“What was once uncommon and irregular might eventually become commonplace and regular. War is an ever-shifting thing.” - Liang Shi-Zu, famed tactician from the Huan Confederacy.

“Captain, can you see them clearly or do you want me to go lower?” came Hannah’s voice, somewhat disembodied due to the distance, to Reinhardt's ear.

At the moment Reinhardt had sent Hannah off to scout the enemy movement in the distance, right around the limit of the artifact’s functional range. From his eyepiece, he could see the marching troops from Podovniy as if he was looking from high above, the sight transferred from the piece Hannah wore at the moment.

The picture wasn’t the clearest, though that was less due to the artifact’s capabilities and more due to the height he was looking from. Hannah flew at a height where she wouldn’t only be safe from just about any archer, but would also not stand out due to her size that much. Of course, flying that high had its drawbacks as well, as Reinhardt didn’t have the sharp eyes that allowed Hannah to see well from such a height.

“No, stay at your current height. I can see enough to make decisions, so just keep yourself safe,” replied Reinhardt as he looked at the marching enemy troops once more. Hannah was too far up for him to identify banners and the like, but he could get a general idea of the composition of the Podovniy troops even from such a height.

Reinhardt felt that he truly needed to thank Lars once this current mission was done. The Free Lances, while considered irregular by dwarven standards in his late aunt’s days, were pretty much regular troops under most other considerations. It was the decimation they faced in Theodinaz that made Reinhardt realize that there was so much more they could have done by not sticking to the commonly used methods of battle.

Lars showed that to him – and the other survivors of the Company – by using inferior troops to defeat them piecemeal by surprise and ambushes, avoiding a frontal battle that his side would have likely lost and turning it into a victory by clever use of the terrain instead. It was one reason Reinhardt had been quite eager to include the former enemy tactician into the Company back then, a decision that had paid off greatly so far.

The company had practically readjusted their tactics based on what they learned from Lars, partly to make up for their then greatly diminished numbers, and partly to try out the effectiveness of said tactics for themselves. The decades that had passed since then had proven those irregular tactics’ worth time and again, and by now the Company was well-practiced in its methods.

It was why Reinhardt chuckled to himself when he noticed a small commotion spreading amongst the Podovniy troops from time to time once they hit the first region his troops had trapped prior to their enemy’s arrival. Although he couldn’t see the details from high above, he knew that some poor sod must have stepped into one of the traps and injured themselves, with the more unfortunate ones having their steed fell into the trap instead.

Such traps wouldn’t kill many, if any people, but it would cause the enemy troops to be wary of more traps, and thus slow their march down as they searched the area ahead of them for them. Which played into his goal anyway. Reinhardt kept most of his troops – other than Grünhildr and her fellows from Aldenstadt who based themselves in the abandoned mines near the city turned fortress – further west down the path, where they made further preparations to “welcome” the enemy.

Every little bit of time they bought before the foe’s arrival meant more preparations that awaited said foe.

It was unfortunate that the Podovniy army had longer lines and also split their army into sections of ten thousand each or so, probably to prevent any one ambush or trap from hitting them all at once. Otherwise Reinhardt would have made a gamble and tried to burn them like he did with the Coalition army months ago. Evidently the Podovniy commander had heard of that event and planned against it, though.

Reinhardt was never shy about using whatever means necessary to secure victory. In fact, the majority of mercenaries were the exact same way. The only reason most mercenaries kept an “honorable” image about themselves was not due to some misguided sense of justice or actual honor, but out of sheer pragmatism. Staying on the “honorable” side meant it was easier to find jobs, and those jobs tend to involve more trustworthy employers as well.

On the other hand, those that crossed the line often found themselves hunted down by their fellow mercenaries for bounties placed on their head, so it just made little sense to sacrifice a profitable business for short-term gain.

Reinhardt himself had several other ideas he was not sure he could implement or not against this enemy, but that will have to wait until he had the chance to try them out. The enemy forces outnumber his by tenfold, and they also had a strong contingent of cavalry, which meant that it was imperative for his forces to remain in hiding.

Fortunately there were enough forests, caves, hills, and other such terrain that would allow the Free Lances and the volunteers they brought with them to hide themselves between Aldenstadt and Levain itself. Between the terrain and the prepared traps, Reinhardt was reasonably confident in his ability to lead his troops to harass the enemy while avoiding them at the same time.

He knew that this battle would be the greatest challenge his mercenaries have faced since their rebuilding after Theodinaz, yet instead of worry he couldn’t help but to feel some excitement inside his heart. In many ways this campaign would test how far the Free Lances had come over those years, a culmination of their decades of effort.

So he was eager to prove his company’s mettle, ideally in such a way that his employers would decide they were more than worthwhile of the price they command.