Chapter 48: Plan of Attack

I’m crouched behind the shredded remains of a taxi. I can hear bullets clanging and sparking off remains to the car’s metal shell. Once I heard a break in the fire I popped my head over the edge and I began firing at the pair of enemy soldiers taking cover behind another beat-up car. One of my shots hits one of the soldiers in the shoulder and he topples over backward with a cry of pain.

Then I hear the familiar and dreaded sound of metal treads grinding over the rubble of the city. I looked up and saw the front of a Kurganets armoured vehicle appear around the corner of the building. I silently prayed this one was an APC, not an IFV. The Kurganets armored vehicles have two variants, the APC or Armoured Personnel Carrier has mounted machine guns, while the IFV or Infantry Fighting Vehicle is mounted with a 20mm autocannon…

“Kurganets!” I heard Shuji shout.

Then the vehicle revealed the main gun and I felt a rush of relief when I saw it was the APC, the one with the machine gun. That relief was quickly dampened as the a machine gun began firing and starting hosing a position next to me.

“Takai! Panzerfaust!” I shouted at Takai, my best Corporal.

I turned to see him begin to take our last anti-tank launcher off his shoulder. This one was useless on anything heavier than Kuranets like a Varsuk or any of the older T series tanks. The only way to kill one of the heavier tanks was by firing down onto it from above because the top armor is thinner.

“Hole that tin can, I’ll cover you!” I shouted and Takai nodded as he hefted the launcher over his shoulder.

He needed to get closer to get a clean shot, so he’ll need to run out into the enemy fire.

“I’ll do it with you, I’ll draw fire, you shoot!” I shouted and Takai nodded again as he clenched his teeth mentally preparing himself.

I looked at Shuji and he nodded knowingly, that familiar unease in his eyes that was always present before I was about to do something really stupid…

“COVERING FIRE!” Shuji roared and the whole squad stood up and began spraying at the enemy attackers.

I ran out first and I began spraying from the hip at the enemy.

“HEY IVAN! FUCK YOU!” I shouted at the Russians as I lobbed a grenade at one of the enemy positions. The two Russians there panicked as they tried to scramble away, the grenade exploded and knocked one of them to the ground. The Russian screamed in agony as he bled onto the ground.

Just as I ducked behind a piece of the collapsed wall a spray of fire slammed into the concrete. I looked over and saw Takai had found a good position behind a wrecked car. He took aim at the Kurganet and I raised my rifle over the cover firing blindly.

“HEY IVAN! Yob tvoyu mat!” I shouted as I remembered the phrase Naomi taught me. It roughly translates to fuck your mother…

I heard another wave of bullets crack against the rubble and I turned just in time to see Takai fire. I heard the roar of the rocket as it flew towards the Kurganet. I then heard a deafening boom as the fire on me died down. I peeked over the rubble and I saw the Kurganet slowly trundling forward, a flaming hole in its side. One of the hatches opened and flames burst out from the hole. I saw one of the crew crawl screaming out of the flaming tank, his entire body aflame…

“That’s three!” I heard Takai shout as I felt a small smile grace my lips.

I heard shouts of alarm from the Russians, having one of your armored vehicles blown up is quite the morale hit. Maybe with this, the Russians will pull back for today, maybe this defensive position will hold for another day.

Then I heard the sound of threads again and I felt my blood turn to ice. I looked over the rubble and saw another Kurganet trundling into view. This time the Kurganet had a 20mm autocannon mounted.

“Takai we need to move!” I shouted as I scrambled to my feet and Takai did the same and we sprinted back to the rest of my platoon. We didn’t have anything left to deal with it, that was our last Anti Tank Launcher…

Somehow we dodged the shots flying our way. When I rolled behind a piece of rubble I heard the autocannon start firing, I turned just in time to see one round hit Takai in the leg. The cannon round blew his leg clean off at the knee and he tumbled to the ground screaming.

I reached out and dragged him behind the rubble pile I was hiding behind. I immediately took out a knife and cut off a piece of his uniform to tie a tourniquet around the bleeding stump. I looked around to see the autocannon tearing the cover of two of the replacements to pieces. They were screaming with their bodies plastered on the ground as the wrecked car behind began disintegrating under the weight of the 20mm shells. By now I saw we had lost about a third of our men, another third were pinned down by the enemy fire. Only my assault squad and a few others were still returning fire.

“CONTACTED ENEMY APC! WE ARE COMBAT INEFFECTIVE!” I heard Shuji scream into his radio.

I looked back down at Takai and I saw him shakily reach into his vest to take out a hip flask. He unscrewed the cap with shaky and bloodied hands. He took a swig as he shut his eyes and shuddered. Out here in the field, the morphine ran out a long time ago. Now we made do with Russian vodka that we captured.

“WE NEED REINFORCEMENTS!” Shuji shouted as I saw another soldier’s chest being blown open by the autocannon.

“WE CAN’T HOLD!” Shuji screamed again and I saw the soldier next to Shuji get hit by the autocannon. Her chest exploded into a red mist and I saw the blood splatter onto Shuji’s body. He looked up shakily at the decimated corpse.

Shuji looked at me for a moment, his face pale as parchment. Then I saw him grit his teeth as he looked down at the radio still crackling with orders to hold our position.

“DEFENSIVE POSITION UNTENABLE! I’M PULLING MY MEN OUT!” Shuji screamed into the radio, his voice cracking.

I heard a garbled reply on the radio and I saw Shuji’s head contort in rage.

“FUCK YOU! I’M NOT SACRIFICING MEN FOR A STRETCH OF STREET!” Shuji roared as he put the radio back in his pocket, not bothering to listen for the reply.

“We’re pulling out. Pop smoke!” I shouted at the rest of the platoon. I pull a smoke grenade from my vest and chuck it over the rubble. I reached down to pick up Takai but he pushes me off.

“Just go… you’ll never make it, dragging me along… I probably won’t survive anyway…” Takai said as he panted. I looked down and saw he was right, he was losing so much blood from his bleeding stump of a leg. I grit my teeth as I try to ignore the tearing sensation in my chest as I realized I was about to lose another of my friends.

“Don’t be sad, my number came up that’s all…” Takai said weakly with a small smile. He ripped his dog tags from around his neck and handed them to me with shaking hands. I grasped his hands and I pressed my head against his…

“Remember me… remember us…” Takai said.

“I will…” I said as I pulled away and shoved the dog tags into one of my pockets.

“Take all my ammo…” Takai said in a strained voice as he began taking out all of his magazines.

“I’ll hold onto this one, give the Russians a final fuck you,” Takai said as he held up a grenade a weak smile on his face.

“Bible said, may we be in heaven half an hour before the devil knows we’re dead… I guess I might as well get a head start…” Takai said as he pulled the pin and held onto the latch. He put the now primed grenade against his chest, the timer will start to tick the moment he lets go, and the latch releases.

“I’ll meet you at the gates of Takamagahara,” I said as I stood up as Takai gave me a weak smile and a nod.

“Take your time… Sayonara, Onaga Gosen...” Takai said as his face scrunched up slightly as he fought back tears. For a moment looking just like the teenager he is, just a boy afraid to die...

“See you soon…” I replied as I turned away and began running after the rest of my retreating platoon.

“DON’T LOOK BACK!” I heard Takai wail and I felt my chest tighten as my eyes grew hot.

I ran and ran as I heard the Russian shout as they began charging through the smoke. Then I heard the blast of a grenade going off and I faltered for a moment. But I just grit my teeth and continued to run.

I looked back and saw the cloud of dust, a few Russians were looking around stunned at the sight of their dead comrades on the floor...

Sayonara, Takahashi Gocho…

(Farewell, Corporal Takashi)

Sore wa zutto shitte iru meiyodearu...

(It’s been an honor)

“Katsuro!” I heard Charlotte shout as I sat up drenched in a cold sweat. I felt Charlotte pull me into an embrace and I returned the hug.

“Another nightmare?” Charlotte asked gently.

“Yeah… I guess they come before fights…” I muttered in reply as I pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Are you alright? Worried?” Charlotte asked.

“I’m fine and I’m always worried. But still, it’s good we are finally here, I was going crazy sitting around waiting for some reason to make Regus let us come out here. Well, to be fair we also had no idea if the Mages were telling the truth…” I said.

“Well, Modred ensured that no ships could get close enough to spot the war that was going on here. With the history between the humans and the Alvs I doubt Modred would have allowed news of Alven weakness to return to Regus.” Charlotte replied.

“Yeah, the time I spent sitting on my hands was torture… well it’s time to end this…” I muttered as I got up off the bed.

I got dressed and I saw Charlotte doing the same. In my heart, I once again felt the pang of worry as I looked at her. I have to get all of them through this, I don’t want to add any more tags to my collection…

Our preparation to leave was swift, when we arrived downstairs I found all my soldiers already formed up and ready to leave. Then I noticed an Alv dressed in fine armor approaching me. He looked to be a man of authority amongst the Alvs, with his ornate armor, helm shaped like a stag, and long flowing white cape. In his hand he also held a halberd made of Alven amber. Although he didn’t have a shield and his halberd was double-edged, with a blade at both ends of the handle…

“Heroes, it is good to finally meet you.” the Alv said as he approached and offered me a hand.

“And you are?” I asked as I took his hand.

“Commander Aeolwig, I lead the southern army. My colleague, the commander of the northern army, currently holds the line against the denizens of the outworld.” Aeolwig said.

“Shouldn’t you be there as well? Why are you here?” I asked as I furrowed my brows.

“Most of my army is with him, I need to be here to command a more mobile force in the event of an attack from an unexpected angle,” Aeolwig replied.

“So will you be joining us?” I asked.

“Yes, I loathe my time here, languishing behind walls while my kin fights my battles for me. I have remained here due to tactical necessity and the request of the king that the capital remain secured.” Aoelwig replied.

“Will the king have any issues with you leaving?” I asked.

“He will probably call for my head when this is over, but he can have it after Alvuan is secure. It is time to go on the offensive and evict the demons from our home. The demons have sullied the soil of our home long enough, with you here... it is time to win this war…” Aeolwig replied with a nod.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, let’s go,” I said with a smile, I like this guy. He seemed like a good leader, strong and bold, a good combination.

“I will take the lead with my men and guide your forces on the fastest route to the front. I have already sent word ahead to the front. The men and women there need every bit of hope they can get.” Aeolwig said.

With that, we fell in line and began marching towards the front. I ended up at the head of the entire formation with the rest of the heroes. We were mounted on top of some of the horses that were brought with us. Previously I decided to walk because it would be better for morale but now that we were marching to the fight I needed for them to see me and the other heroes. Both the humans and Alvs need to see us, a horse would help with that. Well, that and I wanted to conserve our strength, we couldn’t afford to be worn out for the fight.

Behind us flew the banner of the heroes, apparently, the heroes had a banner here in Alvuan. So behind me, that banner was held high as the army marched with it at its head. The Alvs that marched with us were in the thousands, from what I can tell Aeolwig almost emptied the capital of soldiers. So I guess this was an all-or-nothing gamble, to be fair I suppose that’s always the case with an infinitely replenishing enemy...

The forest changed as we marched, making easy pathways and creating roads out of vines. This ensured that we were able to move quickly through the forest. The vines even grew forward and pushed us forward like a travelator. It must be really hard to deal with Alvs in their forest, enemies will be bogged down as the terrain itself fights them and the Alven defenders will be aided with swifter paths and an infinite supply of food.

I looked up and saw through a break in the trees large eagles flying overhead. I could see there were Alvs mounted on the eagles. Those look useful… Why weren’t they at the front?

“Why aren’t those eagles already at the front?” I asked Aeolwig.

“Because we use the forest’s trees themselves as fortifications, the Great Eagle Riders are poor when on the defensive, the trees restrict their movement and put them at risk. Their speed and mobility make them more effective on the offensive. There is already a small unit there at the front but they have mostly been carrying out scouting missions.

We already have a map of the occupied terrain and where the Rift is. I have been saving these soldiers for when we finally venture forth to seal the Rifts. Our entire strategy revolves around ensuring we can last long enough for you to arrive and that we will have the strength remaining to get you to the Rift. That means conserving our best offensive forces and expending our defensive units first.

Look behind you hero most of the soldiers behind me are Maidens of Alvuan, mounted archers, and shock infantry. All of them well suited for offensive operations.” Aeolwig replied.

“Very well, be prepared for a fast and bold offensive. I prefer to hit hard and fast, leaving little room for the enemy to recover.” I said.

“Good, this is no time for indecisiveness…” Aeolwig replied.

The march only took about a day and a half, which was very surprising considering the distance. I think the distance we needed to march is more than 100 km. This speed is unheard of for soldiers on foot. It’s impossible considering at best an army on foot will only cover at most 30km a day if you push it. So we were literally moving at more than double the speed. I guess when the terrain actively helps you move you could cover quite a bit of distance on foot.

Charlotte told me your average walking speed is about 5 km per hour and a travelator moves at about 7km per hour. So that made us walk at around 14km per hour and considering that we marched for almost 6 hours a day that made us cover about 84 km in one day.

By the time we arrived the sun was already setting and our exhausted army dragged themselves towards a large fortress. It looked like the fortress was relatively untouched but judging from the plume of smoke that was now a lot closer, I think this is probably a forward operations base.

Sure enough, when we entered I saw soldiers milling restlessly around the fort. There were some wounded lying around groaning in pain, they were wrapped in bandages that were stained black. That was odd… I thought the Alves were good healers? Shouldn’t most of these soldiers be back on their feet?

“Why are there still wounded? I thought the Alves were capable healers? The best on the continent.” Charlotte muttered as she looked at the scores of the wounded.

“I don’t know, those bandages though. The stains... they don’t look right. Blood usually isn’t that dark, it looks almost like ink...” I replied.

“Maybe they’ve been lying there for some time, don’t blood stains turn dark after a while?” Jacob suggested.

“No, I know what old wounds look like, it doesn’t turn that dark,” I muttered in reply.

“I suppose you do have experience in that regard…” Ivan said.

“Yeah…” I replied darkly.

I instructed the commanders to get the rest of the soldiers settled in to rest for the night. I was brought into the fortress and I arrived at what looked to be a war room. I looked around and saw the Alvs were all standing around a table with a map. Their armor was all dirty with black blood and from the looks of them they just came off the battlefield.

“Aoelwig… it is good to see you old friend…” an Alv dressed in the same way as Aeolwig said as he approached him.

“Elrohir, I am glad you are safe…” Aeolwig said as the two of them embraced tightly. I could sense the fatigue in Elrohir’s eyes, this war has definitely been hard on him…

“Ithdriella, thank the gods you succeeded.” Elrohir said as he separated from Aeolwig and approached Ella.

Ella pulled him into an embrace as well and the two hugged tightly, she didn’t seem to care at all that he was still covered in demon blood.

“Uncle Elrohir… thank the gods you are safe…” Ella said softly.

“I’m a bit old but I don’t plan on visiting the halls of the gods just yet. I still need to keep an eye on you little one.” Elrohir said as he placed a hand on Ella’s head who let out a small giggle at the gesture.

“My men, did they return?” Elrohir asked.

Ella flinched as if struck and I saw her eyes grow wet.

“No…” Ella replied with a shake of her head.

“I’m sorry child, I should not have asked but you succeeded. Their lives bought us a chance, you ensured that their sacrifice meant something. We will mourn them after the Rift is closed but for now, we must honor their sacrifice.” Elrohir said as he gently rubbed Ella’s arm soothing her.

“Yes, uncle.” Ella replied as she wiped a stray tear from her eyes.

“That’s the Ithdriella I know. I sent my best men because I knew your mission was a worthy one. You have made me proud child.” Elrohir said with a small smile and a nod.

“Are you two related?” I asked as I looked at the pair.

“Yes, the king is my older brother, he… can be difficult at times…” Elrohir muttered.

“That’s putting it mildly…” Aeolwig grunted in response.

“He wasn’t always like this, the loss of Liadriel… Ithdriella’s mother was hard on him. It changed him, they were inseparable in their youth, it is difficult to lose someone you loved so dearly for 80 years… and to spend another 50 years raising a child without her…” Elrohir replied wearily.

“Small comfort when he calls for my head after all of this is over.” Aeolwig said as he crossed his arms.

“I’ll talk to him old friend, we will need capable commanders now more than over. I’ll make him see reason.” Elrohir said as he placed a hand on Aeolwig’s shoulder.

“Well that is a problem for tomorrow, today we have a war to contend with. Old friend, these are the heroes,” Aeolwig said as he gestured to us.

“I got your messenger, it came at the right time. The demons have increased the ferocity of their assault for the past few days. The news raised our morale at a dire time.” Elrohir said.

“Increased in ferocity?” Aeolwig asked in concern.

“Let us introduce ourselves first, old friend. I can debrief the heroes and all will be clear.” Elrohir said as he turned his gaze to me.

“I assume you are the Dark Hero?” Elrohir asked.

“Did you find out from the message? If so, I assume you already know who we are.” I said hoping to expedite things.

“No, the message didn’t say what heroes arrived, only that the heroes had arrived. But I can tell with one look at your armor. The Dark Heroes always dress strangely as if carrying whatever hell they came from on their backs. They also favor the color black…” Elrohir said.

“Well, you are correct. I am the Dark Hero, my name is Onaga Katsuro, I was a soldier in my old world.” I replied.

“Fighting a seemingly unwinnable war?” Elrohir asked wearily.

“Yes… is that common in Dark Heroes too? They come from a horrid place with no hope?” I asked as I raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, but the clearest sign is your eyes. The eyes of one who fights on with little hope, I see it every day in the mirror in the quiet moments before I take my rest. Fighting a war you know you can’t win without external aid, fighting on in the hopes some intervention will save you…” Elrohir said.

“All the while you watch your men die…” I replied.

“Exactly…” Elrohir muttered with a nod.

“Well, I am here now as are my compatriots,” I said as I moved aside and allowed my squad to introduce themselves.

Jacob went first and Ivan right after, they all received respectful nods. I could tell the respect they got was different as compared to the respect I received. They got respect born from their titles but the respect I got was a mix of fear and the grudging respect of my assumed power. I wonder what my predecessors were like. They received strange titles, the Plagued Healer, a disease-ridden doctor. The Thorned Rose, beautiful, graceful but also dangerous to pluck…

When Charlotte introduced herself all the Alvs bowed in respect. Well, that was a much better reaction than the rest of us received. I guess the God of Life holds high standing amongst the Alvs.

“Why do all of you respect the Life God as strongly as you do? Even the humans respect the Life God greatly.” Charlotte asked curiously.

“Because the Life Hero is the most commonly appearing Hero. Your predecessors were always positive influences wherever they walked. Lives became better, suffering was reduced, only good things follow the footsteps of the Life Hero.

The old stories say that the Life God is the mother of all life so she sends a chosen child to aid her other children. They say so great is her love for her children that one of her chosen almost always appears.

Or so the stories go…” Aeolwig replied respectfully.

“I see…” Charlotte said as she looked away lost in thought.

“May I ask a question as well, heroes?” Elrohir asked as his eyes grew uncertain.

“What?” I asked.

“Your companions the Lupus and the Kitsupali. They… do not look typical of their races… Has the Lupus and the Kitsupali changed? Have you already ventured to the Searing Wastes and the northern woods?” Elrohir asked.

“No… they are… were slaves… they were bred to be our attendants.” I replied and I saw the look of revulsion on the faces of the nearby Alvs.

“The slaver had invested a significant sum on them. Not to purchase them would have meant that they would be sold to another client. A client who would use them as toys… purchasing them was the lesser of two evils.” I said calmly before they could retort.

“Yes I suppose... well it doesn’t matter, we have more pressing concerns. We are no strangers to the vulgar practices of humans. Their abominable practice of attempting to play god, shaping life to their preferences…” Aeolwig said with a shake of his head.

“Come, you will need to know the current situation,” Elrohir said with a shake of his head as if he was trying to shake his moral indignation out of his mind.

We were led to a table with a large map placed on the table and I saw what looked to be a map of the local area. The map had pieces of colored wood with markings on them to denote the unit's type.

“This is a map of our overall situation. As you can see we have a battle line extending the length of Alvuan. We currently have approximately 50 000 thousand soldiers committed in this war. We have another 15 000 as a small defense force scattered around the other parts of Alvuan as a precaution. The general strategy we have employed is to use mounted archers to kite the horde to the defence points we have set up. This allows us to lure the demons into prepared kill zones. The demons are simple minded, they receive the order to attack but they do not have any sense of tactics when the fight begins.

As you can tell we have a much smaller military force as compared to Regus who possess hundreds of thousands of soldiers. Our total strength usually sits at around 100 000 or so depending on the state of our military.

As of now…” Elrohir said as he cut himself off as if steeling himself for what he’s about to say next.”

Elrolhir pointed with a grimace at a small table on the side of the map.

“Currently we have lost 37 000 civilians and 28 000 soldiers, approximately... The Xs are our frontline divisions, they are composed of soldiers that serve as both melee front line units and archers. All Alvs are archers so it makes our units extremely flexible. The amount of Xs denotes their competency and abilities, the more Xs the more capable the soldiers.

The units with three Xs are usually comprised of some Glade Guards. The units with the pair of Vs are our mounted skirmish cavalry, they too can serve double roles of melee and ranged. However, we mostly use them as mounted archers.

The units with the stars are our elite units they are comprised of Treants, Venerable Ones, Glade Guards, and Maidens of Alvuan. The Venerable ones are Alvs who have decided to intern themselves within Oaken Frames, the Oaken Frames are bodies made of enchanted wood and allow an Alv to fight in melee much more effectively. We don’t have many of them as few Alvs agree to continue their service past their natural life spans. The treants are powerful ancient forest spirits that have agreed to fight alongside us.

We have additional healers tending to our wounded in the backlines but their resources are stretched thin...

Each division has 2000 soldiers at full strength. We have been cannibalizing other divisions to send replacements to the frontline units. We occasionally rotate units off the line when the situation permits in order to give the soldiers some rest.” Elrohir said.

“This is the territory we lost, that damned Rift appeared right outside Fortress Northarial. The 20 000 soldiers there managed to hold out for a week. When the demons first appeared they didn’t even bother with the Fortress they just sent enough to pin the garrison in the Fortress. The rest went straight for the town of Casthyr and the Colsiire village. We could do nothing for them. Their populations are assumed dead…

Demons began torching the forest, clearing our great woods and turning it into a wasteland. We couldn’t seal the Rift so all we could do was watch as they burned out home. The Rift grew in power rapidly and Fortress of Northarial soon struggled as they found themselves assailed from three directions.

I sent out forces of Fortress Eastarial and Westarial immediately to help evacuate the city of Hearthian, while praying Fortress Northarial could hold long enough to save the population…” Elrohir said.

“We managed to create a corridor for the population of Hearthian to evacuate. Fortress Northarial was eventually on the verge of being overwhelmed so I had to pull the garrison out of the Fortress and they assisted with the holding action to delay the demons. Their efforts allowed us to evacuate slightly more than half of the population.

The corridor made fighting difficult, our lines were stretched with too many weak points. We lost many men trying to evacuate our people. Of the 20 000 that garrisoned Fortress Northarial only about 3000 remain now. We lost about 20 000 men trying to get the population out. It was worth it in the end, we traded 20 000 soldiers for 50 000 civilians.

In the end, when the corridor was about to collapse the remaining population Hearthian offered to stay behind… to act as bait… the demons are not individually intelligent. The Ruined Queen commands the demons but her commands only amount to a general direction of attack. So the demons swarmed against the walls of Hearthian, the common citizens did their best to buy time. They bought us a day, luckily we managed to get the important professions like the smiths and tailors out. As well as all the children…

Their sacrifice bought us time to regroup and recover and set up the defense line you see now. We estimate that 30 000 civilians were left behind in Hearthian, 6500 lost in Casthyr, and 500 lost in Colsiire.

So that’s 20 000 lost to set up the defensive line and another 8000 to hold it. Most heavy losses were inflicted on our cavalry. We have survived decently well against the demon’s onslaught initially. We were able to contain our losses into the hundreds a day. That was until two days ago…” Elrohir said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The demons appeared to be content to wear us down with small waves of constant attacks at first. But suddenly the demons massed for a single full-on assault on us. The demons didn’t retreat as they usually did, they threw themselves at us like a tide. They wanted to break through our lines desperately.

We held it luckily, but at a high cost. Many died, many more injured with [Blighted Wounds]. Something changed…” Elrohir said.

“Yes, us… we ran into a demon fleet that tried to sink us in the sea. Modred got to us first and sank the demon fleet.” I explained.

“Ah so the demons realized you were coming, they knew we now had the means to close the rift. Slow grinding attrition would no longer work. They needed a decisive victory against us or we would counter-attack and close that door to the outworld…” Elrohir said as he grit his teeth.

“Then it is good you held, you preserved your strength well too. You did well old friend.” Aeolwig said as he placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you but, still the losses haunt me… I always wonder if I could have done better…” Elrohir muttered.

“If I had seen the first major assault wave coming, I didn’t need to lose those 5000 men…” Elrohir said as he lowered his head.

“What’s done is done, no point thinking on what you could have done. The dead are gone, it’s up to us to avenge them. We just need to kick those demons back into whatever fetid pit they crawled out from.” I replied.

“You sound like my old commander.” Elrohir said with a small smile.

“Military pep talks work the same in all worlds I guess,” I replied with a shrug.

“So do you have a counterattack plan?” I asked.

“We have a few possible plans, the main issue is that if the demons retreat and shore up defenses deeper into their territory it will be more difficult to create a decisive victory. We need to cover alot of ground to justify the assault.

The demons replenish their numbers every day so we need to move quickly. If we get caught out in the wasteland the demons have created we will suffer heavy casualties. We are less effective beyond the forest, much of our combat tactics rely on the forest to give us an edge.” Elrohir explained as he pointed at the map showing some ranged cavalry that were far ahead of the front line.

“We use the cavalry to kite backward and we position archers in the tree canopy above the contested territory to rain arrows down onto the demons. Through this method, we can significantly whittle down the demons before they make contact with our defense line.” Erlohir said.

“But out in the wasteland you won’t have the luxury since with all the trees burned down, the army will be caught out in the open.” I said,

“Exactly,” Elrohir said.

“So we need to make significant gains every day. We also need a defensive position to tide out the next day’s wave…” I muttered.

“Yes, our plan currently revolves around retaking Fortress Northarial and using that as a jumping-off point to assault the Rift itself.” Elrohir said.

“So what are the plans for that?” I asked.

“There are two, if you notice there are two fronts, each plan leverages on a breakthrough on each front. Breaking through the main front will incur higher casualties but we can do more damage to the demons.

If we attempt a breakthrough at the weaker front we can minimize losses but since we will be encountering fewer demons that means we will do less damage to demons meaning they have more remaining strength to resist our advance.

The first plan to assault the weaker front has a major problem, if the demons occupy the ruins of Hearthian we will be forced to waste time retaking it or we will have an enemy position at our rear. That would be courting death...

Thus far we are considering assaulting the main front because it also gives a straighter shot at the Fortress. With more casualties on the demon’s side, we will also have an easier time taking the Fortress.” Elrohir said.

It is a sound plan but it’s slow and with too many unknowns on how the demons could react. If the demons immediately retreat then things could go badly. I prefer plans where I hold the initiative. Hmm if Hearthian is the problem… let’s just remove the problem…

“What is the state of Hearthian?” I asked.

“The city’s overall structure is still there, the walls are still standing as well, at least the side facing us is. The overall structure has been weakened with all the trees now dead but it would still be an obstacle if we decide to assail it.” Elrohir said.

“Your trees are used as supports for your buildings right?” I asked.

“Yes, but now the trees are dead, the wood is dry but still able to bear the weight of the structures.” Elrohir replied.

“How flammable are those trees?” I asked as I gave Elrohir a look.

The whole room went silent at those words, Elrohir turned to look at Aeolwig in surprise. The two exchanged looks before Elrohit turned back to face me.

“Quite flammable…” Elrohir replied warily.

“Then we burn it down, if the demons want to hide in that city, their shelter will become their tomb. If we torch the city we effectively create a wall of fire to protect our flanks…” I said and I saw the eyes of the Alvs around me widen. Ignoring their stares I began moving the pieces of the board to show them my plan.

“We pressure them towards Hearthian, make the demons seek shelter in there. They will think of using the city as a defensive position. Then we torch the city and burn the demons. The wood of the city will be kindling for a wall of fire to protect our flanks as we turn and attack the main force…” I said as I once again began moving the pieces.

“Then we move in, encircle and envelop the demons. We won’t be able to completely surround them but their only escape route will be on the easter flank. Too far for them to make it to Fortress Northarial before we do.

Once the encirclement begins, the main front will launch a full counteroffensive to tie down the demons. We will strike the demon’s main force from the north, west, and south. Hammer and anvil, with us striking them from three directions we will cut the demons to pieces and leave them little room for retreat. We can have some forces fight a holding action to prevent an attack on the rear of the encirclement. With the burning city, our western flank will be safe so they should be able to hold.

With most of the demon army gone for the day, we have a straight shot at the fortress. The demons won’t have the forces remaining to defend it as the whole army descends on top of Fortress Northarial.” I said and I looked around the room.

I could see this proposal was difficult for them, I guess burning a city and using it as a firewall was pretty extreme, but then again there was no one left in it…

“Hearthian has stood for two thousand years…” Elrohir muttered.

“The demons don’t care about losses. They aren’t affected by attrition, so this war is not measured in losses. It is measured in gains. It’s all or nothing, we must win at any cost. You can rebuild from the ashes later but you need to be alive to rebuild anything.” I replied.

“He’s right Elrohir…” Aeolwig said gently.

“I know… it’s just… to fight so desperately to save the people of Hearthian and the best path victory means burning their home? How am I going to explain this to them afterward…” Elrohir said shakily.

“They will understand old friend, we will save lives with this plan. All things have a price, if we wish to save our men’s lives then we need to sacrifice something. Is that not the way of the world? The dark god always gives us a price to pay for anything…” Aeolwig said.

“Very well… but how will we burn it? We are poor with fire magic, torches could work but it would take a while.” Aeolwig said.

“I may have something that can do the trick… Volva, could you get Lady Scylla.” I said and Volva nodded as she sprinted out of the room.

When Lady Scylla was brought in she cast a wary glance around the room before approaching the table. I explained the strategy to her and she quietly nodded as she internalized the information.

“A sound plan, brutal but effective,” Scylla said with a nod.

“So can your mages help with burning that city?” I asked.

“Of course, I have just the thing, the spell requires ten mages to cast but it’s effectiveness was proven in the last Alven-Human war. It is uniquely designed to burn Alven trees. Although such an application is… interesting…” Scylla said.

“What are the properties of the spell?” I asked.

“A hundred years ago, we needed a type of fire that could burn for a long period of time. Alven trees are very moist meaning conventional fire does nothing, so we came up with a spell that created cursed fire.” Scylla explained.

“Fiendfyre…” Elrohir said darkly.

“Yes, exactly…” Scylla said as she held his gaze.

“It’s like flaming glue, it sticks to the wood, burning long after the wood has been consumed. Very effective at drying out the wood of Alven Trees.” Elrohir said coldly.

So it’s like napalm and white phosphorus…

“That sounds perfect, the firewall will remain even when the kindling is gone. Should buy us more time then…” I replied as I gave the Alvs a look.

The demons threaten us all

They don’t see the shape of your ears or your years of life

Put past grievances behind you

If not, the old hatreds will destroy our future...