At the moment, a few days after reaching PennyHarbor and dealing with the mess that was the army, Jonas finally sat down with a concise report of the soldiers and their make up around the city. For the longest time, and for reasons unknown to him, it was military practice to estimate their numbers rather than have an actual idea of what was on the field.

Whether they feared losing that information or it getting into the hands of the enemy, he did not know. But what he did convinced him, that if the enemy could infiltrate all the way to the very heart of an army—the general’s tent—then they were already doomed to death irrespective if they had the reports on hand or not.

All that was needed was a knife to the throat to take out their most important figure.

And if they could reach the general, the rest of the commanders were easy pickings. Like plucking the highest apple from an apple tree. Once that is down, the rest were simple in comparison.

What he learned from reading everything he had on hand, he learned that the imperial armies were absolutely horrible at large, frontal, and offensive encounters. Why this quirk had been established left him bewildered. Their ancestors had come down from the mountains and took the previous kingdom that occupied their motherland without once falling back to defend a pass.

While that crazed offensive had caused innumerable unnecessary casualties, it did its job to spread the enemy thin and break them apart. Each city falling one by one without any ability to retaliate since they were all sieged.

Now, in the colony, they were only taught to fight on the walls and how to protect them from mass numbers. It was surpirsing, to be truthful, how well they had been drilled when it came to defense.

From simple mechanics to the arnments of the largest mana canons.

That was probably the only thing they had going for them.

Sixty-five thousand foot soldiers and twenty-five cavalry riders. A formidable force considering that was not including all the men in the forts surrounding the city. They’d number over the hundred and fifty thousand mark.

And no archers. Or crossbowmen. Or balisteas. Just cannoneers, melee soldiers and mages, whom were lead by Keda—the second general was a mage, knight hybrid of sorts. Which, when Jonas thought about it, was absolutely awesome. He wondered if he could do the same and why others cannot. Keda couldn’t be an exception to some rule could he?

“Stop looking so glum, young master. You’ll get wrinkles before your thirties like that.” Ash interrupted his musing. She had jus walked into the room after being summoned by Jonas.

He had prepared a few papers with detailed drawings of the formations that were so famous ages past...or in his dreams. He didn’t know which, but he was sure it was in the past. He’ll have to convince her it was a tomb he read from some ancient crypt of something.

His shoulders drooped. He hated being reminded how bad these guys were. “How could I not? Archers aren’t even a standard unit in the entire colony! It’s utter stupidity, that’s what it is! When asked why, they just twiddled their thumbs and stayed quite like some shy maidens!”

Ash laughed boisterously. Why she found it so funny, he didn’t understand. So he looked at Frezar with askance. The old butler smiled.

“You cannot blame them for such things. Master. They are born into high society were the bow is considered the weapon of the coward, so in their great wisdom, thought it was best to leave it out of the army in general. It takes more than guts to try and convince them otherwise, then again you brow beat them into submission.”

“They got sticks so far up their-” Ash began but stopped as she noticed Jonas’s frown. Idiots and incompetent bastards they were, but even then, they were a part of high society. Rulers and stewards of the emperor’s lands. “What I meant to say was that they are too arrogant to use them. They have to run, full charge, with an ornate and unrealistic blade made for dancing than battle. Right into the waiting lines of orcs almost twice their size.”

Jonas’s head hurt just thinking about it. He was so going to grill the two general’s for this. Let them face his ire before he meets with the mastermind of this genius plan. It would take quite a bit not to take their head off the second he finds them.

No offensive, and middling defensive prowess. It was a recipe for disaster. Only thing that kept them surviving until now were the walls so massive, it would take millions just to siege them. Creations of the great and illustrious dwarves of Mertaenhali under the Mountain range of Mertaenhali. They knew what they were doing, it was just us not fully using them to their utmost capability.

Then again, after what he learned from Greta and Clay that one day, he didn’t blame them for walls that high. Ancient horrors ramaging in mass numbers and a Karashque on the loose. Jonas shivered as he imagined such a scene.

“Let’s forget this for now. I have these stratergies for you to look over, Ash. I clearly remember reading them from an ancient tomb in my father’s library. Some general mummified in some dusty crypt or something.” He pushed the pieces of paper towards her end of the office. With a nod from him she sat down with a curious face.

While she read it, Frezar got close to him. “Young master, I don’t wish to speculate or presume, but I don’t remember such an important tomb ever being placed in your father’s personal collection. He had quite a few that I had read before, but none on battle tactics.” The man whispered only loud enough for them to hear.

Jonas, meanwhile, felt a cold sweat running down his back. When did he ever get to intimately know his father’s library, and more importantly, there was a personal collection? When did that ever happen and why had he never found out?

D-did Frezar outrank him before being assigned his butler? The thought of the old butler being cast down for any reason felt like blasphemy after how long he had taken care of him. For the entire time he knew the man, he was nothing but kind and forever willing to sacrifice for him.

Jonas couldn't even imagine him lying much less hurt someone else for any reason what so ever. It was the reason he couldn’t help but clutch his stomach in laughter when Frezar jumped in front of him and pulled out that claymore from under his robes.

“Err...I-I dont know?” Dang it. Way to go. Smooth, Jonas. Smooth.

Frezar looked absolutely confused. “What?”

“I dont know...why! Yea. I wouldn’t know why you wouldnt see it. Even I didn’t see all of my father’s things. He probably forgot or something.” He sounded like he was trying to convince himself, but it was enough to have Frezar dawn a contemplative look.

He had to swipe a bead of sweat from his forehead.

Even for a moment, the old butler looked like he was going to add more questions to the few almost impossible to answer. But before he could, Ash came to the rescue without knowing fully well.

Jonas thanked her in his mind.

“This...is amazing. Create a turtle of spikes and spears and just like that, the orcish charge, they are so renowned for, is made worthless. No. It would be a disadvantage!” Her eyes shone bright with excitement, but then it dimmed a bit. “Though mobility would be an issue and terrain. Anything difficult would create holes in the lines. That would mean easy defeat.”

Jonas smiles, she saw through it with just the first look. “That isn’t an issue if we have multiple types of legions near one another. Each helping the other hand in hand-”

“We could repurpose the shieldmen! Those towering doors they call shields can be used to flank two legions—as you call them—in an endless sequence. Behind them skirmishers! They could wield the swords and sabers the Nobility love so much and even some of them could use halberds and glaives to cover any holes in the formation.

Even the see high nobility won’t have a problem being the linchpin of the army. Much glory for them, while you can achieve this reform! They have no excuse to deny you this, instead they would lose face if they do! What would a noble be without face? Then we can slowly integrate archers and-”

Well, she was on a roll. He knew better than to interrupt her rambling. Then again, it was going to be helpful to him in the end, so she could go on forever if she wanted.

Now, he had to get the generals to agree without too much of a fuss. But, from what he knew of them, they were going to argue with each other more than him by the end of it. The two were destined to butt heads whenever they saw each other.