— 19 —
Lord General Hectris sputtered and stormed in rage and amazement as he saw the flying boulders shred his First Pikes like a wet parchment. He exploded when the pikes first halted their advance, staggered by the catapult fire, and he became apoplectic when they turned and fled.
Little did he know that the horror show had just begun.
The two other Karinthian pike units naturally halted their own advance, uncertain of how to plug the large gap left by the rout of First Pikes. To make matters worse, First Pikes routed right over Second Archers and Second Swordsmen, carrying them to the rear as well. First Archers stalled, the men looking around, ready to bolt.
A shout of victory erupted from Nelson's troops on the hill. Nelson saw that this was the moment, the crucial moment. The enemy was far from beaten, but if this rout of one unit could be turned into something more . . . Nelson remembered something Napoleon once said about the relationship of the moral and the physical.
"Second Pikes, face south!" Nelson ordered. "Catapults, fire for effect at remaining enemy pike formations. Gaius! Order the light cavalry to charge the flank of the pike formation on the enemy's right!"
Nelson paused, waiting for his orders to take effect. Soon the stones began crashing into the remaining two enemy pike blocks and the light cavalry galloped from the gap, headed for the enemy flank.
Now, now is the moment, Nelson thought.
"First and Second Pikes, at the enemy, charge!"
Nelson ran pell-mell down the slope of the rise at the corner of the enemy's Second Pikes, his M‑16 spitting death as he charged.
"For Nelson, our honor, and our future," his pikemen shouted, and seconds later followed him in waves.
Nelson had timed the moment properly. Both enemy pike formations, confused, their archers already starting to run, stones pelting them from the sky, their flanks exposed, broke and fled.
"Lord Commander," an aide to Philemon, the Commander of the Karinthian Third Cavalry shouted. "The army routs. Only a charge by our horses can stop the enemy. See, there! He overextends himself. We outnumber his whole force!"
"Young man, I am a commander in the Army of Karinth. My duty is to obey orders. The Lord General Hectris specifically ordered this unit not to charge without his signal."
"But my lord, the battle will be lost!"
And so, thought Philemon, will Hectris' position in the Council.
"Retire in good order," Philemon ordered his men.
Go to section 56.