Part two:
The enemy’s magic continued to fail to impress, with the Vampire Lord miscasting and losing his ability to Wind of Undeath. All the rest of the force could do was advance, while the Baron’s right wing wondered why they had formed up in an attempt to trap the Varghulf and Lord of Chaos who now lay dead.
The artillery opened fire again, with the Helblaster Volley Gun now in range of the deamonettes. It killed 4 but blew itself up in doing so! Crossbow bolts and handgun shots felled another 6. Meanwhile the Huntsmen had moved over the hill to slow down the advance of the rightmost Bloodletters, while the pistoliers galloped up to flank them. Between them they felled 6 of the demons.
On the Empire right wing several units moved forward to attempt to engage the enemy, leadbelchers and knights wanting to deliver their powerful blows against the foe. The wizards began to move so that they might manage soon to pour fireballs down onto the Cairn Wraiths, before those particularly fearful undead could tear into a mortal unit.
On the enemy’s left, the Vampires managed to summon some extra ghouls, but the Empire wizards dispel scrolls frustrated their other attempts at magic. (I
think we subsequently forgot to reduce the Vampire Lord’s magic dice by one!) But then came the Empire Knights’ chance, and they charged simultaneously into the ghouls and the zombies - naively unaware that the enemy could not ask for better, for their own units were capable off holding the knights like glue, allowing the other more deadly undead to manoeuvre.
The wizards let loose with their magic and took down 4 of the Cairn Wraiths. They took satisfaction in this, for the failed to understand fully how the enemy could simply summon the fiends back onto the field. The Pisoliers and Huntsmen took down another 6 Khornate demons, while the handguns and crossbows did what they could to the other main regiments, especially the Grave Guard.
The Baron was heard to laugh at this point, because here he was deep into the battle and not one of his men had fallen to the enemy. The only casualties were the dead crew of the Helblaster.
But things were about to go horribly wrong for the Empire’s soldiers. For a start, two of the lesser wizards had attached themselves to a crossbow detachment, instinctively seeking protection from non-existent enemy missiles while they targetted the wraiths. Their action turned the detachment into a unit that could cause panic – something which would have the direst of consequences.
Only one Daemonette survived to get within charge range of the Empire line, and charge it did – not at the handgunners afore it, but at the Crossbowmen with the wizards in the unit. (I forgot in my panic to counterfire – oops!)
Meanwhile the Wraiths hurled themselves at the Leadbelchers, who could (of course) do nothing back to the ethereal creatures.
The Bloodletters charged down the Huntsmen (who bravely knew they were sacrificing themselves in order to misdirect the enemy.) The second Bloodletters regiment failed it’s charge towards the Empire’s main line, and ground to a halt before the cannons. This was to allow the Free Company, Pistoliers and Ogre Bulls to begin to close in on the demons from all three sides, unhindered by the presence of any other enemies.
The last Ogre Leadbelcher somehow held against the Wraiths and the Banshee, while the main regiment of knights soon defeated and destroyed the ghouls.
It was now that the Empire’s luck failed them. The Daemonette defeated the Crossbow unit and broke them (even with the Army banner behind them). What the Empire soldiers could not have known was that the Herald of Slaanesh who had earlier crept away from the unit to avoid being shot, was carrying an Icon of Despair. All the Empire soldiers in the centre of the battle line felt the malignant will-power sapping influence of this powerful magical artefact. And the effect was truly awful. The Crossbowmen fled, taking the two petty wizards with them. They were not only broken but destroyed in the flight. The panic caused by this deed meant that the Handgunner detachment and the other crossbow detachment fled too, as well as Ricco’s Pike regiment (29 strong), and right off the field. (Thus one deamonette, aided by cunning magic and Empire ignorance, gained nigh upon 1000 VP in one fell swoop!)
Off upon the far side of the field, the Bloodletters inevitably defeated the Huntsmen and ran them down.
As the last Leadbelcher died at the hands of the wraiths, the Wizard Lord managed to cast Wall of Fire on the Grave Guard. They cared not, and next turn would charge right through it receiving hits galore, yet still fighting effectively. The lone deamonette, who had run into the full regiment of Halberdiers, managed somehow to hold them without crumbling.
Upon the hill, the Wraiths now knew what they must do, and prepared to charge down onto the side of the knights locked in combat with a shambling mess of zombies, before the advancing swordsmen regiment could reach them.
When they did do so, the knights’ armour proved too much for them, and the knights were able to turn to face them in the second round of combat.
At the same time, the regiment of knights which now contained both the Baron and the mounted Captain managed to charge past their comrades and in to the regiment of skeletons behind – which now contained two Vampires with the Herald of Slaanesh drawn into the combat (being right at the skeletons’ side).
Even the cream of the Empire’s nobility could not quite take on such foes, so when they were defeated in combat by the outnumbering foe, they fled, and even though mounted on horses, were ran down. The skeletons then found themselves fighting the knights behind (who had finally defeated the Banshee and Wraiths). Those knights would soon be joined by the third and last regiment of knights, so that the combat would not be reolved by the end of the battle.
Off towards the centre, the halberdiers fled from the lone daemonette (!) but did manage to rally themselves before they left the field.
This left only one other major action being fought – the simultaneous charge of Pistoliers, Orges and Free Company into the Bloodletters far on the left of the Empire's line.
This went well, for one round. The Bloodletters lost, and lost more to instability. But then they chose to focus their attacks, and in so doing won the combat resolution, broke the Empire men and sent all running in three directions. They decided to run down and destroy the ogres; while a lone Pistolier failed to rally (his unit had been too badly mauled) and the free company ran off terrified.
The battle thus ground to a halt. And both armies, severely mauled, retired from the field.
Result = 2776 to 2654, a draw (favouring the Demons and undead).
I thus yield to the awesomeness of demons. But the next time I will jot be so ignorant of their abilities. I feel a gun line coming on!