Chapitre 15: The Skulking Raven
"No plans can hide from me,"
"No matter where they be,"
"In the grass, in the trees,"
"I will find every enlistee,"
"All will go down on my report,"
"Your countermeasures will always come up short,"
"So do not go looking for a haven,"
"For no one escapes the eyes of the raven.
Archtorius Shadowspire Imperial General of Chavaria.
…..
After fighting off the Chavarian forces, the orcish Otruaian and human Plurian army had a rest from further attacks as they continued plodding through the rain towards the battlefield. This is because they were not the only ones who were tired as the Chavarian army would also be just as tired as they were, and the casualties on their side while just less than double the ones that the allied army had taken the difference in numbers is still large enough for the losses to be considered minor.
In the absence of the attacks from Chavaria, a discussion was going on between the generals of both of the allied armies as they discussed the predicament that they were in.
"You said you don't believe the Chavarians sent all of their cavalry in the last two attacks."
Wurgoth asked Bardornus, who had fought with Chavaria for years and was much more experienced with dealing with them and was more familiar with Chavarian army compositions and tactics. Bardonus responded with a lecture on the basic history of Chavaria while also explaining the goals of the Chavarian army with their current skirmishing and hit-and-run-like tactics.
"That is correct, due to the geography of Chavaria, which is based around the centre of the Alenwyre River but also centred in the Alendel Steppe, has led to them not only having ample and fertile land from which to produce food and fodder. But the flat nature of the land that we live in has led to us being experts in horse riding and horse ranching, which is why our kingdom's cavalry is so dominant in this world."
"As a result of their great skill in horse riding, they form armies similar to how we in The Kingdom of Plurus do, which normally leads to them forming cavalry-based armies as we do."
"By now, and most likely before the Chavarians started to attack us, they already knew about our armies and their compositions, including the weaponry, armour and technology both armies utilise."
"Knowing that we only had 5,000 ranged cavalry and after looking at the armour of the orcs after arriving, they rightly assumed that there was a large technological gap between their Chavarian forces and yours, which is why they engaged your orcs first and left us alone."
"After you got angry and showed off the capabilities of your ranged weapons, you became an immediate target for the Chavarians who would not risk their horse archers against our veteran Plurian crossbows and horse archers and instead can use their superior bows and riding skills to pepper you with arrows while just staying out of the range of your orcish short bows."
"This is because their goal is to lower the numbers of our army, especially your army, who vastly outnumber their own in the infantry department, so they won't have to worry about their own infantry being crushed by your green tide."
"They even set up a trap leading to the deaths of half of your wolf riders, using the anger of your men to lead them into a trap against their knavish knights."
Bardornus explained, helping Wurgoth to understand more about Chavaria and explaining their primary objective, which was to lower the orcish armies' numbers, especially in their infantry, which the Chvarians see as an unknown variable that can majorly affect the outcome of the battle.
"So, how much of their cavalry do you think they have sent to skirmish with us?"
Wurgoth asked as he tried to think and find a way to bring about a major engagement with the Chavarian army so that the flat terrain would not give an advantage to their superior cavalry.
Bardornus thought for a second, his many years of experience in the army and of fighting the Chavarian army allowing him to come to a somewhat accurate conclusion.
"I would say about 50-60% of their cavalry was sent to skirmish with us."
"Only 50-60%!"
Wurgoth exclaimed in surprise at the number feeling a bead of sweat run down his face indistinguishable from the rain which also beat down on him and his army, knowing they needed to find shelter soon or his men would not only be exhausted but also sick, meaning that an attack from fresh mounted troops would be devastating to their armies. After calming himself down for a few seconds, he asked the main question that was troubling both men.
"So…. Do we set up camp before we get close to the battlefield or not."
Wurgoth asked, as they still had not set up a main camp or base for their army to keep their supplies or a place for them to stay.
"There are two choices."
Bardornus said in contemplation, his mind also trying to work out the tricky situation that they are in.
"We set up camp now and then have to deal with skirmishing tomorrow as we slowly make our way towards the main enemy force as, unfortunately, time is not on our side. We need to defeat this army quickly so we can reinforce the Kingdom of Nadrons capital and not lead to the destruction of their kingdom, which would put Chavaria on the path to uniting our 3 kingdoms and start to look further outward from there."
"Or we can march for another hour or so, get closer to the battlefield and the Chavarian camp, and may have to deal with a bigger raid on our forces as we set up camp, which will happen no matter what we do, not be skirmished tomorrow by their horse archers and arrive at the Chavarian camp battered and exhausted."
Bardornus said to the orcish general while stroking his short beard.
"What if we pretended to set up camp and instead set up traps for the enemy to fall into once we find a few hills, forests or other places to hide and then ambush and kill a good amount of the annoying Chavarian cavalry."
Wurgoth asked, his eyes glaring viciously at Bardornus as he started to get excited at the prospect of killing more of the annoying Chavarian cavalry who have such a significant advantage in the extensive flat plains of the Alendel Steppes.
Bardornus thought carefully about his following words before replying to the eager orcish general.
"That could work; however, we will need to make it believable, so my Plurian knights and some other cavalry will need to be in the camp to make it look convincing as if all our mounted troops or too many of our infantry are hidden away that slippery spider of Chavaria may notice something wrong and lead to him calling off the attack or trying to find our hidden units to destroy them."
"We will also be fighting against mostly fresh troops with exhausted ones, so we need to focus on trying to just see the enemy off instead of fighting a protracted battle, or they may overwhelm us as our troops will be sapped of their strength from previous fights as well as the long marching that they have had to do today."
Bardornus warned the orcish general while also getting his knights to be together in the camp where he could lead them into the fray or away from it depending on how well the ambush went, his goal was to keep as many Plurian troops as he could alive, especially the elite knights who are so few in number compared to when the Plurian army was at its peak.
Not long after their discussion, the two generals came across some long grass with 2 hills nearby to help them in their plan to ambush and began to set up their troops in preparation for their planned ambush.
Sheets of white cloth-covered weapons disguised as food and other supplies in the camp in easy reach for the soldiers to quickly grab them in the event of an ambush as thousands of horses and wolves with lightly armoured riders split off to hide in the nearby wilderness or behind trees to make them look like they were scouting while keeping cunningly close to the camp which was being set up so they can help when the enemy raid happened.
Orcish bowmen hide in the reeds and long grasses of the steppe, waiting for their prey to come close so their crude bows can fill them with arrows, while pikes wait behind them, ready to skewer and defend the archers if heavy cavalry tried to kill them quickly.
However, unknown to all in the allied army lingering in the shadows cast down by the grey clouds, his tracks washed away the cold, unforgiving rain, a raven with black feathers covering his shoulders and a winged helmet spied on the army watching all the preparations and scratched notes onto a small parchment which was protected from the rain by a leather covering as rain dripped from the ice-cold mail armour which the man wore. The man's sharp eyes missed nothing about the deployment as he smiled to himself and, just as silently as he appeared, disappeared, flying like a silent raven as he brought a report to his master, the other men with him specialists who were put into the army by his noble family to help him in any missions and endeavours that his general gave him.
By the time the raven left the camp, night had fallen. The orange evening sun hidden behind the grey-black clouds set, leaving an eerie darkness, the rain helping to muffle the sounds of their departure.
Lucius slept like a baby in his tent, finding it odd that he would need to sleep in this virtual world, this new world that even accurately reproduced the feeling of exhaustion and the need for sleep. During this sleep and unknown to Lucius, he was getting HP back like a man who rested after being injured as he slowly regained his once-sapped vitality.
[You have rested for an hour and have gained 3 HP back]
[You have rested for an hour and have gained 3 HP back]
[you have rested….]
4 notifications had appeared when Lucius had been sleeping, ignoring the shouts from outside as men worked together to build tents, wooden gates and collect water for the long battle ahead. Some men knowing that soon they would be called upon to do battle, rested in the built tents, recovering their strength as some mages created little magic fires to help warm up the wet, miserable soldiers who prayed to whatever god they worshipped to survive and go back home.
The rain continued to pour as small rays of white light broke through the darkened grey sky, which seemed to endlessly drop water onto the already saturated earth as a man slipped like a shadow into the camp, only noticed by the gate guards who let him in and headed to the command tent to report on the scouting mission that Lucius had given him.
Holding a finger to his cracked lips and dripping chin Archtorius gestured for the guards of the tent to be quiet as he entered the tent, the guards letting him pass unhindered.
Archtorius heard the hiss of steel as a sword was removed from its scabbard in the blink of an eye, only having time to put a hand on the blade at his waist and dagger hidden across his back before the drawn sword was at his throat the cold steel pressing against his neck. Slightly startled, he looked over to the man holding the drawn handle as Leon leered over him, watching over his lord as he slept with a grim expression on his rough, scarred face.
"Of course, you're here."
Archtorius said softly towards Leon, not wanting to wake up the snoring Lucius, who seemed in a peaceful sleep.
"I imagine you have been here since you returned from your skirmishing, especially since I have spent the last 4 and a half hours scouting the enemy. You are like a shadowy shield watching over and blocking all dangers from touching him, an invisible invincible shield watching over him."
Archtoris said before, his voice was solemn as he spoke dark words.
"I wonder what will happen once that shield is gone…."
Archtorius got closer to Leon as he put his mouth next to Leon's ear, the sword still on his neck and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"And the daggers come out of the shadows stabbing into your lord…. Piercing his noble-hearted flesh."
"Who will protect your lord then?"
"What are you doing skulking in the dark around here, Archtorius? My lord's tent is no place for your fun and games."
Leon said coldly towards the intruder who wanted to sneak into Lucius' tent for unknown reasons as Archtorius withdrew back.
"You have sworn loyalty to him then?"
Archtorius asked back nonchalantly as if the sword at his throat was invisible.
"Yes."
Leon said without any hesitation.
"Say if the emperor and your lord got into a conflict, who would you follow? Whom would you serve then?"
"I would serve my lord."
Leon said again without any hesitation.
Archtorius slightly smiled at the man's answer before taking out the parchment scribbled with notes as hills and plains form a detailed mini-map with numbers and positions of soldiers; his finger slightly pushed away the steel blade still at his throat. And waving it in front of the large man who held his life in his hands casually.
"I have a scouting report that the general would want to see. It appears the enemy has set up traps for us to walk into when we try to attack them as they set up camp though the 2 hours it would take to get there would give them ample time to change and fortify themselves."
The younger man said, taking a much more serious tone devoid of his previous casualness now that it was his work that he was talking about.
"So, can I pass now?"
The younger man asked to which Leon withdrew his sword from the man's neck and moved aside, gesturing towards Lucius as he prepared to follow Archtorius.
"Good dog!"
Archtorius commented as he went towards the general and stiffened up as he respectfully greeted the sleeping Lucius making sure to be loud enough to wake him but soft enough not to startle him.
"General?"
Archtorius said as Lucius' eyes flew open and sat bolt upright, a bead of sweat falling down his cheek and breathing heavily as he looked up at the man who called him.
"Ahh, Archtorius, my little raven, it's you! What song will you sing today, one of danger or something with a sweeter tune? Also, when did Leon get back? Did something happen? Did you lose the skirmish or something? Your face looks a bit red."
Lucius asked them as he saw the two men Archtorius was kneeling at the side of the furs, which act as his bed, while Leon loomed overhead, a hand on his sheathed sword.
"I don't know, general, but Leon was here when I got back."
Archtorius coughed to cover up the laugh that was about to come out, knowing why Leon was red-faced and tightly clutching the hilt of his sword in anger as he looked at Archtorius menacingly as if daring him to insult him again, the fire of passionate anger clouding his once clear and insightful eyes the many red veins acting like daggers which promised to pierce the heart of the disrespectful man one day.
"Anyway, General, I have come to give you my report on the status of the enemy forces and their encampment. It appears that they have set up many traps in case of an attack. Each place has been marked on this little map for you, General."
"Good! Leon order the cavalry that have been resting and have not fought yet to gather together. We move out to attack the exhausted allied army while we can."
"Yes, my lord!"
The valiant vice general said as his cloak swayed behind him as he left the tent.
"You can come along too, Archtorius and bring your best scouts. We may need them in the battle to come, bloody ambushes! Why can't we have an incompetent enemy!"
Lucius Lamented as he reluctantly got out of his warm furs and prepared to go night raiding in the pouring rain.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
LaziestDragon
LaziestDragon Second Chapter.
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