The Will of Humanity

Forward Advance

May 21st 4001AF — 30,001AD/ACE early morning, northern Straician coastline.

Battlecries and cries of pain are heard as the Fulgur Gladii of the Stone Hounds legion advance across the field, the last coastal port of Straicia within their view as Emilia uses magic to whip up a storm just outside of the harbor. Sealing in the ships docked there so they can't escape, this being the only cover she's providing for the invading troops. Lord General Viktor personally commanding a company of one thousand of his legion in an assault on the gatehouse of the city, their stormers laying down suppressing fire upon the defenders on the walls. Using their massive strength to force the gatehouse open, taking the fighting into the city streets. Straician warriors meeting them in waves using swords and crossbows, clearly determined to defeat the invaders taking large swaths of their territory. A few getting looks of shocked horror just before the stormer rounds turn their chests into red mist, their comrades fighting fiercely against the hulking forms of their enemies. Swords clanging against vechian plates, blades cracking before their unfortunate owners find themselves with energy augmented swords through their chests.

The streets and sides of buildings becoming stained with blood, very few actually surrendering to the Fulgur Gladii advancing through their city. Their expressions green as they look upon their dead comrades, or the piles of gore that are left of them. The density of Straician magic users having gotten lighter as the Fulgur Gladii have expanded the territory of Emilia's kingdom, making her worried that the biggest threats to her advancing army are in the Straician capital getting better trained to combat her. The fighting getting heavier as the Stone Hounds advance towards the keep of the citadel, more so outside of the walls as their fierce opponents realize the citadel has been breeched. Quite a few disengaging in an attempt to go reinforce the defenders of the citadel, their heads disappearing in red mist as the Fulgur Gladii don't care about disengaging as they're still their enemies and in battle. The rest pressing their attacks, breaking swords, arrows and crossbow bolts against vechian battleplates as the Fulgur Gladii legionnaires gun them down with stormers on full auto fire. Some Stone Hounds using energy augmented swords to hack down enemies before them, Straician warriors seeming to abandon all sense of self preservation in the face of the horrible monstrosities they're fighting against.

The battlefield soon becoming littered with the gore and bodies of the Straician warriors who refused to surrender, the citadel soon flying Emilia's phoenix banner as the ship crews surrender at the sight of blue vechian armor wearing warriors marching on the harbor after the fall of the keep. Marking the coastal territory of Straicia as belonging to Emilia's burgeoning empire now, the next stage of the campaign being to press inwards and take the cities until the army reaches the Mugrian and Coclenian borders. Lord General Viktor planning for this and having trained some of the conquered Straicians to use weapons of a higher warfare quality, the strategy being to have them working in tandem with the legionnaires and push inward towards the capital and on to the borders. Emilia approving of this strategy, especially as the Straicians haven't been giving her forces trouble since receiving and being trained with the new weapons. Thus giving her reason to trust them, especially since this campaign is bound to be bloody and cost heavily in terms of light infantry manpower.

Emilia's fleet docking at the citadel as her remaining lord and lady generals, Fulgur Gladii, and Emilia herself disembark from the ships. Lord General Viktor Evandal leading the march along the path to the next city, a convoy of production following the legions. Crews of weapon smiths working through the marching to produce stormer rounds, and a select few producing energy augmented swords. A fair number of the smiths losing their lives due to failing to properly produce stormer rounds on the move, their bodies being red smears across the landscape due to their failures. The rest marching on without a second glance, barely knowing each other and thus not overly caring about the deaths of their comrades.