It is now over two hours into the battle. At this point, the pace of battle has actually slowed. A man can only fight in armor for so long before exhaustion begins to set in. The men in the front ranks have grown tired.
There's simply no more forward momentum for the two armies to use.
The voice of one of your companions tears you from your thoughts.
Elya gestures out at the fighting. "I… I didn't think it would take this long."
You chuckle grimly. "Certainly been goin' on longer than it did at the Atiming."
"Is that a good or bad thing?" Elya asks.
Velinor interjects, "I guess it depends on whether or not we lose."
You reply to Elya, "We'll see. Not much we can do now from back 'ere."
"So I've learned…" Elya mutters.
You turn your focus back to the battle.
Next
Your eyes survey the ongoing combat.
The cavalry skirmish to the left of your line continues, though exhaustion has set in amidst the heavily armored knights. It proceeds in a brutal stalemate. A similar skirmish is happening just beyond your right flank. With the momentum of their charge long depleted, both sides are hacking away at each other in a slow, bloody melee.
Your archers successfully drove off Rade's own. They've fallen back several dozen yards, sparing your infantry from their wrath. However, your archers are starting to run out of arrows. They're also starting to tire out dramatically.
The act of using a longbow is exhausting work.
The bulge you noticed in the line earlier has become more pronounced.
The rebels push further into your center and the edges of the line begin to fold inward. It's slight, but noticeable.
They continue to swarm your line, overflowing at the edges of your flanks. Their sheer numbers are taking a toll on your soldiers, however hardened they may be.
From this phase of the battle, you estimate your losses to be roughly three hundred, and the rebel losses to be around five hundred. Additionally, your army remains in the fight. But its cohesion is rapidly dissipating. If you don't do something, defeat is nearly certain.
[71 / 100 Loyalist Cohesion Remaining. Should this reach 70, your line will collapse, and the battle will be lost.]
Looking out over the rebel line, it's clear that they're beginning to bleed and feel their losses.
[83 / 100 Rebel Cohesion Remaining. Should this reach 70, the enemy line will collapse, and the battle will be won.]
Two hours into the battle, you can tell that your army… is losing.
You could always retreat. Live to fight another day.
Or you could make a stand and try to reverse the course of the battle before it's too late.
Something big must be done.
Something before your men are overwhelmed.
And the war is lost.
You take a breath and consider your options.
Next
Retreat is a possibility.
But it would be dangerous. Your men are currently fully engaged with the enemy. It would be difficult to separate from the rebels without completely losing cohesion.
An orderly retreat would allow you to disengage with minimal losses. However, a disorganized rout would be disastrous.
Your men are growing increasingly exhausted. You know that this is your last opportunity to issue a retreat. Stay or flee, the choice rests on you.
If possible, you could stick it out for an hour or two longer, exhausting both armies and dragging the fight to a draw. In such an event, you wouldn't need to retreat and risk a rout.
But should your exhausted army break before Rade's… the results would be catastrophic.
There is yet another option. You could try something bold. You might be able to reverse the course of the battle with a single, decisive stroke.
It's do or die now.