Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Routed!

*BUUUUUUUU*

“CHARGE!!!” There were at most a couple dozen meters between both sides when Braydon heard the horn blare once again. If things went well he would not hear it again until the end of the battle. And he did not need any more encouragement than that. 

“HAAA.” The Fiverian army shouted as countless men charged towards the now fatigued army of Duke Ryder. If one side was filled with excitement, then the other was as quiet as the graveyard. They knew that they would not win this. At this point it was merely fear and peer pressure keeping most of the Duke’s men in line. But there was one thing that unified them all, they wanted to live. They had families waiting back home in the south, and they were going to try their hardest to make it back in one piece.

*thud* *thud* *clang* *thud*

The sounds of swords and spears clashing with shields could be heard across the line as the two armies finally met. To Braydon’s surprise, the Duke’s forces maintained their formation admirably. He had known that they were better drilled than most but he had thought that the exhaustion would have more impact than it apparently had. And that was fine with him. 

“Just means more of a challenge.” Braydon could feel himself grinning and the man he was facing down had noticed, visibly flinching at the intense eyes and smile behind the helmet of his opponent.

A flinch was all he needed, Braydon immediately poked a hole in his adversary’s defence. And his neck. But he could not let his guard down that easily as the next man behind quickly took his comrade’s place in the line, forcing Braydon to pull back his sword and raise his shield.

*thud*

“So excited to face me?” Braydon was more than happy to taunt those he fought in battle. A bad habit that he had picked up from sparring with Rhydian for so many years. Though it seemed that this enemy was more focused than the man Braydon had just slain. 

With the response being a raised shield, Braydon ignored his past comment trying to get his way through the man’s defence. The battle had truly begun. 

---

*bang*

Gerald blocked a strike from his first opponent before looking across the field to try and see how Braydon was faring in comparison. It took him a few moments to find him before he had to raise his shield once more to block another strike. When he turned back to Braydon’s direction he saw him pierce an enemy’s neck.

“Oh, you wanted my attention?” Gerald looked back to the man that he was meant to be facing after blocking a third strike. His response was an annoyed grunt, apparently having offended his enemy by not even looking his way when fighting him.

“Then let's see how you like this!” Gerald said after he kicked the man in the leg, getting an immediate reaction. As it turned out, a steel boot was harder than cloth greaves. And he did not need an invite to take advantage of his enemy’s pain, slamming the pommel of his sword into the head of a man recovering from a hard kick.

---

“How are things looking?” Duke Ryder could see how things were going but he did not want to admit that. 

“We are being pushed back on both flanks, though the centre is holding firm.” The response was not ideal. Being pushed back on one flank was bad enough but if the King managed to break both flanks, then it was only a matter of time before they were surrounded.

“Is Duke Tetland not participating?” This was one thing that had confused him. Ryder knew that Duke Tetland had come along with the King, and his allegiance would not have been a cheap thing for a King who had been on the ropes just two weeks ago. Even if his own forces had been weakened and the King’s bolstered, it would be stupid for him not to make use of an entire extra army when it was at his disposal.

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“We…”

*DUUUUUDUUUUUUUUU*

Before his knight could respond a horn blared from beyond the left flank. A horn that was too close for comfort for Duke Ryder. And his fears were proven correct when he could hear the rumbling coming ever closer before a clash yells of anguish ended the rumbling.

“Shit…”

---

“Haha!” Braydon could see the colour drain from all of the enemies nearby when the horn and following rumble were heard. The yells of pain from the enemy’s left flank shook their confidence once more. But that was not a deterrent for him. He had known it was coming and this was the perfect opportunity to win the battle.

“KILL THEM ALL!!” Braydon shouted, he knew that only a fraction of his men would hear it in the midst of battle but that was more than enough. When some of his men yelled back, the rest of them followed. He was trying to shake his enemy and shaken they were. 

“ARGH!” Braydon impaled the man in front of him before moving further into the enemy line before the faltering men of Duke Ryder could pull themselves together. Under his lead, the scene played out across the line as many more of his men had the same idea after his shout.

*puchi*

Braydon was not going to wait around, turning at once to stab his sword into an unprepared soldier’s chest before lifting his shield. 

*thud* *thud*

As the Duke’s men awoke from their stupor some of them tried to push the King’s army back but Braydon’s actions along with the crumbling left flank left them with low morale. And with the same scene following suit along Braydon’s men, it was not long before the rest of the centre started to falter as the line was broken all at once.

At first it was just a few but where one broke, many would follow. Soon a significant portion of the enemy centre was in a route. 

*rumble*

Braydon stabbed the neck of another man before he noticed the sounds of enemies running away. Looking around, he saw that some of his men were thinking of following. He had to put a stop to it before they were drawn out of position. The Duke’s right flank was still fighting, unaware than the left flank was being harassed by Duke Tetland

“Hold your positions!” Braydon shouted at the top of his lungs. The last thing he wanted was for Duke Ryder to get any bright ideas about taking down as many of the King’s men as he could with him.