From this position, the 7th’s supply lines could be intercepted. Regardless, the 87th still charged forth. They may know that Alisson had a chance of receiving reinforcements this time, and intended to end the battle swiftly.

  In a flurry of actions, Alisson got to work organizing the defensive line, he rode between units on the front, simply point at them and then pointing at positions to take. Seeing their commander so close on the front would send to the men a clear message; Win or lose, Alisson would share their fate.

  Instead of forming a defensive line on the hilly terrain, Alisson opted for something unorthodox. He took individual units, groups of hundreds of men, and ordered them to hold certain hills, leaving the specifics to the defense of that hill to each subcommander. Alisson knew he was going to be encircled. Better to be fighting in every direction downhill than trying in a vain attempt to hold a defensive line that Nariseer, with her larger army, would be able to sidestep.

  There were a few units that Alisson did not leave on the defensive. He sent the Kitsune lancers to rear, and had them hide in the forests. If needed, he would ordered them to charge. From Nariseer’s position, they shouldn’t have been able to see the lancers moving into position.

  The 51st rode with him as he gave commands. They would act as his guards; and his assassination unit.

  The 58th would be the core of his defense. Their full name was the 58th Armed Infantry Fighting Battalion, which was odd because it implied the existence of an infantry battalion that either did not fight or was not armed. The Lady Sidonia never had a sense for names. The one-thousand veteran regulars was the strongest single unit in the 7th, and he intended to put them to work this time.

  The 58th would wait at the center of Alisson’s defense, and once given the signal, would charge into the enemy center. This move was betting purely on the fact that Nariseer would commit her strongest troops to the flanks, and attempt to encircle the 7th quickly. If the 58th could break through their center, he had a chance to flip the script on her, and encircle the enemy.

  Alisson only had the time to organize this before the first Irinian units came crashing against the 7th. Alisson rode to the front with the 51st, and was momentarily stunned as reality set in – Just how outnumbered the 7th was. The hills at the front were completely surrounded, but they allowed the Sidonian units leeway against the larger force. He rode between encircled hills with his 51st, attacking the Irinians from behind whilst rallying the 7th’s moral as best he could.

  The 87th largely consisted of heavily armored pikes, some equipped with large shields; Not exactly great to charge at whilst riding a horse. Alisson and the 51st dismounted before every engagement – They were not a cavalry unit, after all. As an elite unit, they had no trouble weaving around the dozens of blades thrust at them as each individual penetrated enemy lines, and wreaked havoc as their own flurry of destruction. Before the Irinians could rally to attack them, Alisson gave the order to withdraw, and find a new part of the Irinian line to attack.

  Spells and magic flew through the air as Irinians launched explosives at every Sidonian position. But for every Irinian spell, there was a Sidonian mage deploying a shield to defend the infantry around them, kicking up smoke all around the battlefield. Alisson still noticed a distinct lack of aerial mages, which made him nervous.

  He thought he would’ve seen them flying above the battle, scouting the 7th’s positions, but perhaps Nariseer feared the trained Sidonian anti-air response, and had ordered them to lay low for the time being.

  Cresting the top of a Sidonian-occupied hill, not half an hour into the battle, Alisson saw what he had been waiting for. He saw from the elevation how the Irinian’s rear units were peeling away to the sides of the 7th. The majority of Nariseer’s forces intended to sidestep the front, and crash into the 7th’s sides. Thanks to the lack of a defensive line, if they completed this maneuver, the 7th wouldn’t suffer greatly, so Alisson tried not to worry about it.

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  He rode to the 58th, and gave them the order to advance. The commander of the 58th smirked and acknowledged Alisson’s orders, as if the battle wasn’t so desperate. Alisson waited atop one of his hills, watching the 58th advance, holding his 51st at his rear, at the ready.

  He saw how the 58th tore through the Irinian vanguard – The 58th consisted of some of the largest and most physically fit Nekomata Sidonia could offer, and it showed. They bashed their way into enemy lines with raw strength and disciplined aggression. Alisson rode in after them, rallying the Sidonian hill units that were relieved by them to follow the advance.

  Seeing the suddenly unstoppable advance of the 7th, Alisson knew that this was the time to commit all his forces. He sent couriers to run back and take what hill units they could find and send them to the front. Alisson would overwhelm the 87th before they could respond – By being such a large army, even being so veteran, it would take time for them to organize so many men to react and change their plans.

  Alisson rode forward with the 51st, intent on finding and assassinating Nariseer. A good commander is always close to thick of the fighting, at some sort of vantage point where they had a commanding view.

  The 58th’s advance left the enemy’s center in shambles, and Alisson and the 51st were able to easily weave around scattered and disorganized Irinians, searching fervently for the commander. Alisson soon realized that Nariseer would probably be on one of the flanks – Where they could lead their men in the important maneuvers.

  Thinking on these terms, Alisson scolded himself for being too rash. Without killing the commander, this frontal attack now only put the 7th at risk the longer Alisson pursued it. He gave the orders, and the 58th and surrounding units halted their advance to reform.

  Alisson’s instincts proved correct as soon as he again mounted a hill to scan the battlefield. He saw that in the rear of the 7th, the flanking Irinians were completely overrunning the rest of the army that remained on the hills.

  “Damnit!”

  Alisson cursed. He knew being encircled was unavoidable, but seeing the hills with Sidonians atop them surrounded on all sides, made him panic. With the enemy to the front mostly scattered, Alisson pulled every unit he could from around him, and charged back toward the center of the 7th, intent on taking pressure off the surrounded Sidonians.

  So much for not having a single, coherent defense, as Alisson now lead a more traditional line of men that crashed into the Irinians. They did not buckle, however.

  The fighting thereafter was long, and brutal.

  “Hold your ground! Fill your lungs with rage and destroy them!”

  “Alisson fights on! We can’t let him down!”

  Alisson rode between units, waving his sword in the sky. He could do more by supporting the men this way then attacking, if he couldn’t find the commander.

  Alisson tried not to think about the desperate situation he was in. The Irinians had more men. This had turned into a battle of attrition, and with time, the 7th would begin to seriously crumble. Sidonian and Irinian units were everywhere, scattered and disorganized. Irinian units even started resorting to defending their own hills as they became surrounded by Sidonians.

  This hodge-podge of men was unable to do any fancy maneuvers other than kill each other in close combat. Alisson supposed that when two competent commanders met, it was akin to two people playing noughts and crosses, who were both very intent on winning – The result was a draw, at best, as the board became a tangle of pieces. However, a draw wasn’t in the cards for the 7th. As Sidonian positions became overrun, it became apparent that the 87th simply had more men. The quality of the Sidonian army simply couldn’t make up for this large disparity.

  The 58th was taking casualties. It had been a few hours now since the battle began. Alisson rose his hand, about to launch the signal spell to order the Kitsune lancers to begin their charge, doubting if they were still in position or if they would even have much of an effect on the disciplined 87th.

  He was interrupted by a sudden crescendo of explosions that rocked the ground, making his stallion stumble. He looked around in a panic.

  The 87th had finally unleashed their aerial mages. It seemed they were conserving their mana, and Nariseer had deemed that the 7th had exhausted the majority of their own mana. The aerial mages were limited only in the fact that Irinian and Sidonian units were so intermingled, meaning they couldn’t use high-yield spells, otherwise they’d blow away their comrades.

  Alisson scowled. This was it.

  Alisson prepared the incantation of the signal spell as he stared up at the aerial mages. His incantation faltered and then fell apart completely when he saw a white blur cut through one of aerial mages with an inhuman speed, before hitting the ground in a massive explosion. Similar instances occurred as, from high in the sky, came soaring Angels.

  Alisson broke into a smile, seeing a glimmer of hope.

  ***