Although the light cavalry had been repelled again, the situation in the valley to the east, at least according to Mart, had changed greatly.

After the Second Corps departed, there was now nothing left on the other side of the valley but the artillery positions, the First and Third Corps, plus Murat's light cavalry and a few thousand heavy cavalry.

The Union's heavy cavalry, especially from the North, was not as prestigious as that of Eirinn or the Empire, but like any other unit it could count on numbers that far exceeded those of any other army in Western Erthea.

Mart had more knights with him than any Union General before him, and while it would take two or three of them to match one of the opposing side, the General was confident that not even Gaia herself would be able to oppose such a force; much less a few tens of thousands of soldiers and a few guns.

In theory, he should have asked for permission, but the situation seemed so favorable that he did not want to risk the enemy smelling danger and having time to take cover.

"Soldiers! It's time to prove your worth! Anyone who feels brave enough, follow me!"

No one dreamed of not obeying; Mart was young, but his fame and courage were an example for any knight, and unlike Lawrence, he did not think twice about throwing himself personally into the fray.

At his command, fifteen thousand knights set out along the valley, heading all together at a small pace towards the enemy lines.

"Michael, look!"

"What the hell is Mart doing? Charging a battery of guns head-on like that is suicide! Messenger, go tell him to stop!"

The messenger rushed down the hill as fast as he could, but by the time he reached the General's side, the General had already ordered his men to pick up the pace in the face of the enemy's first cannon fire.

"General! The President orders a halt to the attack!"

"It's too late now! If we stop, they'll tear us to pieces! We'll charge with all our might and wipe out those damned cannons! Go tell the President that Daemon Haselworth's head will be my gift to him!"

But the messenger was unable to go and report anything to Michael, because at that moment a cannonball obliterated him, narrowly missing Mart, who, however, despite his fright, had no intention of changing his mind.

The closer the cavalry got, the more accurately the Free State artillerymen could aim, and the more Union soldiers were swept away with each single shot.

"The line between bravery and idiocy is a fine one sometimes," Daemon said, almost amused. "Not even an Englishman would think of such a stupid idea."

By the time half the valley was behind him, Mart had lost no fewer than four hundred men, and nearly as many more had been left on foot by the death of their horses.

"Charge!"

It seemed as if the entire valley would explode; the earth shook, and the cloud of dust raised by the galloping horses was so high and thick that it obscured the sun.

The gunners fired everything they had, continually adjusting the elevation of the guns and causing dozens of deaths with each shot, some dying from the bullets and some crashing to the ground, stumbling over their fallen comrades.

But despite the explosions, the casualties, and even the grapeshot that hit them when they were close enough, the Union horsemen did not surrender.

"We can do this! Forward, soldiers, forward!"

Before the enemy cavalry, or what was left of them, could charge, the artillerymen abandoned their guns and ran behind their allies, who did something no one had ever seen before. They stood shoulder to shoulder, but instead of forming a line, they arranged themselves into a square, with the officers and generals in the center and a forest of blades and gun barrels protruding from beyond a wall of shields.

Not even the most trained horse was so foolish as to go and impale itself, and so the charge soon turned into a paradoxical trot between the squares on the hillside, while from within them arrows, darts and a few gunshots rained down on the attackers.

Natuli and her brigade remained stationary until the last, and then as soon as the enemy was suitably tired she in turn charged.

At that point there was nothing left for Mart and his men to do.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

But Natuli had no intention of letting them go, and obeying the orders received before the battle she ordered the pursuit of the fugitives, killing a great number of them, and stopping only once they were within range of the enemy crossbowmen.

"In the name of Gaia, what a disaster..." Tom said at the sight of Mart's cavalry sadly returning to their positions, emerging from the cloud of dust like thousands of tired, wounded and unhorsed ghosts. "Michael..."

"Not yet..."





Aria watched the battle unfold in front of her with an increasingly concerned look.

She was realizing that she had asked too much of her men.

These brave soldiers believed in her and would fight to the death in her name, but even the most faithful and determined soldier was forced to succumb sooner or later.

In these cases, she thought it was necessary to set a good example, and show that a commander could fight like any other soldier without fear of risking his own life.

It was one of the few things she and Daemon disagreed on, since in Daemon's opinion a commander had no right to put himself in danger just to prove something to his men or to himself.

"Whoever is in command must not make mistakes." he had told her when they had discussed the matter.

But at that moment Aria felt that there was no other choice.

So, when she saw an opening for an attack on the enemy's left flank, she resolutely drew her sword and called all the cavalry to her.

"Attack! Attack!"

Even Basil and Orestes followed her with their personal guards, joining her in the attack in the hope that this would actually serve to turn the tide and win the battle.

The first line under Aria's command charged head-on, while the second line instead made a wide detour, striking in the flank, and threatening to enclose thousands of Union soldiers in a deadly pocket.

"Michael!"

"Now! Sound the trumpets!"



Viscount Maser of Orthania was perhaps the only noble landowner in the South to sincerely believe in President Medici's reformist intentions.

He used to free any slave who managed to reach his estate, then take him into his service and keep him with him as a free worker.

And like all southern nobles, he loved to ride. While Michael was organizing the expedition, the Viscount had approached him and offered to accompany him along with his small army of skilled knights.

Of course he had to do it secretly, so as not to make more enemies than he already had among the other gentlemen of the South, but more than glory or profit he sought the thrill of battle, which was precisely what had driven him to depart.

He certainly loved being the center of attention, with his thick blond beard, his tousled hair, and his bright uniform. As soon as a blast of trumpets came from over the hill, the Viscount immediately threw away his mirror and comb and drew his sword.

"Come on, gentlemen! Let's show these northern debauchees how to wage war on horseback!"

He and his two thousand spearmen literally appeared out of nowhere from behind the western hill they had been hiding behind, and after splitting into two columns they attacked the second line on one flank and the first from behind, trapping Aria and her men between two fires and cutting them off from the rest of their army.

"Damn, it was a trap!"

Michael had also studied Aria and her battles well, and had sensed that in the face of difficulty she would not hesitate to set an example by personally leading the cavalry attack.

With her defeat or capture, the President was sure that the imperial army would inevitably crumble, especially if it found itself in an already difficult situation.

And that is exactly what happened. Basil and Orestes were so busy trying to reach their Commander that they completely lost interest in the battle, leaving the Centurions and the other NCOs with the hassle of desperately trying to keep the soldiers in line.



"She's trapped! Damned stubborn girl, I told you not to act impulsively!"

"Commander, what do we do? At this rate the Imperials will run away!"

"We have to try to help her somehow."

"How? We have only a few men left, too."

A shadow suddenly passed by the table, and before anyone knew it Scalia was running down the hill with her sword drawn and screaming at the top of her lungs.

The moment she tore off her armor it was as if someone had put wings on her feet, and after slashing her way through she reached Aria, wiping out five enemies in one fell swoop before they could overwhelm her.

"You!?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this for you! I'm only doing this for Daemon!"

That sudden and violent attack fatally disoriented not only the Viscount's knights but the entire Union army, which began to retreat, frightened by such a demonstration of force.

"The enemy is in difficulty! Now is the time to strike! Forward, soldiers! Let's take this victory!"

Galvanized by their General's words and Scalia's presence, the Imperials regained their strength and continued to advance, pushing their enemies further and further back.

"Damn, those two complement each other," Daemon grinned. "My horse!"

A few minutes later Daemon himself took the lead of the entire army, which began to march towards the enemy while the orchestra of trumpets and drums behind them played a catchy and impetuous march, that would have given courage even to stones.

https://youtu.be/hF9cF3eOQDA

It was more than anyone could bear without seeing their self-esteem sink to the ground; and the little warrior spirit that remained in Michael crumbled in front of the news that had been arriving from the rear for some time.

"Mr. President, the enemy heavy cavalry has reached us, and dozens of harpies have appeared out of nowhere. We're holding them off for now, but without reinforcements we won't be able to hold out much longer."

"There's no point in continuing like this. Let's negotiate terms of surrender."

"Michael... I mean, Mr. President. We can still win. We still have reserves."

"There's no way we'll be able to turn the tables, and we'll need the men we have left soon."

"For what?"

Michael turned to look at him grimly. "To defend the Union should they decide to return our visit."



It was the custom in wars between civilized nations that if one of the two sides engaged in battle lowered its flag while simultaneously sounding three blasts on the horn, the weapons were immediately silenced, and diplomacy took over.

Of course, this was an unwritten rule that anyone could feel entitled to break, but for any gentleman, reputation came first.

So, before it was clear who had actually blown the horn, all the commanders on both sides ordered their weapons to be laid down, and slowly everyone returned to their respective starting positions.

Of course, tradition dictated that the defeated general should appear in the victors' camp, although protocol dictated that he should be given all the honors.

So, at sunset, and with an entourage of Tom, Lawrence, Mart, and Maser - the latter having somehow survived the close encounter with Scalia - Michael reached the enemy camp, where, somewhat surprisingly, they were greeted by an honor guard and led to the command tent where Aria and Daemon awaited them.

It didn't take a genius to see at a glance that although there were two flags flying outside, only one of the enemy commanders would be in charge of the negotiations.

"Welcome, President Medici," Daemon said, offering him a chair. "We finally meet in person."

"I come before you as the defeated Commander of a hostile nation, and I am ready to listen to your offers of peace. Dictate the terms, and I will try to fulfill them."

"What makes you think we'd be willing to negotiate?" Aria replied. "You attacked this land without cause, trying to claim it when it was most vulnerable. Such cowardly conduct leaves little room for gentlemen's agreements."

"I take full responsibility for this invasion. If anyone should suffer your wrath, it's me."

"Mich... Mr. President, wait! You are not to blame! It was those damned selfish people who..."

"Shut up, Tom. I am the President. If my people and those who govern them make a mistake, I am the first to be held responsible."

"Such line of reasoning does you credit," Daemon said. "But if his advisors are looking out for their own interests before those of the nation, those in charge cannot always be held accountable. You did not choose these parasites, you inherited them from your predecessor. And if I may say so, you have done an enviable job of keeping them at bay. The Grand Duchess puts it bluntly, but in truth I know of no one who would not have taken advantage of the situation we were in to profit from it."

Lawrence gasped, and not just him: "Wait... did you say Grand Duchess!?"

"In a way, we owe you. Your invasion not only ended the conflict between the Free State and the Empire, but was also the expedient that allowed the Free State of Eirinn to be born."

"How ironic." Maser said "We wanted to strike a mortal blow to an enemy, and instead we created another with our own hands."

The situation was even more ironic when you took into account that although Aria was supposedly in charge, in reality it was clearly Daemon who was calling the shots.

"You wouldn't have accepted our offer to negotiate if you'd simply wanted to wipe us out," Michael cut him off. "Tell me your terms."

"Immediate withdrawal of your army from our territory."

"It will be done."

"The restitution of prisoners and the return of any kind of booty."

"Agreed."

"The payment of a ransom for each non-commissioned officer and officer in our hands in an amount varying between one thousand and twenty thousand gold francs, depending on their rank."

"Accepted."

"The exclusive lease of a dock in the port of Mickarn, large enough to accommodate a warship."

"No problem."

"As compensation for war damages, a sum equal to seventy million gold francs."

"Impossible. No nation in Erthea possesses such a sum."

"Wait, I'm not finished. You can pay one sixth of this amount in the form of a ten-year mortgage, with interest rates that vary according to the changes in the value of our currency. The remainder will be paid through the signing of binding trade agreements between the Free State and the Union, and between the Empire and the Union, which will remain in place until the debt is fully repaid. As far as the Free State is concerned, we will accept no payment other than our own currency. Furthermore, the Union will officially recognize the Free State of Eirinn."

To the untrained eye, these requests might have seemed incredibly generous and merciful, but anyone in that tent who knew even a modicum of economics could see that they were a noose of the worst kind.

Having to pay its debt in francs, the Union would henceforth have been forced to allow the free circulation of the currency within its territory, and having to keep its value as stable as possible, attempting any tricks to the detriment of the economy of the Free State would have meant shooting itself in the foot.

At least, those trade agreements would have made the fortune of many people, making them gain so much money that they would not care about the price that the Union would have been forced to pay for that absurd war.

A defeat disguised as an honorable peace.

"One more thing. More of a suggestion. As you surely know, the custom in the Empire is to reward soldiers who have taken part in long campaigns with leave and a hectare of arable land each. The Grand Duchess Montgomery and I have mutually agreed to do the same with the soldiers of the Free State, and we would like you to follow suit with yours."

"Why!?" Lawrence exclaimed

"We all know very well that Union troops are poorly paid, and that plunder is a major source of income for them. If those soldiers were simply sent home, you could find yourself with serious problems of public order, with important consequences for the safety of our borders and our trade routes. In this way we would gain stability and security at a small price."

Not to mention the thousands of supporters Daemon and the Free State would surely gain in the Union once it became known who had come up with this idea.

"Agreed. I accept all your conditions."

"Mr. President, wait," Lawrence tried. "We should discuss this in Council first."

"They gave me full power in this operation, and I made it clear that I would do whatever it took to end this war as quickly as possible."

Daemon smiled. "In that case, Mr. President, peace is made."

And as had happened a few days earlier, a war that seemed destined to destroy the balance of an entire continent ended with a handshake.

"Now, if I may, I would like to make one last request."

"What else?"

"May I speak with you in private?"