On a hill on the valley's eastern side, Eurycliedes stood on a hastily erected platform to overlook the madness unfolding below. Shading his eyes against the sun that had passed its midway point in the sky, the only thing that kept him from sweating rivers was the crisp, cold mountain wind blowing in from the west. There was an opportunity below, but like with most situations where the knucklebone was cast, the looming threat of failure was ever-present. Failure in this instance would be paid in the price of 120,000 soldiers and around 200,000 followers, workers, slaves and families of the people fighting for the future of the great kingdom below.
Signaling to one of the adjutants to his left, and said, “Signal to companies one, three and five to swing further south. We want them to hit the breach at the same times as two, four, and six.” The adjutant nodded and ran over to speak with a soldier holding the signal flags for the specific area of the battlefield. Soon enough, he could see the movement of the southern part of the army as the companies had started moving towards the steep mountainside in the south. That the enormous ballista of the ogres now lay buried under a large amount of rocks was the only thing that gave him the confidence to set up his army that close to the ogre fort. He could see them standing on top of the rubble and further west on the walls, bellowing things he was glad he didn't understand at his soldiers below. Taking a glance at the rest of the valley, he went over the positioning he had ordered at the start of this mad dash to assault the hold.
The hastily put-together companies of 5000 were made up of 50 phalanxes with 100 citizen soldiers each. He had gone through the terrain and estimated the forces of the ogres when they first got wind of this ogre hold and had concluded the 5000-strong companies were the optimal balance between coherence and malleability to dominate the battlefield. He had not had time to set up a new strategy for command when the breach happened, so they would follow the previous plan regarding the command structure. Companies one to twelve, made up of the assault companies. They would be first through the breach and the crumbled wall. Companies thirteen to fifteen held the river on the southeastern side of the valley to hold off any ogres that broke away from the coming battle. Company sixteen to nineteen were kept in reserve to intervene at the crossing or at the breach as needed. Twenty to twenty-fourth company had pulled back to the north side of the river on the western side of the valley, guarding against any ogres trying to reach the army camp. Eurycliedes greatest concern now was that the companies were not used to operating in such large formations independently, but he had his best leaders who understood the necessity and the new tactics involved in having several groups making up parts of the greater whole. If it worked, they may change how the armies of Agera fought battles. A nagging feeling in the back of his head told him this was only the beginning, and he had learned to trust that feeling, he thought while patting the hilt of his sword, Oathkeeper. It was a relic from when his family came here, among the first Agerans, and had seen him through many battles in his youth. Today, he might just see it in use again.
Sending a silent prayer to Danos, the God of war and his family patron Culena, Goddess of wisdom, Eurycliedes didn't see anything else he could change to make the battle more favorable, but things seldom went as he wished after the first contact. Unlike most people outside of the Queen's inner circle, which he admittedly was part of, and the traitor Diomedes, he was old enough to remember when there still was some small contact with the outside world. When he had traveled and seen people do feats of strength and wonder, that would leave even the achievements of Ambros to seem like the work of a street charlatan. That was why he liked the man, not because of the obvious favor he showed the Queen, even if it helped. No, he didn't pretend to be some great savior or try to usurp authority for himself. To Ambros, what he was doing was more than likely a sliver of what he had seen others capable of, and despite there not being anyone in this country that was close to his power yet, he didn't act like anything he did was special, because, to him, it was not and despite their lack of power he didn't take advantage. The man had instead pushed them to grow in strength, and Eurycliedes very much agreed that they were long past the time that it was needed. Not that he would ever voice anything out loud that would cast a bad light on the Queen or her rule. Glancing over at one of the adjuncts that shared this platform, he felt a warm feeling as he saw his eldest son's face. The face reflected the proper attitude for the situation, focused concentration on the upcoming battle with eyes always roaming, making sure to swipe his commander while scanning the field of battle. He noticed Eurycliedes looking at him, and his spine straightened just a bit more, and his fierce eyes took on some warmth. He was a proud father, and his son had given him reason to be so. That Ambros had somehow managed to convince the Queen to hand out more of the catalysts needed to take further steps along the road to power was a great boon to this generation. His son now having three steps only put him two away from his own five steps. It would give them centuries of time together. Yes, many changes were on the horizon, and he was happy to be here for them.
Speaking of the strange outsider, where had he taken off to? Since he technically wasn't part of the army or even the country, there wasn't really much he could do to keep him in line, not that he would try to with all the good the man had done on his own so far, but sometimes it would be nice to know when the next strange thing would happen. He felt the structure sway as something heavy landed behind them, startling a couple of the people present before he heard, “Sorry, sorry. I thought it looked sturdier. I'll just shout from down there the next time. Eurycliedes was just the man I was looking for. I still can't reach inside the walls, even the ruined ones, so I'm guessing the actual block isn't part of the outer structure. Anyway, I did manage to reach a few steps from the ruined wall so I could try to flatten the rock slide a bit for the soldiers. The problem is that it will make it much easier for the fatties to hurl rocks down at the charge. You decide. I can probably distract them a bit, but not all of the ones gathered up there. They will tear me apart if I try going in there alone. A few of them are on the fifth and even the sixth step. Not seen any Adepts yet. Alcaeos! Congratulations on the third step. I can feel your aura growing already. Here, drink one of these today and another tomorrow. It will help with the pain and nausea. Wish my master had told me about them when I went through my own steps, damn grumpy old…” Eurycliedes watched in amusement as Ambros handed his son a couple of green vials to his now slightly flustered son, but he gathered himself quickly enough and thanked Ambros before downing one of the vials. The effect was almost immediate. He could see the slight squint his son had shown go away and the tightness to his expression relaxing slightly. He answered, “No, the plan is better as it stands. The sappers are digging out and plotting the best routes to get to the top. Will you be going down there?” Ambros nodded at his answer. That he didn't seem to think anything of his offer being rejected was another thing. Eurycliedes thought it spoke well of the man. He didn't let his ego get in the way of getting things done. “Yes, I thought I could try to create enough chaos to make them focus on me for a bit during the worst parts of the climb, and if I'm lucky, bait out the ogre leader or whoever else they have in there. Fingers crossed, it's a named enemy. Each point counts. Alright, I'm off. Have a good one!” The platform started swaying so hard that the occupants had to hold themself to the railing. Eurycliedes could hear Ambros shouting, “Sorry! Sorry!” Watching the man jump towards the eastern part of the ogre hold. Yes, they were in a time of change, and he had just watched the catalyst jump hundreds of steps to the cheering of men and women getting ready for a battle more difficult than anything they had faced so far.
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Swiftly moving between the outcrops and rocks that littered the entire eastern side of the ogre hold, Ambros did his best not to get caught too much in the open. The Ogres were having a great time trying to roll boulders or throw rocks down at anything they could see moving, and despite it being more of a thing based on luck than any real skill, they had still managed to turn Hermeros and Kyknos, two of the sappers into meat paste so far. They had been good men, some of the citizens. Tin mine owners both of them, and many children would be left behind without a father. Since both of their wives served in the phalanxes as soldiers, the children might be left without parents from this System quest. Ambros had learned that it wasn't unusual for both parents to serve in the army if they were citizens. Not only was it considered a duty, but a badge of honor. Someone who had served may have the honorific of a free citizen instead of just a citizen. He was still not sure if there was an actual social barrier there or if it was just fluff. Either way, there would be many orphans wandering this land before the end. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he was soon enough focused on making it to the front.
Coming up on the team of eight zappers clearing a particularly large boulder from the path, he would guess them to be two-thirds along the way. As luck would have it, this was one of the last ones they needed clearing. While not the most stable ground to traverse, the debris field tapered out at the top third and became much more manageable. However, the fighting at the top was expected to be brutal. Without the ability to move as one in a phalanx, the war arrays were largely useless, and an ogre was much more physically powerful than a human at the same level. Not considering the outliers that had several steps along the road to becoming an Adept. Those would be the champions in the initial engagement. The two- and three-step men and women could stand toe to toe with an ogre. Their job would be to clear a place for the rest of the army to establish a position from which they could strike at the rest of the fort. He would be joining that group unless a named enemy was spotted. Calling out when he was around twenty steps from the sappers. “Itys, how goes it?” Turning around, the bronze-skinned man answered with a tight smile, “Looking good, Ambros. There is still one more boulder to clear this path. I got word that nine other paths are ready to be climbed already. We should be done in about another turn with this one. The next rock should be easier than this stubborn monster.” They both turned to watch as they caught sight of something flying from the north. Leaning slightly out and around the boulder to get a better view, he watched the projectile split into three before hitting different areas of the ogres at the top. The clay balls the the catapult crew were lobbing at the ogres were devastating to the enemy. Large flashes of fire that couldn't be quenched by water splashed against anything close to the impact zone. The smell of burnt pork increased in intensity after the successful hit. Ambros didn't know how many ogres had perished, but he would guess no less than twenty. He said, “Good hit”. The catapult crews are getting a lot better. It's almost tempting to just see if they could clear the top by themselves, but that would only last as their supply of fire pots, which was sadly low at the moment. More had been ordered, but it would be weeks until they arrived at the army.
It took almost two hours for the sapper teams to clear the remaining paths, not that it was a bad time. They had worked exceptionally well. The problem was getting the last team down again ones the boulder cleared without being bombarded with rocks from the ogres that had set up camp at the top of the ruined wall. Deciding some distraction was needed, Ambros conferred with the remaining teams and had them prepare to pull back while doing his best not to get killed by a hail of rocks. The looks they were giving him were a bit disconcerting. When he was ready to go out and play dodgeball with a few thousand oversized fat kids throwing rocks, he gave the crew a final nod. Before he could head out, Itys said, “Your hand protects Great One. Glory in your name. We will not tarry.” He didn't want to consider the fervor in Itys and the rest of the crew's eyes at the moment, so he just gave a final nod before taking aim at a boulder around forty steps to his right and hurled himself through the air.
The ogre's aim was certainly improving. He had been doing damn good for the last ten minutes or so, but they had learned to start filling the air with rocks in a wide pattern once he was airborne and couldn't avoid the barrage as easily. It was enough damage to burn through his Arcane Shield, which was acting up this close to the former wall already, and a particularly proud specimen of ogrehood had nailed him with a head-sized rock in the ribs. He watched the ogre raising its hands above its head, bellowing its victory in the distance through lidded eyes. That had hurt. The ribs on his left side had a head-sized dent in it. He could feel the right side lung working overtime as the extra set of lungs started working. Spitting out a glob of blood, Ambros picked up a jagged rock that fit inside his hand and scurried behind a rock to his left. Moments later, the impact of about twenty rocks could be heard crashing against the boulder he had been laying against. Taking a moment to ensure the ribs were setting themselves back in the appropriate place, he closed his eyes and pictured where the ogre stood. Taking a shallow breath, he ducked out to the right of the rock before hurling the stone in his hand with all his current might. Ducking back to the left, he saw several ogres getting ready to throw more rocks down the slope before running out to the left of the rock he was hiding behind, crossing the ogre line by jumping from boulder to boulder. He smiled as he saw the ogre that had hit him was now bent over, holding its great bulging belly before falling forward. The ogres behind him were sprayed with fresh red blood.
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Battle Award
1 Exp
250 Sp
1 Qp
Sadly, he had noticed they had started giving him almost no experience lately, as had eventually happened to the frogmen. They still gave full System points and a quest point, but the experience was at a dead end. Not that it mattered too much since he couldn't spend his attribute points anyway.
Continuing to run towards the rear of the fortress wall across the ogre line, he tried getting an overview of how long he had to keep at this and to his relief, the sappers looked to be packing up to his relief as he barely dodged another barrage of rocks. Blasted ogres. At least he didn't see any of the armored ogres along the line they had set up. He knew this was going to be one tough fight as it was. Just as he was starting to worry about the lives about to be lost, the number of children that would be left without parents from this battle alone, he was filled with a new conviction the survivors would be stronger. New soldiers were being sent to the front every day. Those who pushed past the restrictions the heavens had placed on them would be stronger, and that would increase their chances of completing the quest. Crystal was sending him a worried note, but he couldn't see anything that was a danger to him while he hunkered behind another large rock. He just sent back that everything looked fine to it before going for the next stretch of the ogre line, picking up a couple of stones he immediately threw when he started running.
Battle Award
2 Exp
500 Sp
2 Qp
Hiding beside a large boulder that would help shield the climb of the first company climb, he looked down the slope and saw the army was preparing to march, something he was eternally grateful for since the next stretch he would have had to move across would have had him airborne for large parts of it. He thought, "Let's try not to break more ribs than necessary today.” Crystal chirped in agreement and sent him an image to continue drilling at his meridian. Sending a thank you in the image of him giving Crystal a hug, he felt the warm presence of it doing a twirl around his body.
He sat there, in the shade of the boulder, watching the companies marching towards the beginning of what would probably be the most dangerous thing to ever happen to them. The women and men of the phalanxes, citizens and free citizens, and if he had his way, those that were held under the yoke of these people would one day join them. From what he had seen so far, the only thing differentiating a citizen from a slave was how tan their skin was and how broken their spirit was. From a guess, he would say that the interbreeding that had occurred over the thousands of years after the Agerans came here had, in effect, made them into one people genetically. Not that there would have been much difference, to begin with. The only things that really separated humans were variations and bloodlines. Some had a higher amount of other species intermingled as a group, but mostly, it was from family to family as a special bloodline or hereditary variation. There were groups of people that had gone through rituals or other undertakings to directly change them, but that was far from the norm. The vampires were a prime example of that. Sometime in the long-forgotten past, someone had created a completely new species from a human one. They still retained the ability to have individual variations and bloodlines within their species. No, one day, every person in this country would have a chance to increase their strength. The power scale had simply tipped too far in one direction for the System to allow it to continue like this. The Agerans had not proven themselves worthy of their privileged position in the System, so they would be forced to change.
The first and second companies would take the south side, closest to his current position. The climb had the most open ground to cover, which is why he had made his way to the area. The third and fourth would take the path north of them, and the fifth and sixth would take the one furthest to the north on the eastern side of the wall. It had the most cover and was expected to join in battle simultaneously, with the seventh and eighth companies hitting the former corner tower from the northeast. The ninth, tenth, eleventh and twelfth company would hit the north wall at the eastern corner. It was the steepest climb but had the most protection for the soldiers. They would be the last to join the battle, but the plan was for them to come to the flank where the most ogres were gathered and hit them from the side and, if possible, from the back. Ambros had his doubts about the last one, but he knew his knowledge was greater than Eurycliedes. The strategus was an old hand at this, and even with the political bickering going on that Ambros normally ignored, everyone listened to him when the subject was war. Ambros had been devouring anything the man said when it came to war, and he could already see that he understood much more about why certain things were done like they were.
Laying against a boulder, trying to push the boulder, pinning him to it, Ambros was cursing himself for a fool. His mouth had the metallic taste of blood. It probably had something to do with his ribs being shattered and his crushed chest. That he was able to move his arms or even think was a small miracle. Shutting down the parts that were screaming, he was in pain. He turned his full focus on casting Control Earth, telling the boulder to shatter even as he felt his vision turning hazy and black at the edges from the lack of air. The relief he felt as the boulder shattered into fist-sized rocks over him a few moments later was immense. The first shallow breath was heaven, and then his reserve lungs took over for the second time that day. Taking short breaths while his ribs reset themselves, he crawled under an overhang. The boulder was about to hit a line of climbing soldiers from the first company a few hundred steps further down. All he had managed to do was redirect it. That he hadn't managed to get away in time was not the ideal outcome, but at least a few dozen soldiers weren't turned into paste. His hearing was coming back to the sound of cheering from the top of the wall. Dumn ogres. Did they think this was enough to put him down for good? Gathering an armful of fists-sized rocks from the former boulder while his ribs and organs healed, he waited a few moments for his right arm to work properly before hurling himself to the right while throwing seven rocks in quick succession. He could hear the cheering had turned to shouts of anger and confusion. Ambrose's smile was predatory when, moments later, he could hear groans mingled with the shouts.
Battle Award
4 Exp
1000 Sp
4 Qp
Four out of seven wasn't too bad under the circumstances. He needed to consider making some sort of hand-held railgun one of these years. It shouldn't be too difficult. He just needed the free time for it. Looking down the slope, he could see the first and second companies were making good time. They were ahead of third and fourth by the looks of it. Another barrage of fire pots hit the ogre line while his back was turned. It would be one of the last ones they had. Soon, they would have to use rocks and lead balls. Not that they could continue for much longer since the battle was close to starting, but every ogre killed was a boon to the soldiers joining the rapidly approaching battle.
So far, he had been able to shield the climbing soldiers, but this last stretch was too wide. The forward elements would have to be set up in groups of a minimum of six to get any effect from the war arrays the Agerans used. Even then, he doubted the small increase in power that would give them would allow them to halt more than rocks. They were out of luck if the ogres started rolling down boulders again. The problem was that if one of the six-man teams died, the entire array would break with their fall. He imagined the death of the five remaining soldiers wouldn't be long after that. Ambros had been trying to find a solution to it without any success. As had the eastern army commanders. No one could see any alternative to this last dangerous approach. The soldiers seemed stoic enough about it. It was a mentality he had trouble grasping. One for the many. In his world, it was him before anyone else. Sure, he would take some chances, and while getting smashed with boulders and rocks wasn't particularly fun, the chances of him surviving were good. At worst, someone would need to dig him out of whatever rubble he was crushed under, and he should be good with Revitalize, or so he hoped.
Then they were there. The first, those most likely to die, and they cheered when they saw him. Damnit, he even knew thirty-two of the first hundred he could see coming up the bend in the slope. From here, they would be out in the open for almost a hundred steps. The only thing he could do was stand up from where he was crouched down by the boulder and greet them as they came up to him. The first four that would make it past the last of the protection were, of course, Tebaeus, Heliodorus, Bulis and Photius. They were all of the second step. Unlike most of the army, they actually served full-time as part of the standing phalanxes the country kept. By the local standards, they were some bloody fine soldiers and having previously shared a meal with their phalanx, they were good men, all four of them. Each one grinned when they approached him as he greeted them by name.
Ambros finally said, “Alright, you unwholesome quartered. I'll be going point, heading straight south, trying to get as much attention as possible. Count to five, and then make your way toward the north and try to meet up with the forward elements of the third and fourth companies. Questions?” They nodded before Bulis answered, “We understand Great One. It is a good day for battle.” The others nodded at his words as he continued, ”Witness when I fall today, Great One. I will be worthy of the halls of glory and rapture. We will all be worthy.” The other three started banging their spears against their shields, as did the soldiers behind them. Then, further down the line, the beat was taken up. The third and fourth companies joined in, and then the fifth and sixth. Suddenly, the slope was filled with the clamor of spears hitting shields, cheering, cries to some deity and people shouting obscenities at the ogres. Having no idea why he should witness anyone falling, Ambros would rather prefer if they didn't, but seeing they were as ready as they would be, Ambros gave each of the four a clap on the shoulder before nodding at the people immediately behind him. Raising a fist, he summoned Ogre Slayer at full length before running around the boulder as the cheers increased behind him.
When he spotted the ogres a hundred steps ahead, he knew his plan had changed. He didn't know why, but they seemed confused about the clamor made by the soldiers of the Eastern army. Not a single one hurled a rock or pushed a boulder towards him. There was still no reaction at eighty steps, and Ambros was speeding up. Damn, if he would let these obese asses have free reign to hurl rocks at people like they were playing the duck game at a carnival. At fifty steps, he was close to flying as he coated the axe head of Ogre Slayer in Stastis. The silver liquid that crawled along the axe head and the two sikes reflected the light from the sun almost perfectly as it made a moving beacon of light in the sun. A thousand beams of light flashed from the axe head raised high. At twenty steps from the line of ogres, they were starting to gather themselves, coming out of their stupor. Laughing as he swung his pole axe from right to left, the pole axe blade sliced through three ogres in one fell swoop. His blood was boiling in joy as he exacted vengeance for the taunts and pain they had inflicted on him.
Continuing the right-to-left motion, taking a full spin, taking the life of another ogre before the blade came around and hit another two to his right before the Stasis spell stopped. It had been enough. His charge had brought him past the first line of ogres, and they were starting to turn towards him as he slashed, stabbed, kicked and punched his way from south to north inside their lines. Chortling in delight, he split an ogre's large belly open, only to crush its skull with a boot when it slipped on its intestines. Ambros could hear the roar of humans close by now, and at a glance, he could see hundreds were running up to join in the battle from all over the slope. "Every company was about to hit the line," He thought with pride in the soldiers. With his own roar, thrusting forward with Ogre Slayer deep into the belly of a particularly large ogre in front of him, Ambros raised the ogre up over his head and slammed the whimpering sack of fat down on another one that had stood next to it. As he fought, a pressure was building in him, reaching new heights, needing release. No, demanding it. It was maddening in its demand, and with an enormous feeling of relief, the dam burst. The pressure was released as the world turned white. The only thing Ambros knew at that moment was the tinkling laughter of Crystal echoing across his body, mind and spirit.