Chapter Summaries

As the Sauron Army advanced on the halted Carnford Army, Acton saw unfamiliar small Cannons deployed alongside Eagle Cannons and realized the formation faced a deadly threat. When the Sauron force came within range, Carnford’s signal flags waved and Acton shouted for cover, but a deafening boom drowned him out.

• The Carnford Army halted after a horn sounded, and its artillerymen prepared the guns at the front of the formation.
• More than a dozen teams from the Goldspur formation rushed forward and set up small Cannons aimed at the Sauron Army’s right wing.
• Acton recognized the danger posed by the unfamiliar Cannons, briefly took shelter behind his guard’s Wooden Shield, then rejoined the advancing ranks.
• The Sauron Army continued forward under faster War Drums until it was within three hundred meters of the Carnford Army.
• Acton saw the Carnford command flags wave, shouted for his soldiers to take cover, and was drowned out by a deafening boom.

The Carnford Army fired its three Eagle Cannons into the advancing Sauron Army, killing and maiming soldiers with bouncing iron cannonballs. Acton narrowly escaped a direct hit and tried to rally his shaken troops as they hesitated under the unfamiliar attack.

• The three Eagle Cannons fired at the Sauron Army from the front of the Carnford formation.
• One cannonball bounced through Acton's regiment, killing more than twenty soldiers and injuring many others.
• A second cannonball struck a standard-bearer and bugler, then crippled a supply horse.
• The Sauron vanguard recoiled in terror and slowed its charge after seeing the cannonballs' destruction.
• Acton, spattered with flesh but unharmed, shouted for his soldiers to keep advancing.

Acton led the Sauron Army through repeated, devastating artillery barrages from the Carnford Army, which inflicted heavy casualties and spread terror through the ranks. As the formation finally began to break, soldiers started retreating and one man fled in panic.

• Acton watched the Carnford artillery prepare and fire a second barrage, which struck the Sauron ranks and likely hit the central army.
• The Sauron Army endured two more rounds of precise artillery fire as its advance slowed and its casualties reached nearly two hundred.
• A fourth bombardment struck near Acton, splattering him with a dead soldier’s intestines and leaving a path of carnage through the formation.
• The frontline formation began to collapse as frightened soldiers staggered backward, and one soldier dropped his weapon and ran.

Acton stopped the Sauron Army from routing by executing a deserter and rallying the soldiers to charge the Carnford Army. As the vanguard closed to 150 meters, Carnford’s Eagle Cannons fired at half range while the Minin Cannons waited for a closer target.

• Acton killed a fleeing soldier and rallied the Sauron Army with threats, calls for revenge, and promises of spoils.
• Bragi accelerated the war drums, and Acton ordered the Sauron Army to charge the Carnford Army.
• The Sauron vanguard advanced to within 150 meters of the Carnford formation.
• Carnford’s gun captain ordered the Eagle Cannons to halve their range and fire directly at the charging troops.
• The Eagle Cannons fired while the Minin Cannon crews held their fire, waiting for the Sauron soldiers to come closer.

As the Sauron Army prepared its final assault, elite Sauron Rippers and Carnford Hounds advanced to meet each other between the two main formations. The rival skirmishers drew their bows and aimed at one another, leaving the first volley poised to begin.

• Acton saw more than a hundred armored Sauron Berserkers and several dozen scout hunters charge ahead of the main formation as the Rippers.
• The Sauron Rippers spread out in front of their army to harass and target important enemy soldiers before the main clash.
• More than a hundred Carnford Hounds emerged from the front ranks and formed a skirmish line with longbows.
• The Rippers and Hounds ran toward one another until they were within bow range.
• Both sides nocked arrows and drew their bows, aiming at the opposing skirmishers.

The Carnford “Hounds” and Sauron “Rippers” fought a brutal skirmish as the Sauron line pressed forward and forced the Hounds to retreat. Sauron marksmen also targeted the Carnford cannon crews, disrupting the artillery while Karl watched the battle from a hillside platform.

• The Hounds and Rippers exchanged volleys, with the Hounds using armor and disciplined tactics to hold off the Sauron advance.
• The Rippers changed tactics and charged between volleys, driving the Hounds back while both sides took heavy casualties at close range.
• Sauron scouts and Berserkers aimed at the Carnford artillery crews, and the artillery commander ordered men to shield them with Wooden Shields.
• The shields protected the gunners but disrupted the cannons’ reloading and firing.
• Karl watched as the skirmish lines became entangled in close combat, including a Hound tackling a Sauron Berserker to the ground.

The Hounds tied up the Sauron skirmishers, shielding Carnford’s artillery crews long enough for them to reload. As Acton’s battered infantry advanced within a hundred meters, he was unnerved by the emotionless discipline of the Carnford line.

• The Hounds engaged the Sauron skirmishers in brutal close combat, protecting the artillery positions from arrows.
• With the arrow fire suppressed, Carnford’s gunners reloaded the Eagle Cannons and prepared the Minin Cannons for grapeshot.
• Acton led his disordered infantry square to within a hundred meters of the Carnford line after artillery fire inflicted nearly fifty casualties on his regiment.
• Acton watched Carnford soldiers replace fallen Musketeers without disturbing their formation and wondered what kind of people they were.

Carnford’s disciplined riflemen unleashed a devastating volley on the charging Sauron Army, killing hundreds and throwing its vanguard into chaos. Sauron archers answered with a panicked rain of arrows, but Carnford’s line held as its soldiers reloaded for another volley.

• Acton ordered the Sauron archers to prepare as their army advanced toward the Carnford formation.
• Carnford officers commanded their ranks to crouch, raise rifles, and fire in three successive volleys.
• The rifle fire killed hundreds of Sauron front-line combatants and nearly wiped out the Rippers fighting the Hounds.
• Sauron archers fired a disorganized volley that wounded and killed some Carnford Musketeers, including a comrade Roderick recognized.
• Carnford officers urged their soldiers to keep reloading, and the disciplined ranks filled their gaps and held formation.

Karl ordered the Carnford Army’s Musketeers to cease fire and hold their weapons while the Eagle Cannons continued disrupting the advancing Sauron Army. As the Sauron vanguard reached close range and the main lines prepared to collide, Acton struggled to keep pace with the charge while firing arrows.

• Karl recognized that Ivar was trying to close the distance for a close-range volley or a desperate melee charge, and ordered the Musketeers to hold fire.
• The Eagle Cannons kept targeting the Sauron Army’s rear and center while the Minin Cannon crews prepared grapeshot and fuses in silence.
• The Sauron vanguard endured the cannon fire and advanced to within fifty meters, where its archers began shooting at the exposed Eagle Cannons.
• The Hounds and Rippers withdrew from their brutal skirmish as the two main forces approached one another.
• Acton, wounded by shell fragments, hurriedly fired arrows at the silent Carnford line and struggled to keep up with the charging Sauron formation.

Acton and the Sauron soldiers charged toward the Carnford Army, confident they could win once they reached close combat. Minin Cannons unleashed repeated grapeshot volleys, devastating the vanguard and breaking its morale.

• Acton watched the silent musketeers and Minin Cannons with growing unease, but urged the Sauron soldiers to charge.
• The Sauron vanguard sprinted toward the Carnford Army as an officer ordered the soldiers to attack.
• An artillery officer ordered the Minin Cannons to fire grapeshot into the advancing Sauron troops.
• The Minin Cannon crews rapidly reloaded and fired two more volleys into the disorganized survivors.
• The grapeshot turned the ground before the Carnford Army into a killing field and collapsed the Sauron vanguard's morale.

The Carnford Minin Cannon crews endured heavy casualties to fire a second grapeshot volley into the Sauron vanguard, while Karl waited for the enemy to approach before ordering the Goldspur Musketeers to ready their firearms again. The Sauron soldiers continued charging as the Musketeers aimed at them from forty meters away.

• Sauron archers killed and wounded Minin Cannon gunners as they rushed to reload under arrow fire.
• A mortally wounded veteran dragged himself to a fallen linstock and fired a Minin Cannon, killing more than a dozen charging Sauron soldiers before dying.
• The surviving gunners withdrew as the Sauron vanguard advanced close enough to shoot directly into the Goldspur Musketeers' ranks.
• Brendan warned Karl that the Musketeers were suffering rising casualties from accurate arrows at close range.
• Karl raised his hand and signaled the First Platoon to stand and the Musketeers to aim their firearms at the approaching Sauron soldiers.

The Carnford Army’s close-range volley devastated the Sauron Army’s charging front, letting the musketeers withdraw as spearmen advanced to meet the survivors. The battle then erupted into close combat, with Roderick holding the line as soldiers fell around him.

• Karl ordered the musketeers to fire, and nearly eight hundred guns killed more than four hundred Sauron soldiers and shattered their assault’s command structure.
• The Carnford musketeers withdrew through the spearmen’s ranks while the spearmen stepped forward and formed a wall of leveled weapons.
• Both armies’ drums sounded as their soldiers charged, and the Sauron front ranks hurled axes, spears, and maces into the Carnford formation.
• Roderick ordered his men to fill a gap after a young spearman was killed, while Carnford soldiers threw javelins that struck down Sauron troops.
• Roderick dodged an arrow, then rallied the soldiers behind him to fight for Carnford and Karl.

Roderick fought to hold the battle line against the Sauron soldiers, surviving a series of close-range attacks after losing his spear and sword. He used a fallen Berserker’s corpse to drive back his attackers, while an officer ordered the gap in the line filled.

• Roderick and the front ranks clashed with the Sauron soldiers in a crushing melee, and his spear became lodged in a Berserker’s chest.
• A comrade thrust a second spear into the Berserker, stopping his attack on Roderick, but the corpse dragged Roderick’s spear down and left a gap in the line.
• Two Sauron soldiers attacked Roderick, and he dodged a Battle Axe before losing his short sword while blocking a spear thrust.
• Roderick lifted the dead Berserker by its armor straps and used the corpse as a shield, slamming into the Sauron soldiers and fighting his way out.
• An officer shouted for the rear ranks to fill the gap in the battle line.

Roderick survived a close encounter and rejoined Carnford’s line as the militia’s disciplined spear formation repelled Acton’s assault. Acton found himself trapped on the defensive, his elite soldiers nearly wiped out, and began to fear that the battle was lost.

• Roderick used a Sauron soldier as a shield, then took a replacement spear and returned to the fight for Carnford.
• Acton led the Sauron Army’s Main Corps against the Carnford Militia Camp, but its coordinated spear formation repeatedly stopped their advance.
• Carnford’s militiamen filled gaps in their ranks immediately as casualties fell, keeping their line firm and inflicting heavy losses on the Sauron soldiers.
• Acton’s personal guard fell, and Acton stepped into the gap before a spear pierced his shield and other thrusts forced him to defend himself.
• Acton saw that his First Platoon had suffered near-total casualties and feared that the Sauron Army was about to lose the battle.

Acton’s failing attack turns around when ranged weapons disrupt the Carnford Militia and Bragi commits his Berserker guard to break its formation. Acton charges through the widening breach, convinced the Sauron Army is close to victory, just as the chapter ends on a sudden interruption.

• Throwing axes, spiked maces, and arrows struck the Carnford Militia, killing and wounding soldiers and throwing its front ranks into disorder.
• Bragi sent more than a hundred Berserkers into the assault, and Acton rallied his soldiers to follow them.
• The Berserkers drove into the militia’s spear formation, exploiting its confusion to carve open a breach.
• Acton charged alongside the Berserkers and urged his soldiers to cut down the enemy commander and seize Carnford’s banner.
• Acton believed the Sauron Army was about to win when the chapter ended on a sudden interruption.

Acton’s Sauron assault was stopped by Carnford’s rapid firearm volleys, then met Karl’s disciplined reserve force as the militiamen pushed in from both sides. Surrounded and watching his troops fall, Acton realized victory and escape were out of reach, but could not understand why the Carnford soldiers refused to break.

• Acton led the Sauron Berserkers into a close-range ambush, where three rapid volleys of gunfire cut down the front ranks and halted their charge.
• Believing the musketeers needed time to reload, Acton rallied the survivors and charged toward the gunfire.
• The musketeers and militiamen parted to reveal Karl’s fresh reserve force, which met Acton’s exhausted troops in a head-on clash.
• Carnford’s veteran reserves fought in coordinated groups while the militiamen recovered and pressed in from both flanks.
• Acton found himself surrounded as his remaining soldiers were steadily cut down, and he wondered why the Carnford army would not retreat.

Acton and his elite Assault Troops were wiped out, breaking the Sauron Army’s Middle Road Corps and throwing its soldiers into chaos. As the Sauron forces began to collapse, Brendan and Roland ordered Carnford’s main regiments to launch a general assault on both wings.

• Acton’s remaining guards were surrounded, and he was killed by a series of spear thrusts.
• With Acton and the Assault Troops destroyed, the Sauron Army’s Middle Road Corps lost its command and vanguard, and its soldiers began fighting chaotically or retreating.
• The Sauron Army’s left and right wings received decisive bad news as Carnford’s charge horns sounded.
• Brendan and Roland ordered a general assault, and Carnford’s First and Second Regiments surged against the Sauron wings.

The Sauron Army’s left and right wings broke under the Carnford Army’s assault, turning the battle into a rout. Bragi ordered Hakon to lead a desperate cavalry charge to rescue fleeing soldiers while the rest withdrew toward Tyrol.

• The Sauron Army’s left wing collapsed, and the right wing soon broke under Carnford’s bayonet assault.
• The Carnford Army pursued the fleeing Sauron soldiers with arrows and gunfire as Bragi watched the defeat unfold.
• Bragi told Hakon to charge the pursuers, gather as many routed soldiers as possible, and buy time for a retreat to Tyrol.
• Hakon agreed to lead the charge and ordered Bragi to organize the withdrawal.
• Hakon led nearly a thousand Sauron cavalrymen in a desperate charge against the Carnford pursuit force.

Karl’s plan to destroy the Sauron Army’s cavalry unfolded after Carnford routed the Sauron infantry. Carnford’s cavalry trapped Hakon’s force in a coordinated attack, and the Sauron cavalry was being overwhelmed.

• Karl saw that Carnford’s armies had broken the Sauron center and ordered the cavalry to attack when Sauron’s riders gathered for a charge.
• Lyon and Thorsten led five hundred heavy cavalry into a frontal assault while Sir Kylan circled around to block the Sauron cavalry’s escape routes.
• Hakon realized the cavalry had ridden into Karl’s trap but ordered his men to break through the enemy ahead.
• Lyon and Thorsten’s heavy cavalry smashed into the Sauron formation as Sir Kylan’s force sealed off its flanks and rear.

Carnford’s cavalry destroyed the Sauron cavalry and pursued the fleeing Sauron forces, leaving Tyrol Fortress isolated. Hakon escaped into the woods, but Karl chose not to assault the fortress immediately and planned to deal with it after his army regrouped.

• Lyon and Thorsten’s heavy cavalry shattered the Sauron cavalry, while Carnford infantry stopped the few riders who broke through.
• Kylan’s light cavalry blocked the Sauron cavalry’s retreat and surrounded them, but Hakon forced his way through with his personal guards.
• Kylan ordered a pursuit, and Hakon was wounded before escaping into the forest; Kylan called off the chase there.
• The remaining Sauron cavalry were killed or captured, and Carnford forces pursued the routed Sauron infantry.
• Karl watched the pursuit and decided not to attack Tyrol Fortress until his army and horses had recovered.