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Enlightened Empire 230 Beasts of War
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Enlightened Empire 230 Beasts of War

Although Dedrick hadn't expected much at first, the sight before him was incredible. Several thousand cultivators from various sects, clans and factions had come together to face their nominal ruler, all of them desperate to hang on to the meager power they could exert in their little part of the world.

Their 'army' was an abstract collection of colors and clothes, with no organization or cohesion that Dedrick could discern. They walked in small groups, anywhere from ten to a hundred people strong. Of course, none of this was what had impressed the general. Rather, his telescope was trained past the army, onto the eight giant, gray beasts the enemies had brought with them.

"Are these the so-called elephants?"

"They are. What do you think, General?" Wacoca answered in a smug tone that made the general's eye twitch.

"Okay, these might be a problem," he admitted.

The creatures were enormous, at least three times the height of a man and maybe twice as long. Their legs were as thick as tree trunks and their skin looked hard as bark. Worst of all, their tusks looked like they had been designed as weapons of war, long enough to skewer several men at once. At this point, even the prideful knight understood that no man could stand up to these beasts by himself.

"While it is fun to see you in disarray, General, I have to mention that the elephants should be the least of our problems," Wacoca replied. "After all, your people set up he battlefield like this specifically to deal with them. These beasts may be powerful, but they are also heavy enough to match their size. In the deep mud, they will struggle even more than the soldiers. Not to mention their gentle nature, to spite their looks. While I have never seen an elephant react to a firearm, the noise and smoke produced by your volleys should create a good bit of trouble for their riders."

"In that case, I'm relieved."

"How does our enemy look?" a voice came from behind them and interrupted their conversation.

"Disorganized," Dedrick answered. When he turned, he saw the commander of the army move up to join them on the rampart's crest. Paec looked a bit pale, but he appeared to have recovered from the attempted assassination otherwise. "How're you doing?"

Despite what had happened the previous night, they really couldn't afford a jittery leader. Dedrick had to make sure Paec wasn't affected any more, or he would have to take back control of the army.

"I'm fine," the young officer said. "Thank you for your concern. In the end, the assassins failed, despite their best efforts. On that note, I need to thank you, General. Without your quick action, they would have killed me in my sleep."

"You got that part right," Dedrick snorted. He conveniently brushed over the role his own 'assassin' had played in the events. "Everyone ready?" he asked instead.


"Yes, the soldiers are already in formation, much unlike our foes." Paec looked down onto the disorganized heap of martial artists. "They have no common heart, and thus no cohesion. We have the defensive advantage, and we are much better equipped. The battle should be easy enough, at least if everything goes the way we expect."

"What about our organization? Didn't we struggle with the language barrier?"

Paec nodded. "At first, there were some problems with the relay of orders. The local soldiers were also unwilling to work under foreign troops. But by now we have found a compromise Chatra Huemac's soldiers were willing to agree with. As a result, we have reorganized the armies and mixed our troops with theirs. Every unit will contain about one fifth of our Saniya soldiers, with about a third of them fresh recruits. They're organized into platoons of one hundred, all of them led by a single ensign. All of these officers are our people, and they all speak Yakua. We have come up with several non-verbal signs to pass more simple commands down the chain. The locals should be able to follow our orders well enough. Huemac's elites insisted that they were too important to work under us, and they argued that their power would be diminished if we broke apart their established formation. That's why we've retained the structure they were using since before our arrival. For now, we have put them into the center of our front line."

"The center would have to withstand the harshest attack, so it makes sense to place the elites there," Dedrick commented.

"True. There is also less of a reason to move them around, so we can guarantee our tactical initiative once something surprising happens and we need to get fancy with the flanks. Also, they will be forced to fight with their all even if they dislike us. They will be surrounded by allies and enemies on all sides, so there is no way for them to take the easy way out."

"You really don't like cultivators, do you?" Dedrick asked in a sour tone.

"Can you blame me after what happened last night, General?"

"Eyes up front, the cultivators are coming for a chat."

While they had been talking, a small delegation of five people detached from the enemy army and marched towards their position. Now that Wacoca had made the officers aware of their presence, the men atop the hill calmed down and watched the arrivals.

Around the maximum distance of an average arrow's flight, the five martial artists took root. Only their leader made one additional step and called out to their position atop the rampart.

As soon as he did, Dedrick looked over to Wacoca for help. As an Arcavian, the knight didn't know a single word of the Chutwa language, so he would have to rely on the captain's translation.

"His name is Ectnara," Wacoca said, though he sounded somewhat unsure. "He says he is the master of the Flowing Water Sect, and the leader of their alliance. The others behind him are the other leaders of the big sects and clans in the region, and they are... co-leaders, I believe."

While Wacoca tried his hardest to keep up with the fast-talking cultivator, the Flowing Water Sect's master continued to drone on like a waterfall.

"Is that why they call them flowing water?" he wondered, but no one picked up on his joke.

"He asks if there is any honorable man atop our rampart. He says there is no reason for the two sides to fight and cause blood to flow. They are willing to let go of the differences. Instead of war, they want to resolve the issue with a duel."

"That right?" Dedrick's eyes narrowed as he stared at the sect master at the bottom of the rampart.

"General, you don't plan to agree, do you?" Paec asked with concern. "There is no need to go so far for some elusive honor, not when we have every advantage here."

Rather than answer Paec's concerns, Dedrick stepped up to get a better look at his enemies. Short, neatly trimmed beards and straight postures... they really looked like honorable martial artists.

"Hey, Wacoca, can you translate for me?"

"Of course I can."

"Tell him that he should take his sword out of its sheath. Then he wants to place it in the ground with the point up and the handle down. The earth's nice and sticky so it'll be easier to keep upright. After that, I want him to take a deep breath and sit on it."

"General?" Everyone who heard his words looked at Dedrick in shock. How could the self-declared knight change his tone so quickly, so crudely? Hadn't he defended these honorable warriors all this time?

"I said it yesterday: Any proper soldier, whether they call themselves warriors or knights or martial artists, deserves to be treated with respect. That's why I wasn't in favor of our cheap tricks. It's poor form, and it's bad for Saniya's reputation... and most importantly, it's bad for mine. Well, last night these pieces of shit showed what they're really made of. They're no knights, and I won't respect some petty thieves. So tell him to shove his damn sword up his ass."

"As you wish, General," Wacoca answered, barely managing to suppress a smile.

While the pirate did his best to play translator with his so-so knowledge of Chutwa, Dedrick took out a short stack of papers and looked through his notes. As the little guy's guardian, he would have to make sure Paec would be okay during the combat they would soon have to face.
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"So who're the old people behind the waterfall guy? Anyone we like?" Dedrick asked.

"I'm not a local either, so I wouldn't know," Paec answered his cryptic question with a forced smile. "When it comes to this matter, we can only put our trust in Lady Yasimi's abilities. Though since she has promised us results, I am sure we can expect to see at least something during the battle."

"Be better if we didn't have to rely on some unknown variables," Dedrick mumbled.

"I agree. Thus, our ample preparations. If we stick to our plans, even if everything else goes wrong, there is no way for us to lose. How could these barbarians with their swords and spears stand up to a proper flintlock volley?"

"Don't underestimate a cultivator's charge. They've been the dominant force on battlefields for centuries," Dedrick cautioned. "I don't know a lot about these people, but if nothing else, they're at least competent cultivators. That's what last night should have taught you. They might march like trash, but they don't need a whole lot of organization to just charge forward and swing their iron around."

"Wasn't that what we built the rampart for? Even if they manage to breach our lines in one or two spots, our new weapons will be able to push them back without much trouble."

"Still, better be careful. Arrogance is what ends up killing you, or others. Even our glorious king could tell you stories about that," Dedrick said as he looked up at the elephants in the distance. If a surprise were to come from anywhere, it might just be from the giant beasts in the back. Dedrick's thoughts were interrupted by a shout from the fool at the foot of the artificial hill.

The leader of the flowing water sect still stood in the same place, but now his stance was much more aggressive than before. His sword raised towards them, he glared up at his foes like a scorned lover. Maybe he had drawn his weapon out of anger, or maybe it was to fulfill the first part of Dedrick's request, but either way he didn't look too happy with their answer.

"General, he says-"

"Yeah, I got it," Dedrick interrupted the captain. A cocky grin on his face, he leaned onto his knee, over the rampart and towards the waiting masters at the bottom. For a second, the two sides stared at each other, before Dedrick spat down towards them.

As far as he was concerned, these bastards didn't deserve his respect, or his forgiveness. It would be better to piss them off as much as possible, so they would break their heads against the wall Paec had built.

In a huff, the masters exchanged a few words among them, before they flung their sleeves about and rushed off, back towards their soldiers.

"We better get ready too," Dedrick said towards Paec.

"Everyone get combat ready. Give the signal."

As Paec's second-in-command spread his orders through the use of flags and megaphones, the knight observed the enemy army. After their masters had returned, movement within the mass of bodies had increased, but it resembled an angry beehive more than a proper army. One or two sections of the troops looked eager to break off and rush towards their death halfway up the hill. But much to Dedrick's dismay, they were held back by their fellow sects around them at the last moment.

*Maybe charging isn't as easy of a task as I thought.*

In consternation, Dedrick looked on as the chaos only increased in scope. In a few places, fights broke out between the factions, though not quite enough to draw any blood. It was a good chance to catch their enemies on the wrong foot, but whatever Dedrick thought didn't matter much.

Faced with a decision, the conservative Paec chose to hold his troops in formation. Although the sect alliance looked weak, they would be foolish to give up their superior position for some opportunistic advantages. Least of all with those giant monsters in front of them.

In the end, Hueatlan's army stood and waited for half an hour, until the enemy had formed something vaguely resembling a front line. Eager to fight after their warm-up routine, the disciples of eastern Chutwa repeatedly banged their weapons onto their armors.

Although they didn't do so with any sort of rhythm, they still created a cacophony of noise that sounded like the song of battle. Behind them, the titanic elephants let out ear-splitting roars to intimidate their foes, like a thousand warped trumpets from a demonic army. Soon after, the entire formation began to move up the path, ever closer to their deaths.

Once again, war was upon them.

Chapter end

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<<Prev
Next>>
Catalogue
Chapter 257
256 Fire Safety
255 Opponents Far Apar
254 Infiltration
253 Setting Things in Motion
252 Family Vacation
251 Meeting the Boss
250 Secret Operations
249 No Place Like Home
248 Cold War
247 Catching Up
246 Still Searching
245 High Politics
244 Convincing the Holdovers
243 Fight For Power
242 Government Interference
241 New Business
240 Paper, Also Worthless
239 Looking Around
238 Worthless
237 New Chapters Coming Today and tomorrow, and...
236 Shadows
235 New Weaponry
234 Union
233 Back Again
232 Hidden Smile
231 Two Types of Battle
230 Beasts of War
229 Honorable Battle
228 Real Power
227 Servility
226 Change in Fortune
225 In Search of a Future
224 Strengthening the Alliance
223 Please Stay Behind After Class
222 Freedom and Burden
221 Overtime Work
220 Lessons Between Lessons
219 A Route to the Stars
218 Back to Basics
217 Modern Transportation
216 Trouble in Paradise
215 A New World
214 Projects and Goals
213 Office Politics
212 A New Era
211 Always More Banquets
210 Armistice
209 Trade Trouble Part 2
208 Trade Trouble
207 Trade Trouble End of Book 5
206 Reunion
Chapter 205
Chapter 204
Chapter 203
Chapter 202
Chapter 201
Chapter 200
Chapter 199
Chapter 198
Chapter 197
Chapter 196
Chapter 195
Chapter 194
Chapter 193
Chapter 192
191 Charge
190 Standoff
189 Skirmish
188 Sowing Disconten
187 Course Correction
186 Secret Deal
185 Breaking Ou
184 Strategic Maneuvers
183 Surprise Visitor
182 Demons and Mortals
181 Cold
180 Real Enemy
179 Maybe
178 Accompanimen
177 Chance at Glory
176 Starvation Tactics
175 New Toys
174 Opportunists, Cowards
173 Disruption
172 Landing Operation
171 Exiles
170 Cleanup
169 Back Home
168 The Fog Clears
167 Conspiracy
166 A Sacrifice for the Future
165 Plans and Ploys
164 Two Meetings
163 Plots and Plans
162 Plans to be Foiled
161 Gif
160 Antipyretics
159 Turning Winds
158 Reunions
157 Weather
156 Travelers
155 Vice
154 Loyal or Stubborn
153 Family Ties
152 Underwater
151 Stubborn
150 Spread Thin
149 Change in Direction
148 Pessimist and Optimis
147 Splitting Up
146 Superstition
145 Unfounded Worry
144 Supply and Demand
143 Purpose
142 Glory
141 Opening a Path
140 Weaklings
139 Burden
138 Pettiness
137 Inevitability
136 Loyalty
135 Preparations
134 Cheat Codes
133 First Invention
132 Secret Alliance
131 Recruitmen
130 Precision
129 Old and New
128 Bandits in the Fores
127 Old Friends End of Book 3
126 Opponents
125 Two Sides
124 Grand Finale
123 Light and Dark
122 Mortal Danger
121 Power Struggle
120 Surrounded
119 Chances Missed, and Taken
118 Two Sides
117 How to Salvage a Disaster
116 True Nature
115 Three Kinds of Trouble
114 Blemishes
113 Hidden in Plain Sigh
112 Uninvited Gues
111 Aperitif
110 Lord, Governor, King
109 Transi
108 Financial Troubles
107 Time Flies
106 Between a Rock and a Hard Place
105 Checkup
104 Triumvirate Meeting
103 Rumors
102 Hope Dies Las
101 Battle in the Mountains
100 Two out of Three
99 Businessman and Lady
98 Standardization
97 Free City
96 Ronnie and Bombasticus
95 Gifts
94 Beacons
93 Plans Between Friends
92 Adventurous Spiri
91 Smiles All Around
90 The Lord of Saniya
89 Close Family
88 Extended Family
87 The Captain's Homecoming
86 Saniya
85 River King
84 Middle of Nowhere
83 His Role End of Book 2
82 Cortege
81 A Duel Between Kings Part 2
80 A Duel Between Kings
79 Nobles' Assembly
78 Plans for the Future
77 Dark Omens
76 Truth and Decei
75 A Reward for Good Deeds
74 The Ancestor's Goals
73 Rif
72 Miracle
71 Uncovering Truths
70 One Down, One to Go
69 Ancestral Assembly
68 Washed Away by the Rain
67 Resist or Submi
66 The Final Vote
65 Collecting Pieces
64 Conspiracy
63 Going Home
62 How to Rule a Country
61 The Ape King's Banque
60 Witch Doctor's Curse
59 Looking Back
58 Fire Seeds
57 Stargazing Brawl
56 Beyond the Clouds
55 The Merchant Prince
54 A Moment of Peace
53 Streak of Ligh
52 A Great Hero
51 Claim to the Throne
50 Making Plans
49 A Long Day of Work
48 A Chat Between Father and Son
47 Into the Darkness
46 To Cancel Out the Double Negative
45 Accomplice
44 Life Insurance
43 A Chat in the Garden
42 Little Bro, Let's Drink!
41 That Magnificent Beard
40 Music
39 Electoral Campaign
38 Allies
37 Distribution of Wealth
36 Unequal Negotiations
35 Blue for the Funeral
34 A Triumphant Return
33 Talent, Success, Truth End of Book 1
32 Payoff
31 The Big Fish
30 On the Prowl
29 What Really Matters
28 The Best Laid Plans
27 Consequences
26 Fake Pirates
25 Greed and Motivation
24 Peace Offers
23 Fallibility
22 Manufactured Morale
21 Modern Siege Tactics
20 Faith and Greed
19 A Man of Few Words
18 New Era
17 Three Captains
16 Prey
15 Matters of Faith
14 Inventions
13 First Major Haul
12 Business Partners
11 Safety Ne
10 Fake Seer, Fake Physician
9 Cultivation
8 Second Produc
7 Marketing
6 Respective Plans
5 The Smell of Hope
4 First Experimen
3 Alchemist Bombasticus
Chapter 2
1 Prologue
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