Chapter 188: The Push

The air smelled of smoke and scorched meat. Massive spells striated the low clouds in rays of ominous colors while all around, the screams and shock of battle rang in a ceaseless cacophony. Viv flew to the Enorian formation as they fought the tide, a trio of aberrants bearing down on them.

 

[Aspect of the destroyer]

 

[Sequence: Triple Hyperbeam]

 

Black lasers raked the creatures. Limbs fell down, cancerous flesh parted. Two fell while the third crawled forward on a single, misshapen limb. A fireball landed on it shortly after.

 

She exchanged a curt nod with the mercenary mage before flying away. He was exhausted, but his group was holding. Barely. In the distance, to her right, the Baranese main army was closing in. A cavalry charge faced a beastling group and crushed it. It had to be the thirtieth such charge just this morning.

 

By now, not a second passed without a soldier having to defend their life.

 

Undaunted, Viv flew away. The Golden Order covered the left flank which should have been the easiest task, and one she intended to leave to the Enorian. Unfortunately, that plan had gone to shit in the early hours of the morning.

 

Forward and to her left, the Glastians were progressing at a swift pace. Their crimson ranks slaughtered the beastling hordes at good speed, backed by specific paths and unique titles. It was the last push for them, the last great phase of a war that had lasted for so long, but that left Viv’s left flank exposed. Now, the Golden Order was beset on three sides by marauding bands. They maneuvered as she watched. Groups switched with amazing fluidity. Others reinforced each other like the pieces of a puzzle sliding into place under the direction of that gray-haired general. Damn. Getting her own strategist would be Viv’s number one priority after this was done.

 

She flew forward, where the Harrakan lines themselves advanced steadily. Viv had left strict orders to ration ammunition and mana, so progress was slower than the breakneck rush of the Glastians. They also had to stop so the Enorians could regroup. After bombarding aberrants in a wide circle, Viv floated next to Sidjin. He minced yet another group before turning to her.

 

The fallen prince seemed cold, cold and dangerous in darker armor. He’d completely forfeited the red of Glastia now, and the colors played with the scar to turn him into some sexy evil antagonist. Viv thought she’d cornered the market, yet here he was. The sight made her relax a bit. Cold was better than distressed.

 

“Your blendership?” she teased, but he shook his head.

 

Not in the mood for pleasantries. His gaze traveled to the Glastian ranks. The distance between them was increasing.

 

Viv frowned.

 

“I’m sorry. I refuse to sacrifice Harrakan lives for the sake of ego, but if there is more at stake I do not understand…”

 

“No, no. I suspect Medjin wants to get back into our father’s good grace. Now that he’s lost the contest for the position of heir, his only options are to cover himself in glory while pushing others down. That is why he is attacking me. He wants to show to the noble faction that my father’s decision to absolve me was weak and cowardly, a moment of sentimentality that shows he is unfit to govern. It will weaken the First Prince’s claim if and when father dies. That, and Medjin is a raging cunt.”

 

“Wow.”

 

“He has never been capable of accepting failure and defeat. He must get the last word at any cost. Many have paid the price of his petty grievances, and only his position as prince protected him from the consequences of his actions.”

 

“Then he must have made some enemies.”

 

“And that is why he will never rule. It will not prevent him from trying. He cannot stop. He does not know how to do it.”

 

“Sounds like there is only one way this will end.”

 

Sidjin’s aura flared, briefly. It felt murderous.

 

“Indeed. And no. I have decided. We will let them go first.”

 

“So, no warnings?”

 

He looked at her.

 

“Do you believe he will take us seriously?”

 

“No, but Jaratalassi might.”

 

“He didn’t listen to orders before. He will not now. And there will be questions, such as how did we find out? And where is this witness? Irao will never agree to appear before a group of people.”

 

“That is true.”

“Then we proceed as directed. I think we need to change the formation. The Enorians are on the verge of breaking, and once they do, they will never recover.”

 

“How would we do that, Sidjin?”

 

“Rotate the Golden Order. Leave the Enorians in the middle, covered by us. Enttiku’s sisters can manage. They have the training.”

 

Viv gave it a thought. Not a very long one.

 

“We’ll need to stop but it sounds doable. Let me ask them if they will agree to it first.”

 

“We will need to cover them. I’ll coordinate with Lana so we can provide a screen. Maybe a few volleys would help too.”

 

“Tell Poacher and Lak-Tak to be ready for their signal. I’m flying there now.”

 

***

 

Viv landed next to the stern Order Master as she directed her soldiers from atop a charger. The old woman watched her land with an impassive calm that radiated confidence. Even in the chaos of battle, her troops moved with unerring discipline. Viv was a little bit jealous.

 

“Order Master Kreta,” Viv greeted.

 

The order master dismounted before facing her, a gesture of respect here. Viv allowed herself a smile.

 

“Your Imperial Majesty. To what do I owe the honor?”

 

“Well, our far-speaking priests are busy and I believe I should make this request face to face. The Blue Duke’s troops are going to collapse very soon unless we do something. My army lacks flexibility, but yours does not. I propose that you rotate behind us then to their right flank. That way, the Enorians only need to defend their front and back while we hold the sides.”

 

Kreta looked east towards the beleaguered Enorians. She made to speak, then seemed to reconsider. Hooded eyes scrutinized Viv’s expression.

 

“This will delay us even more. We will be forced to defend from every side with Glastia pushing ahead. You are aware, yes?”

 

“My witchpact and war machines will provide cover, as will us casters. The Mountain Lords shall take your role. They are my most disciplined force,” Viv said, ignoring the unspoken question.

 

Kreta asked it anyway. In Harrakan instead of the Northern tongue. Her aides turned with surprise when she did so.

 

“I want to know if you intend to answer the shithead’s challenge.”

 

“Not a single Harrakan toenail will be sacrificed to entertain this man’s ego. Medjin’s arrogance will be his undoing. Let him take the lead if he wants it that much. I am here to exterminate beastlings, not compare dick sizes.”

 

“And your paramour?”

 

Viv smiled.

 

“Archmage Sidjin and myself have aligned on what we expect from this campaign.”

 

“Cut the fancy talk, Your Majesty. State what you intend to do.”

 

“Medjin is going to fuck himself over and we’ll be here to watch, but I’m not sacrificing anyone to play his stupid games. Not even the loyalists.”

 

“Very well. Have your army stop and we’ll move towards your back.”

 

“Blow a horn, that will be the signal.”

 

Calls echoed throughout the line while Viv lifted off again. The Harrakan formation came to a ponderous stop while the Enorians merely let inertia take over, many of their men sitting where they were.

 

“Alright lads and lasses,” Poacher screamed from the center. “Let them have it!”

 

The Harrakans fired everything. Tongues of fire scorched the earth in front of them. A hail of bolts skewered entire bands of beastlings while harpoons pinned the larger aberrants to the ground. The earth opened with spikes. A cold storm launched from Lana’s position, and winter kissed the earth beyond the Golden Order’s troops. Viv and Sidjin flew left and right, unleashing death. In front of the army, aberrants just fell dead where they stood. Viv spotted Abenezigel walking at the front and center with a black staff held high, the heavies following him with warcries. The battlefield seemed to take a breath. Distant bands scattered, the dark influence of their mind unable to stop the terror they felt at this sudden display of destruction.

 

Viv felt inspections on her. Her gaze carried west, towards the advancing Glastians. Selyen the blademaster led them with great, cutting strikes that left only pieces in its wake.

 

Kreta didn’t waste this opportunity. The Golden Order moved at a dead run, slipping along Harrakan lines until they regrouped in good order. Viv was about to order a cease-fire but it was useless. For a moment, the beastlings reverted to the old instincts of finding someone weaker to harass.

 

Smoothly the three formations aligned again, with the Enorian one much tighter and only exposed in the front and rear. The Blue Duke took the lead of his forces. For an instant, it seemed as if he turned to Viv and nodded, though it was so brief she might have been imagining it.

 

The Glastian troops kept going. They were now fully in front and showing no signs of stopping.

 

“Alright. March!”

 

“Permission to recover bolts?” Poacher asked.

 

They were still free for now. Viv didn’t hesitate for long.

 

“Granted, but hurry. Rollo, provide cover?”

 

“We ride.”

 

***

 

Viv insisted they slowed down around noon for food. Warm meals were distributed at speed. The Golden Order requested and received a full cauldron of fresh porridge which went a long way towards strengthening international relationships. Even the majority of the Enorians seemed to thaw now that even their most idiotic members could see they were being protected. Those who asked nicely were even fed. After they were done, the Harrakan column easily caught up with the Baranese to their right while the right was left exposed.

 

As for the Glastian contingent, they were now ahead, wading through a sea of enemies.

 

“How could there be so many of them?” Viv asked.

 

She turned away to watch the trail of death they’d left behind them. The wall was no longer visible in the murky distance, but the plain was. Dead, barkless trees dotted a nightmarish landscape filled with corpses, great gaggle of them strewn haphazardly where beastling had met man and lost.

 

“I kept asking myself the same question,” Sidjin said. “Day after day on the wall, especially the second year. They just kept coming and I was wondering how there could be so many creatures alive at the same spot. This is what beastlings can become if left unchecked. An all devouring hunger that eats itself in the end.”

 

“Good thing we Harrakans fight this scourge without mercy,” Viv boasted, smiling broadly despite the circumstances.

 

Sidjin glared, but the crook of his lips told her he was having fun too.

 

“You mean you unleashed unsupervised younglings onto them, armed with knives and a complete lack of restraint?”

 

“Hey, it worked.”

 

“Sometimes, it feels like you are free-wheeling your way to world domination.”

 

“Am not. Arthur is.”

 

“I cannot tell if you are serious and it is scaring me.”

 

The mood thus improved, the combined group moved on, slowly catching up to the Glastians who were now beset on all sides and under constant attack. They were bogged down. Even from afar, Viv could see the largest aberrants tearing through their ranks before they could be stopped. That would mean many wounded, some infected.

 

“We really need to regroup now. I’ll contact Jaratalassi.”

 

Viv landed in the center of the formation where the altar stood, near the shield arrays that had so far proven useless. It took a good minute for Jaratalassi to give his orders. By then, the general’s voice was furious, and he spoke almost too fast for Viv to follow.

 

“Keep going forward and try to get at least some pressure off those damn Glastians! I am telling everyone to regroup as fast as they can.”

 

“And diversionary attacks?” Viv asked. “The wall? Is it ok?”

 

“Fly up and see for yourself.”

 

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Viv gave a few orders, then she did so. The sounds of battle were still all around. The higher she went, and the more her mind struggled to accept what she was seeing.

 

For leagues in every direction, the ground squirmed, teemed, shook with hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of creatures charging, screeching, eating each other, assailing the colorful squares that were the bastions of humanity in this place, most of whom were stuck in defensive, unmoving formations. The horde rushed forward with wild abandon. Beyond that, the land was dead. Dead and unmoving.

 

“Fuck they’re all coming at us at once.”

 

It was easy to claim that she wanted to end the beastlings here. She had her chance now. She just wasn’t sure she’d be able to use it. There were just so many of them that her mind just couldn’t grasp it. The beastlings were statistics made flesh. And in front, barely out of sight, was the reason why.

 

A large ziggurat emerged from the fog like a lone mountain. For a moment, her mind reeled from the insane belief that this was the Imperial Palace transported here. She quickly realized her mistake. This Ziggurat was smaller and squatter. The blurry shapes of aberrants crawled over its surface like lice on a rotten carcass. At its feet, the ground was uneven, not in a natural way, but according to patterns she’d seen somewhere before. Long ago.

 

“From Earth?”

 

Were those… bunkers? trench networks peppered with tunnel exits. A vast complex of warrens that could not be easily rolled over. Hell, no one would charge over that on horseback. It was merely missing the barbed wire…

 

That was it.

 

“Verdun. The Great War. Holy shit, the beastlings actually did build fortifications.”

 

And the Glastians headed for them head on.

 

Viv surveyed the land and realized there had to be hundreds of meters of walls in every direction. It was more than a warren. It was a colony. A fort.

 

“Right, we’re going to need more stuff.”

 

***

 

Viv descended, setting up a portal in record time. She engraved the runes which would connect it with its twin behind the wall, only for the spell to fail.

 

It was not the first time this happened.

 

“What is causing the failure?” Sidjin asked, landing next to her.

 

“The exit portal is deactivated.”

 

They looked at each other. The exit portal was in a secluded valley, guarded by Glastian troops. It was there that supplies from Harrak were stored. If it wasn’t responsive, then the circle had been damaged. Somehow.

 

“Surely, he wouldn’t?” Viv asked.

 

“He absolutely would.”

 

Viv fumed. Doing reckless shit with his own troops was one thing, but cutting her supply line? Now Medjin was going too far. If it was him. Honestly, who else would it even be? Her circles only faded after a while or if someone interfered.

 

“Could still be an accident. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.”

 

“Is this an Earth saying?”

 

“Yes. Hanlon’s Razor, we call it.”

 

“I will remember this. As for the portal, what will you do?”

 

Viv looked around. The fortress and its network was right in front of them. One of them would have to fly more than forty leagues to reach the warehouse where their supplies were stored. It would take an hour, at least. An hour they didn’t have.

 

“I should have added a safety portal. ARG! I just didn’t expect someone to play games with us like that.”

 

“Live and learn. I assume we continue our advance?”

 

“Neither of us can leave the army for that long so yeah. Let’s just go in, and if we absolutely need an exit then you fly back.”

 

Viv’s instincts told her she was needed here, now. She only hoped they wouldn’t need to evacuate.

 

“Alright, let’s go.”

 

***

 

The blob of troops under Viv’s nominal command kept advancing at a steady pace, soon joined by the Baranese on their right. Viv hoped her left flank would be covered but the Glastians showed no indication they wanted to coordinate, and the other armies remained far off. Meanwhile, the Mountain Lords held on, their red scarves forming a continuous streak of bright color. Attacks were constant but they were also piecemeal, in an effort to make area spells less effective, she assumed. Everyone was holding out for the long game.

 

By mid afternoon, they’d rejoined with the Glastians. Viv got close enough to Medjin for him to glare furiously at her, decked in armor at the front of the formation. Some of his elites were obviously annoyed, especially because he was constantly screaming, but the men behind looked relieved at having one of their flanks secured. When Viv killed an aberrant that had penetrated their ranks, she thought Medjin might have an apoplexy.

 

“Noisy fucker.”

 

The Baranese had finally linked up. Now, the three formations formed a powerful rectangle bordering the fortress. The ziggurat was in sight. It was time for the final push.

 

Or, was it?

 

As the Glastians moved on the bunkers, Viv landed near the communing altar, its priest breathing heavily.

 

“Is Jaratalassi here?”

 

“His Grace… he is focused on the other flank. They will not be able to join. Had to regroup and make a stand.”

 

“When he talks to you, tell him we are holding here. Our purpose has been achieved. The beastlings are throwing themselves at us to the last. there is no need for…”

 

She felt it first. A warning. Danger sense activated for the first time in months.

 

“Aegis!”

 

Danger. From the front.