CHAPTER 10: STALEMATE

***Kuro***

Yes, the invasion of Cherwoods had begun.

Her Holiness the Elf Saint, Lady Hinwe Tal-Inwir, finally decided to step up to her auspicious title. And, exploiting the opportunity to reinstall a determined holy lady to her rightful throne, we launched the invasion of elves’ realm.

“…”

It was no easy task. As the one who hatched the idea and led the preparations, I had to take care of many things before crossing into Cherwoods in force. See, the Saints closed off the borders to safeguard the other worlds from the Seductress’ influence. In the process, we damned the entire elvish population of Cherwoods under her mercy. However, it had to be done, or another ‘Cherflammen’ might happen.

So, not wishing to delay for long—or the Seductress would gain strength, and wipe out the entire elvish population of Cherwoods, I had to think of ways how to recruit elves willing to fight for Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe, while giving them enough time for training, military exercises and getting equipment to arm our invasion force. The Kingdom of Cherwind, the Federal Demon Republic, and the Holy Palatial Gardens offered soldiers to help our endeavor, but I had to decline their offer, since I wanted to keep this ‘affair’ between the ‘elves’ only.

See, an invasion force made of all the races of Chersea and the Other Realms can be counterproductive. Elves are highly ‘isolationists’, and watching other people take control of their lives can end up in tragedy against Lady Hinwe’s rule.

“…”

At least, that’s what I initially believe…

So, I opted to create an ‘elf’-only force to invade Cherwoods. Recruitment was highly-successful, in part because many of the younger elves were bored in their long lives and were looking for some kind of ‘thrilling’ adventure, and also because of the popularity of their saint, made possible by the sales of her manga and related artworks. But, we couldn’t take everyone in, primarily because we lacked the funds to train and arm a vast army that turned up in the recruitment drives.

Also, there’s the factor that not every elf was fit for military service. Many of them were just in because they wanted a change of pace, and it’s not good to the cohesion and discipline of the force we’re creating.

Think of them like those teenagers back in my world whose only military experience was from playing FPS games. Those sorts who’d die quickly the second they set foot on the battlefield.

“…”

Ugh, I already got lots of blood in my hands. I don’t want to add more weight to my conscience.

In the end, we implemented strict selection requirements to ‘filter’ those who could train and those destined to be cannon fodder. The latter group was sent home, while the former was formed into several regiments that came to be known in Chersea as the ‘Elvish Expeditionary Forces’.

As for the soldiers offered to me by our allies, I kept them in reserve in case things got awry. But I wanted to avoid using them as much as possible; I gave them ‘training roles’ and other advisory duties, so that they wouldn’t feel left out.

Those measures took care of our personnel issues. However, there’s another limitation…

Of course, in every military endeavor, there had to be enough information about the enemy, which we could only get by gathering intelligence. Chersea and the Other Realms weren’t Earth; the technology—while it did advance greatly for the past six years, still lagged compared to my old world’s militaries. No satellite images to be counted upon to spy on the opposition, and any defensive structures they might be making. We couldn’t send spies to the other side as well; communication was difficult, especially that no one dared to open a crossing, for fear of the Seductress’ corrupting influence.

While we did send informers and ‘moles’ to build spy networks within Cherwoods, the appearance of the Seductress frustrated all our efforts. Only the heavens knew what happened to these guys; we lost contact with them after the destruction of the elvish city of Dorian.

And so, we have to rely on faulty information from the Elf Saint herself, and the others who still remember an ‘old version’ of Cherwoods.

“…”

For the invasion itself, our forces gathered more than enough steam ships to transport the soldiers and equipment to Cherwoods. Many of our vessels came as ‘donations’ from the Kingdom of Cherwind, the Demon Republic and the human Kingdom of Calabria, under the chancellorship of Sir Dane Bellingstein. The other supplies, like food stuffs and equipment, were sent by the Emperor of Chersea himself, from his own treasury.

Nevertheless, the good stuff ended here. Again, with the fear of the Seductress’ corruption traveling into the other worlds, we could only cross for one time. We had to bring everything with us; the ‘frontline’ personnel and equipment, the people and items meant for reserves as well as ‘clerical’ works, and our entire supply of food, clothing, medical items, ammunition, and even spare parts for the guns, tanks and ships involved for the duration of the operation.

The idea was, we capture major elf cities, and live off the land until we ‘secured’ the place. We couldn’t expect any help from Chersea, Cherwind, and the Demon Republic until we made sure we control the Saint’s Tree palace, and sent that monster from the Void reeling back to where she came from.

Should I also tell about the saints’ attitude towards my plan? Maddie, Ruro and Natasha vehemently denied their permission for me to lead the expedition; they only gave their consent when Seirna assured them she would come flying to my rescue once I got into a pinch, and Lady Hinwe’s maid and former mercenary, Lady Meanor, volunteered to accompany me.

“…”

Because of such conditions, I was having my reservations on the success of our plan. However, it had to be done. Waiting for more time would mean the Seductress’ powers growing over time, up till she consumed Cherwoods again like she did in Cherflammen. Everything was rushed, though we still tried to cover everything we could without sacrificing the quality that much.

I’m just praying that our forces will be successful given the limitations placed on us.

“…”

Haa…I really want to take a breather when everything is alright once again…

----------

The unexpected stiff resistance we encountered yesterday brought our army to a slow crawl deep into Cherwoods. If there’s anything noteworthy that happened about the attack yesterday, it was the establishment of the footholds on the beaches and the capture of the port village, in which, the docks served in bringing in the heavier equipment to help our advance.

Save from those, it is all bad news.

“…”

Fighting against enemies with no sense of preserving its life was already a challenge. Now, add effective ranged weapons on its hands, plus the undead’s natural resiliency to body damage, and you got foes equivalent to those you fight in games whose goal was to make your life miserable. All throughout the day yesterday, our pickets and trenches were constantly attacked by these creatures, giving our soldiers only a few minutes of respite in between.

We have to keep the regiments on ‘guard duty’ in rolling shifts to avoid exhaustion. Fighting this type of enemy is that hard.

Inside the port village was not an encouraging sight, either. Corpses of the people who used to live there—dry, emaciated dead bodies—obvious victims of the Seductress’ efforts to regain her strength by sucking life out of them, including the children, would be discovered by the search parties in every dilapidated house. Some were found hiding in small dugouts, covered by straw, or some other material. I couldn’t help but think that these poor guys thought they were safe in there, only to realize that there’s no way to escape a painful death in the end.

According to Gaius, if one was lucky enough to live through the ordeal, they get to become living ‘shells’ of their former selves…somewhat alive, yet dead. Our experience yesterday at the beaches showed that if we leave these ‘walking’ corpses alone, they would transfer the corrupting miasma to their unfortunate prey—through biting us or by the arrows they shoot, making their poor victims one of their own.

Dealing with these undead is making our lives difficult with every inch of territory we take.

Those who met and opposed us at the shores when we landed were these corpses—no, I’d like to call these creatures ‘wights’, for they looked like that. They were easy to kill as they never hid themselves well, but still…they were elves. Even with their lives dangling between life and death, these guys could still shoot at us with deadly precision from long ranges, and bite us in close combat.

Our soldiers’ uniforms—made of fabric instead of steel or mithril armor—are easy pickings for these wights.

“…”

We lost several elves against them yesterday, even with all the smokescreen and preliminary creeping bombardment.

To make matters even more complicated, the huge Saint’s Tree Palace canopy hung above us, shielding us from the light of the ‘sun’, or whatever it was up there in the sky of Cherwoods. While it did give us shade that made our offensives easier, it was also a nightmare for the garrison guards at the port village. See, these wights would use the ancient branches of the canopy (some of which were large enough to fit several people) to attack the port village encampment with arrows, or fall upon an unsuspecting soldier (since they never die upon falling). Magicians were put on duty to erect magic barriers to prevent the enemy from doing that, but their mana was not unlimited.

Meanwhile, there were reconnaissance patrols we sent to gather information, find sympathetic elvish cities, and determine possible invasion routes. All of those people never came back just yet, and with the situation deteriorating for us, it’s easy for many of our officers to think that the worst had happened to those elves. What’s even worse was that, their rumored ‘disappearances’ were sapping the morale of our soldiers, who also had to contend with the ‘wights’ attacking us from above, and from the thick, twisted vegetation surrounding our lines. It made our first attempt to march to the palace complex yesterday—a stone’s throw away from the port village—seemed like a mile.

The resistance is so fierce, I have to call off the assault and dig in at the port village for the long sleep.

“…”

However, for the second day—which is today—I’m determined to break through the enemy lines.

----------

***The upper deck of the steam ship, St. Theodosia III…***

The halt of the operation at the tree palace didn’t go unnoticed from the ships of the invasion fleet, docked a few miles off the coast of Cherwoods. One of those people who learned of it early on was Meanor, who was anxiously waiting for news from the elf army of the Lord Kuro from her spot. As a former mercenary herself, she knew that was not ‘part of the show’, meaning, it was not in their plans when the otherworlder drafted it. She wanted to tell Her Holiness the Lady Hinwe what happened, but decided to put it off for the meantime and wait for any updates to come from the army at the frontlines.

“Don’t worry, Mea, I’m already aware.”

The elf maid immediately went to assist her mistress as the Lady Hinwe emerged from the lower decks. The sea was rough at that moment. “Your Holiness!”

“Yeah, it’s impossible not to know about their stop; I can hear the cannon explosions from below the decks yesterday. Now, everything’s silent.”

“Right…”

“And I also heard the voices of my figmas crying for help as they fell off my shelves…”

Meanor threw a sharp glare at the saint, “You’re joking, right, milady?”

“Ahaha…yes, I’m just joking,” the Lady Hinwe reiterated. “I’m just trying to lighten the moods of everyone here…I mean, elves are dying in my name. Kuro’s putting his life on the line to install me back to my throne. And the other saints are counting on me to protect him, when it’s actually the other way around. Mea, if I can just swap my life for a simpler one, I’d do it without hesitation.”

“It’s not like I don’t understand you,” the maid told her. “Back when I was thrusted into my first battle as a mercenary, I really wanted out. The fears of not going back alive, and the thought of killing someone were enough to make my stomach churn. But, what can I do? I’m already there, and I have to accept what my fate will give me.”

“You’re a brave soul, Mea…I can only wish I have even a little of your courage.”

“Eh, don’t say that, Your Holiness! You’re the one who inspired me to become what I am now!”

“Lip service.”

“No! I mean it!” Meanor countered. “Look, if I was in your position, once those elves insulted me, I may have called a huge wave and obliterated them for their lack of faith and blasphemy! But you, even if you’re hurt, you carried their insults and hate like a true saint.”

“I am a saint,” the Lady Hinwe winked.

“Of course.”

“Well, another thing that made me go up here is that,” the saint took a deep breath before revealing, “Meanor, you’ve noticed that Kuro’s taking his time capturing the tree palace, right?”

“Yes, Your Holiness,” the maid took a quick peek at the shores on her spyglass. “I guess they’re having difficulties in the assault. The soldiers on the beaches and the port city have barely moved.”

“You know I’m the saint of this realm.”

“Err…Your Holiness, if you’re planning to go ashore to help the Lord Kuro, I suggest that you desist.”

“I fear for the Lord Kuro’s life more than I fear my own dangers.”

Meanor stared at the Lady Hinwe, then asked, “Is this because of your feelings for him, or the threat of the Human, Beastman and Demon saints to butcher you once he’s harmed?”

“Both,” was the Elf Saint’s curt reply. “They’re just smiling, but I can feel the ‘guilt-tripping’. Also, add the Lady Seirna to the equation.”

“Well,” the maid chuckled as she strapped her sword on her waist. “No backing out now, Your Holiness. As your servant, I’ll always go with you. And as someone caught in those three saints’ hands, I’ll have to safeguard the Lord Kuro’s life as well.”

The Lady Hinwe nodded.

----------

**Kuro**

Before I went to sleep yesterday, we had a war council in my tent, ostensibly to discuss our gains and losses, and to plan our conduct for today. I won’t lie; the enemy we encountered came as a surprise for our forces, though I couldn’t blame anyone but myself because I had to base my invasion plans off on faulty and incomplete information. What’s good was that the 15 regiments we brought to battle were still intact, though two of those suffered a substantial number of casualties. Understandable, I thought, for these two regiments formed the first wave that assaulted the beaches and the port village, thus they were expected to incur losses.

Fortunately, aside from minor dents on its iron-mithril hulls, we never lost a tank. There were crew members injured by accurate shots to the portholes (the elves got uncanny aim), but nothing serious. However, with our offensive going to the second day, plans would have to be updated to ensure we all knew what we’re getting into. Reports were read and considered, equipment fixed and rations reissued. The frontlines were limited to the beaches, and the few distances of soil away from the edge of the port village, which consisted of a few elf-houses (I counted around 16 residences, though I highly-suspect there were homes that were destroyed even before we came to invade). Our primary target for yesterday was the Saint’s Tree palace, the back gate of which was at the other end of the dirt road of the port village.

A day’s delay already tells us we’re not doing good; however, I’m still hopeful we can salvage this attack.

“…”

Our main goal for today was to reach the tree palace gates, and expand the frontlines away from the beach and into the interiors of Cherwoods. I’ve read enough history to fear for our current situation. If we couldn’t break out into Cherwoods this time, there’s a high possibility that the enemy would counterattack and kick us, sending our invasion army rolling back into the sea.

Yes, the Gallipoli Campaign of the First World War is enough example for me.

“…”

Using the ‘rooftops’ of the dilapidated treehouses, we sent lookouts to observe on how far the Seductress’ ‘corruption’ had ‘infected’ the forests of Cherwoods. And based on what they’ve gathered, the ‘twisted’ vegetation’s extent was only right outside the perimeter of the Saint’s Tree, meaning…

‘The Seductress is still weak enough to limit her miasma right outside,’ Gaius told me. ‘If she’s back at her usual self, her ‘corruption’ reached far and wide; we’ll be dead before we can even land our forces.’

However, there’s something that bothered me with the Roman’s observation…

‘Well, if you’re wondering how Seirna encountered her in Dorian when she’s supposed to be staying here in the tree palace, there are several answers to that. One, the Seductress already gained considerable strength and is hiding that fact to us. Two, she and Seirna met in Dorian by accident. Or three, my servant betrayed us to the Seductress’ hands.’

You told me that while powerful, the Seductress can’t keep her corruption in check, right? So, if we go by the first answer, there should be widespread ‘twisted’ and ‘corrupted’ vegetation all over Cherwoods. However, one look at the spyglass pointed at another direction far from the tree palace, and that theory is dispelled.

‘Exactly, and thank goodness for that.’

And we can’t go by the third answer as well, for more than anyone, Seirna is most afraid by the Seductress.

‘Of course. She and Alexa witnessed the terrible powers of that scum!’

We can only go by the second answer.

‘Plausible.’

Yeah, let’s hope it’s the truth. After all, I don’t want to fight that monster like what happened back in Cherflammen.

I could only hear Gaius chuckle in my mind. After that, he didn’t say anything. Going back to our preparations, by then, the officers reported to me…

“Sir,” my second-in-command said. “The soldiers are ready for your orders.”

I took out a small hourglass from my coat. Only a few sands remained on the upper half, as I raised my hand. In front of me, the soldiers were in their positions, waiting for the signal for them to spring up and march into battle. Tank engines were started and their turrets pointed towards their targets. The armored vehicles would not be used to assault the palace gates, though their hulls could easily be used as battering ram…the narrow road leading to the entrance was wide enough only for three elves to cover its entirety marching abreast.

And on both the flanks of that path were ditches covered with bocages.

“…”

Even if I send out a lone tank to cover the advancing elves, it’ll only get stuck on the road, making our progress difficult instead of helping it.

From the corner of my eyes, I could make out the artillery readying their fire, and the magicians standing in attention to dispel their magic barriers so our shells could pass.

Then, the last grain of sand fell.

“!!!” I brought down my hand.

“Fire!” was the thunderous shout of the artillery commander. The cannons and tank guns opened hostilities, and within seconds, hundreds of artillery rounds fell on the Saint’s Tree’s gates.

----------

The scene was eerily similar to those World War 1 movies I watched before. Thick smoke, constant booms and whistles of the artillery, light tremors on the ground and shrill whistles echoed the air as signal for our army to resume their march. I think the only thing missing was the chatter of the machine guns firing towards the enemy. But, I don’t think any living being would want to remain on the receiving end of our firepower.

“Magicians!”

To help with the advance, the designated magicians in every regiment engaged were tasked to bombard the twisted vegetation with fire magic. We could tell that the Seductress was using those plants under her influence as a sort of barrier to impede our progress, then have her ‘wights’ pepper us with arrows from hidden points. So, to crush the opposition, we burned everything in our path.

“!!!”

As the main column neared the tree palace’s gates, the artillery and tank covers stopped. By then, thick vines had ‘fortified’ the entrance, and the magicians’ fire spells couldn’t burn the twisted vegetation. I watched from the rooftop of one of the port village’s houses as the soldiers decided it was best for them to hack into the ‘plant barriers’ instead of trying in vain to set those ablaze.

I don’t like this.

‘Neither do I,’ Gaius concurred.

“Get some of the barrier magicians to the gatehouse, and shield those soldiers breaching the vines,” I said to an orderly, to which he immediately complied. However, as the young elf went to do his duty, he suddenly fell down; an arrow cracked his skull. Based on the trajectory of the arrow, we immediately looked up, and saw some wights shooting at us from the tree palace canopy.

“Shields up!” was the order that came. The magicians complied at once, causing confusion for the other group of magicians heading to protect the soldiers hacking the tree palace gates.

Someone then shouted, “Bring those shields down! We’ll shoot at those monsters instead!”

Then another, “Barriers are needed at the palace gates! Hurry!”

And, still another shout, “Incoming arrows!”

“!!!”

I could describe what’s going on in just one word, and that was: chaos. Everybody’s shouting orders, the soldiers didn’t know who to follow. Some magicians removed their barriers, which caused for the enemy arrows to injure or kill them and their friends. Those who kept their magic shields were swarmed by their allies, seeking protection from the onslaught, as wave after wave of arrows rained on us.

‘Kuro!’ I heard Gaius call out to me. ‘Don’t just stand there like a fool! Take command of your army!’

R-Right! I finally snapped out of my trance, and pulled my pistol. Then, I borrowed an officer’s whistle and blew on it, before shouting, “Those who are injured, hide behind wooden panels if you can! Those who can still shoot at the enemy, pour lead on those bastards!” To encourage them, I shot towards the canopy above us, never bothering to check if I did hit an enemy.

My gesture immediately ‘electrified’ our soldiers, as those who had their guns with them—even the wounded—trained their weapons up.

“Fire at will!” I ordered.

The simultaneous cracks of the bolt-heater guns and explosions caused by magic spells nearly deafened my ears. Our forces and the undead archers traded projectiles: arrows from them, and our bullets and magic spells in return. Not to be sidelined, the artillery from the shores and our ships answered to our renewed energy by firing shells towards the tree palace, so that the elves hacking the vine barriers were left to finish their business unimpeded.

Our bullet-and-magic-spell barrage peppered the Saint’s Tree Palace canopy, that soon, branches and leaves started to fall on the port village. Along with it were the wights, who tried biting some of our soldiers the moment they touched ground. Nevertheless, our soldiers seemed frenzied—probably fed up with the constant harassment of these undead—that they never bothered if they got bitten; once those corpses were upon their reach, they literally tore those bodies apart.

I stopped shooting and began healing instead. The Human Saint’s god-power was useful in countering the effects of the wights’ bites, in addition to instant healing of any injury—as long as it’s not life-threatening. It was my officers and aide-de-camps who protected me as I went around the port village healing our soldiers, the sight of which encouraged them even more to fight back.

“The Lord Kuro is with us!” I heard some of them shouting. “We don’t need to fear! He will heal us!”

Well, as long as it raised the morale, I’d repeat this. However, there was another concern that floated in my mind.

‘Yes,’ Gaius confirmed it. ‘While I believe you’re doing well in encouraging your elves, Kuro, I don’t think that we can sustain this kind of battle for too long, given the limited supplies we have.’

The bullets, the artillery shells, and even the spare equipment meant for broken guns and its accessories were limited. The border crossing to Chersea, Cherwoods and Equality were shut, and we couldn’t lift it easy, or we’d risk corruption from the Seductress.

She already devoured one world, and is in the process of consuming this one…

“…”

I need to put a stop to this before our supplies run dry.