Another Friend in Amphibia

Chapter 75: Toad Warfare

Marcy rode in one of the wagons. She had returned after doing an aerial scouting mission and it was time to rest now that she had delivered her report. It had been a long journey but they were finally approaching Newtopia. Bog had ordered a forced march all day and all night for the past three days. The spiders needed to rest and most of the soldiers were exhausted from the march.

Marcy was writing once again in her journal, detailing how much simpler logistics was for amphibians. They were cold blooded and didn't need to eat as much as humans did. Out of everyone here, Marcy and Joe Sparrow was the one burning through the rations the fastest.

She was starting to consider flying ahead to Newtopia and telling them help was on the way. Most likely morale in the city was low but those weren't her orders.

Suddenly the marching outside stopped and a horn could be heard.

Marcy looked outside and saw the toads getting into battle formation. Something had the army riled up. That was when she noticed another toad army in the distance on a hill. It was the enemy. They knew they were out here.

"Get in formation!" Bog was yelling.

Marcy walked up to him cautiously. After the last couple times he threatened her, she knew to watch her step around him. In the past, Sasha would have stood up for her and yelled at Grime but she was the enemy. For now at least.

"Captain... I recommend setting up camp on that hill over there." Marcy pointed towards another hill nearby. "It's quite defensible and we have a few options for retreating if things look bad."

Marcy had spent a lot of time studying the Sand Wars after General Yunan had mentioned it. It was customary for two armies to do a little dance before engaging in battle. Both sides would deploy for combat and stare at each other all day. During that time, each side would send scouts or patrols to try and get some kind of advantage. This process could take weeks but once one side thought they had the advantage, they would try to provoke a fight.

Bog looked back at Marcy. "Forget about that, we're preparing for battle now."

Marcy was rather surprised by that response. "We need to start preparing our own camp immediately. Every moment we wait gives them time prepare."

"We can't afford to waste time fighting this army. We need to break the siege as soon as possible." Bog explained.

He was right, the enemy had time on their side. A stalemate here was basically a victory. "There are a few avenues of escape. If we use the hills as cover, we can secretly ford the river and retreat before they realize what's happening," Marcy suggested.

"Retreat? Retreat... no toad worth his slime would retreat. No, we'll attack the enemy while they're setting up camp," Bog declared.

"You mean we're going to attack them now? But none of the soldiers have eaten nor slept in days," Marcy protested.

"We can rest once we make it to Newtopia," Bog said.

Marcy looked back at the enemy toad army. A small portion of their forces were deployed while the rest were scattered all over the hill, setting up their camp. They were prepared in case of an attack but they certainly weren't expecting one at this moment.

"Forward!" Fens yelled.

The toads began to march up the hill towards the enemy. They stuck together as a single unit as they advanced.

Marcy followed the army up the hill behind the center. That was where Bog positioned himself so he could easily move troops during the battle.

At first the enemy toads on the hill didn't react. They were still scattered, believing this was a bluff.

Then there was frantic movement once the Southern Toad Army made it halfway up the hill, they realized this wasn't a feint. The whole battle would be decided in this moment.

That was when Marcy felt a heavy thump. Then there was another thump. Their frequency increased as the ground started to shake.

Giant black and white tiger beetles stampeded down from the hill. The tiger beetles were even larger than the Southern Toad Army's spiders. Each one had a tower built onto its back with toad soldiers shooting arrows from within.

The tiger beetles crashed into the Southern Toad Army. Their hard exoskeletons deflected the spears while arrows rained down upon the soldiers who weren't scattered.

Marcy needed to do something before the rest of the enemy army advanced. She reached into her pouch looking for a spell that could help her. Then she found one. She covered a crossbow bolt with oil before setting it on fire. She then launched it in the direction of the tiger beetles. Once that was launched, she began preparing more.

Upon seeing fire, the tiger beetles began to panic. The drivers tried to control the beasts, but nothing would stop their rampage. A group of them turned around and ran back uphill, crashing into the enemy army. Now their formation was broken.

Marcy watched from behind as the two sides met. The Southern Toad army charged into the enemy who was still trickling in. The shield wall held against the enemy mob, pushing them back up hill. Once they reached the top, the enemy began to rout.

Marcy and Bog walked to the top of the hill without any further issues. She could see the toads fleeing in every direction. Bog had defied convention and it paid off. They now controlled the field.

"Send our cavalry forward! Run down the enemy!" Bog ordered.

The Southern Toad Army's spiders began chasing the fleeing enemy. No doubt this was a crushing victory.

Bog stood behind Marcy. "Marcy was it? We should be arriving at Newtopia in a few days. You should go there and give them the news."

"Alright, I'll see you there," Marcy said. She was eager to get back to the city.

Bog's army would continue to march with no breaks, leaving Marcy behind. She spent the night resting with Joe Sparrow before flying away with him. Her plan was to Newtopia from the sea, away from the besieging toads. This would lengthen the trip by a few hours but it would be safer than flying directly to the city.

Author's Note

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The more I write about Bog, the more I feel like he is similar to Pong Krell from Star Wars the Clone Wars. At least without all that stuff with the jedi, the dark side, and becoming Dooku's apprentice. It's an observation more than anything, this wasn't really intentional going in.

One thing I try to do in Marcy chapters and I'm not sure if anyone has noticed. I try to make them more analytical. So I focused on the actual strategy of this battle. Still Marcy is on the ground, so she has a limited perspective. I couldn't describe the whole battle even if I wanted to.

Marcy is returning to Newtopia. I'm going to need her in the right place for a future chapter.