Right now, thousands of soldiers were gathering in the castle of Lyonassi. They were united under the coat of arms of the Lyonassi family. The 12,000 soldiers were all that the duchy of Lyonassi could muster. Dalhead knew that the serfs were useless against the barbarians in the north, so he decided to only bring 5,000 of his most elite serfs.
The remaining 7,000 soldiers were made up of knights, squires, rangers, and sergeants. Duke Dalhead's expression was serious. He looked at the soldiers gathering in the castle and said to the knights beside him, "This battle will determine whether Lyonassai can survive or not."
Grail Knight Eisen's armor and robe were damaged, but he didn't say much. "My Duke, no matter what, I will be with you. I will fight in the name of the Lady until I die."
Another general stood behind Dalhead. He was Count Leon, the Duke's deputy general.
Dalhead's son, Aldrede, was also there. This young man knew that his hometown was being invaded, so he rushed back to Lyonassai's castle.
"My Duke, the soldiers' morale is not high. They are in low spirits. Is it not wise for us to attack so rashly?" Count Leon looked at the map with a worried expression.
"The barbarians are eager to fight with us. There is no doubt about it. What do these northern barbarians know? They only know how to burn, kill, and pillage. They know nothing else. " Dalhead's voice was full of disdain. "Clearly, the barbarians have set up a formation on the Nanz Plains because it is a narrow plain full of mountains and forests. It is not good for the knights to fight there, so the barbarians chose that place to challenge us."
"Yes, that should be the reason." The Holy Grail Knight Eisen nodded. He still wanted to ask this question, but Dalhead was already confident. This Duke's leadership ability was not particularly outstanding among the Dukes, but he had experienced many battles, big and small.
He could tell what the barbarians were thinking at a glance. This was clearly an open challenge.
"Of course, fighting with the barbarians on the Nanz Plains will affect the knights' charge to a certain extent, but this is also a rare opportunity for us." Dalhead looked at the map.
On the map, the former glory and vast territory of the Duchy of Lyonassi had been shattered. Three black lines extended from the Claw Sea to Landry Island in the north, and then divided into two thick black lines, reaching the hinterland of the Duchy of Lyonassi.
The Duke knew that he couldn't just sit and wait. The barbarians had already turned the northern part of the duchy into ruins. If he continued to hide in the castle, it was only a matter of time before the barbarians attacked Lyonassai.
The barbarians wanted to fight with the Brittany, but the Brittany wanted to fight as well. If the barbarians scattered and wreaked havoc in the duchy, that was what Dalhead was most worried about. Now that the barbarians wanted to fight with him, Dalhead couldn't ask for more.
"Nanz, Nanz … I did plan to lead a team of pure knights to attack the barbarian army from the rear and wipe them out in one fell swoop. But now the storm is too strong. The pegasus knights can't fly, and the reinforcements from Ulles are still on the way." Dalhead said gloomily, "Obviously, this plan will fail in the end. We will still follow the original plan. After meeting with Ulles, we will fight with the barbarians in Nanz."
"Yes!" After Dalhead gave the order, no one else had any more opinions.
"Take that out!" The Duke of Lyonassai saw that the morale of the army was a little low. Dalhead was already prepared for this. He waved his hand, and a few family knights took out a large flag from the castle.
This was a long white military flag, as white as snow. The flag emitted a faint light, and a picture was engraved on it.
It was the figure of the founding Knight King, Arthur. He was standing on top of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. His whole body was covered in holy light, and the golden red tassels on the flag were fluttering in the sky. This flag was made from the hair of the Elven Princess, and it was a priceless treasure that had been passed down for thousands of years since the founding of the Brittany.
"That's … that's the flag given by the Lady!" The first knight who recognized the flag saw it and said in disbelief, "This flag must have fought with King Arthur!"
"I know, this is the flag of the first Knight of the Holy Grail, the first Duke of Lyonassai, Schiruff! His Excellency Schiruff fought with this flag for more than 200 years until he died on the banks of the Sannes River! "
"Oh my god! Oh my god! We actually have the chance to fight with this flag! "
"My Lady! I'm ready! "
Hot blood surged in the hearts of the knights. The low morale that had been hit for the past few days was once again stimulated by this flag. Many young ranger knights roared, and the steady knights of the kingdom were also excited.
Dalhead saw this and nodded with satisfaction. "Let's go!"
…
After two days of marching, the army of knights was close to the Nanz Plain. The kingdom's knight army led by Ulles joined the Duke of Lyonassai's army. There were less than 28,000 soldiers in total, and more than 5,000 of them were knights.
Ulles and Dalhead met and shook hands. The group then came to the tent to discuss the battle plan.
In the knight's tent, candles were lit, and the nobles of Dalhead and Lyonassai gathered. Ulles and the other Knights of the Holy Grail stood on the other side. They surrounded the big table in the tent and looked at the map on it.
"Tomorrow, we will fight with the barbarians on the Nanz Plain." Dalhead pointed his finger at the narrow area on the Nanz Plain. "Our plan is, first, a large group of knights will charge at the barbarian army and break their formation. Then, Sir Eisen will lead a group of knights on the left flank, and Ulles will be in charge of resisting the barbarians' counterattack on the right flank. Then, I will lead the middle army to advance and defeat the barbarians' main force in one fell swoop. We will chase these Chaos scum of the Skalins tribe into the sea and feed them to the fish!"
"A large number of knights from the beginning? Directly charge at the barbarian army? "Kalad raised a question." My Duke, isn't this too reckless? "
"Oh, Sir Kalad, obviously you can see the terrain of the Nanz Plain." Dalhead smiled disdainfully. "Do you think I can't see it? The barbarians want to have a decisive battle with us here because the knights can't use their full strength. They want to lure my knights into attacking their carefully prepared army in batches and then eliminate them gradually. I won't be so stupid as to fall into their trap. Tomorrow, Count Leon will lead the knight army and charge directly. We must crush the barbarian army in one fell swoop! "
Seeing this, Kalad remained silent. Perhaps he thought that Dalhead's plan made some sense.
Ulles nodded. "In that case, Sir Duke, your knights will charge at the barbarian army directly. I will lead the kingdom's knight army to respond to your action from the side. We will prioritize destroying the barbarian army in the middle because it is formed by the most elite warriors of the Skalins tribe. As long as we can force King Egil of the Skalins tribe to retreat, the vassal tribes will no longer listen to the command of the Skalins tribe!"
"We need to leave a reserve team." Ulles also had some opinions about Dalhead's bold plan. He said to Duke Lyonasser, "We can't just charge all our forces without a reserve team."
"My son, Alfred, will lead 200 knights and 800 squires. A total of 1,000 knights will be the reserve team." Dalhead nodded.
"No footmen?"
"Footmen are not useful in this war, Ulles. This is not the first time I have experienced a war with the barbarians in the north." Dalhead shook his head and said seriously, "Only knights can defeat the barbarians."
"…" Ulles pondered for a moment and nodded heavily.
Indeed, the barbarians in the north believed in chaos. Compared to the Brittany footmen, they had no problem fighting one against ten, let alone five. The footmen would be easily defeated by the brave barbarians. Only knights who had undergone strict military training could unite under the banner of the Lady and fight against the terrifying barbarians.
Thus, the plan for the decisive battle on the second day was finalized. Everyone took the time to rest.
Ulles and Dalhead walked out of the tent. Dalhead tidied up his plate armor and robe and said to Ulles, "Sir Ulles, this time I have troubled you to lead the army to support us. Lyonasser will always be grateful to you."
"This is the Lady's order. This is my duty. You don't have to thank me." Ulles shook his head. On the contrary, his face was full of determination. "I'm just worried that the strength of the barbarians may be beyond our estimation. The Lady told me in a dream that this invasion is unprecedentedly strong."
"… But do we have any other choice? We can only fight to the death. "Dalhead frowned. He followed Ulles' gaze and looked into the distance.
In the distance, it was pitch black. Tomorrow, the army would fight with the barbarians not far ahead. The barbarians had been waiting for them for a long time.
The night was like a black cloth, blocking all the sunlight. Ulles and Dalhead looked at the sky and remained silent.
White things began to fall from the sky. It landed on the knights' hair and armor.
It was snow. It had begun to snow!
"Have a good rest, Ulles." Dalhead patted Ulles' shoulder. The duke himself knew that tomorrow would be a fierce battle. "I'll go and rest first."
"Okay." The Grail Knight nodded silently. He stood alone in front of the tent and did not say anything.
The snow began to get heavier. Snow in April was unusual no matter how one looked at it. However, this was the influence of the Wind of Chaos. When the Wind of Chaos blew the earth, anything strange could happen in the mortal world.
"Kalad? Come out. I know you're there. " Ulles took off his cross helmet with a golden unicorn statue, revealing his resolute face.
On the top of the helmet, several candles were burning.
Kalad, Count of Garamente of Bastogne, who was wearing a red and blue robe and had a sword hanging at his waist, walked up from behind. He still had some worry on his face. "Ulles, I'm still a little worried. Sir Dalhead's plan is indeed detailed, but betting too many knights at the beginning is really a big gamble."
"How can there be no gambling in a war? There's never a hundred percent chance of winning a war. " Ulles' expression did not change. Ever since he became a Grail Knight, his emotions seemed to have been hidden. Most of the time, the Grail Knight wore a helmet. Only people who were close to him like Annala had the chance to see him without a helmet. "Putting a large number of knights at the beginning will force the barbarians to fight us head-on. This is exactly what we want. Kalad, the kingdom can't afford to delay, and neither can Lyonassai! Do you know how much food our 28,000 strong army eats in a day? Do you know how many refugees and villages in Lyonassai are waiting for our help? The defense of Colona is weak. The longer we fight outside, the more unpredictable the situation will be. "
"Indeed." Kalad had nothing else to say.
Both Ulles and Dalhead knew that Brittania was in urgent need of time to recuperate after the serf rebellion and the invasion of Chaos. Therefore, it was not surprising that Dalhead was eager to win the war. Only by completely crushing the main force of the barbarians in the war could he preserve some strength for his duchy and begin the long process of recovery and reconstruction.
Kalad had great admiration and respect for the Holy Grail Knight, who was his teacher, friend, brother, and father. Strictly speaking, he was his brother-in-law. The two of them had fought side by side many times. It was because of this that he dared to ask Ulles. Otherwise, in Britannia, the words of the Holy Grail Knight were the truth, and no one could question or blaspheme them.
"What a heavy snow." Ulles looked at the dark night sky. "Rest early, Kalad. Tomorrow, we will rush to the battlefield in the name of the ladies. There is no luck in this war."
"Yes!" Kalad bowed deeply and left in another direction.
Jules stroked his brown beard and stood in place, looking at the heavy snow in the sky.
"My Lady, please bestow upon us strength and courage to continue fighting. Your loyal believer, Yulles, hereby swears that we will fight in your name until the very last moment, until the end of time arrives."
…
The next day, the army of knights finally arrived at the Nanz Plain. At this time, the world was covered in white snow. The barbarian army had been waiting for a long time.
Tens of thousands of barbarian warriors and beasts were densely distributed on one side of the Nanz Plains. They were like a layer of pitch-black clouds, with no end in sight. The plains were emitting a pungent stench. The sound of horns and drums from the Skalinth Tribe could be heard for several kilometers without end. The pitch-black Chaos Octagonal Flag, the Eight Pillar Emblem War Flag, the flag of the Skalinth Tribe, and the war flags of countless smaller tribes were everywhere. Shrines of evil gods were everywhere, with skulls decorating the shrines. They were profaning the land of the Goddess.
Brittany's army of knights slowly entered the battlefield. The tips of their lances and the blades of their swords shone under the light of the snow. The gorgeous armor and neat formation were simply a beautiful giant landscape painting.
Ulles was proud of the Brittany knights. Under the guidance of the Goddess, no matter how strong the enemy was, the knights would not retreat.
"Woo woo …" The melodious and majestic sound of the horn sounded in the army of knights. The knights clustered under the war flag of the first Duke of Lyonassi, Schirruff, and the sound of the horn never stopped.
The barbarian army also blew the horn. Then, countless curses and the sound of axes hitting shields sounded.
"So, this is the beginning." Ulles's eyes were filled with determination and determination. The five Holy Grail Knights followed behind him.
"Prepare for battle! Knights, fight for the land of the Goddess! For the Lady! For Brittany!!! " Dalhydra held the reins of his horse and raised the lance in his hand. The Duke shouted, and his voice echoed on the battlefield.
"May the Lady grant us victory!"
"Advance!!!"
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