“If I didn’t know about the hidden troops in the forest I would have not thought twice about moving our army.” I tell William. It is lucky that we scouted the area thoroughly and didn’t clue them into the fact that we knew about their plans. 

“I want you to lead the cavalry to ensure that the central and right flank do not engage in battle.” William orders me. I nod my head and head out. The only problem is if they tie down our infantry with cavalry. 

Tie up their cavalry and this will not be a problem. 

“Sir Hudson, what can we do for you?” The leading sergeant asks me in confusion. 

“I will take charge.” I answer his question. He salutes and takes up position within the formation. We probably have three divisions of cavalry on the right flank. While I would have preferred four or five that isn’t what I have. They also seem to vary between actually armored and slightly armored. We may have gotten the horses but it seems that is where our luck ends. Very well, this will have to do.“Head out. For Allonia!” 

“For Allonia!” The soldiers join the chant. 

We head out to meet the enemy. While they were initially moving slowly it seems that the enemy commander recognized our tactics and is trying to fix his misstep. Unfortunately, it is too late to do so. 

The Arrian cavalry begins to charge at us. 

Their formation begins to loosen as they speed up and lower their lances. While the distance is acceptable it shows the difference between Arrian and Allonain cavalrymen. The discipline needed to wait for the optimal distance. 

“Lower lances! Begin Charge!” I yell out. 

The men instant follow my orders. We begin to slowly pick up speed. While Allonian lances are slightly longer we do not have them at the moment. Instead we are using the Arrian lances. 

We clash with the enemy. Men fly backwards as lances hit bodies. 

I am pushed back by the collision. 

I stabilize myself. 

The men get off their horses. I distance myself from the fight in order to analyze the situation. I look into the distance and see some Allonains continue the charge into the Arrian lines. 

It soon becomes a massacre. 

The Arrian front line is crossbowmen. Their arrows pierce the light armor of the rider and send them flying out of the saddle. Even worse is the fact that before the Allonians can reach the enemy skirmisher line they fall back and a wall of pikes emerges. 

Some of the horses have no time to react and impale themselves. The rest panic and begin to flee. I mentally capture the sight in my mind. This is something that I will need to remember. A great tactic to punish cocky commanders. 

The Arrian hidden detachment leaves the cover of the forest. 

“Retreat. We cannot allow ourselves to be caught out.” I yell. 

I urge my horse to leave. We begin to put distance between us and the enemy. 

The Arrian horsemen follow but seem to think better of it and stop. 

Upon falling back I begin to head towards William. He is watching the battle unfold instructing his commanders. I pull up beside him and wait. It seems that despite putting some of their reserves in their right flank they are still slowly breaking. 

Suddenly the Arrian flags change direction and most of their troops begin to move away. I narrow my eyes. Why are they retreating? Do they not dislike admitting defeat? This seems very odd and logical coming from them. 

“Hm, that is impressive.” William mutters under his breath. 

“What is impressive?” I ask. 

“They enemy commander has the strength of mind to admit defeat.” William answers. I do not think that it is all that impressive. Should one be praised for being able admit the reality of the situation? “We will be seeing more of this commander.” 

“And why is that?” I furrow my brows. 

“Well, Hudson, that is because those flags have the Arrian royal heraldry.” William’s reply causes me to become shocked. If those flags possess the royal heraldry then that means one thing. The enemy general is the Arrian emperor. 

“We have to get moving when we finish the stragglers.” I tell William of my opinion. He just nods in approval. We cannot risk being trapped between two armies. At most we will allow the soldiers to loot briefly. 

Nothing too much. Just a few items that they can carry on the trip. 

I look at the dead bodies on the ground. All the death is repulsive. It infects the air and corrupts it. “They have a culture that worships this?” It all seems so ridiculous. To worship this kind of thing, something that only results in death.

“They admire the sacrifice these people make.” William’s answer doesn’t sit well with me. I cannot think of one good thing about war. It is merely death and destruction. If it wasn’t a necessary evil then I wouldn’t partake in it at all. 

To think that we fought against the Arrian emperor. I have to admit that I wasn’t all that impressed. He still doesn’t compare to William. To be fair, nobody can compare to him. If somebody could I would be surprised. 

Somebody that could beat William would not be human. 

They would be a monster. 

A/N: I'll be honest. I do not see Michael beating William in their first encounter. William is an experienced commander, especially compared to Michael. It doesn't matter how well studied Michael is, he just doesn't have the experience.

As always, thank you for reading.