Amelia and Ophelia: The Former Grand Duchess and Saintess.

After about a week of just watching the other side of the river, the Imperial Armies was now fully entrenched and in position, from east to west on their side of the Great River, the Imperial Army was ready for whatever the hell their opponents on the other side were going to throw at them. A command post had been placed where Ophelia and Amelia were staying now, with the 3rd Army in the center of the advance, the command post was on another rocky outcropping overlooking a vast sea of trees in the valley below before the Great River. The reports from the H.I.S.S. agents who had recently returned painted a picture for the dual monarchs and Marshal Belle who was now brought up to the front in order to assist her monarchs in overseeing the crossing of the river. 

"So about half of our total strength in numbers is coming to face us...that is about sixty-thousand give or take" Belle remarked as she placed the report down on the table. 

"Their tactics according to Sharri are that they move in groups of twelve or fifteen, those are the scouting parties, then once the scouting parties are engaged with a target, they bring in the rest of the force, one giant line of steel and magic to roll over the enemy. An effective strategy against lesser opponents, but against a proper army such as ours. We will be sending them down to hell for their arrogance" The Marshal remarked as she looked at her monarchs 

"I admire the confidence Marshal Belle, what is the plan you have in mind?" Amelia asked with a serious expression 

"Lure them across with small defensive parties that will run back into our larger formations waiting for them. Then, once they are across the river, our wyvern squadrons will wreak havoc on the other side as we charge forward and break them" Belle explained as she moved some miniatures on the map to represent her orders 

"And once we annihilate them, we will continue our march southward" Ophelia chimed in 

"Yes Your Majesty, we have not forgotten. The army will be ready to march southward after the battle, I assure you" 

"We believe you Belle" Amelia added with a small smile 

"Thank you for your faith in me Your Majesties" The Marshal replied with a small nod 

{!} 

Suddenly, the dual monarchs twitched slightly and then turned to the outside of the tent, they walked onto the outcrop with Marshal Belle who followed them out. 

"Did you sense that Amelia?" Ophelia asked, her eyes narrowing 

"Yes, they are making their move now" Amelia replied with a nod 

"Marshal, rally the soldiers, they are moving now!" 

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Moving across the Great River from the east to the west were groups of twelve scouts of the Hinterland Army. These pathfinders were the first ones in for each military operation the Hinterland Army participated in, molded by years of conquest on this continent against their weaker foes, many of the pathfinders were expecting another easy conquest as most of them had experience fighting numerous tribes to the south. All of them were wearing green and silver robes with armor made of leather harvested from cattle and monsters, alongside this, they also wore small plates of armor around the chest and limb joints for a bit of added protection to their leather armor. What was the reason they had this type of lightweight armor? Because it was easier to move in and the Hinterland Army had been built to keep attacking and attacking and attacking, using their speed and overwhelming strength to their advantage and crush the mostly disorganized rabble that were their adversaries. This type of armor was also useful against the slower knights and salvers of the Dukedom to the far south of the continent, a foe they hoped to fight soon as the slavers were a problem for all the tribes, especially those that made up the Hinterland Confederation. 

Now, with them crossing the Great River, it was finally their chance to secure their northern flank and purge the unruly clans that dared not to fall in line with them, they had done so in the south and it would be no different here in the north. 

With the Great River being so wide and deep, the pathfinders needed a proper way to cross it efficiently, to that end, they had just about finished whipping up numerous wooden bridges that were made of sturdy and durable, and upon the orders of their commanders, groups of pathfinders carried sections of the bridge and laid it down on the water, using their magic they quickly bound the sections together as they pressed across the river, with each section planted firmly into the river bed as they moved on their way. It took them a total of twenty minutes to finally complete the bridges across the river on a wide front, and once the bridges were completed, other Pathfinder parties marched across to begin their orders of hunting down and finding any clans that lay on the other side. 

It was a common sight for all who were making the crossing on the wide front, the northern side of the Great River had a massive ridgeline that spanned from east to west and many speculated that once they were over the ridgeline, then they were free to roam the vast uncharted northern portion of the continent and claim it for the Hinterlands. Here in the center of the crossing, the pathfinders in the area were under the command of Pathfinder Commander (PC) Gormon Yellar, an elf with a built body hidden under his uniform, his blonde hair tied in a bun that rested just above his neck with green eyes that scanned the forest before him. He strutted with a confident thump in each step as he led several groups of Pathfinders across the newly constructed bridge, turning his head to his right and left, he saw the other pathfinder groups crossing as well, a smirk on his face as he was confident this would be another easy conquest. 

"What a wonderful day!" He shouted with a gleeful smile as he spread his arms wide and towards the sky 

The Pathfinders behind him cheered like on command, the kitsunes and elves roaring into the sky as they raised their weapons high and continued crossing the Great River, and after a few more minutes, all of the pathfinders were across while the main contingent awaited on the other side for the signal to cross as well. 

"Alright everyone! Fan out and report any tribe you find! Give them the ultimatum and if they refuse to submit, kill them. For the glory of the Hinterlands!" Gormon ordered as he unsheathed his curved sword and raised it high into the air before pointing it forward

The cheers and cries of the pathfinders as they ran past him filled the air with their intense fervor for their cause, making Gormon smile as he looked back towards the troops awaiting his orders and seeing him pump his sword into the air again, causing war horns on the other side to bellow their deep roars followed by the marching cadence of the columns now crossing across the Great River, their lances making rhythmic thumps on the ground as the flags and banners of their nation fluttered in the wind. 

With the crossing now fully underway, Gormon turned his gaze back to the thick forest before him, he walked off to the right so as to not block the bridge and he smiled as he sheathed his sword and then took a deep breath, the thoughts of his family waiting for him back in the clan village he came from filling his mind, reminding him of the people he was going to go home to after wrapping things up here. 

{!} 

But before he could even take a step forward, he felt a sudden thump in his chest, his eyes looked down and saw a large arrow with a thick black shaft that protruded from his chest. He also felt himself being lifted off the ground, with the last thing he felt was the water rushing onto him as he crashed into the Great River behind him, as he was sinking into the darkness, he heard a menacing chorus of war horns blowing from this side of the river 

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With their commander shot into the river by an arachnia soldier hiding in the trees, the pathfinders who were still on the bridge were all left puzzled as to who the hell did that. They needn't wait long as a chorus of even louder war horns came from the ridgeline and then the sounds of their forward comrades shouting and yelling as they were spooked by something quickly answered their questions. 

"CHAARRGGE!" A voice came from the thick vegetation before them followed by the rumbling sounds of people charging at them 

The forwardmost elements of the column had moved up and formed a small circle to protect the entrance to the bridge, their lances all aimed forward to ward off any charging foe. 

{!} 

Appearing out of the thick vegetation before them, were scattered and frightened pathfinders, their uniforms and bodies bloodied, their eyes wide in fear as they ran towards their allies on the bridges. Some who were running towards the bridges were suddenly snagged by webbings that stuck to their back and pulled them into the trees, screaming all the while, others also found themselves caught by the ankle by something that then pulled and dragged them back in the foliage, their screams filling the air, only a few manage to make it back to the bridges intact but all of them rambling and muttering incoherent words that failed to answer the questions of their allies about who was attacking them or what the fuck was going on.

Their questions were soon answered as well when the ground below them started shaking and a chorus of shouting voices filled the air, their gazes turning back to the front and charging out of the trees and bushes was a sea of heavily armored opponents wearing grey plate armor they had never seen before, thundering down on them. A group that was charging them had raised several tower shields as they charged into the formation of lances, shattering them and shoving some of the soldiers into one another while others fell into the Great River. The rest who were still on the bridge were all left confused and shocked as to what the hell was happening, with a few scared souls breaking ranks and running to the rear lines while others moved forward in an attempt to stop whatever was happening at the front. 

On each of the bridges, columns of soldiers and pathfinders who had returned alive were engaged in an intense melee against their heavily armored foes. On the west-most bridge of the sector, several Hinterland soldiers were trading blows against a group of soldiers, creating a small perimeter and allowing their fellow soldiers to cross and fight more foes that were appearing out of the vegetation. One of the hinterland soldiers was an elf who swung her sword in a downward arc hoping to slash away her opponent, only for said slash to be stopped by a thick tower shield raised just in time, leaving her open to a counter-thrust that pierced through her abdomen, her leather armor and thin plates offering little to no protection as she died in disbelief.  Another hinterland soldier was able to land a thrust that pierced the armor of the foe he was fighting, a smile on his face as he tried to drive the blade further but found trouble doing so, a confused expression on his face was the last thing he had before the heavily armored soldier before him snapped his blade in half and then thrust a lance through his chest for his troubles. 

With all of the chaos in the initial melee increasing as the columns in the rear were now making their way up to the front, a chorus of the same menacing war horns was blown, their origin of point being the ridgeline before the hinterland soldiers. As if acting on command, the heavily armored soldiers pulled back, disappearing into the trees they had appeared from, By the looks of it, none of the heavily armed soldiers had died during the skirmish, only leaving a trail of corpses and scared hinterland soldiers in their wake. 

"Everyone form up! Get across and form a perimeter!" The voices of surviving hinterland officers ordered the battered remnants of the first wave, 

On those orders, the remains of the first wave had pushed forward past the dead bodies they moved over and set up a wall of lances and swords not too far from the bridges. They were just barely at the edge where the forest became denser and none of them wanted to push through without the reinforcements of the second and possibly third waves now crossing the Great River to help them. Archer squads and mage squads moved into position behind the wall of iron and everyone was on edge as they awaited their foes to come at them once more.

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Standing on the ridgeline, overlooking the battle currently happening before them, Opehlia, Amelia and Marshal Belle were all watching the battle with serious faces. They were inside a cloaking barrier that Ophelia had placed around them, allowing them to oversee the battle without any fear of being spotted or targeted by their foes. 

"That initial skirmish tells us everything we need Your Majesties" Belle stated with a confident smile as she turned to them 

"How so?" Amelia asked, although she knew how to fight, it was mostly in terms of clearing dungeons and fighting monsters 

"Their infantry is of lesser quality despite them being the same B and A-Rank as our soldiers. They are accustomed to fighting less powerful foes and monsters, their armor says as much as those leather armor pieces, and thin iron plates are really only useful against protecting them from weaker opponents, even their weapons are of lesser quality, I saw some swords and lances shatter upon impacting a tower shield or even when they clashed against the thick plate armor our soldiers are wearing. Suffice it to say, we are fighting kids playing soldier" Belle answered as her gaze turned back to the battle before them, a hint of anger and contempt in her voice at her final line 

"Prepare the next phase of the plan Marshal Belle. I wish to see the performance of our Air Force" Ophelia ordered as she pulled her beloved closer 

"Understood Your Majesty, call in the wyverns! And give me a report on the other crossings" The Marshal ordered as she turned to an arachnia standing off to the side next to a magic crystal communication set 

"At once Marshal!" The arachnia nodded as she switched on the set 

"Command to Air Wing 1, begin your attack" 

"Air Wing 1 copies Command. Enjoy the show" 

A few moments later, several squadrons of wyverns descended from the cloudy skies above and made their presence known with piercing shrieks. The hinterland soldiers below were all wide-eyed and slack-jawed in awe as the squadrons of wyverns descended upon them, but instead of attacking the exposed soldiers left on the bridges still crossing, the wyverns and their riders and dragonkin escorts descended upon those in the rear. The wyverns breathed fire as they landed, scorching scores of hinterland soldiers who were caught in their deadly breaths, soldiers were set alight and screamed as they ran and tried to put out the fire that consumed them, a few were lucky as they threw water magic on themselves, others were not as they burned to death, screaming in pain and agony all the while it happened. Others were simply crushed by the wyverns that landed without letting loose their fiery breaths, their bodies trampled under the sharp and thick claws of the beasts they were too surprised by to move. 

Once the squadrons landed, all hell broke loose on the rear lines as dragonkin soldiers began picking off the elves and kitsunes before them, skewering them with their lances or slashing them with their swords. Others were caught by the wyverns and their riders and chomped to death and those who escaped that fate died by burning alive. Like when there was a wyvern that descended upon a group of hinterland soldiers, the rider ordering his stead to unleash its flames, cooking everyone in the group before them alive and clearing the way for them to land, or when there was a dragonkin escort armed with a lance, once she landed, she immediately skewered an elf through the abdomen and pinned her to a tree before retracting her weapon and then turning around and thrusting it into a kitsune who tried to avenge her, the lance head going through his chest and killing him on the spot before finally using her tail to skewer another elf that tried to attack from the rear, throwing away the body with the tail and then continuing on her rampage. The sight of the whole ordeal in the rear was frightening to those who were still on the front and on the bridges, the sights of the fighting and the screams of their colleagues sending shivers down their spines. Some broke formation in the front and tried rushing back across the bridge to help their fellowmen but soon found out another wave of wyverns had arrived and grabbed those unfortunate enough to be caught running across the bridge, then proceeded to bite off their heads and finally dropped their corpses in the already chaotic melee in the rear. 

{!} 

But once those lines up front broke, the imperial soldiers from before had charged in once again. Their battle cries filled the air as they reappeared in force from the foliage, the sight of their armored forms thundering down on them scared those who remained on the front, with everyone bracing for the ensuing fight about to occur. 

"Archers! Mages! Fire!" One of the few hinterland officers shouted, 

At those commands, archers and mages of the group across the river let loose their payloads. Fireballs, ice spears, wind lances, and other elemental projectiles were hurled first to provide covering fire for the archers who then let loose their own arrows gracefully soaring in the wind. However, a good portion of those projectiles were blocked by the soldiers leading the charge who held up their tower shields to protect their allies, but the few that did manage to get through and strike some targets were unable to kill them thanks to the healing magic crystals and the plate armor's own self-repairing magic crystal that was concocted by some dwarves at the HRD mitigating most of the damage they would have taken otherwise. 

Once the initial barrage had finished, they had no time to launch another as the imperial soldiers were now on top of them and like before, shattered their lines with a single charge that devolved into a brutal melee for the hinterland soldiers. Those who were not immediately trampled by their larger opponents when the lances broke, were now in the fight for their lives as they fought against these armored juggernauts. One elven hinterland soldier trusted her spear into the helmet of an enemy soldier before her, the spear had pinged off the side of the helmet but the force was strong enough to knock the helmet off, revealing an elf hiding under the mask of her foe, her eyes went wide as she felt surprise escape her, but that opening was all that imperial soldier needed as she replied with a downward slash that cut through the chest of the hinterland elf, a look of betrayal in her eyes as her own race was fighting her. Another kitsune soldier found himself in the midst of a duel against an imperial soldier, the lamia before him using twin blades like himself, the two of them firing off slashes and parries that kept them even, but when a slash fired off by the kitsune failed. He tried to get some distance, he soon felt something wrap around his ankle, looking down to only see an armored tail pulling him down and then dragging him across the blood-soaked ground before throwing him at a thick tree that dazed him and before he could do anything, the dual blades of the lamia pierced into his abdomen. He groaned as his opponent lifted him up and then pulled him apart, showering her in blood and staining her armor. 

About ten to twenty minutes later of heavy fighting, the elements of the hinterland army that were across the river were now dead, a few had surrendered once they saw all of their buddies dead, throwing down their arms and pleading for mercy from the faceless soldiers before them. Meanwhile, on the other side, the wyvern squadrons had done their job handily, sending those who were not eaten, maimed or burned alive running into the thick foliage and down dirt roads leading further into the continent. Tents filled with maps and reports were left abandoned by their former inhabitants who were either running or dead and stores of their armor and weapons and even supplies were left in perfect condition by their former users. After ensuring that the bridges were safe, the columns of imperial soldiers began marching across, their armored footsteps thumping in rhythm. 

"An outstanding job" Ophelia remarked as she smiled at the victory they had just witnessed 

"Seems that our army is truly something else right Ophie?" Amelia asked with a smile of her own 

"Yep. Indeed it is" The raven-haired empress replied with a satisfied tone 

"I hope you both enjoyed the show Your Majesties. I am pleased to report that the other armies have also thrashed enemy crossings in their sectors. All are making their way across the Great River just like us" Marshal Belle reported with a smile 

"Good. Good. Keep the march going, I want Imperial Engineers here soon to build stronger and better bridges, you have won a great victory here Belle. Congratulations" Ophelia remarked with a smile 

"I am honored by the prasie Your Majesty. I vow to deliver more in your names" The Marshal thanked with a deep bow 

"We have no doubt about that Marshal. We shall leave you be then" Amelia stated as she and Ophelia returned the bow and walked down to join the soldiers marching southward

A/N: And here it is! The first major battle the Imperial Army has had to fight, a pretty good win in my opinion. Numbers is something I am working on and it will probably be shown in the next chapter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I had reading it. Same thing about comments and reactions, if you got any, leave em below for me to read and answer, and as always, Stay Safe and Enjoy Your Day!