Time for more violence. Hope you guys aren't squeamish.
Chapter 14 – Second Battle of Garreg Mach, Part 2 (Guardian Moon)
Randolph scowled as he watched his men retreat from the monastery, with well over 600 casualties so far. He hadn't expected the Knights of Seiros to be easy opponents, but the Empire was losing troops rapidly. Yet his temper was curbed somewhat by the knowledge that his forces had destroyed the Church's Onagers. Losing those siege weapons would surely cripple the monastery's remaining defenses, and the monastery's defenders had taken significant losses. The defenders were now falling back from the outer wall, leaving only a few forces near the west and east gates, which were still blocked by ice.
"General Randolph, sir?" said one of Randolph's officers.
"I didn't expect the Knights would be this difficult," said Randolph. "But now that we've dealt with their siege weaponry, they won't be able to hold their outer perimeter. We need to press our advantage. Ready the men! We'll march forward and secure the outer–"
Suddenly, a loud booming voice came echoing down from the monastery.
"Hey, General Randolph, is this really the best you and the Empire can do?" said Anna as she amplified her voice using a spell. "Come on! I've seen drunks from Plegia fight better than this! If you're looking to disappoint Her Majesty again, you're doing a really good job!"
Randolph's already-stirred temper quickly surfaced, and in a rage, he shouted, "They think they can get away with insulting the Empire like this?! All forces, prepare to charge! We'll silence these Church dogs with all our might!"
Randolph raised his axe as the Imperials, who were similarly enraged by Anna's insults, roared for blood and prepared to charge.
…
Seeing the Empire's entire force readying themselves to attack, Anna said, "Wow, that was surprisingly easy. Everyone, get to your places!"
The remnants of Garreg Mach's defenders assumed their positions as the Empire, now attacking with well over 1,600 men, marched up the slope toward the monastery. The defenders had now been whittled down to a little over 500 troops who could still fight. They were now situated behind the main outer wall of the monastery, intending to draw the Imperials in through the ruined central gate. Shamir and Bernadetta had their forces situated near the ice-blocked west and east gates to ensure the Empire did not breach them.
Everything now depended on Anna's trap.
"Steady… Steady!" Anna shouted as the Empire approached.
The defenders' archers drew their bows, raised their crossbows, and readied spells as the Imperials continued their menacing advance. Looking to her sides, Byleth could see several of the troops starting to shake in their boots, especially among the volunteer fighters.
"Have faith!" Byleth shouted. "The Empire cannot take that from you!"
Then, once the Empire was a little over a hundred meters away from the main gate, Randolph shouted, "FOR THE EMPIRE! ATTACK!"
With his order, the Imperials roared as they surged forward all at once, charging straight at the monastery's defenders in a massive, concentrated horde.
Seconds later, as the bulk of the Imperials poured through the central gate, Anna shouted, "NOW!"
The frontline defenders immediately shifted their positions as the fire carts were pushed forward. Within seconds, over thirty burning carts filled with straw, tar, and explosive powder were rolling their way down at the Imperials.
Randolph quickly realized the threat and shouted, "SPREAD OUT!"
But it was too late.
The first cart exploded as it collided with the front line of Imperial Fortress Knights, killing many of them instantly and showering those behind them with burning debris. As these first casualties cried out in agony, the second cart capsized and spilled its contents over a platoon of sword fighters. The third and fourth carts were direct hits, taking out another hundred soldiers in an instant. The remaining carts followed suit, barreling into the human chaos and either exploding as they hit someone or as the flames set off their powder barrels. Men and women shrieked and howled as they were set ablaze, with many rolling on the ground to try and put the flames out, to no avail. The burning tar stuck to the Imperials, ensuring they would never be able to douse the fires consuming them. Some of the carts veered off course, rolling past the Imperials and straight toward the town below or smashing into the outer wall of the monastery, creating a wall of flames.
The defenders of Garreg Mach cheered loudly as they watched the devastation unfold, though Byleth and Dorothea did not join in. The pair watched in horror as the flames consumed the Imperials, their screams of agony leaving the two women sick to their stomachs. Byleth recomposed herself, knowing the job was not yet done.
At the back of his formation, Randolph coughed loudly as he looked at the carnage. In the span of a minute, more than half of his force had become casualties. Approximately 1,000 of his 1,600 troops were either dead or wounded. He knew his force was no longer combat-effective, with more casualties than troops who could still fight.
He knew it was his fault. He had let the enemy goad him and had committed his whole force to the attack, just as they wanted. He had been too hasty sending all his men through the central gate at once. And now his folly had cost the lives of so many of his men, veterans of many battles against the Kingdom and Alliance.
And though he still technically had more combat-effective troops than the defenders did, he knew he was in no position to win the battle.
"Damn it all!" Randolph shouted. "Fall back! Carry away the injured soldiers, now! Sylas, Renning, with me! We'll cover the retreat!"
"YEEEESSSS!" Anna shouted with a jump. "We've got'em on their heels!"
Raising the Sword of the Creator, Byleth shouted, "Strike now, before they can retreat and regroup! FORWARD!"
"Let's go get the bastards!" shouted one of the militiamen.
With a roar for battle, the defenders of the monastery charged out from their positions.
At the same moment, Byleth shouted, "Ferdinand, Leonie, Seteth, cut off their retreat!"
Not taking the time to reply, the three mobile leaders led their cavalry and fliers out around the Imperial formation, intending to cut off their avenue of escape. At the west wall, Constance blasted her own wall of ice with a fireball, destroying the block and opening the way for Ferdinand's cavalry. Within seconds, fifty horsemen charged out of the breach and moved to attack the Imperials who were fleeing back toward the town below. Above them, Seteth's remaining riders continued to attack the Imperial fliers who had avoided being hit by the fire attack, aided by Shamir's archers.
Weaving his way through the flames, Felix slashed aside the blade of a wounded Imperial swordsman and killed him with a second slash of his sword. He then blocked an axe fighter's strike and countered, splitting open the woman's stomach. Then, as flames surged before him, he doubled back to avoid suffering the same fate as his enemies. At the same time, Annette let out a yell as she slammed Crusher into another Imperial soldier, smashing him to the ground in a bloody heap.
Cyril soared behind Seteth as the advisor dove on an Imperial Pegasus Knight, his attack killing the rider before she hit the ground. Immediately, two more Pegasus Knights dived in on Seteth's tail. Cyril quickly drew his bow and fired, hitting one in the wing and sending the Pegasus and its rider crashing into the flames below. Seteth then whirled Hyperion around in mid-air and the Wyvern's talons slashed into the second rider and her mount.
Brigitte, who had gotten herself healed by Lana, roared as she swung a new war hammer at an Imperial mage who was trying to put out her burning robe. The woman screamed as her ribcage shattered to the blow. Seeing this, an Imperial swordsman ran forward and tried to stab Brigitte, who dodged back and countered by kicking the man, sending him stumbling into the raging fires surrounding them. The swordsman screamed as he was burned to death, with Brigitte wincing at the man's cruel death.
"Shit… Helluva way to go…" Brigitte scowled.
Lysithea shouted as she brought down two Fortress Knights with a Swarm Z spell. She then turned to the ones the Imperials had been protecting, a group of five severely wounded soldiers. With a deep breath and, knowing it would leave a bad taste in her mouth, Lysithea cast a Miasma Δ spell at the wounded Imperials, killing all five in an instant. She knew it was for the best; all five had suffered mortal injuries and would not have survived anyway. A quick death was all she could offer them.
At the same moment, Dorothea followed Byleth as the two entered the burning chaos. Dorothea spotted an Imperial screaming as he was set ablaze, and quickly ended the man's life with a stab from Joyeuse to his neck. Byleth shouted as she slashed her whip sword at two archers, cutting one down as the other dodged back, narrowly avoiding her strike. The archer raised his crossbow and fired a bolt at Byleth, who leaned to the side and let the bolt sail harmlessly past her. Retracting her blade, Byleth sent a quick fireball at the archer as he tried to reload, blasting him to the ground.
At that moment, a loud shout caught both Byleth's and Dorothea's attention as Randolph roared into battle, killing one of the Church defenders with a blow from his axe. The battle raged around them as Byleth and Dorothea turned to face Randolph, who scowled at seeing the diva.
"You! This is your doing!" Randolph shouted at Dorothea.
"What?" Dorothea replied, startled by the accusation.
"You and your friends will burn along with all the men you've killed this day!"
As Randolph rushed at Dorothea, Byleth tried to intercept him, but was almost hit by an axe swung by one of Randolph's officers. Byleth dodged and tried to counter the veteran warrior, but he avoided her counter and retaliated, nearly burying his axe in her left leg.
Randolph was upon Dorothea in seconds. Dorothea dodged away from the first swing of Randolph's axe and tried to counter with a stab from Joyeuse, but Randolph swung his gauntlet at the blade and deflected the thrust. He countered with another wide swing of his axe, but Dorothea dodged again.
"Those men had families and loved ones back home!" Randolph shouted in anger as he continued fighting Dorothea. "And now, thanks to you, they're all gone! You'll pay for their lives with your own, and with the lives of everyone in this forsaken place!"
Randolph charged again. The diva dodged back, thinking Randolph would swing his axe at her again, but he kept charging and slammed into her with his shoulder.
Byleth, who had just killed the officer by running the man through with her blade, turned just in time to see Dorothea take the hit from Randolph. A second later, the diva was screaming in panic, for she had been shoved into a raging fire.
"NO!" Byleth shouted as time ground to a halt.
Byleth knew her use of the Divine Pulse here was selfish. She could have used it several times in the battle to save other lives. But seeing Dorothea set ablaze was more than she could take. She couldn't let her die.
Byleth's scream, as well as Dorothea's panicked cries, reversed themselves as Randolph's charge was inverted. She watched as Dorothea's attempts to fend off Randolph moved backwards, as if Randolph were now on the defensive and Dorothea on the offense. Byleth was now six seconds back, when she had missed an opening to defeat the officer earlier. She hadn't taken it before, thinking the warrior was trying to bait her, but now she knew he wasn't.
Time's flow resumed, allowing Byleth to swing her blade like quicksilver at officer's left leg, slashing a wide line across the warrior's limb. Byleth then kicked the man, sending him stumbling into more of the flames and setting his armor on fire. She did not watch him burn and turned back to Randolph.
Randolph shouted at Dorothea, "You'll pay for their lives with your own, and with the lives of everyone in this forsaken place!"
He rushed at Dorothea, who mistakenly thought he was going to swing his axe again.
Just before he would have bashed her into the flames behind her, Byleth shouted as she lashed the Sword of the Creator at Randolph. Randolph heard Byleth's cry and yelped as the whip sword struck the left side of his torso, only lightly injuring him through his armor. It was enough of a distraction to allow Dorothea to ready a Force spell.
But as Dorothea did this, Byleth yelped as she was suddenly tackled from behind by the officer. Being on fire, the warrior clearly intended to take Byleth with him. Byleth yelped as she felt the flames lick at her skin, and her cloak was set ablaze.
Dorothea's Force spell sent Randolph flying back, though the general did not land in any of the fires. After picking himself up, Randolph realized his vulnerable position and scowled as he pulled back, clutching his wounded side.
Hearing Byleth's cries of near-panic, Dorothea turned and screamed, "BYLETH!"
Byleth thrashed about to try and throw the officer off her before the fire consumed her. She swung the Sword of the Creator in a whirl, and the whip blade slashed less than an inch behind the greenette's back, cutting through her cloak. Now free, she immediately stumbled away from the officer as he toppled over, taking most of her cloak with him. The officer howled as Byleth tripped and fell to the ground, almost landing in more flames as the burning man crawled toward her and tried to grab her legs.
Just as Byleth kicked away the officer's right hand, a bolt of lightning struck the warrior, and he howled his last as the flames and magic ended his life.
Byleth turned to see Anna's Levin Sword crackling with electricity, and then to Dorothea as the diva rushed to her side and knelt beside her.
"Byleth, are you okay?!" Dorothea said in fright.
Coughing on the smoke, Byleth said, "I-I'll be fine. I– AGH!"
Byleth suddenly winced loudly in pain as she realized her left arm had been caught in the flames briefly, leaving her with third-degree burns. Dorothea immediately began channeling a healing spell on her.
"Hold still, let me heal you!" said Dorothea.
Byleth looked into Dorothea's eyes at this moment. The fires around them, despite bringing so much death and destruction, made her look even more hauntingly beautiful. Despite the battle raging around them, Byleth was mystified by the singer as she healed the archbishop's wounds.
A second later, it became evident that Dorothea was going through the same thing, for she looked at Byleth and had to blush at what she saw. Though her coat-like cloak had been destroyed, and she was covered in soot and blood, Dorothea could not take her eyes off the woman.
The silence between the two seemed to drown out all the chaos around them. It was as if nothing else mattered in that moment but each other.
And then they flinched as they heard Anna shout, "Hey! By! Dorothea! Come on! Fight's not over yet!"
Realizing what they had been doing, the two immediately scrambled to their feet and looked around to see the monastery's defenders had almost defeated the remaining Imperials. The carnage sickened them to their core, and the smoke, fumes, and flames left them nauseous, but they could see their allies were beating the Empire back.
"I… I don't believe it…" said Dorothea. "We're winning…!"
"We haven't won yet," Anna replied as she approached them. "We have to finish this."
"Anna's right," said Byleth. "Come on, the others still need us."
Dorothea nodded and followed Byleth and Anna back into the fray.
Yeah, burning to death has gotta be one of the worse ways to die. Yeowch.
I know having a cluster of fire carts taking out 1,000 infantry sounds a bit surreal, especially since they're just filled with straw, tar, and explosive powder, but remember the fantasy setting. It could be more potent than in real life. Besides, Randolph royally screwed up by clustering his men together too much.
Reminds me a bit of the Battle of Delhi in 1398, where Timur (a.k.a. Tamerlane) defeated the army of Sultan Nasir-ud-Din Mahmud Shah Tughluq. Timur loaded some baggage camels with flammables, lit them on fire, and sent them directly at the sultan's war elephants, terrifying them and causing them to stampede over the sultan's own forces, which were too close behind the elephants. The subsequent battle was a rout in Timur's favor.
Anna's plan isn't quite the same, but both are examples of how disastrous it can be if your forces are too clumped together.
Also, in case you were wondering, I don't plan on using any new characters or such from Three Hopes. Feels like too much of an alternate universe compared to Three Houses. I may make an oblique reference or two, but don't count on characters from the Warriors title.
Finally, was that Byleth/Dorothea moment too much of a mood whiplash?