Duke of Saxony

  The order to march finally came from the castle, and the heralds wearing the coat of arms of the Duke of Meissen rode quickly through the camp on horseback. The vassals also gave orders to their troops, and 5,000 men and horses marched under the banner of the Duke of Meissen towards the territory of the Duke of Saxony. Various square flags and triangular banners fluttered in the wind, forming a colorful ocean. Knights wearing chain mail walked at the front of the army, accompanied by sword-bearing squires who carried their weapons for them. Behind the squires were soldiers wearing elaborate clothing and armor, while poor knights served as heavy infantry in the middle of the army. At the rear were large numbers of light infantry armed with pitchforks and other farm tools, their faces dull and resigned.

  The most peculiar thing was that the team's last followed a large army, which was composed of miscellaneous workers, prostitutes and slave traders. They closely followed the army to form a mobile logistics department. The front row marched silently and neatly, except for the sound of armor rubbing against each other and the sound of horse hooves. However, the rear logistics department composed of miscellaneous workers and prostitutes shouted and scolded each other, but the medieval nobles seemed to have long been accustomed to seeing strange things and let this strange team follow behind them.

  "This marching speed, I'm afraid the Duke of Saxony will know our position without even scouting." Arwade stopped for the third time in one day, feeling helpless about the slow and disorganized way medieval troops marched. In fact, it wasn't Mason's fault that this army wasn't entirely composed of his direct subordinates, but rather an alliance formed by his vassals. The different units didn't interact with each other normally, and there were language differences between provinces, making it extremely difficult to lead such an alliance on a march. Therefore, they had to stop frequently to regroup, otherwise the troops would disperse due to low morale before even catching sight of the Saxons.

  "Don't worry, we have a large number of people and don't need to be afraid of the Duke of Saxony at all." Yves said confidently on horseback, holding his head high and restoring his usual proud expression. In fact, stopping to rest was also to conserve energy for the fully armed knights, as even riding a horse with heavy armor was an extremely strenuous task.

  "Don't underestimate him, the Duke of Saxony is not someone to be trifled with." Sir Wendel said, removing his helmet and addressing his sons. In the old duke's time, the Saxons had frequently invaded, and the Duke of Saxony had fought many fierce battles against the Duke of Meissen, earning a reputation as a seasoned warrior, one that even Sir Wendel, as an enemy, couldn't help but acknowledge. The aging Duke of Saxony showed no signs of weakening, instead becoming more skilled in warfare with each passing year, his five top vassals leading troops all being brave and battle-hardened warriors.

  In the sky, a gray eagle soared through the void, gazing down at the earth. It saw a winding and twisting queue like a long snake moving forward. The eagle must have felt very curious - why were these strange two-legged creatures gathering together? As it flew over the dense forest, it saw another group of two-legged creatures squatting on a flat piece of land. Between them was only a dense forest. Many crows that seemed to sense something were circling in the branches of the forest. The gray eagle looked down on these carrion-eating birds with disdain and decided to fly further away to find fresh prey.

  "Caw, caw~~~." Many ravens perched between the branches of the forest trees, patiently sitting on the boughs as if they were gentlemen in black formal attire waiting for food at a dinner table.

  "Ha, look at these devils, they can't wait any longer." On a protruding rock on a grassy plain, an elderly man with silver hair flowing down his shoulders, wearing chain mail and a surcoat with yellow and black stripes over it, had one foot on the rock and his sword hanging from his right waist.

  "This time they will surely feast on the flesh and blood of Masons." Beside him walked a knight similarly clad in chain mail, a robust man in his prime with short hair and piercing eyes that shone with intelligence.

  "My lords, are we just going to stand here and wait?" A woman's voice said at this time, a female knight wearing chain mail appeared between them. The woman's chain mail was very delicate and had a beautiful shape, highlighting her slender figure. Behind her back, she wore a purple cloak, with a sword hanging from her waist, and on the tunic of the chain mail, there was a blue lion pattern playing with a red heart.

  "Hahaha, Countess Woolshire, can't you wait to taste the blood?" The elder turned his head and laughed at the woman, then jumped down from the rock. The old man's body was sturdy and didn't show any signs of aging, but instead had the agility of a young person.

  "Your Grace." The two knights hastily bowed their heads and saluted the old man, who was none other than the Duke of Saxony.

  "Good." The Duke of Saxony nodded in satisfaction, striding towards his army, a force of three thousand men gathered here, with flags of various colors fluttering in the wind sweeping across the plain. The duke's gaze fell upon his soldiers, who were all full of ferocity, while the knights stood fully armed and quietly waiting.

  "Your Excellency, I heard that this time Duke Mason has gathered five thousand cavalry, is this true?"

  "What of it? A rabble of peasants." The Duke of Saxony's attendant led up a spirited horse, the duke mounted, and as he did so three nobles wearing badges rode forward to ask him questions.

  "Lord Ulrich, do not be afraid, we are not the first to defeat the Masons." The robust and astute man also took the reins from his attendant's hand, mounted his horse and said to the somewhat timid middle-aged nobleman wearing magnificent armor.

  "I know, but I am somewhat concerned about their numbers, Count Berengar." said Count Ulrich, a redhead in ornate armor, stiffening his back on horseback.

  "Does Ulrich know why I didn't accept your proposal back then?" At this time, Countess Woolshire rode up to them on horseback and said to Earl Ulrich with a scornful tone.

  "What?" Earl Ulysses shifted his body, he didn't want to provoke the lioness, but Countess Woolshire had no intention of letting him off.

  "It's because you don't have the guts to pin me down on the bed, not manly at all." Lady Woolshire giggled and turned her horse around, galloping towards her own troops while waving her hand and shouting loudly, "Just tell me once you've made a plan!"

  "This is the lioness." The nobles all smiled wryly and shook their heads, each of them having suffered at the hands of Countess Woolshire, but her words did indeed stir up the courage of Earl Uralis, no longer entangling him in worries about the number of troops under Duke Mason.

  "Haha, alright gentlemen, it's time to make a plan, how are we going to attack?" The Duke of Saxony laughed loudly on horseback, his female vassal was not inferior to other men in terms of bravery, which was also what the old man admired about her. What's even more frightening is that the territory of Countess Wulfgar is close to Norway in Northern Europe, and compared to the Germans, her hometown customs are closer to those of the Viking Northmen, and there is the fierce blood of the Vikings in her family lineage. The axe-wielding heavy infantry under her command were all tall and muscular men with a thirst for blood.

  "The number of the Duke of Meissen is large, but they have come from afar and their consumption of food and forage is extremely high. They will surely rush to attack the castle of Goettingen. We only need to defend where there are dense forests." Count Berengar thought for a moment before analyzing it to the Duke of Saxony.

  "Hmm, that makes sense. Where their knights can't penetrate the dense forest, we just need to deploy heavy infantry and archers in the woods." Count Ulrich stroked his red beard thoughtfully for a moment before adding, this elegant count didn't seem like an ordinary person either.

  "Your Grace, what about your cousin, Baron Difroni? The Duke of Mason requests to exchange him for the border lands."

  "Hmph, that fool, not worth paying attention to." The Duke of Saxony shook his own head, his silver-white long hair fluttering, like a lion shaking its mane, he wouldn't care about that useless younger brother.

  The army of the Duke of Saxony, as Sir Eber had anticipated, was strongly posted in the dense woods around G?ttingen; everything seemed to be developing in favor of the Duke of Meissen, but who would ultimately gain the favor of the goddess of victory remained completely unknown.

  "Father, let us divide our troops here." The scouting horse sent by Sir Eber reported that the army of the Duke of Saxony was indeed stationed in the forest, although not close, but those undisguised flags had already revealed the presence of the Duke of Saxony. Moreover, to provoke the Duke of Meissen, the Duke of Saxony even sent someone to hang the flag of the Meissen family upside down on a tree, thereby humiliating the Duke of Meissen.

  "Ah." Duke Mason gazed contentedly at the flag of the Duke of Saxony fluttering faintly in the forest, even his own family's flags, hung upside down, seemed more endurable now. He was already thinking about how to defeat and humiliate the Duke of Saxonia.

  "Depart quietly, quickly." Sir Eberle allowed his troops to slip away unnoticed from behind the main body of the Duke of Meissen, forbidding them to fly their banners and instead wrapping them up. Meanwhile, Count Lauzitz's troops also set off almost simultaneously, both detachments silently bypassing the main battlefield as they marched towards Kreuzburg and Brunswick. Sir Eberle was tasked with attacking Kreuzburg, which required him to pass through the territory of the neutral Duke of Lower Lorraine, but since the duke had already declared neutrality, there were no issues with borrowing a route, and everything would go according to plan without any problems.