As soon as they stepped out of the command tent, a piercing eagle cry echoed through the sky. Looking up, they saw a massive golden eagle soaring over the camp and flying off into the distance.
The
Reidi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The Second Prince still had the mood for sightseeing at a time like this. Couldn't he see the ducal soldiers and three Great Swordmasters who had been chasing them already appearing at the front of the camp?
The Second Prince had, after all, been through countless battles and possessed extensive battlefield experience. Even with only a little over a thousand men under his command, his march and encampment were conducted with proper discipline — there was no sense of improvising or making do. He had positioned the camp atop a small earthen hill. Apart from the narrow path leading directly to the camp gate on the front face, the other three sides were all steep bluffs over a dozen meters high. While this reduced the difficulty of defense — they only needed to hold one approach — it also effectively trapped them in a dead end.
The soldiers of Sabaki Duchy and Handera Duchy gathering in the distance grew ever more numerous, forming a dark mass. Several figures who appeared to be Silver Knights stood at the front of the crowd, delivering instructions. Not far from them, three Great Swordmasters clad in variously colored cloaks stood gazing up at the encampment on the hill. Encountering the King of Andinak in the White Heron Lake marshlands during winter — that was truly unexpected. But they quickly realized why the Second Prince was here…
"Bah! That King of Andinak still hasn't given up on destroying us Four Central Duchies. Coming all this way in the dead of winter to scout the path in person. Good thing we ran into him — he doesn't have many men. Why don't we take him out?" The Great Swordmaster of Sabaki Duchy spat into the snow, glaring viciously at the three-colored griffin banner of the Second Prince flying above the hilltop camp.
The Great Swordmaster of Handera Duchy sized up the camp on the hill: "Our luck isn't bad. The King doesn't have many men — just over a thousand. Our two duchies each have a full battalion here, so we should outnumber them by more than double. But the thousand-odd men the King has with him might well be more capable than these ordinary soldiers of ours. Moreover, they're defending while we're attacking, which puts us at a disadvantage. Another thing — our soldiers only came along to assist in the capture. They didn't bring siege equipment, and charging uphill will result in heavy casualties…
Generally speaking, the King would travel with at least one Great Swordmaster. Combined with that
The Great Swordmaster of Handera Duchy was the clearer-headed of the two. He knew that among the three Great Swordmasters, Cinty was the one who called the shots. It was simple — when your skills fell short, you lost the right to have a say. He and the Sabaki Great Swordmaster together hadn't even lasted a hundred moves against Cinty, leading them to privately suspect she had already advanced to the rank of Third-Tier Great Swordmaster.
Cinty the Great Swordmaster was also studying the camp atop the hill. Hearing the other two speak, she turned and asked: "Two questions. First, are you certain that Norton family brat has entered the camp? Second, after those fleeing knights and soldiers got inside, did the camp send out any messengers?"
What Cinty feared was that the Second Prince had already dispatched messengers to call for reinforcements. If they attacked the camp and couldn't take it quickly, they'd be overwhelmed by an incoming relief force. Even as a Third-Tier Great Swordmaster, facing a rolling battle formation, she could only retreat. If one were willing to accept heavy sacrifices and casualties, using sheer numbers to overwhelm a Great Swordmaster was not impossible.
"I can guarantee that much." The Great Swordmaster of Sabaki Duchy waved a few soldiers forward: "When those Andinak Kingdom knights and soldiers were spotted fleeing, these men tracked them. They've been watching the camp ever since, right up to our arrival. Let them report on what they observed."
The lead soldier bowed: "Great Swordmaster, when we arrived, we saw the target we were pursuing enter the camp together with those fleeing knights. Right after that, the squad of soldiers ran in as well, and the gate was shut. It hasn't opened since. I left two companions watching the front, and the rest of us circled the entire hill. The other sides are all steep bluffs, about a dozen meters high. We can't climb up from those slopes, and similarly, the people inside can't climb down…"
Cinty nodded pleasantly: "You've done well. I'll remember your service."
The lead soldier's face flushed with excitement. He bowed deeply to Cinty once more before withdrawing. The poor man didn't realize that Cinty was merely being polite — if she truly meant to remember his service, she would have at least asked his name.
Cinty looked once more at the camp on the hill: "Since we've chased them this far, we can't very well return empty-handed. That would be too humiliating. Besides, now that we've encountered that King, I'd like to invite him on a visit to your duchy. I'm sure your Grand Duke would welcome his honored presence."
People from the camp descended the steep slopes using ropes to seek reinforcements. The remaining ducal soldiers all gathered along the main path facing uphill. First, they lit fires, cooked, and rested for half a day. Then they dispatched a squad to fell timber, preparing wooden shields for cover during the uphill assault…
"Your Majesty, it appears they're preparing to attack us." Golden Knight Lipired reported to the Second Prince, his expression grim.
The Second Prince, Great Swordmaster Manster, and Reidi were standing behind the rough wooden palisade beside the camp gate, observing the enemy assembling below the hill like masses of ants.
"Your Majesty, the one in the middle wearing the black cloak is Cinty the Great Swordmaster of the Fisablen family — she's the shortest one. The tall one next to her, also in a black cloak, is the Great Swordmaster of Sabaki Duchy. I don't know his name, but he's nothing special — I traded over a hundred moves with him and he couldn't do a thing to me. The one on the far right in the gray fur coat is the Great Swordmaster of Handera Duchy — decent enough hands, I think his name is something like Bilchek…" Reidi introduced them to the Second Prince.
"Bilchek. We've met before on the battlefield in the Ridelis Kingdom," the Second Prince said. "But he's no match for Great Swordmaster Manster. If what you said about handling the Sabaki Great Swordmaster is true, then Manster can take Bilchek. All we need to do after that is hold off Cinty, and our camp will be secure. That simplifies things. Lipired…"
"Your Majesty, give the order." Lipired straightened his chest.
The Second Prince pondered for a moment: "This time we brought a battalion of a thousand, plus nearly a hundred servants and attendants. With you and Morva, that makes three Golden Knights. We also had eighteen Silver Knights — fifteen now, unfortunately. Fortunately, our infantry battalion includes five hundred longbowmen, two hundred shield-bearers, and three hundred spearmen. That many men conducting a defensive engagement should be more than enough to hold off — even repulse — a Third-Tier Great Swordmaster.
Lipired, organize the longbowmen into five companies of a hundred. Set up a pentagram formation at the gate. Pair the shield-bearers and spearmen into squads of ten. Their task is to engage and obstruct Cinty, constricting the battlefield space at the gate and forcing her to face our arrow formation. As for you, me, and Morva — each of us will lead five Silver Knights. The moment Cinty dodges past the arrow formation, we launch a cavalry charge and drive her back to her original position where she'll be subjected to the arrow formation again. Understood?"
"Your Majesty, understood. I'll prepare immediately." Lipired hurried off.
Reidi stared curiously at his retreating figure: "Your Majesty, will this actually work against a Second-Tier Great Swordmaster?"
The Second Prince chuckled: "Of course it will. The power of a battle formation lies in combining ordinary soldiers' capabilities to stand against a high-tier battle-qi expert. This is the experience and hard lessons the Empire has learned through countless campaigns over a century. As long as you hold your ground and don't flee, you can even teach a Great Swordmaster a lesson. Hasn't the Norton family's private army been trained in battle formations like this?"
"Uh… well…" Reidi scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed. "Your Majesty, the Norton family's private army really hasn't encountered a situation like this. Usually when there's a Great Swordmaster, His Highness handles it himself, and we never need to lift a finger. So all our family troops deal with are ordinary soldiers — they're simply no match for us…"
Now it was the Second Prince's turn to be surprised: "What did you say? Locke handles it personally? He — isn't he not even at the Silver rank?"
"That's right, Your Majesty. My teacher practices the cultivation methods of Eastern warrior monks, so his battle-qi rank has remained stuck at the
"So you really can handle that Sabaki Duchy Great Swordmaster? You weren't bluffing me?" the Second Prince asked.
"No, Your Majesty. My teacher taught me the same Eastern warrior monk cultivation methods, so my battle-qi is also stuck at the Silver rank with no way to advance further. But I once defeated seven Golden-ranked experts at the tournament of knights hosted by the Grand Duke of Fisablen and won the swordsmanship championship." Reidi answered honestly.
"Very good. That gives us even more confidence in holding this camp. Reidi, you take on Bilchek the Great Swordmaster of Handera Duchy — just keep him occupied. I'll have Great Swordmaster Manster go after the weakest one, the Sabaki Great Swordmaster, and try to take him down or wound him as quickly as possible. Then he can join you against Bilchek. Once those two Great Swordmasters are wounded or defeated, all of us fighting Cinty together will have a much better chance. Look at the sky — there will definitely be a blizzard in the next two days. Those enemies below have no winter provisions. Once the snow and wind pick up, let's see how they manage…"
At this moment, the Second Prince was brimming with confidence, paying no attention whatsoever to the bustling enemy forces below the hill.
After eating their midday meal, the enemies below the hill rested for nearly two hours before finally forming up for their first assault on the hilltop camp. The ducal soldiers originally held wooden shields overhead and charged uphill, hoping to find a foothold not far from the camp. Unfortunately, the narrow path up the hill had two bends, and it was at those bends that the shield-bearing soldiers were struck by a rain of arrows, leaving behind forty or fifty corpses before they retreated.
The ducal forces launched a second attack. Notably, both the Sabaki and Handera Great Swordmasters joined the assault this time.
"Let them come up. Longbowmen, be ready. Keep your eyes on Cinty — the moment she moves, take aim and fire. Don't let her charge up. Those two Great Swordmasters are for you, Manster and Reidi — don't let me down. As for the rest of those rabble, Lipired, that's your responsibility. Tell the shield-bearers to watch out for enemy longbowmen…" The Second Prince issued his orders, watching the enemy ascend.
"As you command, Your Majesty."
The two duchy Great Swordmasters hadn't expected this attack to go so smoothly — they'd actually reached the camp gates without difficulty. They were momentarily stunned. They had anticipated the same experience as the first attack: a barrage of arrows raining down from above. The two of them had volunteered specifically to draw and exhaust the camp's longbowmen with suppressive fire, creating an opening for Cinty's follow-up rush. They never expected to reach the gates so easily. When they saw Reidi and Great Swordmaster Manster striding toward them with grim smiles, they realized they'd miscalculated.
Only about a hundred ducal soldiers had made it to the camp front alongside the two Great Swordmasters. Because they'd been holding wooden shields overhead for cover, there were only about a dozen longbowmen and shield-bearers, along with twenty-odd spearmen. The rest were mostly empty-handed, since both hands had been needed to hold the shields. Now they had to draw their daggers or short swords. Facing the charge of Lipired and five other knights, they screamed as they were cut down one by one. It was nothing short of a massacre…
Meanwhile, the two duchy Great Swordmasters were already overwhelmed by the pressure from Manster and Reidi, barely able to maintain a defense. They could only hold on and hope that Cinty would come to their aid from below the hill as soon as possible. Unfortunately, what they couldn't see was that Cinty had already charged uphill twice, only to be driven back both times by relentless volleys of arrows.
The Second Prince's command of the five companies of longbowmen in their suppression fire against Cinty was highly skillful. Rather than ordering the archers to track Cinty's movements directly, he targeted her landing points and the trajectory of her figure as she soared through the air, firing pre-emptive shots that forced Cinty to bounce around the base of the hill like a monkey dodging the arrow fire. Even after half a day, she still hadn't made it to the top.
The third time, Cinty was seething with fury. She picked up a wooden shield from the ground, held it before her, and forced her way uphill through sheer strength. But four consecutive volleys of concentrated arrows struck the shield — not only did it shatter, but Cinty was forced to retreat yet again. No matter what, she was a woman, and her sword style was one of agility and ethereal grace. Charging uphill like a barbarian behind nothing but a wooden shield was simply beyond her ability. The Second Prince was actually delighted when she tried this — it made the archers' concentrated fire devastatingly effective. The sheer impact of a hundred arrows striking a single shield was more than anyone could endure.
"Ah—" The Great Swordmaster of Sabaki Duchy let out a scream. Even as he parried Manster's attacks, he clutched his right side with his left hand, blood gushing forth.
"What happened?" Bilchek forced Reidi back with two sword strikes, then sprang to his companion's side, blocking Manster's onslaught.
"Took a hit here. Not dead yet. Has Cinty made it up yet…" The Sabaki Great Swordmaster spoke through gritted teeth.
Bilchek stole a downward glance and his composure shattered entirely, his defense becoming frantic: "What's going on — Cinty can't break through…"
Manster and Reidi were now pressing their advantage against beaten dogs, each intensifying their attacks, eager to keep both opponents here. Bilchek shielded the wounded Sabaki Great Swordmaster and retreated step by step, nearly at the edge of the hilltop.
Suddenly, Bilchek hurled his longsword at Manster. While Manster dodged in surprise at the unexpected move, Bilchek grabbed the Sabaki Great Swordmaster and rolled off the hilltop. Reidi lunged forward, extending his sword, which stabbed cleanly into Bilchek's left thigh.
"Argh—" With a howl, the two duchy Great Swordmasters tumbled down the hill in a cloud of dust. The ducal soldiers rushed forward, pulling and dragging the two of them back to safety.
"What a shame. I never expected those two Great Swordmasters would resort to such a desperate escape. If we'd had a longbow company ready to follow up with fire, they'd have been pincushions." The Second Prince was somewhat disappointed. "Still, the situation is already excellent. Those two ducy Great Swordmasters have been neutralized by you two. With only Cinty left, let's see what she can do to break through."
As evening fell, large snowflakes began drifting down from the sky.
…To be continued.