Kingdom Of Styria - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Grayson Caesar, ruler of the Duchy of Caesar, is a man of character, known for his honesty and hard work.

He is the ally of the nobility in the south of the kingdom, and the most trusted vassal of the royal family, whose loyalty has remained unchanged since the founding of the kingdom. His loyalty, which has lasted for 500 years, is the treasure of the kingdom of Styria and its last hope in this time of war with the kingdom of Revra.

In the past, the Duke of Caesar was responsible for the defense of the Parthenos Kingdom in the south of the Kingdom of Styria.

Since the transformation of the Kingdom of Parthenos into a Republic and the signing of an alliance thirty years ago, the role of border defence has diminished, but even now, as a large noble family with one of the largest armies in the country, it has great influence.

The kingdom of Revra has taken control of the northern half of the kingdom of Styria in the past month, but it is the Duke of Caesar who is stopping them.

The army of Revra marching to the south of the kingdom is 15,000. In contrast, the Duke of Caesar’s army was 3,000. There was a clear difference in numbers, but the Revra army was unable to defeat the duke’s army, which used its geographical advantage to fight, and was forced to fight a hard battle.

“We’ve got the upper hand at the moment,……, but I’m sure we’ll be pushed around sooner or later if we stick with it. We need to do something to turn the tide of the battle.”

The leader of the Duke’s army, Garayle Caesar, calmly analyzed the battle situation and muttered.

Garayle, the son of Grayson Caesar, had come to the front line of the battlefield in his father’s place, leading the army.

Although young, in his early twenties, Garayle was a man of valour and courage, and a trusted successor to his father.

Garayle is on the south side of the Llanis River, which runs east to west, separating the north and south of the kingdom.

He has his army in front of the river and is staring down the army of Revra on the other side.

The duke’s army, led by Garayle, has clashed with Revra’s army three times, each time depleting his men.

They have been able to prevent the enemy from invading thanks to their geographical position and superiority, but Garayle knew that they were slowly being hunted down.

Garayle is staring at the north side of the river, where the Revra soldiers are massing, intent on overthrowing the Duke’s army and crossing to the other side. The Revra soldiers were equipped with large shields, as if they were wary of being attacked by archers.

The enemy has five times as many men as they have. A desperate power gap stands in front of Garayle’s eyes.

“But we can’t afford to be defeated by these…..filthy invaders. Surrender is not an option.”

“There’s movement in the enemy army!　They’re advancing towards us!”

“Just in case, we’ll stick to the plan.”

Nodding back at his deputy’s report, Garayle draws his sword from his waist.

「「「「「 ooohhhh! 」」」」」

A battle cry came from the other side of the river and one by one the Revra soldiers entered the water and came towards them.

The river Llanis is a broad river. A bridge was built a little to the east of their location, but it has already been destroyed by the ducal forces.

This is the only place where the Revra soldiers can cross the river, which is a fort, which means that if they can defend this place, they can stop the Revra from entering the southern part of the kingdom.

The Revra soldiers kick up water as high as their knees and march towards the south side of the river.

“Archers, ready yourselves!”

Garayle shouts to his troops.

The duke’s soldiers, lined up along the river, held their bows diagonally upwards.

“…………”

There was a moment of silence, broken only by the sound of the Revra soldiers treading water.

When the enemy soldiers had come within a certain distance, Garayle shouted:

“Fireeeeeeeeeee!!!!”

The soldiers of the Duke’s army fire their bows and arrows in unison.

The arrows flew in a parabola and struck the Revra soldiers from above.

The Revra soldiers held their shields above their heads to block the rain of arrows, but some of the arrows failed to catch them, and some of the soldiers fell into the river.

“Don’t rest your hands! One sweep!”

On the commander’s orders, the soldiers shoot their arrows one after another.

If they hit the enemy with a large difference in numbers on the plain, they would not stand a chance. How many of the enemy can be reduced before crossing the river – that will be the difference between victory and defeat.

“Shit! Styria’s remnants!”

“You dogs have lost your master, and their fight is but hopeless!”

The Revra soldiers are swearing and approaching the south side of the river one step at a time.

Their speed of march is slowed by the water, but the difference in numbers is still great. It was only a matter of time before the enemy soldiers, who could not be stopped by a volley of arrows, reached the other side of the river.

“Spearmen, advance! Archers, continue to block the enemy’s approach!”

When the Revra soldiers had crossed a third of the river, Garayle gave them new orders.

At the commander’s order, a pikeman came forward with a long spear, about five metres long.

The pikeman held his pike head up to the river and built a wall to prevent the enemy from crossing.

“Don’t be afraid! If we can get into the enemy’s pocket, we will win!”

The weapons carried by the Revra soldiers, equipped with large shields to protect them from archers, are swords and short spears. In order to attack the enemy, they had to step into close quarters.

They were at a disadvantage, considering that their legs were caught in the river water, but Styrian were still outnumbered. They tried to break through the enemy’s spears by sheer force of numbers.

“Wha!”

But then something unexpected happened to Revra side.

They were caught by something protruding from the bottom of the river, and fell over.

“The enemy has stopped moving! Kill them!”

“Ooooo!”

A few meters from the south bank of the river, the Revra soldiers stopped moving, and the soldiers of the Duke’s army launched spear points one after another.

“Aaaaahhhh!”

“Ku … what is this …!”

It was a wooden stake about 30 centimeters long that was blocking the advance of the Revra soldiers on the riverbed.

The duke’s troops had planted them in advance, and the Revra soldiers kicked and tripped over them.

A mere thirty centimetre stake. It was a small obstacle that only needed to be lifted and straddled, but hidden in the murky water, it acted as a formidable barrier.

The arrows and spears struck at the halted Revra soldiers, reducing their numbers one by one.

“Proud warrior of Styria! Shoot the enemy and stab the traitors! Let justice be done to the fools who betrayed our allies!”

「「「「「 ooohhhh! 」」」」」

The Duke’s army, encouraged by Garayle, attacked more vigorously and destroyed the Revra soldiers.

This is the fourth clash between Revra and the Duke’s army.

The damage was 2,000 soldiers on the Revra side. The duke’s army ended up with a difference of 150 soldiers. A huge win for the duke’s side.