Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter, and providing feed backs.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
Cross posted on AO3, for anyone who prefer that site.
Before the arrival of the Burning Legion, war has come to Medea in the form of a false hero, a demon lord, and an invader from another world. Lord Astaroth, supposedly the despot who ruled his own world after conquering it, was defeated by the Burning Legion and is now on the run from the world-destroying army. He has arrived at the city of Stormwind, with an army of his own and who has taken control of the Spirit Tortoise. His goal: the full subjugation of Medea. So he may use all the resources of both Medea and Malach in an attempt to resist The Burning Legion. The queen of Melromarc has called all the elite forces of her nation, dispatching her husband to lead the force in a decisive battle that could hopefully break the false hero's control of the Spirit Tortoise, and stop it from conquering, or destroying the world they live in.
Lady Celestine bites back the scoff when her husband, Duke Oifey lets out a muffled cough. Her eyes wander to the left, glaring at the little shit who almost became her husband, who is sharing an embrace with his commoner whore. "If you are sick, maybe you should have stayed behind and defended our homes from the attack of that Mirror Demon, Oifey. He sounds like a shameless rube who would launch sneak attacks at us while you are off to fight the war and leave our cities undefended. And unlike most would-be tyrants, he actually has the ability to send raid parties regardless of distance. Let your precious nephew lead the Chalfey host. It's not like he was originally going to be the lord of the house because of his blood, so it should be his duty anyway."
"It's the duty of the both of us, not just Seliph … hurk … You will be fine, Celestine. You are going to stay safely in the capital, where the queen and the crown princess are well protected -" Celestine rolls her eyes at her husband's stubbornness even as his words devolve into a series of bad coughing. His cheekbones are looking even more gaunt than when they first married, and she knows that his body has lost a lot of weight underneath his armor.
"Fine. Do whatever you wish to, for your pointless sense of duty, and honor. But as always. Don't say I didn't warn you of the consequences, or came up with a better solution for you." Celestine purses her lips as she sees Seliph riding towards them. She hides her lower face behind her fan, and takes a few steps away from her husband.
"I think Lady Celestine is right, Uncle Oifey. You are in no condition to fight an intense war." Seliph jumps off his steed, and runs over to his uncle. "I can lead our army, Uncle. Maybe you should schedule a healing session with the church and have your body looked after."
"I know you can, Seliph. You have your father's talent..." Oifey's eyes warm up as he casts his eyes upon his nephew even as his sentence is broke up with another series of coughing, with the kind of affection Celestine she herself never received from the miserable cretin. And to think that there was a time when she thought that her parents changing her betrothal from the little loin-brain to the old bastard was going to be good for her, because someone more mature would cherish and care more for her. She was such a fool. "...but you still need experience before I'll let you command our entire army when it comes down to one of the most important battles we are facing yet. Don't worry. I won't slow everyone down. I'll act as the strategist and command from the rear lines, and you can lead at the front."
Chapter 48: Vanguard Charge
A glowing, purple arch appears in the middle of the square where the army is gathered in front of the former king. A white flame burns at the edge of the center, leaving only the sight of a giant road made of tree bark with leaves on the side, giving the impression of coldness for Alaya and Yggdrasil's sanctuary. Wordlessly, the rallied warriors walk through the portal, till the previously packed area completely emptied out as the portal closes behind there. There's no cheering civilians on the road, giving the best wishes to the soldiers who are off to fight the war that'll decide the fate of not only Melromarc, but the entire world. Only small groups of soldiers who were left behind, diligently patrol on the road of the capital which feels more like a deserted ghost town. The threat of the Mirror Demon sending more raid parties with his mirror is still active, and the commoners who can't protect themselves have all stayed behind in their homes and shelters, likely huddling together like packs of rats for comfort.
"So, Your husband has finally left for war. And you didn't even kiss him goodbye for good luck." Viscount Raleigh Consevatie walks up to Lady Celestine on the balcony of House Chalphy manor. She had already excused herself before the combined Melromarc host had begun to move into the portal to begin their march northward. Normally, someone like him shouldn't enter House Chalphy's personal manor after the lord of the house has already gone, and his young wife is the only one present, especially considering his reputation. Raleigh is well aware of it, and he can feel some heated glares behind his back and hear some murmur in his ears that sounds distinctively derisive. Typical of House Chalphy, their servants, and their guards are as self-righteous as the noble family itself. Thankfully, everyone knows that he has been managing House Chalphy's finances not too long since the end of The Great War. So the servants or the guards won't stop him from holding a 'business meeting' with Lady Celestine.
"He doesn't need, nor appreciate any well wishes from me. A smile from his dear, precious nephew is worth a thousand kisses I could give him. HONESTLY! If I didn't know better, I'd say that miserable old skeleton is the filthy pederast, not you." The servants and guards around Lady Celestine quickly turn their head around, pretending deaf to the conversation between the two of them. The needy woman brings him into the sitting room, and then waves away all the servants out. "Leave us. We shall discuss important matters regarding House Chalphy's future."
The servants bow down to their lady, exit and bring the door close behind them. Raleigh didn't even count to ten when he felt Celestine's arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders from behind. "Look at you - already throwing yourself into the arms of another man even before your dying husband is going to fight a war. Not that I'm complaining, but do you think it's proper?"
"Oifey has no one but himself to blame. He doesn't understand love, and how to treat a woman. I needed a real man who would cherish me, above all else. Not a nanny who cleans after his ungrateful nephew and neglects his wife." Celestine lets out a vindictive snort that escapes her nose. Raleigh can hear her barred teeth in her voice. "That miserable, useless old skeleton... he dares to imply I was the one who wronged his nephew. And I'm someone who needed to make peace with him! SCUM! Does he not know what that little shit did has made me the laughing stock in the social circle?!"
"He's technically right, you know. Yes, there was talk of betrothal of you and Seliph between your parents, and Seliph's guardian Duke Arvis. But nothing was finalized yet, so he is free to reject the offer." Raleigh feels the arm around his neck begin to tighten, so he quickly adds. "Of course. That doesn't give the little shit the right to marry a filthy commoner, completely humiliating you in everyone's eyes. But still - your personal grudge against Count Seliph does not excuse you to do anything you wanted among our circle. If you wanted to take House Chalphy from underneath the two of them... you need to be very careful. Not to get caught. You need to keep your hands clean when they have their unfortunate accident."
"Oh. You have nothing to worry about. These two idiots will more than likely get themselves killed in the upcoming battle. One could barely wear his armor and still insist on going to war, the other is a fool who blindly charges into the thick of enemies. The Mirror Demon has to be a special kind of incompetent to not kill these two. But, in the case that they both survive this upcoming battle somehow, I already made plans to have the little dirty loin brain disposed of. And for the old skeleton himself ... I don't think he's going to last past the end of the Wave." Celestine sits down in his laps in a fit of giggles. Her fingers pinched at his face. "And then... House Chalphy will become ours."
"And I'll make sure to pamper you rotten - more than Oifey ever did, like a daughter I never had." Raleigh fights back the sense of revulsion as he tightens his arms around the needy woman. She talks about love between a woman and a man, yet it's clear she's only trying to find a father who will spoil her rotten without conditions, nowhere near as angelic as the toys he keeps around. But he'll play with the needy woman if it gets him the ticket into higher society.
Multiple gates open up all around the city of Stormwind, as well-formed soldiers march out of them. In front of them, the giant Spirit Tortoise looms over the port city like a mountain blocking out the sunlight, making the city underneath its massive legs look like a castle made of sand by comparison. It might be the shadow casted down by the Guardian Beast, but the city of Stormwind looks more like a ruin that has been swallowed, and then spit back out by some kind of eldritch underworld. Smoke rises up from the city, but there's no light or source of fire. The wind blowing through the building sounds like the pained howl of restless spirit. The Spirit Tortoise, as its name suggests, is a manipulator of the soul. It seems like under the instruction of its new master, it has truly transformed the once prosperous port city into a realm of ghosts.
Aultcray pulls his attention away from the city itself, and looks at the plain in front of him. Armies have already gathered before their arrival. Undead creatures are shambling in the front, while those with more disciplined formations behind them, likely made of trained, and alive enemies. A rough estimation of the enemy's formation lets him conclude that he's facing roughly fifty thousand opponents. But the number is likely deceiving. For someone as cunning as this Astaroth, he's likely hidden a number of trump cards in his hands, waiting to unleash them at the right moment to tip the scales of battle.
As for his own group, he's in command of their center formation, with his old friend General Anderson serving as the vanguard commander. All together stand twenty-five thousand men. His right wing is made of mostly southern Melromarc people commanded by Prince Joseph, with another twenty-five thousand men. And his left wing are the northerners of twenty thousand fighters. He turns to look at Duke Amelia. "I see no sign of the sellswords you hired. When will they arrive? Can we trust them?"
"They will likely arrive from the north. They have no access to Yggdrasil's realm, so they'll have to travel in the traditional way. Zeltoble and Siltvelt are both north of us." The finance minister doesn't look worried at the lack of mercenaries. "They will keep their word so long as we are not routed. Sellswords live and die by the reputation of their reliability to their contractors. If we are defeated, it'll be a different story. But if they don't show up, people will stop hiring them no matter their reputation and their strength. And banditry will be the only way left for them."
"Let's hope you are right. But be as it may... the fact that they haven't arrived yet bode ill for our assault." Aultcray narrows his eyes at the Spirit Tortoise looming over them all. He can't see past the mountain-sized monster towards the north of Stormwind. So it's possible both mercenary groups have already arrived and are simply waiting for the Melromarc host to start their charge. But that would be highly unlikely. The Mirror Demon would have destroyed the two mercenary groups if they were caught out of position and without their army backing them up. No, the more likely case is they are going to join once the battle fully starts... and the Melromarc host isn't already losing.
Aultcray looks up into the sky, and sees a high flying bird seems to be descending towards them... no, not a bird. The former king quickly realized that normal animals, or even low tier monsters would give the sky (or the land and the sea, for that matter) of Stormwind city a wide berth because of the threatening scent from the Spirit Tortoise. Very soon, a woman with short green hair jumps off her white pegasus. "King Aultcray, Your Grace! The united host of Silesse, Isaac and Augustria are yours to command. We have gathered for about half an hour's regular march to your north."
"I have renounced my title as the king regent of glorious Melromarc. You are... Sir Karin, correct? The help of your respective nations are deeply appreciated." Aultcray nods his head back at the pegasus knight. "King Shannon is a talented and experienced commander. I will not give needless orders to him, and he may join our battle any time to serve as our skirmishers. But I will have to ask the Pegasus Knights of Silesse to be our eyes and ears in the sky. Once you reach the battlefield, try to scout out the space above our heads to make sure there's no ambush above us."
"Ambush above our heads? How...?" Lord Noches looks up at the sky, noticing how there's barely any cloud above them for anything to hide in. But after a few moments, he seems to realize something. "Aultcray, you can't mean... you think the Mirror Demon has hidden something in the sky in plain sight with illusion magic? Like what you did to the Siltvelt army back during The Great War?"
"True. Both the Mirror Demon, and his female attendant are supposedly demons of great magical prowess. If we could have hidden a formation of rocks in the sky with a combination of illussion and gravity magic and dropped them on Lintvelt army's head during The Great War, so could they do the same to us." Aultcray casts his sight towards the east of the captured city. And sure enough, he sees the much less organized battle group of the heroes. With the retinue of the Whip Hero and Gauntlet Hero, and the Siltvelt warriors who pledged themselves to the Shield Hero, they come to about seven thousand fighting men, not a force to be underestimated in spite of their smaller number. Because the two veteran heroes' retinue had much more time to train themselves, and all of them are near the peak of Prestige level range.
"Welcome to my master's realm, General Aultcray. Or should I address you as King Aultcray?" A voice over Aultcray makes him look up. And once again, he sees another mirror hanging above his head, with Eve's face in the middle. "I don't suppose I can still change your mind so you would stop this senseless loss of lives and pledge yourself to my lord? I have spent the extra time to learn the history of your world, and I learnt that you pride yourself as a master strategist. But you are neither the first, nor will you be the last clever general my master defeats."
"Is that so? I suppose I shall see for myself." Aultcray bobs his head up and down, not caring too much about the boasting of his enemy. But before he, or anyone has a chance to say or do anything, a wave of thunderous roars echo above the back of the Spirit Tortoise. Sparks of ember flames, and smoke rises above the giant monster as thousands of dots fire down at the battle group of the heroes, completely swallowing them up in clouds of dust and the fire of explosions.
"MASTER NAOFUMI! NO!" Aultcray is dimly aware of his daughter's panic. She likely would have run off senselessly if Captain Lotherigan didn't immediately restrict her from behind. The heroes did tell him in private that they have experienced a heavy bombardment of cannon balls after the Mirror Demon caught the Sword Hero and Lord Gaelion in a surprise attack. Which they barely survived thanks to everyone in their group doing their best to put up layers of defense. But the Bow Hero also said that he destroyed their cannon encampment with an attack afterwards. It seems the Book Hero has been truthful when telling them this enemy has a base of operation in another world, and that he can bring more reinforcements and supply over using his dimension magic coupled with the mirror weapon.
"For a supposed clever strategist, you really aren't too good at hiding your intention, are you? Then again. Thanks to the mirror, the world has no secret to hide from me." Another mirror appeared not far from Aultcray's head. And Astaroth is wearing a satisfied looking smirk on his face to go with his condescending voice. "It's clear when you group all the heroes together, you want to concentrate them as your main attack group while you hold my troops down with your regular army. But you clearly didn't consider it only gives me one, easy to hit target to eliminate with my cannons."
"Interesting guess. Although I'm honestly curious about one thought. Who taught you that the heroes will do all, or most of the work in a battle between two armies?" The smirk on Astaroth's face freezes, and then disappears as Aultcray tightens his finger around the pole of a command flag. He rises it high, and begins to wave. "I took the heroes, and their direct retinue members not from Melromarc out of my command structure. Because I know that they won't obey my orders. And it would only lead to chaos in my army's maneuver. Speaking of which... all units, ADVANCE!"
Anderson didn't waste any time at the front. Aultcray can see the light reflecting off the blade of his massive glaive, as he charges forward atop of his steed. The rest of the center formation's vanguard follows after him as they crash into the Mirror Demon's undead army like an unrelenting wave. The aura of his entire army takes the shape of a radiant fireball that roughly resembles the head of a lion over their head. The first layer of the enemy's undead army instantly crumbles before them, like wheat during harvest season. Aultcray's main group on the other hand, follows the vanguard with a brisk paced march. Preserving their own stamina, but not lagging too far behind their compatriot in the case that they need reinforcements.
Before the battle started, he was more worried about what he could do if the Mirror Demon decided to ignore the heroes, concentrating the bombardment on his regular troops. As much as he hates to admit, the standard soldiers are still much weaker than the heroes, or their retinue members individually. The left wing of the northern fighters will probably be fine thanks to him placing most of their barrier makers and mages, but a heavy bombardment would cause a massive loss to their numbers in the center and right formations. And unlike the Mirror Demon, they have no way to replace their losses other than whatever reinforcements they'll get from other nations, which Aultcray isn't counting on. So it's a major relief that Astaroth has played himself.
Aultcray looks left, and then right to see the situation of his allies, and quickly finds that the same is happening with them. The first layer of undead creatures barely offered any resistance before them. But he knows that this isn't the time to breathe a sigh of relief yet. They are only cutting down fodders, and have yet to meet whatever the professional, elite army Mirror Demon may have. More importantly, the Spirit Tortoise allows his opponent to quickly replenish their lost by bringing back undead. But for the moment, the battle is going well enough for him to fuss over his inexperienced daughter first. So he turns to look at Malty again, who has stopped struggling against Captain Lotherigan. "Have you calmed down now, my daughter? I understand you are worried about the Shield Hero and his allies. But we need to trust them to survive the assault. I doubt that they would be this easily indisposed when they are surrounded by veteran heroes like Prince Tact and Lord Dio."
"Ye- yes, Father. Please excuse me for my outburst. You are right. I should place more faith in the heroes." Malty is clearly trying to get her emotion under control, but her voice still sounds like unfocused rambling. Aultcray can't fault her for worrying, since the Mirror Demon is still bombarding the heroes all this time even as his southern group is being pressured by them.
"Your worry is understandable, and not completely unfounded. But this is the first lesson for you to remember as the highest commander of an army. Calm is what you have to be when everyone looks up to you for leadership, and what you can only be when a situation is outside of your control." Malty's eyes slowly regain their focus as she pulls her attention back from the eastern group to what's happening before them. Good. Her reaction is disappointing, but understandable for a war virgin. And at least she is getting her mind back into the game. "This is the lesson I learnt from my shameful mistake when I was played, and used by the Three Heroes' Church and you would do well to take note. As a strategist, especially a tactician during a battle, a clever strategy or scheme should NOT be your first option, because by definition, they would let you take more risks- oftentimes, unneeded ones. If you have an advantage over your opponent, you do better to openly press it, and find a way to maximize your strength. And right at this moment in this battle, our advantage over our enemy is the quality of our many different commanders. Many of them are veterans of The Great War who command tested elite armies who they trust and know well. That is why I separated the heroes and their retinue from our army and had them stationed in a different direction when I made this battle plan. They are unreliable and would only drag down the overall cohesion of our forces if fighting alongside us."
"You tricked me. You actually tricked me!" For a brief moment, Astaroth completely loses his oozing confidence from before. His voice is now filled with a belated realization. "You were talking about grouping these so-called 'heroes' together. So they may act as the blade when attacking the Spirit Tortoise. But you wanted me to have my attention on these heroes, so I would target their smaller group while paying less attention to your main army."
"Of course. I began to think with this senile, old head as soon as I confirmed from my sources of your dimensional power, and the fact you can bring army and other reinforcements from the other world. What could I do to minimize my losses if you are going to bombard the army under my command with the same cannons you did to the heroes when they first reached Stormwind? I very soon realized that I have no good way to defend against it if you aim it at my army." Aultcray points a finger at his own head while smiling courteously back at Astaroth. "And I immediately realized that the heroes are the most well equipped at defending against your cannon bombardment just like the first time. Everything I told Malty is true. The main reason I don't want these heroes near my army was because they are wild cards. It's hard to control how they act during battle and I didn't want them to bring down my army's battle cohesion. But in case that you are both spying on me with your mirror and replenishing your cannons... having them draw the fire would be a nice bonus. I have to thank you, Lord Astaroth. For your complete lack of honor, and the grace to not use your most effective weapon against my army."
"Tisk. You have seen nothing yet. My cannons are simply the first method I have at dealing with you." The words spoken by Astaroth makes him sound like an arrogant brat who doesn't know how to take a loss, yet Aultcray isn't going to take the enemy for less.
A sore loser isn't something to be feared, but a sore loser who has exotic, dimension magic, possesses a stolen hero weapon, and controls the Spirit Tortoise is someone who can unleash untold destruction upon their land. And right now, defeating the Mirror Demon isn't the ultimate goal, it's to minimize whatever damage he can cause to Melromarc, and the world so they can still fight back the current Wave of Destruction. How bothersome. That is what's in his mind, but what he said back to Astaroth is simple. "Then we shall see for ourselves."
The undead creatures in front of Diaz Gazelle Anderson barely offer any resistance to him, or his army behind his back. It certainly isn't Siltvelt's northern legion he faced twenty years ago in the final push to repel the invaders from their land. But General Anderson knows he hasn't even come face to face with the enemy's real troops yet. The undeads are simply fodders, to tire him and his troops. His sight is suddenly clear of rotten flesh, as he sees a well arranged line of heavy armor wearing, great shields holding men with meters long pikes pointing out at him and his troops. So, the real battle starts now.
"Men. TO ME!" The slave turned general didn't waste time to look at his enemies, or even give order to his men. They are his old compatriots from The Great War, who were stationed with him at Fort Wolf's mouth where they fought, trained, and ate every day with one another. He gives a light tap to his steed and waves his arm to pull his great cleaver backwards, as he charges straight at the heavy pike formation of his enemies. He can see the derisive look in his enemies eyes as storms of arrows suddenly fire out from their formation and fall toward them like rain. Such a simple trick from his enemies, and here he expected something more from an enemy who sent plague zombies into their cities.
"He... HA!"General Anderson sucks in a full lung of air, and then lets them out with a loud roar. Behind him, his men do the same. A red aura, burning like a wildfire fills his vision as he feels his own life connect with his men, with a mad grin that threatens to rip his face in half, he pushes his steed and bolts forward, bringing his weapon back and swings his great cleaver at his enemy. With a loud boom, dozens upon dozens of heavily armored enemies fly back in countless pieces like they are tossed out of a catapult. The rain of blood of their broken bodies wipes the smug look of their still standing enemies off their face.
Anderson didn't hesitate, or stop. He continues to push his own steed forward, breaking right through the line of his enemies. His compatriots follow behind him like a condescending bundle of fire, tearing apart, and burning out the defensive line he tore open for them. The dance of blood maintained for a few minutes more till the general's sight suddenly cleared. He has broken through the other side of the enemy's heavy fighters. And a layer of archers stares in front of him with a shocked expression on their face. The general raises his free hand up, balling into a fist. "All units, RAVAGE THE ENEMIES!"
The enemy archers begin to panic, some of them even try to run. But they can't overtake the powerful legs of the general and his troops' steed. Soon, another dance of blood and bodies begins to sweep through the enemy lines.
Raphtalia's ears were still ringing when her consciousness returned. She blinks out the dark spots in her eyes, and feels the weight over her body. Someone is speaking, but she can't hear anything specific. Both because her sense of hearing hasn't returned, and because the thundering explosion is still around her. For a brief moment, she forgets where she is, and wonders if it's the time for her tea ceremony practice yet. And then, she remembered that her home, her family, and even most of the Kagura family are all gone. She's the surrogate daughter of Shield Hero Naofumi, and Malty. They are in the city of Stormwind, fighting the Mirror Demon Astaroth and the Spirit Tortoise under his control. But they were hit by a wave of cannonball fires before they even got close to the leviathan monster.
She immediately tries to stand up and to do... something. She hasn't figured out what she's about to do yet. Mr. Zylden and Bed-chan gave her some more seeds. But they wouldn't be any help if she planted them right under her feet. Could she turn into her animal form like she did the last time? The Mirror Demon's attack was too fast for her to react this time, and she got blown back by the pressure of the explosions overhead before she even realized what's going on. She somewhat remembers a group of stone golems suddenly emerging from the ground, and standing over everyone at the last moment before everything turned dark around her. So that's probably Lady Katarina's brother Lord Keith? What happened to everyone? Malty is with the main army and not them, was Naofumi okay?
"-Can you hear me, Raphtalia?" Slowly, she begins to hear Keel's voice from above her. Making her realize who covered her body. She feels liquid dripping down her face, a bit more sticky than sweat or tears, so Raphtalia wipes her face with her own hand out of instinct.
When Raphtalia sees the dark spot on her own hand, she realizes it's Keel's blood. Her eyes immediately moved away from her own hand towards Keel's head. Sure enough, multiple dark lines are coming down from her forehead. She opens her mouth, her voice sounds dry. "Blood is coming down your head, Keel! You need a healer!"
"Hmm? Oh, it's only a scratch!" Keel looks genuinely surprised and confused for a brief moment. She then wipes her own face with her arm. "A piece of rock flew by my head. But don't worry about me. I'm built tough! Are you feeling okay right now, Raph? You hit your head pretty bad when you fell."
"RAPHTALIA! Are you okay?!" Another voice came over before Raphtalia had the chance to say anything back to Keel. Her face turns slightly to the side, and sees Naofumi sprinting towards them. He sees the blood on Keel's face (and probably Raphtalia's own face), tenses up for a second before immediately throwing out a healing spell over the two of them. The warmth washes over Raphtalia's body, making the pain over her body numb even if her head is still spinning a little. "Sorry I didn't protect you! The bombardment suddenly started over our head, and I had to throw out barrier spells and shield arts to protect everyone. And when I looked up, I couldn't see you anymore. Stay here, stay down while we deal with their cannons, alright? And Keel, thank you for keeping Raphtalia safe! Don't let her do anything dangerous!"
"Tisk. You don't have to tell me! I won't let anything happen to Raphtalia." Keel looks ready to say something rude again, but she only ends up snorting her nose instead. Perhaps she did feel grateful for Naofumi's healing spell, or maybe she's more serious now they are in a war where they could lose their life any moment.
"OKAY! I'm leaving Raphtalia in your hand! Rial, you and Raki stay with them. Yatsuhashi, Lori, let's go!" Naofumi looks back at the direction of the Spirit Tortoise. Raphtalia turns her attention over at the giant monster looming over everyone in the distance. But she could barely see anything over the fire and smoke of the continuing explosion over their heads.
Eve squints her eyes, the corner of her mouth drops down into a frown as she looks at the mirror in front of her reflecting the entire battlefield in an overhead view. Thanks to Lord Astaroth's ability, she has a hawk eye's view unlike most army commanders or strategists. And right now, the pace of this battle is going against them.
Their cannon bombardment on their enemy's eastern battle group isn't getting very good results. Lord Astaroth's original plan was to concentrate their cannons to hit the heroes hard, maybe even killing a few of them. But this plan had failed when one of their enemy's earth mage reacted immediately, and brought up a wall of stone golems to buy time for them to regroup. Not to say this tactic was a complete waste of them, as they did manage to pin down the 7,000 men following the heroes down. Forcing them to defend rather than attacking from a second front. But it's still a waste to simply use a thousand cannon to merely suppress one battle group. And worse, they need to keep their suppression going since their eastern defense group was weak compared to their southern group.
Even worse. The enemy's southern army is exerting immense pressure on them. The vanguard of their center battle group have already destroyed the undead, and the first line of their defenders. If they don't do something to stop the enemy's attack, the southern battle group could completely collapse due to bad morale. Lord Astaroth, or even Eve herself doesn't expect these low level, normal army to do much against the Spirit Tortoise. But this kind of loss in their army would still cause a lot of trouble for them when they eventually fight The Burning Legion.
"Fenji. You have command of the eastern line. Our enemy on the east came from multiple different nations. Some of them have a long history of warring with each other. Their team work should be terrible." Eve immediately gives an order to one of her lieutenant commanders.
"Worry not, Lady Eve. I'll dance circles around them." Fenji's replies with confidence, yet Eve isn't nearly as confident as him. Their enemy has already survived their first encounter, dodging away multiple traps Lord Astaroth layed for them while causing some surprise losses on their own. The battle is still far from over, as Lord Astaroth still has some contingency plans. But it's clear that this battle will not be an easy victory.
Eve looks back at the mirror in front of her, and she has to fight back the urge to rub her own eyes. The vanguard of their enemy's center group has charged forward once again. Not only have they completely ignored their two wings from both left and right side, the center vanguard has also lost contact with the main group of their center army. Did their vanguard command lose his mind for some reason? Their information has shown that he is known as 'The Beast' among the natives. So perhaps he is a bloodthirsty battle maniac, or a glory hound? Still, she's not going to waste this mistake. Their enemy's two wings will likely react to this sudden center charge, but it'll take more time to realize what's going on because they can't see the battle as well as she does. And this will be her opportunity. "Have the rear guards of the left wing, and right wing concentrate fire on the enemy center vanguard. If they want to break formation and get surrounded from all sides, we'll give them what they want!"
"What's General Anderson doing? It's obviously a bad position to get his army into." Duke Arvis squints his eyes at the center vanguard's sudden charge. He might be the leader of the crusader block, but his command ability isn't on the same level as Oifey or Shannon. Thankfully, he has a good strategist he could turn to. He turns to look at his advisor... and his eldest son born out of wedlock. "Do you think Anderson found something, Saias? There has to be a reason why he's charging out of position."
"Could be. General Anderson is at the front of our army. If someone found something, it would be General Anderson. But more than likely, he instinctively felt something." The reply of his bastard son makes Duke Arvis think. As the leader of the Crusader Block, his military talent is... not his strong suit. But as a politician, he understands the need to listen to one's own instinct. A lot of time, what feels like a rational, well thought out plan would give way to one's sudden feeling and later be proven correct. It might sound weird, but that's often the reality of the situation. "Alternatively... We already know the Mirror Demon is someone who relies on schemes, and traps to cause major casualties to his enemies. Perhaps General Anderson is using himself as bait to lure out whatever trap the Mirror Demon has."
"That sounds about right." Duke Arvis nods his head. Saias' second theory sounds much more understandable than the first one. He looks at the vanguard of his own left wing, and realizes House Chalphy host has also charged forward after General Anderson. He nearly stood up on top of his own steed. If Anderson is trying to bait out of his enemy's trap, this kind of full charge would only result in his left wing suffering needless casualties. "What's Oifey doing?!"
"Calm down, my lord. Duke Oifey had given the duty of leading the army at the front to Lord Seliph. Lord Seliph isn't as experienced as a veteran like him." Saias' reminder quickly makes Arvis remember the situation under his control. Of course, a relatively young man like his step son would do something impulsive like this. Even if he knows he's charging right into an ambush or trap, he would not let Anderson go in without any aid. "Worry not, my lord. Duke Oifey is still the commander of our vanguard. He wouldn't have his nephew head into a trap like this."
"That brat..." Arvis sits back down onto his own steed while shaking his head in slight disappointment. This is reminding him of Seliph's romantic life again, and his step son is nothing if not stubborn. But he should at least understand the difference between commanding an army in war, and who he wants to spend his life with. Thankfully, Saias proves to be correct. Not too long after the charge, the movement of their vanguard has suddenly changed. Instead of surging forward, the Green Ritter of House Chalphy started to run in a circular motion, where its head connected to its tail and pressed forward like a moving wheel. Cavalry battle formation [Chariot Float, a formation that allows them to constantly slice down their opponent while preserving their speed advantage, rather than risk being stopped by the opponent's tight defensive formation and get knocked down from their speed. The loss of their stamina would be a concern in a prolonged battle of attrition, but the Green Ritters are an elite army, plus he has other groups that could switch into vanguard position to let the House Chalphy host hang back and rest. "Good. It seems like Oifey controlled his nephew well like you said. Tell them to keep up the pressure and help out Anderson from the side. Have Brian ready the Black Ritter, prepare to take vanguard position if Green Ritter loses too much stamina."
Saias quickly rides away, to pass down Arvis' newest order to their combined northern host. While he's by himself, Arvis turns his attention eastward. With Aultcray's center army in the way, he can't get a good look on their right wing made of the southern host. But over there... There is another relatively young lord commanding the vanguard. And he is even more impulsive than Arvis' step son. "What would Joseph do in this situation ... he isn't someone who would fuss over a young man who isn't allied with him..."
"The Lance Knights of Leonister are going into full charge, my lord." Just like Duke Arvis thought, Prince Joseph of Gallia simply looks at his own vanguard force splitting apart from his main group with nothing but cold stares. He didn't show any emotion on his face even as Sheffield narrates the situation back to him for emphasis. "Should we give them some assistance?"
"There's no need to waste our own troops. If the young and the impatient want to spill their own blood, let them." Joseph narrows his eyes, as thoughts begin to spin in his head. That foolish young Leif is no doubt getting into another battle rage once again, and it makes him feel lucky that he has three daughters instead of a son if that's how boys like to play. "But you are right in that we need to give some assistance to our comrade in arms. We are fighting for our survival after all. Didn't you make another batch of golems? Have them advance. We'll taste out their combat prowess.
End Note:
So, I don't hide the fact that a lots of the villains in my story are meant to be allegorical stand-ins for fanfiction/webnovel main character archetypes that deeply annoys me. In Celestine's case, she's meant to be the kind of main character written by egotistical female writers who wants the entire world to revolve around them, and would incessently complain and seek revenge on anyone who dares to not eat out of their assholes.
Yeah, her archetype is pretty famous in Chinese webnovel, to the point now that both male and female writers are openly mocking this kind of characters in their own stories in the kind of villainess re-take story... and then the 'deconstruction/subversion' of villainess re-take stories where the original female lead realizes she's in a fantasy story and her story got hijacked by a time repeating/SIOC villainess and now seek revenge on the villainess and her male simps back. What a crazy time to be Chinese webnovel readers, the level of 4th wall breaking in current Chinese webnovel scene would make Deadpool's head spin.
The armed confrontation with Astaroth officially start, and buttdonkey devil plays himself as Aultcray shows why he's Melromarc's best strategist by dancing circle around him... by basically doing nothing but do the most mundane tactics manuever. As Chinese war tactics would say: you first fight your enemy to a stand still with conventional tactics, then seek victory with clever schemes.