Riz and his army departed 2 days after Richard. Charlotte who has fully healed from her injuries follows Riz as his second in command.
He departs quietly from Bideford, not wanting to attract attention. Many people think that he is in the castle ruling as an interim lord while the 3000 soldiers that depart later are just reinforcements.
No one would think that Bideford will fight two fronts at the same time.
Riz's army is smaller than Richard's, only 3000 which consists of 250 cavalry, 1500 infantry, 1000 archers, 50 artillerists and 200 people in the supply team.
He only brought one trebuchet with him since both of his targets didn't have a city wall.
Riz's targets are Westley City and Coreton Town which is located northwest of Bideford.
The total population of Westley City is 7000 people. Westley City is without a doubt the first hurdle he needs to overcome.
In three days of marching on the existing trade road, he is thinking about ways to defeat his opponent. His way to Westley was smooth since he didn't have to take a detour like his father.
Once arrived, Riz ordered his army to set up the camp southeast of Westley, near the small river.
It was already evening when he arrived so he decided to let his army take a rest tonight.
His unexpected arrival alerted the force in the city.
....
"An army you say??!!", Thomas Gyalcakes stupefied. He is the youngest son of the count. He was sent here as a part of his training as a noble.
"Yes, young master. They are probably the Bideford force.", guess his servant.
"Impossible! shouldn't the Bideford for is at Mabadszent by now?". Thomas tries to deny.
It is illogical for the Bideford army to appear here. The spy in Bideford clearly tells that Richard is heading southwest.
"They are probably fighting two fronts, young master."
"Hahaha, confident aren't they?. Try to bite more than they could chew. So who is their commander?", sneered Thomas. He really can't comprehend what Bideford is trying to achieve. The risk is too high.
"The youngest son, Rizieri Ryntum. They have around 3000 people", informed his servant.
"So it's him huh? The bastard who caused my sister to die", his eyes glinting maliciously.
"Gather the able man as much as possible. We are going to crush them," he ordered his servant.
He plans to get his revenge by killing Riz who causes the Gyalcake's reputation to fall apart. His fiancee breaks their engagement because he is Gyalcakes.
That night was a sleepless night for Westley as they are busy recruiting soldiers for war.
....
Early next morning, both armies are staring at each other. Riz divided his 1500 infantry into three divisions with 500 each. He put the 1000 archers behind the left and middle divisions while 250 cavalry were behind the right division.
The Westley force under Thomas Gyalcakes was composed solely of infantry of 4000 people and 1000 archers. He divided his army into four divisions with 1000 soldiers each to counter Riz's army.
"Hahaha", Thomas laughed. His troops outnumber Riz's army by 1000 people. "I hope he didn't surrender so easily."
Feeling confident, Thomas ordered the army to advance to use his numerical advantages to force Riz to stretch his infantry line thin. He plans to punch through any gap he could see.
"What should we do, young master?!", Charlotte panicked. "Their troop outnumbered us"
Nevertheless, Riz remained calm as the enemy approached them. He turns his face and speaks to Charlotte, "relax, although their troops are more than us, most of them are just people that were required this morning. Numbers are not everything, we came here not to kill them but to destroy Gyalcakes"
"As long as we destroy Gyalcakes...", Riz muttered.
As the enemy approached, Riz ordered the archer to shoot the arrow killing a large number of people. Unlike Riz's army, most of the enemy infantry don't have a shield to protect themselves.
The enemy still marches forward despite losing a lot of their fellow soldiers.
*Clang* *Clang* *Clang*
The sound of swords clashing filled the entire plain. Riz waited until the enemy infantry was completely deployed and engaged with his army.
Once there is some distance between enemy infantry and their command centre, he then orders the cavalry on the right to do envelopment attack at a high speed.
Envelopment is an offensive manoeuvre that was targeted to destroy a specific force in the enemy's rear.
Their aim was to massacre everyone in the command centre.
"Isn't it a bit dangerous? If the enemy makes a counterattack, the cavalry might be cut off and isolated", Charlotte gives her opinion.
"You are not wrong, it is a very risky move but this is the fastest way to end this war. My target has never been these people. It's Thomas and his retinue", explains Riz.
"But our cavalry..."
"Charlotte, they are there to be used. I will use anything at my disposal to get whatever I want"
....
"Young master, there are forces approaching us", alert the servant.
"Hurry up and ask the soldiers to protect this place", Thomas urged. He never thought that Riz would risk his precious cavalry to attack this place.
The cavalry that came plunged through the unprepared defence line.
The massacre began.
The cavalry starts to kill left and right without any hesitation or sympathy. Most of the cavalry are knights that serve Ryntum. They are not a bunch of ragtag commoners like those in the infantry.
Scream and chaos fill the command centre. Most of the people there are Gyalcakes loyalists. Riz wants to kill them as they will probably hinder Ryntum governance in the future.
If all the Gyalcakes were killed then there is no problem but in case some of them escape, these people can stab Ryntum in the back.
It is better to clean them up now. Leave no trouble behind.
"Wait!! young mast—", the sword slashes the servant to death. Thomas has been using his servants as a shield.
"S*hit. I need to get out of here", he runs toward the horse to escape but the knight comes from the back and stabs him with the sword.
He coughs a mouthful of blood. The knight pins him down as he struggles like a wriggling worm.
"Make sure to cut off his head. The young master wants his head", the knight's word entered his ears.
....
The Westley force starts to lose their momentum. The Ryntum knight is holding up Thomas's head.
"Your leader has died. Surrender and there shall be no more death", shouted Riz.
Hearing that, the Westley army dropped their weapon. Riz asks the knight to clean up the battlefield and bury the dead.
At the same time, he also sent a letter to Baron Coreton ordering him to surrender.
"Who are you writing a letter to?", asks Charlotte. She entered Riz's tent to report the number of casualties.
"Baron Coreton. I'm giving him two choices, surrender or die. If the baron was a bright person, he would choose to surrender". Riz has no problem marching the army to Coreton right away.
"Ohhh, it still takes a lot of time to move all the soldiers to Coreton right away. Count Gyalcakes might send reinforcement to them", Charlotte gives her opinion.
"Not all, 1000 soldiers are enough to capture Coreton. Just like Westley, they don't have a wall and their population is only 1800 people. If I were him, it is a lot better to reinforce Tegrot instead", Riz explained. "So, how many casualties do we suffer?"
"500 to 600 died, around 1000 were injured. When are we going to move?", she asks again.
"Hmm....we will stay here for three to four days to recuperate. I also have to wait for Baron Coreton's reply", he said.
"Young master, I already put Thomas's head in the chest you give me", reports Charlotte. "Do you want me to send it to Tegrot?"
"Not yet. Wait until my father successfully captures Rafoldrod first".
"Alright, young master", Charlotte slightly bowed and left the tent.