The sun began to show it's rays above the mountain tops as Jack's camp had packed up and were forming into battlelines.
"Gunnar, the cavalry won't be effective in the woods. Let them stay here as a fall-back security. Instead take the centaurs and scout ahead as our vanguard. I want a full report on their capabilities later."
Gunnar bowed and dismounted his own mount, and instead crawled onto the back of one of the largest centaurs.
They had the upper bodies of men, and had been equipped with spare chain-mail and leather armour pieces.
Their long horseback easily allowed Gunnar to mount them as a regular horse.
The centaurs were trash rank, and as the trash ranked human troops, they didn't posses a direct weapon skill like archery or spearmanship.
However they could still swing a sword, thrust with a spear or knock and arrow.
Even without proper 'training or skill' they could still use the equipment.
So many carried each kind of these three weapons. Even a company of around 200 of them, used the civilians 2-handed woodcutting axes.
It was all spare equipment the army had brought along in their supply wagons.
The centaurs weren't summoned with a spear like the human troops, and Jack just wanted the centaurs to have some kind of weapon.
Gunnar and the centaurs slowly advanced through the outer woods before Jack moved.
20.000 common spearmen with the tower-shields.
15.000 swordsmen with the round spike-shields.
10.000 archers with shortbows for manoeuvrability and fast draws inside the woods.
"Swordsmen in front! Archers in the center! Spearmen, form protective flanks and rear! The other armies are advancing from the forests sides and will meet us in the center! Don't be afraid, this wood will be ours before nightfall!"
Jack yelled this to solidify his troops.
"Advance!" Jack dismounted and left Blackmane with the 5000 cavalry.
The Blackwood's truly wasn't a place for such beasts.
The trees where high, their crowns blocking the light.
The trees had multiple twisted branches that often reached the ground and blocked many paths.
Together with other vines and spiked bush and undergrowth, the march was slow.
However the centaurs had already used their swords and axes to cut many small paths that the main army could widen.
The centaurs had even used their hooves to trample undergrowth into the dirt.
'Effective in the woods, who would have guessed'.
The centaurs already proved useful in the forest, even if it was currently just to make paths.
It didn't take long before fighting began.
Colossal spiderwebs were thick in the canopy and towards the trees twisted middlebranches.
Spiders as big as hounds appeared in dirt-brown and sickly green colours.
They had let the centaurs pass their nests and feeding ground. The creatures were large and strange.
However soon a large herd of appetising creatures arrived.
They watched the humans in streams below and around the trees.
Just as a fisherman on the rivers side would look as thousands of fat fish suddenly swam lazily by.
The spiders didn't pass this chance.
"Arrregh!"
"Heelp!"
Cries and short bursts of pain arose from the troops on all flanks.
The brown spiders threw dense nets of web, catching and pulling troops into the canopy.
The green spiders ambushed troops and injected an overkill of deadly venom.
The venom burned the entire nervous system in seconds, and the troops cried with extreme pain for just those few seconds before going limp and silent, falling to the ground as a doll.
'Only a few hundred. We will end this fast and continue'.
Jack was used to loosing troops and was not shaken in the slightest.
The melee troops quickly learned to counter the spiders and their webs or venomous fangs found nothing more but walls of shields.
In return, many arrows now found them.
Spider bodies fell from the trees everywhere.
The ones on the ground was speared or slashed through. The few surviving spiders simply retreated and vani
shed.
"Report!" Jack yelled.
An archer came running.
"Emperor!" He saluted.
"We lost about 200 troops! 350 spiders has been slain! The rest are fleeing far and wide."
The archer said no more than a useful battle report.
"Good. Take 100 archers and 500 swordsmen. Get the spider corpses to cavalry camp, they might be useful. Gather our dead and burn them. If we have wounded, try to help them, maybe the chocolate bars helps. Also if you can climb the trees, search for any webbed survivors!".
Jack left the archer in command of these commands, he saw the shadow of panic flash on the face on the troop for a second.
The troops knew how to fight, but it was the very rare few that had any innate commanding ability.
'I think I understand what the Officer's Academy blueprint is for... I should create the academy at Eros when I come back. I have other things to finish first.'
Pushing through the Blackwood's they only had few and small skirmishes with some dark wolves and what Jack thought was their prey.
A deer-looking animal, clearly herbivores.
They they were the size of an earth-pony, slender as a deer and with two heads. Their colours ranged from deep green to dark-pink and red.
However they were very skittish and Jacks archers only managed to shoot a few.
He sent everything back to the cavalry camp with the supply wagons. He wanted to taste their meat later.
After a few hours of pushing through the trees, a small flock of centaurs suddenly broke through the bushes ahead.
"Emperor! We have made contact with the other armies. Ruben and William have gathered further ahead. We found Giants! But you better come look for yourself!"
Gunnar spoke with excitement and sent a centaur troop for Jack to mount.
'Something is wrong. Why is he excited to see Giants?'
Jack quickly mounted the centaur and it carried him after Gunnar through the woods.
It was completely different to ride a centaur compared to the fast, strong and steady gallop of Blackmane. However the centaur still kept him safe, was extremely agile while bending through trees and undergrowth.
And it knew where it was going. Jack could simply lean back and enjoy the free ride.
Soon they came to a small clearing where his commanders were located.
"Emperor!" The commanders saluted and all the troops froze and saluted for a second before resuming duties.
"Report commanders. What's this I hear about giants?"
Jack wanted to know immediately. His curiosity getting the better of him.
William was the first to speak up;
"As we easily fought the uncommon creatures of the woods while advancing through the woods. But when we reached the area leading to the large path through the mountains, we found it was already occupied by around 100 giants and a huge fire!"
Ruben took it from here;
"We immediately combined our armies and surrounded the giants with 100.000 troops. But as we advanced with the engaging force, the giants noticed us and suddenly came forward and placed one of the woods skittish animals before us!"
Gunnar finished the tale;
"Emperor, we firmly believe it was an offering! The way the giant placed it with a slight bent back... It was the way I would place a gift for a stranger myself!"
'Giants that gives gifts? I'm certain the 'god' back then, told me that there were no 'sentient natives' on Prime. Sure some creatures could have a higher degree of intelligence, but I got the impression that no native civilization whatsoever existed..'
Jack was quiet for a while, thinking about this.
'I can come up with no other explanation... The Giant might be another lord! I'll have too see for myself!"
"Bring the wagon with ore-resources. Quickly!"
The commanders guessed Jack wanted to give a gift in return and they were right.
About two hours later, the wagon finally appeared.
They had emptied it such as only 50 kilo's of iron, 50 kilo's of silver and 100 kilo's of gold nuggets remained.
'Let's see who these giants truly are!'
Jack advanced with his commanders and many troops and centaurs to push the wagon.
The huge mountains suddenly broke in two, a many kilometres high and many meters wide passage appeared between the mountains.
As if a giant sword had split them in two down the middle.
At the foot of the mountains, the beginning of this pathway, a huge bonfire was burning.
And around it was a hundred giants.
They where big as trees, 10-30 meters tall.
They looked like humans but their arms and legs where thick as trees.
Jack advanced and the centaurs pushed the wagon to him, before they went back to the ranks near the trees.
Jack stood alone with the wagon as the tallest 30 meter high giant came to meet him.
They eyed eachother for a while before Jack spoke.
"Can you speak?" He said.
And this certainly surprised the giant.
"You are a lord?" It simply replied, and Jack inspected him at once.
[Lord Empharus, Giant]
[Fortitude: 65]
[Spirit Power: 20]
[Abilities: Wood Nourishing Salivor(Epic)]
"Yes I am a lord. I heard you gave my troops a gift, and I come with a gift in return."
He gestured to the wagon and the giant inspected it.
"Thank you, Lord Jack." Was all the giant lord Empharus said.
He grabbed the wagon in one hand and turned around to leave.
"Wait Empharus. We've both given gifts. We shouldn't be enemies. However, I need these lands and the mountains beyond. Tell me, where did you come from, and what's your purpose here?"
Jack had no intention to fight the giants if it could be avoided. But he also needed these lands and would kill them all if they were an obstacle.
Empharus turned out to be a giant of few words, and shortly explained their situation.
"Reptilian lords killed my civilians and troops. I fled deep into mountain caves. Reptilian lord vanished, I came back out. Now you come and remove me again."
It was short. But very simple to understand.
"Do you wish to live in peace, Empharus? Planet Prime is not peaceful, you must fight... Or surrender to someone who can keep you safe."
Empharus looked at Jack for a long while.
"Giants are strong. But we are few. We can fight hard, but do not wish to perish. If you want the lands, we will leave."
Jack understood him now. He truly just wanted to live en peace and would continue to move whenever there were danger.
'But we are few'... Jack thought about the giants words.
'Maybe he simply doesn't have any resources to summon new giants!'
"I have a proposal Empharus. Surrender your title and summoning stones to me. Join my Empire. And I will not only make your people safe and secure, but I will resummon your lost people in numbers you've never seen before!"
Empharus was already tempted. To see his people flourish in numbers again would be a dream come true.
Ever since he came to prime he had been alone. A single giant civilian was expensive and he had spend everything to gain the small village he had build. But that reptilian had taken it all from him, and now only a hundred giants remained.
"Summoning my people is very expensive. Impossible to find that much gold."
Was all the giant said and turned to leave.
But Jack simply called for all his men to show themselves.
150.000 common troops emerged and encircled the giants.
"Look at them. Look at the number and their ranks. I have large cities, harbours and trade partners l. I have a mountain of gold. You will be protected. I will help you build a city of giants! Just surrender to me, Empharus. Do it now."
Jack was sincere, but also wanted the giant to make a choise. He couldn't spend days to build relations.
In less than two weeks, he needed to board his ships and set sail. And more work still needed to be done.