"Sigh, we can't buy horses. I didn't expect the imperial capital to be so short on them either. We've been scouring everywhere these past few days, and even at double the price, we only managed to get these dozen or so pack horses — and His Lordship used them all for the carts," Faraya grumbled as he poked at the campfire.
Jostic said, "We were too optimistic, thinking we could buy mounts once we reached the capital. We forgot that the Andinak Kingdom was never a horse-producing region to begin with, and with the
"We barely covered thirty li today. Tomorrow we'll probably manage sixty or seventy at best. This puts us at a serious disadvantage. After getting used to galloping freely across the Northland, this kind of long-distance march feels slower than a snail's pace. My lord, why don't we buy some horse carts from nearby lords along the way to speed things up? Shilovas Island needs to be developed anyway — those carts could be used for transport." This was El's suggestion.
After half a day's journey from the capital, with nightfall approaching, Faraya ordered the company to make camp. The five hundred soldiers of the Guard Battalion were well-trained and settled in quickly. It was the family knights — El,
"Fine. Tomorrow we'll change course toward the Doni River. One more day of marching and we'll reach Samba Town. It's a major ferry crossing on the Doni River. We'll find a boat there and ride it back. Following the river to Domesgo City, we can disembark and reach Kilin Port in just two days. Then we can board a ship back to Shilovas Island." Lorist studied the map and made his decision.
"Should we still buy horse carts when we pass through those territories?" El asked.
"Forget the carts. Buying a few horses wouldn't be a bad idea, though — let your guards ride them as scouts. They can send advance warning if there's any danger," Lorist said.
"Ha, my lord, with our five hundred elite soldiers, which lord in the Andinak Kingdom would have the guts and the strength to provoke us?" Everyone laughed.
This was true enough. The lords and nobles of the Andinak Kingdom had all been thoroughly disciplined by the Second Prince. Most of their family forces had been absorbed into the reserve legions. Having a hundred-man garrison in one's territory was considered quite good already. As Karitok had said, as long as it wasn't one of the Second Prince's legions, Lorist's five hundred Guard Battalion soldiers could roam the entire kingdom unchallenged.
"My lord, why can't we bring horses from the Northland here to sell? I think it'd be a good business," Schwarde asked.
"Heh heh..." Lorist ruffled Schwarde's hair. "That's a good thought. In theory, it would be a decent business, but you've overlooked the most important point — who's the customer? The Second Prince certainly needs a large number of warhorses and mounts, but he has no ability to pay. Maintaining a three-hundred-thousand-strong army has pushed him to his limits. He has no surplus gold to spend. If we brought horses from the Northland, the only thing we'd get in return would be his IOUs. He'd promise to compensate us once he unifies the empire..."
"All right, everyone get some rest. Schwarde, boil some hot water so everyone can soak their feet. We've got another full day of marching tomorrow," Lorist said.
The night passed uneventfully. The next day they continued their march, managing to acquire only seven mounts through the four territories they passed — five of which were fifteen- or sixteen-year-old horses. El smiled bitterly: "My lord, did we buy these horses just to give them a retirement home?"
By evening they reached Samba Town, which was in the domain of Count Santos. They heard that the count was now commander of the Third Corps of the Royal Guard Corps, leading troops stationed on the border with the Redlis Kingdom. The one managing Samba Town was a trusted steward of his named Old Soni.
Steward Soni treated Lorist with great respect. Any count with five hundred family soldiers equipped with standard-issue gear deserved reverence. He explained that Samba Town was a critical inland river crossing within the Andinak Kingdom — a vital route for transporting large quantities of grain, supplies, and other materials to the front lines, that is, the border between the Andinak and Redlis Kingdoms, saving enormous amounts of manpower and draft-animal resources on the roads.
Therefore, Lorist could resupply his grain and other provisions here, and could also purchase some horse carts. As for the river ferry to Domesgo City, Steward Soni said he could help make introductions — he would find the captain in charge of the transport fleet and see if he could work something out.
When Hollison, the fleet captain, heard that Lorist was willing to pay eight hundred gold Forde for his soldiers and twenty-plus carts, the man's eyes immediately lit up. He ordered his men through the night to unload grain that had already been loaded onto boats, clearing over a dozen empty vessels and turning them around for a run to Domesgo City.
When Lorist asked Captain Hollison whether this would affect the front-line supply transport schedule, the captain waved it off dismissively: "No problem. A ten- or fifteen-day delay on the road is common. A round trip to Domesgo City is only seven or eight days — we can even bring back some of the supplies piling up over there. Nobody will raise an objection."
That was because you hadn't found the right connections. El volunteered to lead Lorist and the others to the transport fleet's main camp, and soon Lorist struck a deal with the fleet commander. For a thousand gold Forde, Lorist acquired a hundred and twenty riding horses from the man's hands. They weren't first-rate warhorses, but they were more than sufficient for pulling carts and riding into battle.
Captain Hollison didn't make the trip for nothing — another two hundred gold Forde landed in his pocket, though he had to free up four more empty boats to transport the hundred-plus horses.
El curiously asked him, "How does the transport fleet explain losing so many warhorses to their superiors?"
Captain Hollison laughed. "The excuses are endless — died of disease, fell into the water, couldn't adapt to the climate, horses got spooked, and so on. He can come up with a hundred and twenty unique reasons to strike these horses from the fleet roster without arousing suspicion. Within a month, the whole thing will vanish without a trace. As for the missing horses, he can file a report and requisition replacements from the logistics department. Of course, he'll have to share most of that thousand gold Forde with others..."
El fell silent for a long while. After returning to camp, he quietly said to Lorist, "Locke, I finally understand why you don't think the Second Prince's three-hundred-thousand-strong army can unify the empire. With people like these working under him, forget three hundred thousand — even six hundred thousand wouldn't be enough..."
Four days later, Lorist and his company arrived at Domesgo City. After settling the remaining five hundred gold Forde, Lorist shook hands and parted ways with the grinning Captain Hollison. Then he went on a shopping spree in Domesgo City, rested for a day, and set out for Kilin Port. Just another day and a half, perhaps two, and the company would reach Kilin Port and set sail.
It was just at dusk when Jim, serving as scout, rode back with two guards to report: "My lord, there's dust rising behind us. It appears to be a large cavalry force heading our way — approximately three thousand strong. They'll reach us in about fifteen minutes. Should we clear the main road and make way?"
Lorist and the others looked back. Sure enough, dust clouds billowed in the distance behind them.
Faraya rode back: "My lord, something's wrong. They're coming straight for us. The dust is rising so fast — that means the cavalry are charging at full speed, and there's nobody else on this road but us. The target of their charge goes without saying..."
Lorist pointed to a small earthen hill beside the road: "Up there. Carts in front, forming a perimeter. Defensive formation — everyone, move!"
The hill was modest, only twenty or thirty meters high, with a sparse scattering of scrubby trees. They had barely moved onto it when the distant cavalry arrived. They were indeed heading straight for Lorist's group. Seeing that Lorist and his people had taken the high ground, the cavalry slowed and began establishing a perimeter around the hill — clearly intending to besiege them there.
Dolres sliced down a tree as thick as a bowl with a single sword stroke. Two soldiers came over to carry it away — it would serve as an anti-cavalry barricade. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Dolres asked Lorist, who was cutting trees nearby: "My lord, the cavalry down there are wearing standard Royal Guard Corps equipment. Did the Second Prince send them to take us hostage?"
Lorist shook his head with a bitter smile. "I'm not entirely sure. The Second Prince is, if nothing else, a formidable schemer — he shouldn't be this foolish. I defeated the Great Swordmaster who was guarding him right to his face. He should know that sending cavalry against me like this won't be enough to keep me here. Even if he killed every last one of you, it would still be hard to hold me. Once he makes an enemy of our
Faraya and Jostic walked over. "My lord, we've surveyed the terrain of this hill. The slope facing the road is the easiest approach, so we've positioned all the carts there to form the first line of defense. Next we'll set up barricades and dig trenches — that should be enough to repel their cavalry charges.
On the left is a cliff over ten meters high. Neither cavalry nor infantry can climb up from that side, so we don't need to post guards there for now. The right side is also a slope, but uneven — infantry could still make their way up, though cavalry couldn't charge it. I've deployed a century of a hundred men in that direction, which should hold.
Behind us is this small wooded area. We need to cut down more trees — partly to clear fields of fire, partly to build a few tree-walls, and partly to prevent the enemy from using the woods as cover to approach and attack us. However, there's bad news, my lord: there's no water source here. The water we're carrying can sustain us for two days at most. If the enemy uses fire attacks, we'll end up as roasted pigs..." Faraya said gravely.
Jostic added from beside him: "My lord, I've made an estimate. The enemy is likely a cavalry battalion of around twenty-five hundred men. Aside from the cliff on the left, they've set up a semicircular defensive line across the other three directions — it looks like they're preparing to trap us on this hill. I suspect they're waiting for following infantry units to arrive before launching an attack. My recommendation is that you break out first, while we hold here and pin the enemy down. As long as you make it back to the family's territory, whatever schemes they have won't matter."
Lorist shook his head. "I brought you all out here, and I will bring you all back. I won't shame myself by running home alone. El, when it gets dark, take Jim down the cliff on the left side and capture a live prisoner for interrogation."
"Yes, my lord," El replied.
Stars filled the sky. On and around the hill, fires blazed — both the Norton Family forces on the hilltop and the Royal Guard Corps cavalry below had lit numerous bonfires to prevent the enemy from breaking out or launching an attack under cover of darkness.
But this was no obstacle for El and Jim. They slipped down the cliff where the enemy wasn't watching, quickly captured a prisoner, and sneaked back up.
In front of everyone, El sharpened a thick tree branch into a pointed stake with a sharp dagger, threatening the prisoner that if he didn't talk, he'd be whittled down like a piece of wood.
The terrified prisoner immediately spilled everything.
"What! You're saying you were ordered by Battalion Commander Count Aslan to come and pin us down? And that he's bringing two infantry battalions — over five thousand men — to encircle and annihilate our Norton Family forces? He won't arrive for another two days?"
The picture was now clear. It was Count Aslan — the brother of Viscount Aslan, whom Lorist had ordered beheaded. Count Aslan was a
The cavalry battalion now surrounding them had received orders to pin down Lorist and his group until Count Aslan arrived with his two infantry battalions — over five thousand men — to annihilate them. Count Aslan had been marching quickly and didn't know that Lorist had defeated Great Swordmaster Clemento. He was confident that with three battalions totaling seventy-five hundred infantry and cavalry under his command, not a single one of Lorist's five hundred-odd men would escape.
"Ptooey." Lorist spat out the grass stem he'd been chewing. "Since he wants to play, let's play."
The sky was still dark, but dawn was approaching, heralding a new day.
A small patrol of cavalry below the hill glanced up at the hilltop. By the dim firelight above, they could make out the blurry silhouettes of the Norton Family guards and the glint of spear tips caught in the flames.
"Time to go. Back to camp — we're changing shifts," said the patrol sergeant.
Behind them came the sound of trickling water and a few horse whinnies. The sergeant didn't think much of it. "Can't you lot dismount to take a piss? What a bunch of lazy bums."
Then he caught a whiff of blood. Something was wrong — he spun around, and what filled his eyes was a blade flashing with cold light...
Everyone was stunned, watching as Lorist started from the last rider in the patrol and killed each one with a single sword stroke. The enemies didn't even make a sound. Then Lorist leaped onto a horse, sheathed his sword, and passed the bodies back to El and Jim following behind, who gently laid them on the ground. The three-man team worked their way from the rear of the patrol to the very front — and the most astonishing thing was that the enemy never noticed. Not a single slain man let out a peep. Lorist's swordwork — fast, precise, and ruthless — sent chills through everyone hiding in the grass.
This was the fourth patrol of roughly twenty men. Combined, they had now captured over eighty warhorses.
"All right, everyone mount up. Those without horses, stay close and keep low. We're charging into the enemy camp. Remember — set fires. Once the fires start here, Faraya's group moves immediately."
This cavalry battalion had set up five camps around three sides of the hill, each with roughly five hundred men. They had also dispatched patrol squads of over twenty cavalry to continuously circle the hill. But they hadn't anticipated that Lorist's group would slip down the cliff side and launch a counterattack.
"Charge!" Lorist led the way into the leftmost camp, the first one. Behind him, Jostic, El, and the others faithfully executed Lorist's strategy: first, set fires; second, seize the horses; third, kill.
Two Silver Knights fell under Lorist's lance in rapid succession, and the first camp's cavalry collapsed. Half-dressed and wild-haired, they fled toward the second camp. Lorist pursued them straight into the second camp and began a slaughter.
By now the patrols from the third through fifth camps had reacted. A hundred and twenty cavalry gathered together and rushed to reinforce the second camp. But before they had covered half the distance, battle cries erupted behind them — Faraya led four hundred Guard Battalion soldiers crashing into the fifth camp. The cavalry there, still mounting their horses, were no match at all. The fifth camp collapsed even faster.
The second camp was also breached. Lorist drove the hundreds of barefoot fleeing cavalry ahead of him toward the third camp, while the fourth camp simultaneously came under Faraya's victorious assault.
Dawn broke. Faraya rode up to Lorist in high spirits: "A great victory! A great victory! My lord, we broke five camps in a single night. Those who didn't flee are all prisoners, and most of their warhorses are now in our hands."
"Any heavy casualties on our side?"
"The Guard Battalion took about fifty percent casualties — a hundred and forty-seven killed, over a hundred and twenty wounded. It was mainly the cavalry who gathered into a tight group at the end that inflicted such losses. The Guard Battalion soldiers are used to fighting defensive battles — this kind of ambush assault isn't really their forte..." Faraya said.
"Clean up the battlefield for now. I need to think about whether, in a couple of days, I should send Count Aslan a little welcoming gift when he arrives..." Lorist said with a vicious grin.
...(To be continued.)