>>5508529
>Help secure the hilltop and join the artillery observers at the summit.

>>5508529
>>You have several vehicles lying around - scavenge their guns and ammunition.

>>5508529
>You have several vehicles lying around - scavenge their guns and ammunition.

>>5508529
>>You have several vehicles lying around - scavenge their guns and ammunition.

YOINK

>>5508529
>You have several vehicles lying around - scavenge their guns and ammunition.

>>5508529
>3d10, best of three

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

>>5509300

Rolled 1, 2, 8 = 11 (3d10)

>>5509300

Rolled 2, 1, 9 = 12 (3d10)

>>5509300

>>5509300
You consider that you have some resources immediately to hand that you could work with - three armored vehicles that each carry several mounted guns, along with ammunition for each, are right there for the picking.

“Helen, Solaris,” you decide, “let’s grab some soldiers and go take the guns off those vehicles if we can. Haul out the ammunition too.”

“Sounds like a good plan,” Helen quickly agrees.

…

Unfortunately three of the six available light guns were on the wrong side of each respective vehicle, meaning that they were crushed and dragged for some hundred yards and so consequently parts of them are embedded in the mud here and there along the deep clefts in the mud you left behind after your little maneuver. Thankfully the ammunition is still there, which you have your Hazari infantry haul out along with the light guns. The heavy guns however are a little harder to get at, and require you and your comrades to cut away the welded mountings. One has been damaged much like the smaller guns.

But for those two guns you can also recover some ammunition for them, which should go a long way so long as your soldiers are judicious about when and why they use them. That’s the order you give - deploying the two heavy guns to the upper slopes of the hill facing towards your enemy’s main line, with the three lighter guns lower on the hill, and the mortars on the reverse slope. Infantry settle deep into cover all over the hillside, ready to fire on any counterattack.

>Give the order to shell the next stretch of enemy positions in preparation for an infantry advance.
>Hold your fire in anticipation of a counterattack - bog the enemy down and have your infantry flank them.
>Forget the infantry advance now, just concentrate on the shelling. Take a measure of your enemy’s response.
>Other?

>>5510479
>>Give the order to shell the next stretch of enemy positions in preparation for an infantry advance.

>>5510479
>>Give the order to shell the next stretch of enemy positions in preparation for an infantry advance.

>>5510479
>>Give the order to shell the next stretch of enemy positions in preparation for an infantry advance.

>>5510479
>3d10 best of three

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

>>5511332

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

>>5511332

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

>>5511332

>>5511332
“Justina, Valentina,” you single out two of your comrades. “I want you to shoulder the heavy guns again. Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Valentina shrugs. “What did you have in mind?”

“Position the guns and let the human crews fire them,” you decide. “Keep mobile, prevent them from firing back at you.”

“Can do,” Justina assures you.

The two then quickly scramble down to positions a little lower on the hillside, carrying the dismounted guns over their shoulders, followed by two Hazari soldiers each. These soldiers carry two crates each, carrying two pre-loaded rounds in each crate. They find ideal spots to fire from just in the nick of time, as you sight a group of three enemy armored gun carriages churning their way across the mud towards you.

The two guns, braced among the rocks, are carefully positioned and aimed before firing. The first two shots miss, however on the second shot the crew being aided by Justina scores a hit, and on the third shot Valentina’s crew manages the same before moving.

Infantry swarm out around the disabled armor and move towards the hillside, only to find that as they draw closer the mortars start falling all around them, and bullets from dozens of rifles and three automatic guns cut through their exposed formations. Several try to make a break for the now-abandoned trenches, only to find that from this position they provide very little cover.

The third and final armored gun carriage manages to fire a few rounds back, and your Hazari forces take casualties. Justina comes away with several deep cuts marring her face from a shell that struck near her crew, while one of her gun crew is killed. But she manages to set up, and between her surviving compatriot and Valentina’s crew the third carriage is soon silenced.

That leaves the problem of the men advancing slowly through the trench.

“I assume you see them,” Solaris muses, watching the same thing you are.

>They won’t make it much further. I’m prepared to allow them to retreat.
>Order your soldiers to concentrate their fire there. No mercy for fools today.
>Ask Solaris if she wants to do something about it herself. She DID point it out.
>Other?

>>5511502
>>Order your soldiers to concentrate their fire there. No mercy for fools today.

>>5511502
>>Order your soldiers to concentrate their fire there. No mercy for fools today.

>>5511502
>>Order your soldiers to concentrate their fire there. No mercy for fools today.

>>5511502
“Keep firing on that area,” you order. “Stop the advance along that abandoned line, then we’ll see how things develop.”

“Yes, ma’am,” a nearby officer replies before conveying your order. Soon you see that more little fountains of dirt and mud are popping up all around the advancing enemy unit, and soldiers are falling faster. Some have been hit, others are simply trying to sink into the mud as much as they can for cover in the hopes that all this will pass them by.

It doesn’t.

>3d10, best of three

Rolled 8, 6, 7 = 21 (3d10)

>>5512429

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

>>5512429

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

>>5512429

>>5512429
You join the spotting crew at the top of the hill, and direct their attention to a single spot along the trench line. “Put a few rounds right there if you can, open it up a little wider.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the officer in charge replies, before directing his subordinate to signal with flags to order the Hazari mortars. Three rounds from each land in a staggered sequence, irregular and unpredictable, but mostly on target. The effect is only noticeable once the dust has cleared, and incoming soldiers try to cross the area where soil has been turned up and cover has been erased.

At first they try to charge through the open, hoping that speed will be their ally. Predictably that just means that the next group are forced to crawl over the bodies of the first, though their lower profile doesn’t make up for the total lack of cover or concealment. It takes a little longer, and they don’t fall quite so dramatically, but they all die nonetheless.

Many more retreat, until they feel like they’re out of range of your guns, and begin the work of digging new lines of trenches. In the mean time, a group of soldiers huddled in a stretch of relatively sound trench have managed to find enough white cloth to run up an obvious flag of surrender, and the soldier waving it from the shallow depression continues to do so in spite of the bullets still coming his way.

>Order your soldiers to cease firing on those soldiers. The policy should remain recognizing a surrender.
>You’ll need to launch another attack in order to keep the enemy from firing on the surrendering troops.
>Order fresh units into those positions with no specific orders to take any prisoners.
>Other?

>>5514586
>>Order your soldiers to cease firing on those soldiers. The policy should remain recognizing a surrender.

>>5514586
>>Order your soldiers to cease firing on those soldiers. The policy should remain recognizing a surrender.

>>5514586
>Order your soldiers to cease firing on those soldiers. The policy should remain recognizing a surrender.

>>5514586
>Order your soldiers to cease firing on those soldiers. The policy should remain recognizing a surrender.

>>5514586
You give the order to your subordinates to cease fire, and so within a few moments the little puffs of dirt kicked up by bullets landing all around the soldiers stuck in the trench disappear. For a few moments all is quiet. Then you see the upper body of a man emerge from cover, holding a piece of white fabric tied around the business end of a rifle. After a moment he unfastens the fabric and discards the rifle, waving the fabric now on its own.

A few more moments pass before the next couple of soldiers come out from their low, muddy shelter. Some of them are wounded, carried along by their comrades. No weapons are visible among them, and ammunition worn at their belts is visibly dropped into the mud around their shelter.

Along the enemy’s new line soldiers who have withdrawn mostly continue to dig, but a man wearing an officer’s uniform begins drawing the attention of other men around him. You can’t hear his voice and his back is turned to you, but you can tell by the expressions the men nearest him are making what he’s thinking.

“Is he doing what I think he’s doing?” Solaris asks aloud, having taken up a position near you so she could see for herself what has caused this lull in the shooting.

You nod. “I suspect so.”

The surrendering men continue to work their way closer to the Hazari position on this hill. By your estimate they’re not yet out of firing range for the occupiers in their new line, and given how slowly they have to move to carry their wounded they won’t be for several minutes.

>You do have some faith that the soldiers on the other side wouldn’t fire on their own wounded.
>You have no faith in the enemy’s decency, but you also don’t have anyone to spare on a rescue.
>Make it a point to go out and meet them halfway. You could help them escape if things escalate.
>Other?

>>5516165
>>Make it a point to go out and meet them halfway. You could help them escape if things escalate.

>>5516165
>Make it a point to go out and meet them halfway. You could help them escape if things escalate.

>>5516165
>>Make it a point to go out and meet them halfway. You could help them escape if things escalate.

>>5516165
>You do have some faith that the soldiers on the other side wouldn’t fire on their own wounded.

>>5516165
>Make it a point to go out and meet them halfway. You could help them escape if things escalate.

>>5516165
>>Make it a point to go out and meet them halfway. You could help them escape if things escalate.

>>5516165
>3d10 to see if (and how) things escalate.
Taking the third roll to determine enemy action, taking the best of three to determine success.

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

>>5517973

Rolled 1, 4, 4 = 9 (3d10)

>>5517973

Rolled 6, 4, 4 = 14 (3d10)

>>5517973

>>5517973
At first, it seems almost like you’re going to get away with your hasty plan - you, Valentina, and Serana all descend the slope. Valentina bounds from rock to rock while Serana slides calmly down a short stretch of looser scree, where you personally opt to walk like a normal person. Which you can do, because you were the first one to make the move to get down there.

Once out in the open you note that nobody is shooting anymore, on either side of the battle. Your hand rests on your sword’s hilt, which remains on your back, and you make it a point to walk past the first retreating soldier.

“Head for the hill,” you insist curtly. “If things get nasty we’ll give you what cover we can.”

“With swords?” the soldier demands, his tone incredulous.

“We’ve trained for it,” Valentina answers. “That’s not a guarantee mind you, it’s still possible you’ll get shot in the back if you linger too long, so I suggest you not do that.”

“We have wounded,” he replies.

“If you want to avoid having dead, stop talking and walk faster,” you counter, drawing your sword and holding it ready in front of you in the image of a fencer’s salute. “Go now. We will do what we can.”

For a while you stare down the enemy line as they seemingly prepare to fire on you as well as the withdrawing surrendered soldiers.

[This looks bad,] Serana admits, sparing a glance. [They’re going to shoot.]

“With two automatic weapons,” you agree. “I’ll take the left position. Valentina, right. Serana, keep to the center.”

[Understood,] Serana replies.

“Got you,” Valentina confirms as well, taking up her position and raising her sword.

By your reckoning, you’ve very nearly backed your way out of range by the time the guns light up in the distance.
>1/2

>>5520412
The bullets come in a hail of metal.

Between three warriors you’re hard-pressed to keep the fire off the retreating surrendered men, a few of whom aren’t exactly in an ideal position. A few take wounds, and three die on the spot. Valentina takes bullets through her left thigh and shoulder, and while extending to block a shot that would otherwise have hit a man beyond her Serana takes a round to the right side of her stomach.

You’re vaguely aware of being hit yourself at least once before getting out of range… in reality, as you approach the base of the hill, you find that you’ve been hit three times. One bullet has entered and exited through your left shoulder, and two different bullets that you thought you’d blocked ended up splitting. Fragments of those bullets have left a bloody gash across the outside of your right arm, as well as ripping off your left earlobe. There’s a little blood on your face, but whatever shallow wounds that drew that blood have already closed.

“Are you okay?” you ask insistently of your compatriots.

[Hurts,] Serana shrugs. [Nothing irreplaceable.]

“Focus on healing your guts,” you tell her firmly. “Valentina, how’s your leg?”

“Through wound,” she grunts, massaging what must be a sore area around the new hole in her thigh. “Missed the artery.”

“That’s good,” you sigh.

“You, ma’am?” she asks you.

“Nothing too serious,” you admit. “Mostly fragments of bullets that split.”

[That’s good.]

>They fired on their own after all. That can’t be allowed to stand.
>I want to hear from our other comrades. What did they see while we were occupied?
>For now we’ll settle in, consolidate our gains.
>Other?

>>5520504
>They fired on their own after all. That can’t be allowed to stand.
Find who gave the order.

>>5520504
>I want to hear from our other comrades. What did they see while we were occupied?

>>5520504
>>They fired on their own after all. That can’t be allowed to stand.

>>5520504
>>They fired on their own after all. That can’t be allowed to stand.

>>5520504
>3d10, best of three

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

>>5521519

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

>>5521519

Rolled 10, 6, 10 = 26 (3d10)

>>5521519

>>5521519
“This can’t be allowed to go unchecked,” you grumble angrily. “Those men fired on their own, including their wounded.”

You call up a handful of officers, four of them, and demand options for pursuing the offensive. Two likely plans emerge from that in the minutes of discussion that follow.

The first plan involves a linear advance towards the new line, which can be accomplished in two ways. The first way is to advance under cover of darkness and seize positions, then quickly move field guns and mortars into position to cover those new positions. The second way is to perform a continuous barrage, moving mortars and artillery forward just behind the infantry, in order to suppress the defending line.

The second plan is to turn the enemy flank, which by the agreement of your officers is best achieved by launching an immediate attack towards the right side of the newly established line. To the left that line meets with the enemy’s main line, while to the right there still hasn’t been sufficient time to secure that flank properly.

And of course, there’s a fourth option: to move in larger, longer-range guns tonight and fire on that position first thing in the morning, using that attack to get behind the enemy’s front line positions and inflict a route.

>Attempt a daytime assault under advancing covering fire.
>Wait for a nighttime assault to seize the enemy positions.
>Attack with a flanking maneuver to seize the initiative.
>Wait for longer-range guns to be brought up, then use them.
>Other?

>>5521890
>Wait for a nighttime assault to seize the enemy positions.

>>5521890
>Attack with a flanking maneuver to seize the initiative.

>>5521890
>>Wait for a nighttime assault to seize the enemy positions.

>>5521890
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 9, 6, 4 = 19 (3d10)

>>5522933

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

>>5522933

Rolled 1, 2, 10 = 13 (3d10)

>>5522933

>>5521890
>Attack with a flanking maneuver to seize the initiative.

>>5521890
You order your soldiers to hold their positions for the time being, until night falls. Later in the evening the first two longer-range guns are brought up as new lines are drawn and secured against potential counterattack. They’re positioned discreetly near the base of the hill, along with several larger mortars on the reverse slope that bring the enemy’s new line of defense back into range. When the time comes for violence neither will be particularly ‘discreet’, but for the time being they must remain silent.

…

At what you feel to be the right time you give the order, and one hundred and fifty volunteers begin to creep forward in the dark, lying low as you instructed so as to disappear into the grasses and shrubs. With the moon behind tall, dark clouds your soldiers have some protection as they approach, but if that changes they’ve been instructed to charge the rest of they way. If the moon shows her pale face again tonight, your casualties will be worse for it.

Thankfully the first few Hazari men actually reach the enemy line under cover of a moonless dark, and set to work. Sentries’ throats are slit by long knives that have been dusted with soot to avoid any glint of steel in the night, and sleeping men are either subdued or killed quietly - your orders encouraged but did not demand mercy where it could reasonably be given. But as the moon returns conditions begin to shift, and a cry goes out as a sentry spots the bulk of your troops practically on top of the far right side of the enemy’s defensive line.

“Give the order,” you insist curtly to an artillery captain at your side.

A few moments later you hear the dull thuds of mortars behind you, followed a few moments after that by explosions to the left, away from where your soldiers have attacked. The whole point of the barrage is to keep any soldiers from mounting an immediate counterattack.

“Seems like everything is going well,” Solaris muses as she watches with you from this lofty perch atop the hill. “Better even than might be expected.”

“For now,” Justina mutters.

“She has a point,” you admit, sparing Solaris a glance. “Nothing ever goes according to plan for long when you’re us.”
>1/2

>>5523901
And as if to prove that point, things start to shift on the battlefield. Not against you and the Hazari forces, nothing so immediately drastic. But your attacking force does start to suffer some casualties as other units along the defensive line start to fire wildly into the night. They don’t seem worried about hitting their own, and you would tend to guess that is because this is a panic reaction rather than a carefully considered strategic approach.

“Sergeant, shift your fire eastward along that line!” you order. “Maximum range!”

“Ma’am!” he barks back before relaying your command.

The mortar rounds and cannon shells start falling further along the line of battle, reducing the amount of infantry weapons aimed at where your attack has been launched, but if the enemy lines up artillery to fire that way from a greater distance there will be nothing you can do to counter it.

>Order a full-scale assault along the line, start rolling your enemy’s line back and containing them into a smaller territory.
>Go down there yourself and order a covered withdrawal before the enemy has a chance to launch a more effective counterattack.
>Now is as good a time as any, head down there with backup and seek out any artillery. Soften up this line in preparation to attack at dawn.
>Other?

>>5524540
>>Now is as good a time as any, head down there with backup and seek out any artillery. Soften up this line in preparation to attack at dawn.

>>5524540
>Now is as good a time as any, head down there with backup and seek out any artillery. Soften up this line in preparation to attack at dawn.

>>5524540
>Now is as good a time as any, head down there with backup and seek out any artillery. Soften up this line in preparation to attack at dawn.

>>5524540
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 10, 2, 10 = 22 (3d10)

>>5525340

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

>>5525340

Rolled 3, 2, 1 = 6 (3d10)

>>5525340

>>5525340
This may actually be an opportunity - and if it is, it isn’t one you can afford to miss. It’s a chance to spot artillery along the next stretch of trenchs and firing positions, and launch a coordinated strike together with your cohort of warriors that will leave the whole enemy line vulnerable come sunrise.

“We’re moving,” you decide aloud, turning to Solaris. “Help me gather the others.”

…

Once your fellow warriors are assembled in the gloom you lead them down the hill, explaining your thoughts as you go.

“If we launch a raid now,” you tell them, mostly focusing your attention on Helen and Serana who are flanking you at the front of the group, “then we could possibly eliminate the heavy weapons for an entire section of the enemy line. If we do that, it will make it a simpler matter for Hazari troops to sweep the enemy away at dawn.”

“You think they’ll be distracted enough?” Helen muses.

“Maybe,” you reply. “But I can’t be sure - this should go without saying, but…”

“None of us should feel pressured to go with you,” Valentina finishes the thought. “We know.”

“We’re going,” Justina adds.

…

You’ve managed to get out onto the battlefield without being noticed… but there’s still a question of how to proceed. You could try to maintain stealth, concentrating your force for a series of overwhelming strikes that end with your whole cohort fading back into the dark. You could also do it in small groups, sneaking within easy striking range of several targets and attacking them by surprise all at once.

Or, you could try a more forward and intimidating approach and just attack openly - this would have the additional benefit of allowing you to move a lot quicker.

>Strike quietly and with numbers on your side.
>Strike quietly, everywhere all at once.
>Strike openly, rely on speed and overwhelming power.
>Other?

>>5525733
>Concentrate forces, get to the first target quietly, then proceed openly.
Speed, surprise, violence of action.

>>5525733
>>Strike quietly and with numbers on your side.

>>5525744
>>5525733
I'm good with this

>>5525744
Gonna support this

>>5525733
>Strike openly, rely on speed and overwhelming power.

>>5525733
>>5525744
Supporting this.

>>5525733
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 4, 10, 1 = 15 (3d10)

>>5526718

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

>>5526718

Rolled 2, 5, 5 = 12 (3d10)

>>5526718

>>5526718
“We’ll stick together,” you decide. “Get as close to the first target as possible, strike quickly with overwhelming force, and get back into hiding as quickly as possible.”

“Then we repeat as much as we can?” Valentina muses.

You nod. “That’s my plan. It’s all I’ve got.”

…

The first attack goes almost perfectly. Several half-blooded ‘witches’ rush out of the dark and are slashing up equipment and tossing men around like toys, before melting back into the darkness to do it again a little further down the line. Meanwhile the men whose position you attacked are left to puzzle out what just happened.

The second and third attempts go about as well, but by the fourth attack of what’s going to be a long night the soldiers seem much more ready, and a few bullets start to find their mark. Nothing too serious, but any time one of your own ends up shot it’s a call to pay attention to how and why such a thing could happen. After all, it’s still conceivable that one of these mere mortals could get lucky on what is literally a shot in the dark - you’re strong, but unlike your mother you aren’t indestructible or immortal.

>Back off, start helping the Hazari soldiers more directly.
>Break up your group and launch a few separate attacks, mix things up.
>Call in more Hazari troops to make use of your recent efforts.
>Other?

>>5527074
>Other?
Now that they're waiting for an attack, play on their fear with suspicious sounds until they're distracted enough, then attack.

>>5527089
>>5527074
I like this.

>>5527074
>Back off, start helping the Hazari soldiers more directly.

>>5527074
>>5527089
Supporting. Start throwing rocks near their positions, or trees.

>>5527074
>m
“Hold up,” you hiss in the dark. “They’re starting to expect us, how do we use that?”

You and your companions stay low as the deliberation proceeds. Eventually Alexa’s suggestion of “just throw rocks at them” turns out to be the option everyone likes. Which in all fairness does make a certain amount of sense, because the size of the rocks a half-blood warrior can throw makes that a pretty significant threat.

So after a brief delay spent finding large rocks, small boulders, and even a few small, scraggly looking trees, the raid continues.

Men shout frantically when a rock embeds itself in the mud near one of their trenches, and are even further alarmed when a tree comes crashing down next. Rifles flash and bark, aimed at imagined somethings the shooters seem convinced are out there in the dark. Soon, you and your cohort have many on the enemy line incoherent with fear and anger, and back over your shoulders the Hazari troops continue to make gains while no nearby enemy artillery or automatic guns are able to target them.

>3d10, best of three

Rolled 8, 9, 4 = 21 (3d10)

>>5528281

Rolled 6, 8, 3 = 17 (3d10)

>>5528281

Rolled 7, 5, 7 = 19 (3d10)

>>5528281

>>5528281
Using the chaos to your advantage you take out two more enemy positions - a pair of dug-in light mortars and an automatic rifle crew - without any real organized resistance. But eventually these tricks stop working, and the third time in a row you dive back into cover and disappear into the night you’re painfully aware that this trick won’t work forever. The enemy is starting to recover and reorganize, and prepared soldiers are less likely to jump at shadows in the night.

“So what do we do now?” Valentina wonders aloud.

You can see a few more positions that with some effort you could clear, but you’d estimate that you no longer have the advantage. If you continue it will be a matter of skill, of discipline, and of raw athletic ability to clear out the next few prepared positions. There is also another hill nearby, which you could take tomorrow in theory. The preparation could be done for it tonight. But for Hazari troops to hold it could become costly.

>Split up and launch coordinated attacks on several more enemy defensive positions, soften their line further.
>This is fine. Play a bit conservatively, make sure nothing goes awry before the major attack at dawn.
>Lay what groundwork you can to take that second hill tomorrow morning. Holding both hills would be a massive asset.
>Other?

>>5529869
>This is fine. Play a bit conservatively, make sure nothing goes awry before the major attack at dawn.

>>5529869
>>Lay what groundwork you can to take that second hill tomorrow morning. Holding both hills would be a massive asset.

>>5529869
>>Lay what groundwork you can to take that second hill tomorrow morning. Holding both hills would be a massive asset.

>>5529869
>Lay what groundwork you can to take that second hill tomorrow morning. Holding both hills would be a massive asset.

>>5529869
>>Lay what groundwork you can to take that second hill tomorrow morning. Holding both hills would be a massive asset.

>>5529869
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 9, 5, 8 = 22 (3d10)

>>5531223

Rolled 4, 2, 6 = 12 (3d10)

>>5531223

Rolled 3, 10, 6 = 19 (3d10)

>>5531223

>>5531223
“That hill,” you decide aloud. “If Hazari forces can take and hold that hill at dawn, this battle is as good as over.”

“Because then they can support each other?” Helen asks you.

You nod. “And from them, they can shell anywhere in the gap between the other Hazari positions and our neighbors in Tarsus.”

“Making this entire valley untenable,” Solaris summarizes.

“Exactly.”

[Will they have the sense to withdraw?] Serana wonders silently.

You honestly don’t know. “The decision will rest with them.”

…

The plan is simple.

You lead your cohort through the dark while your Hazari raiders consolidate their gains, and set to work preparing for the assault on the hilltop. You have your own fellow warriors fan out and scout the area, identifying the targets that will impact the Hazari troops’ ability to seize the objective you have in mind for them.

There are mortar pits dug into the slopes, as well as weaponry that seems to have been hastily pulled off armored vehicles once the initial advance a few days ago broke down. Even chunks of thick metal armor have been moved to add to the protective cover. Too few men however are there to hold the position, and anywhere that isn’t facing the hill forts or the positions where your Hazari infantry have dug in more recently is completely undefended.

“It won’t take much effort,” Valentina reports.

“Any sign we’ve been noticed?” you ask.

Serana shakes her head. [None.]

>Move quietly to take out those artillery positions from a less-defended angle, capturing all the men and materiel you can.
>Wait until closer to daybreak, don’t count on the element of surprise. That way there should be no counterattack.
>Other?

>>5534095
>>Move quietly to take out those artillery positions from a less-defended angle, capturing all the men and materiel you can.
cheeki breeki

>>5534095
>Move quietly to take out those artillery positions from a less-defended angle, capturing all the men and materiel you can.

>>5534095
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 6, 8, 4 = 18 (3d10)

>>5535167

Rolled 1, 9, 1 = 11 (3d10)

>>5535167

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>5535167

>>5535237
Good effort though.

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

>>5535167

>>5535167
You move quietly to a position on the relatively lightly-defended southwestern slope of the hill you wish to seize tomorrow, without being detected. But as you and your companions are set to begin working your way up the hill the moon starts to shine out, and there’s a cry from the slope ahead of you. Flashes of light are visible from amid the rocks and shrubs, along with long streaks of bright flame that trace paths towards you.

It seems that these soldiers at the very least won't be caught completely off their guard.

“We’re still at long range!” Helen hisses loudly as your compatriots all drop low, on a shared instinct. The bullets pass by with audible cracks, and here and there one kicks up a little puff of earth. “But if we’re not careful we may get pinned down!”

One bullet strikes Valentina in the shoulder with a sharp curse - more a pain and a nuisance than anything else, and a lucky shot moreover. But it rather emphasizes a point.

“We can’t just stay here,” you decide.

“Then do we continue the attack, I wonder?” Solaris muses thoughtfully as a luminous round passes distractingly close to her left ear.

>We press on. Once we get up the hill a little way we’ll be out of their line of fire.
>We’ll need to partially awaken. Those who can out front, those who can’t follow.
>We’ll need to withdraw and rethink. It will be easier after tomorrow morning.
>Other?

>>5535421
>We’ll need to partially awaken. Those who can out front, those who can’t follow.

>>5535421
>>We’ll need to partially awaken. Those who can out front, those who can’t follow.
Get stronk

>>5535421
>We’ll need to partially awaken. Those who can out front, those who can’t follow.

>>5535421
>3d10 best of four
>DC 12

Rolled 4, 4, 7 = 15 (3d10)

>>5536438

Rolled 4, 7, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>5536438

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

>>5536438

Rolled 9, 2, 5 = 16 (3d10)

>>5536438

>>5536438
“I think it’s time,” you admit with a weary sigh - you’d really hoped to avoid relying on this.

“You mean…” Valentina begins.

You nod. “Yes. Any objections?”

Helen’s gaze falls on you for a moment, then she glances up the hill. “It’s the only way.”

[Then let’s not waste time,] Serana suggests.

“Those who can partially-awaken, out front,” you declare. “Everyone else, fall in behind us and stay low.”

…

The charge, for any normal soldier, would be too terrifying a sight to even recount to one’s own superiors. Shapes almost but not quite like humans emerging from the dark, surging forward with inhuman speed. Between that speed and your shared resilience, enhanced both in terms of your physical toughness and more rapid healing (even for offensive types), your abilities carry you deep into the enemy positions’ overlapping fire. Here, deep inside the defensive perimeter, Valentina’s claws do heavy work. Black-clad lances strike with the precision of a surgeon’s knife to silence several of the defenders’ heavy weapons. Then, with a final burst of speed, you find yourselves on top of their positions.

Men are tossed about and knocked down, rifles are ripped from gloved grasp (only taking off one finger, so far as you notice), limbs are twisted and bodies pinned so they can be bound in their own jackets. For the amount of force available to you its actual use here could almost be described as gentle, though it’s difficult to tell if any of the defenders realize it in the moment.

“The hill is ours,” comes Serana’s raspy tone, her hand currently in use pinning an officer’s head to a nearby rock with a restraint he no doubt would never consider showing her in exchange.

>Then settle in. We have it, now comes the time to hold it.
>We’ll march off our captives and the captured weapons before daybreak.
>We should prepare for a counterattack. Surely the enemy won’t stand for this.
>Other?

>>5537993
>Then settle in. We have it, now comes the time to hold it.
>We should prepare for a counterattack. Surely the enemy won’t stand for this.
These two go hand in hand.

>>5537993
>Then settle in. We have it, now comes the time to hold it.
>We should prepare for a counterattack. Surely the enemy won’t stand for this.

>>5537993
>We should prepare for a counterattack. Surely the enemy won’t stand for this.

>>5537993
>3d10 best of three

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

>>5538830

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

>>5538830

Rolled 10, 4, 9 = 23 (3d10)

>>5538830

>>5538830
“We need to prepare for a counterattack,” you insist curtly. “Surely the enemy won’t stand for this… it’s as important to them as it is to us.”

“How?” Justina asks.

It’s a good question. You may as well try to defend this position with your arms tied behind your back and your eyes closed, since you can’t really take a risk of killing any of them by mistake. Normal humans are so fragile.

“Thoughts?” you offer.

“Find a way to create a barrier,” Valentina suggests. “Stall the attack long enough to open them for a counterattack.”

[Save some time,] Serana suggests, having reverted to hand signals to let her voice recover. [Order a strike to distract and disrupt before they can counter.]

“No time,” Helen shakes her head. “Better to move down to the bottom of the hill, get into cover, and intercept them as they advance.”

>Valentina’s suggestion makes sense and keeps to our vows not to kill.
>Launching a diversionary strike would work if we can get Hazari soldiers on our side.
>Helen has a point. Dig in and do our best to avoid accidentally killing anyone.
>Other?

>>5539893
>>Valentina’s suggestion makes sense and keeps to our vows not to kill.

>>5539893
>>Valentina’s suggestion makes sense and keeps to our vows not to kill.

>>5539893
>Valentina’s suggestion makes sense and keeps to our vows not to kill.

>>5539893
>Valentina’s suggestion makes sense and keeps to our vows not to kill.

>>5539893
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 1, 5, 5 = 11 (3d10)

>>5541327

Rolled 2, 3, 8 = 13 (3d10)

>>5541327

Rolled 5, 5, 7 = 17 (3d10)

>>5541327

>>5539893
“If we’re going to avoid killing anyone ourselves Valentina’s plan makes sense,” you decide. “We’ll need to shift some rocks and fell some trees.”

“Helen,” you turn your attention elsewhere. “I want to rely on you - get the message back to the Hazari soldiers as quickly as possible.”

Your comrades swiftly rally to the effort, using your swords as prybars to force boulders out of the dirt around them and roll them towards the base of the hill. Then you start shifting your attention to cutting down trees, which you can roll towards the boulders or toss further down the hill. Finally, once as much of that is in the way of the enemy’s most likely line of advance, you begin to tie up your captives along the way - when the enemy reaches each captive at least one will have to stop to deal with what they’ve found, and that one will likely slow down others. It won’t be by much, but every little bit is going to count.

That’s about all you can do before the invaders are in position, and start advancing.

As soon as they’re within range they begin firing, and you can hear the cracks of their rifles and the little sharp twangs of near misses and ricochets among the rocks.

“Cover!” you call out. “Stay in cover!”

The enemy continues to advance like a sea of ants, meeting the first few obstacles thrown roughly in their way. They swarm around them and over them - one takes a branch to his teeth courtesy of Justina, and others stumble here and there. But they continue to advance. They clamber over trunks and through branches, between and around rocks.

“They’re getting close!” Solaris calls out.

Yeah… that’s obvious. But it’s also troubling. They’re advancing much too quickly, even factoring in how quickly Helen must have arrived at the other hill.

>You should withdraw, just past the top of the hill, to shelter from incoming fire.
>Withdraw and link up with the incoming Hazari forces, then assist their movements.
>Hold here, using minimal force and all the cover you can cling to, and delay.
>Other?

>>5542202
>Hold here, using minimal force and all the cover you can cling to, and delay.

>>5542202
>You should withdraw, just past the top of the hill, to shelter from incoming fire.

>>5542202
>>Hold here, using minimal force and all the cover you can cling to, and delay.

>>5542202
>3d10 best of three

Rolled 6, 3, 8 = 17 (3d10)

>>5543345

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

>>5543345

Rolled 8, 8, 5 = 21 (3d10)

>>5543345

>>5543345
Rather than show the enemy your backs, even to set up a trap, you elect to hold your current positions. With a little bit of cover to cling to you can avoid being shot for the time being, which was a real risk if you withdrew under the current conditions. And if you’re in close quarters it’s less likely that your enemy will fire on you for fear of hitting their own troops, or so you choose to assume.

Bayonets drawn and fixed, the enemy fall on you with a surprising ferocity. Those are easy enough to bat aside when you’re facing them directly, but after a few minutes the first wave which you and your comrades knocked down start to rally, and it quickly becomes a swarm situation.

“Watch your backs!” Valentina calls out. “Justina, circle up!”

“Alexa!” you call out to the nearest warrior as you pry a bayonet - as well as the rifle attached to it - from your shoulder. “Solaris, Serana!”

Like this, you call out suggestions for who can pair up and cover one another from behind, to ensure that the attackers can’t simply take a free shot at an isolated warrior’s back.

In fact, you actually manage to hold out until you hear the blowing of horns that signals the approach of Hazari reinforcements, courtesy of Helen, shortly before sunrise.

>Counterattack, try to meet with the Hazari troops as they approach.
>Swing down so that the rising sun is at your back, then counterattack.
>Just hang on where you are. Let the Hazaris come to you and yours.
>Other?

>>5544479
>>Swing down so that the rising sun is at your back, then counterattack.

>>5544479
>Just hang on where you are. Let the Hazaris come to you and yours.
Moving breaks formation

>>5544479
>Swing down so that the rising sun is at your back, then counterattack.

>>5544479
>>Swing down so that the rising sun is at your back, then counterattack.

>>5544479
This won’t work. It’s the wrong position.

“Follow me!” you shout into the pre-dawn dim. “Quickly!”

For this, you’ll want to have the first light of the sun breaking over Tarsus to be at your back…

>3d10, best of three

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

>>5545496

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

>>5545496

Rolled 10, 7, 2 = 19 (3d10)

>>5545496

>>5545496
It’s almost miraculous that you and your companions escape any injury as you maneuver around to the west and lead the charge with your Hazari soldiers at your back. And, more to the point, the first light of dawn follows you. A few of your enemy even wince, or cover their eyes for a moment in confusion as they find their eyes stinging from the light.

The first in line find themselves practically swept away by the ferocity of the charge. The sharp crack of bullets flying in both directions, the booming report of the weapons that fired them, the dull crunch of rifle stocks against bodies, the screams of those run through with bayonet or felled by shot - it all becomes a blur, one cacophonous mass of indistinguishable sound.

You disarm several men personally, by destroying their weapons in two cases, and allowing your hand to be run through by a bayonet in the third giving you an easy way to grab hold of the offending rifle it’s attached to. In the morning light you can see that your cohort are doing about as well for themselves - a few scrapes and bruises here and there, a hole in Justina’s trousers where a bullet grazed her leg, a stain of purple on Solaris’ shirt from when you were withdrawing before. A few of your Hazari troops are also killed and several find themselves wounded.

But right across the line, your enemy is breaking. Perhaps for fear of becoming encircled even sections of the line that haven’t been under assault snap into movement while you subdue the enemy at this second hilltop.

“They’re retreating!” Helen calls out.

>Send word throughout the Hazari forces - leave the enemy a route to escape north.
>Pursue the retreating units. You want them surrounded and under harassing fire.
>Secure the hilltop as planned and proceed to deploy Hazari troops accordingly.
>Other?

>>5546784
>>Secure the hilltop as planned and proceed to deploy Hazari troops accordingly.

>>5546784
>Pursue the retreating units. You want them surrounded and under harassing fire.

>>5546784
>Secure the hilltop as planned and proceed to deploy Hazari troops accordingly.

>>5546784
>>Secure the hilltop as planned and proceed to deploy Hazari troops accordingly.

>>5546784
>3d10 best of three

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

>>5547903

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

>>5547903

Rolled 9, 8, 5 = 22 (3d10)

>>5547903

>>5547903
“Infantry, take cover around the base of the hill!” you order. “Dig in if you have a chance! Artillerymen, bring up mortars and field guns!”


[Securing the location?] Serana asks.


You nod. “It’s what all this was for.”


Valentina carefully pulls a bullet out of her shoulder before tossing it aside. “Makes sense. Everyone else okay?”


“Minor injuries only,” Helen declares.


“Sergeant!” you bark at a nearby soldier. “How many men have we lost tonight?”


“We’ve lost at least twenty men,” he replies immediately. “That’s likely to go up.”


“Missing men?”


“Yes ma’am.”


“Have squad leaders give a headcount,” you order. “I want to know how many men we have to work with if the enemy mounts a counterattack.”


“Right away, ma’am.”


In theory, you have an excellent plan - you have two positions that command a wide swathe of the territory that once fell between the range of your artillery in the more permanent hilltop fortresses and the lines on the Tarsan side of the border. Just denying them the area would be a nuisance, but to hold them and use them to close the gap where they used to be able to safely maneuver and resupply will be a sore blow.


Your troops quickly execute your orders, and with the extra muscle offered by your companions the hill is soon fortified properly for a long campaign. And as a test of the principle, your artillery crews test out their newly expanded firing range - just as you had planned, Hazari artillery can now overlap fire properly between units, right across into an overlapping zone with the Tarsans.


>A halfway intelligent commander would know they’re beaten, so send a message to the other side and see if they have one.
>You’re certain there will be orders to launch a counterattack.You suspect your forces will have to defeat it to prove the point.
>You’re in no mood to cede the initiative to the enemy. Order an expanded campaign of shelling and nighttime raids.
>Other?

>>5549270
>You’re in no mood to cede the initiative to the enemy. Order an expanded campaign of shelling and nighttime raids.

>>5549270
>You’re certain there will be orders to launch a counterattack.You suspect your forces will have to defeat it to prove the point.

>>5549270
>You’re in no mood to cede the initiative to the enemy. Order an expanded campaign of shelling and nighttime raids.

>>5549270
>You’re in no mood to cede the initiative to the enemy. Order an expanded campaign of shelling and nighttime raids.

>>5550181
Test

>>5549270
Almost the very minute you feel that your position on both hilltops is secure, you issue further orders - for the entire rest of the day you have your artillery, both cannons and mortars, shell your enemy’s positions from as many angles as possible. The hilltop batteries you’ve seized in the past few days, the hill fortresses further to the east, and by virtue of a courier the guns of the Tarsan border guards all oblige you, exposing the invaders to a steady but unpredictable stream of explosions. Sometimes a shell lands completely out in the open, often having fallen short, and about as often they actually hit something. What they hit really depends on what the crew was aiming at, but their targets vary from other artillery positions to shabby tents under which anything could be stored.

But most of the time the shells fall in a pattern around the enemy positions which you would call “alarmingly close”. It’s enough to keep the enemy noticeably unsettled, and occasionally it becomes close enough and intense enough to force them to abandon a position.

Slowly dusk begins to fall, and it becomes harder for your artillery to spot positions. The first to cease fire are the positions across the border in Tarsus.

[I suppose this is the start of the witching hour?] Serana muses.

“Ooh,” Valentina smiles. “I like that. It has a ring to it.”
>3d10, best of four

Rolled 4, 5, 1 = 10 (3d10)

>>5551230

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

>>5551230

Rolled 2, 7, 10 = 19 (3d10)

>>5551230

Rolled 2, 10, 9 = 21 (3d10)

>>5551230

>>5508529
One final test.

Onions

Onions desu senpai senpaitachi soya basedjak

Onionsjak

Sage

Soi

Soijaks

HWABAG

Why is nobody helping to steal the GET?

Bumo

Soot is gem

So close

Gem coming soon

i got you 'teens