Chapter 694 — Chance and Inevitability
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The cold wind grew ever more bitter, and the banners it caught up beat against their metal poles with a sound like distant thunder. At the emergency muster, the soldiers of the fortress were swiftly mobilized to their battle stations along the walls, watchtowers, and bunkers. A knight in a short deep-blue cloak, raising high a lance from which hung a narrow swallowtail pennant, ran the length of the wall shouting passwords, and beneath the ever-darkening sky the runes in the seams of his armor traced a streak of flowing light along the battlements.
Maggie withdrew his gaze from the wall and turned to the adjutant who had served him for years. "Payne, how long until those Typhonians reach the Palemel Heights?"
"Within two hours," the adjutant answered at once, "if the rain doesn't start before then."
"Two hours..." Maggie frowned. "Did the scouts get a clear look at that knight order's banners and numbers?"
"Visibility is poor—cloud cover and the enemy's griffin riders are interfering—so we can't judge how many they have. But it's certain they aren't the Iron River Knight Order or the Black Steel Knight Order."
"Not the Iron River or the Black Steel?" Maggie paused, and thoughtfulness suddenly spread across his face.
The adjutant looked somewhat puzzled. "Yes. Has something occurred to you, General?"
"...They're still holding on to their last shred of caution, sending out the Winter Wolf Legion's regular troops... Perhaps that will turn out to be our opportunity." Maggie glanced at the sky outside, his expression grave, his thoughts racing.
"They probably intend to probe our positions with an ordinary knight order first, while the Iron River or the Black Steel wait on the plains... Those two orders possess legion-level charge techniques. Once they build up enough force on open ground, they can destroy a city-grade shield in a very short time... The great shield of Longwind Keep might hold, but it would be a hard fight.
"If the enemy commander concludes that our line is short of soldiers, he should quickly conclude that Longwind Keep is short of defenders too. At that point the Iron River Knight Order will launch its charge—even if it can't break the great shield in one blow, it will be enough to cripple us. And more importantly, they will then be within close range of Longwind Keep, where the Iron Throne can provide no artillery support.
"It's prudent, tactically flawless—but it creates one fatal gap in time...
"Where is the Iron Throne-Zero right now?!"
The adjutant thought for a moment. "At last contact it was entering the Charon Valley."
"Can they go any faster?"
The adjutant frowned. "It would put a great strain on the power spine... They'll likely need a fair amount of adjustment and repair afterward."
"That doesn't matter. For some time after this it can sit safely on the Palemel Heights—no need to drag an enraged god across the whole plain like last time. The arcane technicians will have time to repair it at their leisure," Maggie said rapidly. "Send word to General Philip, ask him to speed up a little more... As long as the Iron Throne arrives in time, the Typhonians will be nothing to fear."
"Yes, General!" the adjutant acknowledged loudly.
Maggie drew a deep breath. The cold autumn wind that precedes a storm blew through the window into the room, and in that wind, heavy with the smell of damp earth, he murmured softly to himself: "Rain..."
The rain seemed about to fall, yet seemed still to be tangled in the clouds. The Iron Throne's deep, pitch-black armored prow split the moist air as it crossed the border of the last province of the Eastern Marches, trees and stones flying backward past the windows, and together with the cold wind came an urgent communication from Longwind Keep.
"The Typhonians have begun their advance. Longwind Keep is in dire straits."