"Get up you lazy shit!"

Those were the first words I heard today, screamed out of Borcha's filthy mouth, soundly followed by a kick to my side.

"Watch yourself halberdier" I responded to the kick

"Watch what swordsman? My foot kicking your backside?" Borcha burst into laughter

The others didn't seem all too amused, by the looks of it Borcha has woken Jeremus and Philip in the same manner and they weren't too pleased with him either.

I didn't respond to Borcha, instead I looked to the captain.

"Have you decided on our next move captain Flavi?"

"We go north and join up with a larger force, surely we are not the only survivors of the battle. Remnants of the army must already be regrouping and preparing for a new offensive maneuver." Even as the words left his mouth it seemed he lost faith in them. Offensive maneuver? The Morrs had just gotten finished with destroying an entire army, no new offenses would be launched in a while.

"I see captain, a sound plan" I reassured both myself and the captain.

"No it's not, it's a shit plan." said Borcha angrily

"Watch yoursel.." I tried stopping him.

"If we do find a group that routed from the battle, they're more likely to kill us and take any of the little food we have then let us join them. And if we find a group that's not from the battle, well, they'll just execute us as deserters won't they." Borcha said grimly

"But the battle was lost when we fled" said Jeremus who likely wasn't even a combatant in the battle

"They won't see it that way, they'll see it as us saving our own skins and damning the rest of the army to the Morrs" Borcha's words struck hard and a silence persisted for a little.

"Whatever happens we can't stay here Borcha" grumbled Philip as he was finishing collecting all of his equipment.

"Aye that much is true, I'm not against the captain's plan, I'm just giving you all some bad thoughts haha" Borcha's ugly face was now cursed with a wide grin.

Soon we were off marching north. Feels like that's all I've done ever since I joined the army. Even now when the army has been defeated I still find myself marching. My stomach grumbled and I took out a large piece of beef jerky out of my vest pocket and chewed on it.

"You might want to save that jerky Arion" Said Philip who was marching behind me.

"That jerky might have to last us a couple of days, you don't want to be eating through all of it so soon." He was right of course, I was just hungry that's all.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"You have a point, but if I don't eat this I'll not march much longer" I responded, but still i split the piece I pulled out in two and put one half back in the vest pocket.

Philip looked pleased with himself, as if he had just saved me from a possible starving death and not just made me slightly hungrier.

We must have been marching for a couple of hours and the signs of devastation were beginning to pop up everywhere around us. We passed by multiple burnt cottages and trampled fences, we had not seen any villages but that's only because we steered clear from anywhere the Morrs might want to visit. We were in the plains now, no more forests to mask us from would be attackers. Wide open to attack and capture, and yet we had to go forward or else we would die here.

"What's that there sir?" Jeremus pointed to a small blurry figure far away from us.

We hadn't even been out of the forest for a full hour.

"Trouble" responded captain Flavi

"Trouble indeed." Added Philip, brining out his bow

The figure was getting closer and closer to us. Behind the figures others seemed to appear out of nowhere.

"What do we do, we can't make it back to the forest?" I was starting to panic too.

"We do nothing yet" Flavi responded calmly.

"Nothing?! Are you mad, you old fool? Philip you try taking one of them down at least" Borcha was furious

"NO" Captain Flavi exclaimed loudly, "They might take us as prisoners if we don't resist, we cannot fight them"

Borcha knew he was right, but he couldn't do nothing. The halberdier in him demanded a line of defence, even if it was weak and malnourished.

"Wait a second, are you seeing those colors Borcha?" Philip said while taking aim.

"The black and white of the Kingdom! Those aren't the bloody Morrs, they're our boys." Borcha cheered.

Jeremus was smiling in relief and I admit I was too. Captain Flavi's composure did not change, however.

6 fully armoured riders were now in shouting distance and Borcha had noticed that too.

"We're on your side, we're from the battle at Jannus river!" he shouted multiple times.

They were on us now, looking us up and down.

"Halt!" One of the riders ordered while 5 riders surrounded us.

One rider who stepped forward spoke;

"Jannus river you say."

"Yes, yes, we're on your side we're survivors from the battle." Borcha saiid

"Deserters you mean." Exclaimed a rider from behind him.

"No, not a deserter, the battle was lost by the time we routed." Borcha pleaded

"The battle was not lost, it was won. And you are deserters." The rider who had stepped forward spoke and his words cut us all deeply.

Before we were deserters true, but we could claim the battle was lost when we ran for our lives. But now...the guilt set in.

"That can't be the entire line broke!" Philip shouted, sticking his halberd into the ground.

"You speak the truth, the line did break just as Dominus Kordain predicted it would, and the Morss charged forward just as he had predicted they would, And then we sprang our trap and had them in a killing field." One of the riders explained.

"We passed remains of burnt buildings on our way here! The Morrs did that, even with the victory they still broke through!" Argued Philip

"The Morrs didn't do that, routing groups of men like yourself did that halberdier." Responded one of the riders in a stern and judging tone.

"So we are truly deserters then" Captain Flavi said ashamed.

"You are, and yet there are many like you these past few days" The rider closest explained.

"Dominus Kordain warned us of this and we were tasked with gathering up all routed troops."

"Then we're not to be executed?" I questioned.

"No, you are not to be executed. As long as you did not pillage anything on your way here." The assumed leader of the riders said.

We had won the battle, and yet none of the men were happy about it. Their lives had all been used as pawns on the Dominus's board, sacrificed in order for the day to be won. None were happy about it, especially Borcha.

Finally, captain Flavi spoke up:

"Take us home then soldier."