The Union

While the Castonian center was, in essence, dashing like madmen, their flanks remained stationary. The center was disjointed from the flanks in a way that Rickard"s cavalry could just surround and annihilate them.

After advancing for more than a thousand paces, the Castonian center stopped to catch their breaths. There was then a standstill of sorts as if King Timothy was giving Rickard a time to choose.

Rickard thought hard about his next move. He was at a crossroads with only two choices. The first choice, like what any normal General would do, was to attack the isolated Castonian center. This was the perfect opportunity to destroy the Castonian center. His cavalry from both flanks and the Tulosan mercenaries from the middle could surround the isolated Castonians. They could rout them in just a few minutes.

But he knew that King Timothy was a smart man. He could have hidden a trap somewhere. Although he had screened the surroundings, there could be a hidden Castonian cavalry waiting in secret.

The second choice was to ignore the Castonian center and order his cavalry to attack the Castonian flanks instead. This was equally dangerous. Although his cavalry could overwhelm the Castonian flanks, the Castonian center could plow through the mercenaries in his center and the Tulosan infantry behind. He was sure of this. The Castonian center was composed of crack and experienced men. His infantry will be no match.

It was a choice between an obvious trap and losing his infantry. King Timothy was playing mind games with Rickard. Is there a trap? If there was a trap then he should avoid it. But avoiding the trap would mean sacrificing his infantry.

Rickard made a decision. It doesn"t matter if there was a trap. His infantry was precious to him. He cannot, by all means, lose his infantry. If he could overwhelm the Castonian center, then victory would be his. He will show the young king the power of Tulosan cavalry.

"Order the mercenaries and both cavalry flanks to attack. They must overwhelm the Castonian center as soon as possible. The infantry is to remain in reserve." Rickard ordered.

His order was repeated and in just a short moment the horn to advance was blared. The mercenaries and the cavalry moved to attack.

******

"They are attacking sire!" James was in panic and forgot the proper way to address Timothy.

Timothy, on the other hand, was eating a piece of cold bread. He doesn"t really care about formalities. He was focused on the developments of the battle. He chomped and swallowed before talking.

"Calm down. Erik got this"

"So General Rickard made the wrong choice." Smiling, Lucia said. "Am I wrong?"

Timothy"s lips curved into a thin smile. She was right. Rickard made the wrong choice. Well, to be fair, there wasn"t a right choice as both choices would lead to Castonian victory. But Rickard took the path that will lower the Castonian casualties.

"You"re right" Timothy confirmed. He offered Lucia a piece of the bread. He then remembered that he was offering Princess Lucia of the rich Kingdom of Vanadis, a piece of cold bread. To his surprise, Lucia took and ate it.

"Um. Like what I said, you"re right. He must have thought that he could finish off the the three legions just like that. He"s wrong. Even if the fighting lasts until sundown, the Castonians wouldn"t rout."

James again asked for his attention. "Your Majesty, what should we do?"

Timothy looked at the battle. The Tulosans hadn"t made contact yet. He will wait until the enemies were fully invested in their attack. This will be the hardest part- watching as the Castonians were put in peril.

He opened his mouth to answer James. But it was Lucia who talked first.

"We wait" she said with a bitter smile directed to Timothy.

**********

"Are you afraid?" General Marvin asked Erik.

"Of course" Erik answered. He was afraid. A mixed force of mercenaries and Tulosan Cavalry were approaching them which was almost twice their numbers. Any man would have his face pale when presented with such a situation.

"But I bet our enemies are more afraid of us than we are of them" continued Erik. "Castonian infantry. No. They call us Castonian heavy infantry now. If I were a Tulosan, I would be afraid too after hearing that I would be up against Castonian infantry."

"You couldn"t be more right Marquis Erik. Discipline is tied to our name. No matter how hard they"ll hit us, we will never yield. " a low powerful, almost booming, voice said. Erik doesn"t need to confirm who it was.

"Could you be a little less serious General Bourgis?" Erik said while breathing a deep sigh.

"We are at war. Wars are supposed to be serious."

"No. What I mean is... Fine. Just go to your legions. Remember, if your legion routs, you"re fired."

The three Generals saluted to Erik and left.

Erik put his foot on a small rock. He put one of his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was the Golden Useless Sword his grandfather gave to his mother. He didn"t actually want it. The sword was as useless as a carriage without wheels. But for now, yes just for now, he wanted to awe the soldiers with his Golden Useless Sword.

He raised the sword in the air, the golden pommel embedded with gems glistened. Erik saw eyes looking at his sword. Stare all you want boys, he thought. Yes, I am Marquis Erik. And yes. I will lead you to victory.

With orders from the three generals, the Castonian infantry formed a triangle with backs each of the legions serving as a side. They planted their feet on the gra.s.sy ground and waited for the Tulosan attack.

And then the two sides met. The Tulosan mercenaries slammed against the Rooster while the Tulosan cavalry attacked both Steelsword and Dawn.

The fighting between the mercenaries and the Rooster ended in a fierce melee. Since the men of Steelsword and Dawn formed a mixed wall of spears and halberds, the effects of the cavalry charge on their side was negated. The Tulosan cavalry tried to charge again, but the men of Steelsword and Dawn remained vigilant. Seeing that the charge was with no effect, some of the cavalry just dismounted to fight on foot.

They were outnumbered. To make matters worse, there were thousands of Knights who had more armor and possibly more training than them. They were also surrounded. The Castonians were only superior in three things- courage, morale and discipline- all of which are intangible. Ideas so to speak. Their ability to withstand this attack rests on ideas. But this was enough for Erik.

Ideas are powerful.

**********

As he looked at the clash of swords and spears, Rickard frowned. This was different from what he expected.

He knew that the Castonians were tough. But he never expected this level of stubbornness. The battle has been raging for an hour now and his soldiers had surrounded the isolated Castonians. But those d.a.m.n soldiers wouldn"t rout. It was like hitting a wall with a sword.

The cavalry charged many times but the Castonians wouldn"t budge. It seemed the sight of thousands of stampeding horses wasn"t enough drain their courage.

Rickard was still waiting for a trap. There was nothing yet. All there was are Castonians repelling the attack like it"s nothing. By now, the cavalry and the mercenaries were committed in the attack.

A fleeting thought occurred to him. What if there was no trap to begin with? What if Timothy was just betting on the courage of his men? He eyed the flanks of the enemies which still hadn"t joined the battle. And then he realized that if his men fails to break the Castonian center soon, the Castonian flanks were in a good position to attack.

**********

They surely were tough, his men that is. Timothy saw the Castonian infantry being slowly surrounded. A whirlwind of repeated charges and violent melee hit them.

Not yet, he silently said while biting his lips.

Not yet, he repeated despite his heart being broken by the state of the Castonians.

Not yet, he held his breath, knowing that brave men were fighting and dying on his orders.

A hand held his own. It"s warmth insurmountable. He looked and Lucia"s pale small hand was gripping his.

"Be strong" she said. Her words were like a harbor amidst a storm. She soothed his nerves and brought firmness on his heart.

He must endure. Yes, he must.

For the Castonians

For Justice

For Himself

And for her

So he endured. He watched as the Tulosans surround his dear Castonians. He waited. Excruciating, oh yes it was. But with Lucia firmly holding his hand, sharing the burden of leadership, he persisted.

And when he saw that the Tulosans were completely committed on the attack, he smiled. It was time.

"Forward!"