Crimson Crusade
The Siege of Fort Loraine, Western Sultanate
Leon felt tired but most of all frustrated, usually he was proud of himself for being a calm and collected man but today was one of those days on which he could not help but be frustrated.
*ARTILLERY FIRE*
"*Sigh*, load up another round, focus all artillery fire on the wall" He ordered his troops to start loading up another volley of shells into the mortars. What once was a lush green grassland was now a bloodied, burnt and filled with destroyed wreckage of vehicles and artillery shells. The fort's walls had taken noticeable damage and were filled with holes but had still not fallen, 'DAMN IT!', he shouted and raged in his thoughts about the whole situation, if only the Zeppelin's hadn't been rerouted to the city of Manar they would have besieged the fortress hours ago but alas now all he could do was hope that the walls could be brought down soon enough before the fortress could be resupplied with reinforcements.
*ARTILLERY FIRE*
"Sir the walls have weakened, i reckon in a few more rounds they'll come crumbling down." The soldier had an expression of relief on his face accompanied by a small grin.
"That depends if we don't get killed by them first, lieutenant" Leon answered him with a wry smile. The lieutenant's smile also broke down and was replaced by a slightly broken one.
"Sir we have also requested air support from the sieging forces at Manar, they have agreed to send one of the Zeppelins" As he said this his frown was replaced by another grin and a hopeful face. Leon couldn't help but smile as well, the lieutenant was always the positive one in the group and that was exactly one of the reasons why he had kept him in the group. He looked at the lieutenant and told him to prepare another volley of artillery fire.
*ARTILLERY FIRE*
The volley had dealt more damage to the walls and true to the lieutenant's words they looked ready to come crumbling down at last. He ordered the troops to load up another volley for hopefully the last time. He drove a hand through his dirty silver hair which was now covered with dust due to all the explosions and fighting, his old family saber was also broken otherwise he could have charged it with mana and dealt some damage to the walls with a burst attack himself. 'wait magic attacks, why the hell haven't they attacked us with a single one yet?'
"Lieutenant!" Leon immediately yelled out for his lieutenant to discuss this unnoticed detail with him. The lieutenant immediately started coming towards him jogging in a fast pac-
"Fire Burst!"
*BOOOM*
The shockwave of the explosion sent him flying back and landed harshly on the ground, he saw that the area where the artillery were was now in flames and small explosions. He tried standing up by putting force on his hands but felt severe pain in his shoulder that meant it must have been broken on landing, 'Shit, the healers were near the area where the artillery was stationed'
*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*
Leon saw massive fireballs being fired upon them from the walls and his eyes immediately widened as the realisation sunk in, 'Shit, so that's why they weren't attacking using magic', Leon saw fireballs rain down upon the entire area and quickly his troops were being annihilated left and right.
"Retreat!!, Retreat!! Retre-" *EXPLOSION*
The area where the soldier was shouting the orders for retreat was immediately bombed by the fireballs and in its place was left only a crater, he saw soldiers starting to retreat and being bombed mercilessly. Leon saw most of the soldiers were abandoning cover and retreating but that was a fatal mistake, as soon as most of the soldiers had left cover they were immediately being gunned down by turrets on the walls which must have been somehow moved during the artillery fire to suitable locations on the wall. 'Alas we may have lost the battle but we shall surely win the war' Leon closed his eyes and awaited death at the hands of the enemy troopers which were now advancing from the walls to their retreating troops intending to gun them down and ensure the deaths of any soldiers which might have survived.
*EXPLOSIONS* *RAPID GUNFIRE*
Leon looked up and saw it, a massive Zeppelin equipped with turrets and cannons firing on the walls and enemy positions and destroying them within seconds. The enemy troops outside the walls which were advancing to ensure the complete annihilation of his battalion were being gunned down and were scattering like cornered mice before the Zeppelin. The mages started to fire at the Zeppelin in hopes of bringing it down but to no avail, as soon they left cover to fire, they were gunned down by the turrets. Leon saw the remaining troops in the battalion coming back ready to counterattack the enemy and to hit them back harder. Leon let out a sigh of relief and smiled slightly at this show of superiority.
*MULTIPLE EXPLOSIONS*
The cannons aboard the Zeppelin started concentrating fire on the walls making them slowly crumble down along with the mages and gunners stationed on them. Leon gritted his teeth as he put force into his hands to get up and stand, ignoring the pain in his right shoulder he got up and saw the Zeppelin raining down hell on the enemy troops taking refuge within the walls. Leon could only look at the massacre, 'At least the lieutenant didn't die for nothing, too bad you aren't here to see this spectacle of our power'. Leon slightly smirked as he witnessed the enemy being dispatched without mercy. With the fall of Fort Loraine and the sacrifice of most of his battalion, The Celestion Empire was one step closer to exterminating the pest that was the Western Sultanate, soon enough even they would be under the Empire's territory and then the Empire's troops bathed in crimson shall march forward to annihilate the rest of the ungrateful kingdoms which populate this continent and they would continue until all of this land is under their control.
