I force my leg to take one step after another. It feels as if there are weights tied to my feet and the freezing cold is causing me to lose all sense of touch. I am sure that this is a reckless decision but William has never been wrong before and thus I am willing to suffer through this. Only for him and nobody else.

“How much longer?”

“While it may feel like an eternity we are almost there.” William reassures me in the worst way. Do not tell me that it will feel like an eternity. I want my suffering to end at this immediately moment but discipline stops me from complaining.

My stomach quivers in a futile attempt to tell me to eat but I know that now is not the time to stop. It will be over soon. I can, at least, last until then. Logically I know that we should almost be done. We have been going down the mountain for a while.

I raise my head to look to see if I can estimate how much longer we have. The sight that I am greeted with brings me to utter joy and ecstasy. A see the hills, grasslands, and forests of Arria. Anything other than snow and stone.

It takes some time but the moment my feet touch the grass I drop down in exhaustion. “We will need to scout out the area and gather information. If there are local armies dealing with them is the first priority, after that we can deal with gathering food supplies.”

I nod my head at his assessment. While the first thing I want to do is to start a fire and warm up I understand that would be a major blunder. To alert the enemy to our position would give away our greatest advantage.

The element of surprise.

We have the unique chance to catch the Arrians with their pants down. So long as the Avevens can take Cerva the war is won. They could not feasibly continue the war. The Yanzhou declaring war at the same time would be the final nail in the coffin.

The few cavalry that managed to make the journey begin to spread out. I would have preferred to have heavy cavalry but that is just impossible for us. Most likely we will have to borrow some from the enemy.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I take out some dried meat. This is not the usual Allonian diet while at war but I have long since grown accustomed to it. This is something William decided on when he began the campaign.

Countless armies have screwed themselves over due to drunken soldiers. While our soldiers complained about the Aveven troops having access to ale William managed to maintain discipline.

William takes out a piece of paper. I look over at it and gaze in wonder. While I have a rudimentary understanding of the letters on it I can hardly believe what I am seeing. I think that it is a map.

“Neat item, is it not?”

“What is it?”

“A detailed map of the continent, I have a better one of Arria. This is one of their secrets to success.” I just look over it. It shows hills, forests, mountains, cities, major roads. With this information we can plan an accurate campaign to maximize our chances of victory. I have only seen something like this once before. A rather simple map of Allonia. “We should avoid the cities. We cannot afford to be caught in a battle that doesn’t favor us. Besides, we hardly have the numbers to commit to a siege.”

“I agree, we are on a razors edge. One mistake and we are doomed. Until Cerva is open we are cornered here.” We were given the choice between two bad options. We might have been safer staying at Cerva but it most likely would have decreased our chances of winning.

“Your majesty, we have spotted three armies nearby. I can give your the estimates on their size if you desire it.” William takes the paper and looks at it. I walk over to him and glance over his shoulder.

While they have more soldiers overall we are larger than each army by themselves. I smile at myself. I know exactly what William is planning and waiting for him to ask my opinion on the matter.

“Hudson, what do you think?”

“Defeat in detail.” I answer him and he smiles at me. I was fairly certain that the chances of me being correct were high. “We have a strategic disadvantage, instead of trying to force the impossible it is better we win on a tactical level.”

“Then shall we play a match?”

“A match of what?” I frown at William. I do not believe we have a board and pieces for chess. Anything else he could be referring to is beyond me. William looks at me and grimaces.

“I want to play a game of war with Michael. See how good he is.” It seems a friendly way to greet your enemy. I cannot imagine one being willing to be polite to one’s enemy. Why waste the energy on something so pointless?

“Then we shall win.”

“Will we?”

“With you? We cannot lose, I have faith in your ability.” William laughs at me but he doesn’t know that I am serious. Despite every disadvantage we are at I believe that he can pull through. That the impossible is possible, if only he leads the way.

“I am glad that you see me in such a light but I am afraid that I will disappoint you.”

It is needless to worry because the future is ahead of us. All we must do is shape it in any way we desire.