Walking out of my tent, there was a calmness that enveloped me. Even if I was walking into the belly of the dragon, I felt no fear. If there was one thing I had learned in my two lives, it was that you can not control what happens. You can only control how you react to it. Walking through the camp, I watched as men prepared for the battle to come. The sun had only just begun peeking above the horizon. Yet, everyone was already awake and getting ready. Without ceremony, I walked into the command tent. Where other officers were already gathered around the holographic map, displaying the ruins of the city. The atmosphere within the tent felt… different. I could not put my finger on it, but something had changed.
Even when I took my place at the table, we still had to wait for two other captains before we could begin. The entire time, I sat there waiting for the meeting to begin. I could feel eyes observing me. But, whenever I looked around to see who it is the feeling would vanish. The feeling of unease grew, causing me to lift my guard. When everyone was present, the meeting began. I was surprised when the other captains met my gaze with respect in their eyes. "Storming the palace will be difficult." Nicodimus, the captain of the infantry, remarked after we had listed the known defenses. Turning towards me, he asked. "You are the only one who has been inside the palace. So what would you suggest?" The other captains turned to me as well, waiting for my answer.
For a moment, I remained quiet and looked at the map. Shaking my head, "A normal assault would not be feasible. The palace may lack many things, but defensive formations were not one of them." I pointed my finger at two positions on the map. "If you look here and here, you will see that this is a false wall. When I exited the palace doors with Edward in hand, an arrow was shot at me from there. My gut tells me that there are a lot of these surprises to be found." After a tense moment of silence, everyone absorbed the information.
Nicodimus spoke again. "Then what would you suggest?" This was clearly some type of test, but it did not bother me at all. I already have an idea of how we could win. "How many earth mages do we have?"
"About fifteen in total." Larion, the captain of the spellbreaker spoke. His eyes widened for a moment as the realization dawned on him. "Genius," he whispered to himself.
"As some of you may have guessed, my idea is to weaken the structural support of the walls themselves. Our greatest obstacle is the traps hidden within. But, if the walls are no more, then the rest is but a matter of time." It took another hour of discussion before we ironed out the remaining details of the plan.
The entire army of three thousand men marched through the city. The civilians had long since retreated to the western quadrant, where battles were few and far between. The only things present in the street were rubble and decaying corpses. The blood had already dried into a brown layer on the ground. Thunder struck in the distance as the storm brewing above our heads made itself known. The first drops of rainfall began to descend from the heavens when we stopped infront of the palace walls. Without standing on ceremony, the earth mages made their way to the front. Extending their hands, a light brown aura began to glow from their hands as the earth started to shake.
Arrows flew over the wall, but a quick shield wall protected the mages as they began their work. I watched it all with a building anticipation while standing next to Colonel Bargrave. He had decided to personally join this final battle. I need not explain how strange that was. It was very rare that a commander would join any battle. But Bargrave had always been a peculiar man, so I chose not to focus on it for now. I heard a deafening crack, and the pillars supporting the wall began to break. In front of my eyes, I watched as the walls began to collapse. Not being able to support its own weight. Screams of surprise and pain came from the other side.
When the dust finally settled, we wasted no time. "Charge!" Nicodimus yelled as the infantry made its move. The Yemeni forces were still in a dazed state. We would be damned if we did not take advantage of that. Within moments, the sound of battle consumed everything else. It was at that moment when the storm began in earnest as if by some divine will. While the infantry and vanguard units fought in the palace courtyard. The specialized units had other objectives to achieve. I watched as my own team moved through the palace courtyard. I wished them the best of luck as their task was far from easy. They were ordered to kill the captains and higher-ranking officials on the battlefield.
Bargrave turned to me with a large smile on his face. "Let's go, can't let them have all the fun!" In that moment, I realized what bothered me. The colonel had never smiled before. He had always been the picture of calm, but now he reveled in the bloodshed. No wonder they called this man a butcher. A more apt name could not have been chosen. Following behind him, I drew my nodachi from its sheath. Yemeni soldiers tried to block our approach, but we cut them down with little resistance as we made our way to the gates.
Without ceremony, Bargrave kicked open the door. Four soldiers waited in ambush; they did not even get the chance to raise their blades. A chain of lightning stuck out from Bargrave's hand. Just the slightest touch of the lightning reduced the enemy to ash. Just seeing his power made my hair stand on end. There was genuine awe in my eyes when I looked at the colonel. In two lives combined, I had never seen such power before. Turning towards me. "What are you standing around looking like an idiot for? Lead the way, we have rats to kill." He used the mace in his hand to point forward.
Taking a calming breath, I nodded at him and rushed forward. Blink brought me behind the two soldiers rushing down the halls. With a single sweep of my blade, their heads rolled to the ground. I could have sworn I saw an approving look on the colonel's face when I met his eyes. We wasted no time, merely rushing through the enemy soldiers like a bulwark. We met great resistance the further we traveled within the palace halls. Yet, nothing could stop our relentless forward march.