The Mechanical Era

It was a fine day on the 8th of Nummum, 5018. Danial had successfully retreated back to Browntown, where his soldiers healed back up, potions were brewed and refilled, and messengers were sent out to the others. He had instructed his soldiers to start gathering all the supplies they need and take a quick rest because soon they will be moving out again.

Knights, who had learned the art of making potions, whether it be from the academy or their parents, started to steal and use the essential tools and ingredients to brew up some potions. Peasant soldiers, armed with their spears and bows, intimidated the local population to hand over more vital food and water to them.

Two days ago, he went into battle with a brigade of a few thousand soldiers, with about 16,000 peasant infantry, and 1,152 knights. However, after the battle had concluded, he had about 13,500 peasant infantrymen left, as well as 1,050 knights remaining. All while the enemy had less than 4,000 soldiers combined.

The southern army had a new weapon, and he was certain that his friends also faced its wrath. What he plans to do, is to regroup, and restrategize with his friends on how to counter the enemy. Danial sits in the lord's small home, which was only half the size of a football field. It was made out of stone walla painted with daisy white, floors tiled with polished marble, roofs made of wood, and windows of crystal clear glass.

Danial, who was wearing some normal clothes after taking a nice morning bath, cleared out any sweat and smell he gained from 2 days of not bathing were looking at a large map on the desk. Side the map, there were a few bottles of beer he drank from his left hand while cooling off his head with a magical ice pack in his right hand.

The map portrayed Browntown at the center while Tyrol was at the northern top corner. He took a look at them to plan for an orderly retreat back to Tyrol. There were multiple routes he could follow, all with their advantages and disadvantages.

He could take his original route, by marching through the paved roads to get back to Tryol, with minimal loss of men, or he can get back faster by passing through a few forests and possible demon hotspots, losing more men, but getting there faster.

He weighed the options and the experience he had with the enemy. Considering their weapons of thunder would be able to take out many men, and due to the fact that they might also have to carry those large metal barrels, Danial chose to take the less risky, slower path by marching through the road.

Assuming that the enemy marches slower due to carrying the metal barrels around, the fact he will need as many men as he possibly could have, and the pressure of getting there with as many men as they could be higher than getting there as fast as he could.

As he finalized his escape plan, the was a loud banging on the door. Fuming at whoever was bothering him, shouted at them to leave. However, the man behind the door interrupted as he tried to lecture them.

"An enemy brigade has been spotted about 3 miles to the southeast, while another is spotted at the southwest! They are headed straight for us, your majesty!" His mouth suddenly stopped speaking,

'Them? Here already? How long has it been? I thought they would be moving at a much slower pace than this!" he thought. Danial quickly ran up to the door and asked the knight behind it how long have they been at Browntown.

"For about 3 hours, sir! Since we came in the morning. Many are trying to catch up on some sleep. You told us to get some rest before heading out again, as well as resupply our troops," the knight replied.

"How long will they take to get here?"

"I don't know, your highness! If I had to guess, about 1 hour and 15 minutes if they marched at our speed, your highness!" he replied.

"Alright... wait here," Danial instructed. He went back to the map, wanting to find an alternative route, to find a better bridge to cross. Despite searching for a good 5 minutes, he found none. Considering he had so little time, he will have to sacrifice a few men to allow most of them to escape.

He went back to the knight, who was still standing at the front door. Danial instructed him to bring in a few senior knights, and 3 unit leaders of peasant soldiers. The knight bowed and ran over to get as quickly as he can.

It took another 5 minutes to get them here, but they all arrived soon enough. With a good 10 minutes already wasted, he informed them of the plan.

"10,000 soldiers and 1,000 knights will retreat back to Tyrol. The remaining 6,000 peasant soldiers and 50 knights will be sent over to distract and slow down the approaching army.

The knights will attack the armies from their flank, taking out as many of them as they can. The 6,000 peasant soldiers were to remain and defend the city, forcing them to lay siege and give us some time to retreat.

If you all think that they might be successful in capturing the city, then make sure to burn the city to the ground. We do NOT want them to resupply them. Do you all understand?"

The knights and unit commanders looked at each other. They knew what it meant. They, along with their soldiers, were to sacrifice themselves so that most of them could escape, and in their last act of defeat, they were to burn the homes of thousands, who had been tricked into the heretic queen's ways. The room enter a period of silence, with none of them wanting to speak up, and just nodded.

"I will that as a yes."

...

The musketeers, with their guns, lined up with their shoulders, pointing their guns up, marched in an orderly fashion drenched in their sweat. Their legs were starting to sting, and their feet felt numb as they had all been marching on the cobblestone roads all day and all night, to catch up and destroy the enemy.

They were said to be meeting up with the 1st brigade, which was commanded by Queen Rose herself! The two brigades communicated via messengers on horseback, running at about 40 miles an hour to quickly deliver and bring back messages, which took about 12 minutes at best to deliver and bring back a message.

The plan states that the 1st brigade will march towards the bridge and defend it, while the 3rd brigade will take the city itself. This move would hope to corner the king, where he would be captured or killed.

As the men marched along, with some whistling along as they go, Carson picks up a strange sound, to his right. He turns his eye around, to see a few figures on horseback, headed their way, with a small dirt cloud behind them. As they got closer, he realized who they were; enemy cavalry.

"ENEMY CAVALRY! TO THE RIGHT OF US!" he shouted. The men instantly got alerted and stopped marching. They turned to their right and aimed their guns after lighting them up. A few shots were fired, but they were all blocked by their shields.

Fireballs, large and hot, went right toward the tips of their pikes, burning them. Then, with the knights' own spears, they stab a few soldiers before retreating. Some of them cast a spell, aimed at the caravan holding a cannon. The weapon, along with the caravan, blew up into a fiery blaze, destroying it altogether. With that, as soon as they had come, the knights had already left.

Carson, who was fortunate enough to dodge the spear attack, survived, while Herrold had his left arm given a fresh wound, which could lead to death if not treated. Medics drop down and quickly treat the wounded soldiers. While most survive, many of them perish, as their wounds get to them.

The soldiers kept on firing on them before they disappeared into the forest. A hit and run. Pretty effective tactic. Carson counted the bodies that were on the floor and reported them to Colonel Leroy, who was at the front.

"Private Carson! What happened back there? I heard the enemy did a hit and run?"

"Yes sir! That is correct sir. I came here to report the body count." Carson replied.

"Well then? What are our casualties? How many did we lose?" he asked.

"We lost 16 people, sir."

"I see." Leroy turned to a tall, buff knight next to him and instructed her.

"Take a few knights and guard our flanks. I do not want to lose any more soldiers. We are going to need as many of them as we can." His head then turns to the messenger and informs him to deliver a message to the 1st brigade, about the enemy attacks.

"We might have to move faster."