Chapter 6: Black moves

The Month of Ninsum Day 11 Year 675 Of the Second Holy Calendar

On the 10th day of the month, Valerius, the first division, and the Red Towers border regiment departed from Fort Frances. They crossed the Rubily River, which served as the Border between Red Towers and the kingdom of Black. Valerius's forces totaled 20,000 men but left behind 3,000 men to guard Fort Frances. He had 12,000 heavy Infantry, 5,000 Light Infantry Archers, Javelin throwers, skirmishers, and 3,000 cavalry. Primarily composed of light cavalry, he only had 1200 knights with him. They moved in response to 25,000 Redtowers soldiers slowly marching toward their border. This could be seen as an unprovoked attack without approval from the council. But there was only one nation West of Redtowers, the kingdom of black; therefore, their target could only be them. Valerius got approval from the queen in advance. They only sent one written warning: Redtowers must march their army in a different direction unless they want to go to war. Their envoy was ignored.

Redtowers had only defended their border with the occasional scattered garrison and small fortress. These forts fell on the same day the invasion began due to the overwhelming power of Valerius's Army. Redtowers probably hoped for a longer delay and more casualties to be accumulated on the Black side. However, they had overestimated the morale of their garrison, which was completely unwilling to die for their country. They surrendered with very little persuasion, oftentimes killing their garrison commander. As a result, Black forces marched into Ayers, a town east of Fort Francis under the control of Red Towers, completely bloodlessly. Unless you count the garrison commanders. In total, they made 3,000 Redtowers soldiers prisoners, promising to release them without ransom once the war was over.

The enemy's low morale resulted from the poor treatment of their entire Army and their border garrisons in general. As it was a punishment within their army to be sent to the Western border, there was frequent skirmishing against the fearsome Black soldiers. But the Black kingdom was poorer, therefore less loot and ransom. These soldiers had no intention of dying for their nation.

Valerius passed by another village that was looted and burned. He had long grown accustomed to it, and he had even taken part in it himself, so it no longer bothered him at all. He came by once the soldiers were getting into the last part. But he knew what they had done from experience and just by looking at the smoldering ruins of the village.

The soldiers had dragged the residents outside the village, gathering them up and beating those who resisted. After that, they proceeded to loot the village systematically. Judging by their uniforms, these men of the first division had been through this process hundreds of times. After they were done looting, they proceeded to pile all of the valuables into a spot outside the village.

Once they were done, they grabbed hay from the stables or barns and spread it around with practiced movements. This was to make the fires burn quicker and ensure that nothing was left behind. Once that was done, they finally set the village on fire. The fire then completely destroyed the village, and the soldiers got to what many of them considered to be the best part.

An Antlatur prisoner had once commented that the Blacks even engaged in looting and rape in a coordinated manner, which was true. In most armies, when looting, the soldiers race for the best spoils and sometimes even kill each other over the finer pieces. They operated on a first-come, first-serve basis; the same applied to slaves and rape.

The Blacks did not operate like this at all. Instead, the Blacks secured the city or town they were looting, first gathering the residents and restraining those who posed a potential threat. After that, they systematically loot the place gathering all their spoils together, a portion would go to the families of the fallen and the injured. Whatever was left would then be divided among the remaining troops. Anyone caught stealing from their comrades by not sharing their loot would be hung, and his family would not receive any pension.

The Blacks even adopted a similar method when engaging in rape. They would gather the residents together, restraining those who might pose a threat before proceeding. Each soldier would take turns, usually on a Squad(10 soldiers) basis. The rest of the soldiers would guard the captives and the loot. Once their comrades were done, they would take their turn. They even generally selected non-virgins to preserve the value of the captives, which did fall into the same category of the profits being divided. Still, the soldiers who brought the slaves would get the remaining percentage, and it wouldn't be divided among the whole Army. “Rational cruelty.” Valerius had once heard Veronica call it that.

The platoon assigned or allowed, to loot this village was doing exactly that. Their lieutenant was selecting which team would get to go first while her NCO was selecting their victims. Valerius called out to her right as she seemed to finish assigning the teams. “Lieutenant, might I have a word with you.”He shouted. Lieutenants of any Black Army were easily recognizable when only with their platoons, as they were the only ones allowed to wear the Red Cloak.

The moment she heard him, she came running over. The lieutenant was a typical military woman. She cut her hair short. She was on the taller side, with a fair amount of muscle and a Stern face. The moment she arrived, she saluted. “Sir. Is there anything wrong, sir?”

Valerius shook his head. “I was checking to see if you had received the special orders.”

“Sir, me and my platoon were ordered to loot and burn this village. We were told we could do it with residents and that the loot would go to the pile.”

Valerius nodded. “Well, I just made the order. I would like you to select three of the villagers, preferably one of them being the mayor, and hang them. Just leave their bodies after you're done.”

The woman couldn't hide her frown, but she still saluted. “Orders received, sir.”

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Valerius was about to leave when he decided to ask, just out of curiosity, “Who are you going to take?” He gestured at the captives to make his point. She slightly blushed before replying by pointing at a young man still being held in the group. “That one, sir, if you don't mind. I intend to keep him even after the war.”

He stood in his saddle to get a better look. “Is that a boy or a girl? It's genuinely hard to tell from here.”

“He is a boy, sir. I confirmed it for myself.”

“Well, you can keep him if you follow regulations.” Regulation did exist to allow soldiers to keep slaves, but they had to pay their comrades back for their loss. “But you're into that type, lieutenant.”

She averted her eyes. “I'm not judging you,” he shrugged. “I'm into younger girls myself.”

“Would you like to partake in some of our prizes, sir?”

Valerius shook his head. “I no longer take my pleasures on the battlefield ever since a woman tried to cut my cock off.” Valerius lashed the reins of his horse and galloped off satisfied. His companions fell in around him, protecting him from all sides as they rode.

Companion Cavalry consisted of 20 elite soldiers sworn to protect and die for their charge, generally a general of the army. They did everything together. They slept together. They fought together. They died together. Valerius' companion cavalry had been constant companions for a while after becoming a major general, but they were still close and loyal.

The leader of his companions, Michael, rode his horse so that they were side by side. He was a big man—7 feet tall and massive in girth—but it was all pure muscle. His helmet covered his shaggy black hair but not his smiling black eyes. “General, why didn't you admit you didn't want to cheat on Lady Luce again?” Michael asked while laughing.

Valerius shrugged. “It would seem unmanly for me to admit that, like Luce had unmanned me,” he replied. The friendly teasing lifted his mood a bit. “Those damned Redtowers, cowards.” The source of all his frustration is that bad reports kept coming in from the southern border. But his ability to go to the southern border aid was hampered by the Kingdom of Redtowers. Valerius wanted a swift victory against his enemies so he could march quickly to aid the southern border. But after assembling their army, Redtowers marched incredibly slowly. They probably knew his desire to end the battle quickly and hoped he crossed the Great Alloro River. He would never do something so stupid, but his hand might be forced at the same time.

As a result, he ordered his men to burn and loot what they could in the hopes that Redtowers would come faster. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have much effect, as the enemy still marched at a snail's pace. “If we don't get a move on, the southern border will be overrun.” He said worriedly to Michael. The whole reason for their trip today was to inspect the bridge crossing the river. If his army were to cross, it would offer a perfect opportunity for the enemy to attack with his men divided by the river.

Michael Shrugged: “Isn't that why we're hanging those people?” He gestured behind him. “If we can't make them come running with burning fields, we will make them come running with hanging nobles,” he said while laughing.

“I hope it all works out that easily,” Valerius replied, concerned. Ayers was a small trading town without any defenses. It primarily served as a market town for all of the nearby villages to come and trade their food and goods. At this point, they were put on a ship in the town to sail downriver to Cachexia. It also provided other services to the nearby villages, which had a population of around 3,000. It now served as the main base of operation for Valerius’ Army.

Just as they were entering the outskirts of town, Charles rode his usual horse, a chestnut charger, straight for Valerius. “What's up, cuz?” Valerius asked, relaxed.

Charles got straight to the point: “The Irregulars have fallen. Antlatur is now in the Black Valley.”

On the 8th day of the month, the second division departed from the capital, Lapetra, with 11,000 soldiers, including two brigades and the division's knight battalion. They had been held up by the council's needless worries about an Uscan Union invasion. Only after the queen stepped in directly were they allowed to get going finally. They marched southward but only made it to Grastide on the 10th day of the month. There they joined up with an additional brigade and Reserve Army Brigade raising their total force to 21,000, although some of those men were unreliable.

During the conquest of the region by Antlatur, they had put most of the cities to the torch. They needed a new base to rule from. So the city of Grastide was constructed primarily due to its proximity to Antlatur and due to the Black Valley, the most fertile region in the Norost mountain ranges. Grastide was once the largest city in the region thanks to its ideal location and favorable treatment by the first Archduke. But under the incompetent reign of his son, Theamor the Tyrant, the city fell into disrepair, with most people leaving for the city of Lapetra in the North.

During the rebellion, the city was one of the few that remained loyal to the tyrant because of their long-term favorable treatment by the archdukes. As a result, it had a complicated relationship with the kingdom of Black and was generally treated unfavorably in its politics. It also fell further into disrepair under the kingdom of Black. Not only did its favorable policies end, but the Black Valley became the new frontline in a series of wars, with Antlatur being frequently burned down. Francis's plane became the new most fertile region, and the second was the Black Knife River. Despite this, the city was still the second-largest city in the Kingdom and an important military base for securing the Black Valley.

Livia Tallwood was in a dilemma when she arrived; the Antlatur forces had already entered the Black Valley. She could be surrounded and annihilated if she rushed to reinforce the border fortresses. Meanwhile, if she did nothing, the third division would be surrounded by their fortresses and slowly wiped out. Normally, this would be good as she could lead her men to relieve them once the enemy was exhausted, but they had 120,000 soldiers. The third division and her forces were put together and would still have less than 40,000. Even if the first division were to join, they still wouldn't have half the strength of the Antlatur forces. She also hesitated for another reason, and that was that she understood this war was no mere border skirmish. If they lost it would likely mean the end of the kingdom of Black.

Livia was not an inexperienced commander; she'd won victories both as a supreme commander and subordinate. But she never felt that the weight of the entire nation was resting on her shoulders; she always felt that someone, even if she failed drastically, would fix the problem. But even if Valerius were a God of War, as some of his men claimed, he would need every sword to drive off this invasion. She couldn't waste an entire division on a reckless gamble, so she hesitated till the 11th day of the month when the golden stallion decided for her.

He split off 30,000 of his troops, and they marched for Grastide; they set up camp only a mile away. She was tempted to emerge and fight him but ultimately decided against it, so the stalemate continued. She also decided to send Prince Francis, who had arrived in Grastide before her and had been demanding that she March to the aid of the Black Valley fortresses back to the capital before they were cut off.