Shem had done it. Against all odds he had united the kingdoms against the Troglodytes, trained up an army of farmers into formidable warriors, gained their loyalty, defended the surrounding cities and now, executed the most advanced defense strategy Applacea had ever seen. Not only that, but he had now solidified his men’s confidence in his ability and rallied their fighting spirit.
Now all he had to do was win the most difficult battle in the history of the world. “All in a day's work.” he thought to himself with a smile. The enemy was preparing and drawing closer. He ran through the checklist in his mind and knew the strategies he planned to employ in order to gain maximum effectiveness with the available armaments and troops. He just hoped that there wouldn’t be any nasty surprises. If there were, he would have to think fast to deal with, which he wasn’t too worried about, but the outcome of this battle would be decided in every move, big and small.
There was no room for error and his best chance of survival was smooth execution every step of the way. He was in a strong starting position as their defenses and morale were strong. They had the home field advantage. The troggs were on the offensive, so they would have to throw everything they had in order to break through and take the stronghold. The problem was that Shem knew all too well that “everything they had.” was quite a lot. The hordes of savage creatures seemed endless.
He had gone on a ruthless campaign to defend their borders, consolidate power, and drive the troglodytes back, but every time Shem and his armies defeated one horde another seemed to spring up instantly in its place. With any luck, a full-frontal assault on the Nivean capital would be so costly to the troglodyte forces that they would never be able to recover, and Shem could hunt them down and finish this once and for all.
He donned his helmet and prepared for battle as the troggs recovered from his army's battle cries and began to move forward. As Shem had anticipated, they sent out the fodder first. He had his archers at the ready to wipe them out. A vast sea of smaller troggs spread out and came over the hill like a tsunami preparing to crash against a lighthouse.
“Archers, ready!” Shem shouted. They drew their bows in synchronized precision. Ready to target their approaching foes. “Aim!” The men chose their targets instantly. “Fire!” he screamed. The unfortunate troggs who emerged from the forest first were instantly pelted by massive volleys of arrows. Shem was satisfied with the skill of his men. Their accuracy was impeccable, and the fodder hordes were being decimated, just as he had predicted.
They could definitely be a nuisance and even a danger if they came in large enough numbers and were allowed to get close, but he had stationed his archers specifically for this outcome. He had studied their tactics in previous battles and with each encounter gained deeper insights into their battle strategies. It was a major part of what allowed them to win so many battles that they would have otherwise lost. Especially in the early days when he was still trying to fight against rebellion, consolidate power, and build up trust between the warring provinces. Not to mention the anger and jealousy his title of Koa had brought him and the controversy surrounding the prophecy. Looking back, he was still amazed they had survived and come this far. Now he was finally in a position to deal the killing blow and he would not take it for granted. His mind was sharper than ever, his body more resilient. He was determined to crush the enemy and see peace in his lifetime.
“Ready, aim, Fire!” Shem called again. Another volley obliterated the trogg fodder. His confidence was building, but he tempered his rising excitement. He had to keep a level head. He couldn’t make the mistake of becoming overconfident, for he knew that if he did, it could spell certain disaster for himself and his men. This battle wasn’t about glory or his own ego. He was well aware of the responsibility he carried on his shoulders for the men, women, and children of Applacea and he wouldn’t allow pride to stand in his way.
The volley of arrows continued, and Shem was satisfied with how effective their attacks were. He had chosen the archers for this task specifically because volleys were effective against the small hordes, they didn’t rely too heavily on direct accuracy like the firearms, and arrows were relatively cost efficient and plentiful. If he’d used his long-range weapons like many others may have done in this situation along with his firearms, he could spend nearly all of his most valuable and powerful assets simply trying to keep them at bay, which is undoubtedly what the enemy was hoping for.
The way things were going now, he could keep this up nearly indefinitely, rotating his archers so they would have a chance to rest and not tire too quickly. As long as he could maintain his battlements, he would have a superior fighting position and tactical advantage. Even with the enemy's long-range weapons he wasn’t in too much danger of losing the battlements. The advantage for the enemy of the nearby forest was that it provided cover, but it also hindered the range of their longest-range weapons. Shem found himself mumbling words of gratitude for the geography surrounding the fortress.
Without those trees present, the troggs could calibrate their long-range weapons to do devastating damage to his walls over an extended period of time and he would have a difficult time retaliating without putting forces at extreme risk out in the open. It would take much trial and error and an incredible time investment to get the right calibration, but once they found their mark, it would be a powerful blow against his army. The prolonged process of calibration would also leave them vulnerable for the defending target to come up with a strategy for taking out the long-ranged weapons as well. So, it would even out a little, but Shem would much rather have things as they were.
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Conversely, If the trees were too close to the fortress it would provide the enemy with ample cover until they were right next to their target. This would allow them to gather all their forces under cover and then strike en masse, overwhelming the fortress before his men had a chance to repel against the onslaught. As it was, it was far enough away to create an obstruction for the enemies long ranged weapons while also leaving an ample stretch of space to create a generous no man’s land where the trogg forces would be left out in the open for an extended period upon leaving the cover of the trees. This allowed his men enough time to thin their ranks as they approached the outer wall.
The waves of fodder continued to spill out of the forest and Shem continued to order his men to rain volleys of arrows on them. It was getting to the point that the original archers were beginning to lose range. “Rotation!” Shem shouted and the archers changed places. They instantly regained their initial range and accuracy. Shem smiled. All was going well so far. Then things suddenly took a turn for the worse. The hordes continued to spill out onto the battlefield. There were so many that the archers were unable to keep up with them. "Where do they all come from?" Shem thought with frustration. The throng of ravenous little troggs was moving closer and closer. Unless they were able to thin the ranks faster, the enemy would eventually reach the walls, which would be a massive blow to their strategic advantage.
Shem gritted his teeth, quickly running through a dozen different scenarios in his mind, trying to parse out as quickly as he could, which response would be most beneficial in light of this change on the battlefield. “We need to thin the ranks!” One of the officers cried. “Yes,” Shem yelled back. “Shall I push the reserves?” The officer called. That was one of the many options Shem was considering. What the officer was proposing could work, but it would be a risk. If he had the archers that had just rotated out join back into the assault, it would give him the extra firepower he needed to thin out the ranks faster, but then they would tire faster and it could cost him later in the battle when he might need them for a more crucial task. It only took him a split second to count the cost.
“No,” he said to the officer. “Leave them in reserve.” He nodded. The horde was slowly gaining ground. Some of the archers started to look worried and frantically began to try and shoot more arrows. He was slowly starting to lose control. “Hold Steady” they began to fall back into a more measured rhythm. “Hold!” “On my lead.” It took a while, but Shem was able to regain command of the archers and he attacked the swath with methodical, measured, precision. Pointing different sections of the army to places where they needed a higher concentration of firepower.
The enemy was still encroaching on the open space, but their progress was slow as they inched toward the outer walls. Shem remained calm and continued to direct his men in the best pattern of attack. He called out for them to remain calm and steady. As the enemy closed in, he carefully considered his next move.
He wondered if they were trying to force him to use up some of his firepower so they could swoop in with forces still hidden among the trees or if they were simply hoping to brute force their way up to the outer wall with their fodder and then push in with their greater forces who would be fresh and ready for battle, with minimal losses. It also occurred to him that they might simply be attempting to wear out his archers with the fodder to take off much of the heat of the initial assault.
Even if all of the trogg fodder was slaughtered attempting to push to the outer wall, it would not necessarily be victory in a long-term sense if his archers were spent, because the larger stronger forces would have much less resistance in their charge to breach the wall. But he was already effectively avoiding that through rotation. The only problem was, that the rotation was allowing them to gain ground. He had several other options at his disposal that could easily wipe out the fodder, but he could only use them once. His instinct told him that these were far too valuable to unveil this early in the battle. The enemy may even suspect that there were additional defenses in place and they were using their fodder in hopes of springing the deadliest traps before sending in their most valuable forces.
It was a difficult decision, but ultimately Shem decided that he didn’t want to push his reserves, and he didn’t want to spring any single-use traps. The best option at his disposal would be to utilize standard weaponry that would eliminate the threat in the most efficient manner without tipping his hand too much. He knew his next move. He just had to wait for the proper moment. The hordes seemed to be endless. The longer they waited, the more emerged like some massive endless hive.
He could see the archers starting to panic again and lose their resolve against the onslaught, but he reassured them. Then as the enemy had reached the perfect position Shem called out. “Bombers, fire!” A series of cannons went off with large clay pots that crashed in front of the sea of troggs. The pots were filled with pitch that covered the battlefield and many of the enemy forces. “Fire archers, let loose!” A volley of flame arrows accompanied the bombers, lighting the pitch ablaze. It created a massive wall of flame that decimated many of the forces. Those unlucky enough to be hit with the spattering of pitch, caught fire and ran screaming.
The pitch had been fired in two volleys. One in front and one behind, which prevented the enemy army from moving any closer to the outer wall, but also prevented the vast amount of forces that had already moved out from the cover of the trees from retreating back to safety. They were trapped in a veritable cage of flame. And were either burned alive from the splash or from trying to press forward or turn back. The ones trapped in the middle were like sitting ducks. They could either choose to be killed by fire or hope to survive the incoming volleys. They were like fish in a barrel and after a few more volleys they had been completely wiped out. “Rotate!” Shem called and the freshly rested archers took the place of those who had just fought off the initial wave. Now the enemy was aware that he had pitch and how he was likely to utilize it, but it didn’t give the enemy that great of a strategic advantage. Except that they might now seek to target the pitch cannons, but the cannons had fired so quickly, and were mobile enough, that the enemy would be hard pressed to pull that off.
Overall, Shem was pleased with how the battle was going. Although he was aware it had only just begun. He sighed with relief, but also with exhaustion. It was going to be a long night.