As Aermir paid his respects to the fallen Chief Omer, a solemn atmosphere filled the crisp mountain air. Beside the fallen leader of the Moon Brothers lay loyal warriors, their faces etched with grief and pride. Aermir bowed his head, silently thanking them for their sacrifice in the name of the Old Gods.
Although the victory was fierce, it etched the indomitable spirit of the Mountain Clans into the annals of the Vale. Aermir knew that Omer's sacrifice had ignited an even greater flame in the hearts of the Moon Men Tribe.
Aermir took to the skies once more. The Mountain Clans ' pincer movement awaited him, with the House Lynderly and House Waynwood poised to launch an attack from behind, and the House Hunter and House Elesham blocking his way from the front.
In the distance, the banners of the House Lynderly and House Waynwood fluttered in the wind. Aermir flew overhead, flapping his wings as he flew toward the mountain army. Judging by the distance, Wydman would arrive at his troops in about a day.
If he could smile like an eagle, he certainly would, so he let out a sharp cry. The Vale people thought they were hunters. In reality, they were walking into a Trap. Before setting off to support the Moon Brothers, Aermir had ordered them to build a fortification and erect many tents.
Aron Lynderly was the leader of the Allied forces; they were only a few kilometers from the enemy, and Aron had come to their vicinity for reconnaissance. From the cliffs, they could observe the barbarian camp. Yarick Waynwood, son of Lord Wydman, whistled as he spoke.
"Damn it! Who knew there were so many Wildlings on our land?"
Aron didn't answer him, continuing to observe them. There was some movement in the camp, but he found it strange. Similarly, the mountain people's behavior was all very odd. Aron turned to his knights and spoke.
"This is strange; mountain people don't fight like that. They don't build fortifications."
The knight said, "My lord, do you think this is Trap?"
Aron chuckled and said, "Of course, the mountain people are masters of ambush warfare; that's exactly what they do. But this is different. Their Trap are fast and highly mobile. They hit and run. They never stay to fight. The strangest thing is, I can count five different tribes in the camp. They're not united; something feels off. There's more to this than meets the eye."
Yarick Waynwood said, "So what are we supposed to do, sit here and wait, and waste the opportunity just because you think something's fishy?"
Aron's knights began to glare fiercely at Yarick.
"Lord Alec, please watch your tone when you speak to the Commander. He is now of higher rank than you."
Yarick looked furious. Clearly, he was jealous. If his father had commanded a thousand fewer men, he could have become the commander.
"He may be a commander, but he is not my lord. I am the heir to the House Waynwood, while he is merely a nobleman of the House Lynderly."
Yarick turned to look at Aron and continued, "Anyway, we know this is a Trap. It's very likely they have a detachment in the forest that will try to ambush us when the battle begins. We're on the plains; we have cavalry; they haven't fought on the plains since the Great Landing."
The messenger brought Aron a letter. After reading it, he angrily tore it to shreds and threw it on the ground. He turned to the others and said:
"Now, we have no choice but to attack them and crush them."
Yarick was confused as to why he had changed his mind so quickly.
Why?
Aron said, " The House Egen and House Donniger have suffered a defeat. The barbarians are burning their fields and destroying their villages, and they are begging for our help. We need to end the war here while the House Hardyng and House Moore can provide cover. As Sir Yarick said, as long as we are on the plains, we have the advantage. We must remain vigilant, and then we can achieve victory. Finally, we must scout out that forest."
Yarick didn't care that Aron agreed with him; he said in a defiant tone, "If it weren't for your indecisiveness, we would have already defeated them and returned to our Citadel."
Aron did not tolerate Alec's pointless provocation. He turned to one of his knights and said, "Send a scout to that forest and look for any troops hidden there."
The knight bowed to him and said.
"Yes, sir."
After careful reconnaissance, Aermir meticulously chose this location, knowing that the success of the plan depended on surprise and his magical abilities.
The caves, nestled a kilometer from the edge of the forest, appeared from the outside to be an unassuming refuge. The entrances were naturally camouflaged by the surrounding foliage and rocks, providing perfect cover for the concealed troops awaiting Aermir's signal. This cave system was large enough to house and sleep two thousand men.
As the scouts from the Vale approached, their keen eyes scanned the forest, and Aermir's control over the elements began to take effect. He waved his hand slightly, summoning the power to control plants and the earth.
Formoheba (shapes plants), Formotegon (shapes the earth)
The intertwining of plants and trees sealed off the cave entrance. The once clearly visible entrance disappeared, replaced by an unassuming exterior that blends perfectly into the natural contours of the forest.
The scouts in the Vale meticulously combed through the woods, while simultaneously attempting to sneak past his fake patrol. His real scouts were already watching their every move from the sky.
The reconnaissance team conducted a thorough search, trying to find any hidden threats. Aermir erased all evidence that the army had passed through the forest. He even wiped away the footprints on the ground. In this way, the cave escaped the scouts' inspection, and when they found nothing except for their routine patrol, they returned.
Seeing this, Aermir opened the cave entrance, letting in more fresh air. He made many ventilation shafts along the cave ceiling, but more fresh air was still better. The people inside the cave grew increasingly restless, but they couldn't fight the Druid, so they had to endure it. The fresh air blowing on the men's faces brought them vitality.
The House Lynderly and Wydman's forces were only a few kilometers away from Aermir's troops, and a heated argument was raging between them. Yarick Waynwood refused to accept any of Aron's plans. Yes, Aron was the commander of this joint force, but Wydman's troops were loyal to Alec, so Aron could not interfere with Yarick; even if he didn't want to, he had to put up with Yarick's unpleasant behavior.
"I won't be the vanguard; if you wish, I can pass this honor to the House Lynderly."
Aron has reached the end of his rope.
"You don't have enough men to cover both flanks, and too many to cover just one. If we do things your way, our vanguard will be too weak."
Aron sighed wearily, and Yarick interrupted him.
"Okay, let's go for the right wing."
This time, one of Aron's knights could no longer tolerate it and said angrily.
"Then our left wing is too weak; you must hand over some of your people to the left wing."
Alec said with a cold laugh.
"No, I don't need that. Because I need a detachment."
Aron immediately understood what he wanted to do, and then said...
"Didn't you hear what the scouts said? They have patrols in the forest; there won't be any ambushes."
"I'm not planning to ambush them. Even if they have patrols there after the battle begins, we can send a detachment to try and outflank them. If the Wildlings don't use the forest, we should. We have many cavalry, while they don't. Even if they react, we're faster than them. The forest isn't that dense; we can easily get some of our cavalry through."
Aron pondered for a moment. What he said made some sense, but he still felt something was off about that forest. It was a favorite ambush spot for the mountain people, but they hadn't used it. He couldn't refuse Yarick again; Aron had to leave room for Yarick's plan.