“So what are you suggesting that we do now?” King Aled asked Rhydian. It had only been a few days but they had been able to confirm that Duke Ryder had truly pulled back his forces. Duke Burn’s new allies had apparently spooked him enough to stop his dogged pursuit of the King’s forces, if temporarily.

“We move. I doubt that we will get another opportunity like this, we should make the most of it and try to secure a better position for ourselves.” Rhydian was much more comfortable being on the offensive than the defensive. Now that he had the ability to choose between the two, he was not going to turn down the occasion. Such a good chance was not a common thing.

“And what do you suggest that we do?” Cinar asked, since the Duke’s men had pulled back west, he had returned to Mapjess. And as soon as the King knew of his return, he called a meeting with his inner circle. Rhydian was included as he now led the Royal faction’s army, not to mention that he was one of Braydon’s knights.

“What I have in mind is us tailing the Duke all the way back home. The important part is that we must not fight him unless we can be assured that Duke Burn is also going to be in the picture. There is a reason why we have been cooped up on this side of the river.” Rhydian was still wary of taking Duke Ryder on in battle. While the Twin Duchies had now joined on Duke Burn’s side, that did nothing to change the number of men that the other two factions had.

“I understand that we want to be near to the action to take advantage of the situation that is unfolding but what happens if Duke Ryder just turns around and attacks us once he knows that we are following him?” Ethan had a point. The only reason why Duke Ryder had not made another big move was that they were on different sides of the Harmony. And even then, he would have tried had Duke Burn not been in the picture.

“We pull back. We may not have many advantages as a smaller force than Duke Ryder but the one thing that is working for us is that we can move much faster than he could hope to with an army that size.” Rhydian said as if it were obvious; and, to an extent it was.

“That would put a great demand on our scouts. They would likely not get any rest for weeks at a minimum.” Cinar pointed out. And it was worth considering. Of all of the lords that had come to the King’s banner, even the northeastern lords, none had decent scouts. They simply didn’t need them. At the best of times their conflicts were usually local in scale and with armies of much smaller sizes. That meant that only the Dukes and the King himself would spend the time to train them. The King’s scouts would need to rest at some point.

“That is why we should take great pains to maintain at least a day’s distance between ourselves and the Duke. When I say we follow him, I do not intend for us to follow him closely. That would give him too many chances to attack us. But Since we know roughly where he is going, we can use that to our advantage in following him.” Rhydian was not going for quick results, it was apparent to everyone there that he only intended to fight a battle after Duke Ryder and Duke Burn faced off on the battlefield. The only problem was that Duke Burn usually followed that strategy. And he could be trying to do the same thing again.

“Do you think that Duke Burn will try to do something similar? Or does the Twin Duke’s involvement mean that he has given up on that approach?” Braydon asked. If Duke Burn made a similar decision as them, it was the same as putting the choice to Duke Ryder. He would get to choose who he would fight first since he would be able to catch at least one side out eventually.

“It is likely that the other Dukes will force Duke Burn’s hand on this one. They may have promised to help but they will not wait forever, and both Duke Ryder and Duke Burn likely know this.” Cinar put forward his thoughts on the matter. And it made some sense. While everyone was running against the clock, it largely depended on who had the most time left. And Duke Burn had decided to trade time for strong allies. If he did not make a move then someone would force him to, be that his enemies or his allies.

“Then we are decided?” The King looked around to see if there were any more questions about Rhydian’s plan. There was none, that was one of the things the King preferred about talking to people that were close to him. While they may not see entirely eye to eye, they were not going to object to each other’s ideas out of principle or spite.

“Then I will start preparing the men to move.” Rhydian said as he rose to his feet and bowed to the people present. If they were going to follow the Duke’s men, they would have to set off quickly. There was a difference between following at a distance and waiting until Duke Ryder had already reached the other side of the country to start moving.

“The rest of you may as well go start making your preparations as well.” The King dismissed everyone else, as he stood up to go and make his own preparations too. While he was not leading the entire army directly, he still had the largest group of men in the royal faction. There was plenty enough for him to tend to without having to care about everyone else’s issues.

“So now that you have come back, how about we get something out of the way before it is once again too late?” Braydon walked beside Cinar as they left the room. And there was one thing that he wanted sorting out before the whole army was on the move. They would not be bringing Nela along for this.

“My thoughts exactly.” Cinar said with a somewhat conflicted yet happy expression. He knew what Braydon was talking about without him having to mention it directly. And more likely than not, Nela already knew that he had returned too.