Chapter 52 — First Contact

The People's Army, having just taken Eldriel, had immediately re-formed and marched towards the Thornspire Empire. An advance fleet flew far ahead of the main force, commanded by none other than Grand Admiral Erwin himself. The fleet consisted of 9 ships; 2 transport ships, 2 frigates, 4 battleships, and a commanding Dreadnought.

[We're advancing at full speed!]

[Why do we have so little forces?]

[There's no way. Our forces are already spread too thin. It's a challenge even holding our territory, and now we're already on another expedition. It'll take time, time we don't have]

Yes, the Third Reich still relied on horse-drawn carriages for most of troop transport. Warships and cargo ships were a drop in the bucket, too expensive to keep running, and, knowing their incoming obsolescence, Konrad had been hesitant to make airships widespread. In fact, troops were still marching to the corners of the Elsass Empire.

In the forest ahead, a border army of roughly 10,000 Beastmen had quickly formed. It was truly a fast response-it had only been hours since the advance fleet was spotted by flying reconnaissance.

Aboard the commanding ship, the Dreadnought, an officer reported to Erwin.

[Sir, the enemy is in range of our cannons!]

[Don't fire. It'll be troublesome if they dispersed into the forest. Wait for them to come to use. We need to annihilate them in one fell swoop!]

Erwin looked over the map and pointed at the army pieces placed on it.

[How far ahead are we from the main army?]

[Sir! We are presently 48 kilometres ahead of the main force! As per your orders, no ground forces are accompanying the fleet]

[Very well. Commence operation!]

Saluting Erwin, officers on the bridge started transmitting messages rapidly.

Two cargo ships separated from the reconnaissance fleet and slowly landed on the ground, sending clouds of dusk into the sky. The ramps unfolded, but the cranes kept still. There were to be no vehicles to be offloaded this time.

[Everyone, grab your gear and get off! Now!]

Soldiers armed with rifles drove surrendered Elsass Empire soldiers down the ramps and onto the flat, open fields below. Strangely, these captured soldiers were equipped with their full armour and weapons, as if they were going to fight a battle the next minute.

Thousands of prisoners obediently streamed down the ramps. Despite being fully armed and equipped with the best cold weapons, there was no trace of resistance. They knew full well their helplessness before the guns of the Elsass Empire, let alone the terrifying ships flying ahead. Not a few soldiers had long-lasting trauma from that.

Roughly 5,000 soldiers lined up in formation, the standard form of a typical cold weapon army. A wooden podium was quickly moved and an officer stood in from of the army with a microphone connected to loudspeakers. His undisputable voice boomed across the five thousand soldiers.

[As long as you can defeat the Beastmen army in front of you, you can return home with a large compensation! We will be on the sidelines assisting you! Provided you work hard, victory is guaranteed!]

[However! If you retreat, you WILL be shot! Our battleships are watching from the skies! Likewise, we have your families! If you die in battle, the money will be given to them. But if you flee from battle, they will be executed alongside you!]

[Remember, your goal is to hold the enemy in place until our invincible troops can attack them from behind! There may be some casualties, but victory is assured!]

[To show how confident I am, I will personally command you! Set off, march!]

A slightly disorganised and somewhat motivated army started marching forwards, towards the border in the distance. The transport ships started taking off, taking most soldiers of the People's Army back in it.

Seeing the ships take off and the army disembark, the Thornspire Empire Border Army, hastily formed and resting in the forest line, looked over with interest. They had been rapidly called together through flying messengers and signal smokes.

Due to internal differences and conflicts, the Thornspire command chain consisted of several independent systems. Each clan had a separate message line, resulting in duplicative systems, unnecessary complexity, and, worst of all, inefficiency. Despite the rest of the Empire mobilising, the news of war had not yet reached the soon-to-be front line. If only they had a few more hours, maybe it wouldn't be too late. If only…

[My lord, the strange flying ships seem to be staying behind their small ground army. If every ship is carrying 2,500 soldiers, then there may be 20,000 enemy soldiers…]

[If they come close, use flying units to deny them landing. We'll focus on the ships after we destroy this ground force. Let alone even if they deploy 20,000 soldiers, it'll just be more meat on the chopping board! This victory is a great chance to raise my prestige in the clan!]

[Yes, they only have half our numbers, on top of being human!]

[The whole army, advance! Move quickly, we don't want the follow-up forces to steal our credit!]

[Wipe those in front out with a swift blow!]

Horns blew as the army rapidly packed up and formed up. Slowly, Beastmen filtered out of the dense woodland and onto the grasslands, eager to fight.

The army was arranged in the standard formation of a bull's head. Veterans made up the main central force or the "head" of the bull. The left and right flank were made up of younger warriors, or the "horns" of the bull. The aim was to outflank and encircle the enemy, with the veteran force being the main thrust. This simple tactic worked exceptionally well even against superior human forces, let alone a small army half its size.

Although arrogant, the commander was not stupid. While victory was guaranteed, it was still important to minimise losses.