Five hours later, Emily and several other core mbers of the Ice Regint gathered in the lounge of a luxury RV with over a dozen squad leaders. They were still locked in discussion over what moves to make next.
Just then, Isabel hurried aboard, breathless.
Emily shot up, asking, "Isabel, what do you have?"
Isabel exhaled hard. "The Ridgebreak Battalion is still stationed outside Ashbrook Town. Cliff’s troops have arrived. They’ve spotted each other, but neither made a move. Our people said both sides sent out one off-road vehicle each to a spot in the middle - looks like they’re negotiating."
"Where’s Evan?" Sophia asked quickly. "Have the people who were spreading the grain rumors all left?"
"Chandler... he’s gone dark. We’ve lost contact with him. His unit is also missing. But his second-in-command, Simon, brought 800 n and followed Molly’s group into the mountains. Still no sign of Chandler."
"Gone dark?" Emily let out a cold laugh. "I’ll bet you right now, Chandler’s squad is sitting pretty on the Ridgebreak side."
"You an... Chandler’s betrayed us?" Charlotte frowned. She didn’t want to believe it. Chandler was a Ridgebreak defector. Would they really take him back? In the army, even deserters were put through military law. Chandler returning sounded like suicide.
"Think about it, Charlotte," Emily said. "How would Ridgebreak know we’ve only got around 1,200 people? Only soone inside our group could’ve leaked that. The only ones who’ve been out lately are Isabel and Chloe, and they never left Ashbrook Town. So how the hell would anyone else know?"
Sophia’s face paled. "What about the ones Simon led into the hills? What if they flip too?"
"They’re likely clean," Emily replied. "Kingsley’s n have no guns, no Crystals, not even as strong as Molly’s group. If they were aiming to defect, they wouldn’t tag along into the hills where they’re at a disadvantage."
"Then you’re saying only Chandler and a few close to him turned coats? Kingsley’s clueless about the whole thing?" Sophia still didn’t buy it. It didn’t add up in her head."I’m just speculating here. I’m not entirely sure about Simon’s unit..." Emily hesitated before adding, "Unless there’s another possibility - what if Evan and Simon had ties with the Ridgebreak Battalion this whole ti? The 800 n Simon brought into the mountains, they might’ve all smuggled in weapons. If that’s the case, they won’t fear Molly’s squad. And Molly? She’s probably in danger."
The situation was worsening, and Magnus was still absent. Charlotte rubbed her temples. "Forget Simon and Evan for a second. Let’s talk about the Ridgebreak Battalion and Cliff’s force. What’s our move? If they manage to strike a deal and co up with a way to take us down, what then?"
"Are they actually negotiating?" Liana’s eyes lit up at that. An idea suddenly struck her...
*****
Inside the command vehicle of the Springvale City force, Colonel Bruce was pacing back and forth, frustration written all over his face. The intel was off - they had moved too soon. When they set out, the Ridgebreak Battalion hadn’t even mobilized yet.
Cliff’s orders were clear - wait until the Ridgebreak forces clash with those holding the underground grain cache, then swoop in like the vulture at the end. The Sovereign Vanguard was supposed to play the final hand.
But halfway through the journey, they ran into a scouting vehicle. Bruce didn’t know it was from the Ice Regint. He thought it belonged to the Ridgebreak Battalion.
He issued a kill-on-sight order, desperate to eliminate the scout before they could spill anything about their position. But the scout got away. They found the vehicle, but not the person.
Was there still a chance the scout got eaten by monsters on their way back? Bruce clung to that hope, ordering the troops to camp 20 kiloters outside Ashbrook Town. Recon units were sent to scour the area.
The report ca back - Ridgebreak Battalion was camped just outside Ashbrook Town. They hadn’t launched an attack. They were just sitting there.
That flicker of hope died. What Bruce didn’t know was that Ridgebreak was waiting for the Ice Regint to surrender.
But Bruce thought they were waiting for him, believing that fleeing scout belonged to Ridgebreak.
So much for a quiet backstab. With no way to stealth through, Bruce had to move his force right to Ashbrook’s outskirts. That’s when the Ridgebreak side sent envoys, proposing a negotiation. Bruce thought it over - if they’d agree to back off from the grain stash, he’d be willing to spare so supplies. Better that than a bloody fight.
And if they didn’t? He had 30,000 troops. They had 10,000. He’d crush them.
What no one realized was that both sides had completely misread the situation. Springvale’s force didn’t find a Ridgebreak scout - it was Ice Regint all along.
And Ridgebreak? They weren’t lying in wait for Springvale. They were just waiting on news of the Ice Regint’s surrender.
Now, both sides had eyes on each other and neither dared make the first move.
"It’s been over an hour! Why haven’t the negotiators co back yet?" Bruce was pacing inside the command truck, uneasy. If this war went sideways, going back ho might an a bullet waiting for him. But if he didn’t go back... well, those pampered won he kept in Springvale City wouldn’t be too forgiving either. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he got.
anwhile, Tony, deputy commander of the Ridgebreak Battalion’s 13th Division, wasn’t feeling much better. Everything had been going so well - the won guarding the underground grain depot had already agreed to surrender. Then suddenly, the Springvale troops showed up, ruining everything.
"Damn unlucky," Tony cursed under his breath. The Springvale side had a stronger force. He’d sent people to negotiate, planning to offer up a big chunk of food in hopes they’d back off. Secure the grain first - survival ca before pride.
Three hours passed. Still no sign from either team’s negotiation unit. Both commanders were losing patience.
Bruce snapped, "Soone get Commander Lee here!"
It didn’t take long. Once Lee boarded the command truck, Bruce gave his order: "Take two reinforced companies and go to the designated eting spot. I want to know what the hell’s going on there! If negotiations aren’t done, bring our people back. It’s almost dark - how much longer can they talk?"
On the other side, Tony couldn’t sit still anymore either. He called in one of his officers. "Take a company to the eting point. Find out what the hell happened."
"Yes, sir!" The officer nodded and left quickly.
Tony scowled. "Three damn hours, just to say yes or no? What kind of negotiation is this?"
The stalemate had both armies sitting on the outskirts of Ashbrook Town, less than ten kiloters apart. The eting spot was midway between the two - a rundown, abandoned gas station.
Lee, leading his 500 n from two reinforced companies, was the first to arrive. But the place was empty - no sign of their negotiation team or the Ridgebreak team. Not even vehicles.
Just as he was trying to figure out what was wrong, word ca from scouts - a Ridgebreak company had been spotted nearby. Both sides had seen each other but held fire, reporting back instead.
They t at the gas station, both trying to figure out where their envoys had gone. But just as Ridgebreak’s team arrived, rockets ca screaming down from the hills on both sides. Four in total.
Chaos erupted. Each side thought it was an ambush set by the other. Gunfire exploded. Within ten minutes, Springvale’s troops, under Commander Lee, managed to win - but barely. The Ridgebreak side was completely wiped out.
But just as Lee allowed himself a breath of relief, more rockets launched from the hills...
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