“What are you talking about?” the sergeant asked angrily.
“Dragons,” the man answered with a tremor in his voice. “Scores of them have gathered by the sea. I would rather die to an arrow than in the jaws of those monsters.”
“You will die by hanging if you don’t gather the rest of our squad and fight the Alceans coming through our sector,” snapped the sergeant. “I have to report to General Kozinski, but I will be heading to the west as soon as I am done. If you are not there before me, you had better already be dead.”
Sergeant Dilney did not wait for a response. He turned and continued his run towards the center of the camp. When he arrived, he found the general in the midst of total chaos. He quickly explained what had transpired in the north, adding in the fact that men from the west were fleeing from the attackers. He then mentioned what his own man had told him of the east. The general shook his head and sighed heavily.
“Colonel,” the general said to Colonel Shellard who had been standing close enough to hear the report, “I want our command center moved northwest. We need to be closer to the action. Send out runners to tell every regiment commander that they are to gain control over their men and report to me at the new command center. We are gathering in force to present a proper defense.”
“We are abandoning the barricades?” the colonel asked with a frown.
“Blast the barricades, Colonel. Did you not hear this man’s report? We are losing control over our army. Plant a flag one-thousand paces northwest of here and call it the command center. I want the entire 17th Corps to gather there and present a solid circle of shields to the enemy. The Alceans do not have enough men to beat us unless they can scare our men senseless. I will not allow that to happen.”
Chapter 46
Alcean Retreat
Colonel Sawar of the 7th Corps of the Empire of Barouk had just finished checking on the southern perimeter of Team Miram’s camp when the ground began to tremble. He was already halfway back to the command tent and torn as to which way to go. He did not think the earthquake was natural. In fact, he felt it was the opening salvo of a battle with the Alceans. Figuring that General Bledsoe must have felt the trembling as well, and understood its significance, he turned around and began running back towards the southern perimeter to organize the defense. That was when the fierce winds struck out of the south. The first gust of wind lifted the colonel off his feet and slammed him into a tree. Pinned to the tree by the ferocious windstorm, the colonel raised his arms and covered his face. Pebbles and twigs blasted the colonel’s body, but the wind carried something much more ominous, the sounds of battle.
After a while, the winds abated enough for Colonel Sawar to push off the tree. He struggled against the wind as fast as he could towards the southern perimeter with his eyes barely open. He had covered more than half the distance to the barricade when the wind suddenly died. The colonel opened his eyes fully and saw that the enemy was already past the barricade. He saw the king and queen of Alcea in shining white and gold battle attire riding at the head of the Alcean army. He gawked at the horns protruding from the unicorns’ heads and watched with amazement as both the king and queen swung their long, two-handed swords with seeming ease. Federation soldiers on both sides of the royal couple fell with mortal wounds, but the most gruesome deaths were the two red-clad soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be in the way of the charging unicorns. The unicorns lowered their heads in unison and gored the soldiers with their long horns, flipping the gutted bodies aside without breaking stride.
The colonel anxiously glanced right and left of the royal couple and saw Alceans as far as he could see in each direction. The Federation soldiers along the southern perimeter were retreating before the enemy charge, but not in a panic. The Federation soldiers retreated in as orderly fashion as possible given the sudden onslaught. Here and there a shield wall was established, but the Alceans quickly outflanked the uncoordinated efforts. The colonel knew that it would take some organization to prevent a rout. He turned around and ran towards the center of the camp.
As he ran towards the center of the camp, the colonel came upon troops rushing towards the fighting. He waved for the men to halt and then called for the company commanders to gather around him.
“We need a defensive shield line right here,” stated Colonel Sawar. “I want it to eventually spread the entire width of the camp with wings to protect our flanks, but we will have to start it smaller until more men arrive. For now, form it two rows deep and as long as we can. We will lengthen it later.”
The company commanders nodded in understanding and began deploying their men. Colonel Sawar, knowing that his orders would be carried out, broke into a run for the large command tent. When he arrived, he saw that the tent had been destroyed. He glanced around and found General Bledsoe issuing orders to several colonels. He ran to the general to report.
“King Arik and thousands of his men have penetrated the camp via the southern barricade,” the colonel reported. “Our men are not able to repulse them, but I have started a shield line a fair distance behind our front lines. We need more men to reinforce it.”
“I have already given the orders,” the general replied calmly, “but I am keeping several regiments in reserve. I doubt that King Arik is the only Alcean leading an attack this night. The Alceans do not have the numbers for a single frontal attack. It would be suicide. He is probably trying to draw our men southward so he can attack from another angle.”
“You are correct, as usual,” stated General Kozinski as he walked towards General Bledsoe. “I just had a report of an attack on the western perimeter. I am going to need to pull the 17th Corps regiments away from the southern battlefront.”
“How serious is the western fight?” asked General Bledsoe. “Is it a full attack or a feint?”
“I believe it to be a serious attack,” answered General Kozinski. “I have reports of several thousand men, and they are not skirmishing. They are charging into the camp. Our forces have not been able to form a line yet.”
General Bledsoe frowned deeply. “I did not think the Alceans had enough men for a fight this large. Several thousand men in each of two prongs already surpasses the estimates our black-cloaks gave us.”
“The black-cloaks did not know about the men on unicorns,” General Kozinski pointed out. “Evidently the Alceans have gotten reinforcements from somewhere. We will just have to deal with what they have.”
“Agreed,” General Bledsoe responded. “Send someone to check the northern perimeter. I will send someone to the east. I want to know exactly what we are facing.”
“I have already sent a man north,” replied General Kozinski. “I will let you know what he reports.”
General Bledsoe nodded silently, and General Kozinski left to return to his own men. The Baroukan general sighed thoughtfully and then addressed Colonel Sawar.
“You can have seven regiments, Colonel. Build your shield wall, but keep me informed of the enemy’s progress. Something about this attack doesn’t sit well with me.”
“How do you mean, General?” asked the colonel.
“It strikes me as a desperate ploy,” answered General Bledsoe. “The Alceans could ignore this team and fall back to their city walls, but they are instead attacking our camp at night. That tells me that at least one other team is still in play.”
“How does that knowledge help us?” asked Colonel Sawar.
“It tells me that this attack is not meant to merely harass us,” answered the general. “They mean to finish us off tonight, or die in the attempt. I can’t imagine how they can possibly hope to succeed, but I am sure that is their goal.”
“You always taught me not to underestimate the enemy,” frowned Colonel Sawar. “If the Alceans truly think they can win, they must have resources that are unknown to us.”