CHAPTER 6 - IV -

 

“Kuro, there’s cavalry bearing down on us!” was the shocking revelation from Griffyth just as when they were hard-pressed against the Imperials, “I think it’s a royal contingent of the Amaranthine prince!”

 

“Prince David?”

 

“The Amaranthine crown prince?”  Griffyth confirmed, “I guess it’s his banner!”

 

“Where’s Winters?” Kuro asked.

 

“He hasn’t appeared just yet!  But by this time, he should’ve attacked the other side!” Griffyth said as he looked at the hourglass they brought along.

 

“Damn it!” Kuro could only curse, “I think we’re screwed!”

 

“Well, it’s also the first time I heard you say that!”

 

Kuro then looked around and found Tarasca and his magicians, who were also hard-pressed from trying to keep up the magical barrier preventing the rain of arrows and magic spells on the coalition forces.

 

“Tarasca!” he called the magician’s attention, “Leave the barriers to your men.  I want you to hurry and carry a message.”

 

“To whom?”

 

“Go to Arles, east from here.  Find a man named Sir Osmond and tell him to send help to me as soon as possible.  Add that, I’d give him a pair of Eris’ underwear if he spared me some men.”

 

“Huh?” the mercenary had a bewildered expression on his face.

 

“Well, it’s an emergency, so I couldn’t help it.”

 

“Alright?”

 

“If you could continue further into the Holy Palatial Gardens, please do so.  We’ll try our best to hold out until you arrive.”

 

Tarasca agreed and cast a wind spell on his feet.  Without a second’s waste, he sped off towards Arles.  Kuro gathered men who could still wield a spear, or a gun with a bayonet.

 

It’s time for Chersea to witness a tercio formation…

 

 

The Battle of Gebrei raged as hotly as ever.  The Imperials, buoyed by their numbers and able leadership of the Prince David of Amaranth, fought the coalition infantry, composed of a motley crew of mostly mercenaries, and some north Chersean soldiers led by Kuro.  In the contest for battlefield prowess and duration, the legionnaires won back their fearsome reputation.

 

“…”

 

 

Only Kuro’s wits were keeping the coalition armies from falling apart.

 

“Spearmen!  Take your spears and form a modified shield wall!” he ordered, “Gunners, stand in front of the spears and fire on my command.  After shooting, retreat to the rear.  The second line goes forward and shoots!”

 

The well-rested reserves agreed and formed their lines, as the men of Stephan’s group held back the furious assaults of the legionnaires and the royal Amaranthine guard cavalry.  The coalition’s formation resembled a huge square, with a space in the middle, spearmen in the inner parts, and the gunners on the outer square.

 

“Stephan!” Kuro shouted, “Tell your men to retreat!”

 

The mercenary captain was thankful for the relief, for him and his men had been battling the Imperials for quite a while now.  In fact, his unit was nearly depleted of capable men.  Along with the remnant of his army, Stephan dashed back toward the square Kuro formed.

 

“FIRE!” was his thunderous command once Stephan’s mercenaries could fall back in safer positions to rest.  The Imperials once again followed them in a closer formation, with the royal guards charging on the flanks.  A considerable number of legionnaires fell before the second line of gunners went to the front to discharge their bullets.

 

“Spearmen to the front!” Griffyth gave an order once he saw the Amaranthine royal guards going for the square’s left flank.  Immediately, the gunners on that side retreated to the rear while the spearmen went forward to counter the charge.

 

“FIRE!”  Another line of legionnaires fell.  The space between the gunners and the Imperials was nearly a yard away.  The Imperial legionnaires’ discipline was breathtaking as well as terrible to behold, for they kept on marching at a steady pace, though they saw many of their comrades fall from the hail of bullets.  

 

Kuro finally ordered the spearmen forward while the gunners retreat towards the center.

 

“!!!”  At that point, the legionnaires broke into a charge and attacked the forest of spears trained on them.

 

“Attack those bastards!” Stephan and his men, though they were still half-exhausted, roused from their rests, and flanked the Imperials on their left.  The close combat took long, but then the Imperials broke and retreat to their original lines.

 

On Griffyth’s side, the royal cavalry nearly smashed the spear wall of Kuro’s tercio, had it not for the timely intervention of the gunners with fixed bayonets on their matchlocks.  While the spearmen killed the Amaranthine horses, the bayonet-armed gunners would go in for the kill of the fallen horseman, for it would be difficult if the knight could get back to his feet.

 

The bloody battle raged for a while, and the ground surrounding Kuro’s tercio formation was dyed red on the blood that was being shed.  Though they held off the Imperial assaults for a while, it’s been clear to Kuro, Griffyth, and Stephan that their men were exhausted, and would break any moment now that the legionnaires launch a determined attack…

 

“!!!”

 

…which began once again!

 

Kuro prepared for the worst.  After making sure that his dagger was with him, he uttered a silent prayer before leading his men to an all-out defense.

 

“The Fist is with us!” the coalition chanted to raise their spirits, “The Fist is with us!”  Their shouts also raised Kuro’s morale, which was wavering under the intense pressure.  Raising his gun in the air, he let out a battle-cry…

 

“Stand your ground!  We will conquer!”

 

 

The Imperials knew that the coalition army was badly mauled and exhausted because of their relentless attacks.  They were also incurring high casualties, nevertheless, after the debacles in Devyere, Bere River, and Dawson Valley, the Imperials could almost taste a major victory over the opponents who killed a good number of their own men.

 

They knew that there would be no mercy.  The crown prince of Amaranth, David von Albert’s order was clear: “Take no prisoners!  Attack!”

 

The legionnaires resumed their push and hoped that it was the final offensive.

 

However…

 

“Enemy cavalry to the rear!”

 

“!!!”

 

At that moment, Prince David and the other officers of the Imperial legions were horrified to witness the coalition cavalry, led by Captain Winters, charging from behind them, as if in frenzied rage.  The first lines of the Imperial legionnaire to the rear were caught unaware, for they were too focused on fighting the coalition infantry to their front.  

 

And then the cavalry fanned out, with most of them targeting the Imperial commanders, standing at the back.  It was a fast contest; the Imperial commanders tried to put up a gallant yet desperate fight.  However, being separated from their men, they could only do so much.

 

Those who tried to run were chased and cut down.  Panic struck the legionnaires as they scrambled to turn around their formations to meet the enemy’s surprise attack.

 

“The front is also on the move!”

 

However, not to be left behind, Kuro’s tercio also moved, this time with the gunners leading and shooting at the Imperials.  Many units surrendered and were led off the battlefield.

 

Prince David, though initially paralyzed in sheer surprise, was now laughing as he realized he was outwitted by his enemy, “You’re really a great man, Sir Kuro…I only wish that you take care of my sister.”  

 

And with that, the crown prince gave up his command, pulled out his sword, and charged towards the coalition cavalry as confusion ruled the battlefield.  He decided not to suffer shame twice, and soon his head was stuck on a lance.