Are they winning? Are they losing?
It is this uncertainty that make him anxious.
"It is not like I have some magic that could win the battle"
Even if he could revive infinitely, Henrik doubts that he could become like superman and win the war.
An effort of one man when meeting ten thousand men, even he is powerless under such force
Miklos is looking at the distance and unlike Henrik he was not shocked. He saw hell below, but he was not shocked
Because he had seen it before.
What is important is to keep a cool head. So, he surveyed the area. This is the one thing he is good at.
He knew the geography of this place but only after standing here, he could guess what the higher up was thinking and wanted to do
"Not far away…..did you see that?" Miklos tapped Henrik shoulder and pointed toward the direction where they were just running from.
Henrik look toward that area and he frowned
In the distance, there is two forces that are fighting.
And it is easy to see that one of them is the rebel army and the other one is the noble army.
The left flank of the peasant army is collapsing.
There are knights pushing through in small wedges, carving elaborate paths.
Those in the situation might not be able to see it but Miklos and Henrik could see it
"It would not last long" Henrik said and Miklos look at Henrik with a new apparent admiration
This kid…does he really understand or is he feigning understanding? But looking at him, it really seems like he understands
And yes, Henrik understood
The centre held…but barely.
It held barely.
That is not a good evaluation at all
Henrik eyes narrow.
If the centre broken, they would rush into this area. And looking around while there is pockets of defenders, it is not enough
Someone needs to gather them to attack or to defend the area.
The peasant army is fighting independently.
They know they have to defend this area, but there is no unified command. This is what Henrik understood.
And this is also what Miklos understood.
Why does the peasant army seem weak right now?
Simple.
It is simply because those who could command the army is either dead, lost, fled or on the other side.
Henrik voted for death.
The fact that there is such formation, guarding the narrow passes and there are defences all over the entrance to this valley, shows there is a plan.
Henrik does not know the full situation, and all of this is based on his own conjecture
Probably, the plan is already there, and the peasant's army knows that this place needed to be defended.
But somehow, the forces are separated
However, even if Henrik understood this, he is not here to strategize for the rebel army. Now that he had been released from the death flag, he wanted to try once again
Try running again.
There is no hope in staying in this battlefield.
He did not understand any strategy and from his amateur point of view, this is a battle that could not be won
He also knows one thing. Even though he is not someone who studies strategy, he does know that peasant rebellion rarely succeeds.
He needs to run.
Some people might have some phycological barrier to run. No, these people probably have many psychological barriers to run
Maybe because there are their people there, and there are people they know in the army, a relative, a townsman, family and maybe there is some sense of honour, duty and responsibility and all of that
There is also attachment.
If Henrik is born in this world and knows these people, suffer the same pain as these people, probably he would also think many times even before thinking of running away
But that has nothing to do with Henrik. He did not have any memories of this world and he did not even have time to form any attachment
He did not have any grudges or gratitude. From what he remembers of the first few moments of his life in this world, it always stated with the feeling of mud in his mouth
That….and his death.
This is not his home, and these are not his people and not his land. He did not have anything to bind him.
And now, he could see the route where he could run away.
The forest.
Though to reach that area, would mean to enter the main battle. Slide down this hill and join the main force.
Or….
"Rally the people and defend" Henrik suddenly said.
Miklos heard this and he could not help but took a glance at Henrik. His eyes narrow and he nodded
The plan that he has in his head is the same as the one that Henrik just said. The only way to survive the current chaos is to group up together and fight together.
The people that follow Miklos also heard Henrik words and they frowned.
Not because they disagreed but because after a few second of thinking, they could not help but think it is a good plan.
It just seems surreal.
Some people in this group knows who Henrik is and some people do not know.
But whether they know him or not, Henrik…. he is far too calm.
Most of them are still panting and they are exhausted and just looking at the sight on their back and on tehri front fills them with a feeling of helplessness.
And not only that. He is also young. Those who knows him had never seen him so confident and so assertive like this
But now, a kid, young then all of them said confidently
"Rally the people and defend"
Henrik does have the idea of running away.
But he also had learned from his previous experience of running away.
"Running away is also an art"
In battle as wide and as large as this, even if you wanted to run away, you have to have some capital, some advantage, some insurance to make sure the escape is successful
It is like a prison break.
There are only a few chances.
The difference between prison break and what Henrik wanted to do is the fact that in prison break, if you get caught, you don't exactly have to die.
But here, if he got caught without any advantage, his fate would be the same as before. He would die.
And he really doesn't want to find out what happens if he dies again. Would he really die this time?
Or will he start back at the battlefield.
Henrik had some feeling that if he died, he might loop back and return back
But the problem is, will he return back to that same place? Or will he appear after he finished killing that squire? Will all this new advantage that he had just gotten disappear with it?
Or are there more surprises for this mechanic?
And if he is to start gain at the same place, no matter how far away he got, it would be better for him to understand…. understand this battlefield, this war
And there is no better way of understanding a certain war than being in the middle of it and fighting inside it.
And right now, there is difference between the him before he killed that squire and the him after he killed that squire.
Before, he did not even have any good weapon. This before refers to when he had tried to run.
You might think running is easy
In these circumstances, it is not at all. Henrik doesn't know whether he could not leave the battlefield because of some rules or is it because the battlefield is just that unforgiving
Wherever he fled to, he would meet some soldier who could cleave him in two with a single move.
Each time his head is being cut off…. that kind of feeling is the most unpleasant thing one could experience
Of course, getting your head cut off, while the feeling is not entirely pleasant it is better than choking on your blood.
You could feel the blood filling your lungs, feeling like you are drowning
And then it could get worse.
You could get trampled by a stampeding unit.
It is not like they would check on people who are lying on the ground.
There are all kinds of ways you could die when running away from a battlefield you do not know.
People who could run should also know where to run to. Henrik doesn't know where to run to.
He doesn't even know where he is right now.
How could he know where to run?
Not to mention other threats that are lurking.
There are the enemy soldiers who would surely kill him the moment they could see him.
Then there is his own army who would kill him if they saw him deserting.
Whether it is in this seemingly medieval era, or the modern world, logic dictates that anyone running away from the battlefield, warrants a harsh punishment.
Then there is the wildlife that is probably even more unforgiving.
Looking at the distance he could see there is thick forest.
And thick forest means there are beast in there.
"I probably would also die if I go there" he thought to himself
..