Victory and Defeat[Kvk K276 vs K33] ch 1

K276 and K33 had entered into a war with each other. In response, Vangark, the king of first kingdom, decided to send spies and scouts to identify potential enemies. At the same time, he encouraged and prepared the men and women of the kingdom for this new conflict, awaiting the first reports from the enemy. The plan was the same as always: wait for the enemy kingdom to attack first and then counterattack immediately. It was a plan they had memorized. However, after previous wars, it was the Hoffits who suffered the most losses. They were a mix of inexperienced fighters and were considered inferior to their adversaries, making them a prime target for enemy attacks. This time, the king instructed them to stay at a safe distance from the battle, hidden in forests or rocky terrain so they could send reinforcements if needed. They were also to ensure a swift and discreet retreat path for the soldiers to escape without detection.

The scouts soon returned and reported that there weren't many warriors to face, suggesting it could be an easy victory. However, one name on the list of enemies raised concern: Masao from the KUM alliance. For Vangark, this was not an unfamiliar name; he had seen Masao fight with a formidable infantry and knew the combat skills and worth of the commanders in his army.

"We could use cavalry," Shinishi suggested hastily.

"It might work," the king replied in a low voice, still thinking. "But it might not be enough; he has a large infantry class V army and could easily repel them."

"We've faced superior enemies in the past; we can surely handle him," Ch1r1sh intervened, always maintaining a positive outlook on the situation. The king looked at her and thought to himself that these were just words of naivety.

"It's possible that we may lose this war. This moment had to come someday," he said, looking each of them in the eye, bitterness in his words. "But we will fight, and as long as there's a chance, we must fight smart."

Everyone nodded, unable to hide their resignation at what they had just heard. Losing a war would be a new experience for the entire kingdom, which had known nothing but victory since Vangark's conquest more than fifteen moons ago. Bards and chroniclers had composed songs and poems about the kingdom's feats and glory since then.

"The plan hasn't changed; we'll keep it as it is. Riddler, you won't attack until we signal you," the king looked at the new member who had arrived from K299 not long ago, invited by Ch1r1sh, and who had previously fought in a war with them. Particularly, Chayle, the king's wife, had recognized his abilities. The newcomer nodded without objecting, recognizing the difficulty of the situation, and the war had not yet begun.

Before taking positions, another report arrived: Masao showed no troop movements. This was a good sign, and they needed to take advantage of the stronger enemy's inactivity to inflict as much damage as possible. But they also had to be cautious; it could be a trap. The king asked his allies to send a squire or vassal to carry out an attack or espionage on the enemy kingdom's castles to provoke them into making the first move. Ch1r1sh sent her own, 1amYou.

Warriors from UnC, the only alliance in K276, wanted to prove their worth and attacked some castles in the enemy kingdom. There seemed to be no resistance, which was undoubtedly a good start.

"Movement to the east of King's Landing," a scout reported. Their attention had been so focused on Masao that they had momentarily forgotten about other important warriors in the enemy kingdom. EripmaV, another member of KUM, was moving his resources to a nearby village, clearly preparing for battle, and everything indicated he would attack 1amYou. The king sent his blue dragon high above the clouds, waiting for the signal to enter the battle.

Ch1r1sh's squire infiltrated EripmaV's troops and immediately sent information about the enemy's troop numbers. At the same time, the KUM member launched an attack on 1amYou's small army. In response, the king raised his hand, and the archer promptly shot a flaming arrow into the sky, the signal for his blue dragon to swoop down toward the enemy army, cutting off any escape route with its fire. Immediately, all of the king's vassals lined up beside him to initiate a rally.

EripmaV, unable to react and feeling cornered, sent attacks with different armies to try to find an escape. He targeted the ranks of Vangark, Shini, and Loconet, but all attempts failed, and he was even captured. The warriors of K276 looked at each other in disbelief at the situation. Everything was going better than expected, and with him captured and no one to organize the defense, they sent the rally composed solely of spearmen, resulting in a massacre for the KUM member. Virtually his entire army had been annihilated. The war could not have started in a better way.

With the victory of this first battle in their hands, the king immediately ordered the capture of the enemy kingdom's main castle, without foreseeing what would come next.

A horn sounded in the vicinity of the castle, louder than any they had heard before. A man with red hair, painted face, green armor like jade, wielding an axe in one hand and a shield in the other, marched at the front.

"Masao," said the king.

"Should we retreat?" Loconet suggested.

"No, we have to fight, we have to see what he's capable of."

The battle began without further ado, with Masao besieging the castle with an army nearly four times smaller than the one resisting. Accustomed to such battles with numerical inferiority and aware that the forces of K276 only had spearmen who would be of little use against his experienced infantry, victory could go either way. Hostilities were primarily concentrated within the Great City, with soldiers putting up resistance. However, Masao's forces advanced in an orderly manner, shields held high, shoulder to shoulder.

Vangark noticed that the dragons couldn't do much inside the castle, but anger flooded him when he saw that there were two smaller dragons, Shinichi's and Ch1r1sh's, which were not well-equipped for battle, flying above their heads. After hours of battle, the king decided to retreat in order to regroup. The withdrawal of troops was immediately seized upon by the enemy, who attacked the Hoffits, nearly decimating their forces.

"Retreat!" he shouted, and everyone fled in different directions, except for the Hoffits, who perhaps, having heard the word "retreat" for the first time, continued to be attacked.

After a moment of regrouping and analyzing what had happened in battle, the king first reprimanded Shinichi and Ch1r1sh for not sending the more skilled dragon, which could have held the siege better, and perhaps the outcome would have been different. Despite having a slight advantage in this war, they would soon be evenly matched without a doubt. However, the enemy acted alone, which was an advantage for the men and women of K276 who always fought as a group.