Soon, Farini read a pre-battle speech for his soldiers from the height of the hill he was at.
His words were carried by the wind and the blessed Whisper, who sent it to other devotees, so they could witness the miracle of mind-speech unsullied by mortal tongues.
"Men of the true faith, devoted to our divine protector, Dalmanrach, be praised his name! Today, the fate of our kingdom will be decided by your hands. Your swords are the swords of gods, guided by their will! I am but a vessel of their knowledge. It's you, my devout warriors, who will conquer our prosperity!"
The soldiers cheered, and the wave of their voices filled Farini with the echo of their excitement. He stood even straighter.
'Good work, Farini,' Whisper said in his mind. 'The opening words worked well. Instead of reminding the yesterday peasants and professional soldiers about disparities between them, you united all under the roof of their shared beliefs… But many of them still worry.'
'What is in their hearts, holy Whisper?'
'Some don't want to fight against their own countrymen. Others see the enemy's numbers and weapons and fear them.'
'Thank you, Whisper.'
Farini knew what to say next.
"The gods are on our side! Their miracles will lead us to doubtless victory! Today, we fight not people—we fight ignorance and unbelief themselves! Two great plagues that opened our kingdom to all the others! With your swords, Dalmanrach will cut off their heads like those of a great snake! With your spears, Dalmanrach will pierce their black hearts! Brothers of blood and brothers of spirit, today we fight!"
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FOR DALMANRACH!"
The soldiers cheered even louder, shaking their weapons in the air. Their shouts were deafening, and they carried Farini like a wave. He couldn't help but raise his sword and cheer, too, although he was the one who read the speech in the first place!
"FOR DALMANRACH AND THE NAREGAN KINGDOM!" Farini shouted.
'Yes, yes! They believe!' Whisper was excited, too. 'Right now, they believe fully. Unlike our enemies… They are far less united. Right now, the High King has them under his thumb, but later…'
Farini collected himself and lowered his blade.
'Yes. It will make their spirits fragile. But now… Holy Whisper, I ask you to pass the order to attack.'
The next part was on Gresch. Farini and Gresch planned to direct the fight together. While Gresch led the soldiers personally, Farini could give him advice. Because he stayed behind, Farini had a good view of the battlefield.
They both had a good grasp on tactics, but of course, Farini would have an advantage in that—since Gresch will be busy fighting for his life.
Yesterday, he guessed that the High King would only get as close as necessary to pour arrows on Farini's army. The High King's cavalry would likely be left in reserve instead of opening with a charge.
Farini's army had a few hundred cavalrymen, but they weren't enough to stop the enemy archers on their own. And if Farini's army just tried to charge the enemy…
The arrows will cull too many of them. Most of Farini's army didn't even have shields!
But his ballistas were already waiting on the hill not so far from Farini himself.
They could shoot farther than an archer, especially from there. Although there were only fifty of them and several thousand enemy archers, the ballistas just had to make the enemy stop shooting so much.
In the distance, the drums and flutes called the armies to fight. The High King's army marched forward, and predictably, stopped at arrow flight's range.
But before they could let a single arrow loose, Gresch gave the order and a volley of ballista arrows flew at them!
At this distance, their shots lost half of their power—so they could kill only one person at a time. More than enough!
Farini's own archers tried to shoot the enemy ones, too, but many arrows fell short and just hit the infantry, or worse, their shields.
'If only we had more ballistas,' Farini thought ruefully. 'These already weren't easy to make and train people to use, but…'
But they were effective.
'The archers fall; there are a couple dozen dead,' Whisper said. 'Your ballista shooters have a hard time hitting at this distance, but the enemy is surprised, anyway. They realize they can't hit the ballistas at this distance! Now, my sisters strike, too.'
In the distance, amid the High King's army, where Farini could see only if he used a spyglass, several people screamed and fell. Some of them were holding their necks or their legs… even their eyes.
Some of these people were standard-bearers, others were officers, especially in the archers' squads.
Now the archers not only were shocked but also temporarily lost their leadership to the stings of bees! None of these stings were lethal—the forces of holy guardians were split too thin for that. But they were still incapacitating, at least for a short while.
So when the High King's archers released their volley of arrows, instead of a dark cloud that covered the sun, it was a pale shadow… but still a deadly one.
At this moment, the main body of Farini's army charged forward. Thousands of people ran at once, chasing against death from above. Behind them, Farini's archers continued shooting alongside the ballistas.
The first volley fell on people's heads, killing hundreds—and still it was a small number compared to what could've been. The second volley was just as disjointed.
The third volley was almost at full strength, but before the third one could hit, Farini's infantry hit the line of the High King's soldiers.
Riding in the first wave was General Gresch ma Hammani Kima himself, carrying a spear-banner and shouting as loudly as he could,
"For Dalmanrach and the Naregan Kingdom!"
And although Farini was too far to hear the words, they echoed in his mind thanks to the work of divine guardians.
So he shouted too, although only his reserve force and the ballista men could hear,
"For Dalmanrach and the Naregan Kingdom!"