Mark_Ward
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Chapter 153: Seige Pt.2
🕑 Added 2021-04-09 02:36:03 +0000 UTCThe dust slowly cleared, and everyone finally got to lay sight on the killing field. There was basically nothing left of the Nott family creatures. It would seem that they went a bit overkill in wiping out the beasts. Only dust remained, drifted in the air and black scorched earth covered a mile or so.
Everyone was silent until Harry heard an angry roar come from the Nott family camp. Orders were given, and it was the soldiers' turn to move up. Now the more dangerous element had entered the field. Unlike beasts, men are more dangerous. They do not just charge and attack ceaselessly like mindless idiots. Humans use tactics and trickery to get by which makes them much, much more dangerous.
The Nott family soldiers nevertheless didn't look so happy as they were ordered to advance. However, orders were orders, and they simply had no choice but to fall through in on it. After all, they all made the Unbreakable Vows and were driven forth by it as their master's command was their duty to fulfill.
"How are our siege weapons?" Harry asked the Commander. The man turned to the auxiliary force shouting down at them ad quickly got an answer back in moments.
"It would take a while for the siege weapons to be up and running, my lord," the gruff man answered. "They have over spent it and will need time to do a lot of repairs and tuning."
"Good to know," Harry said with a nod of his head, as it was clear he wouldn't be accounting for his siege weapons for a while now.
He turned to look up at the glowing gems hovering a few feet over the arching towers of the keep. The fire and lightning gem was clearly sent as the light in them were all but gone. The collection of years of magical energy being slowly gathered from the leyline under the Fortress was all sent in a single moment of utter destruction.
Now Harry was left with 5 lines of defense.
To begin with the fortress had 7 killing fields that protected it from all sides. They had the Fire, the Earth, the Metal, the Water, the Wood, the Wind, and the Lightning gems!
He knew that the enemy force would overcome the last few lines of defence, and the fortress would be laid bare for them to lay siege to. Harry knew he needed to slow down the dark oncoming host so that they could be bogged down in the elemental fields of destruction and death.
"Lieutenant Riley," Harry addressed the red haired man.
"Yes, my lord," the man turned to face him as he pounded his fist against his chest.
"Prepare your Hippogriff Cohort, they will be going in, and I want you to only harass the Nott family forces, not fully engage with them as of yet. So blitz in and out like you always do, and make sure to not get shot down from the sky!"
"Will do so, my lord," the Lieutenant bowed his head and headed off to follow through on his command.
"Lieutenant Otto," Harry then addressed the bald headed man.
"What are your orders, my lord," the man asked.
"I want you and the Cynogriffin Cohort on stand by to support the Hippogriff Cohort at any time. The Nott family knows the disposition of our army, so I wouldn't be startled if they have surprises in store for us to deal with our Cohorts each in turn."
"Very wise," the Commander nodded his head, "they have cost us many Griffin-kin riders during the last war. So they got a handle on us."
"I understand my lord," the Lieutenant nodded his head, "I will be on the lookout for any of their tricks that they plan to pull off on us!"
"Good," Harry said as he saw the man off with a nod of his head.
It was at that moment that the Hippogriffs begin to take off, he heard their loud cries as their riders held on tightly to their reins while walking up to the landing zones and taking off into the air in neat formal squads.
Lieutenant Riley was at the lead as he was mounted on an Alpha hippogriff which was much bigger than its smaller brethrens. It took to the forefront as it flew high up in the air followed closely by the other hippogriff right on its heel.
Then Lieutenant Riley stopped at the apex of his height as he raised his wand on up high as it transformed into a bloody spear and he pointed it downward as the Cohort begin to split up. They all started to spread out instead of being clumped together as each squad basically acting independently.
The sun was at their backs as the hippogriff and their riders swooped down from on up high down on to the Grim Battalion who at this moment crossed into the ice zone. Large massive pillars of icicles begin to form in the air and were launched out into the gathered army.
Quickly a loud grunt of effort came from the enemy host as the soldiers pooled their magic together and created a wall of fire. The icicles slowly begin to melt as they met the seeing heat, but still a few got through and tore into the ranks.
The large pillars of ice were able to cut through some men as they were literally strung up in place. Coming in low where the hippogriff riders that parted the wall of fire aside with gusts of wind and tore into the ranks of the enemy soldiers.
Some of the hippogriffs picked up the soldiers in their talons and took them high up into the sky, while others ripped into them apart as flesh and bones were sundered and blood rained down. It was indeed a bloody and gruesome sight as the shouts and roars of men mixed with the shrieks of the hippogriff.
Just then the enemy force changed up formations as they got into squads and huddled up. Then Harry caught something with his Magic sight and quickly found out what it was as Hippogriffs bounced off invisible shields and landed on the dirt.
They were able to quickly collect themselves as they took flight back into the air, but before they could get far streams of liquid fire started roasting the half horse/half eagle creatures.
There weren't too many hippogriffs caught in the attack as they were out and in just like he commanded, but the few that caught, he could hear their screams from all the way here. They were quickly silenced as the Nott family force ended permanently.
The good news was that the Grim Battalion was being slowed down as thanks to all that raining down ice, the landscape was slowly freezing over as the secondary effect of the killing slowly went into effect, and the mist gathering really didn't help with visibility as the Hippogriff riders rained down spells down below on the army.
By the time that the army entered the fourth line of defence and the wind begin to pick up, they looked haggard while their magical shields were battered. The hippogriffs road the winds as they came down on the battered force more enemy soldiers were torn apart as flown away as the shields were now just thin paper.
However the enemy force had a bit of surprise in store, they begin to launch massive lances of dark magic, the hippogriff were able to easily dodge except maybe one or two caught by surprise, but then the lances followed after the riders and their mounts, honing on them like missiles.
Dodging and darting, the hippogriff riders were hounded relentlessly and they started falling as the lances of dark corrosive magic caught up to them. Then to make things worse, the enemy force started send out force magic which knocked about the riders slowly trapping them and even in some cases making them fall.
And to top it off some of the wendigo creatures that were left behind from the initial charge came swooping in. They were like black furred Pterodactyl with large sharp backed heads and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.
"Have the Cynogriffin Cohort enter," Harry commanded seeing that things weren't going great for the hippogriff riders. The Hippogriff Cohort was one of his light units, they go for quick and easy damage, but really can't take too much punishment.
"Prepare from them to attack the walls," Harry also commanded. Four of their defenses were so far breached as the wind blades slowed down as the energy in the wind gem emptied out allowing the Nott family to approach the 5th and 6th line of defense.
The Earth and Metal lines!
The Cynogriffin finally entered the fray giving the Hippogriff Cohort a moment of reprieve to gather and organize. The half wolf and half eagle creatures were more bulker and bigger as they were one of his medium units and they easily dealt with the Pterodactyl like creatures while also dealing heaver damage to the black clad army.
"Lieutenant Martin," he said addressing the big man. "Have your Hieracosphinx Cohort in position on the walls!"
The big man nodded his head in acquiescence and headed to his giant burly Hieracosphinx which lazily sat on the ground swinging about their heavy tailed which were almost like maces. He saw that the Nott family forces were already preparing to attack the walls as siege towers were being brought forth and pulled forth by mammoth like wendigo creatures.
"Lieutenant Felicity and Lieutenant Kate," Harry then called to the two women.
"Yes, my lord," the women answered.
"Lieutenant Felicity I want you to start preparing your Grecian Cohort. I want you to make the climb up the wall for the Nott family force all but impossible and excruciating! Could you do that for me?!"
"It would be my pleasure," the woman smiled as she bowed and headed off.
"Lieutenant Kate," Harry then turned to the spry, bubbly woman."I want your little attack dogs on the ready went the Nott family force fainlly do making up to the wall. I want them to tear them up and shred them like they always do."
"I will get to it right away, my lord," the blonde haired gave him an awkward salute as she ran off.
Looking back at the battlefield, Harry saw that the Grim Battalion was slowly making its way through the devouring quicksand and the shredding blades of metal that kept shouting everywhere on the earth as they have long become slick with blood.
The Hippogriff Cohort and the Cynogriffin Cohort continued to harass them as they slowed them down and picked them off one by one. They worked in perfect tandem with the Cynogriffin taking the damages when it is called for and the Hippogriff darting in between them to devastating effect.
However it was a back and forth little tug of war, as the Grim Battalion would come up with a surprise and the Hippogriff Cohort and the Cynogriffin Cohort would overcome it reaping death while the Grim Battalion would bring something else into play.
Finally the Grim Battalion came up to the last line of defense as they neared the wall up to near throwing distance.
Suddenly flowers begin to sprout up from the earth, and everyone looked down at the harmless last line of defence. But the flowers just kept on growing as if they were on steroid roots started sprouting out as the plants started to shot up like bamboo.
And everyone quickly noticed the thorns covering the plant which seemed to drip with some poisonous juice. The plants continued growing until the whole was covered by overgrown long vines of thorns and they started coming up to the wall as they reached an astronomical height of 30 meters in only a few seconds.
There was literally a small patchwork of an overgrown forest filled with thorns in front of the wall blocking anyone from coming up.
Then that was when the vines started to attack. They lashed out against the Nott family force pulling on men and women and dragging them forth into their small little forest as their screams filled the air.
It was a chaotic mess as soldiers all but nearly broke as their friends and companions were dragged right before their very eyes screaming and yelling for help.
However, their slave drive masters never gave them the chance as their officers and captains shouted orders and some semblance of cohesive order was once more achieved. But the damage was done as Hippogriff Cohort and the Cynogriffin Cohort swooped in like sharks smelling blood.
Some defences were put up by the Grim Battalion as they fought back, but clearly, their main focus was the last line of defence so that they could get to the fortress.
The small thorn forest was a terror as even a scratch from the vines could cripple a man if the antidote of the poison wasn't found quickly.
The Nott family army tried to go for fire to deal with the forest, but that wasn't really their fortitude and the forest seemed to have some fire resistance. The only choice they were left with was chopping at the forest with Severing Charm using their wands like machete which as indeed a great undertaking.
Harry of course wouldn't let them do that and he was just about to send in the Griffin Cohort lead by Lieutenant Alex, but then he noticed something happening. In the middle of the army, there was a small gathering happening as Harry spotted Theodore coming in which was unexpected as he thought he would be in the pavilion that was being set up far away in the distance a good way off from the battlefield.
He was gathering magic in great amounts as those around him helped in. Harry narrowed his eyes wondering what he was up to until suddenly the spell went into effect.
It was a dark mist that stuck at the forest of thorn, nothing happened at first until suddenly there was an ear splitting shriek that came from the small forest. Harry saw no damage at all to the forest of thorn, but it wouldn't be crying out in pain for nothing like that if something wasn't happening to it.
"Its fear Inducement," the Commander answered his question for him. "Death By Horror as you literally scare a target to death. I wondered when they would do that, they usually save it for last so they must be desperate to unleash it right now."
Harry silently watched as the forest started to wilting and die right before his eyes until only a dead husk was left.
Now there was nothing stopping the Grim Battalion from finally laying siege to the Griffin Fortress!
Comments
When will you release these to the public
Legendary Gear5
These were definitely the best most exciting chapters of the novel so far awesome 👏
later today!
pop_tarts
When is next chapter??
GodoftheSeas21
Great chapter!!!
You have a sentence near the start they used to do that during the Lost war do you mean last I don't remember there being a lost war
Thanks for the chapter on a good story
