Chaos consud the scouting camp instantly.
Thirty nual soldiers scrambled from their tents, grabbing whatever weapons they could reach while trying to form a defensive periter.
"GET THOSE SONS OF BITCHES!"
Soone shouted frantic orders, and within ten seconds, swords were drawn, and torches flared to life.
’I’ve to respect their training,’ Kane thought, sidestepping a frantic spear thrust.
Moving through the terrified soldiers, Kane read the room exactly like he did in the tournant.
Avoiding unnecessary effort, he simply found the hole in their uncoordinated response, exploiting the split-second hesitations.
Over on the flanks, the Knights of Elfheim proved they were sothing else.
Kane had fought beside highly skilled warriors before, but these two moved with a terrifying.
Every single strike they made seed to account for the enemy’s counterattack before the enemy even twitched.
One Knight took the left side, while the other took the right.
Carving expanding, systematic arcs through the camp, they left nothing breathing in their wake.
Tearing straight through the center, Kessa let her Bloodrage Form activate.
The bond they shared kept the wild version suppressed, but the combat enhancent still surged through her muscles.
Becoming a force of nature within her imdiate space, she used her claws and fangs with far more efficiency than any forged blade.
"Too slow," Kessa whispered, ripping a soldier’s throat out before he could swing his broadsword.
"GAH!"
Up on the ridge, Sira provided flawless overwatch.
Four shots whispered through the night air.
Four fleeing targets dropped into the tall grass before they could reach the safety of the trees.
’She never misses,’ Kane smirked, ducking under a wildly swung halberd.
Then there was Brak.
The young man anchored the eastern edge with his iron-alloy shield and battleaxe, working with a highly controlled aggression.
Taking brutal lessons from Kane, Kessa, and Rutheus, Brak had evolved into sothing that would genuinely frighten seasoned veterans in a few short years.
"Watch your left flank, kid!" Kane called out casually, crushing a guard’s ribs with a swift kick.
"Already on it, Chief," Brak grinned, bashing a nual scout’s face in with the rim of his shield.
"These guys are softer than the tournant fighters!"
Scanning the fading chaos, Kane identified the enemy commander in under twenty seconds.
This man was the only person in the entire valley assessing the situation rather than blindly reacting to it.
Backing slowly toward the command tent, the officer’s eyes darted around, calculating survival odds and looking for any option out of this.
Finding his saddled horse, he shoved his foot into the stirrup.
Kane flicked his wrist.
Mjoldr spun through the air, catching the fleeing commander squarely between the shoulder blades.
"Agh!"
Deliberately using the flat of the blade, Kane ensured the strike wouldn’t be lethal.
He needed this man conscious for a few more minutes.
The officer collapsed into the weeds.
Pinning him down with a boot to the spine, Kane leaned over.
"The western pass movent," Kane demanded softly.
"Give the dates and the force composition."
Gasping for breath, the commander looked up at the red-haired warlord.
His eyes darted around the ruined camp, weighing whether staying silent served any logical purpose anymore.
Thirty of his elite n were dead.
"You’re going to kill anyway," the man wheezed, spitting blood into the grass.
"I am," Kane agreed pleasantly.
"But I can make it very quick, or I can let my beastwoman use you as a scratching post for the next three hours. Your choice."
The commander talked.
It took four minutes for Kane to extract what he needed.
He got the force composition, the invasion tiline, and the route through the western pass that the ga data never detailed, as the lazy developers never finished programming that section of the map.
Stepping back, Kane looked at Kessa.
Wiping blood from her chin, she read the silent question in his relaxed posture.
"He saw our faces," Kessa pointed out.
"He saw our faces," Kane agreed.
Squeezing his eyes shut, the commander let out a trembling breath.
Kessa’s claws flashed once.
Slash.
The entire camp fell completely silent inside two minutes.
Kane watched the two Knights wipe their blades clean.
"You two don’t waste any movent, do you?"
"The Queen requires efficiency," one Knight replied smoothly, offering a crisp nod.
"Good. Keep that energy for the main force," Kane smiled.
Standing in the center of the slaughter, Kane let the crimson aura from his axe cast a glow across thirty tents.
[Unofficial War - First Strike Complete]
[nual forward scouting unit eliminated]
[Intelligence gained: Western pass tiline - 6 days]
[Western pass force composition: 800 light cavalry, 200 heavy infantry, 12 siege engines]
[Note: The main force is smaller than expected. They rely on surprise and distraction. Without the distraction, their numbers are insufficient for a sustained campaign.]
[Combat bonus applied: All party mbers receive a 15% stat increase for 48 hours - Adrenaline Surge passive triggered]
Wiping Mjoldr on a patch of clean grass, Kane turned to his assembled team.
"We have six days," Kane announced to the group, pulling up his ntal map.
"And they are bringing twelve siege engines. That ans they’re planning to take and hold territory, not just conduct a quick border raid."
Sliding down the ridge, Sira rejoined the group.
"Why would they bring twelve siege engines for a surprise attack on Milfheim?"
"Because they need that deep harbor intact," Kane explained.
"Siege engines of that size are designed to crack defensive walls without burning down the valuable infrastructure sitting behind them. They want those coastal docks fully functional."
"How are we supposed to stop eight hundred elite cavalry and a dozen siege weapons with our current numbers?" Kessa asked, crossing her arms skeptically.
Kane stared toward the western pass treeline.
"We don’t stop them inside the pass," Kane corrected her.
"We stop them before they even reach it."
Gesturing for his squad to form up, Kane started walking back toward the elven border.
"Sira, get Firlia’s confirmation that our warning ssage reached the Millenia Empress," Kane ordered, picking up the pace.
"Brak, I want you to run ahead and wake Rutheus."
"Why do we need the old man right now?" Brak asked, jogging to keep up.
"Because I need his personal knowledge of the northern mountain approaches," Kane replied, his mind already formulating the ambush.
"You want to hit them in the mountains?" Lirael asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"That terrain is brutal on foot."
"Exactly," Kane laughed softly.
"They are bringing siege equipnt. They are going to be slow, arrogant, and extrely vulnerable. A lifeti chance to stop the army."
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