“So, the operation failed.”
A cold voice echoed through the Nyrnal Empire’s military headquarters.
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Marshal Bronberg squeaked. “The enemy introduced a new breed of monster during the battle, and we couldn’t break through the fortress line. But we did show them the steep price for opposing the Empire. We put their capital city, Khalkha, to the flame!”
“Your plan still failed,” Emperor Maximillian said with clear irritation in his voice. “And I’m surprised you have the gall to say that when all you did was give them a reason to join forces with the Arachnea. Remember, I ordered you to succeed in this operation no matter what. I gave you sixty lindwyrms to do it, and you still failed? Yet you think burning Khalkha taught them a lesson?”
“B-But the new creature from the Arachnea was frighteningly powerful, and—”
“That changes nothing. And rather than burn Khalkha, you should have occupied the city. Did that not cross your mind, you senile old man? Thanks to your stupidity, the Arachnea can waltz right through the Eastern Trade Union and invade us. Now we need to do something to stop that. We have to launch a second attack.”
Maximillian looked down at the map.
“The lindwyrms can cross the Phros River. We’ve avoided doing so thus far because of the dangers, but we’re in no position to worry about that anymore. We must cross the Phros and apply pressure to the enemy. And then...”
His eyes trailed to the edge of the map.
“We’ll traverse the elven forest and take control of Schtraut. If there’s no road through the forest, we’ll have the lindwyrms create a path.”
The forest he spoke of was the same one the Arachnea’s queen had promised to protect.
“But first, we start with the Phros. Whether we can take control will determine whether we can protect our homeland. Capture the Phros, no matter what.”
Marshal Bronberg nodded. “Understood, Your Majesty. We will succeed this time.”
“Oh, you thought I was speaking to you, Bronberg?” Maximillian asked with a raised brow. “No, I think I’ve had quite enough of your bumbling incompetence. You will be court-martialed for your failure, and I will decide your punishment right this minute. With this, your role in this war is over.”
The man turned pale, stammering, “Wh-What do you—”
“You will be beheaded for insubordination. It’s decided. Soldiers, execute him at once.”
“Wait! Please, Your Imperial Majesty, wait! Their new monster was simply that fearsome! Were it not for that, Khalkha would have been ours for the—”
Maximillian’s personal guards arrested Marshal Bronberg and dragged him away to the gallows. The marshal bellowed all the while, claiming that he hadn’t failed through any fault of his own. His screaming only stopped once his head was severed.
“Now then, we’ll need a new commander to establish a bridgehead at the Phros,” Emperor Maximillian said coolly, scanning the attending generals. “General Brauchitsch, would you take command?”
“I would be honored, Your Majesty,” the general said, straightening his posture.
“It’s decided, then. I will give you a hundred lindwyrms and an army of thirty thousand men. The enemy should be careless following their victory, so take advantage of that. May the Empire emerge victorious.”
“May the Empire emerge victorious!”
Thus, the Nyrnal Empire’s plan of attack on the Phros River was underway. While the Arachnea and the mercenaries were still drunk off their victory, the ever-greedy Nyrnal set forth in pursuit of victory...
♱
The Phros River flowed from the Eastern Trade Union’s northern wetlands into the southern sea. Due to its location, it had been the subject of repeated invasions from the Nyrnal Empire. The Empire sought to secure the river as a powerful position from which to defend their country. For the Union, it was an important waterway they couldn’t afford to relinquish to Nyrnal.
A momentary calm settled over the river. The apparent central force of the Nyrnal army had been wiped out, so for now, the river seemed safe. A handful of mercenary groups were to guard the place and keep an eye out for any enemy soldiers attempting to cross.
Suddenly, one merc raised his head in alarm. “Huh?! Enemies ahead! And there are...over five thousand of them?!”
“What?!”
The guards blew a horn, alerting the commander and the rest of the soldiers. There were more than just five thousand troops. They were in the tens of thousands. And worst of all, they were accompanied by gigantic serpents—the lindwyrms.
“Send a runner to Commander Konrad! Let them know the Phros is under attack!” shouted the leader of the assembled mercenaries.
“Roger!”
A runner quickly mounted a horse and bolted out of the camp to deliver the news to Konrad. But he didn’t make it far before an arrow pierced through his chest. He fell from his horse, coughing up blood.
“Dammit!” the mercs’ leader cursed, seeing the runner had died. “They’re planning on keeping the river pinned down! But wait...the Arachnea’s bugs!” He recalled what he’d been told about the collective consciousness. Turning to face a nearby Ripper Swarm acting as a scout, he shouted, “You there! Contact your queen! Tell her the Phros is under attack! We need reinforcements quickly, or the Phros may fall into enemy hands!”
His words rippled throughout the consciousness and rapidly reached the mind of the Arachnea’s queen.
♱
“An attack on the Phros?!” I whispered, shocked. “The enemy’s hellbent on keeping up the offensive!”
I’d received the message in the middle of our efforts to rebuild Khalkha.
“I figured they’d attack again at some point, but this quickly...? They must have a lot of soldiers. Or maybe they’re under some amateur trying to flood the Union with Nyrnal’s troops. Either way, this is bad.”
I tapped into the Ripper Swarm’s consciousness and observed the situation at the Phros.
“A hundred lindwyrms? You’re joking...”
But it was no joke. One hundred lindwyrms were crossing the river along with the Empire’s army. That was a much larger force than the one they’d sent to the fortress line. And this time the area had no walls, Carrion Cannons, or Dreadnought Swarms. How were we going to defeat them now?
“Well, we just have to do it, with or without our best assets. If the enemy’s attacking, we’ve got to respond. Thankfully, we have the Worker Swarms right here, so if we take them along, we could build some walls. And from there...I hope we can win somehow.”
The Dreadnought Swarm was too slow, and it was still in the fortress line in the northeast region of the Union. It would take dozens of hours to call it over, and we didn’t have that kind of time.
“Konrad! The Phros River is under attack! They have a hundred of those lindwyrms!” I called out.
“What?! A hundred more of those things?!” Konrad replied, balking.
“Unfortunately, we don’t have any allies to help us this time around. Think you could handle it?”
“Sure we can. Like hell we’re gonna hand our land over to them on a silver platter.”
He gathered his subordinates, who had been busy with carpentry work, and briefed them about the situation.
“Let’s meet at the Phros. And if possible, let us emerge victorious,” I said.
“Nah. We’ll definitely win, right?”
While one monster after another crossed the Phros River, Konrad and I made our way there as quickly as possible.
♱
The Phros was a long river. Since it was heavily used as a waterway, it was well maintained and had multiple ports. This meant that if one had to cross the river, it was risky but still manageable.
The problem was that this applied to Nyrnal as much as it did us.
Still, even a hundred lindwyrms weren’t nearly enough to completely occupy the banks of this vast river. After landing, the lindwyrms spread out and deployed under multiple commanders to fully exercise their great strength. They broke through the defensive line the Eastern Trade Union had painstakingly set up and marched on the country.