260 The Cost of Caring

The Castonian side was protected by a forest to the back and stakes and towers to the front. If things go awry, they could go back to the forest and keep a rearguard to shield the retreat.

Roar, Tear, Dawn and Steelsword were the front line, only twelve thousand men in all as Erik took each of the four legion's cavalry detachment. The undermanned Goldentooth and the Cantonese allies were on the right flank while Apple was on the left.

All of the cavalry were collected into a single unit of five thousand placed on the far right side. Erik personally command them.

The Wismarine front line moved forward, slowly like a creeping beast. The elephants remained stationary and their cavalry, a force equal to Erik's, trotted in front of apple in the left flank.

Erik fastened his helm. The crest was topped with horsehair dyed bright purple. His cape was azure, fluttering proudly. His horse snorted, the muscular Tulosan stallion seemed to understand the coming bloodshed.

He looked at the enemies. Their front line would collide with Tear, Roar, Steelsword and Dawn soon enough. The elephants and Sarah's personal guards remained stationary.

"Hold!" Erik said to the Castonian cavalry. He could see their eagerness to bleed the enemies. But not yet. He must wait for Sarah's next move. "We wait."

***

Dawn Legion, Union's Center

Bourgis breathed dust. He breathed sweat. Steel.

His back was straight and his eyes were stern as he watched the Wismarine host approach. They extended in a long line of spears and swords. They walked in such a manner unique to trained soldiers.

They were many, too many to count. Though Bourgis doesn't count. Soldiers do not count. A soldier stands his ground and obeys orders. Dies if he has to.

But it was to be admitted that the sight of the enemies strained his courage a bit. Nobody wanted to die. Life was a gift from the Omniscient. Even a veteran General like him still wanted to live another day. The Wismarine soldiers were difficult opponents. They wore proper armor, had proper training and were led by proper officers. They were proper soldiers.

The enemies were now crossing the stakes. Some shouted in pain after stepping on caltrops.

Bourgis raised his hand and dropped it swiftly. The ballistae and crossbowmen began their barrage. Arrows flew, blotting the sun. The whistling was loud. The Wismarines raised their shields. They were disciplined, Bourgis could see. Most arrows just bounced off the shields but scattered cries confirmed some hits. The crossbowmen again reloaded. The strings of their crossbows emitted a weird stretching sound. They loosed arrows again. This time, more Wismarines fell, the arrows going through gaps in their armor and shields. But where one man had fallen, another came to take his place. They were endless.

The enemies continued, trudging amidst arrows and caltrops. They soon reached the trench. It was a shallow trench the height of a person. But it was wide and steep. Caltrops were also scattered in it. At least a hundred of the frontmost Wismarines awkwardly crossed it.

"Set it alight" Bourgis said.

***

Apple Legion, Union's left flank

"The trench is burning sire" Said one of the Prefects to Tref.

"Why, yes. It is burning. Vanadian Hellfire is such a terrible thing. For the enemies that is."

"The Wismarines are burning" One of the Centurions added.

"That's the idea. Burn them."

"And what would happen if the fire was put out?"

Tref dallied his response. The Wismarines knew what to do. Most of them were already shoveling piles of dirt into the flame. It would be a bad thing if the Hellfire flame was extinguished.

"We need not concern ourselves with that. It's our comrades' problem" He looked to the front. "These lads are our problem"

The Wismarine cavalry were just a few hundred pace to their front. They were idle- for now.

Those who were in the front line of Apple were pointing their halberds forward. Most of them were still green as the legion was newly recruited by the Marquis himself. But they would hold the Wismarine cavalry. Teft hoped that they would.

The Wismarine infantry at the center had put out the fire in a portion of the trench. But they didn't advance. Not yet. They filled the whole trench with soil amidst the rain of arrows and ballistae bolts. They also destroyed the spikes and gathered the caltrops. They were unbelievably quick and efficient. The trench, the spikes and the caltrops were no more.

"They are charging sire" One of the Prefects said calmly.

Teft severed his eyes from the action in the center and put his attention in their front. The Wismarine Cavalry were charging at them at full speed. Their horses flung dust and soil. Their lances were pointed forward, ready for the kill.

"Steady!" Teft shouted.

The men at the front were mostly calm as they awaited the arrival of the charge. Bones will be broken. Torsos will be impaled. Men will die, horribly with mangled corpses. Teft prepared for the onslaught.

But then a horn from the enemy camp sounded. It was long and low like a cry of a cow.

The Wismarine cavalry halted with the frontmost man just a few dozen paces from the Castonians. They turned their horses in haste.

The same thing also happened at the center. The Wismarine infantry retreated after clearing the defensive line, leaving hundreds of their dead. Some Castonians attempted to chase but were dragged back by their Centurions.

Teft didn't know what to make of this. The battle had just began. The enemies had only lost a few hundred and the Union had never lost a man. And yet the Wismarines were retreating. He instinctively turned his head toward the Union's Cavalry where Marquis Erik was commanding from.

The Marquis knows what is happening right? Teft asked in silence.

***

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Erik doesn't know what was happening. The Wismarines retreated with just a scratch. Their elephants, cavalry and half of their infantry didn't even joined the battle. It was strange.

The Wismarines were reforming now and Erik felt a chill. What is she planning? The tramp must be planning something crazy. Of course she was.

He eyed the four Castonian legions at the front. They didn't lose a single man. That is good. But the lack of blood seemed to be a harbinger of a succeeding storm. Sarah Wismar wouldn't just send a hundred of her soldiers to die just to tinker with the defensive structures.

Like a hammer hitting his head, Erik realized what she was planning. The trench was now filled with soil. The spikes were dismantled. The caltrops were collected.

The Union's side was defenseless.

The Wismarines were forming into a single sharp wedge. The elephants were at the front, followed by the cavalry. The infantry was behind. That wedge could puncture his line. Even his most experienced legions will buckle against an attack of this scale. Sarah cleared the spikes and the trench for this. For a single powerful, suicidal charge.

"Sire!" General Bourgis' voice called. Erik looked and the General was riding to him. The salute was swift when he arrived. "You know what they are doing right?"

Erik nodded. It was a brainless attack. Sarah Wismar would lose if she continued this. The Union would win.

At a heavy cost that is.

Erik envisioned what would happen. Those elephants and cavalry would smash through their lines and kill thousands of his men. It would be devastating. But the charge would lose its impetus and soon the Wismarine side would be surrounded. It would be a victory for Erik but he estimated casualties to mount over twenty thousand.

Sarah was playing with him. The Wismarine Princess knew how he treasured his men. Every last one of those Castonians, Vanadians and Cantonese were like his children. And so she gave him a choice- a victory with most of his men dead or a minor defeat.

Erik wallowed in self pity. Of course he would accept defeat for the sake of his men. Sarah knew that her greatest advantage over him was commitment. She didn't care about the Wismarines but Erik cares for the Union's soldiers. She could accept a loss with a shrug while Erik would be haunted for life if he let most of his men die for the sake of attaining victory.

Sarah knew and she planned. She gambled. And she won.

"Send a rearguard" Erik told General Bourgis. "We will retreat to the forest. We have lost"