In mid-May, the armies of the two nations fought a decisive pitched battle on the Freiburg Plain within Walternia.
On the Goldflower Kingdom's side, Karl personally took command and committed roughly twenty-five thousand men from the main force. Walternia, meanwhile, was led in person by Grand Duke Joseph, who deployed around thirty thousand troops. Both sides understood that this battle would decide the final outcome of the war.
The Freiburg Plain was an expanse of open grassland, its terrain gently rolling. Several small rivers wound across it, dividing the plain into several sections. To the east lay a dense forest, while marshland stretched to the west. Such terrain was favorable both for deploying large armies and for setting Ambushes and carrying out flanking maneuvers.
The battle began at dawn and continued until dusk.
Just as the first ray of morning sunlight lit the horizon, the artillery of both sides began exchanging fire. The thunder of cannon fire was deafening as shells arced through the sky and crashed into enemy positions, throwing up clouds of earth and smoke. Then the infantry began to advance, spears standing like a forest and shields forming walls, gleaming with a cold light in the morning sun.
The Walternia army held the advantage in numbers, but the Goldflower army surpassed them in equipment, training, and morale. More importantly, Karl had made meticulous arrangements before the battle. Using the rolling terrain of the Freiburg Plain, he had skillfully positioned hidden troops and traps. He placed the main force in the center to draw the Walternians into a frontal assault, while concealing elite cavalry on both flanks, ready to strike at the critical moment.
As the battle reached its fiercest point, the left wing of the Walternia army began to waver under the savage assault of the Carnford