Chapter 8.18 - A Bad Plan Well Executed

It wasn't only Serin and his jumpers who were in the city. Only a few minutes after their initial landing, the other Marlins had passed overhead, dropping off the other four advanced teams at the four 'gates' to the pseudo underground city. It took no time at all for them to overwhelm the enemy emplacements at the gates through sheer force of firepower and magic, and establish footholds at the four entrances to the city.

This tactical maneuver done by the teams on the ground, was unorthodox at best. In any wargame presented at the Watchtower War College, would have had the presenter receive much less than full marks, as it had effectively caused the solitary jump force to split up and be surrounded by a numerically superior enemy, cutting off the jump groups from each other.

However, this plan was successful because it wasn't a normal protectorate contingent sent to any specific location, it was the best. No one was under level 80, which was normally a level reserved for the strongest members of a nation. For Haven, their power was magnitudes higher than others. A normal city guard of Haven could keep the average visiting 'hero' in check.

So while the four other drops of soldiers took position at the four gates of the city, Serin's team wiped out all within the confines of the cathedral. It didn't take long to route the enemies besieging the Echoes and Party Crashers.

Afterwards, Serin's team split. Half of the team stayed at the cathedral to render aid, shore up defenses, and hold the objective, while the other team began a meticulous effort to 'sweep and clear' the city. It was not a normal operation, and Serin's team had practiced this. It was closer to the operations they had performed in the gate to the 19th Daemon Knightdom.

It started with an announcement, blasted in [message] to the entire city.

[We, the forces of Haven, will be conducting Total War operations within this city to take the cathedral. All civilian forces still present are considered enemy combatants. End of message.]

It was not a polite message. It went against what Haven normally taught about the rules of Land and War. However, the Cult of Mephystra had made it apparent they did not wish to conduct themselves in accordance with commonly accepted practices when it came to polite violence. They killed civilians. They used children and non-combatants as suicide bombs. They even performed human sacrifice with their elders.

And since Mephystra would never give quarter, none would be given.

Serin was purposely the only human reinforcement sent into the city, and other than one human member of The Echoes currently cased in Amber, he would be the only one alive at dawn.

***

When the sun broke, the hills of The City Under were smoldering. The sunrise was an unusual red color, but none seemed to notice. The hidden city was in ruin, with the majority of buildings burned out from the inside, or rendered uninhabitable by the now pervasive noxious toxins that fogged through all the common areas.

Serin wasn't required to wear his helmet. The noxious fumes only injured those with an Endurance less than 200, however it smelled like rotten fish, and still made his skin itch, so like the rest, he did not take off his helmet.

Serin also felt no remorse for his actions. His scouts had pulled the training materials from the Cult's learning centers. Their indoctrination was complete. Children were taught how to self immolate and kill all surrounding them shortly after they learned their first few real spells.

The enemy force was made up not of humans, but of rabid monsters. And there was nothing to be done to monsters but to put them down humanely.

Serin's golden armor was stained red with blood.

Outside the city, the fight still raged. His main fleet had arrived, Commodore Thanatos cutting swaths of troops with each shot of the main cannon. They had adjusted the blast to break apart halfway through its path and instead of firing a hole through a mountain, it now could wipe out nearly a square kilometer of troops. The smaller particles of energy, if they did not pass right through an enemy, would continue to burn as superheated metal does, so even if it did not outright kill troops, it did render them useless.

Serin looked at one of the commanders who had dropped in. unlike the normal field armor of soldiers, Commanders had shown a knack for higher level strategy and tactics. They became direct controllers of battles instead of commands of troops, relaying strategy to the ground force Captains.

"Subjugator, we will have routed all enemy forces surrounding the city within the hour. They have closed off the gates that were reinforcing the battle. I do not know if the enemy meant to show their hand, but intelligence indicates each direct involvement they lose reduces their reinforcements significantly. I have recommended in my report that we continue to move slowly through enemy territory, as they will not be able to win if they cannot overwhelm us, and their numerical advantage greatly diminishes after each failed battle."

Serin looked at the commander. "Understood. Burn the farms. The only building that will be left habitable will be the Cathedral."

Serin then walked into the Cathedral. The Echoes had been healed up, and their look of surprise was immense. "Subjugator! We were not expecting your presence personally! Please be careful, as this place has an effect on Humans."

"It will not harm me."

The Echoes nodded. Serin looked at them. They were recovering, but none had died. One was in amber, and for a psionic mage to be overwhelmed like that, it went beyond what was expected of the enemy's home turf advantage.

"We will continue to hold this location, Echo Team. Your mission is to locate and report on cathedrals. This one is located, so is no longer your concern. Commander, what areas are next on the scout list?"

"The coast and the Hurick Mountains."

Serin neutral expression to Echo-1 caused her to be cold. There was no presence coming off this powerful person as he spoke.. "Take the mountains. The coast is about to have a few...incidents."