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Open-Field Battle Preparation

We're back from CNY with the first release of the week! Also, for those unaware, I'm translating another western-fantasy novel at volarenovels.com, "The Sword and The Shadow"! Feel free to drop by here!

Thunk! A thick wooden board fell to the ground and formed a three-meter-wide bridge over the ditch. A 100-man leader wearing leather armor and a black helmet on which a white feather was placed roared.

"Quick! Push the second ditch-filling cart[1] over!"

A dark form flashed past like a bolt of lightning. With an audible whoosh, the leader's body was knocked flying by a bolt coming from a tower roughly. He landed about four meters from where he had been standing. He desperately tried to feel the bolt that had pierced through him before he coughed out several mouthfuls of blood and collapsed dead, his eyes rolled.

The 100-man leader's death dropped the rest of the squad into chaos. However, another leader came over immediately. He wasn't as brave as the last one, who dared to stand right next to the ditch. Instead, he hid behind one of the carriages carrying a large wooden shield and barked orders for the ditch-filling carts to be pushed forward. The squad's men calmed down and continued their push. At the same time, the leader had his own squad, a hundred longbowmen, fire at the tower.

This was the second siege battle of Southern. It took place on the 4th day of the 7th month, Year 1778, more than a month from the first battle. During the past month, House Fisablen and the four central duchies' forces had cleared quite a number of forests in the area to construct large numbers of siege engines and the two-wheeled shield carriages. They only launched their attack against the four houses after properly preparing and getting a good rest.

From the fortified camp defended by Firmrock to the flatter expanses of land roughly five kilometers to its left were nothing but fire, smoke, clashing blades, blaring horns, cries of death, and thumping drums. Whether they be the attacking or defending soldiers, they shared one desire: victory against the enemy for the survival of themselves.

From a tall viewpoint, the elite infantrymen of the four central duchies seemed like waves in a rising tide. They came wave after wave, and the towers seemed like bedrock at the shore, breaking the force of the waves without ever falling. All the attacked towers retaliated with non-stop ballista-bolt barrages. Droves of enemies died bloody deaths at a time.

However, across the month, the four central duchies' forces managed to prepare some large siege engines perfect for taking down towers. The moment the ditch-filling carts were pushed to the moats, the moats would be filled and rendered useless. As the two-wheeled shield carriages of the duchies blocked defenders' attacks, the soldiers hacked down on the towers' wooden doors. Fighting soon ensued at close quarters within the towers. Battering rams were also deployed on the battlefield and with only two or three knocks, holes would be made in the towers. Some of the soldiers within rushed out to fight their enemies to the death, only to end up falling one after another.

The ones who attacked Firmrock's fortified camp were none other than the grassland barbarians. Not only did more than 20 thousand of them dismount and turn into infantry, they also pushed similar ditch-filling carts. Originally, the two-wheeled shield carriages and the battering rams were going to be escorted by House Fisablen's Third Frontier before they could be used. However, the infantry from the four duchies were far more compatible of operating those engines. After three attacks and two or so hours of effort, not much was done apart from the three thousand plus corpses and five ditch-filling carts left at the three frontmost ditches.

Lorist observed the barbarian infantry march forward towards the defensive formations atop a small hill in the middle of the main camp. The troops retreated after leaving another one or two hundred corpses behind. However, his expression was grim; definitely not the joyous one he ought to have after driving his enemy back. That was because he just received a report that the 47 towers at the flatlands to the left had either fallen into the enemy's hands or burned down completely. The household soldiers defending those towers perished. Given that the ditches dug around the towers enveloped them almost completely, the defending troops had nowhere to run to and didn't have a choice but to sacrifice themselves and try to take as many enemies down with them as they could.

Ah, I really tied myself up like a caterpillar weaving a cocoon.

While the tower tactic was extremely effective against cavalry, it wasn't much use against infantry, which were far better at attacking, especially when the enemy had so much experience as well as their adeptness at constructing various siege engines. They were also willing to pay the heavier price required to take the towers. That way, the enemy could make up with the disadvantage using numbers. The defending soldiers atop the tower outposts were practically sharks in a pond. All they could do was make up for their own losses by taking as many of the enemy with them as they could.

I still really lack experience... Tactics from an era with firearms are really unsuitable in a setting that only has cold weapons.

No matter how strong each individual steel ballistae was, there was no way they could pierce the carriage's shields. Their log shields weren't a threat when they were pushed by humans, but now they had the grounding and support of the two-wheeled carriages. Even if it were to shatter from concentrated fire, it wouldn't fall over to affect the soldiers hiding behind it. There was also the ditch-filling carriages. Once the enemy got close enough to the towers, the steel ballistae wouldn't be able to target and the defending soldiers had no choice but to fight their attackers in close quarters.

"Is Fiercetiger Loze managing?" asked Lorist.

"Your Grace, Sir Loze can hold on. But he was injured by a unit of enemy longbowmen when he led one of his spear cavalry divisions to reinforce the first line. He is injured pretty badly," answered the messenger.

"How did it happen? Didn't the carroballistae return fire?!" asked Lorist a little angrily.

"Your Grace, the carroballistae couldn't be deployed on the frontlines. They were stopped by the ditches behind the third line and couldn't fire that far. Sir Loze was also attacked by the enemy because they were bottlenecked by the ditches' intersection points," mumbled the messenger softly.

Lorist really felt like giving himself a harsh slap. It was another one of his mistakes. He had set up three lines of tower defenses in an area roughly five kilometers left of his current position. The first and second lines were 200 meters apart, while the second and third was 300 plus meters apart. The problem was that he had ordered his men to dig ditches around the towers at the first and second defense lines. He had initially thought that the winding route would delay the enemy's advance and allow the defenders to have more time to wear their numbers down. However, the enemy's ditch-filling carts instantly rendered the ditches useless. Not only that, they were even an obstacle to the reinforcements he sent to the first line of defense.

Sigh! Back then, everyone agreed to my idea of using the tower tactic to stop House Fisablen's light cavalry, so nobody said anything about it when I ordered the ditches dug. This ended up being my fault yet again. No, I can't stay here for long.

"Send someone to notify Potterfang. I will head to the battlefield near our left flank where Loze is," Lorist instructed Els, "I need to make sure he holds on to the defenses there. Also, don't move the battle standards. The guards shouldn't follow me either. Our movements must not be noticed. Just have Reidy bring a company along. Also, have Ovidis's Thunderbolt Brigade and Terman's knights secretly travel to the left flank and be on standby. Since the four central duchies are so willing to sacrifice themselves for Duke Fisablen, I'll make sure they sacrifice all their men."

"Understood, Your Grace," replied Els before he turned and barked his own orders, sending three other guards riding down the hill.

Just before Lorist left, he suddenly recalled something.

"Els, if the main camp is suddenly attacked by the grassland barbarians, you may have Potterfang retreat gradually and give up on the defenses at the front. The only important thing is the main camp. Also, if there is anything urgent, you may lead the guards into battle, understood?"

Lorist brought Howard, Reidy and a company of 100 guards to leave for the left flank.

"Your Grace? Why have you come?" asked Loze with a bloody bandage wrapped around his left shoulder.

"How did this happen?" asked Lorist, concerned.

Loze gave an embarrassed smile.

"I rushed a little too fast and didn't notice the volley of arrows. I didn't think one would pierce through my armor and strike my shoulder like this. Fortunately, the shoulder pads were tough and only a small wound was opened. It's just a flesh wound, nothing serious."

"Are you really fine? It wasn't poisoned, was it? Have you gotten it checked by a herbalist?"

"I have. I even drank a bottle of cleansing. The wound has already been treated and it won't affect my deployment. Just look," Loze said as he waved his hand around relaxedly.

"Your Grace, don't worry about a small thing like this. I'm really fine."

Lorist nodded and turned to look at the front. The battlefield had already quieted down.

"Your Grace, the enemy's currently resting. Even though they breached the frontmost 47 towers of the first line of defense, their casualties weren't light. They should be well over 10 thousand. For each soldier we lost, we killed about two or three enemies. It's not a bad exchange," briefed Loze hurriedly.

As the terrain around that area was rather flat, the tower outposts Lorist built were clustered together in threes. While the four central duchies' infantry managed to take down 47 them, they also paid a huge price. Looking into the distance with his telescope, Lorist could see the soldiers of the four central duchies busy cleaning up the battlefield and moving one corpse after another onto carriages before shipping them back. There were some others who were resting, as well as others from regiments behind transferred over to maintain the siege engines. One could probably hear the sound of hammering as they repaired the log shields.

Lorist looked at the position of the sun.

It's still roughly ten or eleven in the morning. The enemy might still attack after lunch. The four central duchies must be planning to push through the towers lines here at the flatlands and use their numerical advantage to occupy this place. After that, they can have House Fisablen's Frontier Legion launch their attack from here towards our main camp to force me to leave Southern.

"Heed my orders. Have the soldiers at the second defense line withdraw from the towers with their ballistae immediately."

"Your Grace, we can't have that!" Loze blurted, shocked, "With the presence of the towers, it will cost the four central duchies at least half of their forces to breach all three lines. While we would sacrifice more than ten thousand soldiers defending all three lines to do so, the enemies that remain would be much easier for us to deal with!"

Lorist shook his head.

"Our house doesn't make our soldiers fight suicidal battles just to grind away at the enemy forces. Even if the kill-death ratio is one to ten, it's still too huge a loss for me. Also, I believe it will be House Fisablen's Frontier Legion's turn once they breach our three defense lines. The enemy will definitely not give us a chance to exact revenge on the four central duchies' forces. The moment we allow their light cavalry to advance to our rear through this hole, we would lose the initiative on the battlefield. Recalling our soldiers from the towers doesn't mean we won't engage in battle. Instead, giving up on the towers will be advantageous to us."

"Advantageous?" Loze said as he blinked, "Your Grace, what sort of advantage do we have?"

Lorist laughed.

"Even though our numbers can't compare to theirs, we are definitely more advantaged in field battles and taking an offensive position. Have you forgotten? Look at the area between here and the second line. There is a distance of 340 meters. This whole flatland spans five kilometers and is sufficient to position more than 100 thousand soldiers. My plan is to position our soldiers in a horizontal formation along the third line. If the enemy wishes to breach this line, they will have no choice but to fight a field battle. Hehe, when it comes to those, who do we have to fear?"

Lorist's plans were simple. Loze and Pajik, two gold-ranked knights, would each lead one Tigersoar division and another Pegasus division with a total of 50 thousand troops and get into formation at the left and right flanks. Malek's carroballista division, a light cavalry division from one of Count Shazin's two divisions, as well as the heavy infantry legion sent by House Kenmays would form the center that numbered 40 thousand. They would be lined up horizontally. The soldiers of the four houses preparing for a field battle numbered a total of 90 thousand men. Coupled with Count Shazin's light infantry division and the retreated soldiers from the second line that would be in charge of manning the towers of the third line, their force numbered 100 thousand in total.

The second line soldiers' retreat shocked the enemies resting at the first line. When they realized, they hurriedly occupied the empty towers and let out cheers of triumph. It was apparent that the second line's occupation was a great morale boost. However, they quickly caught on to the enemy's positioned in the manner fitting of a field battle at the third line and quieted their cheers gradually. Perhaps, it had occurred to them that even though they were spared a grueling siege, an even bloodier field battle awaited.

The enemy also reacted quickly. The enemies that occupied the second line used the tower outposts as a means of preventing ambushes. A large group of tool-wielding soldiers began to fill up the ditches before shield carriages were lined up at the front of their forces one after another. Finally, the infantry regiments began to position themselves in battle formations.

"It seems the enemy is ready to engage in a field battle. But it looks like it'll take them a number of hours to get ready. Blow the horn, how our men take a break. We'll let everyone get some rest. Have the logistics cook up something delicious so we'll have enough energy for the coming massacre," instructed Lorist.

"As you wish, Your Grace."

[1] Check it out at this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wagon_and_cart_for_filling_in_moats_wjzy.jpg

Victory

Enjoy the second release of the week! Things sure are building up in the story, huh?

Afternoon at two, Lorist stood atop a tower in the middle of the third line of defense. He looked at the four central duchies' and House Fisablen's forces as they gathered under their banners following horn after horn. Gradually, they got into formation for the upcoming field battle.

"Your Grace, aren't they a little too slow? It's already been two hours since lunch, yet they're still not done arranging their troops. Look, our men already took a short nap," complained Howard as he pointed to the lazy-looking household soldiers who had just woken up.

Reidy patted his shoulder with a smile.

"That's why His Grace had everyone rest well after lunch. Weren't you against it at first? You thought we were being a little too careless, weren't you? You even said we'd suffer heavy losses if we aren't able to react in time. But look at how it turned out. They're still getting into formation after we took our nap. If we had the soldiers stand at attention for two whole hours, they'd be worn out before the battle even started."

Howard hurried to find an excuse.

"Well, I was just saying that we should be ready just in case! If everyone dismounts and rests and the enemy suddenly launches an attack, then we'd be too late! The distance is only 300 meters and it won't take them a few minutes to reach us! I'm curious why they didn't launch a sudden attack like I thought they would, though."

Lorist laughed.

"If we were facing that old fellow Duke Fisablen himself, I wouldn't have allowed the rest. It would have been far too risky. But we're faced with the four duchies. When we got into formation for a field battle, even if House Fisablen's cavalry wanted to attack, the duchies would object. Just look at our enemy. They've placed their heavy infantry in the center. They intend to use their numerical superiority to crush us and win.

"However, infantry troops like those travel really slowly. And after fighting and conquering our first line of defense, they've no doubt suffered a lot of casualties and require some time to reorganize. When they saw us dismount and rest, they thought we were trying to bait them into attacking and falling into a trap. Even if they only launched their cavalry, if we did in fact have an ambush prepared, they would suffer huge casualties. Having one's cavalry so badly beaten would only negatively impact army morale. So they opted to stay put. There's no way they would've allowed the cavalry to attack when we're resting. The other reason is that they need time to arrange their forces. Having our own troops dismount to rest is a signal that we'd wait for them to get into formation before beginning the battle and that we wouldn't disrupt them before they finish getting into formation."

Loze and Pajik both arrived on the roof and saluted Lorist.

"How are the flanks? To which house do the troops facing you belong?" inquired Lorist.

Loze gave Pajik a look. The latter nodded.

"Your Grace, the troops on both our flanks are the same. They're the divisions from Fifth Frontier. On my side, they are the first and third division, on Pajik's, the second and fourth. They brought 20 thousand barbarian cavalry along. We each face around 40 thousand," replied Loze.

"24-25 thousand faced with 40 thousand, huh... Even though the enemy's numbers exceed yours, I doubt they'd center their attacks on the flanks. The mounted barbarians are merely a hodgepodge bunch that can only help in battles they're already winning. As long as you can endure the first three waves, they will reach their limit. Given Tigersoar's might and equipment, we still suppress them.

"As for Fifth Frontier, according to our captives, they're a newly formed legion and also the weakest of Fisablen's forces. The only thing worth considering is the fact that most of the soldiers are armed with crossbows and other ranged weapons. I heard they are most used to dismounting and launching ranged attacks in a formation. So when the battle begins, make sure to pay attention to our spear cavalry when they launch their attacks," said Lorist after some thought.

"As you wish, Your Grace. We will be on the watch," Loze agreed, "However, we're currently worried about our center. The enemy has obviously centered most of their forces, so aren't our own a little thin?"

While both flanks of the enemy number approximately 80 thousand troops combined, the center had 60 thousand duchies forces and 20 thousand from House Fisablen's reserve legion, adding also to a total of 80 thousand. It was almost double the number of troops Lorist had stationed there. It was no wonder Loze and Pajik were rather worried.

"It's fine," Lorist laughed, shaking his head, "I have already secretly moved Ovidis's Thunderbolt Brigade and Terman's Ragebear Knights behind of the center. When the battle begins, we'll give our enemies a surprise. The numbers of an enemy destined for failure is nothing to worry about. It is your flanks that require more attention. In the event the enemy crumbles, don't give chase. Let House Felim's Pegasus chase. They are light cavalry. You two will have to lead the Tigersoar divisions to the center to intercept them. Our target this time is the duchies' elite infantry. As long as we can eliminate enough of their infantry, the old fellow won't be able to stand back up, understood?"

"It will be done, milord," said Loze and Pajik as they puffed out their chests.

"Good. Go lead your troops. The enemy's finishing up their preparations and the fight will break out soon. Make sure to watch out for your own safety too. Don't forget to protect yourselves as you rake in achievements."

"Thank you, Your Grace."

Long, low-pitched horn blowing could be heard. Loud drumming rang throughout the enemy lines. From the tower, the enemy could be seen waving their banners, cheering and shouting their chants.

Lorist snapped alert.

"It's finally beginning. Howard, what time is it now?"

Howard ran downstairs and back up quickly. "It's fifteen past three, Your Grace."

"Blow the horns! Have all troops get ready!"

There were no messengers sent over to formally declare war, nor were there knights who came forward to issue challenges. The duchies' elite infantry and House Fisablen's forces rested for less than half an hour after getting into formation and launched their attack. Countless two-wheeled log shield carts were arranged into three neat lines, forming three defensive lines at the enemy's vanguard.

"Your Grace, we can have Thunderbolt Brigade fire their rock projectiles now. They are already in range," suggested Howard as he looked at the waves of wooden shield carts.

"Patience. They just started moving. It won't be too late to strike when they cross the centerline. I already ordered Ovidis to estimate the range. Wave the black flag in ten minutes, the signal to fire," Lorist said without any hint of haste, "Also, order Suleimos to be prepared to receive the enemy. His heavy-armored division is the first line of defense of our center formation."

Suleimos was a household knight of Duke Kenmay -- a one-star gold rank. It was said that he used to be a slave fighter of the Hanayabarta kingdom. Back then, Kenmays was still a viscount and his father had traveled to the slave kingdom on a business trip and watched a bloody show in the dueling grounds. He became interested in Suleimos, the victor, and paid a huge sum to buy his freedom. Suleimos, having become a free man, joined House Kenmays as a household knight. Just recently, he had been transferred to his position as division commander of the house's heavy-armored division.

The duchies' advancing forces looked rather impressive. However, they crept forward at a moderate pace, The three frontmost rows of shield carts wouldn't be easy to push all the way to the third defense line as there were roughly 300 meters to cover.

Given that the log shield carts were crudely made, with their wheels being not perfectly round or of identical size, some of the carts got stuck after being pushed around 50 meters. A good number had malfunctioned.

Lorist's original estimate of ten minutes for the enemy to make their way to the centerline was 20 minutes off. It took them nearly half an hour. At that moment, a few of the carts in the rear stopped. Those were intended to protect the longbowmen who could now reach the four houses' lines. They would start raining arrows down on their ranks soon.

"Have Thunderbolt Brigade start firing. Destroy the shield carts in the front and order Malek's carroballista brigade to target the longbowman. Have Suleimos's heavy-armored division defend against the arrows!"

Lorist barked three orders in quick succession, compelling Howard and Reidy to wave the flags around to relay the orders by the edge of the tower's roof.

Shen the first volley of 500 stone balls were sent flying into the ranks of the duchies' infantry, many of the soldiers merely stood still, watching as the gigantic projectiles unknown to them crashed down from the sky.

While the log shields were able to block bolts, they weren't able to resist the gigantic stone balls. Tens of log shield carts were smashed to smithereens immediately. In one of the cases, a stone projectile slammed down on a log shield cart. Not only did the shield crumble, the two-wheeled cart was sent flying. A few unprepared soldiers pushing it were sent flying 8 meters away. There were also more than ten unlucky fellows tossed about by the force of the impact.

Apart from the stone balls that struck the shields, those that landed on the ground bounced and rolled through the infantry's tidy ranks. In mere moments, their formation was completely destroyed. None were able to stop the gigantic balls. Any soldier in the balls' way ended up injured or dead. Cries of despair and pain could be heard from the dozen centremost formations.

It was only the beginning, though. Countless blurs whooshed through the gaps left by the obliterated shield carts. The carroballista division's bolts killed the fortunate, disoriented soldiers not crushed by the stone balls. Corpses piled into mountains and blood flowed in rivers. The cruel sight was difficult to watch.

Even though the damage only covered a small part of their ranks, the rest hesitated after taking such a blow. The soldiers pushing the shield carts not struck raised their heads to look at the skies. Even the foot soldiers following behind directed their attention up.

They were not disappointed. Soon, closely packed gigantic stone balls became visible again. The moment they were certain where the balls would fall, the soldiers pushing the shield carts turned tail and ran. The foot soldiers behind them caved as well and scrambled all over the place as they screamed at the top of their lungs. The 100-man leader that intended to stop them was pushed to the ground and trampled by tens of feet without the slightest hesitation.

"Oh? What's that?" asked Duke Fisablen, his eyes popping out.

He was watching the battle from the roof of a tower in the second defense line with fright as the foot soldiers were turned into shambles by the balls that fell from the sky.

"I heard that when the Nortons attacked Andinaq to force Queen Carey's abdication, they used a contraption that could fling gigantic rocks to take down the citadels. I think they were called catapults. Those stone balls should have been fired from one of those," said Duke Shabaj with a grim look.

"What should we do now?" asked Duke Handra anxiously.

The ones being smashed were his duchy's most elite forces.

"Signal the retreat. We'll retreat for now while we figure out how we should deal with the catapults," suggested Duke Farkel.

"No!" Duke Fisablen exclaimed, "You saw how messy the lines are right now! The moment you call a retreat, they'll crumble completely and the enemy will give chase! Your foot soldiers won't be able to outrun their cavalry. We should signal a charge and fight to the death. Our forces still outnumber theirs and our losses aren't that heavy yet. We still have hope if we launch an all-out attack!"

"What crap are you spouting?!" Duke Handra cried, "Just look! The lines are already falling apart! There's no way they can launch a frontal attack now! We'd best retreat while more than half of our forces can still hold on. We should quickly retreat and reorganize. The enemy won't give chase because of our superior numbers."

As the dukes argued, the situation devolved beyond control. With most of the shield carts destroyed, the carroballista division gave the four duchies a taste of their ballista firestorm. The incessant stream of ballista bolts penetrated the dozen 1000-man formations in the front. One duchy soldier after another fell to the ground.

Thanks to the rain of gigantic stone balls and ballista bolts, a dozen more infantry formations. The soldiers discarded their weapons and ran. The remaining formations in the rear fizzled with commotion.

"Have Ragebear Knights attack. House Kenmays's heavy division will follow. Have Malek's carroballista division advance and support them. Thunderbolt Brigade should advance as well. Have the catapults fire as far as they can and stop the enemy from retreating!" ordered Lorist once more.

The attack of Terman's Ragebear Knights accelerated the enemy's crumbling. The sight of the heavy-armored knights cleaving away at the backs of the retreating soldiers was akin to the sight of a light assaulting a herd of sheep. However, the enemy also reacted quickly. House Fisablen's reserve legion hurriedly charged forward to tangle with the knights and protect the infantry as they retreated.

Lorist was getting rather impatient. If more than half of the infantry were allowed to retreat, his victory was still in question. Even if he managed to gain the upper hand for now, if the retreated soldiers regrouped and were sent into battle again, the enemy could still use their numerical advantage to turn the tide. He had to crush them completely.

It would be great if my guards were here. I could lead them into battle myself.

"Ready the horses. Let's join the fray."

He needed all the forces he could muster right now.

The moment he descended from the tower and mounted, loud cheers echoed from the battlefield.

"Your Grace, we've won! We've won!" cried Howard full of excitement.

Lorist looked up and saw Tigersoar's banners on both flanks. Fiercetiger Loze and Pajik didn't let Lorist's hopes down and ordered their cavalry to cut off the enemy's retreat from both sides.

Lorist smiled.

"Yes, we've won. Blow the horns and have everyone engage!"

Retreat

Hier kommt das dritte Kapitel der Woche! (It's the third chapter of the week!)

German speakers, was I correct? (apologies in advance if I screwed up xP)

The second battle of Southern was the only time House Fisablen's and the four central duchies' forces faced those of the four houses in a field battle. Near 160 thousand soldiers were pitted against The Northlands. After House Norton unleashed their secret weapon, the catapult, the elite infantrymen of the four central duchies crumbled in the face of the gigantic stone balls falling from the sky. The Nortons unleashed a storm of ballista fire, inflicting more than 60 thousand casualties on the four central duchies' men. They were utterly defeated. Had it not been for House Fisablen's reserve legion that intercepted the pursuing Ragebear Knights, the four central duchies might've been massacred as they ran.

Extract from Chronicles of the Grindia Continent: Records of the Rise of the Bear -- Battles of Southern

Lorist finally let out a breath of relief after the battle's victory was decided. The tide of war in Southern was finally under his control. However, he was quite troubled by his massive casualties. Thirty thousand of their 100 thousand troops were incapacitated, much more than what Lorist initially expected.

The greatest losses were in Loze and Pajik's Tigersoar divisions. They had crushed the three assaults by the barbarian cavalry and even launched a counterattack and defeated House Fisablen's Fifth Frontier. They rushed with what cavalry they had left into the enemy's two flanks of the enemy and managed to break them, building a firm foundation for the victory that followed. However, less than a third of the original 30 thousand spear cavalry troops remained. Not counting the injured, there were more than ten thousand dead.

Up next was the Ragebear Knights. Three thousand silver-ranked knights and six thousand knight attendants fought against the 20 thousand of House Fisablen's reserve legion. Even though they managed to hold them back, they suffered four thousand casualties.

Count Felim's two Pegasus divisions were in charge of aiding the Tigersoar divisions led by Loze and Pajik. While the main force was the Tigersoar soldiers, the Pegasus legion suffered around six thousand casualties as well.

House Kenmays's heavy-armored division was intercepted by the four duchies whilst in pursuit and suffered two thousand casualties.

Lastly, House Shazin's two division, one light cavalry division, and another light infantry division, were deployed on Lorist's order. At first, their pursuit was rather successful. However, when House Fisablen deployed Third Frontier to receive the retreating soldiers, the two were stopped. The two sides fought an intense battle and the two divisions incurred a total of four thousand casualties.

The unit that suffered the least casualties was Firmrock, who had taken charge of defending the main camp. More than three thousand barbarian corpses were littered around the camp, but Firmrock only suffered about five hundred casualties. However, if the dead soldiers defending the towers were included in the count, Firmrock had lost a total of five thousand men.

In total, there were around 30 thousand casualties, half of whom had perished heroically on the battlefield. Lorist sighed as he finally understood what the saying 'ten thousand skeletons for the fame of one general'.

The four houses' forces had suffered 30 thousand casualties during the second battle of Southern, yet House Fisablen and the four duchies couldn't shed a single tear even if they tried to. House Fisablen had lost a whole reserve legion, 20 thousand soldiers who could be considered their strongest force. They had all been completely wiped out on the battlefield. Fifth Frontier was crippled. Only around 16 thousand of the original 40 thousand light cavalry returned, yet all of them had to reinforce Third Frontier and fought fiercely with the light cavalry and infantry divisions of Count Shazin. Their fight ended in a draw with them losing another three or four thousand.

What angered the duke most was the grassland barbarian cavalry. He had deployed all of them under his command, split into three separate units. Around 20 thousand were sent to attack the Nortons' main camp under the purview of Third Frontier. But they had refused to attack after losing a mere three or four thousand. Seeing as those at the camp only intended to stall for time, Duke Fisablen couldn't be bothered to deal with them just yet.

However, he wouldn't forgive the 40 thousand barbarian cavalrymen deployed on both flanks, of whom only 20 thousand managed to return alive. According to the household knights serving with Fifth Frontier's reports, barbarian cavalrymen were defeated because they refused to follow orders. When they ran away during the chaos, they disrupted the legion's longbowmen formation, allowing the Nortons' two spear cavalry divisions to break into their formation and massacre them. Unable to resist the crushing defeat, Fifth Frontier had no choice but to retreat.

With the reserve legion completely wiped out, the 45-thousand-man Fifth Frontier left with only 18 thousand, Third Frontier lost four thousand. Including the 25 thousand casualties among the grassland barbarians, the house had lost a total of 75 thousand men.

Not including the barbarians' losses, it had lost 50 thousand. Despite that, the reserve legion's complete defeat tore at Duke Fisablen's heart. It was the knife the house had spent so long sharpening. Almost everyone was most elite barbarian captives that helped the house suppress the rebellious barbarian tribes across the grasslands, a great contribution to the house. They were all gone just like that. The duke regretted it greatly and wondered why he sent them out in the heat of the moment to help the troops of the four central duchies retreat. Had he known earlier this was how it would turn out, he would've retreated and preserved his forces. In the end, not many of the duchies' infantry managed to escape anyway.

As opposed to the regretful Duke Fisablen, the four dukes had cried their tears dry. They lost 80 thousand troops in one battle! Only around ten thousand managed to make it back to the main camp. Shabaj was the most fortunate. They had around five thousand soldiers left because they were placed in the back of the army. Handra's infantry fared the worst, less than 800 were still alive. They were placed at the vanguard and had to weather not only the fall of the gigantic stone balls but also the storm of ballista bolts. Their casualties were heavy beyond imagination and the ones who remained were only able to survive thanks to the fact that they turned tail to run.

About three thousand Farkel soldiers managed to make it back. Forund had a similar number. All the soldiers who escaped and returned to camp were panicked and traumatized. Many shot out of their slumber noisily at night, haunted by nightmares. The soldiers probably thought they had just experienced the forbidden spell, Meteor Rain. It was a legendary spell of the magic civilization. To them, there was no way so many stone balls could be fired without magic. It was suicide for commoners to fight the legendary magi.

And, in actuality, it was the second battle of Southern that propelled the Norton catapults to fame. Almost every nation developed a great interest in their catapults and steel ballistae. The four central duchies, who attacked the first line of defense managed to capture quite a number of ballistae and they had their worksmiths try to reproduce them, to no avail. The most difficult part of forging them was the steel plates they used for the arms.

There were quite a number of replicas made of the catapults, though. Even though many of the nations didn't get to see the real thing themselves, the mere idea of flinging gigantic rocks through the air let quite a few worksmiths figure out the mechanism. It didn't take long for springald, arm-and-bucket, and lever catapult designs to be produced. Even though they couldn't throw rocks as far or as accurately, and could only fire projectiles of relatively smaller size, they were a fresh new military engine for the armies of Grindia. A symbol of technological advancement.

"Your Grace," Els said as he rushed in, "the scouts report an abnormal situation broke out in the enemy camp. The four duchies' banners are nowhere to be seen."

"What?" Lorist raised his head. The battle had ended less than three days earlier, but the duchies' banners had disappeared completely. What was going on? Did they turn tail and run?

"Send people to search the highway to the duchies immediately. If they really escaped, they must've left some traces," instructed Lorist.

By three in the afternoon, the scouts returned. They brought word of fresh carriage and horse tracks along the highway heading for the duchies. They were presumed to have been made around five at dawn. It was obvious they had given up on fighting the four houses in Southern and retreated with what remained of their men. Currently, all that faced them was House Fisablen and its forces.

"Your Grace, should we send a unit to chase them down?" asked Howard.

Lorist stroked his chin in thought. He eventually shook his head.

"There's no need to care about the duchies. They're no longer in one piece anyway. Our men are busy cleaning the battlefield right now. We also have to spend quite some time to recover from this battle. I worry we will fall into an enemy trap ourselves if we send our light cavalry after them. It's best we don't spread ourselves thin."

After pacing around in the tent for a bit, he asked, "Are there any other oddities at the enemy camp apart from the four duchies' banners disappearing?"

"No, Your Grace," Els replied, "The scouts report House Fisablen's forces are forcing the barbarian cavalrymen to dig ditches and set up defensive fortifications. Our men couldn't circle around to the rear of the camp. Frontier was quite thorough with their patrols."

"It seems the old man intends to clash with us even after the four central duchies escaped!" Lorist said with a laugh, "We can resume our original plan for Southern. When our forces finish resting, we'll go hammer House Fisablen's tortoiseshell. Chasing them out of Southern is the first step of completing our plan. Once they're out of Southern we likely won't have any more large battles. When we fix Southern into an impregnable metal wall according to our plan, House Fisablen will be pushed back to the great plains. I really want to see when the old guy will finally submit to me."

With House Fisablen's reserve legion gone, Fifth Frontier neutered, and Third Frontier pushed to their limits -- given that they weren't even fully manned at 30 thousand men -- as well as the duchies' withdrawal, Lorist had the advantage.

As long as House Fisablen could be chased back to the great plains, Southern would fall into the four houses' hands and the trade route with the duchies would be cut off. Salt Merchant Committee could then monopolize the market and mess around with House Fisablen however they wished. No matter how much gold they managed to mine, it would inevitably fall into the four houses' hands.

However, Lorist still had to remain patient for now. There was much to do after the battle. There were more than 30 thousand casualties on the duchies' side, another 30 thousand plus captured. In all, the duchy lost 70 thousand elite infantrymen. This was why Lorist didn't care about the duchies' escapees. They were just troops in shambles on which he didn't have to keep an eye.

Apart from the duchy captives, there were also another eight thousand plus barbarian captives. Lorist sent them all to Count Felim for his mines without a second thought. As for the 30 thousand captive foot soldiers and ten thousand plus injured captives, Lorist put them in Baron Camorra's care. They were young, strong laborers that could contribute much to the repair of the main highway between Winston and Southern. As for the injured captives, they were given treatment and would be released in three years after their recovery.

On the 28th day of the 7th month of Year 1778, the third battle of Southern began. However, this time, it was started by the 70 thousand soldiers of the four houses. They faced 50 thousand Fisablen troops and 40 thousand barbarian cavalrymen. Even though the numbers of Duke Fisablen's men exceeded those of Lorist, the latter grasped the initiative and the enemy could only react passively.

Lorist proudly snorted, "What I have is time. I can take everything as slowly as I wish."

The snort obviously sounded rather horrid, as evidenced by Howard, who clasped his ears tight after hearing the annoying sound. However, the other guards didn't notice what Howard did as they watched the gigantic stone balls fall from the sky on the enemy's defensive formations. Thunderous sounds rang out non-stop, accompanied by showers of dust.

Thunderbolt Brigade, under Ovidis's command, had smashed all that obstructed them. Potterfang and the soldiers of Firmrock, together with Suleimos and the heavy-armored troops of House Kenmays, focused their efforts on making makeshift bridges with the ditch-filling carts. As for the forces of House Fisablen, their efforts of countering the attack were straight up laughable. Malek's carroballista unit waited hungrily for prey. Any of the Fisablen soldiers who fought back were either crushed by the falling stone balls or skewered by incoming ballista bolts.

Lorist didn't mind spending a few days taking down the defensive formations set up by Duke Fisablen. However, the duke wasn't willing to stay and keep on playing. He pulled his army back during the third night. When Lorist realized he had done so noon the next day and wanted to give chase, the last few knights who remained at the camp set it on fire. The great flames prevented the four houses from giving chase until the fire was put out three days later. But by then, the camp was already a burnt husk and Duke Fisablen long gone.

"Old fellow, you won't be able to run," said Lorist hatefully.

Boblige Mountain Range

Here's the fourth release of the week, albeit a little late. Enjoy!

Lorist thought Duke Fisablen had no option but to withdraw his army. After all, the border between Southern and Eastwild was not far past the camp being burnt down, he was not rushing in the slightest. He had his scouts go ahead to find out where Fisablen's forces had gone while he allowed the rest of his forces to prepare to pack up and leave in another two days.

Maybe I should even send troops straight into Eastwild while I'm at it, all the way to House Fisablen's headquarters. I wonder if Old Fisablen will finally face me or lower his proud head in submission if I really razed his precious castle?

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, a scout came returned.

"Lord Duke, House Fisablen's forces didn't retreat to Eastwild. They set up camp at the Boblige mountain range in the south of Southern instead."

"What?"

This surprised Lorist greatly. The name sounded rather familiar.

"Map."

Howard quickly opened the map of Southern and laid it on the table. Lorist took a look. Indeed, his doubts were answered. In his original plan, after chasing the Fisablens out of Southern, he'd have set up a defense line along the border of Southern and Eastwild. Part of the plan involved building a citadel at the Boblige mountain range, which would serve as the defense headquarters and seal off the border.

The border between Southern and Eastwild was not only long, it's terrain was also really flat; the grassland barbarians had mainly relied on the route from Southern to the inner lands of Eastwild to conduct their raids. Count Felim's ancestors used to reside in Southern, they had learned the advantages of the barbarians' ways and formed a famous light cavalry legion like Pegasus.

The border was also what separated the grasslands and the hilled area. While the lands were relatively flat, there wasn't a shortage in lakes. Lorist had intended to capitalize on the natural terrain by erecting five citadels as the center of defense to support towers which would be connected by trenches and set up a spider-web-like net as a defense to seal House Fisablen's off from the outside world. It would prevent the frontier legions from launching hit-and-run attacks against his forces stationed in Southern.

What does the old fellow intend by bringing his forces into the Boblige mountain range? Why didn't he retreat to Eastwild? It's his dominion, his playing field. The lands are wide and flat, perfect for the tactics the frontier legions use. House Fisablen would be like a fish in water. It seems the duke isn't aware of this? He's even left the way to Crouchtiger Castle wide open. What does he intend by stationing his troops there? Isn't he worried I would send my catapults to destroy his new camp?

After staring at the map for a good amount of time, Lorist still couldn't figure out the duke's intentions. However, it seemed he had no intention of returning to his dominion.

Perhaps he's venting? If he can't defeat me, he wants to piss me off just because he can by leaving 80 thousand troops in my yard so my rear is constantly under threat? I would have to delegate a number of troops to watch him. It would limit my moves.

After scanning the area around the Boblige mountain range, Lorist realized he would have to control three points around the mountains to be able to effectively keep Fisablen's forces quarantined. It would require he build a citadel and station at least 60 thousand people.

Sol, this old man is trying to spread my forces thin, cursed Lorist hatefully.

He was starting to understand why Duke Fisablen had done what he did. If he left the route into Eastwild undefended by stationing the troops at the Boblige mountain range instead, Lorist couldn't afford to leave them unattended. If he intended to attack Crouchtiger Castle, there was a chance Duke Fisablen could interfere. The consequences could range from having his supply line disrupted to causing chaos in the entire Southern.

There were only two ways to keep them in check. The first was to deploy troops to defeat them and chase them out of the mountain range. The other was to station troops to guard a few vital transportation routes and build temporary forts, which was both costly and time-consuming. Stationing 20 thousand people to guard one spot was only good for defense and not for offense. After all, House Fisablen's forces numbered 80 thousand. Just like a fist, they could be flung wherever they wished. Defending three locations by stationing each with 20 thousand men to control the situation in the mountain range effectively took 60 thousand men off Lorist's roster. The move also prevented him from taking the initiative and attacking as the enemy's numbers were quadruple that of the troops stationed at each location.

Even though it was only a small part of Southern, the mountain range was a range that could be reached from quite a number of paths from both Southern and Eastwild. Many roads crossed it. By occupying it, House Fisablen's frontier legions could leave Southern and retreat to Eastwild any time he wished. It was a place easy to defend and convenient to use to launch attacks.

I have to take the mountain range and chase House Fisablen out of Southern, thought Lorist resolutely as he decided to make a trip to check the mountains out for himself.

Duke Fisablen knows I have the advantage of catapults and steel ballistae. Why did he choose to occupy the range? Where did he find such confidence?

Lorist couldn't calm down until he surveyed the mountains with his own eyes.

He left for Boblige mountain range with only Reidy, Howard, Els, and a thousand of his personal guards with the light cavalry scouts as his guide in spite of his household knights' objection. The moment he saw the mountains, he understood why the duke had chosen to occupy the location.

Unlike other mountains, the mountain range's outer area was surrounded by cliffs at least 40 to 50 meters in height. The routes to the central part of the range were either valleys or sides of a cliff. The scouts caught an old bandit who gave them a brief introduction to the range. According to him, the slopes leading up to the top of the cliffs were only accessible from the inner part of the range. It was the opposite of most other mountains. However, this mountain range was a one which sloped upwards from the inside. It was a citadel formed by nature itself.

The old bandit also said there were originally six bandits who each set up their own strongholds in the mountains. Each housed a few thousand men. But last year, Third Frontier came over on the duke's order to have the bandits surrender. They launched a sudden attack in the midst of negotiations instead and managed to conquer all the strongholds before moving all the youths to Eastwild, supposedly to mine gold.

Given the bandit's age and bad leg, Third Frontier's troops spared him. He now lived in a small hut at the foot of the mountains. He farmed a small plot of land for a living. Before he had time enjoyed his freedom for long, he was captured by a different group of soldiers.

Given that the bandit had lived all his life in the mountain range, he was really familiar with the terrain and routes. He told Lorist that, while its cliffs sealed it off from the outside world, there was a nice valley, forest, and even a stream within. It was a wide and scenic location. Apart from the three routes that led into the mountains, there was no other way to enter the range.

"Milord, while it might seem like there are a lot of small paths you can use along the cliffs, they all lead to dead ends. You won't know it until after half a day of travel. Basically, roads where there is thick grass are all dead ends. The other paths meet up at this main route over here, which is the same one that stretches into the mountain range. The other two routes are roughly 25 kilometers to the south. The other is roughly 2 kilometers to the west."

As the old bandit didn't know who Lorist was, he went with 'Milord' to be safe.

"Is the terrain around the two other roads like this as well?" asked Lorist while he pointed at the cliff.

"They're all like that, Milord. The mountain range is rather weird. The outer region is mostly like that, whether it be the end near Southern or Eastwild. Legend goes that its name actually means 'giant's stronghold. It really does seem like a gigantic stronghold," replied the old bandit confidently before he snuck in the little factoid about mountain range's name.

The problem now was that Duke Fisablen had occupied the gigantic stronghold with a force of 80 thousand. Taking the mountains would require forces were sent in from three paths towards the main peak. Lorist didn't think Duke Fisablen would give him that chance. According to the old bandit, it would take about half a day to reach the center along any of the three paths. All Fisablen's forces had to do was roll a few large boulders from higher ground to bring about a tragedy for those attempting to invade.

He brought out his simple telescope and inspected the tallest peak. A Fisablen banner fluttered in the wind on the edge of a cliff along the way there. It was apparent attacking via this particular path wasn't an option. The enemy had also built fortifications along the way. Though they were only rock and wood, they put great pressure on him.

The bastard really picked a good place. This range renders two of our most advanced weapons useless.

Lorist believed Thunderbolt Brigade's catapults couldn't lob their stones over the 50-meter-tall cliffs. As for the steel ballistae, firing at an angle couldn't achieve any results either. With the enemy hiding beyond the cliffs, the catapults and ballistae weren't a threat.

If there was no way to attack, he had to consider how to defend. After much thought, the only reliable solution he could come up with was to construct three forts, one at each of the paths into the mountain range. He was really bitter about it. Constructing three forts handed the initiative to the enemy. The project would consume lots of funds. Following their completion, each fort would also have to be manned by 20 thousand soldiers. In other words, 60 thousand of his troops would be held back just to defend against the enemy here. On the other hand, if Boblige mountain range was under his control, he only needed 20 thousand men to secure the border.

He continued to scan one peak after another using his telescope.

Oh? What are those soldiers doing?

It took quite a while to understand that House FIsablen's soldiers were setting up a suspension bridge that connected the two cliffs. It would allow them to move their forces around much faster. The duke soon emerged. It was indeed the duke. His face was clearly visible through the telescope's small lens. The old man seemed to have aged quite a bit and no longer looked as domineering as he had in the past. Nevertheless, he still oozed pride. He must be monitoring the soldiers constructing the suspension bridge. Lorist only got such a clear look because the duke faced him directly. The old man must've realized Lorist's forces had arrived and was checking them out.

Lorist and Duke Fisablen were looking at each other from a distance of about 500 meters. However, Lorist could see better with his telescope while it took quite a while for the duke to realize the one standing at the foot of the mountain was Lorist. His expression tensed as he said something. Lorist felt they must've been curses directed at him.

It didn't take long for the low sound of a horn to echo down the valley between the cliffs.

"The old man actually deployed his troops?"

Not long after, hordes of grassland barbarian cavalry gushed out of the route leading into the mountain.

"Good Sol! This bastard's far too shameless! He actually sent his grassland barbarian cavalry to apprehend me," cursed Lorist.

He felt completely humiliated. Even though he had managed to chase a rank 3 blademaster like the duke away, the duke actually thought grassland barbarians were enough to apprehend him. It was clearly an act of mockery.

"Your Grace, we ought to leave."

Els didn't hold the same opinion. Thirty of the duke's 80 thousand men were grassland barbarian cavalry. The rest were the remnants of Third and Fifth Frontier. As Lorist only brought around a thousand guards to check out the mountain range, Els didn't dare to be careless. After all, even elephants could be bitten to death by swarms of ants.

"Alright. Let's retreat. Bring the old bandit along. He's a living map and will be useful," Lorist ordered as he turned his horse.

Either the barbarians were bored to death staying in the mountain range or Duke Fisablen had placed a ridiculous bounty on his head. The barbarian cavalrymen numbered close to ten thousand and showed no sign of giving up the pursuit. Frustrated, Lorist ordered Howard to head back and make a report with a few other guards while he brought the rest up a small hill to take a defensive position. After battling on the hill for more than two hours, the barbarian cavalry didn't manage to bring anything back. Instead, they left behind more than two thousand corpses.

Lorist faced the ten thousand troops alone. He occupied the path leading up the small hill and slaughtered the barbarian soldiers till they lost every ounce of their courage. Bathed in blood, he managed to vent his frustration. It didn't take long for Pegasus to arrive and disperse the remaining enemies at the foot of the hill. They escorted him back to the camp.

He changed into new armor after he'd washed up and entered the tent.

"Tomorrow, we depart for Boblige mountain range. I want everyone to come up with an idea that could allow us to take the enemy camp," he said with a glum look to his commanders.

Two Pieces of Bad News

We're at the end of the week once more! Here's the fifth release of the week and cya guys next week!

Faced with a place with such unique terrain, no one could come up with a way to attack it. Lorist was prepared to gather the house's skilled fighters and launch a swift attack in the night while Fisablen's men were off guard. He wanted to bust through the defenses along the path between the cliffs and kill all the forces he encountered while his main force made it to the insides of the mountain. Unfortunately, the plan was objected to by his higher-ranking subordinates. None of them wanted Lorist to take such a huge risk.

Putting aside the cliffs approximately 50 meters tall, which would cause everything to go south with the slightest mistake, as well as the question of whether it was even possible to scale the mountain in the dead of night, even if the group were able to get up the cliffs, how many enemies would they face? Eighty thousand! And, according to the old bandit's estimations, the household forces would take at least half a day without obstruction to travel along the paths through the cliffs into the open area deeper inside.

In other words, Lorist and his group would be fighting to defend the main force for eight whole hours! It was nothing short of impossible. It was especially so since the group couldn't just hold one position. They would have to respond to the main force's progress. Also, if the group got into some trouble on the cliffs, the main force traveling below wouldn't be able to escape and would fall into enemy hands.

Lorist was no superman. He understood that well. Even if he were a swordsaint, he would be pushed back when faced with a ten-thousand-strong elite troop. No matter how strong a swordsaint was, he would at most be able to kill around three thousand enemies before being swarmed by the soldiers that remained. Lorist was filled with regret. At first, he had planned to make a tactical assault on Duke Fisablen's position. He wanted to bring his men up on the cliffs to cause trouble for the duke. As long as he was able to capture or subdue the man, perhaps the 80 thousand soldiers would surrender obediently.

Naturally, it was just his fantasy. Given Duke Fisablen's personality, even if he fell into Lorist's hands, he would struggle like a dying fish and might even order his troops to fight to their deaths. There was no way they would meet his terms. The moment the duke realizes Lorist was on the cliff, he would not hesitate to order his troops to attack.

Potterfang made a rather sensible argument: when it came to numbers and household might, the Nortons were superior. No matter how long it took, he was confident they could defend against Duke Fisablen's assaults. Other things aside, holding out for a year was something the four houses could do incredibly easily. House Fisablen, on the other hand. would be on the edge of collapse because of their lack of resources. After all, sustaining a force of 80 thousand wasn't easy.

So far, Southern was basically in the four houses' hands. Having successfully cut the trade route between the Fisablen dominion and the four central duchies off, even if the 80 thousand troops occupied Boblige mountain range, there wasn't much they could do. The general situation was already set in stone. The most they could do was struggle to their deaths. Even if House Norton couldn't attack Eastwild, all they had to do was form a strong defenses at the mountain range. The more time passed, the more resources House Fisablen would consume, and the sooner their defeat would come.

Despite that, Lorist was still rather unwilling to accept this state of affairs. While Potterfang made it sound really easy, House Fisablen's occupation of the mountain range bogged down a substantial number of the houses' soldiers. In their original plan, they would have chased House Fisablen's forces out of Southern and built forts at the border between Southern and Eastwild. All Lorist had to do was let Firmrock guard the border with House Felim's Pegasus' support.

The current situation forced him to station the four houses' forces here instead. And not just the same amount he had planned for originally, nearly double! This meant he had no troops to keep in reserve. Even though the house was rich in resources, it would still cost quite a bit to keep House Fisablen's forces cornered and he didn't doubt that Baron Spiel, the one in charge of the house's finances, would come see him not long after he heard about the plan.

While he was rather troubled, a place like Boblige mountain range was not a place the household forces could attack. Doing so was nothing short of suicide. The old duke had found a great spot Lorist could do nothing about. After some thought, he ended up going with Potterfang's suggestion. First, they would set up proper defensive fortifications and drag the situation out. The one that gave out first would be House Fisablen.

Lorist left the assignment to Potterfang and Firmrock. He ordered House Felim's Pegasus to aid them. Fiercetiger Loze would lead Tigersoar and House Kenmays's heavy-armored division, and House Shazins' light cavalry division and light infantry division to the border of Southern and Eastwild and set up their defenses there.

Time flowed quickly. The next three months were rather peaceful. Apart from the occasional attack by the grassland barbarian cavalry, there were no large conflicts. Even the night assaults were ended in moments. If the Fisablens saw they didn't hold any advantage, they would retreat as quickly as they attacked. It would be more appropriate to describe their attacks as harassment instead.

It was already the 11th month and the weather was getting progressively colder. Lorist was curious how House Fisablen's forces intended to spend the winter given their equipment. The mountains were definitely much colder than below and the winter could freeze people to death. Lorist had inspected them closely on a few occasions and didn't discover any signs of timber felling. When he questioned the old bandit about it, he was assured there were no large caverns within the mountain range. Perhaps House Fisablen had set their camp up on the other side of the mountain.

Then again, launching a surprise attack in the winter was a rather good idea. He believed House Fisablen's soldiers wouldn't stand on the cliffs like idiots when it was snowing, so their guard on the routes stretching into the insides of the mountain range might not be as well guarded. When the snow covered the mountain roads, they could use skis to launch a sudden, swift attack. The house's forces had always insisted on training in the winter after all. Perhaps they could even mount the steel ballistae on sleds and take the mountain range with only one division.

The more he thought about it, the better Lorist felt about the plan. Just as he was about to gather his generals for a discussion, he saw Howard enter the tent frantically.

"Your Grace! Your Grace!"

"Clam down. What's there to panic about? It's not like the sky's about to fall. You must always keep your calm, even when a mountain is about to collapse. Where did all your training go?" rebuked Lorist, dissatisfied.

"No, Your Grace! Look! These are two secret reports from the dominion! It's incredibly urgent!"

Howard put the two pieces of silk cloth, thin as a moth's wing, on the table. The cloths were covered with tight rows of words and were probably delivered by the messenger eagles.

Lorist took a look and felt his head blur for a moment. He read the messages and paled right away.

Sol, we've been had! Fisablen, you old fox... How did you manage to spirit yourself away all of a sudden? I thought you were still in the mountain range, but you got back to Wild Husbandry?!

There were two heavy attacks launched on two critical locations, yet Lorist couldn't move his troops to respond.

The two silk letters brought over by Howard were fraught with bad news. The first letter reported that Jaeger had suffered heavy casualties in Wild Husbandry. Their commander, Divine Marksman Josk, and vice-commander, Yuriy, sustained heavy injuries. The third division commander, Pete, perished. The three divisions suffered more than 30 thousand casualties and Jaeger had been neutered completely. They were retreating to the eastern area of The Northlands. The huge territory they occupied in the province had been completely reclaimed by House Fisablen. Had it not been for the seventh local defense brigade that guarded the iron suspension bridge with their steel ballistae, the bridge might've been destroyed as well.

The letter cited the reason for Jaeger's defeat: ever since Josk defeated Fourth Frontier with his legion, he managed to conquer a large part of Wild Husbandry. Fourth Frontier had no choice but to retreat to the east bank of Soxius, allowing two-thirds of the territory to be occupied by Jaeger. According to their former orders, Jaeger forced the commoners and livestock of Wild Husbandry to move to the eastern part of The Northlands to wear away at House Fisablen's might.

Three days ago, Pete led Jaeger's newly formed division and two carroballista brigades and carried out a sweep of Wild Husbandry's borders. The 21 thousand men carried out the mission without issue, but they didn't expect to be suddenly assailed by countless grassland barbarian cavalrymen. In the end, they were forced up the highlands to call for help with their messenger eagles. Yuriy, who had received the call for help, rushed to their aid with the second division of Jaeger. But it was a setup. Before they arrived, they were attacked by Fourth Frontier. After a tough fight, they managed to break out of the encirclement and meet up with what remained of the third division.

Had it not been for Josk, who came to their timely aid with the first division, the second and third divisions would've been wiped out completely. By then, Pete had already fallen and Yuriy was greatly injured. He helped the remaining soldiers escape, but he ended up falling from his mount and greatly injuring himself for attempting to hold Duke Fisablen back. He was only saved thanks to the sacrifice of seven other silver-ranked household knights.

According to the report, the grassland barbarian soldiers numbered over a 100 thousand. Jaeger's survivors recalled the number of grassland barbarian soldiers didn't decrease at all no matter how many they killed. They also used large shield carts to make the steel ballistae lose their effectivity. Jaeger's soldiers had no choice but to fight the barbarians in close combat. Fourth Frontier was also recently assigned more men to fill up their ranks, but most of those who joined were picked from the barbarians as well.

It was bad news indeed. Without Wild Husbandry and with Jaeger neutered, Pedro, the citadel located at the crossing point through Pisper Mountains, which was the border between Wild Husbandry and Winston, would lose all protection. If Duke Fisablen led his grassland barbarians to besiege Pedro and conquered it, Winston would be a shivering and helpless girl before an assailant. The effort the four houses had expended conquering Windbury would also go to waste. There was nothing they could do but recall all their soldiers to Winston and launch a counterattack. Should that happen, the situation in Southern would revert to how it was previously, with House Fisablen and the four central duchies' connection restored.

What a move!

Lorist was faced with a dilemma. He couldn't send any troops from Southern given that House Fisablen's 80 thousand men were still cooped up in the mountain range. If he really did send reinforcements, the defenses they had spent three months building would easily be breached. Given that Lorist had already pushed House Fisablen's forces to the door, if he sent soldiers to reinforce the other front, the old fellow would lead the grassland barbarians into Southern and further worsen the situation.

"Where's Baron Freiyar?"

Lorist suddenly thought about the local defense legion's commander.

"This..."

Howard flipped open a notebook and scanned the pages quickly.

"Your Grace, Lord Freiyar left for Windbury after checking on the construction at Sehak. On the way back, he still has to check the construction at Twilight Lake Town. He should've just made it back to Windbury."

"Send a messenger eagle immediately and tell Freiyar to defend Pedro no matter the cost. Send another message to Count Shazin to inform him of the current situation and request he sends another household division to reinforce Pedro."

"Yes, Your Grace," said Howard as he hurriedly left the tent.

Taking a deep breath, Lorist continued, "Els, Reidy."

"Your Grace," said the two in unison.

"You've heard everything, right? The old bastard managed to deal us a huge blow. I have a mission for the two of you. Think of a way to capture a few soldiers from the mountains alive. I want to know how many men are still holding the place and how many he brought away with him, as well as how they intend to spend the winter."

"Understood, Your Grace."

When Els and Reidy left, Lorist sat down again and read the second silk letter. It was a letter Tarkel had penned personally, it didn't bring any good news either. The letter described the movements of the mountain barbarians in the Magical Dragon mountain range. They seemed to be targeting the Norton dominion for a raid.

The mountain barbarians were a sensitive matter to him. He had been intentionally avoiding the affairs concerning them. Even though he had spent a few months among them and learned quite a bit, like the tribe that neighbored the Nortons, Habibaba. Back then, there was a conflict for the position of Great Jambassen, so they didn't divert much of their attention to his dominion.

During the first few years after Lorist returned to the dominion to answer his calling, he set up a small tower outpost near the border and hired the Pentasword Mercenary Band to guard it. After his narrow escape from the assassination attempt and his stay with the barbarian tribe, he gave the tower outpost to Pentasword Mercenary Band and developed it into a small town for mercenaries. The town became the main trade hub for the barbarians, where they traded for other resources.

Tarkel warned off an incident concerning the town. Thanks to rumors that the mountain barbarians would soon invade the dominion, the townsfolk panicked and mostly moved back to the household dominion. Not only that, the person in charge of the salt merchant committee's trading post there sent over a secret correspondence. The barbarians who had good trade relations with the trading post revealed that a group of grassland barbarians traveled into the mountains hoping to join up with the mountain barbarians and attack the dominion together.

Needless to say, it was a move made by Duke Fisablen.

One move after another, huh. As expected of the war god of the plains.

Lorist deliberated whether he ought to return to the dominion to calm the people there down. The mountain barbarians were no threat given that there were so many local defense brigades in the dominion. The only thing he worried about was whether he could keep Pedro. It was the key factor which would determine whether House Fisablen could turn the tables completely.

Eidelwoke

Here's the first release of the week! My brain's not working quite so properly cause I've been missing lots of sleep, but enjoy nevertheless!

"Good morning, Sir," greeted the patrolling soldiers.

Eidelwoke nodded before he ascended the stairs to the roof.

They were in Pedro. Centuries ago, a count named Pedro built the first castle here to defend against the grassland barbarian raids in hopes he could stop them from entering Winston. It had been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times of the subsequent centuries. The moss-covered stone platforms still had lots of blade marks. Some were even rust-colored as a result of blood draining into their clefts, signs of the cruel sieges the castle'd weathered.

Pedro only saw peace after the Krissen Empire was formed and the barbarian territory now Wild Husbandry was conquered. Afterward, it became the connection between Winston and Wild Husbandry. As Windbury became the largest livestock trading area, the path through Pedro became more and more important for Wild Husbandry's herders, who had to travel to Windbury. They would often rest there in the middle of their journey. The merchants soon saw an opportunity to trade there. Over many years Pedro gradually grew into the city it was today.

The conflict between the three princes, which eventually led to the seven years civil war, didn't disturb Pedro's peace. However, the livestock market at Windbury's ruin did land Pedro a killing blow. Herders no longer traveled to Windbury with their livestock, so the merchants' trading posts eventually closed down. When the second prince founded Iblia, the heavy taxes he levied caused the population to dwindle even further. It was further exacerbated by the second prince's expedition against the Melein duchy, who moved the last garrison force away from Pedro, abandoning it for good.

It didn't take long for the city to become a haven for deserters and bandits. It became a lawless paradise. Duke Fisablen deployed his forces to eradicate the bandits that frequently caused trouble for the herders in Wild Husbandry and took it under his personal control. In contrast to the ignorant and incompetent second prince, the duke regarded the city with great importance. He considered it a strategic location that could put pressure on the prince and control Windbury. He ordered his eldest disciple, Viscount Kristoph, to guard it with two divisions of the frontier legions' soldiers.

When House Kenmays built the iron suspension bridge in the east Northlands, connecting their dominion to Wild Husbandry, two trade routes formed to Eastwild and Winston respectively. The various goods produced by House Norton was marketed in droves to the two through the salt merchant committee, which was operated by Duke Kenmays, who was a count back then. The products were really popular. As a result, merchant convoys began to see Pedro as a fitting place to rest and the city recovered a bit of its former merriness.

However, when House Norton wanted to pay the second prince back for sending Blademaster Zarinan to assassinate their leader, they mobilized their soldiers to conquer Windbury and captured the second prince. Viscount Kristoph, stationed at Pedro to guard the city, led its two divisions to stop their forces and ended up a captive following his defeat. While Duke Fisablen resolved the tense situation between the two houses with the arms deal and ransomed the viscount and his two divisions, he nevertheless became aware and wary of the four houses.

Even so, Duke Fisablen never imagined the four's attack would be so sudden and savage. The sole division from Fourth Frontier stationed in the city only lasted a night under Tigersoar's fierce assault. Fourth Frontier was badly beaten by the Nortons' Jaeger soon after and forced to retreat to Soxius' east bank. At the same time, Pedro was being rebuilt into a citadel with even stronger defenses.

As the leader of the 23rd local defense brigade, Eidelwoke was currently rather disturbed. He had taken in around ten thousand of Jaeger's remaining forces three days ago and they brought him a piece of bad news: Jaeger had suffered a great defeat. All the soldiers said the barbarians were all over the place. They had fought for a full night and still lost. In the end, they were separated from the main force and had no choice but to retreat, The last order they received was to break out of the encirclement.

The worst part was that the 23rd local defense brigade wasn't assigned any messenger eagles; there was no way to send word out. After all, messenger eagles were incredibly hard to train and were only given to the main combat units and the Oceanic Legion. For the local defense legion, communication was only established between the divisions and they had to rely on mounted messengers.

While it had been approximately six months since Pedro was conquered, it was currently defended by only the three thousand soldiers of the 23rd local defense brigade. There were another ten thousand laborers working on construction. Only half of it had been completed in six months. The only thing Eidelwoke was happy about was that the completed half was facing Wild Husbandry. In other words, when the grassland barbarians launched their attack, the 23rd Local would have complete battlements to rely on.

After receiving reports from the soldiers about Jaeger's defeat, Eidelwoke immediately sent someone to Windbury with a call for reinforcements. He had a strong feeling that House FIsablen and the grassland barbarians would soon attack Pedro. Thinking back to the soldier's looks of despair, he didn't think he could hold the city with only three thousand men. He had to get more reinforcements!

Unfortunately, the messenger that returned the next day with more bad news. The legion commander, Baron Freiyar, wasn't present in Windbury. Only Baron Camorra and the city governor nominated by Lorist, Viscount Eidis, was there. When they received word from Eidelwoke, Baron Camorra was of the opinion that Pedro had to be held no matter what. However, only 21st Local was defending Windbury and Baron Freiyar wasn't around to mobilize the soldiers.

Despite that, Baron Camorra and Viscount Eidis gave Eidelwoke two pieces of hope. Camorra promised that the five security brigades sent to escort a convoy would be sent to reinforce Pedro the moment they returned. Viscount Eidis couldn't transfer 21st Local, however. He could only assign them to defend Windbury. However, he would rally the old nobles' private armies to reinforce Pedro. It required time, however. He estimated they'd only arrive in six days.

Camorra also gave Eidelwoke an idea. He suggested the ten thousand laborers be organized into a militia. Given the urgent situation, the fact that a local defense brigade leader like Eidelwoke didn't have any power to recruit soldiers was irrelevant. As long as he could hold Pedro, Camorra was willing to bear all the consequences. If the city couldn't be held, House Norton's plan could not be realized. It was one of the most crucial parts of the plan.

Eidelwoke took Camorra's suggestion without hesitation and forcefully conscripted the ten thousand laborers into a militia. He stood now in front of this makeshift group.

"Duke Fisablen didn't just bring his own army, he also brought countless grassland barbarians," he began, "He allowed the barbarians to raid as they pleased and keep what they take.

"Would you rather end up barbarians' slaves or resist them together and protect your families in Winston?

"Living as their slaves is far worse than death. The slaves rescued over the centuries have taught us that much. If you die a heroic death as a Norton soldier, you won't have to worry about your families' lives. Every dead soldier's family will be paid a handsome pension that will allow them to spend their days in bliss.

"And if you don't end up dead on the battlefield, you'll be greatly rewarded when we win. Whether you choose to retire or continue to serve as a soldier afterwards is up to you. House Norton doesn't mistreat those who serve it. Even if you retire, the house will give you priority for positions at the factories and workshops in the dominion. You'll also be prioritized when it comes to the distribution of houses and farmland. Think carefully; think well. Even though you're about to go onto the battlefield and face death, this is an opportunity for you all. You just need to place your bet."

In the end, all the laborers accepted conscription. Given that it was a time of war and chaos, Eidelwoke's words weren't wrong. This was a chance for them to take hold of their fate and change it. As a Norton soldier, the lives of their families would be guaranteed. It was far better than being enslaved and used as cannon fodder. If they were victorious and managed to survive somehow, a blissful future awaited them.

With another ten thousand men in hand, Eidelwoke breathed a sigh of relief. The only thing he wondered about was where House Fisablen's men were. It had already been three days, yet the enemy was nowhere to be seen. Their tardiness allowed Eidelwoke the precious time he needed to have the ten thousand laborers dig more than ten deep ditches in front of the city to defend against the swift barbarian cavalry.

It would be great if Tigersoar's logistics and support division were here... The city would be more secure at the very least and someone my superior would be responsible for everything, thought Eidelwoke as he leaned on the roof's railings.

It was too bad Tigersoar had been transferred to the frontlines in Southern three months earlier. While it was very successful during the second battle of Southern, they also suffered heavy casualties and required the support and care of the logistics and support division. At that time, it had still been sweeping through Wild Husbandry with great success. While Pedro was a strategic location, it had always been rather peaceful, sizeable conflicts rarely broke out. It was out of anyone's expectations that Jaeger would suffer such a huge hit, making the city the enemy's next target.

"Time really flies, huh. It's already been ten years," mumbled Eidelwoke.

Looking at the ditch-covered ground, he was at a complete loss at how to defend the city.

This was the first large battle he would face. It was also the first actual siege since his appointment as 23rd Local's leader. It wasn't a training session or a drill, but an actual siege. He could still remember when he first saw Lorist ten years ago clearly. He had been just a small carpenter in the household bastide back then. His greatest responsibility was to gather sawdust for his mother, the kitchen head. The sawdust would be mixed into flour to bake bad-tasting black bread for the servants. He had asked his mother why they mixed sawdust into the flour.

"It's household tradition," his mother had said.

Those were the most difficult times the house ever faced. The first young master perished on the battlefield, the third young master died, and the old master passed after heading into battle with sickness. Even though the old master was his biological father, he didn't feel much grief following his passing. Instead, it was his mother who grieved the most. Not long after, House Kenmays caused trouble for them and encircled the bastide with their troops for three whole months, only to withdraw after running out of food.

At the time, everyone had been panic-stricken. Without the house's leader, everything fell to the old and sickly chief butler, Gleis. Pesha had wanted to raise the first young master's illegitimate son to household leader, but many objected. Molocinque and Wellickson's mothers came out and said their sons were more closely related to the old master given that they were his illegitimate children and claimed they had the right to inherit the position.

Naturally, his mother didn't want to lose out and also claimed he was a rightful heir. But he knew better than anyone he was but a consequence of the old master's advances when he was drunk. His mother was young and his personal maidservant, one of the eight at least. Which hadn't lain with the old master? His mother was only made head of the kitchen because she became pregnant. His mother loved the man dearly and didn't marry anyone else, unlike Molocinque and Wellickson's mothers, who married other servants.

Lorist had come then. While he had been exiled by the house, nobody contested his right to inherit the position and the peerage. He still recalled the first day after the succession ceremony when Lorist taught the bad-tempered Pesha a huge lesson and asked him why he was sawing wood everyday. When he told him it was tradition, Lorist simply said it was a tradition not worth keeping. Already out of a job, he asked Lorist what he should do. Lorist suggested he join the household forces and serve the house. He must not let the Norton blood in his veins down, he had said.

In the short ten years since, the house had soared to the skies. Thinking back to the difficulties they faced when they initially tried to develop, he was incredibly thankful that Lorist ended up the leader. A clueless, illegitimate child like him even ended up a two-star-silver-ranked knight. He now even bore the proud Norton name and was a member of the family. Nowadays, Molocinque and Wellickson served as division commanders of the garrison in Hanayabarta. He himself had a position as the leader of 23rd Local.

Maybe this is where it all ends for me.

He looked at the Raging Bear flapping in the skies above the city. His face eventually settled into a resolute expression.

I am a Norton! I will not let my family's honor down! I will not sully our name! As long as I breathe, Pedro will not fall!

A waft of black smoke rose from a peak near the city. The scouts were sounding the alarm.

"Blow the horn; ring the alarm! Everyone to attention! The enemy is here!" yelled Eidelwoke at the top of his voice.