With everything said and dohere is absolutely nothing I say positive about this Kirinyaan flict. The White Pantheon has already been humbled after sending more than two huhousand soldiers into Arika. Then with the overhaul of Arcadia after the attack seven months ago, it all begs one simple question. If Kassandora is so weak, if Fer is so trivial, if Anassa ot pare to Essa, if Fortia singlehandedly defeat Arascus in bat, if Olephia is the only who is worth any headache, why gh all this? It simply does not add up, if Arascus is so powerless and weak, why go to su effort? If he is such a threat, why treat him as a joke?

  - Excerpt from a meopolitical analyst on the Invasion of Kirinyaa, broadcast by Everything In Epa.

  How Kassandora mao predict the increase of Fortia’s and Maisara’s armies on the eastern front, Zalewski did not know. How she mao calcute almost to the exact day when reinforts would start arriving, Zalewski did not know. How she mao keep up with the pressure of Essa’s attack, Zalewski did not know. He would have crumbled uhat terrible pressure already, but Kassandora did not, and if she did not, he would not. It was as simple as that.

  Zalewski on a small foldable steel stool, under a camoufged in a small dugout he base of some hill. On the maps, it was belled as Hill 23, but that was as unique as the hill got, a mere mound in the Jungle. Kassandora had said that relying on direct vision from hilltops was the mark of an amateur, that professionals would see no differeween being underground and in a pne if presented with a map. So Zalewski made sure to stare at his maps until his eyes hurt, and theared some more. Maybe it was the fact that Kassandora had no fshy powers, or maybe she did and merely did not show them off. There was none of Fer’s lightning fast speed and terrible strength, no Anassa’s crimson drawings brought from imagination ienor was she Olephia.

  Zalewski silently seethed that it was Ekkerson who had ended up with the Goddess of Chaos on his front, and not him. He had withat womaroy the Caretaker, and now could only dream of how easy the war would be if she was here. Frankly, the situation was dire on the Eastern Front. Reinforts were ing, but it was simply divisions freshly raised by Arascus, equipped with rifles and supported by artillery panies, but that was it. The KAL had no po spare with Essa’s thrust, and the sorcerers were needed on Sokolowski’s front more than they were needed on Zalewski’s.

  And so, Zalewski ended up with the rgest army of the three fronts, yet arguably the weakest ohe only Divine support he had was Anassa… And that was Anassa. Every single damn time he called a Code-One-Red alert, he ended up receiving another verbal shing from the Goddess of Sorcery about how she is not some janitor to call and up a dozen mages. Worse still was the fact she came a however and whenever she went, at least Fer would always turn up and announce her presence. He turned and looked behind himself, it was just mud and two soldiers w the radio, another man was stood watg the skies, his rifle slung over his arm and a pair of binocurs hanging around his neck. It was just humans irench, thank the Divines for that, thinking about Anassa simply made Zalewski paranoid.

  Zalewski walked around the table as he looked at the colle of ters on the map of the local region. Divisioeen was holding the edge of the tral Mountain, Fifteen was o it, then Division Sixteeeen was missing, they had taken thirty pert casualties on top of anht pert dead. Right now, they had been pulled back to the juo be healed by one of the Cleric support pawenty through to Twenty Nine made a wall of guns and bodies along the rest of the Juhirty through to Thirty Six made a wall to the coast. Then Thirty Seven through to the Fortieth Infantry Division served as Zalewski’s skirmishing troops. And now, Arascus had sent him the Forty-First, Forty-Sed and Forty-Third Infantry Divisions. He had well over a huhousand men under his and.

  Looking at it like that, maybe someone else would have cracked. But Zalewski had been chosen by Kassandora. In the same way that Iliyal had that fanatical dash of madness within him, so did the man. It simply started to grow as he thought about his situation. Of everyone Kassandora had picked, it was him and Ekkerson and Sokolowski to be made into Generals. How could he disappoint her now?

  “Send word to Three-Eight and Three-Nine. Have them move into sector nine.” One of the scouting panies had seen Maisara’s Padins there. “Permission to fire on sight is grawenty-Two is to pull south further into the juwenty-One and Twenty-Three are to fire oy-Two’s current location ohey’ve pulled out. Send orders.” Zalewski said and the radio operatot to work.

  Twenty-Two was going to be attacked, Zalewski simply se. Whether it art of Kassandora’s blessing or his own intuition, he didn’t know but he would attack Divisioy Twht now, the jungle pulled north there, and that location could be fnked from three sides. “Actually.” Zalewski held up his hand. “Twenty-Two is to pull to the edge of its sector, leave a rear guard in its current position, don’t disassemble the camp but take the ammunition away. Twenty-One and Twenty-Three are to prepare to shell the entire sector, from north to south. Send a sniper pany to provide overwat the rear-guard, tell them to hold fire.”

  The radio operator saluted and started to transmit the new orders. Zalewski could see it now, when the Padins would desd on the camp, napalm would cut off their escape route and the amount of men he had to manage right now was getting too high. Apparently, Arascus had successfully mao find enough voluo fill awenty new Divisions. “Transmit to Divisioy Two, tell the rear guard to retreat as soon as they see signs of opposition.”

  “Uood!” The radio operator called bad Zalewski leaned back. That was sorted. Now was the main issue of his forces, the jungle made an imperable wall, but it was that slice of pins that was dangerous. Already two defence lines had been breached. Anassa had been permaly assigo that front, but with Alkom, Maisara and the differen magic, the guns and artillery did little to ter that power.

  He leaned bad sighed, he waited for the radio operator to finish. “Kassandora is in lockdown, right?”

  “She is Sir.” The radio operator replied. “She said not to call unless it’s dire.” Zalewski looked down at the map again. It was bad, but it wasn’t dire.

  “The lio N…” Zalewski trailed off. That was his old self ing through now, he couldn’t be askio firm information now, he was supposed to be their leader. The leader was supposed to know everything at all times, and if he didn’t, then he should act as if though he did. The lio Nanbasa was secure, the engineers hadn’t dragged over a thousand miles of wire for no reason. “Call Arascus.” The radio operator looked at Zalewski, then at the phone. “I’m not going to repeat an order soldier.”

  “At once sir.” The man dialled the military number. It was el zero-zero-zero-zero. Kassandora was zero-zero-zero-one. And he held the phone for Zalewski. Arascus did not pick up. Zalewski would not call again. He simply stood and waited.

  Fifty miles north of him, Divisioy-Two pulled out of their camp. A rear guard was left, a few dozen healer clerics from the support pany and a thousao cover the camp. They set up campfires, made lots of smoke and noise, and waited.

  And as Zalewski had predicted, Divisioy-Two’s camp came utack. From three sides, with support from two minor Divines and several hundred mages. Trees burst from the ground, the soil split to form ravines. Clouds densed into rain, which then formed into a hail of icicles that pierced and stabbed and tore men apart. The Padins advanced as they always did, in a turtle formation, heavy shields overpping against each other, reinforced by magical barrier to stop the fire of mae guns.

  And a lieutenant phoned a captain, and the captain called a major, a major called the el, and the el called Zalewski. “They’ve e.”

  “Two-Two, shell the camp. Two-One and Two-Three, cut off the retreat.”

  “Uood General.”

  Seventy-Two artillery pieces deployed dug their ploughs into jungle dirt. Pistons groaned and sighed as stabilizers pierced the dirt. Men input co-ordinates into puters, lines of loaders formed, from munitions trucks to guns. Barrels raised high into the air, men ran alugged their ears.

  Kassandora’s mighty ans started to py.

  One shell was easy to stop. Zalewski had learhat the hard way. Two shells, just as easy. A hundred were a slightly bit harder. bined with burning napalm, it ossible to simply overpes. Mages were still men, and men got tired, no matter how much power they had. But that was a waste of shells.

  “Send word to the sniper pany, standard procedure.” Zalewski said as he stared at the map. He didn’t know how it happened, but he could see it. He saw men move on the map, he saw where his artillery ositioned, he saw the fmes and he saw where Maisara had ordered her Padins te forth. He heard the snipers open fire, eae a tiny pluck of a violin pared to the overp an of the artillery.

  But he saw the mages fall. He saw their heads pop. Maisara would adapt eventually, but she still hadn’t informed the mages to set up side barriers as they defended against artillery. One man in a blue robe fell. Another. A barrage of artillery shells fell, explosions flowing spshes of napalm aing fire to the jurees around them.

  And the shield cracked. Sand and water started to leak, the Padins raised their shields. It was too te to run anyway. Another set of sniper rounds came in, another dozen mages fell, and with them, so did the shield.

  The Lemurs let out another volley. And another. And a third. The first nded, mehrown about. One of the minor Divines was set alight, another escaped into the air, a sniper got him iomach, he stopped for a moment. Another bullet ended his life when it pierced his head.

  And the sed volley nded. Whoever remaianding with the strength of Maisara’s blessing now fell. The third volley turhem into pieces, the fmes devoured what was left. Zalewski took a heavy breath as he heard Kassandora’s orchestra e to a stop. The drums finished. He gave an order for the guns to stop firing.

  What was that? Five thousand padins? For a thousand meared at the map a… there was nothing there. A thousand men had just been lost. And there was only satisfa. Was it Kassandora’s blessing? Or was it just himself? Maybe Kassandora had se within him? Zalewski pushed the question to the side. Frankly, it didn’t need an answer.

  “Arascus is calling!” The radio operator suddenly shouted. Zalewski blinked and looked at the man. Now? The operator had already answered it. If it was from anyone else, Zalewski would have given the man a punishment, but it was Arascus. The man passed him the wired phone.

  “General Zalewski speaking.” Zalewski said. Arascus replied immediately.

  “I was busy, you called.” Zalewski held in the sigh that the God didn’t sound annoyed.

  “Goddess Kassandora is currently under siege, she told me to not call uhe situation is dire.” Arascus chuckled through the phone.

  “And is it dire?” He asked.

  “Not yet. But the defences in the pnes won’t hold.” Zalewski said. “We need either air support or sorcerers.” Zalewski took a sigh. “Or Fer to return, otherwise we’re going to be overwhelmed within a week, maybe two if luck favours us.”

  “Luck doesn’t favour us.” Arascus replied immediately. “The KAL and Fer is busy with Essa, the sorcerers o be at Frore.”

  “I see.” Zalewski replied. “I will aim to hold for as long as possible, but ground will be lost.”

  “Ground be lost.” Arascus replied immediately. “And yetting something else instead.” Zalewski narrowed his eyes. He didn’t want to be rude but from what Iliyal had told him of Arascus, the man preferred talking straight.

  “Is it secret?”

  “It will arrive tomorrow. You’ll hold when they get there.”

  “And may I ask what they are?” Arascus merely chuckled.

  “First and Sed Kirinyaan Armoured.”