Why do we Fight? - Volume III - For Honor

Chapter 25: Fall of the Warmongers

- The Quakeplanes, months of campaigning later... -

It was a day with heavy downpour. It was early in the morning yet the skies are dark with thick clouds of gray. It was an unlikeable weather, but it is also the time that the war ends.

Combining the armies of the Knights, the Vikings, the Samurai, and the Wu Lin, (Argen) and Amber brought the alliance towards the Quakeplanes, a once barren region now turned into an industrial powerhouse by the Order of Horkos. It provided the cultists their endless supply of war gear, hence the importance of the region.

Both sides knew that if the Quakeplanes falls, it will be all over. Here, it was all or nothing. With the last of her available armies, Astrea marched her forces to meet the Chimera Alliance in what will be the largest battle of the war. Both sides reinforced every side of their armies to the point that the only option left for them was to fight the battle head on.

The rain was heavy and droplets of water continuously pounded steel, leather, wood, and lamellar. The weather is cold, yet the soldiers and warriors of the Chimera Alliance felt only burning hatred for the overzealous who seek to continue the war. Four races shoulder to shoulder against demons; it was truly a sight.

However, even (Argen) was cautious with his allies; he did not want a repeat of the events in the Shard where they were all manipulated into fighting each other. Diplomacy is deemed as an improbable solution as he doubted that the other factions would just go home, like Apollyon once correctly predicted back in the Shard five years ago. He put together a plan to surround each of the factions with his own people to make them think that they will not leave Ashfeld alive if they do turn on one another and only then will diplomacy be possible.

To do that, he will need more men and thankfully he did.

The Victorious Legion under the de facto command of Gabrielle is now ready and joined forces with the Fourteenth Legion in The Mitters north of Beaufort Stronghold. There, they pushed back the Horkos forces with ease, hacking their way closer to Astrea's headquarters. (Argen) did not want them to completely surround the Order of Horkos, however because he doesn't want them to fight to the death and cause more struggle and death.

Instead, he planned to leave one venue of escape for the cultists and that is far to the south where there are mainly deserts and inhabited by the Wu Lin people currently in a revolt against the rule of the Warmongers. That way, they can take Beaufort Stronghold far more easier. That does not mean that it will be easy, though.

Now, the time for the most decisive battle of the war is upon them. The allied forces from four races stood side by side, unmoving under the torrential downpour as they glared at the Horkos forces who were a distance away from them. Both sides waited for one to make the move, but neither wanted to be the first. The Chimera Alliance has Horkos outnumbered and (Argen) knew it. If he has to, he will make the first move.

Days passed and the Horkos formations never made any moves. The Stallion cavalry as well as horsemen of House Gongsun of the Wu Lin did whatever to harass and probe the lines of the corrupted for any weaknesses, but this barely made any progress. The Chimera commanders cannot wait any longer for the weather to pass as the Horkos forces would have been reinforced by then. With no other choice other than a frontal assault, the Chimera lines trampled across the uneven terrain and pools of muddy water that will soon be tainted with blood.

(Argen) and Amber sat beside each other alone inside the council tent; the final meeting until the battle has just concluded and all of the commanders partaking in the battle have already left to command their forces for the upcoming bloodbath. The Stallion and Gongsun cavalry have finally managed to lure a substantial fraction of the Horkos forces away from the front. To make it look like an all-out attack, Zirem Hirtzel led a company of Lightshields and along with Samurai of the Otomo Clan faced the distracted Horkos troops in battle. With the final battle lying on their actions, (Argen) and Amber and have decided that a frontal assault is their only chance to finally end it all.