Chapter 8
January 8th, 1664.
The new year came and went with no celebrations done. The Empire had dedicated every single facet of their society to the war effort.
Massive barges made of wooden planks vibrating with magical runes were slowly being pushed on logs towards the ferry station. Thousands of men were inside each one, waiting to feel the boat rock on the water.
The Bickenstadt-Regenstadt forces watched the barges slowly roll over. Cannons fired and cannonballs bounced off enchanted hulls harmlessly, greatly unnerving the defenders. The Regenstadt troops stood at the waterline, looking confident. They had grappling hooks and grenades, ready to board the war barges when they could.
Behind the barges massed the rest of the Grand Imperial Army, ready to board the boats and row over to the grounded ships.
The barges hit the water, displacing massive waves as they cut through. Because of their massive, hulking size, it would take them a little bit to get across. Men at the top deck aimed cannons at the defenders and fired, tearing holes in their lines and smashing unenchanted palisades to splinters.
A howitzer from Waffenstadt was rolled into position and the artillerist adjusted it up. An ice mage covered a large iron ball in ice, then the crew loaded it in. The howitzer fired, and the cannonball flew in a great arc.
The mage watched as the ball got closer to the ship and, right as it was above the deck, he detonated the ice, raining down glacial spikes onto the Imperials. A man was pinned to the deck by lhis eg as a three foot long icicle pierced him. He screamed at the top of his lungs, joined soon after by the other injured men around him.
This pattern was repeated on the top deck of each of the six barges, killing and maiming a dozen men at once. Cannons continued to bombard the barges, to no effect, greatly demoralizing the crews and defenders at large.
An Imperial officer smiled as he watched the defenders scramble around. He heard the sound of cannons firing and watched as an iron ball slammed into a knot of defenders, killing a few and knocking over the rest. He looked over and saw men walking on the water, scanning his eyes over the rest of the defenses and-
“What the fuck?!”
The Regenstadt troops marched in a column on the water, running up to one of the barges. Men threw grappling hooks up on the ship and began to climb, faster than the Imperials could react. They weren’t expecting anyone to literally walk across the water.
A Regenstadter pulled the cord out of his grenade and it began to hiss. He threw it through an opening carved in for cannons and smiled as he watched dust fly out of the opening and screams echo through the boat.
Dozens of grenades were thrown into the barges, blasting the men inside and deafening anyone lucky enough to avoid the shockwaves. The grenades were not shrapnel grenades, they killed through sheer explosive force.
Imperials leaned over the railings and fired down on the climbing Regenstadters. Men fell and slammed into the water like it was solid ground, their enchanted clothing preventing them from falling through the surface of the river, lying there like they were on solid ground.
Grenades flew up onto the top deck and burst with a deafening boom, and a few seconds later men climbed over the side, pistols and sabers drawn. They fired into the defenders before they could get off their shots and charged, cutting down the surprised and concussed attackers.
Men ran down the stairs, fighting or running past the attackers, looking for the powder reserves. A Regenstadter found it, defended by a few dozen men with knives and bayonets. The Regenstadters smashed into them, and a whirlwind of death began.
A saber flew through the air and slashed through a man’s face, slamming him down onto the wood floor, his blood pouring out and his brain visible through the massive gash. An Imperial ran at a Regenstadter, who raised his pistol and fired, barely missing the charging man by a hair’s breadth.
The Imperial slammed into the Regenstadter bayonet first, piercing his gut and knocking him to the floor, forcibly ripping the bayonet out. The Regensburger tried to stand and fight back but found the strength rapidly leaving him, and the Imperial thrust his bayonet down into the man’s neck, ending his suffering.
A Regenstadter took a long fuse and stuck it in a powder barrel. He gave a thumbs up to his comrades, who fought even harder to finish off the defending attackers. Soon the area was clear, and they lengthened the fuse by tying multiple together.
They lit the end and ran, grabbing any of their comrades they found along the way. The Regenstadters jumped over the sides and slid down their ropes. They gathered in their columns and ran from the barge, turning back at a safe distance and watching it nervously.
After around fifteen seconds a massive explosion rocked the boat, sending vibrations through the water and waves onto the shore, knocking over the Regenstadters standing in the middle of the lake.
The top deck exploded upward, sending wood and iron flying out in every direction. The hull of the barge was intact, somehow, but the inside was completely destroyed, and most of the men were dead. The Imperials didn’t think something like that could happen, but they pushed on regardless of the losses. The defenders cheered as they watched a massive fireball erupt from another one of the barges.
The Imperials of the other barges managed to push back the Regenstadters, who retreated after the Imperials crossed the halfway point. All of the barges continued forward, one of them simply floating along through momentum alone, the crew having been killed by Regenstadters.
Their cannons fired into the crowds of defenders, and Bickenstadt cannons hit dangerously close to the openings on the barges. One ball perfectly threaded the needle and smashed a cannon, destroying it and the man behind it utterly.
As the barges got closer the cannons angled downwards, and when they were within a few dozen yards they fired their grapeshot, raining an iron hail down on the defenders, maiming dozens of men in less than a second.
Finally, the barges hit the riverbanks, and the massive doors in front dropped. Imperials rushed forward and were cut down by the volley fire of the defenders. Even more men flooded out of the ships and fired, keeping the defender’s heads down as they pushed forward.
Imperials jumped down into the trenches and began to push the defenders back, slowly and steadily. An Imperial thrust his bayonet forward and caught the neck of a Bickenstadter, drawing forth a massive torrent of blood from the pierced carotid artery. Another bayonet flew at him and his comrade batted it aside before killing the Bickenstadter who thrusted.
Grenades flew from the Imperials and exploded amongst the defending men, sending some flying and others dropping down hard. Imperials rushed the gaps they created and spread the defenders out, attacking the scattered lines in their neat Imperial formations.
Bickenstadt grenades fell amongst the Imperial lines and burst, filling everyone in the radius with deadly shrapnel, and a few unlucky men outside of the effective range as well. An Imperial officer raised his saber to order a charge but dropped a second later as shrapnel ripped through his spine. Bickenstadt grenadiers pushed against the Imperials, taking back ground slowly, inch by inch.
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The din of battle could be heard for miles around as battles raged across the great river, muskets firing in unison, cannons letting loose their salvos, and men screaming at the top of their lungs, both in fury and pain. Both sides refused to give up ground without a fight, pushing against each other and sending more and more men into the meat grinder.
A grenadier held his musket backwards and slammed his gunbutt down onto the head of an Imperial, his helmet providing very little defense against the massive blunt force trauma the grenadier could produce. Men grappled with each other on the ground, fighting to gain the advantage, as well as sticking knives in between gaps in armor.
A Bickenstadter screamed and held the wrist of the Imperial straddling him, knife steadily being pushed down, closer and closer to his neck. The Imperial lifted himself and slammed down with his full bodyweight, shoving the knife into the man’s neck. He pushed the knife down and to the side, tearing open the Bickenstadter’s throat. He stood from his crouch and dropped like a puppet with its strings cut as a bullet ripped through his skull.
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The melee continued for over an hour, with reserves constantly being called up, and exhausted Imperials being replaced with fresh troops. The Bickenstadt-Regenstadt forces were holding, but they were swiftly running out of men, while the Imperials always had more, crossing the river slowly in rowboats.
An Imperial’s head was smashed in with the butt of a gun and the Bickenstadter was ran through a second later. An Imperial officer raised his saber and ordered his men to charge, which they did. He slashed at a Bickenstadter when he was shot through the side, knocking him over. Before he could get back up his enemy thrust into his neck, twisting and ripping out his bayonet before moving on.
Two men were stuck in a clinch, having abandonded their weapons and resorting to kneeing each other over and over. Eventually, the Bickenstadter dropped, unable to take any more. The Imperial drew a knife from his side and slashed the man’s neck, putting it back in its sheath and picking up his discarded musket before continuing forward.
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“Sir! The Bickenstadters are holding! However, it shouldn’t take too much more to break them. They’re already marching wounded and exhausted men away from the station!”
Hans stood up from his table.
“Send in the Empress, and then the Demigryph knights!”
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An Imperial soldier was exhausted and terrified. He was running in formation with his friends, and a second later everyone surrounding him was dead. He sat in a ball and hoped that the enemy didn’t notice him, and especially that his comrades didn’t notice him playing dead. Then, he heard a voice from behind, a feminine one, comforting, but with an aura of absolute authority.
“Men! Your Empress is here! Fight on! We will win!”
Something within him slowly stirred, he grabbed his musket and stood, resolving himself to fight to the death. He charged forward alone, thrusting and slashing with wild abandon. He managed to kill three Bickenstadters before he was injured, a bullet punching through his shoulder. He was alive, but injured, and his bravery seeped out of his body alongside his blood.
The Empress boarded the barge with a flag over her shoulder. She walked up the stairs, each man she passed giving her a crisp salute. On the top of the deck she strode forward and hoisted the flag of the Empire high, waving it as she shouted, enhanced with her honor guard's wind magic.
“Men of the Empire! Your Empress is here! Fight! Fight as hard as you can! Relief is coming! PUSH!”
The Imperials cheered and screamed at the top of their lungs as they charged forward, redoubling their efforts. They chanted the Empress’s name and thrust their bayonets forward, killing and maiming Bickenstadters and Regenstadters.
They fought hard, as did the defenders, and when the fighting got most intense, a loud shriek echoed through the surroundings, causing everyone around to freeze in place. They looked up and saw the beating wings and massive frames of the Demigryph knights. The Imperials cheered, and defenders began to rout.
The men who held firm were smashed to bits and pieces by the Demigryph knights, shredded by razor sharp talon and pierced through by enchanted glaive. As more and more Imperials flooded into the defender’s positions, more and more of them began to run.
Mere minutes after the deployment of the Demigryph knights the position was entirely secured by Imperials, and the Bickenstadt-Regenstadt army was forced into a fighting retreat.
Hans Volkner crossed the river and ran up through the barge, meeting the Empress at the top. She waved her flag and the Imperials chanted her name, saluting her as hard as they could.
“Ma’am, I think that went well.”
The Empress smiled. Her smiles never failed to send a jolt down Han’s spine, her beauty, and her special ability, always entranced him fully.
“Yes, Hans, I agree.”
She watched the retreating defenders with a look of pure joy on her face.
“That is something that I will never get tired of. Watching the enemy run away. It’s cathartic.”
“Agreed. However, as much as I would like to pursue them, I think we should refrain, for now. At least until the light cavalry gets across.”
“And why is that?”
“I have been informed that we have had unusually high rates of officer and NCO casualties. Chain of command is beginning to break down, we need to reorganize.”
The Empress nodded.
“Alright, that sounds perfectly reasonable.”
She turned in her spot, handing the flag to Hans.
“Show them who their general is. Scream your name and have them worship you. I have business to attend to.”
Hans nodded and took the flag, standing up on the railing and waving it high in the air.
“I am General Hans Volkner! I have led you men to victory on this day! And I will give you even more glory in the coming months!”
The soldiers cheered and ‘Volkner! Volkner! Volkner! Volkner!’
Hans smiled brightly as he waved the flag back and forth, soaking in their applause. He chuckled to himself.
“I could get used to this.”
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January 11th, 1663. Leibenstadt.
The Baron sat at his desk in camp, writing sorrowful letters to the families of the fallen. Some people held that he had better things to do, like planning the taking of the second and third layer of defenses, however, he felt it was a necessary thing to do. He was sending their sons to die, after all.
He set down his pen and stretched. He had been writing nonstop for an hour or two, which always took a toll on his arms and back. Someone entered his tent and he instinctively reached for his saber.
“Sir! A message from the birds! It’s from Fergus in the north!”
The Baron released his saber and gestured for the man to come closer.
“Well then, let us see what he has to offer. Good news I hope.”
The soldier handed the Baron a letter and saluted before leaving. The Baron opened it and read out quietly out loud.
“Baron…we’ve LOST THE RIVER!”
The Baron shot up, sending his chair tumbling to the ground.
“Fuck! I didn’t think they’d lose it so fast!”
He looked around his tent and thought aloud, chewing his thumbnail all the while.
“I can’t send reinforcements to them we need everyone here…if anything we need more guys here…fuck!”
He swiped everything off of his desk in a show of extreme rage.
“They just need to…fucking hell.”
He crouched and grabbed everything off the floor, setting it back on his desk before sitting back down and writing.
“Do not…let them reach…Bickenstadt. Sell your lives dearly…and I will come to relieve you…within the next…year or so.”
He looked at the ceiling of his tent and sighed heavily.
“Fuck…didn’t think they’d fold so quickly.”
He picked the letter back up and read the rest of it.
“They deployed the…demigryph…knights.”
The Baron sighed.
“I see.”
The Baron began to write again.
“I understand that you have…quite the…fuckin’...enemy to face, so all I ask is that you keep them away from Bickenstadt. Stay safe, keep my men…relatively safe…and don’t die. Baron.”