Summoning America

Chapter 30: The Siege of Le Brias

"Hmm..." President Lee analyzed the footage. "Have we already informed King Taara?"

The Secretary of State, Gordon Heiden, responded, "King Taara is currently being informed by our embassy staff, sir."

President Lee's view switched from the tall blonde man to the screen, where he saw the Altaran ballistae being moved around the wall. Small figures ran up to curious positions along the wall, carrying staffs and brightly glowing boxes. Meanwhile, hundreds of figures within the wall were evacuating north, away from potential hotspots. "This should be interesting," Lee said. "What about their fleet?"

"Their fleet is now making their way to the Le Brias Port. The port itself is too far away from the walls to provide support, but they can stretch the Altaran defenders thin with a two-pronged assault," the Secretary of the Navy, Jacob, commented.

"Okay. Have the Texas and Hawaii on standby to provide immediate support, once we declare war. Jacob, what's the status of the Seventh Fleet?"

"Sir, the Seventh Fleet is currently refueling and resupplying at Maihark Base. Destroyer Squadron 15 is fully stocked and ready to head out on your orders."

"Good. Have them depart immediately for the Kingdom of Altaras. By the time they arrive, we will be at war with the Parpaldian Empire."

——

Le Brias

Captain Rial looked out from the wall, analyzing the Parpaldian camp near the forest outskirts. He savored the cool evening breeze, only to be interrupted by a transmission from his manacomm.

"Attention all units, we have received word that the Parpaldian artillery units are beginning to move out from their camp. They will arrive within half an hour."

"Hmm..." Captain Rial wondered how the Americans always had perfect battlefield intelligence. To confirm the transmission, he brought up his binoculars and scanned the distance. Certainly enough, glinting slightly under the silvery moonlight, hundreds of cannons made their way toward the wall. He noted the trajectory of the Parpaldian companies and estimated the positions from which they are likely to conduct their siege.

Returning to his manacomm, he relayed this information to the magicians and ballistae operators. "They seem to be traveling to sectors Copper Three to Seven, with a lot of spacing between them. Looks like they're learning quickly..."

"Understood, sir." Numerous replies came through the manacomm as the Altarans angled their weapons accordingly.

For the next few minutes, Rial trailed one of the companies while making mental calculations regarding their speed and distance from the wall. As the enemy neared the range of the Altaran ballistae, he counted down. "Just a bit more..."

Now that the Parpaldian targets were within their weapons' effective range, he gave the order to launch flares.

Altaran starlight spells were inspired by American flares, making use of light magic in order to illuminate a piece of land below. These spells were essentially glowing orbs of light that hovered above a specific location, although they burned out faster than flares. Due to the relative ease of the spell, however, they could be easily casted into great numbers. A small group of magicians channeled their energies to accomplish this feat, sending hundreds of low-flying orbs of light toward the Parpaldian ranks.

At the same time, cannon fire sounded off in the distance. The projectiles exploded high above the wall itself, dealing little damage to the defenses below. Instead, these projectiles served as the Parpaldian version of flares, brightly shining upon the Altaran defenses. Because the Altarans had moved their ballistae to different positions, the Parpaldian cannons wasted precious seconds to readjust their aim.