The next early morning, in front of the central bank…

「A little higher.」

Straf says, and the man adjusting the sign on a ladder lifts the sign up.

「No! Now it's too fucking high! Come on, use your eyes! Lower it just a little!」

Straf shouts in frustration, and sighs as the man on the ladder lets the sign's edge drop just a tiny bit lower. Straf looks at the large, wooden sign spanning the entire building's width with a slanted mouth.

「You know what? It's good enough, fuck it. It's only a temporary sign anyway. Hammer it in.」

Straf shrugs, and walks into the building.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack-thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The men on ladders holding the sign up hammer long nails into the sign, pinning it to the front of the bank. They sigh in relief, massage their aching arms and shoulders, then take a few steps back to admire their handiwork.

The mostly level, large wooden sign proudly states 「Royal Reserve Bank」, painted on with white paint. They look at each other, shrug, then walk in.

「And you write it all down in the ledger! All of it! It has to be recorded! No loans without my approval! Got all that?」

Straf continues hastily instructing the bank clerks, then turns his head to Niklaus, who is listening carefully with furrowed brows.

「I… I don't know? Maybe? I think?」

He shrugs his shoulders, looking at Straf with his brows stil furrowed.

「Buddy, your maybe is worth 48 golden drakes a year. You better turn that maybe into definitely. What's so confusing about just fucking sitting there?」

Straf's face gains a tight-lipped expression. He puts his hand on his hip out of habit, immediately regretting his subconscious decision, as he winces from pain.

「Ow, fuck… Anyway, the only time you have to get creative, is when someone tries some funny shit. Got it?」

Straf asks, shaking his head out of confusion that Niklaus is confused with an incredulous expression on his face after getting over his twinge of pain from his broken hand being aggravated again

「So I just… Sit here? That's it? And I get paid? Nothing else, unless something goes wrong?」

Niklaus spreads his hands as he asks, still blinking at Straf in full disbelief.

「Yup.」

「That's so… Ridiculous. It's like I'm getting paid for nothing.」

Niklaus comments, staring blankly at the floor.

「Yeah, welcome to management roles, buddy. Guard the cash, exchange the cash, but most importantly, exchange the coins.」

Doooonnnnnngggg… Gonnnnnnnnggggg… Donnnnnnnnggg… Gonnnnnnngggg…

「Okay, that's my cue. Remember, 48 gold drakes are on the line for you. Keep everyone in line.」

Straf points his hand to Niklaus, and leaves the bank as the bell tower keeps ringing…

…

Just outside the walls of the capital, a few moments later…

A large group of soldiers, far too big to be called a mere band, but not quite large enough to be called an army awaits outside the gates, loosely assembled in relatively close proximity of each other.

「…William, how long do you figure we'll have to wait for this guy?」

Julius asks William as they sit on the soft, green grass.

「I've heard he's supposed to show up after the first bell, so it shouldn't be long… If he's not an asshole. Time and schedules are just suggestions for nobles, unless another noble is involved. They have all the time in the world to waste if it's the commoners, and it's our time, kid.」

William replies, keeping a long, wide blade of grass in his mouth.

「Hm? Isn't that guy him?」

Julius sees a man with his arm in a sling walk up to the mustached officer, and begin a conversation with him. The officer salutes, and points his hand behind himself to the bulk of the men as he explains something. The handsome man looks over the carts, the horses, and the soldiers, and visibly chuckles as his broad shoulders jump up and down, grinning.

「Well well well… Guess I was a little wrong about him. Maybe we'll live through this one, kid.」

William stands up with a grunt, grinning at Julius, and pats his behind off.

「But… His arm is broken, isn't it? Won't that get in the way?」

Julius asks, getting up as well.

「Not if he's leading us, no. Let's hope he's good. Hopefully better than some officer, at least.」

William shrugs, looking at Straf while holding onto his chestplate's upper rim, keeping his spear close and propped up against himself.

「Men! Rally up! March formation! Follow me!」

The officer yells at the men scattered around, and they begin forming a coherent blob of people. William walks closer as well, and Julius simply follows his lead.

「What's a march formation?」

「It's just a column as wide as the road, and a little spread out. Good for marching for a long time… Oh, yeah. You're fucked kid.」

A realization dawns on William's face, and he chuckles with a grin as he looks at Julius.

「Huh!? What!? Why?」

The young man's eyes widen in panic, and he clutches onto his own spear.

「…You're not trained for marches. Your feet will kill you before the rebels will. Have fun.」

William turns his head forward as they enter a marching column, and chuckles louder. Julius calms down, although his energy also dissipates…

…

On the way to the seditious regions of the Redwing Kingdom, once ruled by the House Ostris…

William and Julius are walking along one of the highways, and Julius notices the handsome man the queen has sent is walking beside them, not that far away.

「William, look. There's that guy.」

Julius nudges William with his elbow, and nods his head towards the commander.

「Yeah, and? Tell that girl you brushed shoulders with nobility when you were in the military, women love that shit. Won't even be a lie, technically.」

William scoffs, smirking a little.

「I'm going to talk to him, ask him a few questions.」

Julius says, and speeds ahead, squeezing through the loosely-formed crowd of soldiers.

「What? No, don't! Are you stupid!?」

William asks, raising his voice as Julius ignores him and jogs towards their handsome commander.

「Uh, hello! Good day!」

Julius runs up, and nods his head at the commander with an awkward greeting.

「Huuh?」

He humms out, appearing displeased by the sudden and random interaction.

「You're Straf Katastrof Vindict, right?」

Julius asks, and the commander rolls his eyes.

「Yeah, I am. What do you want? You're not getting a promotion because you've known me for 5 seconds.」

Straf shrugs as he replies.

「No, no, it's nothing like that! I just wanted to ask… What are your previous battle experiences, Mister Vindict?」

Julius asks with an anxious voice.

「Uh…」

Straf rubs his neck as he looks aside for a moment. William decides to run up as well, joining the yong man's side.

「…There was Kursk, Tannenberg, Okinawa, Gettysburg… I have a pretty broad set of experiences, across places and times, you could say.」

Strag shrugs, still looking away from the men.

「…Where's Gettysburg?」

Julius asks, tilting his head.

「Nevermind that, what's an Okinawa?…」

William asks, furrowing his brows at Straf.

「Why are you asking anyway? You're basically the cheapest units in the tech tree, what's it to you?」

Straf finally turns his head to the curious men.

「…Tech tree?」

William furrows his brows even further.

「Well, you see Mister Vindict-」

「Just call me Straf. I hate that mister shit.」

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Straf rolls his eyes, after hearing the young man's polite way of talking again.

「Well, S-… St-… Commander Straf… I am a little worried, since this is my first levy cycle, and I have never been in a battle before…」

The young man scratches his cheek, abashedly explaining his situation.

「Huh? What the shit is a levy cycle?」

With his brows furrowed, Straf's head snaps to the young man.

「Huh? You… You don't know?」

Julius asks, blinking in confusion. Significant worry appears on his face, replacing his shame.

「I imagine it has something to do with conscription. Is that like a temporary draft, to keep everyone to at least minimal military standard?」

Straf replies, then immediately asks another question.

「…Conscription?」

William asks another easily ignored singular word.

「It… Yes. My friend William here said, that the kingdom levies men in 4-month cycles to not disrupt production too badly, and to have a constant standing army at the ready. But they tricked me into a year-long contract… Ahhh…」

The young man sighs dejectedly, hanging his head as he walks.

「Heheh. Recruiters love people like you. They didn't even need a CGI dragon this time, and in a pinch, they can probably find themselves a real one.」

Straf chuckles, shaking his head with an amused grin.

「What?」 「What?」

The men ask in unison.

「Listen, I know what I'm doing. Just focus on your jobs. And your job is to poke peasants just like you in their guts.」

Straf sighs, and looks at the men with a grimace.

「Y- Yes, commander…」

Julius nods, and returns with William to their spot in the marching column…

…

The next morning, after a long day of marching, at a military encampment bordering the rebellious region…

「Hurry up! Rally up! Stow the tents! Get moving!」

An officer hurries through the tent-slums that overnight cropped up in the fields, shouting at the still groggy men. He continues shouting at absolutely everyone, left and right, it doesn't matter how quickly anyone in particular is moving before he shouts at them.

Julius finishes putting his equipment back on, by placing the rusty helmet back on his head and adjusting it with a little twist. He stretches, and turns to William.

「Hey, have you seen the commander?」

He asks, and William shakes his head while chewing on his ration.

「Nah, but I've heard the scouts have went ahead with him. Some years back I've heard rumors, that when the commanders don't scout, it often ends in a disaster.」

William swallows, then answers. Most of the tents have already been folded, and they quickly form a large cloth pile on the wagons as the soldiers keep throwing them on.

「Really? He really knows what he's doing, then!」

Julius grins, taking his spear in hand off the ground.

「Dunno, maybe. He went with them, it doesn't necessarily mean he'll come up with some clever battle plan, or something.」

William shrugs, and gets up off the grass, picking up his spear as well.

「Let's go and join the rest before we get some officer breathing down our necks.」

William says and walks towards the assembling group of spearmen in the distance. Just as Julius and William rejoin the ranks, a man on horseback rides up to the officer inspecting the troops.

「Sir! Scouts report enemy encampment, four hours of travel due west!」

The man reports in an urgent tone, looking down at the officer from the horse as it trots in place side to side.

「Good! Spares us searching for them! What's the enemy composition? Any mercenaries? What does the commander say?」

The mustached man gazes up at the young messenger. The horseman immediately shakes his head in response.

「We don't know, sir! The enemy has just begun to break camp! Commander Vindict orders the main force to join the scout detachment up west!」

The young man replies, still speaking in a loud and clear voice with an urgent tone.

「Alright! Go back and tell them we're coming as soon as those slothful levymen get their asses moving!」

The officer waves the messenger off with his hand.

「Yes sir! Hup hup!」

The young man nods his head, then pulls the reins away to guide the horse back to where he came from. He kicks its sides and whips the reins on its back, and the horse speeds off. The messenger disappears and appears beneath the ground as he runs up and down the hills, before finally disappearing for good down the largest one in the distance.

「Alright, men! Sounds like the enemy is completely unprepared and relaxed! They think they've got the home advantage, they're lazy! They haven't even packed their camp yet! No discipline whatsoever!」

The officer looks over the men standing in front of him in two-rank line.

「I can tell you are of the better stock! It doesn't matter you are untrained! One look at you, and I can see you are going to wipe the floor with them! Show them what you are made of!」

The mustached man continues his morale-boosting speech. Julius nods along, grinning a little. He looks to the side at William, and he doesn't share his high spirit.

「William, what are you looking so grim for? Things are looking up! Even the officers are saying we'll be fine!」

Julius speaks in a hushed tone, grinning in contrast to William's serious face, as the officer continues saying something about duty and bravery.

「Are they? Their job is to keep us in line, and to keep the morale up. You feel motivated to fight now, Julius?」

William looks at Julius with a grave expression on his face, causing the young man's grin to disappear, and turn into a nervous grimace instead.

「Men! March formation! Follow me!」

The officer shouts at the spearmen, and points his finger at the drivers of the carts full of cargo waiting nearby. He waves them to move, and they set off ahead. A similar scene plays out elsewhere on the field, as another officer is heard shouting orders at archers, and another at footmen with swords.

The group forms into a loose marching column and follows the officer back onto the highway.

「…You mean you don't?」

Julius hesitantly asks William. His only reply is a silent, serious gaze as they continue onward…

…

Approximately three hours later, in middle of nowhere between the major cities…

The two armies meet. The forward elements are already searching for hills and other defensible areas. A mustached officer arrives up a tall, with a group of spearmen trailing behind him, marching in a line and already prepared for combat.

The mustached officer sees Straf, and a fellow officer standing beside him. On the hill across the valley between them, the rebel army is also preparing for battle, maneuvering around and spreading out into appropriate formations.

The officer looks at the ant-like mass of people with his hand telescope, and grunts in discomfort as he lowers it.

「…This isn't looking good, Commander Vindict.」

He comments, and offers his telescope to Straf. He dismisses it with a wave of his hand.

「Don't need it. So… No chance?」

Straf shrugs his shoulders, and asks.

「Very unlikely, at the least, sir.」

The officer says, looking at Straf with a concerned face. Meanwhile, the mustached officer walks up behind them.

「…Commander, Adamant Fortress levy forces reporting for duty. Me and my men are awaiting orders.」

He salutes to greet Straf. Straf merely looks over his shoulder, and shrugs again.

「Yeah, alright. Go chat about the weather and its tactical implications, or something. I need to think of the best way to go about this…」

Straf waves the two officers away, and they start walking off to the side.

「…Is it wise to hinge the whole plan on so few men, sir?」

Looking over his shoulder, the officer asks with uncertainty in his voice as he puts his telescope away.

「If I'd hinge it on… These guys, Lia would be mad.」

Straf says, glancing at the spearmen behind him. He sighs, and looks at the enemy forces again.

「Mercenary… Mercenary… Mercenary… Surely there's at least one unit of hobos with spears, right? Where is it?」

Straf furrows his brows, mumbling to himself as he appraises each of the enemy soldiers' faces for how tough and experienced they might be. Straf grimaces further as he realizes every single one of them either looks bored, annoyed, is covered in scars, or has other signs suggesting that this might not be their first battle, and far from it.

「…Dumbass! Get back here! What are you doing!?」

William calls out to Julius, as he nonchalantly walks up to Straf.

「Um, Commander Straf, we're going to win this battle, right? I mean, they're just peasants like us, right?」

Julius asks, looking at enemy forces as he fashions a sun visor out of his hand.

「Hahaha. Nope. You guys are fucked.」

Straf chuckles, grinning and shaking his head at the young man's completely oblivious question. Straf's eyes look over the enemy equipment, and he realizes most of it glows with runes or other forms of tell-tale magic enchantments.

It's harder to find a man without some form of magic armor piece, or a weapon in the enemy ranks, than it is with one. A telltale of a hardened mercenary company, and there are multiple fielded by the enemy.

「H- Huh? B- But the officers said-」

Julius blinks in shock, pointing at the officers discussing the situation off to the side.

「And you believed them? Man, propaganda really has a low bar around here.」

Straf scoffs at the young soldier, and he nervously gulps.

「S- So we can't win?」

He asks with fear settling in his eyes.

「Oh, we can. It's just, uh…」

Straf turns to the young man and grins, looking up and aside as he looks for the right words, or perhaps a quote.

「Well, y'see… There is a reason why one death is a tragedy, and a million is a statistic.」

Straf says, and elbows the young man for encouragement with his unbroken arm.

「Chin up. While we may be outnumbered, outmatched, and you're just peasants against veteran mercenaries, in the end, superior strategy and logistics win wars. We'll be fighting with relatively modern tactics and the benefit of roughly thousand years of hindsight, so that's something.」

Straf shrugs his shoulders, and turns front towards enemy…