119 Unforeseen Consequences (1/2)
A black mass of swords, armors, and shields was slowly approaching them. In the shining light of the day, it was an eyesore for anyone looking at it. All around him, he could see soldiers rapidly getting their equipment and preparing themselves for the battle. Doing the same, he could not help but feel the unease growing inside him. It shouldn't have been possible to meet something like that, especially since it was relatively secret.
If the White Hand knew about their project, it was logical. If the Synnada Empire or the Kingdom of Massalia were to learn about the precise path he would take, it would cause some suspicions. ”But how their enemies, that were supposed to be entrenched in a hole beyond the mountains could ... ” With that trail of thoughts, it could only mean one thing. ”They bypassed the mountains ... A new tunnel has been dug.”
He was all alone at the entrance of his tent, but he still talked to himself. While it did make him look like a madman, it always had helped him think more clearly. Remembering the distance between them and the incoming army, he could probably spare a minute. ”Goblins! What was what the elves said, tunnels of two to three kilometers? Surprise attacks, caught off guard. But that's mere kilometers, we are talking about dozens of them here, maybe even more.”
One officer, not seeing the general coming peeked inside the tent, only to see Avirus mumbling some incomprehensible sentences. He waited a few seconds, but seeing no reaction from the later, he made some noises to made his presence known. It was not really effective. ”General, the enemy ... the White Hand just came and said they belonged to the Dark Gods!” At the mention of the Dark Gods, the general broke through his state and looked at his officer.
”Go and say to the Mayor that a new tunnel has been formed between Avenio and Massalia. Actually, no, just go in Archet and shout that very loudly.” He began to also push away his subordinate, prompting him to go as fast as possible. Even when the other party was completely surprised. ”What ... what do you mean by a new tunnel? ...” The two men looked at each other for a brief second, and he finally understood. ”Yes, Sir!”
With the enemy approaching, he could see with a better accuracy how many he will have to kill. However, he was not really feeling confident when he saw that instead of a true army, it could only be considered as a small force. Maybe one hundred, two at best. Compared to his vast army, where everyone from all across Avenio had come. Each city had provided their reserves, and a good chunk of his own troops from the North had joined him. They were at least 8O OOO thousands good men here, and with a bit of luck, more will wait for them at the Troll Gate.
Previously, only three passages could allow an army to go from Avenio to Massalia. In the North, the Wolf Gate and the Dragon Gate were considered the less dangerous. It was near the end of the Wild Mountains, meaning that Humanity had already managed to tame the monsters nearby. On the other hand, the Troll Gate was extremely close to the Fallen Kingdom of Pankow. Just the journey alone could decimate anything that had less than 5 thousands men. However, recently, numerous reports had revealed that a huge amount of monsters had gone from the South to the North, freeing partially the Troll Gate.
However, the direction from where that dark army came was not the one he would have taken if he had to go there. Because it was unknown how they managed to survive the travel, he couldn't know if those hundreds of foes were only the survivors or were everyone that departed at first. Taking into account the worst case scenario, with each of those black armors true experts, he could only try to swarm them with numbers.
Unfortunately, they had no siege weapons or anything alike, because Archet was supposedly just a temporary stop. All those weeks of preparations, and he had nothing for his first battle. Still grumbling in his beard, he still began to spread out his army as much as possible. A quick recapitulatory of the number of bowmen still managed to put a smile on his face. Even if they were undead, he would like to see how they could resist a tempest of arrows.
Taking the reins of his horse, he calmly walked forward, to be in front of everyone. On his sides, he could see some regiments beginning to run on the side, to encircle their foes. However, he made sure it would not form a complete circle, only half of it. If a second force was nearby, it would be too late for them to save those stuck between that black army and the unforeseen one. Nearby, he could see many faces, some worried while others were half joking about the small group they will slaughter. Old and young, they were still present to defend their country and their families.
The small troop kept walking toward him until they were barely a few hundreds of meters away. Finally stopping, the General Avirus could finally examine who he will face. His initial guess was not wrong, an officer with sharp eyes counted exactly 110 black helmets and one giant in the back. As for why he did not include the giant with the other, it was because the giant was ... very tall. At least two times the size of what they would presume to be a regular soldier, if not more. But what he also saw was the dark veins pulsating on everything they were wearing.
It was nothing like they had seen before, not like an arrow infused with mana or even a spell enchanting a sword. It seemed to be half-alive, like veins spreading on metal. Trying to remember where he had heard that, Avirus thought about the two supposedly adventurers. It was confirmed that they were, in fact, part of those he was supposed to kill. Their equipment was also foreign and similar to what he was looking at right now, but no one asked too many questions back then.
”ARCHERS! LOAD!” At his command, the sounds of an arrow leaving its quiver could be heard everywhere. He just prepared them for now, since the enemy was out of range anyway. But one could never be too careful, especially when myths and legends suddenly came back to life. At the same time, the more he looked at them, the more he felt that myths were not the only one that should have stayed dead. He had heard about the so-called spirits of the statues, but what he was facing was most likely just some undead.
”Surrender now, and your lives will be spared. Fight us, and even your gods will not save your souls.” The thunderous voice was audible in the mind of all the humans. Some soldiers were panicked, not expecting that at such a huge distance, one could so easily enter their mind and speak like that. Avirus could see many hands trembling a bit, or the opposite, gripping tightly their swords. At the same time, he wondered if peace was really an option. ”Probably not.”