"Well, your highness, we should be joining the battle now."
Caspar was itching to join the unrestrained combat occurring through the trench. Carsten sighs in desperation, knowing what the next step of the plan is.
"Seriously, your highness, I can not understand why you insisted on joining the battle in person in the first place."
"Our plan is to swiftly take advantage of our position and launch several offensives on close enemy-controlled areas and towns."
Lothar explains as he seriously studies the tide of battle occurring within his sights then continues.
"And to that effect, I need to be here when the battle ends to assess the location and feasibility for each attack."
An extremely excited Caspar jumps in as soon as Lothar finishes his explanation.
"More importantly, your highness, we should jump in now if we actually want to be part of the attack."
The battle had been going widely in favor of Urmacht. It was a surprise attack by a superior force in an unexpected location. The Borpiden forces had no chance to fight back before being consumed by confusion and fear. It would not be unfair to call this a slaughter instead of a battle.
Carsten frowns and glares at the peasant that has been leading his prince astray and into danger. While Lothar finding Caspar's childish expression funny as he thinks to himself, 'Who would believe that such a childlike and innocent excitement is used in war.' he then answers with a smile.
"I guess we should join in."
-----------------------------
The battle is quickly won. It was not a hard-fought battle as most expected. From the start, the odds were stacked heavily against the Borpiden army. That, with the fact that their Oskiuumen leader decided to take his own life when their loss was assured. Brought the men's morale into an all-time low, and they surrendered in mass, although some pockets of men decided to fight to the bitter end.
"It is an honor to see you again, your highness!"
Colonel Fritz and his forces were able to coordinate a charge into the trench while they were in anarchy, and had finally met up with his reinforcements.... and the man he sent to find them.
"You too, sergeant Hahn."
Caspar salutes the colonel in response as Lothar answers the colonel.
"Indeed, it is colonel, but although I want to stand here and talk, we need to move fast before the Oskiuum-Borpiden forces regroup and dig in."
"Yes, your highness."
Answers Fritz knowing that they have a golden opportunity to win this front if they act fast. Soon they start planning their numerous attacks on enemy-controlled towns and areas around them.
----------------
"Where am I?" A soft, hoarse voice speaks.
'That's right, the enemy attacked us from the rear.' The owner of the voice thinks to himself as he starts to look around him.
"Bazyli!"
The voice whispers as he crawls to a man lying face down beside him. Once he arrives next to him, he starts tapping and shaking him.
"Bazyli, wake up! We have to get out of here! Bazyli! BAZYLI!"
He uses what strength he has to turn the man over...
"No, no, NO!"
Bazyli was his close friend, he never had a sibling, but he knew that the friendship he had with Bazyli was closer than what most siblings had. They used to play in the village fields together when they were young, and swim in the river in the summer months. And when they were conscripted into the army, they swore to watch each other's back and safely make it back home.
And now, in front of him, his best friend lies in a pool of his own blood. His face broken and caved inward from the force of someone bashing him with a solid object. He could see his friend's pulped brain seeping from his torn skin and broken skull.
He attempts to get up and hold the body of his friend as he feels a sharp pain from his abdomen. He looks down to see a large stab wound going through his stomach as he suddenly remembers being stabbed by a bayonet then hit across the face with the butt of a rifle.
"NO! Lucyna, Regina!"
He calls his wife and daughter's names as it slowly dawns in him that these might be the final moments of his life. As he sits there, reminiscing about the happy times from before the war and thinking about the future that might have been if it had not been for this pointless war, a sudden uncontrollable rage washes over him.
'It's all those Urmcaht scums fault, They killed Bazyli! They killed me! They robbed our future from us! I want to kill them ALL!'
He looks around and finds his trusty rifle, he didn't even get to shoot it before he was stabbed. He grabs hold of it and uses it as a crutch to get up. He looks at the mutilated body of his friend one last time then slowly with the help of his gun walks out, looking for a like to take.
As he takes a couple of steps out of the corner he was in, he starts hearing sounds.
'It's not Borpiden' He thinks to himself, it does not sound Oskiuumen like their commander once spoke either. 'It has to be Asteric, only the people from the confederacy speak Asteric'
He peaks around the corner to see who is speaking Asteric. He sees a group of men surrounded by a contingent of guards pointing on a map.
'They have to be some Urmacht commanders planning something.' He keeps on watching in secret until he notices that all of the men are speaking to a better dressed brown-haired young man around his age, and when he speaks, they all listen.
He quickly determines that the brown-haired man is someone important, and so chose his target. He raises his rifle with his shaky hand and moves his powerless body around the corner and shoots.
BANG!
He watches as a black-haired man pulls the brown-haired one to the ground, then all he can hear is screaming. He smiles and thinks to himself, 'At least I got someone important before my death.' as the guards raise their own rifles and shower him in a rain of lead.