“This isn’t the best of outcomes, but this isn’t one of the worst ones either. We can still push the enemies a bit more, but the terrain ahead is a bit troublesome.”

  The terrain ahead had some hills, so the enemies will be able to set up some traps and ambushes. That definitely would be trouble… moreover, they should know that the defenders will try to capitalize on that victor. Surprising them once again will be difficult.

  “For now, let’s just rest and heal for tomorrow. You all should sleep in my tent. Or at least close enough in case we have to respond as soon as possible.”

  Liry tents were big enough for ten or so improvised beds, and since everyone was focused on the battle ahead. It was clear that they wouldn’t have time to think about nonsense. They had been camping together for a while as well, so they were already used to that.

  In any case, Zelos set up a tent for himself, since he liked his privacy to train if the opportunity arose. He also wanted to keep an eye on Nightstorm. He tends to get troublesome when Zelos doesn’t look after him like usual.

  “Today’s battle was relatively easy… minus some cramps after it was over. Still, I think I am doing too much this kind of thing, ambushing the enemy instead of facing them directly. I can’t tell if I am doing well with my training, thanks to that. I have the feeling that when I will have the chance to do that, I will have a pretty nasty surprise.”

  At least the battle made Zelos realize that he needed to warm up faster than the norm in order to use his charging technique and his attacks better. He didn’t notice that earlier, but his attacks had been pretty sharp as well. Reaching that stage wasn’t only good for his legs.

  Although he had moved and spent more energy than he usually would on a single day, Zelos still felt like he had more in the tank, so he had a bit of a hard time falling asleep. He felt eager to train… It was probably thanks to the atmosphere on the battlefield. He felt like he should do more than usual in order to increase his chances of survival.

  “Tomorrow, we will have to do even more than usual. I will have to do even more than usual. Showing more than one hundred percent in order to make this battle end faster. It feels weird worrying about home in a situation like this, but it can’t be helped. I am also a businessman, after all.”

  While he recognized those thoughts, Zelos also recognized that something else made him feel that way. He wasn’t sure of it, but he could only guess that he would understand it the next day the source of that feeling…

  Zelos woke up the next day as soon as then the sun rose on the horizon. It looked like the enemies didn’t do anything out of the norm during the night. In any case, Zelos went to check the others, and soon he found Liry studying a map while the other girls were still in their sleep. She greeted him with a tired smile.

  “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “I guess so. I imagine that the snore of those three kept you up all night. Regardless, you should give the orders and then rest a bit before anything happens.”

  “I wanted to, but we will have to make a move in one way or the other to get the enemies. The sky is clear today and it will probably remain like that, and that is a good chance for us.”

  Zelos wanted to ask more, but he decided that waiting for the others to hear it would be better and save time. In the end, he stood silently in the corner of the tent and waited patiently for it. The camp outside was slowly waking up to a new day, and they felt really refreshed. They had the chance to cremate their fallen allies, so the smell of death had improved a bit.

  Around the same time Irlan woke up, the girls woke up as well and went to wash their faces. While they were used to the battlefield, they still didn’t like the fact that they barely could have some proper privacy at such a time of the day when they thought that their overall appearance was the lowest. Even on the battlefield, girls would always be girls. If they had to fight, they at least had to look presentable, while most guys didn’t care if they had forgotten to comb their hair before a large confrontation.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  “Good morning, everyone. I didn’t have the chance to say that yesterday, but that was a very fine work. I am sure we will be able to do more today and try to end things here as soon as possible.”

  Heirina had some things to say about that, like the fact that she didn’t want to let Liry do anything reckless there since that was essentially risking their lives as well. Who knows what would happen to them if Liry suffers just a scratch? Still, she was their commander, so they had to follow her orders. Even more so when her strategy was working.

  “I will send the battle plan for the other captains soon enough, but for now, I want to hear your opinions about it.”

  Everyone looked at each other and wondered what was that about. Usually, a commander wouldn’t ask for insights from his underlings unless he was unsure about his plans, and that was never a good thing.

  A commander’s confidence on the battlefield is crucial for maintaining authority and ensuring effective leadership. When a commander appears confident, it instills trust in their subordinates. Soldiers are more likely to follow orders and believe in the commander’s decisions when they see confidence.

  Confident commanders communicate more effectively. They speak clearly, make decisions decisively, and give commands with authority. This reduces ambiguity and ensures everyone understands their role and the mission objectives.

  Confidence is contagious. When a commander exudes confidence, it uplifts the morale of the entire unit. Soldiers feel reassured and motivated, even in challenging situations, knowing their leader is confident in the battle plan.

  “For now, I just want to give everyone the chance to rest. We will make our move in the afternoon. Almost at sunset, here is why…”

  One hour later, the group split up. They knew that Liry needed some time to rest and wait for the response of the other captains, but it would be hard to assume that they wouldn’t go along with her plan when their underlings were so wounded. They had some healers on their side, but they were working a lot.

  In the end, Zelos looked for a place to swing his sword and club alone without being bothered. While that could be considered training, he just did some experiments. He needed to learn how fast he could warm up his body to perform at the best of conditions, using both weapons.

  In the end, ten minutes of swinging both of them was enough to reach that stage. That was a tough thing to learn, since it was unlikely that he would be able to prepare that much before some big confrontations. At the same time, once his body reached that peak, his stamina would begin to decrease steadily. Staying like that for twenty minutes was his limit. Even if he forced his body by sacrificing his health instead, his performance would decrease by at least fifty percent.

  “If we pull this off today, half of the battle will be over. The question is: Will the enemy fall for the trap? They are quite methodical, so the best option for them is quite obvious. They have to take control of the flow of the battle here so they can’t lose again, and with that in mind, the best option is…”

  While thinking about that a bit, Zelos rested at the top of a hill and tried to see anything that he could from the enemy’s camp. He only could see some smoke rising to the sky, nothing else, all thanks to the hills.

  Once he was done resting, Zelos continued with his tests to make his warming up even faster. That was possible, but that cut up even more the time that he could fight at his best. It was truly more efficient to start slowly and build up momentum. Perhaps he could change that with the food that he would eat. Food tends to affect one’s physical condition as well, after all. Still, there was no time for that. The plan would be better if it worked that day and as soon as possible.

  Before long, the entire camp began to move. It was already mid-afternoon when Zelos was done with his tests. So he soon cleaned himself up and then joined the others. Everyone nodded at each other… it looked like the other captains were fine with Liry’s plan. That made sense, since they would take fewer risks. At the same time, they looked at that group of young mercenaries and wondered if they were right in the head… they didn’t know that they had a lot to lose by being complacent, after all.

  All the troops began to get ready, at least the ones that could still walk and run. That was around fifteen hundred warriors. Most of them still had bandages covering half of their heads and large wounds in other parts of their bodies. They could fight, but not for long.

  “On me, soldiers! We will claim the head of the enemies’ leader today.”

  Every single soldier looked at Liry in confusion as she took the lead of the formation while she was mounted, but soon they were filled with nothing but respect for her since she taking so many risks to reach their goals and end that battle as soon as possible. Still, that made their advance a lot more obvious to the enemies.

  Liry began to lead the formation while Zelos, Irlan, Heirina, Kaitrine and Edea protected her from the sides. The goal was to show her as much as possible to the enemy. If that doesn’t lure the enemies in, nothing would. Still, they didn’t have to wait for long to see the enemies in the distance. They were ready for combat. Edea squinted her eyes when she realized something.

  “I can see a guy in the front of the enemy’s lines… he stands out like a sore thumb. He is quite tall and has a long glaive as well.”