“Those who do not dare to take a risk have no business leading an army.” - Saying attributed to Xaliburnus the Conqueror, First Emperor of the Elmaiya Empire.

“How confident is Your Grace that there are no enemy scouts that witnessed our arrival?” asked Hauptmanngeneral von Lettow-Vorbeck, who was in charge of the dwarven light infantry contingent of the reinforcements. The dwarf maintained proper decorum since he knew that he was addressing foreign nobles while he was there merely as a representative of Knallzog’s military.

“Quite confident, honestly, and you can drop the formality if we’re in private. We don’t have so much time so as to waste them with unneeded etiquette,” replied Nestor with a smile to the dwarven general. “We have our cavalry routinely patrol and scour the area north and south of Kolitschei for enemy spies constantly, and Captain Edelstein also lent us a couple of his aerial scouts to that endeavor. I am confident that there are no enemy spies within a day’s distance from here, at least.”

“Then the enemy would not be aware of our presence here… which indeed means that the situation is suitable to set up a surprise attack against them,” commented Siobhan as she studied the map of the battlefield area. The reinforcements had stopped for the day by Kolitschei city to rest and recuperate while the leaders gathered together to discuss strategy. “Can you elaborate on what sort of surprise attack you intend to spring on our foes, Duke Nunez?”

Nestor had suggested springing a surprise attack on the enemy once they gathered in the tent, which garnered him surprised looks from the dwarven generals as well as curiosity from Angus Harscape and his daughter the Grafin.

“I feel that since our foes are unaware of the reinforcements’ presence, we should risk it in an attempt to conclude the fighting here in Kolitschei in one fell swoop,” said Nestor with a serious look on his face. “I propose we encircle the enemy and launch a simultaneous attack against them from four directions at the same time.”

“The youth sure are ambitious!” said Angus Harscape with an amused guffaw. “Times like these really make me feel my age and how I’m stuck in my ways! Do tell, young Nunez, enlighten us with what you have in mind!” he continued, which cut off any surprised outburst from the other dwarven commanders. “I would not mind throwing the dice with you if you can convince me of your plan.”

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“Thank you for the opportunity, Sir Harscape,” said Nestor with a confident smile. He knew that if he could sell his plan to Angus then the other dwarves would most likely follow behind. “What I have in mind is for the auxiliaries and the chariots to proceed as normal towards the defense line. Keep the chariots hidden in the back, while the auxiliaries should make their presence known. It would make the enemy aware that we have received reinforcements and draw their attention to the defense line.”

“In the meantime, the dwarven infantry will split into two detachments and move through the forests north and south of the battlefield. When the time comes, they will charge out in a thin line abreast formation while making as much ruckus as they could, while others from our army will kick up dust in the forest,” he continued.

“Making the enemy think that there’s many more of them where they came from, huh? A classic trick from the strategy books,” noted Angus with a nod. “You are aware that this sort of strategy will only work if our troops can sell the illusion that there are more of us than the enemy, yes? We will need to be able to overwhelm the enemy quite a bit for them to fail to notice our true numbers after a while.”

“On this matter, you can rest assured, Sir Harscape. The individual capabilities of the enemy soldiers are a notch below our own troops, much less your elites,” assured Nestor with a shake of his head. “It is just their massive numbers that are rather troublesome to deal with. I believe each of your elites are worth at least five to ten of their soldiers.”

Angus Harscape looked around and watched the faces of old Duke Banitu and Griselda as Nestor made his claim, then looked over to Reinhardt, who returned him a firm nod. He gave a satisfied smile at that point, convinced that the risky plan was indeed feasible.

“And what of our cavalry? You have left them out so far.”

“I am saving the best for last, Sir Harscape,” said Nestor as he used a finger to trace a line on the map before them. “This is the Asequin Way, it’s a mountain path that we used to use in the past, but had since fallen into disuse and disrepair. Horses and wagons would find it difficult to traverse, but I have been led to believe that the mounts your cavalry uses would not find it troublesome.”

“If you were to take the way, you would be able to emerge around here, roughly two hours away behind the region where the enemy had set up camp. If your cavalry were to charge their camp from behind while their army is already engaged with the defense lines…”

“And you would spring the rest of the assault at this time as well? The ones from the sides?” asked Angus as he leaned over the table to study the map closer.

“Yes, we would also open the defense lines at this point and have the chariots charge out, for a simultaneous four-way attack on the enemy army. We can coordinate our timing with Captain Edelstein’s help, his aerial scouts would be able to signal the right timing to launch the attack to each of our groups, so we can maximize the effect of our strike.”

“A bold and daring plan. There’s quite a bit of risk to it, but I cannot say I dislike that. This would also be a more effective way to use our troops rather than engage in a prolonged battle of attrition, and will likely save lives in the long run too. What say you all?”

To little suspense, the other dwarven generals and Grafin Harscape all voted in favor of the plan.