CHAPTER 6 - I - COUNTER-ATTACK
***The Imperial expeditionary forces headquarters, a few miles into the region of Huirot in Savoy…***
The arrival of the emperor himself in the Imperial camp was a piece of welcome news to the men who were besieging the town of Huirot. Their morale was low, brought forth by their successive defeats in Devyere, Bere river, and Dawson Valley, and they couldn’t wait for a shift in the leadership of their army.
In fact, their only victory in the current conflict so far, in Huirot, was brought not by their own general, but by the cautious approach of the Amaranthine crown prince who was helping their commander.
It was Prince David who correctly deduced that the combined forces of the Savoian duke and the men from Nerfes would conduct another ‘Devyere’, thus he had scouts and reconnaissance parties go ahead of the main army. As a result, they killed and capture the men poised to ambush them.
As a result, the morale of the invasion forces in Savoy was raised, though not that high, and the legions performed as they were expected.
Amidst all these, the commander of the Imperial expedition, Umberto, also worked his share of the load. Though he was not that good in generalship, he excelled in espionage and subterfuge, so he gathered agents and information to his side to spread misinformation on his enemies.
It was in this capacity that they learned that the ‘Holy Coalition’ was planning to relieve the men in Huirot.
“General, I’d rather want us to take the offensive to the enemy.” the emperor demanded at the war council, “It’s not enough that we hunkered down in this siege.”
“Your Imperial Majesty, I’d like to ask for more time to wrap this battle up.” General Benicci replied, “The main army of the duke of Savoy and some men from Nerfes are trapped in that town over there.”
“I know that. But the more we delay, the more these pesky northern barbarians would merge into a powerful force to counter our armies!” the emperor told him, “You already lost three of my best legions in Dawson Valley; do you really intend to waste my men’s lives?”
“M-My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty.” the general bowed.
“And who’s this person in the barbarian clothing?” the emperor then turned to Prince David.
“Crown Prince David of Amaranth, Your Imperial Highness.” he gave the elderly monarch the courtesy he deserved, “Though you’re my former enemy, we are now allies as long as we have common goals under the auspices of the Saint of the Flame.”
“Which is?”
“I also aim to protect Her Holiness the Great Saint of Chersea from this vile man, Sir Kuro.”
“Huh?” the emperor was bewildered, but General Benicci quickly whispered something to him, and he relented from lashing out, “I-In any case, Prince David of Amaranth, if you prove your loyalty to me, then I’d be more than glad to give back to you your lost throne.”
“I don’t deserve such generosity, Your Imperial Highness. Just the opportunity to protect Her Holiness is enough for me.”
“Well…” the emperor was awkwardly smiling, “Alright. Anyway, let’s get back to the matter of this council. General, you say that the coalition army was marching out to relieve the men in Huirot.”
“Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. We are now preparing to meet them.”
“Where?”
“Here, in Huirot.”
“No! I don’t want to wait for them here!” the emperor impatiently tapped his hand on the table, “You march out and meet them!”
“But Your Imperial Majesty…” a legionary officer spoke, “Our positions here in Huirot would be best suited for trapping and destroying the coalition army if they ever tried to attack us.”
“Hah! You’ve been trounced by a mere commoner and now you cower behind the safety of your palisades?” the emperor scoffed at him, “Your ancestor must’ve been ashamed at your conduct!”
The Imperial expedition officers never uttered a reply after that dressing down. It was rather the prince of Amaranth who broke the ice.
“Your Imperial Majesty…”
“Yes?”
“I agree with your men.” The crown prince backed them up, “Huirot is a good place to entrap our enemies. But if you wish, I believe I have a plan for this scenario.”
“And I believe an Amaranthine prince should only be concerned with his own forces, Your Highness.” A legionary officer from the emperor’s party replied, “We have our own affairs here, see?”
“Commander, let the barbarian speak.” the emperor rebuked the officer, “He’s a member of the Amaranthine royal family, so stop with these kinds of words.”
The officer was surprised by that rebuke from his monarch and had to back down. The emperor declared, “I don’t care if you’re Amaranthine or an Imperial, what I wanted is someone brave enough to confront these northern barbarians when the opportunity is presenting itself!”
“Ah yes…” General Benicci then presented to the emperor the reports from his spies, “These just came in, and the prince and I had already read it.”
As if on cue, the crown prince then laid out his plans, “Based on the reports gathered by the spies in Stadtsberg, this so-called ‘Holy Coalition’ was hampered by the few numbers of their men. As a result, they had to rely on mercenaries to bolster their ranks. Aside from the Fist of the North Lands, the over-all leadership of this group belongs to the Iron Princess of Nerfes, Princess Lilyhaven—a maid of Her Holiness, Lady Madelaine.”
“So we’re fighting Her Holiness the Great Saint of Chersea all along!” the other officers remarked.
“Well, yes…” Prince David replied, “But please understand that she’s being manipulated by this ‘Fist of the North Lands’, Sir Kuro. And he was an agent of the demons. The Saint of the Flame told me this information before…”
“Goodness! So, we’re right to attack these northern barbarians and try to save Her Holiness!”
General Benicci remained silent, yet he was laughing to himself.
“Yes.” Prince David lay out his plans, “Now that His Imperial Majesty the Emperor is demanding that we take the initiative in the battlefield, this will be our strategy. We’ll bait the coalition forces here in Huirot by flanking and attacking the other villages, and if we could threaten the capital, then it’s all good. Then, once they come here, we’ll surround them and eliminate the Nerfes-Savoian army and coalition forces in one strike.”
“And the other kingdoms? What if they suddenly intervened?”
“That’s why we’re attacking Savoy, where we could threaten Nerfes, the Holy Palatial Gardens, and the city-state of Stadtsberg. We’ll leave a defending force in the northern and western Amaranth, so they couldn’t outflank us while we’re busy here. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance here in Savoy.”
The emperor stood up from his chair, “I like that strategy, Your Highness! Please proceed with that.”
“But Your Imperial Majesty…” It was General Benicci, “For this to work, we’ll need more men.”
“More men? Didn’t you lose two legions already?”
“My liege, though I made irreplaceable mistakes in the past…” General Benicci humbled himself, “Things are now different from the crown prince around. I suggest you make him my co-commander if that so satisfies your honor. I only request that you let me regain my name, Your Imperial Majesty.”
“Fine then. With both of you in command, I’ll give you four more legions.” The emperor gestured for an orderly to bring him a quill and paper, “Make sure you’ll deliver the victory you promised, or I’ll have your head on the pike, Umberto.”
“As you wish, Sire.”
Meanwhile, Huirot was a small town, originally a small village merely ten seasons ago. Starting out as a resting place for merchant caravans going to Amaranth through the forests of Devyere-Savoy, it was given special attention by a previous duke after it became an outpost for his soldiers protecting the trade routes. A defensive palisade was built in Huirot that was later upgraded into a stone wall. Its location as the ‘gateway’ to the west gave it a prominent position in the duchy’s economy.
However, like Devyere, Huirot was pretty isolated compared to the rest of Savoy. Mountain ranges shield the northern side of the town. Thick forest almost surrounded it, with a little clearing allowance on the approaches of the town proper. The only contact to Savoy was the caravan path to the east, and the borders of Amaranth lies to the west.
It was because of these factors that the combined armies of Nerfes and Savoy made their stand here, after their defeat in the Battle of the Savoian Forest. Determined to hold back the Imperial invasion, they thought they held the advantage in a strategic location.
They were proven wrong.
“Enemy approaching from the east!”
“What?”
Indeed, much to the defenders’ horror, another Imperial army had appeared to the east of Huirot. This one, like the forces to their west, was also felling trees to make siege equipment. And beyond them, they could faintly make out of a large column of legionnaires marching towards the undefended countryside of Savoy.
“We’ve been surrounded, and an army is marching to the east!” a military officer cried out, “We should try to break out as soon as possible!”
“That would be in vain.” the 2nd Prince of the kingdom of Nerfes, Simon Hugh Reed, answered as he hobbled along the defensive wall in a cane, “Look at those numbers; the escape path to the east was already blocked, and their numbers fill the road. If you think you could get past through them, then you’re only irresponsibly wasting the lives of your men.”
“But if we stay here, eventually, we’d die all the same.”
“Well, if we break out, we’ll surely be dead.” Simon argued, “However, if we stay here, we could wait for reinforcements from the coalition. And if they attack us, we’d bleed them dry.”
“What should we do now, Your Highness?”
“Call up all the men, including the townspeople. Tell them to defend their lands and arm them with every weapon available in this town. Don’t ask if these Imperials would attack or not; the only question is when.”
“But Sir, are you really sure that the coalition armies are going to our relief?”
“Yes.” was Simon’s confident reply, “There were people there whom I trust, and I know they won’t abandon us to our fates.”
