Imperials Vs. Sentinels- part 4- The Valiant and the Faithful

Part 8- Losses and gains

The invasion of Tanashima had started off rough for the knights, and it hadn't gotten any better once they secured the beach. The samurai were ruthless fighters, and even with almost a quarter of a million invaders, the samurai outnumbered the knights almost 3 to 1. Put simply, the chances of a successful conquest of Tanashima looked very slim without reinforcements. The consideration of reassigning knights in other regions came up, as roughly seven hundred thousand knights were undergoing conquests in the northern regions. This was turned down, however. The last thing Shade wanted was for one defending nation to defeat his troops; there would be a real cause for worry then.

So the knights stayed and fought, which was also a poor decision. Shade refused to surrender, and as a result the knights were forced to repulse attack after attack, having their forces quickly and repeatedly crushed by the defending samurai. To make matters worse, the knights had lost ground. They had initially reached the town of Folsham, three and a half miles inland. The vanguard of the attack had started off very successful, carving their way into the nation and capturing vital points, such as an armoury and two storage houses. Within the next three days, all of those buildings had been lost and the knights were pushed all the way back to Clorostsan, just four kilometres from the beach they had invaded. So far, the samurai were unable to reclaim it, and they would be the defenders in the next attack.

Only a small fraction of the original landing force remained, and Shade was planning an all or nothing mission. If this plan failed, Tanashima would be lost. If they won, they would buy themselves crucial time to regroup and advance further. The target was the city of Granthane, a medium sized, prosperous city that had a lot to loot. If they could capture it, the army would earn a much needed replenishment of food, weapons and morale. It would be costly, but Shade knew if they were to capture and kill Tanashima's rulers, they had to win the city, the cost being irrelevant.

Soon, the plan was set, and the next morning, it was executed. The remaining ten thousand troops set course for Granthane, looking shaken, but ready for battle. One feature of Granthane was the large stone arch above it, marking the entrance of the quickest route to the next city. Shade would use that if this battle was won.

The fighting commenced almost immediately, the defending samurai looking for the decisive blow to end Verana's army's short occupation of their land. The knights hit hard, swiftly pushing the samurai back until the borders of the city were almost secure. Victory was so close, Shade, who was also killing every samurai in sight, could almost taste it. Just before the samurai retreated behind the arch to give up the city, a masked Pokemon lead another group of roughly five hundred samurai soldiers to the arch. Shade wasn't fazed- five hundred was nothing on their numbers. It wasn't until another four thousand, lead by another group of masked Pokemon, entered from the left and right that he began to consider surrendering. Three Pokemon, all masked, lead eight thousand five hundred samurai to the city from three directions, facing the remaining, exhausted knights.

The battle was fierce, as knights both on top of and under the arch fought for their lives. The three masked leaders were exceptionally skilled, and Shade suddenly realised who they were. One was a Greninja, with a blade resembling a katana, but it was longer. One was a Chestnaught, with a long, wooden, metal studded club, and the other was a Delphox, wielding a long wooden staff, with a curved blade on the end of it. They were the three leaders they had been fighting to kill. They played a crucial part in the city's defence.

As Shade focused on the battle again, he saw a samurai decapitate a knight before seeing one knight fall to his death as a result of being thrown off of the top of the arch. Another knight took an arrow to the neck, dying instantly. It was then, as Shade saw all of the knights falling around him, he knew that the samurai were going to win, and Tanashima was lost. He recalled all of his surviving knights to the beaches as the samurai chased down and killed many more knights on the way back. They rallied on the wall as the knights fell back to their ships, waiting a mile offshore. Of the fleet that had arrived on Tanashima, only thirty ships carrying seven thousand five hundred and nine knights returned to Verana. All but one of the sixty of the archers sent by the flaming arrow were killed during the failed invasion.

Shade was relieved to see Seramon on his ship, as he was the one Pokemon who Shade trusted enough to be second in command.
"What do we do now, Shade?"
Seramon asked.
It was a question Shade couldn't answer. He didn't know if recalling his conquest was a good idea, but they would need the troops to defend the nation. It was something he had to think about, and fast. A counter offensive could come at any moment. Shade was in a very difficult position, as his imaginary empire was slowly crumbling. So far, the loss in his imaginary empire was nothing on his real one.