[No Dachi]

The War of the Frozen Sea continues...
Lord James the Pierce, having rested his men briefly while the prisoners were released in twos and threes, immediately decided to push on Coveton. The blizzard that had made travel southwards so arduous had by now abated, and although this allowed his men to move with greater speed and comfort it did also raise the possibility of death by Noresian Longbowmen. Lord James came to the desiciion to push on the capital easily; although his force was weakened from the fighting and he lacked heavy infantry, the capital was defended only by Longbowmen and Peasant levies (as all the other Noresian soldiers had been killed or captured in the battle), and so the esteemed General, knowing that he might not get another chance like this if he waited for reserves, ordered the advance.

The Phoenixans reached Coveton that very day. Lord James the Pierce immediately took advantage of the downward slope toward the sea by assembling the Trebuchet atop a low-lying ridge, increasing its range. Bombardment of the walls of Coveton commences immediately. However, even if they were only facing Longbowmen and Peasants, every man in ther Phoenixan Army was painfully aware of just how difficult it would be to storm the castle. The city of Coveton is encompassed by a large and well-built curtain wall, and within that lies another circular wall enclosing the keep proper and the innter core of the most important buildings. To capture the city, both of the walls would need to be breached sufficiently for infantry to climb up the ensueing slope, and the keep itself would need to be heavily damaged. Thus, seeing no harm in waiting when the remains of the army of Noresia was held inside the castle, Lord James the Pierce settled his men down for around a week of sieging, in which the trebuchet would be constantly reigning rocks down on the inhabitants of the city. And so, eager for the chance to rest, the men settled down despite the cold and readied themselves for the difficult task of taking the castle. Meanwhile, from inside, Lord Yelren ((4/4/4/4)) desparately tried to prepare an adequate defense, having only 400 Longbowmen, 200 Peasants and 200 royal guards (Spearmen, their wealth being offset by the fact that they're palace soldiers) with which to defend a large city. Lord James the Pierce, correctly predicting that the enemy force would be small and hastily-assembled, ordered the Trebuchet to make breaches in several places rather than concentrate on one large breach, knowing that the enemy commander would be forced to divide his forces between the possible points of entry.

By the end of the pescribed weak of bombardment, no less than five substantial breaches had been made in the outer curtain wall, and around three breaches had been made in the inner wall. Lord James, satisfied that the fortifications were now sufficiently weakened, ordered the attack. With all remaining Mounted Knights dismounted and acting as the first line of offense, backed by Peasants, Lord James would use the Horse Archers and Mounted Sergeants to move around the perimeter of the fortress from breach to breach, thus pinning the troops holding those entry points and preventing them from reinforcing the breach attack by the knights. If the troops at the other breaches attempted this anyway, the Horse Archers and Mounted Sergeants would dismount as well, enter through the unguarded breach and attack the enemy in their rear or flank. Battle commenced almost as soon as the knights were within two hundred metres of the wall, still mounted. Longbow arrows fell from the sky like rain, and only the speed of the kngihts' mounts saved some of them from death. Knights started falling far more quickly than knights are supposed to fall in battle, and the Peasants behind them were no better protected. Rocks from the Trebuchet did little to deter the Longbowmen, although two hit the top of the wall, killing some. Nonetheless, fighting against the arrows, the knights reached the wall and, standing directly next to it, dismounted before charging up the breach. Knowing the situation to be desparate, Yelren also surmised that, if the knights were allowed to fight their way up the breach, he would lose the city for sure. Throwing all caution to the wind, the young and inexperienced General ordered the Peasants and Longbowmen at the breach attacked by the Knights, and the one adjacent to it, to counter-attack in force and repulse the heavily armoured troops. Despite the massive numbers, the Phoenixan kngiths, with superior training at hand-to-hand fighting and far superior equipment, managed to fight their way up the breach, wherupon the 400 Phoenixan Peasants followed them. Seeing that his men were rapidly losing resolve, Yelren sent a panicked order to the Longbowmen at the other breaches. They were to close in immediately on the fighting, and attack the Phoenixan troops with their superior range. The royal guardsmen, originally deployed inside the inner wall, were also ordered to rush to the battle. This was the moment that Captain Lithaniel of Phoenix, moved to command of the cavalry detachment, jad been waiting for. Picking the shallowest breach, which was now undefended, he sent all of the still-mounted cavalry up it and into the castle. A few horses were unfortunate enough to break their legs on rubble, but this was a sacrifice that Lithaniel was willing to make. The additional Longbowmen were doing little to sway the tide of the Phoenixan advance, but Spearmen could. Lithaniel immediately sent both units of Horse Archers at the Spearmen, making their way through the city toward the fighting, with orders to skirmish, while he himself charged into the rear of the massed Longbowmen and Peasants at the head of the Mounted Sergeants. While the Mounted Sergeants were few in number since the previous battle, the charge was sudden and unexpected, and against the Longbowmen (armed only with short swords) the Mounted Sergeants inflicted massive casualties. Although the Spearmen did eventually join the battle, their numbers were greaty weakened, and the Horse Archers charged into the rear of their ranks once they had engaged the knights, also inflicting heavy casualties. Eventually, Yelren ordered the retreat to the inner wall, but did so too late. The Noresian infantry were cut down in retreat by the Phoenixan cavalry, and when Yelren himself was captured it was clear that the Noresian forces were no longer sufficient to repulse the invaders, and the Captain of the Royal Guard surrendered the keys of the castle to Lord James.

With King Joreln of Noresia having been captured along with the entirity of his immediate family in the keep, the order for all remaining forces of Noresia to lay down their arms came quickly. Lord James the Pierce has already dispatched a messanger informing King PK of their victory, and that he can now begin dictating terms to King Joreln.

Casualties

Phoenixan
54 Horse Archers (86 remaining)
46 Mounted Knights (48 remaining)
14 Mounted Sergeants (8 remaining)
189 Peasants (211 remaining)
0 Trebuchet (1 remaining)

Lord James the Pierce's reputation as a formidable offensive tactician has been further reinforced.
Captain Lithaniel's valuable experience at leading a small force in the offensive has caused a rise in his stats ((4/4/4/4 >>> 4/6/4/4)). Lithaniel is now available as a Phoenixan General.

Noresia
Total defeat. Submission to the invaders has been total, with no feudal lord willing to orchestrate resistance when their opponent will inevitably be the infamous Lord James the Pierce.