Chapter 75

  Being on the wall and almost next to the south gate of the city, it was the perfect vantage point from which to observe Riaret’s mad charge. I zoomed in and out on different parts of Camp Colosseum as I watched her and her army, and I was impressed. Thanks to the 1st Orroth Artillery Regiment and their ability to aim with frightening precision, the trenches and berms that were supposed to protect the enemy mages and warriors and to serve as a barrier to break any attack, had been rendered almost useless. Riaret’s ten companies broke through the defences with almost contemptuous ease, each company assaulting weakened points along the length of the emplacements, then they advanced, spreading out inside the camp, squashing the less than adequate resistance the enemy had managed to organise after our firebombing. Once the camp’s fortification had been overcome, the level advantage of our forces became evident, but it was Riaret and her 40 levels that made them a truly fast and unstoppable force. I didn’t have reports on casualties yet — and I could clearly see bodies of fallen fire and ice-demons sprinkled among dead minotaurs in the wake of the carnage — but the numbers weren’t high enough to slow them down, and they tore through Camp Colosseum like a swarm of infernal, magical locusts.

  The first phase of the plan was going well, and after a few minutes I felt confident this was the time to send the second wave; Riaret and her army had reached the centre of the camp, having slain at least half of the minotaurs who were foolish enough not to flee — probably around three thousands of them by now — and she would soon have the entire place under her control. Camp Styx and Acheron were struggling to mobilise — not to mention to stay alive — under the continuous suppressing fire of my quite frankly amazing artillery regiment. It meant no immediate enemy counterattack to worry about, although all camps around the city were buzzing now with activity, getting ready to march to aid Camp Colosseum. I knew the enemy generals and captains had the same communication capabilities as us, but I genuinely thought we had more firepower, better organisation and superior overview of the battle, which seemed to be countering their overall numerical advantage nicely, at least for the moment.

  The six companies and the civilians of the second wave were already lined up in front of the gate, ready to march, and after another minute I gave the order. Three thousand demon soldiers were on the move now, escorting five thousand civilian crafters and builders through the gate and through the flattened, open terrain, going for the gutted and thoroughly thrashed Camp Colosseum — their safe corridor out of the besieged city.

  [Hyde! We have the camp, we have the path.]

  Riaret’s report appeared on my NeuroHUD half a minute after the last of the second wave soldiers had left through the gate.

  ‘Great! Second wave is a couple of minutes away from the camp; let them rush through and make their way to the Path in the Wilds.’ I told her, directing my words to her via the RMS.

  Things were going as planned so far, and I was beginning to think that perhaps I wouldn’t even need to use Reinos and his army, let alone get involved in the fighting myself, when Zeneth’s voice rang in my ears from uncomfortably close.

  ‘Two Third Ring generals are rushing ahead, one from five camps down on Styx-side, the other seven camps down Acheron-side, both accompanied by high-level captains, both followed by five to seven thousand troops at a distance. They are picking up more soldiers from the camps as they pass them on the outside. The generals will reach Colosseum in seven minutes, the rest of their troops in ten.’

  Firstly, it was an uncharacteristically long sentence from a Kralsenite demon. Secondly:

  ‘Oh shit! Riaret, we have a problem!’

  This was not good at all. They were reacting faster than I had hoped, and it seemed the minotaur generals had the exact same idea we’d had: have the highest level member of the army — in our case Riaret, in their case the generals and their captains — rampage through the enemy ranks, thus giving the entire charge enough momentum to break any resistance. For us it had worked beautifully, and if we failed to stop them, it would work for them, too. Riaret and her five thousand — slightly less now — might be able to deal with one of the oncoming assaults for long enough for the second wave to get through, but Reinos, with his smaller army divided into two battalions would not.

  I aimed my rifle and zoomed in as much as I could to take a closer look at the outside edges of the enemy encirclement. Due to the curve of the camp-arrangements it was difficult to make anything out in detail, but I could see clouds of stirred dust and dirt in the distance in both directions — sure signs of a large force on the march. Damn! I wished Zeneth had been lying.

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  ‘Riaret, enemy reinforcements, led by a general running ahead, coming at you from Acheron-side.’

  [Is that the problem? How is that a problem? EXP is coming at me and that’s good.]

  ‘No, it’s not good. Not if they get past you and block the way to the Path.’

  [I’ll deal with them.]

  She replied, proving that even texts on my NeuroHUD could pulsate with confidence and joy.

  ‘Just deal with the enemy general, don’t bog all your soldiers down, I’ll need them later.’

  [Fine with me.]

  She and a few of her captains may be enough to actually deal with the oncoming threat of a no-doubt high level general, but the army following a couple of minutes behind him was another issue — it seemed I’d have to use the projectors as well as Reinos and his two battalions.

  ‘Reinos! Enemy reinforcements are coming from both sides faster than anticipated. You and your guys are up. Deploy the distractions as far from Camp Colosseum as you can on both sides. No, scrap that! Deploy them behind Styx on your side and Acheron on the other side, then wait at a distance. When they approach, attack them at range with everything, but don’t get into a close-up fight, you won’t survive that.’ I instructed Reinos via the RMS.

  [Will do, my Lord. But are you sure it will be enough? General Riaret says she’s going to fight a general? And she’s … happy?]

  He replied, asking valid questions.

  Of course, Riaret was happy; to her bloodthirst and EXP were like coffee and stim-packs for a marine. Why did she have to be so impulsive? She should take a few lessons in staying cool and level-headed from her son.

  ‘Your Second Battalion and 1st Orroth will help her out,’ I said, clicking my tongue with a sudden wave of frustration washing over me.

  [Is there a general on my side, too?]

  He asked; again, a valid question with an answer he was likely to be less happy with than his mother.

  ‘Yes, unfortunately. Listen, the distractions will be a big surprise for the advancing enemy on both sides, I hope, and if they slow down and bunch up even for just thirty seconds, I’ll have the catapults rain fire down on them.’ I explained, and I immediately turned to the Hell’s Fury spotter standing on the wall a few metres from me.

  ‘Spotter!’ I called as I jumped over to him. ‘Have Hell’s Fury and Hellguide’s Hammer aim at the area behind Styx, then wait for my order to fire. Tell Fire of the Fourth to aim behind Acheron and wait for my order. When I give it, keep shooting as fast as you can.

  ‘Right away, Lord,’ the demon replied, and got to relaying the orders via a captain’s version of the RMS comms.

  ‘Riaret, be ready to move to intercept the enemy general, but stay in Camp Colosseum until the bastard actually makes it past Acheron. Unless you want to get firebombed.’ I instructed the Severing Stike.

  [What about the other side? You can’t seriously believe Reinos can take another general on! Not with his levels as low as they are.]

  She said, making a point I was well aware of.

  ‘He won’t have to. We only need to keep them busy for about ten minutes so the second wave and then you and your forces can make it to the Path and to the rear-guard position. I’ll help Reinos on his side.’

  [Fine.]

  The curt, somewhat unhappy reply came.

  Through the zoom screen on my NeuroHUD display I could see Reinos’ guys emerging from the Wilds at the edge of the Orroth Crater, making their way down on the slopes on both sides of the Path. I saw the figure of Reinos on Styx-side, rushing ahead with a small squad, carrying the projector himself. The guy had good work ethic, I had to give him that, but I really didn’t want him to get himself killed. Another squad on Acheron-side was ahead of the rest of the army as well with projector in hand. The dust clouds were also getting closer on both sides, and I knew this was going to be a close call — I hoped they could set up the distractions and get the hell out of there before either the enemy generals or soldiers from the closest camps could do anything about it. Damn, damn and damn, this was nerve wrecking even to just watch.

  Down in the square the Hell’s Fury crews were moving and adjusting the angles of the catapults, and a bit further on either side Hellguide’s Hammer and Fire of the Fourth were doing the same.

  ‘Ready to fire in under a minute, my Lord,’ the spotter next to me reported.

  I nodded, and I brought up the map of Orroth on my NeuroHUD, displaying the rough locations Mickey had marked as destinations for his Kitty-cat Jump Drive Travel Agency.

  ‘Be ready to teleport!’ I told the cat, who was lounging comfortably in my storage.

  ‘Meow,’ he said.

  ‘Riaret will probably be okay for a while, but Reinos might need help on his side. How long before we can teleport again after jumping to this point?’ I asked the cat, indicating a location on the map for him.

  ‘Meow,’ he said.

  ‘Okay, that’s not too bad,’ I agreed.

  ‘Time to get our hands dirty, my man?’ Burning Darkness inquired, sounding almost as excited as Riaret at the prospect of a fight.

  ‘If it comes to that, yes,’ I said, all the giddiness I had felt not fifteen minutes ago, gone, replaced by a strong desire to be somewhere else.

  ‘We’ve got this, man, we’ve got this!’ he giggled his encouragement. ‘The worst that can happen is that you’ll pick up a level for us and advance your Master of the Hellfire Blade skill. Hell knows you need it.’

  ‘Meow.’ Mickey agreed with him.

  If nothing else, I did feel some comfort knowing I had the support of the two weirdest companions anyone could have. So, I took a deep breath and said,

  ‘Yeah. We’ve got this.’