Chapter 38: Patay (1) (2/2)
By the time Leonel's unit swarmed the forest, the English were in chaos.
He swung his spear from his back, feeling a familiar burning in his blood. Aina trailed closely to his back. This sort of environment definitely wasn't the best for her battle style. That wasn't to say she couldn't fight. In fact, she could go through these trees like butter. The issue was how the other soldiers would deal with the trees falling in her wake. Taking this into consideration, she didn't act.
Leonel didn't go out of his way to find and kill Englishmen. He took advantage of the complete disarray the battlefield was in to cut a straight line toward Jean's squad.
Back when he threw that dart, those shadows had definitely peaked out of the ground several feet. Yet, no one but him seemed to notice. It made sense if a few didn't notice, or maybe even the majority, but not even a single person reacted. That only meant one thing: others couldn't see them.
'It must be the state they were in. In order to enter that shadow-like form, they're essentially becoming an amalgamation of Force. But, normal humans can't perceive Force. And, Force wielders with weak senses can't see it either. Since the brain can't interpret what's right in front of it, the Force becomes a blind spot!'
There was something that confused Leonel even more, though. Those shadows clearly hadn't had any malicious intent. In fact, that shadow in particular hadn't been targeting the knight, but rather the bowman hiding in the tree.
'Is that Joan's ability?'
Leonel and Aina flashed through the thin forest like two wisps of smoke. Their speed was faster than that of horses to begin with, so catching up with Jean's group hadn't been anything difficult.
As expected, lying in wait on the opposite side of the ambush and outside the forest, there was another group of Englishmen waiting. But, the disorderly sorry looking Frenchmen they were waiting for never appeared. Instead, Jean had perfectly formed up his squadron.
Raising his pike and roaring, he charged, a bright golden glow surrounding his power.
”In the name of God! For France!”
The front line of the Englishmen was blasted apart by a forcefield-like force. Their foremen were thrown from their stances, suffering severe broken bone before the battle even truly began.
Reality didn't deviate from history. In fact, with Leonel and Aina tacked on, the result was even more devastating. The Battle of Patay this time around wasn't just a resounding victory, it was a trouncing.
And, also just like history, the following weeks continued the trend. The French Army, under the leadership of Joan, swept through north-central France, leading a line of victories right to the gates of Reims where Charles VII would be crowned.
In that time, Leonel and Aina became no less famous than any one of Joan's knights. Though they didn't wear the armor, nor have the steeds, their results were undeniable. Joan didn't even attempt to rein them in, allowing them to act freely within the armies as they saw fit.
Barely over a month, several territories around Paris had fallen and the threat of the Burgundians — traitor French of the last generation — fell along with the English. In just a few more days, Charles would be officially crowned in Reims, the very place the near fall of their Nation started.