7. Logistics. Logistics. Logistics.

  With absolutely no help from the central government of Mikel Morganius began tasking people to help him manage his newly taken fiefs. He understood the risks of hiring too many mercenaries, for they would come with a cost that he might not be able to burden. Winter was light, there was not much frost, but still armies were not expected to move. He had won stunning victories, but his enemies still didn’t know exactly what to expect.

  “So what’s the situation with Emperor Theodosius,”

  “He has been deposed already,” Zaras said, “as I understood, but Anastasius has a shaky claim to the imperial title, Bulganum has already begun an invasion of the western territories.”

  “I was going to help Theodosius regain the throne, I will not reward such traitors.”

  “To the Empire you are a traitor,” Myrddin said.

  Myrddin had naturally thick lips, made thicker with cuts he sustained fighting for Morganius.

  “My sources tell me the city of Izin recently has been reinforced with men, I need to do something unexpected, I hear Turan is besieging Lotus,”

  “They are Morgaius, it’s true,” Zaras said, “if Lotus falls, Mikel will likely capitulate and pay tribute.”

  “Fucking cowards,” Morganius whispered, “we will reinforce our logistics, and go and take this here territory,” he said pointing toward towns toward Izin, “then we move up the Turanian straight road straight for here.”

  “By the gods, you are a madman, how will this work?”

  “I will hire mercenaries along the way, but I need to distract them somehow, if they think I am trying to take one city, and then I speed along to the other, well, it might work,” Morganius said.

  “Surely they’ll catch on,” Myrddin said, “I will hold a vanguard in one of the towns or forts. I will hold the fort. However once you claim the city of Demetras you must come to my rescue.”

  The year was 1252 and still winter, Morganius with grim determination set off with 500 mercenaries, he did not take too many supplies, packing supplies on their backs.

  “We take supplies from the next Turanian town!” Morganius said.

  They took roughly a day’s march before they arrived at a town that served as an intersection. 1000 Turanian troops came to oppose them, they were blasted with ice, and crossbow bolts, and lasted roughly five minutes before being annihilated. Picking up an extra 50 mercenaries who were specially tasked to serve as Myrddin’s guard. They took another day and marched on another village, this time there were 2000 Turanian troops, once again the crossbowmen lined up, and with the assistance of the ice magic began blasting the Turanians. 1000 horse archers were knocked off their horses. Morganius leading the charge. The pagan lord, proclaimed his paganism while shouting at the enemy army.

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  “For the Gods! For Mikel!”

  Horsemen fell off, and quickly 1900 troops were dead. Only the most bare essential looting was done.

  “Hire any mercenaries!” Zaras shouted, “this is a quick operation!”

  Approximately 100 spear wielding mercenaries were fed into Morganius’s army. Myrddin took over this core. The army was 650 and marched down south, looking like it was aiming for the city of Izin. They took another 2 villages without a fight, the Mikel flag raised over the awed villages, before moving on.

  “For the Gods!” Myrddin shouted, to confused cheers from his spearmen.

  “Are you a polytheist?” One spearman whispered to another.

  “Not really, just caught up in the moment.”

  Morganius had spent two weeks organising his supply lines for his villages and forts, and now he was exploiting the Turanian offensive strategy to the fullest. A fort guarded by 1000 men was showered with ice shards, Myrddin readied his best assaulting troops, angling along before bursting through the empty gates.

  “Shoot anyone who is defending!”

  He paralysed the defence, and marched in, slaughtering the garrison before taking over the fort. Shooting the defenders quite easily and quickly.

  “Myrddin, I give you 100 crossbowmen and 100 spearmen, defend this fort until I come back!”

  “Of course sir.”

  His 450 men marched to a nearby town of Dolton taking out another 1000 Turanian army organised by a local Baron. He hired 200 more crossbowmen, and bought a massive shipment of food. Whatever silver he seized, he had given back, his troops had a light snack.

  “Our next stop is the towns and villages near Demetras,” Morganius said.

  Zaras and Morganius galloped on horseback, while his troops from Zolsa and Mordin reinforced them further along the road. He galloped along in one day, spending precious coin on horses for the 450 to speed alongside him. They took a 2000 army by surprise, unleashing crossbow bolts and ice with a fury. Before taking the nearby town of Tolta of 3000. The pagan lord brandished the Mikelan flag, whistling to his mercenaries, as he quickly looted whatever coins they could find and hired 100 more. They took up horses and advanced on the next target within a few hours. Advancing up the royal Turanian road, what was once Mikelan territory all but 60 years ago. The mercenary band soon stumbled upon an unguarded village, which they promptly claimed, and then another unguarded town.

  Two days would pass and Morganius decided that with his 550 mercenary band he would have enough manpower to assault the city of Demetras itself. With no supply lines for his siege, he knew he would have to be extremely bold to pull off this manoeuvre, the mercenaries followed him because of his ice powers, but he knew that if the Turanians realised what was happening they would reinforce the city and his chances of taking the city would dwindle.

  “Are you sure you know what you are doing?” Zaras asked.

  “If they are besieging Lotus, we can besiege them,” Morganius said, “I am a baron of Mikel after all.”

  “Surely they won’t let you hang onto your fief?” Zaras warned, “you are a baron, you’re not even a count.”

  “Then they will have to pry it off me, but that seems unlikely don’t you think?”

  “Ha! Our commander is right, they’re too busy fighting themselves.”

  With 550 men, Morganius approached the grand city of Demetras, a population centre of 80,000 in the cover of darkness. The garrison was said to be at least 4000, but Morganius ingeniously shot and killed the guards, using only a few ice bolts to not draw too much attention. Then his crossbowmen spent a good two hours clambering onto the walls. In this intervening time Morganius ambushed soldier after soldier on the walls. Showering whole batches of men with ice shards that left the soldiers dead. He took out 300 men guarding one section of wall, then they arrested a whole bunch more in the proceeding moments. They entered one barracks and another, arresting the garrison, parading them out. The night shrouded the Mikel flags that now fluttered over the spires. The chaos of the moment would take a while to fully materialise.

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