Note: I will be taking next week off in observance of Easter. Have a blessed Holy Week everyone!
Henry leaned back. ‘Kingslayer’ was a bit on the nose, but hey – at least it was more badass than something like ‘Epic Fury.’
Sinclair got right to it. “So, you know, per the operation’s whole namesake, our main objective is to eliminate the Goblin King. And ideally we do that with minimal collateral damage to the mines and forges. Second objective is to capture the suspected Rune System intact – the dwarves want that casus belli, and it also wouldn’t hurt to know just how deep the Nobians are in all this.”
She pulled up her tablet and turned it toward him. The drone footage had essentially mapped out the entirety of Velkrath, down to individual fenwyrms hanging around in what used to be dwarven stables.
“You wouldn’t believe it, but I somehow managed to get Drunn on board for airstrikes – pending confirmation from the Council of Masters, of course, but still. It’s something, right?” She zoomed out and traced the gap between the stables and the nearest structures. “So this cluster here is the main fenwyrm housing, and this over here is a row of old shipping warehouses, which the dwarves used to use for outbound freight. They’re maybe a hundred meters apart – technically good enough to use JDAMs, but I suppose the dwarves would see that as a bit too close for comfort. So we’re mostly using SDBs.
“Now, ideally, we’d love to just drop something on the Rune System building too and call it a day. But there’s no telling what happens when you bomb an active Tier Nine mana source. Could be nothing, could be catastrophic. Nobody on our side – or theirs, for that matter – has the expertise to make that call with any confidence. So that’s obviously off the table. Which means the only place we’re using JDAMs is on the primary wall facing the road, to bust open an entry for the main assault.”
She picked up her tea and took a sip before continuing.
“So here’s where we’re at. With Korth Varren gone and the convoy dealt with, the goblins have consolidated everything back to Velkrath. All of it – the only exception being the fenwyrm lord scouts they’ve been sending out periodically for visual coverage, but that’s maybe a handful at any given time. We’re planning to hit early morning, before they launch for the day, so ideally every single one of them is still grounded when the strikes go in.
“Staging area is a tree line about a mile south, along the main road. That’s where the army forms up – roughly five thousand Ovinnish regulars, fifty-odd adventurer parties including the Mithril Order, plus Alpha Team and Lucan’s Chosen. Everyone holds there until the air clears.”
She picked the tablet back up, fiddled with something for a second, and set it down again. The overhead view now had red overlays across the stables, a few fortified positions along the outer walls, and a set of larger markers at the primary wall facing the road.
“We’re tasking four F-15EXs and two F-35s. The Eagles will take care of everything in red, from the stables to the barracks to the wall. We’re going to bust right through the front door. Once the initial run is done, the jets will maintain Combat Air Patrol and clean up any surviving fenwyrm lords – which, in an ideal world, should be none. They’ll hold for ten minutes after the last strike to let the dust settle and confirm air supremacy, then pivot: F-35s shift to forward air control, and we rotate the Eagles on CAS for the rest of the operation.
“And I actually had to do a bit of historical research for this, but it turns out that in medieval sieges, the vast majority of attacker casualties are incurred during the assault on the walls themselves. Which, fortunately for us, the jets completely solve. Once the wall’s open and the fenwyrms are dealt with, the pilots radio me, and I give Drunn the go-ahead. I’ll be in the command tent with him and Tormund.
“That’s when the main assault kicks off. Dwarven phalanxes push through the openings in the wall, adventurer parties running mobile support. At that point, the entire area around the breach should already be clear from the bombing, so the initial push is relatively low-risk. While the main body moves into the city streets, a few parties peel off to clear what’s left of the walls and get the main gate open so the rest of the army can pour in without funneling through the breach.”
Henry tried picturing it. Amusing as the thought was, dwarven phalanxes lowkey sounded terrifying. Roman phalanxes were already nasty enough against similarly equipped opponents, and dwarves were practically born for that kind of warfare. Against poorly trained goblin fodder, the engagement would be like Roman legions mowing through conscript levies.
“Once the army is properly inside and the main road is secured, that’s your cue. You bring the MRAPs through the gate and drive toward wherever the Goblin King is – you and Lucan’s Chosen. If the fighting’s already drawn it out, great. But if it’s still holed up, you’ll need to find a way to lure it into the open. Either way, you engage and eliminate.”
Henry nodded along, but part of him still couldn’t let go of the Lucan issue. The convoy ambush had gone well enough; Lucan’s party was genuinely effective against low-tier fodder that couldn’t fight back. But there was a massive difference between a Tier Seven convoy and a Tier Nine legendary. Although Maren and Vaela were trustworthy enough – hell, and maybe even that silent tank guy, too – Henry had no idea how Lucan handled himself when things got actually dangerous.
He’d at least tried to bridge the gap by sharing some bulgogi with Lucan’s party the night after the convoy op. Hopefully that counted for something.
Sinclair continued, “Only after the King is dealt with do you move on the Rune System. And take it slow. Chances are any Nobian operators would’ve pulled out long before the assault, but with invisibility magic being a thing, you never really know. That said, the Nobians aren’t stupid – they’re not going to die defending a building when they can just disappear and set up somewhere else. As long as we secure the evidence, that’s all we need on that front.”
She retrieved her tablet. “Anyway, once the Rune System goes down, the goblins should lose whatever coordination they’ve got left and scatter. After that, it’s cleanup.”
On paper, it sounded simple enough. In practice, though – Henry exhaled lightly. “You really think it’s gonna go that smooth? The main assault, sure, I buy it. But they don’t have to deal with the Goblin King.”
“Or Lucan,” Sera added.
Henry gave a small nod. “Right… yeah.” He looked back at Sinclair. “So what do we actually know about this thing?”
Sinclair shook her head. “Not as much as I’d like. The drones have been on it for weeks, but it spends most of its time indoors, so we haven’t had much opportunity to study its behavior. What we do know is mostly from the Guild’s records on Goblin Kings in general, and… well, same issue as always – there just aren’t many of those.”
She shifted slightly.
“The only useful intel we’ve been able to confirm is that it doesn’t move alone. Every time it’s been spotted outside, it’s had a small retinue – hobgoblin Mages and Warriors, all of them in heavy mithril plate. Based on what we’ve seen, I’d estimate elite variants. Hobgoblin Honor Guard, I think is the formal designation. Probably Tier Seven to Tier Eight.
“And with mithril armor – even poorly forged – your rifles aren’t going to cut it. You’d need to go heavier. TOWs, grenades, or…” She paused, giving him a look. “Blunt force trauma, if you catch my drift.”
Henry huffed a quiet laugh. “What, you mean run them over?”
“Well, you’ve got two MRAPs, don’t you?”
He shrugged. “Yeah… yeah, fair enough.”
Sinclair moved on. “As for the King itself – according to Guild records, Goblin Kings aren’t specialized the way hobgoblin variants are. They’re more of a generalist package: versatile magic, solid in physical combat, and tactically about as sharp as a trained knight. So really, whatever a hobgoblin can do, a Goblin King does it at Tier Nine. Jack of all trades, master of… most, I suppose.”
Henry grimaced slightly. Yeah, that was pretty fucking terrifying. “So basically we’re fighting a competent Tier Nine adventurer.”
“Maybe,” Sinclair said, tilting her head a fraction, “but I’d be careful with that comparison. That would imply any Tier Nine swordsman could match it one-on-one, and frankly, even with everything Lucan’s supposed to be, I kind of doubt it’s that straightforward.” She paused. “Given your track record, I’d probably think of it more like a Vorikha Apex – just more humanoid, more intelligent, and with more varied magic.”
Henry frowned. It had taken actual armor support to put down the Apex near Eldralore. This far up the mountains, they only had the jets, which probably wouldn’t even be able to assist them without risking friendly fire.
Sinclair exhaled slowly. “Look, I hate to be the one to say this, but I think we need to be realistic about your role in the King fight. Given what we know about Goblin Kings, this is fundamentally a Tier Nine engagement, and unfortunately, that means it’s Lucan’s fight. Not yours.”
Henry glanced at Sera. She had the same expression he did.
“I know, I know,” Sinclair went on. “It’s not exactly what you want to hear. But quite frankly, you’re going to be far more effective in a support capacity here. Open with a TOW from range before Lucan’s party engages, see if you can’t soften it up before the melee starts. After that, your priority should be the Honor Guard. If you can strip those away and give Lucan’s party a clean, uninterrupted fight with the King, that’s probably the single most valuable thing you can contribute to that fight.”
She gave a small, almost apologetic shrug. “He’ll get the credit, naturally, but such is the indignity of our line of work.”
Henry sighed; Sinclair had a point. He’d gotten so used to being the main effort on everything that he’d started treating it as the default, and it wasn’t. Not in any normal operation, anyway.
Didn’t make it any less annoying, though.
“Yeah, you’re right,” he said. “Guess I’ll just have to steel myself for when Lucan inevitably rubs it in our faces for the rest of eternity.”
Sera sighed. “A burden we shall bear with the utmost grace, I am sure.”
Sinclair looked between the two of them. “Any questions? Concerns? Lucan notwithstanding, of course.”
Henry thought it over. The plan was solid, all things considered. He glanced at Sera, who gave a slight shake of her head.
“No, I think we’re good.”
“Alright. I should have the finalized plan within a few days, once the Council signs off. If there’s anything you need before then, let me know so I can get it on the next resupply.”
“Actually, yeah.” Henry pulled up a mental list. “We’re gonna want TOWs, Switchblades, .50 cal, and Mk47 rounds. And more of the red ammo – as much as they can spare.”
Sinclair raised an eyebrow. “The red stuff? You’re not planning on firing that yourself, are you?”
“Nah, that’s all Sera.” He tilted his head toward her. “I think it’ll be far more effective against something that isn’t, y’know, the size of a fucking skyscraper.”
Sinclair chuckled. “Right.”
“Also, heads up on the MRAPs – the suspension took a beating during our… uh, escape. I’ve got Owens looking into it. I’ll have him reach out to you directly if he needs parts or components, but we should have most of what we need in the holding cart.”
Sinclair nodded, already typing something into her tablet. “Got it. I’ll flag the ammo request tonight, then.”
“Appreciate it.”
She pocketed her tablet and stood. “Well, I’ve got about three hours of reports to file before I can even think about dinner. You two enjoy the rest of your afternoon.”