(Death... Gloucester is dead...) Ivan Northes drew a ragged breath, the whistling wind against his face feeling like a thousand merciless arrows penetrating every defense in his heart. (Without warning... just gone...) Cold sweat beaded across his brow. (Gloucester... dead...)
"Ivan!" The shout was a physical blow, someone bellowing his name. His senses swam, twisting together into a disorienting, grey fog. "Ivan Northes!" the voice cut through sharper now. "To the front! Move, Ivan!"
Reality slammed back into focus, accompanied by a dull ache blooming in his right shoulder. A fellow Grey Knight rode beside him, pounding his fist into Ivan's pauldron. "Where did your wits go wandering, Ivan?" the knight roared, his voice straining at the very top of its register. "To the front, you fool! Get to the bloody front!" Ivan Northes nodded mechanically, spurring his mount forward to assume position at the formation's leading edge. Now, abruptly, he was captain of the Seventh Phalanx. The knight who had roused him adjusted his own position, falling in directly behind. An ominous silence descended from the walls, but every veteran knew another deadly storm approached. "Second phase!" the knight shouted from behind. "Do we deploy the devices?!"
(Devices?) Ivan's mind struggled to catch up. (What devices?) The knight behind him yanked a cylindrical metal canister from his belt with visible frustration. "Has fear addled your wits completely?!" He thrust the container skyward. "Give the order, Ivan Northes!"
Understanding dawned at last. Ivan drew a steadying breath, momentarily banishing his grief. With practiced movements, he retrieved his own metal cylinder and detached a small leather pouch from his left hip. He poured a rune-inscribed stone into the canister and secured the lid firmly. "Prepare!" he commanded, vigorously shaking the container before raising it high overhead. The knight behind him mirrored the action, and within moments nearly three-quarters of the Seventh Phalanx had elevated their canisters in unison. "Release!" Ivan bellowed, discarding the lid with a practiced flick. Instantly, a thick, acrid black smoke belched forth from the cylinder's mouth; and within the space of five heartbeats, the Seventh Phalanx had vanished from sight, swallowed by a roiling, impenetrable cloud.
This represented Raveirmom Dear's second revolutionary tactic in the campaign—the smoke-screened assault. The concept itself was not novel; the Ptolemaick Coalition during the Tenth Era had theorized such an approach, but technical limitations had rendered implementation impossible. This alchemical mixture—comprising sulfur, pulverized charcoal, and precisely rune-etched Arknar Stone—when vigorously agitated, generated voluminous black smoke. The formula originated with a reclusive Godman mage dwelling in Vellabuchlon, the Shrouded Forest, who had employed artificial smoke to simulate wildfires, deterring unwanted visitors. The incorporation of magic granted significant advantage; the Arknar Stone absorbed excess thermal energy, preventing the metal canisters from burning the charging knights who wielded them. The innovation's greatest irony lay in how it inadvertently delayed the discovery of true gunpowder until that revolutionary substance eventually arrived from the Far East.
Following the Seventh Phalanx's deployment, the remaining formations rapidly initiated their own smoke screens. The tactical employment of smoke canisters had not been in the original battle plan—partly due to concerns about magical interference. Knights held their cylinders well above their heads, carefully positioned to prevent the acrid fumes from suffocating riders behind them. The expanding cloud engulfed not merely the phalanxes and their siege engines, but nearly twice that area. High upon the wall, Vice-commander Sir Harvey was struck dumb with astonishment, his throat suddenly tight. The crews of the great trebuchets, already poised to launch, held their fire.
In truth, this stratagem purchased Godma relatively little tactical advantage—the substantial gaps between phalanx formations left ample target area, and Cynthian stone fragments fired blindly into the obscuring cloud still claimed numerous unfortunate victims. Yet for the battle-hardened Grey Knights, these precious minutes proved sufficient. With the exception of the Third and Ninth Phalanxes, every formation advanced relatively unimpeded beneath the artificial tempest. Von Hohenstern and Bollede, commanders of the trebuchet-deprived Third and Ninth, though separated by considerable distance, made identical valorous decisions: deliberately draw enemy fire. Sir Harvey, recognizing their sacrifice, directed his artillery to concentrate bombardment on these two exposed formations. Their selfless diversion was not offered in vain.
The Godman charge entered its decisive phase; the vanguard cavalry now closed to engagement distance with Cynthian defenders. Formation commanders issued coordinated orders to halt the trebuchet advance. Infantry troops leapt from their transport wagons, rushing to deploy and operate the siege engines while mounted units discarded their spent smoke canisters and continued their forward momentum. The temporary visual obstruction allowed Godman engineers to position their artillery without suffering withering counter-fire. These siege emplacements established Godma's initial foothold; once secured, Raveirmom's second echelon—predominantly infantry forces—would commence their assault. As the unnatural fog gradually dissipated, both Cynthian defenders and Godman attackers regained visual clarity.
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The siege engines were positioned at modest distance from the Gate of Cynthia; the nearest, belonging to the Eighth Phalanx, stood less than three hundred meters from the defensive line. This proximity, however, remained insufficient for Godman projectiles to threaten the wall-mounted artillery and ballistae—a limitation promptly confirmed by the Eighth's initial volley. All Godman artillery crews immediately redirected their targeting focus toward the defenders concentrated before the gate. The battlefield erupted in a maelstrom of flying stone—projectiles from both above and below hammering each side with devastating force. Numerous Godman cavalry units now entered effective range of Cynthian ballistae; with thunderous impacts, knights were violently impaled, their armor offering minimal protection against the massive bolts. Cynthian cavalry charged in disciplined formation, clashing directly with Godman Fifth and Sixth Phalanxes. The defenders quickly recognized, however, that enemy cavalry formations on both flanks were executing an encircling maneuver, forming a crescent-shaped containment net. By the time this tactical reality registered, they found themselves effectively trapped—their only consolation being modest numerical superiority.
Traditional archery maintained its battlefield dominance. From elevated positions along the wall, over a thousand Cynthian archers launched flaming arrows in coordinated volleys, creating a brilliant cascade visible even in daylight. Godma's response was equally impressive—their longbowmen arrayed in disciplined ranks before the siege emplacements, drawing powerful six-foot yew bows and releasing at calculated angles. A professionally crafted longbow could achieve effective range approaching nine hundred sixty feet; those exceptional weapons fashioned from Crividsylvan Sylvanwood could reach the astonishing distance of twelve hundred feet. Such weapons, of course, demanded extraordinary physical strength from their wielders. Godman archers maintained relentless firing tempo, creating dense arrow storms that descended upon Cynthian troops with terrible regularity, striking heads, torsos, limbs, and mounts indiscriminately. Their strategy prioritized volume and speed over individual accuracy.
The Cynthian defenders at Wafflo's third defensive line experienced mounting exhaustion and apprehension. Their cavalry suffered significant casualties during engagement with Godman forces, while the looming encirclement generated profound tactical disadvantage. Recognizing breakthrough as impossible, Commander Alofenk reluctantly ordered withdrawal—an action that would eventually earn him the pejorative designation "the Retreating Earl." Cynthian mounted units reversed course before complete encirclement could be achieved, prompting the Godman First and Tenth Phalanxes to abandon their convergence maneuver in favor of direct forward advancement, further compressing the operational space available to remaining defenders. From his elevated vantage, Sir Harvey recognized they had inadvertently traded one tactical predicament for another—a more expansive but thinner encirclement.
The majority of Cynthian forces retreated to positions three li from the gate—their genuine final defensive perimeter. The Duke of Pafaheim had explicitly commanded them to repel the enemy beyond this threshold, warning that closer proximity would allow Godman forces to directly threaten the gate structure itself. Numerous exposed Godman siege engines had sustained varying degrees of damage, but had fulfilled their primary purpose—providing essential covering fire for advancing cavalry and the second echelon infantry assault. Raveirmom's reserve force—fifteen thousand strong and predominantly comprised of veteran pikemen—formed tight, cohesive blocks behind the siege line, advancing methodically under cavalry protection. This was the elite Pharma Regiment, the most disciplined and best-equipped infantry in all of Godma, its ranks filled with countless, hard-bitten veterans of a hundred brutal campaigns.
In the chaotic melee that ensued, neither combatant achieved decisive advantage. Godman heavy cavalry possessed marginal qualitative superiority in individual combat skill, but northern defenders compensated through superior supporting firepower. The battle lines stagnated into tactical deadlock, dramatically reducing Godma's advance velocity. Along the Wafflo defensive flanks, Cynthian infantry arranged themselves in rectangular formations with outward-facing spears, supplemented by light cavalry units positioned to counter potential Godman flanking maneuvers. While the defenders found themselves challenged by the superior mobility of enemy mounted units, Godma similarly discovered no immediate solution for breaching the disciplined defensive formations.
The momentary equilibrium provided Cynthian defenders with critically needed respite.
