Chương 12: No Permanent Alliances, Only Permanent Interests.

"Webs he makes so shamelessly,"

"Attacks he makes so Blatantly,"

"The skirmishes never ended,"

"As our men seemed forever blended,"

"In the machine of war for reasons most had forgotten,"

"A mighty empire is begotten,"

"How can such a loyal man commit treason,"

"For there seems to be no valid reason."

Publius Pollius, a historian in the empire of Chavaria

…..

Wurgoth riding his large pitch black direwolf, followed the trail of scattered bodies and body parts up the hill alongside his wolf riders and General Bardonus, who led the cavalry from the Pluerus army, the hooves of their horses shaking and churning up the bloodied soil as they rode hard up the hill. Retreating wolf riders' fear etched on their once ferocious green faces panickily rode towards their companions; breathless from the fighting and their flight from the battlefield, they quickly reported to their commander.

"General!"

One of the orc wolf riders called out to his general, a cut running from his collarbone to his shoulder, the skin sheared off, exposing the raw red flesh below, which oozed out fresh red blood that flowed like running water down his green chest and crude grey armour a parting gift from a sharp steel lance which pierced through his armour leaving the bloodied gash behind.

Halting the allied army for a second, Wurgoth allowed the wolf rider to pass and motioned for him to speak.

"General, after charging after those damnable horse archers, we got counterattacked by some red-black knights. Only a few survived the great onslaught that was wrought against us, their skill at arms was exceptional, and their armour was as sturdy as a brick wall. Our axes made dents but struggled to get through such strong steel!"

The orc said the tip of his left tusk missing.

"We were outnumbered and out-skilled. Not even the captain survived, just as he was about to finish off their general. A thrown spear cut down the captain!"

"Finish him off? does that mean their general is injured?"

Wurgoth asked, his eyes brightening at the news.

"One of them was, however, there appeared to be 2 of them 1 was leading those horse archers, his skill in combat is masterful, but the other one was much less so as the captain could beat him within a few seconds."

The orc said, slightly puzzled.

'So a man who cannot fight well led heavy cavalry in a charge?'

Wurgoth thought, puzzled for a second as he tried to think why that was the case.

"Did you get a good look at the coat of arms on their surcoats?"

"No, general, I never got close enough to either of them, but I believe it was similar to the banners we saw them fly when they attacked us."

The deep-voiced orc said weakly before collapsing to the ground. His once hearty green face had become a pale green, the blood loss slowly turning his vision darker and hazier as he tried to keep his mind in a good enough condition to make a report until his body could hold out no more.

"Turn off the anti-magic crystals and get this man healed! He has done well coming back to me with this information."

Wurgoth said as he advanced his men up the steep hill. After getting to the top of the brown hill, he looked at the chaotic mess of swords, broken lances and axes which dotted the hillside as puddles of blood formed down the hillside turning into many tiny streams that flowed down to the bottom of the hill as hundreds of human bodies their faces pale and cold to the touch with large axe cuts on their bodies some bisected as their hewn body parts decorate the interconnected streams of blood.

At the bottom of the hill, only a 10-minute ride away, was the retreating wave of red cavalry, the proud twin-headed dragon which would dominate the land in the future, proudly flying above their heads as they began their journey into the far distance.

"Can we catch them?"

Wurgoth asked the steel-plated ,Bardornus who rode his pitch black destrier beside him, the giant horse loomed over his compatriots as its brown eyes looked calmly at the plain below.

"Aye, but by the time we catch up, we will be as exhausted as them, plus we don't know when their reinforcements will arrive, and unlike ye warlike orcs, my kingdom can't afford the death of our army in this war for this is only a detachment of the massive Chavarian war machine."

"Also, the lighter cavalry will have no chance against the veteran knights of Chavaria, for their horsemanship, speed, and stamina is exceptional even if slowed due to the heavy armour worn by both rider and steed. Their sharp steel sabres and lances will cut through the lighter splint armour of my light cavalry like a knife through butter, and with only 10 or so minutes of fighting, their exhaustion will be nowhere near that of the horse archers."

"Our heavy cavalry will be unlikely to catch up as all of the Chavarian cavalry are excellent riders, and by the time they do catch them, reinforcements are likely to arrive. I don't believe this is even all of the cavalry under that man's command."

General Bardornus said in a severe tone turning his horse away from the red wave of Chavarian cavalry and casually motioned for his men to retreat towards the marching allied army.

"That man? Who is that man?"

Wurgoth asked, desperately wanting to know more about the enemy he was going to face; however, due to his orcish kingdom having little conflict with Chavaria over recent years, the information he has on hand at the moment was minimal. Bardonus halted for a second, his black plated back and black plume which fell to the small of his back in clear view of the orc player before he began to speak in a dark tone.

"General Drusus Dardanius' right-hand man, the scheming spiteful spider of Chavaria!"

Bardornus began cryptically.

"Lucius Aurellion!"

"Lucius Aurellion?"

Wurgoth questioned, not familiar with the name.

"Who is he?"

"The leader of our enemies, as skilled in combat as he is in scheming, his plans are said to be as intricate as the threads in a spider's web with plans layered on top of each other, his true intentions unreadable! I heard that he was dispatched but hoped that it was not true. Let's just say that this will not be the only or last attack that we will have to face."

"You mean that there are going to be more attacks."

"Aye, I can guarantee that! Especially after your army's poor performance in the last skirmish."

Wurgoth reflected on the battle that had just happened. At the heavy casualties he had taken in the recent skirmish and felt a shiver of fear down his back as he imagined his army slowly being whittled down by the arrows of the deadly Chavarian horse archers.

'I lost 4900 wolf riders, those bloody Chavarian heavy cavalry.

'The problem we have is that our archer's accuracy and weapons are worse than that of the horse archers meaning that they can out range us while keeping out of our range with their excellent riding skills.'

Wurgoth thought before he had an idea and made a request to his ally.

"Bardornus, can you do me a favour?"

…..

Bardornus rode back towards his infantry with vice general Alden by his side, who began to question his general.

"General, why did you accept his request?"

"Why do you think I accepted the request?

Bardornus replied with his own question as he tested his subordinate.

"Because you want to keep a good relationship with our ally?"

Alden said in the same questioning tone.

"Aye, that's one of the reasons. Can ye think of any others?"

Bardornus said with a slight smile on his face.

"No general sorry."

"Tell me, Alden do ye know what the most annoying unit in a chavarian army is?"

"It would probably be their royal knight's, sir."

Bardornus laughed slightly at the reply before his face darkened.

"Nay, not royal knights! The most annoying thing in a Chavarian army be their bloody horse archers."

"Those mother trucking moving machines of death."

"Our oh so reliable ally merely presented an opportunity to help deal with them, so I graciously accepted to help him."

Bardornus scoffed, his words laced with sarcasm.

"If you want to help our allies so much, general, why did you not interfere in the skirmish that just occurred?"

Alden asked as Bardornus' actions seemed contradictory, giving help now but not moving his army when the Chavarian horse archers attacked earlier.

"Oh, my sweet honourable naïve cute little sparrow who knows nothing of the world."

Bardornus sighed in resignation, talking to his vice general like one would to an innocent child.

"Politics, especially international politics, is based on the interests of differing countries. For example, right now, we are in an alliance with the orcs, however, do not think that this alliance we have will last forever."

"For if it were in the interest of the orcs to betray us, then they would do so without a second thought."

"As such, it is our duty as people involved in politics and as protectors of our country and its citizens to study and prepare for war with any nation around us, even those in which we are currently in an alliance."

"Remember this, Alden! There are no permanent alliances, only permanent interests!"

"While our interests align, we need not fear any betrayal from the orcs, but the moment that our goals no longer align so much, then we must tighten our guards against any potential betrayal."

"Do you understand what I mean, Alden?"

Bardornus finished his lecture looking over at his would-be student with a smile.

"Yes, general, I understand everything now!"

"Good! Make sure to learn from this war Alden for our kingdom needs all the competent men we can get."

Bardornus said as they continued their way back to their lines.

…..

Chavarian skirmish force.

[1 damage has been taken from blood loss]

[Warning player is bleeding! Please seek medical attention soon! Every 20 minutes, another point of damage will be dealt!]

[1 damage has been taken from blood loss!]

[Warning….]

Notifications filled the corner of Lucius' vision as he had been riding hard like the rest of his men to get away from any pursuit that may come from the orc army until after an hour, and with scouts ensuring that they were safe, the skirmish force finally halted.

Healers with green magic flowing out of their hands made their way through the injured soldiers helping them to magically heal their wounds as the power of their magic sealed up the wounds, turning them into new scars for the soldiers to boast about when they got home.

Another damage notification appeared in the corner of his screen again as Leon helped Lucius out of his customised armour putting off the doctor assigned for him until the critically injured had been helped though some had died on the journey, their bloodsoaked scarred bodies being hastily thrown into mass graves which were the most that could be done with the short amount of time that they had on hand.

After a few minutes, with his armour off and tossed to the side, a healer came over and began chanting an unknown incantation as more of the green healing energy began to close the axe wound that streaked across his chest, the cut enlarged by Lucius' armour which when dented embedded itself into the wound making the ride an especially harrowing one for Lucius.

After the treatment was done, Leon helped Lucius back into his armour while Lucius was looking at healing notifications that had turned up during the healing process.

[Your axe wound has been magically healed. You will no longer take damage from bloodloss]

[Minor restoration has been cast on you, recovering 10 HP]

[24 HP remaining]

"Don't worry about me! Tend to the other soldiers! They need your help more than I do.

"Leon."

Lucius asked as he clicked his aching shoulders and let Leon begin to help him don his armour.

"Do we have a captain who can replace me until I send someone else?"

"Yes, my lord, but I want to ask something if I may.

Leon replied, his sharp, insightful eyes falling upon his friend of many years.

"Is there something wrong with you? Failing to defend yourself against a captain is unlike you."

Lucius began to sweat a bit and coughed to hide his embarrassing fight with the captain as he took his helmet with bird-like metal wings attached to each side.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just feeling a bit under the weather. With the speed of their army, they should take about 30 more minutes to get here."

Lucius said, trying to devise an excuse for his poor performance as he saw the last of the dead bodies be hauled towards the quick grave that had been made and shouted out towards them.

"Hold up! I may have a use for some of those bodies and go fill up on water. It may become scarce in the next few days!"

Lucius said with a slight smile as the last leather strap was fastened on his customised armour, and he managed to mount himself up onto his horse, giving a final order to Leon before leaving with an escort of 200 knights, each knight having the corpse of a soldier draped over their mounts.

"Keep them on their toes, Leon and try to keep casualties to a minimum though it seems we have had a good start and aim for their supplies if ya can! That should slow them down a bit. Do try to aim for their water supply, though, for it will help me in my future plans. Happy hunting.

After finishing his orders, Lucius rode back towards the Chavarian camp to begin spinning his many intricate webs.