The sun shone on the veranda, Andrei slept so soundly that when he had drool all over his face. When he felt the warmth on his face he immediately woke up, and wiped his face with his shirt.
"What the hell have I been doing here?"
All he could remember was that he and Claire were went to the veranda, Claire took out a bottle of liquor and they started drinking together. "Ahhh my head hurts… and I can't remember anything, that damn, Claire just leaving me behind like this"
Just as he was about to get up he found out that there was actually a pillow from where he was lying on. "How thoughtful" he thought but still his headache made him rush to the toilet as soon as possible.
Andrei looked at the mirror after he finished washing his face.
"Today is the day," he said to himself and slapped his face to wake himself up more.
As Andrei prepared himself, everyone who was involved in the war immediately went to work, knights packed up and put their swords in their sheaths, and their armors were in varieties, because according to the plan, all of Rara's knights will be assigned to be under Michaela who will be leading all the close-combat and caster forces. Michaela's strength lies in her magic to produce ice and fire from nothing, there wasn't any other person than Michaela who is suited to lead the force that would face the enemy on the battlefield.
Everyone became busy, for the last preparations.
Geraldine as the new commander of the demolition team had them line up and pick up their equipment, they looked like turtles with the large backpacks they are carrying, because of this load, they also carried light melee with them, such as daggers and shortswords, what made them look the same was that they all wore brown and ragged clothing.
Claire had the gun carriers line up, they looked different from the others, they didn't have a single armor on them, instead of steel boots they wore leather, instead of helmets they had hats, they all wore the same color as the forest they trained on.
Andrei in his room dressed back to his previous clothing which was the camo jacket, and jeans, except that this time he also wore a utility belt which everyone on his battalion would wear to carry bullets and gunpowder for the flintlock guns.
"This plan better work… " Andrei felt nervous as he wore the leather gloves he requested to be made.
After an hour, the coalition force which was composed of the Ethareri Kingdom and the Crown-princess temporary Government finished all their preparations, it was the time for them to head out to war.
...
"Open the gates!" Michaela shouted, the men manning Ethareri's main gate immediately positioned themselves in the colossal beams that supported the gates and prevented it from being opened by battering, it was a large gate made of bronze, it was so large that it was so slow to open, they pushed the colossal beam together with all their strength.
While Kydus boasts of its strength in numbers and its ability to conquer other nations with its fighters, Ethareri boasts of its impregnable defense, in history, it was attacked by different countries who wanted to set foot on the fertile land, however, neither the gates or the walls have fallen from their attacks, they all ended up retreating.
Behind the gate that was slowly opening, was the coalition forces, as they brace themselves.
Michaela rode with 500 of his golden knights, 500 silver knights and 4000 average soldiers most of them are conscripts, behind them was Rara with her chief knights and Mr. and Ms. Savoy rode with 9000 Kydus knights that wore silver armor with blue accent.
Andrei and Geraldine didn't need to ride horses, they simply stood at the rear with the one thousand gun carrier's who managed to pass Andrei's tests throughout the preparation days and one thousand of the demolition team which dressed in either brown or ragged clothes, some of them rode horses as they will be assigned to make a supply line as suggested by Andrei, it was a concept that the other commanders didn't know, however when Andrei explained it's importance in battle, they were astounded.
As the gates slowly opened it gradually revealed an orange sky beyond it, indicating that the sun was about to set in hours. The commanders have already laid out their plan, and there were no words that needed to be said.
Andrei looked at Claire who was in front of him riding a white horse in her silver armor, it reminded him of waking up in the veranda with his memory of what happened that night gone. "Ahhh… this is frustrating can't remember anything."
Claire glanced at him from her shoulders but quickly turned around as if she didn't acknowledge his presence, and just like that she made a yawn and looked bored.
"Everyone is anxious, but yeah... Claire is Claire after all" Andrei thought as he made a sigh.
Erneis saw this and turned his horse to Andrei.
"Hey Andrei, what's with the long sigh" his horse got close to Andrei's face.
"Hey old man, don't- ahhhhh he's licking my face! He's licking my face!" It was too late, the horse already licked Andrei's face.
"Hahaha sorry, but oh it's rare, my horse hardly does this to anyone but me" the old man made a big smile, he then unsaddled from his horse, and patted Andrei on his shoulders. "Here, use it to wipe it," he handed a handkerchief to Andrei.
Andrei received it and wiped his face with it, but he noticed something different about the old man.
"Ohhhhh, you finally called me by first name basis! That's an awesome development Erneis!" Andrei was happy to be called informally by the old man who was years older than him. Moreover, it was his wish to be stopped calling "your highness" each and every time Erneis speaks.
"Well, we don't know what will happen there, so I thought I might grant your wish even though it goes against my pride as a knight," Erneis proudly declared as he puffed out his chest.
"Shut it, you're doing that right because of Michaela's far away, I'm gonna tell Claire-HEY CLAIRE"
But Claire didn't care and just played with the hair of his horse, making different hairstyles of it.
"Tch, that's not cute" Andrei squinted his eyes to her.
"Well, I'm already old anyway, if it happens it happens" the old man looked towards the gate that was almost fully open, "Plus, if something happens to me, you're already there for her highness."
Andrei noticed the meaning behind the old man's words, he realized that he was acting tough, so he thought of changing the topic in a positive direction.
"Nah, if something happens to you, no one would make the ice cream for little Shri anymore! You don't want that to happen do you? Can you imagine your grandson's face if he cries? No! I will make him cry!" Andrei felt that he was joking, but in reality, Andrei has made many children cry in the past, but Ann was there to pull him on the ear.
The old man was taken aback of his statement, he then made a wry smile to Andrei. "That would be… horrible right?"
"Yes yes, and I'm bad with children, you saw his expression right when he saw me? He immediately hid behind you" Andrei made an evil face.
"I see! I'll make sure to come back alive, I can't have you making him cry!" the old man made a fist and aimed it at Andrei.
"I'm just kidding!" Andrei distanced himself from the old man. "But I would like to see you again in your granddad outfit you know, hell you looked like a retired average old man in the street I almost didn't notice you!"
And they both laughed together.
Everyone who heard the light-hearted exchange giggled, but stopped after they felt the warmth of the sun on their face - the gate had been fully opened.
With this the queen put her sword into the air, the sword's color was gold, as the sun hit its tip, light rays traveled in all directions. Everyone behind the gates became emotional when they saw this, especially for Rara and her men who came from Kydus, finally, they have a chance to retake their home and save their suffering countrymen. For those who were from Ethareri, it was the best time opportunity for them to protect their homeland, without Kydus' princess support their numbers would have been very low to fight what Kydus has to offer.
As the queen lowered her sword and pointed it to the horizon, everyone at the same time prayed the same thing deep within their hearts, which was to come out victorious and alive.
"March forward! Destination! Kydus Empire!" Michaella's majestic voice echoed.
With this the war has begun.