Luerico, Yarian Empire. 12 km from the border with the Kingdom of Azuria.
June 16th, 1427.
8:42AM
The Yarian Empire is known to be extremely harsh, most likely the worst place one could find themselves being in. All around, there are nothing but large plantations, filled with slaves and their masters either wiping or torturing them if they fail to keep up with the quota. Large beasts were used in fieldwork, not for their muscles but for their intimidating appearance and to tear any inobedient slaves who were chained to the beast itself. Conquered settlements would be used for goblin breeding, with slave women being sent inside repurposed houses to seal their fate for the goblins to endlessly breed with until they died of exhaustion.
“So, tell me about the war preparations,” a kingly man ordered, ignoring the brutality around him. Hawk Yaria, the 1st king of the Yarian Empire, was a man who wished to carry out the Yarian dream of conquest more so than his father. His father managed to tame the goblins, a feat once thought impossible and conquered half of the continent using them before succumbing to illness, unable to complete the dream himself.
“King Yaria,” a muscular knight in silver armor, kneeled. “Lieutenant General Adem is nigh ready to commence the assault. 100,000 goblins of our vanguard force as well as 15,000 men are ready by the border of Azuria, ready to annihilate the Azurian defenders.
“Excellent,” King Yaria responded as he allowed several servants to tend to him. “And of the mysterious new allies of the Azurians?”
“From what our spies have heard, the United Federation of Elysia is a nation almost as large as our great Empire and Azuria combined. I do not think this is reasonable, since it would be impossible for anyone to have missed such a large landmass so close to our continent. It is much more likely that Elysia is a small island country, situated on several island chains to the east of Azuria beyond the Great Sea. They are a land without wyverns, so I doubt they pose any threat to our goals. However, the spies have seen several strange objects flying to and from their Royal Citadel, emitting loud flapping sounds beyond that of wyverns. We couldn’t sneak inside the Citadel as their security has been bolstered.”
“Our capacity to upkeep these lowly goblins is reaching the limit, General. We do not have much time left to begin the attack. Tell me, what do you think would happen if we attack?”
Knight Patagene flashed a confident grin. “My King, Azuria may be large, but they are a nation full of farmers and demihumans. Their military is at most a fifth of our own, not counting the goblins.The Principality of Lior is most likely the poorest nation in the world. They will yield after we conquer Azuria and cut them off from their vital food supplies. After that, our mages will release the disease on these lowly goblins to make way for our resettlement of the land. The strange objects flying to and from Anzuri are most likely wyverns, with their mages using illusion magic to deceive us of their intention since they are wary of our goals and expansions.”
“Hmph, excellent. Soon, our dream of unifying the Eastern Continent will see reality! You may return to your post.”
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Outskirts of Avatia
Yarian Eastern Conquest Army
Lieutenant General Adem stood upon a hill, admiring the vastness of his army. With the order to attack scheduled in just a few moments, he wanted to take one last savory look at the amassing horde of goblins, soldiers and wyverns.
“Beautiful, aren’t they?” A voice said behind him.
“My King!” He kneeled. “They are indeed, beautiful. But nothing is more beautiful than seeing the continent united under your banners!”
“Once this war is concluded, I shall appoint you as governor of conquered Azuria for your work. You can have anything you would ever want. Asking the mage to ”
Adem smiled sinisterly as he pulled a magical communication device to his mouth. “All men, it is time. Commence the attack, release the first wave!”
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Avatia, Kingdom of Azuria.
June 16th, 1427.
4:00 PM
From what Captain Parva’s scouts could determine, the Yarian forces just outside of Avatia consisted of around a hundred thousands goblins and at least ten thousand men. Most were swordsmen, but what worried him was the number of wyverns at their disposal. Boasting the firepower of 200 wyverns, the defenders of Avatia couldn’t stand a chance. The best they can do is buy time for the citizens to flee. Upon hearing the horns of the advancing goblin horde, Parva felt despair. The evacuation had barely begun, and there was no way all of the citizens of Avatia could flee in time, even if Parva’s men fought to the last man.
“Has headquarters said anything about our allies?”
“Yes, sir. They said that the Elysian 5th Marine Brigade is coming, but their base is constructed near Azuria so I expect them to arrive in two days. Elysian air support is coming, though.” The technician answered.
“What do you mean air support? The Elysians don’t have wyverns.” Parva asked the man, unknown of the details of what had occurred in Anzuri.
Suddenly, a faint roar caught his animal ears which has enhanced hearing compared to human ears. “Are you hearing that?”
“What do you mean, sir? I heard nothing.”
Stepping out of the command tent, he looked up to the sky as he looked for the strange sound. Hundreds of streaks of light flew across the sky, leaving long smoke trails as they head towards the Yarian wyverns, annihilating them in a spectacle of light and smoke. The large formation of metal dragons in the sky accelerates towards the Yarian positions and multiple explosions can be heard from the distance, catching the attention of the defenders. The defenders ran up to the recently constructed wooden wall, watching the rising columns of smoke in the distance. Some were confused, while others cheered as chaos erupted amongst the Yarian ranks, halting their advances.
Even though the Yarian ranks are disorganized, some goblins still made their way to Avatia’s defensive wall. Many lodged themselves into hidden spike traps, unable to move as they groaned in pain before dying of blood loss, others were cut down by pikemen as they tried to scale the wooden walls or shot by archers.
A voice rang through the mana communicator. “Come in, Avatia. This is Colonel Stanford, how do you copy? Over.”
Captain Parva picked up the communicator. “We heard you, Colonel.”
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“Our Navy aircrafts is already engaging hostile elements of the Yarians. The 5th Marines would be there in a few moments, I want you and your men to keep the area secured. Your reinforcement will also arrive with us. Over.”
The information puts the technician and the men around the command tent at ease, Parva unable to help himself with a smile.
“Thank you, Colonel. The place will be safe in our hands. We can take care of the stranglers, leave it to us.”
“Solid copy, Captain Parva. Transmission out. Over.”
Parva turned around, grabbing his sword before leaving the command tent. Stepping on a ledge, his pose and attitude attracted the attention of the men in reserves.
Seeing that his presence had been noticed sufficiently, he cleared his throat. “Honorable defenders of Avatia! You all commit yourselves to a seemingly hopeless battle to buy time for the citizens of Avatia to escape, none of you are supposed to survive today.” Parva looked at his men, gauging their reaction. “However! Our reinforcement will arrive far earlier than expected, thanks to our new ally. We all die someday, but I guarantee you all, it will not be today!”
The thousand men cheered as they raised their blades into the sky. Captain Avatia mobilized all of his reserves, splitting the men as one half moved to their defensive positions, firing arrows at the unorganized goblin attacks while the other half aided with the evacuation of the town, moving belongings and children into wagons.
The distant explosions continued for another hour as less and less goblins charged at the wooden defenses before ceasing entirely, with only silence filled in for the thick atmosphere of a dying battle. The defenses were littered with hundreds upon hundreds of goblin corpses, many hung lifelessly on the spikes while others were cut down, mangled beyond recognition if not for their green skins.
A runner ran up to Captain Parva, informing of the situation. “Sir, the Elysians reinforcements have arrived. We’ve also taken care of the strangling goblins.”
“So it would seem.” Parva comments as he looks back at the long trail of dust from the East.
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5 km from Avatia, Kingdom of Azuria.
June 16th, 1427.
4:00 PM
5th Marine Mechanized Brigade
Heavy steel ravaged the earth below, treads tearing the humble dirt road as hundreds of refugees stood by on the road, watching the armored beasts rolling past them. Composed of one MT105 Medium Tank battalion, two MT25 Infantry Fighting Vehicle battalions, one MT127 Self-Propelled Medium Howitzer battalion and an AH-24 Attack Helicopter regiment being hauled by MT-PC Personnel Carriers which were modified to carry spare parts and ammunitions. The 5th Marine Mechanized Brigade spearheaded the first combat deployment by the Federation ever since arriving in the new world. Totalling nearly 400 vehicles and 4000 personnel, the brigade more than likely the most capable combat unit on the Eastern Continent.
Men sitting on top waves at the refugees, signaling them to make way for the vehicles as they cleared a path through to Avatia. Some stood still, staring at the men sitting on the armored vehicles while others cheered as their own soldiers rolled past on their own trucks and horses.
Inside his own MT-CV Armored Command Vehicle, Colonel Stanford cuts his transmission of the mana communication device given by the Azurian. The appearance and aesthetic of the mana communicator anachronistic to the powerful radio and display set sitting beside it, glowing an ominous blue and white compared to the bland orange light which highlighted the frequency meter of the radio set.
“I’m not sure how the Azurians can even make this thing, seeing how their technology is still around the medieval age.” Colonel Stanford said. “Do you know anything about this thing?” He asked the radio operator.
The radio operator responded, flipping through papers and documents inside the relatively spacious command vehicle. “They didn’t create it, sir. According to them, these devices are imported from a country called ‘Holy Celestial Empire’. I still don’t know how this thing even works,” he picks up a yellow magical gem. “The Azurians said to insert this thing into the device to power it, the rest functions more or less how our radios work, with frequency and all. What’s strange is that the radios can’t pick up the signals emitted by this thing and it can’t pick up radio signals either. I’ve tried for the past hour with no results.”
“That’s very strange.” Colonel Stanford comments on the object, he began looking outside through the vision slit which was reinforced by armored glass. “Looks like the refugees are ok, I’ll have the aid workers set up temporary housing near Anzuri while we build up the FOB (Forward Operating Base).”
The brigade moved along the dirt road for another hour without incident, arriving at the outskirts of Avatia. Even from here, the Marines look over with their binoculars and see the aftermath of battle, discussing among themselves and the local Azurian refugees what had happened.
A voice crackled over the vehicle intercom as the vehicle came to a stop. “We’re here, Colonel.”
Colonel Stanford stepped outside and walked toward Captain Parva, he gave him a handshake after he finished with the salute. “I’m glad your men held up.”
“All thanks to the support from your iron dragons.”
Stanford invites Captain Parva into the command vehicle, the insides already laid with maps and stacks of neatly organized documents, detailing the Yarian’s movement as well as their formations with impeccable details. The technician is still working diligently, updating the map as new information from the Navy’s F-27Ns is fed to him via the radio set.
Stanford pointed at the red marker on the map. “This is the enemy’s command center.” His finger slides to the blue line, occupied with 6 smaller boxes, identifying themselves as the four maneuver, one artillery battalion and one attack helicopter regiment.
“The Yarians have a significant stronghold here,” he points out at one settlement at a junction. “The Navy’s F-27Ns can’t get to them due to large numbers of civilians present, surgical strikes by small diameter bombs on their outer defenses have been only marginally effective in whittling down their numbers and they have reorganized a significant defense of around 20 thousand men. Intel suggests that the number of goblins have also increased at the settlement despite no apparent reinforcement, I do not know how.”
Captain Parva’s face lowered, knowing the implications. “They’re raping the women there to repopulate and replenish numbers.”
“What?!” Colonel Stanford’s eyes widened in shock. Cursing at himself at not knowing this new enemy better.
Parva continued to explain. “The goblins have an incredibly fast growing period, only taking around three days at most to come out of the womb if the host is human and a month to mature. Most people under their rule do not live for long unless they are collaborators as the Yarian’s harsh treatment often results in death, even for the most minor offense. There are more horrific stories from people who managed to escape to Azuria as refugees.”
The command staff stopped what they were doing, standing in shock as well from the information until Major Eli stepped in, ordering them to continue working.
Eli gave the Colonel a salute. “Looks like we’ll have to expedite the FOB’s construction. What do you say, Colonel?”
“Major Eli, tell the Navy to keep an eye on that settlement, multiple civvies. Contact the Navy for additional supply sorties, I want the FOB to be ready by midnight.” Colonel Stanford ordered. “Tell the men to freshen up and prepare. Get ready by 0230, we move out at 0300 tomorrow.”