Time to fight at Gronder Field again. It's not gonna be nearly as "friendly" as the last time.
Chapter 91 – Blood of the Eagle and Lion Pt 1 (Great Tree Moon)
Ladislava watched as the vast armies of the Adrestian Empire surged forth to meet the armies of the Alliance and the Loyalists. It did not take long for the air in Gronder Field to fill with screams, battle cries, and the sound of clashing steel.
As the Black Eagles flew overhead looking for targets of opportunity, Ladislava mused on Edelgard's plans for the battle. The Crimson Warrior found herself having trouble agreeing with the plan that the Emperor and the Duchess had outlined.
…
The previous day…
Ladislava stood before Edelgard in her main tent, looking down at a map of the area and the many figurines used to represent the combatants. Many of Edelgard's other army commanders were with the Crimson Warrior, yet Ladislava knew many of them wouldn't be the type to object to any orders given by their Emperor, even if they had some reservations.
As Edelgard and Hubert began the briefing, Ladislava kept one eye focused on Cornelia, who stood beside the Emperor. Though Edelgard seemed to be putting her trust in the Duchess, Ladislava wasn't about to do the same with Cornelia after the debacle in Fhirdiad.
"Our main objective in this battle is the total destruction of the Church, Alliance, and Loyalist armies," said Edelgard. "In order to accomplish this, we need to divide and conquer. It would not be advantageous for us to take all three armies on at once for long, so we must create as much confusion for their forces as possible. I doubt we'll be able to get the Alliance and Church to attack each other, so we need to confuse the Loyalists so that they'll attack the Alliance, or vice-versa."
Hubert then said, "Thanks to the efforts of our spies, we know that the King of Lions has become hostile toward the Alliance. However, the Church's position is not likely to cross paths with the Loyalists so early in the battle."
"Which army will we be focusing on first, Your Majesty?" asked one of the generals.
"The Loyalists," answered Edelgard. "They may have fewer troops than the Alliance, but Dimitri has brought with him all his strongest formations. The 4th, 7th, 12th, and 15th army groups will move to engage Dimitri's forces. Force them into a battle of attrition and they will eventually fall."
"What about the central hill, Your Majesty?" asked another general. "Won't the Alliance attempt to seize it?"
"The 3rd and 9th army groups on the hill are to defend it for as long as possible, and then pull back once the Alliance commits to a full-fledged assault."
"We're just going to let them take it?" asked a third general.
"Not without a fight. Once the Alliance takes that hill, Claude will surely concentrate the bulk of his forces on it. You are to muster nearby and make it look like a counterattack is planned."
"And then what, Your Majesty?" asked a fourth general.
Edelgard turned her head toward Cornelia as the Duchess said, "You are to leave that to me. Once the so-called Master Tactician and his soldiers have gotten comfy on that hill, I will deal with them personally."
"How so, Duchess Cornelia?" asked the second general.
"Now, now, mustn't spoil the surprise."
Edelgard then said, "Once your forces pull back from the hill, you need to ensure Claude doesn't continue to push into the center of our position. We can't afford to have our right flank encircled."
"What about the Church?" asked the third general.
Hubert answered, "I will be leading the 8th army against the Knights of Seiros. Our goal will be to buy the rest of the army the time it needs to deal with the Loyalists and the Alliance."
"As for you, Ladislava," Edelgard said, "you and the Black Eagles are to respond to any changes in the battle. If any of the enemy armies make a breakthrough, you are to intercept and drive them back. Understood?"
"As you wish, Lady Edelgard," said Ladislava.
…
Though the Crimson Warrior had her orders, she knew it wasn't going to be so simple to drive back any breakthroughs in their lines. The Black Eagles weren't intended for heavy fighting, though not for any lack of ability. They just didn't have enough riders to face down a full-fledged army group.
No matter how she looked at it, Ladislava knew she was going to be sending a lot more letters of condolences once this battle was over.
Ladislava looked over at the Empire's left flank to see Hubert's forces moving to engage the Church's army. The Crimson Warrior could already see the Archbishop, even through the mist that enshrouded Gronder Field. Ladislava knew the Church was the biggest threat out of all three armies opposing them, and some part of her wanted to get back at them for the comrades lost at the Great Bridge of Myrddin.
But the Emperor was counting on her and the Black Eagles to ensure things didn't spiral out of control for the Imperial Army this day.
"Over there, on the 12th's southeast flank!" Salia shouted.
The second-in-command of the Black Eagles pointed her halberd down at a force of Loyalist cavalry that was moving to hit the Imperial 12th Army in the side. Leading them was a man Ladislava instantly recognized: Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius, known as the Shield of Faerghus. He had previously clashed with the Black Eagles about two years ago, though that battle had ended in a stalemate.
"Eagles, let's go!" Ladislava shouted as she spurred Fenix forward.
As several of the Black Eagles took off in pursuit of their leader, Zola shouted, "Come on, you bastards and bitches! You wanna live forever?!"
The Black Eagles cheered loudly as they soared toward Rodrigue's cavalry. Hearing them, Rodrigue looked up as the Imperial elites closed the distance rapidly.
Knowing he had overextended, Rodrigue shouted, "Pull back! Pull back!"
Ladislava and Fenix dove down, with the Crimson Warrior slashing through one of Rodrigue's paladins and Fenix crushing the head of another in his fangs before pulling up. Zola roared loudly as she slammed her axe into another Loyalist rider, cleaving the rider in half and removing his horse's head with the same blow. A fireball from Salia struck down another paladin as one of the Loyalist cavaliers threw a javelin in retaliation, hitting one Eagle's Wyvern in its right wing. The Eagle barely managed to avoid crashing into the ground and pulled up.
Rodrigue continued to shout orders to his riders to pull back, hoping to draw the Black Eagles close enough to the Loyalists' archers. But, as he anticipated, the Imperial elites weren't falling for such a ruse, pulling back rapidly after making their passes on his cavalry.
The leader of House Fraldarius looked up to see Ladislava preparing another pass. The Crimson Warrior's gaze met with the Shield of Faerghus as he readied a spell.
"For the king!" Rodrigue shouted as he unleashed an Aura spell.
Ladislava saw the holy magic coming at her and rolled Fenix to the left, letting the spell pass perilously close to the two. Without losing her momentum, Ladislava slashed through another cavalier and then pulled up.
"Regroup! All squads, regroup!" Ladislava shouted.
The Black Eagles broke off their attack on Rodrigue's cavalry as the soldiers of the 12th Imperial Army repositioned themselves, covering their previously exposed flank.
Knowing his opportunity had been lost, Rodrigue spurred his horse and rode back to the safety of the Loyalists' line.
…
Raphael roared as he smashed his gauntlets into an Imperial sword fighter, sending another enemy to the ground. He then spun around and blocked the sword of another Imperial before bashing the woman's head.
"Behind you, Raph!" shouted Balthus.
Before Raphael could turn to the threat, Balthus rushed past him and stabbed the claws of Vajra-Mushti into an Imperial soldier's chest. He then spun around and slashed his Relic's claws through another Imperial's neck. His victim gurgled as he fell to the ground.
Raphael didn't have time to thank Balthus. The Imperials were everywhere he looked. The Beast of Leicester was having trouble telling friend from foe thanks to the fog, so he had to keep withholding his attacks until he was certain he was facing an enemy. All around him, screams and shouts filled the air as the carnage intensified.
At least, he thought, it was easy enough to make out Balthus, Hilda and Claude in the fog thanks to their Relics, which glowed red in the mist and made them easy to spot. Claude couldn't be missed since he was flying above the fog on Simurgh.
Hilda shouted as she slammed Freikugel into an Imperial Fortress Knight, effortlessly carving through his heavy armor. At the same time, Claude fired three arrows in rapid succession, each one striking down an Imperial, though his third came narrowly close to hitting an Alliance soldier. Claude hissed at this, knowing he couldn't afford to take his time with his shots, but it was becoming increasingly hard to avoid friendly fire.
Claude turned and shouted "Fire!" as he directed his arm at the Imperial 3rd Army's archers, who were trying to arrange themselves into a firing line.
Ignatz, who had already arranged his archers into their own line, released his arrow first, followed by the familiar whistling of several hundred arrows as they soared toward the Imperials. Some narrowly passed underneath Simurgh, and soon the 3rd Army's archers were screaming in pain as hundreds were struck by the Alliance's volley. By the time the Imperials had recovered and were beginning to return fire, Ignatz and his archers had already released a second volley, decimating the Imperial formation.
As Ignatz readied another arrow, he briefly glanced toward the Alliance mages who were trying to freeze the river. A battalion of Imperial swordsmen was closing in on the mages, who could not turn to defend themselves.
"Left side! Fire at will!" Ignatz shouted, quickly turning his aim toward the Imperials.
His archers followed suit, releasing a deadly hail of arrows that struck down almost half of the enemy battalion in one volley. But the Imperials did not stop, with one Imperial managing to reach the mages and run his blade through one of the spellcasters. The Imperial was subsequently shot dead by one of the Alliance's crossbowmen.
Above the battle for the river, Claude looked to the west to see one of the Imperial army groups moving to engage the Church Army.
The Master Tactician turned back to the Alliance's battle, knowing the Church could hold its own.
…
Hubert watched as four Demonic Beasts currently under his command advanced into a hail of arrows, bolts, and spells. Though the armor the Demonic Beasts wore protected them from magic, they were taking a lot of hits from the Church's archers. One of the Demonic Beasts screeched loudly as three ballista bolts pierced into its hind leg, sending the monster crashing to the ground as it writhed in pain. The Imperials who had been behind the Demonic Beast scattered to avoid being struck by it, only for a hail of flaming arrows to come down on them, decimating an entire battalion in seconds.
Hubert let out a soft "Hmm". Professor Eisner hadn't lost her skill as a commander, he thought.
The Marquis of House Vestra watched as the unmistakable glowing silhouette of the Sword of the Creator lashed through the fog at one of the Demonic Beasts, breaking part of the monster's protective mask and leaving a long wound across its face. The Demonic Beast barely had a moment to screech in pain before several spells struck it, with three hitting its exposed flesh. The Demonic Beast howled its last and collapsed as a Seraphim spell burned its way through the monster's brain, causing it to crumble into dust. Again, without the Demonic Beast for cover, the Imperials behind it were met by a hail of arrows before they could find cover.
It did not take long after that for the other two Demonic Beasts to fall in similar fashion, unable to withstand the arrows and spells of the Church.
But as the fourth one perished, Hubert did not order a retreat.
"Crush them!" shouted Hubert, prompting the Imperials to surge forward at the Church soldiers.
Across the field, Byleth scowled as the Imperials, despite losing their Demonic Beasts, charged toward her army of 3,500 men with over 5,000 of their own.
"Anna, now!" shouted Byleth.
"Let 'em have it!" Anna shouted as she and her men lit several carts filled with flammables and shoved them toward the advancing Imperials.
But unlike when the Church had used the flaming carts against Randolph's army, the Imperials had a lot more room to maneuver in the open field. Seeing the oncoming threat, they quickly dispersed, causing the carts to roll past them.
As they did, Anna smirked, knowing it didn't matter if the Imperials got out of the way or not.
Shortly after wheeling past the first Imperials, the carts began to explode, having been filled with tar, straw, and a lot of explosive powder. Flames spread all over the Imperial 8th Army, whose soldiers screamed in agony.
Byleth then shouted, "Charge!"
The Church's cavalry, led by Leonie and Lorenz, rushed forward to attack the Imperials. Braving the flames, the cavaliers and paladins began making short work of the stunned Imperial soldiers, who tried in vain to defend themselves.
As the survivors of the 8th Army's push retreated, Hubert watched as the Church's army began pushing forward.
Hubert briefly scowled, realizing he had again underestimated his former Professor's resourcefulness.
Yet he smirked seconds later. No matter how well the Church fought, it would never be enough to defeat the Empire.
He turned to the second half of his army and shouted, "Advance. Drive the dogs of the Church into the ground."
Hubert's second wave of another 5,000 men and six more Demonic Beasts roared as they began advancing on the Church.
Seeing the approaching Imperials, Byleth shouted, "Pull back! Defensive positions!"
As her men turned and ran back to their starting point, Byleth cursed under her breath. Despite dealing a heavy blow to the Imperials, they still had men to spare. The Church, meanwhile, had just used up one of their trump cards. They didn't have any more fire carts to use against the Imperials. And though the Church's losses had been few thus far, she knew that it would not last.
Byleth glanced to the east and prayed for the Alliance to take the central hill soon.
I'm probably messing up with army sizes again. Not an easy thing to get right.
Specifically, does the idea of over 100,000 men (across all four factions) fighting in Gronder sound a bit unrealistic? Keep in mind that Three Hopes heavily exaggerates with army sizes since it's a Warriors spinoff, but we're not told specific army numbers in Three Houses. That's why it's hard for me to find good numbers.
I've been building up to this battle for a while, but I'm still ironing out some of the details. Maybe I'll devote more time this week to the story since my job is right now on strike. It probably won't last long, though, and I may be distracted with my second run through Octopath Traveler II (I'm playing with mods this time around).
And yes, Zola stole that line from Rico. I couldn't resist.
Anyhow, I'll see you next time.