Phidestros watched with shock as the hillside exploded and a huge brown wave of mud and death washed over his left wing. Entire regiments disappeared beneath the boiling wave never to appear again. Some survivors clung to trees or tried to bull their way out of the mud. Three or four thousand men, and twice that of horses, dead-in the blink of an eye! The entire battle could be lost if the Hostigi could fully exploit the collapse of the left wing's forward elements.
With mounting frustration he watched as the Hostigi heavy horse followed the mudslide with a charge into the chaotic melee, destroying the surviving regiments in detail as they tried to flee from the field of battle. Kalvan's flood had broken their morale and it would take a miracle to save the left wing from a complete rout.
His first thought was to commit his own cavalry reserve. Then his better judgment prevailed. The most his reserve would accomplish would be to pad the butcher's bill.
The Royal Lancers demonstrated no judgment at all when they saw their fellows being ridden down by the Hostigi cavalry. Only Phidestros' threat to have Mythross' Temple Guardsmen shoot them out of their saddles had kept them from rushing pell-mell down the hillside to a vainglorious death. Being shot by mere infantry qualified neither as glorious nor a grand gesture. So the Lancers had stayed put under loud and strenuous objection. After the twentieth complaint by some minor Harphaxi noble, Phidestros almost wished they had forced his hand.
While the Great Host's left battle was in serious trouble, the same could not be said about the center or right wing. At the center the Sacred Squares of Hos-Ktemnos held Kalvan's musketeers at bay despite grievous wounds made by continuing Hostigi artillery fire. Phidestros' own two batteries were still returning fire at twice the rate of the Hostigi, but they were outnumbered by the Hostigi guns at better than three to one.
Phidestros had been forewarned that Kalvan had eliminated most of the pikes in the Royal Army. He had tried to take advantage of that by having the Ktemnoi and mercenary horse charge the Hostigi center. Kalvan's artillery had performed as a meat grinder on the charging cavalry and Phidestros had been forced to recall the charge before more than a handful had reached the enemy musketeers. Still, he had a hunch that Kalvan's over-reliance on his musketeers was a vulnerability he could exploit. First, he had to somehow neutralize Kalvan's big guns. To do that, Phidestros was using the best infantry he had, man for man, as cannon fodder. The ground gained by the Sacred Squares was costing hundreds of lives, but if he could force Kalvan to withdraw his mobile batteries, or even better let the Sacred Squares overrun them and then turn them on the Hostigi-this battle could be won.
On the right wing the Ros-Zarthani had been slow to start, but now it appeared their cavalry was making real progress. Their mounted archers had already neutralized about ten of Kalvan's guns. The foot, behind two-man shields, were moving slowly and inexorably, despite horrible losses from cannon fire, toward Kalvan's forward mobile guns.
Phidestros watched through the farseer in amazement as one troop of silver-scaled cavalry advanced obliquely on one of Kalvan's mobile field pieces. Ignoring heavy musket fire, the Kataphracti (as Zarphu called them) threw javelins at the gunners who were trying desperately to slew the gun around. The Kataphracti were the Ros-Zarthani light cavalry and each one carried a sword and four javelins. He watched as the forward regiment threw flight after flight of javelins at the Hostigi gunners, finally killing most of them and forcing the rest to retreat under a hail of spears. Moments later the Kataphracti dismounted and, despite heavy musket fire, destroyed the wheels of the artillery carriages with sledgehammers and set the carriages on fire with turpentine.
Phidestros hooted with amazement as he watched Kalvan's gunners turn tail and run!
A guard unit of halberdiers countercharged the Kataphracti and were sent scattering by a squadron of the Ros-Zarthani heavy cavalry, the Klibanophoru. The Klibanophoru wore scaled armor, as did their horses, and fought with bows as well as lances. A nearby gun took out half-a-dozen Klibanophoru, but they quickly regrouped and charged the firing gun. This artillery piece was much closer to the Hostigi forward line and the charging Ros-Zarthani disappeared into a churning sea of muskets and halberds never to reappear.
By Styphon's Beard, maybe we can win this battle!
"How fares Styphon's Battle, Captain-General?" a familiar rasping voice asked.
He turned to face Archpriest Roxthar with three of his white-robed Investigators and a score of red-caped Temple Guardsmen.
"Grand Master Soton told me you would not be interfering in this battle, Your Holiness."
Phidestros could hear the sound of Roxthar's grinding teeth over the battle clamor.
"I am not here in an advisory position, Captain-General, but only to witness Styphon's great triumph." His eyes told a different story.
Keeping his temper under tight rein-after all, it did not pay to antagonize the most powerful priest in Styphon's House-Phidestros bit his tongue. "As Styphon Wills. We here are but his tools against the Usurper Kalvan and his minions." Took he thought to himself, who will fight much better and more effectively if they don't have to deal with fools in white bedsheets.
The Investigator gave him a look as though he could see behind Phidestros' eyes and read his thoughts. "Captain-General we will stay here to watch the battle's progress while you deal with the unbelievers. We wish you great success in Our endeavor."
Phidestros nodded.
"What is happening to the Holy Squares?"
Phidestros saw the Holy Squares, the Royal troops of Great King Cleitharses, of the left wing begin to buckle as a mass of Hostigi pikemen pushed them aside. Where did these pikemen come from? Didn't Kalvan disband his pike units for musketeers'? That's what Baron Sthentros and Lysandros' intelligencers claimed.
Then he caught sight of the infantry flags; these were Kalvan's Princely levy, not his Royal regiments. The cavalry who were supposed to support the flanks of the Holy Squares were being chased from the battlefield by Kalvan's heavy horse, leaving behind the unprotected infantry. He would have Marshal Zythannes' head on a pike before this day was over!
"You must do something!"
"This is High Marshal Zythannes' doing. See his flag there? He's turned his tail to the Hostigi!"
Roxthar let forth with a string of curses that would have been the glory of any veteran petty-captain. "Are you going to let this coward give Kalvan the field of battle?"
For a moment Phidestros toyed with the idea of ordering the Royal Lancers to charge over this mass of human excrement but squelched it. "No. Nor am I going to commit my reserve when they may be needed elsewhere. Look over there!"
Phidestros pointed to where three of Kalvan's guns were being overrun by the Ros-Zarthani Klibanophoru. A big band of Hostigi cavalry rode up to protest and the two units disappeared in a swirl of smoke and dust.