Terror's POV

Life was a fragile thing I realized as I held the slippery green slug by the throat ( Goblin ) it was disgusting: mucus, blood, and saliva smeared over its face, its grubby hands clutching and clawing at my fingers. Its legs fluttering in the air as it dangled from my grip.

Dragging my gaze form it I looked around the killing ground, my soldiers moving slowly through the fallen enemy finishing them off with quick and efficient blows to the head from their morning stars or shields. Leaving the heads of the goblins in a ruined messes. Later we would burn the bodies, not because of the smell or anything of the like, but because we found out early on that goblins will eat anything, so if we leave the bodies they will just become food for more goblins; and our problems will only circle the solution. Which I figured was to starve the bastards out, why because they can't seem to stop breeding which for them creates more mouths to feed, and even more of a food shortage for them.

They are starving at the moment with no hope of continuing to exist in this frozen waste.

Before and Up-to

Terror's POV

with my patrol of one hundred trolls and three hundred of the PL troops ( experience gained from battles is group shared so if they are placed with AI troops they will literally be power leveled if they survive) now my unit would normally be a tenth this size, however I received some disturbing reports of a large group of Goblins heading towards the Imperial Highway. Their goal I assumed would be to stall the workers as much as possible, because once the road is finished carted goods can be shipped and they will have no chance of catching them. As of right now the ice is to dangerous to risk wheeled travel, so everything brought to and from villages that haven't been connected by roads are backpacked there by foot. Troops are also brought on wheeled transport on roads to increase deployment speed so the raiding of villages with roads is almost impossible for them.

The empire is like a web, at the heart you have the City of Ice which has four roads that branch out from it. To the north east you have Guggenheim that has a fork of paths that branch up leading to the villages Dovika (left fork) and Travanstan (right fork). On the left fork Dovika leads up to Dokiva, on the right branching from Travanstan is Rakstrid.

To the north west you have Eflin which branches twice leading to the villages Bone Shelter (left) and Hearth (right). Bone Shelter leads to Stone Cast, and Hearth leads to Mavid

To the west is Drafilwedic, which is the military training and construction area. It is also the closest to the City of Ice.

To the South of the City of Ice is Fridonton which branches into Hallow Shell Village (left,west) and Dark Mist (right, east). Hallow Shell Village then forks into Nights End (left) and Shadow Fell (right).

Dark Mist forks into Cantorwist ( left) and Eldwist (right).

My Unit (patrol) took carts up the Imperial road to the construction site between Eflin and Hearth

From Eflin. Where we confirmed the reports with the Guard unit stationed there. After which I sent in requests for more troops and I got Pls... (player soldiers usually around level 30-50 if sent on missions) three hundred of them. I did however get ninety real soldiers ( referring to AI units level 300+) the Pls were equipped in studded leather and iron (morning star, crossbow)

so I marched them out and soon my forward scouts came back to report that there was a raiding party of six hundred goblins ahead which with my additional troops wouldn't be a problem. I ordered the scouts out to check their travel route and speed. Once this was confirmed I set up ambush covered my men in snow and laid down to wait. In an hour or so we heard them running towards us, when they were about fifty meters out I gave the command, as I arose from my hiding spot.

Terror'-

FIRE!

And as one my men moved to a crouch and launched a devastating volley of bolts into the goblins. The bolts at such a close range sometimes punched right through one and pierced another. It was as if a shock wave passed through as the power behind the bolts knocked them down.

My own shot I took one through the throat flinging it back to choke to death own its own blood, if that is if it wasn't trampled first. Drawing my Mithril blade I lend my troops in a charge against the frightened goblins who had yet to regain their scenes from the ambush shock.

Steeping into them i cleaved the first one i saw, from right shoulder to left hip. Fallowing the momentum around I took the head off one to my right and its blood burst out spraying over the faces of the dead and dying. Always moving forward I picked one up by the head with my left hand caving it in and throwing it into a group of them. At the same time my sword in my right hands I swept down taking the legs out from under another. Spinning my blade into an underhanded grip I drove the blade through his chest finishing it off.

Pls lieutenant POV ( abbreviated is LT) (commands seventy two troops) (PlsLT)

The Pls are trained to flank and volley into the enemy formation. So that is what I had my men do, we sprinted to the left of the enemy as the one hundred regulars broke into their charge. The reason we do this is simple. We are weak and would hinder the regulars in a melee so we move around the battle formations to cause as much damage to the enemy as possible. Now as Frost trolls we are stronger and heather even at our low levels than your avg. goblin so could potentially one vs one with a goblin, However it would be a hard and extremely risky fight. Also the regulars can kill as many as they can get them selves surrounded by.

Once I reached the left flank I ordered the attack firing into the enemy farthermost from the front lines.

After our third volley they sent a unit of fifty after us. As they ran at us I ordered my men into a shield wall. A shield wall is when men line up into two or more rows over lap their shields with the man on their lefts, to attack from a shield wall is done in unison as one you push forward and unbalance the enemy then those that have been pushed down are killed by the row of men behind you. A second form if the first which is preferred cant be preformed. Is to attack under your shield with short bladed weapons ( must be short because long weapons and non-bladed cant stab and or get caught up because you cant draw it out or swing it) or over the shield wall by the men behind you.

The men in the back rows job is first to protect the head of the man in front of them ( because the men in front have their shields linked and have them at waist-chest height) and second to brace the man in-front of them ( if a shield wall is broken it can cause the collapse of the entire unit in it) third to kill any thing knocked down by the man in front of them, and finally to take the place of the man in front of them in that man should die or go down ( in anyway get taken out of the shield wall)

My wall consisted of thirty six columns and two rows, right as the enemy reached us I ordered the push

knocking fifteen of the enemy down and steeping forward over them so the back row could do their work then, double timing it back. Forcing the enemy to climb over their dead. As they came over them we pushed again knocking back so that they tripped on their own dead we killed another six in that push. The others turned and ran trying to get away. I ordered the first row to kneel and the second to fire over. The volley downed another 13 of the cowards (downed means dead or wounded/ out of the fight)

I then ordered twenty four men to stand guard and the rest to continue to add fire support for the regulars.

Terror POV

Drawing my blade from its chest I flicked the tip up catching another in the throat dropping it to its knees as it drowned in its own blood hands clutching its ruined throat to try and contain its life as it ran out through its fingers. Kicking it in the chest I moved on back handing one to the ground as I cut through the spear haft (shaft) deep into its skull. Then kicked its body as I wrenched my blade free. In just a few short minutes we had killed four hundred some of the enemy and the rest ran routed like dogs with their tails betwixt their legs.

Present

Terror POV

tossing it to the ground I prodded it with my boot a couple of times before it scrambled up and tried to run. Which gave me an excuse to kick it down onto its stomach. I walked over to it and placed my foot into the small of its back and knelt down.

Terror-

I think you should tell me were you tribe is camped at right now.

Goblin-

ill never betray my own! So burn frost troll scum!

Terror- laughing maliciously

I think that unless you want to enjoy the fire that your friends well be, you should talk because other wise I will feed you to the flames feet first so that they have to crawl up your body!

Goblin- whimpering

wai-wait I, that is they will be camping north west of Dokiva please I told you what I know. Ju-just let me go!

Terror-

no I don't like traitors. Burn him, alive, just trough him into one of the still burning fire pits and add some oil to him to make sure.

Then we are moving out we have a tribe to catch, Send a report back and a request for more troops.

Authors Note

Hope you guys enjoy, hope the layout of the empire helps a bit, also added some tactic descriptions

the shield wall originated with the Greeks from whom the Romans modeled their tactics and later the Norse empires and English used this in about the 800s. The Romans were the only ones who used the shield wall with the pavise style shield ( curved Tower shield ) the Greeks used Round shields and the Norse and English used the boss lime wood Great shields. ( these had metal rims wooden planks carved to fit tight in a circle and centered with a metal Boss to hold it together the boss was sometimes spiked so it could be used as a fatal bashing tool)