“Sometimes even if you knew it was a trap, you still have to go for it anyway, because if you managed to fight your way through said trap, the results would be worth the trouble. This sort of open plotting has invariably caused the downfall of many a great name, some as the result of a successful trap, some because they attempted to pull this off and failed.” - Astafiq Ibn Srumdi, senior tactician of the Al-Shan Empire, during a lecture to young tactician cadets, circa 677 FP.
“Have to admit that I’m flattered that you put this much trust in me and mine, Your Grace,” said Reinhardt as he stood beside Nestor the next day. The Coalition formation was still similar as the day before, except the center prong, where the dwarven elites had been shifted to the sides as Algenverr’s own elites and the Free Lances took up the point of the formation.
Nestor himself, alongside his wife Griselda and brother Damien, as well as many of his generals and officers, were present in person, not all that far behind the front lines. If the enemy archer they talked about yesterday truly had a range of five to six hundred paces, then they would be well within his range while said archer remained behind the frontline as well.
It was not like the nobles and generals made any attempt to hide their presence either. Their respective banners and flags flew proudly atop long poles held aloft by their flagbearers. Such a sight naturally also helped increase the morale of the Algenverrian soldiers, who knew that their liege was fighting alongside them but also painted a large target on those same people.
Which was why every one of them were accompanied by a couple of shieldbearers whose only job was to cover their charges from enemy arrows, be it from the regular enemy archers or the skilled sniper suspected to be the enemy general himself.
From the information volunteered by the Kangs, it was most likely that the skilled archer in question was the enemy general himself, since he was famed for his archery skills, and as far as they knew, did not have a protege of any sort with the army. Some of the general’s descendants were skilled archers in their own right, but they were not part of the invasion force.
“You have to use good bait if you want to catch the big fish, Captain Edelstein,” replied Nestor nonchalantly, as if he was not making himself into said bait in the proverb. The Coalition’s battle plan remained similar as the day before, although with a change in that the dwarven cavalry would be held back until they were certain that the enemy archer was neutralized.
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The sort of losses taken by the cavalry the day before hurt, and would be truly problematic if allowed to repeat itself. Most any military commander would have preferred to lose their soldiers over a similar proportion of their officer corps. The latter was far harder to replace and each loss meant a degradation in the commander’s ability to delegate orders and command through the ranks.
“This way, the enemy archer in question will have to come to us, whether they like it or not. Even if they were not the enemy general himself, the general will order him to get us either way,” said Nestor, still nonchalantly. “Simply because they could not afford to pass up such a good chance. The potential gains far outweigh their losses, especially since our last strike showed that despite their numerical superiority, these invaders are the one at a disadvantage in this battle.”
“We have our defenses prepared, and your company will be our countermeasure to this foe,” he continued. “Even in the worst case, where the enemy escaped our grasp, they will be wary of showing themselves again, in fear of another such trap awaiting them. Even that will be a win for our side, since it will help keep our officers secure indirectly.”
“Well, you’re the one paying, Your Grace. We’ll just do what we’re paid for,” replied Reinhardt with a throaty chuckle. “We’ll do our best to be worth the bill you’re going to be paying us after this.”
“That’s all I expect, Captain Edelstein,” replied Nestor with a smirk on his face. “Good hunting!”
Reinhardt himself already prepared the Free Lances, hidden as they were behind the Algenverrian elites at the front. Mischka and her fellow large-bodied therians were walking on all fours to prevent themselves from towering over everybody else, which made it harder to notice them from a distance, unless the observer was at some elevation compared to the mercenaries.
All three strike platoons were at the forefront of the wedge formation, with even the understrength third showing up with all the sixty or so people they had remaining that were uninjured or recovered enough to fight again. Elfriede’s platoon, flanked by Erycea’s and Alicea’s, fit themselves in the hollow of the strike platoons’ arrowhead.
Behind them, Reinhardt’s own platoon held the center, with Egil’s, Alva’s, and Branka’s to his sides and rear to provide ranged support. Alvaro, Astrid, Fatimah, and Nicole each led their platoons to cover the sides while Lars covered their rear with his platoon. It was a formation the company adopted for when they needed to penetrate deeper into the enemy formation to reach their target, since they expected that would be the case that day.
Salicia had a special role as she was expected to neutralize the enemy archer, and she was accompanied by four burly mercenaries who would help lift her to higher elevations when needed. Already the one-eyed woman was surveying the battlefield, looking for any position that might be advantageous for her to use at or near the area where the battle was expected to happen.
Despite the area mostly being wide open plains, the existence of some rolling hills and the occasional trees still gave the landscape some variety. It was exactly such features that Salicia kept an eye on, her mind calculating firing angles and field of view from each in sight.