The intensity of the battlefield rapidly heated up, with terrifying and ghastly corpses falling nearly every second. The entire domain had become a meat grinder.
Henry stood at the high ground overlooking Valley, feeling deeply shaken by the grisly scene before him. The toughness and ferocity of the humans exceeded his imagination.
The infantry assault vehicle corps was a new style of regiment, with the soldiers, officers and commanders all being Ryton's finest. Equating to ancient times, this was the strongest order of human knights on the continent.
The wedge formation of the hammer drakes could not scatter the charging regiments. They were not in the perfect condition of Alvis' cohorts, and the Ryton soldiers were no mere third-rate goods like Karuk's forces.
The humans split into over a thousand small groups of three or two, unleashing bullets from bowguns and thunderstorm bombs onto the hammer drakes with abandon. The hammer drakes firing shells within Valley could not attack this battlefield, lest they injure their own comrades.
However, the artillery arrays behind the human forces showed no fear of bombardment. Guided by observer soldiers, they targeted the hammer drakes embroiled with their allies, their relatively small blast radius proving advantageous in avoiding friendly fire.
Infantry assault vehicle corps also enveloped from outside Valley, trapping the exterior hammer drakes in a treacherous three-way encirclement.
Henry knew the hammer drakes' stamina and energy were rapidly depleting. They needed to replenish their physical forms to regain combat ability; otherwise, they would only grow weaker.
"Order all hammer drakes to withdraw!" he told the blood wyvern beside him. "Have the kobolds provide breath cannon cover for them."
From the rear lines, Hessman watched as those massive beast-mountains finally could not persist, beginning their retreat toward Valley.
"Push the front lines forward. Train the mana cannons on the dragons' lair and open fire!"
"Sir! We have depleted over seventy percent of our mage crystals, uranite pellets and chunks. Thunderbolts are also running low. Shall we make camp and rest?"
The adjutant reported after tallying their expenditures.
Hessman nodded. "Have the infantry assault vehicle and infantry regiments fall back to regroup, but keep the mage cannons firing. Reduce the rate if needed, but maintain suppressive fire."
The battle dragons in the air also finally attempted withdrawal, as hours of intense battle had exhausted both sides.
The griffin squadrons disengaged first, scattering in all directions.
Ryton's dragons, shielded by arcane barriers, also tried to break contact, successfully evading pursuit from crimson dragon.
Arnold fluttered over, panting heavily. "Raphael…I feel like my body doesn't even belong to me anymore. Everything aches, just like that time we climbed Mount Logatas, and the next day my bones felt completely shattered."
Raphael's energies remained steady as he gazed at the Ryton forces starting to make camp, the shells from the hammer drakes largely blocked by their anti-air artillery. The dragon kin offensive had been largely neutralized in the air.
The enemy had resupplied new troops, weapons and power sources from the constantly ferrying transport ships.
"Hmph!"
Raphael grunted in dissatisfaction, but his stamina, vigor and mana were likewise more than half spent, requiring rest and replenishment.
"Let's go," he told Arnold.
Within Valley.
Milmos was scurrying about anxiously. Hearing the blood wyverns announce the master's return, he immediately gathered an armful of parchments and hurried back to the upper courtyard.
"Master!"
Spotting crimson dragon, he scrambled over, urgently explaining, "Besides this human main force to our front, they've deployed two other strike teams - one to our northwest, around the underground city's location. And another emerged in Bodlan Forest, possibly intending to attack Pillar Mountain."
"Such events transpired?"
Raphael pulled out a map, frowning as he examined it. "An attack on Pillar Mountain is inconsequential, but if they sever our supply route, that would be disastrous."
Milmos continued, "The humans to the northwest are equipped with some kind of iron cart that moves swiftly through the earth, and their strength and courage are formidable. Our hammer drakes, having expended half our power, cannot rout them through charges or bombardment."
"New weapons?"
Raphael paid no mind to the hammer drakes' inability to pierce the human forces.
This gang had received no training from Alvis, fighting recklessly without thinking. Moreover, their Cinder Shells accuracy was quite poor.
Alvis' hammer drakes were accompanied by elite demi-human soldiers to clear obstacles, and they simply charged forward, with following regiments reinforcing to mop up the battlefield.
The hammer drakes of Valley could only rely on themselves, finding the multitude of targets too difficult to handle, resulting in defeat.
Milmos then had the Kobolds drive Kliren camels to pull up a damaged infantry assault vehicle which was one that had been destroyed nearby by the dragonbreath cannons. The retreating hammer drakes had dragged it away on the way out.
Raphael carefully examined the vehicle's construction...but could discern nothing special about it.
"Master!"
The blood wyvern came to report the latest reconnaissance. "Humans are transporting more of those vehicles and supplies along the riverbank. They're using another, even larger iron vehicle to move resources northward to the enemy forces in the northwest."
Stolen novel; please report.
"What are the hammer drake casualties and remaining energy levels? How are our supply and weapon stockpiles?" Raphael knew the Ryton logistics would be unceasing, their easy landing in the east foreshadowing this.
Milmos reported a number that made the crimson dragon's heart sink halfway.
"Prepare for a full withdrawal to Pillar Mountain," Raphael decided after a deep sigh.
"I had actually started preparations earlier," Milmos replied.
Raphael nodded silently in acknowledgment of his decision.
Then Arnold crawled over, face contorted in pain. "Raphael, I may not be able to help you today. My mana is still alright, but my body can't take anymore."
The life-and-death battlefield was far more terrifying than the golden dragon imagined. The cunning enemies wove intricate paths from all directions. Their numerical advantage kept Arnold's nerves frayed, thunderbolts, anti-air fire and spells flying everywhere. Emerging only lightly wounded was quite talented.
"Very well…. Notify Old Flame not to fly recklessly, but sustain bombardment of Bodlan Forest this afternoon to cover our withdrawal," Raphael had to agree.
Just then, the noise of a communication orb sounded. Looking at it, he saw it was a message from Alvis.
"Hopefully it's good news," the crimson drake muttered to himself.
...
Hessman watched as the new tracked transport vehicles arrived laden with plentiful supplies, feeling they had nearly 90% certainty of victory. Evil dragon's remaining dragon kin forces were little more than a guttering flame.
"Was the journey unimpeded?" he asked, striding over to the logistics commander with concern.
"General, it went almost entirely smoothly. Those dragon kin didn't dare try to intercept us. Their long-range firebolt barrage was inconsequential."
"Excellent!"
Hessman was delighted. The infantry assault vehicle drained uranite power sources far too quickly, unable to charge at full speed for very long before depletion.
Engineers were constructing temporary fortifications. Part of the aerial griffin knights and battle dragons had landed here, recovering combat ability and stamina with the aid of clerics and handlers.
He took out a communication orb to report to headquarters:
"…Resupply successful. Nine infantry assault vehicles lost, combat efficacy average, but that's because the enemy was comprised of uniquely massive behemoths. Against orcs or demi-humans, our infantry could penetrate enemy lines and rout them…"
Fils Town:
After hearing the various commanders' frontline reports, the staff began considering their next moves.
"Evil dragons will surely retreat, with Pillar Mountain as their destination." They easily deduced Raphael's next action. "The dragon kin know Andalos has appeared at their jugular. Once we reinforce and seal that gap, the evil dragon's claws will be trapped with no escape. So the Calamity Demon can only flee continued resistance."
"We should leverage Hessman's mobility to rapidly traverse westward and reinforce Andalos' corps in driving back the dragon kin blocking them. This would form a pincer attack, allowing us to hound evil dragon's retreating minions for maximum attrition."
...
September 4th, 1pm
After reorganizing, the Imperial allied forces outside southern Erl prepared to launch a second offensive wave.
The battered 9th Corps, having received rear reinforcements, still spearheaded the attack.
From the command airship, Cornet ordered: "Besides the original Imperial corps, incorporate elite infantry from Morey's punitive force, bringing the vanguard's strength to thirty thousand."
"Deploy seventy percent of the field mana cannon batteries from the cluster armies to the second line, divided into four fire coverages to engage the enemy's forward lines, flanks and outlying fortresses."
"Establish griffin landing zone and dragon training ground in the third line. They must launch before the battle starts. Intersperse the anti-air contingents between the three lines to guard against wyvern strikes."
A staff officer suddenly spoke up: "Commander, what about logistics for the flanking corps? To sustain the frontline troops, the soldiers guarding the cluster armies' flanks haven't even eaten lunch yet, and their weapon resupplies are inadequate."
Due to Imperial High Command forcing this attack today, the aftermath of Raphael's earlier air raid had to be borne.
The transport ships' efficiency was limited, prioritizing weapons, equipment and uranite power over food rations.
What was allocated went to the soldiers about to charge, leaving the remaining troops hungry.
"It can't be helped," Cornet shook his head. "We're pressed for time and must concentrate resources on the spearhead. Strategically, attackers and defenders cannot have equal strength - massing superior forces on the attack is paramount."
The staff officer nodded. "The latest intelligence shared by our Ryton allies indicates the ranged breath of the hammer drakes can be predetonated by concentrating anti-air fire, reducing harm to ground forces. However, this requires highly skilled gunners."
"Mm, pass it along," Cornet nodded, surveying the teeming ranks below, his every word able to change their disposition instantly.
This was unparalleled authority, but also tremendous responsibility. He dared not imagine the consequences of defeat.
...
Akuniryas was among those reinforcements brought to the vanguard.
"Soldiers of Morey, now we shall reclaim our lost lands!" he addressed a group of highly spirited troops.
"Our Natterian brethren have probed the enemy's true strength - around a thousand hammer drakes, some four thousand kobolds, likely ten thousand demi-humans from Dispute Plain, plus those 'mightiest' from the old era."
Akuniryas bellowed, "Though we are outnumbered and outmatched, this has always been Morey's domain. What rights do these foreign tribes have to occupy it? It is an evil deed! We merely take back our homeland, reclaiming ancestral soil!"
"Take back our homeland!"
The Morey soldiers' morale soared.
Akuniryas turned to survey the blackened, debris-strewn landscape, the flowing offal and bones stark evidence of the enemy's earlier ferocious resistance. His corps could well perish entirely within.
But this could not stop their charge. Failing to kill the evil dragon would unleash greater calamity on more innocents. They did not fear sacrifice.
"Prepare to attack!"
Airborne griffin signallers hovered over the vanguard infantry, constantly relaying reminders, as three battle dragons and over a thousand griffin knights swooped ahead!
Akuniryas watched as their forces continually bombarded the ground with arcane barrages and uranite rounds. But hammer drakes lurking in outlying forests soon counterattacked, Cinder of Oblivion arcing through the air!
Boom! Boom!
Field mage cannons roared, salvo after salvo of energy blasts saturating the entire forested area, leaving no terrain unscathed by devastation.
"Cease forward bombardment! All units charge!"
The griffin signaller relayed the assault order!
Akuniryas immediately began leapfrogging forward with his comrades, seeking whatever cover they could to close on the rising layered defenses.
Whoosh! Gouts of draconic flame abruptly billowed outward, engulfing several allied soldiers who failed to take cover, leaving them shrieking and convulsing in death.
The dragon kin retaliated with dragonbreath cannons, micro-mage cannons and fixed turret batteries attacking the scattered human forces across the entire line.
The first defensive bombardment was well-supplied, forcing Akuniryas to cower in a shell crater as horrific artillery rained overhead.
"They actually wield weapons nearly matching our own!"
He was greatly surprised, expecting at most arcane barrages or draconic tech as obstructive firepower - not the familiar uranite ordnance.
Buzz! Buzz!
Griffin knights strafed overhead, beginning aerial suppression of the defensive line, as battle dragons weaved through Cinder of Oblivion and salvos to bombard ground targets.
"Now's our chance!"
Sensing a lull in the artillery barrage, Akuniryas suddenly rolled out and sprinted forward.
But a mana shell slammed squarely into his body, blasting him into a deep crater!
"Ugh…I've been hit. Am I dying?"
Akuniryas remained conscious, aware of the massive impact. Memories of the gruesome fates awaiting those unlucky enough to take direct mana shell hits flashed through his mind.
Yet that familiar, controlling sense over his flesh soon manifested. Looking down in shock, he saw not a scratch - his chest still rose and fell with breath, muscles and skin wholly uninjured despite the blast cavity that should have formed.
"This is just like when that evil dragon attacked me…and that strange dream…"
Akuniryas shook his head, dismissing the errant thoughts as he prepared to keep advancing. But a feeling of vitality was slowly diminishing.
"Huff…I feel like I'm about to die…Was it the cannon hit? But why am I unwounded?"
Puzzled, he saw comrades continuing to push forward, some unlucky ones falling in agony from relatively minor wounds, the graphic injuries too grotesque to behold directly.
Mustering his remaining fortitude, Akuniryas charged ahead.