Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 3. Lourian Eastern Subjugation Army Base, Captured Gim, Qua-Toyne Principality
The information about the embarrassing defeat of Lourian history at the Great Naval Battle of Rodenius Sea was withheld from the frontlines for fear it could affect the morale of the soldiers in all branches. However, only some higher-ranked officials were excluded from this confidential information.
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Lourian Eastern Subjugation Lords Division Headquarters
The Hawk Knights, part of the Lourian Eastern Subjugation Army advance force, we're currently in shock. They had just received news that the one hundred and twenty knights of the 15th cavalry unit under the leadership of Captain Red-Eyed-Jove, who was scouting in force about 10 kilometres east of Gim, had been mysteriously eradicated.
According to one of the officers who was stationed at the Magic Observation Post, he didn't manage to detect any type of magic reaction such as from wyverns, but not a single knight had returned. If an unforeseen situation had arisen, at least one person should have been able to escape.
This matter was then brought to the discussion table of the Lourian Eastern Subjugation Lords Division Headquarters, stationed within a local lord's mansion, to discuss the problem. Among those who attended the meeting included Officer Washuna, a Lourian mage and Duke Junfilla.
"Don't you think something strange is going on? I mean, the only enemies we were facing were the Qua-Toynians. Officer Washuna, what is your opinion about annihilating our 15th Cavalry?" asked Junfilla.
"Well... Regarding the reports received from the Magic Observation Post, they didn't manage to detect any type of magic reaction such as from their wyverns, but not a single knight had returned. If an unforeseen situation had arisen, at least one person should have been able to escape," said Washuna.
"Then, does that mean they were all annihilated by Quila Kingdom's Beast People? I heard some rumours that the Qua-Toyne Principality got some aid from that kingdom," said a Lourian General.
"That might be just a hogwash, but apparently..." said Washuna before taking a sip of water.
"But apparently?" asked Junfilla.
"Please, Officer Washuna. There's no need to be modest, just tell us what is it," said another Lourian General.
"These days... there are rumours amongst the mage officers of Louria, the FPDA, consisted of five countries called the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand... aided Qua-Toyne following our assault campaign in Gim, sent three ships equipped with magical weapons and successfully obliterated 49 of our ships, repelled 88 dragons easily without any casualties on their sides and even managed to capture Vice-Admiral Sharkun," explained Washuna.
His explanation caused everyone inside the meeting to be wholly silenced and shocked.
"That's absurd! How could 1,000 Lourian Eastern Conquest Navy ships be easily outnumbered by only three ships!?" asked Junfilla.
"And how could the FPDA's three ships even manage to handle 100 dragons and reduce their numbers to 12!?" asked the third Lourian General.
"However, I couldn't even explain that, too. It is because no magic reaction could be detected when the attack occurred. That means there weren't any magical beasts on the level of dragons, nor were there any magical attacks such as the dragons' fire blast," said Washuna.
The silence strikes again amongst them. They all wondered, was this some kind of a battle against mystical nations? Or maybe just a made-up story? It couldn't possibly happen, however.
"Okay... okay... Let me get this straight. The fleet and dragons we dispatched should have been capable of conquering the port of Maihark, Qua-Toyne Principality all on their own. Even if they were to attack the famous Parpaldia Empire that was currently supplying us with everything they've got by using their renowned naval encirclement, they had the numbers and firepower to break out of even that and make it to land. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it the largest single fighting force in history. But you're saying they were defeated? Just by three ships!?" asked another Lourian General.
"Let me remind all of you again, this is very unexplainable, even though I tried to understand it many times, too. I wonder how would General Adem react to this?" asked Washuna.
"That is also a thing, too. We can't use this rumour as an excuse for us to deny his orders. All of you know very well about Adem. Even though all of you Generals shared the same rank with him, His Majesty has entrusted him to punish our family members if we disobey any of his commands," said Junfilla after he took a sip of water.
Everyone froze in fear when they heard about it. They knew they had no choice but to accept anything that came from him.
"Jeez... What should we do? We're running out of time to create another recon unit," said Washuna.
Then, the two huge doors of the room opened, revealing a young messenger, bringing order from General Adem.
"Orders from General Adem! Mobilise your troops and set up camp 3 km west of Fortress City Ejei. Standby there, join up with the main army!" said the messenger.
Hearing Adem's command almost made Junfilla have a sudden heart attack. Unlike Gim and the other surrounding towns, the tough Fortress City Ejei was constructed by the Qua-Toynian to defend against any type of attack, especially from the Louria Kingdom. It was much more fortified than Gim.
Plus, the Fortress City Ejei was located 40 kilometres east of Gim. The advance force was currently camped 5 kilometres from their current place. The complication came from the fact that the Hawk Knights had been scouting about 10 kilometres east when they were eliminated. In other words, to explain it, about halfway to Fortress City, they might have to deal with whatever was capable of annihilating a highly mobile force without even a single person escaping.
"Seems like we have no choices... except to go on the road where the rumour is hiding something," said Junfilla, where his words become the closure for their meeting.
Within moments after the orders from Adem were given, the 40,000 soldiers from the Lourian Kingdom's Eastern Subjugation Army, equipped with hundreds of cavalries, battering rams and lancers departed for the Fortress City Ejei. After two days of walking without any rest, the soldiers reached a point 5 kilometres west of Fortress City Ejei without any interference after arriving at dawn.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 5. Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
General Nou was freaked out after he received the news that 40,000 Lourian men, heavily armed, had marched to a point 5 kilometres west of the Fortress City Ejei. Based on those numbers, they were the advance force; if they attacked now, they would sweep over Ejei's strength before the rest of the Lourian Kingdom's Eastern Subjugation Army arrived.
"Damn it! 40,000 is too much! If they planned to attack us at any time, then we would be finished for good before their main army arrived to support them," Nou complained as he walked back and forth near an observation tower, overlooking the current position where the Lourian Army camped.
"Then... what should we do now, General?" asked an elven Captain who was next to him.
"I guess we should commence a night raid using our Wyverns onto their position," said a female observer.
"If I am you, I'll put that as my last choice. If we do so, they would immediately target our men since Wyverns have very terrible night vision, meaning rendering them largely useless. I could also feel that they brought some anti-air weapons with them," said General Nou.
"Okay... but I guess we should wait inside the Fortress City for a while and hope that they decide to cancel their intention to attack us all. What do you think about it, General?" said the elven Captain.
It turned out that what he had said managed to influence General Nou's mind.
"You're right! Captain, ordered all of your troops to get back and wait inside the Fortress City! We'll reserve every available troop and material until their main army arrives," said General Nou.
Without further delay, the Captain carried out his duties as ordered by General Nou. Almost all of the available troops were ordered to take refuge inside the fort. Not a single one is left behind, except those in charge of taking care of the Wyverns.
However, when night fell, some of the Lourian men decided to walk near the Fortress and started to yell, swear, and insult those who were staying up late at the observation post to guard the situation. The longer they provoked, the more the Qua-Toynian soldiers got annoyed with them.
"Come out and fight like men, you filthy Qua-Toynian!!!"
"You are all nothing but cowardly dogs!"
"Boo!!!"
The Lourian soldiers kept up with their insultation for the next 2 hours until they got bored and finally returned to their camp. With the Lourian men gone, the Qua-Toynian soldiers could continue their watch peacefully and cautiously.
"Curses those Lourians! They harassed us day in and day out!" said a Qua-Toynian knight as he watched the Lourian men returning to their camp.
"Yeah! To not reply to them with either words or arrow, their provocation is quite stressful right?" said his friend.
"Indeed, this is very tiring honestly..." said the knight as he leaned against the wall of the observation tower.
At the Fortress City's command room, General Nou can be seen restraining himself from falling asleep near a table. He was doing his best thinking about the next step to assault the Lourian Army, but nothing was gained. The flicker of fires from the chandelier that lights the room was getting dim time by time.
Then, the door of the command room was knocked, and Nou responded, "Come in,"
The door opened, revealing one of his elven subordinates with a tray with two cups and an old kettle filled with hot water on it. The aromatic smell of the hot drink caught Nou's attention
"What a pleasant smell," said Nou as the male elf put down the tray.
"Want to have some coffee, General?" asked the elf.
"Yes, yes... that would be," said Nou.
The elf poured out the coffee into one of the cups and gave it to Nou. The General blew the hot coffee and drank it. He was surprised by its taste.
"What kind of coffee is this?" asked General Nou.
"It was Nescafe Caramel Latte, General. I bought it from Pak Jabit at an affordable price," the elf explained.
"Pak Jabit? Do you mean, the old man that handles the Warung?" asked Nou.
The elf only nodded in reply.
"I see... This is very bad, you know what. The morale of our soldiers decreased as the day passed," said Nou as he took another sip.
"Should we counter them with our cavalry and Wyverns by tomorrow?" asked the elf.
"No... No... We can't do that. That's just what they wanted. If we charged towards them, it might lead to a brutal bloodbath," said Nou.
"I think we should wait and see what will happen tomorrow, who knows if luck is on our side," said the elf he poured a coffee for him and drank it.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 6. Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
A day passed, and what the elf said to General Nou last night became a reality. This morning, one of his subordinates brought a message from Lieutenant General Melvyn Ong of the Singaporean Army.
"Read it, please!" said General Nou.
"Yes, General," said his subordinate.
Clearing his throat, the messenger read, "We would like to perform a support attack on the Lourian insurgents' formation located 5 kilometres from the west of Fortress City Ejei so that no friendly forces caught up in the attack. Please do confirm that no friendlies within the 2 kilometres perimeter of the Fortress City,"
Hearing this, General Nou let a small smile on his face and could feel a huge wave of relief wash over him. However, he suddenly felt something that was not right.
"Isn't it weird? I thought I told them not to leave their base and wanted only our forces to be recognized for the defence of Fortress City Ejei... Well, it's fine now. As an observer, I wonder how those FPDAs will fight... Tell them their attack is authorised!" said General Nou.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 6. Daital Plains, Qua-Toyne Principality
"Look what we've got here!" said a Private-ranked Singaporean Army as he viewed the weapons used by the 23rd Battalion and 24th Battalion of the Singapore Artillery.
Currently, about twelve M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) of the 23rd Battalion Singapore Artillery, aiming their battery towards the location where the Lourian Army was located.
Then, the soldier could feel the rumble and heard the unmistakable noises of tank tracks. When he registered his head towards the sources of the sound, he saw nine SSPH Primus self-propelled artillery making their way into the field where the twelve HIMARS were located.
"Surely this going to be an absolute win against those Lourians!" the soldier exclaimed.
"Indeed, it will be. The twelve M142 HIMARS that we use today are all equipped with M31 rockets with a maximum range of 15 to 92 km. Each warhead contains 51 pounds of PBX-109 high explosive in a steel blast-fragmentation case," said another soldier behind him, who turned out to be a female Sergeant.
"Oh, Sergeant Mei! I don't expect you're also here, Ma'am!" said the Private before he saluted her.
"Me too, either. Private Lee, please tell me what are you doing here?" asked Sergeant Mei after she saluted the Private, revealing his name as Lee.
"Err... just for a walk?" said Lee.
"Don't tell a lie. Just tell me that you're here because you wanted to see those things blow up those bunch of barbarians, right?" said Mei.
"Well yes, it is," said Lee.
"But it's really weird. Our forces were ordered to only bring the artillery and air unit, whereas the British forces were tasked with their armoured forces for this FPDA-Louria War," said Mei.
"There's nothing weird at all, Sergeant. As far as I know, Malaysian and New Zealand mechanized troops in collaboration with the Army Air Corps have been assigned to patrol every entry and exit border between Qua-Toyne and Quila. Recently, they had just managed to save some elf refugees from the village of Alfur which is located quite far from Ejei Fortress City. All elf refugees were almost attacked by Louria's cavalry, which numbered almost 120 members," explained Lee.
"I bet you should be ready now," said Mei.
"Of course! I'm heading back to my friends. They needed me a lot to load for the Pegasus gun!" said Lee before he saluted Mei back and ran quickly for his battery.
He then arrived at another firing field where fifteen SLWH Pegasus 155 mm guns were arranged in a row. He could see his comrades were setting up the gun.
"Hey, Lee! Where have you been!?" asked Rizq Zayyad, his commanding officer.
"Sorry, sir! I just went for a walk before I stumbled with Sergeant Mei," said Ong.
"Whatever. Now help us with the ammunition," said Rizq.
"Yes, sir!" said Lee before he helped his friends unload the 155 mm ammunition of the Pegasus gun that had just been brought to them via supply trucks.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 6. 5 kilometres West of Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
It was a clear day, with comfortable weather and no clouds in the sky. The morning was a bit chilly, and the air was dry. There were no particles like dust in the air, so visibility was very good. Junfilla looked down on the 40,000 troops from a somewhat tall hill, then breathed in deeply. The air was very refreshing and their army was in high spirits to attack the Qua-Toynian forces at any moment.
However, everything was about to change when something appeared from the eastern skies. t made a sound like something was hitting the air.
The thing was an Agusta Westland AW159 Wildcat that belonged to the Army Air Corps.
"What's that?"
"It looks lifeless but how could it fly without any wings?"
"Could it be a new breed of Qua-Toynian wyvern?"
The Lourian soldiers were later flooded with tons of questions as soon as the helicopter reached the army, hovering above them at a place that was too high to shoot with arrows. A few moments later, some white things started coming out of the aircraft and they fluttered about as they fell. Seeing this, the Lourian soldiers started to panic.
"It's a form of attack! Get the bows ready!" a Lourian soldier shouted.
However, just as the white things touched the ground, it only took a short time for them to realize that those were high-quality papers and that there was something written on them. Junfilla and Washuna decided to pick one of the papers and read it. The content of the papers, which were written in Lourian, made them tremble.
Pack up your things and withdraw in the next 2 hours. If you do not comply, we will attack with everything we've got.
Melvyn Ong
Lieutenant General of the Singapore Army
FPDA IFOR
Gulping in horror, Junfilla started to speak, "They're finally here... the rumoured FPDA,"
Then, a General came to him.
"Officer Washuna, please tell me how're the troops doing?" asked the General.
"Good news, General. They had calmed down and their morale is high since they interpreted the letter as a form of provocation," explained Washuna.
"For the sake of His Majesty... it's still unclear how many soldiers of the FPDA forces will come and commence an attack on us, but at least we have about 40,000 strong men who will not be defeated so easily," said Junfilla before he looked up at the flag of his country.
"So... Duke Junfilla, what is the next order?" asked the General.
"Gentlemen, let's sally forth from the encampment and meet the FPDA on the battlefield. Orders our troops to form up the battle position," said Junfilla.
"No matter how strong the five nations turn out to be... our troops are the most skilled in the Rodenius Continent... Shall we carve our way and survive," thought Junfilla as he looked down a hill, where he could see a huge battle formation set up by the 40,000 soldiers.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 6. Daital Plains, Qua-Toyne Principality
"It seems like two hours have passed. Any reports on the movement of the 40,000 Lourian Army?" said General Melvyn Ong.
"Report, sir. Unfortunately, there is no sign of retreating. On the contrary... they formed a huge formation of battle lines and are preparing to attack at any moment," said a Lieutenant-ranked soldier after he entered the General's room and saluted him.
"Are there any friendly troops near them?" asked General Melvyn Ong.
"Good news from General Nou, Sir. There are none. Speaking of our artillery units, they're all ready to engage at any moment," answered the soldier.
"It seems like the bloodbath can no longer be avoided. Lieutenant, commence Operation: Swordfish!" ordered the General.
"Yes, sir!" said the Lieutenant.
Outside, every single artillery unit was ready to engage the enemy at the given range. In one of the Singaporean HIMARS, two soldiers can be seen coordinating and locking on their targets through the HIMARS's computer.
"</The objective of the area suppressive fire is the enemy forces deployed near west of Ejei\>," said one of the soldiers.
"</Multiple targets have been confirmed! FIRE!\>" said the second soldier before he pressed a button on the computer that activated the rockets.
The HIMARS fired their M31 rockets first, leaving trails of white trail in their wake before eventually followed by the shots from the Primus and Pegasus.
Rockets were launched continuously, booming each time, and followed by the howitzers.
"Let's hope you Lourians love some swordfishes sent by us!" Lee exclaimed in excitement as he loaded another 155 mm High Explosive round into the Pegasus gun.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 6. 5 kilometres West of Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
Junfilla looked over the formation of the 40,000 Lourian soldiers, feeling satisfied. They were a magnificent sight, his polished and fearless army. This FPDA might be quite strong, but his men wouldn't go down easily.
All of a sudden, his idle thoughts disappeared and his mind became crystal clear. It was a strange occurrence, considering there weren't any single signs that the FPDA forces were about to face them. The only thing that appeared on his mind was nothing except a sudden annihilation and death of the rows of the army in front of him.
Then, a strange noise was heard. It was a loud whistling noise that came closer and louder every second. Everyone including Junfilla and Officer Washuna looked upwards in confusion. Several soldiers were taking a step back little by little.
"What kind of sound is this?" a soldier asked before suddenly, massive explosions engulfed the army.
Bright lights and clouds of dark smoke followed by the crackling sounds of flames burning the dead bodies of the fallen Lourian army. People began exploding one after another, dying in droves. Then, a smaller explosion was blowing people off their feet. Something bounced around, and, again, soldiers fell over one by one.
Junfilla and Washuna watched the scene in horror.
"Impossible! Is the field where our army is standing erupting at this moment!?" asked Junfilla as he closed his ears.
"Not even a single magical power was detected! This is impossible!" yelled Washuna as the shockwave from the explosion caused him to tremble in fear.
The enemy soldiers were blown up and smothered in smoke, explosions going off one after another. Every time a black flower bloomed, enemies were bowled over. Their army had been well-trained and well-organized. That trim and the tidy image were quickly disappearing. They were quite literally being annihilated like ants being held up to a magic flame.
"What a powerful explosion magic!" a soldier next to Junfilla exclaimed in terror.
"Such a long range for their spells! Is everyone in the FPDA troops a high mage?!" another soldier asked.
"Officer... Officer Washuna! Do you think the FPDA had allied with the mythical Divine Dragon in this battle?" asked Junfilla.
"I'm not sure, Duke! But the only thing that I can say right now is that... the rumours are TRUE!" yelled Washuna.
The longer the artillery bombardment commenced by the Singapore Artillery, the worse the situation got.
"No..." said Junfilla before he decided to step a little bit forward to the down of the hill.
"Duke! Where are you going!?" asked Washuna.
Junfilla remained silent as he watched the explosions continue to erupt.
"My soldiers are dying... the veterans... the comrades in arms... they are just... vanished while they were escaping these unholy attacks..." muttered Junfilla.
He slowly marched forward despite what was happening around him.
"How? How could have this happened?" Junfilla asked before he started to laugh like a madman, and this was his very last word before another barrage of the M31 rockets of the HIMARS hit him and also the ones who were on top of the hill, including Washuna himself.
The mighty explosion tore apart the tilled land. Right after the dust from the explosion cleared, not a single person and not even a single living thing had survived the Singapore Artillery's barrage.
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Central Calendar Year 1639, Month 4, Day 6. Fortress City Ejei, Qua-Toyne Principality
Inside the Fortress City Ejei, everyone was watching the assault dumbfoundedly.
"Are my eyes deceiving me? Did a volcano erupt under their feet?" Nou asked as he looked towards the current situation with his telescope.
Through his telescope, he could huge clouds of black smoke and fire accompanied by the sounds of explosions erupting in the air.
"Just what in the world is happening?" asked an elven officer next to him.
"I'm not sure, Officer. If I'm going to say that it might be an attack conducted by the FPDA, it would be impossible... because where are they attacking from!? Those people hadn't even left their camp yet!" said Nou.
After about 20 minutes, the attack was over. The Lourian army's position was located 5 km from the Fortress City Ejei had now turned into nothing except a huge pile of dead bodies.
General Nou couldn't describe the attack happening before his eyes. In the short time that he had been lamenting the departure from his ideal of honourable combat, the furious assault had thoroughly destroyed their powerful enemy, the mighty Lourian army.
"It is very unbelievable what had happened to cause this..." said a Qua-Toynian knight.
"The Lourian army had vanished from the explosion..." a female Elven nurse said.
"General Nou. This is a major victory for us all! We don't even lose any single soldiers on our side!" said his subordinate.
Instead of feeling pride and happiness, Nou turned silent.
"So... this is... the strength of the FPDA..." Nou thought.
His men were stripped of the chance to face the Lourian Army, but at the same time, they suffered no casualties. Normally, he would have been incredibly happy with this outcome, but instead, he felt the sting of defeat.