Chapter 53 — Gas Attack

The Beastmen army started walking towards their human foes. Then they started jogging. Then running. Finally, they were charging ahead, screaming battle cries, their sharp blades thirsting for blood. The ground rumbled as they thundered forward.

[Brace! Brace! Brace against their charge! No matter what, keep formation!]

The human officer stood in the middle of his 5,000-strong army, screaming orders. He knew that the moment his soldiers turned to run, it was over. They would be annihilated. The only hope would be to hold out for as long as possible.

[Arrows!]

A rain of arrows shot at the charging arrows as hundreds of crossbowmen fired. The bolts, however, did nothing to deter the oncoming enemies. Only a couple of unlucky Beastmen fell to the ground.

[100 metres… 80 metres… 60 metres… 40 metres… Dammit they're fast!]

The human soldiers roared battle cries together, trying to improve each other's bravery. The shieldmen at the front grit their teeth and put their full force on their shields. They knew that retreat, at this stage, was impossible. Already, the Beastmen, a terrifying mix of steel and muscle, were now just metres away.

SMASH!

Their roars filled the sky, drowning out the clashing of metal as they ploughed into the human shield wall with immense force. The front line staggered, their faces going pale as they felt their internal organs get torn apart, their bodies absorbing the tremendous kinetic energy. But, they held. Against the odds.

Spears thrust forward from behind the shield wall, aiming towards the gaps in the Beastmen's crude armour.

[Hold! Hold the line!]

The human officer's voice was hoarse with strain. From his perspective, he could see the entire battlefield. Already, they were encircled, only leaving a small path of retreat. The Beastmen had intentionally done this, knowing that humans would prefer to flee and give it their all if they had a chance to retreat.

The front of the army was hit the hardest, staggering back several metres. The flanks were slightly better, at least being able to hold against their opponents. But the officer knew that it wouldn't last for long.

As the seconds ticked by, the human front was ruthlessly ground away by the veteran Beastmen. It started to buckle, with Beastmen starting to break through, tearing through thick armour with their claws and blades.

[No! Watch out for their air units! Crossbowmen, shoot!]

At the worst moment for the humans, thousands of flying beastmen swept down and smashed right into the ranks of the human soldiers. They were made up of tamed monsters, wyverns, giant birds, leaving deep gashes in the human army, ones of death and destruction. They were incredibly fast and agile, soon targeting the human crossbowmen and tearing them apart. Blood washed the army as it started to waver and break.

[Haha, victory is in sight!]

Meanwhile, in Erwin's fleet a couple of kilometres away, all was quiet. Erwin stood by the huge window on the bridge, silently watching the heated battle in the distance. From his perspective, it seemed so small. So much death, struggle, so much struggling was concentrated in that small patch in the distance.

[Ready.]

[Yes sir, all cannons have been calibrated and loaded with gas shells!]

[They're fully committed all of their units… Today, we will make history. In the use of a new weapon the world had never seen, but will soon come to fear]

Erwin knew that conventional artillery was not going to be enough against the Border Army, at least not in the quantity he had. At this range, they would be ineffective in wiping out their largest threat, the Beastmen flying units.

For the past month, Konrad's scientists had finally perfected a new kind of weapon, one that combined both magic and chemical. Paying homage, they had named it the ordinary name of "Mustard Gas". Yet, its effectiveness was far greater than the original solution.

[[[Fire!]]]

Dozens of shells shot towards the distant battlefield, drawing perfect arcs as they landed in the midst and around them. Shells bloomed on the ground and in the air, covering the battlefield with a thick, choking yellow-brown smoke.

Gas burned at the eyes and throat of both Beastmen and humans as it enveloped the entire battlefield. Confusion rippled through the ranks of both sides as they faltered, clutching their chests and gasping for air.

[W-what's going on!]

[It burns! It burns! It hurts so much!]

Humans dropped with weapons, crying out in pain as they desperately grasped at their faces. Their skin was blistering, burning their eyes, their lungs alive. Coughs and cries of pain erupted as they went through terrifying agony.

The Beastmen, too, recoiled in confusion and pain. Their snarls turned to wheezes as they stumbled through the toxic fog. They clawed at their throats, convulsing, as the thick gas made its way into their crevices. With each laboured breath, the gas seeped deeper into their lungs, destroying their organs, coughing out blood.

Humans and Beastmen alike, collapsed, their bodies piling on the ground, killed by an unseen enemy. The Beastmen who could fly tried desperately to do so, tumbling through their air. Both sides started fleeing from the battle, the differences between them becoming irrelevant.

[Fire!]

Dozens more shells impacted the ground, expanding the perimeter of death. Thousands tried to flee, but even more stayed there forever. They died painful deaths, agony and suffering till the moment they died. Panic and confusion were rampant as survival was the only thing that mattered. The Beastmen were not afraid of death, but that was when their death had a purpose. Not like this, where thousands were killed, meaninglessly, helplessly, like they were fighting a force of nature.

[Fire!]

Unending volleys of gas rounds rained from the sky. In the end, only a couple hundred Beastmen made it back to their tree line, gaining temporary safety. As for the humans, with their weaker complexions, they all remained there, forever.

However, to the despair of the surviving Beastmen, the poisonous gas seemed to stick to them. It had settled in their fur, blistering, burning, leaving terrible chemical burns on their skin. They writhed in agony, tearing off their fur, covering themselves in water, all to no avail. Their thick fur which they had been so proud of, had now become their greatest enemy.