>>5664192Even were the Alliance and Kingdom to combine, the Empire would still slightly outnumber both armies. So why commit so few troops to the defense of the tower? According to Ingrid, they’d been hard at work rebuilding it night and day. To give it up after such a paltry fight made no sense. The troops left to the tower’s defense did outnumber Felix’s vanguard, but the speed at which they were being cut down made you think it was likely they were conscripts. Men and women plucked from their homes and placed at the frontline in a desperate attempt to stem the tide. You knew Hubert likely did not care, but this seemed wasteful even for him. No, that couldn’t be right. He was the Empire’s great strategist. The last time you were here, it was he who suggested burning down the ballista before it could be used against the Black Eagles. There had to be something more to this.
>“It’s a trap…I’m sure of it…”“Really?” Ingrid asks, astonished. “How so?”
>“I don’t know…but this isn’t how Hubert would operate. I spent enough time around him to know that much. Perhaps he intends to use another surge of siege magic to burn the tower down once it’s been seized by the enemy.” You shake your head. “But…would that even be worth it? At best he might slow down the vanguard and take a few soldiers down, but hardly worth the effort of building that wooden structure.”“They’re taking it!” Diana shouts.
The last of the Empire’s troops on both sides are now routing. Deftly snuffed out by both Felix and the Alliance respectively, you estimate only half of the Adrestian front-line remains. Both offensives begin charging up the hill to take the tower. The ballista has ceased firing, and you can make out panic beginning to spread amongst the archers on its rooftop. With their assailants having now reached them, they abandon their posts and weapons, retreating from the tower and fleeing to the bottom of the hill back towards the main host. They are quickly replaced by their besiegers, who begin spreading around the roof.
“The tower’s been taken!” Ingrid shouts. “You know what that means. Let’s fl-!”
Ingrid is interrupted by a loud explosion that, even from your distance, shakes the very ground itself. Beathan neighs and stirs under you excitedly, causing you to try and calm him down. At the same time, you are forced to turn your eyes away from the sudden bright light that accompanies whatever is happening. When you bring your steed under control and look up, you’re shocked to find that the tower has been engulfed in a prison of flames that reaches up to the very top itself.
“Waaah!” Diana whines. “How?! I didn’t see them use any magic!”
>“Damnit, I was right. The way those archers fled; they must have known that damn thing was rigged to explode from the start.” 