Chapter 483: Assisting Ivan

Along the shore of the Chent territories, Octavius stepped off a rowboat, rubbing his wrists, feeling the deep marks and slight burns where the rope had been. Looking back into the Tears, the Ammary convoy loomed.

"You will not return to our lands." The soldier dropping Octavius off coldly spoke, "If you do, it will be considered an invasion, and you will not be treated with the same grace that has been offered to you."

"I know." Waving his hand, Octavius tried to walk off, but was stopped by the soldier, who cleared his throat. Grabbing a small bag off his belt, the sound of coins hitting one another came from it, as he threw it towards Octavius.

"His Majesty wants you to bring Emperor Julius Cosmatos and Pope Constance Cosmatos to the negotiation table. There is a small town down that way. Use the funds to return home." Octavius looked in the bag. Numerous silver and bronze pieces, each with Alfred’s face on them, looked back at him, with a single small paper note tucked in. Taking it out, there were instructions on where to find Alfred to negotiate.

"How can he be sure I won’t return?" Octavius asked with a small smile, but didn’t get a reply. Instead, the soldier rolled his eyes and pushed the rowboat off the shore, slowly returning to the fleet. Looking at the bag of coins again, he stared in the direction the man had pointed and sighed.

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Alfred rested on the ship. He had been at a loss as to what to do after bombarding Teia, and whilst he waited for Octavius to send word, he didn’t expect it to take long. Without his army to lead, he could cover the distance in a week if he rested minimally.

"MESSANGER BIRD!" The captain called out, opening the cage for the bird to land in. Looking into the distance, the black crow, out of place over the water, flew around, circling the ship.’Finally.’Jumping up with a smile, he made his way to the bridge as the bird landed and pulled the note from its leg.

’Silesian attack has begun on the Gotics. Stalemate on the West, strong Gotic resistance.’Alfred read, before looking towards the shore. Tapping his thigh, he thought and frowned.’The west. By Teia.’Thinking on the situation, he smiled. "Sail for Teia." The fact that Alexei and Ivan couldn’t break through the west meant it was the weaker side of their assault. With his assistance, the attack would be easy.

’Octavius isn’t enough to get them to meet me. I need to hammer home how futile attacking the West is.’Looking over the ship, the journey would be swift, not even a day long. "Send word to the Sileian forces, tell them to capture the attention of the Gotic forces." The captain nodded and passed the command down. One of the sailors quickly grabbed a messenger bird, writing the order before launching it into the air.

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Ivan smiled, looking around him. Despite his joyful mood, the same couldn’t be said for his soldiers. After two failed assaults across the river, morale was dropping, but had not completely crumbled due to Ivan himself. Ivan could tell things were going badly, and although his father had managed to secure a foothold across the river in the North East, he had been stopped.

"Prince Ivan." A messenger ran over, carrying a small note, "Word from the Ammary’s." Snatching the paper, Ivan’s bright smile grew wider as he burst into laughter. The men around him glanced at him before going back to what they were doing, used to his antics.

Jumping up, Ivan stepped up on the box he had sat on and spread his arms. "Summon the troops. I have an announcement. Get me when they are ready," Ivan jumped off the box, walking back to his tent, humming an old folk song.

An hour passed, and Ivan stepped out of his tent in armour, flanked by his guards. Clutching the hilt of his sword, he looked out of place. Had no one known, they would have assumed he had never seen a battlefield with how large his smile was. Stepping out of the camp, his men all lined up in columns, waiting for him to address them. Ivan marched through the columns, nodding at a few he passed, and made his way to the wooden carriage before them, which he would use as a makeshift stage.

Jumping up on it, his guards created a small wall before him, watching to make sure no one had snuck in and would try to attack him. Ivan looked around, silently nodding, only spreading his arms when happy with what he saw.

"Men of Silesia. Loyal soilder of Emperor Alexei ’The Reunifier’. Today, I have received news of our great and loyal Ally in the South. The Ammarys are victorious. The unjust invasion of Severia and the Church has been repelled." Men tensed up, muttering to themselves, unable to believe that Ammary’s had won so quickly. Ivan waited for it to die down naturally before carrying on, "In their victory, my friend, Emperor Alfred Lindonfall has reached out to me. He has offered his assistance in our war for the rightful land we have an ancestral claim to. He is ready to mobilise, but he needs something from us."

The men frowned, hearing his words, and Ivan could tell he was losing the crowd. Raising his hands to stop any protest that was about to come his way, he smiled, "He does not ask for riches or land. He asks for time. He asks us to stall our enemy." Ivan paused, slowly moving his hands behind his back, "I ask you this? I have failed you twice now. Will you follow me once again, and attack the Gotic’s? Will you fight and bleed alongside me once more? Will you do your duty that you swore to do before the Gods and the Emperor?"

There was silence for a second before one man slammed his fist on his chest plate. The sound carried as another did the same, followed by ten, then hundreds. It was less than a minute before every man was saluting, banging their fists on their chest. Ivan did the same, banging his fist on his chest, before lifting his hand to stop them. "You are good men. All of you know I will not ask you to do what I don’t do myself." Taking a deep breath, he nodded, "Prepare to attack. Do not falter; there will be no retreat. If I must be the last to stand, I can guarantee there will be no wounds on my back."

Ivan jumped off the carriage and slowly rose. Walking through the columns, he looked at each man and patted them on their shoulders, slowly making his way through. From behind, line after line, turned waiting to follow behind him.

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Alfred stood on the shore looking at the water. The final set of Unyielding soldiers was slowly transported onto the shore, each one having to be ferried by rowboat. He had tried to land in Teia, but the port had been completely destroyed in his attack, and the city was still fighting the fire he started. Although it had mostly been put out, parts of it still burned. The hassle of trying to land, added with the resistance he knew he would definitely face storming it, made the new spot a slower but safer choice.

Looking into the distance, he saw the high walls of Teia and knew he wasn’t far from Ivan’s position, a small half-hour’s march. The Unyielding readied themselves, lining up. Alfred took the head of the convoy and signalled for it to begin, the final soldiers having reached shore.

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Across the bridge, Ivan maddly chuckled as he lifted his shield to block an enemy attack. One of his guards moved swiftly, killing the attacker as bodies piled up. The attack had been raging for nearly half an hour, and both sides were exhausted. However, despite that, neither side was willing to give an inch. The Gotics threw men at the defence as the Sielsians desperately tried to hold the line, putting enough pressure to make the attack seem real.

The river had turned red with blood, as bodies were dragged down the current. Wounds covered Ivan’s body, not a single one lethal, but even he could feel himself slowing down, the pain finally becoming an issue.’Come on. Don’t lie to me, Alfred.’

Pushing forward, his sword pierced through the gap in the Gothic shield wall, impaling a soilder. Stepping back and lifting his shield, he narrowly avoided the enemy counterattack.’Come on. Come on. Come on.’Telling himself, he watched the changes happening in the enemy lines. Panic slowly crept from the back as numerous Gotic men left the bridge, charging into the distance.

With a smile, Ivan lifted his sword as his guards covered him. "THE AMMARY’S DIDN’T LIE!" Ivan cried out, giving his men a second wind, "THEIR LINES ARE BREAKING! THEY ARE SPLIT IN TWO! SIEZE THE MOMENT! SIEZE YOUR VICTORY!" Ivan charged forward, reinvigorated by the changes. Bringing his sword down with a heavy strike, he smiled as the Goths realised the terrible situation. They had already heard what happened in Teia and had prepared to be encircled, but after a few days, without their enemy appearing, it had weakened, needing more men to focus on the Silesian assault.

The Silesian forces gained inches, bodies and blood needed to secure each one. The Gothic men, in their desperation, either broke or became crazed, maddeningly throwing their lives to hold the line, taking down more Silesian soldiers than they had ever done before.

Ivan raised his shield, focusing solely on defending. The barrage of attacks chipped away at it as he tried to get his breath back.

One final attack pierced through the wood, splitting his shield. Without hesitation, he swung his sword in a large, random arc and stepped back, trying to create space. From behind, Silesian soldiers pulled him back as new ones took his place, leading the charge. Ivan watched with a wide smile, his chest bouncing up and down, taking sharp, deep breaths.

Slowly, the Gotic were pushed as the first Silesian soilder stepped onto enemy land. With the battle clearly lost, the survivors ran west, unimpressed as Ivan called out not to give chase. Stepping forward, his sword cut down a straggler who had been caught, killing the man. Similar sights played out all around, and Ivan walked through, seeing the Ammary forces in the distance.

Unlike the chaotic melee that had taken over on his side, the Unyielding fought in organised lines, efficiently breaking apart the remaining Gothic forces, leaving a trail of enemy and friendly bodies behind. Mixed in it, he saw Alfred, his golden hair a contrast to the black armour that surrounded him.

Ivan, with a group of men, made their way over, dealing with whatever Gothic resistance was left, as Alfred pushed through his forces, meeting Ivan with a friendly smile and outstretched hand.

"My friend. How are we?" Alfred said with a joyful voice. Looking at the hand Ivan took, he pulled Alfred in for a hug, patting his back.

"Must we act so formally. We are old friends, Alfred." Alfred smiled and patted his back, pulling away after a few seconds.

"I’ve heard of your plans with the Gotics. Complete annexation." Alfred paused and looked at Ivan, making a sad face, "And you didn’t even offer me anything."

"Well, if you tell me what that weapon you made was, maybe we can make a deal." The two smiled, lightly chuckling. "What is the situation then?"

Alfred looked into the distance, where Teia stood, "The city is free to take. Any resistance is too busy dealing with other things. As for me, I’m done. I’m waiting for a messenger to reach Severia."

"So soon?" Ivan frowned, "I expected this to drag out longer."

"As did I, but Lisa has become bold. I don’t want an enemy on my border to be too powerful." Alfred sighed, "However, if Constance and Julius can’t see what I am doing and insist on carrying on... well, I’ve already told my messenger what I will do."

"Oh." Ivan looked in the direction of Teia. "So this is Silesia’s war now?"

"Yes. As much as I feel like I’m losing out by giving you all the Gotic land, I don’t really need it. Not anymore, at least." Alfred stared at Ivan’s face and gave a strange smile. "Shall we have a drink before you carry on. I’m sure your men could use a rest."

"Sure." Ivan happily said, wrapping his hand around Alfred’s shoulder, "I have some good stuff with me. I’m sure you will love it."