General Kasabien passed the military edict to the colonel in front of him. The officer gave it a quick read before placing it on the table with visible confusion on his face.

“It’s been less than three months since the trip to the capital. Why the pressure on our army?”

“I’m sure you know things have gotten rowdy with the other kingdoms bordering our empire since that battle. It’s worsened several political ties that were already shaky at best with increases of cross border crimes of all kinds including human trafficking.”

“Then the royal armies of each kingdom should deal with their own borders. We’re a small army that’s just barely recovered.”

The general stood from his seat and walked over to the window. He put his hands behind his back while considering the entire situation.

It seemed that they couldn’t back out of whatever situation the imperial commander put them in as the emperor had personally called on their services after all.

From his view, the situation had less to do with being practical but rather more to do with the political and personal connections around it. Why else urge the duke’s army with an edict rather than meeting with the kings of the affected regions to discuss the way forward?

Although Duke Ulfric and the Emperor Yasir barely had direct contact, they had more of an understanding than could be reached with the royal leadership of the other kingdoms.

“Colonel Beran, if I could, I would be considering different options.”

Beran ran his hand through his somewhat unruly hair in a clear sign of frustration.

“The boy’s already under enough pressure. The way he’s pushed the abilities of a battalion of new recruits to be able to take part in patrols already is beyond anyone’s expectation. Sending them out to direct physical and political warzones…”

“From what I know about Prince Jochi, he will get his way in this matter. The advantage is that we won’t have to think about funding over a thousand people but unfortunately, it’ll mean giving up our most promising battalion for at least half a year.”

Although the Ulfric family had retained a noble title for a few generations, they were by no means particularly wealthy. The title was earned through military feats and the army was self-funded.

They guarded the border but very little funding came from the king and who knew what happened to funds allocated from the imperial side which were supposed to be added to the royal funding.

The two were in the study for a while longer, but they finally concluded the discussion and Colonel Beran made his way to the training grounds to watch some soldiers training while thinking things through.

As early as the next day, Sorin found himself being summoned by his superior into the strategy meeting hall. Colonel Beran waited for him while casually sitting on a table and looking at a wall map of the empire of Noorva.

“Officer Ulfric reporting.”

“Rest Ulfric, no need to be so formal. I’m taking the liberty to discuss this with you instead of dropping it on the battalion as a command.”

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Sorin’s expression turned a little more serious at the sudden statement.

“We’ve received an imperial summons from the commander for one of our battalions to join him on a campaign. They’ll be suppressing several border disputes and general unrest across the empire and accompanying officials dealing with the situation.”

The colonel jumped off the table and walked closer to the map.

“The campaign will span a few months. We’ll start accompanying them sometime in autumn and hopefully it ends before next summer. You’ve been specifically requested so you’ll have to attend the strategy meeting in the capital. Honestly, I’m trusting you with a strategy for that.”

“Trusting me with a strategy?” asked Sorin as if to confirm.

“Of course, you know since things have been going so well with your battalion.”

Sorin stared at his superior who had just developed a newfound interest of the empire map. There were a few moments of silence before he said anything.

“Sir, I was already planning to request permission for a two-month training drill to the north.”

“The north?” Beran asked, finally turning to Sorin.

“It’s the request to deal with the bandits who’ve taken over the region. We’ll have to deal with it promptly to make time for the strategy meeting.”

Recruits were usually taken on a rather tough drill at least three full months after enlisting but if Sorin thought they were ready then they couldn’t dispute it.

The mission was good for practical combat experience on a larger scale, not just the minor conflicts they encountered during patrols.

As a captain, Sorin’s squad was outstanding but it was a small number of people. It would be more difficult and take more time and resources to train an entire battalion to the same level.

Perhaps the imperial campaign could turn into a good opportunity for them. Since it wasn’t a full-scale war maybe they would even get a chance to hone their diplomatic skills, something most soldiers lacked but didn’t realise they needed.

Beran looked at Sorin and smiled.

“That’s a good plan kid, wouldn’t want you all going out there just to be pushed first onto enemy swords,” sincerely said the colonel as he playfully patted Sorin on the head like a child who had done well.

“The General is issuing the command this afternoon, so everyone is aware of the situation. I suggest you take some time and discuss it with your captains before that. You know a few people will have their own thoughts on this so there might with a bit more resistance to deal with than usual.”

“I’m aware Sir.”

“I’m not sure to say if you offended or saved someone in your past life to warrant the attention of this type of person but there’s a letter for you from the commander. I don’t think this has to do with any military matters.”

He produced a sealed envelope from the pocket of his tabard which also had Sorin doubting his luck.

Beran was sure that if the commander wanted to send a personal message to the young man, he could have done so without anyone’s knowledge. If he could have information of a battle ending before the king of the region, then what was sending a letter?

So, what did it mean? It was nothing more than declaring that he had taken an interest in Sorin, whether that was a good thing or not was something else, but it was clear that the young man was not someone they should take lightly.

After being dismissed, Sorin gave the letter a quick read as it wasn’t lengthy and pondered on the matter mentioned. When he walked out of the hall, Altair saw the silent smirk and was truly frightened.

It was the same type of expression he saw before they left the imperial capital and their lives had been more difficult ever since then. It couldn’t get any worse, could it?

“Altair, tell all the kids to meet me in an hour,” said Sorin while they were walking.

Altair nodded and set off to find each captain around Yuva.

Sorin reckoned that the commander really wasn’t giving him any chances to get comfortable as he had mentioned being familiar with the terrain in Surcaster.

Now he was forced to be on nothing but unfamiliar ground with unknown people and conditions. It sounded anything but ideal, but he would take this as just another challenge in his chosen path.