Chapter 115: Battle of Eagle and Lion (I)
She could spy them from a distance, watching the group split in half even through the distance between them.
The two groups split from one another, one remained behind while the second marched north, heading towards the forests which bordered the location of the Golden Deer. It was of little difficulty to see that Goetia was among the group heading north, but that was on account of his golden hair being easy to spot.
A shuffle between her, she grunted and looked down. "You can drop me now."
"I wasn't going to drop you." Dimitri replied back rather hastily, but with a touch of mirth. He stepped back and lowered her slowly towards the ground, allowing her time to right herself before she turned towards the prince and nodded her head.
"Good instincts."
Dimitri caught the extended meaning behind her words, nodding his head and turning towards the other Blue Lions. "The Black Eagles have split into two groups. Shall I assume that Goetia is marching towards the Golden Deer?"
She nodded, Dimitri hummed.
"In which case, we shall do what we can." He stepped back and gripped the spear tightly, turning his head and nodding for the distance. "We shall march on their base and then lay siege to it, recall the plan. Siege only and we will wait to see what becomes of the battle to the north. Once we can ascertain who is the victor, we shall move forwards."
And then in the event of the Black Eagles lying in wait for their actions, Byleth already had some plans for that.
Dimitri marched past her and raised his spear high, signalling the troops. "All, move forwards! Even formation and watch our flanks for movement. They might sweep in to ambush us! Mages, prepare shields for arrows and spells!"
It was an idea that Byleth had gotten when she spied a Demonic Beast at one point.
Armour on all sides to protect the soft inside.
But what she was worried about was how the battle between the Golden Deer and the Black Eagles would play out. Especially with the likes of Goetia thrown into the battle. There was a lot that was dependent on the Golden Deer inflicting more casualties on the Black Eagles than the other way around.
Yet Dimitri had strong words for Edelgard and how skilled she could be in tactics as well.
And with Goetia helping them…
There was nothing left to be done, she had already made a pledge and she was sure that Goetia would not be defeated by Catherine, barring unexpected circumstances, but the knight had quite a bit of experience on her own. This battle was turning to be quite a bit closer than she would have said when she first heard of it.
A deep breath and then an exhale, she joined the march forwards.
Deep thuds one after another, the tremor in the ground and the clanking of steel as the wall of metal marched forwards. Committing all their forces to the siege on the Black Eagles was risky, but splitting up would have been more dangerous and it could not be denied that the Black Eagles had the easier position to defend.
A double edged sword.
If they rooted out the Black Eagles, they lost the advantage but an open battle with Goetia was risky.
Same with Catherine.
She would take her chances with whittling down a weakened force than fighting a strong one.
All they could do now was execute the admittedly simple plan and then see where it led onwards from there. The weight of her sword felt comfortable in her hands, it was as though it was barely there at all. The sound of thumping footsteps echoed loud all around her, a continuous droning march forwards and her eyes, they kept to the front.
As they crested over the nulls before them, the mounds which broke up the landscape, she spied the ruins of the temple getting closer and closer. The fortifications manned by half - perhaps even a third - of the forces of the Black Eagles in total, but no more than that.
Edelgard truly had taken the majority of her troops to fight Claude.
A curious tactic, but not one she would have vetoed.
Fighting Claude struck her as being difficult and he was the sort to prey upon weakness, hitting him hard and fast before he could enact a plan seemed to be the best way of dealing with him. But then he struck her as slippery too.
No matter.
She was not the professor of the Black Eagles and that was Goetia and Hanneman's role to deal with them.
With a swift hand, she held it up and stopped the advance behind her, the thuds and thumps fell silent behind her as she lowered the hand back down. Then stepped away and towards Dimitri, she could only provide advice where needed, but it was up to him to lead the class to victory, this was a lesson, after all.
He inclined his head towards her as an acknowledgement, then turned it back to the temple, she could see the river of thoughts flow on his expression, hiding very little from her in regards to what he was feeling. Evidently he was seeing something that troubled her as he stepped backwards and turned his head, sweeping a hand forwards and drawing the attention of one of the other students.
Oddly enough, it was revealed to be Felix.
The teen hesitated for a moment, but with a scowl he marched forwards and met with Dimitri at the front, she stayed near the two of them. Watching the clear unease drift from the blue haired boy at being so close to the other. A tightness in his posture and a natural wariness, akin to being near a wild animal.
He treated Dimitri as a boar in more than name alone.
"You can see what I see, can you not?"
The question hung in the air for a few moments, Felix turned his head and stared, then slowly narrowed his eyes. Unlike the Prince, Felix was far more reserved with his thoughts. A good trait to have, making it difficult to read what he had seen. But she had a strong inkling as to what it was.
It was why she had stopped them in the first place.
"Mages and Archers, they left all their ranged troops behind." Felix breathed out, a twisted frown formed on his lips, with a slow shake of the head, he scoffed and looked towards the Prince, she could imagine the sort of face he was making by his tone of voice. "It seems as though they've seen right through you."
Dimitri nodded in acceptance, not showing any concern as to the rather rude way he was spoken to.
"They have indeed." Dimitri adjusted his stance and took a small breath. "We march up that hill and we will take them, but they'll make it difficult for us. Especially with…I believe I can spy Hubert and Hanneman there."
Byleth took another glance and immediately spotted the reflection of the monocle in the light, a distant glitter atop the temple, but one she could spy all the same. A hazard ill-suited for this type of thing, but she could not fault the man for making that sort of mistake. At least not on purpose.
He was a scholar, not a fighter.
"Waiting for them to fight the Golden Deer proves equally problematic, they will return and we'll be met with a much more difficult battle…provided they even win. I am not so inclined to dismiss Claude or Lysithea yet. Even if they have to face Goetia."
Byleth blinked, then turned her head to the blonde.
Lysithea?
That was a rather odd thing for him to bring up now, wasn't it?
Sothis didn't seem to think so, the flash of amusement and some hidden sense of exasperation. The same as when Byleth thought of something but missed something else as well at the same time. She was left to assume that whatever it was, Sothis would not be telling her about it any time soon.
"Well, then…Prince." Felix spoke, derision dripping from his every word. "What sort of plan do you have for us now? I'm sure at the snap of a fingers we'll go charging up that hill to be mowed down by spells and arrows. I'm certain we'll eventually throw enough bodies to get to their positions."
"That will hardly be necessary."
Dimitri all but stated, then he turned and looked behind them, raising his hand and sweeping it forwards, beckoning someone towards him. She would have been more puzzled if he did not call out a moment later. "Mercedes!"
Mercedes?
Quite what he wanted with the designated healer of the group, she did not know, but the fact he had formed some manner of plan without her knowledge was rather…curious. Part of her should have been frustrated that he did not share all his battle plans, but another part was relieved that he understood the value of intelligence.
The fewer who knew, the lower the chance the information could be found out.
"I will apologise for not informing you, Professor." As if sensing her thoughts, the blonde turned on her next with a strained grimace. "It was a plan I had formed after speaking with Mercedes and I worked with her towards it…by the time I was confident it could work, there wasn't enough time to explain it to you."
Byleth could only nod her head. "If you are confident in the plan, then you can give it a shot."
A visible look of relief crossed his features, then he turned and stepped towards the platinum blonde as she broke away from the frontlines. Moving towards Dimitri, in her hands was a leather satchel, even from this distance she could hear something jingling around inside of it, like pebbles or rocks.
Mercedes came to a stop and extended the back towards Dimitri, flipping it open and letting him reach inside. She heard him grasp something, or many somethings, between his fingers and pull them out. Flipping his arm over and uncurling his fingers, showing off whatever had been in the bag.
She stared at them, glinting in the sunlight and of various sizes and shapes, some dirtied more than others but all of them could not be mistaken for anything else.
"Jewels?"
Dimitri gave a wry smile. "Not quite as such, merely some of the counterfeits collected over the years…they would have been destroyed, but I spoke with Rodrigue and had a small portion delivered to test something out…and it worked quite a bit better than I would have anticipated, not as grand as the original but…I believe it will suffice."
Turning around, the blonde looked to the distance, his eyes fixed on the battlements of the Black Eagles and the waiting troops.
Several seconds went past, then Dimitri gave a single confident nod of the head, shuffling the fake gems in his fist. "I believe I could make that distance with a throw, and accuracy isn't truly my aim with so many…"
It was a mutter she barely caught, yet Dimitri gave another nod of the head.
Byleth glanced from the jewels to the prince, then to Felix and Mercedes.
There was some glimmer of understanding in the eyes of Felix, looking down at the prize in the house leader's grasp. Then giving a faint snort before shaking his head and letting out a sharp breath. "Still violent at a distance, are you? So long as you don't cripple anyone…hmph, whatever. Do as you will then."
"Your confidence is warming."
Dimitri remarked, and he sounded as though he genuinely meant it.
Sothis presence flooded her mind, she could practically feel the eyes of the Goddess bearing down through her temples and turning a heavy gaze to the gems in Dimitri's hands. Byleth expected a comment to come, yet there was only silence as the Goddess kept herself there, camped out in her head and watching.
It was certainly a more subtle reaction than she was used to.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
Ah, there it was.
"Nevermind, how is it that I recall something that you forget? Do you not remember when last we saw that girl armed with such trinkets?"
Mercedes with trinkets?
She recalled Goetia had been-
Byleth straightened, then looked down at the gems with a more appraising nature behind her face. It made sense that Dimitri would have kept this a secret, he could hardly get true gems and crystals, by the fake ones made by magic or through just scams were much easier to come by for a prince.
And they were ultimately worthless.
"Don't miss." Byleth felt the need to say, drawing a side eye from the prince before he gave a wry smile, then nodded his head once.
Mercedes took a hesitant step forwards and reached out with one hand, hovering it just above the gems before she glanced at Dimitri and spoke in an urgent voice. There was no disguising the worry she felt at that moment, nor the way she was all but pleading for them to heed her warning.
"Please throw them as soon as I am done, I don't want you to get hurt."
A stiff nod from the prince and a resolute look. "Not a second longer in my grasp."
That was all Mercedes needed as she lowered her hand down, placing it flat on the surface of the gems and closing her eyes. Byleth could see some of them under the fingers of the student light up, as though someone held a lantern beneath them, or as if sunlight had turned to liquid and seeped into the cracks and crevices of the pile.
Once finished, Mercedes pulled her hand back and opened her mouth, perhaps to give a warning for the prince to throw.
Dimitri was ahead of her on that account, his fingers curled inwards and he took several steps forwards. With a sharp intake of breath, she watched his posture tense as he drew his arm back and flexed, muscles rippled beneath his armour as he swung his entire body into the throw, stumbling a single step forwards and letting out a shout as he loosened his projectiles into the air.
They were remarkably easy to track.
As if the stars had come out during the middle of the day, they shone bright enough to match the sun and fell with the speed of an arrow, streaking through the air as they approached the positions.
Byleth figured some would fall short.
Yet if they were anything like the original of Mercedes creations, or even close enough to them, then it would work for what they needed.
And what they needed was a good distraction for a charge.
Bernadetta was anxious, but it was hard to be.
She had more than one reason to be worried and the ones she did have weighed on her shoulders liked steel blocks. None heavier, ironically, than the small bird that was currently sitting, tucked away in the crook of her neck, on her.
Despite how cute little Flauros was - a weird name but she didn't much care about that - there was no denying what the finch represented, she had been close to recoiling in terror from the small bird when it had scooted closer to her and ruffled it's feathers, finding a comfortable spot.
If the thing was sleeping, then she would have been unsurprised.
No, she was scared of the bird because of the owner.
Because Goetia had trusted her to watch over him and they were in an active battlefield.
What if a stray arrow hit it? People would probably be aiming for her…no, not probably, she knew they would aim for her.
Because she was weak little Bernie and she was the easy target, any other day she might have welcomed getting knocked down and sent off the field. It would have been painful for her for a short time, but compared to the terror of being stuck in a prolonged engagement, it was all about the cost and the reward.
Yet there was Flauros, attached to her like an anchor, armed with the promise of terrible retribution if some awful fate befell them.
Not only would she feel bad about it, she had come to like the little guy, but there would also be the horrible wrath of Goetia. She knew he would have been furious and compared to facing down him when he was angry - she could imagine all sorts of awful threats and curses she would suffer at his hands - the army in front of her was almost tame.
Bernadetta dared not even move from her spot, crouched down behind the wooden palisade and staring straight down the narrow incline towards the wall of slowly approaching metal. The Blue Lions had marched forwards and crested over the hill, since then she had watched them with growing terror as they moved closer and closer.
At the moment, they were inside the range of arrows, she knew that.
But there was no comfort in that thought.
No one had given the order to loosen yet - she hoped that it wasn't her they were waiting for - and that meant there was a good reason they were not doing so yet. It meant that she just had to stare at them as they looked back at her, the menacing wall of solid metal that looked, that glared, across the green fields.
She could feel them all, the eyes of dozens of people all squarely pointed at her.
At this point she could feel them, the sensation of being struck, the promise of pain the longer she stood here. Berndeatta felt her mouth go dry, a deep arid feeling as if no amount of water in Fodlan could bring an ounce of moisture to her mouth.
She dared not even try and swallow, for she knew that she would just choke on her dust covered tongue.
Bernadetta stilled as she glimpsed something, right at the forefront of the Blue Lions she could see some sort of commotion happening with the front units. If she looked hard enough, she could have sworn she spotted the green hair of the professor as well, which only added to her growing mortification.
They were doomed.
And she was doomed because Flauros would get hurt.
Brightness flashed in her eyes, she jerked her head back and looked up. Dozens of tiny glowing orbs soared into the sky and fell into an arc. It was both impression and horrifying as she watched them rise up from the front of the lines and then move towards them, akin to shooting stars.
Leaning back, she slowly turned herself to the side and scooted backwards behind the cover of the wooden barricade. Her body contorting to nestle itself into the small grooves and then shuffling a little more to get comfortable. The feeling of something solid at her back and the fact she was staring at her own feet was almost reassuring.
Yet as soon as that image presented itself, it was banished away with the knowledge that there was an army marching forwards with the express purpose of-
"Find cover!"
Hubert shouted out and she flinched at his tone of voice, never having heard him raise it even once and suddenly now bellowing with all the strength of a wyvern. How she managed to not drop her bow and cover her ears was a mystery to her, yet the second part was what he was telling them to take cover from.
Unfortunately, she did not have to wait long to get an answer.
It was a sudden roar in her ears, like a dozen thunderclaps going on at once and then came the screaming. She dove down and snapped her eyes shut, soon she was screaming as well. Nothing had hit her, she didn't feel anything hit her, but like everyone else she was howling without a care for how it looked.
Then the screams went silent.
And that was somehow worse.
Because she was certain they were still going on, but she couldn't hear them over the rumbling tremors that seemed to be coming from all around her. Even through her closed eyes she could see the flashes, they burned through the darkness for a single split second and then faded away just as suddenly.
Yet it was not one or two, it just kept going on.
And then it stopped, and the shouting and yelling remained.
There was a ringing in her ears, a faint pulsing of agony that shot through her temples, the herald of the headache she was sure to suffer in the next few hours. All she could do was whimper, now left with the certainty that she would receive far worse than that before this day was over for her.
It was the sensation of something wriggling against her skin, something small and delicate pushing up against her that eventually made her open her eyes and drag her head up. It felt like someone was pushing down, like a hand was gripped tight against the back of her neck and pressing into the earth.
She managed it, somehow, her head rose against the phantom force and she blinked rapidly, colour and focus flooding back into her eyes as she stared all around her, immediately seeing the ones who had been closest to her, the knights who hadn't ducked behind cover, were wiping at their eyes and hissing loudly in pain.
One she could see sitting down and blinking rapidly, tears streaming down his cheeks, near him lay smouldering grass, wisps of smoke rising up from the blackned spot where whatever had been thrown had landed. Even she could figure out that he had been right next to it when it did…whatever it did.
Yet again, she felt something push against her chin, this time she let out a sharp squeak as something sharp pressed against her. Not rough or malicious, but it was the sort of poke one would get to receive attention. She jerked upwards and turned her head down, a sensation scuttled along and onto her shoulder.
Flauros perched on her and started to chirp loudly in her ear, the high pitched beeping sound intensified, feathers ruffled and wings flapped aggressively.
For such a small bird, they cast a rather menacing presence when right against her face. So much so that she froze up, everything swirling around in her mind keeping her locked in position. The chirping grew louder and more frantic, the wing flaps sent small bursts of wind into her cheeks and it was all she could do to not flinch when it gave yet another peck against the side of her face.
"I-I-"
She went to speak, only to stop.
Her eyes slowly turned down to the grass, she stared at her fingers splayed out on the soil and in the mud and slowly tilted her head.
It was not something she was imagining.
…The ground was shaking, it wasn't all that strong but she could feel it.
And second by second, it was starting to become more noticeable.
Her face went cold, the blood rushed away from her features and she was sure that she must have been transparent like glass. Her neck turned once more, this time with the muffled creak of bone as she fought against every single one of her shrieking instincts that were begging her not to turn around.
As if, by some silent prayer, if she didn't see what was currently rushing towards her, then it couldn't do anything to her.
The moment she turned, would be the moment her fate was sealed and she knew it.
Yet her head kept turning, dragging her eyes with it as she twisted her body around and looked over the side of the wooden barricade. She stared down the incline and everything just stopped.
She couldn't hear herself breathing, nor could she even feel her heart beating in her chest.
Instead she just stared, a silent scream rushed up in her throat and then stopped, slamming into whatever blockage was in her gullet and leaving her with nothing more than a barely audible gasp as a response.
With wide eyes, she stared at the Blue Lions charging towards them from the bottom of the hill, at the forefront of the line - sword raised high and sprinting faster than should have been possible - was the Professor herself.
Some part of her swore that they locked eyes and Bernadetta felt nothing more than the urge to burst into tears.
They were coming to get her and she couldn't even escape.
She wanted to go to her room-
Another sharp stab into the side of her face, she turned and saw Flauros looking up at her, then the bird turned and started to beep louder and more frequently. From the nature of their efforts and the way they were acting, she could have almost mistaken it to be demanding. As if the bird was ordering her to do something.
Hubert was shouting behind her, throwing out orders and she could hear the clank of armour and rush of footsteps as people surged around her, charging into positions or dragging the still blinded away.
She wasn't really paying attention.
Her eyes ducked low once more and met those of the finch, this time the bird gazed back at her in silence.
Then tilted its head and beeped once more.
Bernadetta took in a short breath and slowly stood up, her body felt heavier than it had ever been, like she was wearing full plate metal. Her arms were all but lugged along her body and upwards, finding the arrow in the quiver and pulling it out, everything went on as if she was a visitor to her own body, watching herself move with no conscious effort.
Another short breath, she closed her eyes shut.
The tremors were getting louder.
Her eyes opened and she just felt so exhausted.
With tired resignation, with the knowledge that if those people charged right into her, she would get Flauros hurt and then Goetia would be upset, she nocked the arrow into the string and then pulled it back, taking aim and letting the arrow fly through the air a moment later, already she was moving for the next once.
For as much as she feared what would happen to her, she feared what Goetia would do to her even more if Flauros got hurt.
She barely paid attention to where her arrows were landing, she just kept pulling them out and loosening them as fast as she could.
Her lips twitched when she heard the excited beeping of the finch as arrow after arrow was let loose.
Soon enough, she could see dozens of them joining hers as they flew through the sky, raining down on the charging Blue Lions and forcing them to slow, shields were raised and the distant sound of drumming steel rang loud across the field. They were close now, so close she could pick out individual faces she had seen about the monastery.
She aimed for those.
Another breath and then she exhaled, the arrow loosened to the blonde hair and missed by a fraction, if that. But she did see the rider of the mount jerk to the side and react to the failed strike.
She pulled out another arrow, nocked it and let loose.
Then the starlight rained down upon them again, this time she was able to see Prince Dimitri coil his arm back and throw them. The glitter when sprawling from his hands hand and scattered in the air, as if he had thrown nothing more than ordinary garden stones, but she was already aware of what they would do.
She ducked back behind the barricade, snapped her eyes shut and turned her head away from where they would land.
The shouts were fewer this time, it was a blessing in disguise, doing wonders for her own terror, even as the light ripped across her shut eyes and flashed through the darkness she had tried to find refuge within. In the single instant, the split second that the last of the flashes faded, she was already back around the corner and pulling out another arrow.
"Archers, ready!"
There was a short silence, the thunderous claps of the boots got closer.
The Blue Lions kept on advancing.
"Pull back to secondary positions!"
She didn't need to be told twice, she turned and sprinted fast as her legs could carry her, speeding right past some who were only just reacting to the order, the wind lapping at her face as she moved, aware she might have been whimpering at the same time. Her eyes stung as she sprinted, charging right towards where had been agreed and all too quickly throwing herself into cover.
Bundling herself up, she snapped her eyes shut and let out a quiet, muffled, whimper of terror as he realised her position.
She had been throwing arrows at them, they were definitely going to come for her for revenge now and-
"Excellent work."
A jerk, she flinched as she recognised the voice, yet she did not turn her head.
Not that the speaker seemed to notice as he carried on.
"A good rallying cry, you've done well enough. Restock your arrows and prepare for the next plan."
Hubert marched off without offering anything else, which was good. She was sure that if she had raised her head, then she would have seen he wasn't even looking at her. Another small mercy, or she assumed because she hadn't felt the burning sharpness of his eyes on the top of her head.
For the time being, she took what little break she could get her hands on.
Dropping her head back until it struck whatever was behind it with a faint thud, her eyes opened and she started breathing in deep heavy pants. In and out.
Cracking her eyes open, she stared at the sky and found some minor comfort in the blue depths above her. A minor thing, but it was just enough in that moment. Slowly, her left hand moved up and rested itself upon the side of her face, fingers grazing along her cheeks as a breath escaped her, long and shuddering, it was more like a gasp that started and stopped several times before it ended.
Movement brought her eyes to the right, she could ginger hair moving towards her and then dropping down to eye level.
For a few moments, she couldn't quite understand why Ferdinand was there with her, then he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. It wasn't exactly gentle, but it wasn't rough. Any discomfort was attributed to the armour he wore and not any wrongdoing on his part.
At least she didn't see anything malicious in his eyes as he stared at her.
Then he spoke in a calming tone.
"You have done more than enough, Bernadetta. Let me take it from here and carry on. Rest while you are able."
And then that was all he said, with another nod of the head, he stood back up and marched past her. She watched him go as far as her eyes would allow but did not turn her head, instead she just sat there with her back pressed against a barricade and her eyes pointing towards the sky.
She had done more than enough.
That meant no one expected more of her, right?
"...Do you think they'd mind if I didn't move from this spot?"
She wasn't sure who she was speaking to, perhaps herself or perhaps the bird which had hopped down onto her lap. Bernadetta didn't need to turn her head to look at it to feel its gaze on her. For a moment, she understood the absurdity of trying to speak to the bird as if it could understand her.
Yet it was a fleeting thought and quickly vanished, she found that she didn't care at the moment.
She had thrown everything at the Blue Lions.
She had nothing left to give.
At least Flauros was out of danger, Goetia couldn't get mad at her for that.
…And she did like the little bird.
They were sort of cute when they puffed themselves up.
Ferdinand marched forwards, pulling his mount along by the reins before he stopped. Stepping back, he grabbed the horse by the saddle and heaved himself upwards, making nary a noise as he saddled himself on the mount and held the spear tight in his grip, turning a sharp gaze onto the marching Blue Lions.
They have given out quite the trick earlier.
Whatever that magical spell had been, was certainly unpleasant and had allowed the class to charge all but unopposed until they were perhaps a few short sprints away from their outer defences.
Hubert had been right to signal the retreat and, whether she realised it or not, Bernadetta had encouraged the other knights to follow her lead.
That being to dive at the ground and curl up into balls.
Odd as it was, it had worked as the light had failed to affect them and they recovered much quicker this time than last time.
But now was not for handing out well-deserved praise, there would be plenty of time for that later, after they won.
The mount trudged forwards, a sharp grunt as he tugged at the reins and pushed onwards. Showing none of the trepidation he felt in his heart as he stared down the approaching mass of troops. They doubled the current forces, even with their losses from the archery, they were token victories.
But their role was never to beat them.
Their role was only ever to hold them here as long as they could.
In a callous way, they had been sacrificed, but he did not think of it in such crude and uncaring terms.
He agreed to the plan.
And they were not so undefended yet.
Ferdinand saw movement, he glanced at his left and spotted Hubert giving him a nod. It was the signal for them to begin and he - and the two men beside him - stepped forwards and unleashed several burning orbs in the direction of the Blue Lions, now entering the range of the spells.
As expected, the attacks were rebuffed by bright shields which formed over the front lines.
The vanguard moved without breaking step, then he glanced up as streaks shot above the lines and into the air. He turned his gaze to the sky, staring at the dozen or so training arrows which were being dropped towards them from the archers of their rival house.
Even with the tips made of blunt wood, they still hurt.
He needn't order anyone for cover, the clothed men ducked down swiftly and without further prompt, seeking cover in the barricades as the arrows cluttered uselessly against them or struck the dirt and bounced off the ground. A couple made it near his horse, but a swift pat on the neck of the mount soothed the worries.
Ferdinand let out hushed words of comfort to stead it, then glanced back and rolled his jaw.
Raising his spear, he pointed to the sky and then downwards.
A couple more spells from Huberts own mages and then a couple more powerful ones from Professor Hanneman. He could tell which came from the elder man, as those shattered the translucent blue lights and struck the front guard, several men were knocked down by a sudden gale force of wind.
A call to arms from the Blue Lions and then they charged forwards, the vanguard rushed towards their front lines.
Ferdinand wet his lips and kicked at his mount, turning sharply on the reins and moving off to the right, along the front lines of their own defence and shouting out.
"Prepare!"
The clothed men, those in the traditional garb of church mages, nodded their heads as he passed them by and then readied themselves.
It was mere seconds until they would be rushed.
"Now!"
He judged the time was ready and jumped off his own horse, his boot struck the ground with a heavy thud and he nearly rolled to the floor. Managing to stay upright and breaking into a sprint, he turned once more and hurled himself towards the front lines, where the vanguard would meet them.
And the clothed men immediately grabbed the spears and shields which had been hidden behind the barricades and rushed forwards with him. Joining him step by step as they formed a wall between the palisades and locked themselves down.
The Blue Lions forces were committed to the charge, had he been closer he knew he would have seen the sudden surprise and resignation in their faces. If they stopped now, then Ferdinand and his men could charge down there and catch them before they could form ranks properly.
The choice had been made the moment none of them stopped running.
Ferdinand braced himself, body tight and spear pointed for the front.
The Blue Lions charged headlong into them, throwing themselves into the two man thick formation of spears and shields and the world around him turned into nothing more than a chaotic frenzy of shouts, snarls and the distinct sound of crashing wood and thudding bodies.
He paid heed to none of it, instead he focused on what was in front of him.
A thrust to the leg stopped a charging man, another thrust caught someone in the arm and allowed them to be knocked to the ground.
He twisted and blocked, then countered and struck hard.
Ferdinand felt as though his body was aflame with energy, a surging of power as he spied whomever was getting close to him and immediately swung all of his energy into the attacks. The spear in his hands cracked and cracked, he was sure that if this went on long enough, it would shatter into splinters.
"Hold the line!"
His voice came out deep and thunderous, pouring just as much energy into his words as he did into the battle.
"Hold the line! Not a step back while we stand!"
Ferdinand glanced at a man who swung at him, he caught the blade with the shaft and pushed backwards, pulled the spear across and swung the butt like a battering ram. It struck them in the side, he saw another and swept across, he felt the shock reverberate up his arm as he hammered the wood into the jaw of the next attacker.
Stepping backwards, he pulled across and aimed low, sweeping out the legs of the first man as the second dropped to the ground and nursed their injured face, or they had been knocked out cold.
He couldn't tell which it was.
Another thrust hit nothing, but warned off the knight who had tried to close the distance.
The initial aggression was starting to lose momentum, he could see it in the faces of his opponents. They were growing bolder by the moment, realising that even with the surprise, they still outnumbered the Black Eagles by a significant margin. More so with the infantry, but as long as they kept them trapped in this narrow pass…
Hubert, two mages and Hanneman.
That was all they had to hold the flanks and stop - or at least, delay - the enemy from flanking around.
His thoughts jerked to a halt, the spear came up and he grit his teeth as he knocked away the falling blow, it was thrown to the side, a spear shot past him and struck the attacker in the gut, knocking them backwards and into the mass of bodies.
There was another shout and then he heard a sound distinct to his ears.
Splintering wood.
Though foolish, he did turn his head to the noise and stared with wide eyes at what he found. A brief pang of fear shot through his body, yet his face only hardened as he watched the Professor charge right into the front lines just to the right of him and hurl herself into the thick of battle.
Her first swing packed enough weight to shatter the training lance it struck.
Then the man was knocked to the floor by the kick, not just that but he was thrown backwards and into those behind him, bowling them all to the floor and then the efforts to close the gap were doomed to fail, worse if they were caught out like this.
"Fall back!"
He shouted above the thunderous crashes, desperate for someone to hear him as he stepped away, still fighting away the slashes and thrusts that were flying towards him without end now. Few of them were catching away at his now, he felt the blows against his arms and the screech of something striking his armour before it glanced off.
They etched backwards but a few inches, and the Blue Lions greedily took those in.
The narrow gap they had fought to hold widened considerably and already he saw more men pour out, moving to rush around them, he couldn't see where the Professor was anymore, but that was more horrifying than comforting, because he knew what she would be doing.
Wherever she was, she was running rampant.
And he still hadn't spotted the other members of that class yet, but they wouldn't be far behind.
Ferdinand swung at the blur which charged him, then his body locked up as his swipe froze in place. Striking something hard, then anchoring itself in whatever he hit. He pulled with all his might, his feet doing nothing but sliding in the dirt to free himself from whatever caught him, and it was only when he looked down the length of the spear that he realised what he had hit.
Or rather, who he had tried to hit.
He stared at the spear which was currently gripped tight, so tight he could hear the wood protesting the hold, letting out desperate creaks and wails as the fingers tightened their hold around it, cracks forming where it was trapped.
Prince Dimitri stared back, with just one hand holding the spear behind the head, then he gave a faint grunt before pulling.
Ferdinand let the spear go the second he felt his body lurch with the spear, utterly unwilling to engage in a battle of strength with the Prince from a family infamous for their divinely blessed strength. Instead he flung himself as far back as he could, fingers diving for the dulled sword at his waist and scrambling over the hilt.
The sword was yanked free with a metallic hiss, bringing it up not a moment too soon as the first blow hammered down into him. Once more he was thrown back, falling several steps before he was caught by the bodies behind him, trapped as the blonde advanced, he took in a steadying breath and pressed off his feet.
With a shout, he swung forwards and met the spear of the blonde prince.
It was another cry of steel drowned out in an ocean of its peers, but to him it was the loudest one, his arm shook as if he had struck some manner of wall. Then he pulled back and resumed the offensive, determined not the let the blonde have a single second to utilise his famed strength.
Back and forth, high and low, thrusts and slashes.
Everything that he could think of, he tried and he seemed to make some progress in the duel.
Dimitri's face was showing signs of strain as the duel continued, but Ferdinand knew he was going to tire first.
He was the aggressor and it was only a matter of time until either the Prince caught a slip or someone else caught him.
Pulling the sword back, he coiled both hands around the hilt and swung into the side of the prince again and again, each blow more frantic than the last, all his weight in the blows as they hammered away at the guard, he stepped in and closed the distance as they locked once more.
Trying to push into the prince, he stepped and slipped, awkwardly falling into him with a gasp but the footing and terrain meant they both ended up fighting to not come crashing down into the mud.
His breaths came out as pants now, then he stepped back and by chance missed the swing that would have doubtless knocked him out.
But it came not from the prince.
Rather it came from the Duscur man who now towered over him, brandishing a wooden axe and already swinging again.
Ferdinand raised his sword, the blow crashed into it and his body shrieked in agony, he stumbled backwards with a gasp and fell to the ground, panting heavily, sweat dripping off his brow as he scrambled to his feet, throwing himself further away and trying to put as many bodies between the two of them, enemies and allies alike.
Yet the second he was even close to being on his feet, he ended up catching a fist to the jaw, the impacted rocked his skull and he briefly thought he had lost consciousness.
How he managed to raise his sword to block the next strike was a mystery to him, but he heard it crash in front of him, felt the force go shooting up his arm and the tremor of his muscles as they continued to push themselves past their limits.
His eyes cleared, now he was staring at Felix.
With a dismissive look in the eyes, the sword fighter stepped forwards and started swinging at him. Ferdinand raised his own blade with aching arms, and as expected the first strike very nearly knocked the sword from his fingers.
Then he felt a kick strike the inside of his right leg.
With a pained gasp, he dropped down to the ground and hobbled, turning up and spotting the next blow racing for him.
He let himself drop backwards, it wiffed over the top of his head, but in doing so he hit the ground hard, wincing to himself as he heard the dull splat behind him. Coughing and turning onto his side, he pushed upwards and heard another crash above him, he briefly looked and saw Felix pursuit had been stopped by another knight fighting him.
A hand gripped his collar and started to drag him backwards, he blinked and turned a tired head and blinked once more as he stared at Hubert, the dark haired retainer spared him only an irritated glare as he continued to pull him along.
"I told you fighting on the front lines was an act of foolishness."
Ferdinand could not even muster an argument to that.
Not because he couldn't think of one.
But because he was too busy trying to get his breathing under control.
Another shout drew both their eyes.
Several bodies were knocked to the ground, he stared straight ahead as he watched the Professor perform a rather impressive sweeping high kick into the head of a man, who proceeded to spin through the air like some manner of corkscrew before he hit the ground and went still.
Her eyes swerved and landed upon the two of them before narrowing ever so slightly.
Ferdinand hissed and pushed himself to his feet, pressing down on the sword and using it as a crutch, grimacing as he rose up and then pulling, swinging the sword up as he was sure Hubert was preparing some manner of spell beside him.
The Professor sword as she straightened herself up.
Then she started to march forwards, an eerie calmness about her, despite the chaos that surrounded all of them.
She hesitated for a single moment, or perhaps a better word would be she readied herself. Stepping back and coiling her body, with tensed legs she stepped forwards and accelerated towards them, only to stop a second later as another character nearly knocked her down, the knight thrust and slashed at the Professor, forcing her back.
"Greetings Professor!"
A rather cordial greeting from the knight as he stepped back and stamped his spear down.
"And I have something to report!"
Another shout, he pulled the spear up and twisted it about, then brought it down, tip pointed towards the Professor.
"I shall be your opponent!"
Ferdinand just stared in bewilderment, then glanced at Hubert, the dark haired man showed no reaction.
Then the Professor inclined her head and gave a single grunt before speaking. "If you say so."
And that was all there was, she charged in the next second.