Chapter 53: Pandemonium
It would be over a week before reports of the demon incursion would reach Hermes. The demon advance had managed to bypass the scouts and they plunged deep within human territory killing all in their path and leaving no survivors. With transportation being difficult in the countryside, news was slow to spread. When archbishop Soli Daal's disappearance was noticed, the investigation eventually uncovered what had happened. The report of the demon incursion was quickly sent to Hermes which relayed it to Neverwinter.
"How could this have happened?", yelled Roland. "They got past all of our defenses without us even noticing them!"
"We were all busy focused on the defensive line", Steven replied. "But they went through the area between our lines which haven't met yet. It looks like they got through and we had no idea what was going on. From there, they stockpiled a large supply of Red Mist before breaking through and set up a new storage tower within our lands. They completely went around our defenses. We just pulled a Maginot Line!"
Roland held his face in his hands. "What a disaster. It looks like we were relying too much on our defensive line and we didn't pay enough attention to other things. To think we are supposed to be enlightened and know about the mistakes of others."
"The wilderness is vast", said Steven. "Our scouts simply cannot cover that much territory. Witches are few and cannot be a replacement for an entire scouting division."
"Damn. If only we had those planes ready sooner. Our pilots are still in training", said Roland. "If we had planes then recon would be so much easier."
"Can they fly?", Steven asked.
"They can fly, but they are not very good. We have had several crashes already", answered Roland.
"Well you better get them out quick", said Steven.
"Right. That said, why didn't you see this coming. Aren't you supposed to know the future?" Roland looked at Steven questioningly.
"This never happened!", exclaimed Steven. "The demons didn't do this in the original timeline. But since we foiled their other plans they changed their tactics."
"So now what you know is useless? Wouldn't it have been better if you didn't change anything?", said Roland.
"No. If I wasn't here then you would have lost men in that night ambush, the other fights wouldn't have gone smoothly, and there would only be the resources of one kingdom backing up humanity." Steven was indignant. "When things change, there is good and there is bad. With the right changes there is more good than bad and that is what we have. There were so many fights that were avoided, it is only natural that we get an extra one. I may not know much about what is to come going forward, but we are in a stronger position and I believe that we will get through this."
"Alright. Well what are we going to do?", asked Roland.
"The demons have broken in and are currently in the Kingdom of Dawn. It seems their plan is to gut us from the inside out. They broke into the heart of humanity's territory. It is fortunate that they hit the least developed part, but once they are done they will move on to us. We have to stop them here", Steven said. "We have to mobilize what soldiers we can and defeat the demon army."
"Alright, let's meet with the war department to come up with a joint plan to deal with this catastrophe", Roland said. After the news had come in, the war department had been thrown into a frenzy. The chaos in the department had been nearing full panic as the implications of the attack sank in.
Everyone in the Neverwinter General Staff and the top military commanders of the church along with Roland, Steven, and Zero came together and reviewed the assets they had available. Most of their forces were tied up in the defensive line. They couldn't move the army out or else they would risk having everything overrun by another demon attack. It was possible that the demon attack was a diversion to break through the defensive line. Stripping the defensive line was a bad idea, but so was leaving the demons alone.
Then, Steven came up with an idea. He would take a thousand of his soldiers out of the defensive line but replace them with two thousand soldiers who had nothing but swords and spears. That way, the demons wouldn't attack since it would look like the defenses were still strong. In fact, the demons would think the buildup was because the humans expected a demon attack.
The one thousand soldiers would all have rifles. They would also bring dozens of machine guns and several cannons. They would be combined with a thousand soldiers still being trained in Hermes. Although these soldiers were not finished with their training, they were far enough along that they would serve in a pinch. Then they would add in a thousand God's Punishment Warriors. The army would also be bulked up with some ordinary soldiers with pikes to serve as meatshields. It was definitely not ideal, but it was the best they could scrounge up.
To delay the demons, the knights of what used to be the kingdoms of wolfheart and everwinter would be drafted and sent to harass the demons. It was expected that the now obsolete knights would likely die quickly. However, their attacks would kill some of the demons and also force them to slow down their advance. Also, if they died then that means that most of the nobles remaining would be eliminated, removing obstacles to centralization.
After the army was fully assembled and prepared, they would go in from behind to cut off the red mist supply line. Though the demons had large reserves which they took with them, this would then force the demons into an engagement with the army. The plan was set but for the meantime, the demons had free reign in the Kingdom of Dawn.
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