Stationed Outside the City

The personal guard swallowed, his voice dry. "My lord, the situation... is very bad! They encountered the Carnford Army halfway here! Regiment Commander Hakon's cavalry... was... was routed! The losses were devastating, and less than half made it back! Regiment Commander Hakon himself was wounded!"

"What!" Bragi shot up from the rough wooden chair, his burly body making the table and chairs shake. The scar on his face looked even more savage in the flickering firelight.

He could hardly believe his ears! The thousand cavalry Hakon had taken were the elite of the Horse Corps, a force with extremely strong field capabilities among Sauron's army! They had only been gone for a day. How had they... been routed? And suffered more than fifty percent casualties?

"The Carnford Army? They actually dared to come out? And launch an attack? Hakon's thousand cavalry were routed!" Bragi's voice rose several octaves from sheer shock, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He strode up to the personal guard and demanded harshly, "What exactly happened? Explain it clearly! How many troops did the enemy have? What kind of troops were they? How did Hakon fight?"

Intimidated by Bragi's imposing presence, the personal guard hurriedly pieced together the fragments of information he had heard and reported, "The exact situation isn't entirely clear yet. The brothers who escaped said they encountered Carnford's main force on the wasteland, about a day and a half's journey from here."

"The enemy had a great many cavalry—at least over a thousand riders, by estimation—and they were extremely well equipped. There were many heavily armored cavalrymen in full plate! They... they charged with incredible ferocity, and their formation was extremely tight. Regiment Commander Hakon tried to defeat them head-on, but... but they were completely outmatched!"

"Our cavalry was... was smashed apart! Regiment Commander