
As Sir Matthews and the Dukedom's Army advanced onto the Barrah Plains, the light of the day was slowly fading as the clock had struck 4:30. Sir Matthews rode at the head of the formation, his horse trotting slowly as his head was on a swivel looking around to see if there was anything amiss. His gut told him there was but his eyes told him otherwise, if anything, it was a clear stretch of plains on all sides and the snow along the plains had been disturbed by what Matthews believed to be the gust of wind that had followed the twin-headed dragon as it flew low to the ground just above the treetops. The expanse of the region was breathtaking as the light glistening through the small gaps in the grey clouds above made small sparkles as they reflected of the snow of the area. Matthews, for all his focus and alertness, was thinking of his beloved Mako as they advanced forward. Muttering to himself the words of "I love you" that she had told him over and over again in his mind as he looked at the sprawling plains before him.
"Haaa, this is great" He muttered to himself as his turned to the grey skies above
{!}
Suddenly, the tranquil air around the plains was broken as the deep blaring sounds of horns resonated and echoed across the plains, startling the horses and even the soldiers who were marching in the line, making some Signatari soldiers bump into one another on accident. Sir Matthews himself had dropped his focus and alertness for a second as he heard the horns, they didn't sound like anything they had heard before as the clans they fought never used horns for anything.
"The Hinterlands?" He asked himself as he looked around the plains and the forests that rested at the far end of them, wondering where the sound was coming from
{!}
After the horns ceased their noise. Right across from the line of Signatari soldiers, around 40 meters (131 ft) in front of them, a mass of what looked to be soldiers wearing jagged jet-black plate armor that had shawls on their necks right below the helmets that covered their faces. The frontmost soldiers had large tower shields that were placed on the snow to their right sides while they had swords holstered on their left. Behind them were soldiers holding up spears and had their own shields by their sides. At the forefront of this formation was a woman dressed in a black suit, she had a large black overcoat over her grey blouse that had a silver chest plate right above it and a black vest underneath it. She also wore a pair of black combat slacks and black combat boots. She also had a cap that rested atop her head which helped compliment her silver hair that cascaded down her back, her crimson eyes were looking directly at Sir Matthews who saw her and even saw the intricately designed halberd grasped in her hands that had black gloves.
"Who are you?!" Sir Matthews shouted out as he looked at the woman before him, an unpleasant feeling going down his throat as he scanned the formation before him
"I am Marshal Belle of the Halkare Empire. And I am afraid to tell you that you are trespassing on our land" Belle replied as she raised her gaze up to meet him
"Halkare Empire?! I wasn't told of any empire this close to our home"
"That is because your nation has been committing crimes against us for well over a year"
"Explain"
"How should I put this? Every time your nation has sent out parties to capture new 'slaves' they cross into our land and capture our people, they are stepping onto our land and capturing our people. We have had enough. Consider this our declaration of war Sir. For there is no other course but the course of your total annihilation"
Sir Matthews narrowed his eyes as he held his horse steady, he could not read the woman's power ranking which scared him and he was just out of reach to read the power rankings of the soldiers behind her. Despite the fear building up inside him which bothered him, he was steadfast in his decision and he knew there was no turning back now, he was going to destroy this force before him and bring home the severed heads of the twin-headed dragon for his beloved.
"I see, so be it then. It does not matter whether your nation is a so-called empire or a band of clans posing as one! Your nation and people will burn before our might! The Dukedom shall crush all! Aren't I right Signatari?!" Matthews bellowed as he turned to his troops who let out a war cry that echoed across the plains
"Signatari! Advance!" He added as he unsheathed his sword, raised it into the air, and then pointed it forward
The row of Signatari soldiers behind him began marching in good order as they blew their own horns of war as they marched forward. Meanwhile, the forces across from them moved into an arrowhead formation with their support within the arrowhead that began pouring out magical projectiles and arrows that rained down on the advancing line, killing Signatari unfortunate enough to be hit as arrows pierced through some poor lads while ice lances skewered those unfortunate enough to be hit and stuck them into the ground while other elemental projectile such as fireballs, reduced others to ash and dust on the snowy ground as they advanced.
[A/N: Map for visual help, symbols are the same for both sides]
"Archers! Mages! Unleash your barrage!" Matthews ordered as he moved to the rear of the line and positioned himself amongst the cavalry that had yet to be committed to the fight
At his command, the rows of Signatari archers armed with light crossbows and longbows alongside the Signatari Mages let loose their payloads, filling the skies with their arrows and fireballs that arched over the battlefield and towards the enemy.
{!}
To Matthews' surprise, the arrows and fireballs that managed to land upon the enemy's ranks shrugged off their damage. His eyes squinted as he saw several arrows strike the same target but the arrows simply bounced off their armor, something he was not expecting to happen, even by his standards. He even saw another soldier just take several fireballs that splashed against the thick black chest plate of the plate armor they were wearing, the soldier didn't even flinch or recoil from being hit which was strange.
'What the hell?' He thought to himself as he saw more and more fire from his support just did no damage to the enemy across from them, it was as if their own attacks were worthless and didn't pack a punch.
Once the line of Signatari infantry was halfway across the battlefield and nearing their enemy, the Signatari then charged forward, no longer briskly marching in formation, they were now running formation like a tidal wave of steel that was descending upon an unmoving foe.
{!}
But as they neared the line of infantry, the woman standing at the front of it all stomped her right foot forward, the stomp sent a shockwave that rattled the frontline of the Signatari who were closest to her, most of which fell on their backs as they were not preparing for such a thing to happen to them. Before the down Signatari could react, they were struck by lightning bolts from the heavens that struck with enough force that their chest pieces exploded from the force of the blast, leaving a large smoldering gaping hole in both the soldier and the armor piece. This stopped the Signatari dead in their tracks as they all just looked at the woman and the soldiers behind her
"Soldiers! Why do we fight?!" Belle roared as she raised her halberd high, keeping her gaze forward
"For honor!" The soldiers replied
"Why do we fight?!"
"For peace!"
"Imperium Nostrum Aeturnum!"
"Our Empire Eternal!"
After hearing that chant, Sir Matthews yelled out across the field
"Signatari! Charge!"
Upon receiving his orders, the Signatari once more regrouped and charged into the enemy's line with a defying roar while the support mages and archers moved up to provide more direction support for their brethren charging into the fire. The wave of Signatari which outnumbered their foes by 3:1 crashed into the lines of the Imperial Army that stood their ground as the sounds of steel clashing against steel, the cries of the soldiers, and the sounds of battle and magic filled the air
'Shit, no going back now' Matthews thought to himself as he watched the fighting in the distance unfold, a sort of uncertain feeling going down his spine as he still couldn't read the enemy's status even as he watched them.
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
In the massive melee ongoing in the middle of the Barrah Plains, with the cries of soldiers, the clanging of metal, the smell of blood being spilt onto the ground and the explosions of magical attacks being launched and recieved, the Signatari soldiers of the Dukedom's Army charged headfirst into the fray without fear. While praiseworthy and even commendable, the soldiers, who were all upper D to upper C-Rank in power would soon find out that the enemy they were facing was tougher and far more dangerous than they had initially thought.
One young Signatari Initiate roared with all his might as he charged a much taller orc soldier with his broadsword and shield. He let loose an overhead slash aimed at crashing into his enemy's shoulderblade which he believed to be an open area in the jagged plate armor the orc soldier was wearing. But as he let loose his attack, his opponent moved much quicker than anticipated and the orc soldier swung upward with his own bastard sword that removed the young Initiate's arm in one swing before a second follow-up swing decapitated him long before he could tell what happened, his body collapsing onto the ground unceremoniously as it spilled crimson blood onto the white snow.
Another Signatari Initiate armed with a spear charged forward with a war cry as he thrust his spear towards a wolf beastkin soldier, hoping to skewer him right through.
"Try and dodge this!" The Initiate taunted as he attacked
But the beastkin soldier moved faster, using his tower shield to block the thrust of the spear which broke upon making contact with the tower shield, the shaft of the spear snapping into two and the head falling to the snowy ground. Before the Initiate could do anything, the beastkin soldier rushed forward and landed a shield bash that sent the poor man flying back a few meters onto the ground before pouncing on him and stabbing him through the chest with his bastard sword, his silver plate armor buckling as blood spurted from under his mask staining his mouth and then falling down the sides of his jaw before staining the snow below him. Once the beastkin soldier pulled out his blade, he was engaged with another Initiate keen on avenging his comrade.
Then there was a Signatari Ensign who wielded nothing but a two-handed claymore, his silver plate armor and orange robes were ruffled and battered as he was in the midst of a battle with an arachnia soldier that wielded four axes in all four of her limbs,
"Die you damned cretin!" The Ensign shouted as he made his move
The Ensign charged her with the claymore held high, ready to unleash an overhead slash that he was determined to land. Once he got close, the arachnia soldier simply moved back a bit before tapping into her magical energy and unleashing a breath of fire that caught the Ensign flatfooted, coating him in raging flames that cooked him inside his armor as it superheated, practically turning him into a walking piece of barbeque that was screaming and flailing around before the arachnia soldier moved in and swung her axes, taking huge chunks of flesh with each swing that ended the Ensigns life as his charred body and armor crashed onto the ground.
Even the supports on both sides were in the midst of a fierce exchange, although it was looking very one sided as the battle progressed.
Some of the Imperial Army mages were busy keeping the protective barriers up and around most of the army to protect it from the incoming hail of fireballs, lightning blasts, and arrows. Though it would have been an easy job for one person, the sheer amount of D and C-Rank firepower was nothing to scoff at and Belle was not one to underestimate her foes regardless of how low power they seemed. As the barrier was being held up, other Imperial Army mages let loose their own spells that ran amok along the lines of the Signatari Mages they were going against. Such as one massive pillar of lightning crashing upon a group of Signatari archers who died as the lighting struck them or a group of Signatari mages meeting their demise as the grounds below them had spikes erupt from them, skewering them through the lower halves of their bodies and leaving them in the air screaming in pain.
"Keep up the pressure! Fire another volley-" A Signatari Ensign shouted to his light crossbowmen before a fireball struck him headfirst and turned him into ash
{!}
As the Signatari Initiates armed with light crossbows got ready to fire their volley, they were all killed by a counter volley of arrows fired by Imperial Archers behind the main battle line, their magi-bows which were a primitive sort of compound bow that Ophelia had designed that was enhanced with magi-crystals, fired away arrows that punched through the silver plate armor and chainmail of the Initiates who convulsed as the arrows pierced them hard enough to throw them to the ground with a crash, staining the white snow below them with their crimson blood pouring out of their wounds.
"Fuck! Get the medics! We are getting creamed out here!" A Signatari Sentinel Commander shouted as he rushed to their bodies looking to find any survivors
As the fighting was going back and forth, none of the Signatair soldiers had managed to even land a blow on the enemy before them, a fact that no one on the Dukedom's side noticed as the were busy throwing themselves into the fray.
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Watching as the battle before him was unfolding in an uncertain manner, Sir Matthews while atop his horse was sensing that something was not right but he couldn't put a pin on it. The fighting looked fierce and he could hear the sounds of battle all the way over here. He put down the telescope in his hands and saw a Signatari Captain running towards him, his armor bloodied and battered as he ran his way to his commander.
"What is the situation captain?" Sir Matthews asked as he turned his gaze back to the battle
"We are having trouble sir. The enemy is putting up more of a fight than we had anticipated, and it seems that their barrier magic is quite strong" The Signatari Captain answered
"Fuck! Well don't just bunch up in front of the bastards! Split up the forces who aren't in the fight yet, we outnumber them and aren't using that advantage! Split up the rearmost lines that haven't been committed yet and flank them! Now!" Mathews commanded as he pointed at the battle unfolding, a scowl on his face barely hidden by his half-mask
"At once sir!" The Signatari Captain nodded as he began rushing off to the hornblower
Riding up to Matthews as the horn was being blown, its echoing sound filling the air of the battlefield, was a man clad in black plate armor that was similar in design to Matthews, his scarred face with a missing left eye was looking at the commander of the army with an unreadable expression as the two locked eyes.
"Shall we commit ourselves to the fight Your Grace?" The man asked
"Not yet Gallahad, the enemy can still be broken by our sheer amount of numbers. Once we have those savages encircled, they will crumble and be crushed under our superior might" Matthews answered him, leaving Gallahad nodding before turning his gaze back to the battle in the distance
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Back on the battlefield, Marshal Belle was busy cutting down Signatari left and right. She spared no quarter as she swung her halberd around, bringing it down on unfortunate souls who believed they could kill her, the former Varangian Guard showing that she still had fighting prowess inside her.
One Signatari Initiate armed with a spear charged her alongside two other Initiates armed with the same weapon, the three of them thrust their spears forward but were left speechless as Belle dodged their thrusts and then replied with a horizontal slash that destroyed their weapons before she moved in closer and skewered the rightmost Initiate on the tip of her halberd before using his dangling sod to strike the soldier next to the corpse and then bringing down the halberd head on the last Initiate who let out a brief gasp in agony as the blade found its mark on his shoulder blade with a crunch before she pulled it out and then decapitated the man.
{!}
Belle then straightened up as she heard the enemy's horn filling the air and her eyes narrowed as she could probably guess what that horn meant for her army and the enemy's. She stepped back out of the fighting and then brought out her communication crystal, pouring magic into the inactive piece before it shined a majestic pink and purple as it connected to the communication crystals in the armor of all of her soldiers
"This is the Marshal, they are committed to the fight, begin phase 2"
A/N: Hello! So this took a lot of rewriting and I am finally happy that I can post it! I hope you all enjoy the opening of this battle which will span a few chapters!