Firstborn: Return of the heir

“So far, so good.”

Patting his scabbard, Saulus continued to march at a relatively slow, yet consistent pace. With the first legion by his side, the young general wasn’t showing any signs of hesitation. With these veteran soldiers of his, they could run through the entire alley and instantly form up to fight with the enemy forces that were reported to be amassing in the central plaza.

But he didn’t have his veterans on his side right now. Suffice it to say, only Firstborns knew what was going on with those loyal and trusted soldiers of his. Right now, Saulus had to limit all his strategies to ones that only his greenhorn soldiers of the second legion would be capable of following. Even with over six hundred seasoned warriors surrounding him from all sides, the young general didn’t dare to overreach with his plans.

After all, those men had never fought as two separate units before. According to the initial plans… But there was no time to think about “what if” scenarios. Despite their seemingly slow pace, the unit of veterans of the second legion quickly reached the entrance of the plaza.

The enemy ranks numbered way above the counts that Saulus could make in his immediate vicinity. Roughly estimating the opposing force to be around a thousand men strong, the young general suddenly flinched.

What if… This relentless what if, a wish to appear in a different situation where the events went in a more favorable way. But the audacity of this thought still washed over the young man’s soul. If he only wanted to win, he could simply throw both of his units into the fray before bringing two more from the forum building nearby. Saulus could even take a detour right now to bring his forces back together and just smash through the enemy defenses… Even though he was already well in sight of the enemy formations!

But that wasn’t the plan. If he wanted to root out all of the remains of the enemy resistance, his current strategy had to proceed.

“Forward form!”

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Looking at the ranks of the enemy, Saulus couldn’t stop himself from cursing under his breath. Gabriel’s plan was to lure the enemy soldiers into this place by sending a small detachment from the army to get drunk and spread the news that something was about to happen. Even though he expected this ploy to rally up everyone far quicker than any of the rumors spread by natural ways could…

“To hell with it.”

Shaking all the doubts out of his head, Saulus moved forward, forcing all the legionaries around him to do the same. In just a moment, the entire group of over six hundred men filled up the entryway leading to the plaza.

Just like they had expected back during the strategy meeting, the focal point of his opponent’s defensive formation was aimed at luring his forces into the encirclement. Sadly, what everyone had to do right in the next moment was to step into the obvious trap.

Moving to the fourth line, Saulus didn’t even need to use his strength to squeeze through. All the veterans moved out of his way, even with no voiced order. There was no fear or doubt in their eyes. Just like the boys from the first legion, these men were professionals. And professionals have standards.

For them, this was about to be yet another day on the job. Kill or be killed, that’s just the standard routine for an active legionary. And they were fully prepared to do so under the young general’s legendary orders.

Once Saulus’ line finally formed, instead of rushing forward… He waited.

Oof…With how Saulus was taking his time doing nothing. Right at the mouth of the enemy trap, Saulus was perfectly aware that in order for their trap to work, he had to make the first move. And with every second he waited, more and more enemies understood their trap wasn’t hidden at all.

Soon, it became obvious that Saulus was perfectly aware of the other side’s plans.

In a single moment, the entire front of the Saulus’ lines pulled out huge, rectangular shields. Reaching just above the head of an average soldier, they quickly turned those separate pieces into what seemed like an impenetrable wall.

Looking at his people finishing their preparations on the sides as well, Saulus couldn’t help but recall the records of the ancient Retesian legions. Between the units of the past and what Saulus had on hand right now… Everything was different.

The original concept of legions being those huge and immovable masses of men, who designated this kind of formation to simply roll over any resistance that appeared with its sheer weight. And with little to say, it had absolutely nothing to do with its current iterations.

Leading two of his best units forward, Saulus commanded less than a third of his total force. And he was about to execute a joint operation of basically four different, autonomous units that were parts of a new kind of legion. It was actually Saulus’s own idea to reform the collapsing units and configure them into a proper and mobile force, capable of solving wars entirely differently than what had historically happened so far.

And looking at the orderly rows of the veterans, at the solid line of soldiers that quickly learned from each other and adapted to their recent assignments…

A sudden banging. Then another one. Then an entire choir of loud, metallic voices appeared in the air. It was the first line of Saulus’ veterans heating themselves up for battle. Their swords, axes, and other weapons slammed against their shields. Initially, some voluntary responses appeared from Akay’s forces, but they were all quickly put down. After all, lord Akay’s force held its standing as the professional army close to their heart and pride! The true standing army of the Retesia…

Seeing how his men didn’t show any sign of hesitation, the young general smiled. Turning his face towards the side, he spotted Gabriel leading the units from the second line in the distance. Seeing Saulus shaking his head, the officer simply turned his face towards the lines of the enemies.

“Advance!”

With no attempts at making his order audible, Gabriel charged forth. And the entire first line of soldiers followed suit. Instead of breaking up into individuals and rushing at the opponents in a personal capacity, Saulus’s veterans kept uniform speed, quickly advancing into the open field of the plaza.

And right behind them, the rest of the unit followed, protected from both flanks by two more rows of shield-bearers. With their bows and crossbows suddenly worthless, the enemy got lost. Instead of instantly taking advantage of their preparations to fire a volley at Saulus’s forces… The enemy units couldn’t reach Saulus’s men without aiming at a steep angle… which would mean risking accidental, friendly fire.

This hesitation bought the formation of Saulus’s veterans just enough time to reach the line of the enemies securing the back of the plaza. Following strictly with the fourth row, Saulus still had to run several steps before slamming his body into a small group of people in front of him and forcing this man-made nail into the formation of the enemy.

Using his big shield as a front cover, the first soldier simply followed the momentum of the push against his enemies. Before his flank could get attacked, the rest of the nail followed, filling the gap with furious veterans.

Despite how complicated it seemed to be, it was, in fact, a simple maneuver. All it required from soldiers was to stay in their respective rows and crash into each other. Even for the greenhorn troops, this wouldn’t be a challenge. As long as they knew it would happen and were mentally prepared for it, that is.

Once the line broke, the mayhem began. Finally reaching direct contact with the enemy, Saulus felt a familiar sensation. A strange trance overwhelming his mind. Instead of cutting, stabbing, penetrating and slashing, he was dancing, floating, swimming through the air in a graceful dance.

A dance that was marked with blossoming redness on the bodies of those unlucky enough to meet him.

But in the end, the young general was just a man. Not even a lord, a fortunate son of the diluted blood of the firstborns. While his mad rush into the fray clearly increased the morale of the soldiers, making them want to fight beside a legendary warrior like him, it didn’t take long before Saulus allowed his personal guard to pull him out of the meat grinder at the front.

“Sir, they are flanking us!”

Shaken awake from his trance in a single instant, Saulus looked around, assessing their position.

“Okay… Call the retreat. Herald, it’s your turn!”

With how shortly he knew this legion at large, Saulus couldn’t know the names of all his soldiers. And he wasn’t calling for some kind of Herald, but for the man with the loudest voice in the entire unit.

“Everyone, we have the palace!”

If someone paid enough attention, they might notice that the shouting man was actually sitting on the shoulders of his fellow soldiers. A strange thing to do in the middle of a heated battle.

And his extended arm was pointing at a single detail that was visible even on the plaza.

The long forgotten flag of the Burn household fluttering in the wind, high up on the royal tower of the palace!