Chương 27: All According to Plan
Looking around the gathered officers, I couldn't help but notice the surreal feeling that I was experiencing. Odds are I wouldn't see some of these faces again after this battle. In war, death is inevitable. No matter how much you try to lessen the blow to your forces, you know that many of your men will die. There isn't much point in dwelling on that fact for too long. If you do, you are destined to live out the rest of your days grasping a bottle of alcohol staring at the fireplace. Coming to terms with the inevitable is the best way to live your life to the fullest, without negative thoughts clouding your mind.
Once everyone's attention was on me, I went forward with the purpose of the war meeting. "The plan is simple, but only if it is executed perfectly." I started, making sure I emphasized the importance of following my orders to the letter.
"We will send a squad of six scouts ahead of us, if they see any traps or anything else that needs to be mentioned, they will report it directly to me and I will make changes accordingly. Once they have scouted out the area, they will then climb into the trees and make their way towards the Skaikru camp unseen." I motioned towards trees surrounding the Skaikru's camp on the map.
"Once they are in position, they will wait until the battle has officially begun before using their arrows to pick off the shooters on the wall. Hopefully, during all of the shooting, chaos of battle, and under the cover of darkness; the shooters will not be able to tell where the arrows are coming from."
Looking around, I noticed that several of the officers present were nodding their heads in agreement at my plan so far. This was good, for a plan to work best, it's better if the ones executing it were confident.
"Now, for the ground troops. We will construct targets for Skaikru to shoot, having them believe that they are warriors. In doing so, the Skaikru will be wasting their ammunition for their weapons."
In a one on one battle, Skaikru knows that they will not win. That is the whole reason that they hide behind their walls and guns. The ammunition that they possess is limited, and within the hands of untrained combatants, it will not last long.
"We will stick to the shadows, use the trees as cover, and use the targets we make as a distraction. Once they start to run low on ammo or are too afraid to peek their heads back above the wall for fear of taking an arrow, they will realize that they are losing the battle. When their defeat is seen so clearly, they will retreat and move to the most defensible position they can." I say calmly, motioning towards the dropship in the middle of the drawn camp.
"Scared and out of options, they will hide behind their secure dropship. Doing so, will mark their ultimate defeat. The dropship that once signified a new hope, the transport that delivered them to the ground… will become their coffin. We will not be able to brute force our way inside and so we will need to wait them out. They either starve to death, or go out fighting." I finished resolutely, feeling the pride that came from the many looks of admiration.
During my time on The Ark, a lot of the history books that I read depicted small armies battling against seemingly impossible to defeat oods. I had never thought that I would be leading such a battle. 'Perhaps they will write about this one day?' I thought to myself absently, before shaking my head at the absurdity of it. This is a mere drop in an ocean compared to other historical events across time.
Releasing all of the officers to go inform their men of the plan, I went over the head map in front of me. Memorizing each and every detail, ingraining it in my mind. We already have handfuls of warriors surrounding the Camp in case they try to make a run for it, but you never know. It's very important to be knowledgeable of the battlefield, at any given time you may need to signal a retreat and so you need to know the best route to retreat from. More importantly though, I was looking for any spots that I can use against my enemies.
Thanks to the map I was able to see the perfect cluster of trees overlooking one of the camp's east walls. The trees in that part of the forest were perfect for my scouts and archers to traverse through, the branches were thick and strong. They would easily be able to hold my scouts weight while they silently get the angle on Skaikru's shooters. The leaves were what made this such a good opportunity. The leaves were very thick and clustered which was very good when it came to camouflage, and the fact that they would be under the cover of darkness… Skaikru would be completely outmatched.
With their shooters dealt with, my army would easily be able to advance and secure the wall of their camp. When that is achieved, victory will be within the line of sight. The wall that was designed to keep the enem out and to keep them safe, would effectively become their prison. With nowhere to go, Skaikru would retreat into their dropship and we would have already won.
The dropship only has one entrance, which means that if they go in, they will have to go through that door to come back out.
Once that happens, my men will then circle the entrance and nock their arrows. Skaikru will have no choice but to either charge back out or starve to death. My men will not be able to charge through the doors or they risk getting gunned down almost instantly, and that's not even counting the fact we will not be able to open it from the outside. I am betting that they will eventually want to try a last ditch effort and run out at us before they actually starve. Shaking my head and chuckling darkly at the thought, I head outside to see if my army is ready to move out.
Heading towards the entrance of the village I see many of my men laughing with each other and seemingly excited. They were excited for the upcoming battle, they were excited to finally be able to retaliate for the innocent lives that were lost due to Skaikru. I didn't see fear, these men have bled, sweat, and cried for moments like these. This is what they lived for, to be warriors and fight for what they believe.
Deciding I needed to raise their morale even more, I made my way to the front of the army and spoke a few words.
"Brothers and sisters in arms, today we show these invaders that they are not above our laws. We show them that they are not above our traditions, our culture, and our way of life. Jus drein jus daun!"
Following my words were a roar of agreement. My warriors were hungry for battle, and they demanded Skaikru blood.
-*-*-*-*-*
Our hearts were beating to match the rhythm of the war drums. They filled our veins with euphoric excitement. We were ready for this battle, and we were going to win.
The march to the battlefield was done in a tense silence. It was as if any other sounds than the war drums would set us off and have us roaring to the heavens. One of my scouts had reported that the enemy had laid some kind of devices down around their camp. I was expecting as such, but it's good to have confirmation. Most likely whatever they had planted was similar to the trap they laid on the bridge. I spread the word of traps to my men and we trudged forward with determination.
The scouts had informed me of the traps locations and while that would definitely help with reducing casualties, there was nothing I could do to reduce the casualties to zero. Even with my men knowing where the traps were, I knew that some would still make the mistake of setting them off. The battlefield was hectic and you can't save everybody, no matter how much you wanted to. There was even a very high chance that I'd lose my life today, but I wouldn't back down.
Knowing that you were very much likely marching to your death was a strange experience, almost peaceful. I wasn't afraid though, I'm not really sure why. It was almost like a strange voice was whispering in the back of my head, easing my concerns with their soothing words. If I focused on the voice long enough, it almost sounded like Lexa.
Shaking the distracting thoughts from my head, I led the army to a safe cluster of trees and dirt mounds which would keep us out of Skaikru's line of sight. I trusted my officers to lead their men according to my plan. Peaking my head around the tree I was hiding behind while making sure I was still within the tree's shadow, I could see the silhouettes of the gunmen atop the wall. It was show time.
Turning towards the man closest to me, I informed him to spread the word. A few seconds later, the first shot was fired. I could hear the panicked yells and exclamations of Skaikru.
"The grounders are here!" A gunman yelled to his companions, shooting harmlessly into a decoys chest.
My warriors were instructed to continually raise decoy targets, and to lower them back out of view every time they were shot. With the darkness on our side, Skaikru truly believed that they were killing them. With reckless abandon, bullets were flying. I could hear the pained shouts of the gunmen every time one of my scouts would fire an arrow.
Surprisingly quick, the shooting was becoming less and less. Whether it was because they were getting killed and were afraid to aim their rifle over the wall or they were running out of ammo, it didn't look good for them. Taking that as the sign to start the next stage of my plan, I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled.
"Jus drein, jus daun!"
The Trikru army repeated my words like a passionate prayer and charged the wall. The enemy wasn't expecting the sudden rush and quite a large majority of them almost instantly turned tail and made way for their dropship. I could hear their panicked cries of retreat and my face mask could barely contain the smile I had. As soon as it came though, it was gone. Even with knowledge of the traps, quite a few of my warriors managed to step on them. Large explosions would lift an extraordinary amount of dirt into the air and take multiple individuals with it.
The Trikru army was not deterred though. They ran to the wall as quickly as they could and started to climb. Surprisingly, it looked like we only lost a couple handfuls of warriors to the traps and the undisciplined gun fire of Skaikru. Looking around I could see that we still had more than four hundred fighters with us ready to die for their home. Overwhelming Skaikru with sheer numbers and strategy, we quickly took the wall.
A large number of invaders were still making their way to the dropship when I finally made my way atop the wall. Seeing a good opportunity, I ordered everyone with a bow to loosen their arrows upon them. I watched on with a face made of stone while these invaders, no, kids... fell to the ground with arrows protruding from their backs. This was war, and war is something that requires a monster to win.
Just like I had predicted, the dropship door was closing, trapping anyone outside who was too injured or slow to make it inside. "There will be no prisoners today." I informed Anya, who's swords were already painted with blood. She looked at me for a few seconds before answering, I almost thought she would object.
"Understood." She replied coldly, running off towards a young Skaikru teenager who's knee had an arrow piercing it.
With the dropship's door fully closed, I ordered my archers to surround the entrance and to set up camp. It would most likely be a day or two before Skaikru decided to risk a suicidal charge, considering that their food stores were about twenty feet from me.
-*-*-*-*-
It was around an hour after the battle was won when a third party made their presence known… Without any warning, shots rang out. Men wearing heavy camouflage and wielding the same type of guns Skaikru were just using stepped out of the brush. The attack was so sudden and unforeseen that we were caught completely off guard.
Dozens of my fellow warriors were instantly struck down under the deadly barrage of bullets while dozens more were injured and most likely wouldn't survive with the wounds they received. Quickly dropping to the ground to avoid the bullets, I could see that many were trying to fight back, but they were no match for the weapons that were wielded against them. With no cover or any other advantages, our numbers were quickly dropping.
Soon enough, the camouflaged men threw some kind of smoking canisters towards our group. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it must be some sort of weapon. I tried to get up and escape the slaughter but I took a round to my left shoulder. The force of the bullet that hit me almost instantly sent me to the ground again. With smoke clouding my vision, I was struggling to overcome the sudden drowsiness that was affecting me.
Eventually succumbing to whatever was affecting me, a sudden realization burst to the forefront of my mind.
Mountain men…
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