Chapter V - A Brief Respite Before The Slaughter

It hasn’t been long since the sole company of the Hellguard repelled the Diamond Dog raid and ‘saved’ the inhabitants of Sire’s Hollow.

“Once again my lord, I thank you for saving our humble village.” The Mayor thanked, taking great care in walking slightly behind Ollanius.

The long strides of the Angel made it difficult for her, she did not want to risk falling behind but she also did not want to risk bumping into him. Regardless, she took each step with grace as the Angels boot prints left its mark upon the dirt the Ponies trod on.

Not a sound left Ollanius’ mouth, instead he continued along the path he set himself on. Passing by several immensely scorched houses that once held innocent and humble families.

A shout, followed by the sound of a harsh hit and the sound of a dog yelping made the Mayor freeze. Her gaze turned to the side where she saw a pair of Angels forcing a group of bound dogs to kneel, facing the wall of a burnt house.

“On your knees!” One of the Angels shouted, this order alone made all but one kneel before the charred home. Seeing such a disobedient creature made the Mayor concerned, even for the dogs who just raided her village.

One of the Angels used the pommel of his sword to bash the dog on the side of the head before the other Angel kicked him to the floor.

“Now be a good dog and stay” Smirked the Angel, mocking the lower, primitive species.

The mayor felt a little push on her rear, she looked behind and saw Ollanius’ Knights standing, waiting for her to keep moving.

Finally noticing that she had been staring at the scene for far too long, she quickly trotted to Ollanius, hoping that he did not notice her falling behind.

Once she caught up, she continued her praising.

“It is SUCH an honour to have His Angels in our presence,” The Mayor said, expressing her gratitude while walking slightly behind Ollanius, “It has been such a long time since an Angel - much less a Legion of them - has graced us with their presence”

Again, Ollanius said nothing, instead he stopped and turned his attention towards an approaching Angel.

The Angel paid his respects and spoke in their native language, unknown to the mayor, “My lord, light wounds and no deaths”

Ollaius nodded, “Good, what about the Diamond Dogs? The ones who escaped specifically”

“An estimated three hundred and sixty-five have escaped sir, with our low numbers, it was difficult to trap and surround the majority of them”

“That’s fine, they’ll be back. What about the ones we captured?”

“The majority of them are Minor and Lesser dogs while some are Greater… Would you want us to dispose of the Greater ones?”

“Yes but make it quick and painless, no need to prolong their miserable lives”

“Of course my lord” the Angel paid his respects and left, leaving Ollanius alone with the mayor and his Knights.

“Alhaus,” Ollanius called out, prompting the summoned Angel to step in front of the (assumingly forgotten) mayor.

“Yes Ollanius?”

“Get these dogs into their own cages and make sure they don’t start any trouble, you have my permission to put them in their place.”

A grin formed on his face, “With pleasure Ollanius”

“But don’t damage them too much that they’re useless to our Emperor”

“Very well” Alhaus said with a disappointed sigh, before leaving the group.

Ollanius looked to the skies and brought a hand to his earpiece, “Tormentius, are you reading me?”

“Loud and clear my lor- Ollanius”

“Send a transmission to the Imperatoria Praesidium in Canterlot and request a containment unit for the Diamond Dogs”

“At once, Ollanius”

Once he was done, Ollanius looked down to the Mayor, who stared at the ground, drawing circles in it with her hoof.

“Walk with me” Ollanius ordered in Equestrian.

The Mayor’s head shot up and she locked eyes with Ollanius, realising what she had done, she prostrated herself and shut her eyes, trembling and shaking with fear.

“F-forgive me my lord, I-I didn’t mean to look e-eye to eye with you” the Mayor stuttered, awaiting for whatever repercussions are to come to her.

Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me

As she waited, a series of thoughts rushed through her mind faster than the Wonderbolts themselves.

Anything but the Processing Centre! I’ll take the Mines or Rock farms but not the Processing Centre!

She heard Ollanius kneel in front of her, her body started to even more tremble violently than before, and she placed her hooves on her muzzle.

She waited for a booming and harsh punishment but instead she got a calm but commanding voice, “Walk with me” Ollanius repeated, staying on his knee, waiting for the mayor to look up.

She slowly removed her shaking hooves from her muzzle and peeked up at Ollanius, “Walk. With. Me.” Ollanius ordered for the final time, before standing up to his full height and walking away with Argus following not far behind.

The mayor slowly got up on her still shaking hooves, she stood there, bewildered by the actions of Ollanius. She watched as Ollanius and his Knight walked towards the edge of the village, she calmed herself quickly and rushed to his side.

In a nearby forest, on the outskirts of Sire’s Hollow, a creature with a dark, bent horn, carapace exterior, and a pair of artic blue eyes was observing the Demons from a distance.

With a little help from his trusty binoculars that he retrieved from his saddlebag, he observed the actions of the Demons.

Some Demons were escorting groups of bound Diamond Dog prisoners inside the village. While others attempted to anchor the captured airships outside the village. It was by far the worst anchoring of Airships he has ever seen, but could he blame the demons? From what he has heard, their technology is on a whole nother level.

The demons on the ground communicated with those piloting the rouge airships through something in their ear, guiding the temporary pilots into good anchoring positions, using their native language rather than the widely used Equestrian.

Do they have a Hive-link like us? Or at least some sort of one? He thought, watching several demons bring a hand to their ears and start talking.

He slowly shook his head.

If we only knew what they were saying…

The Changeling’s thoughts were pulled elsewhere, as he heard a feminine disembodied voice in his head.

“Corporal False Flag, report in, this is Captain Forged Truth”

False Flag slowly retreated behind a tree, he closed his eyes and used his Hive link to report to his superior.

“Yes ma’am, I have Demons in Sire’s Hollow”

“Demons?!,” Forged Truth exclaimed, making False Flag wince, “How many? A Legion?”

“I don’t know, but they look ready for war… “

“Where did they come from, False Flag?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but they fell from the sky”

False Flag heard a sigh, “Very well, keep me updated… I’ll need to report this to Queen Chrysalis”

“By your command, Captain Forged Truth”

False Flag stepped out of cover and continued his observation, each demon he observed made him shudder, all he could feel was their negative emotions and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Blegh, bitter” he said, sticking out his forked tongue and letting it hang out for a bit, tasting the pure air of Equestria.

But False Flag couldn’t much more and decided to retrieve a heart shaped bottle from his saddlebag, inside was a glowing, thick pink substance, he went to remove the cork but hesitated, he looked back in his saddlebag to make a head count of his love rations.

Inside he counted five more bottles, two of which were empty while the others were filled with the same substance.

I don’t have much, but the bitter taste of the Demons is unbearable

False Flag popped open the bottle with his magic, and the scent that travelled up his nostrils made him drool. He smelt the love that was inside and he could practically taste it, but the open bottle only made him stare.

He could hear it, the tempting love that was inside wanting him to take a swig.

J-just a… bit…

He took a quick sip. The thick liquid cleansed any bitterness left by the negative emotions as it poured down his throat. But there was something else, it made him feel alive, even more alive than before. False Flag withdrew the bottle from his mouth, licking his lips for whatever love remained.

Oooooh that hit the spot…

His eyes closed halfway, his only thoughts went towards the substance, trying to savour the love that he consumed. He took another look at the bottle, only to have his mind go blank and take another swig, looking towards the sky as he downed the love addicting drink.

Once the drink was fully consumed, he pulled it away with a satisfied smile and a refreshed throat. False Flag’s love addicted mind returned to its normal state however as he realised he should’ve been keeping watch on the demons movements. He swiftly took action, placing the empty potion into his saddlebag and returning to his post.

Using his binoculars, he once again observed the demons, he felt the bitterness coming from the demons but a level he could tolerate this time.

A minute or two soon passed and not much had occurred, but fortunately for him, that soon changed as an important looking trio came out of the village, he observed them closely, hoping to get as much intel as possible.

Two Demons, one pony… the one with the golden visor must be in charge… What are they talking about?

False Flag watched each of them individually. But once he got to the one with the golden visor, he immediately noticed something that was wrong.

I can’t feel his emotions… the others in the group I can feel but not the golden one…

He lowered his binoculars and pulled out a notepad, scribbling his observations down in his native language.

I should make a report to Captain Forged Truth

He glanced up at the figures in the far distance and pulled out his binoculars again.

Maybe just one last look-see…

“My lord,” The mayor said meekly, looking at Ollanius’ boots as she idly kicked the dirt with her hoof, “I-I know it is not my place to ask but… is it possible for you and your legion to save some of our villagers that were foalnapped by the Diamond Dogs?”

Ollanius stood there, staring deeply into a nearby forest as he listened to the mayor’s question. He kept glancing at some other Templars, all who were patrolling the perimeter of the village or were guiding the anchoring of the primitive airships.

“Ponies were kidnapped by the Diamond Dogs?” Argus questioned, taking interest in the mayor’s question, at least more so than his superior.

Shocked and surprised that Ollanius’ Knight spoke, she turned her body towards him but kept her eyes glued to his boots, “Y-yes, my lord, there were quite a number that were taken in the initial hours of the raid,”

“How were they taken?”

“By airship, my lord, I think… five of them left the scene before you arrived and saved us”

Argus clenched his fists and grit his teeth, but the mayor only saw him clench his fist. The Knight faced Ollanius, who was still entranced with the nearby forest with his arms crossed.

Slightly annoyed, he placed a hand on Ollanius’ shoulder and shook him a little to bring him back to Terra, “Ollanius,” he said, catching the attention of his superior, “The primitive dogs have kidnapped several villagers and have taken them somewhere - most likely their staging camp. I humbly request permission to launch a search and rescue mission.”

Now taking an interest, Ollanius fully faced Argus while the mayor slowly took a few steps back, doing her best not to attract attention to herself.

Ollanius brought a hand to his ear piece and spoke into it, “Lera, Alhaus, report to the Town Hall ASAP'' Ollanius commanded, receiving a number of ‘aye’ on the other end.

“Head to the Town Hall, we’ll discuss this there”

Argus smiled under his mask and paid his respects, “At once, Ollanius” He said enthusiastically before jogging towards the Town Hall.

Once he was gone, Ollanius turned to the mayor who was simply staring at the ground, waiting for to be addressed, “Head to the Town Hall” Ollanius said, prompting the mayor to look at his boots but no further than that, “You need to take care of your own villagers”

The mayor nodded slowly before backing away and heading off to the Town Hall, leaving Ollanius alone.

He watched as his subordinates patrolled the perimeter of the village, their guards were up and their heads were constantly on a swivel.

After a while, Ollanius decided to head towards the Town Hall but as soon as he turned and took a few steps forward, he stopped on the spot. He clenched his fists and slowly turned, his hidden eyes gazing upon the nearby forest, he stared at different parts, as if he were keeping a lookout for something.

Nothing… nothing but of howling echoed throughout the village before being swiftly silenced.

After nothing occurred, he turned to make his way to the Town Hall, slowly shaking his head as he walked.

False Flag hid behind a tree, his back sticking to the bark like his life depended on it. His breathing was at an irregular pace, his heart was threatening to burst out of his chest and if he had pupils, it would be contracted to the size of pinballs.

By the ‘Dark Throne’ that demon looked straight at me!

False Flag looked at the surrounding area, doing his best to listen for any signs of disturbances in the woods, but his thundering heartbeat and irregular breathing was making it difficult.

“False Flag, report, this is Forged Truth”

False Flag gasped at the sudden link, he looked around briefly before closing his eyes and linking his mind.

“F-false Flag reporting”

“Finally! There you are, I sent a report to Queen Chrysalis and she wants us to- Hey, what’s wrong? Your heart rate is spiking”

“The leader of this legion of demons looked straight at me while I was observing them.”

“What?! How is that possible? There’s a distance of one-hundred and fifty metres between you and the village”

“I-I know, but I think he saw me… requesting permission to fall back and regroup”

A sigh was heard from the otherside, “Request granted, Queen Chrysalis wanted us to fall back anyway. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.”

“Yes, Captain.”

False Flag severed his connection before opening his eyes. His heart rate was slowing down and his breathing was returning to its normal state. He placed a hoof on his chest and leaned further back on the tree.

If I ever look into the eyes of a demon again, I might as well write my will…

After a moment or two of gathering his thoughts, he slowly got up and retrieved his saddlebag before carefully retreating deeper into the dense forest.

The Town Hall was surrounded by Ponies and Templars alike. Most of the Ponies were gathered in front of it, remaining close to their respective herds while the Templars patrolled the city with their sections or escorted Diamond Dog prisoners to the nearest cage.

Most of the Ponies were injured, some more than others. Burns, deep scars and broken limbs were just the tip of the iceberg. Physical wounds can heal but… emotional ones on the other hand… were far worse as they struck individuals on the inside.

Some, or perhaps most of the villagers of the Sire’s Hollow had this. Various emotions were placed upon them, some were distraught, while others had the look of hopelessness… while some were merely lying on the ground with the look of… lost? Tears creeping out of their eyes, rolling down their furry cheeks before finally watering the dirtied ground.

But most would agree that all of them were absolutely traumatised by the raid, their homes lost, personal items and possession were taken, and friends and family were foalnapped or killed if they resisted.

Argus and Alhaus stood together, waiting for their superior, but Argus picked a spot where he could watch the ponies. He watched, as a single medical pony tended to the wounded, the mare tended to the young foals before tending to the weak and pathetic stallions, leaving the mares for last, but any major wounds naturally came first.

It was a slow and draining process, moving from patient to patient. Tending to their needs and hoping that they won’t go into Hypovolemic shock while their hearts pumped harder to compensate for blood loss.

The ones with broken limbs were kept as still as possible while the medical pony used a constructed makeshift splints using two pieces of wood to sandwich the leg or wing before using something like a vine to wrap it.

The ones who suffered burns on their skin were given whatever burn creams and ointments the ponies had before having it dressed in bandages.

The mayor was a strong leader in this time of crisis, Argus watched as she hastily formed unorganised scavenging teams to gather whatever materials the medical pony needed. Naturally; these teams consisted of mostly unharmed mares or lightly wounded ones, some unharmed stallions volunteered to help but were ordered to let the mares do all the heavy lifting, to which they agreed.

They didn’t do much but it was helpful nevertheless.

“What are you looking at Argus?” Alhaus asked, tracing his gaze towards the suffering ponies. Once Alhaus got a good look he turned to face Argus, crossing his arms, “Don’t tell me you pity for these primitives”

This made them lock onto each others eyes, Argus opened his mouth to say something but instead just looked away.

“So you do pity them… Why?”

“Why don’t you?” Argus retorted, “They’re innocent”

“There’s no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt”

“Oh, of course, forgive me,” Argus jabbed with a mockingly bow, ”I thought I was talking to Alhaus, not a member of the Obscurum Templarius”

Growling slightly, Argus gestured towards the ponies, “Well… if you pity them so much, why don’t you give them a helping hand, hmm?”

“Stop asking questions you already know the answer to”

“Then stop pitying these weaklings and keep all focus on the welfare of your brothers and sisters” Argus finished, putting a finger on his chest and prodding him with it.

Argus narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, while Alhaus smiled mischievously under that under his mask.

“Is there a problem here?”

Immediately both sides ceased and turned towards the voice that they knew.

Argus and Alhaus stood at attention, “No, there’s no problem, Ollanius” Argus said.

“Yeah, totally… no problem whatsoever” Argus muttered under his breath.

Ollanius looked at the two, giving them a questioning look under that mask, “I know your both lying to me, but I’ll deal with both of you later, for there are far more pressing matters at hand” He looked around, as if he were searching for someone, “Where’s Lera?”

As if summoned by the Gods themselves, a blade hit the ground and in a flash, Lera materialised in the place of the blade.

She stood up and walked to the group, “I’m here, what’s the problem Ollanius?” Lera asked, dematerialising her blade.

“DD counter-attack,” Ollanius stated, placing the topic on the table, “We need to prepare and last until the Imperatoria Praesidium arrive”

“So what’s the problem?” She questioned, turning the attention towards her again.

Ollanius sighed, “Diamond Dogs have also kidnapped a number of villagers in the initial hours of the raid, Argus-”

“Alright, I’m going to stop you right there” Alhaus interjected, receiving a glare from Ollanius and Argus, “I can only assume that Argus volunteered to rescue them but why? There’s no point, Sire’s Hollow has no resources and holds no interest in the eyes of our Emperor, if it were, then there would be an Imperatoria Praesidium here.”

“I’m with Alhaus on this” Lera agreed, “It would be a wasted effort. I mean, why waste precious manpower and resources on a rescue mission, when it could be used to defend against the Diamond Dog counter-attack but if we did have the numbers, then go for it, but since somebody didn’t get us the numbers we need, we're better off defending this place. Besides, it’s not like we know where they are”

“If I may interject, my lords and… lady,” Tormentius announced over their comms, “I took the liberty of tracking the retreating DD’s to their staging area and I have the location.”

“And where’s that?” Ollanius asked.

“I’ll send the data over to you”

After a moment of silence, several chimes sounded out from the group's pockets. They each pulled out a rugged, military issued phone with the screen already showing a map.

“The retreating dogs converged on an open part of the nearby forest here,” He said, highlighting a spot in the nearby forest that had a large clearing and several makeshift tents raised all over the place. “But there’s two problems.”

“The first one is the numbers, over three hundred retreated to regroup with the main force, consolidating their numbers, making the estimated counter-attack to over seven hundred”

Everyone shifted uncomfortably, “Without walls or the numbers, they could overrun you and take the villagers”

“The next problem is the several holes that go underground,” He then highlighted several spots that littered the camp, “Dogs are taking the ponies underground, probably taking them to their main stronghold and-”

“They could go anywhere, and we don’t have a resonator to map out those tunnels,” Ollanius pointed out whilst simultaneously cutting off Calidus, “Those tunnels could go on forever and what’s to stop them from collapsing them”

“Exactly” Tormentius agreed.

Silence hit the group as they awaited for another to speak or for Ollanius to make his decision.

“We could use tear gas to flush them out?” Lera suggested, she spoke up quickly, seeing that Argus was about to interject, “Now I know this is risky but this could stop them from collapsing the tunnel.”

“Hmm, they do have stronger senses than we do… it’ll cause them far more pain than us” Ollanius pointed out, “We do have gas masks, but how much tear gas do we have?”

“A full shipments worth” Lera recalled, “We won’t even have to block the holes since the gas is heavier than air”

“But that’s the problem” Argus declared, “The Ponies will be fully exposed to the gas, and let’s not start with the children”

“Our barriers could protect them” Ollanius pointed out.

“Until you get drained” Argus maintained, “It’s too risky”

“We save some or we save none” Lera countered, “Regardless, we can’t rescue all of them, we don’t have the numbers to search those tunnels, and even if we held the counter-attack, the Dogs would've sealed off the tunnels by then”

Everything that was discussed sent Ollanius deep into thought, he pondered about their next move. Ollanius made some quick glances at his Knights, trying to think of any possibilities to achieve their objectives.

A counter-attack would work in my favour, I could exploit the dense terrain of the forest for close quarters combat or even use ranged weaponry while on the branches of the trees - albeit at a less effective level - but without the manpower, what was to stop them from sending another raid back to the village.

My forces couldn’t distract all of them.

Though I could use tear gas, that’ll hinder their ability to fight. Unfortunately we would have the same problem as the tunnels. The Ponies. They’re in the way, no doubt the dogs could use them as shields to hinder our progress. It wouldn’t be a problem if we had our ‘Clerici’ sisters with us but we don’t.

In the open field, their numbers would overwhelm my Templars, despite several factors that made us powerful, but these could only take one so far in battle, tactics and strategy make up the rest.

The Imperium Aeterna is an option but it’s not one that is used lightly. I need that to enforce the surrender of King Alder II and requisitioning a rearmament from our Fortress-Monastery ‘Omnis Arcanum’ is not something I look forward too.

I could send Argus to raid the DD staging area with a section or two, freeing those not underground, and if ordered, he could use tear gas in the tunnels, flushing them out but leaving Ponies fully exposed to the gas which could lead to permanent injury or death.

Or I could refuse and let the Ponies get enslaved by another set of hands - or paws in this case. I could hold the counter-attack more effectively and could send a rescue team after but by then, the Ponies would be long gone and the tunnels would be collapsed.

I couldn’t save all of them… at least not yet…

“Do we have the location of the Diamond Dog stronghold?” Ollanius questioned.

Lera slowly shook her head, “No, we don’t. It’s rumoured to be hidden underground, probably in some massive cavern”

“What about concussion grenades? Do we have those?” He asked Lera.

“We have those, just not in abundance as the tear gas”

“Good, good” Ollanius mumbled, looking down again, reflecting on what to do.

Mere seconds felt like centuries as they awaited Ollanius’ decision. When he finally looked up, they readied themselves to mobilise.

“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do,” Ollanius stated confidently, “Instead of waiting for the DD counter-attack, we’ll take the fight to them”

Ollanius held up his hand for silence, seeing that Lera and Argus were going to protest while Alhaus kept their silence.

“The Ponies will make this difficult but not impossible. I have a plan to wipe out these raiders and we don’t have to take them alive this time, which makes this far easier. Have I got everyone's attention?”

Receiving a nod from everyone prompted Ollanius to continue, “Good, cause I’ll only explain this once.”

Ollanius held out his phone in the middle of the group, “Alright, here’s the plan…”

“Everyone got it?” Ollanius questioned. Looking around and seeing no objections, he smiled and sent them off to brief their warriors.

Argus and Alhaus, went in their separate directions and used their comms to gather their warriors, while Lera stayed behind. She crossed her arms and gave him a questioning look.

“What made you come up with this brilliant plan?” She asked.

“The ‘Tactica Imperium’ of course. Where else?”

“Ah yes,” She said before clearing her throat, “Always endeavour to fight the enemy on your terms. If you are powerful at close quarters then engage in dense terrain where your advantage will prove greatest. If you are superior at long range then fight the battle at a distance. If you have greater numbers then attack along an extended front. Use reserves to break through when the enemy's overstretched lines collapse. If outnumbered then concentrate your forces so that the enemy can fight only your best troops. No-one ever won a battle who failed to take advantage of his enemy's weakness.”

“The Tactica Imperium is not widely used against primitives but it is vastly effective against such an outdated species” Ollanius added.

“That it is” Lera concluded, before departing towards the Town Hall, using her own comms to make contact with her High Templars still aboard the Imperium Aeterna.

The Head-Knight sighed heavily, pinching his nose in the process. He looked around and observed the Ponies and Templars doing their duties. Ollanius saw the amount of wounded Ponies, he watched as the lone medical pony tended to the wounded, constantly checking on her patients. But something else drew his attention, it was the sight of the mayor hoofing out boxes with a cutie mark of a sun that he recognised.

After watching them for an unspecified amount of time, he looked down at the palm of his hands before clenching them tightly. Soon he looked to the skies and took a deep breath.

Was field command always this hard for you?

It didn’t take long for the Ollanius’ Templars to gather in front of the Town Hall, a few minutes at the best. They all stood in formation, awaiting their to march upon the enemy and rain fury on them.

Alhaus was merely inspecting his weapons, looking for any signs of defection before their march. While Lera stood in front of Town Hall with her High Templars. They were equipped with the standard female uniform as Lera just without the cape.

The High Templars were assisting with the Ponies, helping the wounded get inside the Town Hall while Argus helped with the transporting of supplies from here to the interior of the Town Hall, receiving a fearful ‘Thank you, my lord’ in return.

The Ponies were moving slowly but surely, some of them may have been wounded but all of them were exhausted from running all over the place, their muscles couldn’t handle much more and soon some legs of the Ponies gave up and they collapsed.

Some mares helped their fellow villagers back onto their hooves, but most were concerned about their own loved ones.

Ollanius was talking with the mayor, giving her instructions while she listened and nodded understanbly to Ollanius’ commands.

“You are to stay in the Town Hall until our return, mayor. Lera and her High Templars will shield you from harm while we’re away dealing with the DD’s”

“Yes, my lord” The mayor said weakly, bowing at the feet of an Angel.

“Good, now help get your villagers inside.”

The mayor obeyed, and trotted over to the long line of Ponies that were scurrying to the safety of the Town Hall.

Ollanius looked to the skies, “Calidus? Are you ready to rain hell from the skies?”

“Yes, my warriors and the reserves are ready. We’re just waiting for your command”

“Good” Ollanius turned his eyes to the Town Hall once more, the mayor was the last one to walk in before shutting the doors. Ollanius gave Lera a knowing signal and in turn, she ordered her High Templars to line up in front of the doors.

Once they were in position, they summoned their blades and impaled it into the floorboards, kneeling in the process. Their hands began to glow while their bodies slowly emitted an holy white aura of energy and before Ollanius even knew it, a magical crystalline barrier formed around the Town Hall itself, forever shielding those inside.

Once that was up, Ollanius turned to his warriors and gave them the order they all awaited, “Templars, about face!”

They faced the forest in unison, Ollanius, Alhaus and Argus moved beside them.

“Forward, march!” He bellowed, and thus they marched to battle.

As they marched in unison to destroy the enemy, Alhaus sung a line that was known all across Angelgard and not known to the Ponies.

"Bella clamant, hinc et inde, pugna gravis oritur"

(War clamors, on either side grave war rises)

Once that line was sung, every Templar sang the next line together as if they were linked as one.

"Caedes nulla peior fuit, Campo nec in Martio."

(Never was there worse slaughter, not even in the Fields of Mars)

These warriors marched towards battle, ready to slay all who stood in their path. Singing a song about a terrible slaughter that has been forever lost to the sands of time.

They kept repeating the song until they reached the edges of the forest. Ollanius gave the signals to his Knights, to which they obeyed, taking their own sections and splitting up.

Argus took the left side, while Alhaus took the right, leaving the centre to Ollanius. Once they were in position, Ollanius gave the go ahead.

“Caldius, deploy the reserves,” Ollanius ordered over his comms.

“At once, Ollanius”

Once the order was given, the Templars summoned a ranged weapon. A dark metallic, ornate crossbow with a scope and a semi-auto firing mechanism. Though there was only a single dark steel bolt loaded, that didn’t matter for Templars.

The Templars then entered the forest, jogging to their assigned positions given in the briefing.

Alhaus was one of the last to enter, he looked back one last time, taking a view of the partially burnt down village before looking into the dense forest.

It’s gonna be a bloody day… for them at least…

He then jogged into the forest, catching up with his section, quickly vanishing from sight.

Author's Note

I feel the intense stares from my viewers, I feel like they want to strangle me like how an older sibling wants to strangle their younger siblings because they did something stupid.

...

Come on, we all had that thought. The younger brother does some stupid fortnite dance and you just get the urge to strangle the cun... *clears throat* eh nevermind... anyway...

I know, I know. I didn't tell you the plan, but what fun will that be? Besides, you'll see it in action in the next chapter, but for now I just want to get the first Chapter for the sequel of 'Voices of the Father' up before I go.