It was misty and vaguely foggy. Within a forest, along a large and shabbily cobblestone paved road, marched a column of soldiers. The column bared no flags, yet the soldier’s affiliation was plain from their shining white armor with blue insignias:
They were a part of the Sidonian Empire.
At the head of the column rode a sparse amount of horses for such a large number of trailing soldiers, only fifty or so. And the very head of these horses, and thus the entire trailing army, were two heavily armored steeds, trotting along at a calm pace. On one of these horses sat a a boy with yellowed hair and equally sharp yellow eyes, a pure white cloak with blue accents concealing the entirety of his body save for exposed steel gauntlets and boots. Although his appearance was childish, and daresay girly, his gaze and posture were oozing discipline and composure. One thing was however off, a small orange hairclip rested on his rightmost bang.
On the other horse, in front of the boy, sat a pudgy man with a large and graying bushy mustache. His eyes and hair seemed to have degraded from a sharp black to a lazily grey striped color of seniority. He wore a small black cape over his shoulders, but seemed very lightly armored.
“Milord, If I may speak freely…”
The boy spoke out in soft voice.
“Please do.”
“I don’t think marching the army so…carefree…through this area is wise, Lord Pusheal.”
The pudgy man, Lord Pusheal, turned to the boy with a lazy wave of his hand.
“Oh please, you Nuam folks sure stand up to your reputation of being such sticklers; This is our territory, and we have forward scouts, there’s nothing to worry about Alisson.”
The boy, Alisson, looked down.
“I suppose so, but Jedathari land lay no more than a few miles from here, I see no reason not to be on guard…” Alisson replied weakly.
“Alisson, the Jedathari Caliphate is not at war with us; it’s the Principality that is; have you hit your head?”
“My…my apologies. It seems I may have.”
Alisson replied, less confident in his words. This man, Lord Pusheal, was a commander who he respected deeply, many a battle were won by his brilliant tactics, yet he seemed to care naught for strategy.
“Yes, yes. This is just an exercise recon in force task we have been granted by our lady, once we reach the border to Irine, we’ll be setting up shop and seeing if we can ping a few units for the 5th.”
Alisson listened silently to the Lord of the Pusheal House. Alisson’s own house, Nuam, was much more powerful than Pusheal; Yet because of Lord Pusheal’s status as the commander of the 6th army, Alisson dare not bite up the current chain of command. Though, despite Lord Pusheal’s reassurances, Alisson still felt a pit in his stomach, it was a bad feeling premating a bad situation.
The 6th army is the most rookie of all our armies, they have zero experience. The only unit in this whole army that has prior experience is my 51st Storm Brigade, we were assigned to watch over this army of recruits for their exercise…but it’s not like we can prop-up an entire army…
Riding beside him and Pusheal, the other mounted soldiers were a much different breed from the heavily armored knights on the ground. They all had unique equipment and weapons, suited to their own tastes and preferences that’d been made after years of fighting. The 51st Storm Brigade had the best loss to kill ratio in the whole empire, for that Alisson was proud; for not only were his men-his family- still alive and well, they were experienced enough to be considered a few steps above veterans. However, the 51st’s role was not frontline combat by any means, quite the opposite. They were specialists in assassination, recon, convoy hunting, disrupting supply lines, and guerrilla tactics. Alisson feared that if they actually met a frontline combat unit with equal veterancy, his Storm Brigade would suffer heavy casualties.
“It’s a shame we don’t have all that many horses down here in the south…our enemies seem to grow them on tree’s…”
Alisson tried to make small talk as best he could, but outside of military or political matters, he didn’t have much social experience; constant battle kept him and his brigade away from such things.
“Yes, yes…It’s a shame, the 6th has all of it’s cavalry on scouting duty except your brigade…”
Lord Pusheal shrugged. Alisson sighed and glanced up at the purpled grey sky, the mist gave the surrounding tree’s an odd blue aura. As Alisson looked down however, he spotted a single cavalryman rushing toward them as if playing chicken with an entire army.
“One of our scouts?”
Alisson mumbled under his breath. The mounted man turned his horse alongside Lord Pusheal’s.
“My Lord, reporting an enemy detachment of at least 20 thousand men heading toward Irine lands and away from our position.They were bearing Caliphate flags…”
“Ah, well, It’s probably just a patrol group, we can ignore them, we aren’t at war with them after all…” Lord Pusheal said, putting his hand to his chin with a quizzical face.
As Alisson, listened in, he couldn’t help but stare deadly at a few rider-less horses fleeing past them in the adjacent forrest. Alisson's mind blanked, and the world turned to silence except the hooves of the rider-less horses; the thunder of their gait reaching Alisson through the air. Alisson gasped, and turned to Lord Pusheal frantically.
“M-my lord!”
Lord Pusheal turned, Alisson didn’t wait for his acknowledgment and swallowed hard.
“We, we should pull back! Now!”
Alisson said, imminence plain on his face. Lord Pusheal stared blankly at Alisson, then broke into a chuckle.
“Have you gone mad? Why would we-”
An arrow flew into the side of his neck, Lord Pusheal waved his arms about and stumbled off the horse he was riding. Alisson mentally cursed and rose his hand in a chopping motion.
“Arrow barrage! Brace!”
Alisson’s Storm Brigade focused on offense and agility, save a few oddballs, the 51st didn’t have many large shields in their arsenal. So, they did the best they could for the situation; they soundlessly slipped off their horses and hunkered behind them. A small arrow storm fell upon them, bouncing off the heavy horse armor or missing their marks and plunging into the cobblestone beneath. Some of the arrows, terrifyingly, chipped parts of the road away, creating mini craters in the cobble with their explosive force.
The barrage ended almost as fast as it started, and silence had befallen them. Alisson looked up from his horse, scanning the forrest, for there were no enemies directly in front of them.
...They fell back?
That was certainly a scary revelation; to think that humans, had silently picked off the 6th’s forward scouts and initiated a surprise decapitation attack on them, all without failure. Alisson’s mind flitted back to the situation at present.
“Claus! Heal Lord Pusheal! 51st, form a defensive perimeter.”
A large portion of the mounted Sidonian’s fanned out soundlessly. One of his brigade members, a magician, hurried over to Lord Pusheal’s still body. Even the 51st, an elite unit, only had three people who soley used magic, the Sidonians were severely lacking in magic thanks to their aptitude with it being horrible. It’s not like they didn’t know how it worked, it’s just that most Nekomata were born on average with dismal amounts of mana. Even himself, the third best fighter in the empire, only had a miniscule amount when compared to a human magician of the same caliber.
“Alisson, what do think you about all this?”
One of his company commanders, Daventdale, asked, mounted next to Alisson. Alisson shook his head.
“It looks like the Caliphate has both a bone to pick with us, and a capable commander to do it…”
“That shouldn’t be possible though, I thought the Caliphate had all their armies in the north?”
“They do. This might be some auxiliary force or something else we don't know about. I'm still wondering what in the hell would prompt such an attack, it's not like the Caliphate are any good at keeping secrets from us."
Alisson replied. But after hearing his words, another of his company commanders trotted over on their horse.
“I wouldn’t call them just ‘Auxiliaries’ Alisson, look here.”
Alisson nodded and followed the company commander who’d spoken, Alieri, into the forest to the side of the road. They came to a cliff and Alisson looked out over the plateaued and forested field in front of them. There lay, the human army.
“That has to be at least double our own so…60,000 then?”
Alisson mumbled to himself. The force a way off was twice the size of the 6th army and was slowly encroaching upon them. They seemed to be focused around a large hill, with their left-wing holding position atop it and their center holding the side of the hill’s base. Alisson turned and trotted back to where Claus was hunched over Lord Pusheal. He hoped to report the Caliphates movements to him. When he did encroach however, Claus looked up from the blue aura radiating from her staff and on to Lord Pusheal’s neck, and shook her head.
“He’s dead.”
Claus said, standing up and swinging her staff back over her shoulder.
Damn it.
Alisson clicked his tongue, cursing to himself.
Alisson scanned the troops around him, who were all standing directionless and staring at him.
If Lord Pusheal is dead, then…who’s in charge…?
Asking that question in itself was dangerous, if he said it out loud, the troop’s morale would inevitably take a hit. But somebody needed to standup, and fast. The only person who Alisson could think of who was the closest to the top of the chain of command…was, himself.
He was attached on to Lord Pusheal’s Garde as to attain some experience leading an army, for even Alisson had only commanded units of a hundred men or smaller despite his prestige. His rank, Field Marshal, endowed him to lead far more than just one hundred men, however.
Alisson sighed, there was no one above him in rank. As much as he didn’t want it to be, he was now the most senior officer in the entire Sidonian 6th army. Making up his resolve, Alisson shook his head and turned to three men riding atop horses who were not in his brigade; The division commanders.
“As of now, I am in command, this is not a grab for political power.”
The 6th army had three divisions, each consisting of 10,000 men for a grand total of 30,000. Each division was like an army unto themself with numerous sub-divisions and sub-commanders. The Sidonian military prided itself on it’s organization, with a trickle down structure and specific trumpet calls, Sidonia boasted the fastest reacting armies in the world; changing tactics on a dime and implementing a strategic effort seamlessly. The plainly shaken up division commanders looked at each other for a moment, then they looked back at Alisson and placed their hands to their chests.
““Yes, my lord!””
They spoke unanimously. Alisson mentally sighed in relief.
“Alright then,” Alisson pondered his enemy, and his allies, both their movements and abilities. As much as Alisson wanted to play it defensively, there was that report about those 20,000 soldiers that the scouts had spotted to consider; if they played defensively the 20,000 man force could very well wheel around and make the number disparity much worse. Alisson didn’t like the idea of being outnumbered and being on the defensive…
We could call for reinforcements but…
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Alisson realized that no one would come to help; the 1st and 2nd armies were preparing to go on a expedition all the way back at the capital, the 3rd and 4th were reserve armies so they weren’t even mobilized, and the 5th army was already fighting the Irine Principality over on the western front….
Our best option is to fight off this army and then retreat, if no one else beats them, they’ll have free rain to siege our territory…How I wish to have but one experienced division...They would be able to defeat all 80,000 Caliphate soldiers in the area.
Normally, the Sidonians always operated at a numbers disparity, most harshly seen in Ranger Corps, where they'd be deployed behind enemy lines for long-term harrassment; the rangers were lucky if they were only outnumbered ten to one during a battle. As it stood now, the 6th was no Ranger Corp by any means; they were rookies, less than the average. Alisson could not afford to place anymore numerical stress on the 6th, they were far too unreliable in their inexperience.
So, within the span of a minute, Alisson concocted a daring plan, the 6th army would attempt to retreat through the enemies in front of them, in a matter of speaking. They would need to avoid being bogged down in attrition as much as possible, and strike in one overwhelming push before retreating.
Alisson thought through his own course of action once more, hoping not to look like a fool.
“Liedfroy, take your division down the road and secure the base of that hill; Keen you take the far left, make sure Liedfroy doesn’t get flanked from the forest, Gertrud, I want you to storm that hill, if you clear it, charge down it and try and support Liedfroy’s division. As for the 51st,”
He glanced at his elites, who were eagerly awaiting his orders.
“Daventdale company, you’re with Gertrud; Harshel company, with Liedfroy; Alieri company, stay in reserve.”
His brigade had three companies, each consisting of four four-man squads for a total of forty-eight; a laughably small number in comparison to the supposed 60,000 strong Caliphate force.
“I’m thinking we hit them hard and then turn tail, there’s no one to help us, but we can’t very well let this random army into our territory, can we?”
He addressed the division commanders and junior officers, looking for their advice; Though they all simply nodded without opposition.
After a moment of recieving only their stares, he mentally sighed.
Sometimes, I really wish my kin wouldn't see me as absolute just because of my higher status...
“Alright then, go, and repel the humans who dare invade our land; show our Lady your resolve. Cast your dice.”
The men before him let out a short hoot of confidence, then presided to carry out his orders, rounding up their own subordinates. Within a matter of only five minutes, the divisions had started their marches away. Those left consisted solely of himself, Alieri company, the junior officers who were also attached to Lord Pusheal as to attain experience, and a few couriers. Alisson had never been at the top of an army before, but right now, he felt an immense pride at the organization and discipline of his fellow Sidonians. Of course, by ‘Sidonian’ he meant anybody who had pledged allegiance to Sidonia, whether it be a Nekomata like himself, or human smart enough to see their superiority.
As much as Alisson wanted to go and lead from the front like he did all time, he now had to do the worst part about being in command, wait. Waiting to see if your plan would be a success, waiting to see if you'd just sent your comrades into a meat grinder, and waiting to see if they came back victorious…or came back at all. In a battle such as this, where they were outnumbered, and fighting openly, his elites who were not suited to frontline combat were at a severe disadvantage. Yes, they could fight any of the enemy and win a one on one but…they had zero experience with crowd control. Alisson hoped they could get by on their individual combat ability alone. That is how Sidonia, despite being a small peninsula, a speck at the bottom of the map, surrounded by the Irine Principality to the west and Jedathari Caliphate to the east, had managed to get by; their soldiers were just that much of a higher quality. Sidonia’s population was relatively low, so they had to settle for extremely high-quality generalists. Alisson was one such littoral generalist, now leading an army, he’d probably done everything any human had done in their life span in his own 259 years of age.
As Alisson watched Liedfroy’s division crash forth into the Caliphates army, and Gertrud’s division initiate their charge up the hill, Alisson wondered if they were really going to win in any sense of the word. The best outcome would be that the 6th repelled this force and returned safely intact. He didn’t think this army of rookies would win in attrition at all, his plan simply hoped to surprise the enemy and blitz them whilst killing as many as they could before promptly retreating. Like cornered rats biting back.
Alisson couldn’t see the left of the 6th army, Keen’s division, from his perch on a modestly tall hill for they were within the forest. It seemed that Gertrud was doing quite well, the progress up the hill was steady. Liedfroy even more so, the center of the Caliphate’s army was retreating so much so that he could barely see Liedfroy’s men anymore for they were pushing the enemy back around the hill that Getrud was charging up.
Alisson’s heart momentarily flared,seeing his outnumbered and inexperienced comrades able to prevail against this well-led army. Alisson's pride didn’t last long, when he saw his own joy, the critic of his mind stepped in to question whether the joy was really justified. He looked over the battlefield once more, this time with more skepticism,
This is far too easy. How is a rookie army able to fight off a force that pulled that decapitation surprise attack?
Alisson thought in silence whilst looking at the hill, now completely obstructing Liedfroy’s division and their opposition.
“Alieri, check up on our left…if they look like they’re going to break, we’ll have Liedfroy fall back.”
Alieri nodded and set off with her company into the forest. Alisson had a sneaking suspicion that if the left did break, the Caliphate could simply collapse upon Liedfroy from behind. There was also the matter of the the center's, Liedfroy's, apparent success…
Is the enemy purposely giving ground?
Alisson threw a random thought into the mix of his mind, although the more he thought, the more plausible it became:
The enemy commander had specifically instructed his center and left to give ground.
Alisson’s heart dropped and terror flooded into him upon wondering what was happening to Liedfroy’s force. They could’ve pushed their way straight into an encirclement. Thankfully, he could still see Gertrud’s Division, they’d successfully cleared the hill, but were not charging down it, they were simply holding.
Alisson, just about to send a courier to order Gertrud to commence a tactical retreat, saw a single horse galloping toward him from Gertrud’s Division. The courier pulled up beside Alisson and said frantically,
“Sir Gertrud has cleared the hill as you instructed…but Liedfroy Division was encircled, they are being overrun as we speak!”
Alisson clicked his tongue; he’d realized it too late.
“How bad is it?”
“Bad, my lord. Even if you recalled every unit on the field to Liedfroy’s position, it’d be too late.” The courier said, glumly.
“Tch…well, that’s it then. I’m ordering a general withdrawal. Tell Gertrud to retreat. And you,” He waved over another courier next to him, “Notify Keen as well…”
““Yes, my lord!””
Alisson didn’t expect the tides to change so quickly, but he wasn’t going to be dense and continue fighting, it’s better to withdraw whilst an army was still intact. Liedfroy’s division had probably been wiped out by now…he pushed straight into his death without realizing it. Alisson was proud of Gertrud’s perception, he saw that something was fishy and didn’t attempt to charge down the hill, and it paid off. Alisson only hoped the same was true for Keen.
The remaining couriers and trumpeters next to him fanned out to relay a retreat. Alisson now remained solely with the other junior officers. As he himself were about to turn to withdraw however…
“Lord Nuam! Get down!”
Although the junior officer who spoke was incorrectly calling Alisson ‘Lord Nuam’, implying that he was the head of the Nuam House, Alisson nevertheless wordlessly dived of his horse. A trio magic bolts whizzed overhead.
Pays to trust your comrades.
Alisson scrambled to his feet frantically scanning the area for whoever shot off those spells. A small group of a dozen men, were clad solely in black armor and shuffled out of the forest toward him with perfect discipline. They were armed with large black tower shields and equally large scimitars.
So they’re trying to decapitate the army again, this commander really doesn't slack!
Alisson waved off the officers surrounding him.
“Go! Tell word of our defeat! I’ll buy time!”
“My lord, do you have a death-“
“Don’t question my orders. Go!”
The officer that’d spoken out in opposition toward Alisson stared at him for a short moment, then turned, flicking his head to the other four officers. Unfortunately, these Nekomata, were only junior officers, they were only instructed to observe and as such had little armaments other than a ceremonial sword. The officers rode off, and Alisson stared down at these assassins. Already, Alisson could tell that the soldiers in front of him were probably the best the enemy had to throw at them, their armor and discipline could rival any Sidonian one.
Alisson sighed. He reached his hand into his cloak and drew his weapon, his rapier. He crouched low and rested the rapier over his left elbow while holding the handle back with his right hand. The knights, upon seeing his weapon, instantly broke their shield wall in an organized charge toward Alisson, planning to attack from ever direction. It seemed that they thought that rapiers were associated with crowd control issues, and they’d broke to swarm him to exploit that weakness.
Fortunately for Alisson, he was well aware of his own un-comfortability with crowds and had ample to time and instances to sand out the parts of his combat that were weak. He was not the third best fighter in Sidonia whilst having no way to counter multiple enemies. Although, he wholeheartedly regretted sending out Alieri company when he did, for they’d be able to wipe the floor with these soldiers. Not only would they have the edge in quality; but they’d also have a luxury that Sidonians rarely get in combat, a numerical superiority.
Alisson quit fantasizing and steeled himself for the battle about to proceed him.
“Pictun!”
A yellow and jagged spike of energy formed at Alisson’s rapier, and was shot outwards toward the closest knight. The spike smashed into the knight’s shield, but it did little to the knight’s actual health. However, this spell was followed up by another, then another, and then another. In total half a dozen of these jagged energy spikes formed at Alisson rapier and flew off, smashing into a knights’ armor.
I won't win in a coordinated encirclement, but if I weaken the ‘Coordination’ part…
If he did something the knights hadn’t already planned for, they’d have to fight on equal terms and rely purely on their instinct and skill, something Alisson was confident he had more of. By launching off a large and unprecedented barrage, he was sure the black clad knights were at least a little shaken. In fact, their formation staggered, and their charge slowed as they shrugged of the spells Alisson had launched.
He’d created a window of opportunity, and Alisson took it; charging brazenly at the soldiers.
Alisson lifted his rapier and thrust at the closest man. The knight lifted his blade in attempt to parry the rapier, but Alisson simply twisted his wrist and rotated his hand, making his rapier swerve around the knight’s sword and piercing his neck. Alisson sidestepped around the now falling corpse, searching for the next target. In front of him ran two knights, both equidistant to him. Alisson raised his hand at one.
“Pict!”
On Alisson’s index and middle finger formed two blots of yellow, and then expelled themselves in the forms of small bolts similar to the ‘Pictun’ spell, but much smaller. The bolts flew and hit one of the knights, forcing him to stop and raise his shield to meet the two bolts safely. The second knight was now charging toward Alisson completely isolated, and Alisson was easily able to bob under the knight’s initial thrust and stab upwards with his rapier, killing the soldier instantly. He then sidestepped, pushing the knights corpse out of the way with his the pommel of his rapier and exposing the slightly staggered adjacent knight. The knight appeared quite shocked, and in fear swung his sword down toward Alisson on unstable footing.
Alisson raised his rapier toward the falling sword, and at the moment of impact, he tilted the rapier, letting the sword deflect of it harmlessly and away from Alisson. Both of their momentums, still at play, propelled Alisson past the knight. The knight scrambled to turn as fast as he could but, Alisson was faster, and a blade pierced through the back of the knight’s neck. They were wearing helmets of course, but it seems that they’d severely neglected the neck protection.
Upon pulling his rapier out the corpses neck, Alisson heard a whizz by his face. He sidestepped and rose his rapier whilst jumping back, successfully blocking a swing and putting distance behind who’d ever swung it. The knights had gotten dangerously close to him, and Alisson, not wanting to be encircled, backed away a good bit.
Alright then, this’ll be a slog if I keep trying to conserve my mana, but if I don't, I’ll be leaving myself vulnerable without my shielding spell…
Alisson raised his hand, and the elites, now acutely aware of what it meant, formed a steadfast shield wall in an admirable time. The spell he was about to use however, wasn’t going to be negated because of armor, for it’s sole purpose was to pierce.
“Pictunee!”
On three of his gauntleted fingers formed red blots of mana, they expelled themselves in needle thin streams of red. In a flash, they appeared, drew blood, and faded; streaming so fast from Alisson’s fingers that it seemed they were more like lightning than magic spells.
Alisson had aimed the spells precisely at three of the knights’ necks of course, hoping to be efficient. Thanks to their tight formation however, some of the surrounding knights took some collateral damage in their arms in shoulders.
An amazing outcome, for he’d just thrown away all of his mana, just like that. Alisson had now only his sword play to rely on.
He charged at the broken formation, not giving the soldiers even a moment to get their bearings. He easily parried and riposted one, and then sidestepped and stabbed another through the side of the neck. The total number of enemies had fallen to four. One of the remaining knights, despite blood pouring out of his left arm from Alisson’s spells yelled and swung at Alisson.
Sorry, I respect your attitude but…
Alisson simply stepped to the side once more and punched the knight squarely in the helmet. The knight fell, unconscious. Without a second wasted, Alisson swiftly brought his rapier up and thrusted it down into the unconscious knight’s neck. The knight awoke from his unconscious sleep and gurgled and shook in pain.
Alisson looked up; his face full with as much intimidation as he could muster. Out of the remaining three knights, two were wounded in their arms and the remaining one seemed to be shaking uncontrollably. They briefly glanced at each other, and then turned tail.
Alisson let out sigh, he’d never actually pulled off intimidation like that before; But now that he had, Alisson had another great opportunity.
Yeah, I’m not going to let you escape.
Letting people who’d fought live out of mercy was something stupid humans did. For the opponent would always come back, full of new experience and having told every other soul about their enemy’s fighting style. Alisson reached into his cloak, and withdrew three thin and skeletal knives in between his fingers. His targets were obvious.
Alisson threw the knives in a fan-like action. The knives flew straight, and pierced directly into the fleeing cowards ankles; severing their Achilles tendons. They simultaneously collapsed. Alisson walked over, and systematically stabbed them through their necks. The last one, the one who’d been shaking, pleaded desperately to Alisson.
“P-please I’ll give you anything! Please!” The knight spoke in the language of the Caliphate, Firrdu. But Alisson, despite his meekness, was not one to think whilst in battle. He brought his rapier down.
Alisson lifted it and gave it a flare to clean a good portion of the blood off his rapier before sheathing it. As Alisson sheathed his weapon, and whistled for his horse; He could see that Gertrud’s division was backing off the hill. At first glance it seemed they were being pushed down it, but to Alisson’s trained eyes Gertrud was clearly executing an organized withdrawal whilst still having pressure put on the division.
There was a very good chance that the two remaining divisions, if Keen’s division was still even operable, wouldn’t make it out intact. Although, the chance of survival was not slim by any means as well, Alisson simply had to hope for their retreat.
Hopefully the Caliphate doesn’t try pushing into our land now that we’ve bit back a decent amount…
Alisson thought while jumping atop his horse, resting his feet in the stirrups.
It'll be about 3 days trip on horseback... I'll hitch a ride the new-fangled Sidonia Mage-Rail at Eldera to get to the capital then.
***