Several weeks ago in the Capital of the Empire, Vishnal...
The imperial throne room was echoing with the sound of murmurs and voices- however, the sounds of pleading and begging had ultimately drowned out most of the noises, as the men who made these sounds were in a complete and utter sense of desperation to live despite the great offense to imperial honour that they had recently committed.
The returning figures of the disgraced soldiers stationed in the Holy Kingdom had finally managed to return home: unfortunately however, their failure had soiled their names with such great shame, that instead of being met with pity and concern for the impossible scenario that swept through their forces, they were instead met with scorn and disgust by their fellow imperial countrymen.
"You have failed the empire greatly. The only mercy you fools deserve is death."
Alas, the Neugomian Empire rarely ever tolerated failures, especially ones that reached such severe magnitudes. The men before the emperor had not only failed to protect one of the many important vassals they had, but they had also lost the princess to the enemy forces that came and swept through their pathetic attempts of a defense.
Had they at least managed to gain a bit of information about the new foes that have surfaced, then these men would still have had the chance to live another day...
Unfortunately, the cost of their failures now far-outweighed the value of their miserable lives, which were now about to become forfeited.
As the men were brought into the throne room in chains, the soldiers had been made to kneel before the cold, unmoving presence that currently led the empire in its quest for complete domination...
"Y-your Majesty, p-please wait for a moment!" "W-we didn't run away! We swear by the names of our families!" "We were completely and utterly defeated! H-how were we supposed to have done anything else?!
Almost instantly, a powerful, stern voice would rebuke their protests with only a few short words- such was the authority that it held, that the chained, imperial soldiers found themselves unable to voice out their desperate protests any longer.
"Silence, you worthless cowards. You have not only failed to uphold your duties, but you also dared to return after you fools lost the princess to the enemy..." the voice came from one of the knights that stood beside the emperor's throne, a tone that possessed the coldness of ice as it spoke." Do not dare to defy the judgement that His Majesty has given to all of you."
Titus von Neugomia, the 32nd mad tyrant of the Neugomian Empire... In desperation, the men pleaded to him for a mercy that would never come, as 2 of the emperor's knights slowly walked towards the chained soldiers as they began to slowly pull out their sheathed swords.
"Now then... Off with their heads..."
"Right away, Your Majesty."
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
A few milliseconds was all it took for their sword-movements to finish their tasks...
In the blink of an eye, the 2 knights made fast, imperceptible movements with their blades, killing hundreds of the chained men in an instant as their heads swiftly departed from their necks- it was a brutal sight indeed though, as spurting fountains of ichor splattered throughout the air and floor as all of the men lost their lives in an instant.
...
...
"The execution has been finished, Your Majesty." one of the 2 knights declared as he faced towards the emperor and made a deep bow. "You will no longer have to set your eyes upon these miserable wretches."
"... Hmph. Call the servants to clean up the mess at once, the filth that these useless corpses left behind sickens me." the emperor replied. "Now, as for the important guests that came here all of a sudden..."
A myriad of new voices, all of whom came from figures who had chosen to remain silent all the while, would suddenly respond to the mad tyrant's words.
"... While we appreciate that we may finally be able to talk about the dire topic we've been wanting to discuss with you... This room has been filthied a bit too much..." one of the figures spoke. "May you allow one of my mages to clean up this bloody mess, Your Majesty?"
"... Go ahead, the sooner it gets cleaner, the better."
The figure made a light, humble how in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Grace. Anatoly, do what you must now please..."
One of the robed figures behind him would then walk up front, raising her staff into the air as the blue crystal on its tip began glowing with a radiant glow. Without delay, the mess of gore and ichor began to dissipate into literal, fine mist, quickly erasing all the gut-wrenching, headless cadavers and the blood and gore that were left behind by the brutal execution that had just recently transpired.
"... Wonderful. Now then... Arnus..." the emperor uttered, seemingly pleased with the outcome of the spell that was casted in front of him. "... Speak what you must. I assume that it is a matter of utmost importance, am I correct? Speak now before I lose my interest."
"Ah, thank you, Your Majesty. Now then, to proceed with the important discussion..."
The recent series of devastating events had already reached the ears of most imperial citizens, and it was safe to say that they weren't the only people who were privy to this information- the Hand of Arslan, who had already failed in their previous, great venture to quell the western dragon, would now put in a greater effort to the newly formed danger that instantly threatened the continent's peace the moment it occurred.
The invasion on one of the Empire's vassal-states, the Holy Kingdom of Polonia... It was one of the Empire's few great wellsprings of resources and other important materials, and for them to lose such a great asset had instantly made a notable, negative impact on the war effort they were unleashing throughout Xathra's lands.
After the quick, near-complete annihilation of the army that was stationed there, it had quickly become apparent that the Neugomian Empire would have great difficulties in dealing with this recently-surfaced danger, and of course, due to the empire's existence being a great factor to the Hand of Arslan's ultimate goal, even its very leader couldn't afford to remain idle and simply observe without taking action.
"We heard that you sent 200,000 soldiers to reconquer the fallen-vassal state, is this true?"
"Indeed it is." Titus confirmed with his ever-stern voice. "Do you wish to refute the decision I made?"
"Of course not, Your Grace. The reason we've come here is not to refute your decision..." Arnus, the leader of the Hand of Arslan, would answer. "...But to assist the forces you sent with help from our very own..."
The emperor's eyes quickly narrowed out of a long-formed suspicion towards his steadfast allies: even if they were known to have always assisted the empire in its greatest times of need, there was still a sense of paranoia that he couldn't shake off whenever they were around, as if they were always scheming for some other hidden mission that they kept hidden within their supposed intentions.
"... Hmph. The more the merrier it is then, I suppose. I wonder though, why would you provide us assistance in this matter specifically?" Titus spoke. "Do you perhaps have some sort of goal in mind for this?"
"... Well, there is one ulterior motive we have in mind..."
"And that is?" the emperor questioned further.
"... There is something dangerous that lurks in those lands of the vassal you had just lost..." Arnus forewarned, a caution that the emperor wouldn't pay much attention to out of arrogance...
After all, he had already sent so much of the Empire's available manpower, and there was no way that those unknown invaders would be able to drive them away this time. If anything, the empire's victory was more than certain, especially with that newly conceived, magecraft weapon they brought with them...
Although, just to be sure, Titus of course wouldn't refuse their assistance in the slightest- the more chances they had at repelling their newly-appeared enemies, the better the situation will become for the great, imperial goal...
"... Hmph, I guess it's fine for you to not say. Is the matter that important that you are unable to explain it right now?"
Arnus bowed his head with his response. "Correct, Your Majesty. It is too important... So important, in fact..."
"That I will be leading the available forces I brought with me into the thick of battle myself."
Interesting, was all the emperor silently motioned in his mind: perhaps what Arnus was saying was true, and that the danger of the unknown enemy forces that had taken Polonia's lands for themselves was truly a threatening adversary?
Well, in any case, there was no reason for him to refuse their help in the first place.
"Very well then, you are free to join the subjugation army that has set out to retake the Holy Kingdom." the emperor finally chose to fully cave in, but not without asking a question immediately afterwards. "Although... How many forces have you brought you for this venture, Arnus?"
"... Along with the finest, personal retinue of my own warrior-guard..." Arnus replied. "I have also brought with me the 10 of the highest ranking warriors among the Hundred Seats..."
Almost immediately, the emperor's eyes widened a bit in surprise, as the reputation of those 10 highest rankers in the Hundred Seats was quite the well-known topic to him- perhaps the danger Arnus mentioned previously was more severe than what he initially expected?
"... Is it truly that bad?"
"... I'm afraid so, Your Grace..."
Titus then cleared his throat as he spoke. "... I see..." he uttered. "... I wish you the safest of journeys then. I shall assign some of my greatest translocation mages to facilitate your transportation. Do not worry however, as the soldiers have already been informed of the possibility of your arrival."
"Thank you, your Grace." Arnus uttered as he bowed his head deeply in thanks. "I promise you, I shall not disappoint."
________________________________________
Speranza's previous assault on this area had taken quite a toll on both its weather patterns and its very ecosystem, so much so that the once lush grasslands had instantly turned into a desolate, snow-ridden was telling comparable to that of the arctic.
Hails of ice fell down from the sky like a deadly rainstorm, as a thick layer of snow enveloped most of the ground that surrounded the restored stronghold.
"Well, now that we're alone, can I ask you a question, Speranza?"
"Of course, Miss Thurien, please feel free to pose your query~"
On the other hand, within the safety of the fortress' interior, the two stood on one of the newly-rebuilt fortress' many balconies that led to the open fields in front of them, as both Thurien and Speranza observed the sceneries that were about to become an open battlefield in the near future.
"... How come you're so... Bubblier and more expressive than Whitlea?"
"It's just who I am~ While my older sister's personality is that of a pessimistic, quiet woman who usually keeps to herself, my personality, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of hers~"
"... I see..." Thurien muttered. "... I guess Novus really wanted to make both of you unique when he created you 2, hm..."
"Well, he wasn't the one who truly made us from scratch you see." Speranza replied. "The one who did that would be his mother, Miss Anastasia..."
"Then... Why do you often refer to Novus as your creator then?"
A small grin surfaced from her lips. "Well, while he wasn't the one who started and initiated our creation, he was still a part of the creation process nonetheless. And besides..."
"...?"
"I once referred to him using other words. I don't want to call him by his name like my sister since that would be too boring." Speranza began explaining. "At first I called him 'master', 'sir', and 'lord', but he felt uncomfortable whenever I said it, ahaha..."
"... And that's why you began referring to him as your creator..."
"Precisely~ he seems comfortable with that title, so I always called my creator that way from that point on~" Speranza answered. "Anyway..."
The jovial expression on the combat maid's face would suddenly turn into a serious expression.
"They're here. Some of the mines we've laid out in advance have already activated, which means..."
Speranza then moved her right arm as the watch-like device on her wrist came to life and revealed a holographic display of a diagram that consisted of multiple dots and formations assorted throughout- in short, it was a long and detailed map of the traps they laid out, which would allow them to know where they were located and which of them had been activated already.
Thurien's eyes widened a bit in surprise however: it had been a rather quick turn of events, she swiftly surmised. Perhaps the Holy Kingdom did indeed matter so much to the imperials, that they were already beginning to act rather fast in their response to the kingdom's liberation?
"... Should I deploy myself into battle at once, Miss Thurien?"
"No, don't." the medicae immediately responded: now was not the time to do such a thing, because Speranza was meant to be as a last resort should the approaching enemy forces get too close.
"Let the traps we laid down soften up their forces first." Thurien continued. "That should be enough to weaken them enough for a finishing blow when they get within our range."
In truth, the automations they sent out had laid out quite a lot of hidden entrapments that were concealed completely by the snow: all of which consisted mostly of explosive mines that would detonate the moment they were triggered into action, though of course, they weren't the only type of traps that had been employed.
Nevertheless though, Speranza immediately paid heed to her order and stayed her hand, as she realized the reasoning behind Thurien's order, which the combat maid found to be quite logical.
"... What if the traps were to fail at weakening them enough however?"
The medicae quickly raised her index finger in response. "Don't worry about that. If the traps fail to reduce their numbers to a manageable amount, then we'll have to ready the other preparations we've made in advance... Like the artillery... And those 2 things I built recently, for instance."
"... Very well then." Speranza replied with a light-mannered curtsy, fully finding the logic behind Thurien's words to be greatly understandable. "I shall listen to your advice, Miss Thurien."
"... Then again... It would be nice to begin preparing the cannons for bombardment, wouldn't you say?" Thurien uttered the words she pondered all of a sudden. "Speranza, how long will it take to divert all power to the long-ranged turrets?"
"Hmm... Let me check..." Speranza replied as the holographic display hailing from her wrist-device shifted its display, revealing diagrams related to the fortress' defensive systems. "... According to the systems, it will take... Approximately 30 minutes..."
"... Perfect then..." the medicae said with a pause. "Kindly begin activating them please... We need them to be fully active and ready for when their forces come into the effective ranges of our guns..."
...
...
The marching armies of Neugomian soldiers continued their advance into the western outskirts of the kingdom, whose environment slowly became colder and harsher in terrain as they gradually encroached towards their destination.
Primarily, their forces numbered about 150,000 men in total, with the remaining 50,000 having been utilized for a far more specific purpose that would allow them to further improve their chances of victory.
In truth, the 50,000-strong portion of their forces, along with Arnus von Arslan and 7 of the 10 Hundred Seat members who took part in their assault, had been teleported beforehand within the vicinity of the Holy Kingdom's capital, to quickly deal with the majority of the enemy forces that had somehow manage to seize Polonia away from the Empire's grasps.
On the other hand, at the center of their massive formations was the large, steel carriage that housed the commanding figures of the imperial army: the imperial general, his retainers and subordinates, as well as the 3 Hundred Seats members that had accompanied their march. "General, how are the men fairing? They've been marching for several hours now..."
"Please do not bother with such trivial matters, High Mage Anatoly. These men have been hardened by the years of experience they've underwent, so there's no need to worry about them too much."
Anatoly the Multi-caster, the 6th rank of the Hundred Seats, a beautiful, green haired woman with an unmatched beauty, gave a sigh as she voiced out her concern: they had been here for hours now, and she couldn't help but feel concerned with how the soldiers were doing outside: after all, as a mage who had rarely ever experienced the hardships of the magickally-inept commonfolk, she couldn't help but feel a bit of pity whenever she witnessed the hardships these pitiful men had to endure for the sake of their mission.
"... How long will it be until we finally encounter the enemy, general?"
This time, it was not Anatoly's voice that would utter words into the air as it spoke: rather, it was the other member among the 3, Regulus of Sorn, a tall, lean man who exuded a confident display of power in his voice alone, a warrior who was also simultaneously the highest ranking member of the Hundred Seats due to his overwhelming strength that surpassed all those beneath his rank.
"... Not long, I believe. Estimates conclude that we are about 200 or less kilometers away from the kingdom's capital. It won't be long before we finally arrive... Although, this doesn't include that matter..."
"What do you mean, general?"
"Our scrying mages have foretold that the enemy forces have destroyed our garrisons and replaced them with their own... Which means..."
"That we are going to have to fight our way through?"
The final one among the 3 would finally join in at last: Mentes the Barrier-master, a robed, meek figure who had remained silent in their discussions for a while. Now however, the usually silent mage had chosen to take part in their conversation.
"... I'm afraid we have to. Everyone harbors the same regrets that you do, Barrier-master." the imperial general responded. "... If only the teleportation spells could bring us directly into the heart of the kingdom..."
At first however, they were initially planning to translocate the entire army to the capital itself to resolve the battle as quickly as possible- not only would the outcome of this conflict be decided immediately, but their chances of victory would be at its highest with such a tactically-resound action. Unfortunately, their very own limitations would render such an action as impossible: there was a limit to how many soldiers they could immediately transport to such faraway distances, and they had already utilized all of their translocation spells to their limits by simply teleporting the 50 thousand splinter force into the heart of the kingdom itself.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it anyway." Regulus uttered, clearly with disappointment. "There is only so much we can do before we reach our limits..."
"... There's no arguing with that, Lord Regulus."
All of them believed that the battle would easily be won if they could just storm into the capital at once- after all, with the amount of men and power they brought, even the powerful enemies who had somehow nearly wiped out the Neugomians who were stationed there would prove to be no match against their combined strength. Unfortunately however, they were ultimately denied of such an easy shot at obtaining victory, and the only thing they could do instead was to march to Polonia's lands in a slow and tedious journey.
KAABBOOOM!
Suddenly, however, a loud, sudden sound would erupt from outside the safety of their carriage, as the simultaneous thumping of boots and the screaming of men accompanied the horrible noise that had just transpired.
"Sire! We need assistance from the mages of the Hundred Seats at once!" barging into their carriage's doors, an imperial soldier would suddenly come inside as he knelt and proclaimed of the terrible news he brought with him. "The enemies have laid undetectable traps in the ground, and our mages are unable to detect them, even with their best efforts!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Anatoly would rise from her seat with her staff in hand: for the traps to be undetectable through magick gave her a sense of challenge, as if she wanted to prove that her great arcane talent was enough to see through the illusions that these treacherously deceptive mechanisms could bring into the battlefield.
"My friends, please leave this matter to me and stay put for the moment." the mage said with a serious expression on her face. "I shall make sure that this march continues on without further difficulties. So please conserve your energy for the real battle that's about to happen."
________________________________________
"We're here..."
The translocation spell proved successful, and instantly, the contingent force accompanied by the Hand of Arslan's warriors found themselves but a stone's throw away from the walls of Polonia's capital.
"... It appears we weren't brought into the capital directly..." Falzhan of the Iron Fist, the 3rd rank of the Hundred Seats, a burly man with an incredible build, would surmise as he looked around the open fields that surrounded them.
"Even so, this much is enough... We've already heavily strained the imperial mages with this complicated spell they casted for us..."
There was one more limitation that made their small operation vastly more difficult than it had to be: the destination of their translocation was too incredibly far, and as a result, the destination they would be brought to would inevitably have some slight deviations as to where they were supposed to be.
It was one of the many unfortunate effects of utilizing an already complicated arcane spell to its very limits, and there was no way for them to prevent the appearances of such deviances- fortunately however, the distance of where they were supposed to be brought to was thankfully not too far away from where they were at right now, and because of this, the splinter force quickly began making its movements...
"Now is not the time to rest!" one of the knight captains proclaimed. "The enemy may notice us at any moment! Ready yourselves and begin marching!"
The imperial soldiers wasted no time to listen to their superior's command, as they quickly formed themselves into rank-and-file formations that would prepare themselves to storm into the capital and deal with any enemy threat they may encounter.
On the other hand, the powerful individuals accompanying them stood silent for a while, as they were currently taking the time to assess their plans and what exactly should they do next...
"What shall we do now, Your Reverence?" the 2nd ranking Hundred Seats member, Airen the Spellfencer, questioned as his eyes scanned the new environment they were in.
Arnus wouldn't respond for a while as he was still pondering on his thoughts- he had lived such a long and fruitful life even though he had lived the life of a warrior, a profession where most men would die young. Despite this well-known fact however, the old man had not only managed to strive against the odds, but he also became an incredibly powerful warrior of tremendous prowess, one that led the most powerful organization that existed within the continent they lived in.
"There's only one thing we must do for now." Arnus stated bluntly as he would finally speak after his short period of silence. "We shall march into the capital with all of the forces we've brought with us."
"... And if we encounter resistance?"
A completely grave and humorless expression formed on the old man's face.
"Then we get rid of them... Even if the citizens of the Kingdom themselves rise up to the occasion and resist us."
"I see... Let's go then, Your Reverence..."
...
...
As soon as the blinding light appeared and showered its radiance, the knights had already began assembling themselves to deal with the incoming threat that had just appeared before them....
And now, there they were in waiting, up on the capital's walls that stood tall and unmoving, as the knights equipped with their new suits of armor, along with the powerful warrior who had trained them, awaited the approach that any enemy force would dare to do within their sights.
The knights templar had all donned the new equipment they were given by the ones who liberated them: a powerful set of armor that gave each of them a myriad of untold abilities, which further enhanced their combat capabilities and made them further effective in the lines of battle.
Meanwhile, their blonde-haired leader of the East, Altair, was also equipped with an armor whose strength was comparable to that of theirs, with only one distinction that made the assassin's different from the rest...
It's speed- while it offered less protection compared to the armor of the knights, Altair's possessed a speed that far surpassed what the human eye and brain could ever hope to conceive, an agility so fast that it produced lightning whenever she utilized its swiftness.
What was even more terrifying about this suit however, was that it didn't provide her with such a power in the first place, as it simply amplified whatever talent that the trained warrior already had: in short, Altair was already incredibly agile without the armor itself, and het speed was simply being boosted by the suit she had equipped.
"... They're here..."
"They used their damn magick again..."
A blinding, construct of light formed on the open fields in front of them, as multiple figures emerged from its radiant matrix in a synchronized unison: they were the 50 thousand strong splinter force, along with the Hand of Arslan members, who had been sent in advance into the capital in order to deliver a crippling blow to whatever enemy force lied in waiting within the kingdom's lands.
Of course however, the imperial forces wouldn't be allowed to just simply walk through the gates and do what they wished within the capital: the knights had assembled for that exact reason, and now they were going to do everything they could to stop these imperial menaces from bringing them back into an age of slavery.
"Ready yourselves." Altair ordered as she raised her sword and slashed it downwards, pointing its sharp tip towards the gradually approaching enemy army. "Today's the moment you get to witness the results of your training..."