The mana barriers covering the advancing Willful Institute army shuddered as kestrels cut overhead. Marco bowed his head as meteor rain screamed out of the air, crashing into the barriers, and lighting them up with ripples as the world filled with noise.
Metal weapons fell from the kestrels, exploding below.
A few weakened mana barriers either didn’t have the power to support the barrier anymore, or their formations had burned out from the force upon them.
Spells shifted targets, slaughtering the unprotected fighters.
Ranged fighters turned to the sky, casting attack spells that caused the kestrels to split and weave, trying to escape.
“Push forward!” Marco had to use his sound transmission device to be heard by the commanders.
The melee fighters cut forward, clearing through the forest ahead as they advanced under their mana barriers.
Marco and the rest of the Willful Institute leadership had kept ironclad control of their fighters, pulling them together, unlike the sect groups that had spread across Vuzgal Valley.
The sects had pushed out of the paths, entering the forest valley itself. Aerial beasts continued attacking the paths into the valley, cutting down supply lines and reinforcements. They had been attacking them all morning and into the afternoon, and hadn’t yet seen anything other than their aerial beasts.
A scream rang out with a flash of spell activation. Another melee fighter on his mount had found a trap formation.
They were just days away from reaching Vuzgal and needed to get there as fast as possible.
“Sir,” the aide was interrupted by a whistling sound.
“Push forward!” Marco yelled. The pace increased as the whistling ended and exploded.
The Willful Institute surged once again. People were claimed by the trap formations as another whistle filled the air, exploding in a different direction from the first one.
Those near the mana barrier formations were charging them with mana stones as fast as they could.
The pace increased as they cut a wide path through the forest, spread out to minimize the number of fighters that could be taken out in one attack.
The sky filled with chilling whistles.
Was it the deaths or the mental pressure of constant attacks that broke the Blood Demon Sect in the end?
32
On Both Sides
The telltale flash of distant spell traps didn’t raise alarm anymore.
“Waste of resources. Do they have an endless supply of formations?” Onam muttered, rolling with his mount’s gait as he passed over broken trees.
“It is surprising,” Feng Dan agreed, riding on her lizard mount.
“I sense that you have more thoughts on the matter,” Onam asked.
“We have no reports of crafters working on these weapons. They got a lot of people into their academy, but all crafters look to increase their skill level. They won’t waste their time making hundreds of these spell traps. As soon as they can, they’ll work on something to advance their level.”
“So, they purchased them from somewhere else?”
“Something is not what it seems with Vuzgal. The screaming weapons are like trebuchets, but they must have formations. They’re weapons that burn through money faster than mana cannons. Though they keep using them without caring. They have their own forces to train their soldiers and to create these weapons.”
Onam opened his mouth as shadows passed overhead.
“Hold in place! Secure the edges of the mana barriers!” Feng Dan ordered. Explosions rocked the forest, punctuating her words.
Men, women, and beasts were torn apart. The trees shattered, collapsing as firebombs went off, tearing air from men’s lungs, a wave of heat greeting them.
Onam used his reins and legs to control his mount uneasily, shying away from the destruction. All the beasts had been trained for war, but this was beyond their training.
A tree that stuck out of the barrier was struck. It splintered within the barrier, killing or wounding the surrounding fighters.
People jumped from their mounts, hiding in the ground and dirt.
Like a curtain of rain, the bombs arrived and passed.
Onam watched the birds that had appeared just above the trees, unseen and unheard, circle.
“They’re coming back around!” he yelled.
Groups broke, rushing forward into the trees as if the cover would save them. Others ran to the mana barriers in the cleared sections of forest.
The shadows arrived, bringing death behind them once again.
“Mages, hit them!” Feng Dan yelled.
Mages cast spells, but they were drowned out by the second rain of destruction. The birds took to the skies again. A trail of spells followed them as they split apart, weaving and altering their flight path randomly.
Suddenly, the explosions and bombs stopped.
Cracking and spitting fire fought against the screams and cries of the wounded and dying.
Onam gritted his teeth. “Fucking cowards. They don’t even face us, just run away as fast as possible!”
“Seems that Marco wasn’t exaggerating how effective they are. The whistling weapons are silent now. At least we knew they were coming before.”
Knowing when you were being attacked and suddenly being in the midst of destruction would make even the most courageous fighter nervous.
Spell traps went off as people at the front found them, returning or running away from the main group.
“Aggh!” Onam spat on the ground to hide the tremble in his hand.
“We face a determined enemy,” Domonos said to his Battalion Majors. “They lost a day in forward momentum. But at the cost of thousands, they have gained entry into the valley. They pressed forward as fast as possible through every path. Now, they have gathered their dispersed forces once again. We successfully withdrew our artillery platoons and scouts to Vuzgal. With the enemy out of the mountain passes, they’re in our sensing formations’ net, but they can employ their mana barriers with greater effect. The air force will be taking on a larger role from here on. Major Kanoa…”
“Yes, sir.” Kanoa stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Our kestrel forces are harassing the mountain passes with heavy fire power. Sparrows continue to conduct lightning raids on the enemy's positions. With eyes on target, they can inflict greater casualties.” Kanoa nodded to Domonos and took a half step backward.
“There it is. Mortars and the air force will be our weapons in this coming advance. Our enemy has shown cunning and ability. We must be ready for changes as they occur. Problems? Issues? Queries?”
Major Hall raised his hand. “Have our targets changed?”
“No, artillery's first target is the camp followers. Second, attacking enemy formations as they come together, third laying of traps. Kestrels target the mountain passes. Sparrows take targets of opportunity and have priority, then kestrels, then artillery.”
Hall nodded.
“In the meantime, we have two regiments worth of reservists that are on their way or will be shortly. It will be their task to prepare our defenses while our remaining frontline units will coordinate as needed. I want them ready for what’s coming. I think it is time we started using the silence spells on the mortars,” Domonos informed the command staff.
“We must increase our speed. These traps and airborne attacks only slow us. The slower we move, the more time our enemy has to hit us. We need to reach Vuzgal as fast as possible.” Marco tapped the map on his lap as his mount carried him forward.
Master Teacher Eva Marino rode beside him. “Thankfully, their focus is on the camp followers instead of the fighters.”
“As long as our fighters aren’t affected, they can have as many camp followers as they want. Create groups of ranged fighters and mages to attack these aerial beasts. A few random mages and archers won’t have much effect, but a group of them can fill a small area of the sky with spells and arrows.”
“The whistling attacks?”
Marco pressed his lips together. “We need to find out where they come from and counterattack. Have our people spread out more. Keep a spear's spacing between fighters and have them lie down when they hear the whistling. That should kill fewer of them.”
Marco paused. The mountain passes were their greatest weakness. Should they use the teleportation formations now and bring more people directly into the valley? Either they used the teleportation formations to bring them forward, or have them back out of the passes, use their mana barriers to protect against the larger birds and their mages. The smaller birds brought destruction with them, but the larger birds were like ships of the air. Their mages must have been enhanced for them to call down such powerful attacks.
Marco looked toward Vuzgal as if he could see through the hills and forests between him and his goal.
What will their next move be?
“For every action, there is a reaction.”
“Hmm?” Master Marino turned her head to look at Marco.
“Have those in the passes regroup behind the mountains. We will clear areas for teleportation formations in the valley.”
“Then they will know we have the teleportation formations.”
“We need more people in the valley. We’ll abandon the roads and the passes.” Marco stored his map away. The afternoon was swiftly changing to night. “Our first day in the Vuzgal valley.”
“They failed to keep us out,” Marino sneered.
“At the cost of a sixth of our force.”
“Only three thousand were actual fighters.”
“Our enemy knew when we were leaving the cities we rallied at. They knew we were coming through the mountain paths and killed our eyes and ears. Now they attack the camp followers?”
“What does it matter? Usually, we are the ones dying.”
Marco looked around at the people with him. His guards, the soldiers beyond.
“What do you think would happen if we didn’t have the camp followers?” Marino asked.
Marco sunk into thought. He watched a man run up to his lord, a powerful fighter. He pulled out food and drink, holding it for the fighter as he rode, talking to his fellow fighters.
Fighters were treated like gods and goddesses on the field of battle. If they needed anything, it was supplied. If their gear was worn, it would be repaired and honed. Injuries were handled by healers and alchemists, and as for frustrations, there were ways to relieve them.
“Oh, you are smart, very smart and devious. You have clutched onto our weakness,” Marco muttered and shook his head. “Sorry, Master Teacher, you were right.”
“Why is that?”
“If they were all dead, who would erect our tents? Who would we trust to mend our armor, hone our blades? Treat our wounds—”
A devious grin spread across Marco’s face. “Make them fighters.”
“What? That takes years of training!”
“I don’t mean true soldiers. We’ll give them armor and weapons to wear, have them move along like the other units. How will the enemy be able to pick them out then?”
33
Dawn of the Second Day
Captain Wazny scanned the ground. His sparrow flapped her wings, carrying him forward. His wing of seven stretched behind him.
“Shit, looks worse in the daytime,” Lieutenant Lovren said through their communication channel.
“Last flight bombed the hell out of them all night. Twenty-four hours of random attacks,” Lieutenant Bell chimed in.
“Good thing it's not late summer or fall, else the whole forest would be on fire.” Wazny looked at the smoldering pockets among the cratered landscape.
“They wanted a fight.” Lieutenant Nilsen sighed.
“Clear the channel. In ten minutes, we're going in low and fast. Spread out more. Their mages and archers are getting bold.” Wazny pulled on his harness, feeling the metal hooks stick into the material. “If you have to, break off. Got it?”
“Yes, sir!” all seven yelled back.
“Let’s get this done, then. Follow me in.”
Wazny's mount led their arrowhead formation as he dove, searching for the target. They picked up speed, coming up just meters from the tops of the trees. Adrenaline filled his body and mind. Everything was clear.
Where are you bastards? Ah, there!
Several trees fell down.
“Prepare to drop! Climb!” Wazny surged into the sky as his speed turned into elevation. He didn’t want to be next to the treetops when the bombs went out.
He held the storage device, checking his drop sight with a glance.
The spread-out army, huddled together in their mana barrier groups, appeared ahead.
Wazny’s stomach tightened, the wind tearing at him as he checked the drop sight again. “Release!”
He activated the storage device, sending bombs tumbling to the ground below. He checked and altered his heading. The rest of the wing moved with him.
That ground is rough enough to disrupt a mana barrier, I'm sure.
Lights flashed around him and the wing. Spells came in, hot and heavy.
Shit!
This wasn’t like before.
“Break, break, break!”
The sparrow wing divided away as the mass of spells and arrows checked and altered their aim.
Nilsen banked to the left, dropping bombs as she went. Spells filled the surrounding air, tearing her mount and wooden cockpit apart.
Wazny's sparrow cut, dove, and randomly banked as spells and attacks shot past. He gritted his teeth as air blades struck his cockpit, tearing it open to the spinning trees below.
“Suzy! Suzy!” he called to his mount.
His mount's wings were limp, their connection severed.
Wazny grabbed the pull tab on the side of his cockpit and was hurled free of his mount. A special formation activated, destroying his cockpit and mount as he hurtled away. He grabbed a second pull tab in his armpit. The second spell scroll activated; wings of air appeared on his back, shooting him forward.
Wazny was clear and away from the enemy. He banked toward Vuzgal, activating his sound transmission device. “Report in!”
“Two KIA. One wounded heading to Vuzgal.” Lovren held back a curse.
“Shit. I'm on air wings. I'm moving to the closest teleportation formation. Send a report to Kanoa. They have anti-air units now.” Wazny sped forward. He pulled his map out of his storage ring.
He saw Nilsen and her mount in his mind's eye.
Now's not the time. Deal with it later. He could feel a pit, waiting, ready for him to give in and let it consume, but duty held him.
I'll make those fuckers pay. Nilsen was right; They came for a fight, and we'll fucking give it to them.
Domonos read over the reports. “What is Major Kanoa suggesting?” Domonos looked to Zukal.
“Increase the altitude. It will decrease the accuracy of our fire, but it will be harder for them to hit the sparrows. Have the kestrels work as a mobile fire support base instead of being over the enemy. Decreased accuracy as well.”
“Very well. Do it. The enemy is smart and cunning. I'm sure he has other plans too. Are we sure that the forces in the mountain paths are being recalled?”
“Yes, they're pulling out of the mountains as fast as possible. The order came from Marco Tolentino,” Elan confirmed.
“What the hell is he doing? He needs people in the valley to push his advantage. He’s stopped movement on the north and eastern roads. Has them holding position.” Domonos’ hooded eyes looked from the roads to the mountain paths as he scratched his cheek, trying to solidify the feeling he had into words.
“What about the pressures from the rear?”
“They have mounted. The sects have lost more than they expected already.”
Marco had thirty-five thousand in the valley. Ten thousand were fighters, and a third of them were his own people. Was he using this to increase his position? If he could get to Vuzgal first, the Willful Institute would lay
claim to more resources. The people with him were from his faction as well. Greed, even now. All they care about is rewards.
“At the core, we are fighting the Tolentino faction of the Willful Institute. They do not have large numbers in the field, but that is a strength. With fewer people, they can act and react faster. They adhere to orders better. If we can defeat the force within the Valley, the other forces will retreat.” He tapped the valley, feeling sure of his knowledge as he pointed at the mountain ranges. “Otherwise, they have to push the mountain paths again. They lost over fifty thousand in those paths. Focus everything we have on the forces inside the valley.”
“Then there is the matter of the disappearing camp followers,” Elan said.
“The enemy has given them uniforms to wear, and some got mana barriers. It’s smart. and a huge pain in our ass now that we’ve recalled the scouts. Sparrows and kestrels will be flying higher, so it’ll be harder to pick the followers out. The formations just give us the position of everything.”
“Camp followers are still followers. They won’t be in the lead.” Zukal said.
“No, but they sowed fighter units among their ranks. We have no idea who we’re hitting.”
“A dead enemy is a good enemy. We can’t focus on plans that are ruined. Just the ones we can make to win,” Elan said. “With this move, the camp followers’ security will be fixed and they will feel cared for, giving the best they can to the enemy. That is the end of it.”
Domonos nodded. “For now, our focus is on anything inside our Valley.”
Acosta checked the information on her linked map, showing the target as it got hammered with mortar rounds.
Her twelve mortars were firing rounds as fast as possible. The cooling formations running down the tubes were working overtime to expel the heat. Heat exchange blocks raised on their rails, waves of heat shimmering off of them as the teams worked as a machine.
They had gotten into a rhythm over the last few days. She was just the guidance as they operated. Everything else was lost. Worries, fears, their past and futures… All that remained were their actions.
Seventh Realm Part 1: A LitRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 8) Page 37
