Chapter 368 War (3)
[Imperial Palace - Starfall City - The Avalon Empire]
Emperor Osoric Avalon was sitting in a meeting with his generals who weren't in the field which meant there were five here.
They were joined by the influential heads of noble families from the empire, all gathered for a crucial meeting to strategize their response to the sudden and unexpected attacks.
Osoric turned to Albert Silverthrone and spoke. ''Albert, the Dawnbreaker Legion has been decimated from all the battles they have gone through, your daughter is holding on but needs help.''
He rubbed his chin before continuing. ''You need to take the ninth legion to the Summerfield Duchy and crush the invaders. Can you do it?''
Albert stood up and saluted the emperor before replying in a voice. ''The Emperor's Vanguard are ready to leave immediately. We will put an end to the Southern War and take their kingdoms for our empire.''
The emperor nodded his head and turned to another general, Eldric Grayleaf, and spoke in a commanding tone.
''Eldric you are to take the sixth legion to the north and clear up the problems the Duke has got himself in.''
The man nodded his head and left the room followed by Albert. He turned to the other generals.
''Thaddeus Ironfoot. You're to take the Imperial Sentinels to the east to deal with the Stormhaven Kingdom and its allies. The sixth is best suited to fighting men and beasts.''
Thaddeus saluted and left the room as Osoric continued. ''Malachai Graystone. Take the Nightshade Legion West. We need to put a stop to the Goldenvale and Aetheria Kingdoms attacks.''
''General Lorcan. Take the Arcane Lancers and head north to help out the Frostwyn Duchy. Duke Gryffin Snowfang is struggling to contain Frostfallen and Icehaven armies.''
The final two generals rose from their seats, saluting the emperor before departing, leaving the nobles in the chamber.
One of them spoke up. ''They are attacking because the boy has vanished?''
Osoric nodded his head as he replied. ''Yes. The whole continent has heard of his exploits and his temper, so they were careful to act but now he isn't here they are taking advantage of the situation.''
The nobles all agreed with the emperor but the same man spoke. ''If he was to return and destroy the armies. You know he will charge the empire a great sum?''
The emperor sighed before expressing himself in a fed-up tone at the thought of dealing with the dragon.
''If such an occasion occurred we would reward him, but being the greedy dragon he is, he will demand more and will take the invader's treasures most likely. It's a loss for us but to please the hooligan with some gold to keep him on our side is worth it.''
They all agreed with the emperor's decision and the meeting came to an end. The legions made their way to their battles.
The empire got to work and sent out reinforcements to the Duchies as the generals prepared their legions to join the fighting.
[Weeks Later]
Bad news arrived at the capital. The Duchy of Frostwyn had fallen, rumors say that the Duke and his family were captured and northern soldiers put to death.
The legions in the east, south, and west couldn't help as they were bogged down in nonstop battles and holding the line.
Osoric had two legions available that guarded the capital. He was in a predicament as he could send them to take back the north.
But if they lost then a path to the capital would be open and no one could stop any invading armies from reaching Starfall.
Two generals were in front of him as he made his final decision. ''Take one of the armies north and reclaim it. While the second army will stay in the capital.''
The Silverclaw Legion was chosen to march north under the command of Athan Ashguard. He was ordered to take back the castle that guarded the way south and then work from there.
Fifty-thousand Avalonian soldiers marched north with all their equipment. The emperor watched them leave and wondered if they could make a difference.
General Lorcan and the Arcane Lancers were confronted and defeated at the battle of Frostbloom Plains.
The Avalonian general walked into a trap because he was too confident and was attacked from both sides.
His soldiers managed to hang on but only five hundred soldiers out of fifty-thousand survived to make it back to the capital.
The Silverclaw legion was more experienced and the general was a careful tactician. When they arrived they drove back the Icehaven army while defeating the Frostfallen army.
But soon they were bogged down again as another small kingdom got involved and attacked the Silverclaw's supply lines.
General Eirik Frosthammer who was in charge had to assign more soldiers to guard them which put a stop to his attack.
They were now based at the Frostholm Wall and waited for the weather to calm down as a bad snowstorm hit the north.
The three enemy kingdoms took shelter in their captured castles, cities, and towns. While the Sabat Kingdom conducted supply line raids.
Their soldiers were specially trained to fight in such weather and enjoyed it.
But in the Mistwood Duchy in the west, the war was going in the empire's favor as they won many battles against the Goldenvale and Aetheria Kingdoms.
They were on a winning streak until one of the legion commanders was lost to bloodlust and rushed into the enemy frontlines when he wasn't ordered to.
His foolish actions cost the legion five thousand soldiers and the man was executed for his stupid mistake.
Duke Ashguard was a brilliant tactician and managed to push back the Aetheria Kingdom until they only held a small town on the coast.
He marched on it and besieged them, while the Strombringer Legion dealt with the Goldenvale army once they recovered from the commander's blunder.
The Lionheart Kingdom helped out a lot in Mistwood Duchy and held off the enemy until the new legion arrived.
Between the Avalonians and the Lionheart Kingdom, they managed to stabilize the west and kick out the enemy.
Once the emperor heard the news he ordered them to stay in the Duchy and not invade the Goldenvale or Aetheria Kingdoms.
While in the East it became a stalemate as the Stormhaven Kingdom used their beasts to fight alongside their soldiers.
The Eastern Duchy was named Riverholme. It was home to loads of rivers that snaked through it that led to all over the empire and beyond.
It was the empire's trade center and needed to be protected, Duke Torvald Shadowclaw was an old soldier who fought in many battles.
But now he was in charge of the Riverholme Duchy with his sons, they managed to counter the Stormhaven's beasts by using fire mages to cut them off.
After weeks of battle, the enemy armies captured many towns and cities along the rivers and coast which allowed them to bring more troops in.
The Duke and Nightshade Legion was pushed back to the mountain pass that led to the Crownlands (Central Duchy).
They were waiting for reinforcements but none were coming so they recruited the people from the cities and towns they passed through and trained them quickly.
But soon enough the Stormhaven and Fjordhelm armies sieged the remaining Riverholme castles that were in Avalonian control.
The Avaloch Kingdom was pushed off Stormhaven Island and was now on the defensive but still managed to help the Avalonians.
All over the empire battles were happening. Only the Western and the Crownlands stood strong while the others had fallen or were on the way to.
As Osoric was resting his only remaining general rushed into his studyroom and spoke in a panicked voice.
''Your Majesty. The Silverclaw Legion has fallen and the general's head was left at the city gate. The Icehaven and Frostfallen armies are marching south to Starfall as we speak.''
The emperor's eyes widened in shock as he started getting worried. He was about to talk when his advisor also rushed into the room and dropped more bad news.
''Your Majesty! Riverholm has fallen and the enemy armies have made it to the Crownlands? . They are on their way to the capital now.''
When the emperor and general heard this they became worried but stayed calm as Osoric ordered every man of age will be recruited into the army and put on the wall to defend the capital.
Days passed by as two large armies appeared on the north and west sides of Starfall City and started firing spells and mana cannons at the city's protective dome.
None of the enemies tried attacking the College of Magic after two thousand men vanished after they were sent there.
That was when even more news arrived at the capital informing them of General Sia's capture and the imminent fall of Sentinel Reach.
They were also told that a Silverpeak army was marching north causing them to lose hope but they chose to go down fighting.
But some good news appeared as Duke Leonard Ashguard was marching east to break the siege with one hundred thousand troops thanks to the Lionheart Kingdom's aid.
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