Once upon a time, sitting in my throne hall, I pondered the fates of this world. From my reflections, it became clear that all sentient beings cannot exist in peace and harmony while divided by state borders, different laws, and religions. I decided that the time for global change had come and that it was necessary to unite the world into a single state, in which I would become the sole and wise ruler.
My lands border those of Erathia, specifically in the territory of one of the strongest border lords, Dubrovin Pavel. The other lords are not as strong, I mused; by killing Lord Dubrovin, seizing his castle, and crushing his warband, we would create a huge breach in the fragile fabric of Erathia's defense, which relied on the steadfastness of the castle Untinagimot (the holdings of the aforementioned lord). It didn't matter whether my opponent managed to send information about the attack or not; what mattered was that he fell before reinforcements arrived from the heart of the country.
The next day, after consulting with my military commanders, a plan to seize the enemy territory was drawn up. The plan was as follows: one of the strongest assets of Erathia's troops is their glorious archers and the fast strike attack of their cavalry. Also, support from Angels. Thus, I decided, we need not only an army equal in strength but also something the opponent cannot respond to adequately. Fight fire with fire.
The campaign began. In the first week, active collection of necessary resources and recruitment of recruits was carried out. The castle was thoroughly fortified, 3 archery towers were erected, and a moat was dug and filled. I managed to attract almost 6/7 of our planned troops; only hydras were not yet in our army, however, a small settlement of Gorgon Bulls was found nearby, who, after some "persuasion," agreed to cooperate with us.
Next, the army was deployed to the west, where a small border castle of the Erathians was captured. In the castle, after conducting the necessary arrests, working with the residents, and proclamations by our diplomats, their troops switched to our side. There, we began training archers. Our lizardfolk learned from their experience and shared their own. By the end of the third week, this allowed us to have more than half a hundred trained crossbowmen, fully ready for combat. Also, by the end of the second week, the hydras were finally recruited. After a series of raids and the destruction of several mercenaries sent after us on a free hunt, Pandora's boxes were opened. As a result, this allowed us to have up to 60 pikemen and 10 champions. At the beginning of the fourth week, with very meager financial reserves (war is, after all, a costly affair), I was forced to sell off my resources and arm the troops for a special operation to storm the dragon utopia. With a good squad of Gorgon Bulls, hydras, and a platoon of gnoll-kamikazes, the capture of this citadel was carried out. As a result, huge treasures and relic artifacts were found. Further exploration of the territory revealed training grounds. Their capture and the training of the castle cavalry allowed us to have 1/4 of a hundred cavalry by the start of the new month. Then came a cunning move. The enemy, seeing the weakness of our castle, decided to capture it in order to weaken our funding and make further recruitment impossible. After this, I gained the opportunity to kill him and besieged him in my own castle. The armies were almost equal in strength. As I had suspected, the angels were again on their side; their presence in 12 units spoke volumes. Naturally, a hundred crossbowmen. Paladins, loyal servants, monks of Tyr to the point of fanaticism. It seemed that here was Erathia in all its strength and beauty. But I decided not to delay and played my trump cards. The first trump card, which the enemy did not even suspect, was that my archers, both the lizardfolk and their protégés the crossbowmen, had undergone joint training, and the presence of the ancient artifact "Golden Bow," after morale and luck, killed the entire hundred archers without giving them a single shot. To avoid being simply shot to pieces within the walls, the enemy moved his troops outside, attempting to crush us, but here came the second trump card: a high spiritual uplift allowed my troops to strike and strike again. And after the morale of the horses, all the angels were killed, having managed to strike only once, leaving me without my last 2 angels. Bulls with the deadly gaze killed the enemy's champions, but the basilisks and dragonflies, formerly on the enemy's side, managed to slaughter all my archers, but then they too fell a brave death. In the end, bulls and champions were behind the walls (mine) and fanatics and paladins were in the castle. Then followed a bloody carving through the wall defenses. Thank the gods, luck was on my side, and I reached the crusaders and fanatics alive and with pleasure heard their desperate screams under the hooves of my horse. Damn!!! That coward Dubrovin Pavel still managed to escape, leaving his troops for me to tear apart. I never found him anywhere. Afterward, I gave the order to thoroughly wash the walls of my castle of the blood spilled during the assault. And of the seemingly ingrained stench of that cowardly Erathian. The campaign is won.
Tremble, for we are coming for you.
P.S. Please take this as a joke. I respect and value Dubrovin Pavel as a very strong player. It was just my lucky break this time. :)