Arc 2 Chapter 8: Changing Battlefield (part 1)

(Yuusuke POV)

              “It stinks”

              “Yeah… no kidding”

              I lifted some of the rubbles and the stench immediately grew worse. There, I saw three mangled bodies that were covered in blood. It’s obvious that they were dead but I still went on my knees and checked their pulse. I felt no beating and I quickly closed their frozen eyes. Whatever killed them must have shocked them. So far, every dead body we found had the same look. A fearful gaze that left their eyes white with fear.

              “Just what happened here?”

              “I don’t know. But something tells me were not the only ones here. Did Kayden and Cynthia find anything yet?”

              Horie shook her head as she kept sifting through the debris. You can clearly see the pained expression she had. Although we were fighting the Empire, she still doesn’t like it when she see’s people being killed.

              “Alright. If you want, you can stay outside”

              “It’s alright. I can still keep going”

              Giving me a smile, she kept on going as she slowly went to the next room. As for me, I couldn’t help but worry. This was a forward base that the Empire made. Yet, even though it was recently made, it now lied in shambles. Of course I went and checked with Freyja to see if the kingdom sent forces to deal with the camp… but.

              I never sent anyone there. You sure they didn’t just abandon the place?

That was the reply I got. Seeing that there were bodies here, I’m pretty sure that the men were attacked. By the looks of it, it wasn’t just a simple fight. It was a slaughter. If that really was the case, then I couldn’t help but fear that the kingdom might be next. As I thought about our current dilemma, I noticed that the men outside were beginning to shout in excitement. I rushed towards the exit fearful of what might have happened.

              “What’s happening?”

              I got outside and sure enough, there were several men running towards me. They seemed really excited.

              “He... He… hero sama… agh…”

              They were breathing heavily as they paused to take a breath.

              “We… we found something”

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(Bryan POV)

Have you ever heard of strategic personnel? Its word that’s very common in many military societies back in my world. It’s very simple really. It meant, people that are capable of changing the field of battle to their desire. Their very presence is enough to rally the men as well as cause fear for the enemy. You might be wondering why I’m explaining this to you. Well, it’s simple. Right now, I really want to finish this battle. Freyja agreed and all our strategic personnel were set loose into the battlefield. For the kingdom’s side, I saw Artura leading four other people with her. One of them was the dwarf commander and the other was Cecilia. I didn’t know the last person since he had a scarf covering his face but I can tell he was really strong. As for me, I was currently leading my own army. Besides me, Lily and Rester were brandishing their weapons, a smile on their face.

              “Just like the old days, eh master”

              I couldn’t help but smile.

              “Yeah. Just like the old days”

              We quickly approached the battlefield. Ever since my army’s entered the fight, the Empire had changed tactics and have now turned this battle into a static war. Trenches lined up the battlefield as crossbowmen and archers riddled our sides with a constant barrage of arrows. Ballistae, catapults and other weird contraptions were also firing barrages of magically enhanced boulders that exploded upon contact. Who knew that I would see a battlefield that was akin to my old world.

              “Alright you two. Remember our objective. Break through the entrenchments and destroy those artillery position. After that, our men will charge through”

              “Yeah, we know already”

              “Don’t worry master. We’ll give them hell”

              The two stood ready, their bodies filled with anticipation.

              “Minith. Don’t forget the signal”

              “Hai, master”

              With that, I quickly jumped out into the open followed by Lily. Rester also activated the circuits on his body and stood in front of us. I could see a slight bluish color as he placed his tower shield in front of us. Soon, I heard the whistles of the incoming arrows.

              [Aegis]

              A dome formed around us and the arrows harmlessly bounced away. Of course, that didn’t stop the empire’s soldiers as more arrows came crashing down. Some of them succeeded in breaking through but Lily simply batted them away with her sword.

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              “I’m still surprise that they can actually go through your shield master”

              “That only proves to show that even this world has magic I don’t know about”

              With the occasional arrows breaking through, I enforced the defense circuit with three more layers. Soon, the arrows stopped reaching them as they were stopped by the second and third layers. Suddenly a loud clang could be heard and I saw Rester’s body move back a bit. After a few second, I heard a thump as Rester relaxed his body.

              “Pesky little things [Hell’s Judgement]”

              He raised his Warhammer into the air and immediately hit the ground in front of him. Suddenly, cracks began opening from the ground, snaking its way to one of the forward ballista. I saw knights jumping off as the contraption sunk into the ground. Then, I saw more ballista aimed towards us.

              [Two minute burst, HE. 50 degrees, left 20]

              As I ordered the artillery crew behind our lines, I saw two bolts coming for us. One managed to reach us though it was quickly stopped by Rester’s shield. The other only sailed pass us. As the bolt fell the floor, I heard a soft whistle. Soon, explosions began lining up the area in front of us.

              “NOW!”

              Breaking from Rester’s cover, I quickly ran towards the nearest trench. There, I saw several men aiming their crossbows at me. I took out my pistol and my knife and jumped towards them. They managed to shoot their bolts but I simply parried them away. As surprised as they were, instincts must have taken over as they cleanly reached for their swords. It was too late however as I pointed my gun at them. Squeezing the trigger, I felt the small recoil as the men in front of me fell with a pained look in their eyes. I then took my knife and immediately stabbed at the guy on my right. Seeing it, he tried to use his crossbow as a shield. It didn’t help him though as I tore through the wood and plunged the knife deeply into his throat. In one pull, I then aimed at another man killing two people at the exact same time.

              “Master!”

              “I’m fine. Just focus on the artillery”

              Rester nodded as he bulldozed his way through the trenches. Comically, I saw many men being flung out of the trenches. They seemed daze though Lily made sure to finish the job. She then began chanting and several fireballs materialized around her. Each flame was then sent to different parts of the trenches, exploding upon contact.

              “Can’t you be a bit more inconspicuous?”

              “Nah. I like making a huge racket”

              I rolled my eyes as I flipped another soldier to the ground. I then plunged my knife into his throat, ending his life. In front of me, more men were beginning to gather. This trench line is rather wide.

              “Shield wall!”

              The men formed a phalanx. Huge shields covered their front as rows and rows of pikes slowly approached me. I aimed my pistol towards them and pulled the trigger.

              *clang* *clang*

              To my surprise, the bullets harmlessly bounced of their shields.

              [Fox Whisper]

              I aimed the gun once again and fired at the middle most section of the phalanx. Blue flames emerged from the guns barrel, tearing itself through the formation. Many of the men dropped their shields as the flames hungered for their flesh. As for the men who didn’t get hit, they dropped their formation and charged at me with swords. I brandished my knife, excitement welling inside me.

              “Let’s get started”

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(Freyja POV)

“Wow, they sure are killing a lot of them”

I stared at the map in front of me. Currently, I was in the command post that Bryan made. It was some type of vehicle that was capable of hovering thousands of feet in the air. Of course, it has no battle capabilities and was restricted for intelligence. But, you have to admit. Bryan sure knows how innovate.

              “Madame, the enemy is beginning to retreat”

              “Really!”

              I stared at the map in front of me. If you were to look, the empire seemed very rigid in holding their positions. But, the more you look, the more you can see that the lines were beginning to fall back. In other words, they were finally leaving the trenches.

              “We need to capitalize on this. How are the skies looking?”

              “Allied forces are at 89% strength. Enemy has sustain 90% casualties”

              “Good, send in the air cav. Tell them to breach through and create a small perimeter behind enemy lines”

              My message was instantly conveyed and a screen popped up in the middle of the map. There, I saw video coverage of men entering several vehicles that looked like planes. They weren’t planes though, they were hovercrafts. Each had two magic fed engines that allowed the craft to hover. They also had a hybrid look between a helicopter and a plane so they looked really futuristic in comparison with this world.

              “Anti-air nets are being deployed by the enemy!”

              “Have the Gryphic knights assist the landing. Make sure we get that beachhead”

              Mwu… these empire people are beginning to be annoying. They’ve been countering a lot of my tactics and as a goddess, it’s really unheard of. Even with the technological advantage we have, the empire’s managed to counter us with highly sophisticated magic that even the gods would be jealous of not knowing. Who knew humanity is capable of doing this.

              “Madame, here”

              May was passing me a cup which I gladly took. Taking a sip, I let the drink pour into my throat. The fruity taste instantly blended with the milk creating a unique texture. Ahh… it’s really relaxing.

              “Thanks May”

              “No problem. You look really stressed”

              I sighed.

              “Yeah… these empire dogs really know how to fight. No wonder they’ve manage to conquer the neighboring kingdoms”

              As we talked, I saw another video feed. This time, huge war turtles could be seen. A top of them, catapults and two ballistae’s were mounted on the front. They kept a constant fire as the men bellow them kept shouting to one another. Then, unsurprisingly, the turtle fell into two halves. The poor creature didn’t even have time to think as it died right on the spot. In the middle, the figure of Bryan could be seen. Far away, I can also see the other war turtles fall to the ground, dying. I guess Lily and Rester managed to clear their sides too.

              “Well, there goes the artillery. Order the charge”

              “Yes mam!”

              Suddenly, the lines began to change and several video feeds popped in front of me. The militia groups led the charge as they thundered to the front lines. With lances pointed towards their enemies, they waved the banner of the kingdom proudly into the air. Besides them, the 1st, 2nd and 5th Regalia infantry also made their move. With bayonets fixed, the three companies charged forward with their guns blazing.

              “Oye, why aren’t the knights charging?”

              “No confirmation yet milady. But it seems one of the nobles are holding them all back”

              “Tch…”

              I stood their annoyed as the knights stood back and watched the battle.

              “They’ll cost us the war! [ARTURA!]

              [Whoa, what happened?]

              A startled voice answered back. I didn’t care to change my tone seeing as I was really getting annoyed.

              [The knights aren’t charging. Right now, if we run through the empire as one, we can finally end this battle. At the moment though, your men are hindering our victory]

              [… alright, I’ll see what I can do then]

              As the link abruptly ended, I saw Artura beckon to one of the Gryphic knights. The man landed besides her long enough for Artura to hitch a ride. They then flew back to the knights forces. I took my attention away from them though as I stared at the rough battle occurring. Horses ran by the soldiers, impaling and slicing into the ranks of men. Some of them were pulled from their horses and were immediately stabbed by many weapons. As for Bryan’s men, they took a slow approach, shooting and running for cover. Each squad covered for each other as small machine gun emplacements were placed creating killing zones. The riflemen protected the gunners while the shock troopers secured frontal positions for the men to entrench themselves in. As for support, tanks were at the very back of the charge firing and destroying anything in their way. Of course, we only had four of them but that was enough. As this was all happening, several red dots began to appear. Looks like the Empire’s finally taking this seriously. With a sigh, I leaned back on the chair I was seating on.

              “I guess the real fight begins now”