Henrik doesn't know the attitude of the higher ups of the rebel army. Whether they are benevolent army o whether they are rebellion forces led by ambitious people.
But whether it is a benevolent or ambitious forces, there must be rules and there must be regulations.
If they just come down without orders, without proof and without the rear collapsing entirely, then they could very well be charged with all manners of crime.
Yes, the battle in this area is going bad. But it did not yet entirely collapse.
There are still some routes that are being blocked.
If not the entire centre region of this bay-like area of hills would already be swarming with enemy forces and even Henrik would not be able to retreat after killing that squire.
This place, this hill that he is standing on, might no longer have the rebel forces, but there is also no sign of enemy forces occupying it.
This place is not yet without hope
Henrik then said
"Even if the lords would not punish us, the front is not exactly a safe place. We only see a fraction of the battle from this vantage point. If we go down, I believe the forces we need to contend would be too much for us. We might die even faster"
"Then we run to the forest" some people frowned.
But not everyone frowns at this area
In that split second, Henrik sees the expression of these people and discern how many wanted to run and how many wanted to stay.
It is not many that wanted to stay.
"If this was any other time I would be delighted" he thought to himself.
Some of them do share the desire to run. Henrik would very much support such idea before. But now, he had time to think he knows it would not be feasible.
"And how would you know if there is no ambush there? And even if it wasn't, the line extended for how long and where the area is do you know?"
Henrik ask and he look around
"Huh?"
He thought to himself as he looks at these dozen people in front of him
"Shit" he thought to himself
He waited an answer. He wanted someone to answer him
Who knows?
if there is someone here who knows the route out of this maze of death, he would not mind asking that person to show the way
Maybe someone has a better idea than he has. However, right now Henrik himself did not know he had overlooked one fact.
These people are peasant. Even Miklos who seems all put together and seems to be the one that is the wisest, even they did not know much about routes and none of them have seen detailed maps.
Maps are not something everyone could see and even fewer could understand it.
After all, if you could not read how could you read a map and if you did not even understand arithmetic how could you understand the distance between towns and cities and villages in the map.
No one answer and Henrik could only sigh inwardly.
It seems Henrik, even though he is young is the one that is most calm and the one that seem the most knowledgeable among the bunch.
Henrik didn't feel so. But that is jhow it looks like in the eyes of these dozen people.
Henrik himself did not understand his own peculiarity. He had just fought a gruelling battle and yet he is calmly talking about this stuff and that stuff.
There is this confidence in his voice. And confidence make it seem authoritative.
It reminded these peasants the kind of temperament of nobility.
The kind of temperament of nobility is simply because they know more.
They are calm and collected because they know more. And knowing more makes them confidence. And confidence coupled with orders, become truly authoritative.
The peasant does not know many things.
Hence, they are fearful.
The brave and the rebellious could break this habit by knowing more things.
Miklos have such courage because he has knowledge.
But even his knowledge does not extend that much.
But Henrik…. this is a person who came from a modern world.
He knows all about the political ideological ideas of the future and the political and ideological ideas of the past, and he surely knows more than peasants.
This knowledge and this innate confidence boosted by this knowledge make him truly stand out among these peasants.
The way he conducts himself itself is a sign
Of course, this confidence is borne because he had died eleven times and he is quite clam now even when he could still hear screams and shouts and battle of steel clashing below the hills.
Death is so close to him but because he had met death so many times, it is like seeing an old friend.
And no one is that fearful when meeting an old friend
Though, in Henrik case, even though he no longer fears this old friend that much….it is still painful.
And to say he is completely devoid of fear is not true.
It is more like he could deceive himself by thinking of death as an old friend.
If he did not deceive himself like this, his mind could not take it every time he is floating in the line between death and revival.
He nodded to himself and spoke
"So, we should try to hold out here, survive until evening and hopefully they would retreat for today" the other listening to Henrik speaks looks at each other and they seem to agree
Miklos think for a moment and nodded.
Truth be told he doesn't know what method would work.
But since he did not know any other method, he could only follow.
Henrik feels like he doesn't know what is left and what is right in this situation, but that is not what it looks like for the others.
To them, Henrik who is a young man, holding a sword and able to hold his own against grown men and also remaining clam while setting a strategy, makes them feel like Henrik is a different person
When you are a peasant, you are used to bowing and prostrating and while you could be brave with your villagers when you are told to lead, only a few would be brave enough
It is because the lack of education and understanding of the real world.
And the lack of understanding of real world come from lack of knowledge that has been controlled by the powerful
Henrik even though he did not know any military strategy, but he did come from a different world.
While kings and nobles exist, it is not like the kings and nobles in his era could do thing like they could during the feudal era and not to mention, Henrik is educated.
Even he without any military strategy teaching knows that he could not let the rear be attacked
When he conveys his meaning and reason before, his fellow villagers were utterly amazed.
They never thought that if they fail to guard this area, allowing the enemy break the lines, jump to the area of this hill, and then slide down from this hill and pass through the forest, they would be able to attack the main force.
they also never think that just by the enemy appearing from behind would be a cause for the main force to collapse
Henrik explain it to them quickly and swiftly.
That if the main force learn they are attacked from the back, the worse thing is not that they are attacked, the worse thing is that people would think that there is no hope.
Being attacked by two directions does not mean you would lose.
But the perception of losing once sprouted, could not be taken back.
It is the hit on morale that would cause the entire main force to collapse.
Once it collapses, then they also could not survive.
When the nest is overturned, no eggs are safe
"There!" Henrik pointed and the whole group look.
There in the distance there is a broken wagon. Half sunk in the mud near the centre right. There are some men around it, naturally bunching around it
Using it as a cover against arrow while they also use it to shoot their enemies
"Reach that point, unite with the group and we could survive and hold this area"
Henrik did not want to be a hero. He did not want to hold back the tide. And he never intended to hold back the tide.
He simply knows staying here would not do anything, joining the main force would only kill him faster
Instead, he would rather try to stay his ground near this area.
And this is a familiar area.
He did not want to squander his life. But he also understands, sometimes if you seek death, you found life. And if you seek life, you found death.
It means sometimes the bravery to accept death sometimes open the path to life.
And this area, this seemingly death trap could actually be a road to life.
When he looks at the entrance even though some defence has crumbled, the force is still holding on.
"It did not entirely get breached"
And compared to the main force, this detachment is not as numerous as the force that is fighting the main force.
If they could hold on, this detachment would retreat and their mission would be a failure. And protected by the hills, unless the main force is defeated terribly, they would be safe behind the hills
Not to mention, Henrik had played it out in his mind.
..