“Those would be prizes well worth fighting for,” brightened General Gertz.
General Kolling nodded, seeming to have made his decision. “I think we will go on the offensive by pretending to be defensive. Colonel, get to the vanguard and halt the column. I want the vanguard to set up defensive positions where they are. They are to protect our eastern exposure. As companies reach the fortifications they are to deploy behind them with the earliest arrivals preparing for an offensive attack when the enemy gets near. We have a fish on the line, men. Let’s reel it in.”
* * * *
Rut-ki rode up the hill and dismounted near Elandros. She looked down on the body-strewn road and sighed with unease.
“I don’t like this, Elandros,” she said. “Something feels wrong about it.”
“A larger army running from a smaller one?” he posed. “I know you mean more than that, and I agree, but I cannot say exactly why it feels wrong.”
“Neither can I,” admitted Rut-ki, “but it does. The Federation hasn’t pushed back once all day. All they have done is build fortifications to hide behind.”
“Perhaps you should call off the attack,” replied the elf.
Rut-ki frowned. “I could demand that Colonel Wu-sang break off the attack, but I am hesitant to do so. The plan is General Za-hong’s plan, and his colonel is faithfully carrying it out. It is accomplishing exactly what Za-hong wants. If Team Barouk remains behind their fortifications, our people will gain the time they need to reach Ongchi first.”
“If they remain behind the fortifications,” echoed the elf. “I am concerned about that. Wu-sang’s men are getting tired while many of the Zarans are resting. I know you are hesitant to overrule the colonel, but I would if it were my decision to make.”
Rut-ki nodded in agreement and woke up her fairy.
“Shall I go spy on the enemy again?” chirped Speck.
“No,” smiled Rut-ki. “Find Colonel Wu-sang. Tell him to break off the fight and retreat in an orderly manner.”
The fairy shot up into the sky and disappeared. Moments later, Speck landed on the colonel’s shoulder.
“Rut-ki says to break off the fight and retreat in an orderly manner,” the fairy dutifully repeated.
The Lanoirian colonel nodded as his eyes scanned the battlefield. The Zarans were only putting up a token resistance as the Lanoirian forces chased them along the road and through the woods. He sighed with satisfaction. The battle had gone well for the Lanoirians. He was proud of his men. He looked around for runners and saw two men standing nearby. He waved them to him.
“One of you take the north side of the road, and the other take the south. We are breaking off the attack and retreating as we had planned to do earlier. Carry my words forward to the front lines and be quick about it.”
The two men saluted and dashed off in opposite directions. The man on the north side of the road raced through the trees, seeking the most forward commander, but he never found him. As he approached the front lines, an arrow pierced his neck, his body tumbling to the ground unnoticed. The right flank continued to press the attack while the left flank began their retreat. The Zarans, seeing the confusion, chose that moment to attack.
Thousands of Federation soldiers leaped over the crude barricade and charged the Lanoirians. Other Federation units swept wide around the barricades intending to outflank the Lanoirians. Within mere minutes the controlled Lanoirian advance turned into a full-fledged rout. With the withdrawal of the Lanoirian’s left flank, the Federation soldiers ordered to go against it instead turned towards the stationary right flank and engulfed it.
Colonel Wu-sang watched in horror as the tides of battle changed against him. He dispatched runners as quickly as he could find them in an attempt to lessen his loses, but there was little he could do. The cavalry was brought into the battle, but they were only effective on the road portion of the battlefield. They did manage to shield the left flank and allow them to organize their retreat, but they were useless against the wooded battle occurring on the right flank.
Elandros and his elves swept into the forest towards the encircled right flank, but even their excellent archers could not extricate the Lanoirian soldiers. All they could do was whittle down the number of Zarans killing the trapped Lanoirians. Rut-ki took to the sky on her unicorn and flew over the battlefield. While it was hard to see through the canopy, she dropped small jars of fire glue whenever she saw large knots of Federation soldiers. Eventually the forest began to burn, and the Zarans retreated to their barricades, leaving the wounded and dying behind.
Colonel Wu-sang organized groups of men to brave the fires, rescuing what wounded they could find, regardless of uniform. As dusk arrived, the remnants of the Lanoirian army made camp a league east of the Federation camp. When the final tally was made, the Lanoirian army was short two-thousand men. Another one-thousand men were wounded. It had been a bloody day, and the mood of the camp showed it. As the camp finally settled down to sleep, three people remained around one of the fires.
“I guess I made a mess of it today,” lamented Colonel Wu-sang. “I have no right to hold my rank.”
“We Lanoirians are not the only ones capable of setting traps,” replied Rut-ki. “Besides, I am as much at fault as you are. It felt wrong to me far before I sent Speck to tell you to disengage. I should have acted sooner.”
“The two of you need to stop beating yourselves,” advised Elandros. “The trap was well set and sprung. No one can foretell what the enemy might do. The important thing is you both acted quickly to lessen the loss. If you, Rut-ki, had not started those fires, all of the men we pulled out would have died. And you, Wu-sang, your quick thinking and disciplined order allowed us to extricate the wounded before they died. Stop dwelling on the mistakes and concentrate on the future.”
“The future?” scoffed Colonel Wu-sang. “What future? I have only two-thousand men left, and I am supposed to stall the Federation march to Ongchi. How can I do that?”
“The Federation army was also bloodied today,” Elandros pointed out. “Their morale will not be any higher than ours, but they have no options open to them. They have to continue their long march towards Ongchi, and now they know that such a march will not be pleasant. They will be more wary than ever before. If you use your remaining men well, you can have a great impact on that Federation column.”
“He is right, Wu-sang,” brightened Rut-ki. “Elandros has been attacking them for over a week with only one-hundred men. We just need to be smarter in how we attack them.”
The Lanoirian colonel raised an eyebrow at the thought. “The men would look forward to bloodying the Federation again. What did you have in mind?”
* * * *
Four guards stood outside the large command tent of Team Mya. When balls of fire started streaming through the sky, they all turned towards the north and watched excitedly. While they were not close enough to the northern perimeter to see the magical projectiles strike, the shouts and screams attested to the attack. General Fortella burst from the tent, his attention immediately drawn to the magical spectacle as the darkness of the camp was shattered by the glow of fires in the distance.
“One of you find Colonel Tamora and have him report here immediately,” commanded the general.
One of the four guards took off running. The general stood watching the spectacle for several minutes before Colonel Tamora appeared with the fourth guard. The general turned and entered the tent, and Colonel Tamora followed him inside. Moments later, Colonel Tamora reappeared and ran in the direction of the disturbance. The general did not reappear outside the tent.
“I would not want to be under those falling balls of fire,” one of the guards said softly. “That is no way to die.”