"Madness! Do you seek to betray the one who gave you life, the lord of everything?! Know thy place welp before your divine ichor stains these halls!"
Saint Julios the hallowed, devout follower of the All-Father when Augurious breached the inner city of the Gods.
Richard stared in awe, a sight only the enemies of the All-Father were privy to now bearing down on his people. Lucrezia's thundering voice came from the skies and the clouds parted as the silvery white blur of her dragon ally flew straight into the red dragon.
"Arch-Duke, take your riders and harass the left column" Richard began barking orders "The Knights there are nearly breaking through our trenches, and we are suffering heavy losses," the man said naught a word, only leaping in the bloody air as a griffon surged from below and more went with him.
"Imperials! give a taste of your steel to the cousins from the right column!" he heard a roar from the Imperials who remained, things were not looking good however, morale was down in the gutter as the Reclaimers themselves found the strain of fighting against kin and kith, he heard screams of fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters crying over the fact they were on the field of war.
A scene straight from a civil war, even when knowing death was not happening it was hard, so very hard to raise one's hand against one's family.
Lucrezia leaped to his side, his aides dodging masterfully as the woman grinned with the look of a madman on her face. "We fight in earnest now Richard, cheer the troops before morale falls lower"
From the castle walls, Richard took a deep breath and channeled the hidden divine "Reclaimers! heed me in this hour of strife! see not the kin and kith you fight, see not the honorable warriors as a wall but as a stepping stone for glory! show them and the entire world we are the next generation of fighters, of rulers! let them not make less of us, and give them no quarter! forward!"
With a mighty leap, his aides went over the wall towards the frontline, Hvtial screaming to the northern raiders to join him and they roared in return, soon Richard found himself with few to man the castle. Lucrezia's Knights and the Grannarius Magenta Squad among the Reclaimer forces.
With a boom from the skies, the airships began firing again as the dragons clashed and Richard sighed, things were getting complicated, he also didn't miss the flying machines Lucrezia had going fast toward enemy lines.
"Soon little one, soon you will test your mettle against their blades, for now, you must watch, watch and see the great vermilion army in its full glory" the voice spoke once again to him and he felt calm again, come what may he would pull through, towards victory.
The great red dragon Saark was not feeling ok this afternoon, not only had his favorite human asked him to fight, he would be fighting against his sister! the dragon had renounced warfare for ages and no doubt would be absolutely trashed around but to deny Malphas was just not possible.
He had spoiled her rotten, after all out of all his descendants she was the only one that actually bothered to have an actual bond with him. And so out of loyalty to the only person who gave him her time of the day, he would fight, even if his entire body was screaming bloody murder and fear pumped into his veins like poison.
Icy spears slammed into his left flank, and his sister was already amped for the next strike, she always was the one who preferred attacking without rest out of the two of them after all.
Saark couldn't dodge it, his sister teleported right into his right flank and he fell from the skies, up high a purple spear came crashing down and his eyes widened, a godsdamned Dragoon! blessed by All-Mother no less!
Impossible, how many hidden cards that woman had!?! That is not a skill many have! Saark felt the scent of the Dragoon's mana and sighed, of course, Thadeus's son would be the one, he did warm his decedents to avoid getting together but they didn't heed him, too many of his extended family together and now a Dragoon was born after gods know how many centuries.
"You have grown fat in your little cave brother!" Kallista's voice boomed in the skies as Arrows, magic, and Ki blasts came from the Knights close to him, she batted them aside with her wings, the full size of an adult dragon breaking the morale of the nearby Knights.
The Dragoon landed, scrapping his neck with the purple spear and Saark roared in pain, flying again he slammed his head into Kallista's belly. The fight was on again, fire and ice clashing as he and the Knights who hadn't run away, these brave few formed up and began lobbying spells, arrows, and Ki blasts once again. With a war cry, the commander of these Knights raised her spear and screamed "Fear not men! we are the spears of shields of Vermilion! stand fast against the enemy and show them we will not falter!"
The Dragoon landed right in front of them and raised his helmet "Vdofnir! I challenge you!"
Vdofnir smiled "Young Master Thadeus, today you will show if you are worth the mantle, have at ye!" Saark couldn't help but feel joy watching his brood fight with no ill will, once again remembering why he chose Vermilion among all the other kingdoms and countries.
Facing his sister who was also watching the show with a wolfish smile on her face she spoke "Aren't they something, but I am not without Allies still!" Saark then felt the sonic boom in the distance as triangle-shaped flying objects closed into his position fast.
I will need to use that, accursed woman and her inventions Saark thought to himself as the cold fury of his pact with Malphas began to burn inside his chest, and then he felt the red in his eyes burn as the Rage flooded him, and his body.
A pact, a bestowal of one of the most dangerous forms of power this world had seen, Saark knew it was unfair but to be honest, his sister and her allies were also deeply unfair, with a mighty roar he swatted away his sister's spells, and flew up high, targeting one of the airships but not the flagship, that one he could feel had something terrible inside and he wasn't keen on opening that accursed box of crystal and metal.
Lucrezia's airship fired back at him but the v-shaped monster went down, immediately he felt a tingle in the back of his neck as the massive flagship reared not one, not two, but every single cannon at his position.
His sister turned into a humanoid and dived to the ground as Saark was hammered with beams of light and projectiles that would've killed a lesser God, the main beam kept going as it tore into the mountainside and an enormous hole was made!
He roared back in defiance, ha! Saark thought to himself, not so mighty now, are you! but in his momentary hubris, he felt the claws of his kin sink into his belly and drag him to the ground, both crashing with a mighty thump as his sister went for the kill with a bite to his throat, copying her move he turned into a human and dodged out of the way flying upwards, retaking his dragon form and raining fire on her head.
Another tingle, this time with a chill as a figure leaped into the air and armed with a scythe that screamed Magi-Tech, Saark then saw the face of the figure, Castra-Cam! he immediately tried to fly away from her but again felt hands in his belly.
This time skeletal in nature.
"Ye gods," Saark said to himself as the spectral form of the Undying shone behind Castra-Cam, yet the dragon refused to wield and with another transformation into a shockwave went towards his sister, better to take care of her first he thought to himself, the necromancer girl wouldn't be able to keep the spectral form for long, after all, it was no divine avatar spell he felt.
A glance to his back and he saw the Dragoon busy with the Knights still, good Saark thought to himself as he dived into his sister and saw her going up to meet him, claws and bites followed as he felt the rage giving him that extra edge against her and Castra-Cam, the necromancer trying to find gaps in his form for a quick kill, once she realized that wasn't ideal she began to hammer him with necrotic spells and attacks.
The battle fell into a mad dance and for a few seconds, Saark noticed the battlefield had grown quieter as Knights and Academy students looked up in awe, two dragons fighting was a rare sight outside of their island home after all.
Saark saw an opportunity to bat Castra away and he did so, dodging her and his sister's spells like they were nothing, the girl went flying after he kicked her with his hindlegs right in her solar plexus, he also noticed a Knight from behind the inner circle that was defending Malphas leap into the air and fly off her direction, hopefully, to dispatch of her, the woman was dangerous.
"Not fair little brother, not fair" Kallista spoke her face bloodied by a slash "But All-Mother be praised I missed this!" ah yes Saark thought to himself as he dodged the fury of blows from Kallista, his sister loved to fight with her fellow dragons when they were young.
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With a nod to Veronica who started hammering into the nearest Knight, Richard rallied the Reclaimers who were being attacked and managed to push them back. Still, the situation was dire as more poured into the yard as the melee was on.
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"Open fire!" Richard screamed as Lucrezia's men and the Reclaimers who were behind used their guns, yet the multi-layered Ki shield they employed was proving a hard nut to crack.
Spellfire and gunfire halted their tracks and then Richard began ordering the other mages to create distractions, pits, and walls of stone and iron, every second he brought was enough for the troops who were retreating to get into the keep and for the ones who weren't demoralized to bite back.
The Knights made no sound while slaughtering their foes, not even grunts came from those ornate armors, only the sound of spear and sword, bow and arrow in the air, Ki skills and magic as their communications happened all in the mind.
Then Thadeus Senior spoke, his voice clear as day.
"Field Commander Richard Silverbrand, On the behalf of the Royal Knights of Vermilion I thank you and your mistress for this opportunity!" A mighty war cry came from the Knights afterward, and Richard couldn't help but tremble as one particular trivia of his kingdom's history came to mind.
"When pushing into the capital of the mad elven king, Knight-Commander Thadeus reached the footsteps of godhood, a war cry from his personal troops and a radiant glow coming from his person made the elven menace quake in fear!"
Richard, somehow in the back of his mind felt Morale drop even further, yet he remained focused and searched for a way to stop such terror, a mad idea was birthed in his desperate state, ordering the mages to retreat to the keep he then ordered the Nautilius to fire the Anti-Magic rounds straight at the Knights, for a solid 10 seconds the beast in the air let loose and while their Ki barrier held, the mages among the Knights were looking at him with blood in their eyes as they cried foul.
With their march halted Richard gave another order, taking note of Lucrezia's penchant for parades before the fight, where she even without a Blessing for music and song used those things to raise morale sky-high he used his radio to order the band who was nested at the inner part of the castle to sing and play. yet he knew no song Lucrezia had taught them. bar the ones he had heard and simply asked.
"Play something to raise morale, now!" he barked.
"Understood!" Came the reply from the radio, seems they were eager to join the war effort Richard smiled.
"Smart man, my people were found of drums and chants, let us see what Lucrezia has brought to the table" The Goddess spoke to him again and he felt a wave of power flood through him towards the people nearby.
The horns, violins, and other instruments began hammering across the castle and beyond, the one who commanded the musicians using her blessing to broadcast the song across the nearby fields, then the choir came in and the push from the Reclaimers came with it.
"Brave as the bravest"
"Great as the greatest"
"Strong as the strongest"
"Hard as the hardest"
"No lack of courage"
"No rack and ruin"
"No room for pity"
"No Disillusion!"
"FOWARD!" Richard screamed at the top of his lungs as the Knights were caught flat-footed by the sheer ferocity of his men, as the Royal Knights began to fall to their swords and guns more screamed back at the Knights, with the music giving them a much-needed second wind.
"If a cause is..."
"Worth dying for"
"Then so be it!"
The song went on and Richard felt for the first time in his life the thrill of combat, his mind ablaze as he screamed orders and slashed Knights like a beast possessed, as if he was born for this very moment, the Knights pulled back as more Anti-Magic rounds came from the Nautilius.
"Brave as the bravest"
"Great as the greatest"
"Strong as the strongest"
"Hard as the hardest"
"No lack of courage"
"No rack and ruin"
"No room for pity"
"No Disillusion!"
As the song ended Richard could feel the pleasure of the divine who empowered him, and without a word from her he knew he had completed the first in order to unlock her power, he feared the coming fights, for he knew he would be in a world of pain but a part of him also welcomed it.
In another life he would be a boring shopkeep or traveling merchant, it was thanks to that crazy woman he now knew what he was meant to do, the combat called for him as much as the gold from a good deal did and Gods as his witness he would have both!
"Interesting, However!" Thadeus senior spoke again and the ground shook! Richard felt his power go away as his eyes widened to the huge beast that came off the back of the Knight-Commander.
"A High Demon!" Veronica cried "Thadeus you make me blush, last time you could only summon Lower Demons!"
The hellish beast laughed "Time to crash some skulls, you are first elven whore"
Richard held a scream of fear when he saw the face of the demon, Tear and Rend! infamous for the oath it made to one of the very early Queens of Vermilion, to this day it served the country as long as its price was paid.
Yet the beast had no taste for blood or sinew, souls or mana, it loved fine art, obscure food made by far away chefs and precious rocks, the last time it was deployed was in his lesser form which meant one thing.
Queen Malphas had loaded the sucker up before this fight.
"I remember elven whore! you banished me before the big fight! Oh yes, Today I will feast on your blood proper" both lunged at each other as Richard deployed most of his barrier staves to make an urgent retreat for his forces.
The Royal Knights also stepped back, nary a word coming from them as a tense truce formed, Richard barking orders for the remaining mages to set up stone, iron, and steel magical barricades and for Lucrezia's forces to line up their weapons.
They retreated into the main keep as Richard stood by its big doors, he could hear the grunts coming from the fight beyond his makeshift barrier, and with a wave of one of his remaining Magi-Tech staves, he made a set of stairs and beheld the carnage.
Veronica Windreaver in full armor, leader of the most infamous Grannarius unit was taking a beating few in this world could give, the woman was bloodied, with deep gashes in her armor and skin and pouring elven blood, he was lucky the vampires Lucrezia recruited were in the frontlines otherwise it would cause more issues.
The Goddess did not speak to him, and yet Richard knew he had to help, something burned inside of him and his humble Merchant Blessing pulsed in trepidation, he closed his eyes and focused, reminding himself of his words to Veronica before the fighting began.
Richard called for more artillery fire, making the Knights retreat out of the courtyard, and with a leap joined Veronica in the field, there were no words to be had as Richard began hammering into the High Demon with his spear and shield, the beast roared in rage and focused on him as Richard deployed Aegis and Shield spells to halt its momentum, with a roll to the side he grabbed another staff and slammed into the ground.
Blades made out of Holy Light pierced its feet into the legs, the demon howled this time in pure pain as Richard grabbed his spear and overcharged the crystals inside with the element, he exploded into a sprint and with a mighty leap pierced its heart.
Yet the demon remained in the mortal plane, grabbing Richard by his arms and throwing him at the makeshift barricade, he felt his ribs crack as he crawled towards the healing staff on the ground.
Veronica not missing the opening became a green mist and reappeared on top of the demon, with a series of slashes she decapitated it, and slammed her palm into the neck stump, a sigil lit up and the entire beast shimmered out of existence, and his decapitated face smiling at Richard.
Knight-Commander Thadeus's voice boomed from beyond the destroyed walls of the main courtyard "Congratulations son! it takes more than barking orders and a keen mind to be a true leader of men, especially on the battlefield! but will you survive until the end I wonder?"
Richard said nothing, healing himself until he felt his ribs were not cracked anymore, Veronica picked him up and leaped above the barricade, she gave him a grim smile and both looked towards the rubble the artillery left, a few Knights dead in it.
Richard received an update from the Nautilius, Lucrezia's train had closed the gap the Knight-Commander used to breach into the castle, they would not receive reinforcements as the entirety of Malphas force was now in the proper war against the Reclaimers.
"Thadeus is fond of testing promising individuals and has taken a liking to you now, expect fiercer resistance from his remaining forces" the Goddess spoke to him and Richard sighed, this would last a while.
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Hope locked arms with two Royal Knights as Vivienne blasted them with some freakish spell and removed them from the battlefield, to her left side Arthur kept an entire squad at bay with both mind and necromancy as they slowly but surely cleared their way to the main target.
Queen Malphas.
"Castra just got knocked by the dragon" Vivienne spoke "Kaine dealt with his father and his mother is being kept at bay by that armored unit of Lucrezia's, he's coming...right now"
A thunderbolt in the skies and Kaine together with his Kitsune friend were made manifest, a cheer came from the Reclaimers behind them as the students formed ranks and pushed forward.
The Royal Knights fought without a sound, there were no war cries or barked orders from their low-level officials as they neatly folded back and held the line until the Wulfgrem reinforcements arrived that is.
A barrage of gunfire broke their Ki shields and then the Imperials together with those Grannarius spooks rushed forth, Hope saw members of the infamous magenta squad in the thick of combat, reaping Vermilion's best with deadly efficiency.
Front the air strike teams from both sides fought for air supremacy, Griffions roared against Knight's spellfire, and Hope had a split-second moment of total awareness of the battlefield, her Blessing of War from Morugarius growing in size as it touched the many facets of this engagement. It was total war now, something on a minor scale compared to the big incursions of the last war 30 years ago but still total war.
"Hope! Focus!" Arthur's voice snapped her out of the moment and she resumed the fight, more Senior Knights were on the way now as the fields leading to the Queen were heavily defended, they didn't employ terraforming strategies like Lucrezia, relying solely on their might to halt the tide.
A boom in the air as 3 triangles up above rushed forward towards Malpha's position on top of one of the hills leading to the fields told Hope she wouldn't get the first blood today, those were Lucrezia's special flying machines that had destroyed the fort at the start of the battle, and it seemed they wanted to fight first.
Speaking of the woman herself, Hope felt a ping in her Blessing as massive streaks of red lightning slammed into fortified Knight positions, Lucrezia leaping in the air and dropping into them like a living bomb trying to buy time for some of her own Knights to retreat, it was a spectacular light show but one Hope was afraid it wouldn't last too long, even if Lucrezia's mana reserves were huge.
"Kaine, what does the river of time says" Arthur asked as the mage formed up with them.
"Nothing, there are literally dozen of major gods on the battlefield all deploying their spheres including the All-Mother and the All-Father, twice that number of minor and medium power gods, this is a literal mess and Gwenarius won't stop complaining about it" Kaine smiled as if the thought of the Goddess of Time being upset made him happy "Still your dearest mother and mine will be busy for a while if we can mop up the best men and women of the Kingdom we can win via numbers..."
Kaine pointed his staff to the skies as a shower of arrows came toward the group "the flying machines will try to deal with Malphas and Jason now! Lucrezia is busy buying time for her Knights and other troops, and Richard is in a bind with the Knight-Commander! but we can still win this!" he spoke and Arthur nodded, Hope felt her beloved's confidence in the mage, often both gave orders but Arthur always heeded Kaine's advice when things were truly dire.
And thus they marched forward, towards the most difficult battle of their lives.