"Reliable, timely information is one of the most crucial factors one needs to execute a war or campaign. Far too often, commanders on the field would grow overconfident over outdated or inaccurate information and cause disasters for their men.

This shall be avoided at all costs going forward, ladies and gentledwarves." - Crown Prince Aethelbald Stahlfaust III, a speech just prior to departure into the Holy Kingdom, circa 2 FP.

"Latest information stated that Ezram fought a hard battle at Fort Uspov north of Eganiz and awaited reinforcement before they will make an attempt to assault the city itself," said Graf Angus Harscape of Bærengant as he read the latest intelligence report in his hands. "Estimated losses on their side are said to be in the thirty thousand range, with slightly more losses taken by the defenders."

"And what of the east?" asked Graf Lloyd McBaine of Meergant from his seat to the other side of the Crown Prince.

"The forces of the March of Galastine had marched alongside those of Sevral," said the old dwarf with a more severe tone. "Best estimates placed their combined forces at close to sixty thousand, perhaps seventy or more."

That the dwarven expedition was dwarfed in numbers - they would have only had forty thousand even if the first detachment was intact - was of no surprise to the gathered leaders. That was more due to a difference in military doctrine and mindset.

The norm for most nations was to maintain a small cadre of professional soldiers - usually directly under a noble or a monarch's command - and to supplement their numbers with conscripted peasant levies and mercenaries.

This was the case in the former Clangeddin Empire and Posuin Kingdom, as well as Ezram to the north. The Holy Kingdom of Theodinaz was an outlier in this particular case.

For a small nation of only around a million people, they had a massively disproportionate military at hand. Roughly fifty thousand served as garrison forces, ones entrusted to defend their kingdom from invasions.

But what most nations were wary of, was their elite military force, the Hands of the God-King. This force of roughly fifty thousand had been the best the Holy Kingdom had to offer. Only the fanatically loyal were allowed to be part of the unit, and they also had a disproportionately high ratio of combat mages in service.

It was no exaggeration to say that their neighbors had left the Holy Kingdom alone despite their loathing because of this unit. The expenses needed to handle such a massive horde of trained zealots backed with oversized mage cadres had made strategists and tacticians in the neighboring kingdom suffer from headaches.

When the Hands had broken themselves on the Unliving of Paradise, so too had ended the worries, which led to the current invasion of the Holy Kingdom.

In contrast to the human habit of using peasant levies, the longer-lived dwarves took a different approach. Every single dwarf received mandatory military training in their youth. While not many remained and made a career for themselves in the military, should it be needed, the dwarves had massive reserves of militarily trained people to call upon.

As it was, the current invasion into the Holy Kingdom was undertaken with merely those elements of the military Knallzog could mobilize rapidly. Even then they were not to be underestimated. Any dwarves who made a career in the military were easily more than a match for two or three trained human soldiers.

"They had taken Fort Ougadox with minimal losses, and currently laid siege as they attempted to assault Boeranaz, though with minimal results as of yet," added Graf Harscape, as he mentioned the eastern city and fort of the Holy Kingdom. "I expect they'd be stuck there for a couple weeks to a month at most."

"And of our third detachment?" asked the Crown Prince. The first detachment was the one led by Graf Harscape. The second was the Crown Prince's group, which had departed prematurely when they received news of the ambushes the first detachment faced. The third detachment were the rest of the troops supposed to depart with the Crown Prince but had not made it in time when he departed.

"They should arrive within the week, Your Highness," replied the Graf with a smile. The third detachment had twenty thousand more soldiers, mostly drawn from the kingdom's further southern and eastern regions, which was why they arrived late.

"Very good," noted the Crown Prince with a nod. He then sheafed through a bunch of sheets and took a quick glance at their contents.

"So, gentlemen, despite the early debacle we faced, so far our advance has still kept up with our planned schedule," said the Crown Prince as he cleared his throat. "The loss of the majority of the first detachment was regrettable, but we had evened out with this victory in Zefirous, which went much, much better than we could have ever expected. Praises for the Free Lances for having made this possible."

Reinhardt bowed his head in thanks as the dwarves offered him nods of gratitude. The original plans for Zefirous had called for a siege and heavy assaults, and had accounted for an expected loss of ten thousand soldiers or more. They had instead only lost less than a thousand, with around another two thousand injured.

"We have roughly twenty-five thousand who are ready to fight more… Graf McBaine, when the third detachment arrives, I want you to pick five thousand from their ranks," said the Crown Prince. "We will leave the injured here, while you shall lead the garrison forces to hold the city. Do not interfere with the city itself unless they step out of line. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Your Highness," replied the old dwarf with a bow. "Your will shall be done."

"Excellent," said the Crown Prince as he nodded. "For the rest of you, have your troops be ready for departure by seventhday, but otherwise, you may rest for the time being."