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Chapter 231 Homesteading in a fantasy world
🕑 Added 2023-06-02 13:55:32 +0000 UTCThe United Freeholds soldiers have been working hard for the past two days. When they arrived at this river bridge, they immediately started to set up a fortified camp like they were trained to.
With Vikings providing more muscle they were able to get everything done in record time but that didn't give them a chance for a break. Their general had already given orders and instructions for the defence structures they needed to make and when their officers relayed the orders, they followed them without question.
They respected and feared their general. He was a man who ate with them and even slept in the same places as them but at the same time, they fear his strength and resolve. When they were training to defend against the slave king and even in the fight itself none of them needed discipline. They had something better than discipline they had the drive to defend others. That changed after that battle.
True discipline was introduced which can lead to harsh punishments for not following orders and doing things against the soldier’s code. The soldier's code was something that every legionary respected and feared.
In it were lists of crimes and punishments that went from not getting dinner to being killed outright. No one was actually bothered about the killing part as that was only meant for traitors and murderers. The soldiers mostly feared the punishments that used the whip. Over the months they, however, have come to respect it as they have seen how it makes them better soldiers.
Most everyone knew or was friends with people who just couldn't keep out of trouble. No matter what they did they will screw it up. In the army that didn’t change, at least at first. But when you get whipped for causing accidents that might get your fellow soldiers killed you eventually change. Now the people who were first looked at as bad luck were just fellow soldiers who just had a few more scars on their backs.
They also came to learn why discipline was so important. It was rare to have moral so high that you won't waver when a superior enemy attacks your position. With enough discipline, no matter how scared you are you will do your job so you and everyone else around you can survive. Thanks to this discipline the defenses around the bridge were quickly being prepared even when everyone was tired.
Currently, there were soldiers who braved the cold and fast-moving river water so they could place spikes that would stop enemies from quickly making it to the shore.
Rich and the officers were delighted to see how well the army operated. Setting up camp defences, securing water sources and gathering food has become routine. Even the looming battle didn’t interrupt it, showing how well-trained everyone was.
By the end of the second day, word had come down that the enemies had been moving a bit faster than expected so the fight could happen in three days. For some their anxiety lessened by knowing the exact time frame but for others, it made them even more anxious. None of them complained and if someone needed to puke, they walked out of the camp to do so and when they returned no one made fun of them or looked down on them.
The building of defences continued but the soldiers couldn't stop themselves from staring at their general who was standing on the other side of the bridge and occasionally running faster than their eyes could see towards the enemy army.
Every time he returned; he had more blood on his armour. It was comforting and frightening. His ability to kill was something every soldier respected but his utter disregard for his enemies was terrifying. Every soldier hoped that they would never become his enemy.
While the soldiers of the United Freeholds continue to build up their defensive position the army of Vivienne “The Slicer” Hearthweaver was making fast progress down the road. When you could call both forces a proper army, the way they operated was completely different yet in some ways eerily similar.
Most of The Slicer's soldiers needed to be kept in line with force and intimidation. There were many escape attempts when they started to march but after a couple of dozen executions, everyone understood that they couldn't escape her.
The enforcement of discipline for each army was similar if you did not dig deeper. For the United Freeholds, their whip for punishment was standard and with no extra addons for damage. The Slicer's army had a whip with five lines and at the end were small metal hooks. Also, The Slicer's army punished most mistakes with lashings.
The Slicer gained her nickname by the spell that she used the most. It was a devastating mana slash that goes through armour and people like they were made of butter. She also knew magic theory and how to cast many spells without the help of abilities. That was also the reason why none escaped her army without her knowing. She also used her knowledge of spells to see the way ahead. She was confident their opponents would use an ambush against her if she let them.
In her mind, it was also the only way her love would have been killed. She knew that they must have used underhanded methods to achieve victory and she wasn't going to be tricked by any of those. In her mind, she couldn't wait to capture them all and then slowly torture them to death for the wrongs that they have done to her.
Even her last party member Marriott knew that something was wrong with her, but she didn't know any magic that could help heal the mind and every other healing spell she knew didn't seem to do anything to bring her friend back to her.
While everyone knew that their leader was crazy to the dedicated soldiers that were with her from the start it made them even more dedicated towards her. They were the kind of soldiers who would do anything to win. The Slicer, who is strong and willing to do anything to win, she was a perfect leader.
The day a few of her scouts didn’t return was the day she panicked for a moment. She hadn't noticed anything wrong while scouting the area around them with her spells. When a day later none of her scouts returned, she expected an ambush at any moment.
She spent hours casting spells to see where this ambush might be. When she didn’t find anything, she started to look further ahead. The Slicer didn’t notice anything wrong which frustrated her especially because the traps that she cast around her supplies hadn’t been triggered. None of her plans had been working and she started to feel like she was making the same mistakes as her love when he marched against the United Freeholds.
Usually when long-range reconnaissance spells were used the enemy armies would break them when their influence got too close, but Rich didn't want that to happen as that would give away their position. This time keeping their position a secret for as long as possible was for the best.
The occupied area of the United Freeholds army was relatively small. So, when Rich asked the mages if they could somehow camouflage or make the reconnaissance spell bypass their activity. The mages at first were uncertain but eventually, they were able to make it work but their camouflage would only work if not too much attention was placed on this location.
The current situation was best for the camouflage plan to work. The Slicer was the only mage capable of reconnaissance spells and her panic distracted her enough for it to work.
With Rich and a few others constantly killing the enemy scouts and with the spell camouflage they were able to keep their presence hidden until only 12 kilometres separated both armies. When The Slicer learned of this during her morning casting, she was furious and spent some of her anger on the forest surrounding them. What angered her the most was how casually the person who must be Rich Dirt was standing far in front of the impressive defences that she could demolish with one spell.
The pure confidence and mockery that she saw in his face made her want to see that face broken with pain. But she held herself back. She did not wake everyone up so she could get there faster to start her revenge instead she let them sleep more so they would be fully rested.
They also marched slower and in tighter formation to protect from skirmishing. She still didn't know exactly how they were able to hide themselves for so long, but she was more confident when she saw the numbers. She was going to kill that bastard and then let her army crush that pathetic mockery of an army that was assembled against her.
It was late in the afternoon when both leaders finally saw each other. The day was cold and strong winds swept the lands that were clear of trees. Rich Dirt and Vivienne “The Slicer” Hearthweaver were both ready for a fight, but neither acted as her army was slowly closing the distance.
Comments
Alnatura
😍 You shall not pass.
Michael Stiller
Thanks for the Chapter.
