Battle

Chapter 22: War Begins

When Albert teleported back to Southshore, dawn had already broken. Looking out the window, he discovered that a squad of guards carrying torches was actually patrolling the streets at this hour. It was probably another new measure Roderick and the others had come up with. Without stopping to rest, Albert washed up briefly and headed to Roderick's doorstep.

Seeing that Albert had indeed returned before the battle as promised, Roderick could not help but smile. There was no time to reminisce. Roderick handed Albert the intelligence on the Shatterfin Murloc Tribe that he had compiled over the past few days, and the young mage sat at the table and read through it carefully.

"Murloc Tidecallers and Murloc Priests? Most of them probably use water magic."

"It would be great if the priests in town knew Dispel. It could counter the slowing effects caused by water magic quite effectively."

"The murlocs' leader should be a powerful priest. I'll prepare a potent Silence spell in case anything unexpected happens."

"Oh, right. Murlocs can fight both on land and in water. We'll inevitably have to fight underwater, so water-breathing spells are essential as well."

Albert offered several suggestions for improvement based on his own understanding, and the weight in Roderick's heart finally lifted. The Guard's greatest weakness had now been addressed, adding another heavy weight to their chances of victory.

Preparations before the battle proceeded in an orderly fashion. After meeting with the others, Albert returned home to rest. Everyone worked at full capacity like tightly wound machines. Southshore as a whole had also fallen into a state of tension because of the coming battle. After two busy days, every preparation was in place, and today was another clear, fine day suitable for slaughter.

Fully armed, Roderick stood on the training grounds and looked at the force that was utterly different from what it had been a month ago. He shouted, "Warriors, your many days of hard training will finally be tested. True warriors must always be tempered in the fires of war. The safety of Southshore rests upon your shoulders. Glory and achievement lie before you. The Southshore Guard will be victorious!"

"Move out!"

"Victory! Victory!" the soldiers roared as they advanced toward the coast in marching columns. The other support personnel had gathered and were waiting in the dock district. This time, the total number of frontline combatants would not exceed one hundred and fifty, while the Shatterfin Murloc Tribe had no fewer than three hundred warriors. The disparity in numbers left many councilors deeply worried.

"Roderick is still too young and impetuous. The murlocs outnumber us by more than two to one. How can he dare take the initiative and attack? I think the security forces should join the battle too. That would be safer."

"That is the prudent thing to say. Weren't the security forces and Guard soldiers both militiamen before? I support sending all of them into battle as well."

"Exactly. We waived their autumn taxes, so what good are they if we can't count on them when war comes? How could they get such an easy deal?"

For a time, the docks were in an uproar. It seemed as though they were ready to remove Roderick and have these councilors command the battle themselves. Seeing the situation turn chaotic, Mayor Heni gave a soft cough. "The battle has not even begun yet. Please remain calm, councilors. After all, Captain Roderick's achievements this past month are plain for all to see. As for how the battle should be fought, let Captain Roderick decide."

The moment Mayor Heni spoke, all the messy voices vanished without a trace. In their place came nothing but praise: the mayor was wise, the mayor had great foresight, the mayor had an eye for talent, he had promoted Roderick, and victory in this battle was assured. Albert stood hidden among the crowd and could not help marveling at Mayor Heni's supreme prestige here. Without the mayor's support, Roderick's plans probably would not have proceeded so smoothly.

Before long, the neatly equipped Guard soldiers arrived in the dock district. Seeing the familiar infantry attire of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, many Southshore residents watching from the sidelines could not help shouting loudly. These survivors of the Kingdom of Lordaeron needed an army like this far too badly.

On the beach near the docks, they joined up with the Dwarf musketeer squad and the apprentice priests of the Church of the Holy Light.

After making slight adjustments to the marching formation, Roderick shouted once more, "Southshore lies behind us. In this battle, there will be victory and no defeat. All soldiers, heed my command: anyone who disobeys orders or greedily rushes ahead for merit will be executed!" The knights surrounding him shouted along with him, "Anyone who greedily rushes ahead for merit will be executed!"

"Anyone who fears death and retreats without orders will be executed!"

"Anyone who retreats without orders will be executed!"

After several cries of "executed," the atmosphere turned solemn. Watching the departing force, Mayor Heni thought to himself, Now this has the feeling of an elite force. He and the other councilors sat down to await news of victory.

The First Squad marched at the very front. Most of them were miners and refugees Yug had brought with him. As vice-captain, Yug walked in the middle of the formation, responsible for maintaining the overall advance speed, and those on both sides had to keep pace with him. The squad of more than thirty men was divided into four ranks, with eight soldiers in each rank. The three squads advanced in a triangular formation, with the musketeers and priests protected in the center. Albert, the only mage, was mixed in among the priests as well.

The murloc patrol soon spotted the human army. Accompanied by a burst of piercing war cries, some murloc warriors charged forward while waving their weapons.

Yug gripped his shield tightly as the murloc before him rushed close. Its huge fish eyes and gaping mouth revealed two rows of sharp teeth. Waves of foul stench blasted from its mouth like a chemical weapon, making the crude weapon in its hands seem hardly worth noticing.

With sharp whooshes, bullets tore through the air. Before the melee soldiers on either side had even clashed, the Dwarf musketeers opened fire first. Thalmar smugly blew away the smoke rising from his freshly fired barrel. In the distance, a Murloc Tidecaller had already been struck by several bullets. Its thin scales could not withstand the impact of iron rounds. It convulsed and collapsed to the ground, thoroughly dead.

"Raise shields!" The brutal close-quarters battle was about to begin. The soldiers in the first rank raised their shields before them one after another. The clangor of weapons striking shields rang out without end. Once Yug had adjusted to the force battering against his shield, he shouted with Red, the captain of the First Squad beside him, "Thrust!"

The soldiers in the second rank raised their longswords and spears, stabbing through the gaps between the two comrades in front of them. All they could hear was the wet sound of sharp weapons piercing murloc flesh, occasionally mixed with the clash of weapons when a murloc warrior successfully parried.

"Counterattack!" The shield-bearing soldiers in the first rank also drew their short swords and slashed at the murlocs before them. These murlocs were either dodging the longswords thrusting from the rear or had already been stabbed and were struggling desperately. Attacked from two directions at once while unable to do anything against the enemy's shields, this murloc force collapsed in an instant. The lucky murloc warriors who had not died turned and fled to the rear, but the Dwarf musketeers' bullets followed closely behind. Exposing their openings, the murlocs were unsurprisingly knocked to the ground by attacks from behind.

This small murloc force was almost entirely slain beneath the Guard's swords, and even the fleeing murlocs struggled to escape the Dwarf musketeers' fire. The massive casualties sent the murloc warriors who had not charged in at the start fleeing into the distance. Restricted by their formation, however, the Guard soldiers could not pursue the enemy.

Seeing the enemy flee, the Guard's morale soared, and soldiers from the other two squads who had not participated in the battle also cheered loudly. After catching his breath, Squad Captain Red rotated the first-rank soldiers to the last rank to preserve their stamina. Once the formation had been adjusted, it began advancing steadily once more.

Although these murlocs had formed a tribe, with priests and soldiers as two distinct professions, proving that murloc society had developed stable social classes. Their use of various weapons also showed that murlocs as a whole were evolving toward a civilized race.

Yet on the other hand, they could not manufacture tools themselves and had not developed a written language of their own. In battle, they relied more on murloc instinct than coordinated teamwork, showing that the beastly nature within them remained strong. The murloc patrols they encountered afterward displayed the same problems. Some warriors were extraordinarily fierce, shouting as they charged the moment they saw humans, while others shrank back before the might of the human force and turned to flee. The already outnumbered small murloc groups were continually bled dry by the human phalanx. As they advanced, the beach beneath their feet became littered with the corpses of fallen murloc warriors.