"Monsters, knights and demons," Elly sang, skipping over the small hill. Well, someone else might call it stalking, and her tone was more a mutter than a song, but she was feeling whimsical. "Bandits, soldiers and pirates. My blade craves variety after so long at sea, and nothing in the world will deprive me of your misery."
Thank the Gods she was going unheard. Her army was preparing for battle, the Imperial half legion they were chasing had abandoned their crossing to face them, but even with all of that her mutterings would probably still have gone through the ranks like wildfire.
Oh well. It was a good ritual, a way for her mind to settle and her body to slowly infuse with Life Enhancement energy. Not that it was technically necessary to go slow, everyone agreed on that, but she felt better using it like that.
Patience and reward, the hunt and the kill.
Now, she wasn't stupid. Ritual or not, nine of her Life Enforcement soldiers were stalking along with her, keeping their distance but close enough to assist. None of them were with the Fearless Fourteen, she left those to help guard Marcus, but even her 'regular' warriors capable of the art could keep up with her.
…As long as she was just stalking around, and not actually in a rush to get anywhere.
A flare of fire rose up into the sky behind her, Elly's pupils shrinking briefly. That was also the only reaction it got, it being the tenth in the last few hours. Gretched, Marcus' old witch, was apparently well versed in intimidation tactics.
Elly had approved the plan, because it would lose them little and even a minor blow to Imperial morale would be worth it, but she honestly didn't see what was so scary about a big pillar of fire rising into the sky.
The small forest had stopped a while ago, meaning killing the half legion with a forestfire wasn't feasible, and the river was close enough to hear its rushing. Hells, Marcus himself could be way more intimidating. Elly mentally shrugged, focusing on a small deer four hundred feet ahead of her.
Her bow was raised, fired and relaxed in one smooth motion, the gesture feeling right, and the deer slammed into the ground. She focused, confirming her arrow had gone straight through the heart, and she glanced at her bow when she noticed it was actually pinned to the ground.
It was new, one of her nine regular warbows, and made by Mirranian hands. Their style of craftsmanship was different. Not by much, there were only so many ways to make a bow, but enough she felt the urge to test it before battle.
She flicked her hand, one of her soldiers moving forwards to collect her kill and bring it to the army, and she stretched. Stretched and sharpened her hearing as far as it would go, picking up two distinct sources of what could only be an army.
The clanking of armor, the droning of feet, the barking of officers. If she enhanced her nose she'd be able to smell cleaning oils, leather and the unique scent of thousands of bodies in close proximity.
Half an hour away, if she were to guess. The Imperial army appeared to be holding their position, which corroborated her scout's reports, and Elly hummed. It was happening, then. The Empire had chosen a battlefield, likely prepared it and were now waiting to spring untold traps on their enemy.
Yeah, that sounded about right. Unfortunately for the Empire, her strongest warbow was itching to be used, made as it was from the bones of a long-dead dragon. It was uninfused, unable to take Life energy thanks to the dragon's resistance, but it was heavy. Heavy enough to propel arrows twice their normal range, even compared to those shot from a longbow.
Elly grinned, turning and signalling her guards. Oh yes, she had an idea indeed. One she hoped the Empire had never encountered before, and one that wouldn't really work on a bigger army.
But against two thousand men with limited magical support? An army that was trapped and forced to fight? Oh, it should work quite well indeed.
Before her fun, though, officers had to be informed. Commander Zotor had to know the plan, Eskna to be in position should he prove unreliable in real battle, the captains and lower officers to know the rough outline of the plan.
It didn't take too long. One of the major benefits of a professional army, self-sustainability. They didn't need her to hold their hand, didn't need her to ensure a retrained but fresh Baron-turned-commander moved the soldiers just right. She gave the order, and the army moved.
Commanders informed captains, captains informed lieutenants, sergeants ensured the rank and file moved as they should. Redundancy was everywhere, the chain of command was drilled into every soldier, every soul knew their job.
Elly collected her retinue while that was happening, ensuring the war mages she collected could properly shield her, and in a fit of whimsy decided to take Ponn. The shapeshifter had a lot of potential, and maybe all the woman needed was a push. The sight of real battle.
There was a Court Mage too, and Elly vaguely remembered it being one that Marcus had recruited for his Academy. So at least reliable, but not a soldier. Emma, that was it. A rather cold looking woman, but she got a feeling of power from her.
And that was it. All the preparation she needed to do. Her commanders would take care of the rest, and captains were already rousing their companies when she rode out of hill-side camp again. Fourteen souls went with her, half Life Enhancement soldiers and half mages.
Fifteen horses, a force small and mobile enough to return to the army quickly. But, if her information was right, the Imperials wouldn't be eager to chase her. They had no mounted division, not beyond scouts and mounts reserved for officers, and if she'd put as much effort into preparing the battlefield as she suspected they had, she wouldn't be eager either.
The river grew louder as they travelled, and though she wouldn't get to see it, maps insisted it was a brutal thing. No gentle stream, no calm flow, but a raging mass of water rushing towards the sea. The mountain's snow surrounding her new home on nearly all sides was melting, it seemed.
Poor luck for the Imperials, good luck for her. Or planning, but while she couldn't speak for the Empire she hadn't planned for the legion to get trapped by the river. Not beyond destroying the bridge, anyway, and that had been taking advantage of an opportunity more than anything else.
Another hill was crossed, and there they were. Two hills created a valley large enough to make use of their numbers, two thousand Imperial soldiers standing in formation. Whole rows of red and white, flags flapping in the wind as shields stood in a loose shield-wall.
Elly could appreciate their chosen location. Rock formations barred any enemy from attacking their right flank, the left tapering off into a curve to avoid being surrounded. They stood halfway up the opposite hill of the valley, forcing their enemy to fight from the low ground.
The valley itself looked undisturbed, but her enhanced eyesight could spot the occasional messy coverup. They'd taken care to be gentle, but there were traps there. Of what kind she didn't know, pits or oil or sharp metal caltrops, and frankly she wasn't planning to find out.
The Empire was content to dig in and wait for them to force the issue. As the invading force it was a smart play. Either Elly wasted time hesitating, attacked and got her army ground down, or she committed enough troops to ensure victory and let the Empire's main force move uncontested.
She called on more energy, her eyes starting to itch as she pushed her sight as far as it could go. Faces became readable, and she mostly saw younger men and women. Strong, in shape and determined, their expressions vaguely bored as they waited for the battle to start.
The officers were older, wearing insignia the common footsoldiers were not, so it was likely a fresh legion. One trained and equipped for the invasion, more experienced commanders drawn from other armies.
Their arms and armor was mostly similar in quality to those of her own men, to her faint surprise. Large shields, spears and one-handed axes. Good helmets, chain over leather, all appearing barely used.
Elly hummed, holding out her hand. Her dragon-bow was placed in it, an arrow following, and she let her eyes rest. Returned them to their regular, if still enhanced, state as she breathed, Life infusing her muscles. Infusing her bones, her very skin, as she singled out what her senses confirmed was a mage.
An older man, well-dressed and mounted. Plenty of jewelry on his person, though from this distance she couldn't feel what was enchanted and what wasn't. She didn't care, her whole body straining as she drew the bow.
The weight was, frankly, ridiculous. It had been a present from her brother, Albert. The bowyer who'd made the thing apparently couldn't even test it properly, though the man's skill had been sufficient no testing had been needed.
She so rarely got an excuse to use the thing. Her bow capable of accepting Life energy was superior in almost every way, but she didn't want to use that quite yet. No, this would do. The arrow was nocked, perfectly ordinary if on the heavy side, and the steel point seemed to almost gleam in the sun.
Elly let it go with a slow exhale of breath, not in a hurry. It shot forward with the crack of a whip, the string straining under the pressure, and she accepted another arrow before the first ever got to its target.
The old mage had turned to look at the noise, but she'd accounted for that. No shield, that she would be able to feel, but as the arrow was inches from his neck an artifact activated. Energy roared from it and the arrow was pushed up, which made Elly blink.
Steel entered the mage's chin, going straight through the bone and stopping halfway through his skull. The man toppled from his horse, shouts of alarm rising up almost immediately.
Interesting. Either her arrow had too much force for the artifact to deflect properly, or… No, that was pretty much all she could think of. Elly shrugged, letting her second arrow fly and relishing the burn in her shoulders.
So little could truly push her strength when she was like this, and it felt satisfying. Physical proof of her power, though that sounded vain even in her own head.
The second projectile killed an officer, someone with entirely too many medals to be standing in a field, and the Imperial army finally got over its surprise. Mages conjured shields, officers threw themselves from their horses to take cover, the waiting soldiers tightened their shield-wall as sergeants started barking orders.
Oh well. She never expected to cripple them, though the mage was a lucky kill. Not many of those that she could see, and even then he'd seemed on the old side. Alas, not all of them seemed as dedicated to martial practice as her husband.
Elly was handed yet another arrow as her enemy returned fire, their projectiles crossing just over half the distance between them. It stopped after a moment, Elly killing a soldier who was leaning backwards a little too much.
Not a clean kill, that one, and come to think of it they probably had their own healers, but whatever.
The shouting ceased, silence returning briefly before fire came roaring towards her position. Emma the Court Mage barked out an order, shields snapping into place as the woman shot an ambiguous wave of energy at the attack.
Ambiguous. Elly wasn't happy with the word, but that's what her senses insisted it was. Her mind translated that to a dispelling wave of energy, designed to unravel and disrupt magical constructs.
Marcus had said he was training his mages in the art, though Elly hadn't realised some were already capable of it. It didn't do too much to the incoming fireball regardless, but the attack lost some of its sharpness when the Court Mage's disruption came into contact.
Fire washed over the shields, and Elly nocked another arrow. "Spread out, no less than fifteen feet to the next pair. One mage to each soldier, attempt to dodge instead of block."
Her retinue obeyed, horses kept calm only through extensive training, and she was briefly jealous of Xathar. Marcus' mount wouldn't need all that training, of course. Hells, it would probably mock the enemy for just standing there as she shot them.
She patted her own horse after letting another arrow fly, which was deflected by a magical shield, and silently offered apologies to her mount for her jealousy. Horses, she knew, could sense ill intent and judged people accordingly.
Gods, she was giddy. Another arrow was let loose and another soul died, a lower ranked officer who'd taken the risk of sticking his head out from behind a shield to shout at his soldiers. Soldiers that, she found, were looking increasingly nervous.
Another six arrows she fired, the enemy retaliating only once by throwing a very large stone that her people dodged, and then the half Legion stirred into motion. Eh, she'd gotten another—if younger— mage. It would have to do.
Silly little woman, thinking her magical protections could withstand two of her arrows shot in rapid succession.
If only she'd brought her Life Enhancement bow. Now that would have reaped a bloody toll from the Legion. But alas, her reasoning was still sound. This was but a prelude, a minor skirmish in the war to come. No sense is bringing her best just yet.
Elly slowly gave ground as the enemy soldiers advanced, grinning in vindication when they snaked to the right instead of taking the easier path straight ahead.
They did send two dozen flying summons at her, some species of bird she'd never heard about let alone seen, but her own people took care of those easily enough. Their bows might not be made from dragonbone, but they were still skilled archers with superior strength.
Then began the trek back to her own army, keeping up her harassment to make sure they followed, but it was almost boring. They had no real choice but to follow her, though she'd kind of hoped they would have bet on her not having that many arrows, and in the end her own small retinue was faster than anything they could throw at her.
Dangerous, too. After a trio of demons and then a particularly large stone elemental they stopped wasting effort on things her guards took care of easily enough. They'd probably adapt to fighting Life Enhanced soldiers soon, but for now she was more than happy to take advantage.
Her horse galloped and turned, her own army coming into sight. She could faintly hear her soldiers moving into battle positions as they spotted her in turn, the wide open terrain more than acceptable.
It was unprepared, but they simply didn't have the time. What they did have was numbers, nearly twice as many as the enemy, and though the Empire's equipment was technically superior to those of her soldiers, it wasn't by much.
Redwater was well built, she could admit that. Better so than her old home, at least when it came to its industrial capabilities. That probably came with limited trade and the ever-present threat of the Empire.
She shook her head, focused on the battle, and things started happening very quickly after that. The Legion seemed intent on forcing the battle now that she'd proved capable of outranging them, company after company of men and women marching double time towards her own lines, and it made her suspicious.
So Elly left her officers to do their job, taking a plain sword and disappearing between the lines. Her soldiers were far too focused on the rapidly approaching enemy to pay her much attention, nervously gripping weapons and shifting their footing, but they would hold. Her war games had ensured that much, at least.
All bets were off once the fighting got started, though, and she had the feeling the Legion had already blooded their rank and file. Had already ensured they could stomach prolonged battle, forged into proper soldiers by the crucible of war.
Closer and closer the enemy marched, their formation shrugging off crossbow volleys with near impunity, and she could hear her mages start to summon stone elementals. But that's what she feared, in truth. Not her own mages, but those of the enemy.
Everyone kept telling her how the Empire built its power around mages, how they won their wars and kept the dungeon contained, so she wasn't about to just leave them be. Wasn't about to leave them in peace behind soldiers and shields.
Power rose from her lines, fire raining towards the enemy as Gretched and Emma guided their mages into organized strikes, and then the moment was there. The crashing of shields, the grunting of muscle fighting against muscle, weapons snaking past either defenses to maim and kill.
Elly waited in the third line, eyes roving left and right. There was always a gap, always a moment where the shield-wall cracked for just a moment, and when it di-
There. She shot forward, a lucky strike killing an Imperial soldier and the woman behind him hesitating before filling the gap. Elly pushed her way past her own soldiers, four of her most skilled Life Enforcement guards with her, and lashed out a kick just as the woman firmed her resolve.
The soldier was forced back, and Elly stepped after her. Stepped into enemy lines, the pair of daggers in her hand carving open arms and legs. Anything to make them stumble, to make them unable to hold their shields, but that wasn't the main goal. She pushed deeper, breaking through to the other side.
Imperial soldiers turned, shouting and advancing on her, but her guards kept them busy. Allowed her to ghost into the enemy formation, pushing more energy into her limbs as crossbow bolts screamed past her frame.
Her reflexes were better than anyone else's here, but it would take only one. One lucky bolt to make her stumble, and if she was surrounded it would all be over. Her blood sang as she sheathed her daggers, drawing her sword to slice open a man's throat.
Then another, and another, and then any cohesion was gone. Soldiers scrambled back as her sword turned into a blur, slicing and hacking at anything getting close, and without them limiting her movement, the crossbowmen had no hope of hitting her.
Elly moved, hunting for the building energy signature deeper in enemy lines. The mages were doing something, something bad, but she had met very few who were capable of focusing with a sword in their face.
Not to mention their matrices. If they needed to defend against her sword they couldn't do whatever it was they were doing, and that whole plan was going smoothly until only fifty feet separated her from the enemy.
A lance of fire appeared in the air, four well-dressed mages under it, and it was the size of a sea serpent. Thirty feet long at the least, seeming to struggle to be released, and Elly could see how these well-trained, experienced mages struggled to hold it together.
Then it was let loose, and four hundred and fifty eight of her people burned. Vanished, though she wouldn't know the exact numbers until after the battle. All she saw was entire companies of her soldiers disappearing beneath the fire, revealing nothing but scorched earth when it was gone. They'd even managed to avoid their own lines, the vacuum filled quickly as they rushed forwards.
Elly felt nothing. Wouldn't until much later, after her blood stopped singing and reality reasserted itself. But fury did manage to break through, if only briefly, and this once rage and strategy aligned.
She crossed what little distance remained between her and the few remaining mages the Legion still had, and to her irritation they turned smoothly. Their guards rushed to stop her, elementals appeared to smash her to death, demons stepped out of shimmering portals to rend her to pieces.
Elly carved through the guards. Cut them up with speed they couldn't match, with strength that shattered bone. She ignored the lumbering stone elementals wholesale, resisted the urge to laugh as a cloud of smoke tried to choke her to death, and the well-armed demons were returned to their Hells so quickly all they managed to achieve was a confused look.
The mages scrambled back, conjuring shields and shooting her with more attacks than she could really categorize. Fire and stone, runes and lashing roots. She danced past it all, and her sword rebounded off the first man's shield. The mage flinched, and Elly hit it again.
Magical power failed, and this man was not Marcus. Did not adapt well to his loss of protections, did not draw a weapon or deploy telekinesis to ward her off. All he did was hesitate for a moment, and then Elly's sword cleaved through his neck.
A shield closed in around her, seeking to trap and delay, and she bullied her way through. A hail of stone attempted to crush her to death and she rolled to the side, springing to her feet and pointing her sword forwards. She angled her body just right so that every muscle was contributing, and after a moment of resistance the shield shattered.
The woman detonated a wave of fire at her, and by the time it cleared she looked horribly surprised to find Elly had ducked to the side. That surprise turned to pain as Elly's sword carved through her throat, an artifact blooming with power before shattering under the strain.
"Fuck this," one of the remaining mages barked, turning. "Fuck whatever Hell you crawled out of."
The man fled as air pushed him along, his fellow staring at him in betrayal, and the sole remaining mage should probably have kept his eyes on Elly instead. She shattered his shield in three blows, breaking his neck for the benefit of the soldiers rushing to assist him.
She let the cowardly mage flee, making her way towards where she'd seen someone important. Someone she never got a chance to hit with her arrows. The soldiers coming to assist their mages were left behind, and before long she was staring at a man with cold eyes and a scarred face.
He had guards, of course. One even smelled of Life Enforcement, though the woman seemed utterly terrified of her. Elly grunted. "Order your men to surrender."
"No," the officer replied, tone calm and measured. He looked to the side, looked at where her army was slowly enveloping his own, and shook his head. "You have done nothing b-"
Elly drew, aimed and threw her knife in the time it took his guards to blink, the blade sinking into the man's skull with pathetic ease. There hadn't even been any artifacts protecting him, which seemed strange.
She turned to who she assumed was the man's second in command. "Order your men to surrender."
The woman nodded rapidly, barking orders at a gaggle of nearby officers, and Elly risked glancing at the battle. Despite the losses suffered at the hands of the mages a two-to-one advantage was hard to beat, and her soldiers were performing well.
A host of stone elementals was making a mess out of the Legion's left flank, crushing and throwing without a care, and on the right her Life Enforcement pupils were butchering their way through entire companies of men. The Empire was deploying what looked like a cohort of demons to stop them, but orders were already being sent down.
She glanced at the sun, wondering how only mere minutes could have passed since their lines met in battle, and turned back to the Legion high-command. "If you try to kill me I'll have your entire army hanging from trees before dawn."
The officer held up her hand, the power building from behind a squad of hesitating soldiers bleeding away, and Elly grunted in a vague gesture of appreciation.
Those guards that had joined her for the push into enemy lines caught up, she noted the absence of Telki, and by the grim faces of the remaining soldiers he was most likely dead.
Elly withheld a sigh, not daring to drop her cloak of confidence for a moment. It was as much a shield as any magical protection was, and as long as these people believed they couldn't kill her none would try.
But victory, as ever, came at a cost. But not as big a cost as those that lost, and that's how wars were won.
By those who lost the least.