Squad Games [Squad Building LitRPG] [Book One Complete]

MERCS:

Greenblade | Clamor | The Harvester | The Guvnah | Vixen | Mental | Oripione | Stiff | The Baron | Bletcher | The Hoffmeister | Smoke | Randall Heavy-Hands | Lurin Veinfinder | Rilie Rumblewind | The Explorer | Mila | Twerk

Apple Infantry: 60

They reached Benxi exhausted, the heatwave in these parts not relenting. Their reception at the city did nothing to improve the mood of the Apples. They were forced to wait outside the walls while their papers were examined.

In a war, with half of their city taken, it was no surprise the authorities looked on the arrival of foreigners with suspicion. Li proved himself to be worth Lothar's gamble. With an understanding of imperial protocol and a politician's diplomacy, he kept his patience until all objections were exhausted. The Rotten Apples were allowed into the city, and Li was installed as its new governor.

While Lothar's mercs and infantry were settled into their accommodation, Li arranged a private meeting for Lothar with Captain Guan. He was the officer Lothar was effectively replacing as commander. It was wise to get off on a good foot, if possible.

Guan was a heavy-set soldierly type. His head was bandaged, evidence he'd been in the thick of the fighting with his soldiers. "I've been asking General Fei for reinforcements, so I have no objections to your arrival."

That was a good start. "What condition are your soldiers in?"

"Battered and demoralised. We've been fighting street by street, against superior forces. Forced to give ground. My numbers are a hundred and fifty. But there isn't a single one who isn't injured or ill."

"I'll do my best to give them some recovery time. What about the enemy?"

"I reckon there's about five hundred stationed in the city, with more out in the woods. They've taken the north, east, and central sectors of the city, which includes the timber yards. I tried to stop them taking the central square, but their extra numbers overwhelmed us. We've been holding them off in the streets since then. But it'll make your life more difficult. You need to take the central square to access the other parts of the city. There's no alternative route; everything goes through there."

"And the square will be well defended?"

"Count on it. Their commander knows what he's doing."

Lothar grimaced. There were few things more hellish than urban warfare. It sounded like they'd arrived just in time. A few more days with these odds and Guan's small force would probably have capitulated.

Lothar gathered his mercs for the mission brief. The Hoffmeister would pass on more concise instructions to the infantry.

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"I'm going to use everyone for this, except for Sharptooth and Hubert. This is no place for them. Expect it to be tough going. I'm also going to use sixty of our spearmen. We need to blood them and get used to working with them if we're going to succeed out here."

"We're taking the city?" asked Twerk.

"No. Our objective is to take the central square. We're going to have to fight through the streets to get there. Then we clear the square and make it defensible. My plan is to pass on the defence of the square to the local forces, freeing us to advance from the square later. Don't get carried away, focus on our mission. The enemy have had the upper hand for a while. This is our one chance to catch them by surprise, so use it."

Lothar made sure he used the urban terrain to his advantage. He put his ranged fighters on the roofs: Clamor and Jaelin at one end of the street; Vixen and Rilie on the other. They opened fire and immediately caused chaos. Caught out, those Kuthenians lucky enough to survive the first hail of missiles had no choice but to retreat.

Lothar and his warriors were free to pull apart the barricades the enemy had put up without reprisal. They advanced to the next street, and the next barricade, which barred their way into the central square.

This second line of defence was more solid and had been given a warning. The Kuthenians had their own archers on the roofs of the tall buildings that overlooked the square—enough to keep Clamor and the others at bay. But that still allowed Lothar's force to attack the barricade without facing missile fire.

"Ashlyn, Guvnah, Harvester, Randall, Oripione. With me."

His six-man squad bristled with swords and shields, and one dwarven battle-axe. Behind the barricade, a line of six Kuthenians held long spears two-handed. A good choice of weapon, giving them an advantage in the melee. Behind them, a second group of six waited to reinforce the line.

ACTION ROUND

Kuthenian Imperials

Human Warrior

Action Stats

EXP Level 2

Action Points 4

Hit Points 18

The Guvnah didn't hesitate to bring the fight, scrabbling over masonry and avoiding sharp wooden stakes to get within sword range of the defenders. It left him with six action points. He scored hits with four, each one leading to a kill.

The Harvester followed him, finishing off the first line of defenders with his first two strikes. It allowed him to clamber over the barricade and hit the second line of defenders. With two actions remaining, he cut down another two Kuthenians.

It took Greenblade five of her six actions to join Vytenis. With no defences to help her opponent, her one sword swing was enough to kill the third Kuthenian in the second line.

Lothar joined her with 4 action points remaining. Four hits with Slayer were enough to account for the remaining defenders.

Oripione and Randall joined them. The Kuthenian defences were breached, and the square was open to them. Farther behind, the rest of the Apples and the infantry, led by The Hoffmeister, advanced towards their target.

Two Kuthenian bowmen stepped out from their hidden positions. The first got off two shots on The Harvester, neither penetrating his plate. The second targeted Lothar. His second arrow was accurate, piercing his chain mail and causing 5 damage.

The Guvnah was onto them, 2 hits from Blueblade enough to end their threat.

Lothar ushered the rest of them against the wall of the nearest building, as he peered into the square. It looked remarkably empty, the Kuthenians having drawn their line of defence at the far end.

The rest of the Apples arrived. Smoke and The Baron wasted no time in climbing up the side of the building, where the Kuthenian archers were still holding off his four ranged fighters.

The Hoffmeister led the infantry to the barricade, ordering them to tear it down.

The Kuthenians above remained a problem. One of them targeted The Guvnah, who stood out in the open. One arrow hit for 6 points of damage.

Alfie moved into a protected spot.

All they could do was wait.

"That's it!" a voice eventually shouted down. Smoke. "All enemy combatants accounted for!"

"Archers and slingers in position," Clamor's gruff voice followed.

They had a route into Benxi's central square, and it was protected by missile fire.

Lothar ordered his force to advance.