The skirmish’s aftermath was rather straightforward.

A myriad of questions and suspicions welcomed the exhausted team. Did I ambush the troublemakers’ leaders? Was the alleged battle only a setup to execute them where nobody would see them? Or did the mercenaries hide in the forest? A mix of accusations and silent reproach filled the air and worsened the strained relationship between the groups.

Not that surprising. After all, only their side suffered any casualties.

But this time, the situation ended after a few harsh shouts. Thea and the two leaders gathered the troublemakers and led them back to the camp.

I didn’t know which words those three had picked, but the troublemakers vanished over night. They disbanded their camp, mixed with the others, and joined the morning training with no grumbling. Even the former leaders listened to the weaker commanders.

The phantom was gone.

The Púca had fled.

Furthermore, Drew returned with the caravan, packed to the brim with fresh food.

Their group had encountered a small group of leprechauns and won, eliciting sporadic cheers from the recruits.

Better food, a successful mission, and no instigators.

Once more, hope took root in the recruits’ hearts.

But then, despite our wishes and hopes, the situation on top of the tactic table turned grim.

“So we found another one.” I sighed and placed a small stone on the table. The third one.

Mechanical movements, any sign of agitation long gone.

Over the last few days, I had become numb to bad news.

Three stones.

Three Púca.

All of them unwounded.

Their arrival also answered the question that had nagged me since the skirmish. What did I miss while fighting the Púca? Why had I been that agitated?

The answer was simple. The Púca’s hands were intact.

Two fingers.

The Púca that had attacked the merchants in Gladford’s surroundings had lost two of its fingers to my Heavy Strike. The same Púca that had later attacked our village. It should have been the leader of the vanguard.

My misconception.

But now, a second Púca stepped onto the stage, leading its own groups of scouts.

And following its flight, Púca three, four, and five arrived in the fortress’ surroundings.

Their vanguard comprised five Púcas. Or at least five.

This wasn’t a simple raiding party.

“Surrounded.” Torphin vocalized what everyone thought. Twenty-three groups and five Púcas. “And each day, their groups decrease the distance to the fortress. Soon, our scouts won’t be able to go out lest they get ambushed on their way back.”

“Surrounded and blind.” My gaze moved across the table. Left to right, top to bottom, again and again. But no feasible idea came to mind.

Hinder the leprechauns with recruits, attack the Púca on my own. The same attack pattern might still see some success, but with my Fortress skill on cooldown, any misstep would spell disaster. And even if I decided to step back on the wire rope, the question of the sacrifices remained.

To become the one who decided life and death of the recruits - I didn’t think I was ready for that.

“Our defeat is certain if we do nothing.” My gaze searched for Drew and Fabien, but they remained silent. A display of their powerlessness. “Our highest priority is information. We can only guess the situation in the southern villages, but with the harvest festival coming up, most of them should have finished their harvest.”

“Thus they’ll become provisions for the enemy.”

I nodded at Fabien’s words. “Despite so many Púcas at the front, their vanguard acts very reserved. They don’t attack the fortress and their groups won’t pursue our scouts for too long. They are waiting for something. Or someone.”

“Their leader?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.”

I inspected the objects on top of the table once more. The pebbles spread through the surrounding forest and formed a tight net around the fortress. Yet I had placed all three stones to the north, north-east, and north-west of the fortress.

“If we assume the leprechauns are intelligent enough to form such a tight net by design, then the Púcas’ positions should be deliberate as well.” I pointed at a block of wood to the north. “Gladford. They didn’t attack because this isn’t a siege. Instead, they only try to prevent all communications with the city. There is an army behind them and it leers at Gladford.”

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Silence followed my guess.

There was nothing else to say.

All of us had expected this scenario. This fortress, the food caravan, the training. Everything had been based on this assumption. All the steps had pointed toward this outcome.

Nevertheless, the confirmation still drained our remaining hope.

“Drew. I’ll leave the fortress’ defense to you. Torphin. Get all of your scouts ready. Only light equipment and a bag full of rations.” Their surprised expression prompted further explanations. “What we need the most is accurate information. We will leave on horseback and scout the area beyond the southern villages. We need to know what those vanguards are waiting for.”

“I’ll come with you.” Drew announced without missing a second.

I shook my head. “You never learned how to ride a horse. And the most important factors for our success are speed and maneuverability. You would slow us down.”

“I understand.”

Following my words, Drew’s mood noticeably worsened, so I hurried to continue. “If Torphin and I are gone, we still need someone strong to protect the fortress. Even if they don’t attack with the Púcas, skirmishes against the smaller groups are still possible. They might probe our readiness. The fortress needs you as the centerpiece of our defense.”

Drew who would train hour after hour on his own. Drew carrying a massive wooden shield, blocking multiple leprechauns on his own. And Drew, who pulled me to safety after I had tripped. A mountain of a man with sheer endless energy. Based on defense alone, he should be the strongest fighter in the fortress.

“But if I fail?”

“Didn’t you just complete your mission?” I laughed and patted him on the shoulder, yet his facial expression was still anxious.

Human relationships were hard. How could I motivate someone when I never found the right words? No grand speech. No vow of fidelity. Nothing. For the last few days, I tried to look out for these things but I couldn’t resolve them even if I noticed. In the end, I only added a few more words. “Gladford and Houdin expect our failure. They anticipate our deaths. So if you fail, just try to save as many recruits as you can. Run away, jump in the river, hide in the forest. Do anything to survive. We’ll look for you once we’ve returned.”

Afterwards, I discussed the administrative side with Fabien, fetched my equipment and a bag filled with Fabien’s cracker, saddled up Attila, and met the others at the outer wall.

Fabien, Drew, Torphin, the ten scouts, and a few other recruits awaited me. And to my surprise, Thea stood there as well. This time without weapon and fighting spirit, but with thick clothes and a bag full of rations.

“Torphin told me your plan.” Thea explained without being asked. “He said that you’ll scout the southern villages. I want to go, too. I want to return to my village.”

“No chance.” I flat out denied her. “You can’t ride.”

“She’ll sit behind me.” Torphin immediately replied in her stead. “We all are beginners, so we won’t reach our fastest pace either way. And she’s a girl who tried to fight. Shouldn’t she deserve it?”

Truthfully, I wasn’t a fan of the idea, even if she didn’t lower our speed. But for some reason, the assembled eyes glared at me, selecting me as the bad guy in this farce.

Only Thea’s eyes didn’t glare. Instead, they were lifeless and empty. Neither the liveliness of the village girl nor the fierceness of the troublemaker could be seen inside them. No sparkle and no twinkle.

“Whatever.”

One last discussion later, our group exited the fortress to the west, followed the small river to a nearby ford, and turned south.

We rode until the horses tired, rested for a few hours, and continued our journey after a meal made of crackers and water. Rinse and repeat.

We circled around the leprechauns we saw from afar, we outran those we met, and we prayed they wouldn’t find us while we slept.

I didn’t know whether it was the prayers or the limited amount of leprechauns, but we spotted fewer and fewer leprechauns the farther we rode. Hence, we prayed more and more while we traveled. Nothing else to do.

After three days, we left the southern villages behind us.

After five days, we needed to cross an icy river and wasted half a day around in a provisional resting place, snuggled against a campfire.

At the start of the seventh day, the surroundings became harsher. Forests and meadows turned into sparse islands of grassland between sand and stones.

And finally, after eight days, we found the answer to our question.

We stood on top of a small hill, our resting horses behind us, and scowled at the distance. Over there, a massive patch of grassland moved towards us. Or rather, a massive horde of leprechauns approached us, their green fur changing the color of the horizon.

We struggled against a single Púca, we despaired in front of five, yet we wanted to stop that?

Even the massive group of 250 leprechauns that had attacked the village was only a single drop in that ocean of bodies. Our first plan estimated hundreds of enemies. With the Púcas’ arrival I had feared thousands of leprechauns. But based on the scene in front of us, we would have to add another zero to our plans.

Not that I wanted to stay long enough to find out the exact number.

“Let’s go. We have to leave.”

“This… this… can we even run?” Torphin’s shaking voice was the only reaction to my command. No acknowledgments, no movements. The others stood there in silence, shivering with fear.

“Our horses can. Let’s go!” I ran to the nearest scout and dragged him to his horse. There was no time to waste here. We had to leave now. Or else we would stand in front of that army until we just vanished from the world.

“GO!” I forced the next scout to move. They had to move. Why didn’t they see that? We had to run away. It didn’t even matter where to. Just away from here. We had to move. We had to.

“MOVE!” I grabbed the next scout and dragged him, but he lost his footing and fell, cutting his elbow on a sharp stone. And it was his pained scream and the visible blood that broke our state of shock.

I dragged the scout to his feet, and together we stumbled to our horses, mounted them, and began our depressing way home.

“Aki.” Thea’s shaking voice sounded from behind me. No need to turn around. Her tone alone was already enough to see her deathly pale face in front of my eyes. “Can… can we… can… you win?”

“No.” Who could bring such miracles. If the sword maiden, all of her mercenaries, the city guards, and everyone else occupied a small passage and forced the leprechauns into a stalemate, we might have a chance to rescue the rest. But there was no ravine, no ford, and no passage like that. And I only commanded a group of recruits. How long would we survive? Hours? Minutes?

“But… there… there has to be-! We need…” Thea’s voice cracked. Even her lifeless eyes had been drowned in fear, forcing energy back into her body.

Torphin and the other scouts mirrored Thea’s behavior and begged me for a miracle until their voices became hoarse. Hours and hours of begging. Hours and hours of despair.

But what could I do? I was just a single teenager from a different world. No special education for me.

I had no military knowledge. I couldn’t create rifles or landmines. In the end, I didn’t even finish high school. My advantages comprised in this situation rather useless common knowledge, experience in a game that didn’t feature massive armies, and all those documentaries I had watched in the hospice.

Those documentaries?

From then on, I rode my horse in silence and tried to recall all those documentaries I saw.

Mating habits of the king penguins.

The benefits of modern pruning shears.

The right paint for modern street art.

Hitler.

The reindeer breeders and their harsh lives.

Exploring space with machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Wait! Hitler?

Yes, that was it. Hitler!

And after a day of complete silence, I muttered two lonely words.

“Scorched. Earth.”