Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

It was morning, and another rain of arrows fell upon the village. Luther watched from afar with emotionless eyes, his gaze briefly sweeping over the long row of soldiers holding their bows after releasing the arrows that probably killed one or two people.

"He is really developing. I don't know about becoming a General, but he'll make a good leader" - Luther thought, observing Agusa as the young man instructed some of the soldiers around him, showing them how to better use the bow while on horseback. At first, Agusa wasn't even talking much with others, but now he was expressing himself and taking the lead in teaching them. It was a great development.

"Get ready to fire again in four hours!"- Luther's voice cut through the air, prompting all of them to look at him - "But for now, it's back to training!" Luther had been training his soldiers on the site, without a care about a potential attack from the village or from approaching enemies. The villagers were too afraid to even peek out from behind the walls. Even if they planned an attack, a hundred trained troops, especially a hundred trained cavalry troops, would be more than enough to exterminate all of them. And as for another enemy approaching, they were quite far from any major city, which meant that it would take time for them to assemble sufficient troops and get to this position within a short time.

At Luther's words, some soldiers showed tired and unwilling expressions, while others seemed resigned to their fate. They had been training almost every day for the past year and knew of Luther's iron grip when it came to discipline. He only stopped when their bodies could no longer take it. Some of the cavalry had participated in the war, and even then, this regime of training was as exhausting as that situation.

Despite their wish to get away, all obeyed the general's orders and formed a long line in front of him - "Today, during the next hours, we will be training to fight against infantry forces in a mock battle. Agusa, you will take charge of twenty cavalry, while I will take charge of the rest, who will act as infantry."

Luther pointed to the soldier right beside Agusa - "From his right, everyone will be on my team; the others will be in Agusa's cavalry troops. We will rotate the members of the cavalry every time we shoot towards the village. It will allow everyone to train and develop their skills"

"Are you also going to participate in the mock battle, General?" - one soldier asked, swallowing hard. He had been designed to Agusa's team, meaning that he would be against the great General. He couldn't help but feel fear at the thought of being on the opposing team against the general, who, according to some stories, could break a horse's neck with his bare hands. Luther shook his head - "Don't worry, I won't be partaking in the battle itself. I will only be directing the team from the sidelines." - His words brought relief to the soldiers' faces; they couldn't even imagine standing in the opposite side of such a person, raising their weapons against an indestructible man.

"But…aren't we at a numerical disadvantage?" another soldier asked. This time, Agusa responded, his eyes shining in understanding - "The cavalry has a strategic advantage. Our speed and mobility allow us to exploit weaknesses, disrupt their lines, and sow chaos amidst their formations. We also have the psychological advantage. It's rare to see someone remain calm when a mounted warrior charges at them." "He has quite the insight huh." - Luther thought, but he couldn't waste anymore time with this. His time was short and these soldiers still needed training. He had to build the best army for his king.

"Dismount your horses, we are about to begin! Agusa, take your men into the forest. We will be practicing guerrilla tactics" - Luther instructed and turned to his team, ordering - "You have fifteen minutes to tie up your horses, get your weapons and be back here. If anyone is late, even by a minute, all of you will have to do five hundred push-ups."

The soldiers shivered and hurried off to tie up their horses and equip themselves. The threat of collective punishment was an effective fuel to these people. Nobody desired to be the one to drag down the whole team to a hellish punishment. With fear in their minds, they returned quickly, equipped with spears, bows, hatchets, or swords in one hand and round wooden shields in the other. Agusa and his units had already hidden themselves in the forest. It was a rough terrain filled with trees and vines, which could hinder the horses' movements, slowing them down. Fortunately, the Snowfire Horses were born in the Frozen Forest, a place where speed and mobility were essential to survive. They were much more adapted to surmount and dodge obstacle. Because of that, they could be extremely useful in ambushes within the forest.

The village was surrounded by a thin clearing, a small place devoid of trees, but at the same time surrounded by them. They didn't know from where the cavalry would strike and what they would do first. Luther waited to see if anyone amongst his team would take the initiative and lead, but none stepped forward. They didn't have the talent to become leaders and would probably die within the lower ranks of the army.

"Square formation!" Luther commanded from a distance. The soldiers swiftly organized themselves into a defensive formation, defending from all sides. The spearmen were positioned in the outer edges of the square with their shields and spear prepared. Those with swords and hatchets were right behind and those with ranged weapons took the center, where they had a clear view to shoot.

"The greatest characteristic of a cavalry is their mobility and speed" - Luther thought, observing the formation and awaiting for any sign of attack - "The spears in front prevent them from charging through the front lines with their momentum, and by positioning the soldiers all around, we eliminate any open space for them to exploit from behind, creating an obstacle to their advantage in mobility." The air was still and silent, the village behind them made no noise whatsoever, and even the forest seemed eerily quiet, with no sounds of birds or insects. Suddenly, Luther shouted - "Raise your shields!" - The soldiers obeyed, lifting their shields just as a barrage of blunt arrows hit them.

As soon as the arrows hit their shields, the cavalry emerged from the woods, weapons drawn and ready for the impact - "Interesting! Brilliant!" - Luther complimented, observing Agusa's strategy. - "He used the arrows to force them to raise their shields and obscure their vision. In order to protect themselves, the front lines had to momentarily forget about their spears, giving him time and advantage. Brilliant!" Luther flashed an excited smile, wishing to go there immediately and congratulate the kid on his genius. Iosif had been right on sending Agusa to the capital, the kid had potential. Perhaps, even more than Luther assumed. He might indeed have what it takes to become a General in the future.

-x-

Inside the surrounded village, the residents listened anxiously to the sounds of clashing swords and shouts of battle echoing from beyond the walls. At first, they thought that some troops had come to help them, and they wanted to go to the walls to look. But the fear of getting hit by an arrow kept them from seeing if freedom was near. "Maybe Gonu and Yulo are finally back and have brought help!" - some of them thought, hiding in the safety of their houses - "Yes, that's right. They surely came back with help to kill those beasts." - His thoughts were disoriented from the sleeplessness nights.

They couldn't stand the constant rain of arrows that kept them awake at night, with arrows hitting their roofs and threatening to kill them in their sleep. It was like thousands of mosquitoes flying near their ears, awakening them throughout the whole night and day.

"Mom, I am hungry" - A child whispered to her mother, her belly begging for food. The mother looked sadly at the child in her arms and took a piece of what seemed to be black bread from her clothes - "Here…" - she said, giving the child a tiny piece, the size of her thumb.

The village leaders instructed them to start rationing food since they were under a siege, and had no clear vision of the future. The potatoes on the farm hadn't been harvested, and even if they wanted to, they couldn't go outside to get them. All the farms were outside. Luckily, they were on the southern side of the village, so the soldiers hadn't destroyed them, as they had concentrated in the front.

"Gony and Yulo are back! I am sure!" - This was the common thought across the whole village. Their only hope was for someone to come to their rescue. They had to believe that the sounds outside were from people fighting for them. However, no one came to their aid for the next two days. When the rain of arrows finally stopped, it took them another day to gather the courage to leave their houses to find the clear horizon, devoid of enemies.