A major compromise made by the Gerheist King was to allow young lords, eager for achievements to ingrain their house in the annals of history. One such lord was Lord Eugene, a man that was known to be tall and not much else.

Senior generals would describe him as “mediocre, at best” while his own underlings would call him a “gentle man with his quirks” – Basically, the man was nothing exceptional. However, he had a very simple duty.

General Kaffe was pinned down in this area. The strategy is to simply encircle him and starve him into submission while constantly hurtling insults at them to entice them to fight. It was a cozy job and there was little doubt that his family would at least gain some fame and recognition from his duty here. The enemy was not expected to be strong enough to break through – More than a dozen petty lords with their banners were here alongside Lord Eugene and every day, it was to feast or drink.

The army surrounding the veteran Carmine troops under these lords and Eugene himself were a mix of knights, squires, mercenaries and peasants given training and outfitted in some haste. However, they outnumbered the opposing force by a good 5 to 1.

General Kaffe, cutting his losses, knowing how distant reinforcements are, fortified his position and the only sign of aggression that he has allowed was for his soldiers to shout back at the men of the Gerheist forces with various colourful insults.

“Food?” Lord Eugene asked, shaking his wooden cup filled to the brim with honey water. Honey water was issued to all participating nobles by order of King Gerheist – It was something that the poor nobles could never have afforded on their own. Therefore, it became a massive hit with the less well-off nobles, such as Lord Eugene.

“All is in order, my lord,” Lord Eugene’s squire replied. Even his squire was dressed in crudely made leather armour with the sigil of his house embossed on it. Compared to the more fancy nobles who could afford metallic armour on a whim, Lord Eugene’s house was a far cry compared to them.

“Good. Have the soldiers carry on with routine.”

With a wave of his hand, the squire understood his duty. To leave the tent.

Turning his eye to the map, a small smile on his lips. This town and that. What if he could loot this one… Ah but this meant he has to give up the food warehouses that is abundant in this other town…

Right… If they managed to kill all of General Kaffe’s men, they could even just repaint the Carmine army’s metallic armour into their own fashion… Then he could go down in history as the best lord in his house’s annals.

Not only that, they could carry back truckload upon truckload of gold if they could find it. The edict has been simple – The complete and utter destruction of the foundations of the Kingdom of Carmine.

This meant:

The Eradication of Farms Any noble or army has the right to salt any captured fields or seize grains. However, the family in which resources have been confiscated from must have the seized assets detailed and deported into the Gerheist Kingdom. Knowledge Acquisition The libraries and schools of the Kingdom of Carmine in any captured territories with any learning resources such as, but not limited to books, scrolls and the writing materials shall be systematically shipped back via the merchant companies. Anything of historical value to the Kingdom of Carmine will be uprooted and sent back to the Kingdom of Gerheist. Enemies of the State Captured enemy nobles with a history of insulting the Kingdom of Gerheist can be put to death after making a report of treasonous comments are submitted to the High Command.

With all these, the invasion force having made decent progress, pushed their way deep into the lands of the Kingdom of Carmine. If they were war dogs, they would be salivating, their feet ready to pounce at a moment’s notice to rip out the heart of the enemy.

They were this close to the heartland of the Kingdom of Carmine. Lords could already foresee the number of people they could put to work at the fields and the number of educated men and women that could take up positions such as teachers that would in the long term, benefit their own territory.

The tent entrance opens and the squire reappears, looking rather panicked.

“My lord, there is a flare in the air!”

“A flare?” Lord Eugene said incredulously, standing up and taking some care to try and straighten out the fur coat he had recently seized. A bright green flare is soaring upwards into the sky.

At this point, the sound of drums from within the Kaffe encampment.

“Ha! The fools are desperate enough now!” Lord Eugene shouted, raising his sword for perhaps the first time outside of training.

“Prepare for battle!”

However, the sound of war came from around them.

Lord Eugene, turning his head, saw the flag of an owl and horses clad in what seemed to be full bodily armour.

“Onwards, no retreat!” the horsemen roared as they thundered towards he and his men.

The Battle for the Kaffe Plateau has begun in earnest.