Surface- Arathia Basin Region

Empire of Night- Middlebrough

Jacob watched as the army formed up, over seven thousand Legionnaires from the First, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Legions, 400 Dawn Guard, 200 Black Blades, and finally 100 Seekers of the Dawn with their Bonded. They were not carting siege weapons around this time, but they still had two dozen carts and a dozen wagons in the supply train. Already the long black snake that was the main body of troops were winding their way northward to get into position to intercept the invading army.

Governor Hightower had been hesitant watching the army mobilize outside his town until he saw a copy of the orders issued to the invaders. Kill or enslave all the towns inhabitants, no one would be spared, man, women, child, young or old. Either they would die or end up as slaves after Hightower read that his opinion had grown rather vicious.

Twelve hundred troops were still stationed at Middlebrough, so if for some reason they managed to defeat Jacobs forces, Middlebrough was not undefended. "How far are you hoping the army will get tonight?" Cathrine asked.

Jacob shrugged as he sat atop of Star, the Void-Wolf was eager to join the others on the road. "We can only go as fast as the slowest person. Sad to say which are the carts and wagons, which are pretty damned slow even with the perks I have unlocked and the perks Captain-General Nadal Despval gives this army." Jacob replied.

"Where are we heading?" Cathrine asked as Jacob and her started making their way out of the old camp and along the side of the road.

Jacob smiled, "A river, the Blue River to be exact and a bridge that crosses it. Its a natural chokepoint and if we can beat them there, it will give is a significant tactical advantage."

"Look who is getting all Mr. soldier." Cathrine quipped.

Jacob smiled, "What is the point of having a Legendary General on the payroll if you don't learn a few things." Jacob replied with a smile as they continued to follow the road.

Surface- Thunderous Hills Region

Free Lands- Blue River

Kalthas Bridge

A march that would have taken Jacob, without Nadal and the speed buffs from the army had taken six days of marching. From sundown to sunrise every day. Several War Bands of the southern Orc Tribes had been spotted but they gave the army a wide berth. If this was due to their numbers or because they associated the banner of the Empire of Night with blood drinkers and blood lords, he did not know. What was important was that they did stay away, if they had gotten bogged down fighting them before they fought the forces of Ordgan, the march would have been disastrous.

Rangers and Scouts were out in force about a days march ahead of the main body of troops though, and no reports of sightings the army had been reported yet. The army was spread out now, Jacob was on the northern side of the river with the Cohorts from the First and Fifth Legions and the Dawn Guard. A small rise protected the camp from anyone riding down the road and Rogues were deployed to watch for enemy scouts.

Already camp had been made, a few Orc War Bands had scouted them but seeing that the camp was mostly composed of soldiers, they had quickly left. Most of the soldiers were bedding down for the day. A few would be working on traps and pitfalls for the enemy soldiers that would be activated by the armies Geomancers at the appropriate time. Others were digging defensive fortifications if they got pushed back. The Naiad had agreed not to drown anyone as long as we cleaned up within 48 hours after the battle, Jacob had readily agreed to her deal. It would mean a little extra work, but it kept his people safe from the Water Creature.

"Sir, a report from the scouts has just come in. The Captain-General is requesting your presence at the Command tent." a voice called from the entrance to the tent.

Jacob moaned as he sat up from his cot and immediately made his way over to the Armor/Weapon stand. "Understood, please inform the Captain-General I will be there shortly." The soldier left without responding.

A very sleepy Cathrine looked up as Jacob was gathering his armor, "Go back to sleep, I will message you if its an emergency. Love you." Jacob told her as he ducked out of the tent. Four of the Dawn Guard immediately fell into step with him as he made his way out of the northern encampment and to the bridge. Splitting their forces was a risk, but if either camp was attacked, it increased the chances that at least some of the army would survive. "What is the problem General?" Jacob asked as he entered the tent. The Drow for some reason always looked full of energy. Jacob, on the other hand, knew he looked like crap, plus the Curse was in full effect with the sun starting to crawl across the sky.

"Our deep scouts have encountered the enemy army.' Nadal stated as he turned on the small tactical display. A series of images appeared as the disposition appear in the map. 'The army consists of a core of 5,000 troops from Ordgan, 1,000 mercenaries from the Slavers Union, and about 200 Immortals. They will reach the river crossing barring any unforeseen circumstances, late in the afternoon or the evening today at the rate they are marching." Nadal stated disgust evident in his voice at how slow they were marching.

Jacob frowned as the map updated as Nadal called out the forces, "Do we know their levels?" Jacob asked as he studied the images and the order they were marching in.

"Yes, the troops of Ordgan are in the high 20s to low 30s, the mercenaries are high 30s to low 40s, but the Immortals are all over but the highest was level 55. How they got involved is unknown at this time but I am sure Ezekial will have answers when we get back." the Drow informed him.

Jacob continued to study the map and order of march, "We stick to the plan and hit them as they cross the bridge, it will be when they are most vulnerable. Just make sure the Geomancers and Elementalists don't trigger any traps while our own men are in the kill zones. Also, make sure our mounted troops and Black Blades are on standby to hit them from the west." Jacob informed him and the General nodded as Jacob made his way back toward the northern camp. Time to get some sleep and rest, Jacob looked at his clock he had about 7 hours before he had to get up to help prepare. Aaron Swiftdeath glared around him as his horse plodded on. The army was moving too slow and at this rate, they would not reach Middlebrough before their supplies ran out. No one listened to him or the other few Immortals that used their heads. They could see the dwindaling supplies and could see that they had enough for 4 more days, maybe five before they ran out.

Rangers were ranging far to the west to hunt, any Rangers that went east never reappeared. The Southern Orc Tribes guarded their territories jealously. However the meats and few fruits were not enough to cover the gap and the army would arrive hungry, the idiots probably would think the people of Middlebrough would throw their gates open wide and welcome them. At least they would not run out of water, the Blue River was directly ahead, they would be camping on the far side, maybe some of them could catch some fish tonight.

"Have we had any word from the scouts?" Aaron asked one of the other nearby Immortals. The man looked at Aaron and shook his head in a negative way. Aaron frowned at the man's response, he had sent two of his own guildmates out hours ago, neither one had responded, but with them outside any population center communication was impossible until they got closer to Middlebrough. mm

Aaron kicked his horse to a gallop and rode toward the center of the army where the commanders were. He was hoping to talk to them one more time, to get them to listen to him. However, he was stopped 20 feet from them by a pair of mounted mercenaries. They glared at him and didn't even speak, they just pointed toward the back of the army and where the other Immortals were. "You are making a mistake. You are going to be fighting professional soldiers, stop being fools and LISTEN TOO ME!!" Aaron yelled out. Several of the nobles turned and waved him off. Aaron snarled as he turned his horse around and rode toward the back of the army.

"What is the problem?" a level 55 Battle Rager asked.

"They are idiots, they are riding there thinking we won't even have a fight when we get there. I fought these guys before, these Imperials are professional soldiers, they won't go down easy." Aaron told him.

The man drew his horse closer, "Why don't you tell me about them and I will try to get you to talk to them." Aaron nodded as he moved closer and talked too him. Jacob watched as the long line of marching soldiers wind its way down the road. About a third of the enemy army had already passed, they had less than two minutes until the sun was down and the Curses' effects were lifted. It did not matter though, the plan was already in effect, now they were just waiting for the middle of the army to get to the bridge to attack.

Jacobs army was sitting under powerful illusionary magic waiting for the call. Too bad the enemy commander didn't have any outriders sweeping the flanks otherwise they would have found Jacobs army easily. Suddenly new strength and vitality flooded his system as the sun descended to the west, it was officially night time. Jacob smiled as he took a deep breath, the army began slowly inching forward. A few dozen Mages and Archers would stay on the ridge in case they had to fall back, but otherwise, they whose force would be attacking the army. "So do you understand now?" Aaron asked the Warrior.

The man nodded, "You are right, that the leadership should be warned about all of that, but they won't listen. You don't have any reputation with them and since it's obvious you are a PKer, your Infamy is probably sky-high. Good luck getting close enough to talk to them, much less getting to listen to them."

"Then why am I talking to you if you are not going to help?" Aaron seethed.

The other man chuckled, "It sounded like you needed to vent, so I am just listening." Suddenly he stopped laughing and was frowning at something behind Aaron causing him to look, but all he saw was a small rise and the Golden Plains beyond.

"What?" Aaron asked, but whatever the Warrior was going to say was drowned out as Meteors, Chain Lightning, Whirl WInds, and other AoE spells impacted all along with the army dealing massive damage to the packed ranks of the army. Suddenly hundreds of black-armored Legionnaires dropped out from under Illusionary spells only a hundred feet from them. Waves of crossbow bolts rose from their lines and slammed into the armies ranks killing even more.

"Tanks to the left flank, healers, and mages fall back to the right, MOVE PEOPLE!!." Someone screamed out as a wave of magic and crossbow bolts started slamming into the Immortals. Aaron jumped clear of his horse and rolled to his feet as he tried to activate Stealth, but it failed since the enemy forces were so close. Jacob landed in the middle of a formation of troops, he immediately triggered Hemorrhage and Power Slash. Moonlight cleaved through two bodies as he cut deeper into the ranks of the Ordgan soldiers. They were trying to reorganize but between Jacobs lightning-quick assault and the sustained efforts of the Legionnaires they were slowly being crushed. The opening attacks by the Legions mages had devastated their ranks killing hundreds within seconds, the solid attack by the packed ranks of the Legion all along the length of the army, compounded the damage.

Jacob continued his assault on the packed ranks that were trying to flee but were forced to stay because of other soldiers behind them. So Jacob changed his path and started carving his way back toward friendly lines. He could see Star close by with Cathrine fighting together with Legionnaires. Jacob cut his way to them and swiftly mounted Star and pulled Cathrine up behind them as she wheeled around and ran through the opening the Legionnaires quickly opened for them.

Cathrine hopped down as they cleared the fighting and Jacob stood in the stirrups and looked all along the line, the attack was going well. The enemy army was being pushed back and off the road. Crossbowmen continued too launch waves of bolts against the back ranks of the enemy army and were targeting any surviving mages. Friendly mages were laying down devastating barrages of magic on any enemy formations that proved a hindrance to the Legionnaires.

The only two locations where the attack had stalled was where the mercenaries were and where the Immortals were located. Jacob quickly sent out a message to Darren and told him to get his Shadowy ass over to the northernmost section of the battle and hit them hard. Jacob gestured too Thorgron and the Dawn Guard started moving south toward the other knot that was not falling back. Aaron fell back kicking the Legionnaire as he pulled his short sword from Aarons' guts. The Immortal quickly downed a Medium Healing Potion that stopped his health from plunging any further into the red. The Immortals were holding, but they were paying a terrible price to do it. Already they had all spent their 24-hour abilities barely making a dent in the enemy formation, the tanks, and other Warrior types were holding them for now.

"Looks like you were right to be worried!! They are slaughtering the army and we are on the brink of collapse as well.' The Battle Rager stated as he pulled back from the line to get a breath. He was covered in blood, his armor had been punctured in multiple places and his giant hammer was warped. "But god damned these boys can fight."

Suddenly a new wave of magic and arrows slammed into the magical shield cracking it like an egg and other red eyed Immortals breached the line of Warriors and started carving their way towards the Mages and healers. The Legionnaires followed the Immortals, opening the breach wider as the black armored soldiers overwhelmed their defenses. The mercenaries might have proven difficult for the Legionnaires, but the Dawn Guard was cutting through them fairly quickly. Thorgron was anchoring the line to the right while Jacob was on the left cutting deeper into the packed ranks of the Slavers Union troops.

Apparently, they did not like Jacobs red-eyed gaze because they were starting to freak out every time his sight landed on them. It was making him laugh slightly as he sent out waves of Shadow Bolts between melee engagements. Each bolt only did a few hundred damage, but it broke up troop concentrations and the Dawn Guard was pushing them back steadily because of it. Any time a Shadow Bolt slammed into an armored skull or limb though, Jacob had a small chance of landing a critical hit and sheering off limb or head.

Suddenly the mercenaries line collapsed and they started fleeing. The Dawn Guard did not pursue though, they were too disciplined and wheeled their formation too the right and started marching toward the packed ranks of Ordgan troops. Upon seeing that the mercenaries that had been holding the Dawn Guard back flee, the troops of Ordgan started breaking as well.

Battle Alert...

Broken Enemy: Enemy troop morale has fallen to Broken. (+15% Damage, +10% Armor, Duration of battle)

Battle Alert...

Jacob quickly mounted Star as he dismissed the Alert and left Cathrine in the Dawn Guards care as he rode hard for the nearest Commander. After relaying his order the Legionnaire Commander quickly obeyed, horns and drums started sounding. The Legion stopped advancing and the Crossbowmen and Mages started unleashing attacks on the few remaining enemy troop concentrations.

Dozens if not hundreds more of the enemy troops were dying before they finally completely broke and ran. Jacob looked to the west and he saw a dozen small formations of cavalry slam into the fleeing enemy troops. Jacob considered recalling them, but these same troops would have helped slaughter or enslave all of Middlebrough, so he hardened his heart and walked away.