In the end, it had taken them two weeks to move out of Thelma. It was longer than Leonard would have liked, but once they started processing the recruits, moving them before basic training was over wasn’t efficient, and splitting up the army at this juncture would only create problems down the line.
Luckily, Amelia’s efforts at stymieing the enemy were working wonderfully. Slothful, arrogant nobles in both Treon and Hassel, who opposed moving out in force, suddenly found themselves having allies left and right. Shipments of much-needed supplies were lost on the way, necessitating reviews of the chain of command and even longer waits.
It wouldn’t work forever, as Count Pollus in Hassel and General Locke in Treon were both capable enough to pull through, but it would take them much more effort than either would have liked and by then, Leonard hoped to be at Treon’s gates.
image [https://i.postimg.cc/L8DcJb8z/persimmon0-blonde-male-hero-on-a-white-horse-observing-his-revo-a01bfeec-fcb1-46b4-ac51-586e5a7c0fa4.png]
Observing the marching lines of men, he felt the delay was worth it. The army now numbered little over two thousand five hundred men, enough that Leonard didn’t feel they’d die the moment he turned his gaze away.
The biggest surprise of their stay in Thelma was the success of the mage corps. When Leonard had left for Mellassoria, there had been a couple dozen Apprentices volunteering for the job, and he had hoped he’d return to find at least a couple of Journeymen to lead them. Even stuck at the first and second tier, mages could be useful to a moving army.
They made logistics much easier, preserving the supplies without the need for expensive artifacts, and set camp for the whole army within a few minutes.
They wouldn’t be of much use in a dogfight as they were now, but they’d be strong enough to participate in the storming of the walls, and hopefully, they’d get enough experience to be better the next time.
Upon returning from his little journey, he had found a hundred mages, all at Journeyman tier, led by a single Expert.
Having examined the forces available to Thelma before attacking, Leonard had been rightfully confused at this development. Happy, of course, but very confused.
Luckily, Amelia was there to solve the mystery. Yes, Thelma’s Tower officially only had a dozen second tier mages, most of whom had died during the fighting or shortly before it, and double that in Apprentices. But they also had a number of refugees. Not as many as Alpar, but apparently, De Hoop had accepted some. Why? Well, because they could be useful, of course.
Among the many destroyed towns on the eastern coast and hidden in the safer parts of the Darkwood was a Magic Tower. The Archmage who presided over it had died years before, fighting to the last against the Void, but he had the good sense to send away his students.
Some, the more experienced and better-connected ones, had left the duchy altogether or joined the fight to avenge their teacher. Others, those weak enough that they would have been useless against the Voidlings’ magical resistance, had tried to find a new home.
Thelma was the chosen destination of many since their nominal leader, an Expert-tier professor by the name of Alphard White, had a connection with the local Tower master’s nephew.
Saying that Thelma had a Magic Tower was a stretch since it was barely taller than the walls and protected only by the most meager wards. The “master” was the old mage Leonard had observed raising the wards over the town, and beyond being barely competent enough to teach apprentices, he was also an arrogant bastard.
The wrinkly old goat had rejected the refugees out of hand, not caring about friendships or anything of that sort. When he had found out that Alphard White was an Expert, he had gone as far as to force the newly arrived mages to linger in the slums and kept them from meeting with the local nobility, afraid they’d try to usurp his position.
That was what had held them back from being recruited at gunpoint by De Hoop and what saved many a life from being pitted against the Revolutionary Army.
After such a harrowing experience, the young mages were full of resentment toward the local leadership. And they were not that broken up about the change that Leonard and his people brought along. After hearing about the rates they would be paid if they joined the army, they all crowded the barracks, clamoring to join up.
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Once Amelia found out what was happening, she visited the man who had led them through the Void’s forces to safety. She found Alphard White to be a mildly boring, if decently talented researcher who had only needed some prodding to accept the position of Captain of the 1st Mage Corp.
“Still thinking about the mages?” Oliver asked from his side. His squire was wearing his full armor and rode a purebred stallion, tall enough that the boy would have needed help getting on it if not for his significant physical strength.
Leonard smiled briefly, amused that the boy was coming to know him so well, “Yes, I’m very happy that we managed to make an official Corp out of the few we brought with us and the new ones found here. But even though Amelia assured me she put them through the paces, I’ll keep worrying until I’ve seen them in action.”
“Well, I can tell you that they can cast a mean [Fireball], and their shields are strong enough to resist an entire barrage from a squad of riflemen without a single crack. That impressed everyone.” Oliver replied, scratching at the back of his head. His red hair was growing, though it wasn’t time to cut it yet. “Frankly, I’m pretty sure you won’t find anyone with reservations about fighting with them. We had some drills where we stormed a position with and without their protection, and it was infinitely easier to do it with them watching our backs.”
That didn’t surprise Leonard one whit. He was sure his old world’s soldiers would have liked to have magical barriers protecting them from the storm of bullets coming their way, too.
Not that the local artillery was comparable to modern Earth’s firearms, but they were undoubtedly better than what the general technology level should allow. Magic was an excellent equalizer.
A company of Haylich riflemen could output about a hundred shots each over the course of an engagement, but they weren’t tied down by the need of resupplying like mundane ones would be and could go on for long times with only minimal support for food and medicines. Alchemy worked wonders there, too, allowing several days’ caloric intake to be packed down in flasks. A single sip was the equivalent of a meal, and while no one preferred it over real food, it was a valid alternative if separating from the main force became necessary.
Not that Leonard intended things to devolve that much, but it always paid to be prepared for every possibility. He’d not have his men starve to death if they became stranded.
I guess we’ll have to see how they perform. Amelia will keep an eye on their loyalty and ensure it becomes more than just opportunism. If my expectations aren’t far off the mark, Jean will join us soon enough, and they’ll have another reason to stay. Learning from a Champion Mage is not something the average caster can ever hope for.
The Serpent Road from Thelma to Lamprey Port, their next target, was empty. Few boats dared to brave the seas, and those that did were far in the distance. Word of Thelma’s fall had spread, and Leonard expected they’d find a much harder nut to crack at their arrival. He still believed taking the time to build up the army was the right decision, but he couldn’t ignore the significance of giving his enemies several days, if not weeks, to prepare.
Of course, if it became necessary, he was more than enough to deal with any defenses Lamprey Port might have cooked up. Leonard would still prefer it if his army could do the bulk of the fighting, but he wasn’t naive enough to believe a few weeks of training would be enough to turn them into an invincible armada, no matter how many potions Lia forced down every soldier’s gullet.
Those potions have been working, though. Even from here, I can tell that men are much stronger than before taking Thelma. Back then they had grit and a couple of Skills, and given how badly De Hoop mismanaged the whole affair, it was enough, but against a town like Lamprey Port, which has a real Magic Tower and a Navy detachment, beyond the two Army Corps stationed there permanently, it wouldn’t be enough.
Fortunately, the [Nightstalkers] Amelia had sent ahead to scout hadn’t reported any powerhouses hiding, and this time, they had been ordered to be thorough in their search. The worst they’d have to contend with was a prepared cabal of mages and all the artillery the local forces could pull together, which was likely to be significant.
Now that Leonard thought of it, having the 1st Mage Corp would be very handy.
“Do you think we might be able to force them to surrender, given that we already won two towns?” Oliver abruptly asked, fiddling with his reins.
Leonard turned to his squire and really looked at him. The boy - and he was still a boy, despite having spilled much blood - had filled up, his body growing rapidly in response to all the stimuli it went through. But in his eyes, Leonard could spy hesitance. Not that he believed Oliver would not do his part when it came to it, but the world had still not managed to sand away all his soft spots.
He likely had seen many unnecessary deaths during the Storming of Thelma and knew that it would be much worse if they were forced to attack a prepared Lamprey Port.
After a long moment of silence, in which Leonard looked wistfully at the sea, he answered, “I do not think they’ll give up that easily. Rather, it’s more likely our earlier victories will make them turtle down. I don’t know exactly how much they learned since we kept a tight lock on information, but I have no doubt the local commanders will have some idea of Thelma’s defenses and what it takes to overwhelm them.”
Oliver shook his head, lips pursed, “That’s not what I meant. I was asking if you might be able to convince them somehow. Negotiate their surrender.”
Leonard let out a chuckle at that. He thought himself a decent public speaker, especially when he could prop himself up using the Light, but his squire had much higher expectations of him. “I’ll try to talk to them, of course. Anything that can prevent innocents from dying is good in my books, but these people are different from the citizens of Alpar and Thelma. Sure, they suffered from the Incursion, too, but they are far away from the worst. The refugees they accepted are minimal in number, and even then, they’d likely have enough supplies from being a Navy base that they didn’t go hungry to feed them. It’s a different situation altogether.”
Trying to explain how differently even people in the same Duchy had lived the Incursion was challenging, especially to someone who lost almost everything like Oliver. His father had died to grant the rest of the family time to run, and all their possessions had been lost to the Void.
People in Lamprey Port had to pay more taxes, and their garrison occasionally participated in raids to push back the encroaching Incursion, but by the time it was coming closer, Leonard had already arrived in Hassel and had begun pushing back, attracting the brunt of the enemy forces to himself.
“I have no doubt some people would join us in a heartbeat. The slaves, mostly, but the lower class suffered much, too. But the overall population is not on the brink like Alpar’s was. They will join up once we win and show them how much better things can be, but they will have to be dragged along.” He concluded.
The material conditions for a spontaneous revolution might not exist in Lamprey Port, but Leonard didn’t mind a challenge. It’d help forge his army into something truly fearsome.