The Day of the Final Battle
On the 10th day of the 10th month, just as the sun was about to rise, a loud, low, mournful sound of horns echoed throughout the Falik Plains. Wisps of white smoke rose from the sea of tents before they were blown away by the morning breeze and turned into a white fog that spread throughout the area. The camp was filled with the sounds of people shouting, cursing, clashing metal, neighing of horses, and all sorts of other noises mixed together to create a cacophony of noise.
The day of the final battle finally arrived. Duke Cobleit woke up early in the morning. In fact, he had only gotten a short nap the night before before he couldn't sleep anymore. That day's battle would determine the fate of the Trade Union, so he couldn't afford to underestimate it. However, he couldn't help but feel uneasy. Be it in terms of military strength or combat prowess, the Trade Union's forces had the absolute advantage. So, why would Duke Norton think of using a field battle to decide the outcome of the battle?
Based on all the intelligence and scouting reports, the Norton Family only had three legions. Coupled with the ten thousand plus knights that were transferred over from the Northlands, as well as the guard brigade and other miscellaneous units, the total number of soldiers they had was less than 150 thousand. As for the Free Union's few city defense legions and the Andinaq Kingdom's Whitelion Legion, Duke Cobleit wasn't worried at all. Everyone knew how strong they were and there was no need to worry about them.
House Norton was the true enemy of the Trade Union. But even though they had stayed in the camp for more than a month, the higher-ups of the Trade Union didn't know the Nortons like the back of their hands. At the very least, they were clear about their strengths and traits. In terms of long-range weapons, the Norton Family's forces had the advantage as they were proficient in using ballistas and catapults to crush the enemy's formations before using their cavalry to launch a lethal assault and use long-range weapons to crush the enemy's formations and achieve victory. That was how House Norton's Tigersoar defeated the Trade Union's 100 thousand men in the field battle at Kanbona Province.
Thinking about the ballistas and catapults of House Norton, Duke Cobleit really wanted to curse the new president of the Wessia Merchant Guild. The reason why the Six Great Merchant Associations were willing to support and establish a new Wessia Merchant Associations was because the Wessia Merchant Associations held many formulas and some top secret steel refining and forging techniques. It wasn't that the Twinhead Dragon Merchant Guild didn't want to take in the remaining survivors, but the other five merchant guilds didn't want to let him do as he wished. In the end, they compromised and formed a new Wessia Merchant Guild, but each of them held a 10% share in the new Wessia Merchant Guild, just like the Invincible Fleet in the past.
However, the newly formed Wessia Merchant Guild still disappointed everyone. They already had the basic ballistas and catapults, but they weren't able to produce the same kind of elastic steel. They had already spent more than 500 thousand gold Fordes on their experiments, but all of them ended up in failure. Even the steel ballista arms, which were somewhat similar to the ballista arms, were far inferior in terms of range, strength, and flexibility. Not even the wooden ballista could compare.
However, even though the ballistas of the Norton Family were powerful, they were still countered by the shield carts. The only problem was the catapults. The Norton Family was very good at using the combination of catapults and ballistas to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. The Trade Union had also thought of many ways to deal with that, but there were only two that were slightly more reliable. The first was the shield carts and the second was the catapults.
First, the shield carts were the brainchild of one of the craftsmen who made the shield carts. The shield carts were meant to defend against ballistas, so they had to be sturdy and sturdy. However, they couldn't do much against the boulders that came crashing down from the air. The sturdier the boulders, the faster they would crumble. Later on, the craftsmen were inspired by the flexibility of bamboo and changed the pillars used to hold the shields to form a circular frame of bamboo. Not only did that increase the defensive strength of the shield carts, it was also able to withstand the 50 to 60 kilograms of boulders hurled by the catapults. However, if the boulders weighed more than 50 kilograms, the shield carts wouldn't be able to withstand it.
With the shield carts, the Trade Union could use the shield carts to close in on the Norton Family's forces and launch a surprise attack. They would then use their high-end forces to destroy the Norton Family's forces and cause the formation to crumble. After that, they would be able to chase after the enemy and achieve victory. However, if they were to push the shield carts forward and be bombarded by the catapults, they would definitely suffer quite a lot of casualties. That was why the Trade Union prepared the catapults.
So far, the catapults were the ones that were closest to the catapults used by the Norton Family forces. They were also capable of hurling up to 60 kilograms of rocks up to 400 meters away. Even though the speed of the catapults was slower and they couldn't be moved easily due to the fact that they were fixed and couldn't be compared to the catapults used by the Norton Family forces, at the very least, they had a similar range. Duke Cobleit didn't expect the catapults to cause much damage to the Norton Family's forces, but he could at least use them to attract the Norton Family's catapults so that the Trade Union's forces could approach the enemy and engage them in close combat.
Back in the day, when both sides were a kilometer away from each other, they would shoot at each other with longbows around 300 meters away. After that, both sides would clash with their shields and spears. After that, they would either win or lose. That was much more straightforward. But now, the Norton Family's forces were completely different. If they didn't prepare for long-range attacks, they wouldn't even be able to approach them. They would just use their ballistas and catapults to knock the enemy down. It was the same if they took the initiative to attack. The catapults and ballistas would rain down on the enemy and the infantry would come to clean up the mess.
"Your Grace, please eat," said the attendant as he served the duke a sumptuous breakfast.
However, Cobleit didn't have much of an appetite. He put it down after a few bites. "Solerson, is there anything going on on the other side?"
Solerson had been Cobleit's personal attendant for nearly 20 years. He was loyal and diligent, so the duke trusted him a lot.
"No, Your Grace. Apart from the mound they built two days ago, everything else is normal. The scout squad leader guarding the door said that they're starting to make breakfast, "replied Solerson respectfully.
Two days ago, House Norton's forces at Bluwek had mobilized some men to build a mound around the city. Other than that, there hadn't been any other movement. The Union's higher-ups thought that the enemy was going to build a defensive line, but it didn't seem like it. They didn't understand why the Nortons would build a mound that was only three meters tall. During battle, a charge would be able to reach it in just a few strides. It wouldn't do much for defense. The most reasonable guess was that the mound was used to set up catapults and ballistas. After all, it was always better to have a higher range of attacks.
"I'll take this breakfast and give it to you," said Cobleit generously, "Oh, Solerson, what time is it now?"
"It's a quarter to seven, Your Grace," said Solerson as he cleaned up the leftovers.
"Make me a cup of tea. At seven, tell the soldier to blow the alarm. Today is the day of the final battle, so make sure you're ready. We have to get into formation before nine. "
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Oh, Solerson, is Grandmaster Magrut awake yet? What's the situation now? "asked Cobleit.
The windstorm swordsaint had only arrived at the camp three days ago with ten or so disciples. After meeting with Duke Cobleit and the other leaders of the Trade Union, he excused himself by saying that he was tired from the journey and wanted to find a quiet place to rest so he could face Duke Norton in the duel. But how could there be peace in such a large camp? In the end, Cobleit had no choice but to set up ten tents in a corner of the camp for the windstorm swordsaint to rest. He even sent a squad of guards to keep watch so that the soldiers in the camp wouldn't disturb them.
"Your Grace, Grandmaster Magrut's disciples are all awake. They're clamoring for us to bring them food and drink. But we didn't see the grandmaster, so we don't know if he's awake yet," said Solerson as he served a cup of tea to Cobleit.
Cobleit nodded. "Since his disciples are all awake, Grandmaster Magrut should be no exception. Tell the servants to be diligent and give them whatever they want. Grandmaster Magrut is the key to our victory today, so we can't be negligent. If anyone makes Master Magrute unhappy, I definitely won't let them off. "
"Yes, Your Grace. I'll definitely tell the servants to serve him well," said Solerson with his head lowered.
It wasn't until around 8: 30 that the anxious Duke Cobleit and the equally impatient leaders of the Trade Union finally saw Master Magrut's disciple, Count Bolyde. As the eldest disciple of the windstorm swordsaint, Count Bolyde had always been arrogant and didn't think much of the self-proclaimed nobles of the Trade Union. Of course, his title of count was conferred by the destroyed Kalia, so it was nothing more than an empty title now.
"Your Highness, I'm here to get my pass." Bolyde ignored the others and spoke only to Cobleit.
"Oh? What's the matter?" asked Cobleit with concern.
"It's like this. My teacher wants me to set a location for the duel with Duke Norton. That's why I'm here to get my pass."
"Huh? Grandmaster Magrut isn't going to duel with Duke Norton? He wants to set a different location? "asked Duke Chikdor in surprise.
Bolyde glanced at Duke Chikdor and said with a look of disdain, "Do you think our teacher is one of your own musclemen? Do you think he's the only one who wants to win the applause of the masses? Please understand that the duel between our teacher and Duke Norton is a duel between swordsaint. Even if you want to watch, you have to consider whether you have the right to do so. Do you really think a duel between two swordsaint is just two people slashing at each other with their swords? Don't spout nonsense if you don't understand. Our teacher issued the challenge and set a date, so the location is naturally up to Duke Norton to decide. I'm here to get my pass because I want to ask Duke Norton where the duel will take place. "
"But … But today is also the day we agreed to duel with House Norton." Duke Chikdor's embarrassment turned into anger.
"Since House Norton has agreed to duel with you today, then just go ahead and fight. House Norton is a noble house with a history of two to three hundred years. They will naturally follow the agreement and fight. This has nothing to do with Duke Norton accepting our teacher's challenge. You can go ahead and duel. Our teacher's duel with Duke Norton will continue as usual. It won't affect your duel. " Count Bolyde was also a little annoyed. Do these merchants want to see the duel between the swordsaint to make sure my teacher isn't slacking off?
"Hehe, Count Bolyde, you must be joking. Of course, we know that today is the day of the duel between the Union and House Norton. However, we didn't make a move because we didn't want to steal the show. The duel between Duke Norton and the windstorm swordsaint is the biggest event on Grindia. Compared to that, our duel is but a small matter. Duke Chikdor and I are waiting here because we don't want to affect Master Magrut. Solerson, take my token and accompany Count Bolyde, "said Cobleit as he stood up to help Duke Chikdor out of the situation.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Count Bolyde said stiffly and turned to leave. Solerson hurriedly chased after him.
"Alright, everyone, it seems that we don't have to worry about the duel between the Windstorm Swordsaint and Duke Norton anymore. Now, all of you can return to your merchant guilds and prepare for battle. As for the strategy for the final battle, we have already discussed it thoroughly. I hope that all of you will hold your positions and fight bravely. Singwa above, victory is ours! "Cobleit made the decision to send out his troops and made the final rallying call.
"Singwa is above! Victory, victory!" Everyone in the tent was cheering loudly in response.
The sound of the horn rolled across the Falik Plains like thunder. The Union's forces officially got into formation. House Norton's camp didn't back down either. Soon, the sound of drums could be heard and the gates of the camp were opened. Banners fluttered in the wind as squads of fully-armed soldiers wearing the same colored armor marched out of the camp and lined up along the walls of Bluwek to await the enemy.
Count Bolyde, who had just left the camp, was shocked by the sound of the horn behind him. He cursed loudly, but nobody heard him clearly. The two armies were about five kilometers apart. When Bolaide and Solerson were about a kilometer away from House Norton's formation, they were stopped by a few light cavalry soldiers. After they were asked what they were there for, they were checked and their weapons confiscated before they were brought to Lorist.
Earl Bolyde obediently dismounted from his horse to greet him. He followed the traditional aristocratic etiquette and explained his purpose for coming.
Lorist looked at the map and picked a few places, but he didn't think they were suitable. After all, it was a duel between swordsaint. Not just any random person could watch from the sidelines. The Windstorm Sage was right about that. In the end, Lorist decided on Lonely Mountain.
Small Lonely Mountain was the closest mountain peak to Bluwek, about a dozen kilometers away. As the name suggested, Lonely Mountain was a lonely peak. It wasn't steep nor dangerous. Even though it was about a hundred meters tall, it lacked water, so it couldn't be used. A few years ago, the Union had set up a lookout post there to monitor the movements of the Andinaq noble army, but it was abandoned due to lack of water.
After confirming the location of the duel, Count Bolyde took Solerson back to report. Not long after, the sound of drums rang out from the camp of the Trade Union. The Storm Swordsaint and his dozen or so disciples were sent off by the leaders of the Trade Union. They got on their horses and galloped in the direction of the lonely mountain. As for House Norton's forces, Lorist only brought Reidy and Jinolio with him as he followed behind them on horseback.
Seeing Lorist leave House Norton's formation, Duke Cobleit breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the murderous Norton's formation, he waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Sound the horn. We'll attack according to plan!"
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