"Yes, Commander," Rofus said, saluting ever so respectfully, the very model of a good soldier.
Cormrant sighed on behalf of his Commander, shooting Rofus a thorough glare for putting Northman in that situation in the first place. Rofus rely shrugged the glare off. He wasn't the type of man to care about such things.
Soon enough, Verdant arrived with the last of their n, whilst Judas marched over with Firyr and Nila.
"Very good, we're all here," Oliver said. It might have made more sense to have the eting in the tent, but he was well aware that the rest of the soldiers were watching from a short distance away. He wanted them to see the efforts that they were putting into their planning. "I am sure, by now, you will have heard our plans for today."
He put it mildly on purpose, alighting a few wry smiles from the more experienced n. "Today is the day we storm that fort, ain't it?" Judas said, confidently stepping into the role of wingman, as though Oliver was Greeves digging into so lesser rchants.
"It is indeed," Oliver said. "The plan is quite simple. We will be using what little oil we have in combination with our rams to try and break down their front gates."
"I've a question, before we continue," Cormrant said, raising his hand.
"By all ans."
"Why wait until today to make this charge? The ti has cost us n, and energy. It seems to that it's a simple enough idea – we could have done it days ago," Cormrant said.
"Two reasons," Oliver replied, holding up two fingers, and counting each one off. "The first – the barricades. Now we have sothing to support this charge. The second, our n. Only yesterday did we finally have an army."
Cormrant twisted his lips, thinking over the response. There was a tenseness to the silence that followed. Cormrant was the opposition, after all, and in that role, he had a purpose. He spoke for everyone with doubts. The reply must have satisfied him well enough, for he eventually nodded, and Oliver continued.
"The initial prospects for this mission were worse than they are now. It was ant to be only one hundred of you Skullic n, and myself. With a few days, and your cooperation, my own n have been able to reach a similar level of skill, as we've seen in our mock battles. So too, have our n begun to understand each other's skill sets.
We're far closer to a unified force than before – a fact that is of great advantage, considering the disorderly state of the enemy's own n," Oliver said. "It is that fact that we will bet on for victory. Yesterday, you all got a taste for how potent so of the skills of our n are. Today, those skills that had opposed each other in our training battles, will now work in tandem."
"Well, at least I don't have to worry about getting shot in the back from a mile away," Northman said with a grin, nodding to Nila.
She gave an embarrassed laugh in return, and all but looked away.
"The objective is the sa as what we decided on days ago – the slaying of the enemy General," Oliver said. "We will create the conditions needed to get close to him, and then I will take his life. Are there any complaints?"
He looked over the n, and gave specific attention to Cormrant, but he shook his head, as did the rest of them. No one could think of a better plan, else they would have already given voice to it.
"Now, as I'm sure you realize, there will be a significant amount of importance to how we place our n, given that the developnt of our n is our only true advantage of our foes," Oliver said. "The basic structures of armies shall remain the sa. Skullic n will fight with Skullic n, and my n will fight together, under the sa leaders.
They've learned to work well together, there's no need to split them apart. Cormrant, I would have you lead a mounted division under Northman. Take control of all our horses."
"Very well," Cormrant said easily.
"You will function as one of the links between our two different forces. When necessary, you shall provide support to the entirety of the battlefield," Oliver said. "Verdant, you will play a similar role, but unfortunately, we can not spare your strength. You will have to manage your positioning wisely, and only engage when there is sothing to be achieved.
Your eyes are too valuable to waste otherwise. Towards such an end, you both will play the role of Vice-Commanders, and you hold authority over every man on the battlefield."
"As you wish, my Lord," Verdant said.
"Northman, you will take the centre of the battlefield with your n. Once more, you shall hold overall command of our forces, when necessary. Firyr, you will take the right flank, and Judas you will take the left. You will be Vice-Commanders, with authority over the entirety of your flanks."
"Hell yeah!" Firyr said triumphantly, pumping his fist. It seed like it was an expression that he'd likely stolen from Judas, with how familiar it sounded to Oliver's ears. Judas, for his part, had the sense to act a little more reserved, though he couldn't hide the fact that he too was pleased to be given such an honoured position.
That pleasure was outweighed – quite rightly – with a tightness to his face, though, as he felt the trueness of this responsibility, and how it differed from their training battle.
"Splitting them up?" Cormrant asked. "Is that wise? They'll be on opposite ends of the battlefield."
"With the nature of a gate assault, I imagine they'll end up eting just the sa, as they have continually in training battles. It shall not be a new experience for them," Oliver replied.
Then, he turned to Jorah, Kaya and Karesh. Alongside Blackthorn and Nila, those three would be the most difficult to place. They were versatile enough n that they could really be put anywhere, but Oliver knew that their positioning likely would matter even more than the positioning of the rest – after all, with the rest of the n, it was obvious where to put them.
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