“Best part of winning is the celebration that follows.” - Old mercenary saying.

“You know, Captain, you are aware that when the council requested part of your company to head to Aldenstadt, we were just asking for your aid in defending the town, right?” asked councilor Estelle when she arrived with a reinforcement of fifteen thousand militiamen from Levain, only to learn that the battle had been over for a couple of days by their arrival. “Hell, we wouldn’t have minded you calling a retreat if it proved too much after you’ve done what you could.”

“I simply chose the option that would be most beneficial for my company and employer’s interest, madam councilor,” replied Reinhardt nonchalantly, though he did not bother to hide his toothy grin either. Needless to say, the battle at Aldenstadt had been a good proving ground for how much the company had improved after a couple years of rearrangements and training. “In this case it happens to be breaking the enemy morale before they reach town.”

“How did you come to that conclusion, to begin with? I know that most of us, including many of our officers must look like civilians playing at being soldiers to people like you who live on the battlefields for most of your lives, but what clued you in that an enemy army nearly twice your number and known for never being defeated in the past decade or so would be so easy to break like that?”

“Simple enough, ma’am. It’s a matter of motivation.”

“Motivation?” queried the councilwoman with a raised eyebrow. “I’m afraid I’ll need you to elaborate a bit more on that.”

“Simple enough,” said Reinhardt as he nodded. “Think about this, madam councilor. Both sides of a battle, the attacker and the defender, bear some risks, literally risking their life and limb to go into battle. What motivates them to do this, however, tends to be very different things. Of course, notwithstanding mercenaries like us who fight for pay either way.”

“Go on.”

“For those on the defense, their motivations tend to be things that were a lot closer to their hearts. They fight in defense of their homes, of their families. It is a well known fact that the loser of a war often had their land ravaged, as many armies still give rights to pillage and plunder to help motivate their soldiers. The defenders of a battle fought to prevent their homes from being burned down and ransacked, so that their sons were spared the slaughter, so that their wives and daughters were safe from the grubby hands of the opposing soldiers.”

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“In comparison, those on the attacker’s side have different motivations. There’s honor and glory, sure. The right to plunder, pillage, and rape to their heart’s content would naturally also appeal to the baser instincts of others. But they fight for benefits and profit, for reputation and honor. As such, unless they were truly professional career soldiers, they rarely fought with as much motivation as those fighting for their homes and loved ones.”

“So based on that you deduced that it would be more beneficial to attempt to break the morale of an enemy superior to your forces in strength and leave the safety of the defenses to mount a risky offensive?” asked the councilwoman, though her tone was more that of curiosity. After all, the results spoke for themselves. “Enough confidence to send your own wife and daughter out to harry an enemy force with a detachment less than a tenth the enemies’ size, even?”

“They were the best suited for the role,” explained Reinhardt openly. When it came to work, familial relationships have no place in influencing the decisions he made, only who was more suitable for which role. “Besides, We have researched the battles that took place all over the former Empire’s territory prior to our arrival. The battles here have been very… traditional, either open-field battles of formation or the rare siege. That gave us reason to believe that the enemy we faced would not be accustomed to our irregular guerilla tactics.”

“A reasonable expectation, and one proven right by the results,” admitted the councilwoman with a nod of her head. “Needless to say, Captain, we will offer a bonus in your paycheck for this outstanding result. This should also further convince the remaining detractors we have in the council of your company’s methods and their values. I must admit that not everyone even in my own faction had a good… impression on mercenaries.”

“No offense taken, in fact I would say that those people are right to be cautious,” said Reinhardt with a shake of his head. “While these days the mercenary trade is much better regulated with the guild’s help, just a generation or two ago there were many who were little better than roving groups of outlaws who occasionally posed as mercenaries. They and their ilk often gave the profession as a whole a bad name.”

“Right. Glad to see that you and yours are worth the money we’re paying, and then some,” said the councilwoman with a smile on her face as she shook Reinhardt’s hand. “We’ll likely march back to Levain in a couple days with the captives in tow. Would you be traveling back with us?”

“Certainly. We are in the midst of discussing plans to strengthen the city’s defenses with the local home guard, but that should be finished by then,” noted Reinhardt with a nod. “I assume since your neighbor to the east had started hostilities this place would need to be better defended, given its proximity to the eastern borders.”

“I am of the same mind. Councilor Adenauer’s daughter had just reassured me earlier today that this region produces enough food to support a garrison of five thousand more men, so we’re leaving some of the people we brought to stay here as garrison troops. We’ll have them rotate with others every month or so,” replied the councilwoman. “What sort of defenses do you have in mind? This city has potential for that, given its location on the hilltop.”

“Oh, just some little tricks that will make life hell for the next invader to step foot here, is all.”