Duke Hera's castle
Redwater stronghold
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Inside a chamber dimly lit by candle lights an averagely tall youth with a light moustache sat down at a table writing a letter on a thin papyrus paper slip.
[Good day father how's the.... the nobles of Greenfields have..... apparently His adopted brother Sean managed to convince the other nobles to flee after we spoke... unfortunately though the entire von Greifenberg treasury was looted clean before our spies... Only Aden's useless son is left with a few... I can guarantee you that he would break.... would surrender... would have repossessed the lands by the next few days...]
The young man went through it for errors before signing and sealing it with wax. After stuffing in a small pouch on a carrier pigeon's back he released the bird to fly out the window.
With a fluttering sound, the pigeon flew out of the castle's vicinity, southwards. Heading straight towards the ruins of Greystones, it quickly disappearing under the dim light of the setting sun.
After writing the letter the young man stood up with a stretch, yawning lazily as he walked towards his bed.
Lying down he heard sounds of activity from outside his window.
"Petro!" He called out loud with a yawn.
A guard walked in.
"What is going on there?"
"Young Master, the von Greifenberg's troops are approaching our border." The guard cleared his throat lightly before replying.
"The von Greifenbergs? Hehe, are they tired of living?" The young man asked derisively.
If this was just a couple of weeks ago the news that the von Greifenbergs were at their border, even without the presence of their troops is enough to send the entire Hera household into a panic.
But now with the loss of a large majority of their forces and with Aden's absence, the von Greifenbergs could be said to be akin to toothless tigers.
The Heras, well aware of the situation of the von Greifenbergs household from the spies they planted among the common folk no longer had a reason to be wary.
Since they aided Levi's 'brother' in the dark to agitate the other noble families enough to send them packing, they were clear on the exact amount of threat the von Greifenberg household now presented to them.
Which was apparently nonexistent in the eyes of the youth. Even the nude maid appeared completely unflustered upon hearing the news.
"Only that viscount, Sir Lancelot could prove to be slightly problematic." The youth muttered.
But hearing that the von Greifenbergs presented themselves to be slaughtered rather than hole up in their little town, elated the young master enough for him to forget about the maid kneeling on all fours in front of him.
He rightly expected that the von Greifenbergs would fortify their position, forcing him to expend even more resources and manpower to take them down, possibly losing a few men.
It was that reason he goaded Sean to trick the other nobles into fleeing leaving Greenfields in a more vulnerable state.
He wanted to avoid unnecessarily lose any men during the takeover, that was why even when Sean emptied the treasury and fled with the nobles he didn't stop him.
All he wanted was Greenfields handed to him on a silver platter without having to lose anything. It was also why he sent the eviction notice to Levi to scare him away.
In a best-case scenario, the little nobleman would be frightened off or would come crawling on his knees begging for mercy. Either way, he still planned on killing Levi and disposing of his body quietly before spreading the rumours that his brother had killed him.
That way even if Aden weren't dead and returned someday with his forces, he wouldn't come to the Hera's for revenge, and they could quietly swallow up Greenfields without worrying too much.
But it was out of his expectations that Sir Lancelot would allow Levi to send his men straight into his den. Although somewhat baffled, he didn't put much thought into it.
He wasn't the one to complain if things came easy, at least it was better if he fought them on his turf than where there could be traps hidden around every bend. Here he can mitigate his losses to a bare minimum and still have a good enough chance to get rid of Levi.
The youth turned away, without much thought, a smile blossomed on his face. He walked to a closet, pulling out a set of armour and a longsword.
"Let's go greet our guests. We Hera's can't be terrible hosts, can we now?. "
. . . . .
Grey Willows forest
The outskirts of Redwater Strongholds
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Under the cover of darkness, a team of forty horsemen rode through the forest in quick haste.
They were all clad in light leather armour and had their weapons, mostly bows and longsword strapped to their backs.
They rode until they came to a small clearing in the woods before stopping and pulling down the baskets on the sides of the first thirty horses. Inside were dried rations, goatskin bags filled with water, arrows and odd-looking bottles.
"Everyone, eat up quickly, The Hera's would be ready in about an hour." The leader, Lancelot said, taking out a meat jerky and wolfing it down.
Taking out their own portions ll the men ate in silence until they heard a shuffling in the bushes to their right.
They all sprung up pointing their weapons in the direction of the sound when a similar dressed man rode out. Seeing them the entire group relaxed slightly to continue eating their light meals.
"Is it done, Justin?" Lancelot asked sliding his claymore back in its scabbard, expression quickly turning stern.
"Yes my lord, three patrols saw us riding down and one returned to deliver the news about our impending arrival.
I have already disposed of the remaining two and I ensured the last patrol reached the stronghold in one piece." The brown-haired youth replied with responded with a nod.
The young brown-haired man went by the name Justin Sider. He was a petty thief and local playboy before Aden picked him up from the streets when he was just in his mid-teens.
He has been with Aden for a long time now and had long gained the Duke's trust with his unwavering loyalty, usually being entrusted with sensitive issues that couldn't be solved with sheer force.
His intelligence and cunning were what made Aden notice him in the beginning and groom him to become a young knight under his wing.
"Everything went exactly as planned my Lord, I believe it's time for the next stage?"
"Good, You are going to lead the others to the site and wait until we successfully divert Hera's men. Only until then do you act, understood."
"Yes sir," Justin replied mounting a horse and leading nine other horsemen silently into the darkness.
When Lancelot was certain they followed his instructions, he turned to the remaining men who sat stiffly around their campfire.
"Be at ease men. I know you are all worried about something going wrong, but I can assure you that everything is going to be fine if you all follow the young master's plans." Lancelot said he seeing the hesitant looks on the knight's faces and the confidence they all seemed to lack.
But despite Aden's reassurance one knights couldn't stop himself from saying.
"The young master doesn't even know the first thing about wielding a blade and all he did to help was give us a bunch of unrealistic plans, expecting us to fight other knights with just a couple of bottles."
Seeing the knight's doubtful expressions thicken Lancelot let out a sigh of exasperation as he remembered how hard it was to even get them to embark on this mission in the first place.
But he knew it wasn't their faults for thinking that way and clearly understood that the only reason why these men were even still standing here in the first place was because of their respect for Aden.
Without Aden's influence, none of these men would even consider the thought of fighting for a young man who could barely even hold a sword upright.
While Lancelot understood all the reasons why these men didn't want to fight for Levi he still couldn't show his consent but instead put on a reprimanding face when he replied to the knight's argument.
"We all know that the young master might not be the greatest swordsman among his peers. But the one thing all of you are forgetting here is that lady Luna's son, Levi is much more learned than even all of us combined, and if it comes to things like planning I'm not sure if anyone of you here can surpass him. " The young viscount exaggerated sharply causing the brows of a few knights to scrunch up a bit but he continued nonetheless.
"And while we all know he cannot stand amongst on the battlefield due to his lack of skills, Do not forget that the reason he has been bedridden for several days now was that he got injured taking a shot for me. Despite all the potential that b*stard Sean had he still decided to turn on his benefactors last remaining family for wealth."
"So I want you to ask yourselves, compared to the lowlife who exploited our trust for wealth, do you still think the young master has no qualifications to lead you to battle," Lancelot asked causing all the men's expressions to turn gloomy when they remembered Sean's misdeeds a few days ago.
Although Lancelot barely believed what he himself said he just did it to keep the men united and prevent them from losing their morale, apparently his plan worked when all their eyes grew steely in anticipation of the battle ahead.
"Also they are not bottles, Our young master called them Molotovs.
So remember that name, my brave men, as they would be our aces tonight. "
. . . .
At the foot of the duke's castle, a hundred men gathered together clad in full body armour and on horseback.
In the front, a fine steed was mounted by a man dressed in steel armour and wielding a long rapier as he sat waiting for someone.
"Young master, only one of the patrolmen returned. I want to believe the rest were either killed or captured. " A servant came up to the youth sitting on the brown stallion.
"Hmm, Forget it, our men outnumber their two to one. There is not much they can do now. Men let's go! " The youth said and under his order, all fully clad in heavy armour trotted their horses in the direction of Levi's knights.
Riding for thirty minutes they came to an empty clearing and the only sign left behind by the von Greifenbergs was a smouldering campfire and several footprints scattering in all directions.
"Young master do you think they are planning on attacking the castle now that we are away." One of the Knights asked faintly, joining the rest of the group to scan the surroundings.
"I doubt that. We have over a hundred men left there and the castle's fortifications are still manned. If they decide to go there they would just die quicker than they would out here." The youth replied confidently just before the group heard a faint whistling sound coming from the dark shrubs.
*SWOOSH!*
Under the quiet moonlit night, a faint whistle rang out followed by the dull sound of something falling. Turning back the knight saw one of the own lying dead on the floor, his horse neighing uncomfortably.
The entire group looked towards the fellow who fell and was shocked to see a slender wooden rod sticking out from his back, just behind his heart.
*SWOOSH*
*PANG*
Hearing that telltale sound again, the wary young master and his knights subconsciously raised their shields. An arrow originally flying towards the young master struck his shield piercing a few inches through it.
"Archers with longbows! On your toes men, it's an ambush!" The youth shouted hurriedly as all the knights raised their shields, entering a high state of alertness.
More arrows came from the darkness flying towards the knights with whistling sounds.
Longbows were considered the grandfather of arrow propelling weapons, second only to a ballista given their intense penetrating power.
Even back on earth, they were infamously known for piercing straight through big game like bison and buffalo leaving an almost see-through the hole in bodies of the great beasts.
Because of the strength required of the wood only special timber like Yew or ash is suitable for crafting these weapons and a skilful artisan was required to craft one, they were much less common compared to the normal bows.
But they were also among the most commonly+ available weapons that could threaten armoured units. If they happened to strike spots where the armour was thinnest or nonexistent it could lead to serious injury if not death.
Unable to pinpoint the exact source of the incoming projectiles, more arrows flew from the shadows constantly harassing the knights with injuries but they could only look on.
"How can they see us so well?" Another knight asked a crucial question, alerting the young master to a very important issue.
Looking around then young master noticed the still smouldering flames amidst his men. Although dim, he was almost certain that they were glaring silhouettes against the dying embers.
"Sinister! Men get out of the light."
Their outlines were back-lit by the smouldering flames! Realizing this he ordered his men to move from their positions.
His heart still beating at how stupidly disadvantaged they were just now he lamented Lancelot's presence.
"I knew he would be a pain in the neck." The youth muttered tallying their losses.
In a short minute, they had lost three men and about a dozen more were injured.
But still, he kept his cool, he still had over double Lancelot's men and was afraid of a frontal confrontation.
Despite that though, a stalemate quickly formed. While Lancelot's men couldn't pick off Hera's knights from a distance anymore, they didn't stupidly go charging at the more heavily armoured combatants.
When the youth saw they were not planning on coming out he tried to goad Lancelot into revealing his location.
"Lancelot you coward, I never knew you were so shameless as to hide in the dark. Why don't you come out to fight me, don't you think that's fair? "
Given Lancelot's experience saw right through such an obvious ploy. He knew that they couldn't find them in the dark and their patience was growing thin.
But either way, Lancelot played along with him since that was part of the plan.
"Gilbert didn't your father tell you to keep that glib tongue of yours to yourself? And what do you mean by fair, you brought a hundred men when I have just forty... Uhmp! Children these days are so presumptuous." Lancelot shouted back with a voice filled with scorn, quickly riding away.
Thinking his ploy succeeded Gilbert gave the order to chase while Lancelot and his men lead them farther and farther away herding them in a wild chase through the woods.
Constantly stopping to flank and harass Hera's men, Lancelot's men stoked the flames of anger in their opponent's hearts.
The battle dragged out for several more minutes before finally heading back towards Redwater. Unknowingly Gilbert and his men had been lead in a wide arc through the woods back towards their stronghold
On the way back a bright crimson light, like a rising sun, lit up the night sky from the direction of Duke Hera's castle. Seeing the bright glare illuminating the forest Lancelot's eyes grew steely, he knew it was time.
"Charge! " He shouted racing towards the stronghold with the remaining men uttering war cries, riding at full speed behind him.
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Meanwhile...
Back at the stronghold chaos reigned supreme.
A group of ten demonic horsemen wielding flaming swords and throwing fireballs rode unto the castle grounds, wreaking havoc of flames on whoever dared to raise a sword against them.
They struck fear in the hearts of the soldiers. Soon many abandoned their posts, screaming or just curled up in a corner praying to the seven gods with tears and snot running down their faces.
This night would be remembered as the battle when the Levi von Greifenberg, spawn of the Dark Griffin schemingly defeated over two hundred men with just forty-odd men.
The fall of Redwater marked the beginning of a new age in Udoris - The Age of Civilization.
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{END OF CHAPTER}
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Fun fact
About The Legendary English longbow:
From 200 metres, a longbow arrow penetrated over one inch of solid oak – more than sufficient power to penetrate the armour worn by soldiers. Plate armour gave more protection but could still be penetrated from 100 metres. The maximum range of a longbow was 400 metres but at this distance, it was far less effective.
But all this power came at a very steep cost. The skeletons of longbow archers were recognisably affected, with enlarged left arms and Osteophytes often on left wrists, left shoulders and right fingers. Goes to say with great power comes great responsibility.