Chapter 308 - Weaponized Horses

“Very good,” Reivyn nodded his head toward the speaker in front of the conference room. “It’s a good first step.”

One of the noble officers from the regular Imperial Army had just finished outlining various strategies, tactics, and training methods that could be used to create a formal cavalry unit. The main information was actually well-known, if not used. Just because they didn’t employ a cavalry unit themselves didn’t mean they didn’t have access to what the lower-Tier Region Kingdoms were doing and the methods they used.

Reivyn had expected to have to adapt civilian methods to military purposes, but one of the more enthusiastic equine sportsmen serving in the military had pointed out the literature readily available in the military headquarters library. Reivyn and Kayzor had shared a sheepish look when they had been told about it.

More proof that I’m not infallible. Reivyn snorted. We need to remember to work smarter, not harder. Why reinvent the wheel when you already have access to it?

The young lieutenant gave Reivyn a confused look as he looked back and forth between him and the displays on the board behind him.

“I’m not sure what more you want, sir,” the man said. He gestured to the diagrams that had been drawn out for visual reference. “This is pretty much everything we have on the subject, and it’s fairly comprehensive.”

The other officers in the room nodded along with the lieutenant, but they waited for Reivyn to continue his point before they interjected. Reivyn waved his hand in dismissal.

“Yes, yes, that’s right,” Reivyn agreed. “Those training methods and tactics will create a competent independent cavalry unit, but that’s not our aim. We need to incorporate everything on that board into the rest of the military action. Sure, flanking an enemy engaged with the infantry is obvious, but we can do so much more.

“We need to come up with ways to communicate and coordinate with the Mages, acting as long-distance artillery. We need ways to incorporate the horses with the Mages and infantry together. We need ways to maximize the effectiveness of the infantry in collaboration with the cavalry.

“That’s what our job moving forward will be. We’ll set up a unit with appropriate instructors, and while the troops are acquiring and training their Skills, we’ll continue to work on meshing everything together. We need to come up with sound military doctrine. Standard operating procedures for combat.”

“I see,” the young lieutenant said. “Hmm, we have devices for short-range communication. So there shouldn’t be any problem talking to each other. The light cavalry could feed information back to the Mages who can’t see obstacles, for one.”

“They could lead enemies into traps and crossfire,” one of the captains spoke up.

“They could harry pursuing troops if we have to withdraw from conflict…”

The officers picked up the ball and started running with it. Reivyn and Kayzor shared a smile and let them hash out their thoughts and ideas without interrupting them. Reivyn had a big picture in mind, but that didn’t mean he already understood all of the minutiae. He wanted everything to work as a cohesive whole, and he had many tactics to do so, but he wasn’t all-knowing. The Dreams of the Past gave him an outline. Knowing when to let others contribute was also an important quality of a competent leader.

Reivyn and Kayzor paid attention to the discussion amongst the officers and chimed in every now and then with their own ideas and suggestions, but for the most part, they just let the others pick up the idea and run with it.

After a while, Kayzor clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention.

“Alright, this was an excellent meeting,” Kayzor declared. “Everyone’s had their own ideas. The next step is to go back, develop the ideas, create the doctrines, and then bring them together again.

“We’ll spend a week working on the theory. That should give enough time for enough troops to acquire a sufficient Skill Level to be able to practice the tactics. We’ll spend another week practicing the different strategies and tactics, and then put it to the test in the field alongside the infantry and Mages.”

“Yes, sir,” the other officers answered.

“Good. Dismissed.”

The officers collected their notes and filed out of the room, leaving Reivyn and Kayzor alone. They shared a grin.

“That was a lot easier than I expected,” Reivyn said.

“I know, right?” Kayzor chuckled. “I told you there were some good men with good ideas already. To be honest, I’m a little embarrassed I didn’t think of the library already holding so much information on the topic.”

“You and me, both,” Reivyn laughed. “At least it was a good surprise. I figure we’ll have a working cavalry unit integrated into the whole in half a year or so.”

“So slow?” Kayzor was taken aback. “I figured a month or two, at most.”

Reivyn shook his head.

“Nah, that’s just enough for the preliminaries. We still have to filter out the soldiers who are actually talented with horsemanship and refine all the tactics and strategies until everything runs second-nature.

“Ideally, we could teach the Skill to everyone, and those that show a higher speed of acquiring the Skill and Levels would be the ones moving to the cavalry unit. And let’s not forget mounted combat. I’m sure there’s a separate Skill for that. Those talented in pure horsemanship might not be the best at fighting on horseback.

“I see your point,” Kayzor conceded. “We’ll have to rotate the troops between acting as the infantry and cavalry while testing out the combat methods, all while the officers refine the doctrines as we learn more from the tests.”

“Yeah, the only reason I’m saying it’ll be as fast as I am is my faith in the troops.”

“Well, at least we have a goal. Let’s try to beat it.”

“You’ll have to try to beat it,” Reivyn shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I’ll be deploying before the time limit is up. You never know, though. Maybe it will take another half a year for the next negotiations to finalize. I wouldn’t count on it, though.”

“You’re crazy for wanting to go back out so soon,” Kayzor said. “You guys just got back. Don’t you want to relax a little?”

“Not really,” Reivyn shrugged. “I’ve been pretty on the go for the better part of a decade now. I start feeling weird when I’m just sitting around not doing anything.”

“It’s not ‘not doing anything,’” Kayzor replied, using air quotes. “You have full access to all of the training facilities, plus we’re literally about to start an entirely new round of training. I know you’re all about that kind of stuff.”

“I’m also all about the real deal, too. There’s something completely different between training for something and doing that something. Sure, I enjoy the training, but I also enjoy the action. Sparring is only so much of a thrill.” Reivyn eyed Kayzor. “You should come with.”

“Nah, I’ve got responsibilities here,” Kayzor waved him off. “Not that I would choose responsibility over going with you, but it’s too short notice. I’ll talk to my family, hash some things out. Talk to me next time.”

“Sure. Bonus, you’ll get to keep your sparring partner all year. Plus my dad. Have you two sparred, yet?”

“No, not yet,” Kayzor shook his head. “I haven’t wanted to interrupt his duties for my selfish reasons.”

“But you’re perfectly fine interrupting mine?”

“That’s different!” Kayzor was about to defend himself when he saw the smirk on Reivyn’s face. He tossed a pen that had been left on the table at his friend. Reivyn ducked while laughing.

“Seriously, my dad would love nothing more than to spar with you, and if you don’t want to interrupt him, join us at your sister’s courtyard in the mornings. Just delegate the morning duties to another officer. I know you have no problems doing that.”

“Hmm, yeah, that’s a good idea.”

The two continued to banter and plan various things as they finally left the conference room. Reivyn was happy to see that Kayzor didn’t dismiss joining an expedition outright, but it made sense that Kayzor would need more time than whatever amount they had left before the next deployment.

—

Reivyn leaned back in the saddle, avoiding the slash of an opponent by the skin of his teeth. He reciprocated with his own strike, driving his wooden training sword into the man’s armored stomach. The man grunted as the horses danced away from each other.

Another man sprung up in front of him, attempting to unseat him with what he thought was a well-timed spear thrust from his own horseback. Reivyn had seen him coming, though, and had allowed the opening. He adjusted his seat slightly, catching the spear with his underarm just as it was fully extended and had lost most of its momentum. He chopped across his body at the arm holding the spear. A yelp was followed by the man dropping his weapon.

Reivyn sat back upright, holding both weapons in either hand, steering the horse under him with his knees alone. He charged forward and slammed his weapons into opponents on either side of him as he passed by them.

The melee continued in a huge, disorganized mess. There were multiple teams sparring against each other randomly, attempting to simulate as much chaos in combat as possible. Everywhere Reivyn moved, there were enemies and no allies. It wasn’t true just for him, though. Everyone had the same predicament.

A few platoons of infantry joined the mix, adding another layer of insanity to the training session. Most of the infantry stayed in formation, warding off any mounted soldiers that tried to close in on them, but some broke off in smaller groups with bill hooks.

The hooks on the training weapons were exaggerated so as to simulate their effectiveness against horsemen while not injuring anyone. If they had the same design in actual combat, they would be too imbalanced to effectively use as actual weapons instead of just unseating implements.

Reivyn moved about the field, trying to maintain momentum on his horse and not get bogged down. He hacked and slashed alternatively at other mounted soldiers and the infantrymen that approached to unseat him.

He was getting in the zone. His focus was sharp but not narrowed. He could see several steps ahead of the flow of the battle while still remaining in the moment. He danced, charged, swiveled, and mowed through the crowds with impunity.

Everything is a weapon.

He chanted the mantra over and over in his head until he felt something click. He started using the horse itself to knock men off balance and interfere with their movements and attacks. He and the horse were moving to his will just the same as any weapon in his hand.

Eventually, the sparring match came to an end as more and more soldiers bowed out due to exhaustion. There had been no rules such as having to leave when they were “defeated.” It had just been a continuous battle until they couldn’t hold on any longer. Reivyn and Refix were obviously among the last standing in the field when it was over.

Before anything else, Reivyn quickly checked his Notifications.

[Skills Leveled Up!]

[Tier 1:]
[Athleticism (78 ->79)]
[Balance (61 ->65)]
[Dancing (40 ->41)]
[Horsemanship (24 ->36)]
[Ride (25 ->28)]

[Tier 2:]
[Ambidexterity (30 ->33)]
[Teach (34 ->35)]

[Tier 3:]
[Battlefield Awareness (54 ->56)]
[Blind Fighting (47 ->50)]
[Command (58 ->60)]
[Commanding Shout (43 ->45)]
[Inspire (65 ->66)]

[Tier 4:]
[Spatial Awareness (75 ->77)]

[Tier5:]
[Heroic Bearing (48 ->49)]

[Tier 6.5:]
[Perfect Domain (17 ->18)]

[New Skill Unlocked!]

[Tier 2:]
[Mounted Combat ((0 ->16) ->24)]

Reivyn was surprised by a couple of the Skills that Leveled Up, like Dancing, but he could see it when he thought about it. He had unlocked the Mounted Combat Skill earlier in the week and had made steady progress with it, but he saw a huge jump after the melee sparring match once he was able to connect it with his Weapons Master.

It wasn’t the first time he had channeled an esoteric meaning from his Weapons Master Skill. He had even used such things as the terrain and his enemies themselves as his “weapons” in the past. It wasn’t much of a stretch to get into the mindset that his mount counted, and with his prior experience, it didn’t take much mental effort.

“Whew, I think that’s good,” Reivyn said, smiling at his father. “I got the Mounted Combat Skill up to the first threshold. That’s good enough before the deployment in a couple of days.”

“Good,” Refix nodded with his own grin. “That’s a pretty big jump. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

The others started to converge on the field again once all the fighting had died down. Reivyn and Refix maneuvered their horses to carry them to a spot in front of everyone.

“Good job, everyone,” Reivyn projected his voice. “I’ll say that was a fine final exercise before we head out in a couple of days. We’ve made great progress toward developing our combined infantry and cavalry.

“It’s not quite enough to form a hasty unit for this particular deployment, but I have high expectations of my officers and men to have a solid foundation built by the time I get back.

“Go easy on the returning company when they finally return, yeah? I think they might want a bit of a break after they get back. Then you can give ‘em what for once they get back into the saddle, so to say.”

The mercenaries grinned at each other, no doubt envisioning themselves wiping the floor with their allies with their superior Skills. It was a little unfair to toss the returnees into the deep end, but they would see explosive growth from it.

“Alright. We have six days until we March. This was the last exercise, so those of you in the company that’s deploying, you all have the next five days off. You’ll still have to muster for morning and evening formation, though, so don’t be late. I don’t want any reports of anyone skipping out on roll call or having to bail anyone out of jail over the next several days, understand?”

The men got serious, and a loud chorus of “Yes, sir!” echoed out from the crowd.

“Captains,” Reivyn turned to the company commanders. “See to your men.”

“Yes, sir!”

Reivyn and Refix turned their mounts and headed off as the other officers organized their troops. Reivyn trusted his men, but he still expected to have to deal with a couple of troublemakers over the next couple of days. They spent most of their time in such a structured environment, getting to let loose before having to be ultra serious all the time led to people getting up to shenanigans.

He wouldn’t hold it against the men… for long, but he would still have to punish those that broke the rules. They could have their fun, but they still needed to remain disciplined for the most part.

“How many tavern brawls do you think there’ll be over the next couple of days?” Refix asked with a lopsided smile.

“Seven? Eight?” Reivyn replied. “I’ll be happy if it’s less than ten. I’ll give them a pass if they’re just tossed into jail to sleep off drunkenness for the evening, but any excessive violence will need to be handled. A ‘friendly’ fight is fine, as long as they don’t damage any property.”

“Oh, you know there’s going to be plenty of broken stools, tables, tankards, and possibly doors and other fixtures.”

“Yup, and the repair fees will come right out of their pockets, and their discipline will come out of their sweat the next day. Look on the bright side, dad, you’ll be able to have some fun calisthenics with some hungover ‘volunteers.’”

Refix grinned.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

—

Reivyn sat on horseback next to his father and Kefira. Teilon, Kimberly, and Serilla were likewise mounted just behind them. The officers of the company had their own horses, as well. Even though Reivyn hadn’t been prepared to slap together an entire cavalry unit, he didn’t see why he should keep his officers on the ground, at least for Marching purposes.

He thought back to his days as a conscript with Knight Captain Reifold sitting upon his mount everywhere they went. The Knight Captain and his Knight Lieutenant had kept themselves separate from the formations, yet they had always been ready and willing to join the fray when required. His own philosophy of leading his men was the same. He just didn’t have any mounts the last time he had deployed.

He had already explained to the other officers that he wasn’t going to be commanding, but he could already see the advantages to being able to see over the soldiers’ heads for giving commands. He didn’t need it, personally, as he had his Divine Sense Skill, but that only applied to the enemies that were already close. He could more easily activate his Eagle Eye Skill with no obstructions from horseback.

For his strike team, Reivyn was going with his usual Party members, and they would supplement their force with rotating squads from the company. They didn’t have any kind of special unit setup, much like the cavalry, but he was thinking of forming a dedicated one after. This would give him a good opportunity to analyze different Classes and Skills in the role.

Surprisingly, there had only been one small group of "volunteers" for Refix's morning exercise. Reivyn had been a little surprised to see that the mercenaries had kept pretty strictly to spending their free time with their squad mates, and the NCO's had been good about keeping them in line. The small group of volunteers, luckily, had just been in a drunken brawl with each other, and they had caused a little too much damage to the establishment they had been in.

Nothing too serious had occurred, and Reivyn didn't even have to bail the men out of jail. The jailers had known who they were, and someone had apparently told them the deal for any rambunctious mercenaries. They had been delivered bright and early straight to Refix on the parade grounds by the city guards.

The Portal opened and Reivyn looked to the captain of the Mercenary Company. He nodded to the man.

“Captain. It’s your show, lead your men. We’ll be right behind you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Reivyn and the others sat to the side as the Mercenary Company smartly Marched into the teleportation tunnel. Their ranks and files were perfectly matched, and their steps were in unison. They gave off a slight sense of intimidation as they Marched forth, led by the officers on horseback.

After the last row of soldiers passed into the tunnel, Reivyn turned to his companions.

“Once more unto the breach!”

A/N I wrote the Mounted Combat Level Ups in a way for the readers to more easily understand. Reivyn would have seen (16 ->24) under his Level Ups tab.