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Commander-in-Chief Nigel smashed the table in anger and said, "How dare you question me! I have fought far more wars under Chancellor Devon than you ever did with your House. I know what I am doing. Just because you are the Governor of this Province does not mean you can push me around!"

Tilting his head to the messenger, he said, "Tell Donovan that if he cannot hold any longer, he should retreat back here and report his failure. After all, it was he who suggested setting up a base before the main army arrives. Leave."

As the messenger stomped out of the tent, Nigel turned his focus back at Governor Leo and said, "If you feel that my strategy against the barbarians will not work, you are free to send your troops to reinforce Donovan and carry out your own plans," as Nigel's guards escorted Governor Leo out of the tent.

Telkartha didn't openly defy Nigel. But she did defy him. And it just so happens she overheard the little conversation he had with his stupid advisor. She dared to steal a dagger from one of the so-called "Commander-in-Chief"'s men. Telkartha stood right outside the tent, listening. She twirled the dagger in her hands. The blade cut her fingers, but she didn't care. She was debating whether or not to tell Donovan of Nigel's plans. If she didn't, Nigel would get the upper hand of this. Telkartha had no intention of letting that happen. Nigel was one of those people who needed to be buried in a huge pile of ants, surrounded by fire. Outside the fire were Nigel's worst enemies. They laughed at him the entire time. Then fire was set to Nigel's head and he and the ants died slowly. Then they drag Nigel's body to the edge of a cliff and repeatedly stabbed mercilessly. Then they throw him off the cliff and a big celebration was held…Telkartha grinned. She decided to tell Donovan. She stood there, unnoticed. She wiped the blood from her fingers and hid the dagger.

Meanwhile in Hedgemont, a feast was held to celebrate Antonidas’s successful defense of Aelinmiley which paved the way for the conquest of Hedgemont. Huge quantities of wine were rewarded to military officials to be shared amongst their soldiers while civil officials were invited to drink and admire the moon together. Despite it being a joyous occasion, Antonidas was found sighing at a corner.

Curious as to why Antonidas was looking so glum after achieving a military victory, Marquis Jeremy walked towards Antonidas and asked, “Thanks to you, the previous Governor of Hedgemont had surrendered all his commanderies unconditionally to us. Why would you be feeling upset?”

Antonidas shook his head, saying “My Lord, by your orders, I mobilized against Hedgemont, repelled their invasion and forced the previous Governor of Hedgemont to surrender all his cities to us. We beheaded 6000 Hedgemont troops, absorbed 14,000 Hedgemont troops and obtained a considerable quantity of horses, weapons and supplies. We lost 1000 of our men in this battle but we also managed to recruit an additional 2000 men from Hedgemont so as of currently, we have a total of 40,000 troops. However, due to this successful military campaign, the Governors of Actianona, Etharcius, Ormymnur and Granarctene had become wary of your presence and it would be detrimental to us if they joined forces to fight against you for fear of losing their land.”

Marquis Jeremy asked, “Antonidas, what would you suggest we do next then?”

Antonidas replied, “My Lord, we should continue recruiting soldiers and increasing our stores of supplies, in preparation for our next battle. It is crucial for us to take this opportunity to continue launching invasion southwards while our army’s morale is high. Furthermore, our allies have already started preparations to expand their territories. It is only a matter of time before the Coalition collapses so we should achieve hegemonic status before then.”

Marquis Jeremy nodded, saying, “We shall do as you proposed. Now that I have agreed to your requests, you would not reject my offer of moon gazing with me would you?”

Smiling for the first time since the victory, Antonidas replied, “I wouldn’t dare.”

The next morning, all the key civil and military officials were gathered at the hall. Marquis Jeremy said, "With the successful occupation of Hedgemont, we have secured our status as both the strongest within the Coalition and as the leader of the alliance. However, we cannot stop here when the other warlords are also growing stronger with each passing day. My question to you is, which province should I take next?"

Advisor Antonidas walked to the middle, bowed and said, "My Lord, we should wage war against Actianona. Our ally, Lord Theodore of Thralkeld, has always had issues with the Governor of Actianona as the latter often sent raiding parties to pillage the former's prosperous cities. We would be able to justify our invasion of Actianona by stating that we are trying to eliminate a threat of an ally."

Just then, Advisor Aiden walked to the middle, bowed and said, "My Lord, I second Antonidas's suggestion. However, Actianona is a Province that has suffered many years of warfare. The Governor of Actianona no longer has sufficient grains to feed his people. The locals had grown unhappy and if we were to forcefully annex Actianona, we would just be treated as any other ruthless foreign invaders contributing to the destruction of a province. This would increase the risk of a revolt which would not be beneficial to us. Thus, I suggest that in this expedition, on top of conquering the lands, our aim should also be winning the hearts and minds of those who dwell there.”

Marquis Jeremy nodded his head and said, "Indeed, a true ruler must gain the trust and support of the commoners."

Standing up and said, "Hear my orders! I hereby appoint Antonidas as Commander-in-Chief and Aiden as Military Advisor. You are given 10,000 elite cavalry to annex all the cities of Actianona within thirty days. In this campaign, you are not allowed to hurt the innocent locals. Avoid damaging the city walls when possible.”

The following are the details of the plan formulated after a discussion between Antonidas and Aiden.

I) City (A) five miles west of the central border between Hedgemont and Actianona is ruled by a greedy local official. It would be effortless to win the official over by bribery.
II) Upon entering City (A), head straight for the official’s residence and obtain his military tally before killing him.
III) Aiden shall lead 3000 elite cavalry to launch a mock attack on City (B) twenty miles southwest of City (A) immediately.
V) After a day, when the reinforcements from City (C) which is five miles north of City (B) arrive, Aiden is to feign defeat and retreat.
VI) Aiden’s remaining troops will meet up with Antonidas’s 5000 elite cavalry to launch a sneak attack on City (C) and conquer it.
VII) Allow the news of the conquest of Cities (A) and (C) to spread so that other local officials will hesitate before sending reinforcements.
VIII) Inform the local troops of Cities (A) and (C) that they are to replace their existing military uniforms with Aelinmiley’s military uniforms. After obtaining the military uniforms of Actianona, order the elite cavalry that came from Aelinmiley and Hedgemont to wear them.
IX) Aiden shall lead the newly dressed elite cavalry to head for City (B) but he is to stay at the middle of the army. Inform the General at the front to convince the troops of City (B) to open the gates by stating that they are reinforcements from other unconquered cities.
X) When at least half the army has entered City (B), Aiden shall lead the charge to the official’s residence to obtain the military tally and kill the official. Avoid stopping to fight against the troops stationed in City (B).
XI) After the successful conquest of City (B), declare to the locals living in Cities (A), (B) and (C), that by the grace of Marquis Jeremy, they are exempted from taxes for one year.
XII) After the completion of all the above steps, the officials of other unconquered cities should be rushing to surrender in an attempt to keep their position. Officials that still wish to continue to oppose Marquis Jeremy will find themselves overthrown by their own people, also known as the locals.

The plan was executed successfully and within twenty-eight days, the Governor of Actianona was publicly executed and the entire Province fell into the hands of Marquis Jeremy.

As he was rudely escorted out of Nigel's tent, Lord Leo was seething in anger, the imperial gaurds escorting him sweated as they heard a small growl leaving his throat, House Fortis members shared a lot of traits with their lion companians including courage, honor and dignity, however there were negative traits like impatience, Lord Leo prided himself of being the most patient and calm member of his house, but Nigel's Arogance and rudeness is driving him to his boiling point, he smirked as he thought about the ways of inviting Nigel to a little picnic with his lions.

The messenger sent by Donovan was riding his horse, Lord Leo called on him before he left "hey you, tell your commander that I will sent troops to assist him against the barbarians, just inform me your base's exact location" he said positively, the messenger smiled gratefully and informed Leo the exact coordinates of the base, he nodded thankfully and commanded his horse to move towards Blencathra.

Lord Leo sighed tiredly at the whole situation, he turned to go back to his city but was met face to face with Raion.

"I heard everything, my battalion will go and help Donovan's troop" he said seriously.

Lord Leo massaged his temples at his son heroic tendencies "I'm not going let you go alone to Blencathra!" he exclaimed angrily.

Raion was unfazed by his father anger "either that or I will accompany Nigel's army on his dangerous plan" he said matter-of-factly.

Lord Leo eyes widened, his son for once was making perfect sense, even if he didn't liked Nigel and his stupid plan, he will still have to send atleast two battalions with him, or else the other houses will look down on them for letting the imperials fight their own war without even helping them a little, Lord Leo thought for a minute an then nodded "ok, but take another battalion with you I suggest the Northen Battalion since I believe the General Mane can assist you better on the way" he stated and informed his son about Donovan's base exact location.

Raion noded saving the base's coordinates to his memory "I will inform General Mane about your plan and our battalions will move out by noon" he said as he rode Achilles, he waved goodbye to his father and directed his lion towards House Fortis' barracks.

Lord Leo prayed that he would see his son again as he continued his trek towards his castle.

One day later, Commander-in-Chief Nigel lead all his troops, which consist of 20,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry, out of Asopeos. However, instead of heading towards Donovan's camp to reinforce him, they decided to march further and station themselves along the River of Blencathra, the only remaining natural border separating the Ifeland troops and Stronghold Bloodfeet.

While the camp was being set up, Nigel unsheathed his sword and pointed into the air as he yelled, "My brothers, rest well tonight! For when tomorrow comes, we shall attack Stronghold Bloodfeet with all our might! We shall crush the barbarians for the glory of the Empire!"

A few miles away, Donovan was informed about Nigel’s refusal to send reinforcements. Just as he was about to give up hope and send the orders to retreat, he remembered that the messenger did mention about Lord Leo’s promise to send some aid.

Donovan closed his eyes and sighed, saying, "If I had known that Nigel would backstab me for the sake of personal glory, I would never have trusted him with the supplies from Ifeland. Our remaining supplies would only last us for two more days, after which we would be forced to retreat, should Lord Leo’s reinforcements not arrive fast enough. However, there is something more worrying. My scouts had reported that Nigel's troops had set up their camp along the River of Blencathra. It is a risky move, especially since the River of Blencathra is well known for being fickle. A sudden downpour would cause the river to flood and when that occurs, it would be disastrous for them. Furthermore, even if there wasn't any rain, Nigel's army would be at their most vulnerable when half of them had crossed the river. If the barbarians choose to attack them at that point of time ... "

Meanwhile, Barbarian King Oolacaryn was notified of the Ifeland troops stationed along the River of Blencathra. Laughing loudly, he said, "It seems that I have overestimated the generals from Ifeland. Order Tom and Tim to return immediately and Thomas and Timothy to send their men down to set up ambushs on the opposite side of the river. When half of the Ifeland army has crossed the river, immediately deliver a full-force attack on them. Victory is ours!"

Swurion had fallen, and interestingly enough, it had cost only a handful of lives as opposed to the thousands that would have been lost had the region been conquered by military might. Nothing was changed overtly, and the few things that did change, ended up increasing revenue of the region slightly. Emissaries were sent north to recruit horse men to send south and harass the enemy. Only a few responded at first, a mere 1200 light and medium cavalry moving south through Swurion to Celynur with instructions to go as far south as they dared. The sudden appearance of horsemen so far from the borders of the empire caught the local garrisons completely by surprise and much wealth was earned in the first raids.

Russilene, the small but wealthy neighbour east of Celynur, quickly sent emissaries north, to speak with leader of the raiders and were directed to the ruler of Swurion, which confused them greatly. They demanded an entrance which was granted after some hours of redirects and stalling by junior officials. The governor denied any knowledge of barbarians moving in or through his  domain and demanded the delegates explain themselves. Over the course of a week, the governor said it was Celynur ploy to weaken it's neighbours, by staging false attacks and sending for military aid,  then launching real attacks on the weakened defences of it's neighbours. He even manufactured and presented documents that "proved" that Celynur was secretly allied with the rebellion, to add weight to his arguments. He then offered to move loyal Swurion troops into the border forts between Celynur and Russilene if they agreed to provide material upkeep for the troops. (ie food, clothing, repair arms and armour, and fort maintenance would be covered by Russ, while Swurion payed the troops, recruited replacements, trained and equipped replacements, and deal with any damages caused by Swurion troops not acting in defence of Russilene) the emissaries refused to sign a final deal, but returned to Russilene with the proposal.

Emir, took note of the rapid conquest of Hedgemont and Actionona to the forces of Aelinmiley, and knew that this rebellion was as much about building a new empire as it was re-instating the young Emperor. He met with Lord Douglas and discussed what this meant for the coalition. Either, they would have to throw in their weight fully behind Marquis Jeremy or take steps to erode his power base. emir suggested a joint campaign, with Lord Gerald into Ibartona, both to build better relations with him, and to help balance the power in the coalition, even though both knew that with Swurion in their pocket Douglas was easily the most powerful Lord in the coalition; but that card wasn't ready to be played on the table just yet. The campaign would also give their troops much needed experience and if done properly, would also be an enormous boost to moral. He  also suggested putting diplomatic pressure on Nordale to join the coalition while it still had a choice, since it  wouldn't last before the amassed forces of Marquis Jeremy which were clearly on the move.

Douglas looked at Emir with shrewd eyes, and smiled. The man had always been unswervingly loyal, and he had no reason to doubt him now. Still, Douglas knew Emir had much better chance of ascending to the throne than he did, and He admitted reluctantly, to himself that someone of his age wouldn't last long in the imperial court anyway. He nodded once, indicating that Emir should begin making the preparations he could, and then he summoned an old friend who had long enjoyed the use of wit and cunning speech, and told him to pack his things for a rapid trip to Nordale and outlined the points he was ready to bring to bear against any resolve to remain independent but encouraged his friend to use his own wisdom when he arrived and to do his best to work the desired result.

Young Lord Raion along with General Mane and their respective battalions entered Blencathra followed by buffalos carrying supplies enough for 12000 man that would last for 1 week, they moved inside forested areas to avoid the barbarians detection, there were however some ambush attempts by troops of barbarians scouts, but it failed miserably thanks to the keen sense of smell of house Fortis' lions who already detected the enemy presence before the ambush occurred, there were very low causalities on the Asopeosian side.

After 3 days of walking the battalions along with the supply buffalos reached Donovan's camp, the House Fortis and Asopoes flags were flown in order to identify themselves as allies, as if the lion riders weren't obvious enough.

The Doors of the camp opened, Raion and Mane were the first to enter, they moved towards the biggest tent in the center, which most probably was Donovan's, they dismounted their respective lions commanding them to stay put and entered the tent, General Mane identified Sir Donovan for Raion.

Raion moved forward while putting on a friendly smile "Vice Commander-in-Chief Donovan my Father Lord Leo have told me wonderful things about you, I'm Lord Heir Raion of Asopeos and soon Blencathra, Vice Commander-in-Chief of the Asopeos Army and the General of the Southern Battalion for this operation, it is nice to finally meet you" he said in a charming tone.

Sir Donovan brightened up slightly after seeing reinforcements from Asopeos arrive. Rising to his feet, he greeted them, saying, "Goodness, you are finally here! I have grown desperate waiting for you. Please, do take a seat."

Returning back to his seat, Sir Donovan continued, "All the while when I was fighting against the barbarians, I had never expected Nigel to be happily drinking his wine miles away. Every messenger I had sent to request for assistance returned with the same message, which is that Nigel refuses to send reinforcements. Now, for the sake of personal glory, he foolishly led the bulk of his troops into Blencathra, fighting through enemy defenses along the way, just so that he could set up his base along the River of Blencathra."

Sighing, he said, "Within a few days, expect to hear reports of defeat."

Meanwhile in Nordale, Advisor Eusebius said, "A Miranti emissary is on the way here as we speak. I am certain that Lord Douglas is aware that his ally, Marquis Jeremy, has successfully conquered Hedgemont and Actianona and intends to lead his army to invade Nordale. I believe that the Miranti emissary's motive for coming here will be to either seek our surrender and attempt to turn us into their vassal or to convince us to join the Coalition. Regardless, with Marquis Jeremy's powerful army looming in the distance, I suggest that my Lord display our military might before the Miranti emissary. In addition, we should line the hall with scholars. After which we will summon the Miranti emissary and see what he has to say."

The Governor of Nordale decided to follow Eusebius's advice and called his men to do all the necessary preparations.

Meanwhile in Glarnyraefon, the Miranti messenger was led to the hall where Viscount Gerald and his officials were gathered, waiting for his arrival.

Young Lord Raion nodded grimly "my father tried to warn him that his foolish plan will end in failure, but the commander was very arrogant and rude towards him, if I was in my father's place I would have thrown him inside a cage filled with hungry lions and to hell with the dimplomatic consequences" he said angrily and then he remembered to whom he was talking with "of course no offense to you" he said with an embarrassed look.

General Mane decided to speak "River of Blencathra is the worst place to build a camp, there is a myth repeated by our House, that a Witch tried to gain the power of lions by using a heart of a virgin lioness, however, the power was too much for the witch to handle forcing her to throw the heart into the River of Blencathra and from that day the river acted like a lioness: ferious and unpredictable" he said wisely.

Raion nodded since he already knew this myth thanks to Lord Leo who forced him to learn everything about House Fortis and Blencathra "we have sent 2 battalions with him anyway, because if we didn't then the other houses would accuse us of using the imperial army to fight our own wars, you understand" he said as he made himself comfortable in his chair "so Sir Donovan what is our next move?" he asked while smirking.

Sir Donovan listened attentively as General Mane spoke about the myth of the Witch. While he had never taken folktales seriously, it was an undeniable fact that the River of Blencathra had an unpredictable nature. It definitely had the potential to kill a considerable amount of troops.

Returning Raion's smirk with a smile, he replied, "I will be taking 1,000 elite cavalry with me to reinforce Nigel's army. However, my troops shall be marching behind when Nigel’s troops charge across the river recklessly. The battle is sure to result in a victory for the barbarians. Knowing Nigel’s personality, he would rather perish in battle than to ever consider retreating or surrendering. It is unfortunate that such a valiant warrior will be killed in a meaningless battle but Nigel brought it upon himself. I can only hope that at least two thirds of the Ifeland troops are still alive when I issue the order to retreat. As the second in command, it is only right for me to take command of the Ifeland troops when the Commander-in-Chief is no longer around. After all, it is my duty to save them from unnecessary death. As for you, please stay here. We shall formulate our strategy to defeat the barbarians when I return.”

The next morning, Sir Donovan and his 1,000 elite cavalry had arrived at Nigel’s military base. Donovan’s predictions came true when Nigel’s army was crossing the river. When one third of Nigel’s troops had crossed the river, the gushing waves suddenly swept down, drowning several soldiers and preventing the greater portion of Nigel’s army from getting across. After which the barbarians revealed themselves and launched an attack. It ended with the annihilation of all the Ifeland troops that had crossed the river, with Nigel himself amongst those who had been slain. Donovan immediately issued the order to retreat, leading the remaining army to flee back to his base.

When they finally returned back to his base, Donovan realized that of the 30,000 Ifeland troops involved in the battle, only 10,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry were left. The battle had cost them the lives of 10,000 brave men. However, instead of allowing this defeat to shake the morale of the Ifeland troops, Donovan decided to make his speech.

“Although our esteemed leader, Nigel, has fallen, we must continue this fight against the barbarians. Throughout the years, they had killed our men, raped our women and pillaged our cities. I am sure you are aware that of the 10,000 elite cavalry led by General Nigel, not a single one fled from the enemy.  With such strong resolve in our ranks, the barbarians will certainly be defeated. “

Unsheathing his sword and raising it high into the sky, he yelled, “We shall fight our way to Silverblood and avenge our fallen comrades!”

The defeated Ifeland army slowly began to regain their confidence as they yelled with their new commander, “Avenge our fallen comrades! Avenge our fallen comrades! Avenge our fallen comrades!”

Donovan stayed with his troops for a while before returning back to the main tent.

Young Lord Raion looked at Sir Donovan in the eyes "I'm sorry for the loss of your men, but their blood and the blood of all of our men killed in the past 55 years by the barbarian scourge will not be wasted because today is the day that we rid our Empire and our province from this filth once and for all" he said with determination.

Raion took out a map of a ruins and its surrounding area placing it on the table "before we march to Silverblood, we will have to defeat the barbarian army stationed in the ruins of our ancestral Castle of Potestatem or what the barbarians foully calls it Bloodfeet Keep, however, we will not foolishly attack them head on like the late Commander-in-Cheif did, we will use the nature of Blencathra to sneak on them" he stated as he pointed at the green splotches surrounding the ruins "Blencathra is know around the empire for being the most forested province and the forest is especially thick around the ruins giving us a good hiding place to ambush our enemies" he said with a smile of satisfaction and then eyed General Mane.

Nodding, General Mane continued "Using the forests to reach the enemies' keep is much safer than using the old merchants roads, the only enemy we will encounter in the forests are barbarian scouts who are usually small in number and weak since the barbarians foolishly regards strength as more important than intelligence, in addition to that our lions can smell them from long distances" he said in a calm voice.

Raion pointed at the map again "as you can see the ruins has two entrances, the Western and the Eastern, most of our troops will be stationed in the forest around the Western entrance while our Lion riders will be positioned in the forest around the Eastern entrance so as soon as the barbarians leave the keep from the Westren entrance our 1000 archers that will be postioned on the tree line of the forest, will start firing flaming arrows at them, in the midst of the barbarians confusion you can order your 10,000 cavalry to attack, this will be the signal for our lion riders to enter the ruins from the the Eastern entrance which will be less guarded since most of the guards will move to defend the other entrance, this will allow the riders to attack the barbarians from the least expected place which is inside their own keep" he said while grinning madly and rubbing his hands in excitement.

General Mane was embarrassed by his superior's childish demeanour, he sighed in defeat feeling sorry for Lord Leo and continued " the roars of our lions will be the signal for our 3000 swordsmen and spearmen and your 10,000 infantry to leave their hiding places and assist your cavalry in the front" he said wisely.

Raion raised his index finger at Sir Donovan "before you ask how are we going to make them leave the sanctuary of their keep in the first place, I want you to meet  Barbarian Commander Freahu" he said jovially and soon a tall hairy man with dirty long blond beard and braided hair, wearing leather armor entered the tent, he immediately bowed towards Raion, who couldn't help but laugh at Sir Donovan's expression "sorry for laughing but I couldn't help myself, anyways his real name is Furtim, he is one of our spies inside the enemy ranks, he is currently ordered by the Barbarian king Oolacaryn to oversee the protection of Silverblood, therefore he will enter the keep and inform Oolacaryn that our combined forces have attacked Silverblood and request for reinforcement, the Barbarian King, in fear of losing his capital to us will most probably order most if not all of his troops to move towards Silverblood, they will leave from the Westren entrance as it's the on that leads to the capital and that's when we will execute our aforementioned plan" he finished satisfied with his plan "so what do you think?" he asked wondering if Sir Donovan had any other plans in his head. 

Meanwhile in Actianona, a banquet was hosted to celebrate the successful conquest of Actianona. While the Champlin troops are drinking in celebration, Antonidas had already begun making plans to invade Ormymnur. Champlin scouts sent by him to infiltrate the cities of Ormymnur had reported that there were very few guards left to protect the cities as most of the army of Ormymnur had been sent to attack Granarctene. Fully aware that all these factors proved favourable for an annexation of Ormymnur, Antonidas immediately rushed to the residence of Marquis Jeremy and requested an audience with his liege. 

Marquis Jeremy asked, “Antonidas, what do you want to talk to me about?”

Antonidas bowed and said, “My Lord, by your orders, I mobilized against Actianona and have successfully conquered it. The locals cheered as the previous Governor of Actianona was publicly executed. We beheaded 3000 Actianona troops, absorbed 17,000 Actianona troops and obtained an enormous quantity of horses and weapons. We lost 1000 of our men in this battle but we also managed to recruit an additional 2000 men from Actianona. Thanks to our recruitment officers, we have also recruited 6000 men from Aelinmiley as well as 6000 men from Hedgemont. As of currently, we have a total of 70,000 troops, a significant increase from what we used to have. To keep up with the momentum, I would like to suggest that we invade Ormymnur.”

The next morning, all the key civil and military officials were gathered at the hall. Marquis Jeremy said, “With the successful occupation of Actianona, we have established the undeniable fact that wherever our glorious army marches, conquered land and victories follow. All who oppose us will eventually be vanquished. To further demonstrate our might, I have decided that we would invade Ormymnur. My question to you is, how shall my goal be accomplished?”

Advisor Antonidas walked to the middle, bowed and said, “My Lord, I suggest we should first pretend to rescue Granarctene from the besieging army of Ormymnur by sending a portion of our army. If the army of Ormymnur decides not to retreat, we would be able to launch a surprise attack and capture their cities while their troops are away. However, since the army of Ormymnur would most probably retreat to defend their cities, order our troops to also retreat and lure the enemy to the Fallen Hill. This would exhaust the enemy before the final battle that would determine our success. Furthermore, as the army of Ormymnur are the ones being lured, they would not be as determined to fight as our troops. At this point, our main forces that are stationed there right from the start should attack with full force. This would completely crumble the military of Ormymnur and guarantee our victory. I understand that we would not be gaining much in terms of land forces as we would have killed a large portion of them but if we are to succeed in this battle, we would be able to control the powerful navy of Ormymnur. My Lord, the decision is yours.”

Marquis Jeremy agreed to Antonidas’s suggestion and within twenty-eight days, the Governor of Ormymnur was captured and the entire Province fell into the hands of Marquis Jeremy.

The armies of Asopeos and Ifeland moved to the Bloodfeet Keep, it took them 1 full day to reach their destination. The Commander-in-Chief of the Asopeos army Sir Claw was informed about the plan by Raion, Sir Claw was impressed and said that Lord Leo back in Asopeos will be proud of his son for coming up with such a great plan.

The ruins were now surrounded, and Furtim the spy announced that his ready for his part, sir Claw and Donovan ordered their respective soldiers to get in ther positions, Furtim rode on his buffalo and ordered it to move towards the entrance of the keep, Raion, Claw and Donovan watched from their hiding spot behind the tree line as he was identified and greeted by the barbarian gaurds, allowing him to enter.

Barbarian King Oolacaryn was standing in the middle of the keep overlooking his soldiers as they spar, he heard the hurried steps of a buffalo, looking at the source he saw Commander Freahu stopping in front of him "Freahu what are you doing all the way here, I ordered you to stay at Silverblood" he said a little frustrated at being disobeyed.

Freahu dismounted his buffalo and bowed to his 'king' "my king, I came here as fast as I could bearing grave news, Silverblood is being attacked by the imperial army assisted by House Fortis, we need reinforcements as soon as possible" he said in a respectful tone with a harsh barbarian accent that took him 2 years to master.

Oolacaryn eyes widened at the news "Those double damned imperials and thrice damned Lion riders, how in hell did they reach our capital without passing us!?" he asked angrily.

Commander Freahu faked a sigh "our scouts informed us that they hid in the forests using them as cover until they reached the capital" he put in.

The barbarian king stomped at the ground "we should have burned all the forests in this damned land, but we will not allow them to have their lands back it's ours now and will always be!" he shouted angrily, he turned around and ordered the horn blower to blow and to call all his men to him.

Hearing the horn blowing from inside the stronghold both Commanders ordered their armies to be ready, and secretly Raion also got ready too with determination written all over his face.

Oolacaryn ordered all of his troops to leave the stronghold and head towards Silverblood to defend it, as the barbarian army moved towards the ruins entrance, commander Freahu or Furtim stayed behind without being noticed by the barbarians and their king.

As soon the barbarian were out of their stronghold, they were met with 1,000 flaming arrows flying towards them, when they hit their target another 4,000 were fired simultaneously, Barbarian King Oolacaryn shielded himself as the men around him turned into burning corpses, he was in shock as he was just tricked by one of his commanders, his enemies were not attacking Silverblood they were all here.

Sir Donovan ordered his cavalry to move and meet the enemy, he was followed by Sir Claw, Sir Mane, Sir Fang and Raion, seeing the heir of his house joining the Fight made Sir Claw worry, he hoped that nothing bad happen to him or Lord Leo will have his head.

Sir Donovan locked swords with one of the Barbarian commanders named Tom.

Sir Claw locked swords with Commander Tim

Sir Mane locked swords with Commander Thomas.

Sir Fang locked swords with Commander Timothy.

Young Lord Raion was looking for his target while killing any barbarian that stood In his way, he finally found him sitting on his buffalo while decapitating an unfortunate imperial knight with his mighty war axe "Oolacaryn!" he called gaining his attention "today is the day that you pay for all the days that you unjustly ruled our land, by the name of my Father Lord Leo Head of house Fortis, I Lord Heir Raion Condemn you to death" he said with voice filled with venom.

The Barbarian King was not intimidated at all and his obnoxious laughter shook the battlefield "big words coming out from a little cub like you, so it seems that the Old Lion cannot fight anymore and sent his son to fight in his place, how pathetic has House Fortis became" he said while grining evilly, he readied his axe and beckoned Raion to come closer and start the fight.

Fueled with anger by Oolacaryn speaking lowly of his house and father, Raion gave out a battle cry that sounded a lot like a lion's growl and ordered Achilles to move faster towards his target, Oolacaryn did the same, and soon the sound of the Axe of Silverkin hitting the Sword of Fortis was heard all around the battlefield.

Back in the keep Furtim noticed that the Eastern entrance had just two guards since all the others went to fight in the Western one, he mounted his buffalo and ordered it to move quickly towards the entrance, the poor gaurds didn't have time to react when they were killed by Furtim's axe, he gave the signal and the Lion riders left the forest and entered the keep from the Eastern entrance and attacked the barbarians from behind.

Sir Donovan faced a bit of trouble in facing his brutish opponent, he had a minor injury on his shoulder caused by failing to stop Commander Tom's axe in time, but that didn't stop him from continuing the fight, the barbarian commander swiped his axe horizontally intending to decapitate Sir Donovan, however the imperial commander had quick reflexes and brought his head down in the nick of time at the same time he swiped his sword slicing the barbarian's midsection, Commander Tom being taken aback from being injured from, as he perceived, a weakling imperial didn't have time to react as Donovan sword came down vertically on his head cutting open his skull, the commander fell down from his buffalo clearly dead, Sir Donovan sighed in relief as he clutched his bleeding shoulder.

Back in the forest the Imperial footmen and the Asopeosian swordsmen and spearmen heard the lions roar from inside the keep which was their signal to join the fight, they gave out a battle cry and ran towards their enemies from their hiding place.

The other commanders fell by the hands of the Asopeosian generals who only sustained minor injuriess

Raion was not fairing well in his fight against Oolacaryn all his swipes where deflect by the Barbarian King's shield who swiped with his axe immediately after, lacking a shield to protect himself Raion was forced to dodge, however he didn't anticipate Oolacaryn taking out a jagged dagger and swiping it at him, he couldn't dodge in time and got swiped in his waist with blood gushing out from the wound, he gritted his teeth in pain while the barbarian king just laughed, Achilles noticing his companion discomfort, feriousy attacked Oolacaryn's buffalo, bitting it's leg off, Oolacaryn couldn't balance on his bleeding buffalo anymore and he fell down on the ground, Raion using this as a leverage, jump at him from his lion's saddle pointing his sword at him stabbing the barbarian king piercing his leather armor then his heart, but before he died Oolacaryn stabbed Raion in his abdomen. Raion stood clutching his wound and decapitated the death barbarian king, he picked his head up and stood on Achilles with great difficulty and with all his might he shouted "your King is death!!" everyone including his men and imperials looked at him.

Donovan and the Asopeosian generals did the same showing the barbarian commanders were also death, most of the barbarian who were still fighting were men forced to fight by the barbarian clan seeing that they were dead they threw there axes on he ground and raised their hands in surrender.

Seeing this the army of Asopeos and Ifeland gave out a cry of victory, General Claw noticed the injuries that was on Raion and ran towards him ordering for the medics to help him "look at yourself, I swear if your father saw you like this he will get a heart attack" he said with worry.

At the end of the battle House Fortis lost 100 lion rider 250 swordsmen and 150 spearmen, the Imperials lost 650 cavalry and 850 footmen, however being ambushed, the barbarian had the most loses 4000 falling by the archers only and another 4000 killed by cavalry, 5000 killed by lion riders and another 5000 were killed by the rest. Out of the 22,000 that surrendered 12,000 joined the imperials and 10,000 joined House Fortis.

It took 2 days for the army to heal from the battle and another two to march to Silverblood, there were little resistance as just 1,000 barbarians stayed that are part of Silverkin clan were left in the capital, they were quickly executed and the rest surrendered.

Lord Heir Raion partly healed from his fight, walked inside his grandfather's castle it felt very welcoming for the young man, even if it was filled with the stench of beer and dead animals from the barbarians who lived in it for 55 years, he climbed up the stairs to the last floor and then out to the balcony where a flag pole stood with the silver and red flag of the barbarian flowing, Raion brought it down and ordered for it to be burned, he removed a red and black flag adorned with a ferious golden lion from his coat and raised it above the sky of Silverblood no Leonum, he corrected himself, he took a look at his army down on the ground who was cheering when they saw their flag being raised "The lions got their den back!" he shouted with joy, hearing this the Asopeosian especially House Fortis members cheered even more.

The Miranti emissary arrived, and noted the display, of men and equipment laid out for him to see, but  was not impressed. He had seen too many armies swallowed by a few competent, or incompetent, commanders. He steadily approached the dias, and bowed to the Baron, putting his face too the floor. when asked to rise and speak he did.

My lord, the Viscount Douglas wonders if you will survive the southerly march of the Marquis' armies. If you think you will, I beg you to think again, for the sake of your people, and your family. Many now, have tried and failed to resist the might of Marquis Jeremy's armies. Some are even claiming that he has been given the Emperor’s Mandate to overthrow Chancellor Devon. With these things in mind, I ask again, will you survive the armies of Marquis Jeremy?
Viscount Douglas reviewed his notes, Swurion contained 2,000 warriors 10, 000 cavalry, and 120,000 conscripts, but only 10,000-30, 000 conscripts could be moved to campaign elsewhere, without risking an invasion from the north, which would require him to divided his forces three ways, one to fight Devon, one to guard home, and another to meet fend off the nomads. He would leave those troops in place, only calling for them if he needed more troops to guard his capital. The nomads moving through Swurion were still relatively autonomous, and did as they saw fit in the regions of Celynur and Russilene, using their mobility to stay out of reach of the armies of those regions while pillaging and burning the countryside. They  were growing bolder though, having taken a small fort in Celynur, they ranged closer and closer to the wealthier towns. In Narthwich, his own forces had grown significantly. His 13,000 conscripts, 1,200 cavalry, and 800 warriors, had been drilling hard, to increase their effectiveness, while new conscripts were hired, lords sons were enticed and cajoled to join the cavalry, and particularly promising conscripts were given extra training to become warriors. The current tally was 20,000 conscripts, 1,500 cavalry,  and 1,200 warriors., bringing his total up to 22,700 troops from Narthwich. Of these, Emir wanted to take 10,000 conscripts 1,000 cavalry, and 300 warriors to campaign in Ibartona with Gerald's men, his reasoning was sound enough, and Douglas had approved. In total, the troops of Swurion and Narthwich numbered 140,000 conscripts, 11,500 cavalry, 3,200 warriors.
Colonel Emir, arrived and presented his proposal clearly and efficiently. He asked Viscount Gerald permission to work side by  side with him, in the conquest of Ibartona. He announced that Viscount Douglas was offering the service of himself and 11,300 troops to aid his friend and ally Viscount Gerald's forces in the conquest of Ibartona, and that these troops would be available  within the  month, leaving them just enough time to conquer the province before winter set in and campaigning settled down. Viscount Douglas would leave the governance of Ibartona to Viscount Gerald and asked only that he be allowed to march his army through Viscount Gerald's provinces when the coalition moved to depose Devon.

Sir Donovan grimaced in pain as he clenched his bleeding shoulder. He had suffered injuries in the battle but he knew it was all worth it as the barbarians had finally been defeated. Taking off his helmet, he mopped his brow and stared at the battlefield. It was littered with dead bodies and the blood that had been spilt was suffice to turn the entire area crimson red. As he stepped over the mutilated bodies, Donovan felt a wave of sadness. Many of his men had died in this war but even so, it was nothing compared to the barbarians' losses. He closed his eyes and prayed, hoping that the Gods would never allow such an event to occur again. Just then, a figure suddenly rose from the corpses and charged at Donovan.

"My Lord! Watch out!" someone yelled from behind.

As Donovan turned his head to look back, his eyes widened as he saw the barbarian rush towards him. He had been caught off guard as he believed that all the barbarians had either fled, been killed or surrendered. When the barbarian thrusted his sword at Donovan's chest, he fell backwards in a desperate attempt to avoid getting killed. After which the barbarian hurried forward and stood over Donovan as he raised his blade to deal the finishing blow.

Just as the barbarian was about to strike Donovan with his sword, someone suddenly jumped forward and shielded him from the attack.

"Telkartha!" Donovan cried out.

Enranged by what was happening before his very eyes, Donovan drove his own sword into the barbarian's body. The barbarian's eyes bulged as he struggled to move before slowly losing his strength and dropping onto the ground. Rid of the barbarian, Donovan wept as he held Telkartha's body tightly in his arms.

"Telkartha, don't leave me. I have yet to fulfill my promise to kill Devon."

"Donovan, it is alright. For the first time in my life, you have given me a purpose in life. I have to thank fate for allowing me meet you. If you would help me fulfill my dream ..."

"Say it, please."

"Save everyone from House Myerson's tyranny. That is all. Don't for-"

There was a moment of silence as Telkartha drew her last breath. As a parting gift, Donovan gave her a kiss before having her properly buried despite her status as a servant.
Given the signal from Baron Norbert to speak, Advisor Eusebius smiled and replied, "My esteemed guest, you are right. When Marquis Jeremy first started off, he had only 10,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 5000 in the navy. After taking Hedgemont, Actianona and Ormymnur, his forces increased tremendously and scouts report that Marquis Jeremy has at least 100,000 troops. Furthermore, his army's morale is high due to scoring major victories one after another."

Turning to his liege, he bowed, saying "My Lord, Marquis Jeremy has a powerful army, so great that the entire Empire trembles when the Champlin army marched to war. He have capable generals that are well-known throughout the Empire and wise advisors that have guided his army to countless victories. Furthermore, he has the Emperor's Mandate. Our troops are no match for them. I hereby propose that we surrender. Marquis Jeremy will definitely allow my lord to continue governing Nordale."
Meanwhile in Glarnyraefon, upon hearing that he would be able to obtain Ibartona and defeat the Governor of Ibartona, a longtime rival of his, he immediately agreed to General Emir's offer.