Chapter 29: The Second Battle of Hayden's Ford

THE MONTH OF CERES DAY 3 YEAR 675 OF THE SECOND HOLY CALENDAR

The Black Valley was originally known as Hoenheim's Valley. The valley belong to a Feudal kingdom predating the Towers Empire, called the Kingdom of Pisces. The valley was ruled by two Dukely Houses, both related to each other and commonly called the red or West Hoenheims and the blue or East Hoenheims. The valley was known for its idyllic scenery, fertile fields, windmills, and peaceful coexistence. However, this peace was shattered by the invasion of the Towers Empire. That broke the peace with the Uscan Union, which would wash the valley in blood later following the Antlatur and Black revolt, and the region became the interest of four nations. The kingdoms of Antlatur, Black, Redtowers, and the Uscan Union. Each of these nations fought for control of the region for their reasons.

The original inhabitants had all been killed off, sold into slavery, or driven into foreign lands. What remained of the region was little more than a few scattered villages that would build fortifications to defend themselves from the raiding parties. But what could a mere village do when faced with an entire nation? The Black Valley was thus renamed as it was occupied by the Kingdom of Black, who built fortresses made of black stone and raised the flag of the Kingdom of Black. The only inhabitants of the valley are soldiers dressed in black armor and the souls of the dead.

Once again, the region had become a victim of war. Villages and fields had been burned to the ground. Its inhabitants are already being sold into slavery in the city of Higgsbury, such was the fate of a conquered people. The weak had no right to complain, no right to an opinion. The strong took what they wanted. That was the world's simple truth.

Cutting through the valley was a river that was the polar opposite of its northern neighbor. Where the Black Knife was prone to flooding and filled with deadly monsters, the Elise River was peaceful, clear, and stable. The river was generally shallow enough to cross at most points, but there was an exception. Hayden's Ford, a section of the river, was deep, preventing crossings at most points except the Ford.

The decisive battle did not occur at the ford itself, and that was because of the historical context. Francis Black had set his formations up on the Northern Bank of the river, and Higgsbury the 4th had set his formations up on the south. The battle had occurred when Higgsbury attempted to cross the river. The result was natural: Francis Black had the terrain advantage and crushed the Antlatur army decisively. Not wanting a stalemate or to repeat what happened last time, the two armies set up next to but further down the river from the ford.

The two camps were set up a stone's throw away. The night before, the two generals had made their battle plans, and when the dawn came, there was nothing left to do but fight and see who the gods would favor.

The Black soldiers emerged from their camp like a black stream flowing next to the river. In their black helmets and uniform kite shields, painted with the bloody crown, the Antlaturs emerged from their camp, surging like a tide toward the battlefield. Both sides began to set up their formations.

The battlefield was located on a flat plane, but a river ran on its south side. Following the conventions of warfare, both armies sent their weakest troops to that side of the field. For the Antlaturs, this was the Affiliated Kingdoms.

Andrew chose to unify all the remnants of the Affiliated Kingdom's forces into one unified Brigade. Primarily because their total only came up to about 12,000 soldiers, which was a stark decline from when they first marched into the Kingdom of Black as they've been used in the front line of every siege. The soldiers from the Kingdom of Esteberg had been wholly annihilated during The Siege of Lapetra, which only made sense. He sent the Elder Niances to command these Forces, as he didn't have a prior command.

He sent the 7th, 4th, and 3rd Divisions under his command to the center. However, despite being made up of three whole divisions, minus one Brigade destroyed at the Battle of Grastide, this force consisted of only 13,300.

Finally, he sent the first division to command the left wing, with 13,000 men under his sister's command.

The left also had the remaining heavy cavalry of the entire Army positioned on the far side, guarding their flank. The heavy cavalry only numbered 1,000, primarily provided by the Kingdom of Heyton which provided 400. The rest of the heavy cavalry were the remnants of other defeated orders and the hand-picked cavalry unit of Rasmus.

The Blacks set up their formation similarly, sending the second division to guard their left flank, but only two brigades from the second division under the command of Livia Tallwood.

One brigade from the 1st Division and one brigade from the 2nd Division under Valerius personally commanded.

Meanwhile, his cousin Charles Cornelia commanded the right flank with the remainder of the first division. Although they had suffered few casualties in the previous battles, attrition had still affected their numbers.

Finally, on the far right was 1,500 heavy cavalry commanded by Samuel Magyar.

Neither Army had a reserve. Lucas Grimwood and Hiro, both considered gods of war and tactics, had devoutly spoken against this. Both of them deemed a tactical reserve essential to deal with any sudden schemes of the enemy and reinforce parts of the line that were faltering. However, neither General really felt it had the leeway to do so. Valerius was at a numerical disadvantage, while Andrew realized that the coordination and his soldiers' morale, particularly those of the Affiliated kingdoms, was low. He aimed to win on his center and left quickly, but he didn't have the leeway for reserve.

Both armies finished their formations and set up their anti-magic barriers. After the dust had settled, they stared at each other across an open field.

Valerius stared intently at his pocket watch for five minutes. He watched his pocket watch intensely because prearranged decisive battles are an old custom that couldn't be violated. Although he was a traditional person, he understood the importance of following tradition. Many nations of the same race held pre-arranged battles. Humanity, despite having long become the dominant race on the planet, still did this as a callback to earlier days. There were numerous reasons for fighting a pre-arranged battle, ranging from not wanting to deal with cursed land due to the bodies and deaths that would occur to a desire to get the war over. They had set essential patterns, including when the battle would occur. Both armies were there early but still had to wait for additional minutes.

When the clock struck at noon exactly, Valerius ordered without hesitation, “Start praying.” The bugle sounded out, signaling the soldiers to begin their prayer. Who lifted their voices in worship of the goddess Noel.

On the other side of the field, Andrew, who had been doing the same thing, ordered his soldiers to pray to Helios, the God of the Sun and the Patron deity of Antlatur. Both armies' voices overlapped as they prayed to the heavens, hoping for divine intervention for victory.

Once they finished their respective prayers, both armies signaled to charge. The bugles blared, and with rising bloodlust, the soldiers of both armies rushed across the field.

Valerius had a total of 4,000 light Infantry who rushed across the field first. Opposing them was 5,000 light Infantry from the Kingdom of Antlatur.

The archers on both sides stopped, and they first raised and fired their arrows. They couldn't see well because their javelin throwers were in front of them, so they fired in volleys. By doing so, they would kill at least a few enemy archers. Meanwhile, the javelin throwers continued racing across the field until they were in range; at this point, they began exchanging javelins from a distance.

Javelins and arrows crisscrossed the air, infused with their master's Magic and blazed with multicolored light. To someone who didn't know that these were weapons of war intended to kill their enemies, they would have appeared beautiful, like a colorful light show.

The Black Infantry was better trained and more experienced, while the Antlatur were more numerous; victory couldn't be decided quickly. So the exchange dragged on until both light infantry units were forced to retreat due to their oncoming heavy Infantry. If they remained, they would only be slaughtered by the opposing side's heavy infantry.

The heavy infantry entered their all-out charge after welcoming the returning light infantry and reorganizing their formation.

At the same time, the Cavalry was charging across the field, and they got to each other faster than the heavy infantry. Their crashing horses caused their lances to shatter, and countless screams echoed as soldiers were speared or knocked off of their horses. The knights rotated around their horses before charging at each other again, doing this multiple times, each time coming like a joust but with a real lance.

This joust occurred three times before Samuel Magyar realized that it was unfavorable for him. Although he wasn't losing, he took advantage of his numbers and coordination by engaging in a full-on battle. So, he ordered his soldiers to stay on top of the enemy knights in the following jobs.

The battle immediately went in the favor of the Blacks as coordination of the cavalry of the Antlatur Alliance was lacking. One of the main reasons for that was that Rasmus wasn't an exceptionally skilled Commander. Although he was a great warrior, as a commander he was, at best, average. He could pass as a Cavalry captain, but commanding over 1,000 knights was brutal. It would have been difficult if he had been an exceptionally skilled Commander. The unit of knights comprised a mixture of various countries' knights. No matter how professional he was, it was impossible to get them to fight as a single unit within a short time.

Rasmus himself killed many Black Knights; however, he couldn't turn the tide of the battle single-handedly, especially since Samuel was killing an equal number of Antlatur Knights. Although they both searched for each other in the hectic battlefield, they failed to find one another.

The knights from the Antlatur-affiliated kingdoms were unwilling to die for the cause. As the battle shifted from unfavorable to more unfavorable, they started to drop like flies. One knight ran, followed by another. Slowly, the entire formation broke and routed even the Antlatur Knights. All Rasmus could do was command the rear guard with his handpicked knights and attempt to save as many of them as possible.

*****

At the same time this was happening, Linnea had employed a tactic she'd invented called “The Dragon's Tail.” It was a formational tactic that involved pushing forward the brigade on the far flank. In this context, she moved forward the first brigade on the far left of her formation, a few steps forward from her central formation. The central and right brigades then adopted a defensive stance, while the far left brigade adopted an offensive stance. Because of this, they would slowly pressure the enemy formation towards the central in the right parts of the formation, which would then come up against the defensive formation. Her formation was like a diagonal line. Well, their formation would slowly become like that of a right triangle. Having weekend resistance on the far left, they smashed through in that area. This tactic only worked if her soldiers were roughly equal or superior in numbers and quality. Even if a commander realized what she was up to, it was difficult to escape without retreating, but a retreat could quickly turn into a route if not properly managed. Even if the commander managed a successful escape, she would still kill quite a few enemy soldiers, giving her the upper hand.

Rycar, commanding the Third Brigade on the Blacks' far right, realized that something was off before the lines collided. He sent word back to Charles, who acted quickly and stopped the line entirely. The Blacks' ability to pull this off was proof of their discipline and the immense skill of their mid- and low-level officers. Charles rearranged his formation so that he approached the enemy in a diagonal formation.

Linnea began cursing the enemy Commander, but she could not do anything. Unlike Charles, she didn't dare change her formation in the middle of battle, fearing a complete breakdown. It was challenging to change formation, especially since her soldiers were wearing full facial helmets and couldn't hear much of what was happening outside. Giving complex orders via the bugle was more difficult, and she didn't have enough faith in her low to mid-tier officers to complete a complete tactical rearrangement. She, instead, ordered her soldiers to speed up, hoping to catch the enemy while they were still trying to rearrange their formation, but ultimately, she would fail.

*****

The rest of the lines crash together. The initial chaos quickly died down. Replaced by the regular chaos of the battlefield. The center of the battle promptly tilted in favor of the Black forces. The first division of Antlatur managed to beat the second division of the Black kingdom during the battle of the Green Blood Pass. That was primarily due to the first divisions' intensive training because of Linnea and the experience accumulated by their soldiers. The same could not be said for their other divisions, which lacked training. The Black forces quickly pressed the enemy back with their rigorous training and wealth of combat experience.

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Meanwhile, the left wing was facing an even more dire crisis. Livia felt she hadn't accumulated enough merits during this war. Valerius had been the star of the show even though she was his Elder. Although she hid it well, she could honestly say she was jealous of his talents and wanted to show herself off to the people. As such, she ordered her soldiers to press forward aggressively.

The soldiers of the second division, too, felt stifled in their hearts because of the glowing accomplishments of the first division in this war and due to being pressed back during the battle of the Green Blood Pass. Because of this, they fought as hard as they could.

But the soldiers from the Affiliated Kingdom had very little pride and no morale. They didn't want to die, and they didn't want to fight. Because of that, they were gradually pushed back, giving ground to every opportunity to alleviate the pressure. Niances understood his role in his battle, which was not to win but to buy time, so he allowed his soldiers to continue falling back, but eventually, he had to tell them to stand and fight.

*****

The Black Knights quickly abandoned the pursuit of the fleeing enemy cavalry. Instead, they rounded the battlefield, attempting to strike the enemy left from behind. But when they did, they found light infantry lined up in rows, javelins and arrows already knocked and ready. They charged, the enemy threw and shot their projectiles, and a fearsome battle broke out. Although light infantry would never be able to survive the charge of a heavy cavalry unit under normal circumstances, they had already been braced and given lavish promises by Andrew if they held their ground. So, for a time, at least, they could hold off the fearsome Black Knights.

When the Black Knights got into close range, the javelin throwers used their javelins like spears. They were equipped with shields, which they attempted to use to the best of their ability, but they were relatively untrained and unfamiliar with the equipment, and it went poorly. Meanwhile, the Archers drew daggers, used their arrows as Spears, and moved in. The battlefield turned chaotic, and the occasional Black Knight was dragged from his horse and killed, but for the most part, Antlaturs were dying.

*****

The left wing of the Antlatur army faced a tough battle, and both kingdoms' first divisions comprised their finest soldiers. Expert officers commanded them with a wealth of combat experience. Neither army gained an immediate advantage, resulting in a stalemate. But this only concerned Linnea more. She was aware of her brother's plan: to rely on the center in the left wing to win the battle quickly before the enemy cavalry could have a chance to play its role or their right wing would break. The news from other parts of the fight wasn't favorable, so she urged her soldiers to keep pressing the attack.

Charles, who heard the same news that his side was winning and understood that his role was not to lose, ordered his soldiers to adopt a defensive posture. Moving into the Spears and Shields formation allowed Linnea's attacks to crash against his line waves and do minor damage. She attempted to shift her line so that she outflanked him, but Charles responded in kind, stretching the battle line.

*****

Barely one hour after the battle began, the Antlaturs were already being pressed back on two fronts and had a crisis that, if not addressed soon, would result in losing the fight. Andrew couldn't help but grind his teeth in frustration. Andrew was by no means a bad Commander. He defeated the Kingdom of Triton despite being outnumbered, and he repealed a Greentowers invasion. He knew what he needed to do, but knowing what to do and being able to bring yourself to do it or two different things. A seasoned Commander knew when to cut his losses and retreat. In that sense, it was unfair to judge Andrew as he was only 22.

Andrew knew he needed to retreat to preserve as many men as possible. But doing so would not only need admitting defeat to the Kingdom of Black but also admitting personal defeat to his self-declared rival Valerius, which he struggled to do. So finally, with clenched teeth, he ordered “Retreat!”

“Your Majesty. We can still…..” the aid started

Andrew glared at him with sheer loathing. The aid immediately shut up and gave the order to retreat. Normally, Andrew would never allow himself to get so angry, so he tried to present a calm front, someone everyone could talk to despite his lofty status. But the stress was slowly crushing his rationality.

When the bugles rang out, soldiers from all over the army started to retreat. Although they weren't well trained, they were still taught to fall back so they could retreat in reasonably good order, which should have been the case.

The light infantry hadn't been adequately trained to retreat from a situation where the enemy had already engaged them. On top of that, their morale was already faltering, and they had lost half of their number. However, their families have been promised huge compensation for holding off the enemy force as long as possible. Under the immense pressure and strain of the battlefield, they were unable to remember their family. When bugle rang to retreat, they started falling back, but that was just like a damn bursting. The Retreat quickly turned into a route as they fled in all directions in complete panic. The only thing on their mind was getting away from the enemy knights as fast as possible. Luckily for them, but unluckily for the kingdom they served, the Black Knights had no interest in pursuing light Infantry.

Although some of the Black Knights broke off, Samuel managed to keep them together enough to charge his initial target, the rear of Antlatur's left wing. Andrew watched this with growing horror. “Linnea,” he murmured, subconsciously moving his horse in that direction, knowing his sister was in danger.

However, one of his companions, cavalry, grabbed the reins of his horse and yanked him back. “Your majesty, you can't.” That brought him back to his senses that he was the king of an entire country and the supreme commander of this army. He couldn’t just run off even if his family was in danger.

“I'm sorry.” He said an apology to his sister that she couldn't hear. For the first time in a long time, he sent a prayer to the heavens, praying to whatever god was there for her safety.

But before he could retreat, he heard a shout, “Andrew Antlatur!”

*****

A few minutes earlier.

“My helmet,” Valerius said to James, who offered him his helmet and admonition, “You're insane.”

If they hadn't been pressed for time, he would have made a joke about James dropping the polite act. He slid on his helmet, causing his field of vision to narrow and him almost to become deaf due to lack of hearing. He raised his sword to the sky. “Forward men to battle so you're all not useless anymore.”

A round of laughter greeted his joke as the group approached the battle line. The soldiers of the Third company of the first brigade had already moved aside, allowing him and His companion cavalry to go through with ease. The Antlatur, who weren't pursued, took full advantage by getting a lead on retreating far outstripping their comrades. This allowed him and his comrades to pass the battle lines and get behind enemy lines quickly. Valerius simply had to locate the enemy Command Post, which was easy since it was supposed to stand out.

His companions didn't need any orders. They silently spurred their horses into a charge and ran directly toward the golden stallion. When he saw that one of Andrews's companion cavalry had spotted them and was trying to inform his comrades, he didn't bother attempting to hide his presence anymore. He shouted at the top of his lungs with magically enhanced vocal cords, “Andrew Antlatur!” He also magically enhanced his eyesight and looked at his rival's face well. “He's handsome but not as handsome as me, of course.” Valerius was often considered the most handsome man in the Kingdom of Black. “Of course, soon I'll be the most handsome man in the Kingdom of Black and the Kingdom of Antlatur.”

The Golden Stallion grabbed his helmet and spear, preparing to fight. Valerius was honestly impressed he'd expected the Golden Stallion to flee like a coward, but instead, he was making a stand like a man.

The Golden Stallion and his companion, the Cavalry, charged. The two groups crashed together in a head-on collision, trading lance and sword blows. The Golden Stallion thrust his spear straight at Valerius. It glowed with his Mana, green and gold with a trace of aquamarine. Valerius countered, his sword glowing with his own Mana, black and gold with a hint of crimson.

The blade and lance clashed repeatedly, each time producing a shockwave. Both blades were made of the finest metal, adamantium, and enchanted by the finest Mages that each kingdom could produce. Despite Andrew's apparent advantage due to having a lance over a sword, Valerius could feel he was at an absolute advantage.

In terms of skill training and experience, he outmatched his opponent. Within just a few blows, the battle had already been decided, and it was only a matter of time before the Golden Stallion lay dead at his feet. Valerius landed what was known as a breaking blow. It was a move designed to break the mana shield by hitting a generally well-armored area. Before he moved into the killing blow, blocking a desperate strike from Andrew, he raised his sword high and infused it with Mana. Andrew was a reasonably skilled knight but lacking in both experience and training. He was no match for the Prince of the Storm.

Just then, one of Andrew's companions Cavalry, thrust his lance at Valerius, forcing him to relocate his shield to block it. He turned his attention to this new opponent while keeping his shield and eyeing the Golden Stallion. They both moved into a simultaneous attack, which he blocked with his sword and shield. A second later, a knight whose armor he recognized as James attacked and broke the mana shield of the intervening knight. “Great! Jay will kill these bastards together.” Valerius thrust his sword at the intervening knight. He blocked with his shield. A second later, a slash from James took his head off.

Valerius looked back to Andrew only to find that his conspicuous golden stallion and fancy armor were already riding off into the distance away from the battle. “You fucking coward,” he roared with rage. How could a king abandon his troops so quickly? Valerius unconsciously set off after him but was blocked by a member of his companion cavalry. “Out of my way, you bastard,” he growled. The knight ignored him and thrust his Lance forward. Valerius blocked and shouted, “James, get over here and handle this one,”

James approached and confronted the knight. Valerius tried to ride past, but the knight thrust his lance at him. Valerius blocked with a shield and continued. A second later, he heard the shattering sound of the opposing knight's mana shield breaking. Smirking under his helmet, he broke through the remaining battle and glanced around, trying to find the golden stallion. A second later, he spotted him, but he was already a reasonable distance away and accompanied by two knights. It finally sank in for him. He unleashed a beastly howl that echoed across the entire battlefield. “Andrew Antlatur!” It was the howl of a wild animal whose prey had gotten away.

*****

The first division of the Kingdom of Antlatur's escape from the battlefield should have been the easiest. They were the most disciplined unit of the army and the most coordinated, as the entire left flank was made up entirely of the first division. On top of that, they were the only wing that could be said to be winning their front. However, their escape was the most difficult. When the light infantry broke, they fled in all directions, including the first divisions. This confused and disorganized their line, making their orderly retreat into complete chaos. Especially since they were already faced with a vicious pursuit of the enemy.

However, following the light infantry was a far worse threat, and that was the enemy knights. Under normal circumstances, they might have been able to put up a decent fight against them, probably even claiming victory; however, they were not only in the middle of flight but were also being pursued by the enemy, making resistance impossible. Linnea attempted to get her troops to go around the heavy cavalry, but one person shouted like she was throwing a rock into the middle of a whirlpool.

She didn't have long to continue throwing her rocks into the whirlpool. She and her companions were mounted, which attracted the enemy knights' attention. They came rushing to claim her head and the glory and honor accompanying it.

Her companion, Cavalry, was by no means weak; some of the best female knights in the entire kingdom existed. They fought valiantly to break free of the encirclement, but there were many more enemies, even if they were two times better than all their enemies. For every enemy knight they killed, another one would take their place, and her companion, Cavalry, slowly started to die off. Linnea took part in the battle and killed several enemy knights, but ultimately, it was futile.

She was fighting what seemed to be a particularly weak enemy knight, at least in terms of Mana. She'd already broken his mana shield, so she moved for the killing blow, making a sizeable overhead swing. But something funny happened: her sword collided with the opponent's sword, but then it probably slid down the length of the blade. Her center of gravity was knocked off balance, and she almost fell off her horse. She desperately grabbed at the reins with her Shield's hand. But this left her dangerously exposed, and the enemy took full advantage. His sword slashed downward, cutting off her sword arm with one clean blow. Her mana shield had already been broken in the earlier engagement.

“Ah, what a sharp sword,” she thought admiringly as the pain hit her and spurts of blood started flowing from her severed sword arm. The pain was so severe that a normal person would probably scream and roll around on the ground. The opponent's sword went back up as he moved into a thrusting stance. She knew that she was about to die. She couldn't move to block, and none of her companions were close enough to help her. Fear gripped her heart, but she was a princess of Antlatur and a Major General, and she needed to face death with at least a little bit of dignity.

The last sound she heard was a guttural beastial howl, “Andrew Antlatur!”

Christopher watched Linnea’s body slide lifelessly from the saddle. He never thought he'd feel so complicated about watching her die. She was ultimately just his employer, even if their relationship had included sex. But by the end, he must have had at least a little affection for her. However, he would never really figure that out now that she was dead and he was about to die.

He moved to fill the gap. Her death had caused there to be no more reserves, and half of the companion cavalry was already dead. Although he attacked her killer, his heart wasn't really in it. He knew he stood no chance against someone who managed to kill Linnea. He was just fighting to the end because it was his duty to. He was never really the warrior type, as indicated by the fact that he didn't even bother to wear armor. He was just a staff officer. It almost came as a relief when the sword that killed, Linnea finally went through his chest. His final thoughts were not on his homeland, which was sure to face a crisis due to this defeat, nor was it on the honor they had lost or even on the family he left behind. Instead, they were on if he would join her in the afterlife.