Oh no! Napoleon’s right flank had been routed by a combined Prussian and Austrian assault! Meanwhile Hougoumont is being heavily contested, with the farmstead changing hands between the combined forces of the Italian and Polish forces against the Russians, so far the compound has changed hands five times and currently the Russians have control, but for how long?
Now La Haye Sainte on the other hand has remained firmly under British control, repelling every attempt made by the Bavarians at capturing the farmhouse.
Oooo I’m so giddy! It’s like being inside a match of NTW! Except I’m watching from the sidelines munching on my popcorn, and occasionally dodging a roundshot or two.
And heyo looks like those four have survived the fourth floor! Ohohoho they’ll be in for a treat!
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With the party:
The group of four which consisted of a Rogue, a Barbarian, a Knight and a Cleric, had stepped inside the fifth floor after narrowly avoiding being captured by the patrolling ships in the fourth floor, had found themselves flabbergasted upon the sight they’re witnessing.
“Wow, never seen a floor like this inside a dungeon before.” The Knight remarked.
His companions responded with nods of agreement. Then a couple of seconds later, they observed a small group of Russian cossacks pursuing an unfortunate Italian.
“So what are we supposed to do?” The Cleric questioned, clutching her staff tightly. “I mean there’s no way we’ll survive fighting everyone here…”
As if responding to her question, a floating sign appeared in front of everyone, which read:
Your goal is to reach the otherside and enter the core room entrance located just on the other end of the battlefield without getting caught in the crossfire. How it is achieved is up to you.
Good luck :)
-Amelia Yokakko
“Well at least we don’t have to fight every dungeon creature here.” The Knight said, letting out an awkward chuckle.
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Amelia PoV:
And off they go! The rogue had to immediately dodge a stray roundshot after the sign disappeared. Look at them, they're already off to a great start!
They’re approaching Hougoumont which the combined Italian and Polish forces had just wrestled control out of the Russians. You know what’s interesting? The struggle over Hougoumont has resulted in far more casualties for both sides, not even the clash between Napoleon and Wellington at the center paled in comparison.
Oh and update on the French right flank, the Bavarians had ceased attacking La Haye Sainte and swiftly moved to plug the gap before the Austrians and Prussians could take advantage of the opening. Seems like Napoleon is trusting hi *cough* her right flank completely to her Bavarian allies. The French has so far Ignored both Hougoumont and La Haye Sainte and are just pushing the center, even though La Haye Sainte is closer to the center. Who knows, we'll see.
It seems like the fighting has ceased at the center, neither side breaking through, wow even the Hougoumont battle silenced, it seems like the Polish and Italian garrison are rushing to repair the any damages inflicted upon the farm.
The four adventurers are walking through a field of corpses, they encountered two Italian line infantry soldiers after a couple seconds of trudging trough a field of Russian, Polish, and Italian corpses. The two soldiers are frantically beckoning them inside the farm. “I don’t know who the four of you are but get inside quick! Before the Russians return!”
A-and just like that those for have been taken inside the farm against their wills, just in time to as the Russians have decided to mount another attack on Hougoumont, and it looks like they’re joined by a small contingent of British infantry. Fighting in the center has resumed between the French and the British.
A band of Austrian cavalry has engaged with another band of Bavarian cavalry, and all along the right flank there's small skirmishes between Austrian and Prussian forces and Bavarian forces, with neither side committing to a full scale offensive.
Napoleon has deployed his achem her elite regiment of guards which shall not be named… You know what I’m just gonna get a closeup of the furious battle at Hougoumont!
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Hougoumont, the four adventurers, Mary Linsworth (The Cleric) PoV
“Hold the gate!”
Chaos engulfed the walled farm as explosions echoed around me, and the agonizing cries of the wounded filled the air. I kept reminding myself that these women were only dungeon creatures, but it all felt too real. I hoped my fellow adventurers shared this thought... it was the only thing keeping me steady amidst this cruel battlefield.
I was trying desperately to heal the wounded, but these injuries… they were beyond my current magical capabilities, bullet holes yes that's easy, every cleric and healer for that matter, even those just starting out, are taught the basics of tending to bullet wounds, that was my first lesson at the temple of Theraelis, those lessons included punctured internal organs as a result of bullets wounds, but missing limbs? Almost everyone here had a missing limb, there's nothing I can do as only Clerics and healers gifted with divine powers have been said to regrow limbs, but they are few and far between. All I could offer was comfort, a moment of relief as I watched the light fade from their eyes as they succumbed to their wounds. Moving to another soldier, I found her wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, clutching her stomach, staring into my eyes in silent, desperate plea. Never in my entire life have I been so helpless...
Calm down, Mary. They’re dungeon creatures, they’ll come back... right?
My thoughts shattered as a soldier in a white coat gripped my hands. Fear and despair were etched on her face, and as I looked closer, I saw that she was missing a leg. Tears streaked her face as she cried out to me in a language I couldn’t understand. Oh, Theraelis Goddess of Life, what shall I do? I couldn’t take much more of this…
Before I could respond to her anguish, a deafening crash pulled my attention to the gate. The heavy wooden doors had burst open—no, they’d been chopped apart and kicked in. The soldiers who had tried to hold them shut now lay lifeless, and a wave of green-coated soldiers surged in, launching into brutal combat.
I stood, clutching my staff, when a voice called my name. Turning, I saw Sir Henry, the knight in our group, watching the battle with a worried gaze.
“Galerius found a way out undetected,” he said. “William’s already with him. I came to find you.”
“Lead the way!” I replied.
I stopped running for a moment, and surveyed the battle occurring around the courtyard, watching soldiers fall to ground, pools of blood forming beneath them. I now understand why my father a veteran of the first Abercellian Civil War, had been so adamant in dissuading me from joining the military...
I continued following after Henry.
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Amelia PoV:
Hot damn this Russian sapper is going crazy! Armed only with one axe and a dream she's decimating every opponent she comes across, speaking of, I see those four have found a way to escape undetected, too bad they’ll be immediately spotted by British artillery…
Well regardless I’ll be rooting for them, although that cleric girl seemed to have desperately attempted to heal the wounded Polish and Italian soldiers, practically all of the wounded had missing limbs, she was able to heal every bullet holes, couldn't do anything about missing limbs, I'm not gonna comment on it.
It looked like she wasn’t coping with the situation very well, I mean honestly from her perspective it all looked so gruesome and very traumatizing to anyone that's not been trained, that's not even mentioning the fact that gunfire and artillery explosions are occurring everywhere. It doesn’t help that they’re all dungeon creatures who look and act like sentient people, who'll respawn once the battle fully concludes. Honestly speaking I wouldn’t be surprised if she walks out with some form of PTSD upon witnessing this chaos, I would too, I'm not even gonna lie nor sugarcoat it. I imagine the barbarian and the knight have seen their fare share of death.
Gonna have to do something extra for her just to make up for traumatizing her. Anyways moving on from this subject matter, the entrance to my core room is a good distance behind the British camp. It looks like the British artillery aren’t interested in them, not surprising considering they have more important targets, though the same couldn’t be said for the band of Cossacks heading their direction.
That barbarian fellow leapt high into the air and did a downward slash with his greataxe, causing a massive shock wave to occur, killing two Cossacks and stunned the rest, some had been bucked off their horses. Now a portion of the British artillery and the Russian artillery are now honing in on our merry band of four adventurers.
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“Guys we gotta haul ass to the core room entrance we’re not gonna survive here!” The Rogue frantically said, “Especially now that the shock wave has bought us time, but they’ll be onto us pretty so- HENRY WATCH OUT!”
The Rogue shoved the Knight and he took a roundshot to the chest, which he somehow survived… oh nevermind there's a pile of empty potion bottles, man must’ve chugged them instantly and shoved his friend out of the way.
His party crowded around him as he’s clutching his stomach and writhed around the ground. “G-guys go o-n without me, I-I’ll stay and h-hoold them off.” The Rouge strained, as both the Cleric and Barbarian helped him stand.
“B-but.” Before the Cleric could continue, the Rogue interrupted her.
“GO NOW! Before the potions wear off. I’ll be seeing you outside the dungeon” The Rogue declared, brandishing two daggers, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground.
All three of his companions nodded before running off, then the Rogue slowly walked, or rather stumbled forward upon a regiment of Russian Pavlovsky Grenadiers Regiment. Their mitre caps are SO much cooler than a certain French guard regiment’s bearskin, hmph. And yes I am crossing my arms.
The regiment stopped marching, and aimed their muskets at the Rouge, sensing that he’s essentially about to die, he threw two daggers, killing two soldiers with well aimed headshots. The regiment returned fire with a volley, and the Rouge fell to his knees, the only thing keeping him alive is the potions.
For his last and final act, I don’t know, he must've activated a spell or a skill, either way somehow appeared right in front of a soldier piercing her heart with another dagger, killing her instantly. Before falling to the ground and succumbing to his wounds. The Pavlovsky Grenadiers continued marching onto Hougoumont.
While that Rouge certainly didn’t do much damage, he did certainly buy time for the Polish and Italians defending the farm.
Time to check on those three, and it looks like they’re being chased by a band of British Dragoons, said Dragoons were shortly intercepted by French Cuirassiers. Yeah they’re doing alright. Time to see what’s going on at, what I’ve dubbed as the La Haye Sainte front.
The Austrians have decided to launch a daring frontal assault on entrenched Bavarian positions on the right. Ah I see now they’re doing it to coincide with the British frontal assault in the center, and to alleviate pressure off of the Russians assaulting the Hougoumont and the left flank.
I have no idea what the Prussians are doing, considering how the Austrians are getting battered by Bavarian Artillery, they seem to be cooking something as they've split their force into - Oh I see what they’re doing! They are banking on the fact that the French forces would be too busy dealing with what’s in front of them that they won’t notice the Prussians sneaking around and hitting them from the sides. Let's see if it works! The one exception is their cavalry which is assisting the frontal assaults undertaken by the Coalition.
The Prussians forces sneaking to the left side of the battlefield are led by none other than a female Gebhard Von Blucher, and they’re just about to cross paths with the three remaining adventurers.
Oh they made contact, and those are frozen in place, staring at Gebhard Von Blucher him err herself, I will say that angled face combined with her long white hair tied into a ponytail is kinda h-
WHOA WHOA! No bad Amelia, bad bad bad, just because these historical figures have been reincarnated into cute girls does not mean you can go thirst after them!
B- “NO! Perish the thoughts, Cease and Desist, I will waste precious mana and send you to horni jail!”
“Did somebody hear that?” A Prussian soldier said, frantically scanning her surroundings, “I swear I heard something.”
“Must’ve been the wind.” Chimed another.
Oops, I must’ve said that out loud, hehe. Achem moving on, Blucher has decided to let the three go, her reasoning was that she couldn’t risk alerting the French of their location if an altercation were to occur.
And with that said the two groups went on their merry way, just a couple more kilometers and those three should reach the entrance to my core room.
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Mary Linsworth PoV:
We’d just stopped right in front of the core room entrance, with me collapsing to the ground and leaning against the wall, hoping to catch a break from all that running we did. It seems like I’m not the only one who needs a breather, as my other two party members were panting just as heavily as I was.
I thought we’d be done for when those dark-blue coated soldiers caught us… it was fortunate that the white haired lady wearing that visored cloth cap had spared us.
We all sat, in relative silence before Sir Henry, recovering first, took off his helmet then stared at me with a look of concern. “Madame Mary are you alright? You’ve been out of it ever since we escaped that walled farmhouse.”
I nodded, “Yes I’m okay now, thanks for asking.” I lied in a vain attempt to reassure him. In all honesty, I don’t think he’s convinced, though he’s not showing it.
Sir Henry nodded, “Alright then, I won’t push any further. Just know if something is bothering you please don’t hesitate to come talk to us, we’ll always lend you an ear.” He said.
I smiled and replied “Thanks, and yeah I will.”
He turned his attention to a door with some symbols and engravings that I’ve never seen before. “Well if that note is to be believed then this should be the Core Room.”
I got up, and pushed open the door, and we were greeted with beautiful scenery, wide open plains as far as the eye can see and the sun shining down on my face. William on the other hand approached a patch of primrose flowers, knelt down and plucked one off the ground, “My mother will like this.” He said, stashing the flower away in his inventory.
“Hey there's a pavilion up ahead!” Henry said, pointing to the pavilion in question, “And there's a pedestal with a blue orb levitating above it.”
He then turns his attention to William and I, “Now normally we would’ve received a notification by now and us getting teleported back to the entrance, but I’m guessing the Dungeon wants us to admire this scenery. So everybody remember your dungeon manners.” He explained, then equipped his helmet back on.
Just then two high elves, one with gold hair, the other with blue hair, wearing deep royal blue coats and light gray trousers and a type of visored cap made out of bearskin…? It's also got a gold plate just above the visor. Um well anyways they approached us, their firearms on their shoulders. One of them is happily waving to us.
Then as they got closer, the woman on the left greeted us, “Hello! And welcome to Great Mother Amelia’s Core Room, please enjoy the scenery oh and bec - ACK!” Before she could finish, the woman on the right smacked the back of her head.
“You were about to tell them and ruin the secret.” She chastised, then the woman on the right continued “And to add to what this knucklehead to my left said, go have fun and explore the Core Room, it's HUGE! You have ten minutes before you get teleported away so make the most of it.”
The woman on the left, who was previously pouting, and was rubbing the back of her head suddenly smiled, “Oh yes! Definitely, just don’t go to the barracks it's off limits.”
I've just taken a good look at two, and wow, high elves as dungeon creatures... just wait till those stuck up pricks in the far north hear about this. They'll never be able to live this down. “That’s great and all, but what are your names?” I asked, “I mean I don’t want to keep referring to the two of you as ‘woman on the left/right’. I’m Mary, this fellow to my right is knight Sir Henry, and the barbarian who’s busy plucking flowers is William.”
The two looked at each other then back at us, then the woman on the right introduced herself first “I am Lianala, and this knucklehead to my left is Thurana, we both are enlisted in the 2nd Dungeon Infantry Regiment, and our regiment serve as guardians of the Core.”
Thurana flashed us a goofy smile.
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Amelia PoV
Those two devils are trying to convince these guys to run into a wall, THERE'S absolutely no way they’ll fall for it right? Wait, that Barbarian guy, William was it? He’s finished plucking flowers, and told the group that he is going to explore my Core Room. Oh my god he’s walking straight west, there's no way. I can see devious smirks forming on the faces of the two devils, aaaand he bumped into a wall, he’s fallen onto the ground…
That took about three minutes and forty seven seconds, I can hear laughter ringing from somewhere, probably someone hiding themself, and those two rapscallions are trying and failing to contain their laughter. Man that’s really foul, I feel so bad for that barbarian. If that was me I’d permanently shut myself in only going out for work and necessities. The humiliation would be too much for me bear.
The Knight, Sir Henry I think his name was, well anyway he ran to William, and helped the poor guy up, who’s still disoriented from walking into a solid wall. William rapidly shook his head three times, frantically poking and prodding at the wall, but alas all he found was just a solid wall.
Upon this realization, this buff macho barbarian, curled up into a ball and, wait is that a tear streak? Oh my god he’s crying, Henry sat next to him, trying to comfort him.
Thurana finally broke, and began openly laughing , much to the chagrin of both Henry and I think Mary? Yeah Mary, who marched right up to Thurana’s face, it looks like she’s fuming with anger.
“Oi! This isn’t funny, look at what you’ve done to Henry!” Mary yelled, “He’s bawling his eyes out, and don’t think you're off the hook either Miss Lianala.”
Lianala shrugged her shoulders, “Look, ain't my fault he fell for such an obvious bait.” She explained, “If it makes him feel better then I was planning on giving him something extra for getting tricked into running into a wall.”
Thurana calmed down, and chimed in, “Mhm, Lianala and I planned on handing out some extra personalized goodies to outsiders that we tricked. Plus it's funny.” Mary doesn’t look convinced and raises an eyebrow in response.
“You don’t look convinced. Well then watch.” Lianala stated, then snapped her fingers, within seconds a bag materialized within William’s hands.
He stopped crying and inspected the contents of the bag, inside was a wide array of different flowers and seeds to grow said flowers. The barbarian who had just been crying, stopped then as if a rainbow appeared overhead, he smiled wide. William turned to look at the Knight, “My mother will be ecstatic when I give this to her!”
Well that sorted itself out, honestly I was gonna give a sapper’s axe to make up for the prank. Anyways the two stood and reunited with Mary, Thurana and Lianala.
“So, how much time do we have left?” Henry asked.
“About three minutes and twenty-seven seconds of me saying this.” Lianala replied, “Still plenty of time, mind you.”
“That's okay, besides we’ve kept our teammate waiting for too long.” Henry said, getting nods of agreements from William and Mary.
“Alright buh-bye, come again soon!” Thurana cheerfully exclaimed, waving at the three as they began to slowly de-materialize.
I’m glad that everything conveniently worked out in the end! Oh shoot I forgot to give that Cleric a message! Fortunately they’re still teleporting, so I can write up something quick - aaand send.
Hopefully she reads it…
Anyways, time to finish spectating the battle - and OH COME ON I missed the climax, did anyone even win? Oh the fighting seems to have paused, I technically didn't miss the climax. Um let’s see, Hougoumont is a complete mess with the Russians coming out on top, La Haye Sainte has been captured by the Bavarians, a total surprise considering how dug in the British were, oh wait I see now the French had assisted the Bavarians in assaulting the farm, cause I see some French soldiers alongside Bavarians. I guess the Prussian sneak attack, well it sort of worked since I see a combined Russian and Prussian garrison on Hougoumont, yet it completely failed on the left flank, that is to say Wellington's left flank. From the looks of it the French seemed to have assisted the Bavarians on the right flank which I'm guessing relieved pressure off of them.
Damn I haven’t even checked the number of soldiers present, I’ll uh take a look after the battle concludes, anyways off to floor three!