((There's the overview picture showing all of my territories))
All was quiet. There had been no word from the prince for quite some time. Istok had taken his position in Bran when he left for Kiev nearly a year and a half ago. He was overseeing the training of the Croat Axmen and Slav Levies when word was brought that a Brigand General who thought himself worthy of the castle had appeared near the Carpathian Mountains. Istok looked it over, it seemed to be simple enough, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong here. Deciding it was nothing more than a little pre-battle anxiety he gathered up all the forces of the Castle and set-off for the Carpathians.
The field greatly favored the Hungarian forces and the Rebels were slaughtered with minimal losses. It was a great victory indeed. Looking through the remains of the rebel camp, he came across some messages sent from the Prince regarding Kiev.
It was a slaughter. We stood no chance. I'm coming back, but they're following me I'm certain. Truly it is lucky that any of us escaped with our lives. Send a force to cover my retreat.
Prince KalmanIstok thought about leading his force to Kiev to take the city, but ultimately, he knew his place was guarding the castle. Crumpling up the note he turned to his men. "Move out, we're heading back to Bran, that's an order!"
Months Earlier, outside of Kiev
Later, Prince Kalman would regret those words, but for now he saw only victory. Though the enemy outnumbered them, there was no doubt as to whose forces were superior. Sending the archers forward to soften up the enemy was the first sign of problems as three or more archers went down for every enemy archer that went down on the wall. Thinking it was nothing more than their archers being more skilled Prince Kalman sent forward the Croat Axmen with their ladders to destroy the archers on the walls. By the time they arrived though, they were only half their number. The Slav Levies sent to the gate with the ram too had lost nearly half their forces when suddenly the gates opened and Spear Militias rushed out smashing against the reduced numbers of the Slav Levies. Victory was quickly slipping away from Prince Kalman. "Cavalry, charge, smash the Spear Militias, we must take the gates!" He said hoping that once the gates were taken they could regain the momentum. Indeed they were able to take the Gates with the help of the Cavalry, but the Croat Axmen on the walls were nearly completely dead and all the archer militias will still alive, with much of their forces intact and the enemy cavalry was approaching. There was nothing left to do. "Slav Levies, to the walls, take out the Archer Militias. I must do one last thing, then we will leave." said Prince Kalman. If he couldn't take the city than at the very least he would kill the man who had so thoroughly bested him.
With the Hungarian Nobles beside his own body guard he charged forward towards the oncoming cavalry. They fell, being nothing more than missile cavalry to the superior melee skills of the Hungarians. Finding his mark, Prince Kalman personally lanced the Captain of the Guard. "Fall back, all of you, there is nothing left for us here." turning around he saw more units of Spear Militias approaching however. It was a race against time. If the spear militias got their first, there would be no hope of escaping. Pushing his horse as fast as he could, Prince Kalman and the Hungarian Nobles arrived at the same time. "We'll hold them, get out of here Prince." Said one of the nobles turning to face the Spear Militia. Not questioning the noble, Prince Kalman continued riding away from Kiev. In then end, very few escaped from that battle. In total, 22 of his personal bodyguard, about 40 archers, and one Hungarian noble. It was pathetic, and sad. "I'll have my revenge for this, one day." he swore to himself as he rode away from Kiev back to Hungary.
((This is just about the most embarrassing loss I've ever suffered. I can't remember any other time I've suffered a loss quite this bad. Of course, usually I'm a bit more cautious but I was getting pretty desperate for cash. In the Battle Field you can see all the corpses, a solid majority of those are of my men.))
King Laszlo was still analyzing his choices. His sons disastrous journey to Kiev had cost the royal coffers dearly and even now it was a struggle to make ends meet. It wasn't all bad new however, the City of Budapest was growing and becoming more profitable by the day. Not to mention Hungary had been gaining much favor in the eyes of the pope, and also with Byzantine empire which had essentially secured their Southern Border. Poland was focusing it's forces against the Holy Roman Empire which left Hungary with only one potential enemy, the Republic of Venice to the South-East. Without a doubt Venice was a powerful enemy, but if Hungary was able to secure Zagreb, and with God's grace, Venice itself, not only would that secure the alliance with the Byzantines even further, but it would also provide income that Hungary was desperate for. Having finally come to a decision word was brought that A new Cardinal had been named, one of Hungary's priests. Perhaps he would help the Pope overlook the transgressions that were about to occur, only time could tell however.
((I've been using .gifs for the pictures, I was wondering if .jpgs would have better photo quality, anybody know for sure before I switch formats?))
((Also on a completely unrelated note, King Laszlo and Elek Marton are leading the charge against Venice now. I'm going to try to put both Zagreb and Venice under Siege at the same time, hopefully their forces are so occupied in the war against the Byzantine Empire they won't be able to hold either and we'll be able to loot both those cities so I can begin growing my income))
Poll
0 (0%)
Author
Topic: Let's Play Medieval 2: Total War, Turns 33-36, Enemies Everywhere (Read 12749 times)