Chapter 878 Hurricane Rescue

The Western Lumir Federation's envoy does not believe there is anything wrong with what he has said.

Born into nobility, he regards Ronan as a commoner's child. However unusual the boy may be, he is still expendable.

Nor does he believe Peace Haven will fall out with the Western Lumir Federation over an intelligence source that has already ceased to be useful.

Marshal Clifford has no more attention to spare for the idiot.

He immediately orders the forces near Peace Haven's two warbands to relieve them as quickly as possible.

But the enemy has paid dearly and intends to get more in return.

They are determined to seize Ronan, the eavesdropper, and use the opportunity to launch a counterattack against the coalition.

Reports of enemy activity arrive from every sector. This is a major enemy counteroffensive.

The attacks cannot breach the defensive line of fortress clusters, but they can tie down large numbers of coalition troops.

Clifford suddenly finds himself without a single legion he can send to the rescue.

He sighs inwardly and glances at the Western Lumir Federation's untroubled envoy.

If this bastard were not here to take the fallout, Henwell might turn his anger on Clifford himself.

In truth, Clifford is not worried that Peace Haven's two southern warbands will be annihilated.

He has visited their positions and seen the fortifications they built.

They had been stationed there for only a month or two, yet Peace Haven's troops had still taken the trouble to build proper defenses.

Those twenty thousand subterranean elite troops are formidable, but their long-range assault depends on surprise. They have brought no heavy units.

Breaking through the two warbands' defensive line will not be easy.

At daybreak, Clifford will send two cavalry warbands to join the Water Fairy Knights in relieving Ronan's position. They should at least ease the pressure.

The two southern warbands will certainly suffer serious casualties in this battle, but Henwell will have no grounds to blame him.

What Clifford does not know is just how much pressure those warbands are under.

The enemy attacks without fear of death, steadily driving the defenders back.

Dawn is still several hours away. If this continues, the position will already be engulfed in a chaotic melee by the time help arrives.

Even so, neither warband considers abandoning Ronan and breaking out.

Ronan's abilities are unusual. He can enter the enemy's psychic communication network and use spells to interfere with it, affecting the course of the battle.

When the subterranean elites first assaulted the line, their accompanying spellcasters cast a spell together.

It has pinned Ronan's mind and soul to this location. He cannot move without suffering lethal harm.

But the spell also allows Ronan to sense the position of the enemy spellcasters.

Two companies of Thunderclap Ballistas unleash a furious bombardment at the coordinates he provides.

The enemy has to assign more spellcasters to protect the group maintaining the spell that anchors his soul.

As a result, the subterranean force has no spellcaster strike teams to spare.

The battle between the two sides becomes a vicious close-quarters struggle.

The subterranean elites have two objectives. The first is to break through the line and kill or capture Ronan.

The second is to concentrate their strength, push through, and destroy the two artillery companies that keep pouring fire into their ranks.

Peace Haven has the defensive advantage. With so many fortifications slowing the attackers, every meter gained costs the enemy heavy casualties.

Yet at this rate, the enemy will achieve at least one of its objectives within two more hours.

Either outcome will mean defeat for Peace Haven's warbands.

If the artillery companies are destroyed, the spellcasters they have kept occupied will be free to devastate the defensive line.

If Ronan is killed or captured, the consequences will be worse still.

Even setting aside the long-term effects, the immediate consequences will be more than the defenders can bear.

Supported by numerous arcanists, Ronan keeps sending false orders to the enemy.

Even before planning the attack, the enemy had begun passing messages by word of mouth to guard against his abilities.

But a battlefield changes too quickly. Under pressure, the enemy troops still instinctively obey tactical orders sent through the psychic network.

After consuming the blue-haired water demon and undergoing specialized training, Ronan has gained access to a high command level within that network.

He can generally direct combat formations at the thousand-strong-unit level, causing considerable confusion in the enemy's command structure.

Those false orders give the two warbands a little breathing room.

Without Ronan, the line will soon come under a far more serious assault.

But there are still too many enemies. The defenders cannot hold much longer.

As the two warband commanders grow increasingly anxious, they notice disorder spreading through the enemy's rear.

Thanks to the arcanists' night vision spell, the commanders can make out what is happening.

A coalition legion is attacking the enemy from behind.

Two cavalry forces are supporting its advance.

The commander of the Sixth Warband recognizes one of them as the Third Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards.

The main combat battalion and reserve combat battalion together field nearly three thousand cavalry, who cut efficiently through the enemy's rear.

The other force numbers more than three thousand cavalry. Their equipment and banners identify them as the supporting legion's attached cavalry group.

At last, someone recognizes the legion: the Western Lumir Federation's Hurricane Legion.

On learning that Peace Haven's troops were surrounded, Lodar, the legion commander, ignored the orders he had received to hold his position.

Instead, he immediately assembled his troops and prepared to march to their rescue.

He knew how important Ronan was to Peace Haven. He also knew all too well the quality of the troops the Western Lumir Federation had sent.

Halfway there, he met the Third Combat Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards, also marching to the rescue.

After a brief discussion, the two sides settled on a suitable plan.

They would not need to defeat the enemy or tear open the encirclement to cover the Peace Haven warbands' retreat.

Simply tying down part of the enemy force would provide the defenders with considerable help.

With the Hurricane Legion and the Third Combat Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards now in the fight, the pressure on the defenders eases considerably.

After more fighting, the enemy begins massing troops to crush the Hurricane Legion first.

A redeployment on that scale has to go through the psychic network. Otherwise, it will be dawn before the troops can assemble and move into position.

Peace Haven's warbands intercept the message and immediately send a signal.

Lodar orders the Hurricane Legion to push forward at full strength. With the two cavalry combat battalions supporting it, the legion advances several hundred meters.

The legion immediately pulls into a tight defensive formation.

More than ten minutes later, the enemy's elite vanguard surges forward to counterattack.

They run headlong into a barrage from the Thunderclap Ballistas. The crews have already turned their weapons to meet them.

After five saturation volleys, the Third Combat Battalion of the Lord Iron Guards charges into the disordered enemy formation.

The Hurricane Legion slowly advances another few hundred meters.

The earlier push had brought the legion within range of the mobile artillery companies, just as intended.

Now dug in once more, the Hurricane Legion is less than four kilometers from the Peace Haven warbands' defensive line.

The enemy spellcasters try to strike back, only to come under fire again. Just two guns are firing at them, but that is enough to force them onto the defensive.

Half an hour later, the two artillery companies return to their original positions and resume steady, unhurried suppressive fire against the enemy spellcasters.