Across the green and slightly forestry lands of the western area of the kingdom of Rabia, an army totalling 14,000 men could be seen marching on a wide dirt road.
On the sides of the road, there laid multiple hills, along with groves of trees and small forests.
In addition, the 14,000 army is mostly comprised of 12,000 levy spearmen, 1,000 light cavalry, and lastly, 1,000 heavy men at arms retinues belonging from various lords and noblemen marching in this army.
At the head of the long column of soldiers, rode a small group of Rabian Noblemen on horseback, surrounded by hundreds of cavalry that serves as their bodyguard, and also the vanguard of their army at the same time.
One of the particular noblemen is a rough looking old man dressed in heavy plate armor, with various scars scattered across his face, not only that, he also has a sheathed long sword hanging from his waist.
In addition, the steed he's riding on is a large black horse coated in chainmail, but the most eyecatching thing about his horse is that it's missing her left ear.
As they rode through the dirt road, the way the nearby noblemen acts around him gives the impression that the old nobleman's rank is higher than them.
"Baron patrick, how's our supply train?" the old nobleman suddenly spoke, catching the attention of one of the noblemen around him.
"So far so good, there's no reports concerning such disturbances that may cause any delays for our supplies, my lord." the nobleman now known as baron Patrick, responded.
The old nobleman then nods his head before turning to face another nobleman besides him.
"Baron Ian, any news regarding the current whereabouts of the rebel army?" the old nobleman asked.
"Just like the reports from yesterday my lord, the mercenary army is currently splitted into five different armies, each of them besieging five different castles at the same time." the nobleman also now known as baron Ian, reported.
"Good." the old nobleman responded as he turned his head in front of him.
As they rode on the dirt road, the hills and forestry began to clear and lessen, while flat plains began to appear more frequently as each minute passes.
It was now that an hour had finally passed did the group of noblemen suddenly heard a galloping noise that is quickly heading towards them.
Turning his head towards the noise, the old nobleman saw a rider on horseback quickly speeding towards them, while also holding a small parchment of paper and waving it for everyone to see at the same time.
"Message for count Gregor!" the old nobleman heard the rider shout the message repeatedly before reaching the head of the column and was stopped by a small contingent of knights.
The rider then jump off from his horse before trying to push himself towards the crowd of cavalry retinues gathered before him.
"State your business." one of the retinues, a knight, said as he pushed the rider off away from him.
"I bring an urgent message for count Gregor! now let me in!" the rider said as he waved the parchment in front of the knight's face.
Before the knight could respond to the rider's statement, he suddenly heard a shout behind him.
"Let him in!" the knight turned himself towards the familiar voice and quickly saw the old nobleman from before.
"Understood Count Gregor, my apologies." the knight said to the old nobleman, also now revealed as count Gregor.
The knight then immediately opened up a gap in the crowd of retinues to let the rider pass through.
"Hand over the message." Count Gregor ordered as he extended his hands towards the rider.
The rider in turn dusted himself off before handing count Gregor the parchment containing the message.
Count Gregor then opened the parchment for himself before silently reading the message before him.
As he red the message before him, count Gregor's eyes immediately turned wide which did not go unnoticed by the nearby noblemen besides him.
"I knew it, it's really bad news." Baron Patrick muttered towards another baron at his side, the other baron in turn, nodded his head while fidgeting his fingers at the same time.
After Count Gregor was finished reading the message, he quickly crumpled the paper before putting it into his pocket.
Staring at the group of noblemen on horseback around him, he then opened his mouth up to speak.
"Send word to the entire army, tell them we change our course towards the Welking bridge near Jastow point." Count Gregor immediately ordered to the noblemen around him.
"Understood!" Baron Ian was the first to respond before immediately speeding up besides the column of soldiers and announcing to the men about count Gregor's new orders.
Baron Patrick however was curious as to why count Gregor gave the orders and immediately inquired about it.
"May I know the reason why you gave those orders my lord? Welking bridge is 40 kilometers away, while our destination, castle Soui is now only 12 kilometers away, why the waste of energy and time?" Baron Patrick asked, confusion visible on his face.
Count Gregor then turned his head towards Patrick, scratched his chin for a second, before responding to baron Patrick's question.
"Duke Fritsen's army has sallied out from castle Soui and had engaged the besieging mercenaries." Count Gregor then stopped, gritted his teeth for a while, before continuing.
"Unfortunately, their army was stopped and defeated, with Duke Fritsen and his last remaining tattered army on the run, currently they're being pursued by the mercenaries and are now on their way towards Mt. Ganya." Count Gregor explained, spitted on the ground below, before staring towards Baron Patrick in the eyes.
"I guess you have already figured it all out." Count Gregor stated, his eyes still glued towards baron Patrick.
Baron Patrick then nodded his head in affirmation before eventually responding to Count Gregor's words.
"The only thing that connects the lands where castle Soui is built and the lands where Mt. Ganya is located, is the Welking bridge, I see you're planning on intercepting the pursuing mercenary army and at the same time, save duke Fritsen." Baron Patrick explained, causing count Gregor to smirk.
"Now then, all men move out!" the moment count Gregor said those words, the army's march resumed, but this time they're now heading towards a different destination.
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Meanwhile, at some random forest in the easternmost region of the kingdom of Rabia, a small group of armed men could be seen running through the woods.
Based on the dents on their armors and the cuts and bruises on their skins, it is clear they just recently came from a fight or battle.
One of the armed men, is dressed up in a yellow tunic, a leather leggings, and a pair of leather boots, in addition, he has a large amount of blood stains on his clothing and some cuts in his arms and body.
Not only that, by the looks on his face, he is clearly on the verge of passing out due to exhaustion.
'Why did it have to come to this?' the man in the yellow tunic thought to himself as he wiped a sweat on his forehead while also running and dodging obstacles at the same time.
"Duke Fritsen, could we rest for a-" an armed knight spoke besides the man in the yellow tunic, but was suddenly cut off by him.
"No! we will continue running until we will lose them in their pursuit!" the man in the yellow tunic, also now known as duke Fritsen, yelled through ragged breathing and heavy panting.
Hearing this, the knight didn't respond to the duke's words and just kept running alongside him.
It was now that an entire half an hour had already passed did the group of armed men finally stopped in their tracks.
Hiding behind a cluster of trees, bushes, and vines, they immediately sat and lied on the ground below as they desperately tried to catch their breaths and regain their strength.
"Finally." One of the armed men said as he slumped down to a tree, afterwards he then proceeds to remove his bascinet on his head.
But before he could take it off, a bolt was suddenly lodged unto his chest, piercing into his plate armor and at his heart at the same time.
"Agh!" was the sound he was only able to make before blood immediately began to flow out from his chest and his mouth, before he finally went limp.
When everyone saw this, panic and fear immediately spread through them as they immediately began to stand up from their resting state and began unsheathing their blades and pointing it at every random directions before them.
"Who-" The knight from earlier tried to speak, but he was suddenly cut off as two bolts from two opposite directions hit his body, piercing the plate armor he's currently wearing.
And just like that, the armed men around Duke Fritsen began to drop one by one as endless amount of arrows and bolts flew from multiple random directions, causing confusion and fear at the same time.
"Curse Rushk's name!" Duke Fritsen yelled, his voice full of anger and despair.
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CHAPTER DONE!!