Chapter 244 Battle Of The Border II - Fall Of The Border
"Commander, they are coming," One of the soldiers shouted at Remi, who was observing the letters sent to her by Velian.
Hearing the news of the incoming war she jolted from their spot with an aggressive look and started giving orders to everyone.
"Make sure you hit them with cannons!" Remi knew this time, they might be bringing skilful mages, so there was a high risk of their cannons not being too effective just like earlier.
Commander Remi stood atop the towering wall that separated the free lands from the tyrannical empire. She gazed out at the horizon, her sharp eyes scanning for any signs of movement.
"Just as I expected, they are coming with a bigger army," Noticing the sounds of the iron and loud footsteps, she knew things were about to get too real for them.
Suddenly, a dark cloud of smoke appeared in the distance, accompanied by a chorus of eerie chants. The empire was coming, and they were bringing their magic.
"Mages! Protect the cannons, they are going for our artillery," She shouted to which others also reacted with the same enthusiasm.
Remi felt a sense of dread wash over her as he watched the approaching army. She knew that they were outnumbered and outmatched for the moment, but she refused to back down as they still had the advantage of the wall.
Everyone knew if they had to abandon the borders and fall back, they would have to face the attacks of the Montero kingdom, which is waiting for the borders to fail so they can start their campaign.
She had sworn to defend her new homeland, and she would do so with every ounce of his being and show that she was indeed suitable to stand beside Velian and Delviny.
As the enemy drew closer, Remi drew his sword and shouted to his troops, and signalled archers to get ready to release their volleys of arrows especially aiming at the mage groups.
"Prepare for battle! We will not let them pass!"
Only a few minutes passed after her orders and the two parties started to engage in combat with their warriors dying on the spot due to the aerial attacks.
The clash of steel rang out across the wall as the two armies collided.
The empire's mages unleashed a barrage of spells, their magic crackling in the air like lightning, but most of them were aiming their cannons and some of them even manage to break the cannons.
"Commander, two of our cannons are damaged!" One of the soldiers shouted showing, they are getting close to close combat.
The structure had been erected to protect their land from the enemy empire's relentless attacks, but now it stood on the brink of destruction.
The looming threat of invasion hung heavy in the air, and Remi knew that if the wall fell, it would be the end of everything they had fought for, deep inside her own selfishness wanted to keep the gate even at the cost of her comrade life so that she can achieve the glory of the war, but then she realised.
"I'm not a human being like that, I won't get drunk in my power,"
With a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and turned to her troops.
"We cannot let them breach our defences," she declared, her voice ringing out with steely determination.
"We will hold this gate at all costs, but if needed we will retreat our second defence!"
The soldiers nodded grimly, their faces set in expressions of fierce resolve. They knew what was at stake, and they were willing to lay down their lives to defend their homeland and families, but all of them desired to live and see the sunshine again.
As the first wave of enemy troops surged forward, Remi sprang into action, barking out orders and directing her troops with cool efficiency. The remaining cannons blew up the enemies, arrows whistled through the air, and the battle raged on with a ferocity that shook the ground beneath their feet.
But despite their valiant efforts, the enemy was gaining ground and for some reason, Remi noticed something strange.
"Why are they getting up even after we blow their hands and some of them even look like mindless walking corpses,"
And then, to their horror, a group of mages appeared on the battlefield. Their dark robes billowed around them as they summoned a powerful spell, a powerful spell but something was weird about that spell too, because it looked like something A ranked mages used, and suddenly the very fabric of the wall and the gate began to unravel.
Remi could feel her heart sinking as she watched the gate crumble before her eyes. She redoubled her efforts, rallying her troops and fighting with all her might, but it was no use. The enemy had broken through, and the battle was lost for the time.
Some of the troops on the kingdom side died trying to defend themselves, but the others were quick to retreat as they knew borders were already under the empire.
As the soldiers retreated, Remi could feel the bitter taste of defeat on her tongue. But she knew that this was not the end - there would be other battles, other chances to fight for what was right. And she would be ready.
But she took note of the important things she saw in this battle.
"Is this because of the power Velian told me about? So Andriya is using some kind of magic," She thought as they were falling back.
They lost too many things in this battle, but at that time they didn't know how lucky they were to get away with a little number of casualties in Andriya's presence.
Meanwhile, General Mansoor happily looked at the retreating forces of the former Rapidclaw kingdom and questioned his commander whether to chase them down.
But he refused to do that as their empress ordered them not to which surprised both the General and Commander, but they decided to go along with her words since she was the absolute authority in the army for the moment.