10th Day of the Eighth Month, Year 735 NCE. Noon.
New Hope Port City (Under Imperial Occupation).
Swish! Swish! The flaps of the newly established commander's tent parted away and entered the young figure of the emperor, Alexandros Centinni the Twelfth. The eyes of many inhabitants of the tent immediately landed upon the small boy's lithe figure, carrying much emotion.
"Here arrives," General Arlo announced with a bright smile, "the Boy Conqueror, His Venerable Emperor, Alexandros Centinni the Twelfth!"
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap! General Arlo furiously clapped in appreciation before taking a knee. The rest of the tent's inhabitants joined the old general in his claps before kneeling in service before the emperor. Their heads bowed with uniformity while their left hand, each forming a fist, rested atop their right chest. This posture, according to the etiquette of the empire, displayed a servant's obeisance to their lord!
It was official. Alexandros had been officially recognised as the master of the South Aislan Empire. No longer was he simply a 'boy who had inherited the title from his royal father.' No. Alexandros was now the emperor in both title and meaning within the hearts of these men.
Looking at this show of service, a fiery emotion surfaced inside Alexandros' heart, temporarily quelling the prevalent feeling of disgust. The boy emperor nodded his head at their greeting and replied with a salute.
Wearing a light smile on his thin face, he spoke. "This victory was brought to us due to the combined efforts of every man present here; it was earned through the courage of our soldiers; the skill of our marksmen; the strength of our cultivators; the ability of our captains; and the wisdom of our general."
"We, played but a little part in the grand scale of things. To accredit everything to Us, would be an insult to those who lost their lives contributing to this victory."
Raising his hands in a solemn show of respect, the young emperor declared, "I dedicate this victory to the fallen heroes. May their names and deeds never be forgotten!"
Alexandros' passionate declaration was met with a bout of silence. A moment passed and thunderous applause was heard abound.
After having congratulated each other on their victory, the inhabitants inside the tent moved on to more serious issues.
Wearing a mask of seriousness, General Arlo began. "The latest scout reports place the enemy reinforcements half a day away from the city. We expect them to reach the city just after nightfall."
Pausing for a moment to look each officer in the eye, the wizened warrior continued. "The scouts report seeing at least 25,000 soldiers riding towards us. By combining this report with our other observations, we can expect to face an army with at least 25,000 soldiers and at most 35,000 soldiers."
"The bulk of our battle is before us. This will not be an easy battle." He finished with a heavy sigh.
Hearing his words, the other officers looked at each other with solemnity and wariness in their eyes. The previous siege had almost cut their numbers by a third, leaving them with only 20,000 men capable of battle. Should they face the enemy army in a direct confrontation, there was no doubt that their numbers would be crushed.
Fortunately, they did not have to face the enemy army on an open battlefield. Thanks to the boy emperor's extraordinary efforts, the empire had bought itself the advantage of occupying the city and the tall fortress walls that came along with it.
With stalwart fortifications on their side, the officers wagered the thought that while the upcoming confrontation will be difficult, it shouldn't be impossible to eke out a victory. As such, while the captains looked solemn, they were not feeling hopeless.
The boy emperor, Alexandros, felt none of the shared feeling of cautious relief. In fact, the emotions coursing through his heart were in complete opposition to the shared feelings inside the tent.
'The upcoming battle will not be simple. I have a strange feeling about it.' Alexandros could not pinpoint the reason why he was feeling so. However, he was not so quick to dismiss this unearthly, insubstantial feeling as he remembered the words of his teacher.
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'No feeling borne of the heart is worthless, Your Majesty. There is always a reason behind why we humans feel the feelings we do. While it is impossible for me to identify every such human emotion, there are two emotions which, I dare say, are always constant.'
'In times of fortune, there is human greed. In times of misfortune, heaven's warning.'
Alexandros vividly remembered the mysterious smile on Wuzhi's face when he spoke those words. The smile contained within it the feeling of having seen through the mysterious workings of heaven and earth!
"…heaven's warning," Alexandros quietly mumbled under his breath. His eyes radiated with a fierce light as he scanned the maps in front of him. He then turned towards the wizened general and asked, "Have the fortress walls been repaired?"
"Reporting to your royal eminence," began the old general, "men have already been sent to repair the various cracks and breeches in the fortress walls. This servant also sent the army's practitioners of [Earth Path] and [Fire Path] to raise and bake the foundations of the wall."
The supernatural nature of cultivators allowed for a more comprehensive strategy to be executed. Where it would previously take days for the fortress walls to be raised and strengthened, the profound [Path Techniques] of cultivators shrunk this process into mere hours.
The boy emperor nodded his head at the old general's report. He then proceeded to ask a few more questions, all of which were appropriately answered by the general.
Time passed and Alexandros exited the commander's tent with a heavy heart. The ominous feeling within only continued to grow.
Unfortunately, try as he might, Alexandros was unable to understand heaven's warnings.
---
Night arrived, and with it came hordes of enemy reinforcements.
Standing atop the battlements of the fortress wall, General Arlo levelled a gaze towards the distant army. The lit torches and fluttering banners named his enemies.
"General Arlo… that!" The old general's aide felt his throat cramp. His eyes narrowed with incredulity as he placed the enemy.
"…the younger brother of the Duke of Auberville, Ferdinand," General Arlo quietly muttered. "To think that he would personally come forth." His hands which held to the edges of the stone battlement tightened with emotion.
Ferdinand Sinna de Auberville. There was not a single person within the South Aislu Continent who did not know that name.
The common people knew him as the younger brother of the Duke of Auberville, who wared with his older brother for control over the Auberville Duchy. However, amongst the upper echelons of the continent, Ferdinand was known by another name; Ferdinand Regicida, which, when translated, meant 'Ferdinand, Killer of the Emperor!'
In an incredible twist of fate, the object of the empire's complete hatred stood on the other side of the battlefield, leading the enemy army.
"Wave the banners," General Arlo hoarsely said. "Show them who this city belongs to."
The men under the old general's command immediately obeyed. The empire's banners were waved above the battlements, informing the enemy of the port city's falling.
Minutes passed in disquiet silence as the empire's soldiers watched their enemies set up lines and encampments in the distance. Their blood boiled with hateful fervour at their inability to engage the enemy in battle. The distance between the two armies was too great for the guns and bows to be useful.
General Arlo, whose emotions were not too distant from that of his men, suddenly raised his eyes in confusion. "What are they setting up?" he asked.
"Aren't they setting up camps?" An aide replied hesitantly from the side.
"Some of them are. However, what is 'that' group setting up," he continued, pointing in a specific direction.
The general and his aides, under dim illumination, noticed squads of men building 'something' along the frontlines. The more they watched them build it, the more the empire's officers felt confused.
"Is it… some sort of siege weaponry?" asked someone.
"Nonsense!" disproved another. "What sort of siege weapon is as large as half a man!? It surely is no catapult."
"I can see a three-pronged stand, a large barrel of some sort… oh, they seem to be pouring something into it?"
As he watched the construct being slowly built, a grim feeling emerged and festered within General Arlo's heart. He did not know why but he had a bad feeling about that construct.
"Pass my orders, ask the soldiers too—!!" BOOOM!! The crack of thunder unlike any other exploded in the distance.
A column of fire flashed and climbed within the darkness of the night, and drew a fiery red line in the black canvass. A furious ball of red, incandescent and alluring, arced threw the air and drew ever closer to the port city's walls.
As the empire's forces watched, mesmerized, the glowing ball of light drew ever closer to their position, they found themselves lacking the words to describe this unique sight. Fortunately, or rather, unfortunately, they did not have to describe it.
Falling just before the tall fortress walls, the fiery ball of light struck the barren earth and… BAAAAAMMMM!!!
It exploded.
Far away, Ferdinand watched the artillery shot fall just short of the port city's walls and expressionlessly commanded, "Just the next shot. Aim for the battlement with the greatest number of soldiers atop it."
His orders were conveyed and the second explosive shell was launched towards the port city.
For the first time on the South Aislu Continent, and perhaps even the world, 'Artillery' was introduced into the battlefield of men. And the result was…
… devastating!