A great chorus of footsteps and drums echoed over the area. The sound of clanking armor and horses moving accompanied it. Armand and Eris sat on horseback at the height of the hill, wearing suits of armor. Their infantry and cannons were in front of them, and the spellcasters behind the two had already started casting.

Entering the edge of Armand and Eris' vision was a sea of pikes. It was like looking at a walking Winter forest, minus the snow. The pikemen were accompanied by arquebusiers, greatswordsmen, and black reiters. Eris placed her palm over her eyes to see better.

"I can see the four divisions," she said. "Sir Karl and the three lords accompanying him."

Armand nodded.

"It is the same with me. Each of them has their infantry and cavalry within their own numbers," he noted.

The sound of drums came to a sudden stop. With it, the enemy force halted in their tracks. A tinge of nervousness passed over Armand. He was certain that he and

Eris were outnumbered at least 3 to 1, if not greater than that. Still, the boy's determination overwhelmed any feelings of apprehension he had.

Armand turned around. Their camp had a wooden wall around it. He hoped it was fortified enough to withstand any potential sneak attacks. Then, Eris faced him.

"They're probably discussing what to do right now," she said. "I doubt they expected us to gather an army to deal with theirs."

"Yes. And we have the high ground, so they need to think of a way to deal with this. Though, with their numbers advantage, they might just try to overwhelm us," Armand replied.

"I hope they try that," Eris stated.

The two of them sat there in silence. Their force stood tall and stoic. Then, after a while of waiting, the sound of trumpets sprang forth from the enemy lines. Armand and Eris recognized the signal being given. He and Eris dismounted, bringing their horses with them towards the infantry.

Turning to a drummer who stood nearby him, Armand issued an order.

"Tell the men to enter anti-cavalry formation."

The drummer nodded and started playing a tune. Another musician heard this before starting to play on his drum. This process repeated until the sound of drums carried the order to the entire army.

As Armand and Eris made their way into the ranks of the infantry, the pikemen entered a square formation. They dropped down, holding the heads of their pikes at the level of a horse's chest. One hand was on the shaft and their feet kept it in place. The pikemen drew their swords with their other hands.

The arquebusiers placed their heavy arquebus on stands while moving forward. Additionally, the canons were primed and ready to fire.

Armand and Eris mounted their horses again when they were in the midst of the pike square. They looked over their lines to see a sea of cavalry pounding the ground, charging at their lines.

Loud bangs echoed through the air as cannons fired. Their projectiles flew through the air, slamming into the line of cavalry. One horse's leg was taken from its body in a spray of blood. Another had a cannonball fly clean through it. A rieter's head was taken off its chest by a hit.

Smoke started to fill the air. Its scent wafted into Armand's and Eris' noses.

However, there were too many cavalry for their cannons to take out. Fear clenched the mercenaries as they closed in. But the pikemen stood strong as the arquebusiers aimed their weapons, the horsemen having finally entered their effective range.

The arquebusiers lit matches and applied them to the wicks attached to their guns. This fuse went down, getting closer to the gun as the cavalry approached.

Loud bangs and plumes of smoke came from the arquebus as one line fired. They then moved back while the second line advanced. The first line reloaded as the second lit their fuses.

A hail of death came at the cavalry. Arquebus shot bounced off breastplates and helmets. Weaker areas of armor were pierced, and blood gushed from arms and legs.

But more shots missed than hit.

Smoke coated Armand and Eris' forces as more gunfire erupted. However, the cavalry were still moving forward. They were getting very close. Seeing this, Eris turned to one of the drummers.

"You. Tell the arquebusiers to withdraw," she commanded.

The drummer started playing a tune. This was picked up by the other drummers, and the arquebusiers retreated behind the lines of the pikemen. Armand and Eris dismounted, to avoid catching the attention of enemy cavalry.

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As the enemy reiters closed in, they pointed their wheellock pistols forward. Bangs erupted from one pistol as they closed in on the pikemen. They threw that gun away and drew another, firing it too.

One pikeman took a shot to the face. Blood sprayed from his head as he died instantly. Another's breastplate dented as a pistol ball hit it. But the reiter was too far away to pierce his armor.

When they reached the pike line, the cavalry separated, going in two directions. They avoided the tips of the pikes. At least, most of them. A horse was impaled on one part of the line. Its rider fell forward, landing amongst the pikemen. One of them slammed his sword onto the reiter's unarmored throat. Blood gushed out of his neck as he died. Similar things happened on other parts of the line too.

The reiters drew the other pistols strapped to their chests and fired as they rode around the pikemen. They aimed for the unarmored faces of their targets, or at least tried to get close enough to their chests that the pistols could pierce their targets' armor. And missing was difficult at this range. Blood flowed under the line of pikemen, but they stood firm.

At this point, the reiters had fired all their guns. A trumpet blew, and they withdrew from attacking the infantry lines.

This was what Armand and Eris were waiting for.

Armand pulled out a trumpet and blew into it as he and Eris mounted their horses. There was a great thundering of hooves as heavy cavalry left their camp.

These horsemen rode around the pikemen, charging the fleeing enemy cavalry. The tired horses their opponents were using ended up getting overtaken by the fresh horses they had.

The black reiters serving Armand and Eris were still loaded down with ammunition too. They pulled out their guns before aiming them at their enemies.

Realizing they were going to get caught no matter what, many of the enemy cavalry stopped in their tracks. They drew their swords. Then, the horsemen turned to face the oncoming cavalry.

They tried to aim their swords at gaps in the armor. Meanwhile, the heavy cavalry that still had their guns placed their pistols right on their opponents' breastplates. At that distance, the armor was pierced by the shoot.

Armand and Eris looked on as the cavalry skirmished. They saw smoke rise from the melee, heard the crack of gunshots, and saw blood stain the ground below. The two waited with bated breath. Their men were outnumbered. However, the enemy cavalry had taken losses and used up their ammunition when attacking the infantry.

As the heavy horsemen fought one another, more and more men dropped. All ammunition was expended. A brutal melee with sword against sword began. The stench of death rose from the cavalry.

Then, the fighting started to die down. Armand and Eris' black reiters had thinned out the enemy ranks. The remaining enemy horsemen were either fleeing in a broken panic or surrendering. Still having their guns at the start of the fight proved to be the deciding factor.

The sound of drums echoed across the battlefield. It was followed by a chorus of footsteps. Across from Armand and Eris, the enemy infantry were advancing.

Step by step, shoulder to shoulder, the pikemen moved. Arquebusiers and greatswordsmen were embedded in their ranks. The gunners moved forward while the swordsmen got ready to charge. Still, they remained close enough to the pikemen to hide within their ranks if needed.

Armand blew in his trumpet again, sending out a different signal. The cavalry allied with him and Eris pulled back. As they did, Eris turned to a drummer.

"Tell the men to prepare for infantry combat, now," she ordered.

The drummer nodded and started playing a different tune. At his order, the pikemen held their weapons erect and stood in a line formation. Armand and Eris rode behind it on their horses.

Greatswordsmen joined the pikemen, and arquebusiers moved in front of them. The cannons were brought up once again. As for the commanders, they noted that the enemies had light cannons too.

As all this was happening, there was a subtle war of magic between both sides' spellcasters. The ebb and flow of mystical energy flowed back and forth as spells and counterspells were summoned.

But that could not continue forever. Gradually, one side gained an edge. They pushed through the magical defenses placed by their targets like a pike punching a gap in light armor.

Arcane energy pushed through this hole and swelled above the battlefield. As it gathered, some parts of the clouds overhead turned dark. Some soldiers briefly glanced up before turning their attention back to the battle.

The soldiers had gotten within cannon range of each other, and artillery pounded both lines. Arms, along with legs, were blown off by cannonballs. Sometimes, the projectiles blasted straight through a man's chest and into the chests of the men behind him.

Yet, the soldiers atop the hill stood their ground. And those below the hill kept advancing. They would be in arquebus range soon. Even as the clouds turned dark above them, the mercenaries kept advancing.

On the other hand, the commanders kept their eyes on the skies. They noticed the darkening shapes of the clouds. It was clear to any who saw them that this was unnatural, as only some parts of the clouds turned black.

The generals of both sides knew this meant one side gained an advantage in the battle of magic. Now, they waited for the decisive moment when it would become clear which side it was.

Among the infantry, smoke started to cloud the battlefield from the cannon fire. Now, it was about to get worse. The gunners were within range of each other. They lit matches and applied them to their weapons' wicks.

Cracks of gunfire erupted across the battlefield. Arquebusiers shot their weapons at the other line. Smoke rose from their guns. Men fell dead as shot slammed into them. Still, they stood in place, reloaded their weapons, and fired again. What was once farmland was now a mess of blood, bodies, and lead.

Then, water dropped from the sky. Those clouds that were partially darkened by sorcery rained on one of the infantry lines. Lit wicks were put out by the water. Lighting new matches became impossible. The firearms and cannons alike of one side had been disabled.

Eris grinned widely. She watched as the enemy infantry no longer could shoot their guns, rendering them helpless to return fire against her and Armand's forces.

As for the Concord boy, he felt sick to his stomach as he watched men get gunned down. Still, his face remained stoic. Armand hated that he had to do this, but that did not change reality.

The sound of drums echoed from the enemy lines. Drawing their swords, the arquebusiers started a charge. They were joined by the pikemen and greatswordsmen, trying to close the distance with the enemies as fast as possible. Eris turned to Armand.

"Well, Armand, I think it's time we end this mess," she said.

"I agree," he replied. "Enough people have died today, and we have our chance to pull off the winning blow."

With that, Eris drew a massive trumpet. She blew into it as loud as she could. In the distance, another trumpet responded.