World Conquest Online

Dom watched as Sun Ce stabbed his sword in to another enemy who charged at him, the group in the centre seeming to still be in arguments on whether to deal with Dom’s forces, find a way to escape or help at one of the walls. Dom wouldn’t argue with them though, as it meant his men were charging in a strong formation at small groups of unorganised men at the moment.

"Lord, this weapon is familiar." The Batavi Guard who picked up the large two handed blade said, having had more access to buildings in Riverside than other’s due to his role as one of the senior Guards.

"Keep hold of it, we will need to take that home for analysis." Dom replied, as Actumerus punched an enemy in the face that had sneaked past Sun Ce’s line and arrived near them. Dom continued to look for who the Player could be, but men were being cut down all around him by his own forces. The two Heirs were performing as if in competition, their own more following their leads as they stabbed with their borrowed swords in to the exposed bodies of their enemies.

"Stay in formation!" Dom shouted towards them as Pericles began moving sideways and slowly out of formation. The young Athenian heard the order and noticed his position, his group being the youngest and least experienced amongst them. Archidamus was also young, but the Spartans with him were all older Warriors who would have either been in the first or second line of a Spartan Phalanx.

"It is rather heavy." Dom’s guard commented, as he tried to use it. His own weapon back in it’s sheath. Dom’s attention going back to the two handed Blade as Sun Ce started shouting loudly to intimidate those coming towards him, his own guards and the Legionaries with him causing a never ending wall of death to the enemies they faced.

"If you can’t use it, then let me!" Actumerus stated as he punched another enemy, before following up by stabbing them with his sword through the stomach, his blade piercing through and coming out of the other side.

"No, Lord Lazarus has asked me to keep hold of it." The Batavi Guard complained in response as Dom shook his head at the two wanting the weapon.

They had made it a good distance from the gate they entered through now, at least a third of the way through the camp that had flames spreading from the different wooden huts and buildings that filled it. The centre where the enemy were currently based was almost within reach as Dom counted the numbers of the enemies in front of him.

"There are at least five hundred men here, we are outnumbered, keep formation and cause as much damage before holding the line." Sun Ce ordered, having also done a similar thing from in front of Dom. The enemy forces was bigger but had a mixture of unit types, where as Dom had brought a large number of the same units types. Dom’s forces were more aligned than the enemy forces as well.

"I was expecting more Players here." GiantWrangler commented from behind Dom who agreed.

"They must be supporting the two gates, thankfully our own forces are mixed in." Dom replied, as some of the other Players had sent their crews to support Xanthippus and Leotychides. "Let’s keep their attention so our allies can get the gates open and flood in."

GiantWrangler nodded with a grin, his own large sword had been resting on his shoulder as he slashed at an enemy that came at them from the flank. The enemies head was soon separated from his shoulders as it fell to the floor. The Legionaries kept a tight wall at the front now, with the Praetorians protecting most of the flanks, however some gaps had been left intentionally so that the formation could keep moving at pace.

"I think he was a Player!" GiantWrangler lamented as he looked at the mixed clothing that the dead enemy wore. Dom looked and felt the same way, he wasn’t equipped like a specific unit type like the rest and was either a Lord, Guild Leader or someone that was part of their groups.

They soon moved forwards enough that they were in a more open space within the now Centre of the Fort. Buildings were on fire around them, with the smoke starting to raise in the sky and travel on the wind to the east of them. No more enemies approached them and there seemed to be a break in the fighting in their immediate vicinity.

"Kill them all!" A voice shouted from in front of them, beyond Sun Ce and in the enemy Player forces themselves. Dom looked and saw a tall man, with muscular arms and a thin black moustache amongst the enemy Player forces. He was stood on a small step and the rest of the Player forces seemed to crowd round him in a circle. The circle then began to change in to more of a rectangular shape as the forces began to work together now that a small number of them had fallen to Dom’s approaching forces.

"Square!" Sun Ce shouted, changing his own formation to prepare for it. He stepped back himself as the Legionaries created a line at the front, followed by a second line that Sun Ce was part of. A third line was then formed with the Praetorians, with Dom, Pericles, Archidamus and GiantWrangler amongst them.

This continued until they were around thirty wide and six deep. The enemies may have outnumbered them, but Dom was confident in the formation that was mainly his men or reinforced by Spartans, Athenians and Players who were excited to be involved. The new forced may not have been trained as Legionaries, but the formation was a simple one to follow and they didn’t need to be agile and turn as they had the burning buildings to protect their flanks.

"He’s the Commander then." Dom commented as an Arrow flew at him from behind from one of Dom’s Archers. He seemed to notice it coming and deflected it with his large blade, before stepping down in the his own lines. Dom felt it was a missed opportunity, whilst Pericles and Archidamus near him both stood with their mouths agape.

"Did he just deflect an arrow with a sword?" Pericles stated seriously, whilst Archidamus seemed to mumble something similar.

"My money would be that he is GeneralSlaughter." GiantWrangler commented with a tinge of malice in his voice. The reason GiantWrangler had joined the battle to defeat GeneralSlaughter and the threats he had posted on GoldenSun’s blog.

"Then let’s go see what goodies we can get from his corpse." Dom replied, adrenaline pumping as they stepped forwards in the battle. He knew his men would be safe regardless of how this battle went, his only priority other than winning, was keeping Pericles and Archidamus alive for better rewards.

"Brace!" Sun Ce shouted as the enemy charged at them, whilst they now came at them in force, the space was too tight for any major tactics.

"Prepare Pilum!" A voice shouted from behind, most of the Legionaries had used theirs already, but a fresh bunch was past down towards them from behind. Centurion Octavian was there co-ordinating as the dangerous throwing weapons were passed down. The enemy forces were still coming towards them, no more than fifty steps as Dom’s forces arms were pulled back and they waited for the order.

Forty steps now, the only sounds being that of their own breath waiting for the order on their side, against the sounds of the enemies yells as they approached, the floor vibrated from the large number of them running. Dom could feel the dry and dusty ground beneath him against his feet as it shook. His pulse pulsating in his ear as they approached.

Thirty steps now, well within range. Dom could see the front lines from amongst the gaps in front of him. There was some organisation to them, with a mixture of shield wielding Warriors at the front, with speared wielders behind them. Dom could imagine that if he didn’t have the Legionaries it would be like fighting against a Hoplite formation slightly.

"Loose!" Sun Ce shouted loudly, the order followed with deathly precision. It was hard to miss from this distance, so even those that weren’t Legionaries but were in the formation couldn’t miss if they tried. Their Pilum would either hit the enemies in front of them or the flaming buildings around them if they had bad aim. Regardless though, these were Warriors be it Legionaries, Hoplite or from the Player forces.

The impact was devastating, nearly one hundred and eighty Pilum at short range crashed in to the enemy lines. Hundreds were impaled as the enemy charge drew to an abrupt halt as most of the front line had been decimated, their shields pinned to their bodies as the spearmen behind didn’t come off much better. Some of the Pilum had aimed higher, crashing in to the unexpecting lines behind.

"Forward!" Sun Ce ordered, the Legionaries in front of him taking a slow step forwards. The formation moved slower than usual so that all those that weren’t trained in the Legionary style could follow suit.

The enemy were still gathering themselves, as the tall Commander pushed himself through the lines of dead and began shouting orders for them to start pulling themselves together again to fight back. Sun Ce didn’t give them chance to form though, as some Warriors began creating a line, the others wary and not sure what do to next. The Pilum was great for this shock tactic, breaking the morale before the two lines met.

"Now!" Sun Ce shouted as the lines met, the Legionaries pushing forwards with their shields and stabbing forwards with their short swords. The Legionaries training took over, the three lines at the front of Dom’s experienced men as Pericles and Archidamus watched on in both shock and horror as they got to work.

The enemy Commander himself began to step back, realising that it was best not to fight against the Legionaries, the morale of his own men was now falling. They continued to step forwards, with those in the second line stabbing downwards to make sure any dead below them that they stepped on were fully dispatched. There was no space for prisoners as they continued their way forwards.

"I am pretty useless here." GiantWrangler commented, his own weapon to large and cumbersome to be swung in a formation like this. "Remind me to not fight you, how many of these Legionaries do you have?"

"Once fully trained, probably over two thousand." Dom replied honestly, giving away a bit of a secret but also feeling that GiantWrangler would be an ally in the future and not an enemy. If they knew he was powerful, then it was better to keep them onside. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"No wonder you are the top Lord Player. What worries me is that you came third in the rankings!" GiantWrangler laughed, as the two Heirs continued to watch on in awe as the Legionaries thought. Their own Spartans and Hoplite’s also in the formation watching on with a cold sweat as they continued. Sun Ce rotated the lines so a Legionary who had taken a small injury could be swapped to the back, an experienced Legionary stepping forwards from the second line to take his place.

"How flexible is this formation?" Pericles shouted from nearby, catching Dom’s attention as he stood in the Centuries formation.

"If we need to rotate or thin our lines, it’s very simple." Dom replied as he noticed Centurion Octavian pushing through from the back.

"Can you teach us?" Archidamus asked from the other side, listening to the conversation and similarly thinking how he could use his own Spartan’s to do something similar. The tactic was similar to that of his own Hoplite, but it was different and he could see the opportunities.

"Lord, news from the Athenian side!" Centurion Octavian shouted, stopping the conversation as the enemies in front of him began to attempt to flee.