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In preparation for the battle, we sent out multiple scouts. The closer they got to the capital, the riskier their mission, but just like us, they were willing to give their life to see us succeed. There are no mobile communication devices, so all reports are sent on messenger pigeons. They were especially raised for war, selected for their speed, so we did not have too many of them. We had multiple relay stations on the way, where the pigeons would arrive and rest while another pigeon took their load to the next relay point. That way they would always move as fast as possible, making it harder to intercept them.

At the same time, the relay stations would be the first to know about any enemy movements, making it easier to spread the word to various places. That was helpful to us since we were split into four armies.

“Everything is going according to plan, huh.”
“I’m actually grateful it’s Stied controlling the enemy.”

Lyde and I grinned at each other hearing the report. After taunting him that night, and then leaking that we were splitting our army into four, Stied easily bit the bait.

Stied’s army outnumbered ours by a lot, and in most cases splitting our forces could be a devastating mistake, but thankfully we had the hero’s party on our side. If I was in Stied’s position, I would ignore the four armies and charge straight into Surfour and take the city. That was easier, and it would force the split army to gather and return. But Stied would not do that, our provocation had turned his goal from conquering the city to simply killing us.

The group I was with waited in a large plain where armies could maneuver easily, so Stied’s main army was coming here. It was mainly composed by royal knights and black knights. A third of their wyverns, pegasus, and magicians were also coming here. In total, they numbered around 10’000 together with the common soldiers. They were ten times our size, fighting in a large plain with no cover. Anyone would think we had a death wish, but we needed to do this to lure Stied out, or he would just hide behind everything.

Stied seemed to be the angriest at me, taking the largest army for himself to fight me, while the remainder was split evenly for the other armies. Still, I knew my friends would still have a rough time.

We were already in our designed location, so we quickly began setting up camp. The magicians dug up deep trenches, while the soldiers felled trees and began building a palisade around our camp. It was a very crude defense, but it should be enough to stop the footsoldiers and knights from rushing in. A good distance back we set up the archer positions and ballistas to stop aerial attacks. The distance was going to lower their accuracy, but they would also be safe from the enemy there.

“We still have time, I feel like we could build a simple fortification if we needed to.”
“We could, but then we’d lose our escape route.”
“You’re right.”

Lyde nodded in agreement. We were expecting the enemy to arrive at noon the next day. It was possible to build a fortification in that time, making it harder for them to reach us, but that would mean that our entire army would be inside walls which the enemy could surround, and snuff out any chance to escape. That would also take away our only advantage, our high mobility, so I had no intention of building such a structure.

I glanced at the soldiers scrambling to get ready for tomorrow. They were not confident with only the resources we had provided, and had bought extra potions and other equipment on their own. High level potions were expensive and scarce, so most of them were simple healing potions. That would not be enough to heal heavy wounds, but it should be enough for small scratches and cuts.

There were some high level potions available, but not many would carry them, and even the army would seldom give them out. The reason for that was that usually if a soldier lost a limb, or was impaled, they would die before they could use the potion. Even if we gave everyone those potions, it was hard to imagine they would be able to drink them while writhing in pain. Such serious wounds threw almost anyone into a wild panic, unless they had an extremely resilient mind, or were some pervert that enjoyed pain. All in all, it would be a waste to hand out such valuable potions.

We had all those potions and other medicine stashed in the backlines. It was more efficient to drag the wounded back there to treat them, than to try forcing someone to drink a potion in the heat of battle.

The few magicians and priests we had in our ranks also had magic potions instead, which would restore their mana. They would all be in the backlines, healing and shooting magic from a distance, so magic potions were more useful to them since it was rare for injuries to happen in the backlines.

Some also prepared thin clothes which they soaked in water before wearing them over their armor. That was a simple defense against fire magic, though it was rather ineffective against direct blows, so not everyone did that. Once the trenches and palisades were built, everyone took some time to rest. Some took that time to feed their pegasus or wyvern, shared food with their comrades, or enjoyed that time in their own way. We still had scouts actively looking for the enemy’s arrival, and some units watching the sky too, so we did not have to worry about a surprise attack.

I walked around with Lyde inspecting the camp, while also watching what the soldiers did. Even though there was a high likelihood many of them would die, I did not feel any dread from them. I could not tell whether desperation had driven them insane, or if they were all optimistic and believed they would survive.

“Lapis! Would you like to share a drink with me?”
“Hey, don’t get ahead of yourself! Lapis, my drinks are better!”
“They all came from the same provisions so they should be the same!”

The soldiers joked and drank happily together. I smiled seeing that, approaching them and taking the wooden cup the first one offered, emptying it all in a single gulp.

“Ohhh!”
“She knows how to drink!”

To be honest, that lukewarm ale was…atrocious. Not to mention it was made especially strong to attempt relaxing the soldiers before battle. I never liked alcohol either, so at first I felt like throwing up, but I resisted the urge and finished the entire cup before returning it to the soldier with a smile.

“Thanks, that was good.”
“You’re welcome! I’ll keep this cup you drank from as a family heirloom from now on!”
“…I’d prefer it if you didn’t.”

I was slightly put off by that weird comment, and decided to continue looking around with Lyde. I waved back at the soldiers that greeted me while we made rounds through the camp, and when we were done Lyde began chuckling.

“What happened?”
“Oh it’s nothing, it’s just that everyone seems to be keeping up better than I thought. I guess they’ve all made up their minds.”

Lyde said that with a bright smile, but I felt like there was a bit of sadness mixed within. Maybe he, and all the other soldiers, understood they would not make it out alive and had resigned themselves… I could not blame them, our army was vastly outnumbered, so any sensible person would flee if given the chance.

“It’ll be fine.”

I stood in front of Lyde and declared firmly.

“I’ll make sure we win. If Stied falls in combat, the enemy won’t have a reason to keep fighting, so I’m sure they’ll relent instantly. That should diminish the number of casualties.”
“…You’re right. We’ll hold them off as much as we can while you focus on Stied then.”

No matter how strong I was, I could not promise there would be zero casualties in such a battle. Lyde was fully aware of that, but refused to mention it. That was something no commander should ever say. That was why I also omitted the topic, only focusing on happier results.

“This country will be peaceful once again, when the battle is over tomorrow.”

I said that irresponsibly, trying to fight off any uneasiness.