"What have you got for me, Hartmann?" began the General. Schwarzkopf, Hartmann and Meyer were meeting once again in their headquarters tent. "Did Jaeger come up with a plan, so that we can deploy Lady Echinacea and the Swami together on the battlefield?"

  "We think so, Sir!" replied Erich Hartmann. "The Lady and Chronos have been engaging in some pretty intense magical co-operation and compromising. Neither really completely trusts the other's magical systems, but there is a grudging respect between the two of them. Their two magical traditions literally originate from the opposite ends of the Earth! As much as it is possible to make a judgement from off of the battlefield, they do believe that the two artifacts will function in tandem."

  "What about the reliquiae's ability to keep up with the cavalry?" inquired Schwarzkopf.

  "Well, again we won't be exactly sure until we try it under fire, but there has been a great deal of effort put into it. First off, we retired Chronos's cart horse and sent him off to a nice comfortable paddock. He was replaced by a proper warhorse. The cart undercarriage had to be redone with well designed wheels and suspension. Lieutenant Brietbart helped out by providing a limber cart from his horse artillery. All of the icons and statuettes still look a bit fragile to me, but both Lady Echinacea and Swami Chronos claim that they can use some minor enchantments to hold the altar together during a charge. I saw them practising out on the training field, and it looked believable."

  "Excellent news, Hartmann!" replied Schwarzkopf. "I have high expectations for that war altar! How about you, Meyer? What does the Analytical Engine have to say about the improvements we have made to the battalion?"

  "As always, the performance will depend on the match ups we can produce for our companies. Unfortunately, the assessments of enemy strength that I have been able to obtain are limited in nature. We can't really be sure of anything until we see their units in the flesh. However, the modelling of our own units is quite encouraging. Gunnar Hellsson's cannons and the addition of the metal magician to the Stalsburg riflemen should add some serious improvement to our ability to make ranged attacks. The Engine estimates that our ranged killing power will be increased three fold, Sir!" explained Lieutenant Meyer."

  "That is a good start, Meyer!" responded Schwarzkopf. "What about our ground troops?"

  "The upgrade to the Hanoverian halberdiers should convert them into a serious fighting company. Pureheart Bells adds a clerical component to the battalion and having a direct connection to the power of Theodor seems to have inspired the men. Count on the halberdiers to be a serious threat to any demonic or possessed forces fielded by the Northmen." Meyer had clearly been doing his homework. "The Outriders are also an interesting company to consider. Equine Stallion won't make them much more powerful, but his ability to conceal the movements of the entire unit cannot be underestimated. The Analytical Engine produced several scenarios where a surprise attack from the rear turned the battle in our favour. They should be an ideal reserve force, or possibly they could be used in some sort of scouting role or in a sneak attack."

  "I like where you are coming from, Meyer," replied Schwarzkopf. "Excellent work. What about the Wolf Knights? I intend to join their ranks for the upcoming battle and I am fascinated by the effect the Swami will have on our heavy cavalry."

  "Well, there is where it gets the most interesting of all of our improvements. Combining the Lady's protective powers with the redo nature of the Swami's Altar of Horology, is a game changer. Not only do these two items working together make the Wolf Knights almost invulnerable to damage, these two artifacts do not need to be cast and maintained like spells. And the effects do not wear out over time. In a protracted battle, many of our mage's spells wear down or disappear altogether! Spells can even be countered or dispelled by enemy mages. However, these two powerful magical devices work from the first moment of the battle to the last, just so long as the artifact itself is not destroyed, nor its operator. The Knights must protect the altar, the banner, Lady Echinacea and Swami Chronos at all costs. They should literally throw themselves into the path of any form of attack, so as to preserve this magical protection," explained Lieutenant Meyer."

  "That sounds good, Herr Meyer."

  "One word of caution, Sir," spoke Nicholas Meyer, gravely. "The Northmen worship demons, and gain enormous physical and eldritch power as a result. The accounts that I have been able to obtain from battles further up the peninsula have been horrific in nature. Please Sir, prepare yourself to see and experience anything on the battlefield. The evils of Northmen are without limit, and their abilities strain the fabric of reality."

  General Schwarzkopf's confidence was challenged by Meyer's words, but he rallied himself to ask, "What of the attacking abilities of the Wolf Knights?"

  "You can expect them to perform much like they did at the Battle of Kaunas. We did not increase their killing power with our upgrades," explained Meyer. "There is one aspect of our offensive abilities that I have been meaning to speak with you about, Sir."

  "What would that be, Lieutenant Meyer?"

  "Your sword, Sir," replied Nicholas. "The Analytical Engine finally produced a data sheet analysis of you and your sword, the Nagalring blade. I do not believe that the machine can yet comprehend the powers contained within that sword, but it has produced an estimation. Here it is:"

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  General Maximilian Schwarzkopf

  Leadership Ability: 10

  Fighting Skill: 5

  Attacks: 4

  Quickness: 4

  Power: 4

  Defence: 4

  Speed: 4

  Wounds: 3

  Armour save: Full plate armour, +4

  Weapons: Nagalring sword, pistol.

  Special abilities: Stubbornness for Schwarzkopf and any unit he joins. Able to lead regiments.

  Nagalring: +2 fighting skill, +2 attacks, +2 quickness, +1 power, attacks first. With each enemy killed, add one to power, (maximum score of 10 power, returns to normal at the end of the battle), but also take a leadership test. If the test is failed, Nagalring consumes the wielder's soul.

  Experience points: 1,674,000

  Mount: Barded warhorse, +2 save, (Gunther).

  "What does it mean, 'Consumes the wielder's soul.'?" asked Schwarzkopf.

  "I doubt that we want to find out, Sir," answered Nicholas Meyer.

  "Do you understand this newfangled machine enough to know what my odds are?" asked Schwarzkopf, nervously.

  "I think so, Sir," replied Nicholas Meyer. "Your odds of passing a leadership test are 11 out of 12, or 92%. In order to reach the maximum stated value for your power rating, you would need to dispatch 6 enemy combatants. That means six leadership tests of one in twelve. My understanding of the maths involved is not perfect, but I believe that gives you an approximately 50% chance of passing all six leadership tests, after which you would be safe for the rest of the battle. Did you feel odd in some way, or close to being consumed by the sword when you battled the hobgoblins?"

  "Now that you mention it, yes!" observed General Schwarzkopf. "I almost lost consciousness, just before the mammoth entered the battlefield. It was as if I was engaged in a struggle of wills against some enemy, but I prevailed. After that, the surge of power within me was overwhelming and the death strike against the mammoth was almost easy."

  "What happened after that?" asked Meyer.

  "The sense of loss of power, after the battle, was palpable. It was as if I had lost the core of my inner strength, and there was intense sadness at the loss. I almost felt like a God when I was at the peak of my power!" recounted Schwarzkopf.

  "Well, Sir," observed Nicholas Meyer. "I think we can see where the killing power will come from the Wolf Knights company. Twenty Wolf knights are a powerful force, especially if Oxheart can pull off transforming them into moose cavalry, but your power rating of 10 is truly amazing. Especially with all of the other buffs accrued by Nagalring. You can act as the invincible, thin edge of the wedge, cutting straight through the most powerful opponents."

  "Provided that I can keep passing those leadership tests, that is," observed Schwarzkopf. He thought for a moment to consider the situation, and then added a new idea to the conversation. "What about Swami Chronos's altar? Could he give me a second chance if I needed it?"

  Lieutenant Hartmann answered that question. "I asked the Swami, about such things, while we were making our plans. There are dozens of dangerous events taking place on the battlefield that Flying Eagles soldiers might like to replay, if they could. But Chronos was quite clear about how his magic works. He can attune his Altar of Horology to one task, and one task only. It took him two days to match the time frequencies of Lady Echinacea's Goddess Standard. He can't replay time for anything else that goes wrong, unless he were to give up on protecting the Wolf Knights, and the accompanying specialists, from being wounded."

  "Ah! I see," acknowledged Schwarzkopf. "It wouldn't be right for me to take that away from the boys, and I will be benefiting from that protection as well."

  "Perhaps you won't need to use Nagalring, Sir?" theorised Nicholas Meyer.

  "We will see, Herr Meyer. We will see,"

  An aide stepped into the officer's tent through the canvas flap door. It was Lieutenant Marseilles, one of von Blucher's deputies.

  "General Schwarzkopf, Field Marshall von Blucher asked me to deliver your deployment orders." with that he handed the General an official looking, wax sealed envelope.

  "Thank you, Lieutenant," replied Schwarzkopf, and then he turned to Hartmann and Meyer. "Here we go boys! Ready or not."

  General Schwarzkopf broke the wax seal, and removed the sophisticated parchment orders. "The Flying Eagles 427th brigade is ordered to depart tomorrow morning and travel to the fortified Holy Prussian Army base of Fredericia. Report to General Lutzow."

  "Prepare for departure tomorrow morning at 6:00 am! Spread the word. this is our time to shine!" encouraged General Schwarzkopf.

  ____________________________________________________________________________________

  Early the next morning soldiers began packing up tents and loading up the innumerable horse carts and carriages with the baggage of war. All told, the battalion took up two kilometres of roadway by the time everyone was on the road. Occupying the very rearmost position of the baggage train was the Analytical Engine, and Nicholas Meyer. At the very head of the procession rode General Schwarzkopf, on his beloved warhorse, Gunther. In his scabbard the magic sword Nagalring swung with every stride of his warhorse. Next to Gunther rode Lieutenant Hartmann. The road they travelled was a gravel and dirt construction of mixed quality. some sections were rather well built, but others, including several bridges, had seen better days. Mud slowed the convoy of horses and carriages, along with the units of marching soldiers. The Jutland countryside was largely flat, and green, but a steady cold wind blew from the north over the sparse forest and not so fertile farmers fields.

  "Something is coming this way, Sir," observed Erich Hartmann.

  It was a disorganised group of people, and as they got closer Schwarzkopf realised that many were injured, and others were transporting personal possessions. Some were even driving livestock in front of them. Everyone looked stunned, hungry and exhausted.

  "Refugees from the conflict," commented Schwarzkopf. "Civilians fleeing the advancing Northmen."

  "Not all of them are civilians, apparently," stated Hartmann drily. Several of the stragglers bore remnants of army uniforms. While it was possible that somehow these people had scavenged the uniforms, the fact that the wearers were young and male was suspicious. In any case, their emaciated condition meant that they were incapable of fighting, even if they were soldiers.

  "I think that all we can do is divert them off of the road until the Flying Eagles have passed, and then let them carry on their way," explained Schwarzkopf.

  "I will take care of it," replied Hartmann, as he galloped off to organise Knights to carry out his commanders wishes.

  As General Schwarzkopf passed by the injured and damaged citizens of the Empire, he realised the extent of damage caused by the invading Northmen. He shuddered to think of how many dead friends and relatives had been left behind by these people. The closer they approached their destination of Fredericia, the more refugees littered the roadway. Schwarzkopf vowed to find a way to reverse this debacle.