focus, and tend to have Archsages pepper their armies instead. A few Mage Paladins have also developed the ability to use Light Magic, but they are not very common among their already meager community.

They can use up to Omega class in anima magic and swords (and those who learn Light can also use up to Omega class eventually), but tend to do so much later than Archsages do because they spent time to learn how to ride and fight… As Knights, they can't heal, making them much less useful than their Magvel counterparts, but they can easily hold their own against other Paladins and ___ Knights by blasting them to pieces with magic from afar, and then clashing with them with their swords.

As for Mist and others who walked the path of a Valkyrie:

Minerva: Tier Three Valkyrie (Mist is one because of the fact that she became a Valkyrie after the events in Gallian Nights.) Because of their longtime use of magic via staves as Clerics and Valkyries, Minervans have finally developed the ability to use offensive magic. Can cast significant light (up to Level B) light magic and strong anima (Level S in all three schools) magic, and can use swords and staves up to Omega level if they train well enough. Minervans (plural form) are known to be crucial in armies that have to travel long distances, since they can heal comrades and strike foes quickly with their high mobility.

Author's additional confessions:

Here's this: I know that the enemy is currently rather one sided, but Daliah will become quite similar to a certain Magvel character. Whether she joins the protagonists or not will depend on future events. There will be other enemies who will be less despicable, but a lot of the Confederacy's core members are not good people as Radiant Dawn proved, and I intend to express that.

Secondly, I've been reading some tactics books recently but I have yet to incorporate them into the fic, but don't be too surprised if you do see some strange maneuver show up in due time.