From her concrete bunker layered with titanium sheets, Colette watched through her observation scope aimed at the Selfian assault force a hundred klicks out.
“There's so many…” Hoffman muttered, a hard look on Colette's adjutant’s face as he observed the enemy aircraft hovering just out of range of their 155-millimeter Tarkov anti-armor cannons. Weapons designed to tackle the roaming Titan-class demonspawn that once roamed the surface. Now, these weapons were repurposed, used to fight not the terrors of the night, but mankind.
“You are correct lieutenant. But so long as we keep the enemy away from our gun batteries, their logistic lines will run dry attempting to handle both demonspawn and a frontal assault,” Colette said, turning her scope to the matriarch class tanks. “We only need to buy time.”
For what? The two words hung on Colette's lips, almost threatening to come out.
“Captain Light,” a radio technician called out, signaling Colette, whom like most of the knights under House Light's command had been adopted in an unprecedented move to secure their loyalty.
“Report,” Colette said before stepping away from the observation scope to face the crowd of technicians and support staff coordinating requests within the command bunker.
“There's a signal broadcast from the Selfian army, it's full spectrum, every receiver is picking it up!”
A demoralization tactic?
Colette furrowed her brow, stepping over to the soldier and taking a spare headset to listen in alongside Hoffman.
“... Citizens of the Empire-”
Stunned, Colette's chest ceased moving as her ears picked up the familiar voice of a boy named Jack.
“-I am Jack Cordellica, son of the Queen Slayer, a dimmie, and King Consort of her Majesty, Queen Selfia Cordelica-”
Jack… it was Jack! Colette’s vision began to shake, her hands sweaty as visions of a singular night of passion took her mind.
“-I reach out to you now to offer you a chance to lay down your arms. To survive the coming battle that will lay waste to this city. Imperial war doctrine dictates that so long as you have the means to resist, you are forbidden to surrender. But that Imperium is dead. Ashes for the future that you can be apart of… So I ask you, citizens of the empire, do not stand in the way of the future.”
“Tch,” Hoffman scowled, the sentiments on his face shared by others nearby. “Selfia obliterated entire cities! No way in hell I'd ever surrender to those Selfian dogs!”
“If you wish to surrender, no harm will befall you. You will be treated humanely, and allowed to live in the Cordelica Democracy as a free citizen,” Jack continued.
What? Colette went wide-eyed.
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At the word Democracy the gathered Roland loyalists stood stunned, collectively wondering if they had heard correctly.
Democracy?! The implications of such a word ran contrary to everything the Empire had been built on!
Was this a ploy?
Jack wasn't the kind of person to try some underhanded maneuver, rather this sounded more like something Selfia would do.
Colette pursed her lips, her emotions abuzz as she realized she'd have to fight Jack.
“Disregard the enemy's words! The Selfians are attempting to sow seeds of doubt!” Hoffman barked, silencing several soldiers who had begun muttering.
Hoffman turned to Colette, concern evident on his face, “Captain, we need to silence the enemy's broadcast, we cannot allow them to continue a stratagem of confusion.”
Colette stood there, unsure of what to do as a heavy feeling hung heavy on her heart.
Jack had manipulated her, used her, twisted her mind into loving him. Yet why did she feel so conflicted? Why did she-
“Captain!” Hoffman yelled, pulling her elbow to get her attention as mana swelled nearby.
Someone on their side was casting an anti-army skill!
****
“It seems your call to surrender wasn't well received,” Admiral Skirita said as the command deck of the ship picked up the influx of mana indicative of an anti-army skill. “Is our countermeasure ready?”
“Captain Belfusa is responding in kind, her anti-army skill is deploying!” Lieutenant Harper barked, putting on a coat with Jack rushing to look out the viewport for any sign of the Black Rose Captain.
Ice?
Then, he saw her, Eleanor's sister chanting as a whirl of ice began to coat the outer viewport of his ship and the temperature of the room soon plummeted.
Jack narrowed his eyes, watching the woman standing upon the bow of a nearby airship as a powerful blizzard swarmed past.
To his left, Jack could feel the power of another anti-army skill.
He turned, joining the parka-wearing officers observing the towers of light erected in the distance.
“All hands brace for anti-army skill detonation,” Skirita said, speaking into an intercom as the entire bridge, save for Jack, rushed to their positions.
To Jack's eyes, he could see the constructs were bursting with mana, massive towers that channeled energy from below to power the orbs suspended above the towers.
Then it fired, the anti-army skill unleashing a blinding wave of light that was met with a massive fog of mana that detonated upon impact.
Jack winced, the deafening detonation akin to a star going supernova to his eyes.
“Pale imitations…” Sahaqiel muttered.
If Sahaqiel considered this a pale imitation, Jack didn't want to see what a true anti-army skill could do.
“Manacules spike, the battlefield is saturated. Confirm anti-army cancelation,” Lieutenant Harper reported, shivering at her terminal. “Dampening field in effect.”
To Jack's eyes, the entire field in front of him was like a wall of random colors, a rainbow spilled onto the battlefield that was the result of the clash of two titanic powers.
With this, awakened on the battlefield would have their powers damped by the hyperactive mana coating the air, but Jack…
“Huh…” Jack muttered as the booms of artillery cannons shook the command bridge. “Admiral Skirita.”
“Yes, Lord Consort?” The aging man replied, barely paying Jack any mind as his gaze focused on his command terminal.
“I will be taking to the field.”
At his words the entire command staff turned, a pause settling on the bridge.
“Respectfully Lord Consort, but we-”
“I'm not asking, I'm telling you. I’ll eliminate the guns while the dampening field is in effect. Have your airfleet on standby, I will be the tip of the spear,” Jack said before leaving to find his child's mother.