The Crystal Grave
Upheaval: Reckoning
Chapter 18: The Crystal Grave
“Unicorns, enchantments!”
Vanguard's first swing of his two-bladed sword went through one of the shadowy unicorns coming at him. He didn't know if anypony heard him through the din, especially as he had shouted while still biting into his weapon’s hilt. He took a few steps back, and ducked a swing from his frontal attacker. Behind him, the rest of the group were dodging desperately. Their enemies were numerous, and were coming from every angle, including directly beneath.
Captain Bad Arc looked to his unicorn mage, then fired his crossbow at a nearby shadow. The bolt struck a crystal formation a good distance behind his target instead. “Enchantments!” he shouted. “Move it, Moontail!”
A shade plunged its hoof into a royal guard’s armored chest. The blow passed through the metal plating as if it wasn't there. The royal guard dropped to the ground, shivering violently, his eyes constricting. His attacker disappeared into the ground to attack another target. A second guard dropped next to him, also shivering.
“Stand next to me!” Moontail shouted. His horn already glowed while the others desperately tried to get to him with all the shadows flitting about.
Shining Armor wasn't to be left out. Once he rallied the royal guards to him, his horn flashed purple, enveloping their weapons and armor. Several feet away, Moontail had done the same.
His two-bladed sword now sheathed in magical energy, Vanguard took another swing at one of the shadowy unicorns. This time, he felt some resistance, as if he was cutting through felt. His foe let out a furious wail, then retreated into the floor. He turned in time to jump out of the way as a two more of them emerged from the ground to grab him. “Fall back!” he called out. Even with the ability to strike at these things, they were still surrounded by enemies that could literally attack from anywhere.
Shining Armor sent a shadow hurtling back with a bolt of magic. His fellow guards fought back valiantly, but it was clear that they were looking to back away. A guard was about to be overwhelmed by a couple of shadows, but Shining Armor encapsulated him in a spherical barrier, forcing the assailants to seek other targets. The barrier disappeared after a second more, allowing the guard to stumble towards his fellows.
“Riot!” one of the shadows wailed. “The new slaves are rebelling! Call the forepony!”
With shadows still closing in, Vanguard spat his weapon onto his hooves, and turned towards Moontail. “We need a spell that can sweep groups of them,” he said.
“Not really my forte, Vanguard Clash,” Moontail said as he blasted another shadow flying towards him. “Although, I've got a fire spell that could work reasonably well.”
‘Fire,’ Vanguard thought. He didn't know how well it would even work. These things seemed to be made of nothing but darkness and cold. Perhaps a blast of heat and light could take them out. Or the flames could simply pass through them. “Do it,” he said. “Aim for that cluster that’s closing in on Shining Armor’s group." He grabbed his weapon with his mouth again.
A stream of flame poured from Moontail's horn, and towards the shadows Vanguard pointed out. It wasn't a particularly impressive spell, but the shadows shrieked at the sight, and dispersed towards different directions before it could even touch them. With a break between the attacks, the royal guards quickly regrouped. Without another word, Vanguard ran towards them.
Free of having to watch out for his fellows, Shining Armor created a shimmering cover over the ground. Vanguard silently agreed with the idea. Their biggest problem was being attacked from beneath. They needed a way to force their attackers to use more conventional directions. A shadow emerged from the ceiling, and descended on Shining Armor only to be cut down by an enormous two-bladed sword.
“I’ll watch your back, Guard Captain!” Vanguard said. He positioned himself next to the unicorn. “Concentrate on that barrier of yours, and get the nearby walls!” Two more shadows flew towards Shining Armor, but Vanguard kept them at bay. The shimmering barrier coated the nearby walls, forcing the shadows to attack only from the ceiling.
With their targets funneled into a single direction, they began to drive the shadows back. Moontail fired another stream of flame at the ceiling, this time striking a pair of shadows. They wailed, then dispersed. The others phased through the stone, and didn't appear again.
A tense minute passed while they waited for the attack to resume. Most of them were panting with exertion. The other royal guards checked on their fallen comrades, only to find that the poor stallions had stopped breathing. Their bodies were cold and rigid, as if they had been dead for days.
“Are they gone?” Scarlet asked. He kept his crossbow pointed at the ceiling.
“For now,” Vanguard replied. “Keep your guards up.”
“Did we kill some of them?” Bad Arc asked.
Moontail shook his head. “How do you kill something that’s dead to start with? No. At best, we disrupted their physical forms. They'll reform in a while.”
“We should get some backup,” Shining Armor said. He looked at the scorch marks on the ceiling. “Some more fire would help."
“Sounds good,” Vanguard said. He looked to some of the guards, and one of the ponies from First Squad. The shadows managed to graze them with their freezing incorporeal touch. They complained of pain, and itchiness. Long years in the Northern Barrier Land taught him to recognize frost nip when he saw it. These ponies were lucky that what they got was the equivalent of a minor scratch from their ghostly enemies.
“Bad time to lose Third Squad’s unicorn mage then,” Bad Arc said. He stretched out his wings. “Just as when we need a fire specialist, the best one in the Legion dies.”
The rest of the squad glanced at Vanguard nervously. “I’m sure Pyre Valor regrets that her being incinerated inconveniences you, Captain Bad Arc,” he said flatly.
After a couple more minutes, Bad Arc spoke again. “Wasn't Third Squad going to get Twilight Sparkle as its new unicorn mage? I've seen her fire spells. Even she would be a boon to this mission.”
Shining Armor's eyes widened. “Twilight Sparkle?” he asked. “What’s this about Twilight Sparkle?” He turned towards Vanguard, who gave him a stern look in return. Vanguard's message was clear, even without speaking: mission first.
As they headed back, Vanguard found Shining Armor walking beside him. Shining Armor's reaction to Twilight's name was intriguing. Perhaps, the two were related, but he had a mission to deal with first. Fortunately, Shining Armor matched his professionalism.
Before they could continue ascending the slope, a cold draft suddenly blew from deeper into the mine. Vanguard pulled out his two-bladed sword. “Fenrir's hide,” he growled. “Looks like they’re not done yet!”
Shining Armor raised his barrier again, this time covering all sides of the tunnel to make sure that their enemies came at the front. Vanguard considered asking for individual shields, but he doubted Shining Armor's ability to maintain so many, as well as the shielded pony's ability to move once inside those things. Even what they were doing now was a flawed defense. These things could go under the ground and then emerge from behind them where Shining Armor's barrier didn't cover. He hoped that the enemy wasn't particularly good with strategy, or adapting.
The cold intensified as the wind picked up. An eerie, high-pitched howl assaulted their ears. It was hard to tell if it was coming from the ghosts, or merely the distorted sound of the wind passing through the mine’s tunnels. The answer to that came soon enough.
First was the same swarm of shadowy ghosts earlier. This time, the shadows didn't attack. They swarmed about in front of the group like a black cloud of angry bees. Everypony raised their weapons, and the unicorns refreshed their enchantments. That there seemed to be even more of the things was not lost on them.
“This rebellion ends here!”
The voice boomed from the far end of the tunnel, shaking the walls, and the ceiling. Bits of dust, and pebbles, fell on Vanguard. He didn't have time to pay too much attention, however. Something was approaching. The lights from the crystals at the far end seemed to be extinguishing themselves at first, until he realized that it wasn't the crystals. A great darkness was heading for them.
“Forepony!” one of the shadows wailed.
The blackness seemed to coat the sides of the tunnel at first. Then, it extended like living ink, coalescing in the middle of the swarming ghosts. An enormous, shadowy unicorn filled the tunnel, then erupted into a blaze of black fire. Even from a distance, Vanguard could feel the cold radiating from the thing. Also, unlike the smaller versions, this one had a pair of “eyes”. Two orbs of blue flame shone from its head. “The forepony,” he muttered. “Maybe if we take it down, the others will scatter for good.”
“Or we could get ourselves killed while committing to that attack,” Shining Armor replied. Behind him, Moontail cast his fire spell at the enormous shadow. The stream of flame barely seemed to hurt its target, quashing any notion of defeating the thing head on. The giant shadow let out a ferocious wail that sent the walls shaking. More dust fell on them. “We have to get out of here,” he said. “It’s going to collapse this tunnel!”
“Come on!” Bad Arc shouted. The others made a run for it while he and Scarlet fired their enchanted bolts at the shadows. Shining Armor dismissed his barrier, and retreated as well. The enormous blazing shadow took in the bolts fired at it as if the pegasi had been firing at a pool of ink. It wailed again, shaking the tunnel some more.
“Look out!” Vanguard shouted. A large section of the ceiling broke loose above Shining Armor. Vanguard dove, pushing Shining Armor out of the way. The chunk of rubble broke through the floor, leaving behind a gaping crevice. A network of cracks quickly spread from the initial hole.
“Captain!” Scarlet shouted. He was about to fly forward when Bad Arc held him back. The giant shadow had grown tired of the two of them shooting at it, and was heading their way. They had no choice but to fly back to the rest of the group.
Both Vanguard, and Shining Armor got to their hooves. Fortunately, the other shadows were still swirling about, seemingly uncaring about anything other than watching the giant one attack. Vanguard was about to take step forward when he looked to the ground. There were cracks all over the place. Suddenly, he found himself in one of the rare moments in his life when he cursed at his armor’s weight. Though he stood still in desperation, the cracks started spreading rapidly.
The floor around gave way, sending him, and Shining Armor, plummeting into the chasm beneath.
“Damn it!” Scarlet shouted as they ran back up the tunnel. Behind them, the giant blazing shadow continued to give chase, leaving him no chances to even check on the two left behind.
They galloped in a panic while shadows dogged their heels. Bits of barding clattered to the ground as some of the guards tried to make themselves lighter. One guard cried out as a shadowy hoof brushed against his hind leg. He kept running nonetheless.
By the time they were near the entrance, their lungs and legs were burning from exertion. With one last wail, the shadows turned back at the sight of sunlight. Nearly every pony in the group collapsed at the all clear.
“Damn!” Scarlet shouted again. He slammed his front hooves against the ground, sending pebbles scattering. “Damn shadows! Damn falling roof! Just damn!”
“Calm down,” Bad Arc said. “We don’t know if they died. The ghosts ignored them remember?”
“Of course they’re not dead!” Scarlet said. “The Captain can’t die from random encounters.” He looked wistfully down the tunnel. “He and that Shining Armor fellow are probably having an adventure this very instant!”
Bad Arc raised an eyebrow. ‘Interesting subordinate, Clash,’ he muttered. “Right, let’s get reinforced, then get back there for them.”
With a groan, Vanguard opened his eyes. He felt around his body to make sure he was still in one piece. His right shoulder ached badly. He recalled banging it against a ledge while he was falling. The pain was nothing compared to the ache in his left side. He looked up, trying to find the hole he and Shining Armor had fallen through. He couldn't, and that was a bad thing indeed. 'Come on, Clash, time to get a move on,' he thought.
A groan a few feet away caught Vanguard's attention. He stood up shakily, glad to know that all four legs were still reliable after that banging he took. "Shining Armor?" he called out. He had caught a brief glimpse of Shining Armor falling with him when the floor gave way.
"Here," Shining Armor replied with another groan. Vanguard walked over to find him lying on his left side. A chunk of rubble pinned his upper half to the stone floor.
"Hold still," Vanguard said. He set to work on the chunk of rubble, shoving it aside with a grunt.
Shining Armor tried to rise, only to stumble when he put some weight on his left foreleg. His face crumpled in pain as he dropped to his knees. "I think it’s broken," he said almost apologetically.
Vanguard touched the injured leg gingerly. The bone still felt whole. "Probably just a fracture," he said. "Come on." He offered a shoulder, and helped Shining Armor stand.
"We're deep in the bowels of a long-abandoned mine, I'm injured, and there's a swarm of pony ghosts still lurking about," Shining Armor said wistfully. "Any ideas, Captain Vanguard Clash?"
"Let's go look for that Crystal Grave," Vanguard replied without missing a step. “We should try to secure it at least. With any luck, it might be the key to completely defeating those ghosts.”
“Maybe we should sit here, and wait for the others," Shining Armor said. "We might just get hopelessly lost or outmatched if we keep going.”
“We’re more likely to be cornered by ghosts if we stay in one spot. We should also consider that the others may believe we’re dead, and reinforcements won’t be sent anytime soon.”
Shining Armor smiled wryly, and limped on.
As before, crystals embedded into the rock walls provided them with a reliable light source.The floor was littered with bones, fragments of barding, ancient mining equipment, and rubble from the ceiling above. Vanguard inspected one of the broken picks. The handle had shattered, and the sharp point was discolored by dried blood. It was no difficult guess to say that this tool had not been used for mining in its last moments. Unfortunately for them, they had fallen into a chamber with multiple tunnels leading out of it.
“We should keep descending,” Vanguard said. “If Princess Platinum hid something valuable in this wretched mine of hers, she most likely hid it in the deepest parts.”
Shining Armor nodded. They agreed on a tunnel to take, and began to walk. Progress was painfully slow, as well as outright painful for Shining Armor. Though Vanguard did his best, each stepped jarred him ever so slightly, and that wasn't even counting what was likely the pain of suddenly being a burden.
After what seemed like an hour of following a steadily descending tunnel, Vanguard stopped. “Let’s take a rest,” he said.
“I can still go on,” Shining Armor said.
“It’s not a matter of being able to go on. It’s a matter of being ready if something is waiting for us at the end of this tunnel. You’re sweating from exertion and, to be honest, I’m tiring myself.”
Shining Armor snorted. “Fine. A quick break then.”
They sat with their backs against the cool, stone walls. Fortunately, both their water canteens survived the fall. As they took their mouthfuls, they also had to consider that they only had a limited amount of time to spend in this place before thirst became a serious issue.
Shining Armor swallowed a mouthful of water, and replaced his canteen’s cap. "So," he said. “How do you know Twilight Sparkle?”
“We've worked together,” Vanguard replied.
That answer alone seemed to gnaw at Shining Armor. Perhaps, he didn't like the idea of Twilight working with legionnaires. He had to have expected it since she had been banished, and was making the best out of a very bad situation. Still, how had Twilight and the others been received back in the Heartland? Was there a joyous reunion, or were they considered tainted ponies?
“Is she Special Operations like you?” Shining Armor asked.
“No. Well…” Vanguard recalled Twilight’s request back in Fangbreaker Fortress. He may have painted himself to a corner. If Twilight still insisted in joining, he would be hard pressed to say no, especially with the pressure on him to get his squad back to full strength.
Shining Armor's eyes narrowed. “Well…what?”
“It’s nothing," Vanguard said. "You seem particularly concerned about her. How do you know Twilight Sparkle?”
“She's my younger sister.”
It was Vanguard’s turn to frown. “Twilight never told me that she had a brother.”
Shining Armor snorted, then smiled. “Don’t take it badly," he said. "She didn't tell her best friends about me until I invited them to my wedding. Anyway, how did you meet her?”
“She fell out of the sky, and landed on my vice captain.”
Shining Armor chuckled a bit. “Thank you,” he said. “That means you were among the first ponies she met when she went to that place, and she’s managed to make it back safely.”
“Save your thanks for until you've heard the whole truth, Captain Shining Armor,” Vanguard replied. Shining Armor looked at him questioningly, but he refused to pursue that thread of conversation for now. “She’s a good pony, your sister.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
Vanguard avoided looking at Shining Armor. He did have some things to say that Shining Armor probably didn't know, but he didn't bother saying it. Shining Armor wouldn't believe him anyway. After several more minutes, he helped Shining Armor up. “Let’s keep going,” he said.
The tunnel began to descend sharply, forcing them to go even slower so they didn't lose their footing. It was getting colder as well. They tensed as they kept walking, expecting the giant shadowy unicorn to emerge any second. It seemed like an unwarranted fear, however. Nothing had shown up so far. They were instinctively following the cold now. When they took one side tunnel, and felt it become warmer, they double backed.
After what felt like another hour, the narrow passages started to widen. An eerie, grayish-blue light shone from the end of the passageway they were following. Vanguard’s weapon was firmly clamped in his jaws, and Shining Armor’s horn was aglow as the light came closer. When they reached the end, they stopped in awe.
The passageway opened up to a massive, brightly-lit chamber. The ceiling was so high, they could barely see it. Instead of a natural cavern floor, they were faced with a carefully cut, and polished gemstone floor. The walls were worked white stone, polished to the point that they felt like glass.
Then, there was the gigantic crystal that dominated the cavern.
The two could only stare at the thing: a blue-gray crystal that appeared as a sphere first until they got a better view of the thousands of facets on it. It was easily twenty feet in height. Some sort of magic suspended it in mid-air, and rotated it very slowly. It wasn't the size, beauty, or strangeness of the crystal that held them. There was something inside the crystal, some vaguely familiar shape…
Both Vanguard, and Shining Armor tore their eyes away from the crystal long enough to look around for danger. As they had feared, dark shapes began to swirl towards the crystal from the ceiling. They immediately backed down the tunnel to hide. One by one, the shadowy unicorns surrounded the thing silently. They had not been noticed it seemed.
“Is that the Crystal Grave?” Shining Armor whispered. “What do you think it has to do with those ghosts?”
“Maybe the name is more literal than we expected,” Vanguard whispered back. The hidden archives were vague on details, but he could tell that it was hardly a mana battery. And that thing inside...perhaps there was more to this thing than what had been mentioned.
The giant form of “the forepony” emerged from the ceiling, joining the smaller ones in circling the crystal.
“Any plan?” Shining Armor asked.
Vanguard smiled wryly. “Didn't quite expect to make it here without complications,” he said.
Shining Armor focused on the crystal, likely going through his spells for something useful.
“Shining Armor,” Vanguard said.
Shining Armor glanced Vanguard's way. “Huh?”
“How long can you hold that barrier of yours?”
Shining Armor snorted. “Days if I have to.”
“Think you can encapsulate that crystal?”
“I could if it doesn't react badly to magic and--”
Shining Armor quickly silenced himself as one of the shadows swirled nearby. The shape had no visible eyes like the giant one, but they could tell that it was looking around. It stopped mid-flight, then slowly hovered towards where they were.
Vanguard's heart raced. This was it. They would be discovered, and slain. “Do it,” he said. With that, he sprang from their hiding place, and made a run for the crystal. The ghosts sent up a wail, and began to congregate around him. The plan was a simple gamble. Something must be tying these ghosts here, especially since they were killed so long ago. Something called “Crystal Grave" was a good candidate. That they were constantly swirling around the crystal helped confirm that theory. Behind him, Shining Armor cursed, then hobbled as close as possible to the crystal.
With the ghosts chasing after Vanguard, Shining Armor concentrated on the crystal. The purplish light of his barrier began to surround the thing easily enough. Halfway through the spell, however, the barrier slowed down.
“Any time now, Shining Armor!” Vanguard shouted. He ran zigzags across the massive cavern with ghosts in hot pursuit. The giant shadow descended upon him as well.
Three quarters of the spell in, Vanguard took a quick glance at his ally. Shining Armor was sweating profusely despite the cold, and was forced to close one eye when a trickle went over it. He looked as if he was trying to push a boulder up an almost vertical slope.
“Shining Armor!” Vanguard yelled again. He waved his two-bladed sword desperately to keep his foes at bay.
After what felt like an eternity of struggling, Shining Armor finished his spell. The ghosts gave a long, dolorous wail, then dissipated like smoke.
Panting, Vanguard walked over to Shining Armor. “Cutting it a little close, Unicorn Guard Captain?” he asked.
“You’re not a frozen corpse are you?” Shining Armor replied. “That’s good enough.”
“How are you holding up?” Vanguard asked.
“It’s easier now that I actually completed it. Still, I hope our reinforcements have some willow bark with them.” Shining Armor stared at the crystal. "I have to say I'm glad that my wife, and my sister hadn't gone deep enough to encounter these things when they were stuck in the mines."
Vanguard didn't reply. That was a curious incident that Shining Armor casually mentioned. Perhaps he could hear more about it once they were safe. Twilight wouldn't have been able to proceed deeper anyway. Their group encountered Lexarius's protective seal while they were descending, and had to use an incantation to attune themselves to it, and pass through.
Without any threats so close, they could now focus on the crystal. Just as they had thought, there was something inside it; a large, pony-shaped figure. They could see a long horn…wings…
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Darkness Arrise
not much in the way of exposition, but the combat more then makes up for it
the only thing which I don't get is how did Shining Armor's spell get rid of the ghosts at the end? did it cut off their connection to the huge crystal, thereby causing them to not exist anymore?
welp, this takes away from my "everypony except Vanguard, Shining, and Scarlet dies" theory but it still is good none the less.
Now it's time to see what Starswirl and Crystal Grave were really up to XD
640114
If I was to guess, it's not that they lost connection to the crystal but instead they are a projection from the crystal. If the crystal is blocked then it cant project ghosts anymore..... or in theory anyways.
Dun dun dunnnnn!
I love how you are writing Shining Armor and the Royal Guard, it's nice that they aren't just useless and that they are fighting alongside the Legion Ponys as what seems like equals.
i think the spell encapsulated the central crystal breaking the connection to the tangeable bodies so the ghosts didn't have enough energy to manifest physically anymore. o and there seems to be 5 alicorns in equestria now i wonder how long till 6?
640148 that also make sense, until we get more info, both sound legit in my mind
Besides a few errors (i believe at some spots there are words missing)
This is another nice chapter :)
Twilight Sparkle must become the new Alicorn.
didnt know you were here too
Long horn and wings.... What could that possibly mean?
Well done sir, nice chapter.
Huh, since Shining Armor mentioned his wife, does that mean that Cadence will make appearance? Not that I'd be very glad tho, she kinda irritates me being so marysueish and stuff. Perhaps an unicorn Cadence, how Faust planned? Anyway, nice chapter. I can't keep from picturing Vanguard's armor and sword like Guts' btw
Woohoo, Vanguard and Shining armor doing stuff... and bonding... and more back story and few more puzzles fell to their places...
and than there's the alicorn embedded in a crystal.
Oceanus? I don't think so.
More likely the previous attempt of a pony to became an alicorn, maybe princess Platinum herself, or Clover the Clever? Or maybe someone else.
Also, those are the mines Twilight and Cadence were imprisoned? Interesting, but it kinda makes sense.
i like the *gasp* moments... like now that shining armor get to know what his sister has been up to... woul love to see a one on one with the bother and sister to see that her sister surpassed him in combat XD
I hope that twilight gets a chance to go avatar state soon. Also, Fancy Pants is dead and I am sad.
641942 Fancies dead? when did that happen? I either skimmed over it or didn't read the chapter.
640556 yes, Cadence has been mentioned, the most interesting example being: "After her return, Luna had grown suspicious and worked with one of the royal “nieces”, Princess Cadance, to investigate the changelings." so Cadence is some kind of secret agent? that should be interesting...
as for Cadence being marysueish, this *is* Visiden we're talking about here, he integrated the new canon from the final seamlessly, like it was just All According to Plan, so I wouldn't worry too much about Cadence.
643015 He was the very first pony to die. Back when Applejack visited the Eternal Herd, she met Fancy Pants there and he told her how he got there, although he was still confused about being dead. Yes, it was a very long time ago, but I always remember Fancy Pants.
Oceanus, I believe
640179
I'm hoping that we'll see a non-destructive absorption of the Guard, bringing it in as a regiment[1] or set of regiments to allow its traditions to be maintained. Ideally including the variable terms for private soldiers seen in some RL militaries[2] so that a rank and file pony in the Guard derived portion is a guardspony rather than a legionnaire.
[1] British meaning, not American.
[2] e.g. Canada has privates, riflemen, (rifle regiments), gunners, (artillery), troopers, (armour), etc.
646278 As someone else pointed out to me earlier in the comments, this is another example of something Terrato and Co. could be making better decisions about. Instead of drafting heartland ponies into the Legion, they should be accepting volunteers into an expanded Royal Guard.
ALICORNS
ALICORNS EVERYWHERE
Ha HA! What do you require?
a0.twimg.com/profile_images/1517708276/49600_-_season_2_template_twilight_sparkle_yes_square.png
Lauren Faust say: there are 53 alicorns in MLP_FIM.
Oceanus. Of course. See you later when I have enough energy to be surprised.
So far I'm quite enjoying this story, but it occurs to me that the draft is a very dumb idea and there doesn't seem to be a reason for it. You really only want to have a draft when you just need bodies and so far it doesn't sound like the Equestrian legion just needs bodies, it sounds like the Legion is doing pretty well overall so I don't see the need to suddenly force a bunch of unwilling ponies to the front. Unless they wanted to be seen more as invaders instead of long lost cousins, so to speak.
Recruiting stations make sense but a sudden draft is just dumb unless they can't get the bodies they need. A draft in this situation would be like if Germany suddenly showed up in France and demanded that one member of each family joined to fight a war against Austria.
fragments of Oceanus? possibly. since theres an alicorn in clovers tomb aswell.
5046444 ...GREAT IDEAAAA~
Now I can take over Austria...
I feel bad for not knowing that country. Even Shipper acts as if he does.
Actually, their invasion is gonna have heavy casualties, so they need the veterans on the frontline, and want to stuff the holes with lots of heartlanders.
Not looking forward to their first battles...