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The ground trembled, and the horses began at the walk, speeding up to the trot, which soon became a full-on charge. Their rider held close the reins, though they were beginning to lower their lances as well; ever onwards, they would soon enough crash into the enemy with terrible speed.
<span class="mu-i"> ''Pro gloria and patria, kill them all!'' </span> Was the most common battle cry, though others were heard as well. All in all, things were about to be ended.
The Svengalian cavalry was not immediately prepared to give way, but the sheer force and mass behind the Greifswalder knights, squires and ordinary horsemen was something to behold. There was often prattle about which nation could produce the greatest of knights to be acclaimed the glorious flower of chivalry. But you had cultivated a culture of discipline alongside it; in the field, the knights of Greifswald weren't short-sighted gloryhounds, but your armoured fist, there to punch out the teeth of any who dared oppose you.
The enemy knights were soon dispatched, taking some of the rear units with you as they fled the field. But it was too late for a good chunk of the enemy army, by now panicking and collapsing in on themselves.
They had been stretched, and it was beginning to strain them down when the cavalry arrived at their rear. More and more of them tried to flee, surrender or fight to the last man, but you were certain of one thing: you had been victorious.
In review, it had been a relatively close-fought thing. You did not win by outmanoeuvring or outwitting your opponent but by successfully straining them to a breaking point, after which you had won. Initiative was both slipped and regained. And you found it a frustrating affair; it meant your own losses were higher than usual, even if you hadn't lost the ability to conduct your army to Ullsby proper.
But in spite of it all, thanks to the sacrifices, your daughter's magical attack and the insights of your commanders, you had to pay a far smaller price to pay for the butcher's bill.
For the Svengalians, on the other hand, this would be a crippling blow for operations on this island. They had scraped together this army from various garrisons across this land, which were now more and more vulnerable to the attacks by the elven insurgents.
They would fall over the course of the summer; that much was certain. The only place where they could be assured of their own position was the city of Ullsby; even if you blockaded the port, it would still take some time for you to take the city. Which you wanted to be done before at least the autumn; preferably, you would have it done as soon as possible. You didn't want consumption or camp fever to decimate your numbers outside the walls of Ullsby after all; even with the sanitary standards you had studied in Mithras, disease could still be a problem.
