Taking advantage of the last momentum before dark, Iris led her knight troops to pursue the fleeing rebel soldiers. The heavy longbowmen who couldn't escape quickly became easy targets for the female warrior.
"Hyah!" she slashed a rebel archer.
Slowly, all the auxiliary troops from Majagada had now landed safely. Night fell and Iris tried to set up camp on the beach as a resting place.
From the fortress, Romanova saw a large group of torches approaching. She herself descended from the fortress tower and headed to the Majagada camp near the beach. Their victory today was so hard-won. Of the 750 troops Romanova brought, consisting of 500 cavalry, only 300 remained. The archers, originally 250, now numbered 230. However, Romanova could breathe a sigh of relief as there was an addition of 400 loyal marine soldiers from the Gienes Royal Navy, even though many of their warships had sunk and been destroyed by cannon fire from the fortress and the city of Trodingnes, they did not flee and took the initiative to assist the Majagada fleet.
From Majagada's side, they lost 1 transport ship, 1 warship, and 1 supply ship, with a total loss of 1500 lives out of the 6000 people sent to help. Romanova now arrived at the Majagada encampment.
Iris personally welcomed her and hugged her friend. They met and knew each other thanks to the closeness of their fathers. "Were you the one who led the attack on that fortress?"
"Yes, with the help of Captain Judeans. But I bring bad news. It seems the main rebel forces are moving here. From the fortress up there, it looks like they are moving towards us," Romanova said.
"In that case, I will use it to launch a surprise attack at night," Iris said.
"We must move quickly to Gienes before they execute my uncle and my family!" Romanova replied. "Come on, Iris, we must move now and escape by taking advantage of their movement to Sordurn."
"Nova..." Iris looked at the condition of her exhausted troops, many of whom were seasick because they hadn't landed immediately earlier. "The condition of my troops says otherwise."
"I will act as the frontline force. Your troops can walk leisurely, trailing behind me!" Romanova exclaimed.
"Woah-woah, calm down, Romanova. Moving troops at night is not as easy as you imagine," Iris replied. "Especially when exhausted. Your troops must also be exhausted."
***
"And that's where the disaster happened." Iris appeared and sat beside me. "The Battle of Smaranova Bay actually happened at night. That's also what made Romanova a princess in exile."
"You can continue the story, Princess Iris, seeing my foolishness at that time, I'm ashamed," Romanova said.
***
That night, the main rebel forces, numbering 20,000, did not stop and wait for morning to attack. Seeing the danger signs from Smaranova fortress, Iris and Romanova immediately returned to their respective troops.
The rebel forces appeared with their full might. They advanced enthusiastically, knowing that their numbers were 4 times greater than Romanova's and Majagada's forces. Iris knew she couldn't use the help of cannon fire from their warships because it was already dark and the cannonners would have difficulty knowing the enemy's position and could cause friendly fire.
Romanova returned to the fortress and thought of a way to illuminate the dark battle area. The sound of clashing swords was heard on the beach area. Romanova knew that meant they had already started fighting the rebel forces. The torches used for illumination by the rebels were not sufficient to mark the enemy's location.
Romanova ordered her cannons to bombard blindly towards the enemy area.""""""Without knowing that her actions caused casualties among friends and foes alike. Iris was shocked to see Smaranova fortress blindly firing cannons into the battle area.
She and her troops were now retreating further and closer to the temporary port. The battle continued until morning, Majagada soldiers and she fought desperately. Only in the morning did everything become clear.
Iris looked exhausted and sheathed her sword upon seeing the rebels retreat. "Uwah! Romanova! Why did you attack us!"
In the morning, the consequences of Romanova's decision became apparent. Some cannons did hit the enemy accurately. But some also hit Majagada soldiers. Iris was furious to see that only 2000 of her troops remained.
Romanova then invited her troops to join Iris and head to Gienes. Iris left 500 of her soldiers to guard this temporary port and await further assistance from Majagada.
"You!" Iris grabbed Romanova by the collar. "Are you crazy? You could have killed me!"
"There was no other choice!" Romanova replied. "Look on the bright side, they retreated."
An envoy from the rebels came to offer peace. It seemed they no longer wanted to challenge Majagada's strength and resilience. "Our leader, Lord Abel, wishes to meet with a Majagada representative to discuss peace."
"No way!" Romanova said. Iris slapped the girl and accepted the letter from the envoy.
"Alright. I agree, we can start negotiating." Iris said.
"What?" Romanova protested.
"Silence! I am thinking of the best way for your country. King Majagada is currently ill. So I, his daughter, am representing him here." Iris said to the envoy. "I agree to the request for peace negotiations."
"Why?" Romanova asked.
"Your stupidity! You almost got us killed there. You don't think, you think the gods will be on our side and a miracle will happen? We are in rebel territory. They can gather as many as 45,000 troops here. While we only have less than 7,000." Iris replied.
"Very well, I will invite you and the Majagada troops to Sordrun for negotiations. During that time, your troops will be safe from our attacks. Except for Princess Romanova." The envoy replied. "You can surrender because currently our rebel forces have surrounded Prince Stillers' troops who are besieging the city of Gienes."
Iris grabbed Romanova's hand and tied her up. One of her soldiers came bringing a rope to her. Romanova was surprised by Iris's actions. "What do you mean, hey?"
"This is better." Iris said.
"Thank you. We will use her to negotiate with Prince Stillers for his surrender." The envoy said.
"My troops are still there!" Romanova screamed, struggling.
"Who said? I have already captured them and sent them home." Iris snorted in annoyance. "If only you hadn't rushed to fire that cannon, Nova. The outcome could have been different now. Maybe we could have infiltrated and advanced to Gienes and the captain's plan initiated by your father and Commander Harries would have succeeded."