The Invasion's Noon

The two weeks of preparation bore fruit: trenches were built, fortifications on some spots were established, communication lines were laid out, and they made sure to take in all the supplies in order to make sure the soldiers will have their ration for at least three months where the entire city will be locked away from the outskirts.

As expected, the enemy had made maneuvers, and has arrived at the vicinity of Khatanabat. They were surprised however that they did not only see a wall near the capitol, but an entire fortification line of trenches that was dug out within the period of two weeks.

"This is…where was the informant?!" asked General Yuler, of the Albanese Expedition to the Carabian Lands.

The informant then rode across the lines of the Albanese forces and arrived at the tent of General Yuler. Inside were the same Generals who invaded Carab, and they already knew what to expect. The Albanese troops had the same tactics, the same Generals as before, and even the same equipment.

Upon the arrival of the informant, General Yuler grabbed him by his collar and said "Damned you! How did the enemy lines have such fortifications, without my immediate knowledge?!"

"I-Th…"

"Bah! To hell with you!" General Yuler then stopped grabbing him by the collar and continued to talk with his Generals.

Yuler wiped the sweat from his forehead then proceeded to talk with the other generals and officials.

"General, we cannot risk attacking near the delta again. If we do, we will get concentrated fire from a fortified position" said one of the Generals.

"But then, we cannot be to proximate in opening the gates before us. We will have a stronger chance if we were to concentrate our attack on the central flank" said another.

However, another informant arrived and reported something intriguing. He whispered what he knew immediately to General Yuler.

General Yuler's eyes widened. "What? Livinians?"

The informant nodded. "Thank you, you have been of service."

The informant then left.

General Yuler then sat back at his chair, pressing his temples as to how will he deal with the sudden turn of events.

"Well men, we are threatened by a new enemy. Livinians have been seen along the front lines. Thing is, we do not know which Livinian" said Yuler.

Suddenly, another uniformed officer, wearing black overcoat and white underneath, with a tricorne hat and a cockade of red and black, arrived at General Yuler's tent. He then saluted at General Yuler by taking his hat off.

"What took you so long?" asked General Yuler.

"The wind was not powerful enough for my fleet to go move than twelve knots. As for my steamships, they are blockading the harbors already. They number at twenty steamships, with proper armaments much powerful that what the sail-powered ships can muster" informed the uniformed officer.

"You are the confidence I need in these moments" said General Yuler.

"Why, have you not been confident of your army?" said the uniformed officer.

"Admiral Ganosh, we have a new problem."

General Yuler then led Admiral Ganosh, the uniformed officer, to the field. General Yuler then gave the spyglass to Admiral Ganosh and said "Take a look just above the dunes beyond the flood plains…"

Admiral Ganosh was shocked by the amount of fortifications the Carabians has.

"Seemed they learned from their mistake" said Admiral Ganosh.

"No, it wasn't them. Look at the main command, just on the left flank near the horizon…do you recognize the banner?" asked Yuler.

"Leble…no…Livinians?"

"Exactly, and we don't know which command" said Yuler.

Admiral Ganosh then retracted the spyglass, gave it back to Yuler and said "Well, the ships would need to maneuver much quicker now that I've seen one of the worse they can contribute."

"We'll be meeting soon, Admiral" said Yuler.

The Admiral wore his tricorne again and walked away.

"For now, what we must do is to pound them with our artillery" said Yuler.

At Ixander's side, they were also looking through their spyglass from the tower near the gate. The entire council of generals are now atop a tower overlooking the vast battlefield outside the walls of Khatanabat.

"I wonder why they are so…quiet…" said Ixander.

"Are they waiting for us you think?" asked Farkan.

"Nope…I can see now, powder coming out of their cannons. They are firing" said Ixander.

Everyone was in a shock, well except Ixander and Farkan, who both knew what was about to come.

Ixander knew that their enemies may have incredible caliber, but they have poor accuracy compared to the cannons which he ordered to be rifled, but still is muzzle-loading.

"Should we begin firing our rounds?" asked Farkan.

"Well, pound their left flank. From there, we can breach to reach the coastal areas of Carab" ordered Ixander.

Farkan then raised the red flag facing the left flank. The artillery, who was looking out on the banner colors for the direction of fire, immediately fired at the direction of the left flank.

One of the General in the council of Generals then spoke out and said "We are defenders, are not we supposed to wait for the enemy to assault us in order for us to decide on our next move."

Ixander replied "Then we are never going to win."

Both sides continued firing their rounds at each other. Meanwhile, Ixander then left the tower and went to the right flank to attack the enemy's left before any relief can be done.

"And oh, I need your Cavalry, General Sumjer" ordered Ixander.

General Sumjer was the one who spoke out against the assault, but he is a humble general willing to learn from tactical mistakes and a true patriot for Carab.

Ixander then rode his horse, commanded his troops.

The officer on the left flank of the enemy looked at Ixander's troops. The officer did not recognize the man who is leading, but he is certain that the man is a Livinian.

"Hah! They plan to attack our left, and together! How can their troops fit on a bridge?" said one of the officers.

"Do not be scared men, we've been here before and we know that they cannot attack us because the river is too deep for a man to cross."

Ixander then ordered his line.

"Forward…MARCH!"

His line then marched going through the enemy lines, facing the river which divides the lines of Ixander and his enemy before him. The soldiers then played a tune…which sounded familiar to Ixander. It was similar to 'Hohenfriedberger Marsch' back when he was on his old world. They played with their fife, while the drums beat to their march.

Ixander's lines continuously marched. Unbeknownst to the enemy, the river was filled with rocks and logs on which the soldiers will be allowed to march through it. Ixander crossed through the bridge, but the entire army crossed the river with ease.

"OFFICER! THEY ARE CROSSING THE RIVER! EVERY ONE OF THEM!" shouted one soldier.

Ixander then rode to the side of the line to allow him to command the troops to fire against the enemy once they crossed the river. After marching fifty paces towards the enemy, the officers in Ixander's army, alongside him, ordered the firing.

"Make ready!" ordered Ixander to his troops, while the Carabian officers ordered their men in their own language.

"Present!" ordered the officers while raising their sabers.

"FIRE!" ordered the officers while throwing their arms down with the sabers.

And so the deadly volley was delivered against the enemy.

The enemy retaliated by doing their own volley.

"Make ready! Take aim! FIRE!" ordered by the officers on the Albanese lines.

And so a volley was delivered to the lines of the enemy on the right flank of Ixander's troops.

After ensuing gunfires, the Albanese troops, in complete frustration, charged their enemy in an impulse wave with their bayonets.

Ixander witnessed that the enemy is socketing bayonets, while his men are reloading their guns.

"Defensive formations men! They are planning a bayonet attack!"

The charge was not even ordered by any officer. Ixander then shouted a name…

"SUMJER!"