Chapter 16: Contact

Jerry stretched and yawned as he awoke. He looked around to find himself alone near the tree line of the forest surrounding the camp. He took out his phone to check the time while his tired eyes awoke.

11:34 AM

Jerry got up, did a couple stretches, jumping jacks, and various other warmups for today. As he finished and put on his backpack, Kasune appeared from the forest and kneeled before Jerry.

“Welcome back. Where’ve you been?” Jerry asked.

“Scouting the area, Jerry” She said.

Jerry bent over and picked up his helmet, brushing off the grass and dirt that was on it.

“And, what’d you find?”

“A large force is coming this way from the north totaling at about 4000 men”

Jerry was shocked initially by this but quickly calmed down.

“Their composition?”

“3500 Infantry, 200 Cavalry, 300 Archers”

“That’s a lot”

“Indeed”

“Where’s North by curiosity?”

“Follow me”

Kasune then stood up and walked through the forest walking for what seemed to be a short while towards a large open field.

“This is where they’ll be coming from” She said.

Jerry looked around for anything he could use. The opening was mostly short grass and had nothing in sight. He was standing on the outskirts of the forest and was facing the large open field. There was very little cover and terrain advantage and it seemed that it would be just an open field battle. But, this is not what Jerry wanted. Jerry needed to make this battle a one-sided slaughter to show that he was a competent leader.

“Take me to their army. I need to see what they have” Jerry said.

“What? What would you want to see from them?” Kasune asked.

“Armor, weapons, movement and stuff like that”

“What would you like to know? I can tell you here”

“What are they? Skeletons, Humans, Zombies, or something else?”

“This army is mostly an undead army raised from captured graveyards. They should have the skill of a peasant farmer or so”

“Their armor?”

“Mostly leather. Some have shields and steel armor.”

“Weapons?”

“Basic iron swords. Archers have short bows and cavalry have spears and that’s it”

Jerry thought for a bit.

“What are the skills of these men here?” Jerry asked.

“I would say one infantryman could take out 5 of them one by one. All at once however, and he will be taken down” Kasune said.

“Formation?”

“Cavalry is in the front, Infantry behind them and Archers are in the back” Kasune said.

“Great!”

Jerry then had the problem of how he was going to introduce Kasune to the others.

“Don’t worry about it. I can conceal myself. Besides, I don’t want to introduce myself to them” Kasune said.

Jerry had a shiver sent down his back. He still had to get used to someone reading his mind.

“Alright then, I will notify the troops and get them ready. In the meantime, you can do what you were doing before as the 10 Demon Commander thing. Just tell me things that happen within the group.” Jerry said.

“As you wish” Kasune said as she quickly disappeared from Jerry’s vision.

Jerry looked at the open field one last time before he put on his helmet and turned around and went back to the camp

_

As Jerry entered the camp, he was immediately approached by Falk.

“Where the hell were you?” He asked.

“Looking at the scenery. Was quite nice” Jerry responded.

“What? You think this is a joke?”

“Look, has something happened?”

“N-No”

“Then don’t bother me with this. Anyway, get the men. We’re preparing for a battle up north. Get them into formation and ready near the northern entrance of the camp.”

“How do you know that?”

“Look, Falk, if you want to serve me, don’t ask questions and just do it. I’ll tell you later… Maybe.”

Falk looked at Jerry with confusion and a bit of hate but quickly followed his orders.

“As you wish” Falk said before he turned around.

Jerry looked at Falk as he walked away before he quickly turned and set his backpack down in the command tent. He opened the backpack up, and grabbed a box of 9 x 39mm Ball ammo and emptied the boxes and placing the loose rounds in his pockets. He picked up his rifle and looked at it. It had a strap on it, connected by the barrel and stock. It’s magazine catch system acted very similarly to the AK-47 the he was used to at home, but was cocking system was near the front of the gun, and acted similarly to the P90. He put his strap on and quickly left and went towards the tent that held the party.

As he entered, he was greeted with a scene straight out of a show. Everyone was asleep in one tiny bed with Scharla in Larmen’s left arm wrapped around her, Janice onto of Larmen face down, and Elizabeth with Larmen’s right arm wrapped around her.

Jerry sighed and left the tent. He didn’t want to deal with the shitstorm that would come with waking them.

He walked towards the northern side of the camp and was greeted with the men in formation and going into attention as they saw Jerry walking near. As he stood in front of the men with Falk to the right of him. He took off his helmet and held it between his arm and torso and he went into commander mode.

“Attention!” Jerry shouted.

The men quickly saluted Jerry.

“We have a 4000 strong Demon Lord army coming here” Jerry said.

Jerry could see the fear in the men as he said that through the visors of the helms his men wore.

“Although they may be strong in number, they are weak. Way too weak. They bring leather armor, short bows, and very few have steel equipment. The Demon Lord is underestimating us!” Jerry said.

Whispering broke out among the men mostly speaking about what this meant.

“This means that he thinks he can conquer us with ease! We will show them what it means to underestimate us! We will make an example of this army that he has sent to crush us. We will crush them like ants beneath our feet! Now, tell me that you’re ready to fight!” Jerry said.

“Yes Sir!” The men shouted.

“Are you ready to fight!” Jerry shouted

“Yes Sir!” The men shouted

“Are you ready to protect the Empire!” Jerry screamed.

“Yes Sir!” The men screamed.

“Forward March!” Jerry shouted as it then was followed by the men marching north.

Falk quickly fell out and went towards the camp.

“Falk where you going?” Jerry asked.

“To fetch us some horses” Falk said.

“Uhh, I can’t ride a horse”

“Why not? A condition?”

“Yea, a condition called I don’t know how to”

Falk looked at Jerry for a moment before continuing back into the camp. Jerry put on his helmet and marched forward alongside the men, near the front.

They quickly approached the opening that Kasune told Jerry was where the enemy force was coming from.

“Halt! Infantry, get ready here. Cavalry, be on the outer edges of the infantry. Archers and mages, get onto the trees and give yourself a line of sight of the field.” Jerry shouted.

Quickly, the men got into position. The sound of metal boots could be heard along with the rustling of leaves on the trees.

Jerry went to a mage that was still climbing a tree. They looked like they were struggling.

“Hey, mage on the tree” Jerry said

“Y-Yes?” the mage said.

“What are your abilities?”

“I can shoot fireballs and cast a firewall” He said.

“Firewall?”

“I just bring up a small wall of fire. It’s mostly used for defense”

“What would happen if a human passed through it?”

“They’d be burned”

“I see”

“I-Is that all, Sir?”

“Yea. Need help?”

“A little”

Jerry climbed the tree quickly, grabbing onto beaches and pulling himself up using his arms. It was a bit difficult with the heavy gear weighing him down but eventually made it. He offered his hands to the mage that was struggling and pulled him up.

“Thank you, Sir” The mage said.

“No problem” Jerry said as he hopped down the tree.

As his feet touched the ground with an audible thud, the mage called out to him.

“Uh, Sir” The mage said.

“Yes?” Jerry responded as he turned around to look at the mage.

“Are we really gonna make it out of this alive?”

“Yes. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I see” The mage said before he leaned back into his tree.

Jerry went towards the infantrymen who had shields and swords and were waiting in formation.

“Hey, you all can rest for now. Just get ready to fight. When I give the signal, run into the enemy and bash them with your shield. After that, play defensively. Cavalry, stand by. But same thing applies with resting.” Jerry said.

“Yes Sir” The men said.

Minutes turned into hours and hours then turned into a sunset before anything happened. Jerry was resting, looking into the horizon before figures could be made out. Jerry squinted before he could determine who they were.

“Contact!” Jerry screamed.

“Archers! Draw your bows and get ready to send a volley. Mages, hold fire! Infantry, get ready! Cavalry, mount!” Jerry screamed.

Everyone quickly moved. The sounds of bows being drawn could be heard, along with the clanking of metals and saddles being mounted.

The figures draw closer and Jerry could see their glowing blue eyes. They seemed malnourished as they seemed to be a thin layer of skin being stretched over their bodies.

Eventually, as they drew closer, the men could be heard getting nervous. It was natural and understandable. Jerry could also feel goosebumps appear throughout his body.

“Fire at will!” Jerry shouted.

The sounds of arrows being let loose could be heard and the sound of impact could also be heard. It sounded very satisfying as the arrows hit their targets and the undead falling down as their blue eyes faded from existence whilst also being accompanied by a dying last breath by the undead as they fell.

Jerry got his rifle out and took aim and opened fire. Undead after undead fell to Jerry’s bullets as they let out a horrible screech as they fell down. He quickly went through 3 magazines thus leaving him with 4 extra magazines. Jerry did a quick pulse scan to scan his surroundings.

2895 Enemies Detected!

x300 Bows

x134 Spears

x2361 Swords

“Infantry, Charge!” Jerry shouted.

Soon, screams could be heard as the infantry shouted as they charged into the undead, and audible thunks could be heard as the shields made contact with the undead. Screams from the undead could be heard along with battlecrys from the soldiers could be heard as they charge.

“Mages! Open fire! If you can make a wall of any element, place them in front of the shields. Infantry, play defensively and finish them quickly as they come!” Jerry screamed.

Soon, a wall of various elements could be seen made appearing a few feet in front of the shield line and the undead running into them, causing them to be damaged significantly.

Jerry looked around him. They were winning, but not fast enough. Arrows were being traded on both side and the enemy cavalry was practically gone since they stood out the most and were in the front.

If he wanted this to be a one-sided slaughter, he needed to do something quick.

Jerry did another pulse scan.

1935 Enemies Detected!

x243 Bows

x53 Spears

X1639 Swords.

“Cavalry! It’s your time to finish them. Flank them from the right and left side and bring wrath to their exposed archers and the back of the infantry!” Jerry shouted.

Soon, the sounds of horses galloping were heard as the moved to the left and right of Jerry.

“Mages! Let down your walls and rest. Archers, stop and save your arrows! Infantry, start pushing them back!”

Soon, the walls went down, the barrage of arrows stopped and the infantry started to push forward.

The sounds of screams of the undead could be heard for the next half-hour accompanied by the men’s grunts as they brought their swords down.

Eventually, the fighting stopped. Groans and moans from the wounded men could be heard, but very few.

“Archers, mages, get down and help the wounded. Infantry, help them out as well. Cavalry, start to scout the area for any runners or any other army. We can loot later.” Jerry said.

“Yes Sir!” Could be heard from those nearby.

Jerry looked around as he refilled a magazine with the bullets he brought along. He looked over an undead that was killed by the men. He had a large vertical slash coming down his chest and had dead black eyes. He looked around him, searching for something worthwhile. He found nothing and walked away.

After the wounded were taken care of, the men scavenged the battlefield for anything that could be used. Some picked up armor, or weapons the undead had. The arrows were taken from the undead archers to replenish the reserves. Pockets of the undead were searched by some of the men and were let down.

What could you expect? These men were risen from graveyards.

“We’re heading back to the command post. Hurry up and finish looting your bodies and get into formation.” Jerry said.

“Yes sir” Could be heard as they resumed looting the bodies.

Soon, all the men were in formation, heading back towards the command tent. As they arrived, Falk approached from Jerry’s right.

“Nice battle” He said.

“Thank you” Jerry responded.

“Want to get on?”

“I want you to think what it would show to the men if the commander wasn’t riding a horse but instead mounting one as a passenger”

“No need to be rude”

“Sorry, it’s a habit”

“It’s fine”

After that quick exchange of dialogue, they both stayed silent for the rest of the march.

They soon arrived to the camp and the men quickly dispersed as they headed into the camp.

Jerry and Falk walked towards to the command tent to be met with the party standing in confusion.

“Where were you guys?” Larmen asked.

“Killing a 4000 strong army. Why?” Jerry replied.

“The camp was deserted when we woke up. Now you’re telling me you went to fight? How many men did you get killed?” Scharla retorted.

Before Jerry could respond, Falk spoke for him.

“Actually, no one died. Some were injured, but overall, there was a 20% wound rate. If it had been our usual tactics, many more would’ve been wounded or possibly been killed” Falk said.

“See, I did good without y’all” Jerry said as he put his arms around Falk and leaned on him.

“Please don’t lean on me” Falk said. Jerry quickly got off Falk and stood straight.

“Right, sorry” Jerry said.

“Anyway, you guys weren’t needed. Go do what you want. If I heard the men properly, I think it’s lunch time. Go get some chow.” Jerry said as he entered the command tent.