Move 20: First Battle II

On the hilltop, two men could be seen riding the horse while looking at the village. One was wearing full plate armor, and the other was wearing chainmail.

The man wearing the chainmail had blonde hair and a beautiful face. He is a Noble, while the other man was the Noble's Knight.

The village was surrounded by walls made from wooden materials. There was also a lot of cheval de frise placed around the barony of Leefside.

Any combat veteran who saw this set-up could conclude that the villagers in that village were anticipating an attack on them.

"My Lord. I think we should plan on how we are going to attack this village. There are traps placed all around the village. If we charged and attacked without plans, we would only die on those obvious traps!" Tin said, convincing Heng to make a plan on how they were going to attack the village.

Heng only looked at Tin with a disdainful expression, and he said in a mocking tone. "Are you sure you are a Knight? Not to mention a veteran one? Then why are you chickening out? We don't need any plans. We will charge forward! We were going to show the might of the Credia Empire to this fucking commoners!"

'Huh? W-what the hell this crazy bastard is talking about?! Charged forward?! Does he want to die that much?!" Tin thought while looking at Heng with an incredulous expression.

"B-but My Lord–." Tin was about to say his opinion, but Heng cut him off.

"Did you not hear what I said?! Remember your place! Your just a fucking dog that would wag the tail if your owner patted your head! We are going to charge forward, and that is final.

Just do your job and notify those mercenaries." Heng said while seriously looking at the village.

Tin just looked at Heng with a bewildered expression. 'Is he General Zheng's son? Hailed as one of the greatest generals in the Credia Empire?'

Tin cannot do anything because, as a Knight, he needs to follow and do what his Lord desires. Even if it is a ridiculous one.

'We are going to die here.' Tin finally thought and followed what Heng ordered.

***

Leefside village. Inside the room of Oli.

"How many are they?" Oli asked Michael.

Currently, they are having a strategic meeting on how they would defend with as few casualties as possible.

"Thirty-two men in total. Seven of them were from the Credia Empire. One was a Noble. The other was a Knight, while the other five were normal soldiers. The remaining twenty-five were all mercenaries." Michael answered Oli's question.

"Mercenaries?" Oli raises a question.

"Mercenaries. They are men at arms one could hire as long as you have money to pay them. Mercenaries do all kinds of jobs. From assassination, raids, escort missions, and bandit subjugation. But the most common jobs they always took were all about war." This time, Eli was the one who answered Oli's question.

Oli nodded his head when he heard Eli's answer. "How about their equipment?"

"The Noble was wearing thick chainmail armor while the Knight was in full plated armor. We're going to have a hard time shooting them with our arrows. While the others were wearing both leather and thin chainmail armor.

As for the weapons, swords, spears, and I saw a few mercenaries had a crossbow hanging on the side of their horses." Michael explained.

Oli stopped and pondered after he heard Michael.

"This is a problem. Our equipment and weapons were no match to theirs. Well, what do I expect? They were from a powerful Empire, unlike us.

On our side, we had arrows, a few swords, and spears, and the armor was all made from leather. If I knew this was going to happen, I should have requested the Archduke the best weapon and armor he had! Fuck! I thought I planned it all well, but I was wrong! I still lack a lot of things to be a capable and exceptional leader! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! What to do?' Oli woke up from his thoughts when Michael tapped his shoulders.

"My Lord. Are you alright?" Michael.

"H-huh? W-what do you mean?" Oli.

"Well, you were sweating a lot, My Lord, so I thought you're not fine." Michael.

Oli touched his forehead, and Michael was right. He is sweating a lot.

"If I remember, this was your first battle, right? My Lord?" Michael said. Oli just nodded his head.

"I don't know if this was going to help, but everyone has their first time on everything. It doesn't matter if you make a wrong decision or move. What was important is you learned a lesson after that experience.

And My Lord, you cannot expect that someone could become a real soldier or warrior just because they learned how to shoot a bow, swing a sword, and thrust the spear in just weeks of training. Because the true warrior was the one who survived on the battlefield.

Don't shoulder everything, My Lord. We're here, your vassals, ready to lay their lives for you." Michael said.

Oli took and listened to everything Michael said. It's indeed his first battle. Not just a simple fight, but a war where your life was on the line. He doesn't even know if he can kill someone.

But,

This is not Earth. This is not the world he knew. All the laws and morals on Earth do not apply here on Chronos.

Chronos has different laws and morals.

And right now.

"Kill or be killed. A predator or prey." Oli mumbled at the same time a shout coming from outside was heard.

"My Lord! They were preparing now! It seems that they were about to attack!" Zick shouted at the top of his lungs.

After Oli heard it, he took a deep breath and said, "Let's go. Let's give our visitors the warmed welcome they deserve." Oli said while his hand was on the handle of the colt cobra.