The Union

"Yes" his aide muttered in concordance. "Those hors.e.m.e.n are deadly. They are tearing the Castonians apart!"

Chen was confused at first. And then it occurred to him that they were talking about different things. For young men like his aide, the prowess of the Tulosan cavalry will be the first thing they notice. The Tulosans, after all, had dealt damage to the Castonians. The once firm lines of Castonians had become a mishmashed defense.

Short-sighted naivety, Chen mocked. His aide could only see the Tulosan power. But the resilience of the Castonians was more amazing- or terrifying depending on whose side you"re fighting on.

The Castonians were being subjected to a vicious attack for an hour now. Even though their defense was crumbling, they were still holding on. If it was his soldiers who were fighting, they would have already ran a few minutes into the fight.

"The Castonians are terrifying" he said.

"Why?" his aide asked, c.o.c.king his head like a fool that he was.

"Look closely" he pointed forward "Those Castonians are probably made of iron. If I"m the enemy General, I would be scared by now. Imagine striking a piece of gla.s.s with a hammer without it breaking. You will feel confused at first. And then you strike it again with the same results. Now comes anger. How dare the piece of gla.s.s defy you strength? After that- fear. Yes, fear. You will be afraid because you just witnessed something unusual. You will start to think that the piece of gla.s.s was actually a monster. General Rickard just discovered his gla.s.s and it has thousands of spears."

"Magistrate, I still don"t understand"

"The Castonians you fool! I was right. We shouldn"t have supported them. If possible we should have helped their enemies. What do you think will happen if King Timothy turns his sword towards us?He is too dangerous. If this continues, he will break the balance of power in the continent. And that Vanadian Princess. She looks like a harmless pretty lady on the outside but I bet she"s also a threat. She..."

Chen shut his mouth as a Castonian messenger went to them. He gave the signal to advance.

"Magistrate... I"m still confused but if you say that Timothy Castonia is dangerous, then he probably is. We should flee now. We shouldn"t help him get what he wants" his aide said quietly, almost whispering.

Chen pursed his lips. His aide was really stupid for not knowing that they don"t have a choice but to obey.

"Why do you think he placed the cavalry behind us? Just coincidence? For greater maneuverability? No. It"s because he knew that we may falter and not join the battle. If we do not move, the Castonian cavalry will slaughter our men. We have no choice but to help a monster grow another fang."

He breathed heavily, savoring the fresh air that could be his last. Painfully, he ordered.

"Sound the horn to advance"

**********

"Hold the d.a.m.n line!" Erik rattled his throat with a loud shout. He pointed his sword in the air and hoped his current posture looked like those in the paintings of great generals.

"I don"t think we can hold much longer sire" General Hoover said. This was a rare occasion, Hoover being serious.

He wasn"t wrong though. The right flank which was populated by men from Steelsword was crumbling. The once solid line of spears had turned skewed. The earlier proud cheers of the Steelsword legion was no more. All that remained were men that are fighting for survival.

The Tulosan Cavalry were professionals. They made use of every single cavalry tactic. They did hit-and-runs, charged, threw javelins, fired crossbows and some even fought on foot. Whenever there was a gap, the Tulosans would attack it and they would lose several men. Compared to the other two legions, Steelsword was in a worse state. This was why Erik chose to be here.

For the past hour, he meticulously arranged the men. He filled the gaps and even did counterattacks. He was successful- somehow. But being successful doesn"t mean they were safe. The Steelsword legion will rout for sure. It was just a matter of time.

Erik saw a distant banner. Swaying in the air was the flag of Vanadis- a pelican spreading its wings over a ship. They say people were permitted to laugh when seeing the pelican on land. Well Erik was laughing, not as a mockery but as a celebration. Their reinforcements had arrived.

"Do not fear!" he shouted again, his throat dry due to overwork. He pointed his sword towards the Vanadian mercenaries. "Friends are coming. Stay strong. They are coming!"

Seeing the Vanadian mercenaries excited the Steelsword legion. Their desperate defense became an offense against the Tulosans.

The Tulosan cavalry seemed to notice the approaching Vanadians meecenaries and stopped their attacks. It was too late to make an organized retreat though as the Vanadians had cut off their escape. Sensing an impending doom, they charged towards the mercenaries instead. But before they could reach the first line of mercenaries, the Castonian cavalry led by Henry hit them out of nowhere.

*********

They were his blood, his comrades. He bet he even knew some of them.

But his hand was wet with the blood of the first Tulosan he impaled with his lance. He didn"t know who it was as half of the man"s face was hidden behind his coif. All he knew was that the man was a knight- a brother now dead by his own hands.

Nevertheless Henry kept on fighting. The momentum of their charge was still strong. He hated wetting his conscience with the blood of old comrades. But this was a necessary evil. These knights supported Rickard anyway. They smeared the honor of the Knights by following a lunatic. Furthermore he was doing this for the Tulosan people. King Timothy was the way to peace.

By now the impetus of their charge had weakened. It was turning into a cavalry-to-cavalry melee. They need to charge again.

"Retreat!" Henry commanded. The Castonian cavalry retreated except for two centuries who were, at a closer look, competing.

"Retreat!" Henry again shouted and the signal to retreat was blasted. But the two Centuries were still getting themselves deeper into the enemy lines.

Henry recognized who the Centurions of the two Centuries were. Ryon and Kristof. Those two, Henry angrily thought. He knew that Ryon and Kristof had some sort of an old rivalry. But to compete now would mean undermining the effectiveness of the Castonian cavalry. In the end he decided to leave them. If they want to get themselves killed for the sake of competing with each other, then he wouldn"t stop them.

The Vanadian mercenaries reached the Tulosan cavalry. Steelsword legion, who were pinned earlier, had also rushed to attack the cavalry. Henry again ordered a charge, with him at the front of course.

The three forces attacked the Tulosan cavalry from all sides. But despite being outnumbered and their mobility impaired, the Vanadian cavalry still fought hard.

It"s a shame. These brave men could have used their courage for great and gallant things. But instead they followed a fake knight who had no honor, thought Henry.

But the resilience of the Tulosan cavalry were nothing compared to the resilience shown by the Castonians earlier. They still routed after a while. The right flank had been won by the Castonian force.

**********

The Left Flank

That was close. They had almost surrounded them. This was Luther"s thought as he looked behind. The Tulosan Cavalry were catching their breaths.

The Inkish, Hadean and Cantonese forces had almost cut off their escape. Luckily, the enemies were slow. Or have they been dallying? Who knows. The important thing is, the Tulosan cavalry on the left flank were able to escape onslaught. They had retreated at a distance where the enemies cannot reach them.

"Those hard-headed p.r.i.c.ks!" Centurion Lyn screamed like a child beside him.

Luther cannot blame him though. Fighting the Castonians was like fighting against rocks. It was frustrating beyond belief. They were unresponsive to charges. Hit-and-runs were also not effective. Crossbow bolts and javelins bounced off their armor. Only the Knights were able to deal them some damage.

"So what now?" Centurion Lyn asked.

"We wait for orders from the General" Luther answered. The original plan to rout the Castonian infantry had failed. They had lost their offensive advantage.

Centurion Lyn, with his mouth agape, pointed towards the other side of the battlefield. "Are those... ours?"

Luther squinted. He then saw cl.u.s.ters of cavalry running away like rabbits on the right flank. His heart sank. The Tulosan cavalry on the right flank must have failed to escape the Vanadian mercenaries. Now they were routing.

Luther had a bad feeling about this. With half of their cavalry gone, there was no way for them to win this battle.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, it was immediately confirmed by the sound of a horn. The sound came from the direction of the General Rickard. It was a command for a general retreat.

"Yes" Luther said in a defeated tone. "And we have lost this one"