King Esteban, King Valasaire, and King John rode out with a handful of soldiers to meet with the Lord Regent of Provaria and his entourage. The Rumasilian-Aerlish army was ordered to halt and prepare their positions. Not long after, the Gissario army arrived at their opposite end, numbering but a quarter of their soldiers, about ten thousand men.

A negotiating table was set between the two armies where the two sides will conduct negotiations. King Esteban sat in the middle in between Valasaire and John whilst Prince Valamen stood guard along with Prince Vald and Lord Valantine. Cassandra was mounted at the back of her cavalry corps on the left flank of the army while the right flank was covered by the cavalry corps of the Daughters of Ruma.

Lord Armando sat directly opposite of his grandson along with two other generals of the Provarian army. It was agreed upon beforehand that Esteban would lead the negotiations and do most of the talking while the other kings would keep their interference to a minimum. Esteban knew the only one he should be wary of was his grandfather. He could guess the city was already firmly under the Lord Regent's hold and the two generals aren't more than just glorified bodyguards.

Though he was in the presence of the kings of two of the premiere powers in Terra, Armando did not show the slightest bit of fear or reverence for them. In fact Armando had a hint of disdain for not just his grandson but also the two kings accompanying him.

"Before we begin, I would like to present you with a gift, grandfather." Esteban said as he motioned for two soldiers to bring a chest and put in on the table

"You shouldn't have." Armando answered in his usual cold voice but still trying to humor the young king. However, when he opened the chest, his expression couldn't have been darker

Inside was the embalmed and decapitated head of his youngest son who had a look of horror. The two generals beside him had a queer expression as they saw the smiling King Esteban. Armando would have guessed that the delegation he sent to Rumasil would have failed for them to be marching here with an army, but he could never have guessed that his envoy, his youngest son, would be so mercilessly killed.

"My dear uncle says hi." Esteban said coldly "Don't worry, abuelo, I made sure his body was put to use feeding the fishes in the sea.

One of the generals next to Armando immediately closed the chest and put it aside. He had a slightly uneasy look on his face. After all, what kind of man would make such a rude joke on the death of a kinsman?

"Make sure that chest gets to Tia Leonor. I'm sure she misses her husband dearly." Esteban said with a smile to one of the Gissario soldiers "Also send my regards to my little cousins. Those little angels must be dying to see their father again."

The Rumasilians and Aerlish would be lying if they said they weren't unsettled by this scene, Valasaire especially. But on the one hand, Valasaire could clearly see the pain in Esteban's eyes.

"You monster!" The other Gissario general said, but Armando only raised his hand to silence the general.

Armando's expression was gravely dark and he made no effort to hide the rage in his eyes, yet he managed to do so whilst having an eerily calm aura. One would think he would be the least bit unsettled at the sight of his son's decapitated head.

"You have no intention of negotiating at all, do you?" Armando cut straight to the point as he looked at his grandson with the most freezing gaze and chilling voice "The murder of kin is a grave sin."

Even Valamar and Valantine, who were standing and not even being talked directly to, couldn't help but feel a faint shiver course through their bodies as this old Lord talked. Truly, this man was terrifying. King Valasaire and King John, however, managed to remain calm.

"And the murder of an entire family is not?" Esteban retorted back easily "Your hatred for the Valamen has rotted your heart, grandfather. I only gave to uncle Diego what he deserved! The penalty for regicide is death. That much is clear."

Esteban noticed the slight surprise his grandfather showed for a split second. He went on saying, "Don't think that I don't know, abuelo. It was uncle Diego who put the poison in the wine goblet of King Juan. It was he who killed my father under YOUR orders! And should you have gotten your way, you would've gotten me killed as well. But thank the Lord for His providence that I be spared from that assassin you sent to my room."

Armando did not deny anything and merely kept on glaring at Esteban with eyes full of hate. If this was in a private setting of only the two of them, no doubt Armando would have already struck him hard. Esteban would remember the harsh beatings and discipline his grandfather would administer to him when he was small. The very sight of the man in front of him was enough to terrify him.

But now, he no longer held his grandfather in any sort of respect or esteem. In fact, he returned his grandfather's cold gaze with a sneer that looked like he was looking at nothing better than horse-droppings. Esteban then fixed his posture as he leaned in and looked Armando in the eyes.

"I do not fear you, old bastard." Esteban said, losing all the fake pretense of cordiality "So you show some respect to your king and fix your damned gaze clearly. I only give you one chance to kneel and beg for your life and I might be kind enough to remember our familial relations and only exile the Gissario to a desolate isle."

Armando was quite surprised at the backbone his grandson grew to openly defy him but he quickly shrugged it off as he noticed the two other kings looking his way. He thought this was only Esteban posturing because of his backing. Without the support of Rumasil and Aerland, he'd just be the same insolent little brat he always was.

"But what if I refuse?" Armando asked not in the least lessening the threat in his voice

"Then I hope El Diablo will welcome you when I send you to hell." Esteban said as he leaned back indicating he did not wish to continue the discussions "Consider me kind enough to even negotiate with rebels. A legitimate monarch needs little reason to put usurpers to death."

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Armando appeared to be in deep thought as he lowered his head. All of a sudden, he looked fiercely towards his grandson.

"Insolent child!" Armando, who looked to be in his late fifties, slammed on the hardwood table in anger as he shouted. This action prompted a good portion of the table to crack harshly.

Esteban jumped a little, while John and Valasaire were surprised as they saw the power the old man still had. Valamar, Valantine, and Vald immediately drew their swords to protect their monarch.

"I would rather die than submit myself again to the Valamen!" Armando shouted as he drew his sword and immediately launched himself at Valasaire "Go and meet your father in the hands of God!"

The speed of the old man and his actions surprised even the Gissario generals. Valasaire only managed to dodge slightly as he saw the old bastard aiming for his throat and so he managed to at least save his life. Armando instead struck deep into the left side of Valasaire's chest. Everyone was surprised at Armando's power as he managed to stab through Valasaire's steel cuirass. This was certainly not the power of your average soldier.

Armando, however, was in turn surprised at Valasaire's agility as the Rumasilian king managed to dodge his lethal attack. This surprise was shown briefly on his face. Valasaire capitalised on his opponent's split-second faltering and immediately grabbed the wrist of Armando's hand which was still holding the sword that was currently stabbed in him.

Esteban immediately was snapped out of stupor as he drew his sword and quickly struck at his grandfather's neck with brute strength, killing him instantly. King John took out a pistol from his belt and made quick work of one of the Gissario generals as he shot him in the head, splattering the contents of his brain.

"Secure the King!" Valamar shouted as he killed the last Gissario general who was on the negotiating table and was ready to take on the remaining Gissario guards along his brothers

Some soldiers quickly assisted Valasaire who was bloodied by a mixture of the blood from his wound as well as the blood that sprayed from Lord Armando's cut throat.

"Father! Are you alright?" Valamar quickly rushed to Valasaire's side as soon as the situation had been settled

"Boy, I'll tell you I've been through worse!" Valasaire said half-jokingly as he was holding in the pain as he pulled out the sword in him by himself "This is but a scrape."

"You may act like that, but your face doesn't lie, father." Vald said then he turned to the guards "Take His Majesty to the field medics and tell them to patch him up! Don't let him bring himself into the battle!"

Valasaire lightly struck the back of his younger son's head as he looked at him with a sneer.

"Since when was the second prince allowed to order people around in the presence of the king?" Valasaire remarked to his son "They just need to patch me up a bit and I'll be good as new."

"But father...!" This time it was Valamar who chimed in before Valasaire raised his hand

"Getting me patched up will take time whilst if you see over there, the Gissarios are getting ready to move however chaotic they may look like." Valasaire pointed towards the Gissario army which were busy reorganizing themselves at the loss of the heads of their army "They are running like chickens without a head! Capitalise on their confusion and strike! Valamar I temporarily entrust the army to you."

"Yes, father!" Valamar bowed slightly as he accepted temporary command

"And John, you take care of my son here."

"Obviously. Now hurry up and get moving. If you lose any more blood, you'd be in serious trouble." King John answered

"Well then, you heard the man!" King Esteban said as he held the bloody severed head of his grandfather in his hand "Prince Valamar, we are under your care!"

Valamar nodded and the people there immediately mounted their horses as they made their way back to their army position.

***

Valamar had arrived at the head of the army along with Vald and Valantine whilst Esteban and John went to head their respective portions of command. Valamar signaled to a soldier holding a banner and another with a horn. As the banner was waved and the horn was sounded, loud thunderous noise could be heard from the back of the army. He had signaled for the artillery unit to fire their cannons which they had set up prior to the negotiations.

Using his telescope, Valamar could see that the cannonballs had all landed in the enemy formation. They had brought dozens of artillery pieces in the form of cannons with them. Valamar was actually surprised that the cannons managed to hit their target but then remembered that the cannons they brought with them were of the newer model variety with new designs.

The already disorganised formation of the Gissario army was made into even more chaos. Soon the Gissarios returned fire with their own cannons but their quality was not up to par and so many missed their marks with only a few hitting the Rumasilian formation, even then the casualties were minimal.

Valamar looked to capitalise on this and quickly raised his sword. Soon another banner was waved and another horn was blown. Valantine who was leading the infantry on the middle line of the formation quickly nodded and ordered for his own men to move forward and engage the enemy.

The center main line of the Rumasilian army were mainly pikemen supported by heavy infantry from their back while a good number of arquebusiers were marching at the forefront. The cavalry divisions on the flanks of the Rumasilian army were ordered to stay vigilant for the collapse of the enemy line.

It was only after the second volley from the Rumasilian-Aerlish cannons hit the Gissario formation did they finally form a semblance of a formation. Most of the soldiers of the Gissario house were new conscripts with the main veteran force still stationed at their colonies. Only about a tenth of the army were seasoned soldiers compared to the Rumasilian-Aerlish forces who were mostly men in their prime and had been drilled meticulously.

The two forces slowly closed in on each other. Over a hundred of the Gissario soldiers had already been either killed or incapacitated or injured by the volleys of the Rumasilian-Aerlish cannons while in turn they only managed to deal their enemies a couple dozen injuries and several unlucky deaths.

The Gissario's main line at their front were comprised of their veterans who managed to remain collected and hard-faced at the face of the overwhelming odds. This managed to instill at least some morale amogst the Gissario conscripts.

The marching of the Rumasilian soldiers were helped by the playing of traditional Rumasilian gondang drums and flutes which were played by people on movable platforms that were in turn being pushed by several strongmen. This was one of the many quirks of the Rumasilian army.

The sounds of the drums and flutes helped to raise the morale of the troops and helped them march in rhythm. The music was accompanied by the shouts and howls of the Rumasilians as many banged their weapons to their shields and even the Daughters of Ruma unleashed terrifying screams and screeches. It was a tradition tied to their tribal roots which they kept as it helped to instill fear into the hearts of their enemies.

Soon, the two armies were to collide. Valamar looked to the commander of the arquebusiers and nodded at him. Soon, the marching stooped.

"TEMBAK!! ( Fire!! )" The Rumasilian arquebusiers unleashed their first volley at the Gissario line

Thunderous bangs were heard as thousands of gunmen shot their weapons. The battle had now truly commenced.