“A military commander that had not planned what to do should the first plan fail is one who courts defeat to their bed.” - Saying attributed to Liang Si-Zhu, Famed Tactician of the Huan Confederacy, circa 92-134 VA.

“You might not be aware of it since it’s not done in Dvergarder to the best of my knowledge, Captain Edelstein, but many of the commanders amongst my army from Algenverr are part of the gentry,” said Nestor with tone that sounded nearly apologetic in his voice. “Some of them had been in such a position since my grandfather’s days, and they tend to be rather… entrenched in their view of many things, including how warfare ought to be done.”

“The ones with the sour faces from earlier, then,” commented Reinhardt nonchalantly. He was normally uncaring about such internal conflicts, but had to since this one involved the army he was part of. “So what do you plan to do with them?”

“Me? Why, nothing at all. I even allowed them to demonstrate the chivalry and courage they hold dear when they demanded to be given the honor of the opening strike in our next battle, whenever and wherever it may be,” said Nestor with a tone that hinted at some schadenfreude mixed with frustration. “Because of course it would not be my place as a youngster to advise their seniors on how to do battle, is it not?”

“You’re more ruthless than I gave you credit for, Sir Nunez,” admitted Reinhardt with an open smirk on his face. “I like that. Do continue?”

“Assuming the Kolitscheians decided to meet us on the field of battle, we estimate that it would likely happen here, here, or here,” said Nestor as he pointed to spots on a map of Kolitschei and its surroundings with his fingers. “All three locations are wide open areas that would allow infantry formations to maneuver freely and give archers a clear line of sight, since they also prided themselves for their archery corps. Each of the locations had a convenient hill on the far side for their archers to array themselves on.”

“From the previous wars Kolitschei had been involved in, they usually arrayed their infantry formation with levies as supporting elements, while their men-at-arms formed the backbone of said formation. Their elite Warforged traditionally positioned themselves on the right wing of the formation, and were known to break into enemy formations and rout them from that position many times in the past,” he continued. “Based on that, I had previously contacted Miriam to plan our responses together.”

“There are a few more assumptions and guesses based on tradition than I liked there, may I ask the reason for the lack of more current information?”

“Simple enough. Kolitschei had not committed their forces in battle for the past decade or so, and instead mostly held a defensive posture. Everyone still recalled the legends of the Warforged, so nobody was keen on bashing themselves against the rocks, so to speak,” replied Nestor. “By the same token, however, it also means that the people we are about to face would be less experienced in actual battle compared to the ones from the past tales.”

“Yeah, that’s a trade off I’ll take, if you put it that way, Your Grace,” said Reinhardt with a nod. “I definitely would rather take on a well-trained and highly motivated inexperienced foe over a worse-trained, poorly motivated but highly experienced one.”

“It’s what I thought too when I chose to target Kolitschei for this expedition,” said Nestor in agreement. “Anyway, other than the commanders who will bravely and courageously charge our foes head-on with their retinue in a show of chivalry, I plan to divide our forces into five contingents.”

“I have with me four of the five legions that I’ve personally built and raised over the past decade and a half in an attempt to reform Algenverr’s military. They’re superior to levies by far, though perhaps not as well-equipped as a typical noble’s men-at-arms,” he continued. “Each of the legions are two thousand strong, and I intend to revolve our formation around them.”

“Where is the missing one if I may ask?”

“The third legion is with Damien in Lovia-Hosberg,” replied Nestor before he lined up several figures on the map. “Our centerline will be the contingent from Jonkver under Miriam’s lead, while on our right flank I plan to have Commander Lankenau with the fifth legion and some of our levies together with all the other mercenary companies. Commander Igbal will hold the fourth legion back as our reserves.”

“Since you want us to hit the Warforged, we’d be on the left flank then I assume?”

“Correct. I would like your troops to tag along behind the left flank’s extremities. Griselda will lead the second legion and distract them while your forces go through them as we had discussed,” said Nestor as he nodded in approval. “I will personally lead the first legion and the rest of our levies to hold the left flank while your Company and the second legion execute the maneuver. If all goes well, we’ll turn the Warforged’s favored tactics right back at them.”

“What if they refused to crack even after we struck them from behind?” asked Reinhardt with a hint of caution after he quietly discussed with Lars for a moment. “I’m confident of my men’s capabilities, but we wouldn’t be able to last too long in the midst of so many elites unassisted if this plan flops.”

“I will ask you to attempt two attacks against the rear of their formation. If my first legion had failed to break them after that, you have permission to fight your way right out of their formation and back into ours,” replied Nestor with an understanding nod. “We will keep them occupied for you, but I know you probably consider words not enough of a guarantee in a case like this, so I will allow you to name your price.”

“Five times the pay if we succeed,” said Reinhardt bluntly after a quick discussion.

“You have a deal, Captain Edelstein,” replied Nestor as he stood up and shook Reinhardt’s larger hand over the table. “Should this work out as planned, I will consider it the one of the best invesments I’ve paid for in my life.”