Touch of Fate

Chapter 194: Long Range Concerns

Mike found the scene a little surreal. Here he was, standing on the top of a magically reinforced tower, watching an army assault a series of walls that made the medieval defenses of his own world look like children's toys by comparison, and contemplating when he would ride into battle on the back of an actual dragon.

The situation might have been a bit confusing, if it wasn't for the stream of commentary that quickly developed between the mage Harnik, and the stern-looking commander of the 1st University Division.

"They're keeping their mages in reserve from the looks of it." Kiera, as her name appeared to be, commented.

"Probably in preparation for staving off whatever mass devastation spell our resident Dragonknight intends to throw at them next." Harnik commented lightly, shooting Mike an amused glance, before continuing. "Although that won't be particularly effective right now."

Kiera nodded her agreement. "Another meteor could easily prove our undoing."

"Would you mind explaining that?" Mike asked, curious. He'd been contemplating simply raining death on the army, resting, and then repeating the process until they gave up.

"They have a Tier 3 mage capable of space magic. It's a well-known fact that space mages make the traditional magic and artillery strikes difficult, or even dangerous. Even the most inexperienced practitioners of spatial magic can deflect projectiles with relative ease. Skilled ones, like the Tenundian mage commander, could even use their opponent's spells against them." Harnik replied solemnly, before gesturing towards the wall. "Imagine how devastating a meteor would be, if it was redirected to strike against our defenses."

"A fair point, but why didn't he attempt to do something like that the first time?"

Frowning slightly in thought, the instructor eventually answered. "I suspect it had more to do with the timing of your attack, coming as it did immediately after two other offensives that he was forced to defend against. He likely didn't have time to do more than slightly alter its trajectory. That won't be the case now that the Tenundians are aware of your abilities."

[So I either need to distract Nurenal in some manner, or find a new method of attacking that isn't susceptible to spatial redirection.]

He had a few ideas, but nothing he could simply roll out on a whim. That said, he did make sure to message Red, confirming that the dragon was on standby in the high altitudes above the city. Assuming that the opportunity arose, he would like to try his hand at reducing the enemy's numbers to some extent.

"On the positive side, this means that the enemy is keeping their most potent mage on standby, likely with a group of others capable of supporting him should he be called upon to defend against any major attacks." Kiera muttered absentmindedly while concentrating on the approaching Tenundians.

"That means we won't have to worry about as many hostile spells being thrown our way." Harnik commented with a smile. "Besides, if it gets too rough, Emmanuel will likely jump in. A Space Elemental Mage as powerful as him could turn the tide of an artillery duel relatively easily."

"Then why isn't he here?" Mike questioned, a little annoyed that he was standing on the front lines while someone better qualified was elsewhere.

"And reveal our strongest Tier 3 mage? No, it's best for him to remain hidden until needed, to avoid any complications caused by whatever mage hunters that managed to sneak past our security." Kiera replied with a scoff.

"Mage hunters?" He asked Sera quietly, not wanting to display his ignorance further.

"Assassins that specialize in taking down mages. It's pretty common for most armies to have a few, but the Tenundians are somewhat famous for theirs. Historically, it's been the only reason they've been able to compete with Almir and it's significantly larger population of mages." She answered simply.

[Great. Something else to keep an eye out for.]

Nodding his thanks, Mike stood and walked over to one of the windows. The walls of this section of the tower were partially composed of large panes of a transparent material called Steelglass, an alchemical product that was fairly popular for military purposes. It was remarkably durable while still allowing viewers to see through it. Unfortunately, it had a dark brown tint, which made it unusable in conditions of poor lighting. In the midmorning sunshine, this wasn't a problem, however.

[Kind of reminds me of sunglasses.]

Stretched below him was the impressive outer wall. The observation tower was far enough away, that he would have had trouble recognizing any of the soldiers moving along its parapets, if he knew who they were.

He could see that the Tenundians were marching forward in several long columns, each spearing towards a part of the wall. From the looks of it, they were carrying extremely tall ladders while they did so. Far behind them, he noticed a large amount of activity as a second group of the enemy started pushing forward or constructing large artillery pieces.

There was a rather eclectic mix of equipment arrayed against the city. Trebuchets seemed to be the most prevalent, but smaller catapults and even cannons were also visible. From the looks of it, they were setting up a little too far from the city. At their current range, the cannonballs would lose much of their momentum, while the trebuchets would have a hard time hitting at all, or so he assumed.

Nevertheless, they posed a significant enough threat for the division commander to take action.

Kiera frowned at the distant siege equipment and the much closer assault forces. She issued as series of commands to the two aides that were waiting near the staircase. "Have our artillery focus on the trebuchets, we need to keep them occupied during the assault. Tell the archer units to fire at will, and get the 12th, 6th, and 4th infantry platoons ready to respond as needed. Place them in sections three, seven, and ten respectively."

The pair hurried downstairs to relay the orders. In a short span of time the walls erupted in a cloud of white-gray smoke as cannons, built into the structure itself, opened fire. Mike had only seen a handful of muskets and pistols in the city, so he was a little surprised by the number of pieces at the defenders' disposal. However, it made sense after he thought about it.

Cannons, with their incredible stopping power and long range would be much more useful in a world where skilled combatants could take on entire formations of enemy troops with relative ease, and mages could launch devastating spells from a distance. While muskets and rifles likely saw more use in fights with the large wildlife that cropped up from time to time, they evidently weren't potent enough to dominate the battlefield like they did on Earth.

The volley fired from the walls mostly fell short of their intended targets, and Mike could see several cannonballs slamming harmlessly into the ground. Some actually managed to overshoot, demonstrating that the enemy was within range, but even they proved ineffectual. After a few minutes another, more ragged, volley was launched with much the same effect.

[Looks like our side lacks skilled artillerymen.]

It didn't take long for the Tenundian artillery to begin launching their own attacks, most of which either fell short or slammed into the wall. Somehow, they were able to match the range of the defenders, despite the height advantage. Even the trebuchets and catapults were able to launch their ammunition farther than he would have thought possible. Luckily, the wall was solidly built, suffering almost no damage from the blows.

In fact, the only real effect the enemy fire had was to unsettle the defenders, who seemed disinclined to raise their heads above the parapets while the barrage was ongoing.

Grumbling angrily, Kiera turned to one of her aides, who had only recently returned from his first task. "Send a message to Donald. Tell him, if he doesn't start hitting the Tenundians with all that ammo he's wasting, I am going to come down there and break both of his legs a second time."

Once the man had started moving, the commander turned towards Mike. "Are you going to be participating in the battle today, sir Dragonknight? If so, we could really use your assistance in taking down that artillery." She commented with a bit more venom that she probably intended.

"Is there a reason why you are concerned about it? It doesn't seem to be having much of an effect on the walls." He asked, slightly confused by her apparent urgency.

"That's because they are only finding their range at the moment. They use mundane ammo for that. However, once they start hitting the walls consistently, they'll be switching to their magically enhanced siege rounds. I don't know much about the enemy marshal, but if he's even halfway competent, he'll use every opportunity to lay on as much punishment as he can manage with his artillery."

It still seemed a little farfetched, but Mike couldn't complete ignore her concerns. While he technically fell outside of the chain of command, in theory he was supporting her 1st Division. A direct request was a little hard to ignore without a sufficient reason.

He shrugged and sent a mental message to Red, "I'll see what I can do."

Before he left, Mike made sure to hand off his newly devised products to his team members. They looked like simple necklaces, little more than a rune-carved bit of stone on a leather strap, but they came with a handy magical function.

------------------------------------------

{Signal Necklace}

Magic Item (Tier 1, Rank 3)

When mana is channeled into this stone pendant, its sends a mental signal to the individual keyed to it. The exact nature of this signal is established upon creation. Once activated, the signal will continue for a period of one minute, before the stored mana is consumed, causing the stone to crumble to dust.

---------------------------------------------

After explaining the method of using them, he told Sera to stay with Tal until he came back. She reluctantly agreed, although she seemed to be sulking a bit for some reason.

[She's been in a bit of a mood all day. Did I do something to upset her?]

Dismissing the thought, he climbed out onto the top of the observation tower, and caught a ride.

It only took Red a few wing strokes to bring them over the Tenundian army. Mike was looking down, mainly out of curiosity, but he quickly noticed the effect his, or more likely his mount's, presence had on the enemy soldiers. Quite a few them simple gawked at them as they flew by, others cowered or even ran, and a few attempted to ineffectually fire their weapons into the air.

A few arrows, bolts, and bullets collided with Red's scales, but didn't hurt him at all. His hide was too thick and durable for anything besides a direct hit with a cannon to do much.

[I'm beginning to see how a small group of Dragonknights could effectively end war in the Inland Sea Region.]

After launching a few exploratory fireballs only to seem them intercepted by mages hidden within the Tenundian ranks, Mike decided that a more direct approach was necessary.

Following Mike's mental direction, Red veered to the left, until they had reached the far end of the dug-in artillery. Flying down their line, the dragon promptly proceeded to bathe the war machines in torrents of flame. Horrifying screams, first of fear and then of pain, rose above the sounds of battle as the Tenundian gunners were caught in the mix. Meanwhile, Mike stayed alert for any counterattack they tried to launch.

Red was forced to fly somewhat slowly to create a sufficient amount of fire to roast the equipment, so it took him almost a minute to cover the first third of the line. While they weren't having any problems so far, Mike's instincts were telling him that something was amiss.

[This seems a little too easy.]

As soon as the thought had crossed his mind, Mike was forced to dodge an arrow, which was sent hissing up from the ground nearby. A searing line of pain, and a terrible tearing sensation cut across his ear, as the projectile skewered the air his head had occupied a moment ago.

Straightening, he sent a mental message to Red, telling him to pull back and get some distance. Evidently, there were some enemies capable of doing them harm, and Mike was beginning to suspect that this whole enterprise might just be some kind of trap.

His fears were proven justified, when a harsh shouted command issued from the ground below. Tarps were pulled from the backs of several ordinary looking covered wagons, revealing small cannons, already armed and pointed at him.

While he first felt a thrill of fear, Mike judged that the weapons would still have difficulty injuring Red. They simply lacked the potency of field pieces, and would do little more than bruise the dragon.

[Are they underestimating me?] He thought, as they fired, already summoning the mana necessary to deflect the few heading in his direction.

What did catch him by surprise, was the massive steel net that accompanied the launched projectiles, billowing out to engulf them.

[Ha! Clever girl...or guy. I'm not sure who thought this up, actually.] Mike thought to himself as he hastily prepared a defense.