Bear School Astartes

The enormous column of smoke, a kilometer in diameter, that soared into the sky, caught attention far beyond the Niflgaard people.

In fact, there were still quite a few armies of the Northern countries present in the Sodden Region at this time.

The lawful ruler of the Sodden Region was King Veltrest of Temeria, who had made a claim to the land by maternal lineage.

In the process of forming this Northern coalition, he actively connected with the kings of various nations, ultimately becoming a significant driving force for the coalition.

To facilitate the Northern coalition against the Niflgaard Empire, Veltrest even gave up devouring and claiming the remaining forces of Steza within his own country.

The subordinates of the Emperor of Niflgaard had once planned, on the eve of dispatching troops, to deliberately expose some of their forces within Temeria, making Veltrest too full to move.

This was equivalent to sacrificing some espionage forces to delay Temeria’s dispatch time.

But in the end, Veltrest was not a mediocre king.

Though, when annexing the legacy of Steza, he showed the typical greed, ferocity, and exclusivity of kings, much like a wild boar.

He was, after all, a king who nearly doubled the territorial area of Temeria during his reign.

When he was halfway through consuming the ’bait’ thrown by Niflgaard and heard rumors of the war in Sintra, he almost unraveled the interests in less than a day.

And without hesitation, he spat out the ’bait’ he had already consumed, relinquished royal exclusivity, and instead distributed it among many people within the country.

In exchange for securing the speaking rights in military dispatches as a king within the country.

Thus, the ’bait’ from Niflgaard not only did not hold him back but unexpectedly accelerated Veltrest’s pace of consolidating military power.

Indirectly leading to the initiation of the First Battle of Sodden.

Yes, the first.

The Sodden Region is a long and narrow area running north-south, usually divided into ’Upper Sodden’ and ’Lower Sodden’.

The southern Lower Sodden borders the territory of Sintra, precisely where the First Battle of Sodden broke out.

”This time, it’s not going to be a small skirmish, gentlemen.”

Inside the tent where officers and clerks were coming and going, Veltrest stood in front of the command table covered with maps, explaining to the other crowned individuals.

”Last time, we threw in nearly twenty thousand troops on each side, and our men...”

”That wasn’t a battle; it was a massacre!”

King Henselt of Codwin snorted coldly, his tone irritable.

”I brought my soldiers across thousands of miles, only for them to be betrayed by their comrades-in-arms! Without dignity!”

”Betrayed by comrades-in-arms? Not necessarily, most of my men died due to ammunition shortages caused by mismatched crossbow arrow models.”

King Demavi of Yaden held a wine goblet adorned with gold and rubies, speaking with irritation.

The Northern four countries also had their own conflicts, like the border disputes between Yaden and Codwin.

Their weapon models and logistics specifications differed; even the meanings of whistle arrows and flags on the battlefield varied.

In just this short time since the coalition was formed, several kings had executed no fewer than five logistics department heads.

They also knew that the issues with poor logistics management were inevitable; even inviting professors from Ossenford wouldn’t change this mess.

But in the army, when something goes wrong, someone must take responsibility. So, whether they wanted to or not, logistics heads had to offer up their heads.

”Everyone here has fought many battles, and we can all imagine how difficult it was when our coalition first collaborated. There’s no point in asking how many people died back then.”

Present was the oldest, most respected, and esteemed king, Vizimir II of Redania.

He spoke with the kindness typical of an elderly person.

”Those people deserved to die. We always need human lives to understand how to operate and coordinate this unprecedented coalition, comprehend the enemy’s level, and let the enemy underestimate us, securing advantages for the truly important subsequent warfare.”

”Yes, the war we are about to launch is unprecedented.”

Veltrest continued.

”Our intelligence agency believes that at that time, both sides will invest nearly 100,000 troops in total! And over twenty warlocks led by Master Viggo Fortez will intervene in the war with unprecedented participation.”

Upon hearing this, each king displayed varying expressions of astonishment on their faces.

Although they had all more or less heard rumors before since they each had their own intelligence agencies.

But this figure still left them shocked.

After all, even counting the entire population of their capitals, it would only be ten to twenty thousand at most.

And now, they were about to conduct a great war involving just one hundred thousand warriors.

Before truly consolidating power, none of them had imagined they could have so much military power.

The council of kings swiftly concluded, leaving the remaining more specific and intricate issues to be communicated and resolved by their subordinates.

After everyone exited their tents, Veltrest, habitually attired in an ambiguous ensemble part armor, part formal dress, waved his hand behind him.

From the tent’s shadowy corner appeared Vernon Roche.

On his head was still a soft cloth hat, though at least it was not torn anymore.

”Have the results regarding the giant smoke column from the fire a few days ago come in?”

Veltrest’s sharp eyes continuously perused the map, tapping chess pieces on the table rhythmically.

”I have the feeling that the cause and repercussions of that fire weren’t so simple.”

Veltrest’s remarkable strategic insight was a subject relished among the kings, well acknowledged.

And next, Vernon Roche’s reaction affirmed this point.

This tough man, discovered and groomed by the King from squalid beginnings, held the newly delivered intelligence, with a peculiar expression on his face.

It was a kind of... ’My reason tells me this is nonsense, yet simultaneously, my logic tells me it’s true’ absurdity.

”Your Majesty, according to the intelligence, the forest fire a few days ago should have killed at least three thousand Niflgaard soldiers, including at least one cavalry unit numbering five hundred. Also, nearly a thousand civilians.”

At this point, Roche faltered slightly.

Veltrest had to remind him without turning his head: ”Massacring civilians... Ha, anyone who has dealt with the Niflgaard army for a while won’t be surprised, only those idle aristocrats and scholars whose minds have been clouded by southern poems and stories would question this. Continue.”

Roche pursed his lips: ”...But according to intelligence analysis, someone acted against the Niflgaard people in the forest fire, causing them to have no survivors.”

”Acted? Who acted? There shouldn’t be any active armies left in that area, right?”

”Yes, none. But it wasn’t an army that acted... it was a single person.”

Suddenly, the tent was engulfed in an indescribable silence.

Subsequently, amid the sound of leather against wood, Veltrest turned around.

With an expression of ’Are you out of your mind?’, he looked at his loyal attendant.