The border between the country of King Rosais and the Equus is a decently high mountain range called the Alva Mountains.
　West of the mountains is the land of King Loseys, and to the east is the land of Equus.

　The mountain range is mutual use and unarmed.

　So there are no clear borders. Well, this is not uncommon in the Adelunian peninsula.

　Three thousand cavalrymen led by Ledus had crossed the Alva Mountains.
　There was no reply from King Rosais' country. That means the request was rejected.

　Basically, the horsemen are very much a meritocracy. This means that what Ledus did was not admirable, but as long as he won against Mzio, he would be recognized as a chief.

　After all, Redus's grandfather the father of King Equus before him killed his lord, the chieftain, and took his wife and daughter and the position of chief away from him.

　The side of the strong. That's the way the Alvans think.
　They are descended from the flat-faced people, even though they are becoming increasingly mixed and almost assimilated with the Aldenians.

　Besides, Redus has a personal desire to get his hands on Rakeyla.
　I don't really care if I have to go through a plundering marriage right now...

　Redus thinks that he would be more willing to give up his former husband's head instead of the sheep of his engagement.

　When I write it this way, it sounds like Redus is a devilish bastard, but it's the standard way of thinking of the Alvans.
　To the horsemen, women and wealth are things to be taken away.

　Cuckolding is an everyday occurrence.



　There are three routes from the Alva Mountains to the land of King Loseys. Let's call them ABC, starting from the north.

　Let's take route A first. This is the steepest and most circuitous route and is not usually taken.
　But it's a good way to escape and hide. This is how Muzio escaped from the city.

　Next is route B. It's the shortest path. And it has the least amount of unevenness in the ground.
　Route B is often used by merchants. It is also the path that the emissaries of King Rosais' country pass by.

　However, this road is not suitable for the movement of a large army because it is narrow.


　Finally, there was route C. This is the road that Ledus and his men are currently on the march down.
　The road is not too rough, and the distance is intermediate. But the road is wide, so it's good for a march.

　The Equus don't use wagons, they move their sheep. It is food for the walk.
　If the road is too narrow, they can't walk the sheep, so they can't march except by route C. It would be different if they were divided into small groups, but it would be a fool's errand to distribute their forces.


　Of course the enemy knows that.



　The enemy will probably be waiting for us at the entrance to the gorge. If we fight on the plains, we'll be at a disadvantage.
　Ledus says to his grandfather, who walks next to him.
　Redus' grandfather was one of the chiefs of the Great War. He is a military commander in the past.

　'I agree. Chief. You have to be careful about the ambush. This terrain is a good place to hide an army.
　The great warrior chief looks around.
　If your rear is pinned down in front of you, no matter how much cavalry you are, you will not be able to escape. The mobility of a cavalryman cannot be used to its advantage here.

　''Chief, we have a report from the hawk. It seems that Rosais's army is camped to block the road. There are five thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry. There are also many fences against cavalry. I can't see any ambushes.

　
　Lydia's true masters were Mari and King Roselle, but the siege would not be truly complete without Redus' victory.

　Hence, Lydia was doing her best to support them.

　''I see... thank you. I have high hopes for you.''
　Thank you.

　Lydia chuckled inwardly as she bowed and stepped back.




　That day, Redus spread out his yurt and let the soldiers rest while he was alerted to his surroundings.
　To prepare for tomorrow's decisive battle....




　'Muzio!　Come on out!　You're a coward who ran away. Or are you too scared to come out?　Yet you're a horsemen's people!
　Ledus shouted to the camp of Rosais' army. The soldiers of Ledus's army followed suit and loudly challenged Rosais's army and Muzio.

　Muzio, perhaps intolerant of too much requisitioning, comes out of the camp with his men.

　'The cowards are over there!　How dare you attack a sleeper in a night raid? And yet you're a horsemen's people?　Utterly embarrassing as a brother. I can't believe he would use such a trick, no matter how insecure he was. You were the one who crafted the horse, too. You're no better than a coward!

　The Equus cavalry led by Muzio and the infantry of Rosyth's army fielded support for Muzio's words.
　He smiled at Ledus.

　'Good?　Then let's have a one-on-one fight!

　Ledus said and stepped forward. Without any troops.
　If this happens, Muzio can't afford not to take the battle in single combat.

　This battle is not just about winning. Muzio's own strength must be shown.
　Otherwise, he would be licked for being helpless without the support of Rosais' army.

　''What do we do?　Do you want to play the game of the bow? Brother.
　'No, just use your best sword. Because if I use a bow, you'll certainly lose.

　Muzio says with plenty of time to spare. Ledus licks his tongue.

　'I don't know if you'll ever regret it!

　They kicked their belly of their beloved horse and began to hang on at once.
　Their swords and swords cross violently.

　Neither of them have stirrups, so their bodies are supported by the muscles of their thighs.
　The fact that they are clashing violently with each other with this shows that they are both excellent warriors.

　The sound of iron and steel clashing fiercely echoes through the canyon.
　The two armies watch the battle with bated breath.

　"Way to go, brother!
　You are.

　We move away from each other, play and move away from each other.
　We keep doing it over and over again.

　'Hah!'

　Ledus's sword strikes Muzio's sword hard.
　A vibration travels through the sword and shakes Ledus's arm hard.

　''Well, it looks like you don't stand a chance in single combat.

　Muzio said, and then turned his back and started running. In other words, he escaped.
　Ledus won.

　'Wait!　You will not turn your back on the habits of the horsemen's people!

　Ledus rushes off to strike Muzio. Ledus is followed by three thousand Equus cavalrymen.
　They are getting closer and closer to the enemy lines.

　Redus is a little troubled.

　(Should I just charge in like this...)

　Ledus looks at the horse-proof fence in front of him.　
　It's not very high. No, to be precise, it is low enough to stop the Equus cavalry. It would be high enough to be effective in stopping agrarian horsemen.

　If you push it a little too hard, you could probably jump over it. Of course, it's obvious that arrows and spears will attack them if their horses hang on the fence and stop....

　Ledus looks back at the soldiers behind him once.

　''Oooh!

　The soldiers are following us straight on. Their morale and spirits are good enough.
　We must trust our warriors and our horses here.


　Let's go!

　With morale, Redus charges at the horse-proof fence. He raises the horse's head upwards with all his strength.　
　His beloved horse takes in Redus's will and kicks the ground hard.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this as well.

　'Surround them!　Surround and kill!

　Blood gushes out of the body of the man who appears to be a centurion. The one who cut him open was the Great War Chief.

　"Don't stick out like that.
　Thank you. Grandpa.

　One after another, the Equus cavalry led by Redus invades the camp with momentum. Some of them fail to do so, but they are few and far between. I'm not sure if this level of horse-proof fence is enough to prevent Equus cavalry.

　They will no longer be able to rebuild.

　The infantry and cavalry of Lossies' army will abandon their positions and run away.

　''What the hell, it's not much. Let's go!　I'm aiming for the heads of Muzio and King Rosais!

　Ledus rushed out, raising his voice. The cavalrymen follow Ledus as well.
　They cut down the fleeing Losais infantry one after another.

　The victory or defeat has already been decided.

　The soldiers of Redus' army are confident of victory and think about the goods they are about to loot.　　
　Among them, there was one man with an unhappy face.

　It's the Great War Chief.

　(Too well....)

　The enemy has the same Equus tribe called Muzio. You should at least notice that the horse fence is not high enough.
　And there is too little resistance from the enemy.

　And the flag.

　With such a heavy defeat, it's not surprising that some soldiers would throw out the flag, but not a single flag has fallen.


　''Chief!　It is strange. The enemy's retreat is too brilliant. It's most likely a trap!　Let's go back once.
　Speak up!　What traps are there in this situation?　The sorcerer told us there were no ambushers. If there are so few of them that we can overlook them, then it should be a number we can ignore. We can't let this opportunity for victory pass us by!

　Plausible.
　It's only a hunch of the Great War Chiefs that it's strange. It was more likely to be just a misunderstanding.
　The army cannot move based on a mere old man's intuition.

　''If you say so........''
　The Great War Chief gets as close to Redus as possible. So that he can protect him if something happens.

　He continues to run through the camp.
　In a few moments, he would be able to pass through the enemy lines and slash at the back of the retreating main body of Rosais' army.

　That's when it happened.

　''This, this is it!

　The smell of oil irritated the Great War Chief's nostrils.
　But it was already too late.

　The light infantry of Rosais' army and Equus cavalry led by Muzio, who had fled earlier, changed direction.
　They fired fire arrows.

　The arrows ignited the oil that was scattered on the ground and burned up at once.


　''Tch, little tricks!

　Redus swears as he calms his horse down.
　But this much, there's nothing wrong with that.

　The oil sowing alone is not enough to create a fire meter. The oil would burn out in an instant.
　There was no wood in the vicinity.

　The amount of oil was only visible when you got close enough to the ground where it had been spread.

　Horses are afraid of fire, so they can't go through a fire, but....
　It's not a lot of ground for a fire to burn on. We can get around it long enough.


　"Ha-ha-ha, you idiot!　You think you can stop the cavalry with this much fire!

　Boom!

　At the same time Redus shouted that, a roar rang out.
　The ground suddenly exploded. The explosions spread in a chain, enveloping the surrounding area in white smoke.

　The explosion itself wasn't much, only a few unlucky riders were blown away.
　But the sound and smoke from the explosion was more than enough to ignite the horses' fears.

　''Whoa!!!!''

　Ledus's beloved horse starts to run wild. Ledus rushes to hold the horse back.
　Then he looks around.

　Thirty percent of the horsemen are dropped from their horses and forty percent are doing their best to hold on to the rampaging horse.
　The last 30 percent just manage to hold their horses back like Ledus.

　Then the heavy infantry of Rosais' army and the cavalry charge in.

　The momentum of the Equus cavalry has already been lost.

　'Run, Redus!　If I don't, they'll take me down. Somehow I'll buy myself some time!
　The Great War Chief shouts. Respect is lost because the Great War Chief himself is confused and has no room for it.

　''Kuk, okay!''
　Redus says so and tries to run away.
　But then an arrow is snatched from Redus' ear.

　''Hey, hey, don't let the horsemen show your back,''
　Muzio said, holding his bow at the ready.