A Time of Tigers - From Peasant to Emperor

"Come!" Verdant shouted, signalling with his spear to the space in front of him. Gadar was already picking his way past the line. He saw that Verdant had purposefully sent his own soldiers out of the way, to pre-emptively lessen the influence that Gadar's presence would have.

'Wise,' Gadar said, but he chose to accept the invitation nonetheless. He stepped past the final row of men, and put a heel to his horse, urging it forward with a burst of speed. He greeted Verdant with a sudden attack, intent on putting all of his strength behind it.

He swung down from overhead, using both hands and trusting his legs to keep him firmly gripped to the horse's back. The sword whistled through the air with great speed, and great strength – but it wasn't the surprise attack that Gadar had intended it to be. Though he was a reserved man in the way he kept his aura hidden, there was also the conflicting honourable nature that he had.

He'd forecast his attack, long before it landed, and so even an inexperienced fighter like Verdant was able to raise his spear overhead, to stop the strike with its steel shaft.

Verdant's eyes widened with realization, feeling the strike. "The Third Boundary…"

'He deduced that in an instant…' Gadar noted, though he still applied more strength to the spear, intent on breaking past the guard, and overwhelming him in one fell swoop.

Yet, even with that increased strength – all the strength of the Third Boundary, and then some – Verdant's spear did not budge. His arms did not even shake. He stood firm, like the giant statue of Bohemothia, that the Syndrans had constructed in the sea far to the north.

"W-what?" It was Gadar's turn to be surprised.

He'd hit with all the force of the Third Boundary, and he was quite sure that Verdant was merely of the second, given Gadar's unusual ability to sense auras. And yet… That very same man had withstood his attack as though it was nothing more than he could handle.

No, Verdant even went a step further. He allowed the strike to push him down, bending his knees, and then with a suddenness that took the already surprised Gadar off-guard, he pushed back, throwing all his force up with him.

"Woah!" Gadar had to fight for control over his horse – he was nearly thrown out of the saddle. Had it been a borrowed beast, rather than a horse that he'd spent many years with, he was certain that Verdant push would have gotten to him.

He was forced to put distance between the two of them again, as he reevaluated his enemy. Second Boundary or not, the priest had a brute strength to him that was difficult, if not impossible, for the likes of Gadar to overcome.

The well-experienced Commander that Gadar was had come to a conclusion – he could fight Verdant at best to a draw, if that strength of his was anything to go by.

Then, if not individual might that would turn the tide of combat, it would be down to the men that they'd brought with them, and on that front, with twenty good cavalrymen at his back, alongside the infantry that were already exerting an extraordinary pressure, Gadar knew that victory would come for him eventually.

He drove the heel of his boots into his horse's sides, springing forward once more. This time, his cavalrymen were able to follow, and this time, Gadar did not stop at a single attack, knowing full well it wouldn't be enough to overwhelm Verdant.

He struck from above again, and once more Verdant put his spear shaft in its path, and steel rang out as the strike was blocked. Gadar immediately followed up with another strike from above – this time angled down to the right, forcing Verdant to adjust.

Again, Verdant's spear went up to block it. Gadar didn't stop. His cavalrymen were in place to surround the Idris heir, and he was buying them the time that they needed. Another strike crashed down, from the opposite side. Verdant managed to block that one too. Then another.

Within a matter of five strikes, logic returned for Gadar. He'd been prepared to overcome without it, but logic prevailed in the end. With an aura like Verdant's, there ought to have been some weakness, and that weakness was quickly revealed, as each resulting block was less timely than the last, and Verdant's guard quickly began to falter.

It was not strength that held him back. His strength was otherworldly. It was the lack of technique that Gadar had already noticed earlier, though he hadn't dared to think that it was as severe as it was. It wasn't just a lagging technique, it was clumsiness through and through. The weaknesses of an academic man on the battlefield.

Gadar's blade soon overwhelmed Verdant enough to knock that helmet from his head, scoring a cut across his forehead, and revealing a face drenched with sweat, and eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Verdant!" Northman shouted. Despite his own struggles in holding back the infantry line, he'd still managed to spy Verdant's plight in a brief interlude to their fighting.

"Concentrate!" Verdant shouted back. "We're a tower of cards! We do not have the men to spare on any position's weakness."

Gadar almost admired him for that rational judgement of the battlefield, for it was one that he himself agreed with. For even a chance at overcoming the odds set against them, the Patrick men would have to score a number of significant victories. If even one of their pillars crumbled, the battle would be over.

They'd know that from the start, and still chosen to spread their men as thinly as they had. Verdant had dared to bet on a single team, hoping that between the four of them, they might be able to overcome the opposition in front of them, and come to the aid of the other pillars.

Unfortunately, those four were struggling just as strongly as the rest.