“Military logic states that one should never spread themselves thin before a numerically superior foe. Of course, that wisdom mostly applies to field battles. In other situations, it is often preferable to spread your troops even while fighting a foe with overwhelming numbers.

Sometimes it might even be the only hope you have.” - Liang Shi-Zu, famed strategist from the Huan Confederation.

“Well, that pretty much confirmed their routes,” noted Reinhardt as he moved the tokens that represented the forces of Podovniy and Anduille on the map. The information they used naturally came from their aerial scouts, who were easily able to stay well out of arrow distance while observing the enemy with their sharp eyes. Of course, it was still difficult for them to get an exact count of the enemy forces, but they were used to taking estimates.

At the moment, approximately a hundred thousand soldiers were mobilizing in the Podovniy March, headed westwards on a route that would take them past Aldenstadt then straight towards Levain city itself. It was the shortest possible route to take, on the only road well-maintained enough that the army could pass through in good order, so it was easy enough to predict their movement.

From the north, the Anduille Regency mobilized somewhere around fifty-five thousand or so troops, but Reinhardt predicted that they would march more slowly, as the roads to the north were poorly maintained and thus in no condition to handle the passage of such a large army. Besides that, the heavily forested terrain of the north side of Levain would make passage even more difficult.

As it was, the enemy armies were likely to be separate from each other until they reached Levain city itself, and that was something Reinhardt wished to exploit as much as he could. Even if that meant splitting up his already meager forces before the enemy.

“Lars, you will be handling things up the north side. Who do you want with you?” asked Reinhardt. He and Lars would each lead their own forces in their attempt to slow down the enemy while making life miserable for them. “The only regions where the cavalry can be of any real use are to the east and south, so I’ll be taking Soledad and the cavalry from Levain with me.”

“That makes sense. I’d like to take several groups that are skilled at assassinations with me. The forested terrain should allow us to take a few heads every now and then,” noted Lars after some analysis. “Of course, I’d also like a portion of the scouts, ideally the ones who know the region.”

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“You can have them. I’ll have them gathered up and ask which ones know the north well. You’ll take half of them with you, with priority to those who know the land,” replied Reinhardt with a nod of his head. “As for assassins… Think Friede and Fatimah’s platoons are enough or would you need more?”

“That’s more than plenty, captain,” replied Lars with a shake of his head. “I’d like one of the strike platoons as well, if you don’t mind.”

“Take Mischka with you then. Podovniy directly borders Boroes, so chances are they have some training to deal with therian-heavy units to begin with,” replied Reinhardt after some thought. “I’ll take the other two strike platoons. I need Grün for something I have in mind, anyway. That good with you?”

“More than enough. Can I have the first archer platoon? They’re more trained to fight in the woods,” asked Lars next.

“You can have them. I’ll take Salicia and Branka’s second with me, though, and Alvaro’s too,” replied Reinhardt after some thought. “Take Ery with you as well. It’s about time she gets to deal with something on this scale on her own. Aly might still need some guidance, so I’ll keep her with me. You can take Nicole’s platoon with you as well, since chances are you’ll need more scouts. I’ll take Egil’s with me.”

“Fair enough. The northerners are likely used to fighting goblins given their location anyway. What about the militia?”

“You take around four thousand of them, after deducting the scouts. I plan to leave some near Aldenstadt to work with Grün there, and I’ve got more enemies to deal with on my side anyway,” replied Reinhardt quickly. “The artifact pops made for me will help a lot on my end, but your side would be too far for it to function, so you’ll have to make the calls on your own, clear?”

“I won’t disappoint you, Captain,” replied Lars. Lars knew that he had gone far with the mercenaries, despite being their enemy before his rather coerced joining decades ago. Still, the gesture of trust, with over half of the company’s fighting force – including Reinhardt’s own wife and one of his daughters – being left in his hands was one that moved Lars nonetheless.

“Have everybody pack for the long haul. We won’t be able to return to Levain to resupply when the city’s being sieged, so expect to be out there in the wild for months,” Reinhardt added as an afterthought. “I’ve already informed our staff to prepare all the supplies we’d need, and already negotiated so they can take shelter in Levain’s third circle, so they should be safe.”

“Understood, Captain,” replied Lars with a respectful salute. They both knew that after that day, the next time they would likely see each other again would be after the hostilities were concluded, since they would be separated from each other by the main body of the enemy forces. Reinhardt already planned to stick to the south side of the expected path of Podovniy’s army to allow for an easier connection with Estelle’s forces should they return from the south, while Lars similarly planned to keep his forces to the west of Anduille’s to prevent getting pincered between the two enemy forces.

All that was left to do for the both of them was to do the job they had been paid for, and try to stay alive while they were at it.