65.Battle In the Woods
991 6 41
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

Chapter 65: Battle In the Woods.

 

South-East of Divinatus was a lush forest filled with bountiful loot; plentiful with wild creatures, vegetation and raw resources. This forest was a place of cultural importance, many Ak’hims sought it to enjoy the forest as a touring spot. There were many nobilities who spent their free time here hunting beasts for sports and recreation. 

It was also a place of cultivation, peace and meditation where Warriors of all types came to train and grow stronger— where Ak’hims came to hunt out their first beast as a coming of age ceremony. Most aspiring scholars had also chosen this place to study the intricacies of nature. A beautiful forest that was the pride of the Northern Demon Kingdom.

A forest which was being cut down en masse by the Ak’hims who wished to secure as much resources as they could.

Lumber was cut down and subsequently, processed and sent to Divinatus. Fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and animals were harvested to no end and were preserved before again, being sent to Divinatus. Caves and mines within the forest were stripped clean of Rare metals and destroyed once the Ak’hims were done with it. The Ak’hims were going to leave the continent so they have no need for the forest any longer. 

Cera, now the current general of the new First Army oversaw the whole operation. Her army was accompanied by the Lamias and Minotaurs who were recently changed to be called the Fifth and the Sixth Army. Klauna had figured that these three armies were best suited for the task. The Lamias as they were adept at traversing the forest, Minotaurs as their size and strength allowed them to process heavy loads. 

And the First Army? Well, they have dragons, but their main reason they were here was to supplement the armies in case of an enemy attack. The Seventh Army would not be here with them. This meant that the special communication method via the Grimoire of the Analyst that the military had developed would not be available here. 

Though, this fact did not worry Vargus and Shieska. The three armies here were veterans who fought countless battles together without said grimoire, so the lack of communication was something that should not affect their effectiveness in combat too much.

The bigger problem lies in the change of leadership. Leida was no longer there to lead them. In place, was the more inexperienced Cera who was recently promoted to General. There was also the fact that she had been suddenly moved from the Seventh Army to the First Army to lead soldiers whom she did not have the time to know. 

Cera let out a sigh as she watched over the soldiers under her command clear the forest. 

“What’s wrong?” Samiyadare, Vice General of the First Army, who just so happened to pass by, asked.

Cera had originally wanted to reply that she was fine and nothing was wrong. But after a moment of thinking, she decided to confide in Samiyadare about her concerns.

“I… don’t know if I am fit to lead this detachment. I could barely lead a battalion before this and now I’m expected to lead not one, but three armies? I think Lord Klauna is overestimating my capabilities,” Cera said.

“You think Lord Klauna made an error in Judgement?” Samiyadare asked.

“Don’t you think so? You could have easily been the General of the First Army. You are familiar with the soldiers and more powerful than I am. I would have no qualms just joining as a vice.” 

Cera has a point, Samiyadare was indeed more suited to be the general of the First Army. No one better to lead the army then the younger sister and now leader of the Dragonicias. But Samiyadare denied that Klauna made the wrong decision— the person who Leida herself respected. 

“That may be true, I may be more powerful than you. But I don’t think that she chose you because of strength. Or perhaps...” Samiayadare said but didn’t finish her sentence, looking upwards as she thought about something.

“Perhaps?” 

“It’s just a stray thought, but I think Lord Klauna simply does not know me that well. However, Lord Klauna knows you very well. She doesn’t know what I will do in a certain situation, but she knows what you will do. She trusts you more than she trusts me. That is why I think she put you in charge instead of me. Perhaps she sees something in you that I do not possess,” Samiyadare explained.

“Something that you do not possess? What could there possibly be that I have that you don’t have?” Cera asked.

“I don’t know. I cannot say for Lord Klauna, but I can say that Big Sister always praises how you were a natural-born leader like Lionel.”

“...” Cera kept silent and gave Samiyadare’s words some thought.

“Don’t be too harsh on yourself. I’m sure Big Sister would not mind you replacing her. I certainly don’t and so are the men,” Samiyadare gave her a respectful bow before leaving the area to continue with her task.

“Lord Leida…” Cera muttered as she thought about her recently deceased god-mother.

It hasn’t even been a month since her departure, so her death still stung her and the soldiers of the First Army. Cera fully believed that she would never be able to replace Leida, but Cera was ready to do her best in the situation. And do her best, she did, slapping her cheeks to bring her out of the mood before walking over to help her soldiers with the harvesting effort. The future of her people depended on how many resources her detachment could bring in before the Alliance attacked Divinatus. It was no time for her to mope around.

Just as she was about to move, a Warrior came up to her. It was one of her subordinates, a loyal Warrior who had been with her since the beginning of the war. He looked rather tired and out of breath by the time he came up to her. It was as if he was in a hurry. 

“General Cera! Bad news!” The man yelled out.

“Relax, soldier. What seems to be the matter?” Cera asked,

“The enemies… There’s an army of elves making their way to our position right now!”

Cera’s eyes widened at the sound of his words. “What? How many? Where are they now?” 

Before the man could answer, Cera turned around and faced the other men in the area. “Notify General Vargus and Genera Shieska about the news and tell them to regroup on my position. Now!”  She yelled before turning back to face the Warrior.

The Warrior who was still panting then started to explain the situation to her. “Our scouts saw the striding their way here from the south. They will be upon us within the hour!”

Bringing her hand to her chin, Cera closed her eyes and took a moment to think about what to do next. The soldiers all around her were in full alert and were already preparing themselves for battle. This included Samiyadare who was equipping her armour and waiting in standby for Cera to give her orders. But Cera only just stood there and thought about the situation. She still has some time before the Elves arrive at their position. The battle plan has to be thought up thoroughly. She could not afford to rush things

….
….
….
….

It took some time before Vargus and Shieska regrouped with the First Army. 

“Why are they here?! This isn’t anywhere near the route to Divinatus!” Vargus shouted, unable to understand just why the Elves would come to a secluded forest.

“Issss it only the tree dwellersssss?” Shieska asked.

“Yes. Our scouts high up in the air have confirmed that they only consist of elves. Their numbers range from about five to eight thousand,” Samiyadare explained the situation.

“I don’t get it. Why would the elves move alone? Were the humans and dwarves hiding somewhere? To ambush us?” Vargus asked.

“The Elves are trying to stop us from destroying the forest,” Cera who finally opened her eyes, said to the others. “I think they must have some sort of agenda, probably trying to lay claim to the forest before they finish the Kingdom off. They must have spotted us and felt threatened at us destroying their future prospects.”

“I see. Well, whatever the reason is, we need to pull back. We are outnumbered two to one. We cannot hope to match the elves in the forest,” Vargus suggested.

Everyone in the area agreed to the idea and nodded their heads. The elves are the king of the forest. They were born and lived their whole life in the company of nature. It was a fool's errand to fight them in the wilderness. Their arrows strike true no matter how many trees are in the way. They can strike a target from afar as if the place is an open plain— the true powers of their marksmanship. Retreating was the right thing to do, yet Cera, who was leading them, had a different idea in mind.

“No, we face them,” Cera said to the others, disagreeing on retreating.

“We ssssshouldn’t rissssssk oursssselvessss like thisssss. We sssshould cut lossss and retreat to Divinatussss,” Shieska offered her opinion on the matter.

“I agree with the snake. We’ve gathered enough, we should conserve our numbers instead of fighting them at a disadvantage,” Vargus added

Cera stood firm and folded her arms. “No. We take as much from the forest until there is nothing left. The success of Lord Klauna’s plans depends on how much resources we gather in this forest. We stay, fight and continue our operations.”

The others could be seen with complicated expressions on their face. Cera has a point, they can’t just run away. How much they gather here could very well determine the life and death of thousands within Divinatus.

“But how are we going to fight the elves? There is no point staying here if we can’t win,” Samiyadare asked.

“I have a plan. We can win this if we do it right,” Cera said, confidence in her voice. She had no doubt that her plan would fail at all.

A sense of comfort fell upon the others as they saw this confidence and every soon gathered and paid attention as she briefed the others about her plan.

 

* * * * *

 

The First Army, led by Cera, lay in wait for the enemy to arrive. They stood in formation on a large open field facing the forest with shields and force fields facing that particular direction. This was a part of the forest that the Ak’hims had wiped clean from any trees— about two thousand soldiers were in wide view and in the open. It was clearly a bait for the Elves to show themselves, tempting them to fight the Ak’hims in the open.

A bait that they did not take.

The elves made the decision to ignore the Ak’hims and move around the First Army. Taking their time to avoid the large plains. As this was happening, the first army could see the movements of the elves within the forest. The trees and grass rustled, but they stayed in position nonetheless. Keeping their force fields on and shields outwards to the forest line.

The elves have yet to shoot a single arrow at them despite them being capable of doing so. The elves should have no problem sniping them from the cover of the trees and yet they did not do so. They probably thought that it was a futile attempt. The signature skill of the Analysts, the ‘force field’ was something the elves had to face numerous times in the war. The Seventh Army used that skill to great effect. So great that it conditioned the enemy to think that it was pointless trying to penetrate the barrier. Not that they were wrong, of course.

There was one thing, however. The First Army currently… did not have a single Analyst within their ranks at all. They never had much of them in the first place. The ones that the First Army do have were sent to assist Yuupiecca and Klauna in their endeavours. The enemy didn’t know that though. Cera was banking on them to not find out. Making up translucent barriers that look like force fields, but actually wasn’t.

The First Army waited and waited as they slowly observed the forest beyond the open plain. Elves were moving around them to slowly surround the Ak’hims, cutting any chance of them escaping. The tree line filled with tree-dwellers as they observed the Ak’hims, their bows were drawn out. Both factions were aware of each other. Both factions were waiting for the other to do something.

Cera didn’t know what the elves were doing other than just looking at them. Probably securing their escape path in case of an ambush or trying to find more Ak’hims hiding further in the forest. Whatever it is, it matters not to Cera as she looked around and did a mental count of the enemy numbers in her head. She estimated there to be at least a few thousand surrounding them. She had originally wanted their whole army to surround them, but she took what she could.

“It’s time. Begin the plan,” Cera said softly to the people around her. 

They nodded and slowly moved closer to each other. Forming a circular formation. Their shields pointed outwards in the shape of a sphere. Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook and large pillars of rocks appeared, forming a wall that separated the Elves and the Ak’hims. The Elves thought that something was off and started shooting their arrows towards the Ak’hims.

The few shots that they managed to shoot out merely bounced off the rock walls and their shields.

However, just before they could launch more arrows. Large defiant roars of multiple dragons could be heard. The sound grew louder and louder and they soon came down from the air. Four dragons from four different directions. They opened their mouths and breathed a stream of fire in the shape of a diamond, enclosing the elves together with the Ak’hims in a ring of fire. The trees burn bright with the flames as the fire was so thick and strong, that any elves that tried to escape only resulted in them being burnt to a crisp.

Cera had been to Dragonsmourne with Lionel multiple times. They would often hunt together within the forest as recreation, often doing friendly competitions with each other to see who could hunt the most prey. It was something that Cera never won once. 

Their strength and speed aside, there was a large gap of experience between Lionel and herself. In order to close the said gap, Cera had read tons of books and studied the intricacies of the Kingdom and the forest, even going as far as learning about the formation of the Kingdom. Wishing that one day she could finally win against Lionel in one of their competitions.

It was something that Cera could no longer do of course. Not now, not ever. But thanks to the extended knowledge that she gained from reading books, she was able to formulate a plan. There was something that Cera knew one thing about the forest that the enemies don’t. 

She knew that the forest southeast of Divinatus was dry. This meant that forest fires were easy to start and spread fast. The same forest fire that was driving away the elves from the cover of the trees to the plains where the First Army lies in wait.

The elves slowly found themselves with no other place to escape than towards the Ak’hims who were entrenched within the plains. It wasn’t long before the first the elves stepped into the plains in fear of the fire.

Knowing that the time has come, Cera sent out a signal to the First Army. With a loud battle cry, the First Army charged out to take on the Elves in melee combat within the ring of fire. In a battle of wits and range, they may have felt threatened, but the twigs were no match for them for the strongest army in the Kingdom. So long as they remain within the plains, the fire should not affect them that badly. The only thing that they need to worry about was that they might suffocate as the trees around them burn, though it was a risk that Cera was willing to take.

The victory was needless to say, easy once the elves were forced out of their natural advantage. Half of the elven army were slain by the First Army, while the other half was taken care of by the Fifth and Sixth army who implored a different tactic than Cera. Vargus and his army just stampede through the forest, taking down the trees together with the elves while Shieska and her Lamias route the remaining elves who managed to escape the stampede.

The forest fire was eventually put out by the remaining Ak’hims, though it did consume a large chunk of the forest— precious resources that they could have harvested had the elves not come to interfere, but the Ak’hims took what they could and proceeded to harvest the remaining bounty. With their victory, there was nothing left to stand in the way of the Ak’hims as they cleaned the place dry and transported every single thing they could back to Divinatus. 

Over the weeks, the forest slowly turned from once a lush bountiful beauty of nature to a desolate land that could barely sustain life. Even then, Cera had ordered the men to burn it all away.  Their detachment soon rejoined with Yuupiecca’s detachment as they began work on fortifying the coastal city.

 

 

Thanks for reading. Next chapter on the 12th of May.(Tuesday)

41