195 Change of Hear (1/2)
”Fools and cowards, one and all! What has Rupilo done to my army!?”
Pacha's day couldn't possibly have gone worse. About half a day after the battle between Corco and Rupilo had ended, they had arrived at the scene. By that point, both armies were long gone. At first, the king had wanted to pursue Corco and his tired-out men to force an engagement right away, but that turned out to not be an option. Not only was Pacha now aware that his army was slower in the snow than the southerners, the lords under him also continued to trip up his step.
Once they had set up a camp on the battlefield, he had been forced to give a proper burial to all the dead warriors left in the snow. The lords had insisted that their men would be cared for, but just finding a priest in the war-torn countryside had already been a nightmare. While they had been busied with the preparations for a mass funeral, a sheer endless string of warriors came out of the woodwork to rejoin their cause.
These were the scattered and defeated troops of Rupilo, trudging back to their masters like the beaten dogs they were. However, they were still nobles of Medala and many of them were servants of the lords around him, so he couldn't just throw them away, despite their incompetence.
At least they offered Pacha a more detailed picture of what had happened during the battle, though the new information did nothing to still his anger. As it turned out, his northern troops had attacked in a confused and disjointed manner, so Corco had needed less than an hour to wipe out the entirety of Rupilo's troops. With a quick win like that, Corco's men couldn't be considered tired but warmed up instead. It turned out that his forced decision to not rush after them was the correct one in the end.
After he had learned more about Corco's overwhelming victory and his novel tactics, he became even more careful than before. With all these additional troops so readily available, he decided to rest at the former battlefield and send out his men to pull together as many of the scattered warriors as he could. At the same time, he also sent out another runner to call back Herak. Since Corco had escaped towards the east, there was no more reason to split up and march west.
Although he didn't quite understand just why his nephew would give up his tactical advantage like that, Pacha wasn't foolish enough to believe that Corco didn't have a plan. He could feel that a big confrontation was upon them. The end of the war had drawn near, and he would be damned if he made another mistake like trusting Rupilo.
”It appears as if King Pachacutec has run into some difficulties during his campaign.” As he was lost in thought, a familiar figure entered Pacha's command tent, surrounded by the king's guards.
”Official Mito, what a surprise. What made my uncle's closest aide leave the Ichilia mansion and come here to the middle of nowhere?”
Although Pacha despised his uncle Divitius Ichilia's petty inaction during the war so far, he was still his most solid ally, the only one he was related to through blood. Though he remained seated on his throne, the least he could do was overlook Mito's snide remark and pretend he was glad to see the servant. In turn, the servant did the same and put on a smarmy grin.
”Here is where the heavens have laid out our fates, so to say. King Pachacutec, your uncle is very worried about the state of the empire, and he is even more worried about his nephew. This servant has been sent to offer assistance in case King Pachacutec should require it.”
”Yes, how very kind of you.” Pacha narrowed his eyes. ”My uncle would not just have sent you over to make sure I would ask for his help and be in his debt, would he?”
When his real intentions were revealed, the servant's face twitched only for a moment. Even though he restored his friendly facade right away, it was still enough for Pacha to confirm the truth.
”Although Lord Ichilia had no doubt that King Pachacutec can use his own power to be victorious against the incompetent southern barbarians, my master would be more than willing to offer additional support, should it be required. After all, King has already asked for help once before, and asking again would surely not make much of a difference.”
”Right, is that how it is?” Pacha sneered. ”Are you implying that the southerners are incompetent and thus should have been easy to defeat? Have you come to insult me on purpose?”
”Of course not. This servant misspoke.” The flustered servant realized that he had stepped over the line with his comments. However, his half-hearted excuse wasn't nearly enough to pacify the king's heart.
”There is no reason to play any games here, the lords are not present and both of us know the truth. This king never asked his uncle to set up a blockade in the Narrow Sea. I only played along because I did not want my uncle to look like he ignored his king's commands - though he did - and because I believed that the blockade would be beneficial to my campaign. I have to say, as far as military operations go, the manner of my uncle's failure was quite impressive. All throughout history, it would be hard to find a blockade more useless and mismanaged than the one set up by House Ichilia. Are the incompetent foreigners who have made so much trouble for me the same that have sunk my uncle's ships and starved out his warriors?”
”It appears the king has not fared much better than Lord Ichilia.” The servant's voice darkened, another sign of disrespect. ”King Pacha, you should be obedient and ask for help when it is needed. The south has proven much stronger than anticipated, and our sides will need to work together if we wish to defeat them. However, House Ichilia does not stand to lose anything should King be defeated, so there is no reason for Master Ichilia to act. King should not try too hard to preserve his pride, or he will lose everything in the attempt.”
As he thought about his precarious position, Pacha's hands tightened around his throne's armrests.
”Are you not done? Do you wish to continue your insult? You have had enough for one day, servant. Do you agree?” the king's voice was deep. ”Maybe you have spent too much time in Huaylas and now you believe it to be the center of Medala. You did not believe you could continue to insult me without any consequences, did you? With your goading, you have taken far more liberties with your king than would be good for you, servant. Maybe it would be best if you left, before this king forgets his family relations to your master.”
Rather than listen to reason, the servant only bounced from one foot to another, before he tried to offer more shallow platitudes.
”King Pachacutec, Lord Ichilia has sent this servant with a gift-”
”Leave it with the guards outside,” the king interrupted. ”I am not interested. I will have my servants call for you should I need you for anything. Pray that I do, because if I do not, you will have to return to Huaylas and explain to my uncle exactly why your negotiations failed.”
”If King Pacha ever requires assistance from the great Lord Ichilia, we will be more than willing to support him.” Although his face was pale, the servant still managed to say his proper goodbyes before he turned and left the tent.
For a while, Pacha looked at the busy scene out of his tent's entrance and thought about their precarious position. In truth, he would do well to ask his uncle for additional reinforcements. Outside, Pacha could see more and more clumps of warrior stragglers appear in the distant snow, as they walked towards his command tent. Although the return of the defeated warriors strengthened his army, it also proved just how easily Corco had won the last engagement and how poorly these warriors had handled the last war.
Even though there were conflicting reports from the returning warriors – all of whom aimed to paint their defeat in a better light – there had been no cleanup of the dead warriors at the end of the battle. Since the battlefield had been left in such a sloppy state, Pacha had a pretty good idea of Rupilo's actual casualties. It appeared as if the army hadn't even been decimated before it collapsed. They had lost less than two thousand men before they ran like cowards. This sort of inferiority couldn't be explained with only a disadvantage in equipment.
Although Corco's weapons were impressive, the key must have lain somewhere else, be it training, tactics or morale. In all three areas, Pacha was convinced he and his men could do much better than what Rupilo had achieved. Still, the heavy loss had cast a deep shadow over the entire campaign. Another defeat like the first one and Pacha might as well give up on being king altogether.