Weeks had passed since the Vexin armies left the capital. The strategy of attrition, the web of smaller forces striking at the King's supply lines, was working. The King's massive royal legions, though still an imposing sight, were beginning to show the strain. Their men were tired, their provisions were low, and their morale, once unbreakable, was starting to crack under the relentless pressure.
Damon, the commander of the entire Vexin alliance, had received the reports. The small, striking forces had done their work well. The King's general, a cunning and capable man, was growing frustrated. He was pulling his forces closer, trying to protect his supply lines and force a single, decisive battle.
This was the opportunity Damon had been waiting for. He sent a rider, a man who had ridden for three days without rest, to deliver a new order to Kael.
Kael's army of 1,000 men, a swift and deadly force, had been a crucial part of the harassment campaign. They were in high spirits, confident after a string of small, bloody victories. But the new order from Damon was not for a suicide mission. It was for a calculated risk.
The message was grim and to the point: The King's general was leading a force of over 4,000 men to secure a key supply route. The task of striking at the enemy, using a hit-and-run tactic to further cripple their supplies and sow chaos, fell to Kael. The main Vexin army was still too far away to engage.
Kael, standing on a windswept hill overlooking the King's sprawling camp, read the message and handed it to his second-in-command. His face, which had been filled with the joy of small victories, now settled into a grim mask of resolve. He was being asked to lead his small army, a force of only a thousand men, against an army four times its size, led by one of the King's best generals.
It was a reckless, desperate plan. It was exactly the kind of plan Kael was born to lead. He drew his sword, and held it high, its polished steel reflecting the setting sun. "To the King's General!" he roared, his voice a sound of fierce, unshakeable will. His men roared back, a sound of defiance that echoed across the plains.
The chapter ended with Kael's army, a small but powerful force, preparing to charge into the heart of the enemy. The war had just become a much more personal and dangerous game.