Glosil issued orders, splitting the two companies.
The enemy was on a small rise, which seemed to be a small island in the summer time. Around them, there were several small frozen streams that cut from the northeast to the southwest, giving them good visibility in both directions. To the northwest and the southeast, the forest came close to the river, giving the attackers good cover close to the island.
First Platoon was ordered to move to the northwest forest while Second Platoon moved to the streams in the northeast.
“Spread out,” Glosil ordered. As First Platoon reached the forest, they created an extended line, oriented and facing the northwestern side of the island.
Glosil was talking through the sound transmission devices to Second Platoon upstream.
“Wait for my command,” Glosil said.
***
Niemm was on watch when Lucinda moved over to him. They’d dug into the cold, hard ground to give themselves better cover.
“Movement. Night Terror picked them up. They’re in the north,” Lucinda said.
“Okay, stay with them,” Niemm said, waking up as he passed on the information to the others.
The special teams quickly woke up and stealthily moved to their positions, looking in every direction to make sure that it wasn’t a feint on one side and clear an access route if they needed to retreat.
“We’ve got them moving in on the northwest side, though there’s only a company. There has to be more out there,” Lucinda said.
Rugrat, who was watching the fighting from their side, was with them, listening and assessing.
“Prepare to use area of effect spell scrolls. We’ll use one northeast, southwest, and southeast. If they’re trying to put down a fire support base in one of those locations, we’ll get it,” Niemm said, talking on his leadership channel with Roska, Storbon, and Rugrat.
“Why the southeast then?” Rugrat asked.
“Might as well check. There could be an ambush waiting for us as we leave our position,” Niemm said.
Rugrat nodded, giving away none of his thoughts.
“We’ll wait until the grenades go off,” Niemm said.
“Understood,” Roska and Storbon said.
Niemm moved from his position, staying low so no one could see him moving through the trench system. He got to a new position and looked out. Using a spell on his eyes, he was able to look out into the forest with ease.
He knew that they were in the forest but he couldn’t see them.
All of their weapons had been changed out for stun weapons, their blades blunted. Erik and Rugrat would manage the battlefield on both sides, “killing” people as they were attacked.
A stun grenade went off as people grunted. They had added tripwires to the grenades so that when someone ran past them, they would activate.
Blasts of lightning went off as people yelled out in pain in the northeastern area.
“Contact!” Gong Jin yelled out as the grenade went off.
Spell scrolls were pulled out, their positioning checked by Rugrat, who put it on the map. He contacted people through their communication bracelets, letting them know that they were dead when the spell scrolls would have been activated.
Rugrat was linked to everyone’s maps and could see all of their positions.
The special team’s camp opened fire on the attackers to the northeast, half casting destruction spells and using their long-range weaponry.
Instead of panicking, the forces that were to the northeast fired on the camp. More grenades fell and went off in the camp.
People fell, but the force kept on moving forward, trying to firm up their position as they fired at the camp. Thirty people in the camp watched four different sides, but there were forty people in the platoon. Even with casualties, they pushed onward and returned fire, setting down emplaced repeating ballistae, making the special teams take a few casualties, but the most important thing was it kept their heads down, suppressing them so that they couldn’t fire back.
The force that had been waiting to the northeast charged forward. Their supporting force was exposed and they needed to capitalize on the element of surprise. They moved as quickly as possible through the forest. It was hard to see into its depths and most people were focused on the northeast, where most of the fighting was happening.
Artillery spells started to be called in, the camp’s casualties piling up. Erik and Rugrat had been discussing long-range supporting and plunging fire, the kind that one would find with artillery and mortars. The best that they had come up with was coordinating with group spells and using a forward observer to call in fire. Long-distance spells required a lot of power and they needed to be targeted. Maps, and using the way point system, allowed them to overcome this issue.
Long-range or ranged spells in general were weaker than touch spells for one basic reason: a spell was powerful, but with time it would weaken and disappear. A bullet didn’t magically dissipate but a spell would; with each meter, it would lose strength. There were two ways to overcome this: increase the power in the spell so it had more power when it reached the target, or to increase the stability of the spell. The more stable it was, the longer it would take for the spell to dissipate.
The camp’s rate of fire sharply declined as artillery continued to fall on them as the force to the northwest closed with them.
“Grenade slingshots ready,” Roska said. “Firing!”
People pulled down on slingshots loaded with grenades. They released the slingshot; the pull tabs were yanked out. They went flying off, scattering over the area in front of them, up to five hundred meters away.
The stun grenades went off, striking some of the advancing forces.
They returned fire and their groups broke up into smaller sections so it would be harder for the grenades to catch them.
Rugrat looked over the parapet. Erik was calling down hits on the camp as the artillery mages relayed them to him.
The fire base to the northeast was laying in fire, working between ballistas. One repeating ballista would fire, then the other, keeping up a constant stream of fire. It showed their ability to think even in the chaos of fighting, to fall back on their training.
They reloaded in between firing bouts and had moved people across the streams, distancing their forces and creating two different fire bases that allowed them to see the northwestern, eastern, and southeastern sides.
They had been caught off guard but they were reacting to it well. The northwestern fighting force was moving through the tree line by sections, spreading themselves out as they brought overwhelming firepower down on the camp. They had to reload and fire their crossbows, making them have to work with one another and yell out, communicating and knowing what was happening around them.
They still advanced like some kind of juggernaut as they were randomly hit with arrows and fell among the falling grenades.
The attackers were being cut down, falling here and there with the stun rounds.
Grenades and ballistae on the side of the camp were firing, cutting down the advancing forces and fighting for fire superiority with the fire base off to the northeast.
The attackers kept on falling while the people in the camp, the medics, started to care for the wounded and allowed them back into the battlefield. The attackers didn’t have any time for that, needing to fight to try to suppress the camp.
More people were hit in the forest, lying down as they were “killed.” The camp started to recover from their shock. Using their grenade slingshots and their emplaced ballistas with their strong spells, they were winning the firefight and suppressing the attackers.
It took some time before Erik called up Rugrat.
“We’re down to about thirty on our side,” Erik reported.
“Got about fifteen left here,” Rugrat said.
“I think the special teams took it,” Erik said.
“Agreed. Shall we call it?”
“Sounds good,” Erik said.
&nbs
p; “End exercise! Medics, check on everyone. Rally to the camp!” Erik called out his order to everyone.
The last arrow was fired and the last grenade launched as the spells stopped appearing in the sky above.
***
Domonos had been caught by one of the grenades that came down from the sky. The stun was pretty powerful, putting him back on his ass. He was out of the fight.
He saw Yui and nodded to him. “How did it go on your side?”
“Got hit with a grenade right away—took out about five. Then, as we were scrambling, another seven were hit before we got into position. We called in indirect spells but they were only enough to give us breathing room and try to suppress them. Lost a few before we could even get our ballistas up and then had to split the remaining forces to build another fire base on the other side of the streams,” Yui said with a displeased look on his face.
Domonos patted him on the back.
“Okay, so we’ve all learned how a defending force even one-third the strength of the attacking force can hold out! The longer you have time to prepare a defensive position, the stronger it will be and the harder it will be to take,” Erik said. Everyone looked to him as they all grew silent.
“Glosil, do you want to go over your plan, actions on the field?” Erik asked.
Glosil went through the battle, recapping it from his point of view as the commander.
“What went wrong?” Erik asked.
“We didn’t spend time looking for traps. By the time we knew of the grenades on the ground, it was too late and our position was found. The camp reacted quickly and took the advantage,” Glosil quickly replied.
“Once you were discovered, you could have retreated, using cover of indirect fire, drawn the people in the camp out, created an ambush. A defensive position is only as good as its supplies. If you could circle them, create cut-offs and hammered them from distance, spread the battle out over a week, it would have worn on the defenders. You came at them and immediately pushed into the battle. If the battle is not favorable to you, change the way that you’re fighting,” Rugrat said.
“Defenders, how did it look from your side?”
Roska talked about their intel from their beast tamers, seeing the flanking force to the northeast and their assumption that there would be a group to the northeast or southwest. Then the grenade going off cleared it up for them, but they used spell scrolls in every direction to scare anyone in the other directions.
“Good on the intel. A few patrols might have been able to learn about the scouts. You were reacting instead of being proactive, bringing in the enemy, making them confident and then closed the trap on them. You created trenches that were good, but you didn’t have overhead cover to save you from artillery spells. Repeating ballistas were hidden well as the attackers had a hard time finding them at first and then they were well entrenched, making it hard to kill the user without calling down indirect fire,” Erik said.
“It’s interesting what Roska said with the scaring people. In this fight, we had grenades and arrows, but there were no explosions, lights going off. This can create chaos on the battlefield—unable to hear anything, unable to see through the rain of spells, snow and dirt,” Rugrat followed up afterward.
They went through the sections, rebuilding an idea of what had been going on, where they messed up, where things had gone well.
Then they broke into sections and talked to the opposing force, learning not only from their own group but the others.
“All right, time to do it again! Special teams, you will be the assaulting force. Alpha company will be defending. Glosil, with me. Everyone else, clean up the battlefield,” Erik said.
***
Matt looked through the manor. The restaurant had been completed, first with the cooks from Alva Dungeon coming over and filling it. They had hired staff from people in the Third Realm as it was cheaper than bringing more from the First.
The restaurant took up the front building, with dining facilities on each floor. But the main dining experience was on the roof, where one could look over the Division Headquarters and be served personally.
The chefs worked at the rear of the building, which were also the living quarters for the people from Alva Dungeon and where the true operations under Alva Dungeon’s control would happen.
Cooks were a sought-after skill in the Third Realm, but not to the point that it could contend with the alchemists. If one was good at mixing ingredients together, then, in the Third Realm, they would look to become an alchemist. It was more expensive than being a cook, but the rewards one could gain, the opportunity to join the Alchemist Association was a much greater lure than just serving other people food.
Matt had shared some of his food with a group of traders. Tasting just the prepared meal he had bought in Alva Dungeon, they demanded more of it.
Thus the idea of the restaurant had formed. He put it to the council leader Delilah and she had accepted it, giving it her full support.
He had sent out samples to different people across the Division Headquarters, seeing whether they were interested and the response was a flurry of messages.
The cooks from Alva Dungeon, some of them had learned about Alchemy, but all of them enjoyed cooking more than Alchemy. The head chef was a Journeyman cook, the others at the Apprentice level at the very least. Combined with the plants and ingredients that were raised by the farmers of Alva Dungeon, they were able to create meals that the people in the Third Realm had never tried before in their lives.
The manor was finally complete. The last stone had been laid and fused and formations had been carved into the building.
Work had begun on excavating a tunnel down to the hidden section of the dungeon below. Matt had been part of the design. Making a secret basement was exciting to him, what kid didn’t dream of a secret room?
For now though, that was on hold.
Matt stood at the gates with Journeyman Chef Mo Jones. He was a tall black man who looked as if he spent his time wrestling wild beasts but he wore a chef’s cap and the white linen of a chef.
Tonight was the day that the Sky Reaching Restaurant would be open to the public. Invitations had been sent out and people had already started to arrive. Matt and Mo greeted them as they arrived before they passed through the gates to look at the tower.
Looking at it from the front, it appeared to be an eight-level pagoda tower, but with glass windows that allowed one to look out at the city. The rear area one couldn’t look through as these were the kitchens and living area.
Matt had laid down a rock garden in the front with raked stones. The stables to the left was two stories tall, but plants and a water garden hid the noises and smells of the animals.
Off to the right, there was an open area filled with sculptures that a few of the construction workers, formation apprentices, and others interested in sculpting had made.
There was also a small store here, with a few people manning it.
A carriage arrived at the front of the manor, surrounded by several guards wearing full armor, surveying the area. They wore the black armor of the Alchemist Association guards.
The door opened and an older-looking man appeared.
“Pill Head Hei.” Matt smiled and went to greet him personally.
“Come, Matt, no need to do that between friends. I’ve come for some more of that delicious food and drink!” Old Hei chuckled as others who were looking on or waiting to enter the Sky Reaching Restaurant stopped their steps.
“Pill Head Hei? One of the three pill heads? I thought that he rarely left the Division Headquarters!”
“I heard that he was able to craft a Master-level pill not long ago and that he is halfway into the Master realm of pill making!”
“He is one who dedicates his time to working and teaching others. It is rare to see him outside of the Division Headquarters but he has come to open the Sky Reaching Restaurant. Just what is their connection?”
“Connection? Maybe he is ju
st a lover of good food! Were you able to taste their samples?”
“Only too good. I wonder if they will be able to keep up their standard?!”
“It would be our honor to host you.” Matt couldn’t hide his smile as he half bowed once again. He knew how having a powerful patron like Old Hei could raise their value and reputation rapidly.
Old Hei merely laughed as he waved away Matt’s flattering words. “Please, come and join in a drink with me when you can. I hope it all goes well with the opening.” Old Hei moved past to enter the Sky Reaching Restaurant. Matt sent a special message, one of the servers coming out to see to Old Hei’s every need.
Matt continued to greet the others. Those who had passed previously had a haughty attitude but now they tried to have more of a conversation with him, a faint respect in their eyes and interest in his close relationship with Pill Head Hei. Matt deflected the questions, putting it down to the food.
After greeting people, Matt made an announcement to the people outside.
“For the opening, we will be also giving out a number of samples! Please come in and try out our wares.” Tickets were issued and people went over to the store that was out front of the restaurant. It sold pre-made meals. Matt had bought out all of the meals that were in the Alva Dungeon cafeteria. With storage rings, food never went bad, so he was able to stuff thousands of pastries, meals, drinks, and more into his storage rings.
He’d increased the prices greatly. Meals weren’t that expensive in Alva Dungeon, but in the Third Realm, they could reach sky-high prices, Matt thought “Show me the Money!”
Matt and Mo looked at each other and headed to the restaurant, Mo heading to the kitchens and Matt seeing and greeting people as he walked through. People admired the building, paying him compliments and asking him to design different buildings for them. These people were the upper echelon of the Division Headquarters. Seeing this building, their envy was ignited; they wanted to build something like it, or something better than it.
If I trained up some more architects and got them to design the buildings, I looked for jobs and put my name on it, could make some good coin. Matt liked architecture, but he wanted to explore still. He laughed to himself and climbed up to the highest floor.
The Third Realm Page 62