Zaos more or less could imagine what Verkan had in mind. Considering their position in the formation, it would be weird to move diagonally, and that was the thing. Since it wasn't something common to do, the enemy will be caught off guard. If they were to be fast enough, the archers wouldn't have the chance to escape. Even if they do, that will only give them the chance to freely attack the rest of their army.

"I heard that you scared some mercenaries last year with your fighting style," Verkan said. "That is why you need to do that again. You will raise the morale of our army and then make the enemies lose morale as well."

"I believe the enemies this time will be much tougher from the ones last year," Zaos said.

"Indeed, that is why you and I will divide the work, for the same reason, I selected those twenty guys to watch our backs," Verkan said. "They will also give you the chance to use potions if you need to. I know this isn't a job for a kid of your age, normally, recruits never have to fight the northern men beyond the borders, but things are different now."

"Well… it is not like I have any other choice," Zaos shrugged. "It is my duty to fight, after all."

"You can rest assured that you won't die before me," Verkan said. "Still, to be honest, I don't think that neither of us will die today, if we fight as hard as possible, this job will be easy, but…"

"But?" Zaos asked.

"It will be bloody… more than you can imagine," Verkan replied. "I believe we are going to experience some difficult times in the next few years, considering your position in the capital, you should see what war is truly like to make the best choices once you assume your father's position."

                                    Zaos could imagine that most people don't have much resistance to magic. So, if he goes all out using his big sword combined with magic… the scenes where he split some enemies in half last year couldn't even be compared.

"I was trained to be a soldier, while I wasn't trained to see a bloody battlefield, I can only get used to it in one," Zaos said. "It doesn't matter what will happen, I will fight to protect the town."

"All right…" Verkan said. "Let's save our energy until the enemies come." 

                            The predictions of the lookouts had been corrected this time. After two hours, Zaos and Verkan saw an army moving and raising a small cloud of snow in the distance around noon. Zaos felt pretty impressed when he saw his fifteen hundred allies, but he couldn't help but feel a lot of pressure when he saw the enemy army. While they were mercenaries, all of them were using some pretty impressive pieces of gear. They had swords, shields, and spears as well… that didn't look like a mercenary army, but a royal army that could be from any country. Even the horses had some protection on their bodies, in the faces, and in the backs to protect them from arrows. As for his allies… the soldiers on Zaos's side were only wearing low-level gear that was more used to make them look like soldiers than anything. At least that was what it seemed like when they were compared. Regardless, Zaos couldn't help but frown when he noticed that they weren't stopping to rest after a long march.

"It looks like they don't care about their stamina," Verkan furrowed his eyebrows. "They want to deal with us as fast as possible… or they think that defeating us with their better gear is only natural."

                            Both armies were already ready for the fight, and just like Verkan said, they were using a mirrored formation. As much as Verkan wants to attack right now and while the enemies are away from the walls, he couldn't. There was no telling what might approach hidden in the cloud of snow the army raised. They could fall for a trap. If they move too much from the gates, many won't succeed if the necessity to retreat arises.

                            Zaos could feel his heart beating faster and stronger as the enemy army marched towards him. He had heard that one of the most intense moments one could experience in the army was exactly that one. Standing at the front of an army, as infantry, when two armies are about to collide against each other. Zaos turned to the side and saw many men with blue faces while others were throwing up… they were soldiers who graduated from the army but decided to stay in the North but never had the chance to experience something like that.

                            When the mercenaries were one kilometer away from Zaos and the other soldiers, they stopped marching. That was some awesome level of coordination they had. After a few seconds, they stepped forward for a few more seconds, and they stopped. They repeated that many more times and then throwing up on Zaos's side only increased.

"They are trying to scare us," Zaos said.

"A common tactic," Verkan said. "Well, we need to make them taste some of their own poison…"

"With me!" Someone shouted.

                            Zaos looked to his right side and then saw a man leading a company toward the enemies' army. That was the company that was on the easternmost side of the formation. His soldiers followed him, howling as if they were the craziest men in the world. Soon after, the next company that had happened to be on the left side of the first company that moved followed them as well, and so did the third and fourth company. However, Zaos's company didn't move.

                            While Zaos was wondering what Verkan was thinking, he noticed the four companies slightly turning to their left side. That was weird. While some of them would face the enemies' infantry, a good part of them also was running toward the cavalry… which was close to suicide.

"Follow me, men!" Verkan shouted. "We will not kick the asses of those dirty invaders! We will send them straight to the afterlife for having the audacity to invade our lands and destroy our towns and villages! Let's give them a bloodbath!"