I think if you're looking at making tanks you should be actually looking at "how do I revolutionize metal production"?
A dozen tanks is easily using up the metal of a year of national production of high quality steel on metal mass alone.
Saving a Nation, By Any Means Necessary (Modern/Sci-Fi meets Fantasy CK2)
- Thread starter dnzrx
- Start date
- Original Sci-Fi Fantasy
A dozen tanks is easily using up the metal of a year of national production of high quality steel on metal mass alone.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Xelmia took a lot of our crazy and tech to pull off. It had us bail on our mines and become war footing. Don't sell it short. We had to turn full war.
- Location
- California
Loot rolls are hardly of critical importance. If there's any low rolls we can soak, it's those ones.
- Location
- italy bologna
"Oh we got no money and ammo but is not important!"
This is what are you telling!
from the start we have been on short on money, we had to skip piety action!
And good loot rolls can give us new troops!
- Location
- California
I was implying they are less important than actually succeeding on doing damage to the enemy in these cases. I'd rather flub rolls on loot if it means we succeed on the rolls that actually cripple our enemies.
Interlude: The Frank Foundation’s First Fight, part 5
The Frank Foundation's First Fight: Southern Front Results
--[X] Ambush Convoys (65% Chance, Cost: 1 Wealth, +5 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma, Moderate Loot)
---[X] Basic Foundation Archers x5
---[X] Basic Foundation Swordsmen x5
(Increased chances to 70%)
1D100 => 50 + 5 (Organized Forces) + 5 (Planning Sessions) + 3 (Movies) = 63
While you are slightly disappointed that you didn't receive any news of an overwhelming success for this operation like what you had for similar operations within the other two Fronts, you are still pleased on hearing the news of success. Apparently, compensating for the lack of superior-quality troops assigned to this operation with overwhelming numbers proved to be the right choice. The larger numbers of your convoy raiders means that your raiders could execute a couple different raiding tactics to disrupt the Xelmian supply lines and make the Xelmians suffer in general, from striking at a number of under-guarded caravans at the same time to using their superior numbers to assault and plunder a relatively well-guarded convoy.
Your successes in disrupting the supply lines in the Southern Front has a more profound and visible effect on the Xelmian war effort than what's considered normal. This is because the lighting warfare strategy the Xelmians are committing to in the Southern Front heavily rely on having a stable supply line to maintain the strong and rapidly moving forces, more so than other strategies. The disruption within their supply situation meant that continuing on their rapid pace of conquest and battle became impossible for the Xelmians, and putting a wet blanket on their plans for the region, whatever those plans may be...
Success: Your ambush forces have disrupted the Xelmian supply lines, upsetting the Xelmian lighting warfare strategy and buying the Leofarinians more time to prepare their defenses…
(Strength Change: +6 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma)
Casualties: 1D100 => 47
It is unfortunate that yo have suffered losses during this operation. While larger numbers does help to make up for the individual quality deficiencies in combat, it is not conductive to having minimal casualties among your forces, especially since the Xelmians within the region are pretty battle-hardened. As you expected, most of the losses were among your swordsmen, but there were losses among your archers as an Xelmian mage that was guarding one of the caravans impaled them with ice magic. The results were not a pretty sight and your soldiers thankfully did not go into gruesome detail on what happened to those archers...
(Units lost: 2 Basic Foundation Swordsmen groups, 1 Basic Foundation Archers groups)
Loot: 1D100 => 59
Against all odds, the amount of loot that was taken from this operation is somehow more than the loot from the caravan raiding operations within the other two fronts combined. You don't know why, but you are definitely not complaining.
The usual common supplies that was taken from the Xelmian supply caravans were quickly given to the local Leofarinian villages in exchange for gold and other forms of liquid wealth that you can more easily store. The villagers are especially grateful for the supplies since they are all planning to migrate to safer villages closer or within the Middle Front (Greenhill was mentioned among them) to flee from the Xelmian army and they need all of the supplies to survive the journey.
There were also quite a few treasure caravans traveling through the region, mostly bound to Xelma from Leofarinia. Obviously, most of the cargo in these treasure caravans were stolen and plundered loot from the unfortunate Leofarinian villages and towns that the Xelmian Invasion forces have defeated and plundered into the ground. You wanted to return these treasures to their rightful owners but all of your Leofarinian employees insisted that you keep them as the treasures are yours per customs regarding spoils of war. That, and actually finding the original owners would be impossible at this point in time...
(Wealth: +40)
--[X] Raid Camps (65% Chance, Cost: 1 Wealth, +5 Leofarinia, -5 Xelma, Moderate Loot)
---[X] Basic Foundation Archers x2
---[X] Basic Foundation Swordsmen x2
---[X] Basic Foundation Spears-Bunnies x2
---[X] Lesser Divine Flame Elemental
---[X] Copper Polearm Statues
(Increased chances to 74%)
1D100 => 39 + 5 (Organized Forces) + 5 (Planning Sessions) + 3 (Movies) = 52
You're quite pleased to hear that the forces that you have sent out to raid the Xelmian camps within the Southern Front have completed their tasks successfully. Despite how green the forces that you assigned to the task, there are two distant advantages that allowed them to succeed in their raiding: the forces weren't reckless and only attacked camps that they have a very significant numerical advantage against, and all of the camps they attacked are unfortified. Then again, due to the very fast paced nature of the kind of warfare Xelma is waging in the Southern Front, virtually all of their camps are unfortified. They did not even set up so much as a wooden stockade around their tents. Although, to be honest, the wooden fences would do little to protect the flammable tents from the all-consuming fire caused by Fira. You almost feel sorry for the Xelmians who now have to sleep in the dirt.
Almost...
Success: Your camp raiding forces have caused significant damage to the Xelmian war infrastructure and significant grief to the Xelmian morale, buying the Leofarinians have more time to prepare for the Xelmian onslaught…
(Strength Change: +5 Leofarinia, -5 Xelma)
Casualties: 1D100 => 63
The casualties that you have sustained for this particular mission are on the higher side of the scale, unfortunately. Like what was demonstrated with the convoy raiding operations, the strategy of rushing and crushing the enemy encampments and their occupants with superior numbers of relatively inferior quality troops isn't a good strategy if one is interested in keeping losses and casualties at a minimum. The condolence prize that you won here is that you have been told that the Xelmian losses are much harder to replace than the green troops that you have lost. A callous opinion, but a completely valid one...
(Units lost: 1 Basic Foundation Swordsmen groups, 1 Basic Foundation Spears-Bunnies group)
Loot: 1D100 => 19
The amount of loot to be had was not great in comparison to the trouble you have went through. Apparently, most of the valuables the Xelmians would have gathered are either on their person, stored in the larger camps that are too difficult for your raiders to attack, or are shipped out back to Xelma in those treasure caravans, some of which your ambushers have attacked this month. What was leftover for your raiders to take from the encampments, other than the jewerly swiped from the dead Xelmians, are more common supplies that, again, you have sold and traded away to the nearby Leofarinian villagers in exchange for whatever liquid currency they can give to you. Just like what was explained to you before, the villagers are all fleeing the area away from the Xelmians. Therefore, they are all more than grateful for the supplies they need for the long journey ahead of them...
(Wealth: +8)
--[X] Eliminate the Reinforcements, Open Field (38% Chance, Cost: 7 Wealth, +15 Leofarinia, -20 Xelma, -20 Xelma (Middle, Change), Lots of Loot)
---[X] Enlightened Torch Dark Elvish Light Mages
---[X] Veteran Foundation Archer-Maxim Group
---[X] Company Van
---[X] War-Sisters of the Mace x2
---[X] Veteran Sunset Phalanx Pike-bunnies
---[X] Veteran Onyx Rabbits Bunny-Halberdiers
---[X] Lesser Shield Angel
---[X] Basic Foundation Spearmen x6
---[X] Veteran Foundation Swordsmen
(Increased chances to 70%)
1D100 => 67 + 5 (Organized Forces) + 5 (Planning Sessions) + 3 (Movies) = 80
You are still nervous about the outcome of this particular operation since you have sent so few against so many, and this happens to be the first of many major battles your Foundation needs to fight in in this war and in future wars. However, the leaders of the units to be sent into what they claim to be glorious battle assured you that they have a plan to defeat the Xelmians that they have put together with input from Georgia. You could only wonder how effective this plan will be...
(To be continued in "The Battle of Windscorch Plains")
--[X] Steal Logistics Animals (60% Chance, Cost: 3 Wealth, +5 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma, Moderate Loot)
---[X] Veteran Agents
---[X] Sniper Agents
(Increased chances to 66%)
1D100 => 48 + 3 (Movies) = 51
To summarize what the leader of your sniper agents, "Loud Death", have said in the report: things could've gone a LOT better despite the success.
Apparently, the Xelmians in the Southern front have not forgetten the time the Foundation tried to steal away their horses, cattle, and any other beasts-of-burden critical to their war efforts. It was especially hard to forget since they still have the rotting corpses of your agents hanging around to serve as a warning to you and your agents. As a result of your failed attempt, the Xelmians have tightened security and have made it more difficult to steal away their precious animals.
The extra security, however, did not stop your agents from completing the first part of their plan. Soon after the snipers impressively eliminated the guards with headshots under the cloak of darkness, your veteran agents squad quickly infiltrated the camp and herded out of the pens and stables all of the animals they can find and control. From the numbers indicated in the report, your agents managed to steal away enough animals to significantly damage the Xelmian plans within the area, including reducing the amount of forces that is being transferred from the Southern front to the middle front, which will have direct effects for your main decisive battle to be waged soon.
The second part of the plan involves moving the animals back to safety within Leofarinian territory. From there, the animals were taken care of, either by selling them, keeping them, or butchering them right there for meat. The agents almost made it to their objective when they were suddenly attacked by talented and deadly assassins laying in wait…
The ensuing battle only lasted a few minutes with your agents coming out the victor, but the price paid was high as many of your agents died for the victory over these assassins. The survivors interrogated the only captured assassin of the group to see who hired them and why. Unfortunately, the assassin killed himself with a concealed poison pill before you discovered his origins, but his accent, and that of his fellows, suggested that he and the rest of the assassins are from Brava. They are probably from the same batch that attacked your agents in the middle front...
Those Bravian Assassins are truly living up to their reputation. No wonder that Asalya hired them to deal with your agents instead of native Xelmian Assassins...
Success: Your agents have stolen away a large number of animals necessary for the Xelmian war effort and defeated a group of Bravian Assassins...
(Strength Change: +5 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma)
Casualties: 1D100 => 80
There were losses from both groups, with the sniper group taking fewer losses than the veteran agents. The combined number of casualties means that there were too few agents to have two separate groups, so the decision was made for the sniper agents group to adopt the surviving veteran agents into their fold and to train them in their ways for the day they can avenge their fallen friends.
Hopefully, the day comes sooner than later...
(Units lost: 1 Veteran Agents group)
Loot: 1D100 => 72
The silver lining to all of this is that the agents managed to deliver all of the animals they have stolen away from the Xelmians to the Leofarinian villagers. For the animals, a pretty large bounty was paid for all of the animals and the Leofarinians were quite grateful for the animals. With all of the animals in their procession, the Leofarinians can actually make their evacuation of the villages and town be very complete as they can more effectively strip their places clean of anything valuable to the Xelmians...
(Wealth: +40)
------
The next step is for me to write up that battle post, which will take a while. In the meantime, feel free to ask me anything and discuss things...
--[X] Ambush Convoys (65% Chance, Cost: 1 Wealth, +5 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma, Moderate Loot)
---[X] Basic Foundation Archers x5
---[X] Basic Foundation Swordsmen x5
(Increased chances to 70%)
1D100 => 50 + 5 (Organized Forces) + 5 (Planning Sessions) + 3 (Movies) = 63
While you are slightly disappointed that you didn't receive any news of an overwhelming success for this operation like what you had for similar operations within the other two Fronts, you are still pleased on hearing the news of success. Apparently, compensating for the lack of superior-quality troops assigned to this operation with overwhelming numbers proved to be the right choice. The larger numbers of your convoy raiders means that your raiders could execute a couple different raiding tactics to disrupt the Xelmian supply lines and make the Xelmians suffer in general, from striking at a number of under-guarded caravans at the same time to using their superior numbers to assault and plunder a relatively well-guarded convoy.
Your successes in disrupting the supply lines in the Southern Front has a more profound and visible effect on the Xelmian war effort than what's considered normal. This is because the lighting warfare strategy the Xelmians are committing to in the Southern Front heavily rely on having a stable supply line to maintain the strong and rapidly moving forces, more so than other strategies. The disruption within their supply situation meant that continuing on their rapid pace of conquest and battle became impossible for the Xelmians, and putting a wet blanket on their plans for the region, whatever those plans may be...
Success: Your ambush forces have disrupted the Xelmian supply lines, upsetting the Xelmian lighting warfare strategy and buying the Leofarinians more time to prepare their defenses…
(Strength Change: +6 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma)
Casualties: 1D100 => 47
It is unfortunate that yo have suffered losses during this operation. While larger numbers does help to make up for the individual quality deficiencies in combat, it is not conductive to having minimal casualties among your forces, especially since the Xelmians within the region are pretty battle-hardened. As you expected, most of the losses were among your swordsmen, but there were losses among your archers as an Xelmian mage that was guarding one of the caravans impaled them with ice magic. The results were not a pretty sight and your soldiers thankfully did not go into gruesome detail on what happened to those archers...
(Units lost: 2 Basic Foundation Swordsmen groups, 1 Basic Foundation Archers groups)
Loot: 1D100 => 59
Against all odds, the amount of loot that was taken from this operation is somehow more than the loot from the caravan raiding operations within the other two fronts combined. You don't know why, but you are definitely not complaining.
The usual common supplies that was taken from the Xelmian supply caravans were quickly given to the local Leofarinian villages in exchange for gold and other forms of liquid wealth that you can more easily store. The villagers are especially grateful for the supplies since they are all planning to migrate to safer villages closer or within the Middle Front (Greenhill was mentioned among them) to flee from the Xelmian army and they need all of the supplies to survive the journey.
There were also quite a few treasure caravans traveling through the region, mostly bound to Xelma from Leofarinia. Obviously, most of the cargo in these treasure caravans were stolen and plundered loot from the unfortunate Leofarinian villages and towns that the Xelmian Invasion forces have defeated and plundered into the ground. You wanted to return these treasures to their rightful owners but all of your Leofarinian employees insisted that you keep them as the treasures are yours per customs regarding spoils of war. That, and actually finding the original owners would be impossible at this point in time...
(Wealth: +40)
--[X] Raid Camps (65% Chance, Cost: 1 Wealth, +5 Leofarinia, -5 Xelma, Moderate Loot)
---[X] Basic Foundation Archers x2
---[X] Basic Foundation Swordsmen x2
---[X] Basic Foundation Spears-Bunnies x2
---[X] Lesser Divine Flame Elemental
---[X] Copper Polearm Statues
(Increased chances to 74%)
1D100 => 39 + 5 (Organized Forces) + 5 (Planning Sessions) + 3 (Movies) = 52
You're quite pleased to hear that the forces that you have sent out to raid the Xelmian camps within the Southern Front have completed their tasks successfully. Despite how green the forces that you assigned to the task, there are two distant advantages that allowed them to succeed in their raiding: the forces weren't reckless and only attacked camps that they have a very significant numerical advantage against, and all of the camps they attacked are unfortified. Then again, due to the very fast paced nature of the kind of warfare Xelma is waging in the Southern Front, virtually all of their camps are unfortified. They did not even set up so much as a wooden stockade around their tents. Although, to be honest, the wooden fences would do little to protect the flammable tents from the all-consuming fire caused by Fira. You almost feel sorry for the Xelmians who now have to sleep in the dirt.
Almost...
Success: Your camp raiding forces have caused significant damage to the Xelmian war infrastructure and significant grief to the Xelmian morale, buying the Leofarinians have more time to prepare for the Xelmian onslaught…
(Strength Change: +5 Leofarinia, -5 Xelma)
Casualties: 1D100 => 63
The casualties that you have sustained for this particular mission are on the higher side of the scale, unfortunately. Like what was demonstrated with the convoy raiding operations, the strategy of rushing and crushing the enemy encampments and their occupants with superior numbers of relatively inferior quality troops isn't a good strategy if one is interested in keeping losses and casualties at a minimum. The condolence prize that you won here is that you have been told that the Xelmian losses are much harder to replace than the green troops that you have lost. A callous opinion, but a completely valid one...
(Units lost: 1 Basic Foundation Swordsmen groups, 1 Basic Foundation Spears-Bunnies group)
Loot: 1D100 => 19
The amount of loot to be had was not great in comparison to the trouble you have went through. Apparently, most of the valuables the Xelmians would have gathered are either on their person, stored in the larger camps that are too difficult for your raiders to attack, or are shipped out back to Xelma in those treasure caravans, some of which your ambushers have attacked this month. What was leftover for your raiders to take from the encampments, other than the jewerly swiped from the dead Xelmians, are more common supplies that, again, you have sold and traded away to the nearby Leofarinian villagers in exchange for whatever liquid currency they can give to you. Just like what was explained to you before, the villagers are all fleeing the area away from the Xelmians. Therefore, they are all more than grateful for the supplies they need for the long journey ahead of them...
(Wealth: +8)
--[X] Eliminate the Reinforcements, Open Field (38% Chance, Cost: 7 Wealth, +15 Leofarinia, -20 Xelma, -20 Xelma (Middle, Change), Lots of Loot)
---[X] Enlightened Torch Dark Elvish Light Mages
---[X] Veteran Foundation Archer-Maxim Group
---[X] Company Van
---[X] War-Sisters of the Mace x2
---[X] Veteran Sunset Phalanx Pike-bunnies
---[X] Veteran Onyx Rabbits Bunny-Halberdiers
---[X] Lesser Shield Angel
---[X] Basic Foundation Spearmen x6
---[X] Veteran Foundation Swordsmen
(Increased chances to 70%)
1D100 => 67 + 5 (Organized Forces) + 5 (Planning Sessions) + 3 (Movies) = 80
You are still nervous about the outcome of this particular operation since you have sent so few against so many, and this happens to be the first of many major battles your Foundation needs to fight in in this war and in future wars. However, the leaders of the units to be sent into what they claim to be glorious battle assured you that they have a plan to defeat the Xelmians that they have put together with input from Georgia. You could only wonder how effective this plan will be...
(To be continued in "The Battle of Windscorch Plains")
--[X] Steal Logistics Animals (60% Chance, Cost: 3 Wealth, +5 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma, Moderate Loot)
---[X] Veteran Agents
---[X] Sniper Agents
(Increased chances to 66%)
1D100 => 48 + 3 (Movies) = 51
To summarize what the leader of your sniper agents, "Loud Death", have said in the report: things could've gone a LOT better despite the success.
Apparently, the Xelmians in the Southern front have not forgetten the time the Foundation tried to steal away their horses, cattle, and any other beasts-of-burden critical to their war efforts. It was especially hard to forget since they still have the rotting corpses of your agents hanging around to serve as a warning to you and your agents. As a result of your failed attempt, the Xelmians have tightened security and have made it more difficult to steal away their precious animals.
The extra security, however, did not stop your agents from completing the first part of their plan. Soon after the snipers impressively eliminated the guards with headshots under the cloak of darkness, your veteran agents squad quickly infiltrated the camp and herded out of the pens and stables all of the animals they can find and control. From the numbers indicated in the report, your agents managed to steal away enough animals to significantly damage the Xelmian plans within the area, including reducing the amount of forces that is being transferred from the Southern front to the middle front, which will have direct effects for your main decisive battle to be waged soon.
The second part of the plan involves moving the animals back to safety within Leofarinian territory. From there, the animals were taken care of, either by selling them, keeping them, or butchering them right there for meat. The agents almost made it to their objective when they were suddenly attacked by talented and deadly assassins laying in wait…
The ensuing battle only lasted a few minutes with your agents coming out the victor, but the price paid was high as many of your agents died for the victory over these assassins. The survivors interrogated the only captured assassin of the group to see who hired them and why. Unfortunately, the assassin killed himself with a concealed poison pill before you discovered his origins, but his accent, and that of his fellows, suggested that he and the rest of the assassins are from Brava. They are probably from the same batch that attacked your agents in the middle front...
Those Bravian Assassins are truly living up to their reputation. No wonder that Asalya hired them to deal with your agents instead of native Xelmian Assassins...
Success: Your agents have stolen away a large number of animals necessary for the Xelmian war effort and defeated a group of Bravian Assassins...
(Strength Change: +5 Leofarinia, -10 Xelma)
Casualties: 1D100 => 80
There were losses from both groups, with the sniper group taking fewer losses than the veteran agents. The combined number of casualties means that there were too few agents to have two separate groups, so the decision was made for the sniper agents group to adopt the surviving veteran agents into their fold and to train them in their ways for the day they can avenge their fallen friends.
Hopefully, the day comes sooner than later...
(Units lost: 1 Veteran Agents group)
Loot: 1D100 => 72
The silver lining to all of this is that the agents managed to deliver all of the animals they have stolen away from the Xelmians to the Leofarinian villagers. For the animals, a pretty large bounty was paid for all of the animals and the Leofarinians were quite grateful for the animals. With all of the animals in their procession, the Leofarinians can actually make their evacuation of the villages and town be very complete as they can more effectively strip their places clean of anything valuable to the Xelmians...
(Wealth: +40)
------
The next step is for me to write up that battle post, which will take a while. In the meantime, feel free to ask me anything and discuss things...
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Analysis by the numbers:
War points: +16/-25, "Eliminate Reinforcements success"
Losses: 3 basic swords, 1 basic spears-bunnies, 1 basic archers, 1 veteran agents (all T2 other than the veteran agents. That one stings.)
Loot: +88 wealth, "Eliminate Reinforcements success" generating "Lots" of loot (and if this rolls garbage I will strangle whoever in the company is responsible for generating these loot estimates. I will also start wearing a black cloak and carrying a red sword. Why? Just because.)
Aaaaaand question for the illustrious @dnzrx : Given our (bloody) successes, how likely will it be for us to have more recruits available to be hired next turn? I dunno about anybody else but I'm pretty sure that's shot up the priorities list.
War points: +16/-25, "Eliminate Reinforcements success"
Losses: 3 basic swords, 1 basic spears-bunnies, 1 basic archers, 1 veteran agents (all T2 other than the veteran agents. That one stings.)
Loot: +88 wealth, "Eliminate Reinforcements success" generating "Lots" of loot (and if this rolls garbage I will strangle whoever in the company is responsible for generating these loot estimates. I will also start wearing a black cloak and carrying a red sword. Why? Just because.)
Aaaaaand question for the illustrious @dnzrx : Given our (bloody) successes, how likely will it be for us to have more recruits available to be hired next turn? I dunno about anybody else but I'm pretty sure that's shot up the priorities list.
- Location
- alphen aan den rijn
a lot of forces that died out there that are not eazy to replace.
having said that i`m pretty sure we just blunted most of the attacking army into a stand still
having said that i`m pretty sure we just blunted most of the attacking army into a stand still
- Location
- italy bologna
Oh.... now i can relax, my omake wasn´t ready, now i got time.
Ohhhh we did NEED that much money!!!!
The recruitment rolls will probably yield much bigger results than normal on the next few turns and your successes were part of the reason, though it's not the only reason. More on that in the future posts.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
I mean, what is glory in this age except a good k:d ratio, which we are definitely demonstrating we provide opportunities for.
Interlude: The Frank Foundation’s First Fight, part 6
The Battle of Windscorch Plains
To the south from the Village of Greenhill, there exists Leofarinia's southern-most region that is also known as the Great Leofarinian Plains. In stark contrast to the very hilly and heavily forested temperate region that hosts Greenhill and the nearby Frank Foundation, the Great Leofarinian Plains is a warm, sunbaked land filled with golden grasslands with very few forests and even fewer hills of any note. For as long as history can remember, in addition to being ideal farmland and the breadbasket for much of Leofarinia, the region serves as a crossroads region linking between Leofarinia to the west, Xelma to the east, and the civilizations, both big and small, of the Stormy Sands Desert to the far south.
In the present, however, the region found itself ravaged at the hands of the Xelmian Invasion. During the first two months of the invasion, the Xelmian army have successfully conducted a particularly fast and brutal lighting warfare campaign into the Great Leofarinian Plains. The goals of the Xelmians in the region is simple: drive the Leofarinians into the sea and conquer the region, especially its regional capital of Seaington on the coast, and to exploit the region and its resources to support the invasion effort in other fronts. For two months, they fought and routed the Leofarinians in one battle after another as the force made its way across the region, raping, pillaging, and burning every unfortunate Leofarinian village and town that got in its way. Within the span of these two short months, the Xelmians nearly realized its goal.
However, just as victory is within their grasp, sudden disaster has struck the Xelmians. A young but brave summoned heroine named Lady Joan Frank and her equally brave organization, the Frank Foundation, have successfully waged battles against the Xelmian invasion through raids on the Xelmian caravans, through skirmishes against the Xelmian camps, and from the shadows with their cunning agents. Thanks to the efforts of Joan Frank, the whole Xelmian invasion faced a very serious problem as the Xelmian Middle Front, near where the Frank Foundation is located in, have taken very serious damage and is on the verge of complete collapse, much to the shock and disgust of the Xelmian princess. To combat this insolence from the Leofarinian summoned heroine, she ordered a large portion of the powerful, but comparable slower and less mobile, reserves and forces from the Invasion's Southern Front to be moved up to and reinforce the dying Middle Front, with the secondary objective to rape and burn every village and town in between.
While there was an option to fortify a strong town and battle the Xelmian reinforcements on better ground, the benevolent Joan Frank chose against sacrificing Leofarinian town to the Xelmians and ordered that an expeditionary force consisting of her finest warriors and mages to be sent out and repel the Xelmians before a single village be harmed by the Xelmians.
On paper, the modest size of the expeditionary force that Lady Frank have assigned to this pivotal battle seem like foolishness and madness. Indeed, any military strategist and tactician from any nation, be it Leofarinian, Xelmian, or anywhere else will outright decry the maneuver as the height of insanity and will predict that the Frank Foundation's actions doomed to fail. However, largely unknown to the Xelmians and to the Leofarinians, the daring and brave warriors of the Frank Foundation have brought along a secret weapon, one developed and engineered by intelligent men from Joan Frank's world and one that promised to change the very nature of war in the world, forever and ever...
=====
"Heh, Sister Melancholy. I didn't know that you like to stare into the sunset too."
The experienced War-Sister of the Mace was leaning on a wooden fence when she looked up to see Alice, the leader of the Onyx Rabbits, standing beside her with two tankards full of ale in her hands. From the angle that the sunset is shining from, the normally onyx-black color of Alice's armor turned into a really dark but lovely shade of red.
"Greetings to you too, Miss Alice," Melancholy responded. "And to answer your question, while the sunset is beautiful to look at, I am merely doing this to steel and calm my soul for the battle against Xelma tomorrow."
Alice grinned. "Well, that makes the two of us then, because I do need some calming for my nerves before the big battle tomorrow. And what better way to do that than to stare at the sunset while sharing some ale with a good friend." She offered one of the tankard to Melancholy. "Thirsty?"
Melancholy took the tankard and gulped down a mouthful of ale. "I'm more for wine and fine mead, but I do like good ale, and this ale is pretty good."
"Yes, indeed," agreed Alice. "The family that runs the village inn has been brewing ale for many, many years for the travelers heading to and from the Windscorch Plains, using grain grown in the nearby farms. Too bad that they will have to flee the village of Sonnie along with all of the other villagers. I pretty much expect that this village will be abandoned within a few days not matter how well we do in battle."
"I can't really blame them, and neither should anyone else for that matter," Melancholy remarked. "If what the scouts have told us is true, we are facing a seasoned and battle-hardened Xelmian force of about ten times our size at least, and that is after all of that sabotage that we have did to limit their numbers. From every possible direction that you look at this situation, the chances of our victory look very slim and grim."
Alice looked at Melancholy. "You doubt the strategy that Georgia cooked up?"
Melancholy shook her head while she ingested another mouthful of ale. "I don't doubt Georgia one bit, especially with the machine gun and the van that we have for this battle. However, I am worried about how many casualties we might take."
Melancholy pointed at the sunset across the fence and the plains before her. "Notice the redness of the sunset right now? While the sunsets at this particular time of the year within the Windscorch Plains are particularly beautiful, it is also quite red, like blood. The sunset here is also even more red than any other time in the year. I do think that this is a sign that the upcoming battle will be particularly bloody and that it is uncertain how many of us will come out alive and how many of us will die."
Alice smiled. "Then please hope and pray that the only blood that will be spilled tomorrow will be that of those Xelmian maggots! If everything goes well, then we should not take any losses, and this will become one of the most one-sided battles in history! We are also counting on you and your sisters to help stich any wounds, especially my own! I have found a cute boy-friend and I don't want to lose an eye or a hand before we get married!"
Melancholy smiled. "I promise that you'll get my best spells, and maybe I can also help you in planning your most beautiful wedding!"
Alice and Melancholy burst out laughing for a minute and finished the rest of the ale in their tankards. Then, they walked back to the inn for refills...
=====
"...And that concludes our scouts' report of the enemy forces. Now, if you excuse me, Honorable Lords and Ladies, I must take my leave."
A wave of Ellis Fa Prya's hand signaled the scout to take her leave as the war-band leader refocuses his attention onto the war counsel meeting of his peers and elders right in front of him. The topic of the meeting is best described as a check-up meeting to make sure that everything is in place before the Xelmians attack the Leofarinian village of Sonnie, the first of the many villages that stood in their way and would probably be pillaged and burned to the ground. A side topic of the meeting is to assess the threat that the Leofarinian Summoned Heroine posed to the Xelmians, now that it was discovered that she sent a company of warriors to Sonnie to do battle with the Xelmians.
And as he kind of expected, everyone in attendance burst out laughing. From the words and sentences that escaped in between each burst of laughter, it is not hard for Ellis to figure out why they are laughing.
"What an utterly pathetic display of strength from the so-called Summoned Heroine of Leofarinia!"
"Two-hundred against our Two-thousand! What a funny joke!"
"Against such a small force, we don't even need our swords! We can just trample them to death with our boots!"
"The Windscorch plains will be made fertile with Leofarinian blood once again!"
Ellis would silently agree with this assessment. Sending a much smaller force is a losing proposition; with a force this small, it almost seemed that the Summoned Heroine have sent them on a hopeless suicide mission.
However, he couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling he had for about a month now. He has been getting letters from his sister Reyila from the now-faltering Middle Front. In these letters, she describes, in great detail, how she and her fellows are plagued by an unusual death beckoned by a thundering crack and followed by a large circular wound that is always fatal. He never heard such a death before, so he figured that it is the work of the Leofarinian Summoned Heroine, along with the raids and subversive tricks that caused the Middle Front to be hanging by a thread. If she can inflict such death, Ellis shuttered to think of what other powerful tricks and weapons she has, and if she is going to use one in the upcoming battle.
"The screaming of their women would be wonderful when we pierce them with our spears!"
"Heard the men are just as meaty as well!"
Ellis sighed. This has to be the quickest that the discussion devolved into perverted degeneracy. Young humans, dark elves, and especially his bunny sisters are quite energetic, strong, and all make fine warriors. However, they are also quite lusty and eager, sometimes to heights he never thought possible.
And he had seen how high their lusts can be. Ellis have served as a "husband" and a sex toy for a powerful human noblewoman named Valya Fe Prya before her untimely death in battle. It was very unusual for a male Bunny like him to be given to a human female. Due to the rarity of his sex among his kind, it is tradition for the males to be given to powerful female Bunnies for various purposes. But while the purpose of his marriage to Valya remains unknown, what is not unknown is how much of a lusty pervert she really is and how many children she had with Ellis. Ellis wondered many times if she had a Bunny ancestor in the distant past. That will explain her ravenous hunger for sex and violence, sometimes separate and sometimes together...
"Oh! I even heard that there is a male Bunny within the ranks of the summoned hero's army!"
Ellis silently facepalmed as he braced himself for the inevitable from all of the females within the group, especially the female Bunnies.
"I wonder how big his weapon is? I bet it is long as a pike and heavy as a hammer!"
"It's probably thick enough to last for hours of use, and abuse!"
"Oh goodie! I'm not getting my daily helping of meat, especially of the bunny kind!"
"Tomorrow, I am in the mood for bunny meat for dinner!"
As the lewd comments about this mystery male bunny continued, Ellis got up and walked out of the tent, intending to drown out the noise with some nice ale. He successfully petitioned to be let into the Xelmian army as an officer soon after Valya died to prevent him to be married off to another loose noblewoman and to prove to everyone that he is not just another toy for a noblewoman or Bunny to play with. However, he still felt that everyone else in the Xelmian army don't really respect him as a person, his abilities, nor his accomplishments. He also thinks that his fellows still judge him based on the common stereotype of male Bunnies and would condemn him to the typical fate of one sooner than later.
As Ellis started to drink his ale, he wondered if there is someone else out there who can help him truly succeed and avoid being sent back to square one...
=====
In spite of the importance of the day, the very next morning started almost just like any other day for the Frank Foundation's Interception Army. As usual, the warriors woke up from their beds at the sound of a large and loud bell. Then, they do their morning warm-up exercises while their cooks prepared a hearty breakfast with whatever is on hand. For that morning, it was gooey oatmeal prepared form the oats obtained from the villagers of Sonnie. As soon as the exercises are done, the cooks would have finished cooking the breakfast. At that point, all will eat well to fuel their efforts for the day.
However, that is where the similarities to any other day end. After breakfast, all of the fighters were to dress into their battle outfits and armor, arm themselves with their weapons, and march off to the battlefield after assembling at a predetermined rally point. The rally point is just outside the village and facing the Windscorch Plains, the direction that the Xelmian Army are sure to arrive from.
However, for Conrad and his fellows within the Foundation's only machine gun-armed group, his day progressed much differently as he and his fellows prepared to wage a new, different, and, hopefully, very deadly kind of war against the Xelmians. Those among them, including Conrad, who are tasked in operating the machine gun checked their precious weapon with meticulous care to make sure it will operate and kill without fail. The rest, who are still talented archers, are either preparing their bows and other equipment for battle or loading the arrows, machine gun ammunition, and cooling water into the van that they are entrusted with.
"Glad to see you all are doing just fine, for a group that'll be facing down two thousand angry and raping Xelmian butchers."
Conrad and several of his fellows looked up to see Mary-Anne, the second-in-command of the experienced Sunset Phalanx Pike-bunnies, standing before them with the morning sun reflecting off her shiny plate armor. Unlike many others within the camp, she is wide awake and alert, almost as if she is eager to do battle with the Xelmians.
Conrad took a bow. "Good morning to you Mary-Anne," he said. "Are you here to help?"
Mary-Anne shook her head. "No, I am here with a simple message from Artemis and everyone else. They all wish your entire group and Angelina the best of luck in your very important mission. And please actually succeed. Our whole mission hinges on your success. If you fail, then it is likely we will all die."
Conrad took another bow. "We will do our best. The Xelmians will not know what hit them."
Before Conrad can speak another word, he sounds of flapping wings alerted him the arrival of Angelina, the Foundation's only Lesser Shield Angel.
"Brave warriors of the Frank Foundation, we must move against our foes, now," Angelina started to explain. "During my morning patrol, I saw a massive force of our foes moving to attack this village. They are marching against us as we speak and if the plan devised by the wise Georgia is to work, we must act now."
Conrad nodded as he turned to Mary-Anne. "It seems that it is time to head on out to battle. You better tell the rest on what is happening and have them prepare for battle right now. I doubt it will be long before the Xelmians comes storming in."
Mary-Anne nodded as she bowed and bid Conrad and his group good fortune. A second later, she ran back to the Foundation's camp as the van's engine started, the first noise in what promises to be a very bloody battle.
Within a few more minutes, Conrad found himself riding in the van, watching the golden grass of the Windscorch Plains rolls on by as Angelina flies above to keep watch.
Conrad can feel in his bones that their actions in this battle would change the course of world history, forever.
=====
The sound of at least two thousand Xelmian warriors and fighters of all kinds is quite something to behold. While the overall noise is one big cacophony, it is easy for a bunny like Ellis to pick out specific sounds and make a guess on who made it. The loud sounds of metal objects banging against each other and heavy footsteps implies that the person is a powerful Xelmian Knight. Relatively softer sounds and lighter footsteps implies either a scout or an archer. And the sound of jingling chainmail implies that a regular soldier, probably a swordsman or s spearman.
Through the noise of the marching, Ellis can also make out individual conversations his fellow Xelmians are having with each other to ease the relatively boring march. Most of the conversations are about equally-boring topics like the nice weather they are having or what on the menu tonight for dinner once the battle is done. Some of the conversations ventured into unwholesome territory of what shall they do with their prisoners, to Ellis's disgust. One such conversation between two female humans stood out as Ellis listened in…
"Hey, I've noticed that the bunny boy had left the meeting last night before we are done. Is it something we said?"
"Oh please, I bet the boy's just upset that there's not a single woman to his liking. Rather surprising if you ask me. All of the bunny women are very pervy, so you would think the men are just as pervy, if not more so. Maybe women are not to his liking? Maybe he would like the companionship of a muscular man…"
"Oh goodness no! I bet that he is not interested in bunny women. Maybe he is interested in human women! More specifically, INTERESTING human women!"
"But we both are human women! And we are interesting! Far more interesting than any common skank! But the bunny boy is not interested in us!"
"I meant THAT kind of interesting!"
There was a pause.
"You know, you might be right! Speaking of interesting women, I heard that the summoned hero of Leofarinia is a woman, both sexy and a virgin too! Maybe to cheer the bunny boy up, maybe we can give her to him to ravage thoroughly before we all take turns with her!"
Ellis shut his ears off to the rest of the conversation as he focuses back to marching to help him forget what he just heard.
A few minutes later he spotted something quite particular far off in the distance. On top of a small hill, he has spotted something that resembles a covered wagon similar to what more wealthier merchants use. In front of the wagon, he can see a group of people, wearing clothes that identified them not as Xelmians, but possibly belonging to the Leofarinian Summoned Heroine's army. He can make out bows on some of the enemy group, identifying them as archers. On the other hand, the device in front of this group is quite foreign, even though he could guess quite well that it is probably a weapon of some sort. Up on the sky, he can make out a humanoid figure with wings and a large shield. He recognized it as a shield angel, but from the looks of it, it is pretty weak, and it is probably there for scouting and not real combat.
Despite the underwhelming appearance of this strange group, the feeling of dread clenches his heart again. His mind reached back to the letters he has gotten from Reyila as an uncomfortable chill ran down his back. He shivered at the thought of the sudden death described in those letters and that he would personally be experiencing that pretty soon.
Unfortunately for him, while his fellow commanders noticed the small group, their reaction is not concern nor dread, but dismissive laughter.
"Oh ho! What we have here? Is that a scouting group from the pathetic Leofarinian Summoned Hero! What a joke!"
"What shall we do, Ayea? Should we run up and say hello before we tear them to pieces with our bare hands?"
"Nope! We shall just ignore them and continue marching to the Leofarinian village! What could such a small group will do to us other than to run back and tell their masters of our invincible strength? These scouts are not worth our time!"
As the main body of troops continued to advance, heedless of the group on the hill, Ellis quickly but softly told his second-in-command to make sure his group is behind all of the other idiots' groups, for if unknown death will soon be upon them all, he would like to have a chance to save some of his subordinates from the slaughter…
=====
From the hill they were on, Conrad was able to get a very good view of the Xelmian army marching down below. While he was well aware about how badly their expedition was outnumbered by the Xelmians, to actually see that disadvantage in person is quite awe-inspiring. The sheer size of the massive Xelmian army makes it as if the number advantage is much bigger than ten-to-one.
However, size doesn't always mean everything in a battle. If the lessons given to him by Georgia and Lady Frank's scientists were correct, then the weapon he controls in his hands allows a small group, like the one he is in, to defeat a far larger group like the Xelmian army down below. One scientist even recalls a time in his history where a smaller force was outnumbered ten-to-one and was able to defeat a larger force with barely any casualties while reaping bloody death against their more massive foes.
Conrad sighed deeply as he gripped the handle of the machine gun. His heart beats loudly as he anxiously waited for the signal to pull the trigger and let loose the lead bullets into the Xelmians. His group-mates are just as eager and anxious to start fighting as well…
Minutes of anxious waiting was soon paid off as Angelina flew down and landed behind Conrad and his fellows. The lesser Shield Angel was tasked with surveilling the enemy in addition to protecting the small band. Even though her fact remained emotionless, he can tell that she has something to report.
"Our foes have indeed spotted us," Angelina said. "Just like what the wise warrior Georgia have predicted, the Xelmian foes have dismissed us as a nonthreat and are more than content to ignore us almost completely and march past us and this hill to attack the main body of our army. This is the time we should start to attack the Xelmians and punish them dearly for marching against us."
That is more than enough to get Conrad going. Within seconds, he was aiming the machine gun to the mass below, especially at a heavily decorated individual that he assumed to be an officer. At the same time, the archers nocked an arrow into their bows and drew their bowstrings back, ready to let loose the arrows at Angelina's signal.
"Warriors of the Foundation! Attack!"
At these words, the archers let loose their arrows at the Xelmians. Moments later, Conrad pulled the trigger of his machine gun. More moments later, the familiar thundering sound of his machine gun firing fills the air as the weapon fires one bullet after another in a rapid pace into the crowd of Xelmian warriors before them…
=====
In just mere seconds, the Xelmian ranks erupted into chaos. From what Ellis can see, hear, and recall, not very long after the Xelmian main body begin to march straight past that hill the other Xelmian commanders chose to ignore, there was a loud noise that sounded like the thundering boom of a thunderstorm being repeated at an utterly mind-shattering rate. Not long after this noise erupted, at least a few dozen warriors at their forward left flank kneeled over and collapsed, dying with agony still present in their pained screams.
He can see plenty of arrows sticking out from the bodies of the fallen, but the vast majority of the dead and dying were struck by a death that resembles the one described in the letters from his sister: large holes appearing on the bodies that mangled flesh and armor alike as blood erupted and exploded from them. Limbs also were severed by this strange death. Some of the more unfortunate warriors have their heads exploded as if they were struck by a powerful Warhammer blow, splattering gore everywhere.
Ellis know right away that this is the work of the Summoned hero of Leofarinia and she must have created a terrifying weapon that can kill many warriors in messy ways that would make a bunny jump with glee. If his Leofarinians were smart, or if he was in charge, he would have ordered the main Xelmian body to retreat from the battlefield and come up with a tactic or anything that can defeat this new threat.
Unfortunately, his fellow commanders are both too prideful and arrogant to consider retreat in the face of an unknown threat, especially one as tiny but deadly as this one on that hill. Cries of indigent anger and orders to teach these insolent rats a lesson echoed among the Xelmians as a large portion of the main body split off to attack the enemy on the hill, shields arranged in a way to deflect whatever the enemy is attacking them with.
He pitied the warriors being sent to the deaths, for he knew that they would die in complete vain.
=====
"Reload the gun!" ordered Conrad as the machine gun finished firing another belt of ammo for the third time so far. With expert speed and skill, his friends quickly unpack another belt of ammo from a box and fed it into the machine gun, all within the span of twenty seconds. With another fresh belt of ammunition, Conrad aimed the gun at the approaching mass of Xelmian troops and pulled the trigger, unleashing another hailstorm of hot and leaded death onto the enemy below while they try to climb the hill.
The sheer power of the machine gun he is operating right now is both shocking and wonderful at the same time. With every pull of the trigger, he is cutting down at least ten trained and armed Xelmians dressed in full battle gear. Even the feared Xelmian Knights are no match for the machine gun as the bullets punched holes in their heavy metal armor and shredded their soft flesh underneath. The ability to kill foes, especially powerful ones, this quickly and easily is something that only appear in legends and myths of times in the distant past. Conrad could only wonder how legends and history will recount this battle should his side win. Will they be remembered as legendary heroes to be loved, or will they be remembered as deadly villains to be feared?
"Archers! Look out!"
Conrad's mind snaps back into the battle as he saw Xelmian archers taking aim at his group, and especially at him. He quickly redirected the machine gun to the new threat and pulled the trigger again as his fellows quickly loosed arrows at the archers. A large fraction of the archers died right then and there either to the maxim machine gun's large caliber bullets or from the arrows. Still, a number of Xelmian archers managed to survive long enough let loose arrows at Conrad's group. Half of the arrows missed due to the chaos among their ranks caused by the very sudden counter-attack. The other half of the arrows would have found their marks…
…If they were not blocked or otherwise deflected away with a timely intervention by Angelina. She quickly conjured a large magic shield that blocked the Xelmian attacks while allowing the Foundation attacks through. However, despite the successful defense against the Xelmian archer attack, it became obvious to Conrad and everyone else that their position on the hill became indefensible. Orders to abandon the hill for a safer location echoed among the group as Conrad continue to fire the machine gun at the Xelmians.
Throughout the whole evacuation process, Conrad did not stop shooting the machine gun. He did not stop shooting when his fellows are quickly boarding the van. He did not stop shooting when the van started to drive away from the hill. And he did not stop shooting when the van was being chased by very angry Xelmians. The thundering sound of the machine gun drowned out all of the noise and words the Xelmians are making, but Conrad could reasonably guess that the Xelmians are promising gruesome death for him and his fellows in addition to calling them insolent cowards.
That is enough reason for him to continue firing once his group reloaded the machine gun with a fresh box full of bullets…
=====
Despite being miles away from the action, Alice can hear the sounds of battle, even though she can't see the action. She, the rest of her Onyx Rabbits Bunny-Halberdiers, and all the rest of the Foundation's forces were standing in formation on the Windscorch Plains a fair distance away from Sonnie. If she can hear the sounds of battle, then so can everyone else around her. The thundering sounds of the machine gun will go on for about five minutes. Then, those sounds were followed by a mixture of Xelmian curses and the noises a van makes when it is moving.
Those sounds were then followed by more thundering noises made by a machine gun. And then that noise was followed by more Xelmian angry noises and the van's noises.
This pattern of noises has repeated itself for about four times now and she can tell that many of her fellow warriors were wondering what is going on out there.
But, she knows. She was there when Georgia developed the plan and strategy to be used for this battle. In the distant past, there used to be a mother-warren named the Dust-Storm Mother-Warren that conquered and ruled practically the entire Stormy Sands Desert and the Great Leofarinian Plains. The weapon that the mother-warren's warriors used to accomplish such a feat is the horse archer.
In the simplest terms, it is an archer that rode and fought on horseback. This simple combination of range and mobility proved to be very deadly against many foes, especially slower ones. The horse archers would simply ride up to the enemy, stop when the enemy is within range of their bows, and let loose a large number of arrows into the enemy, inflicting casualties and death. Then, when the enemy gets too close, the horse archers will just ride away, letting loose more arrows along the way. Then, once the horse archers rode to a safe distance away from the enemy again, they will let loose even more arrows into the enemy.
This tactic of hit-and-run allowed the mother-warren's warriors to defeat many foes with few losses even if they are outnumbered and it is especially useful in areas without obstacles or fortifications, like the Windscorch Plains. Georgia sought to use the ancient mother-warren's tactics to defeat the Xelmians this day. The difference is that, instead of using bows and horses, she decided to use the machine gun and one of the Foundation's vans. The machine gun proves to be even deadlier than the bow and she have saw that the van is superior to the horse in mobility and carrying capacity. The combination of all three elements should produce wonderful results and is probably the only thing that makes the Foundation's mission a success. How big of a success is a good question…
The sudden cheering of her fellow warriors snapped her out of her train of thought as she refocuses her eyesight on what is happening in front of her. Off in the distance, she can see the van driving towards them with Angelina flying above. And Alice can see that there is a massive army of very angry Xelmians chancing them.
Alice smiled as the Foundation's force parts a little bit to let the van drive on past their ranks and move behind them. Everything is going according to plan. Soon, the second part of the plan will commence and the Xelmians will be defeated this day.
The sound of a nearby horn orders her and everyone else to brace themselves for battle as the Xelmians quickened their advance…
=====
Conrad and his group barely have enough time to set themselves up on a small hill that overlooked and flanked their fellow warriors below when a horn sounded across the battlefield. That second horn is a signal that the Xelmian army is within range of the Foundation's magic spells and that the mages should start slinging spells at the enemy. Conrad watched as the Enlightened Torch Mages and the War-Sisters of the Mace flung spell after spell into the enemy's formation, causing both confusion and casualties whenever the spell connected with their target.
However, as destructive and effective this barrage of spells was, it was definitely not enough to stop the Xelmians as the Xelmians continued their march to engage the Foundation's forces in deadly combat. In anything, it only probably made the Xelmians madder.
However, this blind rage will be their undoing, for he has noticed that not one Xelmian have noticed his group hiding on the hill. Once the Xelmians entered the machine gun's effective range again, he pulled the trigger again…
=====
From where he is at, toward the rear of the Xelmian body, Ellis have both a good view of the disaster unfolding upon the Xelmians. Even before the Xelmian main body got within eyesight of the main body of the Summoned Heroine's Forces before them, they have lost a quarter of their number to the actions of the Heroine's strange new weapon, the crew that manned the weapon, and the effective hit-and-run tactics that they employed.
Ellis had urged his fellows and superiors to call off this attack and retreat to prevent a total loss, but he was over-ruled as they ordered an all-out attack against the enemy's main body right then and there. Ellis can think of two reasons for this insanity. The first reason is that they are still confident that, even with their reduced numbers, they can still achieve victory, especially since that strange weapon is nowhere to be found. The other reason is that they are blinded with rage and indignation on this disastrous day so far and they wanted some pay back.
So, it is to none of his surprise when he has witnessed this one final attack going very poorly. First, even before the Xelmian main body meet the enemy, spells fly out from the enemy's main body and struck the Xelmians again and again. Ellis frowned at this. He knew that the enemy is likely to have mages and requested that their own mages be included as a precaution, but he was denied. While the Xelmian forces were heavily battered, their ranks were still not broken, and their momentum was still strong.
However, what came next changed all of that. All of the sudden, Ellis heard the frightful and familiar rapid thundering sound of that strange weapon again. He looked around and saw that the strange weapon that even he thought to have disappeared is on a small hill overlooking the battlefield. Brave warriors of Xelma screamed in pain and agony as the death dealt with this weapon tore right through them. At this moment, the momentum of the Xelmian forces broke as the once-feared unbreakable ranks of any Xelmian force faltered.
At that moment, the final nail in the coffin was hammered in as the Summoned Heroine's army charged forward and crashed against the Xelmians. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a suicidal move. However, the sorry state of the Xelmian ranks at that time meant that the charge was successful in breaking the Xelmian formation into pieces. Within the bloodbath that ensued, the once proud Xelmian warriors were being cut down everywhere he looked at the hands of their enemy while the strange weapon continued to kill with impunity.
Seeing that the battle has become unwinnable and that he probably has become the sole surviving leader for the Xelmian force, Ellis ordered a retreat of all remaining forces not committed to the battle. Although he will probably be branded as a coward and a deserter for this action, it is better than dying a useless death, and he can figure out what to do next once he and his forces have fled to safety.
Before Ellis left the battlefield, he uttered an announcement to the winds:
"Well done, Lady Joan Frank, Summoned Heroine of Leofarinia. You and your organization have truly earned this victory over Xelma this day. Please savor it, for my former Xelmian brothers and sisters will not forget what happened here and will vow to make you pay dearly for this humiliation a dozen times over…"
Success: Your forces have battled and soundly defeated the massive Xelmian Reinforcement army in open combat before any village was harmed, saving many Leofarinian lives and preserving the strength of Leofarinia while derailing the current Xelmian strategy…
(Strength Change: +20 Leofarinia, -22 Xelma, -20 Xelma (Middle, Change))
Casualties: 1D100 => 7
In what your troops call as a legendary miracle from the gods that will be sung about for ages to come, you have not lost a single soldier within the battle. Sure, people got injured, mostly towards the end of the battle when the large decisive melee took place, but it is nothing that a couple of healing spells and modern medicine cannot fix. This incredibly one-sided nature of the casualty rate will serve to improve the Frank Foundation's reputation and prestige in the eyes of many inside and outside of Leofarinia. Meanwhile, the loss will seriously shake and damage the long-believed Xelmian reputation of military strength.
(No units lost, to everyone's utter shock.)
Loot: 1D100 => 42
Apparently, the Xelmians brought along the entirety of their war-supplies, their treasure, and quite a bit of siege with them when they are marching toward the middle front. It was also apparent that, in their retreat, a good portion of these items were abandoned. The Xelmians had tried to destroy any item or equipment that they can't take with them, but the disorganized and hasty nature of the task meant that they only partially successful in this task before being forces to run away. At the very least, they did not succeed in destroying enough useful loot to deny you any significant gains.
Aside from small mountain of gold and silver coins, precious gemstones, and other valuable pieces of art that will surely give your treasury a very nice boost, you also managed to secure a large amount of critical supplies for war. From tents to wagons to sacks of grain, not one item was overlooked. A large fraction of the supplies was sold off to the fleeing villagers in exchange for additional coins and other valuables and what has not been sold off will be added to your treasury.
Your troops also managed to salvage a lot of useful, and useless, items from the Xelmian dead over the course of a few days. Most of the metal weapons came out intact and the ones with broken wooden handles can be easily repaired. The pieces of armor were not as fortunate. Any piece that wasn't ruined because of the machine gun bullets were ruined by the intense violence that happened near the end of the battle. Still, there was enough intact pieces of armor to equip a few fighting groups with Xelmian Heavy Armor, and the ruined pieces of armor can still be used as scrap metal.
Aside from the relatively mundane loot and supplies that were gained, there were two of interesting pieces of note. First, among the abandoned luggage, the looters managed to recover a chest full of documents. While you have yet to look at them in detail, the report suggest that the documents might contain information that'll prove useful in the near future in regard to further action against Xelma.
The other piece of note is far more interesting. Your looters managed to secure a chest full of divine material that is used in the crafting of magical items! You can't begin to imagine the doors of possibilities that this find opens up as the chest was brought into your laboratories…
You probably need to lay down after reading the reports. The amount of treasure you have gained in this battle alone have made you richer than you ever imagine yourself to be…
(Wealth: +125)
((4) Heavy Armor Kits obtained.)
(Chest full of documents obtained.)
(Shipment of Divine Material obtained.)
(New Actions Unlocked.)
=====
Oh my goodness me, this piece of writing took way too long and stands at about 7000 words. And I do not think that it is even that polished, but I was getting a bit annoyed at typing this piece for some reason, so it will stand at it is. Maybe I'll rewrite this in the future to make it better, but I think whatever gaps in quality and information will have to be addressed in additional snippets that I'll post time to time.
Right now, enjoy…
To the south from the Village of Greenhill, there exists Leofarinia's southern-most region that is also known as the Great Leofarinian Plains. In stark contrast to the very hilly and heavily forested temperate region that hosts Greenhill and the nearby Frank Foundation, the Great Leofarinian Plains is a warm, sunbaked land filled with golden grasslands with very few forests and even fewer hills of any note. For as long as history can remember, in addition to being ideal farmland and the breadbasket for much of Leofarinia, the region serves as a crossroads region linking between Leofarinia to the west, Xelma to the east, and the civilizations, both big and small, of the Stormy Sands Desert to the far south.
In the present, however, the region found itself ravaged at the hands of the Xelmian Invasion. During the first two months of the invasion, the Xelmian army have successfully conducted a particularly fast and brutal lighting warfare campaign into the Great Leofarinian Plains. The goals of the Xelmians in the region is simple: drive the Leofarinians into the sea and conquer the region, especially its regional capital of Seaington on the coast, and to exploit the region and its resources to support the invasion effort in other fronts. For two months, they fought and routed the Leofarinians in one battle after another as the force made its way across the region, raping, pillaging, and burning every unfortunate Leofarinian village and town that got in its way. Within the span of these two short months, the Xelmians nearly realized its goal.
However, just as victory is within their grasp, sudden disaster has struck the Xelmians. A young but brave summoned heroine named Lady Joan Frank and her equally brave organization, the Frank Foundation, have successfully waged battles against the Xelmian invasion through raids on the Xelmian caravans, through skirmishes against the Xelmian camps, and from the shadows with their cunning agents. Thanks to the efforts of Joan Frank, the whole Xelmian invasion faced a very serious problem as the Xelmian Middle Front, near where the Frank Foundation is located in, have taken very serious damage and is on the verge of complete collapse, much to the shock and disgust of the Xelmian princess. To combat this insolence from the Leofarinian summoned heroine, she ordered a large portion of the powerful, but comparable slower and less mobile, reserves and forces from the Invasion's Southern Front to be moved up to and reinforce the dying Middle Front, with the secondary objective to rape and burn every village and town in between.
While there was an option to fortify a strong town and battle the Xelmian reinforcements on better ground, the benevolent Joan Frank chose against sacrificing Leofarinian town to the Xelmians and ordered that an expeditionary force consisting of her finest warriors and mages to be sent out and repel the Xelmians before a single village be harmed by the Xelmians.
On paper, the modest size of the expeditionary force that Lady Frank have assigned to this pivotal battle seem like foolishness and madness. Indeed, any military strategist and tactician from any nation, be it Leofarinian, Xelmian, or anywhere else will outright decry the maneuver as the height of insanity and will predict that the Frank Foundation's actions doomed to fail. However, largely unknown to the Xelmians and to the Leofarinians, the daring and brave warriors of the Frank Foundation have brought along a secret weapon, one developed and engineered by intelligent men from Joan Frank's world and one that promised to change the very nature of war in the world, forever and ever...
=====
"Heh, Sister Melancholy. I didn't know that you like to stare into the sunset too."
The experienced War-Sister of the Mace was leaning on a wooden fence when she looked up to see Alice, the leader of the Onyx Rabbits, standing beside her with two tankards full of ale in her hands. From the angle that the sunset is shining from, the normally onyx-black color of Alice's armor turned into a really dark but lovely shade of red.
"Greetings to you too, Miss Alice," Melancholy responded. "And to answer your question, while the sunset is beautiful to look at, I am merely doing this to steel and calm my soul for the battle against Xelma tomorrow."
Alice grinned. "Well, that makes the two of us then, because I do need some calming for my nerves before the big battle tomorrow. And what better way to do that than to stare at the sunset while sharing some ale with a good friend." She offered one of the tankard to Melancholy. "Thirsty?"
Melancholy took the tankard and gulped down a mouthful of ale. "I'm more for wine and fine mead, but I do like good ale, and this ale is pretty good."
"Yes, indeed," agreed Alice. "The family that runs the village inn has been brewing ale for many, many years for the travelers heading to and from the Windscorch Plains, using grain grown in the nearby farms. Too bad that they will have to flee the village of Sonnie along with all of the other villagers. I pretty much expect that this village will be abandoned within a few days not matter how well we do in battle."
"I can't really blame them, and neither should anyone else for that matter," Melancholy remarked. "If what the scouts have told us is true, we are facing a seasoned and battle-hardened Xelmian force of about ten times our size at least, and that is after all of that sabotage that we have did to limit their numbers. From every possible direction that you look at this situation, the chances of our victory look very slim and grim."
Alice looked at Melancholy. "You doubt the strategy that Georgia cooked up?"
Melancholy shook her head while she ingested another mouthful of ale. "I don't doubt Georgia one bit, especially with the machine gun and the van that we have for this battle. However, I am worried about how many casualties we might take."
Melancholy pointed at the sunset across the fence and the plains before her. "Notice the redness of the sunset right now? While the sunsets at this particular time of the year within the Windscorch Plains are particularly beautiful, it is also quite red, like blood. The sunset here is also even more red than any other time in the year. I do think that this is a sign that the upcoming battle will be particularly bloody and that it is uncertain how many of us will come out alive and how many of us will die."
Alice smiled. "Then please hope and pray that the only blood that will be spilled tomorrow will be that of those Xelmian maggots! If everything goes well, then we should not take any losses, and this will become one of the most one-sided battles in history! We are also counting on you and your sisters to help stich any wounds, especially my own! I have found a cute boy-friend and I don't want to lose an eye or a hand before we get married!"
Melancholy smiled. "I promise that you'll get my best spells, and maybe I can also help you in planning your most beautiful wedding!"
Alice and Melancholy burst out laughing for a minute and finished the rest of the ale in their tankards. Then, they walked back to the inn for refills...
=====
"...And that concludes our scouts' report of the enemy forces. Now, if you excuse me, Honorable Lords and Ladies, I must take my leave."
A wave of Ellis Fa Prya's hand signaled the scout to take her leave as the war-band leader refocuses his attention onto the war counsel meeting of his peers and elders right in front of him. The topic of the meeting is best described as a check-up meeting to make sure that everything is in place before the Xelmians attack the Leofarinian village of Sonnie, the first of the many villages that stood in their way and would probably be pillaged and burned to the ground. A side topic of the meeting is to assess the threat that the Leofarinian Summoned Heroine posed to the Xelmians, now that it was discovered that she sent a company of warriors to Sonnie to do battle with the Xelmians.
And as he kind of expected, everyone in attendance burst out laughing. From the words and sentences that escaped in between each burst of laughter, it is not hard for Ellis to figure out why they are laughing.
"What an utterly pathetic display of strength from the so-called Summoned Heroine of Leofarinia!"
"Two-hundred against our Two-thousand! What a funny joke!"
"Against such a small force, we don't even need our swords! We can just trample them to death with our boots!"
"The Windscorch plains will be made fertile with Leofarinian blood once again!"
Ellis would silently agree with this assessment. Sending a much smaller force is a losing proposition; with a force this small, it almost seemed that the Summoned Heroine have sent them on a hopeless suicide mission.
However, he couldn't get rid of the uneasy feeling he had for about a month now. He has been getting letters from his sister Reyila from the now-faltering Middle Front. In these letters, she describes, in great detail, how she and her fellows are plagued by an unusual death beckoned by a thundering crack and followed by a large circular wound that is always fatal. He never heard such a death before, so he figured that it is the work of the Leofarinian Summoned Heroine, along with the raids and subversive tricks that caused the Middle Front to be hanging by a thread. If she can inflict such death, Ellis shuttered to think of what other powerful tricks and weapons she has, and if she is going to use one in the upcoming battle.
"The screaming of their women would be wonderful when we pierce them with our spears!"
"Heard the men are just as meaty as well!"
Ellis sighed. This has to be the quickest that the discussion devolved into perverted degeneracy. Young humans, dark elves, and especially his bunny sisters are quite energetic, strong, and all make fine warriors. However, they are also quite lusty and eager, sometimes to heights he never thought possible.
And he had seen how high their lusts can be. Ellis have served as a "husband" and a sex toy for a powerful human noblewoman named Valya Fe Prya before her untimely death in battle. It was very unusual for a male Bunny like him to be given to a human female. Due to the rarity of his sex among his kind, it is tradition for the males to be given to powerful female Bunnies for various purposes. But while the purpose of his marriage to Valya remains unknown, what is not unknown is how much of a lusty pervert she really is and how many children she had with Ellis. Ellis wondered many times if she had a Bunny ancestor in the distant past. That will explain her ravenous hunger for sex and violence, sometimes separate and sometimes together...
"Oh! I even heard that there is a male Bunny within the ranks of the summoned hero's army!"
Ellis silently facepalmed as he braced himself for the inevitable from all of the females within the group, especially the female Bunnies.
"I wonder how big his weapon is? I bet it is long as a pike and heavy as a hammer!"
"It's probably thick enough to last for hours of use, and abuse!"
"Oh goodie! I'm not getting my daily helping of meat, especially of the bunny kind!"
"Tomorrow, I am in the mood for bunny meat for dinner!"
As the lewd comments about this mystery male bunny continued, Ellis got up and walked out of the tent, intending to drown out the noise with some nice ale. He successfully petitioned to be let into the Xelmian army as an officer soon after Valya died to prevent him to be married off to another loose noblewoman and to prove to everyone that he is not just another toy for a noblewoman or Bunny to play with. However, he still felt that everyone else in the Xelmian army don't really respect him as a person, his abilities, nor his accomplishments. He also thinks that his fellows still judge him based on the common stereotype of male Bunnies and would condemn him to the typical fate of one sooner than later.
As Ellis started to drink his ale, he wondered if there is someone else out there who can help him truly succeed and avoid being sent back to square one...
=====
In spite of the importance of the day, the very next morning started almost just like any other day for the Frank Foundation's Interception Army. As usual, the warriors woke up from their beds at the sound of a large and loud bell. Then, they do their morning warm-up exercises while their cooks prepared a hearty breakfast with whatever is on hand. For that morning, it was gooey oatmeal prepared form the oats obtained from the villagers of Sonnie. As soon as the exercises are done, the cooks would have finished cooking the breakfast. At that point, all will eat well to fuel their efforts for the day.
However, that is where the similarities to any other day end. After breakfast, all of the fighters were to dress into their battle outfits and armor, arm themselves with their weapons, and march off to the battlefield after assembling at a predetermined rally point. The rally point is just outside the village and facing the Windscorch Plains, the direction that the Xelmian Army are sure to arrive from.
However, for Conrad and his fellows within the Foundation's only machine gun-armed group, his day progressed much differently as he and his fellows prepared to wage a new, different, and, hopefully, very deadly kind of war against the Xelmians. Those among them, including Conrad, who are tasked in operating the machine gun checked their precious weapon with meticulous care to make sure it will operate and kill without fail. The rest, who are still talented archers, are either preparing their bows and other equipment for battle or loading the arrows, machine gun ammunition, and cooling water into the van that they are entrusted with.
"Glad to see you all are doing just fine, for a group that'll be facing down two thousand angry and raping Xelmian butchers."
Conrad and several of his fellows looked up to see Mary-Anne, the second-in-command of the experienced Sunset Phalanx Pike-bunnies, standing before them with the morning sun reflecting off her shiny plate armor. Unlike many others within the camp, she is wide awake and alert, almost as if she is eager to do battle with the Xelmians.
Conrad took a bow. "Good morning to you Mary-Anne," he said. "Are you here to help?"
Mary-Anne shook her head. "No, I am here with a simple message from Artemis and everyone else. They all wish your entire group and Angelina the best of luck in your very important mission. And please actually succeed. Our whole mission hinges on your success. If you fail, then it is likely we will all die."
Conrad took another bow. "We will do our best. The Xelmians will not know what hit them."
Before Conrad can speak another word, he sounds of flapping wings alerted him the arrival of Angelina, the Foundation's only Lesser Shield Angel.
"Brave warriors of the Frank Foundation, we must move against our foes, now," Angelina started to explain. "During my morning patrol, I saw a massive force of our foes moving to attack this village. They are marching against us as we speak and if the plan devised by the wise Georgia is to work, we must act now."
Conrad nodded as he turned to Mary-Anne. "It seems that it is time to head on out to battle. You better tell the rest on what is happening and have them prepare for battle right now. I doubt it will be long before the Xelmians comes storming in."
Mary-Anne nodded as she bowed and bid Conrad and his group good fortune. A second later, she ran back to the Foundation's camp as the van's engine started, the first noise in what promises to be a very bloody battle.
Within a few more minutes, Conrad found himself riding in the van, watching the golden grass of the Windscorch Plains rolls on by as Angelina flies above to keep watch.
Conrad can feel in his bones that their actions in this battle would change the course of world history, forever.
=====
The sound of at least two thousand Xelmian warriors and fighters of all kinds is quite something to behold. While the overall noise is one big cacophony, it is easy for a bunny like Ellis to pick out specific sounds and make a guess on who made it. The loud sounds of metal objects banging against each other and heavy footsteps implies that the person is a powerful Xelmian Knight. Relatively softer sounds and lighter footsteps implies either a scout or an archer. And the sound of jingling chainmail implies that a regular soldier, probably a swordsman or s spearman.
Through the noise of the marching, Ellis can also make out individual conversations his fellow Xelmians are having with each other to ease the relatively boring march. Most of the conversations are about equally-boring topics like the nice weather they are having or what on the menu tonight for dinner once the battle is done. Some of the conversations ventured into unwholesome territory of what shall they do with their prisoners, to Ellis's disgust. One such conversation between two female humans stood out as Ellis listened in…
"Hey, I've noticed that the bunny boy had left the meeting last night before we are done. Is it something we said?"
"Oh please, I bet the boy's just upset that there's not a single woman to his liking. Rather surprising if you ask me. All of the bunny women are very pervy, so you would think the men are just as pervy, if not more so. Maybe women are not to his liking? Maybe he would like the companionship of a muscular man…"
"Oh goodness no! I bet that he is not interested in bunny women. Maybe he is interested in human women! More specifically, INTERESTING human women!"
"But we both are human women! And we are interesting! Far more interesting than any common skank! But the bunny boy is not interested in us!"
"I meant THAT kind of interesting!"
There was a pause.
"You know, you might be right! Speaking of interesting women, I heard that the summoned hero of Leofarinia is a woman, both sexy and a virgin too! Maybe to cheer the bunny boy up, maybe we can give her to him to ravage thoroughly before we all take turns with her!"
Ellis shut his ears off to the rest of the conversation as he focuses back to marching to help him forget what he just heard.
A few minutes later he spotted something quite particular far off in the distance. On top of a small hill, he has spotted something that resembles a covered wagon similar to what more wealthier merchants use. In front of the wagon, he can see a group of people, wearing clothes that identified them not as Xelmians, but possibly belonging to the Leofarinian Summoned Heroine's army. He can make out bows on some of the enemy group, identifying them as archers. On the other hand, the device in front of this group is quite foreign, even though he could guess quite well that it is probably a weapon of some sort. Up on the sky, he can make out a humanoid figure with wings and a large shield. He recognized it as a shield angel, but from the looks of it, it is pretty weak, and it is probably there for scouting and not real combat.
Despite the underwhelming appearance of this strange group, the feeling of dread clenches his heart again. His mind reached back to the letters he has gotten from Reyila as an uncomfortable chill ran down his back. He shivered at the thought of the sudden death described in those letters and that he would personally be experiencing that pretty soon.
Unfortunately for him, while his fellow commanders noticed the small group, their reaction is not concern nor dread, but dismissive laughter.
"Oh ho! What we have here? Is that a scouting group from the pathetic Leofarinian Summoned Hero! What a joke!"
"What shall we do, Ayea? Should we run up and say hello before we tear them to pieces with our bare hands?"
"Nope! We shall just ignore them and continue marching to the Leofarinian village! What could such a small group will do to us other than to run back and tell their masters of our invincible strength? These scouts are not worth our time!"
As the main body of troops continued to advance, heedless of the group on the hill, Ellis quickly but softly told his second-in-command to make sure his group is behind all of the other idiots' groups, for if unknown death will soon be upon them all, he would like to have a chance to save some of his subordinates from the slaughter…
=====
From the hill they were on, Conrad was able to get a very good view of the Xelmian army marching down below. While he was well aware about how badly their expedition was outnumbered by the Xelmians, to actually see that disadvantage in person is quite awe-inspiring. The sheer size of the massive Xelmian army makes it as if the number advantage is much bigger than ten-to-one.
However, size doesn't always mean everything in a battle. If the lessons given to him by Georgia and Lady Frank's scientists were correct, then the weapon he controls in his hands allows a small group, like the one he is in, to defeat a far larger group like the Xelmian army down below. One scientist even recalls a time in his history where a smaller force was outnumbered ten-to-one and was able to defeat a larger force with barely any casualties while reaping bloody death against their more massive foes.
Conrad sighed deeply as he gripped the handle of the machine gun. His heart beats loudly as he anxiously waited for the signal to pull the trigger and let loose the lead bullets into the Xelmians. His group-mates are just as eager and anxious to start fighting as well…
Minutes of anxious waiting was soon paid off as Angelina flew down and landed behind Conrad and his fellows. The lesser Shield Angel was tasked with surveilling the enemy in addition to protecting the small band. Even though her fact remained emotionless, he can tell that she has something to report.
"Our foes have indeed spotted us," Angelina said. "Just like what the wise warrior Georgia have predicted, the Xelmian foes have dismissed us as a nonthreat and are more than content to ignore us almost completely and march past us and this hill to attack the main body of our army. This is the time we should start to attack the Xelmians and punish them dearly for marching against us."
That is more than enough to get Conrad going. Within seconds, he was aiming the machine gun to the mass below, especially at a heavily decorated individual that he assumed to be an officer. At the same time, the archers nocked an arrow into their bows and drew their bowstrings back, ready to let loose the arrows at Angelina's signal.
"Warriors of the Foundation! Attack!"
At these words, the archers let loose their arrows at the Xelmians. Moments later, Conrad pulled the trigger of his machine gun. More moments later, the familiar thundering sound of his machine gun firing fills the air as the weapon fires one bullet after another in a rapid pace into the crowd of Xelmian warriors before them…
=====
In just mere seconds, the Xelmian ranks erupted into chaos. From what Ellis can see, hear, and recall, not very long after the Xelmian main body begin to march straight past that hill the other Xelmian commanders chose to ignore, there was a loud noise that sounded like the thundering boom of a thunderstorm being repeated at an utterly mind-shattering rate. Not long after this noise erupted, at least a few dozen warriors at their forward left flank kneeled over and collapsed, dying with agony still present in their pained screams.
He can see plenty of arrows sticking out from the bodies of the fallen, but the vast majority of the dead and dying were struck by a death that resembles the one described in the letters from his sister: large holes appearing on the bodies that mangled flesh and armor alike as blood erupted and exploded from them. Limbs also were severed by this strange death. Some of the more unfortunate warriors have their heads exploded as if they were struck by a powerful Warhammer blow, splattering gore everywhere.
Ellis know right away that this is the work of the Summoned hero of Leofarinia and she must have created a terrifying weapon that can kill many warriors in messy ways that would make a bunny jump with glee. If his Leofarinians were smart, or if he was in charge, he would have ordered the main Xelmian body to retreat from the battlefield and come up with a tactic or anything that can defeat this new threat.
Unfortunately, his fellow commanders are both too prideful and arrogant to consider retreat in the face of an unknown threat, especially one as tiny but deadly as this one on that hill. Cries of indigent anger and orders to teach these insolent rats a lesson echoed among the Xelmians as a large portion of the main body split off to attack the enemy on the hill, shields arranged in a way to deflect whatever the enemy is attacking them with.
He pitied the warriors being sent to the deaths, for he knew that they would die in complete vain.
=====
"Reload the gun!" ordered Conrad as the machine gun finished firing another belt of ammo for the third time so far. With expert speed and skill, his friends quickly unpack another belt of ammo from a box and fed it into the machine gun, all within the span of twenty seconds. With another fresh belt of ammunition, Conrad aimed the gun at the approaching mass of Xelmian troops and pulled the trigger, unleashing another hailstorm of hot and leaded death onto the enemy below while they try to climb the hill.
The sheer power of the machine gun he is operating right now is both shocking and wonderful at the same time. With every pull of the trigger, he is cutting down at least ten trained and armed Xelmians dressed in full battle gear. Even the feared Xelmian Knights are no match for the machine gun as the bullets punched holes in their heavy metal armor and shredded their soft flesh underneath. The ability to kill foes, especially powerful ones, this quickly and easily is something that only appear in legends and myths of times in the distant past. Conrad could only wonder how legends and history will recount this battle should his side win. Will they be remembered as legendary heroes to be loved, or will they be remembered as deadly villains to be feared?
"Archers! Look out!"
Conrad's mind snaps back into the battle as he saw Xelmian archers taking aim at his group, and especially at him. He quickly redirected the machine gun to the new threat and pulled the trigger again as his fellows quickly loosed arrows at the archers. A large fraction of the archers died right then and there either to the maxim machine gun's large caliber bullets or from the arrows. Still, a number of Xelmian archers managed to survive long enough let loose arrows at Conrad's group. Half of the arrows missed due to the chaos among their ranks caused by the very sudden counter-attack. The other half of the arrows would have found their marks…
…If they were not blocked or otherwise deflected away with a timely intervention by Angelina. She quickly conjured a large magic shield that blocked the Xelmian attacks while allowing the Foundation attacks through. However, despite the successful defense against the Xelmian archer attack, it became obvious to Conrad and everyone else that their position on the hill became indefensible. Orders to abandon the hill for a safer location echoed among the group as Conrad continue to fire the machine gun at the Xelmians.
Throughout the whole evacuation process, Conrad did not stop shooting the machine gun. He did not stop shooting when his fellows are quickly boarding the van. He did not stop shooting when the van started to drive away from the hill. And he did not stop shooting when the van was being chased by very angry Xelmians. The thundering sound of the machine gun drowned out all of the noise and words the Xelmians are making, but Conrad could reasonably guess that the Xelmians are promising gruesome death for him and his fellows in addition to calling them insolent cowards.
That is enough reason for him to continue firing once his group reloaded the machine gun with a fresh box full of bullets…
=====
Despite being miles away from the action, Alice can hear the sounds of battle, even though she can't see the action. She, the rest of her Onyx Rabbits Bunny-Halberdiers, and all the rest of the Foundation's forces were standing in formation on the Windscorch Plains a fair distance away from Sonnie. If she can hear the sounds of battle, then so can everyone else around her. The thundering sounds of the machine gun will go on for about five minutes. Then, those sounds were followed by a mixture of Xelmian curses and the noises a van makes when it is moving.
Those sounds were then followed by more thundering noises made by a machine gun. And then that noise was followed by more Xelmian angry noises and the van's noises.
This pattern of noises has repeated itself for about four times now and she can tell that many of her fellow warriors were wondering what is going on out there.
But, she knows. She was there when Georgia developed the plan and strategy to be used for this battle. In the distant past, there used to be a mother-warren named the Dust-Storm Mother-Warren that conquered and ruled practically the entire Stormy Sands Desert and the Great Leofarinian Plains. The weapon that the mother-warren's warriors used to accomplish such a feat is the horse archer.
In the simplest terms, it is an archer that rode and fought on horseback. This simple combination of range and mobility proved to be very deadly against many foes, especially slower ones. The horse archers would simply ride up to the enemy, stop when the enemy is within range of their bows, and let loose a large number of arrows into the enemy, inflicting casualties and death. Then, when the enemy gets too close, the horse archers will just ride away, letting loose more arrows along the way. Then, once the horse archers rode to a safe distance away from the enemy again, they will let loose even more arrows into the enemy.
This tactic of hit-and-run allowed the mother-warren's warriors to defeat many foes with few losses even if they are outnumbered and it is especially useful in areas without obstacles or fortifications, like the Windscorch Plains. Georgia sought to use the ancient mother-warren's tactics to defeat the Xelmians this day. The difference is that, instead of using bows and horses, she decided to use the machine gun and one of the Foundation's vans. The machine gun proves to be even deadlier than the bow and she have saw that the van is superior to the horse in mobility and carrying capacity. The combination of all three elements should produce wonderful results and is probably the only thing that makes the Foundation's mission a success. How big of a success is a good question…
The sudden cheering of her fellow warriors snapped her out of her train of thought as she refocuses her eyesight on what is happening in front of her. Off in the distance, she can see the van driving towards them with Angelina flying above. And Alice can see that there is a massive army of very angry Xelmians chancing them.
Alice smiled as the Foundation's force parts a little bit to let the van drive on past their ranks and move behind them. Everything is going according to plan. Soon, the second part of the plan will commence and the Xelmians will be defeated this day.
The sound of a nearby horn orders her and everyone else to brace themselves for battle as the Xelmians quickened their advance…
=====
Conrad and his group barely have enough time to set themselves up on a small hill that overlooked and flanked their fellow warriors below when a horn sounded across the battlefield. That second horn is a signal that the Xelmian army is within range of the Foundation's magic spells and that the mages should start slinging spells at the enemy. Conrad watched as the Enlightened Torch Mages and the War-Sisters of the Mace flung spell after spell into the enemy's formation, causing both confusion and casualties whenever the spell connected with their target.
However, as destructive and effective this barrage of spells was, it was definitely not enough to stop the Xelmians as the Xelmians continued their march to engage the Foundation's forces in deadly combat. In anything, it only probably made the Xelmians madder.
However, this blind rage will be their undoing, for he has noticed that not one Xelmian have noticed his group hiding on the hill. Once the Xelmians entered the machine gun's effective range again, he pulled the trigger again…
=====
From where he is at, toward the rear of the Xelmian body, Ellis have both a good view of the disaster unfolding upon the Xelmians. Even before the Xelmian main body got within eyesight of the main body of the Summoned Heroine's Forces before them, they have lost a quarter of their number to the actions of the Heroine's strange new weapon, the crew that manned the weapon, and the effective hit-and-run tactics that they employed.
Ellis had urged his fellows and superiors to call off this attack and retreat to prevent a total loss, but he was over-ruled as they ordered an all-out attack against the enemy's main body right then and there. Ellis can think of two reasons for this insanity. The first reason is that they are still confident that, even with their reduced numbers, they can still achieve victory, especially since that strange weapon is nowhere to be found. The other reason is that they are blinded with rage and indignation on this disastrous day so far and they wanted some pay back.
So, it is to none of his surprise when he has witnessed this one final attack going very poorly. First, even before the Xelmian main body meet the enemy, spells fly out from the enemy's main body and struck the Xelmians again and again. Ellis frowned at this. He knew that the enemy is likely to have mages and requested that their own mages be included as a precaution, but he was denied. While the Xelmian forces were heavily battered, their ranks were still not broken, and their momentum was still strong.
However, what came next changed all of that. All of the sudden, Ellis heard the frightful and familiar rapid thundering sound of that strange weapon again. He looked around and saw that the strange weapon that even he thought to have disappeared is on a small hill overlooking the battlefield. Brave warriors of Xelma screamed in pain and agony as the death dealt with this weapon tore right through them. At this moment, the momentum of the Xelmian forces broke as the once-feared unbreakable ranks of any Xelmian force faltered.
At that moment, the final nail in the coffin was hammered in as the Summoned Heroine's army charged forward and crashed against the Xelmians. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a suicidal move. However, the sorry state of the Xelmian ranks at that time meant that the charge was successful in breaking the Xelmian formation into pieces. Within the bloodbath that ensued, the once proud Xelmian warriors were being cut down everywhere he looked at the hands of their enemy while the strange weapon continued to kill with impunity.
Seeing that the battle has become unwinnable and that he probably has become the sole surviving leader for the Xelmian force, Ellis ordered a retreat of all remaining forces not committed to the battle. Although he will probably be branded as a coward and a deserter for this action, it is better than dying a useless death, and he can figure out what to do next once he and his forces have fled to safety.
Before Ellis left the battlefield, he uttered an announcement to the winds:
"Well done, Lady Joan Frank, Summoned Heroine of Leofarinia. You and your organization have truly earned this victory over Xelma this day. Please savor it, for my former Xelmian brothers and sisters will not forget what happened here and will vow to make you pay dearly for this humiliation a dozen times over…"
Success: Your forces have battled and soundly defeated the massive Xelmian Reinforcement army in open combat before any village was harmed, saving many Leofarinian lives and preserving the strength of Leofarinia while derailing the current Xelmian strategy…
(Strength Change: +20 Leofarinia, -22 Xelma, -20 Xelma (Middle, Change))
Casualties: 1D100 => 7
In what your troops call as a legendary miracle from the gods that will be sung about for ages to come, you have not lost a single soldier within the battle. Sure, people got injured, mostly towards the end of the battle when the large decisive melee took place, but it is nothing that a couple of healing spells and modern medicine cannot fix. This incredibly one-sided nature of the casualty rate will serve to improve the Frank Foundation's reputation and prestige in the eyes of many inside and outside of Leofarinia. Meanwhile, the loss will seriously shake and damage the long-believed Xelmian reputation of military strength.
(No units lost, to everyone's utter shock.)
Loot: 1D100 => 42
Apparently, the Xelmians brought along the entirety of their war-supplies, their treasure, and quite a bit of siege with them when they are marching toward the middle front. It was also apparent that, in their retreat, a good portion of these items were abandoned. The Xelmians had tried to destroy any item or equipment that they can't take with them, but the disorganized and hasty nature of the task meant that they only partially successful in this task before being forces to run away. At the very least, they did not succeed in destroying enough useful loot to deny you any significant gains.
Aside from small mountain of gold and silver coins, precious gemstones, and other valuable pieces of art that will surely give your treasury a very nice boost, you also managed to secure a large amount of critical supplies for war. From tents to wagons to sacks of grain, not one item was overlooked. A large fraction of the supplies was sold off to the fleeing villagers in exchange for additional coins and other valuables and what has not been sold off will be added to your treasury.
Your troops also managed to salvage a lot of useful, and useless, items from the Xelmian dead over the course of a few days. Most of the metal weapons came out intact and the ones with broken wooden handles can be easily repaired. The pieces of armor were not as fortunate. Any piece that wasn't ruined because of the machine gun bullets were ruined by the intense violence that happened near the end of the battle. Still, there was enough intact pieces of armor to equip a few fighting groups with Xelmian Heavy Armor, and the ruined pieces of armor can still be used as scrap metal.
Aside from the relatively mundane loot and supplies that were gained, there were two of interesting pieces of note. First, among the abandoned luggage, the looters managed to recover a chest full of documents. While you have yet to look at them in detail, the report suggest that the documents might contain information that'll prove useful in the near future in regard to further action against Xelma.
The other piece of note is far more interesting. Your looters managed to secure a chest full of divine material that is used in the crafting of magical items! You can't begin to imagine the doors of possibilities that this find opens up as the chest was brought into your laboratories…
You probably need to lay down after reading the reports. The amount of treasure you have gained in this battle alone have made you richer than you ever imagine yourself to be…
(Wealth: +125)
((4) Heavy Armor Kits obtained.)
(Chest full of documents obtained.)
(Shipment of Divine Material obtained.)
(New Actions Unlocked.)
=====
Oh my goodness me, this piece of writing took way too long and stands at about 7000 words. And I do not think that it is even that polished, but I was getting a bit annoyed at typing this piece for some reason, so it will stand at it is. Maybe I'll rewrite this in the future to make it better, but I think whatever gaps in quality and information will have to be addressed in additional snippets that I'll post time to time.
Right now, enjoy…
Just a forewarning to all of my readers here:
For the next few months, I will have something very important I must do in real life and I anticipate that it will be taking up all of my free time, including the freetime I have to write this quest. Therefore, expect the update rate of this quest to be drastically slowed until that something is done. I'll still answer questions, write short fun snippets, and work on an omake or two, but don't expect the epilogue of this miniturn nor Turn 12 to be coming around anytime soon.
For the next few months, I will have something very important I must do in real life and I anticipate that it will be taking up all of my free time, including the freetime I have to write this quest. Therefore, expect the update rate of this quest to be drastically slowed until that something is done. I'll still answer questions, write short fun snippets, and work on an omake or two, but don't expect the epilogue of this miniturn nor Turn 12 to be coming around anytime soon.
Thebigpieman
I've got this, I think.
- Location
- United States
Oh.
Oh my.
That is in fact quite the battle. Well done Boss, well done.
Oh my.
That is in fact quite the battle. Well done Boss, well done.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Zero. Casualties.
Zero.
Oh yes this was a good day.
Zero.
Oh yes this was a good day.
- Location
- Where I an right now
Take your time, real life comes first.
The one time we wanted a low roll and it came through for us. I personally think our allies response will be the funniest. Not only are we single handedly winning them the war, we also just won an impossible victory in their eyes. The royalty and nobility will be sh*ting bricks in fear wondering if we will ever turn on them.
The one time we wanted a low roll and it came through for us. I personally think our allies response will be the funniest. Not only are we single handedly winning them the war, we also just won an impossible victory in their eyes. The royalty and nobility will be sh*ting bricks in fear wondering if we will ever turn on them.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Gives us a great negotiating position.
Join the Foundation. Be part of victories like this one!
Terms and conditions may apply.
Join the Foundation. Be part of victories like this one!
Terms and conditions may apply.
- Location
- italy bologna
Epic win!!!
all right!!! Just a bit sad i was late to use my omake for the loot roll but is better this way!
Well it sholud be the Southern Front change?
all right!!! Just a bit sad i was late to use my omake for the loot roll but is better this way!
Well it sholud be the Southern Front change?
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Nope. Cut off middle reinforcements. The middle and the South both lose.
- Location
- italy bologna
I meant the +20 Leofarinia change!
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
We saved a bunch of villages and a bunch of people in South. Which is where this battle is. Which is where the change for +Leo is happening.
- Location
- Where I an right now
Middle front was Xelma: 43/100
-11 -7-15-15+25 from agents and reinforcements = 10/100 then this battle was -20= -10/100
so even counting that reinforcements that should be gone, the middle front should be gone, or considering our actions, starving with no morale
The north was Xelma: 95/100 projected -10
Our actions were -10-5-6 = 64/100
So they are getting hungry
the south wasXelma: 90/100 with a projected -25 and our actions -10-5-10 = 40/100 then the battle totaled -22=18/100
Not sure if we could change the war any better than we did here
overall the north is slowed down, the middle should be surrendering soon or dying, and the south took a big hit.
Also not sure if I needed to add the -22 to the south score or the +25 since I think those were the reinforcement numbers if you don't include them
Middle -35/100
South 40/100
-11 -7-15-15+25 from agents and reinforcements = 10/100 then this battle was -20= -10/100
so even counting that reinforcements that should be gone, the middle front should be gone, or considering our actions, starving with no morale
The north was Xelma: 95/100 projected -10
Our actions were -10-5-6 = 64/100
So they are getting hungry
the south wasXelma: 90/100 with a projected -25 and our actions -10-5-10 = 40/100 then the battle totaled -22=18/100
Not sure if we could change the war any better than we did here
overall the north is slowed down, the middle should be surrendering soon or dying, and the south took a big hit.
Also not sure if I needed to add the -22 to the south score or the +25 since I think those were the reinforcement numbers if you don't include them
Middle -35/100
South 40/100
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Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Sounds like next turn we go break the siege. Who's up for bringing the hammer to hit the anvil that is the fortified city they're hitting?
I know we have some proven machine gunners.
I know we have some proven machine gunners.