'Let's the hope the plan works.' Count Gregor thought to himself before making a short prayer towards Garthian.
'Oh our mighty god, lend us your strength in exchange for our never ending devotion towards your glorious name!' Unbeknownst to the count, the enemy army they're all about to face now, also worships the same god.
After the prayer was done, atop on his horse did Count Gregor finally gaze at his own army that stood around him.
14,000 strong army arranged in a line formation while facing towards the other side of the river where the enemy army stood, the only thing connecting the two separate river banks is the Welking bridge.
Currently, count Gregor has 7,000 of his levy spearmen placed at the center of his army, 1,000 men wide and 7 columns deep, it is led by baron Patrick.
In addition, the count had his another 4,000 levy spearmen and 500 light cavalry men at the left flank of his army, with the cavalry right at the very front and the levies behind them, it is then led by baron Ian.
And lastly, the remaining 1,000 levy spearmen, 500 light cavalry, and the 1,000 retinues composing of heavy infantry and mounted knights, were all placed at the right flank of his army, with the cavalry also placed at the very front while the infanty stood behind them, now led by the very count himself.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the river, the 58,000 rebel army which were all mercenaries at the first place, were all arranged in a line formation just like the count's army at the opposite side of the river, the only difference being their overwhelming size and the experiences and skills each soldier in the mercenary army has.
In the center of their army were a large mass of heavy infantrymen numbering about a tens of thousands strong, along with thousands of light cavalry at the very front.
At their right flank were another large mass of heavy infantry men, also numbering in the tens of thousands, but now with the addition of thousands of ranged units consisting of crossbowmen and bowmen.
And lastly at their left flank, just like the other two groups, it had a large mass of heavy infantry on it, but with the addition of a thousand heavy cavalrymen at the very front, and light infantry also numbering in the tens of thousands at the very back.
After surveying both of the armies, count Gregor suddenly saw a small group of horsmen from the enemy army make their way towards the bridge.
And they seem to be raising a... white flag?
'Do they intend to meet with me?' Count Gregor asked himself before urging his mount forward.
"10 horsemen on me!" he quickly ordered before galloping off towards the bridge, he was then followed by the 10 horsemen who immediately went after him.
After riding in front of the army for everyone to see, the count and his companions then began to make their way towards the bridge.
After a few minutes of galloping, the few dozen meters wide bridge was finally in front of Count Gregor, in addition with the group of mounted horsemen from the enemy army waiting for them on the middle of the bridge.
Taking one last deep breath, the count and his companions then finally proceeds to cross the bridge.
As they advance towards the group of rebel mounted horsemen before them, count Gregor can now make out the appearances of the rebels in front of them.
Though all of them has the same heavy sets of armor and weapons, one of them particularly stood out from the rest of them.
Since he had no helmet on, count Gregor could make out his appearance, it was a young adult, his age seemingly at the mid 20s, he had an average face, with a nose not too long nor too short, a pair of small round eyes and thin eye brows.
At the front of his breastplate lied the sigil of the Rabian king's half brother, a black crown at the center of a plain green field.
"So you're count Gregor?" the young man on the enemies side suddenly asked.
The count meanwhile stared at the man for a while before eventually responding to his question.
"That's me, and who are you?" The count responded before also asking the question on his mind.
"I'm Tyler, son of Tyros, and I would be commanding this great army that you now see on this other side of the river." the young man now known as Tyler smugly introduced himself while pointing his finger towards the sea of soldiers behind him that seems to stretch for kilometers.
Count Gregor immediately spat on the ground before replying to Tyler with disdain on his eyes.
"A cutthroat, son of another cutthroat, do tell me why do you want to meet with me?" The moment Tyler heard this words, his eyes immediately flinched as he stared towards count Gregor with a new sense of bitterness.
"Let's see how this cutthroat could destroy all of you easily, your so-called noble bloodline doesn't worth shit to us if you're all dead." Tyler quickly rebuked, his hands now on the hilt of his sword.
Count Gregor however remained unflinched and calm as he stared towards the fuming young man before him.
"Cut to the chase lowborn, I want to know the exact reason why you're meeting with me right now, I don't want to hear those funny threats that even a simple child could say." Count Gregor responded, a smug smile also plastered on his face.
After hearing his words, Tyler lowered his head down, went quiet for an entire minute, before raising his head once again and responding to count Gregor's remarks, his face now cold and expressionless.
"I wanted to give you and your piece of shit army a chance to live by switching sides to fight for us, but now... I think I changed my mind." Tyler stated, his eyes now glued to Gregor.
"And why would I fight under a lowborn and a cutthroat?" the moment Tyler heard Gregor's remarks, he suddenly exploded in anger as he quickly unsheathed his sword before charging his horse towards Gregor.
"You bastard!" Tyler screamed, his previously smug expression from earlier was now instead replaced by an expression of anger.
Count Gregor quickly unsheathed his sword to defend himself while the 10 horsemen he brought moved their horses forward as they quickly place themselves in front of count Gregor, ready to protect and die for their liege's safety.
But luckily, an armored horseman besides Tyler immediately pulled the reins of Tyler's horse back, preventing him from crashing into the enemies in front of them.
"It's not worth it, boss!" the horseman responded as he pulled Tyler back, more horsemen quickly joined in as they proceeded to form a circle around Tyler while the other tried their best to control him down.
"My lord, it's not worth it!"
"Boss, it's too dangerous!"
"Let us handle this!"
As Tyler heard the words of his companions beside him, a small part of him realized what he was doing, plus the threat of dying in the hands of Gregor's horsemen while trying to force himself into killing count Gregor, he had succesfully managed to control himself.
But the anger was still there...
"I see, let's go back to the main army and send heralds to immediately order the entire army to charge!" Tyler said to one of the horsemen besides him as they now turned their backs towards Gregor and now proceeds to make their way back towards their own army.
Count Gregor meanwhile stared and listened to the bickerings of the retreating group, finally realizing he had unexpectedly made a move that he can use to his own advantage.
He has succesfully provoked the enemy commander to rashly send their entire army to charge down the river towards them.
And in Tyler's current state, it is unlikely he would listen to any further advices from his lieutenants.
"Send word to prepare the army into battle, the plan is finally in motion." Count Gregor said to one of the horsemen as they too also began to make their way back towards the army.
'It seems the original plan could go smoothly than we expected.' Count Gregor thought to himself as he took one last look at the enemy army standing on the opposite side of the river.
Tyler meanwhile is already fuming in anger as he stubbornly ignored the advices suggested to him by his aides and lieutenants.
"Boss, this is too rash and risky-" one of the aides tried to persuade Tyler, but Tyler suddenly cut him off by lashing out towards him.
"We outnumber them! can't you see that?!" Tyler yelled, pointing his finger towards count Gregor's army on the other side of the river.
"If your father hears of this!" one of his lieutenants tried to persuade Tyler once more.
But with a single swipe of his sword, the lieutenant immediately dropped to the ground below as his head was suddenly decapitated from his body.
"The order is clear! we charge!" Tyler screamed for everyone to hear him, while also holding a bloodied sword on his right hand.
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CHAPTER DONE!!