Each man went back to their position, there was no option but to fight.
" What are your orders my Lord? " Captain Kyle asked.
" Employ the 4.3.3 formation. " Maximilian replied.
The officers were surprised, the 4.3.3 was an aggressive tactics.
It was gotten from soccer tactics but had been modified to suit the soldiers.
The one hundred and fifty soldiers were divided into fifteen teams, ten each and just as if the were in the soccer field.
4 represented the defenders who protected the crossbowmen during a melee clash allowing them to reload and fire into enemy lines.
The first 3 were midfielders with a mixed role which mainly involved firing crossbows and flexible enough to support the 4 during melee.
The last 3 were the strikers whose main objective was to pelt the enemy with bolts until non remained.
Lieutenants Thadeus and Josiah would provide general support across the battlefield, cutting down any enemy that proved too difficult.
Maximilian would run around the battle field healing injuries, the only fatalities in his army were going to be those who died on impact.
By noon the armies of Thagalia started moving and the militia of Valum had taken up position.
As the reached range of one hundred meters the command rang out.
" Pick your targets , aim and fire. "
And just like that a wave of bolts streamed across the field in succession .
One hundred and fifty men firing three shots a minute, that was a rain of four hundred and fifty shots that turned people into pincushions even though not all of them hit or killed.
However the general consensus was that being hit by the crossbows was very inconveniencing.
There was return fire of both arrows and spells from the other side but the sparse fluid 4.3.3 formation allowed the militia to dodge and protect against them .
Usually there was bound to be a clash but the formation acted like a sieve allowing enemy combatants to filter through the formation.
This was the moment for the katana to shine as there was a sea of unarmored targets.
Their Katanas sliced off leather, skin and r, the cries acted as a morale booste for the Valum militia .
Many things happened in this battle; a soldier from Valum had his neck slashed open, his assailant was already dealt with but before he could kneel and choke in his own blood Maximilian arrived and healed him.
The soldier was dazed for a while but eventually joined back in the fray.
There was a thing about being almost dead that made soldiers much more effective.
On another side of the battle field, a knight from Thagalia welded a flaming sword and rushed in dodging crossbow bolts with ease .
Unfortunately for him a mage was present in that team. He smirked when he found out that the one rushing to face him was a woman.
The woman raised the katana up, injecting magic into it and when the knight was in range she swung it down .
Armor or magic sword none of them provided protection and the knight was split down the middle.
This battle against three hundred men took only seven minutes before they were completely annihilated.
Maximilian could have passed out from exhaustion if not for his unusually large mana reserves and because of that , he could keep his men alive for the duration of the first wave.
" Are you okay my Lord ? "Captain Kyle asked.
Maximilian then getting out of his daze nodded.
" Have the men return to camp, I have to think for a while. "
" Yes my Lord. "
At that moment Maximilian was berating himself, although he had not underestimated the enemy he had still acted foolishly and now unless Baron Eppes was a fool he would either agree to the terms that Max had stipulated there was still two days remaining till the deadline.
Or he could gather up the remainder of his forces and pressure Max with his superior numbers.
Max also wondered about what would happen if he had more modern weapons, then he could bridge the gap between mage and non mage.
...
Inside the Lord's manor in Thagalia, Baron Eppes raved like a mad man.
" How could a healer with an army of one hundred and fifty soldiers humiliate me in such manner. "
" My Lord, the scouts report that the bastards army use an unseen kind of battle formation that rendered our superior numbers obsolete, we should gather all of our men and attack him again now that his army is weak and worn out. "
The next morning Baron Eppes himself led five hundred and fifty men out to the field to face Maximilian and his militias.
These men were the men at arms and the town guard.
A soldier immediately rushed into Maximilian tent and saluted,
" Sir the enemy approaches , I count five hundred ..
.. maybe more."
Soon the bell was rung and the men gathered and were awaiting orders. The victory of the previous day had their hope high.
The same could not be said for his officers, Baron Eppes could be said to be stronger than the three former knights combined and there were still thirteen knights with unknown abilities among this new force.
" Captain Kyle. "
" Yes my Lord. "
" I am going to goad Baron Eppes into single combat, have the men get ready for a full scale retreat in case of my defeat. "
Kyles eyes widened in shock,
" My Lord , the men are in high spirits let us use that momentum to defeat Baron Eppes."
Maximilian sighed before replying,
" In that case we would be reckless, we are going to use the jumping tactics."
This was a formation that allowed for coordinated continuous attacks on an individual.
It was a perfect tactics to employ against an enemy like Baron Eppes whose pride was in his high combat abilities.
But for it to be effective against an army larger than them the cow horn formation was also going to be employed.
The cow horn was a tactic that was first employed by King Shaka Zulu where by his most powerful forces would stay at the flanks while leaving the weaker forces in the middle.