Chapter 229: Chapter 229: Retreat

December 21st, 625

My eyes snapped open when I heard the alarms. I could feel the grogginess set in as soon as I sat up.

Umara groaned beside me. This was the third alarm in 20 hours and neither of us were happy about it.

When the large blanket over us shifted, it let in some cold air from the room, chilling us both. Umara shifted closer to me as I lifted my Aerial. I didn’t get out of bed unless I got a call.

Unfortunately it came. I saw Jasmine’s name and sighed.

“Hello?”

“It’s Jasmine. You’ll need to get up for this one.”

“...Fine.”

“Get the others mobile and meet me in the office.”

“Be there in 10.”

I mumbled and brought out my coat, throwing it on before the cold room could make me shiver.

That’s when I felt a spike of danger, my grogginess vanishing as adrenaline shot through me. Umara raised a barrier around us right before it hit.

An explosion detonated right on top of our barracks. I heard half the building crumble, the room being shaken like an earthquake and the glass window shattering.

I scrambled out of bed and looked off into the distance.

Morning was dawning and Bombardo artillery was leveling half the base. I wondered what the hell had happened to the pillars and why the barrier was down before I glanced at where one was supposed to be.

It was destroyed, as were two others in my field of view. That could only happen if they were brought down from within. Looks like we had either been infiltrated, or the Scourge was cashing in on traitors. At this point it didn’t matter which it was.

Umara came to my side and peeked out with me.

“...Looks like this is it.”

“Not quite like Purple Sky. At least we’re getting the chance to react and fight this time.”

“Still don’t enjoy living through the downfall of entire strongholds.”

She looked up at me, “Are you sure we can’t just take a plane and fly back to the Capital?”

I looked back down at her, the two of us staring at each other with dead tired eyes for several seconds as I pondered.

“...Sorry babe. We’re too good at our jobs to do that. I promise it’ll get better though.”

“Will it?”

“It will. As soon as my weapons and tanks start rolling out, shit like this will become a rarity for us.”

“I don’t doubt your weapons. I doubt the Kingdom’s ability to use them.”

“I know…”

I sighed and backed away from the window, getting dressed. Umara followed, topping off her gear with her witch hat.

I smiled when I saw that, giving her a kiss before we left the room.

It was safe to say that everyone was awake. I saw Nonnen already geared up in full armor. As for what remained of the Snow Doves, there were two.

Two of the four surviving Chiefs from our recent massacre had lost limbs and were too heavily injured to return to effective service, one warlock and one knight, both still recovering in a medical tent. The other knight with heavy wounds had managed to recover while the other warlock had been repaired by healers. 

The Snow Doves now consisted of one cold summoner, one Brigadier knight, one Chief knight, and one Chief warlock.

The two were named Ephras Matej and Simeon Bogdan. Ephras, a woman, was our knight and Simeon, a man, was the warlock.

Umara’s squad was still fully effective, making our numbers reach 9 in total. Considering our actual combat power though, we 9 could match an entire battalion.

I looked down after walking through the hallway a bit, seeing the walls demolished. They gave a straight shot to the first floor though so I dropped down and went up to Nonnen, using my boots to hover and break the fall.

“Jasmine called just a minute ago.”

“Go meet her and call me with orders. I’ll secure transport.”

“Copy.”

We broke off. Umara gave Feiden and Tana some orders before leaving with me to head to headquarters.

We shot across the ground as snow started bellowing in from every direction. The Sovereign was close and the barrier was down. Intelligence was limited since accurate recon was close to impossible, making us blind and preventing our planes from doing much damage.

Hopefully the generals were smart enough to realize that you didn’t need line of sight to simply drop bombs on the enemy, especially since there were so many that there was no need for accurate guidance. Just don’t drop them on the base, was the only guidance needed.

I noticed red gas moving around with the blizzard, dropped from the Bombardos and just as effective in a blizzard as anywhere else. Thankfully I had better equipment now, so I took out an M53 protective mask and slipped it over my head, fitting it snugly, breaking the seal, and continuing on through the gas. Umara just used her magic to isolate herself.

Along the way I noticed the air field getting bombarded and troops running to the walls. The siege was starting already, and although I was beginning to get anxious, considering recent situations, I wasn’t that concerned. It certainly wasn’t to the point that I was ready to drop everything and run right this second.

Still, I wondered if we’d even be able to fly out of here. Thankfully Nonnen was going to grab some Steeds. We might need them.

We got to headquarters, rushing up to the office after pushing past hundreds of summoners that bustled around, panicking.

Inside the office Polly and Jasmine were alone, overlooking a map that I saw thousands of red clusters on. There had to be well over a million incoming enemies if that map was right, and they were surrounding us, fast.

Polly looked up at me with baggy eyes, speaking only after I shut the door and activated the sound isolation magic for the room.

She glanced at Umara, eyes snapping back to me, “It’s time to leave, John.”

“Is it that hopeless?”

“We’ve sent bombers into the air but we can’t even confirm if they’ve hit anything. We don’t know any exact numbers beyond what we can estimate from the surface area the incoming army covers. Those numbers point toward 1.1 million, and we have planes in the air showing even more on approach. In the best situation, neither side will come out victorious and we’ll just be killing each other. Except the Scourge can send more troops faster than we can, so ultimately we lose anyway. That means we need to leave.”

“Is the Sovereign going to act?”

“He will but he’s a knight. He can’t stop the blizzard so half of our advantages are null. This will be a bloody fight and I don’t want us or you in it when it turns for the worst.”

She shuffled through various maps, one showing the path back to Stronghold Charlie, another showing Stronghold Charlie and Hare’s Pass. It seemed like there were forces moving down to the Stronghold, currently traveling past Scythe’s Peak, as well as enemy forces that wanted to flood the only trodden route of retreat.

We’d be cut off if we didn’t leave fast enough, and even then we’d be fighting our way to the Stronghold. Wait too long and we’d have to fight through a hundred thousand monsters just to retreat, which while possible, wasn’t a risk Polly and Jasmine wanted to take.

They’d have to come with us if we couldn’t get helicopters up and running.

“Do you have a pilot?”

“We just called for one but a lot of aircraft have been knocked out. Traitors have been popping up across the entire base. They took out the Pylons, destroyed the Rail cars, and started wrecking the planes. Simply destroying the propellers keeps them out into the sky. I’m not sure if there are many aircraft left beyond what we managed to get in the air some hours ago.”

“That’s true.”

“...Would that be considered a failure on my part?”

I glanced at Polly, her hands massaging her temples in stress. She was supposed to be in charge of counterespionage, but it seemed like all that work had been for nothing. Sure, her priorities had shifted after becoming a Brigadier General, but I was sure she still blamed herself.

Unfortunately, no matter how good we were, without time, the right tools, and more personnel, we couldn’t have possibly sifted through 200 thousand troops and caught every traitor.

I shook my head, “What’s happening here today was beyond our ability to do anything about. We didn’t have enough time for my weapons to cement themselves onto the battlefield and a single counterespionage division, not even a year old, isn’t enough to handle a base like this. Don’t dwell on it.”

“...I guess you’re right. Still.”

I was silent in agreement. Both of us wished we could do something about it. Both of us wondered if there was more we could’ve done.

There was, but neither of us had the ability to change this inevitability. This was a strategic failure on the part of the entire Kingdom. No amount of my bullets nor Polly’s intellect could change it for the better, not in the short amount of time we had to act.

I looked back down at the map.

“Nonnen is securing Steeds right now. How long until we have to leave?”

“Within the next hour. There are orders I need to give before then, because right now only the generals know about how hopeless this situation is. Intelligence agents are getting an idea but all they can do is follow orders and handle their battalions. We’re withholding a lot from them.”

“This entire base is being put up for slaughter. A massive chunk of the Kingdom’s military is about to die today.”

“Retreat orders are about to be given, Sovereign’s orders. But yes. This will be a catastrophic defeat even worse than Purple Sky. They dumped so much into this place. For some time they thought your planes had managed to turn the tide. They thought we would hold this place. For a time even I believed it. I thought we had it…”

I looked up, hearing Polly choke up a bit. She quickly forced it down but she still sat there in silence to calm down.

She let out a breath, hitching a few times, before wiping her face and looking down at the map.

“All generals are leaving with the first retreat wave, which should be called within the hour. I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens earlier though with the way the Scourge is moving. Sensors are going off everywhere so we know they’re surrounding us as we speak.”

“So where do you want me?”

“Here, until I finish my last tasks. Then Jasmine and I will leave with you.”

“Any other people I should expect?”

“...No. Just us two. Give me 10 minutes. We’ll be in your hands after that.”

“I’ll escort you. Umara, regroup with the others, make sure Nonnen has two Steeds. Tell him personally what the plan is. No Aerials from now on, unless absolutely necessary.”

“Copy.”

She left the room, Polly organizing a few things with Jasmine before the three of us left to go carry out the last rites.

I kept my eyes out while walking with them. Polly gave orders to a few dozen people, all of them intelligence agents, and gathered up a few hundred Orbs into a spatial storage from the archives. We passed by other generals doing the same things. It seemed like all of them came to mutual agreements to carry out designated tasks before retreating.

At some point though my anxiety started increasing. I prepared for the worst and took out a weapon. Not Totenstahl. We were around cubicles and rooms so I wanted something a bit more wieldy than a large MG 42.

I retrieved a 300 Blackout Honey Badger SBR. It was short and packed a punch, perfect for clearing buildings like I was in.

Polly stopped and looked at me when the rifle appeared in my hands.

“What’s happening?”

“I know it’s obvious but we aren’t safe here. How much more do you need to do?”

“Not much. I just need to hand off these documents to a few people.”

“Hurry then.”

Polly nodded, going from a walk to a jog while I kept my eye out.

We made two more stops before ending up on the main floor. That’s when the sense of danger spiked, and I looked to find one of the many intelligence agents contorting in pain.

I saw mana gather around them, coalescing dangerously as a formation lit up across their skin, glowing with blood red power.

I followed my gut, raised the weapon, and pulled the trigger twice, sending two rounds through their head and dropping them.

The power continued to gather anyway, so I grabbed Polly and Jasmine and brought them to the floor.

“Get down!”

The explosion went off two seconds later, debris slamming onto my back, their impacts dampened by my coat. It was hardly a thought in my mind. The important thing was that Jasmine and Polly were protected.

I looked up, seeing some summoners bring out beasts, animals, and cold weapons of their own. They started going around and attacking all the other intelligence agents, beasts rampaging across cubicles and destroying anything in their path.

I rose up to one knee and aimed at a massive lizard that clawed its way over to me, eyes red and hungry.

I let off a dozen rounds at it, holes appearing in its head before it disappeared. Then I snapped between all the offending summoners, sending one or two bullets at each, headshots dropping them one by one. They were easy to kill, but they still managed to take many intelligence agents with them. That would wreak havoc on the chain of command and communications.

“Let’s go! We’re done here!”

I picked Polly and Jasmine off the floor, rushing them out. I made a mental note that the silencer on the Honey Badger worked fabulously well, empowered by my Psyka, silencing the sound even further. It was far quieter than any silenced weapons I had ever heard, mere cracks that were easy on the ears. I could even hear the bolt slide.

Good to know.

The three of us rushed out of headquarters. Polly had done her job and there was nothing more she could do that wouldn’t just carry more risk than it was worth.

When we left we found dozens of others doing the same, among them generals. Outside there were also many Steeds parked nearby, surrounded by troops that waved over and secured the generals.

They had their own escort forces too. Polly and Jasmine, while only having 9 people escort them, were still among the most protected of them all. In a time like this, allies like us were the most important.

I looked around and found Umara standing outside of a Steed a small distance away. We ran over, the blizzard picking up intensity.

“Nonnen is going to meet us by the western gate. Troops are already staging for retreat.”

“We don’t want to be the first but we don’t want to be the last. Let’s get to him.”

I helped Polly and Jasmine into the Steed, Umara jumping into the driver seat and peeling away once I was in.

We went all the way to the western gate where there was another Steed parked, as well as several thousand troops with more on the way.

We arrived and I had Polly and Jasmine stay inside while I jumped out and talked to Nonnen.

He asked, “What’s the plan from here?”

“We just need to get to Stronghold Charlie. Best way to do that is to let some of these troops lead the charge. Then again, if they don’t leave soon it’ll be better to just go ourselves and get ahead of the Scourge. We’re being surrounded. We don’t have a large window.”

“Got it. No helicopters?”

“No helicopters. Traitors destroyed most of the aircraft, and Jasmine never got word back from her pilot. We’re on our own.”

“Ain’t that amazing,” He shook his head, looking off into the distance where tens of thousands of troops were battling on the walls, “As soon as we meet significant resistance, the entire army crumbles into a free for all. It’s like we never tried to put up a fight. Why be here then? Why invest so much into this place?”

“Because they think it’ll be useless either way,” I followed his gaze, “Even if we brought down this million strong army with just 200 thousand, the Scourge would simply come back with another million. So they want to pull back forces, preserve numbers, knowing that if they threw all these troops at the enemy, they’d only lose.”

“But it would still be a million monsters dead. Do they think the Scourge wouldn’t just send two million at us next time?”

“Shortsightedness, and fear. That’s all it is. And it’s what my weapons are supposed to solve. I’m trying to build machines that we can sacrifice in place of people. If we can burn money instead of souls, winning this war will be just a matter of time. We may have won this battle today if I had just 6 more months of building and accumulation. But that means in just 6 months, my weapons will turn the tides. I just won’t be saving this base. It’ll be another.”

Nonnen sighed, “Every last one of those generals is still a fool. They’re cowards that run at the first sign of danger.”

“That’s what happens when they’re all weak. Unfortunately they’re all smart too. But that’s why we have to help those like Polly.”

“And give you the time to make weapons. I’m still looking forward to that tank thing you told me about.”

I shrugged, “I don’t know if you’d enjoy being stuck inside a metal coffin all the time instead of fighting personally.”

“Why couldn’t I go out? It’s just a more heavily armored Steed, is it not?”

“What? No. It‘s specifically designed to make sure the occupants never have to leave. That’s the whole point of the armor.”

“You act like I’m supposed to know these things about something you’re currently inventing.”

“I’m just saying.”

He rolled his eyes at me, the two of us watching the surrounding troops grow in number.

At some point we saw the first wave go out, consisting of nearly 20 thousand troops of all levels and escorting three Major Generals.

Nonnen muttered, “With this blizzard, we’re still going in blind. You think they’ll be able to push to the Stronghold?”

“No. They’ll get caught up by the enemy. We need to make sure we don’t join them.”

“How much longer are we waiting?”

“We’ll go with the second wave. More troops, more distractions, easier for us to slip through safely.”

I said that and waited. Troops continued to gather endlessly as the battle raged in front of the walls. I could sense the movement of the Auras in the distance, massive pools that blazed across the sky like conflagrations of invisible power. None of it appeared in my vision but the blizzard could do nothing to dampen its obvious presence.

The Scourge was starting to close its jaws, and the Sovereigns had yet to make their move. At Purple Sky, the Sovereign had to fight because she was facing a King. This time, our Sovereign had an option. He didn’t have to fight if he didn’t want to. Since we were retreating anyway, the Sovereigns on both sides might just let the millions of little minions do all the bloody work while they sat back and watched. No reason to take risks and dirty their hands.

Seemed I was on the dot, because even after another 20 minutes, I didn’t detect even a hint of the Sovereign’s Aura. He was here, that much was certain, but he was mere deterrent, a nuclear bomb that could only sit unused, lest the enemy use theirs.

I understood the concept of MAD. I also understood the concept of having more nukes than your enemy. The Kingdom has failed to surpass its enemy with the highest end power, so they’re now being forced to battle with their minions, exactly where the Scourge thrives.

“Second wave is going out.”

Nonnen spoke as I stared off toward the walls. There were faint flashes that managed to pierce through the blizzard around us. The snow wasn’t obscene, mitigated slightly by our own Sovereign’s Aura, but it was enough to give the Scourge a massive advantage.

I could sense them flooding toward us.

“Let’s go.”

“We’re rolling!”

Nonnen shouted as the thousands of troops around us started mobilizing.

Harsha and Tana drove the two Steeds. On the one that Tana drove, I was with Umara and the Snow Dove knight Ephras. We were with Polly and Jasmine. In the other that Harsha drove was Feiden, Jaya, Nonnen, and the Snow Dove warlock Simeon.

Another chunk of nearly 30 thousand troops went out during the second retreat wave, a minority of them in vehicles, and we kept ourselves toward the middle of the western edge of their formation. It would place the troops between us and the bulk of the incoming Scourge. We had enough firepower to hold off anything that came from the other flank.

We left the Treehouse amidst that formation. I looked beyond the walls as soon as we left their protection, hearing the unholy screams of tens of thousands of Scourge monsters flooding toward us from the flanks. Tens of thousands of our troops held them off, enabling the retreat just as the Sovereign wanted.

We moved slowly in the Steed, keeping in line with the marching troops. They were almost all Magi so they moved faster than walking pace but it still wasn’t quick. We weren’t speeding anywhere.

Some of our escort forces became locked in battle within the first few minutes. The enemy was close, but I couldn’t see them with the blizzard obscuring our view.

We continued marching anyway, the pace picking up once we started getting beyond the initial heat around the base. Troops moved at a jogging pace, most warlocks loaded in some kind of vehicle, knights composing almost all that were on foot.

We picked up speed, crossing a handful of miles like that. More of the outermost forces made contact with the Scourge but they were left behind. The bulk of the force never stopped. The generals weren’t here to fight, but escape. Sacrifices would be made to that end.

We were on the main road to Stronghold Charlie before long, and at some point, the blizzard faded out.

We finally regained our vision, everyone looking back to see the towering localized blizzard that formed a churning wall of snow thousands of feet into the air. I noticed it was faintly tinted red.

We rolled across thin biomat, trodden on often enough to break it up and highlight the main path.

I turned on my Aerial after some time, tuning into the frequencies of the troops ahead of us that left with the first wave.

I immediately heard hundreds of yells and screams, troops calling out that they were locked in combat, some trying to escape an encirclement, others calling for help across various sectors.

“Contact front in 11 miles.”

“Copy.”

I got a response from Nonnen. It was quiet all around us, just the sound of marching and crunching snow in my ears.

I dipped back down into the Steed, looking over at Polly and Jasmine. They were dressed in their Glimmers, no armor to speak of. They were our cargo and it would be difficult to keep them alive, especially if the Scourge was fighting us the whole way.

I asked, “Have we considered digging down to the Rail tunnels and using them to get back to the stronghold?”

Polly nodded, “Yes. The generals agreed that would be our last resort. We can’t enter it too early because the Scourge might follow. We’ll only use it if the bulk of our escort forces fall, which would hopefully be during the final leg of the retreat.”

“Got it.”

I nodded and sat down, relaxing a bit. That was sound logic, because although the tunnels were easy to tread and there were only two directions to worry about, getting caught inside by a horde of Scourge was asking for trouble. There would only be one direction to run, and nowhere to hide.

Umara dipped down and sat across from me, smirking a bit.

“Same thing we did at Purple Sky. Except they sent Rail cars to pick us up after we dug down. Why can’t they do that now?”

Jasmine muttered, “Contact with Stronghold Charlie has been sporadic. Something is going on over there. Chances are traitors got to them too. So they might not be under siege yet, but they can’t help us either. The other generals would know more. They didn’t tell us everything.”

“Of course.”

Umara sighed, her foci sitting in her hand.

We sat in silence a bit longer, waiting, and eventually standing when we encountered the first retreat wave.

I went to the top of the Steed and looked off in the distance, seeing the thousands of troops being drowned by monsters.

I sighed and hoisted Totenstahl up, the bipod sitting on the metal roof of the Steed.

It would still take a day and a half to get to Stronghold Charlie driving at normal pace. If we kept going at marching pace and kept getting interrupted, I wouldn’t be surprised if it took 4 to 7 days.

No matter what, unless we split off to go our own way, it would still be days of driving and fighting.

I was already feeling tired. My peaceful life at the Capital felt like a dream compared to now. Part of me wondered if it was even possible to go back and feel that same peace. Those memories felt foreign.

But the other part of me wondered if it was right to go back, if it was right to stop fighting. It started to feel like peace was wrong. I didn’t want to be one of those generals that ditched an entire base before the fight could even start, using 200 thousand troops as their sacrifice.

Could I really say that I did all I could if I wasn’t fighting at every opportunity?

The screams of flanking monsters interrupted my thoughts. I looked to my left, finding a tide of beasts heading straight towards us, no troops to stand between us.

I adjusted my aim. It was time to do my part, for as long as this force lasted.

I pulled the trigger well before the monsters could approach, cutting them down from afar, the Steed still rolling.

It would be a long handful of days, but with Totenstahl and my team, I was nothing if not prepared.

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