Chapter 245: Preparations
Along the gorge, the gunfire and the roars of the feline cavalry fell silent. Having lost the element of surprise against the Golden Rose Realm’s heavy shield formation, the effectiveness of the hit-and-run ambushes began to wane. Several white tigers had been wounded by enemy spears and torsion bolts, escaping with their lives thanks to their riders’ agility.
From high above, Kellar hovered atop Little Green, observing the deployment of the main army. Utilizing the tribe’s totem and the spiritual bond of his domain, he sent a mental command to the captains of the rapid strike team:
"Lupar, Marty, Thorin, pull your men back. The containment mission is complete. Fall back behind the walls."
Upon receiving the order, the squads melted away into the shadows of the rocky ridges, covering the retreat of the wounded feline cavalry back toward the paved village.
Kellar stroked the feathers on Little Green’s neck, adjusting his footing upon the eagle as they banked back toward the settlement.
"Let’s head back," said Kellar in a low voice. "When the main battle begins, use your wind blades to keep them focused on you. While their attention is fixed on the sky, we will try to destroy them from the fortifications. And if you spot an opportunity to take down Caelen or Valerius... do not hesitate."
𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
Little Green let out a screech, beating her wings forcefully to ascend through the clouds toward the tribe’s ramparts, where the Garnis cannon stood waiting atop the main tower.
Upon watching the shadows of the feline cavalry and marksmen vanish into the crags toward the valley’s interior, General Valerius raised his armored arm to halt the march.
"Open formation and establish a defensive perimeter!" commanded Valerius, his voice imposing order among the weary ranks. "Royal healers, to the front! Treat and assess all the wounded!"
The scouts fanned out toward the high grounds to watch for a counterattack, while the crown’s medical contingent began evaluating the soldiers battered during the ambushes.
Although the heavy shield formation had prevented a slaughter in the gorge, the condition of the troops was far from ideal. The magic-alloy armor had prevented fatal penetrating wounds, but it could not absorb the kinetic energy of the impacts. Decades of discipline could not prevent dozens of infantrymen from suffering fractured ribs, broken limbs, dislocations, and deep muscle tears caused by the power of the tribe’s bullets.
General Valerius walked among the row of soldiers laid out upon the snow before approaching the prince.
"Are you unharmed, Your Highness?" asked Valerius, inspecting Caelen’s armor.
"I am fine, General," spat Caelen, grinding his teeth in fury as he glared at his crippled men. "But they will pay for this humiliation with their blood."
The old advisor Varis hurried up to them, adjusting his robes as he cast glances toward the gorge’s exit.
"Your Excellency, Great General..." chimed in Varis under his breath, addressing Valerius with caution. "Should we not fall back toward the fortress and request reinforcements from His Majesty? Those weapons possess a devastating, incomprehensible force. If we march into their main settlement, we will only give them opportunities to wipe us out."
Upon hearing the advisor’s words, General Valerius’s face twisted into a mask of ferocity. Without a word, he extended his steel gauntlet and seized Varis by the throat, hoisting him off the ground with strength that left the old man kicking the air, gasping for breath.
"Are you implying that we have lost?" bellowed Valerius, his eyes bloodshot and his voice chilling the blood of the surrounding officers.
The rage burning inside the general stemmed not merely from military pride, but from a terror of failure. This campaign had been entrusted to him by the crown. Turning back empty-handed to beg for aid meant ruin: the monarch would never grant him another opportunity, the honors he had accumulated across decades of service would be stripped away in an instant, and command of the army would be handed over to one of his court rivals. He could visualize how the King would use him as a public example of cowardice and desertion before the realm.
"G-General..." managed to gasp Varis, clutching at the heavy armored arm with trembling hands.
"Listen to me carefully, old man!" hissed Valerius, pulling the advisor’s face inches from his helm until Varis could feel the freezing breath within. "There is no retreat. There are no reinforcements. I will not stand before His Majesty and declare that a handful of savages on a mountain halted the legion of the Golden Rose Realm!"
Valerius released his grip on Varis’s throat, letting him collapse onto his knees in the snow as he coughed uncontrollably. Prince Caelen watched the exchange in silence, a smirk tugging at his lips, pleased by his commander’s resolve.
"Have the healers stabilize the fallen and leave a minimal rear guard," barked Valerius, wheeling around toward his troops with sword raised high. "The rest of the legion marches right now! We will breach the gates of their village and crush every single one of those savages with our bare hands!"
The thundering sound of thousands of boots marching at a double-time pace once again shook the canyon walls. Following Valerius’s outburst of rage, the Golden Rose legion resumed its advance with discipline, pushing its vanguard out of the gorge toward the outskirts of the village.
Inside the settlement, the atmosphere was one of preparation and high tension. Kellar, having landed upon Little Green’s back, leaped onto the top of the reinforced wooden wall. All around him, tribe soldiers took their positions along the battlements and parapets with repeating rifles at the ready, locking their sights onto the enemy mass emerging from the fog.
At the central defensive tower, Lennis and Garik were tightening the final bronze bolts on the Garnis. The heavy artillery piece rested upon a base of cast iron and hydraulic cement, its barrel pointed straight down the main trail.
Kellar strode up to the weapon platform, where Lennis was adjusting the elevation mechanism.
"How many rounds do we have left for the Garnis?" asked Kellar, his eyes locked on the horizon.
"Only five, my lord," replied Lennis, wiping sweat from his brow with a grimace. "We delivered all the rest in the previous batch. Between the effort poured into the paving project and the drainage network, we haven’t had time to forge more heavy shells."
Kellar clenched his jaw, calculating his options against the approaching tide of three thousand armored soldiers.
"Gather every bit of standard gunpowder left in the storehouses and all the fire and earth stones," instructed Kellar Garik and Lennis in a firm tone. "Prepare secondary charges and improvised mortars. If the legion thinks we’ve run out of teeth, they’re in for a surprise. We must defend ourselves with whatever we have."
Garik nodded and bolted toward the underground workshop to rally the apprentices, while Lennis loaded the first of the five Garnis shells into the cannon’s breech.