The First Few Minutes

'The Department of Warfare for Military Purposes.' That was the name of the building where all high-ranking military officials reunited in. The building itself was very simple in its architecture. It was made of stone and while it did have a bit of a 'somber' look to it, it looked elegant and smooth.

Inside the building, a rather thin man walked in a hurry. The man had an elegant suit on, which looked loose due to the bony structure of the man.

People walked beside him and looked at him in fear, not fear of him, but rather, for him. As if they felt pity for his situation. And they did, he knew that perfectly fine.

The man reached a double wooden door and opened it, revealing the room inside.

The room was pleasant to look at for its simplicity, having two bookcases on the walls opposite to each other, and a large desk at the end. It was made in a way that one could feel comfortable inside, as the sunlight shuns through the windows.

But the man felt anything but comfort, looking at the woman who sat in front of the desk.

''Quite bold of you, general, to arrive late at a meeting you requested yourself.''

The man didn't say anything and walked behind the desk, sitting on the chair opposite the woman.

Right now, he was in the same room with the queen of Belica, Melty de Belica herself.

Her mere gaze made him shudder. Her eyes were a bright red and had in them an intensity that rivaled even the most powerful people he's met.

''Forgive my tardiness, I had certain things complicating my arrival.''

''I see. Well, no matter, why did you ask for my presence here?''

Her question made the man sweat.

''We've already prepared the four thousand men you asked for, and an extra five thousand to be drafted at any moment.''

''That so? Very good... However, I presume that isn't all that you wanted to tell me, right?''

The man tightened his fist. Of course, he couldn't go against her orders, or else she could assassinate him, or even worse, target his family. However, he still had to question her.

''...Your majesty, pardon my rudeness, but who will be in command of this attack?''

''Mhm?''

She looked up at the man in confusion, before realizing the motive of his question.

''The first group will be led by Carlos Beltran, surely you know him. Along with his own troops and the four thousand men they will be the first to advance.''

''I see, and what is exactly the strategy for the siege?''

The woman frowned at the man's words, before relaxing and letting out a sigh.

''I see, so you think I'm a fool who's sending all those men to their deaths.''

Melty looked at the man in the eyes, and a wide smile spread across her face.

''However, I do have a plan in mind.''

''Certainly, sending all of them at once would be a death wish, and that's why we are not doing that. The four thousand men along with Beltran's own troops will be the first line of battle, and they will be responsible for taking down Erilis's main gate. After that, the extra five thousand will attack the other walls, taking advantage of Sacrada's knights who are focused on protecting the main gate.''

''There will certainly be great losses, but I assure you that there is nothing to fear. Because we will make that territory ours once and for all.''

Hearing the woman speak, the man couldn't help but frown deeply. Her strategy wasn't anything out of this world. It was simple-minded and was entirely focused on overpowering Erilis with nothing but numbers.

He remembered the woman's history of winning using similar strategies and closed his eyes in thought.

''...Thank you for your time, your majesty.''

''That was all? Well then, have a great day, general.''

She stood up from her seat and stared down at the man.

''Stop doubting me. With my help, you'll realize that it was far more simple than you made it out to be.''

''Of course.''

He waited until the woman walked through the door and tightly shut it behind her, before releasing a breath that he didn't even realize was stuck inside his chest.

''Nine thousand men... I hope she's correct..''

The man lamented inside the empty office.

On the other hand, the woman had a wide smile spread across her face, as if excited about what was going to happen.

She strolled through the building's hall, rejoicing at the bowing men and women who fearfully greeted her.

She laughed quietly to herself and covered the wide smile that had adorned her face.

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The rain poured heavily and fell on the metal helmets of the knights, who stood awkwardly next to each other. They looked at the guarded town in the distance. Flowing gracefully in the middle of the town was a tall blue flag that stood there gracefully. The flag had a large white cross in the middle, and holding onto the cross was a roaring dragon. It was Sacrada's flag.

Carlos Beltran stood in front of the knights, shouting and screaming in a passionate voice.

However, those that were too far away to hear him clearly could only shrug their shoulders at his antics.

The steep hill made for an awkward gathering spot for the knights, who sometimes slipped on the muddy ground. More than four thousand men were gathered there, making for an extremely awkward situation due to the tight space.

And between the crowd of knights, Isaac stood completely stoic. He was wearing a rusted and dented metallic helmet that fully covered his face. It had a thin visor that he could see through, although it still obstructed his sight a bit. He got used to the heat of the armor, but he still felt a bit uncomfortable moving with it.

Next to him stood a blonde shaking woman, Elisa. She was sweating and it was clear she was nervous. She took out the shortsword from her sheath and looked for any dents or imperfections that would cause the blade to fail at cutting. She touched her chest and stomach, checking the state of her armor.

''You're not gonna wear a helmet?''

Isaac's voice made her flinch, and she turned to look at the helmeted man.

''....Ah, it completely slipped my mind!''

''It slipped your mind...?''

His brows creased at her words. While certainly, the woman was a bit airheaded, he didn't expect her to forget something like that. But he did prepare if the situation were to arise, and so he grabbed another one when he went to get one for himself.

''Take it.''

He grabbed the helmet that was tied to his hip and handed it to her. Unlike his own, the helmet only covered the skull and part of the forehead, leaving most of the face exposed. However, beggars can't be choosers, or so he said in his mind.

''Ah, thanks...''

She grabbed it and quickly put it on. She thought the helmet was a bit restrictive and cramped, but she didn't say anything.

''To forget something like that, you won't last a second on the battlefield.''

A tall man next to Isaac spoke in a mocking tone. He towered a head over both Isaac and Elisa. He was Samuel and stood with his back straight.

''You aren't wearing one either.''

''But it's not that I forgot, it is simply that there were no helmets that fit me!''

''Uh-huh, but I saw you wearing one before.''

''...Then it's simply a stylistic choice.''

''Quite brave of you to be choosing style over efficiency on the field.''

''Urgh, I was just making a comment!''

The man blushed and spoke loudly. Elisa, who was listening to the conversation, turned to Isaac and spoke.

''Anyways, why are you wearing all that? It was a surprise seeing you wearing such heavy armor.''

''Why?''

''I don't know, it's just you're always so confident.''

''I see. Well, let me explain it to you since you're not as used to battle then: You won't always be fighting 1-on-1, the helmet and armor are to protect you not just from the spears and swords but also from arrows and other projectiles. Imagine losing an eye or an ear because you didn't wear a helmet, I'd feel pretty stupid. Or even worse, imagine if you got shot with a crossbow and you stupidly decided to not change or repair the metal plates you're wearing and you end up not being able to use your arm. It's those situations that you have to be prepared for,''

''So you're paranoid.''

''I wouldn't say that.''

Elisa looked at him with disbelief. She felt that his words were just a bit influenced by his own personal experiences.

''Mhm... by the way, have you seen Daniel?''

She looked for the tall man in the crowd but saw no sight of him.

''Yeah, he's at the front.''

''At the front?! That idiot...''

She cursed her own incompetence for not finding him earlier. Perhaps she could've convinced him to not to do something like that.

The two waited in silence until Beltran gave the order to start moving.

''Let's go.''

Walking through the steep and unbalanced hill, he repeated the plan inside his head.

The strategy they were going for was pretty simple: The men at the front would form a wall of shields to stop the arrows, the archers who followed right behind them would shoot at the enemies and the magicians would shoot at the wall to weaken it. Following them would be the regular infantry with spears and swords in hand. In the middle there would be a group of men holding onto a thick log, these men would be responsible for breaking down the gates

And with that formation, they would march in a straight line toward the entrance of Erilis's wooden walls.

It was a risky plan but Isaac did think it was a pretty effective strategy, especially since they were in a desperate situation.

They walked down the steep hill until they finally arrived at the flat floor.

''Alright!''

Beltran at the front screamed and signed at the men to prepare themselves.

''Don't fall behind and make sure you don't fall, now let's go!''

'We are running together, after all, shit!' Isaac thought and tightened his grip on the halberd. He did find it confusing that they hadn't split up into groups to attack.

Picking up speed, the men ran right behind Beltran towards Erilis. Isaac moved sluggishly with the heavy armor and regretted having even considered putting it on, but it was too late for regrets.

The earth shook under the weight of thousands of men running across the field. The ground rumbled and it should be evident to anybody that they were there.

That's why as they approached the fortress, Isaac grew confused and worried. Despite making so much noise, the enemy hadn't reacted at all. Typically, they would start showering them with arrows and even magic.

He looked up at the looming tower over the wall. For some reason, he instinctually realized something was wrong with it. Because right at the top, there was a barely visible orange light that was growing bigger by the second.

---A light blinded him for a second, and there was a loud, deafening sound that echoed across the entire field and shocked the knights into stopping their run.

As he opened his eyes, he saw a cloud of smoke cover his field of view. He glanced at the origin of the smoke and saw a large crater just a few meters to the right. The knights who had been standing there vanished.

''What the hell...''

Before he could think anymore, another loud explosion happened to the furthest left, and another cloud of smoke obscured his view.

The knights grew agitated, not knowing what was going on.

''---Don't fall back now, let's keep going, and don't you dare split up!''

Beltran's words snapped them out of their daze, and they followed behind the man's burly figure. Though they didn't know what was happening, they couldn't just stand still.

''What the... what the hell was that?!''

''Shit... shit...!''

He heard the voice of Samuel and Elisa, agitated by the explosions.

'Shit, we're still gonna run in a straight line?! Fucking dumbass!'

He spat every curse imaginable at Beltran.

He racked his brain trying to figure out what were they using that had so much destructive power. The only realistic option he reached was that of a catapult, but then again that was only a tool, what were they throwing that had the prowess to create such a huge explosion.

He didn't know.

Another loud explosion was heard, then another, then another. Isaac had the feeling that they weren't going to last very long. The shields at the front had received major damage, with only a few hundred left from the previous thousand.

Only 60 more meters.

''Magicians, shoot at the walls!''

The few magicians that could use fire summoned a flaming and ominous sphere of fire in their hands, whereas the ones who could use water created a flowing sphere of water. While they were similar, their way of acting was different. Whereas the fire sphere exploded on impact, water spheres crashed against the wall and created huge holes in the wooden wall.

Seeing the magician's futile attempt at bringing down the wall, Isaac looked away and began to focus on the ground to not trip while running. His feet hurt and he felt like he was about to collapse, even though he hasn't even done any fighting at all.

The frontline had finally reached the walls and began to move towards the large gates.

''Bring the log!''

The men holding the log moved forward and, along with Beltran, crashed it against the gates. The wall shook from the impact.

''Again!''

They pushed it forward again and hit the gates again. The gates began to falter from the impact, and they crashed the log against it again.

''This is weird...''

Samuel next to me said, shaking while holding his spear.

''What do you mean?''

''At this point, we'd be under a barrage of attacks from mages and archers, but they're not doing anything...''

Isaac's feeling of nausea grew. He had a gut feeling, that they were being played with. That they had fallen right into Sacrada's trap.

''Come on, just one more time!''

The thick log crashed against the gates, splitting them open. The sawdust blinded them for a second, and Beltran opened his mouth to give orders once more.

But he was interrupted by another blinding flash.

''Fire!''

An explosion occurred at the front, right where Beltran stood.

The dust and ash floated in the air, blinding the knights. It was when the smoke cleared, that they saw what had happened:

Beltran and the other men at the front had been wiped out by a large explosion.

''Don't let them get through the gate, move forward!''

A dark-haired woman shouted, standing next to a metallic cannon.

The knights next to her prepared their shields and spears and ran forward in a rage.

''...S-Shit, let's give it to them!''

One of Belica's knights at the front screamed, and they clashed against Sacrada's.

------Having suffered the loss of 2,000 men, Belica crashed against Sacrada 2 minutes and 15 seconds after the battle began.