Chapter 197 - Culmination (Patreon)

A/N - I passed out yesterday; slept for over 12 hours. The bad news is that I didn't get to write. The good news is that for the first time in like 3 months I actually feel rested.

"These are the points of contact with the enemy over the past week," Prince Allik stood in front of the conference room with all of the officers in attendance and pointed at a large map spread over the wall. "More groups of enemy soldiers have been stopped before crossing beyond the outposts, and our outer patrols have encountered increased enemy activity as well."

Reivyn studied the map as Prince Allik spoke. This wasn't the first time they had gone over the encounters with the enemy in the past week, but each day more and more points popped up on the map. Nobody had yet to discover any kind of pattern to the enemy movements, and they hadn't launched a concerted effort to attack the city, yet, either.

"The enemy soldiers that we've been fighting with are almost completely higher numbered than what they threw at us in the past. We've met hardly any groups filled with numbers 1 and 2 branded on their foreheads. I don't know what this means for the future conflict, but it seems they're preparing to escalate the fight, soon."

"I agree, sir," one of the colonels spoke up. "The casualties on both sides have been miniscule. It seems like they're giving their troops the opportunity to get some combat experience and get used to how we fight and respond. It's a completely different strategy than the previous one of using hordes of bodies to just throw at the front lines."

"I agree," another colonel spoke up. Several of the other senior officers nodded their heads in agreement, and the lower ranked officers murmured among themselves.

That's what it seems like to me, Reivyn thought. I don't have anything else to add to the conversation at this point. It seems like they're on the right track, in my opinion.

"Well, letting their soldiers get combat experience and figure out how we fight is a double-edged sword for them," Prince Allik said. "In the same vein, our soldiers are also learning how these higher numbered soldiers fight. Has anyone mentioned anything unique about it?"

"My soldiers have only mentioned that they seem like a normal military fighting force," the first colonel answered. "At least, normal as compared to what we're used to. They employ tactics, and they don't sacrifice lives for no reason."

"That's not to say they won't do so in a larger battle," Reivyn spoke up. "We can't assume that they won't press forward in a situation where we would normally retreat when they're finally committed to action."

"That's a good point," Prince Allik nodded his head. "We already know that their commanders are willing to put their men into dangerous situations, and they have a zealous obedience to orders. Past performance is the greatest prediction of future performance."

"Sir, do we know about the other camps? Are they experiencing the same sorts of increased patrol activity from the enemy?" One of the officers inquired.

"I've kept in touch with my older brother regularly since the change in enemy operations," Prince Allik replied. "He's informed me that he's received the same types of reports from the major camps, but as far as I know, the minor camps are business as usual."

"Does that mean the enemy have concentrated their forces on the major points of defense?" A captain asked. "Could they have spread our forces thin and secretly amassed more personnel at our major points of defense?"

"If so, their current actions don't make any sense," Reivyn said. "If that was the case, then they've given the game away. Let me ask you this, did they have this many higher-numbered soldiers in the previous battles before the lines were set how they are now?"

"As far as I know, they didn't," the captain responded. "They just used human-wave tactics with their lower numbered soldiers."

"In that case, there might be a few possibilities," Reivyn said. "These soldiers could be the forward troops of reinforcements, and they haven't had time to disperse away from the major nodes. They could be all of the reinforcements, and they're just going to hit the larger camps harder. They could also just be bored."

"Bored?" Prince Allik asked.

"Yes, sir," Reivyn nodded. "This conflict has been going on for several months, and the lines have been set for a long time. They haven't done anything significant with the war for a long time, and the higher-numbered soldiers are typically in higher positions than the lower-numbered ones. They might be a caste of warriors that just got bored, and so they're venting their boredom by coming out to fight after so long of doing nothing.

"I'm not saying that's what's happening. I'm just pointing out that it's a possibility that I thought of. One of the most annoying things about war is the boredom from nothing happening for long periods of time. Who's to say they're not suffering the same thing?"

"Is that what you think is going on?" Prince Allik asked.

"Not at all," Reivyn answered. "I think that's the least likely reason for the increased activity, but I would be remiss not to mention it. It's also more likely that they're just training their soldiers' Skills in real life-and-death situations."

"Noted. I think it's more likely that they're preparing their main force for an inevitable press forward, soon. That means that their initial forces weren't their main force, and if they're still there, they will greatly outnumber us. We need to be prepared to fall back in case a wall of soldiers comes pouring across the dead-zone."

"We have those rolling hills behind us," Reivyn pointed out. "We can fortify them and man them like the outposts. We can evacuate the city at a moment's notice, and if they really come at us with overwhelming numbers, we can leap-frog to those defensive positions as we retreat."

"I agree," the first colonel said. "Preparing for a retreat isn't the same thing as admitting defeat. We should send out work-parties to build walls and obstacles. We won't need to man them permanently like the outposts, but we should designate a company to have the responsibility of running back there to prepare at the sight of an enemy attack."

Prince Allik surveyed the room. None of the officers objected to the idea, and he nodded his head.

"Very well, let's make it happen," he said. "Draw up a plan of action, and we'll get started on it right away.

"Is there anything else of importance, right now?" Prince Allik once more looked at each of the officers in the eye. Nobody said anything, most of the major issues had been discussed multiple times at the daily briefing over the past week. "In that case, you're all dismissed for the day. Take charge of your companies, and carry out the plan of the day."

"Yes, sir!" Everyone got to their feet and responded as the prince turned and left, his silent retainer following after him.

The officers waited for the prince to leave before dispersing themselves. Reivyn followed after with some of the other captains.

"So, what do you think?" One of the captains leaned over and asked Reivyn.

"About what?" Reivyn asked.

"About the coming fight!"

"I think it'll be tough. I have experience with both siege warfare and I've seen what the invaders can do with a large number of soldiers. Planning a path of retreat is the right move."

"So you're saying you think they're going to take the city."

"I'm saying being prepared is never a bad thing. We don't have intelligence on their full strength. We only know about what they fought with before the stalemate, but the presence of these superior forces points to an increase in strength."

"Well, don't try to lift my spirits, or anything," the captain huffed ruefully. "We couldn't stop their advance when they were just 1's and 2's. If they have an entire army of 3's and 4's, what's the point?"

"It's not that bad," Reivyn said. "Just because we can't stop them in place doesn't mean we can't make them bleed for every inch of land they take. Attrition is sometimes the only viable way, and it's more insidious than you might think. If we can make them pay enough, they'll run out of funds before they achieve their goal."

"And what's their goal? We're not the first Region to be invaded. We all heard the stories before we faced our own invasion. This war has been fought completely differently than anything we heard from the other Regions."

"It might be because they're from a different Region, themselves. Just like how the Tier 4 Empires have multiple Tier 1, 2, and 3 Regions under them, I'm sure there are many Tier 5 Regions under the command of the Tier 6 Empire in charge."

"Wait, what?" The captain stopped in his tracks for, and several of the other officers walking alongside them also stopped to stare at Reivyn. "What Tier 6 Empire? What do you know?"

"You didn't know? Does nobody know?" Reivyn looked around at the other officers, and they all shook their heads. "What did you think was happening? The forces I fought in Drallo, a Tier 3 subordinate of Wispan, were led by a woman with a '6' tattoo. I've also learned a thing or two about people living in the inner ring of Regions in the local group. Put two and two together, and it's clear the invaders are from a higher Region.

"I don't have an inside scoop on the workings of the enemy. It's only speculation on the evidence that I've seen, but it would seem that there are multiple Tier 5 kingdoms doing the invading in different Tier 4 Regions."

"Don't you think this is information you should pass on to the higher-ups?"

"I'm sure they already know. What good does this information do for us on the front-line? None. It doesn't matter to us what the overall situation with the wider conflict is in this moment. The only thing that matters is what's in front of us. Don't let yourself get distracted.

"Anyway, it's pretty clear to me that we're fighting a different group of invaders. Even if we're not, they apparently have a different mission."

"Yeah, we've all been pretty happy so far to not have to deal with the same troubles as the other Regions suffering an invasion, but that doesn't mean it will last. You're an outsider to our Region, but these are our people. They're our families. We can't retreat forever and keep everyone safe."

Reivyn considered the man's words for a moment before continuing the conversation.

"I get what you're saying, but fighting to the last man in Piori isn't going to win the war. In fact, it would be much worse for everyone else if we did so. We can prolong the conflict and slow them down, bleeding them every step of the way, or we could go out in a blaze of glory, do minimal damage to them, and give them a clear shot to the capital."

Reivyn clapped the captain on the shoulder.

"It is perfectly reasonable and honorable to sacrifice your own life and die to protect your loved ones, but let's try and make them sacrifice their lives for their goals, instead."

The other officers nodded their heads, and they all dispersed as they headed in different directions to their own companies. The officers hadn't voiced their opinion on the matter of setting up a retreat plan, but there was obviously some doubt.

They're not bad or incompetent, Reivyn thought. It's the opposite, actually. They're just worried about their people. I can look at it with a completely objective standpoint, but they have to live with their decisions that will affect all the people of their home. Planning for a retreat might seem like a defeatist attitude to them, and they can't afford to lose.

---

The minor conflicts continued as the days wore on. There wasn't any additional escalation from the enemy. They continued to send small groups of soldiers across the dead-zone, and there was also increased conflict among the patrols sent into enemy territory, as well.

The patrols from the city to the outposts weren't the only ones implemented by the prince. Reivyn's company hadn't been given the responsibility of going on one of the outer patrols, yet, but the prince didn't relegate them to only checking on their own territory. It would have been a terrible strategy to close their eyes and ears off to what was going on with the enemy on their side.

The platoons sent out from the mercenaries didn't always encounter an enemy patrol inside their territory, but it was more often than not at this point. Each time there would be some injuries among the troops, but there hadn't been any fatalities. The number of deaths on both sides was kept to a minimum so far which increased Reivyn's suspicion that they were using the opportunity to train instead of test.

Rieyvn and Refix occasionally accompanied the platoons sent out. They had yet to get into conflict on their excursions, though. A more suspicious person would have thought that it was deliberate, but there was no way a spy could have relayed the information in time to warn the enemy to either attack or keep their distance when they went out. They always made the decision to go with the platoon at the last minute. It was just the luck of the draw that they hadn't gotten into any fights.

Reivyn rubbed his temples as he reviewed the reports on his desk. He had a slight headache as he read through the documents. The reports weren't anything annoying, but it seemed like there was more pressure on his mind the longer they stayed in Piori.

Reivyn dropped the last report on the desk and got up to get some fresh air. The headache didn't go away as he stepped out into the open, though. Reivyn shook his head before he looked up to the clouded sky.

Maybe it's atmospheric pressure from an incoming storm? He thought. It sure looks like rain, soon.

Reivyn tried to dismiss the feeling from his thoughts by concentrating on something else. He looked into the distance at the units performing their drills and practice before heading in that direction.

He took one step when the world shuddered. He paused for a second and looked all around. Not all of the soldiers had reacted to the phenomenon, but many of them had. Most just looked about in confusion, though.

The world shuddered again, and Reivyn got a better handle on it. It wasn't an earthquake. The ground wasn't shaking, but it seemed like the whole Region was vibrated. He could feel it in the air and in his feet, though it didn't seem physical.

The world shuddered once more, and it continued to shudder. The strange feeling he had from the ambient mana spike in intensity, and he felt as if an ethereal wind kicked up.

A high-pitched whine assaulted his ears, and squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden intensity of his headache. Tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes at the pain. He squatted down and covered his ears with his hands, but it didn't help at all. The whine wasn't abated, and it continued to increase as he sat there.

His Divine Sense was still active, and he saw the motes of Mana jumping up and down everywhere in his perception. It was like they were dancing in the wind, and their jumps coordinated with the vibrations he was feeling from his surroundings.

He felt a snap in the core of his being, and the pressure suddenly lifted. The pain went away. The Mana motes stopped moving in his Divine Sense. It was like they were completely frozen in place.

Reivyn opened his eyes as he stood back up, his hands falling back to his sides. He looked around the camp and noticed the soldiers moving about in a frenzy. There were several people collapsed on the ground. Not all of the ones that had noticed the strange sensation had collapsed, but all of the ones on the ground were among the few who had looked around in confusion earlier.

A door to one of the barracks slammed open, and the officer in charge of the Mage corps came stumbling out. He was walking on unsteady legs as if he was drunk, and he made a beeline to Reivyn as soon as he spotted him.

Reivyn made to walk toward the man, but he stopped and looked down at his legs after taking only one step. He felt fine on the inside, but that step had been wobbly. He took another unsteady step, and he grit his teeth as he powered through the strange sensation. He felt perfectly fine, but his body was moving in a weird way.

The high-pitched whine suddenly returned without prior notice, but it was completely different. A huge whooshing sound filled Reivyn's ears as he noticed all of the Mana motes in the ambient Mana suddenly shoot off in the direction of th enemy line.

Everywhere he looked, he could see a mass of Mana rush off into the distance. It didn't cause any kind of physical abnormality, and the strange way he was walking suddenly disappeared as soon as the Mana started moving.

"Sir!" The Mage Corps officer shouted at Reivyn as he jogged over. "There's something strange going on with the Mages."

Reivyn held up his hand to stop the man from continuing. He tilted his head in a meaningful manner toward the drill grounds where the collapsed people were coming around and starting to get on their feet. The Mage Corps officer glanced at them and nodded.

"Yeah, same thing with the Mages," he said.

"Some sort of phenomenon with the ambient Mana," Reivyn said. "Those more sensitive toward Mana were affected. I need to consider things for a minute. They're getting back up, so go back to the barracks and see if the Mages are recovering, too."

"Yes, sir!" The Mage Corps officer offered a salute and then rushed back to the barracks.

Reivyn stood in place. He activated all of his Mana sensing Skills and concentrate on the ambient Mana. It felt like a powerful wind was blowing past him in the direction of the enemy line, but it wasn't a physical wind. It felt like the Mana in his core was also trying to flee from his control and rush off, as well.

Reivyn focused his willpower onto the Mana in his core, and it settled down. It didn't take a lot of effort to quell the strange feeling, but there was nothing he could do about the Mana not under his control.

He looked up and saw Refix running toward him. The NCO's of the platoons were taking charge of their men, and the other officers were also running toward where Reivyn was still standing in front of the headquarters building.

Reivyn opened his mouth to instruct everyone to go into the conference room when he felt a discordant lance of Mana streak against the ambient Mana. He looked up to where it was headed, and a bell that was attached to a Mana network from the outposts started to ring.

They were too far away from the other company barracks' to be able to hear if their bells were ringing, too, but Reivyn had noticed more than one streak of Mana going against the flow. He was sure that all of the alarm bells were ringing across the city.

Reivyn looked back to the officers. Their eyes were wide as they looked up at the bell.

"To the wall!" Reivyn Commanded.