>>5463652
>Stick to cover as much as you can, only breaking cover when you have some other advantage.

>>5463652
>Move fast and low, with the straightest path possible. The cloudy night is on your side.

Humans simply don't have good enough night vision, unlike Noel and her cohort.

>>5463652
>>Move fast and low, with the straightest path possible. The cloudy night is on your side.

>>5463652
>Stick to cover as much as you can, only breaking cover when you have some other advantage.

>>5463652
>Stick to cover as much as you can, only breaking cover when you have some other advantage.

>>5463652
>Take a circuitous route to avoid contact while moving quickly, then crawl the last short distance.

>>5463652
>>Move fast and low, with the straightest path possible. The cloudy night is on your side.

>>5463652
Queen: 3d10, best of three!
GO GO GO!

Rolled 8, 4, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>5464174

Rolled 1, 1, 2 = 4 (3d10)

>>5464174

Rolled 3, 3, 9 = 15 (3d10)

>>5464174

>>5464174
The night is dark, moon hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. That works to your advantage, allowing you to rush swiftly and silently even across open fields, locations where if there were moonlight falling on you there’d be a real concern that you’d be spotted.

Sticking to cover in a few spots ensures a smooth operation, and before you know it you’re looking at a cluster of six armored vehicles.

You glance at Justina in the dark. [Here.]

[We should observe first,] Justina suggests, using hand signs. Strange to think of it this way, but you’ve realized that Justina’s actually more ‘talkative’ when she’s silent.

You’re quick to agree, of course, since it’s quite a sensible next step. So you and Justina both circle around the area, examining your avenues of approach, agreeing on likely problem spots, identifying targets, and so forth. The armor is tucked away into a little dell, only lightly dotted throughout by birches but packed with a denser understory of flowers and grasses. You have enough hard cover to screen your approach, but only to a certain point.

Beyond that point the grasses have been trampled down and the tree-trunks hewn to allow for the armor to maneuver around. Right now it’s doing nothing of the sort, clustered closer to the center of the artificial clearing, which itself sits near the center of the low slopes that make up the edges of the dell.

>Plant and set all four explosives to destroy armored vehicles.
>Plant all four but only set three. Leave evidence this time.
>Plant at least one in the wrong place but also set them off.
>Other?

>>5464895
>>Plant and set all four explosives to destroy armored vehicles.

>>5464895
>>Plant and set all four explosives to destroy armored vehicles.

>>5464895
>Plant and set all four explosives to destroy armored vehicles.

>>5464895
You elect to place your explosives for maximum effect. It won’t be sufficient to destroy all of the targets that you’ve found here, but then again you reason that’s not really the point anyway. The way you figure it, two things are likely true. First of these is that one armored vehicle either way probably won’t make much difference. Second is that allowing the enemy to find unexploded charges won’t have any useful impact on how your enemy responds.

>3d10, best of four
>apologies for the delay, shit came up

Rolled 1, 1, 7 = 9 (3d10)

>>5465874

Rolled 7, 10, 1 = 18 (3d10)

>>5465874

Rolled 8, 1, 9 = 18 (3d10)

>>5465874

Rolled 10, 3, 9 = 22 (3d10)

>>5465874

>>5465874
You wish that the exhaust vents on these infernal machines were a little more exposed - unfortunately due to their design, that’s not really an option. They’re fairly well-designed with few gaps around the treads, and with few exposed openings that could be used to plant explosives inside the armor. The only real weak spot that you know of is actually underneath, where the armor is relatively thin and some of the drive mechanism is exposed. Wedge an explosive charge in there, and you can put the whole machine out of commission with relative certainty.

Of course, the problem with this strategy is that it can be rather difficult to get in under these machines while they’re moving. But since they’re not moving right now, and you have the cover of night to protect you, this might just work.

You share your plans with Justina, who silently agrees with you and slinks off through the darkness to come at two of the vehicles from a different direction.

It’s slow going at first. You’re obliged to crawl much of the way, inching forward slowly through the tall grass and the shrubs so as to avoid being seen by the enemy. They seem fairly alert given how far from any active fighting they are, which should attest to how nervous their commanders must be at the thought of fighting the Hazari forces. And why shouldn’t they be nervous? Every previous thrust into Hazari territory has been met with disaster, with armored vehicles stranded on specially-built traps and soldiers shot apart while trying to take the mountain passes. Then there’s your little faction’s history of raids within occupied Sakia, which from what you gather have become legend.

The first one goes under the nearest vehicle, before you position the second without any problems.

>Set the fuses for a time delay, as long as possible.
>Only set a long enough fuse to withdraw.
>Other?

>>5466895
>Only set a long enough fuse to withdraw.

>>5466895
>Set the fuses for a time delay, as long as possible.

>>5466895
>>Only set a long enough fuse to withdraw.

>>5466895
>3d10 best of four

Rolled 7, 5, 2 = 14 (3d10)

>>5467740

Rolled 10, 5, 6 = 21 (3d10)

>>5467740

Rolled 10, 2, 6 = 18 (3d10)

>>5467740

Rolled 7, 7, 4 = 18 (3d10)

>>5467740

>>5466895
You wait to catch Justina’s eye in the dark, and signal to her. [Short fuse.]

She quickly signals back. [I understand. Home immediately?]

She means to ask whether you’ll be returning to your own lines from here, or whether you want to try to meet with your allies before heading back. You shake your head and share your thoughts. [Fall back and watch.]

[To back up friends?]

[If need be, yes.]

[Understand.]

Realistically speaking there was no way to ensure that your explosives all go off at the same time - it’s just not possible to coordinate that closely, spread out over a wide area, at night, operating in complete silence. So the arrangement is that the furthest target will set off their explosives first, and as a closer target (but not the closest) you will do the same shortly after that.

…

The bombs go off in the distance, shattering the late-night calm in your enemy’s sprawling network of camps. That’s your cue to set the fuses on your first pair of targets, and to scramble for your second targets amid the chaos. The explosions feel so late to you, as though you’ve been waiting forever - although it can’t have been more than a few seconds.

>Withdraw to the nearest hillside and watch for your teammates.
>Go back to your line, order a distraction bombardment.
>Become an additional distraction in any way you can.
>Other?

>>5469249
>Withdraw to the nearest hillside and watch for your teammates.

>>5469249
>Become an additional distraction in any way you can.

>>5469249
>Withdraw to the nearest hillside and watch for your teammates.

>>5469249
You and Justina fall back to a nearby hilltop - not especially prominent, but a place from which you should be able to see your own comrades’ withdrawal. There are small trees up here with you, including a fallen pine lying at an angle which gives you and Justina a spot where you can observe from some concealment.

“Help me try to spot them,” you tell Justina, able to speak to her now that you’ve opened up a little distance from the enemy’s positions. “I can see some fires burning where they set off their charges.”

“... only nine?” Justina muses.

“It looks like there were only two explosions from Helen and Valentina’s targets,” you realize, “and three from Serana and Solaris’. Perhaps both teams had the same idea.”

“Distractions?”

“To cover their withdrawal,” you agree. “We should see it momentarily if that’s the case.”

A few moments later a single explosion goes off near where Serana and Solaris were working, and about two minutes after that the two delayed explosives set by Helen and Valentina add to the chaos - the distance from the first two in that area makes it seem like what they did was put the bombs on a longer fuse so that they would explode after the armored vehicles started to move.

Eventually you spot exactly the sort of problem you were waiting for, just in case you needed to leap into action.

“There,” Justina gestures toward where Serana and Solaris are moving across the landscape - set to cross paths with a small infantry column on the move.

“I see them,” you acknowledge what Justina’s spotted.

>We’ll go personally. Draw them off Serana and Solaris’ team.
>We’ll link up with Serana and Solaris, guide them out of danger.
>We’ll ambush the infantry. Nonlethal strikes only.
>Other?

>>5470592
>We’ll ambush the infantry. Nonlethal strikes only.

>>5470592
>We’ll link up with Serana and Solaris, guide them out of danger.

>>5470592
>>We’ll go personally. Draw them off Serana and Solaris’ team.

>>5470592
>We’ll link up with Serana and Solaris, guide them out of danger.

>>5470592
After briefly conferring with Justina - just a few quick gestures really - you head down towards Serana and Solaris as swiftly as you can. Your goal is to cut off the duo before they accidentally cross paths with the infantry column heading in their direction. It’s going to be close…
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 1, 6, 7 = 14 (3d10)

>>5471760

Rolled 10, 3, 2 = 15 (3d10)

>>5471760

Rolled 6, 9, 10 = 25 (3d10)

>>5471760

>>5471760
But with a last reckless burst of speed you manage to cut off the patrol, and reach your friends first.

“There’s at least one patrol that’s going to cross your current path,” you tell Serana and Solaris immediately, keeping your voice low. “If we take cover among those rocks, keeping low to the ground, they should go right past us.”

[After you,] Serana gestures to you silently.

Avoiding the patrol is as simple as just waiting. In the chaos they come and go, leaving you to slink by behind them after they’ve passed.

…

After regrouping, all you need do is launch your real attack against that troublesome frontline unit.

>Capture their soldiers first. Then your regular Hazaris can join the looting.
>Full sneak, snag what you want and haul it out in the midst of the chaos.
>Take a mix of hostages and powder, barter the hostages again. That was fun last time.
>Other?

>>5473235
>Take a mix of hostages and powder, barter the hostages again. That was fun last time.

>>5473235
>>Take a mix of hostages and powder, barter the hostages again. That was fun last time.

>>5473235
>>Take a mix of hostages and powder, barter the hostages again. That was fun last time.

>>5473235
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 2, 9, 6 = 17 (3d10)

>>5474590

Rolled 6, 2, 2 = 10 (3d10)

>>5474590

Rolled 6, 8, 6 = 20 (3d10)

>>5474590

>>5474590
When you sweep through the same position you raided not too long ago in broad daylight, you show much less restraint. Men caught away from their posts are knocked unconscious, some flung through the air to crash into the nearest wall or tree (or other soldiers in some cases). Crates of supplies are upended and smashed, weapons that end up in your hands are snapped like twigs, and men wearing the markings of officers are grappled, tied up, and thrown over your shoulders. Ammunition is hauled away by the box just as effortlessly.

You stash your gains, both captives and ammunition, in a convenient spot between the enemy lines and your own.

“What next?” Helen wonders. “I think we may have time to go back.”

>We’ll consolidate our gains and prepare for an offensive tomorrow.
>We should go back a second time, double our stockpile before withdrawing.
>We’ll split up. One team moves this stuff to our line, one continues the sabotage.
>Other?

>>5475200
>>We’ll consolidate our gains and prepare for an offensive tomorrow.

>>5475200
>We’ll consolidate our gains and prepare for an offensive tomorrow.

>>5475200
>>We’ll consolidate our gains and prepare for an offensive tomorrow.

>>5475200
>We’ll split up. One team moves this stuff to our line, one continues the sabotage.

>>5475200
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 2, 5, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>5475971

Rolled 1, 5, 7 = 13 (3d10)

>>5475971

Rolled 8, 1, 7 = 16 (3d10)

>>5475971

>>5475971
“We’ll take what we got,” you decide. “I’m not inclined to turn this into a cautionary tale about reach and grasp, if you follow.”

“Agreed completely,” Helen nods, before waving to your comrades to gather the supplies and hostages you took and continue moving them back towards Hazari lines. And not a minute too soon, it turns out - the enemy begin to fire wildly into the night, and it isn’t long after the last ammunition is removed to the safety of your own positions that a shell strikes right in the middle of where everything you took had been stored. Completely by accident of course, but accident or no it would have negated everything you’d worked towards tonight.

…

By the next morning the picture has changed again. Mortars, brought up in the night, begin to shell the enemy position across the field. The effect is immediate, and men start to abandon their positions only to be gunned down from behind by their own superiors. At least, that’s what happens at first.

“Let them flee!” you declare to your own soldiers, intending to let word of these disastrous failures to reach all the way back into the heart of the enemy’s territory.

Now, how to press the advantage…

>Seize the enemy’s lines before they have a chance to withdraw the last of their materiel.
>Just keep shelling. Once the enemy is gone you can find a permanent spot to harass their supply lines from.
>Call for their immediate surrender, and negotiate terms that favor your long-term strategic aims.
>Other?

>>5476375
>>Seize the enemy’s lines before they have a chance to withdraw the last of their materiel.

>>5476375
>Call for their immediate surrender, and negotiate terms that favor your long-term strategic aims.

>>5476375
>Call for their immediate surrender, and negotiate terms that favor your long-term strategic aims.

>>5476375
>Call for their immediate surrender, and negotiate terms that favor your long-term strategic aims.

>>5476375
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 10, 4, 5 = 19 (3d10)

>>5477674

Rolled 6, 5, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>5477674

Rolled 4, 3, 10 = 17 (3d10)

>>5477674

Rolled 5, 8, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>5477674

>>5477674
You have one of your crews load a dud mortar and lob it into the enemy line carrying a message carved onto the outside of the shell - a message demanding their immediate surrender. Then, for several minutes, you have your artillery crews cease fire. That leads to a surprisingly prolonged silence, which is eventually broken by the sounds of gunfire and shouting, which is just as abruptly replaced once more by silence.

After some time you see a handful of men emerging from their trenches with their hands raised, seemingly unarmed.

“Does this look legitimate to you?” Helen wonders aloud.

Valentina nods. “They’re coming out unarmed, and nobody’s shooting at them. So maybe?”

“Well, at least one of us is going to have to go out there and see,” you suggest.

Before anyone can make the expected ‘so that has to be you’ statement, you’re already heading out. “Hold your fire until I give you a signal,” you tell one of the artillerymen on your way. “Don’t worry about hitting me by mistake.”

…

“I hope you’re about to tell me this is a surrender,” you greet the enemy soldiers, who stop short - clearly uncertain about you. “I don’t bite.”

“You can hopefully understand our concerns,” one of the men replies. “You and your kind’ve developed a reputation.”

“We cause chaos because we’d rather not slaughter people,” you shrug. “I think we’ve shown admirable restraint so far. In any event, congratulations on surrendering - it’s the first smart thing you’ve done since you first set foot on these shores.”

“What happens next?” one of the other men demands - though he may be trying to come off as forceful, in reality it sounds desperate to your ears. And why wouldn’t it? He and his comrades have just thrown themselves on the mercy of a queen possessing inhuman power, whose people they’ve declared war upon without any real justification. Worse, they didn’t come here expecting to be on the losing end.

>Call up the rest of your comrades. I want to get an accurate count of how many you are so we can prepare to take you in.
>The first order of business is securing any war materiel your unit still maintains. Weapons, ammunition, all of it.
>Walk away. Leave everything but your water and rations and go back the way you came until you’re out of my kingdom.
>Other?

>>5478727
>Call up the rest of your comrades. I want to get an accurate count of how many you are so we can prepare to take you in.

>>5478727
>Call up the rest of your comrades. I want to get an accurate count of how many you are so we can prepare to take you in.

>>5478727
>>Call up the rest of your comrades. I want to get an accurate count of how many you are so we can prepare to take you in.

>>5478727
>>Call up the rest of your comrades. I want to get an accurate count of how many you are so we can prepare to take you in.

>>5478727
“Call up the rest of your comrades,” you insist curtly. “Have them come out in the open, unarmed. I want to get an accurate count so we can make preparations.”

“Does that mean you intend to hold us?” one of the men asks.

You blink. “Well yes, that tends to be a part of ‘surrendering’, at least on this continent. I have no idea how you do it where you come from, or whether you even accept surrenders. But it doesn’t matter, this is how we are going to handle this situation here, now.”

After exchanging dubious looks, one of the men heads back to their trenches to convey your message. One after one the remaining enemy soldiers clamber out into the open, raising their hands as soon as they’re able.

“Valentina!” you gesture towards your own line. “Send up a sergeant and a couple of riflemen! I have a task for them.”

“A task?” one of the men repeats - he wears the uniform of a sergeant himself.

You nod. “A task.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 8, 7, 1 = 16 (3d10)

>>5479852

Rolled 1, 10, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>5479852

Rolled 8, 5, 4 = 17 (3d10)

>>5479852

>>5479852
The task you set for them? Checking each individual captured soldier as he passes for any hidden weapons or explosives. Just two among them are carrying sidearms, which are promptly confiscated, while a larger number carry bladed tools of various descriptions. Several have short, stout knives with a single edge and a clipped point which all seem to be mass-produced, while many have bayonets designed to clamp around the outside of the barrel of one of their standard rifles. Some of the artillery men carry fascine knives and others still carry hatchets.

You even see one of your Hazari soldiers confiscate a corkscrew. All of them have to go, until there’s a pretty fair pile of them.

In the mean time you and your comrades recover even more weaponry and ammunition, leading to one important question.

“So… what do we do with all this stuff?” Valentina wonders aloud.

>Drag it up to a nearby hilltop and dig in. Position a forward garrison to fire on the enemy’s supply lines.
>Carry it all back to the base of the nearest fortified hill. I want it to be supported from behind.
>Let’s be daring. I think we can position it in a way to partially surround the enemy and drive them back.
>Other?

>>5480816
>>Let’s be daring. I think we can position it in a way to partially surround the enemy and drive them back.

>>5480816
>>Carry it all back to the base of the nearest fortified hill. I want it to be supported from behind.

>>5480816
>Carry it all back to the base of the nearest fortified hill. I want it to be supported from behind.

>>5480816
“We’ll take it back towards our main defensive line,” you decide. “I want to have our forwardmost positions covered from behind by the fortresses.”

“Sensible,” Justina agrees in her usual curt matter.

…

Your new captives are stunned to watch you and your cohort haul out their heavy weaponry by hand, even as they’re escorted in single file by the regular troops. Valentina you send ahead with two Hazari riders to arrange a redeployment of troops to dig in new positions at your command.
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 7, 9, 9 = 25 (3d10)

>>5481645

Rolled 10, 2, 6 = 18 (3d10)

>>5481645

Rolled 7, 6, 2 = 15 (3d10)

>>5481645

>>5481645
You watch as the soldiers you called to the site dig in, and even take the time to direct how you want a few of the positions to be arranged. It takes the rest of the day to lay the new guns in, and it will take even longer to improve everything to the point where the positions are what you’d call “permanent”. But until then they’ll be defensible, and will extend the reach of your artillery to cut off the supply lines from the north entirely.

“I want you to start firing on that supply line,” you declare. “The base of this hill should be impossible to traverse with their vehicles, and we should be able to cover the approaches already. Tomorrow we will place more physical barriers.”

“Sundown is approaching,” the officer you’ve placed in charge points out.

>We’ll start a few fires and you can target those.
>We’ll get you an exact range measurement and you can fire blind. The craters will cause problems even if you miss.
>The main point is to draw a counterattack into range of the fortress behind you, so you can work together to destroy it.
>Other?

>>5482678
>>We’ll get you an exact range measurement and you can fire blind. The craters will cause problems even if you miss.

>>5482678
>We’ll get you an exact range measurement and you can fire blind. The craters will cause problems even if you miss.

>>5482678
The main point is to draw a counterattack into range of the fortress behind you, so you can work together to destroy it.

>>5482678
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 4, 7, 3 = 14 (3d10)

>>5483848

Rolled 7, 5, 2 = 14 (3d10)

>>5483848

Rolled 8, 7, 9 = 24 (3d10)

>>5483848

>>5483848
“We’ll get you a range measurement,” you insist curtly. “That way you can fire on the path they’ve been taking, without having to see the targets directly. Any rounds that miss will at least make travel harder.”

“Understood,” the officer nods in understanding.

…

Actually accomplishing that goal takes three of you.

The mission is simple on paper - advance within sight of the target, measuring distance and angle as you do. Then make note of ranges, directions of travel, and other key aspects of the local layout downrange. Once you’ve done that you can assemble that information into a clearer map with preset firing instructions for direct and indirect weapons to aim even in the dark, with the intention of not just hitting any actual men and materiel moving through that area but simply rendering that corridor between your fortress and the gun lines of Tarsus to the west impassible.

In practice, that means that you, Helen, and Valentina each head out after dark on a different path, picking your way out through the gorse and the heather and the weathered boulders. For your part you take on the central path, which requires you to not only examine the enemy’s positions but to keep it clear in your mind where your fellow scouts are on the battlefield.

Because of that, you find that you’re able to lay out in your mind the various tracks of trampled brush and hastily-built crossing points over narrow channels and depressions are, and to build yourself a comprehensive understanding of where the “channel” exists between your fortresses’ fields of fire and the range of their Tarsan counterparts.

It appears to be about a hundred and seventy-yard gap, somewhat favoring the Tarsan side of the border due to the extra range provided by the elevation of your own artillery. Now, with the new position established at the base of the hills your own soldiers can now close that gap - mortars are physically close enough to start dropping explosives into the area that had until recently been ‘safe’, while the cannons are still elevated just enough to do the same.
>1/2

>>5485803
“So, what did you two see?” you ask when you eventually return to the new position.

“I’ll draw you a map,” Valentina offers.

What she draws largely conforms to your understanding of the situation, and between her work, Helen’s, and your own, you end up with a fairly detailed diagram of where your artillery positions should concentrate their fire.

“Excellent,” Helen nods appreciatively. “But let’s consider this for a moment - how will the enemy respond to the change in threat?”

>Ideally that’s irrelevant. I would prefer to start shelling at night, when it’s harder for them to assess the situation.
>They’ll likely shift their movements west to avoid the incoming fire, suggesting a mission to Tarsus is in order.
>A counterattack. I can’t believe they’d be stupid enough to wander into a Tarsan field of fire by mistake.
>Other?

>>5486161
>A counterattack. I can’t believe they’d be stupid enough to wander into a Tarsan field of fire by mistake.

>>5486161
>A counterattack. I can’t believe they’d be stupid enough to wander into a Tarsan field of fire by mistake.

>>5486161
>A counterattack. I can’t believe they’d be stupid enough to wander into a Tarsan field of fire by mistake.

>>5486161
“Somehow I really doubt they’d be stupid enough to wander into the Tarsan firing lines by mistake,” you sigh, “and even if they turn out to be I don’t think we can count on that level of stupidity.”

“So a counterattack?” Justina muses.

You nod once. “Most likely.”

“By the same logic, we should prepare for such an eventuality anyway,” Helen adds. “We cannot afford not to.”

[Agreed,] Serana signs. [A counterattack is both the immediate decision many would reach, as well as that which would be reached through more careful deliberation.]

“Question,” Valentina chimes in. “Wouldn’t it be possible that the enemy would see our new position as the more difficult target, and instead choose to attack a Tarsan target to provide some relief for their supply lines?”

“Then we’ll have to adjust,” you admit. “But my instincts tell me that the most likely response will be to strike the Hazari side, for three reasons. First, it’s our side of the border where conditions have changed, and that change is what the enemy will be responding to. Second, the enemy is already positioned to attack Hazaran, and has largely avoided any large-scale offensives against Tarsus. Third, we’ve hurt them - and taken their own weapons to use against them. Their pride won’t let that go unanswered.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 7, 6, 1 = 14 (3d10)

>>5487504

Rolled 5, 4, 8 = 17 (3d10)

>>5487504

Rolled 6, 7, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>5487504

>>5487504
That night the artillery units begin their bombardment of the supply corridor with a series of flares. Then they drop mortar rounds and long-range shells onto the area, scoring only a few hits that you can tell. One among those however clearly sets off some ammunition, which you can really appreciate both aesthetically as well as in its strategic value. The aftermath of several rounds burns cheerfully until well after dawn,

…

It feels inopportune to you, but the counterattack you anticipated comes not at sunrise, but a few hours after that, once the enemy has started to pull armored vehicles back to rally just south of your new position’s maximum reach into what used to be their “safe” corridor.

>Start shelling them as they advance towards this position. Call out the ranges and bearings yourself to make sure they hit.
>Head out to meet them with a few of your comrades. The more you can stall them the longer they’ll be exposed to Hazari artillery.
>Try to make use of the hilltop fortresses. Hold off until the enemy is in range of ALL your nearby positions and fire all at once.
>Other?

>>5488528
>Start shelling them as they advance towards this position. Call out the ranges and bearings yourself to make sure they hit.

>>5488528
>Start shelling them as they advance towards this position. Call out the ranges and bearings yourself to make sure they hit.

>>5488528
You step up to the fore, looking out over the field as the enemy advances as rapidly as they can. Factoring in the distance, their speed, and the terrain…

“Crews two and three, twenty-six degrees, range twelve hundred!” you call out. “Three rounds, fire!”

“Three rounds aye!” comes the response.

“Crews one and six, forty-five degrees, range nine hundred, three rounds fire!”

“Three rounds aye!”

The explosive shells begin to fall around their intended targets. Not all of the rounds are hits, but enough are that the advancing enemy is forced to go around burning vehicles to continue closing the distance.

“Rounds complete!” the first two crews report in quick succession.

You gesture for your compatriots to do the same, one for each crew, calling out ranges and directions so that the crew in question can put a short series of rounds onto a specific area in anticipation of the enemy’s maneuvers. The fire isn’t especially precise, not in the sense of target shooting or hunting fowl, but it does seem to be a fairly effective combination. With accurate instructions it becomes a simple task.

But the problem is that the enemy is still coming.

>Time to intervene directly - get in there and cause some damage.
>You’ve prepared for this - hold fast and watch their advance stall on the rocky slopes.
>Prepare to withdraw for the time being, have the fortresses provide covering fire.
>Other?

>>5489740
>>You’ve prepared for this - hold fast and watch their advance stall on the rocky slopes.

>>5489740
>>You’ve prepared for this - hold fast and watch their advance stall on the rocky slopes.

>>5489740
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 2, 9, 8 = 19 (3d10)

>>5490712

Rolled 6, 10, 4 = 20 (3d10)

>>5490712

Rolled 7, 3, 7 = 17 (3d10)

>>5490712

>>5490712
You’ve planned for this - there’s good reason why you chose this position, and your enemy is going to find out the hard way what that is in just a few moments.

“Light guns, get ready!” you call out, and your comrades haul three field pieces to the front of the position. By removing the wheeled carriages they would usually come from and bracing their barrels on a line of sandbags, you’re able to turn these lighter field guns into portable cannons. Justina, Helen, and Valentina heft one gun each onto the shoulder of their dominant arm, using the bars that would ordinarily have been fitted into the sides of the carriages to brace against the recoil they expect, while artillerymen prepare fuses and call out instructions to each warrior, who cannot see their intended target directly due to the earthen barriers in front of them.

The moment you notice one armored vehicle mount a rock, you give the order. “Valentina!”

The crew behind Valentina fires her cannon for her, and her awakened limbs absorb the recoil. The shot strikes true, punching straight through the relatively under-defended bottom of the vehicle’s hull and setting off an explosion.

“Helen!” you call out, and that crew fires as well to similar effect. Some of the approaching crews seem to note the problem they’re running into even as units moving up behind their front continue to come under fire.

Too little, too late. “Justina!”

The third armored vehicle takes a hit under the chassis the same way as the first two did and bursts into flames. Even as Valentina’s crew works furiously to reload her muzzle-loading cannon the remaining armored vehicles in the front ranks come to a halt. Then they start to reverse, which is what the entire formation of vehicles seems to be doing - not so much ‘in unison’ as they all seem to independently come to a similar conclusion about whether or not to press the attack.

“Valentina!” you call out. “Give them a parting shot, topside!”

The gun-carriers are still firing occasionally even as they slowly begin to reverse back through your forces’ field of fire.

>Allow them, but have your forces continue to fire as they do so.
>Cease fire, see if you can discern anything from their response to that.
>Nope. Cut some of the machines’ treads before they can withdraw.
>Other?

>>5491555
>Cease fire, see if you can discern anything from their response to that.

>>5491555
>>Cease fire, see if you can discern anything from their response to that.

>>5491555
>>Cease fire, see if you can discern anything from their response to that.

>>5491555
“Cease fire!” you call out, before repeating the order again for anyone who might have thought you had misspoken. “Let them go.”

“Ma’am?” the nearest artillery officer stares at you in surprise.

“You heard me.”

As the enemy withdraws, they cease firing abruptly…

“Strange,” you muse.

[What is?] Serana asks you with a frown.

“There were several times where our positions took fire from much further out than where the withdrawing forces ceased fire.”

“Good-will?” Solaris wonders, before shaking her head. “No, not likely.”

“They may be low on ammunition,” Helen offers.

Valentina nods in agreement. “I was wondering the same. It would explain it - why fire back to ‘cover’ their withdrawal if they don’t have to?”

“It must be bad in that case,” Solaris offers. “Bad enough that they would be willing to risk showing us that information in order to save some ammunition.”

“So?” Justina asks, sparing you a glance.

“You mean what are we going to do next?” Alexa translates.

Justina nods, but says nothing more.

>Simple, we strike again tonight. Continue destroying supplies and sinking their morale.
>We stick to the plan and shell through the night. Further disrupt their resupply efforts.
>They may be nearing their breaking point - an offer to allow them to withdraw may work.
>Other?

>>5492979
>Simple, we strike again tonight. Continue destroying supplies and sinking their morale.

>>5492979
>>Simple, we strike again tonight. Continue destroying supplies and sinking their morale.

>>5492979
“Simple,” you declare. “We strike again tonight, continue hammering the enemy’s morale. This just seems like confirmation that what we’re doing has been working.”

“So why stop?” Solaris muses.

You offer her a curt nod. “Exactly.”

“Any ideas where to strike first?” Helen wonders. “I feel like we’re running the risk of becoming predictable.”

>Agreed. That’s part of why we need to escalate.
>We could try setting flares and coordinating artillery.
>Let’s go all in on pranks, really humiliate some people.
>Other?

>>5493923
>>Agreed. That’s part of why we need to escalate.

>>5493923
>Let’s go all in on pranks, really humiliate some people.

>>5493923
>Agreed. That’s part of why we need to escalate.

>>5493923
>>Let’s go all in on pranks, really humiliate some people.

Ah yes, the classic “this could have been deadly” show of force

>>5493923
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 6, 1, 9 = 16 (3d10)

>>5495202

Rolled 6, 9, 1 = 16 (3d10)

>>5495202

Rolled 10, 7, 8 = 25 (3d10)

>>5495202

>>5495202
“Which is why the time is right for a major escalation,” you declare. “Think about it, we’ve set a pattern of small-scale covert attacks, usually meant to shape the details of a conventional engagement that follows shortly after.”

“It’s an efficient use of our capabilities,” Helen nods. “So you’re suggesting we do something more drastic?”

“I am,” you confirm. “This time, the only stealth involved will be in finding the best possible position from which to launch an offensive. I think the time may be right to show them what we’re truly capable of.”

“The ‘demoralization’ is basically telling them ‘look, we’ve actually been holding back’, is that it?” Valentina muses. “I could see that.”

“As well as the implication that these raids of ours will continue to escalate,” Solaris nods. “While it feels a little like the strategy of sowing fear that many awakened beings might use, I also don’t think that is such a problem in this case.”

[Explain,] Serana insists silently.

“In this case the ‘fear’ is meant to break the will to fight, which will only save lives in the long run,” Solaris clarifies. “Not enough gratuitous violence for most awakened beings I have had the misfortune of encountering over the years… to one who has seen both the difference is striking.”

[Then all that remains is to decide on targets and priorities.]

“Destruction of war materiel over a wide area,” you decide. “Our swords can be used to cripple their vehicles, but the cannons may be a bit more difficult in practice.”

“How about explosives?” Valentina asks curiously.

“It would have to be an explosive stronger than regular black powder,” you begin. “Unless… I need to see one of their guns.”

…

“Here,” you declare, pointing out the feature you thought you noticed with the guns you captured earlier. “The barrel is narrower here because there’s a decrease in pressure compared to the breech itself, where the charge goes off.”

“It saves weight,” Alexa muses. “But if the same charge exploded at that point…”

[Boom,] Serana signs, before making a gesture with her hands to mimic how the barrel itself might peel apart under the strain.

“Boom,” you agree.

>We’ll need to carry a handful each. Make them light enough to be carried on a belt.
>We’ll need one full powder bag to make sure, seriously limiting how many we can carry.
>It necessitates multiple trips - one to secretly lay in powder charges, one as an attack.
>Other?

>>5495883
>>We’ll need to carry a handful each. Make them light enough to be carried on a belt.

>>5495883
>>It necessitates multiple trips - one to secretly lay in powder charges, one as an attack.

>>5495883
>We’ll need to carry a handful each. Make them light enough to be carried on a belt.

>>5495883
>We’ll need to carry a handful each. Make them light enough to be carried on a belt.

>>5495883
“We’ll carry a few each,” you decide. “Make them light enough to carry a handful, maybe hung from a belt or a bandoleer.”

“You feel like laying some in at a central location is too risky?” Helen guesses.

You nod. “Or too complicated, take your pick. Either way, I think it introduces a chance that the enemy could accidentally disrupt our plan.”

“Very well,” Helen agrees. “Let’s see what your artillerymen can come up with for us.”
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 1, 7, 8 = 16 (3d10)

>>5497520

Rolled 1, 7, 9 = 17 (3d10)

>>5497520

Rolled 2, 2, 9 = 13 (3d10)

>>5497520

>>5497520
In the end you can only carry three comfortably.

It’s not much, at least not individually, but with each of you carrying enough to destroy three heavy guns that ought to significantly shift your fortunes in the next engagement. That is, assuming there is a ‘next engagement’ - the entire point is to try and ensure that never happens.

“Alright,” you declare, “you have your charges. The plan is to use them on heavy guns, to use our swords on the mobile gun carriages, and punches and kicks against any infantry that get in our way. Cause as much havoc as you can - what you can’t destroy, upend, spoil, or burn if you can. Understood?”

“We’re with you,” Valentina declares confidently.

“Now, I have one more order,” Helen adds. “Don’t die.”

…

After nightfall, you and your comrades split into three groups - for the most part you’ll move as one, the groupings are more in case of counterattack or the presentation of an enticing target requiring you to split your forces.

>Emphasize cover - keep your exposure to enemy fire at a minimum.
>Find a few locations to attack downhill. This will help generate momentum.
>Position yourselves on a flank and sweep through them like a cold mountain wind.
>Other?

>>5498827
>Emphasize cover - keep your exposure to enemy fire at a minimum.

>>5498827
>>Position yourselves on a flank and sweep through them like a cold mountain wind.

>>5498827
>>Emphasize cover - keep your exposure to enemy fire at a minimum.

>3d10 best of three

Rolled 7, 1, 8 = 16 (3d10)

>>5499831

Rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11 (3d10)

>>5499831

Rolled 6, 9, 3 = 18 (3d10)

>>5499831

>>5499831
Your priority is to emphasize cover and concealment, and to carefully plan your movements around those assets you instruct Justina and Valentina to move as scouts in the darkness. They’ll identify routes and targets, and return to share the information with you in a hiding place some distance ahead of the main force of your comrades, and after identifying the route you’ll commit to it as one.

After sending them out the first time, the choice is pretty clear based on their descriptions of what they saw.

“My route won’t work,” Valentina explains. “There’s a pretty wide area with absolutely no cover whatsoever, too wide and too visible to pass through without immediately drawing fire from basically all sides. It’s a damn deathtrap.”

“Mine’s fine,” Justina replies with a shrug.

“Just… fine?” Valentina muses.

Justina nods. “There’s cover.”

“That sounds like an easy decision,” you decide.

You soon find that Justina was correct - her route takes you through a lightly-wooded lowland just off a slightly raised roadway, which the enemy’s position has run up to. But instead of crossing the road and extending into the woods, the enemy has positioned infantry along the road on the far side, facing into the woods. If you launch an attack there, against the relatively lightly defended flank, you could easily cut in behind a large stretch of the enemy’s defensive line and cause some real chaos.

At the other end of what would be a rather ambitious charge, even for the best trained and equipped human soldiers, there’s a hill with rocks and some sparse stands of gorse and low trees. There are a few soldiers positioned there, but attacking it from this angle should give you a chance of closing into close range and forcing them out of that position.

>Time it so that your Hazari regulars can attack through this gap once you seize the hilltop.
>Sneak around to the hilltop with Valentina and Justina, see if you can plan out your next move from there.
>There may be some other targets in the area - be sure to scout deeper into enemy territory.
>Other?

>>5500526
>>Time it so that your Hazari regulars can attack through this gap once you seize the hilltop.

>>5500526
>Time it so that your Hazari regulars can attack through this gap once you seize the hilltop.

>>5500526
>>Time it so that your Hazari regulars can attack through this gap once you seize the hilltop.

>>5500526
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 8, 7, 8 = 23 (3d10)

>>5502016

Rolled 3, 8, 1 = 12 (3d10)

>>5502016

Rolled 3, 8, 4 = 15 (3d10)

>>5502016

>>5502016
You make a decision on the spot, slinking back through the night to meet with your companions.

“I need a volunteer to take a message back to the Hazari line,” you inform them. “Tell them to prepare an attack just before dawn, along the stretch of our enemy’s positions between that road,” you gesture along the length of the road to the right, “and that hilly position to the left. Our objective will be to destroy any and all war materiel between those two positions, and to clear the hill for Hazari forces to seize it. Firing from that point will make the rest of the line untenable and allow further Hazari infantry units to roll the enemy back to the south.”

“I’ll go,” Alexa volunteers. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Good luck,” you nod. “And stay safe.”

“I’ll try, miss Noel.”

“So the rest of us will be positioning ourselves to attack?” Helen asks you.

You nod in confirmation. “Yeah. Valentina and Justina scouted what looks like a good route, you’ll see it shortly.”

…

Under the cover of darkness, wary of how quickly and far sound might carry in the crisp air of a Hazari night, you and your scouts lead the rest of your comrades to the position you selected from which you’ll start the attack. And when the time is right, you slink forwards in the predawn dim.

The first few soldiers are still on watch - as it’s right near the end of a shift the men are weary rather than wary, and it’s easy to take them by surprise. Several go down from hard hits to the head, or end up gagged, tied, and tossed into a hole to wait out the rest of the assault.

But eventually there’s a shout, and the groggy men along the far west section of the enemy line scramble for helmets and weapons, while drivers try to get the engines of their vehicles to turn over.

Too little, too late you judge as you fall on them, together with Serana and Helen at the front of your group.

>Focus on flipping those vehicles - their light guns could prove dangerous.
>Direct your comrades through the blind spots of the vehicles, focus on disarming the infantry.
>Take out immediate threats, whatever they are, awakening your legs to move faster.
>Other?

>>5502878
>>Focus on flipping those vehicles - their light guns could prove dangerous.

>>5502878
>Focus on flipping those vehicles - their light guns could prove dangerous.

>>5502878
>Focus on flipping those vehicles - their light guns could prove dangerous.

>>5502878
>Focus on flipping those vehicles - their light guns could prove dangerous.

>>5502878
[Flip their vehicles!] you sign with your free hand to Helen and Serana, who quickly understand what you mean - those fast-firing light guns are a real problem against unarmored infantry, which you definitely are, and even with your enhanced healing abilities too many bullets in the wrong places could be fatal.

When you slam into the side of one of their gun-carriers you’ve partly awakened, so the impact itself is enough to dent the metal in some places - if this were a stonework building you’d probably have crashed through it and kept right on going. Your fingertips, hardened like claws, find a purchase low on the side of the vehicle, and with a tremendous effort you lift the whole thing up onto one track. By shifting your grip you continue to work your way under its center of mass, and very soon you hear alarmed shouts as the whole thing goes over on its side.

“Cover!” you shout, noticing that your comrades have done the same to two other vehicles, providing you with obstructions to use to limit the number of enemies that can fire on your comrades as they advance. “Valentina, Justina, trenches!”

Following your order Justina and Valentina peel off from the main group and get down into the trench lines your enemy has dug out, slicing through their rifles and bowling them over with sheer bulk and power, trampling them under their armored boots as they move forward like an unstoppable tide.

A man comes running at you screaming incoherently with a fixed bayonet, which you sweep off the end of his rifle with your sword before kicking his legs out from under him. Two more men who had been charging you behind him stop to fire at you - one misses, and you deflect the other to the shooter’s obvious shock. They go down next and you continue to the fourth of five armored vehicles, dashing out through the open before slamming into your objective and flipping it the same way you did the last one.

Men who had moments before been scrambling to attack you now scramble to flee, some helping the wounded evacuate. Few stop to fire on you as they withdraw, though a few manage to take some wild shots.

Now the hilltop stands before you.

>Start throwing things at the trees, see if you can’t get the defenders to panic and abandon their positions.
>This is gonna have to get done by hand. Use the flipped vehicles as sliding cover to get in close and flush them out.
>The only way they’ll probably leave is dead - prepare the way for your Hazari troops to help them out with that.
>Other?

>>5504935
>This is gonna have to get done by hand. Use the flipped vehicles as sliding cover to get in close and flush them out.

>>5504935
>>This is gonna have to get done by hand. Use the flipped vehicles as sliding cover to get in close and flush them out.

>>5504935
>>This is gonna have to get done by hand. Use the flipped vehicles as sliding cover to get in close and flush them out.

>>5504935
“We have cover!” you shout over the din of battle. “Let’s put it to use!”

With that pronouncement you plant your shoulder firmly against the underside of the armored vehicle you’ve last flipped, and begin to slide it across the dirt. The guns and equipment on its side leave slightly deeper gouges in the earth for a few feet before they come off one at a time, embedded deeply with mounts of welded steel shorn off leaving sharp and twisted edges. Whenever the giant mass in front of you gets hung up on something, most often a buried boulder, you simply roll it again and continue on your merry way.

There’s a general sense of panic among the soldiers on the hillside as you draw closer, and the bullets strike your cover in a constant barrage. But you and your comrades, who are following along behind several other armored barricades like your own, are perfectly safe.

When you start to sense that your barricade has reached the base of the hill you spring into action.
>3d10, best of three

Rolled 3, 9, 5 = 17 (3d10)

>>5505683

Rolled 4, 3, 8 = 15 (3d10)

>>5505683

Rolled 6, 10, 7 = 23 (3d10)

>>5505683

>>5505683
You’re lucky the bullets don’t seem to touch you - or perhaps your enemies are too stunned at what they’re watching to shoot accurately. Either way you immediately start clearing the way for your comrades to join you, knocking men down and disarming them with your sword and your fist. A few break and run, fleeing downslope to put some distance between them and you.

As your comrades help you clear the defenders out of the hilltop fortification you see your Hazari regulars on the offensive, charging behind a barrage of artillery that strikes the nearest stretch of enemy positions. A few fall here and there, but by and large the attack is a rousing success. Very soon you’re joined by Alexa, who cradles a stump of an arm on her left side.

“Lucky cannonball,” she pants, “hit me while I had my head turned.” As she has more in common with a defense type you can already see where this is going, and so you use your blade to trim the mangled limb. Brutal medicine perhaps, but a clean end is much easier and quicker to heal, and all your kind are taught as much early on.

“Thanks,” she grunts. “I’m going to need a minute.”

“That’s fine, you’ve done great,” you assure her, waving over Serana. “Serana, stick with Alexa. The rest of us will secure this position and wait until Hazari units can hold it.”

>Continue driving the enemy out from around the base of the hill.
>Escort some Hazari infantry into a position to prevent counterattack.
>The key will be artillery. Help position the mortars in cover.
>Other?

>>5506503
>>Escort some Hazari infantry into a position to prevent counterattack.

>>5506503
>The key will be artillery. Help position the mortars in cover.

>>5506503
>>The key will be artillery. Help position the mortars in cover.

>>5506503
>>The key will be artillery. Help position the mortars in cover.

>>5506503
>3d10, best of three
>will work on new threads tomorrow

Rolled 7, 3, 4 = 14 (3d10)

>>5507326

Rolled 2, 5, 4 = 11 (3d10)

>>5507326

Rolled 8, 10, 5 = 23 (3d10)

>>5507326

>>5508529
New Thread!