Firstborn: Return of the heir

To be fair, it was only at this moment that the veterans understood what they might be fighting for. But contrary to the potential expectations of the local lord, they didn’t falter at all. Or rather, they did only when a sudden calling of the horn announced the next stage of their plans.

All the officers, as well as Saulus himself, suddenly started to pull back, shouting the orders for the rest of the legion to do the same. It didn’t take long before the tight lines of the second legion veterans separated from the loose ranks of the local soldiers.

And for some strange reason, instead of pushing forth in order to make use of the fact that the small part of the enemy position was already in their hands… Saulus retreated.

Thankfully, the greenhorns hiding at the forum had no chance of seeing the flag or hearing the horn. The tight architecture of the city that rose high above everyone’s heads made it impossible to even check what was happening in the nearby plaza.

“Retreat!”

Shouting the order as loud as he could, Saulus didn’t spare any efforts in making their retreat look unorganised and panic-driven. Thankfully, with all that fake professionalism of the opposing force, once Akay’s officers realized the enemy was retreating, a single formula appeared in all of their heads.

Give chase.

The military rules compiled in a handbook that all officers had to know to the word was something that Saulus studied longer than the people who came up with it. Unless Akay himself were to appear and intervene, nothing would stop his troops from following Saulus’s forces right into a trap.

“Retreat!”

Each passing moment decreased the chances of Saulus’s opponents. With one unit, then one group, then the entire flank of the enemy forces advancing after them, the young general could finally put his worries aside. Now that a third of the entire enemy army was on the move, even Akay could not stop them.

“Retreat!”

Still shouting, Saulus finally retreated far enough to see the opening of the Forum building. Created on the base of several circles written into each other, it comprised five levels of tribunes with an enormous stage at its very bottom. Entering from the street, Saulus finally could stop his useless shouts, now focusing on getting through the building as quickly as possible.

A few moments later, everything had already fallen into its respective place. The veterans blocked the back-exit of the building while the greenhorns on the tribunes prepared their projectiles. The fundamental difference between the use of ranged units on the plaza and on the forum laid in the risk of friendly fire. With the entire stage left empty for Akay’s troops, Saulus’s archers could easily rain their arrows down without the worry of hurting their compatriots.

And then, the head of the enemy chase reached the insides of the building.

At first, they continued to advance through the empty stage. Only once one of the enemy officers saw neat lines of the troops they were chasing perfectly formed in a narrow corridor, did the enemies finally lose their momentum and enthusiasm.

Sadly for them, that was the case only for those who were already inside. Everyone that had yet to see what was going on, was pushing on the people in front of them, instantly clogging the entrance. And it was right when the enemy troops lost their mobility, that Saulus gave the order by swinging his hand down.

Whizz….

For one fleeting moment, the inside of the forum was silenced. For one passing instance, both sides turned silent, acknowledging and respecting what was about to transpire.

And then, the arrows started falling on the bodies of Akay’s men.

The first volley annihilated half of the enemies that got inside. The shouts of those few who survived the first volley instantly riled up their cohorts still attempting to get inside. After all, they were chasing the enemy down and now desperate cries were coming out of the building where they caught them. What else could that mean, other than their forces rooting out those that dared to attack them?

And just like that, more and more people continued to pour inside the building, only to realize what was really going on after it was already too late to back down. Before long, one of the two veteran companies of the young general used some back-alleys to slink through the city back towards the main entrance of the forum. Once most of the enemy troops already entered the forum, those three hundred battle-hardened men cut off the retreat of those who remained outside.

From that point on, the battle turned into a massacre. Most of both greenhorns and veterans of the second legion hailed from the recently conquered eastern province. For them, the opportunity to hack down at the oppressors that took their lands and imposed heavy taxes on their families was something they would never refuse. And this alone was enough to stop any attempts from the less loyal legionaries at joining the enemy side.

The bloodbath finally wrapped up with the enemy forces mostly surrendering. Without the support of their lord, they no longer had any chance of fending off the attackers.

“Round them all up. We still need to deal with Akay!”

Instead of taking even a moment to rejoice in the victory of the first major battle of the rebellion, Saulus instantly organized the next move. For now, his men fulfilled all the orders of the plan. Outside of a few select officers, no one knew what the next step would be.

“Rally up! We will march…”

Just as Saulus started shouting new orders, a single soldier appeared beside him and actually dared to poke his side!

Something like this would be inexcusable… Gross misconduct against the legion rules. Yet instead of instantly jumping to punish the soldier, Saulus actually brought his ear closer to the soldier’s mouth. When his face raised up back to its normal level, the slight annoyance at the soldier crossing the line was replaced with a gleeful smile.

“Everyone! Cowardly traitor, formerly known as Lord Akay, has escaped the city! Gentlemen, Aldo is ours!”