Hill 385, 1617 hours

"She's fine, Major, she just passed out from shock," a medic informed Julius. "She'll be conscious soon."

Julius nodded. "Thank you, Barnes. As you were."

The medic was about to bring his hand up to salute the major, but thought better of it. Instead, he smiled at his superior and went back to his unit, leaving Julius to survey the slopes in front of their positions. Thousands of Reconquista soldiers lay dead or wounded after two unsuccessful assaults from a combined total of 13,500 men from the Reconquista Third Army. Estimated losses were more than 6,500, although Julius felt that the number was far greater.

He sighed as he brought his binoculars up and scanned the area to his battlegroup's northwest. The Tristanians and their protectorate of Guldenhorf were slowly but steadily pushing back the Reconquista all along the front, although with horrendous losses. Turning his gaze skywards, he could see that the situation was entirely different. Reconquista dragon riders have air superiority over the battlefield, although that advantage was slowly dwindling thanks to Tristanian mages casting spell after spell in order to force the Reconquista to abort their attack.

He was interrupted from his appraisal of the battlefield by Lionel. "Major," the captain started. "Princess Henrietta's en route here to hold a war council with us."

Julius nodded. "Alright."

He followed his subordinate to one of the few mortar pits they have set up, arriving at the same time that Henrietta did with elements of the 1st Cuirassier Regiment and a company of Musketeer Knights from the 2nd Life Battalion.

"Your Highness," Julius bowed as Henrietta and her mounted retinue descended from their horses. "I hope that the battle has been going well for you so far."

The princess nodded as she approached, casting curious glances at the British battlegroup and their equipment. "Thankfully so, Sir Julius. It seems that general d'Erlon was right in his report that you managed to repulse the Reconquista."

The major grunted in affirmation. "That's correct, Your Highness. We've beaten back two assaults so far, although I wouldn't take all the credit for doing so. My colleagues and subordinates handled themselves quite well while I was wreaking havoc from above."

Henrietta blinked. "You mean to say that you were the one flying that steel dragon?"

Julius nodded. "Yes, and that steel dragon is a fighter aircraft. It's a flying machine, somewhat similar to the dragons and whatnot that this world uses, but they could fly faster, higher, and longer. Unfortunately, it has already run out of ammunition, so we had no choice but to destroy it."

"Hah, you commoners only managed to hold out by sheer luck. Even against a small number of poorly trained men, I doubt that there's much that you can do to begin with," a noble scoffed.

The major raised an eyebrow. "I would like to remind you that had it not been for my men, the Reconquista could have easily turned your left flank and surrounded you. But please, do go on and tell me how I'm doing poorly in repulsing the enemy without any losses to my own."

Another noble cut into the conversation. "Mind your words, Soult. These commoners held out against overwhelming numbers and still prevailed, and that is something to be respected."

Soult sniffed derisively. "Look around you, Oudinot, do these men look like proper soldiers to you? This rabble and their contraptions are nothing more than – "

"Enough!" Henrietta barked. "We came here to discuss our next plan of action with our allies, not to alienate them!"

She turned to Julius. "My apologies for that, Sir Julius. Shall we start?"

Julius nodded. "Yes, we may proceed. What are your suggestions?"

Soult spoke first. "I believe that we should outflank them. They have committed most of their forces to their center, which leaves their left flank lightly defended. We can have a third of our army keep the enemy occupied on the right and center while we have the rest of our force come in from their left flank on the north, swing around from behind, cut them off from their supply lines, and block their path of retreat."

"You seem to be forgetting one thing, Soult. We don't have enough men for that, how do you expect to pull off such a maneuver?" Oudinot sneered at his colleague.

Soult glared at his fellow general. "And what would you propose then, Oudinot?"

Oudinot stepped forward. "We let the enemy come to us and bleed them dry with our defenses until they are exhausted and have no choice but to abandon their invasion. We may have lost around one-third of our artillery, but I believe that our British allies could more than make up for our losses, and they will be instrumental in blunting another attack, should they attempt to launch another. The Musketeer Knights and the Guldenhorf infantry could be used to replace any battalion that has been rendered combat-ineffective."

"You're seriously going to rely on the British? Look, I'm not wasting my time waiting for another assault to come, we need to go on the counterattack! We need to outflank them now!"

"And risk having our left and center collapse, giving the enemy freedom to take Tarbes?! To capture the vital crossroads that lead further into Tristain?! Soult, I was at Rennes when it fell. You were there as well, and we both witnessed how you attempted that maneuver. I don't think I even have to tell you how that turned out. You tried the very same thing at Carentan, which you botched horribly!"

"All because you disobeyed my order to link your forces with mine so that we could complete their encirclement! You had a chance to do so, yet you chose to fall back!"

"I was being pragmatic! I was not about to lose my men in some heroic yet futile counterattack, and I'm not about to lose them yet again!"

Soult bristled in anger. "How dare you – "

"No, Soult, how dare you! How dare you act rashly without – "

"Generals, that is ENOUGH!" Henrietta roared.

Both generals ceased their heated argument, though they continued glaring at each other.

The princess stared both of her generals down. "The enemy is already wavering, it is only a matter of time before we break them, and you choose now of all times to squabble around like children?! I expected more from the both of you!"

She took a deep breath to calm herself down, then turned to Julius. "Sir Julius, what would you suggest?"

The major mulled over the question for a moment before he responded. "I could have my men carry out a decapitation strike. Maybe send a platoon to force Cromwell's ship to land somewhere, then use my men's superior firepower and tactics to throw them off-balance while calling in mortar support. Hopefully our weapons have the range for that."

"This is not your war, commoner," Soult snarled.

Julius glared at the noble. "Yet here we are, on this very hill, where we repulsed two assaults so far." He turned to head back toward his battlegroup. "The results should speak for themselves."

Henrietta and her two generals followed the major, only to fall silent as they saw the destruction wrought upon by a form of warfare none of them could have ever imagined.

"Unbelievable," Oudinot breathed.

"Nothing but a cowardly rabble who would choose to fight from a distance rather than face the enemy head-on. Where's your honor?" Soult snapped.

"With all due respect, general Soult, your form of warfare has long been obsolete in my world," Julius leveled a hard glare at the general. "I have fought for more than six years in some sand-ridden hellhole called Afghanistan. I have seen more than a few good men under my command die in battle. Do you have any idea how many times I had to write letters to the deceased's loved ones about how their sons, their husbands, their fathers died in the line of duty?"

He threw his arm towards the mass of dead and wounded on the hillside. "You want your honor? Go ahead, be my fucking guest."

Soult merely scoffed. "So you mean to say that your men died like the dogs they were?"

In an instant, Julius had his rifle leveled at the Tristanian general. But instead of ceasing his insults, Soult goaded him on. "Don't force me to do this," the major growled.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve there?" Soult quipped.

Julius chambered a round in his rifle. "Why you – "

"Have you taken leave of your senses, Soult?! What in Brimir's name do you think you are doing?!" Oudinot yelled as he grabbed Soult's collar, yanking him close.

Soult struggled in his colleague's grip. "Unhand me, damn you!"

"General Soult," Henrietta warned. "Disrespect our allies one more time and I'll have you relieved of command and executed for insubordination."

Soult did not respond, his glare fixed on Julius.

"Soult!" Henrietta snapped.

The general spat on the ground. "Understood, Your Highness," he ground out.

Oudinot pushed Soult away as he turned to Julius, who saw that the tension had been defused somewhat and had thus lowered his weapon. "My sincerest apologies about general Soult, I will see to it that he gets dealt with accordingly."

The major merely sighed. "Thank you very much, general Oudinot. And to you as well, Your Highness. My apologies if I let my temper get the better of me."

Henrietta smiled. "No harm done. Besides, we have more pressing matters to attend to."

Julius nodded. "Quite so. Now, what should be our next course of action?"

The princess leaned forward. "I think we should go with your plan. With how things currently stand, we'll need to use every advantage that we can."

She turned towards the battlefield. "Sir Julius, please prepare your men. I shall speak with you again once this battle is over."

Julius grunted. "Understood, Your Highness."

Henrietta turned towards her generals. "Let us be off. Our men need us."

Julius watched as the three nobles made their way towards their horses and rode back to their lines, with their escorts right behind them.

"Pompous prick," Christian muttered from behind him.

The major turned towards his subordinate. "Come again?"

Chindit Company's commander gestured at the departing Tristanian nobles. "I meant that one bloke who had the gall to talk us down, even though the results are clearly laid out for all to see."

Julius just sighed. "Thankfully his colleague was there to rein him in. Things could have turned ugly very quickly."

He slung his rifle. "Alright, enough of that. Get Maj. Hudson over here, we have a new objective…"