A Line in the Sand - War Communique

[Asophix 113]

Once upon a time, two influential and adventurous lords under the name of @ Asophix  and @ Sir Windows  decided to try their lucks in the vast desert. The tale of a prosperous, yet winding and long road with unforeseeable end on the horizon immediately hooked them on a quest.

The initial conquest went admirably: dispatching rival warlords like harvesting wheat proved a far from difficult task for the two. Reaching the sixth signpost however on the trail, they met a large rival alliance in their path, who were protecting a large swathe of the land ahead. The two wanderers were forced to dig in on the narrow coastline, as the opposition were beckoning with their full might.

This cooperative mission involves a whopping of 6 opponents - three Kahinahs, two Nomads and a safely tucked away Saladin - with a large real estate and a lot of resources. Asophix in the red colours took on the responsibility of protecting Sir Windows in green, who could safely build an initial economy, however the team had to be vigilant to quickly erect a rudimentary defense line, bracing for impact.

For a Bloke to Go Broke

The initial minutes were hurtful. Asophix knew from an earlier attempt how the immense pressure requires a steady number of troops, so he got up some walls with a tower in front with some help from his ally. He noticed that a rogue Bedouin Outpost was also pumping out troops, so he dispatched about 15 Camel Riders to dismantle the structure. In the meantime, Sir Windows was also immediately mustering a force of Crossbowmen reinforcing the front lines, while also building his economy in the nearby marshlands and the southern patch of oasis. Thanks to the defensive efforts, Asophix gained a stable foothold in his domain, but the AI enemies also were yet to arrive.

And did they arrive in force. For the next 30 to 40 minutes, Asophix was heavily reliant on financial support from Sir Windows to hold his ground. The steamroll waves from the enemies concentrated around the stone outcropping close-by, defined by the Nomads' Skirmishers and Camel Riders and the Arabian Bowmen of the Kahinahs, who required slightly more time to build their siege forces. Asophix initially failed to seal the gap in the line, scraping the bottom of the barrel for Slingers and eventually for a few Slaves to dig moat where stone was inadequate. The southern part was supplied moat and a small Gatehouse, with Sir Windows deploying troops to these new locations. After a few unsuccessful siege attempts, he sounded the alarms with high volume: the Kahinah waves have arrived.

Take the Brunt to Avoid a Punt

Fire ballistae were constructed by the heathen temple guards, forcing to build a Tower Ballista while making gold off of excess wood and only one Fletcher's Workshop. Sir Windows mobilised the court carters and provided his ally with trickles of gold and equipment for Crossbowmen, which were used partially for gold as well. The computer-controlled units started putting a dent in Asophix's ranks, claiming the lives of some standing troops and Slingers. Brave Slaves were also thrown javelins at who were desperately trying to complete the front fortification lines.

The camp suffered from the computer steamroll greatly, but the tower and the walls still stood. Whenever possible, Asophix built additional fletcher shops, while deluding his citizenry by spreading knowledge about the nutrition value of Ale. The peasants did not tarry to seek out the famous Inn in the town, forgetting their conservative dieting ways. Sir Windows's jaw also dropped upon seeing that his cheese shipments had nowhere to go, as Asophix's granary was not rebuilt after the Nomad's raiders destroyed it. Such a foolhardy decision goes against all principles - he thought, but he reluctantly pressed on as his teammate was integral at holding off the pressure, regardless of being a jester or not.

Eventually, the defense line was complete. Sir Windows kept reinforcing its ranks with Crossbowmen and Skirmishers backed up by a few Fire Ballistae, while Asophix churned out the lesser mercenaries and ensured that stone is always available for closing the gaps in the north and in the southwest. Some Slaves also snuck out to quickly dig moat in the southeastern path to the oasis, resulting in the deletion of computer buildings and granting full claim over it for the valiant Sir Windows. Asophix was desperate to repair any holes in the line of rudimentary low walls, but eventually a moat was added to that section as well.

Lashing Out to Leave No Doubt

Sir Windows's green army was slowly accumulating behind the comfort of defense. His industry was going strong and the combined arms under the protection of Mantlets and Catapults eventually ventured out to take on the blue Kahinah, who was suffering high casualties constantly from our sentries overlooking the forest between the two teams. After a few more minutes, the economic power allowed Sir Windows to slowly crawl forward and methodically level one side of the Kahinah. The temple guard was huffing and puffing promising all sort of things that eventually never came true, as the green contingent of Skirmishers brought the Kahinah's heroic epic and heartbeat to a full stop with a dagger.

With the blue troops' pressure relieved and receiving a nominal value of two thousand gold coins, Asophix's fletcher empire grew to unseen heights: fifteen fletchers were crafting crossbows from expensively imported wood, and eventually enough stone was bought to seal off the heart of the northern oasis. Additional square towers were added and parts of the main lines were pushed further west to secure the stone outcroppings. While the stabilisation of these positions took quite an effort, it paid its worth in full, as five stone quarries and an additional one from Sir Windows were built to bring in additional materials to cement (sic) control over the foothold. Sir Windows decided to give the word 'lavish' a new subtext by constructing his personal castle quarters in the heart of the lands, with some gardens for good measure.

Soon the second Kahinah followed. Asophix got enough income to hire Arabian horse archers and field an army to repel the never-ending waves of computer troops, while Sir Windows were pushing forward with some reinforcements obtained from his castles. The black Kahinah was dispatched quickly in the same manner, however the red Horse Archers were showing their usefulness by picking off the small defender squads on towers.

The purple Kahinah could not do anything else but watching his soul evaporate in the same way, as the red-green combined attack descended on her castle. Asophix did eventually bring in a few Assassins to capture a gatehouse and gravely wound the Lady, however she was still standing. Sir Windows eventually opened a big gap in the walls to unleash his Skirmishers and bring death on the Kahinah by a thousand cuts.

No Nomad, No, No Mad

The next logical pick would have been Saladin, however the Nomads proved to be vastly more annoying with their persistent trash unit raids. Without discussing the strategy, both humans brought their own armies to the orange Nomad, who was having a lot of troops, but not enough range to counter the 200 red Horse Archers and the 160 Crossbowmen + Skirmishers from Sir Windows. Even with deliberate targeting the Bedouin Outpost from horse archers, it took a few levelings to make the Nomad run out of gold and eventually reinforcements, which was made use of by Sir Windows. Once the skirmishers were thinned out, he ran in with his own batch to claim the Nomad's life.

The yellow Nomad quickly followed. Asophix's assassins were lagging behind, but the momentum did not subside. This Nomad fielded a lot more skirmishers, who trade very well against the first green wave, leaving Sir Windows in a large need of troop replenishment. Asophix's horse archers quickly dealt with the majority of the skirmishers, clearing the path for the assassins, who were given a sacrificial wave of preceding slaves to spring killing pits. This net the first kill for the red player.

While Sir Windows reinforced his ranks, Asophix decided to attack Saladin's castle with one fell swoop after his probing fires against farms were ineffective. The bloodbath was immense: out of 250 horsemen 50 met their demise in the wasteland, at the cost of Saladin's entire ranged force manning the walls. After the mangonels were destroyed by the concentrated fire, the entire outer line was clear. The red assassins were also commanded to charge in, as the green allied formation also came closer and started putting a number in Saladin's ranks. Some cyan horse archers were desperate trying to get out and best the attackers in melee, however the ever circling horse formation made them run into closed gates. This bought all the time for the 60 assassins to arrive, and kill off Saladin's lord unit.

Conclusion

An epic match with lots of pressure and also showing the importance of vigilance & teamwork. Thanks @ Sir Windows  for the stellar teamwork!

Here is the final statistics:

[Sir Windows 34]

It was a pretty intense battle for sure. 👍