"The citizens of the royal capital of Vermilion could scarcely believe the thundering sounds that came from the academy that day, from war cries to the ringing of steel, to the Magi-Tech monsters Duchess Lucrezia summoned, it was as if a portal to one of the All-Father's warring planets was opened in broad daylight!"
Anonymous report.
"Once we enter the Fields, there will be a short 10-minute delay until Azarel's forces can hit us, more than enough time to set up camp here at the entrance of the first plain that leads into the cliff passage" William pointed in the 3D projection of the map "Once we set up the Magi-Tech armored and engineering divisions with Knight and Army support is to begin drilling a tunnel on the mountainside, if the math is right within 20 minutes we will have a tunnel that opens up into the Fields proper and avoid the passage which no doubt has been booby-trapped to hell and back.
"Richard, Hope, Arthur" Lucrezia pointed to the trio "I want you 3 leading the charge there, you will be the tip of the spear while me, my special operations team, and Kaine circle around and infiltrate the castle"
"Taking out Azarel is the number one priority, his men will be leaderless and will be forced by the magic of the Fields to give up, after that we move to stage two, mobilizing everyone to the castle..."
Arthur stepped up, Vivienne on his side looking worried "This is when Mother will strike, my men inside the Royal Knights tell me she has amassed half of the forces of the whole country to fight us, together with her will be the Arch-Mages and their troops"
"The Arcane Militia is not to be underestimated, the name may make them look humble but those are handpicked by mom and dad for their skills in combat and command" Kaine spoke fast "Lucrezia we will need Crimson Squad here to defeat them" he finished talking and pointed to Andromeda who nodded.
"You will have them, Razgriz will provide CAS as needed" William turned to Idun who had arrived yesterday "The Magi-Tech Vanguard will give Kaine infantry support, make sure they are ready for a throwdown" the Forgemaster nodded and said.
"To the end Lady Lucrezia, we will fight to the very end"
"Thadeus, ours and mine will be the harder fight my friend" He smiled at the Dragoon "Once the Queen makes her move we will Alpha Strike her, you are to keep the Red Dragon at bay together with Kallista while I..."
He sucked in the air, tasting the iron of the upcoming blood bath "I will attempt to cause as much damage as possible to their Command Line, If I can delete a few officers in that attack we will be for a less bumpy ride"
He went over more strategic talks for a while, once the people began moving to their assigned positions William found himself alone, he then fell into a strong meditative state, his soul sinking into the Palace as Lucrezia had come to call it.
The young woman smiled at him, both shared a silent moment as they watched the Monolith, the living arcane proof of their souls melding together, it had gone through quite a change the last week, warping and groaning in arcane howls as William and Lucrezia's memories melded at an accelerated pace"
"Remember to call for me once the fight against the Queen begins" She smiled as William nodded, he had to talk with the Gods now, he once again fell into a meditative state and sank deeper, where their Spheres interjected with the very depth of his and Lucrezia's being.
Taking her form was easy now, a testament to their soul meld. William waited until all Gods showed up.
Velkarius, Ra'Tyrius, Cho'Xin, The Silent Soldier, Saal'Xhir, and finally, All-Mother Thyrie.
They shared a silent moment, their faces even that of the Silent Soldier, known for his perpetual stoicism gleamed in pride. William composed himself and said.
"My friends, patrons of my power, today is the day we fought so hard to achieve, where I make my destiny, thanks to you and your support I escaped a cruel death in the north, a crueler fate under the hands of a heretical madman and now I forge ahead, full well knowing the next enemy will be the hardest, and for that, I ask, I beg for aid, grant me strength O divine of Yrithuan so that I may live to fight another day!"
"A rousing speech little one, it is no wonder you have amassed such an army" All-Mother spoke with warmth in her voice "Yet my boon has already been granted, so instead I will offer you this" a dragon scale appeared in William's hand "A token to keep you safe"
The Silent Soldier saluted and for the first time spoke to William "Thank you young one, for the opportunity" Cho'Xin smiled and nodded, offering William a good handshake.
Velkarius, Ra'Turius, and Saal'Xhir gave him words of encouragement and he felt their blessing pulsing with power, nothing was left to be said and so he bade the Gods farewell, for it was time to war.
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Castra-Cam stood in the inner temple of the Undying, Martius the Unbroken stood across from her, and the visage of a pale young human scared her witless, why in all hells did the busiest god in the known universe call for her personally?!?
"I thank you for thinking of the Eternal Schedule young Castra, much like your grandmother and sister you are ever thoughtful of the inner working of our delicate order, alas I would not be called the Unbroken if I wasn't able to bend things a little" he spoke in a neutral tone "Alas a little this is not, for Gwenarius herself has called in not one but five, that's right dear, five favors today and that's no small feat for someone as her"
"Thus we arrive at the current juncture, as I am aware of your dealings with Young Lucrezia we shall be providing support to her cause in this coming battle, it will be a trying thing as I have fought ever since The Commander left his rightful place, but I am sure we can manage, after all, you are one of my best fighters, and together with those new weapons she gave you we shall be a force to be reckoned with in the battlefield"
"Which means one thing dear Castra, one very important thing, You will mantle me in the upcoming fight, it won't be easy, a matter of fact you will beg for the sweet release of death as the strain will be in a scale you have yet to suffer through and so I ask you, as patron God to one of my most loyal of followers, someone who has time and time again put her through hell and back for the duty, Do you Castra-Cam, want this? are you truly up for the trials that will come?"
"Should you say no I will not judge you, It is no small thing I am asking of you, and above all else, I am fair, for there must be fairness in death and rebirth, say your piece Castra-Cam and let no God or Mortal say you didn't do it!"
Castra-Cam took a deep breath, even when she knew there was no need for it. Her mind flashed at inhuman speed as the memories she made with Lucrezia and her followers came and went.
Did she want to fight?
Did she want to be the first one in nearly 5 centuries to summon the divine avatar of the Undying? did she want that kind of glory? she recalled teaching Richard, Hope, and others how to fight, talking with the many people that came after Lucrezia sounded the Warhorn, these memories filled her with a warmth, a sense of belonging not unlike that of being part of the Undying's elite unit.
Closing her eyes she saw the visage of the madwoman that started this all, she did not move or make a sound but her body was filled with killing intent, her mere presence boiling the surroundings with the thirst for carnage.
Yet another feeling washed over Castra-Cam, one of genuine caring and sweetness, of improving the morale of her friends not to extract gain or influence out of them, but because it was the right thing to do for a friend a friend!
Honest to a fault, hard-working to the point even the most bonehead lich would gawk at, smart and sharp as a vampire, and above all else, total dedication to her close friends, beret of family, and home she made a new one here and Castra-Cam was part of it, even if she nagged a bit much about it.
Would Castra-Cam fight and die for her friends?
"Yes, Yes Lord Martius I will fight until my bones are ash and my spirit is spent, and with your blessing, we will show the world why the First Sycthes are feared all across the realm"
Martius for the first time smiled "Then we fight"
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"INCOMING!" the yell of a nameless knight rung after the shells from the enemy began hammering their position once again, after the surprise strike at the crack of dawn they were being hammered with these incredibly powerful projectiles, their combined Ki shields barely holding in.
"Ship...they have ships in the bay..." Another Knight spoke as he raised his finger to point to the steel monsters parked less than 4 kilometers from their position, their foghorns blaring across the plains, sheer bass assaulting their ears as the steel monsters began to turn.
Neptune looked up and prayed to Morugarius, her men's morale was in the gutter after the surprise attack in the morning, and the "support" that oaf had sent to repel the invaders was deleted in a snap.
Things were not looking good.
"...Kassandra, status report..." Neptune sent a spell to her friend who was leading the first charge against Lucrezia's scouting party, she stopped updating 10 minutes ago... "..Kassandra, status report please..."
"THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! SEND SUPPORT RIGHT N-"
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Sapphire trotted along with her Knights, Kassandra to her right side as they moved towards the only path that led to the plains, a cliff passage that would let them ambush Lucrezia's troops.
"It's been 10 minutes already, plenty of time for them to make a move, you think they are scaling the cliffs?" Kassandra asked, one of her Knights, a tall Catkin man spoke in a hushed voice "Unlikely my lady, it would take hours even for the most experienced of climbers to"
"SHIELDS!" someone screamed to their right as the whistle of something falling at terminal speed made the Knights and their commanders bolt to action, all 50 of them formed a dome, a myriad of colors appearing as the weird round objects began hitting their aegis.
"Stay alert men! they come at us with trickery and stealth!" Sapphire bellowed to raise morale, a mighty warcry came from her troops and the others followed.
Then the cliff walls split into two.
"INCOMING! FRONT SIDE!" Kassandra screamed, "TO ME MY KNIGHTS, BATTLE AWAITS US!"
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A steel demon mawed at the final layer of rock, its teeth made of crystals as a horn that sounded like the ones the infernals used blared its unholy sound at the charging Knights, none fainted but Sapphire could see their morale was shaken, within seconds the entire thing came out of the tunnel it had just made, it was huge and heavily armored.
A low buzzing sound came out of it, huge doors opening to the sides as armors the size of a small giant dropped with the grace of a dancer, two having long tube-like things stuck to their backs, a red glint came from their helmets and Sapphire felt the coldest chill of her life creep up her spine.
The first wave of Knights didn't even make it near the monsters, blown away by the tube armors who began firing artillery spells or something like it at the chargers, Sapphire barely had time to charge herself when the leading armor, painted in crimson red unlike the greens and whites from the other armors exploded into motion, forward like an arrow from an elven bow and began slicing through the second line of Knights.
Kassandra and what remained of her Knights dismounted and began to fight with the nearby armors, their swords, and shields bouncing off like they were made out of wood, spell and miracles would do more damage but the enemy was decimating them, swords and powerful blasts of those infernal weapons Lucrezia had made would chew through Ki shields like nothing.
"CHARGE!" Sapphire screamed as her men went forward, trying to cover for the now retreating Knights who hadn't been blown up to smithereens in the opening salvo. Her mouth was starting to open for the next order when she felt a burning sensation just below her solar plexus, time slowed down as she placed her hand and felt it getting wet, looking down she saw a huge hole and blood pouring out of it.
She didn't have time to scream, her retinue was sliced from top to bottom right in front of her eyes as the crimson armor blasted past her, her horse throwing her off to the muddy ground, part of her wanted to panic as she crawled past the bodies of men and women she knew for the better part of her life, but for good or ill the training she had kicked in and all she could think was one thing.
Survive.
A blade came to her neck, and for a fraction of a second she saw the Long Queue, then her soul felt the arcane pull of the Field and a female voice rang in her head "Stand by for rebirth, 10 seconds, sending you to the loser's lobby" Ah yes Sapphire thought to herself in a moment of clarity, she would soon see her people and this nightmare would end.
It didn't take much, she was sent to the lobby of everyone who died in the Fields, high above the sky, and could see the massive army Lucrezia had marshaled pouring out of the tunnel, one of her Knights grabbed Sapphire before she could fall over and the two stayed there watching, watching and waiting.
Down below Kassandra fought the full force of the enemy army, the armors and infantry, Knights and Nobles on top of Magi-Tech horses, weird tube-like weapons shooting projectiles.
That was when the steel demon fully came out of the tunnel and she saw, face full of horror that Spirits were operating it, together with the gods accursed Ancient Lucrezia had somehow found in the Academy.
The demon made the earth below twist like soft butter, more and more troops coming out of it as Kassandra sounded the horn of retreat to higher ground where they had built hastily made fortifications.
The dreaded armor let them run, Kassandra not being one to waste a golden opportunity took whatever wounded was in fighting shape and had her troop run at max speed.
"..Kassandra, status report please..." the message bloomed in her ear as her men stopped inside the fort, Kassandra screamed, "THEY ARE EVERYWHERE SEND SUPPORT RIGHT NOW GODSDAMNED IT!" Kassandra's eyes opened as huge shadows were cast against her position, she and her man looked up and saw in the skies massive airships, unlike those of the Principality who had come earlier in the month those were made of steel and crystal, their shapes more akin to birds.
"Gods preserve us" the young woman took a deep breath as her eye caught massive doors in the airship's belly opening up, she didn't need no blessing of war to understand what was about to happen.
Shrills. horrible shrills pierced the air as columns of bombs were dropped on her and her man, she felt the cold touch of death ping her before a voice bloomed in her ear, and after a while she found herself sitting together with her friend, both hugging each other as the rush of combat washed over them, their minds processing the sheer scale of the attack as the bird's eye view they had now made Lucrezia's plan clear as day.
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Azazel's men watched in horror as the bizarre airships parked themselves mid-air, their size casting shadows across the plains as the man began screaming for troops to be deployed into the battlefield below.
It would be one hell of a fight.
On the outside, a big stadium was built with magic to facilitate the coming visitors, all the allies Lucrezia and her friends had made sat there, of note were the King and Queen of Grannarius, who were in modest clothing and acting like they were just an old couple, to their right was the ancient one from the orc tribes, the man who was immortal had to seem these lands become the kingdom of Vermilion.
He had watched the first King kill the leader of the sea elves and much more.
Catarina Silverbrand was pacing around her husband, watching her son, her baby boy on top of a horse the size of a wall, armored to the teeth and commanding nearly 700 people was getting on her nerves something fierce, she knew he wouldn't die, she knew but what mother would she be if she didn't get worried?
He would go through suffering and pain in those fields, and that thought terrified her.
"How can you be so calm" she turned to her husband whose stoic face was a rock in this ocean of anxiety.
"I am not, matter of fact I am even worse than you right now, but someone has to keep things on a lid if only to provide a semblance of calm to you" he replied with a smile "Plus you are pretty cute when worried"
Catarina sighed "This is not the time to woo me, you daft man!" exhaling air and sitting down beside him she grabbed her husband's hand "oh my little boy, he did so much in such a short time, Gods above please watch over him, don't let him suffer"
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William stood in the hangar of the Nautilus, the new battleship's name was not one Idun was a fan of but William liked so that was that, dressed in all black tactical gear made from adapting the assassin garb Saa1ryu's clan used, she had said the new attire was a bit heavier on the side but William didn't complain after all he came with the ceramic and steel plates to be placed in them after all.
The new helicopters had performed wonderfully in the opening hours of the conflict, same for his jets which were the nicest of bonuses. His new rifles, made out of hazed-out dreams of youtube videos on the M14 also performed to task, the teams managing to hold down an entire knight platoon with the weapons.
"Once we get in, let me out, I wish to field test the new moves" Lucrezia spoke and William grunted in agreement, she was ready for the bloodbath it seemed.
The men got ready, the one sitting by the door spinning his finger to signal the takeoff, as the birds made to the air he gave another hand signal, and off they went, the dull sound of the rotors crashing against the sounds of battle coming from the land.
William grabbed his radio "Richard, order for artillery strikes on Grid alpha"
The young man's voice came over from the small apparatus "Roger" and the guns sang over the plains, their deafening roars stunning the man meaning the walls William had just designated.
"Wait until the main gun of the Nautilius begins firing," Saa'ryu said.
Smiles all around as the Helicopters swoop in from the back, William watched as the mercenaries and Knights from the noble girls Azarel had charmed converged into the point of impact, they quickly landed on the rooftops and the first team went towards the ruckus, their objective was a simple one.
Kill everyone.
William and his team began to sneak their way into the inner yard of the castle, at first they stuck to the rooftops. Still, once that route ended they had to breach the insides, of Saa'ryu. Her people constantly used their spells to detect upcoming patrols, ambushing them from the ceiling and walls, there were fewer mercs inside, more knights, and the last two ambushes mainly were made of Azarel's harem members.
"Grim display" one of the soldiers spoke as he shot a surviving girl in the chest and head, they couldn't afford to leave any survivors lest they get a second wind from their blessings or worse.
"At least 30 enemies beyond this corridor, all facing the doors and windows," Saa'ryu said and William nodded "Aid me o spirits of the land"
The Armor and the Sword showed, or at least their spectral form as they couldn't physically leave the north, and blessed William's gear, he would need every edge he had against the Sacred Sword especially now that the owner was cornered and wounded.
William made a series of hand gestures and his team breached the door, they quickly formed up in a diamond formation as the remaining women of the harem circled them with spears at the ready.
Azarel walked forward, his armor and weapon polished to a mirror sheen, and said "Duel me you whore, for I will have your head and reclaim my honor"
William smirked, knowing he would've asked for a duel. He said nothing as he stepped forward and pulled his ax, ready for combat and ready to tear Azarel's innards from his ribcage while his screams blanketed the yard, with a light tap of his hands he summoned Lucrezia, a ghostly blue clone as she unsheathed her Katana and stood at the ready.
Lucrezia blurred forward as the spirit inside Azarel's blade appeared, the blonde woman standing in a defensive position, she parried the first slash only for the residual energy to phase through her and knock Azarel back.
At that moment William leaped forward, empowering himself with his command over Magnetism and a flight spell, feeling the surge of energy at his fingertips he raised his ax and screamed, flying down like a comet clad in lighting and ice, Azarel barely had time to look up as the sword's spirit pushed him back and took the brunt of the assault.
the pavement below them cracked as the shockwave knocked over the onlookers, withing seconds William and Lucrezia were bearing down onto the spirit, the woman parrying and blocking with her left arm as they rained blows on her, William tapped into Cho'Xin's blessing and bellowed out a deafening war cry, stunning the spirit and giving time for Lucrezia to employ her deadliest attack.
Lucrezia's shade warped around slashing the air at speeds that no mortal body could reach, the spirit was caught in a loop trying to dodge it only to get pinned down in place as William jammed iron stakes at her spectral feet charged with ice mana, locking her in that singular moment.
Lucrezia stopped and with a final slash, the attack went off and sliced Artorius into nothing, Azarel screamed in fury as his sword stopped glowing, and he began to slash it wildly, it took William and Lucrezia but a few seconds to disarm him, Lucrezia parried a blow and propelled the blade outwards into the sky, William planted a 2 footed kick into his chest.
"Whore! you whore! damn you!" he began to thrash about in the ground, somehow with enough air in the lungs to scream obscenities at William, Lucrezia took a guarded stance as the harem members began trying to rush them.
"Another step and I will kill you all, surrender and avoid the shame of having your innards shown to the entire Kingdom" William spoke his voice cold as ice, the girls dropped their weapons and just like that were whisked away to the waiting room of the Fields, the magic placing them together with the others from Azarel's "team" who had died earlier.
"How many remain?" William spoke into a spell and heard Richard's voice from the construct "Too many, even after the bombing we are facing heavy resistance from the mercenaries and the Knights who left, Hope and the others went out to thin them out but we must finish this quickly before round two starts" Richard sighed "Deploys the rest of the army, I want that castle fortified now Lucrezia"
"As you wish Field Commander," William said with a smile and snapped his fingers, the Nautilus and the other battleships emerging from the bay's depths.
Lucrezia grabbed the sacred sword and gave it to him, he felt the spirit inside touch his and hers, and then he spoke "Bequeath thy power to me Artorius, for I am a worthy master"
The spirit laughed "Nay, my master is Azarel, and not you or your little godling pet shall wield me, this is the price you will pay for humiliating my clan and its scions mortal"
William closed his eyes, many thoughts flashed in his mind as the words repeated themselves over and over, until Lucrezia spoke from the depths.
"Without the sword, we have no way of blocking the arrows from the Sacred Bow...and they will have a poison no living god can heal...the only choice is..." she left the word hanging but William knew after all those were his memories of the game.
"The bad end" he spoke out loud as he chucked the sword into a corner, the Nautilus now in full view on the skies, in the distance he heard the sound of his locomotive and the cries of his forces.
Banners went up, the Imperium Sigil, the mark of the Grannarius crown, the northern raiders' flag, Lucrezia's coat of arms, and Hraax flying proudly in the wind. Outside of the Fields, many things were happening to the Kingdom of Vermilion, as her citizens watched in horror from the many projectors made by the Church of Ra'Tyrius show, not 1 but 3 invading armies right at their doorstep.
Those with war blessings both big and small felt a deep rumbling inside their souls, as thunder cracked in clear skies around the entire world. A Sphere Shift of unprecedented scale was happening right in front of their eyes.
Those near the Academy, also saw a sight only the old generation was privy to, as the entire order of the Royal Knights, the Arch-Mage's troops moved dead silent minus the clank of their gear towards the place.
At the head of this huge war host, the same who had stopped both the Imperium and Grannarius was the strongest being of the known world, Queen Malphas, Her Husband King Jason, and to their sides the Arch-Mages, The Knight-Commander was just behind them, the man looked up and saw the huge airships parked above and sighed.
This is gonna be one hell of a day he thought to himself.
Up above, in the divine realm All-Father Faal looked with the delight of a newborn child, rare was the day when his creation brought him such novelty and excitement, and by the grand cosmos, he wasn't going to miss a single second of it!