"It seems they are motivated," Devi voiced his thoughts looking at the energized crowd.

"Hope it lasts," Dickon voiced his worries and ordered, "Separate them into two groups, ones who are fit and can be used as an asset and the others who were incapable or can become a liability on the battlefield."

"Already done that sir."

"Any estimated numbers?"

"458 in fighting condition and 615 non-combatants sir," Devi responded immediately.

Dickon's eyebrows twitched as he was genuinely surprised by the thorough arrangements by Devi. No doubt he became the captain at such a young age. Not lingering on his thoughts for long he ordered to arrange the army in a way that they are used to the best of their ability.

The 600+ non-combatants were broken into 3 squads responsible for logistics like supplies, weapons, and medical respectively under the leaderships of Bira, Kasi, and Suri three exceptional members of the heavenly squad. The nearly hundred original guards of the city were placed under Devi. 58 from the fighting group were formed into a backup group under the direct command of the sword saint. The rest of them were made into 10-member squads and placed under one member of the heavenly squad. Every squad leader took up their positions on the wall along with their assigned squad. All the civilians were armed with simple weapons they were capable of using and taught the 2 basic commands of attack and retreat by their squad leaders. While the city of Bali was getting prepared quickly trying to organize everything in the limited time the Albanian army camp was also making some quick adjustments to their plans.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Outside the city a man was kneeling in the middle of a large tent, surrounded by a group of men, well-dressed in fine and dazzling armor sitting around him. The man swore to god that his intelligence was correct. The city has less than 100 soldiers guarding it. And in his defense, he said that the whereabouts of the sword saint was unknown even to the nobles. Everyone was contemplating the situation and debated what to do about the sudden appearance of the sword saint. Should they continue with the attack or retreat? At that moment the man sitting in the middle of the room stood up and asked, "The city still has only about 1000 personnel, men, women, and children included right?"

"Ye.. yes... Yes, my lord," replied the kneeling man.

He looked at a skinny old man sitting to his right and asked politely, "What do you suggest lord Ma?"

The old man rubbed his hands under his chin, "As far as I know the sword saint of Roge was in hiding and should not have that many subordinates with him."

"So lord Basik I suggest we should attack immediately and not give him more time to prepare."

Basik the supreme commander of the army looked at the other generals, "Any objection?"

No one voiced a single word, trusting the judgment of strategist Ma they all gave their silent agreement to the matter. The military positions were arranged a bit with the veterans who initially were going to be the advance force and help capture the city quickly, but were now pushed to the middle and formed the core of the attack force. The new soldiers were put at the forefront as the advanced unit that will act as a shock force. The one-sided attack situation has changed into a proper battle with the appearance of one unexpected variable forcing the Albanian army to adjust their battle plans.

Soon the formations were adjusted and the soldiers were ready for the impending battle. With the sun reaching over the head the battle finally began as the supreme commander of Albania signaled to launch the attack.

The loud war horns rang throughout the battlefield marking the start of the battle as all the commanders simultaneously roared,

"ATTACK"