Chapter 34

  [We are ready, my lord.]

  The message from Reinos popped up on my NeuroHUD. After more than a day of waiting in the abandoned camp on the south side of the city, it was time, and I was as ready as I could be.

  ‘Good. Then on my signal the operation is a go.’

  [Uh … does it mean we are to commence the diversionary attack when you order it?’]

  ‘Yes, yes it does.’

  Then another message popped up from Tarashak.

  [Your heir is very excited to hear news of your victory at Garoshek. She says, “I miss you, Daddy, bring me some minotaur horns so I could make a tiara out of them.”]

  ‘Tell my daughter that I will gift to her the horns of the Minotaur King if I get the chance.’ I said to him, smiling.

  [The Minotaur King? Perhaps you’ll have the chance later. I have to say, I like this concept of diversions. The most sophisticated strategy Ugrathar had ever conceived was “attack with everything we have”. The only one who has ever done or even suggested similar things was Kralsen the Dreamer of Pain. I hope it will work.]

  ‘Well, thank you, I suppose.’ I said to the general. ‘And I guess thank you for guiding Reinos through the process of organising his army.’

  [Normally a general wouldn’t help another to do his job; helping someone to potentially become more powerful than himself is not something demons do. But I’ve known Reinos for a long time, and the fact that my own life as well as that of everyone in Scaragar depends on your success, it was prudent to make an exception.]

  That made sense in its own, demonic way, and I imagined the old chap wasn’t all that ecstatic that his life depended on someone other than himself and his own army. I let the topic rest; I had my own job to do, and it was finally time to get to it.

  Grashon’s warriors climbed to the top of the berm at set intervals then laid flat down to act as lookouts, while the big guy himself helped me set things up. First, I brought out from my storage the three floodlights with their adjustable stands. Amongst the many base building materials the shuttle had been carrying, these lights were the ones I’d decided to use now. We set them up in a way the lights were higher than the berm, overlooking the enemy camp four hundred metres ahead of us — which I had designated as “Camp One”. We didn’t need anything else for the lights; their batteries would last at least a day — although I imagined they’d have maybe half an hour to live once the operation began. Hell was fairly bright, like a constant, early pre-sunset evening, on account of the sky constantly burning and bathing the place in orange light, but I was confident the powerful floodlights would still draw the attention of the enemy. I was quite sure they’d be instant targets, and I saluted the tall platforms for their sacrifice as Grashon and I set them up behind the berm, some ten metres apart from each other.

  Once we were done with the lights, their controls hooked up to my NeuroHUD, we got to the main attraction of this show: the sentry turret. Grashon was looking at the large gun on its tripod platform as I brought it out; I had explained to him what it did, but I didn’t think he could really picture it or even understand how devastating this weapon was. Telling him that a single round would be able to destroy anything that wasn’t behind a metre thick concrete wall or the hull of a capital ship, hadn’t worked, obviously, but he seemed to have accepted that it was very bad for the enemy to come face to face with this thing.

  For the sentry we needed to build a raised platform, and that’s when all the crates and containers I had plundered from the shuttle came into play. We worked hard and fast to empty the containers, shoving their contents back into my storage — all kinds of things I didn’t even know I had — then stacking them up, piling and compressing earth and dirt around them, thus creating a mound behind the berm, tall enough for the gun to shoot over it at a decent angle. This was going to be another prime target for the enemy, and I was sure only archers and mages would have a chance to even attempt to disable it. It was impossible to tell what range a minotaur mage’s earth spells had — it varied from demon to demon depending on levels just as it did for fire spells — and I hoped I’d be able to reclaim my sentry gun after the battle. If there was going to be an “after the battle” for us.

  After half an hour we finally managed to complete the gun emplacement with the sentry on top. I connected it to my NeuroHUD, designated my team as friendlies, setting the engagement range to 350 metres, and left it on standby. Grashon and I rushed up to the berm to take our places. I got my rifle into my hands, double checked that the targeting system was working properly, and I declared us ready.

  ‘Grashon, make sure your guys keep an eye on our flanks! Report any movement from Camp Two and Three!’

  ‘Yes, Boss.’ Grashon and his grunts chorused.

  ‘Vik, Sur! Your targets are mages, archers, and anyone that could do long range damage. I know it will be difficult to keep your heads down while shooting but try not to get killed.’

  ‘Yes, Lord.’ The two archers acknowledged.

  ‘Reinos!’ I spoke to my general. ‘Are you sure you’re ready?’

  [We are, my Lord. I’ll order the detachment to begin the diversion the moment you give the word.]

  I took a deep breath, wishing I could have had a smoke and Crunchymel bar before the battle commenced, but I wasn’t ready to show my human face to my troops. I wondered if there ever was going to be a right time for it at all.

  Reinos had managed to recruit over six, almost seven thousand demons into his army. At least half of them were between level 15 and 18 — crafters, builders, foresters and various other “civilians”, but all of them had a few, combat related skills. A good number of them were between level 18 and 20, and a few hundred were over 20. Reinos’ aura buffs as a general would certainly come in handy in bolstering the soldiers, but the same could be said about the enemy.

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  ‘Right. If any of your scouts spot someone who might be the enemy general, tell me immediately and mark his location on the map!’ I told Reinos.

  [Yes Lord.]

  The answer came.

  ‘Very good,’ I said, then waited a few seconds to check if there was anything I had forgotten. There wasn’t, and I made the announcement. ‘Operation “Hell to Pay” is a go.’

  [Uhm … does it mean we can start?]

  ‘Yes, yes it does.’

  ***

  I wished I could have seen it: a detachment of two thousand demons forming up in front of one of the northern gates of the city, waiting for it to open so they could pour out and assault the enemy camps on that side, the main body of the army waiting to do the same on the south side. I had seen demons fight, but not on this scale. This was going to be a battle unlike anything I’d ever been a part of. I’d done lots of garrison duty, some urban combat and some boarding action with the marines, and as a medic I had often found myself in the thick of things, trying to get to the wounded. An engagement where two armies faced each other in the field directly in a contest of brawn and magic? This was going to be a new experience, and if we succeeded to achieve this campaign objective, there would be a lot more to come.

  [Gates are opening. Detachment Alpha is on the way.]

  Reinos reported, finally using the designation I had come up with for the diversionary force. Heh, even a demon had to accept that clear, unambiguous communication was required for this sort of thing. Or maybe he was just following my orders to use the appropriate words I had given him without understanding why. It was hard to tell.

  ‘Copy that. Team Hellfire is commencing diversionary attack as well. Remember, Reinos, the goal is not for the detachment to fight to the last demon. Just distract and tie down the enemy for as long as possible and see where the enemy general or generals are at. Got it?’

  [Yes, my Lord.]

  The answer came, and it was time to begin our part of this show.

  ‘Grashon, we’re starting!’ I yelled over to the big guy lying flat on his belly on top of the berm with his grunts some seven metres to the right from me. He nodded.

  I armed the sentry turret, set it to single shot mode, and brought up the ammo counter to the NeuroHUD, putting it in a corner of my vision. 400 rounds. I hoped I wouldn’t need to use more than that. Then, I switched on the floodlights and aimed my rifle at Camp One, zooming in on a separate targeting screen to get a better look at their reaction. Oh, and they reacted almost instantly. I imagined it wasn’t just because of the floodlights; knowing the enemy general could communicate with his captains as well as other generals, they must have got the news of the breakout attempt on the other side of the city.

  From my vantage point I could see Camp One clearly. Camp Two and Three on either side were too far for the scope’s optical zoom to give me anything detailed, but I could tell all three camps had noticed us and were stirring. In the camp in front of us minotaurs and other creatures moved between the hundreds of ramshackle tents, the closest ones to us pointing at us, squads of twenty and thirty soldiers forming behind them, ready to sally out to have a look at the strange lights.

  ‘Reinos, how is it going?’ I asked the general. ‘We’ve definitely got the attention of the camps on this side.’

  [Detachment Alpha is out on the field now, my Lord. The enemy camps are putting their soldiers on the berms and other emplacements. It will be a tough fight, but the detachment will keep them busy. I am ready and waiting with the main force at the south gate. We’ll attack at your command.]

  ‘Good job, general, it won’t be long.’

  I didn’t want to micromanage poor Reinos — even though I felt an overwhelming need to demand a sitrep from him every two minutes — so I had to watch myself not to fall into the trap so many officers I knew had. Reinos knew what he was doing, hopefully, and I did have some trust in the guy. Plus, I had my own job to focus on.

  I moved my rifle, aiming the scope at everything, keeping an eye on everything. After about a minute, seven enemy squads, about thirty minotaurs and werewolves each, left the camp in front of us, marching straight for our berm and the lights.

  ‘Alright, they’re coming. Can you see them?’

  ‘See them,’ Vik the archer replied to my question, and I saw Sur nodding as I looked at the pair on my left.

  ‘Stay low, let the sentry do the shooting for now!’ I instructed them, probably unnecessarily.

  I didn’t get a reply.

  The enemy squads advanced, slowly at first, but then they broke into a jog, spreading out and mixing together, making me realise that they weren’t organised into squads at all, it had just looked like that for some reason. Regardless, more than a hundred of them were coming our way to check what was happening, rapidly approaching the 350 metres engagement line.

  The sentry turret’s panel popped up on my NeuroHUD, informing me that its targeting AI picked up hostile units approaching, and would open fire in three … two … one … boom-boom-boom. I couldn’t help but smile as Grashon nearly jumped up at the loud sounds, but then he calmed down and twisted his body and neck so he could stare at the muzzle flashes occurring once or twice every second.

  ‘Eyes on the enemy, Grash!’ I warned him, and he resumed keeping watch.

  Through the zoom of my riflescope, I saw the results of my sentry’s work in gory detail. I hadn’t been wrong, not at all; the 12 mm AP rounds were tearing through the minotaurs, the targeting AI not missing a single shot. Heads exploded, holes opened up in chests, blood and guts sprayed everywhere, and if an unlucky minotaur had another unlucky minotaur standing behind him, they went down together. Twenty seconds, twenty rounds, twenty-two dead minotaurs. I stopped the turret from firing and aimed my rifle at the now hesitant enemy combatants. I picked one, made sure my aim was steady, and I pulled the trigger. 8 mm flechettes hitting wasn’t as spectecular or impactful, but at 300 metres I hit my target in the head, and the minotaur went down. I picked another target and I repeated the process.

  [You have defeated Minotaur warrior, level 20. You receive EXP.]

  [You have defeated Minotaur warrior, level 19. You receive EXP.]

  I wasn’t all that surprised that the victims of the sentry turret didn’t count as my kills, and I supposed it was fair, as the gun wasn’t a part of my item set. That aside, me firing into the enemy crowd was the sign for Vik and Sur to spring into action; they stood up on the berm and let loose a few Hell Mana infused arrows. The magical projectiles were impressive for sure, and a sight to behold as they soared through the air leaving a fiery trail, but they were slower, less accurate, and depending on the amount of HMP they carried, less effective. I watched on the zoom screen as the arrows hit or missed, taking three more of the enemy down.

  ‘Alright, cease fire!’ I ordered.

  Having had their chance to sample the taste of not one but two types of armour piercing ammunition, the enemy stopped advancing, a few of them running back to the camp, hopefully to get everyone there to commit to a general assault against us. A quick look at the other camps confirmed that the noise and the lights had annoyed them enough to start massing at the edges of their sites, and with a bit of luck we’d have their full attention. This was good, and I hoped they’d act quick and come over here to check out the new shop of death and carnage I had set up for them. Detachment Alpha was already doing their job, and I didn’t want to keep them attacking fortified positions for longer than necessary, and I wanted to unleash Reinos and the main body of his army at the three camps in front of us as soon as they were fully distracted.

  ‘Reinos, it won’t be long now, I think at least three enemy camps are about to send all they have against us. Be ready!’

  [At your command, my Lord.]

  The satisfactory answer came, and we watched as more and more minotaur soldiers were lining up to join the fun.