Extermination

Beyond the Flat Plains, a forest extended for hundreds of miles. Hartwell was advancing toward the battlefield. His troops trailed behind him. They were scattered among the trees, covering most spaces between the trees. 

Their advance would have been slower had Hartwell decided to march them all together in a single file. Instead, he divided them into smaller regiments that would travel in a homogenous pace. They each took different roads, making their approach faster. 

He had converted all of Arsalan's fallen soldiers into his own too. His army was now sixty thousand strong. Only twenty five hundred of them were living, breathing humans. The rest were walking dead, blood thirsty monsters. 

He rode through the forest with Marshal Olivier by his side. 

"The men are getting restless," he told the General. "How long must we walk these damned woods?"