Despite the crowd swarming Gurifis, the esteemed mercenary leader did not allow himself to forget about Jinzo and Swiss.
Throughout the entire routine welcome ceremony they do every time he comes back to camp, Gurifis always made sure to give Swiss enough eye contact so that he knew he was not forgotten
After maybe ten minutes of vying for their leader's attention, eventually, the soldiers dispersed and got back to their evenings.
That's when Francesca, a petite yet strong-willed woman with short hair, ran up to Gurifis and hugged him tight.
"Welcome back, Gurifis." Francesca's cheek pressed against his shiny armor, "Was everything alright?"
"Yes, I arrived just in time." Gurifis gave Swiss and Jinzo a watchful glance before smiling and scruffing Francesca's hair.
"Psst… Jinzo. Do you ship this?"
Jinzo smirked and pretended to not hear the playful whispers of Swiss.
"So Grit's alright?" Francesca pushed herself away and focused deeply on the eyes of Gurifis.
"Of course. You and I both know how tough he is" the shining White Knight of Accipiter told her in response.
The two comrades of war both noticed her red flustered cheeks. The reason for such concern rooted in complicated feelings.
"Hehe, perhaps you called it too soon, Swissan?" Jinzo whispered back to Swiss and they both giggled like a couple of anime nerds.
Francesca was eager to quickly change the subject, "Who are the newcomers? Fresh recruits?" she inspected Swiss and Jinzo and noted their strange attire for the battlefield.
"This is Jinzo and Swiss. They will be joining us temporarily. Think you could show them to a tent?"
"Oh, we're fine, Gurifis. Jinzo and I can sleep under the stars." Swiss insisted.
"Nonsense. You two are my guests." Gurifis once again disarmed Swiss with a smile, making him instantly agree. "Thank you, Francesca. Swiss, Jinzo, goodnight. I shall retire now."
With a humble bow, Gurifis departed to his quarters. Leaving the second in command to show our duo to their tent.
"Hey, Francesca, was it? You like Gurifis, don't you?" Swiss was adamant to prove his theory correct.
"No way. It's Grit you're in love with, right Francesca?" Jinzo had just as much conviction.
"…" She ignored their childish antics and regally marched them to their quarters.
"Here's your tent." That was all she said before storming off with attitude.
"Trololol. Want to place a bet on it?"
"What do you propose?" Jinzo replied.
"You must forever call me the lord of shipping and acknowledge my 900 level IQ when it comes to sniffing out people's feelings." Swiss proposed.
Jinzo rolled his eyes and smiled, "Fine by me." They both shook on it, equally as determined to be right.
The two had a stroll around camp before they retired for the night, taking note of the camaraderie between the troops and crouching down by a fire to share a bottle of sake.
Things moved quickly in the camp during the hour before dawn.
They were pretty much packed and ready to go by the time they sent someone to wake up Swiss and Jinzo.
"Here, you eat this on the march. We need to get moving." Francesca handed them both a freshly made sandwich and left their tent.
After she left, Swiss rubbed the sleep from his eyes and said "Jeez. Not even gonna give us time to take a shit?"
"Something must be happening." Jinzo surmised.
Something it did.
After barely even a 20 minute march the Accipiter army came to a halt. The air became thick with a ripe tension that warmed their bones better than the morning sun.
"INTO POSITION!"
With pinnacle precision, the Band of Accipiter assumed their famed battle formation.
The formation was relatively standard. Six units of heavy infantry lined the center, with calvary waiting in either wing. Each wing also had a unit of light infantry as support.
Swiss and Jinzo were in one such light infantry unit. They found themselves being stationed on the right-wing, commanded by none other than Francesca herself.
Swiss scowed the vast grassy field where the battle was to take place. Jinzo spoke with a hint of concern.
"The second in command to the army is the head of a light infantry battalion?" Jinzo had always imagined big burly units of troops would take the higher ranks of an army.
"Why not?" Swiss yawned and reminisced about all the epic war manga he would read in the past.
Then a loud whistle pierced their eardrums.
"There they are!"
First, you could see them. Then you could hear their footsteps.
An army nearly tripling the size of the Band of Accipiter assumed positions on the other side of that green grassy field.
Then a Black Rider came forth.
The Black Knight.
To meet him, the White Knight of Accipiter; Gurifis.
"So you're the commoner that has risen to nobility through your accomplishments on the battlefield." The Black Knight spat at the hooves of Gurifis' horse.
"And you're the Devil Knight who rapes and pillages wherever he goes." The piercing blue eyes of Gurifis shoot venomous intent.
The Devil Knight scoffed, his dark armor matching his stench of death. "I look forward to being the man who defeated the invincible White Knight. Commoners who dare to forget their station make me sick."
"It is you who is already defeated. You should retreat while you can." Gurifis took a smell of a small flower he picked on the field earlier.
"Fool. Your success is only because you did not cross paths with me. My army is the more experienced, more numerous!.. yours is but a band of peasants."
"That's what they all say." Gurifis reared his horse in provocation.
From the formation, Swiss saw how Gurifis' silhouette magnificently plastered itself against the sky.
The visage of a chessboard came to mind. It was like the pieces set up before the game, with the two kings meeting in the middle.
Both commanders rode back to their respective armies.
It began immediately thereon.
With his numbers advantage, the Devil Knight sent them forth in a rudimentary fashion. A crushing charge from heavy infantry of his own punctured the center.
Yet the Band of Accipiter did not get pushed back too far. In fact, they were holding their own.
"This is nothing! Heavy Infantry, PUSH!" Ezekiel, a large round man wielding a great Axe, spurred on the Accipiter infantry.
"Wow! That guy is strong!" Swiss was jumping so he could peek overhead and see what has happened at the center.
Then the Black Knight's army sent a large cavalry force to attack the Accipiter left wing.
But Gurifis expected this. Instead of running into a light infantry battalion that looked weak, it was a trap, led by the crafty Roshan Tamul.
"Pull up the spikes!" Roshan Tamul commanded, and his men pulled the rope, causing pre-prepared wooden spiked to jar out of the ground.
Roshan Tamul and his men made short work of the disarrayed survivors using their throwing knives and crossbows.
With the melee on the left-wing in their favor, Roshan Tamul turns to Gurifis' position, where he stood at his command station overlooking the battlefield.
Roshan Tamul gave Gurifis a thumbs up and a wink.
Then it was time.
Gurifis gave a signal and Francesca led the right-wing to engage the enemy. Swiss and Jinzo stayed close to her, as instructed privately by Gurifis.
With the Accipiter right-wing joining the fray, the battle turned chaotic. All the while, the professionalism of the mercenary army stayed strong.
Then Gurifis played his greatest card. Upon his signal, an archer shot a flaming arrow into the sky.
That's when the Raiders division, led by none other than Grit, made their appearance.
They rode their majestic steads and hacked away at the Black Knight's left wing.
The great sword of Grit splattered blood against the green.
The Black Knight's army was now psychologically damaged and losing ground on the battlefield.
At that point, Gurifis made his move.
Down the middle, his elite unit rode forth.
Through the enemy center which was substantially weakened by Heavy Infantry commander Zekiel, the elite unit of Gurifis easily carved their way through the fatigued infantry of the Black Knight.
"What?! Impossible! We are the finest men of Midland! We outnumber them three to one!"
Before the Black Knight knew it, Gurifis had hacked his way to his command tent.
The reflection of Gurifis on his white horse gleamed brightly in the eyes of the Black Knight.
The Black Knight gasped in shock, "Wh-.." He gulped, "What is it that you want, White Knight?"
Gurifis changed his expression not, "To fly." His words were cold as the top of the highest mountain.
The last thing the Black Knight saw was the saber of Gurifis piercing his neck through a small opening between his armor and helmet.
*STAB*
… A sickening silence covered atmosphere in anticipation.
"The Black Knight is defeated! Lay down your arms and surrender!" Gurifis declared, his voice clear and boisterous. It could be heard by every person on the battlefield.
The fighting stopped. Weapons dropped. In this battle, the Band of Accipiter mopped.
"VICTORY!"
"HAZAAA!"
The Band of Accipiter rejoiced in victory. Swiss and Jinzo celebrated also, fist-bumping each other.
"Trololol. GG. Man, that Gurifis is really something, huh?" Swiss said.
"You got that right. I feel like I just took part in a miracle." Jinzo replied, with Swiss' arm slung around his soldier in pure bro-ship.
The Band of Accipiter, led by the White Knight Gurifis, had defeated the Black Knight before midday.
It was a battle that would be talked about for years to come, yet the complex conflict of the Midlands kingdom was still some distance from being over.
[Jessie37: You think one battle can win a war?]
Regardless, the victorious band of mercenaries set up camp and got stuck into their celebrations.
They believed in the motto 'work hard, play hard'. Though this mentality had not been verbalized officially, it was how this army conducted itself.
As such, a great party ensued.
"Bahahaha! You did great, Grit!" Zekial had downed his barrel of grog and was patting Grits on the back.
"It's always because you hold it down on the front lines, Zekial."
Grit hated the spotlight his strength would put on him. He always praised his fellow comrades.
In this band of mercenaries did Grit make his only friends.
Then they all cheered as Gurifis made an appearance, dressed in a silk shirt he spoke.
"Good work, men! By my calculations, we are just one more battle from winning this entire war for the king! After which, the Band of Accipiter will be the most influential army in the land! Just one more push!"
Gurifis raised his fist, and the whole army cried "HOORAH!"
Beer mugs and sake cups clinked against one another. The music band played and the food was cooked. Together did these brothers in arms sing.
At the campfire in the heart of the celebrations, Gurifis and his officers laughed and retold the events of the morning. All the while Swiss and Jinzo were with them.
"Francesca, your light infantry squad was spectacular once again," Gurifis told her.
"It was my unit that was the star, right guys?" Roshan Tamul proudly boasted.
"Please, my front line is what made it all possible!" Zekial retorted.
"No, we all were the stars." Despite Gurifis' words, his eyes could not help but glance at Grit, the greatest warrior of his army.
"Trololol. These guys are so sentimental." Swiss took a swig of his sake as he joked with Jinzo.
Then Francesca sat next to Grit on that log by the fire and nudged her face into his neck.
"Looks like I win, Swissan," Jinzo said in victory.
"Broooo that's such bullshit. She's looked like she idolizes Gurifis.." Swiss looked at the lover-dovey antics of Grit and Francesca in disbelief.
"Are you salty, Swissan?"
…
The celebrations went well on into the night.
The Band of Accipiter had cemented their names among the greatest in history.
Away from it all, Grit sat on top of a small hill, leaning on a lone tree and gazing at the moon.
"You're seriously amazing."
Swiss climbed his way to Grit with a bottle of sake in hand.
"…" Grit did not avert his gaze, "You killed some of my comrades on that beach, you know."
"They could have killed me." Swiss took a swig and then handed the sake bottle to Grit.
Grit inspected the bottle with begrudging eyes, before sighing and accepting. "What do you want?"
"I just wanted to say hello. You have a sort of hot-cold demeanor about you. Friendly yet distant to your fellow mercenaries. And that love interest with Francesca? You lost me a bet.."
All Swiss could do was chuckle and forget about it, looking out at the festivity in the camp below.
"Anyway, respect, bro." Swiss had plenty of experience talking with brick walls like Grit. He left, pleased with the little ground he made with his simple gesture.
Grit enjoyed the bottle of sake that Swiss had left him, each sip making his thoughts more and more about Francesca.
In his grand tent, Gurifis was sitting at his table reading poetry, his mind half thinking about the battle today.
The anticipation was getting to him. With each day his standing rose in the kingdom. He wanted to fly higher and higher into greater skies.
And now the kingdom was groveling at his feet.
It was all for his taking. The support of the commoner, the middle class, and even the majority of the upper class praised his name.
It was only the pure elite that denounced his rise to power.
But there was nothing they could do. Gurifis took a sip of his brandy like he knew the future.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure crept into his tent.
"White Knight Gurifis, a word please."
Gurifis released the tense hold of his weapon. Instead of an assassin, it was a hooded messenger.
That messenger whispered his secret proposition.