Chereads / The Reclaimers / Chapter 67 - First Strike

Chapter 67 - First Strike

"Ma'am! Looking at about two-hundred soldiers gathering in the camp's center!" Green called out as Mike set up his firing post next to him.

"Mike! Get me a firing solution!" Patterson said over the radio.

"Princess! Recommend high explosive magic." He said resting on his bag.

"Mages! Cast!" Lecca bellowed as she formed a small casting circle in her hand.

"We got a large force marching out of the camp!" Green called out. "Range: 649 meters! Fire mission! Call for fire to follow: Distance, six-four-nine meters. Elevation, seven-eight meters. Seven-three-three klicks from our position! Fire for effect!"

Understanding the basic numbers and measurements provided by Green, Lecca translated it for the Corps members, "Mages! Prepare fire! Mission as follows: Two inches below the sun! Dual line cast!" A second path of lines appeared on the magical circle adorning her right hand. "Sergeant!" She screamed as the blue hue around her hand intensified.

"Shot! Shot! Shot!" Mike said into his radio.

"Shot!" Patterson said.

"Shot!" Thompson said.

"Shot!" Malkovich said.

"Carry out the bombardment! Lecca shouted as she launched the first projectile from her hand. In a matter of seconds, thirteen projectiles flew into the air and towards the unsuspecting enemies.

Mr. Que watched in awe as the multi-colored projectiles representing the elemental that existed flew behind a set of clouds. Everyone alongside him anxiously waited for the rounds to impact at the enemy's location. Five seconds turned to ten.

"Splash!" Green called out.

Were the large group of unknown soldiers once stood, thirteen fireballs grew within the group and the camp behind them. A large amount of dust followed, and lastly, after two seconds, the shockwave of the explosions reached the walls only giving off a loud thunderous noise.

"Hell yeah!" Richard's scream brought smiles to all the defenders.

"Repeat fire! Adjust elevation, eight-one!" Green called out as Lecca and the mages began casting another round.

"Set!" Lecca shouted.

"Shot!" Mike said over the radio once more, his chest heaved in pain.

"Shot!" Patterson said.

"Shot!" Thompson said.

"Shot!" Malkovich said.

Ten more seconds.

A thick cloud of black and brown smoke emerged from the ground within the camp. The fireball was so huge it marred the sky as splinters of fire erupted from the impact zone. In the shape of a mushroom the dust ascended into the blue sky, the loud roar of the explosion shook Lecca making her step back from the front of the group. Cheers came from the Corps members, yet Green and Mike watched as they tried to figure out what they just hit.

"What the fuck!" Green hissed.

"Was that an ammo dump? Armory perhaps?" Mike guessed.

A secondary explosion kicked up another large mushroom cloud, the immediate blast shook the two as the shockwave travelled at indecipherable speeds. Three more pillars of smoke emerged from the strike zone; men covered in dust moved out of the camp alongside normal soldiers. The two watched as the secondary personnel ran away from the large cloud of smoke, dust, and embers.

Moving from their firing positions on the south side of the wall, Thompson was escorted by his men as he approached Mike and Green. "Hey!" He called out gaining the attention of the two, Mr. Que and Lecca, "Patterson just spotted what looks to be the base commander! We're going after him!"

"What!?" Lecca said alarmed.

"We need to go now! We can commence SSE afterwards." Thompson said as he was stopped by Lecca. "This is a chance to get the intelligence we need! Then we can return to the capital! Let's move it!"

Grabbing his bags from the ground, Mike scrambled from his observation point with Green as they hastily descended the stone staircase with Lecca tailing behind with Marco, Eugene, and Anne.

--

Publicly Available Information: Short-Range and Long-Range Artillery:

Artillery in the Kingdom of Yondel is new to the armed forces, yet it fills two important missions within the battlespace: Suppression of enemy fire and providing support for both static and maneuver warfare.

Specially trained mages within the Kingdom's army commonly work with magical devices to help aid in casting, yet it is still possible for even an untrained mage to concentrate and turn their magical powers into short and long-range fires support for friendly elements.