A month had passed since I struck alliance with Admiral Jean and Count Alexander. We set up camp in a plateau north of Yeva proper. Every day more and more loyalist soldiers and nobles came out from hiding, swelling our number. At the eve of the war I had no less than 15,000 men under my command, discounting the six thousand succubi still in the enemy's midst. Loyalist fleets ruled the seas while Eris' fleets were in shambles.
Phantasma's forces arrived a few days prior; six divisions of ten thousand each and a seven thousand strong royal guard with cavalry and airship support. However, we wouldn't help each other; we each had an enemy to fight. I took a moment to review strategy with Count Alexander and the other commanders while Admiral Jean was in the sea, tearing apart Eris' fleets.
"Very well, folks, we'll be marching tomorrow, so let us review our strategy once more," I said. "Our attack will be done in three phases. First, we will attack a 5,000-strong border guard; with a 3:1 advantage, I expect very little problem here."
"Then, we will face Yeva's main army: about 36,000 men--this is where our hidden succubus allies will be pivotal. The final phase is destroy the remnants and capture the vital Teyla Harbor in the south to completely cut off connection between Yeva and Lasha."
At noon the soldiers marched out in orderly lines. Knights with broadswords; the common soldiery with pikes; archers with their bow and arrows; war constructs of white marble; a squad of vampires Caitlyn lent. I took my small cavalry--only a hundred horsemen or so--with me as Eliza, Nana, and I moved against one of the strongest border defence points.
The border skirmishes only lasted two days; scattered enemy units were mown down mercilessly. Elsewhere--Karl and I communicated regularly--things have gone as well. Phantasma's airships and vampires ruled the skies whilst its armies smashed that of Eris'. Our early successes drew much newfound support from the common folk; supplies began flowing and militiamen rose against the dwindling forces of Eris.
I reunited my forces to face Eris' main army, which have camped near the Yetera River, very close to the heart of the duchy, the capital Yelvanna. Yetera River was a massive river, stretching from Yelvanna in the relative north down to Teyla Harbor in the south. Agnes supplied vital information; the army led by Lord Catherbrown (how the hell did he go from a host of gladiatorial games to commander-in-chief? Beats me) was reluctant to face mine.
I issued a flurry of orders after consulting with my officers. Two thousand men under Count Alexander would march near the river, baiting Lord Catherbrown to attack and have his army positioned so that its back was the river. A counterattack by my whole army and the succubi's betrayal should suffice to win the battle.
"March at once, Count."
"Yes, Lord Treville!"
Lord Treville. I had to say it sounded quite regal. I nodded at the count as he rode out with his troops. I went back to my tent in the war camp; Cassy, Eliza, and Nana were preparing.
"This... Master, you've truly grown," Cassy said with a tense smile. "This is far greater than anything we've ever done."
"Stay by my side, Eliza," I instructed Eliza who was spinning her blades.
"Of course, Master," she replied. "They'll have to get past me before they can lay even a single finger on you."
"Nana, take care." Nana would lead a part of the army. The Seresian woman grinned.
"Don't worry," she replied with a smirk. "There's a difference between a competent army led by good generals and rabble masses led by bumbling idiots. They'll see it today."
"You seem awfully confident," Cassy noted.
"Not the first battle I've been in. I regularly fought off pirates and bandits back in Seres."
An hour later, vampire scouts came to report the situation: the trap had been working splendidly. "One sharp blow and the war is over," I muttered. A few sparks I shot to the air, and the whole army advanced silently under the cloudy sky.
On the flat battlefield where Count Alexander was maneuvering a fighting retreat, I let out a war cry, followed by the army. Sword faced sword, spear faced spear, and arrow faced arrow as the entire line smashed themselves against the panicking foes.
The clouds were torn apart by sunlight and now the whole battlefield was illuminated. "Trolls!" one man shouted; the line began to waver as gigantic trolls with clubs sprung forth from Lord Catherbrown's lines.
"Heah!" I struck one of the trolls with a mana blast. Nana lifted it with a great wind and threw it to the ground. I peppered another one with a flurry of bluish swords and spears. Eliza summoned a powerful thunderbolt, frying another one alive.
At that same moment, Agnes and her succubi finally revealed their new allegiance. Orderly battle lines collapsed as Agnes' forces crushed the enemy flank and rear. "Grah!"
A blade struck my horse. With a desperate neigh, its legs flung to the air before collapsing. I jumped out before it died. An elven woman stood before me. Her eyes were sharp; her hair short and colored like emeralds.
"Slyvia Vanhel!" I roared.
Before I could plunge my blade unto the wicked elf, a great trumpet sung. The scattered orcs and cultists tried to withdraw, only for their pontoon bridges to be burned down or blocked by the succubi.
"Hmph!" In my moment of inattentiveness, Slyvia drew her razor thin blade that gleamed green, slicing my thighs.
"Argh!" I fell to my knees. Before Slyvia could land the killing blow, Eliza in turn shoved her back with a strong punch to the heart. Slyvia retreated.
My wound wouldn't close and the blood wouldn't stop flowing. I felt my strength sapped from me. Eliza brought me to our rear camp, where Cassy and the other healers resided. "Oh dear, oh dear!" she squeaked as she worked on my wound.
"Shit... a cut this shallow shouldn't bleed so much!" I said.
"There's poison on whatever cut you, Master," Cassy explained. "It's thinning your blood--quite severely!"
"Don't talk too much, save our Master!" Eliza barked. A blood thickening potion and a shitton of healing energy later, I felt much better.
"Master!" Agnes' high-pitched voice startled me. The succubus was carrying a bloody Nana.
"Nana!" I screamed. Half a dozen healers were harried out. Nana coughed blood almost constantly while her body had no less than four deep gashes.
"That--damn--elf!" Nana cursed. "I swear I'll have her head thrown to the dogs when I get to her!"
"Don't talk too much, Nana, focus on your recovery," I said as softly as I could. I turned to Agnes.
"What happened?"
"An elf--Slyvia her name, I think--ambushed Nana while she was leading a pursuit on the retreating enemies. I fought the elf afterwards." I noticed several bruises and thin cuts on Agnes' arms and face.
"What happened to Slyvia?" I asked. My heart was torn; on one hand I wanted her dead... on the other hand I wanted her dead by my hand, not any other's.
"She managed to flee," Agnes admitted ashamedly with her head bowed down. Half my heart cheered; the other half cried. I glanced at Nana. The energetic and bashful woman laid almost helpless as the healers bandaged her and stopped her blood from flowing out.
So that was the price of war.
"That little bitch!" Nana still cursed.
When all was said and done, all but a small handful of enemies managed to escape. But a third of my army had been killed or wounded--7,000 men, no less. I symphatized little with the robed cultists, the orcs, or the chumps of metal of ruined war constructs, but the good men, elves, and succubi....
I helped bury the dead and carry the wounded to the field hospitals. The stench of blood was thick in the air. The next day, we took the capital Yelvanna to the cheer of its population. I seized the mansion of the late Duke of Yeva for the centre of my operations. Count Alexander and I arranged for a small force to be sent to retake Teyla Harbor.
A week later, the war had entered its waning phase. The last strongholds of Eris were strangled either by local militia or units of my army and the last ships captured or sunk by my navy. Despite Eris' occupation, Yeva had not suffered too heavily; it was, after all, a breadbasket, too precious to mindlessly destroy.
