“One of the most annoying feelings in the world is to have an obvious problem but lack obvious solutions to deal with said problem.” - Saying attributed to Xaliburnus the Conqueror, First Emperor of the Elmaiya Empire.

“Give it to me straight, Ilona,” said Lukas Worsted with a long-suffering sigh. He massaged his temple with one hand to alleviate part of the headache he was already feeling from the night attack his army was caught up in. The fact that they had been unable to react effectively at all was bad, very bad. It spoke much of the readiness of his troops.

While four years of training and conditioning helped, a good chunk of his soldiers were still pretty much green troops who had never seen any real battles, after all. Sadly a lot of the veterans perished along with his father and elder sister back then.

“The butcher’s bill isn’t looking pretty, Sire,” replied Ilona with a grave tone. “Over fifteen hundred dead, part of which was because our healers couldn’t get to their aid in time. Around the same number in wounded, mostly light injuries from arrows. These enemies didn’t leave many alive in their wake, I’m afraid, which has also affected morale.”

“And the enemy casualties?” asked Lukas with a sigh, already knowing the gist of what happened.

“Impossible to ascertain, I’m afraid. If these enemies took any casualties, which was likely towards the end after we put out the fire and managed to send proper reinforcements towards the vanguard, they must have taken those with them,” reported Ilona bluntly. “We should have inflicted some, at the very least, but how many? That is something we could not confirm.”

“Bugger that!” cursed Lukas vehemently. While the casualties they had taken were overall small in terms of numbers and were primarily green, inexperienced soldiers, the impact that the attacks had on the troops morale could not be understated. It would be hard to keep the troops motivated if the attacks were to continue, which meant that something must change. “Any chance we could flush them out of hiding?”

“I deem the chance to be greatly unlikely, Sire. These people clearly knew the local terrain well, and they have also shown great proficiency in navigating the jungle rapidly,” replied Ilona with her usual blunt, no-nonsense voice. “If we were to send in troops into the jungle to hunt for these attackers, chances are that many of those troops would not be returning. All it would take would be an ambush in the jungle.”

“Any estimate on their numbers, at least?” he said with a defeated sigh.

“Not many. Not more than a thousand or so, by our best estimate, though we cannot be certain due to the conditions last night,” answered Ilona. “They were clearly well-prepared and used to pulling off this sort of attack, given how they set things up so that we couldn’t immediately reinforce the vanguard due to the fire. It was impossible for us to ignore the fire, and they knew it.”

“Any information on their origins, then, at least?”

“Yes, Sire. We have pretty much confirmed that we should be facing the Free Lances Mercenary Company, which was last known to be hired by Levain around two years ago. They are a company with a long, storied history that spanned back centuries,” reported Ilona studiously. “In the past they were known to use tactics common to the dwarves of Knallzog and the Kingdom Down Under, but things changed since their near-decimation in Theodinaz a decade or so ago.”

“One of the survivors from the vanguard claimed to have spotted a feline therian with white, spotted fur and a large tail. That is a breed that was pretty much unknown here in the north, and the only known individuals with such features that we know of happened to be the current captain of said mercenaries and his daughter,” she added. “From that, compared with the tactics we observed used by the enemies, we could pretty much confirm their identity. Part of the enemy forces acted differently, and we assumed them to be forces from Levain working together with these mercenaries.”

“And why have we not made preparations to deal with these mercenaries before we marched, pray tell?” asked Lukas with a thoroughly annoyed tone. He liked to be prepared for any eventuality, and told his military advisors as much. That they were caught unprepared, twice in the same day, annoyed him to no end.

“At the time… we had considered them to be too small a unit to factor much on the outcome of the campaign,” admitted Ilona with a slightly abashed expression on her face. “In the latest reports we received they were supposed to only number over a thousand, which we deemed to be unlikely to affect the course of a battle given the numbers.”

“Rectify that mistake immediately,” commanded Lukas in a sterner tone than what he usually used with Ilona. “And give me a solution to dealing with these mercenaries. We cannot afford more of these attacks dragging the troops’ morale down into the mud.”

“Maybe we can distribute some of the veterans towards the vanguard, Sire?” suggested Ilona after some thought. “The mercenaries lacked numbers, so they shouldn’t risk attacking the center portions of our column where it would be all too easy for them to be pincered. That leaves the vanguard and the rearguard. I propose dividing our veterans into four parts, with two parts to ensure your safety. The rest would head to the vanguard and rearguard respectively.”

“I’ll allow it. See that it is done immediately,” replied Lukas after only a moment of thought. The veterans in his army had mostly gathered around him during the march, but there were enough of them to split some off without risking leaving him poorly protected anyway.

Besides, if his army were to unravel before he even reached his destination, it would definitely turn this whole endeavor into a big joke, and he did not wish to be the jester.