Toy Soldiers

By the time my team was able to regroup with Thom's squad, their encirclement was being pressed from all sides by Magesong soldiers who were like a colony of ants ganging up on a piece of food on the floor.

I sent Ashley's Shield squad charging into the fray to help ease the pressure on Thom's group. Qwipps' Talons supported them with arrows fired from the rear.

Aura along with Varda's unit stood on standby behind Qwipps' squad because I wanted them to conserve their spells for later. Plus, I didn't want Donar's flames to stand out and get us noticed by the larger enemy units around us.

As for me and Luca, well, we'd gotten used to leading from the front. So it was no surprise to anyone when he and I fought our way through the enemy's encirclement and reached Thom's squad first.

"Someone order a plate of ass-whooping?" I called.

Yes, sadly, this was my attempt at sounding cool—and I know I failed at it.

Enna, who was closest to our arrival point, shrugged like our entrance was no big deal. "Meh... we were doing fine without you... Commander."

I took one glance at the bloodstains on her black cloak and the worn-out expression on her face and simply said, "Of course you were. We're just here to back you up."

It was better for me to just agree with her saving face rather than argue the fact that she looked half-dead with exhaustion. Drows were a proud race, after all.

"Hey, Luca—"

I'd glanced to my right and noticed his head lowered. Sweat dripped down his forehead. His breath came in short gasps.

Luca was so winded that he didn't even notice the enemy soldiers who were about to attack him from his right side. Luckily, Ashley had broken through on that side to back him up.

I watched her round steelbark shield fly out of her hands and smash into the nose of a pretty-looking she-elf. The shield bounced back and Ashley caught in time to ram it down front-first into the she-elf's already bloody face, effectively knocking her out.

"Luca, deactivate your Foolish Strength already!" I sheathed the dagger I'd planned to throw in Luca's defense. "Conserve your stamina..."

"I-I'm okay," Luca said between breaths. "Just... a little... tired."

I rolled my eyes at him. Then I swung my falchion over his bent form and slashed at another grey clothed soldier who was aiming for him with a very spiky mace.

The Magesong visere pulled away just in time to not get cut in half by my shadowblade which I knew he would as I hadn't swung at full speed. I hadn't forgotten my promise not to kill humans if I could help it.

I grabbed Luca's arm and pulled him back. Then I pushed him into the encirclement of Foolhardies and said, "Enna, watch him for me, will you!"

"Dean, I can—"

"Stay there and rest Luca!" I interrupted whatever excuse he was planning to give. "Rest and recharge. We've got this."

I wasn't nearly as confident with my declaration as I vocalized but Luca didn't need to know that. Besides, we weren't doing so bad despite being in the proverbial eye of the storm.

Ashley's unit had broken through along with Varda's magicians. Qwipps' Talons were right behind them. And now that we were all together, I had everyone form a third encirclement around the first two that Thom created.

"Triple line formation now!" I gave them orders from my new position in the rear. "Stand ready!"

This variation of the standard triple line formation we drilled into our bodies was an effective way to attack and push outward against the enemies currently surrounding us. For as Sun Tzu said, Invincibility lies in the defense; the possibility of victory in the attack.

"First-line, forward!" I yelled.

The first line, comprised of melee-oriented dwarves, elves, humans, launched a coordinated attack at the enemy with the new bronze tier halberds we provided them with. When these guys grew tired, they switched places with the middle line which now comprised solely of Ashley's shield squad, the largest group in the Foolhardies.

"Keep them back, second-line!" I commanded.

Ashley's squad had two jobs. Hold the enemy back while pushing the line forward inch by inch. Once they created enough room, the third group, Thom's katana-wielding drow pushed through the newly vacant space at the front to hack and slash at the enemy in typical drow furious fashion.

"Keep it up, Thom!" I yelled.

"You really like stating the obvious, don't you, Commander," Thom said in his typical snide tone from somewhere at the front. "You heard him, my little Night Bats, let's send these fools down into Hel!"

Invigorated by their chieftains words, the aptly named Night Bats squad continued to slaughter the Magesong soldiers unlucky enough to be in front.

I heard their screams of pain and anguish from my place in the rear. It brought a sickening feeling to my stomach, and I was reminded that I wasn't a kid playing with toy soldiers. This was not how I pictured my teen years going for I had become, at least in my view, a master of war.

Bang!

I swiveled my head around to the action at the center of our encirclement and the reason the enemy was so adamant to break our defenses.

the elf commander who'd been giving Edo a hard time was finally on his knees. His blade broken, lying uselessly at his side.

Edo stood towering over him with his glaive raised, ready for the final strike that would claim another officer's head for my unit. How glad I was in that moment to have Edo fighting alongside me and not against me.

My half-ogre sergeant swung his blade and the enemy's head toppled to the ground with a dull thud. Blood splashed out of the severed neck and dripped down into the ground, soiling the green in red.

I watched Edo raised his glaive once more in an expression of victory that wasn't his usual style. It was always just quiet acceptance like it was simply his job not to lose. This time, however, I could see the triumph in the way his eyes glittered and in the way his nostrils flared. It must have meant that the opponent must have been very difficult to beat.

Edo saw me staring at him and grinned even more. Then he pulled out the tracker orb from his belt pouch and tossed it to me.

I caught it just in time to watch the red glow fade from the orb, but I did notice its shade. It was a deep, almost maroon kind of red that was far from the bright red of a lowly hundred-man commander.

I whistled. "Well, Edo... I believe you just bagged yourself a thousand-man officer." 

He strode over to me and planted the butt of his glaive on the ground.

"We bagged ourselves a thousand-man commander, Dean," he said while still grinning.

Fair enough. It was fine to count this as our win. His victory was the unit's victory.

I turned my attention back to our formation.

The original first line of melee fighters had returned to their position at the front. Despite being without a squad leader, they did very well.

Beyond my soldiers, the enemy numbers were dwindling. It seemed the dead thousand-man commander didn't bring all his soldiers to this party. Maybe if he did, we would have been overwhelmed.

"The opportunity to secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself," I whispered the wise words of Sun Tzu.

"What was that?" Edo asked. He'd raised his rather thin eyebrow at me. "I didn't quite catch it."

"Nothing..." I shook my head. "How about you lead the front troops now. There are still at least two hundred Magesong soldiers we need to beat before we can move on to bigger prey."

Edo narrowed his eyes after hearing my last words. "It's never just simple with you, is it? You always have to push harder..."

"My kid brother's been forced into a life of slavery... I don't have the luxury to take it easy," I reminded him.

"Just don't burn yourself out, Dean," he said. "And don't drag Aura into too many bad situations... that girl has a bigger destiny than dying in a battlefield."

"I know..." My eyes glanced toward the magicians who were close by. Aura stood among them yet she stood apart from them too. She was the north star in a sky full of stars. "Get going, Edo. We need to wrap this up."

"Understood, Commander," Edo said.

For the first time, he actually sounded like he was showing me respect. However, I didn't have the chance to ask him if he finally recognized me as the boss because he'd pushed past Qwipps' archers and was on his way to bring death to our enemies in front.