Chapter 10: Antlaturs March

The Month of Ninsum Day 20 Year 675 Of the Second Holy Calendar

Linnea watched with some irritation as her soldiers finally routed the black forces on Howard Bridge. Despite achieving her objective, the anger and irritation didn't go away. Even with the jubilant shouts around her, she continued to simmer with her quiet irritation. Watching the black forces retreat and her own troops starting to give pursuit did give her relief but not joy. There was only one reason for that: this Victory had come at the cost of far more lives and far more time than was necessary. There was only one reason for that, Zach Pickett. She knew she couldn't punish him for it. He was her brother's favorite.

Zack had openly objected to her plan of attack, which involved sending in waves of archers and javelin throwers to soften up the enemy before sending in heavy infantry and cavalry in waves to weaken them. He proposed ahead on assault with his cavalry. That wasn't the problem, but the fact that he had openly and very publicly objected to her right before the attack had weakened the resolve of the Antler Knights. They weren't usually under her command and failed in the first wave. This stiffened the resolve of the black forces and took two more waves to break them, consuming the rest of the day and significantly delaying their advance.

She turned to her Aid to Camp, Christopher: “Have the battlefield cleared up. I don't want our men walking through any more of our own corpses. Take our own dead for proper burial and dump the black bodies in the river.” He saluted and went to do what she instructed. At least someone knows how to be respectful, she thought with more irritation.

Linnea reflected with some irritation on the past few days the Antlatur army had successfully traveled from the Black Valley to the Black Knife River. The March had not been smooth. The villages and towns in front of them had been abandoned by their inhabitants. These weren't the farming communities of the Black valley, which were quickly taken by surprise and unable to leave their fields. But the hunters and shepherds of the mountains used to dealing with monster attacks and enemy invasions. All they did was move their livestock and hunting grounds elsewhere out of the path of the invasion. Forging parties were sent to gather food from the locals but returned with nothing if they came back at all. They would barely go missing for a day before turning up on the marching route hung up from the treetops.

They could not adopt Lucas Grimwood's traditional marching style of dividing their forces and taking separate marching routes due to the fear of a direct assault. However, their fear proved groundless as they were only attacked once, at least directly. Every night, when they tried to sleep, enemy irregulars would come outside their camp and blow war horns, smashing their swords against their shields to keep them awake.

Dealing with ambushes, the demoralized army could not vent their frustration, and nothing but camp rations overall soured everyone's mood. They barely had any time to rest before Andrew forced them to attack Howard Bridge, which was held against them by a force of Blacks only a few hundred strong, who used the narrow confines of the bridge to minimize their numbers advantage, fortifying it and laying traps. The main objective seemed to be to slow down and not particularly harm or stop the Antlaturs. They had to cross Howard Bridge to reach Lapetra.

Still irritated, Linnea followed the first brigade as they crossed the river. They began pitching tents and setting up rudimentary defenses, and the rest of the first division soon joined them. She decided to oversee the construction of trenches personally. This was their Vanguard, and the first division was isolated from the rest of the army. Although she doubted the Garrison at Lapetra would sortie, she still had concerns.

The first division of Antlatur was similar to the first division of the Kingdom of Black; it was the most experienced and led by some of the best officers in the entire Kingdom. Their mood was jubilant due to their victory and finally reaching their destination. But she knew their morale would quickly improve, which was a definite improvement from the past few days of Doom and Gloom.

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Linnea was born a warrior and commander, and she always found leading troops more accessible and entertaining than court politics. She joined in this trench construction; she bet a silver coin that her team would finish first, but they lost it. When she handed over her coin, the soldiers who won teased her about being so high-ranking that she forgot how to dig trenches, and she responded in kind.

After ensuring the camp was secure, she finally ate dinner with her officers; however, their meal was no different from the soldiers. This was a complete departure from the usual Antlatur custom of giving officers and generals preferential treatment. Many people within and without the army joke that Linnea had become a Black officer since she did not partake in this preferential treatment usually offered to officers of her rank. In reality, she had copied these rules of discipline from the Blacks, although not to the same extent as they did, because she feared backlash. Of course, Zach was not invited.

Once the meal was over, she looked at the last person left in the room, Christopher. She pushed back her chair before motioning him in front of her. He knew what she wanted without her having to say anything. He got down on his knees after removing her belt and pants. He kissed her pussy without hesitation. Feeling, his tongue started to move, and she started stroking his hair. “Hmm, you like it down there, don't you.” She was quite a sadist at times. She leaned back in her chair and continued stroking his hair.

After they had sex, she rolled off the mattress that they used to the floor. Other soldiers slept in sleeping bags, and a bed was one of the few luxuries she permitted while on a campaign. Primarily so that she could have sex. Finding a bathrobe and some of the alcohol that was still left out on the table, she started drinking. She stared at him still on the bed. His blonde hair was slick with sweat, and his caramel-colored eyes were still unfocused. He'd been a virgin until he became her Aid, at which point she started fucking him.

She stared at his handsome face as her pleasure and passion faded, and she was reminded of her troubles. She couldn't help but sink into a slight depression. Christopher was far from her first lover, but he was the one she cared about the most; all the others were mere bed toys or even one-night stands. Although she couldn't marry Christopher due to his low social status, she already had no intention of marrying. Growing old with him didn't sound like such a bad idea, especially since he was open to her having sex with other men.

But she faced more immediate problems, such as her brother's growing arrogance. Andrew was the second son of Higgsbury the 4th. Higgsbury the 4th was viewed as an incompetent leader, and most people had faith and a firm belief in his eldest son, also named Higgsbury. Although she didn't know him that well despite being his sister, he was reportedly handsome, intelligent, and witty. However, he died, and Andrew faced an uphill battle to become king. The nobles hadn't supported him, the Affiliated kingdoms hadn't supported him, and the military hadn't supported him.

Some Nobles even thought there would be a Dynasty change. He'd even have to deal with rivalries within his family, including their sister Beatrice. However, he overcame these crises with great difficulty, drove off foreign invasion, and brought the Affiliated kingdoms over to his side. All of this had earned him the nickname The Golden Stallion. She believed in his competence, leadership, intelligence, and openness to hear the suggestions of his subordinates.

But recently, he changed. He had grown arrogant due to the flattery and praise lavished upon him by the people and the Nobles. Now, he has started a pointless war. She had little doubt that they would be able to emerge Victorious, but overall, she felt that there were bigger fish in the sea and better expansion routes for them to take. She decided to express her concerns. “Hey Chris, what do you think of this war?”

He rolled over to look at her. I believe it's a war between “Antlatur and one of its enemies, the kingdom of Black.”

She asked a vague question and received a vague answer: “I mean, what do you think of it from a military standpoint?”

He thought about it for a long time before answering, “We can win, but it would cost troops and money. What if the kingdom of Jax’s or Triton takes the opportunity to invade? Enemies surround us. We should be making allies where we can and not wasting our time invading one of the most fortified nations on the Western continent. A nation who hates us to the Bone and will fight us to the bitter end.”

“Chris, have I ever told you how smart you were?”

“I don't think so, Your Highness,” he responded politely.