UNTitled,Shiroima1737394938

time they thought your planes had managed to turn the tide. They thought we would hold this place. For a time even I believed it. I thought we had it…"

I looked up, hearing Polly choke up a bit. She quickly forced it down but she still sat there in silence to calm down.

She let out a breath, hitching a few times, before wiping her face and looking down at the map.

"All generals are leaving with the first retreat wave, which should be called within the hour. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens earlier though with the way the Scourge is moving. Sensors are going off everywhere so we know they're surrounding us as we speak."

"So where do you want me?"

"Here, until I finish my last tasks. Then Jasmine and I will leave with you."

"Any other people I should expect?"

"...No. Just us two. Give me 10 minutes. We'll be in your hands after that."

"I'll escort you. Umara, regroup with the others, make sure Nonnen has two Steeds. Tell him personally what the plan is. No Aerials from now on, unless absolutely necessary."

"Copy."

She left the room, Polly organizing a few things with Jasmine before the three of us left to go carry out the last rites.

I kept my eyes out while walking with them. Polly gave orders to a few dozen people, all of them intelligence agents, and gathered up a few hundred Orbs into a spatial storage from the archives. We passed by other generals doing the same things. It seemed like all of them came to mutual agreements to carry out designated tasks before retreating.

At some point though my anxiety started increasing. I prepared for the worst and took out a weapon. Not Totenstahl. We were around cubicles and rooms so I wanted something a bit more wieldy than a large MG 42.

I retrieved a 300 Blackout Honey Badger SBR. It was short and packed a punch, perfect for clearing buildings like I was in.

Polly stopped and looked at me when the rifle appeared in my hands.

"What's happening?"

"I know it's obvious but we aren't safe here. How much more do you need to do?"

"Not much. I just need to hand off these documents to a few people."

"Hurry then."

Polly nodded, going from a walk to a jog while I kept my eye out.

We made two more stops before ending up on the main floor. That's when the sense of danger spiked, and I looked to find one of the many intelligence agents contorting in pain.

I saw mana gather around them, coalescing dangerously as a formation lit up across their skin, glowing with blood red power.

I followed my gut, raised the weapon, and pulled the trigger twice, sending two rounds through their head and dropping them.

The power continued to gather anyway, so I grabbed Polly and Jasmine and brought them to the floor.

"Get down!"

The explosion went off two seconds later, debris slamming onto my back, their impacts dampened by my coat. It was hardly a thought in my mind. The important thing was that Jasmine and Polly were protected.

I looked up, seeing some summoners bring out beasts, animals, and cold weapons of their own. They started going around and attacking all the other intelligence agents, beasts rampaging across cubicles and destroying anything in their path.

I rose up to one knee and aimed at a massive lizard that clawed its way over to me, eyes red and hungry.

I let off a dozen rounds at it, holes appearing in its head before it disappeared. Then I snapped between all the offending summoners, sending one or two bullets at each, headshots dropping them one by one. They were easy to kill, but they still managed to take many intelligence agents with them. That would wreak havoc on the chain of command and communications.

"Let's go! We're done here!"

I picked Polly and Jasmine off the floor, rushing them out. I made a mental note that the silencer on the Honey Badger worked fabulously well, empowered by my Psyka, silencing the sound even further. It was far quieter than any silenced weapons I had ever heard, mere cracks that were easy on the ears. I could even hear the bolt slide.

Good to know.

The three of us rushed out of headquarters. Polly had done her job and there was nothing more she could do that wouldn't just carry more risk than it was worth.

When we left we found dozens of others doing the same, among them generals. Outside there were also many Steeds parked nearby, surrounded by troops that waved over and secured the generals.

They had their own escort forces too. Polly and Jasmine, while only having 9 people escort them, were still among the most protected of them all. In a time like this, allies like us were the most important.

I looked around and found Umara standing outside of a Steed a small distance away. We ran over, the blizzard picking up intensity.

"Nonnen is going to meet us by the western gate. Troops are already staging for retreat."

"We don't want to be the first but we don't want to be the last. Let's get to him."

I helped Polly and Jasmine into the Steed, Umara jumping into the driver seat and peeling away once I was in.

We went all the way to the western gate where there was another Steed parked, as well as several thousand troops with more on the way.

We arrived and I had Polly and Jasmine stay inside while I jumped out and talked to Nonnen.

He asked, "What's the plan from here?"

"We just need to get to Stronghold Charlie. Best way to do that is to let some of these troops lead the charge. Then again, if they don't leave soon it'll be better to just go ourselves and get ahead of the Scourge. We're being surrounded. We don't have a large window."

"Got it. No helicopters?"

"No helicopters. Traitors destroyed most of the aircraft, and Jasmine never got word back from her pilot. We're on our own."

"Ain't that amazing," He shook his head, looking off into the distance where tens of thousands of troops were battling on the walls, "As soon as we meet significant resistance, the entire army crumbles into a free for all. It's like we never tried to put up a fight. Why be here then? Why invest so much into this place?"

"Because they think it'll be useless either way," I followed his gaze, "Even if we brought down this million strong army with just 200 thousand, the Scourge would simply come back with another million. So they want to pull back forces, preserve numbers, knowing that if they threw all these troops at the enemy, they'd only lose."

"But it would still be a million monsters dead. Do they think the Scourge wouldn't just send two million at us next time?"

"Shortsightedness, and fear. That's all it is. And it's what my weapons are supposed to solve. I'm trying to build machines that we can sacrifice in place of people. If we can burn money instead of souls, winning this war will be just a matter of time. We may have won this battle today if I had just 6 more months of building and accumulation. But that means in just 6 months, my weapons will turn the tides. I just won't be saving this base. It'll be another."

Nonnen sighed, "Every last one of those generals is still a fool. They're cowards that run at the first sign of danger."

"That's what happens when they're all weak. Unfortunately they're all smart too. But that's why we have to help those like Polly."

"And give you the time to make weapons. I'm still looking forward to that tank thing you told me about."

I shrugged, "I don't know if you'd enjoy being stuck inside a metal coffin all the time instead of fighting personally."

"Why couldn't I go out? It's just a more heavily armored Steed, is it not?"

"What? No. It's specifically designed to make sure the occupants never have to leave. That's the whole point of the armor."

"You act like I'm supposed to know these things about something you're currently inventing."

"I'm just saying."

He rolled his eyes at me, the two of us watching the surrounding troops grow in number.

At some point we saw the first wave go out, consisting of nearly 20 thousand troops of all levels and escorting three Major Generals.

Nonnen muttered, "With this blizzard, we're still going in blind. You think they'll be able to push to the Stronghold?"

"No. They'll get caught up by the enemy. We need to make sure we don't join them."

"How much longer are we waiting?"

"We'll go with the second wave. More troops, more distractions, easier for us to slip through safely."

I said that and waited. Troops continued to gather endlessly as the battle raged in front of the walls. I could sense the movement of the Auras in the distance, massive pools that blazed across the sky like conflagrations of invisible power. None of it appeared in my vision but the blizzard could do nothing to dampen its obvious presence.

The Scourge was starting to close its jaws, and the Sovereigns had yet to make their move. At Purple Sky, the Sovereign had to fight because she was facing a King. This time, our Sovereign had an option. He didn't have to fight if he didn't want to. Since we were retreating anyway, the Sovereigns on both sides might just let the millions of little minions do all the bloody work while they sat back and watched. No reason to take risks and dirty their hands.

Seemed I was on the dot, because even after another 20 minutes, I didn't detect even a hint of the Sovereign's Aura. He was here, that much was certain, but he was mere deterrent, a nuclear bomb that could only sit unused, lest the enemy use theirs.

I understood the concept of MAD. I also understood the concept of having more nukes than your enemy. The Kingdom has failed to surpass its enemy with the highest end power, so they're now being forced to battle with their minions, exactly where the Scourge thrives.

"Second wave is going out."

Nonnen spoke as I stared off toward the walls. There were faint flashes that managed to pierce through the blizzard around us. The snow wasn't obscene, mitigated slightly by our own Sovereign's Aura, but it was enough to give the Scourge a massive advantage.

I could sense them flooding toward us.

"Let's go."

"We're rolling!"

Nonnen shouted as the thousands of troops around us started mobilizing.

Harsha and Tana drove the two Steeds. On the one that Tana drove, I was with Umara and the Snow Dove knight Ephras. We were with Polly and Jasmine. In the other that Harsha drove was Feiden, Jaya, Nonnen, and the Snow Dove warlock Simeon.

Another chunk of nearly 30 thousand troops went out during the second retreat wave, a minority of them in vehicles, and we kept ourselves toward the middle of the western edge of their formation. It would place the troops between us and the bulk of the incoming Scourge. We had enough firepower to hold off anything that came from the other flank.

We left the Treehouse amidst that formation. I looked beyond the walls as soon as we left their protection, hearing the unholy screams of tens of thousands of Scourge monsters flooding toward us from the flanks. Tens of thousands of our troops held them off, enabling the retreat just as the Sovereign wanted.

We moved slowly in the Steed, keeping in line with the marching troops. They were almost all Magi so they moved faster than walking pace but it still wasn't quick. We weren't speeding anywhere.

Some of our escort forces became locked in battle within the first few minutes. The enemy was close, but I couldn't see them with the blizzard obscuring our view.

We continued marching anyway, the pace picking up once we started getting beyond the initial heat around the base. Troops moved at a jogging pace, most warlocks loaded in some kind of vehicle, knights composing almost all that were on foot.

We picked up speed, crossing a handful of miles like that. More of the outermost forces made contact with the Scourge but they were left behind. The bulk of the force never stopped. The generals weren't here to fight, but escape. Sacrifices would be made to that end.

We were on the main road to Stronghold Charlie before long, and at some point, the blizzard faded out.

We finally regained our vision, everyone looking back to see the towering localized blizzard that formed a churning wall of snow thousands of feet into the air. I noticed it was faintly tinted red.

We rolled across thin biomat, trodden on often enough to break it up and highlight the main path.

I turned on my Aerial after some time, tuning into the frequencies of the troops ahead of us that left with the first wave.

I immediately heard hundreds of yells and screams, troops calling out that they were locked in combat, some trying to escape an encirclement, others calling for help across various sectors.

"Contact front in 11 miles."

"Copy."

I got a response from Nonnen. It was quiet all around us, just the sound of marching and crunching snow in my ears.

I dipped back down into the Steed, looking over at Polly and Jasmine. They were dressed in their Glimmers, no armor to speak of. They were our cargo and it would be difficult to keep them alive, especially if the Scourge was fighting us the whole way.

I asked, "Have we considered digging down to the Rail tunnels and using them to get back to the stronghold?"

Polly nodded, "Yes. The generals agreed that would be our last resort. We can't enter it too early because the Scourge might follow. We'll only use it if the bulk of our escort forces fall, which would hopefully be during the final leg of the retreat."

"Got it."

I nodded and sat down, relaxing a bit. That was sound logic, because although the tunnels were easy to tread and there were only two directions to worry about, getting caught inside by a horde of Scourge was asking for trouble. There would only be one direction to run, and nowhere to hide.

Umara dipped down and sat across from me, smirking a bit.

"Same thing we did at Purple Sky. Except they sent Rail cars to pick us up after we dug down. Why can't they do that now?"

Jasmine muttered, "Contact with Stronghold Charlie has been sporadic. Something is going on over there. Chances are traitors got to them too. So they might not be under siege yet, but they can't help us either. The other generals would know more. They didn't tell us everything."

"Of course."

Umara sighed, her foci sitting in her hand.

We sat in silence a bit longer, waiting, and eventually standing when we encountered the first retreat wave.

I went to the top of the Steed and looked off in the distance, seeing the thousands of troops being drowned by monsters.

I sighed and hoisted Totenstahl up, the bipod sitting on the metal roof of the Steed.

It would still take a day and a half to get to Stronghold Charlie driving at normal pace. If we kept going at marching pace and kept getting interrupted, I wouldn't be surprised if it took 4 to 7 days.

No matter what, unless we split off to go our own way, it would still be days of driving and fighting.

I was already feeling tired. My peaceful life at the Capital felt like a dream compared to now. Part of me wondered if it was even possible to go back and feel that same peace. Those memories felt foreign.

But the other part of me wondered if it was right to go back, if it was right to stop fighting. It started to feel like peace was wrong. I didn't want to be one of those generals that ditched an entire base before the fight could even start, using 200 thousand troops as their sacrifice.

Could I really say that I did all I could if I wasn't fighting at every opportunity?

The screams of flanking monsters interrupted my thoughts. I looked to my left, finding a tide of beasts heading straight towards us, no troops to stand between us.

I adjusted my aim. It was time to do my part, for as long as this force lasted.

I pulled the trigger well before the monsters could approach, cutting them down from afar, the Steed still rolling.

It would be a long handful of days, but with Totenstahl and my team, I was nothing if not prepared.