The day was 24th March 303 Paign Era. On the same day that Blande began their bombardment on the city wall of Tetherswest, Barlia's Second Corps, led by General Victor Shena, finally caught sight of their target.
Vofors City, the capital of Vofors Republica was like any other city. Wall surrounded the city with thick towers looming at regular intervals. Garrisons at the top, manning the fortification.
Bang—
Before the Barlians could do or say anything, they were shot by the garrison on the city wall.
The loud bang of the arquebus echoed through the air, causing some of the Barlian soldiers to jump in surprise. The shot was nowhere near being accurate but the sound it produce was heard by everyone inside and outside the city.
While panic erupted within the city wall, Barlians wasn't perturbed in the slightest.
Victor and the garrison man locked eyes and stare and each other for a couple of minutes before his eyes move to the side. There's a man who wears a dark-coloured suit with a waistcoat, shirt, and cravat. Compare to the garrison man, his attire is more formal and sophisticated.
'This man must be Metternich Henderson...' said Victor to himself.
No words need to be spoken between them to explain for such action to be taken. It was clearly a warning shot, telling the invaders to back off from the city.
Since Barlians have been travelling for days, most of them are weary and exhausted. They need some rest and recuperation anyway. As such, Victor nod understandably and complied.
He ordered his army to begin building a camp further from the city. To avoid any night charge, the camp was built at the highest elevation they could find. As the soldiers got to work, Victor couldn't help but feel a twinge of impatience. After all, Sarika who was younger than him by a few years managed to capture two cities in less than a week. On the contrary, he took a staggering four days to move.
....
Sun shines brightly the next day, bathing the camp in a cosy golden warmth. Victor wakes up early and quickly gets dressed in his full suit of armour made of metal plates. His armour was adorned with intricate engravings and emblem of his family. Grabbing his helmet with a decorative plume, he walks out of his massive tent to check on his soldiers.
Before long, the Barlia's army begins to move toward the city but their advancement were blocked by the approaching Vofors who want to take this battle far from the city.
Riding atop his horse, Victor sees Vofors army standing shoulder to shoulder in a straight line and in rank with their arquebuses and cannons ready to fire at any moment. Cannons were positioned in key locations and manned by expert gunners who had received training from Ryntum.
His eyes darted around, Metternich wasn't in the vicinity as he expected. Instead, an unknown commander is in charge of the whole Vofors army.
Vofors soldiers stood in tense silence, with the frontline holding shields tightly to protect themselves and their fellow comrades.
A daunting fifty thousand enemies outnumbered them five to one, causing a mix of emotions.
Victor laid his eyes on the 12-pounder cannons with curiosity. He had heard about it and was told to be careful as the weapon can inflict massive damage to the traditional army.
Thus, relying only on a frontal attack would be suicidal and they lacked the firepower to break through the defenders' line.
What's left is to make use of Barlia's numerical superiority and mobility which allow them to move faster than Vofors.
His strategist, Caelisun came over as he was pondering his options.
"General, I have an idea," He said. "We could flank the Vofors with our cavalry and assault them from behind. They won't be able to react fast to a flank attack since their cannons and arquebuses are positioned to face our main force."
After giving it some thought, Victor nodded. "It's risky, but it could work. We can't send all our ten thousand cavalry at once. To increase the cavalry's mobility, we'll separate them into two groups. The four thousand would be further broken into smaller groups with the main task of harassing the enemy and as a diversion. While the remaining six thousand will be our main attack force, caught them by surprise. The problem is how do we catch them off guard?"
Caelisun nodded, agreeing with Victor's approach. "General, I think we can hide them in the forest on our left. It belongs to the same forest that we pass by on our way here from Cerdeauxia."
"Hmm...It's a bit far but I guess we can somehow lure them in." Victor nodded in agreement with his strategist's plan. "Very well, let's do it."
After receiving approval from Victor, Caelisun galloped away to relay the general's order.
As the sun climbed higher in the sky, Barlia's thirty-five thousand infantry moved to the front followed by five thousand archers who will provide ranged support and disrupt enemy formations.
"Charge!!" Without further ado, General Victor Shena issued an order.
A mix of heavy and light infantry charge forward. The battlefield echoed with the sound of a thousand boots all striking the ground at once.
On the other side of the battlefield, Vofors soldiers readied for the impact. Their pike formations formed a wall of steel. Their arquebuses and cannons were positioned behind them, ready to fire. The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.
Two armies collided, producing a clashing sound, shouts and screams. Barlia's heavy infantry engaged in a brutal hand-to-hand fighting with the enemy's pikes while the light infantry darted in and out, killing off the arquebusiers as they were busy reloading.
Meanwhile, the cavalry on the right engaged in their own skirmishes. As the clash of swords and spears, and the cries of horses filled the air, Barlia's cavalry charged and countercharged in an effort to dislodge the gunners and take out Vofors's primary weapon.
BOOM!—
A deep and resonant sound of cannons firing rang out across the battlefield. Quickly and efficiently, Vofors' artillery crews load and fires the 12-pounder cannons with precision. Each shot killed infantry soldiers with a deadly shower of shrapnel and debris. Those who were unlucky were quickly decimated.
Despite the Barlians being briefed about the cannons beforehand, mayhem and confusion still occurred in their lines. Every time cannons were fired, a massive gap opened in their line.
As the battle raged on, Victor ordered the infantry to retreat in an organized manner.
Vofors soldiers, filled with confidence, began to advance. The thought of battle leaning on their side filled their minds. With their pikes lifted and their cannons positioned behind them, they advanced in a straight line.
Victor watched from a distance as the enemy soldiers moved closer to the forest on their right side, waiting for his chance to launch a flanking attack and turn the tide of the battle.
When Vofors is where he wants to be, he signalled for his cavalry to charge. "Cavalry, advance! Flank them!" He shouted.
The sounds of horses galloping reverberated. Vofors soldiers realized their mistake too late.
"What's happening? They're attacking us from the side!" one soldier yelled in alarm.
Panic set in as they had advanced too far to retreat. Barlia's cavalry charged forward with swords and spears flashing in the sunlight. They crashed into Vofors' right flank with the aim to take down Vofors' artillery crews by surprise and quickly overpower them.
The infantry, who had been retreating, now turned around and charged back into the fray. With Vofors's artillery unit in disarray, there's nothing to fear.
Vofors fought back valiantly, but they were now besieged on the front and back by Barlia's infantry and cavalry respectively.
Shortly thereafter, Victor transferred some infantry from the centre to both the left side and right sides. Slowly, the Vofors soldiers are getting completely encircled.
The number of deserters among the Vofors' rank begins to increase after sensing the inevitability of their defeat. Their formation became more disorganized, and their morale began to wane. More and more men started to flee the battlefield in an effort to escape with their lives, despite the superiors' best efforts to keep them in line.
"Keep fighting! We almost win!" Victor shouted, urging his troops to press on. It became clear to him that Vofors' army was on the verge of collapse.
Barlia's redoubled their efforts, pushing forward with renewed vigour and determination. Their lines began to crumble, and their soldiers were becoming more vulnerable to attack.
The battle raged on for several more hours, with Barlia emerging victorious at the end of the day. Vofors' army was completely routed and their soldiers scattered in all directions.
They run and leave behind their valuable weapons, cannons and arquebuses. Many of which were taken by Barlia's army.
These weapons would be a useful addition to their collection and offer them an edge in upcoming battles. Although they win the war, Vofors City remains unconquered.
New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)reeweb(n)ovel.com