Chapter 54: Fog of War

 

In the deep forest on a retreat path to Divinatus, part of the Seventh Army could hear the aftermath of the large explosion from Dragonsmourne, though it was masked by the sound of heavy rain that occurred just right before the said explosion. By right, the Ak'hims should be mourning, but something far more important had occurred.

They were ambushed.

Ambushed by the Alliance army moving in tandem to them towards Divinatus. It was just as Klauna feared would happen. The army was caught off guard and the Ak'hims split off into multiple smaller groups as their formations were disrupted by the Alliance army.

What made the situation even worse was the breaking communication between the officers. For a while, some communication worked while others did not. Eventually, it turned into a complete blackout between the armies.

"Spear! Can you hear me? Lord Klauna!" Harbin yelled out to the grimoire within her hands. 

The raindrops fell upon the grimoire, though it seemed to have no effect whatsoever upon the relic. Water droplets just slid off the pages as the book was waterproof. The same cannot be said for the book within Cera's hands which was wet, drops of ink could be seen falling out of it.

"Lord Klauna, if you can hear this, please answer me!" Harbin yelled out again.

"It's no use, Harbin. Looks like communications are cut."

“Senior Yuupiecca! Are you alright?” Harbin yelled out to the book.

“Yeah, I’m alright, no need to shout,” Yuupiecca replied.

Cera had given up on trying to make her book work. Instead, she went over to Harbin’s location, to the original grimoire. The other officers of the Seventh Army which included Kazakiel, Blackmask and the Watchtower Warrior joined in and gathered around Cera and Harbin.

“What’s going on Yuupiecca? Why have communications died down? At such a crucial moment?” Cera asked.

“It’s the rain. It’s not a normal one. The magic concentration is destroying the replicas from inside out. Damn those humans, no wonder their anti-air attacks were more accurate than usual. They were controlling the damn skies." 

Yuupiecca then clicked his tongue, “Remind me to get some counterspells in place for future engagements.”

“Why are you still able to communicate with us then?” Cera asked.

“Probably because the guy is in a big iron box, away from the rain?” Lina’s voice rang out from the book in a sarcastic tone.

“Captain Lina!” Harbin yelped out in surprise.

“I’m here as well, Harbin,” Medica’s voice came out of the book as well.

“Medica!” Harbin smiled happily, knowing that her friend was safe.

“I’m glad you are safe, Medica,” Cera said after Harbin, knowing that her friend was doing well.

“No time for celebrations! On the way back to the mobile fortress, I saw General Klauna engaging against a few people. It was the Heroes that were at the bridge! They… they were pushing her back!” Medica said.

Harbin and the others looked at each other, each person giving out a look of disbelief. Kazakiel then brought himself closer to Harbin, “Why is she alone? Was she not with you?”

“They ambushed us and split us apart. Klauna lured them to keep them away from us,” Lina answered.

“What are you guys doing then?! Get out there and help her? The Succours are with you are they not?” The Watchtower Warrior furiously asked.

“We would like to, but we can’t,” Yuupiecca said.

Suddenly a loud blast could be heard from the book. It was then followed by small metal clinks. 

“The enemy has us surrounded and the mobile fortress is stuck in the mud. We are clearing them out right now, but we have to scuttle the mobile fortress first,” Yuupiecca said as another explosion rang out in the background.

“What about Senior Balestra and Poi? They could help,” Cera asked.

“We’ve lost contact with them. I don’t know where they are. I’m sorry, but we are stuck here. You guys will have to track and help General Klauna,” Yuupiecca replied.

“But how? This forest is big, she could be anywhere,” Kazakiel responded.

“She’s north of wherever this flare is,” Yuupiecca said.

Out of nowhere, a loud and bright flare could be seen west of their position. This shocked everyone around Harbin. Throwing a flare like was basically suicide in this situation, showing the enemy a big fat sign saying: ‘This is where we are!’. However, this also meant that Yuupiecca was serious about getting Harbin to find Klauna— even going as far to risk exposing their position within the forest. Then again, they were in a big immobile fortress, so it would be easier for them to defend that position.

Cera and the others were unsure of what to do in this situation. The enemies were sure to converge on Yuupiecca’s battalion and they were stuck in an immovable box of death. There was also the fact that the enemy was sure to block their way to Klauna. They got the men to help Yuupiecca, but if they do so then they wouldn’t have enough to push through to help Klauna fight against the heroes.

For a while, the group thought of helping Yuupiecca. Klauna was very strong, after all. She fought against the heroes before and easily handled them, she could do so again.

Although, Harbin disagreed with that motion. “Cera! I need to get to Lord Klauna! We need to help her!” Harbin yelled out. “She’s acting so weird these past few weeks. I’m worried about her condition…”

“Can we even help her? Those Heroes… they are no joke,” the Watchtower Warrior commented.

Harbin charged her book with magic before signalling to her battalion to move out. “It doesn’t matter. Anything is better than being alone. Cera, I need you and your men to cover us. I will cut through to get to Lord Klauna! You guys as well, we are pushing through.”

“Got it,” hearing Harbin’s words, Cera motioned her battalion to move out.

“Wait, what about Yuupiecca and Lina’s men?” Kazakiel asked.

“Senior Yuupiecca is one tough and lucky man, he will make do. The First to Third army will converge on his position as well. We got no time. Come on, let’s go!” Harbin yelled out to him before moving together with her battalion towards Klauna’s position. 

Kazakiel was rather surprised that the meek Harbin would yell out to him that way. He could only reply with a weak “...Roger.” Waking himself up from the awe, he then motioned his men to move out as well. The others followed after. They were on the first track towards Klauna’s position.

 

* * * * *

 

“What do we do Lord Parash?” The Vice-general of the third army asked Parash who just woke up from being unconscious.

However, Parash was in no shape to lead an army right now. He only sat on a piece of rock, looking at the ring on his finger.

“We move out. Towards that flare. The Seventh Army are risking their lives for a regroup. We got to commit else they will just get overrun by the humans,” Aberanis ordered Parash’s men in his place.

“But… The humans…” the Vice-general of the Third Army asked.

“They are just forty thousand, we’ve handled more than that before. Move out, that’s an order. You guys as well, move out!” Aberanis pointed to the direction of the flare, his men immediately moved on his command.

Although, the Third Army was a little hesitant about following his orders. They looked at each other before looking towards their General, seeking some sort of confirmation from the man.

“Didn’t you guys hear me? Move out!” Aberanis yelled at the vice-general and the rest of the Third Army.

“What’s the point...” Parash said to Aberanis in a weak voice.

Aberanis moved closer to Parash before looking down on him— this was despite Aberanis being much shorter than his best friend. “The point is that we keep fighting. Now, get up Parash, we still have a duty to fulfil. We need to win this battle,” Aberanis said. His voice was confident and overwhelming.

“Win? What for? Even if we win this battle, more of them are just going to pop out. We are going to end up losing the damn war anyways,” Parash said in a defeatist tone.

“There is still a chance we can still win, Parash. Get up, we need you now.” 

“Heh. Listen here Aberanis. Let’s just say in the small chance that we even win this war, or heck, even survive this war. What’s the point of it? There’s nothing to look forward to. There is nothing left. The Kingdom is dead...” Parash then looked once again at the ring on his finger. “What point is a life without her.” 

Aberanis having enough of it, brought himself closer and grabbed Parash by the collar. “That’s enough, Parash. By decree of rank, I order you to get up and move out right now.”

Parash just stared back at Aberanis. His eyes were like the eyes of a dead fish, there was no life within them. “You aren’t the boss of me Aberanis.”

“So, you are telling me that what we should do is just stand still and let them kill us?!” Having his patience pushed through the limits, Aberanis threw a big punch towards Parash. 

The force of the punch was so strong that it pushed Parash back several meters. This resulted in Parash laying on the ground, clutching his face in pain. He tried to stand up, but soon found the act pointless and just gave up. He laid on the floor like a broken doll.

He didn’t have the will to answer Aberanis’s question back.

“You are a coward, Parash. A Cunning like me has more balls than you. I don’t even know what Leida saw in you.”

It was the mention of his late lover that he finally gained a little bit of energy to argue back. “Don’t you dare mention—”

“You think you are the only one saddened by her death? She was my best friend, as well! She would want us to keep fighting and that’s what I’m going to do,” Aberanis yelled before leaving him behind.

He quickly ordered his men to move out. The Second Army and the Third Army parted ways as one stayed behind, while the other moved out to help the Seventh Army.

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Parash laid there in the mud for quite a while. His men, the three thousand strong Third Army just waiting in standby for his orders. They all had a look of pity and sadness in their face. Their leader was looking rather pathetic right now, and yet, they stayed by his side, a little bit frustrated at the matter at hand. In a way, Parash was right, there was little reason to keep fighting. But Aberanis was right as well, they can’t just stay still and let the enemy slaughter them for free. They need to do something.

Minutes passed when suddenly Parash took the ring off his fingers and threw it away. He slammed his fist in the muddy ground before slowly standing up. With a deep breath, he then turned around to face his men. He stared at them with a look of frustration— a look that was shared by his subordinates.

“Move out!  I’m not getting called a coward by that little runt!” He yelled and tried to pass it off as a joke, but his men knew that it contained pain and anger. They would know, they were equally in pain and anger, after all. They only kept quiet and moved out to assist the Seventh Army.