An autumn night casts itself over a hidden campsite. An unnatural fog surrounds the area that keeps unwanted visitors out. Familiar characters reside within their safe haven. House Reeve Banners line the perimeter. This was Banner of the Claw’s basecamp in Sworan territory.

In front of the captain’s tent, a dimly lit fire lay before Arlan. He sat on a log in his armor with his blacksteel claymore laid to the side. The young lion ordered his Banner to sleep in their armor as best they could in order to respond to any potential threats faster.

Alone, the young lion continued to review his intelligence documents provided by his Umbras. Arlan scribbled a few notes on another parchment and used a candle and his sigil to seal the scroll with red wax. Upon finishing, he laid the parchment to his right and from the darkest shadows, a brown cloaked Umbra emerged and took the note. They vanish just as quickly as they appear.

Marie appeared before Arlan, “One of your secret lackeys?”

“Yes,” answered Arlan, “I was just sending a report to my father’s Banner at Tudora. They’re able to easily defend Tudora due to our efforts of crippling the Sworan Main Army’s supply lines. They would’ve overran all of the north by now if it had naught been for our efforts.”

“I’m glad. Any news from the southern fronts against the rebels?”

“Currently, the Royal Army has finally broken a stalemate and are on the offensive against House Kaiser. House Lansley won a victory over a combined rebel force of House Beaumont and House Rainhall but at a cost. So they’re unable to pursue further south. They’re barely holding the line.”

Marie’s expression didn’t change, almost as if she expected as much. JD emerged from Arlan’s tent behind him and joined in, “I couldn’t help but overhear the news. I couldn’t sleep.”

Arlan stated, “You haven’t been sleeping much.”

“I know,” answered JD, “the tent just feels much bigger without Noah around…”

JD hasn’t been resting much since Noah had died.

The air was quiet. Everyone loved Noah and his upbeat attitude.

Marie broke the silence, “Noah is proud of us. He’d be upset if he found out you weren’t resting.”

“Thanks, Marie,” replied JD, “Arlan, how’s Erin holding up?”

“He’s been coming to me,” answered the young lion, “But no matter what I say or do, his pain won’t ever heal.”

Since the fire began to slowly die, JD decided to stack a few more logs to the fire. The Embercaller swirled her left hand and a small flame spell engulfed the newly added logs. They both sat next to their captain by the campfire.

The trio listened to the fire crackle for a minute before finally Marie said what was on her mind, “By the time this war is over… We will all come to know a great deal of pain in our hearts. I dread the day when that happens. It scares me.”

“You have every right to fear,” answered Arlan, “I fear that much already. But like you said, we must endure. If we falter, then all we fought for will be lost.”

“How do we carry on?” asked JD.

“We keep moving forward,” answered the young lion, "We'll go where the war needs us."

“Where does that leave us?” wondered Marie.

“Anywhere,” answered Arlan, "Our job is to end this war. That's why we're here: To fight for the people and cause of our country. We need to remember what really matters and not let grief consume us. Noah and Trent paid the ultimate price so we can continue on. We cannot waste their sacrifice."

“I don't want to lose anyone else," cried Marie.

“Neither do I, Marie,” agreed JD.

After a few seconds, Arlan spoke up, "It's time to get breakfast started."

“I'll wake up Chrysta.” stated Marie.

“Good idea,” replied Arlan.

The Embercaller stood up and disappeared into the darkness as her cloak fluttered behind her. The pair of friends watched her go. They watched as a small light lingered and disappeared into the dark forest.

“Do you think we can really end this war?” pondered JD.

“If we can take Fort Sugan from the Sworans and cripple their main army," answered Arlan with confidence, "Then we have a good chance of winning."

The young lion and his Adjutant Knight sat by the campfire for a while longer, reminiscing about their fallen companions. When dawn approached, the two friends went to get breakfast at the mess area. The rest of the Banner of the Claw was already awake and eating. A large pot of chicken soup was already waiting for the two of them to fill their bowls.

Arlan took a bite of the hot soup and sighed.

JD smiled, "It's been a long time since you've eaten anything other than rations, Captain."

"I know," admitted Arlan, "But the food is better."

JD laughed, "You'll never miss a meal again."

"You mean after we win?" questioned Arlan.

"Yes," answered JD, "after we win."

The two friends laughed at Arlan's response.

The rest of the Banner were enjoying their breakfast as well. They all shared their thoughts about the recent battles they had fought in. It was clear to Arlan that his Banner was growing into one of the most efficient fighting units in the whole of Midland.

After breakfast, Arlan and his Adjutant Knight left to brief their platoons on their morning objectives. Inside Arlan's tent were his subordinates. Yanie, the leader of the Silvan Rangers. They were attached to the Banner of the Claw from Yanie's Uncle whom Arlan had saved in an orc attack. The Silvan were eastern elves from beyond Midland's borders. Yanie wanted revenge against the Sworan for killing Anthony Lira. Naturally, Mahari and Fiala tagged along as well but were not present in the tent.

Behind Yanie was the new senior sergeant, Roderic. He led the Hatchets, who were a veteran combat unit under Count Emile. They were transferred into the Banner of the Claw and were mostly older veterans. Despite the age gap of their captain, they knew of Arlan's strength and competence. Opposite of Roderic was Marie and Chrysta, the Banner of the Claw's primary magic users. Magic was uncommon enough to be highly valued assets on the battlefield. Then next to the mages were Lem, Dimitri and Erin. That marked all of the command echelon present for the Banner of the Claw. It was time to start their morning briefing.

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“So, what did you discover last night?” queried Arlan as he looked at his subordinates.

Yanie responded first, "My rangers have located another major supply route that leads straight to the frontlines from the west. A small river runs near the road there. We should be able to ambush them from the riverside."

Roderic stated, "If we can cripple the Sworans' logistics, the guard unit at Fort Sugan should come out as you predict."

Erin added, "This is finally our chance."

Dimitri interjected, "And the best part is that it will be easy."

"Correct," agreed Arlan, "We don't have the numbers to make a frontal assault on Fort Sugan. But if we can give them enough reason to draw their forces away, we can capture Fort Sugan while they're gone. The plan is to lure the guard unit into a chase with a smaller mobile unit while the main force walks right into the Fort. The only reason they'd leave is that they can't ignore us constantly ambushing their supply lines."

"That sounds simple enough," commented Dimitri.

Chrysta nodded, "We can do it."

“How far away is this route?” inquired Arlan.

“About two hours from here,” answered Roderic.

“I can scout ahead with my rangers,” suggested Yanie.

“Excellent,” answered Arlan, "Yanie, move out immediately with your rangers. We'll break camp and leave in thirty minutes."

“Yes sir!” exclaimed Yanie as she stood up and ran out of the tent.

Outside, Yanie's rangers prepared their gear and waited for her orders. Once ready, she gave the signal to follow and they quietly marched off into the woods.

Back inside the tent, Arlan addressed his subordinates, "With Yanie's scouting ahead, I want both companies briefed on the plan and the Hatchets ready to move as well."

As the Banner of the Claw's soldiers quickly organized themselves and began their preparations. Roderic approached JD to ask him about Arlan.

"Is he really from an orphan?" asked the senior sergeant.

“Yes,” answered JD confidently, "I think he is the best commander in all of Midland."

“You seem awfully close to him,” remarked Roderic.

“I am,” answered JD, "I'm from the same orphanage as he is."

"I see," replied Roderic, "His life seems like a mystery."

JD nodded in agreement, "It does."

“Well, I wish you luck, JD,” said Roderic, "I'm going to return to my guys."

“Thank you, Sergeant,” replied JD.

Once the Banner was fully organized, Arlan gave the moveout order while Marie channeled mana into the [Urn of Mist]. The artifact generated a fog that covered their movements. It was how they were able to move about unnoticed like ghosts. As soon as the mist dispersed, Arlan led his company eastward towards their destination. The rest of the Banner followed behind.

After two hours, they reached their destination. It was a small clearing just outside of a dense forest. There wasn't any cover nearby other than trees so the young lion ordered his men to stay in the trees. There was nothing but dead leaves and dirt for a long time until they heard voices echoing from the distance. Yanie then appeared before Arlan with her scouting report.

“We saw the enemy supply convoy,” stated Yanie, "They'll arrive in about fifteen minutes."

“So they are still on schedule?” asked Arlan.

“Yes, sir,” answered Yanie, "Unless something unexpected happened."

Arlan turned to his senior sergeant, "Roderic, you lead the Hatchets along the riverbed and push from the left."

“Yes sir,” answered Roderic.

Arlan then addressed Dimitri and Erin, "Both of you, take your company's center with JD."

“Yes sir!” replied both company commanders.

"Our orders?" asked Yanie.

“Yanie," replied Arlan, "You'll stay here and rain arrows on the clearing to the right when an escort unit comes."

“Understood,” answered Yanie.

Arlan then turned to his two mages, Marie and Chrysta.

"You two stay with me," stated Arlan, "We'll make our appearance when that escort unit comes through the clearing."

The young lion and his two mages stayed hidden at the edge of the clearing as the western path to their left was visible. Parallel to that path was the riverbed mentioned before with Roderic and his sixty Hatchets. They were quietly waiting for the enemy supply convoy. Soon, the sound of hoofs could be heard approaching from the north. Arlan and his squad watched as sixteen wagons rode through the forest. They were escorted by two hundred infantrymen. This was the largest convoy Arlan had encountered and it was only guarded by a mere two-hundred Sworan soldiers. As Arlan predicted, other escorts are likely somewhere nearby.

"Fire the signal!" ordered Arlan. Marie fired off a small manaball twenty meters into the sky. This signaled all units to attack the convoy.

“Now!” yelled Roderic from far below the riverbed.

The Hatchets charged from the riverbed attacking the convoy's side. At the same time, JD led both Banner of the Claw companies straight toward the first wagon. Yanie and her rangers stayed quiet in reserve with Arlan and his two mages. The enemy had no idea what hit them. The convoy consisted of mostly inexperienced soldiers. Some of the horses panicked and bolted for the forest. In the chaos, the wagons tipped over and spilled Sworan supplies. The enemy tried to fight back but was overwhelmed by sheer numbers. Two hundred first-tier white core soldiers against three hundred second-tier white cores was a one sided slaughter.

But as Arlan predicted, his [Battle Trance] picked up on two hundred more enemy soldiers appearing from the clearing. This was likely their main-unit, kept hidden. Arlan gave the order to Yanie to rain arrows on the advancing enemy force. They consisted of second-tier red cores. They're much more experienced and stronger troops. But even with the second-tier red cores, they were quickly caught up in Silvan Ranger's barrage of arrows. After their initial charge, the enemy reinforcements formed a shield wall and slowly advanced to reinforce the convoy. They had lost over thirty soldiers from the arrows.

"It's time for our appearance," commanded Arlan as he nodded at Marie and Chrysta.

Immediately, the two mages leapt from their hiding place and started channeling destructive magic. The young lion activated his Warlord's Regalia and empowered everyone in the fight. This further made the slaughter even more one sided as Arlan positioned himself between the convoy and the enemy shield wall. His claymore was already drawn.

A voice rang out from the shield wall, "It's just one boy! Kill him!"

Before the enemy could reach him, a large inferno landed on the shieldwall. Marie had launched her deathly fire spells. Chrysta also further peppered the shield wall with her ice spells. As the enemy was struggling to recover their formation from being hit by two mages, Arlan burst into their formation with his claymore. He struck down several enemies with his heavy blade. Meanwhile, Yanie and her rangers fired more arrows at any who attempted to flee.

With a sonic speed, Arlan completely destroyed the shield wall's momentum and stopped it from reaching the caravan. He brought his claymore high overhead and used [Titan Strike] on the largest clumps of the enemy shields. With a loud boom, the new escort unit had crumbled apart. Arlan's [Battle Trance] detected an enemy third-tier white core. A reasonable opponent among the escort but he paled in comparison to Arlan's strengths.

This enemy challenged Arlan as he rushed in with his two handed mace. Arlan easily blocked the powerful strike with his claymore. The impact sent sparks out. The enemy followed up with another attack. Again, Arlan effortlessly evaded the blow. He countered with an upward swing and destroyed his opponent with ease.

“Another dead one,” remarked Arlan.

The remaining Sworan soldiers around Arlan saw what happened to their best fighter and started to flee. But Arlan didn't let them escape. He signaled for Yanie and her Rangers to fire at any stragglers. The Silvan Rangers had incredible accuracy to hit moving targets with ease. After another minute, the battle was over. It was another landslide victory for the Banner of the Claw. Roderic and JD reported that they took only minor injuries compared to the enemy's complete eradication. Yanie also gave her report to Arlan, "My rangers have intercepted all survivors."

The young lion nodded, "Good work, Yanie."

Roderic approached with his bannermen, "Sir, are we headed back to the camp?"

"No we are not," replied Arlan, "this should draw out the guard unit at Fort Sugan."

"Its time?" asked Chrysta.

"Yes," answered Arlan, "We'll regroup in a clearing close to here."

The Banner of the Claw once again, looted what they could from the wagons and departed while Marie set the remaining wagons ablaze.

“Is this the moment we finally get to take Fort Sugan?" asked JD.

Arlan smiled, "Indeed it is. By the end of tonight, we'll be sleeping inside Fort Sugan."