A&O Volume 2: The Long March South – Chapter 56: Battle Of The Barrah Plains (Part 2)
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As the battle on the Barrah Plains continued into the thirty-minute mark, Sir Matthews and the Dukedom's Army were busy struggling against the smaller force of what they believed to be disorganized clan soldiers. The situation was not as ideal as he had hoped and it was not going as he had expected it to go. The forces he were fighting were much stronger and resilient than what he had imagined the clan soldiers would be like and that was only the cherry on top of his mountain of concern. While his soldiers were fighting, they were unable to read the stats of the forces they were fighting, but they believed that it was due to a spell of some sort. Regardless, the Signatari soldiers fought on with the belief that victory was on their side. 

"I want our troops to surround them and then crush them from all sides. Regardless of who they are, they aren't going to be able to fight off our entire army" Sir Matthews ordered a runner who arrived for orders, still atop his horse as he looked at the unfolding battle in the distance

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A/N: Map for visual aid

As the Signatari forces split up and tried to encircle the army they were engaged with, Belle coordinated her own forces to keep up with the encirclement, stretching the lines of her units as they tried to match the growing number of engaged Signatari that were hellbent on encircling them. The 1st Army's lines were now being stretched thin as soldiers who were in reserve were now pushed into the fighting to keep the line stable and solid. 

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Soon enough, the entire Signatari force had encircled the 1st Army, and despite the soldiers of the Imperial Army being B-Rank in power, at least in the mid to higher tiers, the sheer number of C and D-Ranking Signatari soldiers still meant that the standard Imperial Soldier could and would get hurt regardless of how tough they were. 

Such as one Imperial soldier by the name of Leopold who was a human male who was busy fighting off three Signatari soldiers who were armed with pikes. He swatted away one thrust from one Signatari but before he could rest, another two came in and he had to plant his tower shield into the ground to block their tips, breaking the spears in the process before he retaliated with a slash of his own that carved through the armor of the two soldiers who dared try to kill him, the large gash in their chests poured out blood onto the snow but before he could savor the victory, the third Signatari soldier armed with a spear managed to drive his spear into the back of the Imperial soldier before him through a small gap between the left arm and the torso, but to his shock, the spear thrust failed to kill Leopold who then roared in anger as he quickly turned around and decapitated the unfortunate Signatari in one simple stroke. 

Leopold grunted as he pulled out the spearhead from the gap in his armor and moved back towards the center as another soldier moved up to take his position, waiting a few moments for the healing crystal embedded into the inside of the armor to start up and kick in, healing his injury. 

As he fell onto his knee to rest, he could hear the fighting around him, the sounds of steel clashing steel, the sounds of magical attacks exploding around them and the cries and screams of Signatari soldiers dying as they tried to kill his comrades. 

"Take a moment to breathe soldier, you will head out again" One of the mages within the circle stated as she moved over to him, checking to see if the crystal was working as intended 

"Have there been any deaths yet?" Leopold asked as he took a deep breath and stood up 

"None, I bet the Marshal intends to keep it that way" The mage replied as she looked at him 

"There are too many of them dammit. How does she expect us to fight them all off?" Leopold remarked as he steadied himself to rejoin the fray 

"You have your training right?" 

"Yeah" 

"And your healing crystal seems to be working yeah?" 

"Yeah" 

"Then you know the answer, head back in their soldier" 

"You don't need to tell me twice Ma'am" Leopold replied as he then rejoined the fray 

Elsewhere on the battlefield, similar situations were happening as Imperial Soldiers took hits but refused to die thanks to their plate armor's healing crystals activating and healing them as the battle continued. Such as an arachnia soldier who wielded four bastard swords and cut down several Signatari charging her from all sides only to find herself a bit too exposed and a bunch of arrows that finally got through the barrier rained down on her, punching into the small gaps of her armor and forcing her to retreat into the inside of the circle to be treated by the mages who were increasingly getting tired by the relentless barrage of the numerous arrows, crossbow bolts and magical attacks that slammed repeatedly into the ever weakening barrier. 

Then there was Marshal Belle who was in the thick of the fighting. The former Varangian Guard was practically showing off as her S-Rank powers ensured she was nigh untouchable by the enemies who charged her in droves in an attempt to kill her. The Signatari were brave in their charges, moving as one in groups of 5 to 10 to try and take the enemy commander down. One such group comprised of soldiers wielding spears, a few mages and some Signatari armed with swords and shields who rushed into the fray first before the rest of the group followed. 

When the group got within striking range, they saw Belle easily kill several of their comrades with her massive halberd that swung with deadly force, tearing anyone who was unfortunate enough to be struck by the head of the weapon into two. She dodged several furious slashes from a Signatari armed with a sword and shield who managed to use the commotion to get close, his shouts loud as he tried to land a single blow but to no avail as Belle weaved through the slashes before shoulder bashing the man on his chest, his chest plate was dented from the force as he staggered back and before he could do anything, be decapitated by Belle who swung her halberd upward, his head flying a few meters while his body smacked onto the ground and spilled blood to stain the white snow. 

"Your Majesties, this is Marshal Belle, the enemy is now committed to destroying my army. You both are now clear to begin the next phase of the plan" She spoke into her magic crystal communicator as she pulled back into the circle 

"Got it" Ophelia's voice answered 

"On our way" Amelia's voice added 

Belle nodded, then placed the communicator back on her belt and looked at the soldiers within the safety of the inner circle, getting themselves healed up and ready to head back into the fighting ongoing all around them. 

"Status of the army?"  She asked one of the Imperial officers tending to a wounded dragonkin before sending him back on his way 

"No deaths yet Marshal. Although the wounded rate is slowly getting higher" The Imperial officer answered, a worried expression setting into her elven face 

"I see. Well, we just have to outlast them for now. It's almost time for them to go running" The Marshal told her before taking her magic crystal communicator from her belt 

"General Raddis. Get your cavalry out here now. Give them a scare" She ordered into the crystal that turned bright orange 

"Understood Marshal. We shall drive them from the field with our might!" A deep male voice answered her 

"This is Marshal Belle to Fafnir, are you all in position?" She asked as she turned  the crystal into a bright blue from the earlier orange 

"This is Fafnir, we are on station and ready to move in Marshal" Fafnir's voice answered her 

"And our Divine Beast?" 

{{We are also on standby}} Spithe answered her 

"Right. Let's give these jumped-up slavers a show everyone!" 

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A/N: Rough presentation of the movements of the forces further down the line

As Sir Matthews observed the fighting unfolding before him, he was getting a bit nervous as despite their numerical advantage, things were not going the way they should have even with the full might of the Dukedom's Army coming down on the savages he believed would not put up much of a fight. 

"Your Grace! We are suffering severe amounts of casualties. The enemy is stronger than we have expected and we are suffering casualties left and right" A Signatari Grand Captain told him as he limped back to Matthew's side, clutching his bloodied right arm after he was able to escape with his life 

"Tch! I believe I have overestimated the abilities of our soldiers, if they can't even break a few thousand clan soldiers then what good are they against anything else" Matthews growled in frustration as he didn't even spare a glance at the Signatari Grand Captain

"Your Grace we-" 

"I will not hear your excuses, now get back into the fight kill those damn bastards, they can't even be that strong dammit! They are nothing but clan-" 

"Your Grace!" A man's voice interrupted Matthews's rage, making the commander turn his head to see Knight Gallahad ride up to him 

"What is it Gallahad?" Matthew's voice turned into curiosity and slight worry as he looked at him 

"There! Snow clouds being kicked up to our northwest!" Gallahad pointed out

Matthews turned his head and indeed, there was a large snow cloud being kicked up to the northwest, his eyes went wide and his jaw became slightly ajar as he then pulled out his spyglass and saw a massive force of centaurs and soldiers riding atop horses that were charging towards him 

"Fuck! They have cavalry as well?!" He shouted in frustration as he then turned to Gallahad who was looking to him for orders 

"Get your cavalry organized and charge those bastards down! Once you finish them off I want you to swing around and crush the damn army that is still standing defiant!" He ordered, Gallahad nodded and rode off with the entire cavalry force of the army following close behind 

"Fuck! Is anything going to go our way today?!" Matthews growled as he looked back at the main battle happening before him 

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As the entire cavalry force of the Dukedom's Army was thundering behind him, Knight Gallahad unsheathed his sword and raised it high in his right hand, his blackened plate armor in contrast to the snow that churned up around him as his force galloped forward, his helmet hid all of his features except for a slit for his only good right eye that narrowed at the force he was charging towards, a fire in his heart burned as he took a deep breath 

"For the Dukedom! Charge!" He bellowed with a battle cry as he aimed his sword forward

The soldiers behind Gallahad let out roars of their own as they all yelled "For the Dukedom!" As they raised their own weapons forward to destroy the enemy they were barreling towards. 

Meanwhile, across Gallahad who led his men with the desperate fervor of an army out to win the day, General Raddis, a centaur who had been there since the inception of the empire was now leading the charge of the 1st Imperial Cavalry Corp with the pride and confidence of victory in himself and within the ranks of the cavalry that charged alongside him. 

His plate armor, as jagged and sturdy as it was, hummed silently as the magic healing crystal inside was slowly activating in anticipation of the clash of steel and swords that was about to go down as his force charged across the snowy Barrah Plains. He switched on his magic crystal communicator inside his helmet and tuned it for the entire corp that followed him in

"All soldiers! Today you fight not just for yourselves, you fight for the empire that has given you the chance to be here now! You fight for the glory of a nation so grand that is has been blessed by the Gods above and below! You fight for the future of the continent and for the future of our people so that they may not be enslaved to the whims of those who consider themselves above everyone! Even the Gods themselves! So let loose your battlecry, my soldiers! Show them the might of the Halkare Empire! Charge!" He bellowed while galloping, raising his twin swords up high before pointing them forward 

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Meanwhile, Ophelia and the 2nd Army were busy marching onto the battlefield further to the east of the fighting after receiving the go signal from Belle to get into position from their camp in the forests near the Barrah Plains. They could see the battle in the distance and as they marched along the Barrah Plains to their position, they could see the 1st Imperial Cavalry Corp charging into the fray and the Dukedom's Cavalry moving to meet them out in the open. The reason they were undetected as of now was thanks to Ophelia's cloaking magic that hid them from physical view and the magical senses, ensuring that they moved silently and unnoticed as the battle progressed. 

"Seems that Raddis has now engaged the enemy Your Majesty" General Korab remarked as they were hurriedly marching to their positions 

"That man is brave I will give him that" Ophelia replied with a satisfied smirk as she turned her head and saw the same sight 

"We will be ready to engage within the next 10 minutes Your Majesty, the 2nd Army is ready to join in the fray" Korab's right-hand officer, Colonel Shael said with confidence as she had her right hand resting on the hilt of her officer's sword holstered at her side 

"They better be. We are about to show them what a battle truly is, am I right soldiers!?" Ophelia asked as she turned her head to the men marching behind her 

"Yes Your Majesty!" The soldiers shouted back with fervor as they continued their quick marching 

"Once we appear on their flank, the enemy will mostly likely break off forces from fighting the 1st Army to us and even the 3rd Army. We will be driving them into a corner westward and once we do that, they will practically have no escape" Korab remarked with a massive smile on his face as he could feel the battle nearing 

"That is the plan General, we end them here, there will be nothing to stand in our way as we march southward and into their land" Ophelia added as she too had a smile on her face, her hands having small arcs of lighting dancing around her armored gauntlets. 

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Meanwhile, moving up form the south of the embattled forces on the Barrah Plains, Amelia and the 3rd Army had moved out of their hiding spot behind the enemy in a small forested area to the southwest and had moved ever since Belle had given them the signal. They were also cloaked with cloaking magic that Amelia was projecting thanks to Ophelia using her as a sort of living beacon and extension of her magic. But while Ophelia and her soldiers were all smiles at the fight ahead, Amelia and the officers by her side were all stoned-faced and concentrated as they moved in on the enemy. 

"Enemy forces right ahead Your Majesty. General Raddis has begun engaging the enemy cavalry to tie them down" General Rohm reported as he was slightly hovering above everyone else while they moved forward, his demonkin wings helping him keep his steady glide 

"Good. And any sign of the 2nd Army?" Amelia asked with a nod 

"Over there on our left, Your Majesty" Colonel Mohc answered her, the tall boar beastkin colonel pointing with his bastard sword at the formation marching into view on the far left 

"Alright. Everyone! Remember to keep track of your fellow soldiers, and ensure that none of the enemy leave this place alive. Once that is done,  you will all be hailed as Heroes of the Empire. Do you understand?!" Amelia asked as he turned to her forces 

"Yes Your Majesty!" They shouted in chorus, their determined faces obscured by their helmets 

"Good! Now! For the Empire! Charge!" 

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Then in the skies above, the Imperial Air Service was now ready to unleash hell. The 12,000 Wyverns, their riders, and the dragonkin officers were all ready to dive in alongside the massive Divine Beast that had been keeping them hidden as the battle raged on below them. 

"Right! All wings check in!" Fafnir Ordered as she looked at the formation 

"This is Obsidian Group. All squadrons at the ready" A male dragonkin officer replied 

"This is Azurite Group. All squadrons ready" A female dragonkin officer replied 

"This is Emerald Group. Let's send them running!" Another male dragonkin officer replied 

"Good. All wings, as soon as the other two armies engage the enemy, we are to drop from the sky and assist in destroying all enemy forces until told otherwise. Am I understood?" 

"Yes Commander!" The riders responded with confidence 

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As the battle before him was unfolding, Sir Matthews, riding atop his horse felt a hint of fear building inside him as he watched the fighting in the distance. The cavalry he had sent had just about engaged the enemy and their fighting filled an already crowded air filled with battle sounds. He looked down at the satchel on the side of his horse, peering at the white scroll that had a teleportation inscription inscribed on it, it was a gift from his beloved Mako and only had one use and could only carry one person. If he felt that his life was in danger, he could use the scroll and get the hell out of there before he was in any real danger, and while he was initially dismissive of needing it, his senses told him otherwise. 

"Fuck....I hope we can win this" He muttered under his breath as he watched the fighting going on

A/N: Wooo! Another chapter!

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