“This is Johan, he will be your mentor in the sphere arts.” Aureus said as he introduced Johan.

Wolfe extended his arm in a grasping motion. Johan did not miss a beat and crossed arms with Wolfe in the way of the barbarians.

If silence could speak, the silence of the surrounding officers would have spoke volumes with their enforced quietness.

Aureus himself thought that this could not be helped for in the circumstances were less dire, this youth may have been considered to be a key military target to be taken out.

While an external enemy is able to force common enemies to unite, since when has hatred been so easily resolved? Aureus shook his head as he turned to more immediate matters.

As Wolfe and Johan left the tent to finalize their mentorship, the discussion revolved once more about handling the demon horde’s encirclement.

As the discussion started anew, Aureus had to state that his objective was to make it to the contested lands and for the various officers to not forget that.

Calvus immediately led off the discussion with the need to integrate the troops with the barbarian forces. While Calvus’s logic was sound, it gained very little traction. Even Denter who would usually be the number one supporter in Calvus’s camp had kept his silence.

As the discussion wore on, the prevailing sentiment was made clear. Integration overnight would not be possible. Not just in terms of formation cohesiveness but also in whether the rank and file were willing to accept the barbarians as comrades in arms. Although none voiced it aloud, it was tacitly agreed that such issues required more time.

Aureus himself weighed in that rushing the integration may create more loopholes for the enemy horde to take advantage of and axed the suggestion. The officers agreed citing that more deaths could be prevented and they would be able to maintain their fighting strength. The fact that the barbarians has recently become their allies were not mentioned.

Tarin supported Aureus’s position by stating that the Aureus army was an elite outfit. Maintaining effective fighting strength should be a key concern when fighting a drawn out battle.

The next topic was whether the Aureus army should move ahead to the contested lands with the barbarian tribes and simple clash with the demon beast hordes on the road.

It was unanimous amongst the entire war council that they stay in the fort and whittle down the demon beasts before heading further out.

Aureus agreed with his officers by stating that he would not trade an advantageous position for one less so without getting anything substantial in return.

The officers were also concerned about the number of probing attacks that were launched at all four walls. It bears resemblance to how an experienced general of an enemy army would probe his enemy for weaknesses before launching a strike at the weakest areas. This was beyond the expectations of most officers.

As the council drew to a close, Aureus stipulated that each every three company leaders were to form a flying company between them to be ready to act as reserves for the barbarian forces at the northern and southern wall.

Later that night , as Aureus withdrew to his tent, he wondered to himself whether keeping him pinned down in the barbarian fort be the objective of the demon beast horde. As Aureus arranged all the available information in his head , he came to a conclusion that there were no discernible gains for the demon beast hordes to keep him here. He did not discount the fact that such intelligence was far beyond the norm for demon beasts as they have already proved themselves to be capable and intelligent adversaries.

Aureus thought it likely that he was overthinking matters, sometimes the simplest answer would suffice. The enemy demon beast wishes to eradicate him here and now.

—

The second day happened much as the first, only this time the demon beast attacks were heavily concentrated on the southern wall where the Blue Water Tribe was. It was not long before the hastily formed flying companies were diverging towards the southern wall to aid the situation there.

As the state of battle progressed, Aureus became increasingly sure that the ultimate aim of the demon beasts were to gauge the strength of the Aureus Army. He immediately sent out orders that commanding officers were not to lead from the front during the duration of the battle. They would report back to the command tent and direct from there. Their second in commands will assume their leadership roles.

As the order reached the various officers, confusion abounded as this was a rare order from Aureus as the officers were used to him dealing with threats as a tiger would hunt a rabbit- will all of one’s might and focus.

Nevertheless, they obeyed and the commanding officers discharged their commands to their seconds before heading back to the command tent.

As the officers of the eastern wall gathered around Aureus, there were looks of discontent from many officers for being pulled from the front lines.

Aureus ignored them all and focused on directing the battle. Every order he gave out as sharp and incisive. When the leaders were pulled back to the command tent, they knew that their roles in the battle would more or less be non-existent. With Aureus commanding, was there a need for them to voice anything?

In the end the officers requested to be excused to be allowed to lead the flying companies aiding the barbarians. As this did not affect Aureus’s strategy of obfuscating his army’s strength, he approved of it instantly.

This state of affairs continued for the next five days. At the end of the week, the horde appeared to have thinned out significantly but there have a slight level of casualty for the barbarian and Aureus’s forces.

So far, a sense of camaraderie was slowly being struck up between the two forces as they fought and bled together. Aureus smiled as he saw the various barbarian warleaders mixing with his own officers.

As everyone prepared for the council, Aureus discussed sending out a combined scouting mission with Boulder. Aureus cited that information was paramount and that their next objective would be to ensure that the combined forces would be able to reach the contested lands safely.

Boulder agreed and pledged that he would send the best barbarian scouts he had that knew the area to complement the scouting party Aureus would be sending out.

With the scouting matter out of the way, the council was in full flow. Surprisingly, there was actually momentum on the discussion regarding the integration of military formations with the barbarian forces.

While Aureus was thrilled at the development, he schooled himself to ensure that he would be the last to speak to ensure that all his officers would have a chance to give their voices to the discussion.

In the end, Aureus asked everyone to send their elites and form a company around him on the next day of battle. Aureus himself would take to the field in an attempt to cull the enemy leadership.

The tent erupted in raucous cheers as Aureus ended his proclamation.