Chapter 48

The Breath Before the Plunge

 

Lansius’ assertion that six-thousand enemies were nothing captured everyone’s attention. They were intrigued, excited, and relieved that the situation seemed salvageable.

From his pocket, Lansius produced several wooden blocks the size of a thumb and proceeded to sit on the wooden porch. “Imagine each of these is a thousand of the enemy’s troops,” he said, lining them up on the porch.

The hundreds of his men focused their gaze on the tiny objects, hanging on his every word.

“Now, the first one,” Lansius began, lifting one of the wooden blocks and addressing his men like a teacher to his students.

“As you may know, a force of six thousand men marching through the Lowlandia Great Plains would require a massive amount of food and water. It’s a fifteen-day journey for heavy ox-drawn carts. I believe it’s reasonable to think that one-sixth of their number, or a thousand men, is dedicated solely to this task.”

Looking at their own experience, the men nodded in agreement.

Lansius continued, “So, you don’t have to worry about this one.” He put one block aside. “They’re merely levies, transporters, men who take care of fodder, grass for their oxen, mules, horses. Not first-rate combatants.”

From the blocks, the men could see that out of six, now there were only five left.

Lansius then picked up another block. “Next is the South Hills Barony… If you talk with the locals enough, any Korelians will tell you that the South Hills’ men despise the Three Hills. Enough that they rebelled two times in ten years.”

Almost all nodded. Ten years were considered recent and people in Korelia still gossiped about it. The reason was, they were once a united entity. Korelia, Korimor, and South Hills were once a viscountcy under Three Hills.

Lansius continued, “Despite what their leaders are thinking, they are reluctant participants. They just need to show up, but they don’t want to die in Korelia. They’re likely a token army, unmotivated, and unlikely to put their lives in danger.”

The men nodded their heads again as Lansius put aside another wooden block. Out of six, only four were left, and the men were curious about what their lord would say next.

Lansius picked another block. “Now, this one is dangerous. This one is the Korimor Barony. As you may know, they’re mostly made of Nicopolan mercenaries. They’re tough, brutal, and resilient. They’re going to be our worst enemy on the battlefield.”

Despite the warning, the men noticed how the lord said that with a faint smile.

“However... they’re mercenaries. Everybody despises them, even men from Three Hills and their own Korimor regiment. The Lowlandians have no love for the Nicopolans. Because of this, I believe they’ll be very cautious, not giving their all. They want money, not a tombstone. Thus, they represent only half of their strength, equal to five hundred.”

The men nodded as they watched the Lord place the wooden block on the right side.

Lansius then gathered all the remaining three blocks in his palm and asked, “These three represent the Three Hills’ troops. How many do you think are levied and how many are men-at-arms?”

The men breathe a sigh of relief. They understood the intention behind the question. Some even chuckled, though none dared to answer.

“Sterling,” Lansius called.

“Yes, My Lord.” The squire came to his side.

“Can you answer my question?”

“Out of three thousand, I think less than a thousand are cavalry and men-at-arms. The rest are levied troops,” Sterling answered.

The men agreed and were eager to see Lansius’ reaction.

As expected, Lansius removed two blocks, explaining, “These are villagers who have seen so many terrors of wars. Unlike you, Midlandians who’ve only seen war a few times in your lives, here, even boys as young as ten, have witnessed several.”

He paused for a moment. “Now, these men, so far from home, waging wars they neither like nor agree with. I doubt they’ll throw their lives away for nothing.”

Lansius then moved the last block to his right side, joining the only sole block. “Now, as you can see, we only have to deal with a thousand Three Hills men-at-arms and knights, along with five hundred of Korimor’s Nicopolan mercenaries.” He scanned his men and taunted, “It isn’t so bad, is it?”

The men readily nodded, some even grinned, as they found no fault in the Lord’s reasoning.

“Our number at four hundred men-at-arms. We have crossbowmen with heavy arbalests and six hundred brave Korelian militia. Our defensive position is entrenched, and we also have the assistance of Batu’s Nomadic Cavalry.”

Lansius drew a deep breath. “We’re not fighting a losing battle. We’re going to give them a bloody nose and take everything from them! What do you say about this?”

His men started making some noise in agreement.

Lansius pressed on. “They’re six thousand strong only in numbers, but the numbers lie. They’re a hodgepodge of an army. Half don’t even want to be in this war. Some just wanted to show up and do nothing more. Even in a siege, they won’t coordinate well. Each faction distrusts the others. What kind of army is that?”

His men were bought in whatever Lansius was selling, and the idea caught on.

“This won’t be easy, but give me a good fight. Don’t you dare run! Don’t you dare die on me! Believe in my plan, and you’ll find yourselves victorious. And by the Ageless One, I swear to employ you even when you’re crippled, and I swear to send money to your family if you fall. Will you yield or will you fight?” Lansius repeated his question from the previous year to his men.

Some of his men answered with laughter, while others with serious faces declared, “We’ll fight for you, My Lord!”

“My brother and I will not shame you!”

“Let them come!” And then their voices coalesced into an excited war cry.

Those watching from behind Lansius - from Sir Justin, Audrey, to Batu - were impressed by Lansius’ explanation. The lord might have omitted several aspects, but he had ingeniously steeled his men’s hearts, dispelling their fear of the upcoming battle.

With just a simple speech, not only had the lord calmed his men and thwarted any potential desertion, but he had also rallied them. Now, they wouldn’t shrink from war - they were clamoring for it.

 

***

 

Lansius returned to his castle and headed directly to the council room, which he had used as his personal quarters. He shut the door, shrugged off his coat, and took a seat on his bed, finally allowing his true emotions to surface.

His hands were slick with sweat from the summer heat, but the tremors coursing through his body were of his own making. The sheer number of lies he had spun was astonishing, even to himself.

Turning six-thousand enemies into a mere fifteen hundred, that’s some great bullshit...

He wore a manic grin, even as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm him.

The small window of the council room did little to mitigate the sweltering summer heat.

The door swung open, admitting Audrey, who promptly closed it behind her. “Are you okay?” she asked, concern evident in her approach.

“Yeah, I’m okay. Why do you ask?” Lansius responded, still seated on the bed.

“Because I know you.” A rare warmth filled her eyes. She reached for Lansius’ cup from the table as she advanced, drawing a small metallic flask from her pocket. “Mead,” she announced.

“Gratitude,” Lansius said.

“Do you need a bucket?”

“No, no, I’m fine, really.”

Exhaling, Audrey offered him the cup of mead.

Lansius took a sip, appreciating the sweet taste of honey.

“Get some rest. You’ve done plenty today,” she suggested, starting to unfasten his outer garment due to the heat.

He chuckled. “Will you let me off from full armor training tonight? The heat is unbearable,” Lansius pleaded.

Audrey clicked her tongue, refraining from voicing a response.

Lansius exhaled again, this time with more gravity in his tone. “We only have twelve days left. I must finalize my plan.”

“One step at a time, Lans. Just tell me who you need to summon to carry out your orders. You’re a Lord, act like one.”

Lansius nodded at her words. He contemplated summoning Batu, Sir Justin, and Sir Callahan, but they were likely dealing with their own issues. “Summon Calub and the guests. Also, ask Cecile for some cool water from the castle’s cellar.”

Audrey smiled. “We could certainly use that. Summer here is no joke.”

Lansius nodded as Audrey exited.

Korelia’s summer was quite harsh. The castle’s defensive design, with its minimal windows, only heightened the discomfort.

The ache in his arms brought to mind the training from the previous day. All his muscles were still sore.

They had received their sets of full armor around the same time that Felis arrived in Korelia. It turned out the merchant group that Felis had journeyed was one of Korelia’s suppliers.

The armor was also the reason why Audrey was in a relatively good mood.

To think she’s happy with armor of all things...

Lansius’ stint in Midlandia last year had taught him that ordering a complete set of plate armor, aside from costing a fortune, also could take up to a year. In order to navigate around this issue—since he needed armor for his men—Lansius opted for a radical half-armor design.

This style was not only cheaper but could also be sourced from old, incomplete designs or refurbished sets with minor adjustments. As a result, he had sufficient funds to acquire forty sets of plate armor for his best fighters.

Combined with the weapons, crossbow parts, and additional supplies, this expenditure consumed a significant portion of the money he had won from Robert the previous year, including the ransom Robert’s knights had paid. But Lansius believed it was a wise investment.

The half armor, protecting mainly the front side of the body, comprised of a breastplate, gorget, pauldron, and some hip protection. It didn’t offer all-around protection, but he needed quantity.

Though lacking in a few parts, they provide ample protection for vital areas. Ringmail and padded jacks would cover the rest.

For Lansius, Lord Bengrieve had commissioned his armorer to modify one of the unused collections that had a similar body size to him. While for Audrey, he commissioned a totally new piece.

Although Bengrieve called them unused, the style was avant-garde, the latest the Imperium could offer. This was high-tier plate armor.

Ever since the armor arrived two weeks ago and fitted for them, Audrey had subjected Lansius to rigorous training almost every day.

Whether in the midday summer heat, inside or outside the castle, mounted or on foot, Lansius was forced to master it all. Along with the other armor recipients, he weathered blow after blow from mock combat.

Occasionally, he felt as if she was simply venting her frustration on him. Now he understood how Sterling, Roger, and Carla must have felt.

So much dread...

His two-week-old suit of armor, stored at the castle’s armory, was marred by dents and scratches all over its metallic surface. The visor joints even needed repairing once, as Audrey had bashed it too many and too hard.

Every time Lansius protested after she had knocked him too hard, she would insist that his late start required crash courses for his survival on the battlefield.

Because of one of the impacts, Lansius had developed a persistent ringing in his ears.

Nevertheless, deep inside, he was grateful. He knew she wanted him to survive, but her method was close to madness.

As Lansius massaged his sore body, the upcoming battle weighed heavily on his mind. Instead of resting in bed, he rose and walked to his desk, drawing out his wooden blocks and attempting to arrange them on the chart he had prepared.

Six wooden blocks, three additional blocks inked with an ‘X’ to indicate cavalry, and four half-blocks representing his significantly smaller force. This consisted of the men-at-arms, the militia, the cavalry, and Batu’s tribesmen.

The idea of raiding their supplies was out of the question. Lowlandian armies, due to their geography, constantly placed their supply trains in the heart of their formations.

They wouldn’t make such a beginner mistake to separate their supply convoy to be raided easily. Worse still, Batu had personally informed him that the enemy likely had three-hundred cavalry at their disposal.

Even with their combined forces, Lansius and Batu’s cavalry wouldn’t be able to compete. The Three Hills, while possessing a large yet relatively weak group of levied troops, also boasted their elite Black Knights cavalry.

These knights posed a serious threat, even to the formidable Lion of Lowlandia at the height of his power.

How could I possibly win this?

 

***