Coming down to lower alt.i.tude, Alex starts to take in the damage he just dealt the castle. The area where they would have practised their military drill was gone, like the halls, barrack and a good part of the battlement.Only the fact that the battlement has been present to wheater a part of the blast allowed that only the 1,000 feet surrounding near the castle were the only casualty. The field separating the castle from the military ground had protected it but countless windows have been shattered by the blast.
Coming down, he exited the aircraft after putting the camouflage in place. What followed through the night was an endless circle of looting, damage control, and swipe and intel gathering. He was relieved to learn that only the partisans of Reconquista had inhabited the surrounding of the castle while no minding the lost of human life he was against needless murder of innocent people.
While running through the castle, he discards a good part of the 5,000 strong men still presents who hadn"t been reduced to paste by the blast on the battlement. He also killed quite a numbers of the n.o.bles that owned the houses he blows away, here to discuss of the strike on Tristain.
He first strikes the pigeon lofts trying to keep at a minimum the leaks before he takes care of the other part of the army.
Deep in the night and richer by few tons of different metals, gemstones, and information, he returns to the still concealed aircraft and rises in the dark sky to hunt the rest of Reconquista.
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Returning to the airport area take a few hours and he was glad that he had taken a small rest in Tiffania house. While he could go for a few days without sleep, being mentally exhausted while piloting an aircraft wasn"t a bright idea.
As he was nearing the zone, he had two choices. Go after the army to wipe down any serious threat to Tristain, at the risk of letting Cromwell escape and the crown prince dying, or go after Cromwell, deal with him, hypothetically save the prince, at the risk that the army disperses into a smaller pocket if they ears about his death and risk pillage.
Either way the price keeping his life hadn"t high chance to keep. He also needs to think that Wardes had sent a message directly to the man and was awaited at the small church where rumours had the prince was hiding there.
Knowing that Cromwell had surely announced that he would not be with them till a few days give some credence to Alex that it was the best for now. Once Cromwell deals with, he would be able to take the army unprepared as they were waiting from the other half of the army, that would never come, now.
Moving such an important amount of soldiers ask for a large logistic and careful planning. Judging by the number of commodities he had retrieved, it was enough to feed those 30,000 men for at least two weeks, around the time to travel from the castle to the airport.
If they were taking that much it means that they wanted to avoid the crowded area and don"t give any headway for possible spies from Tristain. They were also surely controlling the airport to look for says spies and stop them to return to the mainland.
Now that he was thinking of it, Cromwell was surely knowing that Wardes hadn"t come yet. Unwilling to think of the possible outcome from now, he chose to head to the church and cut the snake"head before he could bite him in the a.s.s.
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Keeping an infrared view when nearing the surrounding, it didn"t take me more than twenty minutes to spot a large amount of red light in the deep blue landscape. Shifting to a night vision, white silhouettes appear, surrounding the church in a large arc while hidden in the wood.
"Well, at least I know that those aren"t the prince guards."
Landing, I made my way behind the corner most far and lone soldier I had seen on the screen.
Taking a knife before been to near, I clap a hand on his mouth while the other slid his throat with the knife. Storing the body before he could even fall, I continue, sniffing now and then, to know where they are.
As they would form a small group by being too near from the other, I need to discard the knife for throwing one but it didn"t even slow me down as long that they weren"t more than five.
Twenty minutes later and thirty-seven bodies after, I was on my way to the church itself. Looking more like a small monastery that a Church. Their disposition seems to be like Christian one, with large coloured gla.s.ses in the ambulatory chapels.
Since I didn"t want to be taken by surprise, I quickly visit any room the length of the open corridor. Founding nothing that empty bed and few purses, that mysteriously vanished inside a large s.p.a.ce pocket, I near the church proper, hearing the rising voices.
"Seems that Cromwell was weary of waiting anymore."
Peering inside via a small hole in the stained gla.s.s. I see a blond boy around my age facing another older blond. I immediately break the stained gla.s.s the moment I see the two sides ready their weapons to strike.
Throwing a knife at the previous place I had seen Cromwell standing, Only to see Whales being stabbed by one of his guards.
"Seriously?! I just interrupt them, kill the opposing leader, to have the prince stabbed in front of me? You know what, f.u.c.k, it!"
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As the soldiers saw their leader struck down, and a stranger irrupts, they came to the same conclusion, that he has killed them. While true for Cromwell, it wasn"t for Whales, but since the guard had done the deed was behind all of the others even the prince, and the stab wound was in his back, all think he was Alex.
Banking on the stranger arrives, the guard throws himself at him, thinking to have a chance to take him down had reaped all the glory.
While something was ripped, it was its head, not the glory he was seeking. Seeing that it was pointless to argue as neither of the two groups would listen, he simply weave through them, dealing crippling blow if not simply killing them.
A short time after, Alex was storing the last body and exiting the area via his aircraft.
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"It the last time I"m okay for a rescue mission!"
Still p.i.s.sed of to be targeted by morons, I calm down by the time I arrive the encampment of the soldiers, it wasn"t really hard to not see 40,000 soldiers camping in plains with fires and large tent from the sky.
The only dangerous thing was the patrolling dragon knights roaming the sky above and around them.
Landing farther than them to avoid the aerial patrol, I stop the aircraft completely.
"I need to plan. I can"t go for a frontal attack, while I have the firepower to blasts them to kingdom come, they will disperse after the few firsts strikes, and it will be a pain in the a.s.s to go after the fleeing ones.
I could poison the source of water but I don"t know how much time it will need and it would act before all can drink from it, alerting them at the firsts pa.s.sing ones.
I could always try to implant bombs into the encampment, blows them from the sol, but I will miss a part of the dragon knight, and if they are mages, they will rain down magic attacks on me.
They will still be here for a few days before they start to worry for the lack of return of Cromwell, perhaps a night of sleep will help."
Exiting my seat, I enter the makeshift bed of Tiffania, setting the sleeping rune to an alarm one for the two beds.
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The next morning, Tiffania had the nice surprise to wake up while cuddling with Alex, they tails tangled together. Seeing him looking at her, she smiled before nuzzling her head against him.
"Morning."
"Morning, did you sleep well?"
"Hmm! That Onesie is soft and keeps me warm." Say her smiling while still keeping her eyes shut and enjoying their little private moment until they hear someone clearing her throat.
Rising their head, both look at an envious Henrietta, her foot lightly and rapidly stamping the floor while rising an eyebrow at them.
"Want to came?" Say Alex while making a place for her on his other side, making the princess blush heavily, but swiftly made her way in the rapidly cramped bed, snuggling to him, but muttering to herself.
"It not befitting from a princess, it not befitting from a princess, it not befitting from a princess, it not befitting from a princess..."
Nothing but raising an eyebrow at the contradictory action of the princess, he enjoys the brief moment of happiness before deciding to tell them their current situation.
"Tiffania, Henrietta?" The two looked at him and seeing him serious, pay attention to what he wanted to say. "You two need to know where we are and in what situation. It had been a complete day since I rescue you from Louise and Wardes." He easily made the downcast expression of the princess, knowing that she had been betrayed by one she was thinking her childhood friend. Lightly squeezing her, in his embrace, she gives him a grateful smile while prompting him to continue with a small nod.
"We are actually on Albion, into a ship I have crafted. I had rescued Tiffania here." Say blonde give a small ave at the princess " Part was because it was a promise I had made to someone she hold dear, part because it was the right thing to do." He chose to keep quiet about her past origin, it wasn"t him to make the choice and tell." After wiping out the soldiers that were attacking her, I fly to the caste."
He was interrupted by a gasp from Henrietta. "But why would the soldier of the kingdom attack her?"
"Because the king and queen of Albion are dead, killed by on the order of the leader of Reconquista, Oliver Cromwell."
He guesses that Henrietta had known the couple when she sheds tears at the news, making him know that the news also didn"t reach Tristain, even more than a month after it happened.
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Letting her time to digest the new he continues."Knowing from Wardes that the ex-Albian army was on its way to invade the mainland, starting by Tristain, I process to take to strike first, as of yesterday, of the still present 35,000 soldiers, 32,000 have been taken down permanently."
This time it was the two who strongly react at the news grimly.
"How?" Barely manage to ask the Tristain princess.
"An aerial strike first, while they were eating, on three positions, followed by a sweep of the castle for any pieces of information. After taking care of them there, I rejoin our actual position to try and save the last member of the Tudor family, the prince Whales.
While I was able to take down any soldiers outside of the church he was hiding in, he was dead by the time I arrive on places." Not an actual lies as the prince was effectively dead the time he enters the church proper. "In this misery, I was, however, able to kill Cromwell, their leader.
Now, we are 3,000 feet from the encampment of the 40,000 other soldiers of the army. 2,500 of them are dragon knights and all need to be taken care off before we can return to Tristain, otherwise, they will be a threat to the kingdom, even after losing their chief.
While it didn"t sit well with the princess to know that there is the need to kill 40,000 men, she was also unwilling to see her people die because of her inaction.
Tiffania hadn"t such problem, her place was at her husband side and will follow his orders. Knowing that she was also their intended victim help her make her choice.
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"What do you think needs to be done?"
"I can see only a single solution, a ground strike. I have in my possession enough bombs to get rid of them all, the problem is that their dragon knights are constantly patrol the sky in five groups of 500, rotating every six hours.
The time I get rid of the troops on the ground, they would rain down the magic spell on me. They also have some inhuman being among them to man war weapons and commodity wagon. Seeing their brute strength they would also be a problem."
"Can we do something?" Ask Tiffania hoping to be able of any use for him, soon followed by Henrietta. while he was thankful, he wasn"t about to ask them to kill.
"A diversion could be nice? I need to infiltrate the camp, get rid of the higher up, and as much as dragons as possible. If their patrolling dragon knights could be attracted somewhere else, even for a time, I would be great, but I can"t come to think of something big enough to attract them."
"Why not hara.s.sing them?" Attempts Henrietta, seeing him looking at her, waiting for her to continue, she relaxes, and do so.
"How about multiple strikes. Targetting their foods supply, they would be forced to either send dragon knights to fetch more or send them after the robbers if they catch a glimpse of them. Once sent after us, we could take down the following dragon knights, I doubt they will send the entire corps against few robbers.
Once their numbers reduced, target others thing, like sleep deprivation or the dragons themselves. like beasts, they will need a large amount of food to keep them in shape and will need to be sent after prey or villages to gather food for them.
If we are too far from the village, foot soldiers won"t be able to do the grunts work for back and fro the villages, thus dragons.
Once taken care off, that would leave us free to strike them down."