“Are you certain of this?” Axton asked a scout that had returned from his patrol.
The scout nodded. “I am. From what I gathered, a force roughly a thousand strong is making their way through the heavily forested area in the north and should be here by tonight.”
Eric, who had been giving Axton several letters during the time the scout reported, sighed. “That letter did say that Killian was only giving a day for you to reply before sending forces. He must have sent them right after he received your response.”
Axton nodded. “Probably…and if they’re coming from the north…it must be Commander Payle’s forces. She’s the one in charge of Outpost Hirs, correct?”
Eric nodded. “She is. She actually graduated from the academy last year, but in the past year, she led a small squad of troops in infiltrating and eliminating a large criminal syndicate that smuggled illegal goods into and out of the country. She was promoted to command shortly afterwards, and she’s considered to be one of the up and coming stars of the military.”
“I see…know anything else about her?”
“Not really, no. I had assumed that she would have been loyal to Eshal’s government, but from the looks of it…”
Axton sighed and nodded. “Thanks for telling me what you know.” Turning back to the scout, Axton gave him a nod. “Thank you for reporting this. Tell the next scouting team to keep an eye on this group, and get some rest.”
“Understood, sir!” The scout saluted Axton before walking out of the room. Axton looked at the pile of letters that Eric had given him. “That’s the third batch just this morning.”
Eric chuckled. “Yep. It’s never been this bad…both in terms of the amount of communication the person in command has received…and the current state of affairs.”
Eric looked at the sender of the top letter and raised his eyebrows. “Directly from the Prime Minister himself…” Tearing open the letter, Axton read the contents within. Several seconds later, he set the letter down and rubbed his forehead. “Looks like we’ll be in charge of protecting the governor. The letter states he’s being sent here for protection, as there’s no other nearby military fort or outpost that’s friendly besides ours and that he’ll be here within a couple days. That confirms the worst case scenario…we’re alone out here.”
Eric sighed. “I’m disappointed, but not surprised that this is the case. The frontier isn’t exactly known to be…supportive of the government. Most political unrest comes from the frontier, but no one would have expected that they’d be willing to support a civil war over a diplomatic incident.”
Axton stood up and nervously strolled around the room. “Most likely…this is just a convenient excuse for them to take up arms. They wanted this…but didn’t have a good reason. They found their reason, and now Eshal itself is at risk of being torn apart.”
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Kailyn Payle trudged through knee high snow as she and her troops marched their way through the forest. As they reached a sharp incline, she let out an audible sigh. “Why must this forest be so damn difficult to walk through? It’s like it’s actively trying to discourage us from walking through it.”
The soldier next to her chuckled. “Well this is the forest that made it nearly impossible for Ugria to invade through here due to its terrain. Who would have thought that the same forest that helped us in the past would instead be against us now.”
Kailyn shook her head. “Hopefully that doesn’t mean that we’re playing the role Ugria did hundreds of years ago.”
“You’re having second thoughts about this?”
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but I do believe the general is right. Acray, inadvertent or not, invaded our territory, and isn’t going to face any consequences for what happened. Our safety and security is at risk, and I’ll be damned if I didn’t do my part to make sure our nation is secure.”
“Do you think this Axton we’ve been told about will put up much of a fight?”
Kailyn shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea, but I’d lean towards no. He is a Riley, but from the reports I read, he’s essentially been estranged from them, considered not to be as gifted as the others. If the reports are to be believed, it should be an easy battle as he lacks talent and is new to his command. The only reason he even got the position was because of his family.”
“That’s a relief. Should be a good way to get the troops some experience before we face stiffer resistance.”
Kailyn nodded. “Indeed, just remember, we’ve been ordered to take Axton alive and to reduce the casualties as much as we can. We aren’t here to massacre our fellow countrymen, and maybe we can even convince them to change their minds if we’re lucky.”
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Axton was staring out into the horizon in the direction he was told the enemy was coming from. Taking a deep breath, he turned back and looked at the quickly forming crowd that was forming in the gathering area in the center of the outpost. Taking another look at the horizon, Axton walked down the steps that led to the top of the wooden wall and up to the slightly elevated platform he had just stood on the night before. Looking at the myriad of faces in front of him, Axton nodded. “Thank you all for coming here again on such short notice. As I’m sure you’re all aware, right now, there’s an enemy force that’s marching their way towards us. They outnumber us, are well-led, and well-equipped. They’re under the impression that they’ll be able to easily steamroll through us, that this is just a formality. Unfortunately for them, they don’t see what I see.”
Axton stepped down from the platform and was at eye level with the rest of the soldiers. “I see a group of soldiers who are strong, resilient, courageous. I see soldiers who are formidable in combat, competent in their duties, and willing to do whatever it takes to see victory. It doesn’t take a seasoned general to see that.”
Axton stood back up on the platform taking a breath to steady his nerves. “When the enemy comes tomorrow, we’ll be ready. Knowing how quickly they want to end this war, they won’t resort to a siege. They’ll want a quick victory. I’ll personally lead a squad outside of the outpost and draw them into battle. Using hit and run tactics, we’ll lure them towards the outpost and lock ourselves inside. They’ll respond by trying to breach the entrance or climb up the walls with ropes or ladders. Jaylee and Eric will lead two other squads that are outside the outpost, hidden in the forest. Once the enemy is committed to their attempts to breach the walls, they’ll attack, causing confusion, panic, and disorder. During that time, we’ll open up the entrance and launch a counterattack from the outpost. Surrounded and unable to retreat, they’ll be forced to either surrender…or be destroyed. Understood?”
The soldiers gave a loud affirmation that they did. “Alright, in a couple hours, I’ll have you all assigned to your squad. There will be around fifty men stationed in the fort at all times as a token force. If you’re attacked by an enemy force before my squad arrives, close the entrance and resist for as long as you can. Once my squad arrives, we’ll attack them and hopefully continue as planned afterwards. If not, my squad will hold out outside the outpost, holding out until they’re committed to the assault. That’s when the other two squads will attack. This is our first battle everyone. Let’s make it one the enemy won’t soon forget!”
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