Turn 3 Empire
The time had come to bring out the big guns and three charges were declared! The “Iron Hearts” surged forward to run down the remains of the Rhinox cavalry (RH2) that had charged them. On the opposite end of the field of battle the Swordsmen (S3) detachment charged the lone Bull (B1) attacking the archer detachment (A1) of “ The Gate Wardens”. Then an infernal roar shook the battlefield as the steam tank “INDOMITABLE” rumbled across the broken ground toward the unit of Maneaters that marched in tight ranks alongside the Tyrant Olaf and his Slaughtermaster. Caught up in the surge of forward movement the remains of the heroic halberdiers of the “THE BLUES OF LADY MOLLY” stormed the Tower on the Hill in the wake of the Archlector and the survivors of the archer detachment (A2) of the “COLD STEEL BROTHERHOOD” move forward to support the “INDOMITABLE”. Finally, Troop A of the Pistoliers of the 36th Light Horse regrouped and turned their flagging mounts to the enemy.
Flank Charge: is that wise with bulls on our flank sir?
Full speed ahead....brace for impact!!
We have the tower... who has the flag??
More Rhinox my Lord... Tally ho!!!
Now came the moment Pieter Moncke had been both dreading and waiting for…it was time to summon the dwellers below. Drawing on the winds of magic he called upon them with such force that the men of the 6th Rhorhausen & Weningen Foot (“THE REDEEMED”/ TR) paled as they witnessed the raw power of the mage. Before their eyes the ground heaved and rolled towards the Bulls (B2) bearing down on the flank of the charging swordsmen (S3) of their regiment. In the wink of an eye, two of the massive brutes were swallowed by a gaping maw that appeared beneath their iron-shod feet. The rest lost their nerve and fled to the cheers of the halberdiers. Moncke smiled weakly I response to the shouts of praise he received and cast baleful eyes upon his real objective – the Ironguts (I1) who were pillaging Witchtor Van Hemek- knowing that his days work had only just begun.
Within the walls of the village, Master Engineer Heer Sebastian Block I.E found that he absolutely forgotten his pigeons ….and their bombs. His frustration with the rocket batteries had reached boiling point. Their shots had missed the mark all battle. He kicked the gun carriage and to the crew’s utter amazement the complex firing mechanism of “Firestorm” engaged, sending a salvo of rockets dancing wildly through the sky. The munitions found their mark - smashing into a mass of hapless Gnoblar (G2) killing 10 of the insignificant creatures on impact. The survivor just stood there, more out of stunned surprise and a desire to loot the fallen than any elevated notions of bravery.
As the sound of the rockets died down the din of combat rose to fill the void it left. The swordsmen (S3) swiftly dispatched the lone Ogre Bull (B1). Still, it was the charge of the “INDOMITABLE” that drew all eyes. The Maneaters rushed towards the charging tank not to protect their leader but to earn a bigger share of the booty by smashing open what they saw as a tin can on wheels. Herr Sabian Blocke I.E. smiled as he thought of the look on his older brother’s face as he received laurels for crushing the Ogre Tyrant and his guard. His smile widened as he marveled at the Ogres’ lack of understanding of even the most basic concepts of physics – he had momentum on his side. The “INDOMITABLE” pulverized the Maneaters killing both of them outright and even wounding the Slaughtermaster, then came the first impact! The young engineer felt it before he heard it. All the instrument panels hissed and steamed as they began to explode around the hapless engineer. He was getting his own lesson in physics as Olaf’s Thundermace split the hull of the tank as if it were made of paper. Multiple systems failed and Blocke just managed to escape the crumbling behemoth. The shaking stopped but the ringing in his ears continued as he looked up to see two Gnoblars emerge from the hatch of the steamtank each bearing one of the two control stick of the tank. He picked himself up and limped off toward the approaching archers dejectedly thinking of the time he would have to spend repairing the “INDOMITABLE” assuming that they won the day and recovered the tank’s remains. (Game note: In an incredible set of dice rolls two sword Gnoblars rolled 6’s to wound the stank and I rolled two 1’s to save, thus removing the last two wounds on my precious stank- Gnoblars claim the kill- oh the ignominy!!!)
Death of a Stank 1: Impact!!
Death of a Stank 2: those damned gnoblars