Today, Howell wears splendid armor and cos before the army formation to boost morale.
In his view, the kingdom forces opposite him consist of only two legions, and they are fighting under noble banners.
His advisers have already told him that these are armies that once garrisoned Peace Haven's defense line.
So officers under him say they should take the troops before them seriously.
But like most of his officers, Howell feels these are only private troops of nobles. Though they appear sowhat better equipped and arrayed a little more neatly, that is all.
He does not think he will lose. What good is a neat formation?
Once the killing starts, it will still co down to the soldiers' courage and ferocity.
Howell says with a grin, "I investigated them. This army was defeated by the lord of Blood Hill."
"And from the look of them, they learned nothing at all. They only learned Peace Haven's pretty formations."
"They lost to Henwell. Today, I can defeat them just the sa."
This draws agreent from many of his subordinates, who all say the King of Justice will certainly crush these two private armies.
So even begin flattering him. "Your Majesty, that comparison is not quite right. You are a king, while that Henwell is only a lucky boy."
"Exactly. If the lord of Blood Hill ca here, he would have to dismount and bow to Your Majesty."
"Yes, yes. He would have to kiss Your Majesty's boots."
Howell laughs proudly, then quickly waves a hand. "Henwell is also a heroic figure. I have simply walked farther than he has."
When he says this, none of these people notice the sneers appearing on so officers' faces.
After the drums and horns sound, the armies on both sides begin advancing.
At first, the Justice Army still looks sowhat proper, but after two hundred ters, its formation begins to scatter.
After five hundred ters, the two legions have already turned into a swarm.
Watching the Justice Army vanguard press forward in a noisy mass, Divarak lowers his spyglass. "What a mob."
"Pass the order. The two wings advance and surround these rebels. Sweep them up in one net. Do not let a single one go."
The ssengers use flag signals to notify the frontline commanders, and the Fire Wolf Legion imdiately changes formation into a two-wing attack.
A legion of more than ten thousand n changes within a few short minutes from several large square formations into an advancing two-wing formation.
From a distance, it looks like a hawk spreading its wings and pouncing toward the Justice Army opposite them.
The center army, which is responsible for absorbing the impact, knocks down a large number of Justice Army soldiers the mont the two sides clash.
At this mont, the commander of the center quickly discovers that the enemy is all show and no substance, so he imdiately orders the formation to shift from defense into an advancing assault formation.
The heavy shield soldiers fall back, and the assault troops carrying round shields and war spears begin pushing forward. They quickly smash through the Justice Army's vanguard.
As the center army advances steadily, the Justice Army collapses at a visible pace.
After half an hour of fierce fighting, the Fire Wolf Legion's two wings have already wrapped around.
The defense on the Justice Army's original flanks has long since collapsed.
Facing the Fire Wolf Legion's flank attack, they have no ability to resist at all.
Even those in the Justice Army who understand military affairs the least can now see that these two legions no longer have any fighting strength and are rapidly routing.
Seeing this, Howell imdiately sends out his two guard units, intending to counter-encircle the Fire Wolf Legion.
The Blue Fist Legion, which has been on guard the whole ti, is also about to move.
But at this mont, the noble coalition to the side sees that the Justice Army is so weak and imdiately begins trying to grab an easy benefit.
The noble coalition enters the battlefield without orders.
Only then does soone co to inform Sundike, "Your Highness, perhaps General Pavaro's Blue Fist Legion should hold the line."
"After all, Peace Haven's embedded foothold legion has not appeared yet. We still need to guard against that elite force."
"As for the rebels in front of us, we will help you hold them off first. Then you can send in the reserves depending on the situation."
Before Sundike can rebuke him, Divarak takes over. "Very well. Your Highness has also felt your determination to suppress the rebellion."
"Since this battle is happening within your territories, you have the right to reclaim your land and honor."
After the noble representative leaves, Prince Sundike says unhappily, "Count, why did you stop from scolding them? This is a battlefield, not a banquet."
"On the battlefield, everything should follow the plan, with each side performing its assigned role. If they do this, they will disrupt the situation and easily create accidents."
Divarak says, "It is not we who will have the accident. If Your Highness stops them now, they will not thank you. They will only resent you."
"If they want to claim the spoils, they must have the ability to do it."
"Those two so-called guard units of the rebels have at least undergone training and have a complete command system."
"Their equipnt is not too poor either, so they will not collapse at the first touch."
"More importantly, Your Highness, look at those three thousand-man units over there. Their formations are completely different from the others."
Following the direction Divarak points toward, Sundike raises his spyglass.
He discovers three unusual thousand-man units. The reason they are unusual is not their armor or anything of that sort.
It is that after advancing several hundred ters, these three thousand-man units still maintain orderly formations. They even press the nearby troops into maintaining formation with them.
Prince Sundike frowns. "Those are Peace Haven troops. When did they co here? Have we not already established defensive systems in those two regions?"
"Henwell needs the traitor Howell alive, so he must have arranged so troops here long ago."
"He had to prevent us from removing Howell before he activated his embedded footholds. If that happened, it would be difficult for him to interfere here."
Prince Sundike has so concerns. "These noble private troops are charging over without any reasonable command system. I am afraid they will take a beating."
"When the ti cos, if they suffer heavy losses, will they not push the bla onto us again?"
Divarak sneers. "Heh. They are the ones trying to seize credit. If they lack the skill, they cannot bla us."
"Besides, Your Highness, only their defeat can highlight our victory."
"The more foolish they are, and the worse they lose, the more important our victory will look. That is politics."
As they speak, the noble coalition has already engaged the King of Justice's guard troops.
The nobles still fight in the style they use against bandits and rebels: cavalry opens the road, while infantry follows behind to charge and expand the victory.
At first, this is quite effective. The nobles' more than two thousand cavalry tear open the Justice Army's formation in an instant and drive hard into it.
But after charging five or six hundred ters, they run into several neatly arrayed thousand-man units.
Among them are two thousand-man units trained and arranged by Peace Haven. The other three are Howell's direct troops, driven along by the sa pressure to maintain formation.
Even worse, the noble cavalry's speed has already dropped. They cannot break through such orderly formations at all.
Then the situation becos very ugly.
The two Peace Haven thousand-man units in front hold firmly against the cavalry's impact.
The three thousand-man units of the King of Justice receive a signal and begin wrapping around from both wings.
Before long, the noble cavalry, jamd together and stripped of their mobility, are stabbed off their horses one after another by long spears.
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