Chapter 178: Fire in the Heights
Kellar didn’t waste a second staring at the winged tide. He turned to the hunters with an icy expression.
"We move out," Kellar ordered. "The situation is worse than we expected. If that horde descends toward the valleys, no wall will hold them back."
They slipped down the mountainside in silence, exploiting the shadows until they reached the camp. Kellar led Brak, Lennis, and the primary officers straight toward the supply wagons that had arrived with the reinforcements from the Mountain Fortress.
Kellar pulled back the leather tarp shielding the cargo. Lined up in wooden crates lay dozens of high-potency explosive mines and demolition charges.
Lennis gasped at the sight of the black powder, while Brak’s eyes went wide, recalling the effort it took to transport such a load.
"We are going to blow this entire valley and their nests to shit," Kellar declared, resting his hands on the edge of the wagon.
"That’s crazy, boss!" Brak gasped in a frantic whisper, looking up toward the dark peaks. "Is that what you were planning all along, Shaman? Do you want to blow up the entire mountain range?"
Kellar stared him down, a spark flashing in his eyes.
"Do you have a better idea?" Kellar shot back. "Because I have no intention of sending our battalion into a slaughter against a thousand winged beasts. Either we blow their cliffs to hell while they sleep, or we’ll be food for their chicks."
Lennis stepped forward, staring at the pile of demolition mines before turning her gaze toward the crests looming in the gloom.
"Will it be enough, my lord?" asked Lennis, her brow furrowed. "I don’t doubt the power of these bombs, but they won’t collapse entire mountains. As soon as the first charges detonate, the eagles will scatter into the open sky and return once the danger passes."
Kellar framed a smile and shook his head, picking up one of the mines.
"The point isn’t to kill them all directly with the explosions," Kellar clarified. "It’s to disorient them. We will place the charges along the peaks to shatter their nests, enrage them, and force them down to pursue us. Once they fall into our trap, we’ll pin them down in the high pass."
Brak and Lennis exchanged a look before nodding, grasping the scope of the strategy.
"You heard him!" whispered Brak to the squad leaders, making a gesture with his hand. "Unpack the wagons carefully. Three charges per team. No torches from here on out; we move in total darkness."
The soldiers deployed in silence. The women of the new battalion approached to handle the mines with care, securing the detonators to their belts to prevent friction during the climb.
Kellar turned toward Helga, who was tightening the strap on her heavy crossbow.
"Helga, take the twenty best rifle shooters and position them on the southern ridge," Kellar ordered. "That will be our primary crossfire line. When the beasts swarm out enraged from their shattered nests, target the largest ones. I don’t want a dominant specimen organizing the flock."
"Understood, Shaman," Helga replied without hesitation. "We’ll blow their heads off the moment they drop altitude."
While Helga mobilized her unit, Kellar split the remaining forces into two contingents. Brak and the veterans would lead the climb up the eastern face to set the charges along the base of the highest cliffs, while Lennis and the heavy-crossbow contingent prepared the containment trap at the bottom of the gorge.
With their roles assigned, the army began its ascent in a silent column up the rocky slope. The darkness and the biting dawn wind worked in their favor, masking their steps beneath the sleeping peaks.
At the lead of the eastern wall, Brak moved with long strides, clutching one of the heavy mines against his chest. He halted beside a deep fissure at the base of a cliff and ran his hands over the stone.
"Here," muttered Brak, gesturing to the two veterans behind him. "This crevice supports the ledge of the main nest. Help me wedge the charge in."
"Watch the detonator, Brak," one of the hunters whispered, securing the fuse with a wooden stake. "If this goes off early, we’ll be ground meat before the eagles wake up."
"I know my trade," Brak grunted with a grin. "Tighten the cord and let’s move to the next fissure."
Meanwhile, on the southern ridge, Helga inspected the firing line of the twenty riflewomen. The women lay prone against the dry brush, the metal of their rifles pressed tight against their cheeks.
"Check your bolts in silence," Helga instructed, crouching low as she passed behind the line. "When the explosions rock the mountain, the wind will kick up ash. Don’t fire wildly; wait for the largest shadows to break through the smoke."
One of the recruits adjusted her rifle strap and glanced up at the peaks.
"What if they all dive at once, Commander?" whispered the woman, her voice barely audible over the wind.
"Then make sure every bullet leaving your barrel takes out an eye or a heart," Helga replied, giving her shoulder a firm squeeze. "We’re not here to run."
At the bottom of the gorge, Kellar supervised the final deployment alongside Ignis. The fire bear kept his flames suppressed, resembling nothing more than a dark boulder in the gloom. Kellar pulled his pocket watch from his tunic, watching the hands tick closer to the designated time.
An orange glow began to tear through the clouds along the eastern horizon. Dawn broke over the crests, illuminating the silhouettes of the hundreds of nests crowning the heights. The first giant eagles began to stir, letting out drowsy shrieks that echoed through the canyon.
Mentz hurried up to Kellar, crouching beside him.
"All charges are set on the eastern wall and the southern ridge, Shaman," Mentz reported, his breath coming in quick hitches. "Lennis and the crossbows are in position. We await your signal."
Kellar stowed the watch, took the concealed torch from Mentz, and raised his eyes toward the sunlit peaks. A cold, calculating smile spread across his face.
"Light the main fuses," Kellar ordered in a low, sharp voice. "Let the show begin."