Chapter 77: No Need For Negotiations, Just Charge on Through!
"I have always found my duties as a Pelican Guard far harder to complete than those I had fighting in a war."
"Not only must I deal with the whims of an eccentric master, but I must also protect him when he gets dismounted, which can bring an entire column to a halt."
"Compared to war, this is much harder, for we can usually use our momentum to break the enemy down and break through, unlike when you are protecting a VIP where even the flow of battle or a war could depend on whether they live or die."
Aldorus Belerion, The First Commander of The Pelican Guard.
….
Railius' mind was working at a breakneck speed. The last time this had happened was when he was in an exam getting into what he liked to call the zone, which is a state of mind where his concentration peaked, allowing him to work far faster and more effectively than usual in actual fact because of how fast the young man's brain worked at times he even found being slightly tired helped keep his thoughts from running away from him like a train.
In the young boy's opinion, the man who rode away was obviously trying to get help as small forts and border garrisons dot the heavily contested border, and it would only take around 20-30 minutes for these men to arrive and help his opponents who already outnumber him by a large margin.
While the duke's men and those of his loyal vassals would not obey the vice count's orders, the troops of the imperial army stationed along the border were different. Even though they could not leave their posts easily, it was perfectly possible for them to come out on a patrol if told that they could catch a traitor. What made it worse is that they were not part of the forces under Lucius' control in the past, so they would have no past affection that may stop them from trying to kill his son and ignore the vice counts' call for reinforcements for Lucius was in control of troops outside of Nadron.
Unlike Archtorius, who tried to hide Leon's identity and give Railius a chance to escape because of his sympathies with his old commander, who was falsely accused of treason and his own reluctance to help due to being forced by Flavius kidnapping his son to blackmail him these men were different.
Just like Lucius in the past and the imperial guards, they only cared for and heeded the emperor's orders. If the emperor said that a person was a traitor and to kill them, these old elite loyal soldiers of the imperial army would not have any problems whatsoever in executing the son of a traitor or anyone else that the emperor ordered killed.
So when enemy reinforcements were on the way, who would be stupid enough to have a nice talk and let them arrive without doing anything?
Railius certainly wasn't!
"Where do you think the easiest place to break through would be?"
Railius asked Aldorus, who, unlike Leon, had a good head on his shoulders and was much more of a practical person and nowhere near as blindly loyal as Leon was to follow orders as he looked on his opponent's battleline that was filled with the vice counts personal troops as they were the only ones that he could move as he pleased.
"I would say we go around the left and force those knights to fight us head-on as casualties would be lower, and we can avoid getting tangled up in their infantry."
"Even if they are relatively new to war, their numbers will slow us down, allowing their reinforcements to arrive, at which point we will be in a tough position as the imperial army is only below the imperial guards and, of course, us when It comes to martial skill."
"We did, after all, take on the imperial guards and come out on top, and the Grand Commander is also to the left of us, so we would be closer to him when he can provide support after dealing with the Duke's troops who should retreat when casualties get too high."
Aldorus said with pride, though he knew that it was only their flanking cavalry charge that allowed them to win after they had been exhausted fighting through the 300 fanatically loyal Pelican Guards who previously protected their young lord.
"Agreed command as you like."
"There is no need for negotiations! Just charge on through!"
Railius said, a bored expression appearing on the boy's face, who wanted this farce to be over as he was confident in escaping now that he had his deal with the duke.
Even if the opponent was a player, Railius was already one step ahead of him. Did people really think it was a coincidence that they met their opponent here?
Of course, it was not! The scheming son of the Spider of Chavaria had long set this up with Duke Ancel, and everything was going according to plan, with the player in front of him being unknowingly wrapped in Railius' web of lies, the threads even now continued to wrap around his body trapping him.
"Yes, my lord."
"Charge to the left!"
"Vice Commander Nathos, command the rearguard!"
"Myrdin, you're upfront with the vanguard!"
"Protect our lord!"
Aldorus shouted, taking a position in the centre of the formation to help protect Railius as they charged at their opponent, unfurling the crimson pelican banner of House Aurellion, which flew high and proud in the sky as the dauntless Pelican Guards charged forward.
[Your troop's unique unit trait, Protectors of Aurellion, has been activated, making them unbreakable and increasing their fighting prowess by 10%.]
….
Vice Count Tyre Vask looked calmly over the small Aurellion host, which had stopped momentarily, confident in his victory. At first, he had been suspicious of his liege lord, Duke Ancel, because of his origins and reluctance to enter the imperial court or show outward loyalty to the emperor, but his actions in attempting to catch the family of the traitor Lucius Aurellion showed his commitment to the emperor's cause. He sent his men out across the border between his lands and the Beastmen United States, ensuring that they could help each other easily and even sent his own grandmaster to be stationed nearby this border, which was likely to be used because the Beastmen tribe on the other side was so hostile to the empire, and so would gladly help these Chavarian exiles.
With a grandmaster leading 1,000 of the duke's elite soldiers, Vice Count Vask was confident in ceasing victory over these traitors no matter how skilled they were as soldiers.
But even with this, the player behind Vice Count Vask, a native German, was not a man who took no precautions and did much research on his opponent and his family. He read about the Battle of Brunag and how Lucius, Railius' father, even when a night raid failed, had still talked it out with an opponent before engaging even when the result was a foregone conclusion.
But he also knew that if he made a blatant attempt at calling reinforcements using an obvious signal like a flair, then his opponent would just charge through without any hesitation, which would give them a better chance at escape, and while his dynasty would not be eradicated if he failed in this event it would adversely affect his dynasty in some major way because if the rewards for victory in the dynasty history system can be so lucrative then the punishment for failure can be catastrophic.
The German player hoped that he could send a messenger to the nearby garrisons and troops loyal to the emperor while keeping the young lord of House Aurellion occupied with negotiations, allowing his reinforcements to arrive before crushing his foe with overwhelming numbers.
Unfortunately, despite his excellent idea, its execution had one flaw, and worse, this was apparent to the sharp eyes of Railius. If the vice count had instead kept this man hidden, then the young lord of House Aurellion would not know that he was only trying to buy time.
He had also heard that his enemy, House Aurellion, had a grandmaster in their service who was protecting its last heir, but as the duke would deal with him, he only had to worry about how he could use his own master-level fighter to help him take the young lord of Aurellion's head.
This was a resource that Tyre had gained through the same event that gave him his noble title, but he also knew that those NPC's who serve you and die in the Dynasty History System don't come back and considering that most players would not have a master fighter at the start of the game like him was a source of pride for him.
He had also mastered 2 skills, one ranged skill and one close combat skill, making him more versatile than many masters who only mastered one skill. There were exceptions like Leon, but considering that Leon had the potential to become a grandmaster, it was not surprising that he could master multiple skills as many grandmasters had two or three and sometimes more skills at the master level; otherwise, they would not be seen as such powerful force in the world.
Tyre was surprised, though, when no call for parley could be heard, nor meeting or call for negotiations to start. Instead, he saw his opponents unfurl the golden pelican banner of House Aurellion and charge towards his left flank. Only the thunder of hooves ripping soundly in the earth could be heard, for no battle cry came from the ranks of their enemy as only silence could be heard from the 500 riders who lowered their lances and spears, ready to skewer their enemies who stuck fear into the hearts of Tyre's men as even the knights he had were inexperienced having only fought a couple of battles and cannot be compared to the elite Pelican Guards who had been following their old lord through battlefield after battlefield for the last 10 years.
Heading towards the rear of his lines, Vice Count Tyre ordered his men to wheel as the knights on the right rode round to the left to attack the Aurellion cavalry head-on while his spearmen prepared to flank them.
But when his soldiers, whom he was so proud of, met with the loyal Pelican Guards, his eyes widened at the clash that took place before him, for it was not what he was expecting. His men fell by the dozen! Lances impaled some, while steel swords cut others down, each death hurting the player's heart, who saw his military power decline by the second. Like a fast-moving train, the 500 Pelican Guards cruised through Tyre's lines. If it were not for the mass of men outnumbering the skilled soldiers of Aurellion 2-1, then they would have broken through in seconds instead of needing a few minutes to cut through the many knights that lay before them.
"Hewald!"
Count Tyre called out, seeing that the situation was far from being in his favour and at that rate, the traitor would escape, making him fail this quest that could elevate his title by a level, at which point a man behind him drew a bow and, using his eagle eyes, shot an arrow that thundered through the air towards Aldorus as it was imbued with many skills.
[Armour Shattering Shot]
[Stealth Shot]
[Wind Altering Arrow]
Aldorus deftly moved his spear to block the arrow that was seemingly coming for his young lord, only for it to suddenly change direction and impale itself into the horse's head, the steel tip piercing its brain as the loyal steed clattered to the ground.
Aldorus quickly jumped from his saddle, landing gracefully onto the ground with Railius clutched in his arms, his spear standing as straight as a pencil in the dirt barely a few meters away.
"Protect our lord!"
"Protect our lord!"
Shouts came as the train of men halted abruptly and swiftly rode back to protect their now vulnerable young master.
Vice Count Tyre's men did not miss a beat and charged their horses towards the boy lord, trying to stab, slash or trample the 10-year-old to death, but every time they got close, like a protective shield, Aldorus' spear shot out, killing the man as a whirlwind of stabs and strikes killed any hostile man from getting close to the young exiled nobleman. The spearmen also charged, aiming to surround the Pelican Guards and trap them before slowly pushing in to grind their enemies into dust.
Nathos looked over at his enemies, searching for the man who had shot at Aldorus' horse and found a man calmly drawing his bow, shooting arrow after arrow that found its mark, the arrows piercing through the necks of loyal soldiers of Aurellion and finding small gaps in their armour that only the most skilled marksmen could exploit.
"Commander Aldorus, get another horse and escort the young lord to safety! I'll deal with the roadblock!"
"Charge! Kill their general!"
Nathos shouted as around 50 Pelican Guards rallied around him and shot like an arrow towards what could only be a master archer, cutting through all who stood in their way without any regard for their lives.
These loyal soldiers already expected their deaths but still charged forward, wanting to prevent the master archer from trying to block their escape, for if he had not used multiple skills to shoot at Aldorus, the veteran former Chavarian Vice General would have easily blocked his arrow, and the Aurellion train of death would continue running with no one able to stop it.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
LaziestDragon
LaziestDragon Thank you for your continued support next chapter should be out by Saturday.
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