Somewhere between Avatia and Luerico.
The day before. June 16th, 1427
4:16 PM
Eastern Conquest Army
The proud wyvern squadron of the Yarian Empire were blown to bits after the howling light arrows slammed into their formation, wyverns and riders alike fell from the sky en-mass, creating a small yet heavy rain of blood and corpses as Lieutenant General Adem and his men watched in shock. Panics started to spread as they attempted to comprehend what had happened to the wyverns. Officers ran on to check the corpses while others maintained order, wondering what just happened.
Then, it happened.
As if the sky was roaring, dozens of sleek iron dragons flew over the Yarians at unthinkable speed, creating a loud boom as they flew past the bewildered Yarian below them. Adem spotted them dropping things from the sky but he understood none of what’s happening, only that they were responsible for taking down the wyvern flyers. He felt a chill down his spine, as if all the alarms were ringing in his head as the objects got closer to his army, then it all made sense.
“ENEMY BOMBS!” He screamed loudly, hurriedly turning on his mana communicator. “Scatter!”
But it was for naught, the large bombs splitted mid air, scattering hundreds of smaller bombs which turned into hundreds of explosions that consumed his army. The men and goblins in the ranks were blown up in quick successions, consumed by the explosives.
“Shield!” The mages shouted, creating a magic dome to cover themselves and Adem.
Shrapnels from the exploves pelted the hastily constructed magical dome, which quickly gave out after the bombing by the iron dragon was done. The mages which had constructed the dome fell to their knees from exhaustion, never having conjured a spell so quickly and decisively in their life. But not everyone is unscathed as some still got injured despite the magical protective dome, but the gory sight of what had happened to the rest of the conquest army still made the mages glad they haven’t joined them in death yet. Thousands of men and monsters lay dead on the field, with some lucky few who somehow survived the bombardment walking about, still comprehending the horror of what just happened.
----------------------------------------
Luerico, conquered territory of the Yarian Empire.
June 17th, 1427.
4:10 AM
Lieutenant General Adem breathed heavily as he woke up from the nightmares, every breath felt like a relief from the pain as he leaned his body upward and checking his injured leg, courtesy of the metal birds' bombs. His legs have largely recovered thanks to magic done by the healers with the help of magical gems.
“You must rest, General.” The young female healer said, sitting on his side, her robes bloodied from treating the others with their injuries and her eyes tired.
Adem jumped up from his bed, aggressively grabbing her by the throat. “Where am I?!” He yelled at her.
“Y-you’re a… at Lu-Lueri…co!” She struggled to breathe.
Letting her go, Adam calms down. The tent’s curtains waved open as two guards walked into his tent and bowed in respect. “General Adem, King Yaria wants all remaining generals still alive to be present at the command building if possible.”
Questions ran through Adem’s head. ‘Remaining generals’? ‘Still alive’? Rethinking about what had happened to him and his army, he reasoned that the same thing had happened to others. “Very well. Inform him that I’ll be there momentarily.”
He grabs his sword and half scorched piece of armor and heads towards the command tent. The outside sight is just as disgusting as ever, moaning sounds emanate from every house he walks past by as the goblins continued to rape the women endlessly even at night, especially at night. The stench of the dead, the rotten and blood filled his nose, causing him to cover his nose with a piece of cloth. “The fucking smell.” He whispered out to himself.
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
Suddenly, an injured male slave ran outside from one of the houses, screaming for help as he was tackled by a pair of soldiers. One of them pulled out a knife, slicing the slave’s throat and the two threw his corpse down the makeshift goblin den in the basement, adding to the future smell problem that this place has. At least it was food for the goblins, helping to replenish their numbers quickly. The other guards, however, were barely hiding their nervousness, discussing among themselves.
“You saw those things right?”
“I heard the rumors only, the entire forward armies got wiped out by metallic dragons!”
“Shit… I don’t wanna be here. Maybe we should run…”
Adem let out a chuckle, amused at the sight. “Heh… the cowards under General Pandor barely saw any fighting yet they already wanted to call it quit, as if that’s the only option. The damn son of a bitch and his little underlings always get rear duties, never wanting to move forward.” He continued towards the large villa near the former market square, now filled with tall cages containing more slaves, separating between male and female to be fed to the goblins and to be used to breed more. Walking up, the guards noticed him and opened the door, revealing a relatively clean and well lit room.
Inside, the other generals are already present, arguing with each other while King Yaria watches on with disappointment and disgust at his underlings. Unlike the nasty environment outside, however, stacks of perfume candles were laid out to mask the uncomfortable smell plaguing the conquered town.
“The enemy is far too strong, General Hamire! My men were blown up mercilessly by those metal birds, not one of my archers managed to repay those things with an arrow! We should surrender!”
“We cannot turn back now. Everything is already on the table for the invasion. If we surrender to the Azurians, how will the men react? A mutiny is already brewing and this is only the first day of the invasion! The men could turn their swords against us if we surrender and pillage the Empire! Some of them have already started raping the slave women together with the goblins in order to cool down, how deplorable.”
“This is your fault, Pandor! Where was your wyvern reinforcement when the metal birds attacked us?!”
General Pandor grunted, annoyed at his colleague’s attempt at shifting blame. “I grounded them. All of them. The moment I saw those things destroy the vanguard forces with ease, I made the decision to ground them and to not engage, opting to return them to their garrisons in Swetall. Taking the safer route along the beach to blend in with the wild wyverns flocks.”
“King Yaria.” General Adem walked up to and kneeled before the king, ignoring the other generals in the command tent. “You are truly divine! To avoid death in these harsh circumstances is nothing but a blessing by the heavens!”
“Your ceaseless flattery is beginning to tire me, General Adem.” King Yaria’s words struck like a blade through Adem’s heart, sending him kneeling so low as to hit his head on the ground. “I suspect your army suffered the same fate as General Pandor’s?
“My utmost apology, my King! The men and the goblins under my command have also been wiped out!” He trembles in fear, unable to lift his head up from the floor.
King Yaria ordered everyone to cease their argument which was leading to nowhere, causing the generals to stand in silence. They stared at each other, not daring to face the king in fear of retaliation.
“It is clear that we have underestimated this new enemy. You have all failed to prepare adequately.” He cleared his throat. “But this invasion is yet to be lost! We still have more men, resources and more monsters to release upon the Azurian low lives! We have gone too far to step down now, I will accept nothing less than total victory!”
The atmosphere in the command tent brightens up as instead of being reprimanded for their failures, the generals are spared from the worst of King Yaria’s wrath.
“We will carry out your will dutifully, my King!” General Pandor and Hamire shouted, snapping Adem out of his fear and prompting him to do the same.
“General Hamire, Pandor and Adem.” He cleared his throat once more. “You shall take command of the reinforc-”
A messenger burst into the tent, disrupting King Yaria, kneeling on his knee and trying to catch his breath. “Your Majesty!...”
“What is it?!” King Yaria stood up, frustration filled his voice. “Speak up!”
“The enemy has begun their assault! All of the outposts were attacked simultaneously with explosive magic!” He catches his breath. “The enemies are coming!”