Leon stared out at the broken plain before him, surrounded by dead knights and shattered giants, so far from safety. At his back were the paltry remains of his unit, barely two hundred left, and only a dozen giants. Before him were at least ten thousand knights and men-at-arms—probably more—and a mile behind was an advancing Legion. There was no escape, no way out. August’s forces entrenched on their hill was too far away and beyond too many of their enemies.

This was it. They’d given everything they had, as the thousands of Octavian corpses could attest, but they had still lost in the end.

“Well… shit…” Leon muttered.

---

“Well… shit…” Leon muttered, staring out across the cleared plain at the thousands of men and women laying siege to August’s hill.

“You can say that again,” Marcus Aeneas agreed.

The two were laying on their stomachs concealed behind a number of trees and shrubs at the edge of the siege line, at least a dozen others alongside them. And from there, they could see that the situation was terrible.

August’s camp had been set up on a hill, then fortified to the point that it was practically a fortress, with stone walls and towers carved into the sides of the hill, turning it into a plateau. Or, perhaps, a cliff, since to the north and east were the hills and mountains of the Eastern Territories, leaving only the south and west for Duronius to lay siege to.

The hill was large enough to house the entire camp of almost a hundred and thirty thousand, though Leon could imagine that the barracks that had been constructed atop it were cramped and not particularly spacious. He could see in the distance the stone structures that had been built by Legion engineers—they were tall, but not nearly big or numerous enough to house everyone in comfort.

The hill had essentially become a small, extremely dense city, surrounded by hastily-constructed walls of gray stone and so thoroughly enchanted that they practically glowed with arcane light even from where Leon and the others were observing from. Before Leon had left almost a month before, the region had been heavily forested, but now, everything beyond these walls for at least two miles had been completely stripped of plant life, making way for Duronius’ army to make their own camp and besiege the new city.

Duronius’ army was at least two hundred and fifty thousand strong, nearly double August’s—though Leon was basing that on their numbers before the battle and weeks of siege, he had little idea how many remained on both sides. Far too many to count in any respect, though. They had dug anti-cavalry trenches and built walls of their own to box in August’s camp, leaving them with their backs against the mountains.

Not for the first time, Leon wondered where Charles, Henry, and Alain were. They were knights in the eastern Legions, and for all he knew, they could very well be up in that camp.

“Let’s go, I’ve seen enough,” Leon ordered. At his side were Marcus, Alcander, Valeria, Alix, and Baroness Orientis, along with several other knights. The rest of the Barons and all of the giants had been left at their own temporary camp miles away while Leon’s group scouted out the situation.

As sneakily as they could, for it was still early evening and the Octavian camp was extremely busy, Leon’s group turned around and fled. They were fortunate that Duronius was concentrating on the siege, for there weren’t many patrols to avoid.

However, that didn’t stop Leon from constantly looking around and occasionally releasing his magic senses, not that he ever saw anything of note. He could feel someone or something watching him, and it was making him incredibly paranoid.

[You’re not paranoid,] Xaphan suddenly said, as if the demon could sense Leon’s emotions.

[What can you see?] Leon replied, not wasting any time asking Xaphan what he meant.

[Nothing tangible, but there is definitely a slight increase in demonic power that has been around you, of late,] Xaphan explained. [There doesn’t seem to be anything overtly hostile, and I have no direct evidence for it, but I would remain cautious if I were you, for it seems that there’s something connected to a demon out there watching you.]

[How long have they been there? Can you tell what direction they might be in or any other specific details?]

[I’m going to have to give you a ‘no’ to all of those. The feeling is weak and indistinct. Perhaps it’s because you’ve been accompanied by several thousand people for months, discouraging attack, but I obviously can’t say for sure. Hey, boy, don’t go anywhere on your own for a while. You might not like what happens next.]

[Something violent, no doubt,] Leon responded.

[Yes, and without that support, you might be overwhelmed. Assuming whatever that is is hostile, of course, but given your history and how completely and utterly unlikeable you are, that’s probably a safe assumption.]

Leon didn’t pay much attention to Xaphan’s lazy provocation and instead focused on the task at hand. He’d been feeling like something had been following him for a while, and it hadn’t yet seemed hostile. He’d be cautious, but he had more pressing concerns at the moment.

[I’ll be careful,] he said to his demonic partner.

[Yes, that is a great reassurance,] the demon sarcastically responded. [Your track record with ‘being careful’ hardly inspires confidence.]

[I suppose it’s a good thing, then, that my continued survival doesn’t hinge on your confidence.]

[Hmm…] Xaphan grunted, and then Leon felt the demon’s attention slide away and vanish back into his soul realm.

The group quickly made their way back to the rendezvous point, linking back up with the rest of Leon’s unit. The unit had waited on the highest hill they could find—which wasn’t that tall—on the other side of a tributary of the Naga River. If anyone were to come north to fight them, they’d have to ford a river and fight uphill. Not that big of a challenge for higher-tiered mages, but any advantage in this situation was one that Leon couldn’t ignore.

Calling the unit’s leadership to a meeting to discuss their options, Leon first informed those who hadn’t been present about what they now faced, using a crude hand-drawn map of the area as a visual aid. And the more he spoke, the further their faces fell. By the time Leon was done, only Lapis’ seemed unchanged, the Barons and high-ranking knights were practically crestfallen.

“So… that’s it, then. We’re cut off, and if we reveal ourselves, we’re dead,” Baron Gellius murmured.

Alix rolled her eyes and couldn’t stop herself from responding, “That’s quite something, coming from a man who ignored Sir Leon’s orders to fall back…”

“What did you say, wench?” Gellius angrily said, rising from his seat at the central table and taking a step toward Alix.

“Sit down,” Leon growled in warning, his killing intent momentarily spiking. Gellius scowled and glared at Alix, but he complied with Leon’s order. Satisfied with that, Leon turned back to the rest of the people around him and continued, “We’re in a bad place, no getting around that. But instead of focusing on that, how about we instead focus on what we can do? What do we have?”

Most of them were silent, still caught up in Leon’s explanation of their situation. Only Marcus was able to so quickly move past it that he could speak immediately.

“I’m still not entirely sure what we have,” he said, “being only a guest here and all, but I do know that we at least have a messenger who managed to sneak out through Duke Duronius’ lines and reach us. Perhaps he can do the opposite?”

Leon nodded while absent-mindedly spinning the invisibility ring on his finger and glancing at Anzu, who was lounging nearby. If push came to shove, he potentially had two other ways to reach August’s camp, but that would also mean leaving his unit alone without him. As the strongest person there—not including any of the giants—he wasn’t quite willing to do that just yet.

“We also have a hundred stone giants, each worth a company of soldiers on their own,” Leon said. “We have a good defensive position right here, and we have the element of surprise. If we’re able to coordinate with Prince August in the camp, then we might be able to break through the siege lines and into the camp, or better yet, break them out.”

“I would caution against that,” Marcus warned as he rested his chin in his hand in thought. “Those lines are thick, it would take an enormous amount of force to breach them. We’d need more than just the kind of coordination to break through them than we can get just sending a single messenger back once.”

“Do we have any archers?” Valeria quietly inquired as Marcus finished.

“Not many,” Leon answered.

Valeria frowned. “We could harass Duronius, but without a decent ranged solution, that will be very difficult…”

Leon nodded in agreement… and his eyes turned thoughtfully toward Lapis. “You know… we might have just such a solution, and more besides…”

As Leon explained his plan, the faces around him did not improve. In fact, many fell further, while Gellius furiously interrupted Leon as Leon finished his explanation, rising once more and roaring, “You want to use us as bait?!”

“No, I want us to pull off a proper military maneuver,” Leon said.

“Horse shit!” Gellius shouted back. “You’re offering us up to those western bastards on a silver fucking platter!”

As Gellius lost his noble demeanor, Marcus cringed in his seat and finally spoke up. “Lord Gellius, please, do not forget that we are all on the same side. We’re all on the same side here.”

Gellius seemed like he was about to start screaming at Marcus, but the much younger man didn’t flinch in the slightest under the fifth-tier mage’s glare, despite being two whole tiers below him in power. After a moment, Gellius scowled again and sat back down and defiantly folded his arms.

“Very well, Young Lord,” Gellius growled through gritted teeth.

“Does anyone have a better plan?” Leon asked once Gellius had been dealt with. His gaze drifted across each of their faces, his stoic face and narrowed golden eyes daring any of them to speak like that to him again. “Anyone at all? Baron Gellius, how about you? Since you spoke up so vigorously, do you have any idea of what we should do? Or do you think we ought to tuck and run? Live for a little longer while abandoning Prince August and Marquis Aeneas to their fates? Please, if anyone has a better plan, speak up! I’d love to hear it!”

Leon’s eyes came to a rest on Marcus. The young man was the heir to House Aeneas, a noble House famous for its military traditions. If anyone would have a better idea, then Marcus was the most likely. Plus, Marcus was also much more respected by the Barons than he was, and that meant that Marcus’ support could do far more to get the nobles on his side than the duels they had fought weeks before.

“I do not,” the young nobleman said as he, too, glanced around the room. He could tell that the nobles weren’t quite accepting of Leon’s authority, for they were all looking to him for his reaction.

He understood why; Leon may be their commander, but Marcus was the heir to Marquis Aeneas, and that made him the highest-ranked nobleman in the tent. Even more, he was a fellow eastern noble, just like them.

But he wasn’t intending to usurp or undermine Leon, and so decided to throw his support behind his old acquaintance. “I think Sir Leon’s plan has a real shot of succeeding. And I, for one, would be honored to fight at his side.”

---

“This is crazy, I can’t believe we’re doing this…” Marcus whispered to himself as he rode a borrowed horse beside Leon as they slowly approached the rear of the siege lines. At their backs were every knight, man-at-arms, and levy that had been raised by the Barons, all assembled into a battle line five people deep. The Barons themselves were riding further down the line, keeping it as coherent as was reasonable given the damp forest they were marching through. Alix, Valeria, and Alcander also rode with them, with Marcus and Alcander both using weapons and armor loaned from the Barons.

The giants, however, were rather conspicuous by their absence.

“You did agree to it,” Leon pointed out.

“I decided to trust that you knew what you were talking about. Now that we’re here actually doing it, I can’t help but think that we should’ve tried getting into contact with Prince August and my father first, or that we should’ve tried a night attack, or a hundred other things…”

“Too late for that, and besides, we have the initiative,” Leon countered. “We need to act quickly while we still have the opportunity to do so. If we’re pushed onto the defense, then we’re screwed.”

“I get that, but I still doubt,” Marcus replied with a resigned tone. “We can still turn back, you know. Try something else.”

A horn blast suddenly resounded through the forest from ahead of them.

“Sounds like we’ve run out of time,” Leon said, smiling at the nobleman. “They’ve seen us.”

“Finally!” Alcander almost shouted. “I’ve been cooped up for far too long! I need a good work out!”

“Don’t go too overboard, stay with the group,” Marcus cautioned.

“I know what I’m doing!” Alcander shot back.

“Do you? Have you ever been in battle before?” Valeria asked, her face remaining stoic, but a slightly cocked eyebrow and a trace of amusement in her tone showed that she wasn’t being too confrontational in asking.

“I’ve been in battle before, yes,” Alcander insisted.

“Fighting a dozen bandits with three dozen knights at your side hardly counts,” Valeria countered.

“A battle is a battle, I’ve fought and killed before, I can hold my own!”

“You’re pretty motivated to kill your own countrymen,” Leon observed, quickly killing all levity in the back-and-forth.

“… They’re traitors,” Alcander reasoned, “no different from the bandits that I’ve fought before. I have little sympathy for them!”

“So you say…” Leon said. He wasn’t going to lose too much sleep over the fighting and killing he was about to do, but he figured that Alcander would’ve had more connection to these people and might’ve been a bit more reluctant to fight. He was both gladdened and a bit disheartened to see otherwise—though certainly more the former than the latter.

“No need for that tone! I know my job and I’m going to do it!” Alcander insisted, his previously excited tone now thoroughly subdued to something more somber and serious. “I’m ready for this!”

“I suppose we’re about to put that to the test,” Leon said, as they finally made it through the trees and arrived at the edge of the massive section of cleared forest that Duronius had created for his immense camp and siege lines.