There is an equal but opposite reaction. ~Sir Isaac Newton
SLAUGHTER
The destruction of the Foldus capital was short and brutal. When the attackers finally shattered the last line of defense, the city began burning, and did not stop until the very last timber was scortched black. Not a single defender survived the final minutes of the city's liberty.
As satisfying as the destruction was, it tied up thousands of Hegemony troops. It cost them time, and time was not a luxery they could ill afford against an organized opponent. Nonetheless the victory was theirs, and the army began to move south with all the limited speed it could muster.
At the edge of the borders between Foldus, Chi'akan, and Numidars, skirmishes had begun, but something more significant also occured. For the first time since the war began, the invaders began to hesitate. The force arrayed before them was clearly larger than any they had faced before, though their current victories gave them the anticipation and hope for more.
OPPOSITE ENEMY LINES
Gregor Ironfist recieved the first missives a few days earlier, word that the Godslayer's host was on the move sent hope through the ranks of his men, troops from nearly every province were moving, however what Gregor left out, was that the provinces were not sending more than a third of any one of their armies in defense of numidars and chi'akan. He understood why this was, there could be more ships coming, no telling just how large the enemy force was or where they might land. News from Calaini had not been bad, but nor was it encouraging. The coasts were lost, but the rest of the island held off, and none of the cities had fallen prey just yet, though fierce fighting raged constantly.
Before him lay ambitious plans, within days he expected to have enough in troops and material to make the plan work. All he needed was just a few more days, with luck, the irregulars would buy him that time. Most of them were not soldiers, they were peasants or traders, even a noble or two, that had lost everything and greeted death eagerly, so long as they could die with the chance at taking one invader with him or her. Some were slaves that sought freedom in the blood of the Hegemony soldiers. Most knew they would die, but they were determined to die well. They'd greeted the orders grimly but resolutely. They launched a massive attack on the extreme right flank of the Hegemony's army. An attack they knew was doomed to be defeated, but it would draw troops, material, and resources away, and when the defeat came, perhaps they would counter attack, and give the Ironfist the chance to land a mighty blow, and win back something of what had been lost. A defeat would mean the loss of the south. A victory would win back much of the north.
|