“One’s first impression of another often formed the foundation of how one would think of that other person from then on.” - Mian Tsu-Lao, philosopher from the Huan Confederacy, circa 12 VA.

On the day that followed, the friendly mock battles between the forces of Levain and those of Caroma began.

Each side sent out five hundred soldiers, a large enough amount for the commanders on either side to show the fruits of their training, without risking a chaotic mess. It was generally difficult to control the progress of a larger mock battle, so the number was carefully chosen to allow both sides to display their skills while minimizing risks of injury or death.

Both sides had their soldiers wear full armor, but their weapons were replaced with blunt and padded training weapons. Similarly, projectile weapons and cavalry were excluded from the mock battle. A blunted arrow might still cause serious injury if it happened to land on the eye or other sensitive body parts, while it was all too easy to accidentally trample someone if cavalry was involved. The archers and cavalry would have their own competition to show off against each other later.

As Astra observed the maneuvering armies from atop the city wall, she noticed that Levain’s militia had been trained to operate as a multitude of smaller commands that worked together to form larger formations, much like the Caroman military. It was an unusual approach compared to the larger commands favored by the late Clangeddin Empire, and Astra wondered if it was the mercenaries that taught the Levain militia to fight that way.

There were differences, of course.

Where the Caroman military worked in centuries of a hundred men each – with a five hundred man commander in command of the whole formation – the Levain militia seemed to function on smaller divisions of around forty men each. Those smaller groups gathered together to smoothly form larger formations, a slight sacrifice of overall cohesion in exchange of greater flexibility.

That sort of setup had its benefits, Astra thought. With greater flexibility an army could react better to the ever-changing combat situation. That said, the setup also had its drawbacks, like the larger number of unit leaders needed, as well as the higher requirements the overall commander needed. If the commander did not know how to make use of the flexibility to their advantage, it might turn into a burden instead.

To her surprise, the Levain commander seemed to know what they were doing. When the frontlines clashed, he gave it a short wait to allow the soldiers fighting to get truly entangled with one another before he detached two smaller groups – a hundred twenty men each – to strike at the Caroman formation from the flanks.

The sudden attack gave the Caromans some trouble, but before too long their commander arranged for a century on each side to turn and face the flankers. Caroma had sent out their elites for this exhibition, so the quick reaction from the veteran commander – one of Scipius and Astra’s teachers – was to be expected. It would not do to lose their face in the first exhibition, after all.

In the end, the fight bogged down to the point that both sides took heavy “casualties”. The officials from both sides who refereed the exhibition match agreed to call it a draw, as both sides already had roughly half their soldiers “dead” or “disabled” by that point. The Caroman army had a slight advantage in the main fight, but took heavier casualties on their flanks compared to the Levain militia.

The unexpected result forced many of the Caroman generals – who had little expectation of their allies’ prowess – to revise their opinion on the militia force fielded by the Free City of Levain. The militia had performed far beyond their expectations.

After a short break for lunch and an exchange of thoughts between Levain’s and Caroma’s officer corps, a second exhibition match started. Both sides sent out five hundred more men, entirely new troops, to show a more comprehensive look at their abilities. Astra noticed that the cohesion between this particular unit of Levain Militia seemed to be tighter than the previous one.

Sure enough, instead of attempting to flank their opponent like his predecessor, the commander of the Levain Militia challenged the Caroman detachment to a frontal clash of arms. To the surprise of many Caroman officers and generals, the Levain troops even had a slight advantage in the clash as their soldiers pushed forward forcefully into the Caroman formation.

In an attempt to reverse the situation, the Caroman commander sent out a century of troops to flank their opponents from the right. Before the flanking troops could even reach the Levain flank, however, two small units detached from the side of the Levain formation and intercepted them midway. The Caroman commander then made a gamble and sent out two centuries – at that point nearly half of his remaining troops – to strike from the other flank.

Yet the Levain Militia saw the move coming and the Caroman flanking maneuver was met with a solid defensive formation as the Levain militia on the right flank turned to face them as one, stepping out so as not to disturb those fighting at the front. Their defensive maneuver allowed the militia to push their advantage at the front where they pushed through and broke the Caroman formation.

The referees judged the match as a victory for the Levain Militia, to no surprise.

A draw and a loss threw a damper into the mood of the Caroman officers, though some amongst them – Scipius and Astra’s parents included – gloated at their more arrogant compatriots that underestimating an opponent was a sin. At the same time, those from the Levain Militia gained a lot of confidence thanks to their performance on the exhibition match that day.

That night, Astra talked to her parents about her wish to see the mercenaries Levain hired to train their troops in action. Her parents agreed without much fuss, and Astra noticed the spark in her mother’s eyes that showed that she too was interested in these Free Lances. A short negotiation between the two marshals and the representative from the city council later, and they set the fourth day of the exhibition for a friendly mock battle with the mercenaries.