“In prolonged battles, the victors were usually the ones who simply held on the longest, not the bravest or the mightiest.” - Saying attributed to Xaliburnus the Conqueror, First Emperor of the Elmaiya Empire.

“So what now, Rein? They know we’re here and would likely expect us from now on,” asked Elfriede when the commanders had gathered together in the command tent that night. While their strike earlier that day had been wildly successful, they all knew that it was partly because they had the element of surprise, which was now used up. Their opponents would know to expect them from then on, which made future attacks more difficult.

“We stay here in the forests,” said Reinhardt as he used a claw to circle the region of the forest they controlled. After their retreat, the Bostvans had not pursued further after many of their pursuing troops never returned from the forest. “And make life hell for them.”

Where the former Free Lances under Ingrid’s leadership was considered irregulars by dwarven senses, the current Company under Reinhardt were irregulars in the true sense. They had learned from the past, and incorporated the mistakes and successes they had before into their current doctrine.

The Free Lances as it stood specialized in fast raids and ambushes, as well as reconnaissance in force and guerilla warfare, the last of which Lars had helped them pick up quite well. The former Holy Kingdom native had outlined how he would have done things had he been in charge, and Reinhardt had agreed that it would have been a hellish slog to tackle indeed. Naturally the Company had adopted such tactics into their own.

At the moment, a fourth of the company was on guard in various positions throughout the forest, prepared to make life hell for any Bostvans who dared to enter their territory. Those guards would rotate in shifts to ensure that the Company was never caught flat-footed.

Any enemy soldiers who entered the forest would be whittled down by traps and ambushes, sneak attacks and misdirections, until they grew weak enough to be finished off. In the past week the Free Lances had turned the forest into a deathtrap for anyone entering the region without a map of where the traps were set.

“Sal, from tomorrow onwards, your folks will have to pull in some extra work,” said Reinhardt as he turned to face Salicia. The one-eyed woman simply nodded. Her archers - now further reinforced by some slingers from Egil’s group - had taken no casualties given the concealment they shot from. “I want you to harry the Bostvans from the side whenever they go into battle. Go wild on their commanders and make them keep their heads down.”

“Can do,” replied Salicia with another nod. “We’ll likely need some guards, though, in case they go into the forest in force.”

“Nicole, Egil, Fatimah, I want your people to be on shift when Sal’s harassing them. Delay and harass if they come en masse, eliminate when possible to do with minimal risks,” said Reinhardt after he nodded to Salicia. “Mischka, I’d like your people to be their backup. Help them retreat should the enemy come in too fast with too large a number.”

“Consider it done, Captain,” replied the large Therian matron with a fang-bearing grin. “Any other things?”

“Yeah, try not to overextend or overdo things. We just want to harass them and remind them that we’re here for the next few days at least,” said Reinhardt as he traced a line from their encampment, looping behind enemy lines, before reaching the Bostvan encampment from behind. “When they get complacent and used to our presence, we’ll raid them from behind and set their asses on fire.”

“Friede, Grün, have your people assist Pops with the incendiaries,” he said next. While food and other important items were likely stored in storage items and thus difficult to burn, they could still burn the encampment itself and the people in it. “And Soledad, have your riders be prepared, make sure all your mounts are in good condition for the raid. Be ready to go anytime.”

A chorus of nods answered Reinhardt, and he smiled in satisfaction. “For the rest of you, have your troops be prepared to take up their shifts as guards. Remember, always whittle them down first until you’re certain you can wipe them out before you strike for real. Dismissed.”

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The Free Lances put the plan that Reinhardt had concocted with Lars’ help to work the next day. The Bostvan forces clearly still reeled from the losses they took the day before, as a good quarter of their archers were incapacitated or dead, and they were down to a single, rickety, barely working siege engine salvaged from the wreckage of the others.

This time, three full squares of footsoldiers - a thousand men each - were held back to guard the archers from another attack like the day before and watched the forest in full alert. Meanwhile, the makeshift contraption the Bostvan engineered had practically magicked out of the wreckage the mercenaries left behind hurled its first stone at Fort Kuzi.

Salicia peered closely at the makeshift siege engine from her perch within the forest and noticed something. Since the mercenaries had completely wrecked the siege engines the day before, many parts of the siege engine in use were nailed together or held in place by thick ropes. She sent a missive to Reinhardt asking for permission to break it.

By the time the reply arrived, the battle had begun on the defense lines, and the Free Lances added a periodic rain of arrow and sling bullets from the flanks of the Bostvan forces, with Salicia taking out any commander who made themselves noticeable to her from afar.

The one-eyed woman smiled when she received Reinhardt’s affirmative reply, and took aim. The makeshift siege engine was just within her range if she extended it using the little bit of space affinity magic she mastered, and she just waited for the right moment.

When the siege engine’s arm swung for another throw, Salicia loosed her arrow at once. The large, thick arrow flew straight and went right into a small portal barely large enough for it, then reappeared from a second portal a hundred meters further away. It passed through the frame of the siege engine and sliced through two ropes. Ropes which happened to bear the load and stress for the frame at the moment.

Needless to say, the result was catastrophic as the makeshift trebuchet imploded on itself, the stress too much for the rest of the frame to handle. Chunks of wood were hurled around and struck those unfortunate enough to be nearby, while the last rock it tried to hurl fell on top of an unfortunate square of Bostvan infantry instead.

Far away from her perch atop a branch in the forest, Salicia smirked as she saw the results of her handiwork.