We spent the rest of the morning drinking and eating together. We still had to march quite a bit so we enjoyed the food without discretion, but drank moderately. I enjoyed every second of it, even the belching contest that Joseph and Mathew had while we were eating. At the end of our meal, I had to leave the others to attend a meeting with our platoon leader and the other squad leaders. It will be my first time meeting the platoon leader, he"s had too much on his plate to meet with me before apparently, but I hope to make a good impression on him.
The meeting place was just a field tent set up in the training yard since the largest room in the main building was already in use. Approaching the tent I see that the three other squad leaders have already arrived. As I approach the platoon leader, I salute him giving him my name and rank.
"Paladin Knight Christian, 362nd Squad, at your service." The platoon leader just nodded and motioned for me to sit down with the others.
When I did he started his briefing. "Let"s make this as quick as we can, first we are going to march to the town of Cranel, 30 miles southeast of our current location. We"ll camp there for the night, then join the 9th battalion as we travel to Ruca Stronghold just outside the demon"s territory. There we"ll prepare to take back the trading city Valdora.
Our platoon will be conducting recognizance missions as soon as we arrive at Valdora, after collecting enough intel we will be a.s.signed to the vanguard with the other forces. We will be tasked with the initial a.s.sault on the city, your squads will work together to subjugate any forces within the northwest quadrant of the city. Are there any questions?" He paused for a moment to allow for questions, then continued.
"If not, then collect your squadmates and prepare for the march to Cranel." We all stood up in unison saluting him saying. "Sir, yes, sir." a practice that Sir Richard instilled in me in preparation for a day like this. At least some part of my training has been useful.
After all the other squad leaders funneled out of the tent I followed the middle-aged platoon leader for a few paces. Noticing me, he asked. "Can I help you, Knight Christian?"
I nod timidly. "I was just wondering what we should be expecting once we arrive at Valdora, It will be my first time in combat so I"m a little nervous," I say honestly. I may be making a bad impression by admitting my disposition, but I want to be as prepared as I can be.
He smiles sympathetically and puts his hand on my shoulder. "You don"t have anything to worry about son, you"re Sir Richard"s squire, right?" I nod in confirmation.
"He was still in his prime when I was in your shoes, he was the best fighters in the 1st battalion, possibly the entire army then. He trained you, and since you"re talking to me I imagine that you survived it. If that"s true, then you"re probably more qualified than half the other squad commanders here.
I"ve seen you every once and a while when you"re training, so I"ve seen enough to believe it too. So don"t worry, we"ll have more than 2,000 troops when the 9th joins us. I don"t think that there"s more than half that in Valdora, it should be easy. Trust me." He gives me a rea.s.suring grin and a squeeze on the shoulder for good measure.
I thank him and join my squad, shortly after we were on our way to meet up with the 9th battalion.
We traveled all-day, reaching Cranel just as the sun was setting. After the night pa.s.sed we started our journey to Ruca Stronghold.
It took almost a week of long marches and nights of sleeping on cold hard ground to reach the stronghold. Once there we resupplied, prepared, and marched to Valdora.
We made camp a couple of miles from Valdora, my squad and I conducted recon missions before we could even set up our tents. Dontae and I used [Greater Light Refraction] to encompa.s.s all the others with a veil of invisibility. They could cast their own [Light Refraction] spell, but they would exhaust their mana pool quickly. Dontae and I could use multiple group spells at once and it barely touch our mana pools.
We collected a rough approximation of the enemy forces in our a.s.signed quadrant and returned to camp. A few days pa.s.sed, then my squad and I stood ready to help reclaim the city of Valdora from the demon forces.
We all stood silently at the border of the town waiting for a signal that would forever change my life.