On a vast grassy prairie five kilometers from the white walls of the Kingdom of Astley’s capital city, Richtpole, the two armies took up their positions and scowled at each other. Distinguished by the general hue of the soldiers’ uniforms, the king’s red army garnered one hundred thousand combatants, outnumbering the second prince’s blue army of eighty thousand strong.
In spite of having a gap of a kilometer between the two armies, none of them had initiated a move yet since the arrival of the revolutionary army on the field about an hour ago. The tension between the opposing forces was heavy, and any move could possibly spark the start of the battle. “They haven’t made a move yet.” “Well, it seems like they’re waiting for us to move,” the old man replied.
Outside of the king’s tent located on a somewhat tall hill behind the army, the king, Richard XV, who was clad in gaudy articles, spoke as he looked out at the stationary revolutionaries. “Hmph. Perhaps Paul is chickening after seeing our superior forces. I can’t wait to see him hanging on the gallows as soon as this nonsense war ends, right, Father?”
Standing beside the king, the crown prince of the Kingdom of Astley, First Prince Richard XVI, dissed his younger brother with arrogance in his tone as he was twisting his left dali mustache with his thumb and index finger. Physically, Richard XVI was a tall man with good robustness. However, instead of Astley’s royal ginger hair or something of a similar shade, he instead inherited his mother’s brown hair. Even so, he grew up inheriting his father’s traits, such as his greediness and high self-esteem, due to how his parents spoiled and doted on him. For that reason, many righteous nobles despised both the king and the crown prince, hence the major factor in organizing this war.
“Don’t be a fool, son. His army may be inferior to ours in terms of numbers, but number is not the only thing that matters in every war.” “Ha ha ha ha! You are such a worrywart, Father!” Hearing his father, the prince turned to his father, and he started burst out laughing, which gathered the attention of the soldiers nearby. He laughed so hard that he had difficulty breathing after that. “What are you worrying about, Father? As long as we have the Paladins, we basically have nothing to fret over.” “…” “Hm?” Seeing his father utter no word and turn his gaze off, the prince was puzzled and looked at him with a tilted head. He thought he was thinking about the Paladins so he sought answers.
“What’s up with you, Father? Is it about the Paladins?”
Well, yes,” he responds with a hesitant voice. “Actually, two of them left the order and joined the other side.”
“What?!” he could not contain his shock. The prince yelled. “But who are those traitors?!”
“Sir Gex and Dame Dane…”
“No way?! The Berserker and the Dancing Blades?!”
Other than him, the ones that heard the prince were shocked by his words. It was pretty understandable, as most of them did not know that Gex and Dane, two of the most recognizable adventurers of the kingdom, were actually, but now formerly, members of the Paladins. A majority of the adventurers and knights in the kingdom had heard of the legacy of these two mighty warriors. Suddenly, the news about their early retirement spread like wildfire in the kingdom. They had not heard about them since then, so their shock was genuine when they heard it directly from a member of the royal family. 𝘪𝘦.𝘤𝑜
“But why does Dane have to join my brother’s side?!” Enraged, the prince repeatedly stumped his foot on the ground like a child throwing tantrums. “I am even planning to make her my concubine!”
“Don’t worry, my son; you know that you can enslave her, don’t you?”
“That’s right,” he said possessively with a shaky voice. “I can just basically make her my slave and make her my property!” “Think about the war first.”
“Alright.” Gaining his senses, the prince composed himself. “They may be having two of the Paladins, but it’s not like they are the most powerful amongst them, anyways, so we are still on the high ground.” “Hopefully.” The king then turned to his son. “Well then, Richard, I leave the army in your hands. Beat the crap out of your trash brother!”
After he said that, the king handed over Astley’s heirloom sword to the prince. It was a longsword whose blade and grip were forged with orichalcum, giving it an overall golden radiance. The sword had been passed down from generation to generation as a symbol of Astley’s courage and bravery. “Thank you, Father. Mark it as done.” The prince mouthed his majestic white warhorse before unsheathing the sword from its state-of-the art leather scabbard and raising it. He reined his horse toward his generals. “Let’s go, boys. Hiya!” Accompanied by the generals, Prince Richard XVI, who had no experience in warfare, ordered his soldiers to take the initiative to attack. ◆◇◆
“So, they have finally moved.”
After waiting for more or less an hour, the sharp eyes of Prince Paul took notice of the change of movements of the opposing army. Subsequently, he caught a glimpse of a heirloom sword of their family. “I shall get our men ready, Your Highness.”
“Please do so, Marquis.” After nodding his head off to the prince, Marquis Krieg directed his horse to do a run throughout the army and told them to prepare themselves for the battle. “I haven’t seen or perceived any of the Paladins among the army. It seems like they are hiding somewhere.” “It seems so.”
A man and a woman covered with full plate armor, except for the headpiece, standing beside the horse of Paul uttered their feelings. Actually, those two were Gex and Dane, former members of the Twelve Paladins who joined the revolutionary side.
“I really appreciated your decision to join our side, Sir Gex and Dame Dane.”
“No need to thank us, Your Highness,” Dane responded to the prince, and then her expressions turned awkward. “Actually, we are the ones who should be grateful here. You know, who wants to engage in a fight with them?” Dane rolled out her eyes without turning her head, subtly indicating the prince to look behind them. When Paul turned his head around, he saw the members of the Raevender family, Mylene, Louise, and Raphael, sitting on wooden benches as they rested their arms on the wooden table. Waiting for the battle to break out, the son, Raphael, suddenly conjured two benches and a table out of nowhere for them to lay their drinks and food on and had a casual picnic. They offered Paul and the others to join in, but they refused, as they were still in the war. Everything must be taken seriously during that time.
The vassals of the Raevender Viscounty, Michael, Lucy, and Uriel, did not join them and instead chose to discuss the plans with Gex, Dane, and other generals, including Rick. “Your Highness, the enemies are about to attack!” A few minutes later, Edward returned to their spot and intoned his report. Soon after, tens of thousands of arrows were fired. Finally, the first act of aggression officially rained toward the revolutionary army.
“So this is how they respond. No negotiations or even sending an envoy at all,” Paul muttered as he was watching the arrows rain down. “Alright, if you want war, I’ll give you war. Prepare the defenses!” At that moment, the battle to conclude the civil war had begun.
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