“To destroy or otherwise render an army no longer fit for further battles is a task most difficult. On the other hand, if one merely wants to keep an army too busy to help others, that is a task far more easily achieved through many methods.” - Liang Shi-Zu, famed strategist from the Huan Confederation.

“The bastards aren’t going to engage us,” cursed Commander Albrecht Duncan of the Levain militia quietly, so that his voice wouldn’t be heard beyond the small gaggle of leaders from both the Levainian and Caroman army gathered around him in their temporary command post. “They’re just sitting pretty across from us to keep us here by the threat of their presence.”

It had already been the third day since the Southern Coalition army’s arrival near where the joint forces from Levain and Caroma were gathered. On the first day, there had been no battle, which was not unexpected as the Coalition’s army only arrived late in the afternoon and busied themselves preparing their encampment.

Back then the commanders had considered but eventually overruled the idea of a night attack, as it was clear that the Coalition army was well prepared for such an eventuality.

The second day had only seen minor skirmishes, with the Coalition army making several threatening maneuvers but refusing to commit to any actual battles, retreating shortly after either the Caromans or Levainians reacted to their thrust. The skirmishes saw a few dozen dead each time, and injured in the three digit range, but those were ultimately inconsequential.

Not when the joint forces of Levain and Caroma numbered forty thousand and their foes had fifty-seven thousand soldiers under their lead.

By noon the third day, it was obvious that the Coalition army wasn't prepared to tangle with the joint Levainian and Caroman forces in an actual battle, as they instead used their plentiful conscripts to make forays that were quickly abandoned time and again. They seemed perfectly prepared to just waste time and prevent their foes from retreating by the threat of a pursuit from a superior force.

It had given the commanders from Levain and Caroma a bit of a dilemma, admittedly.

“Attempting to retreat with so many foes close at hand is too risky,” noted Marshal Publius Cornelius of Caroma. “Even if we left volunteer rear guards, they could just overpower them with numbers, and that would also cause a hit to our soldiers’ morale. While it is perhaps the simplest open trick in the strategy books, it is indeed an effective one in this situation.”

“It would be easier if the bastards could be lured to a battle,” commented his wife, Marshal Anni-Al-Bagh Barca with an annoyed scoff. “If we could break these bastards and rout them, we would be able to pull back at our leisure, as it’s unlikely they’d be able to bother us if they’re too busy running away for their lives.”

“The problem is that they’re not biting the bait so far,” noted Estelle with a sigh. “Each time we tried to bait their armies, they only solidified their defenses and hunkered down instead of sallying forward to meet us. The High Lords of Cezar and Olfas might not be gifted in military matters, but they have old generals who covered that deficiency for them.”

“Sebaque had no such leaders other than their fool of a lord, no?” asked Brutus, one of the Caroman generals under Publius. “They should be the breaking point of our enemies, I think.”

“Normally I would agree, but they placed the bastard right in the center of the formation with his barely seven thousand men,” replied Albrecht to the Caroman General’s suggestion. “The other two old farts held the flanks, so if we tried to break through their center and mess with the brat, they would use their numbers to fan around and flank us in turn.”

“It’s still a viable solution, but it’d be somewhat costly as it’d involve a pitched battle,” noted Publius with a thoughtful look on his face. “Still… If we wish for an expedient solution to the issue we face presently, it might be the best option available to us. Chairwoman, would your people be amenable to holding against one of their flanks while we held off the other?”

Estelle gave a questioning look to Albrecht beside her, who after a moment of thought, nodded firmly in answer to that question. “We should be able to, Marshal,” she replied to Publius right afterward. “What do you have in mind?”

“As I’m certain you’re aware of, the portion of my army we have present at the moment leaned a bit heavily on archers and cavalry,” stated Publius, to which Estelle and the other Levainian commanders nodded. They were aware that the Caroman army present had their cavalry and archers comprise nearly half of their numbers.

In comparison, the archers and cavalry amongst Levain’s troops only accounted for around a fifth of their total numbers. Granted, a large portion of the Caroman archers were burly mountaineers from Oiloma, who were just as comfortable with a melee weapon in hand as with a longbow, but they still weren’t as well suited for close combat as the better-trained infantrymen.

“I plan to use most of our forces to stall the enemy left flank, and would ask your troops to hold against their right flank. It’s fine if you cannot push them back since they would have greater numbers than us, as long as you keep them occupied,” explained the Marshal to the commanders present. “While we do that, Anni will lead a strike force of five thousand straight into the enemy center which is held by the forces from Sebaque. Should she succeed in routing them, she would then flank the enemy’s flanks from the inside of their formation.”

“The plan is rather risky for the Lady Marshal, isn’t it?” asked Estelle with some doubt in her voice.

“Eh, can’t catch a drake without going into its nest,” replied the female Marshal with a shrug of her broad shoulders. “Besides, me and my folks are prolly the best suited for this job. Your mercs would’ve been ideal too, but they aren’t here, so them’s the breaks.”