Chapter 45 - The Missing Army

The fire pit within Arthur's tent crackled as tiny embers scattered into the chilly Bernish morning air. Arthur sat behind the drawing room desk, lazily drawing shapes in the air with his finger as if conducting some grand orchestra.

Before him, one of his hidden blades soared around the room, seemingly without direction, until he pointed his finger toward a shredded sack of hay beside the tent's entrance. A muffled tear resounded through the tent as if to notify him that his hidden blade had found the target of his daily practice.

Recalling his blade to its sheath, Arthur lazily rested his head upon his palm and gazed with half-shut eyes at the steamy plate of food before him. Then, he pointed toward the fork with his free hand, levitating it into the air above the plate and bringing it down upon one of the mouth-watering blue-hued sausages.

A clamorous crash echoed out as the fork pierced the sausage and the porcelain plate beneath it, causing Arthur's tired eyes to fly open in panic. It seemed as though applying a delicate touch with his telekinesis was still beyond his ability.

Looking over the shattered plate, Arthur rubbed his eyes and groaned. "Damn it..."

His march to the Bernish city of Rothwel was mind-numbingly uneventful. He spent most of his time atop his mount Aithon, leaving little to work on his spells.

Instead, his days consisted of practicing telekinesis during breakfast and then breaking camp to march. Once the march began, it became like a tour of Ollerin's countryside, which was initially thrilling but quickly lost its splendor after a few days.

Perhaps Arthur's expectations were too high, but Ollerin was far less fantastical than he had imagined. Most cities they passed by looked no different than Munn, and most fantasy creatures were intelligent enough to avoid a lengthy column of men marching near their territory, so they remained unseen by Arthur's inquisitive violet eyes.

After the army ended its march each day, Arthur would sit in on the military command meetings, which he found even more tiresome than the endless marching. The military meetings were hardly the intriguing battle of strategy and tactics he had envisioned. More often than not, they comprised of reading lengthy, monotonous reports on supplies, attrition, and news about which Ollerin lord joined up with the army that day.

Once the meeting ended, Arthur would often sneak off with Fenric to train his swordsmanship before returning to camp to cultivate and work on his spells. While he hardly expected any positive changes in his combat ability, simply moving his body during training each day was having an effect.

Until now, Arthur sat around like a scholar in the study of Revan manor, neglecting physical exercise for the most part. His body's transformation wasn't so noticeable just yet, but he could see the changes as it shed its baby fat and grew leaner with each passing day.

Unfortunately, when the army entered Bern a few days ago, Arthur's training had to be paused, but he planned to add more physical exercise to his daily routine going forward to make up for it.

As Arthur was busy trying to salvage what little of his breakfast he could, Kyren phased through the tent. Arthur glanced up as if he had gained a ghost-proximity sixth sense over the years. "That was quick. I didn't think you'd be back until at least noon."

"Heh. The scouts were right." Kyren smirked. "Seems the little shits fled. The only troops in Rothwel now are Ollerin's imperial troops. I even followed a few of 'em to make sure they weren't Bernish soldiers in disguise."

Arthur rhythmically tapped his finger on the desk as he processed the information. "How far did you check around Rothwel?"

Kyren groaned in frustration. "I was hundreds of feet in the sky, kid. I would've seen 'em if they were hiding anywhere near the city. They probably fled a few days ago. I'm sure they'll say the same thing once the second round of scouts returns from the city."

"I believe you. I just don't understand why they'd flee so easily or why the imperial troops in Rothwel are still alive after all this time. Rothwel was taken during Ollerin's initial invasion of Bern before Agelia's surprise attack.

It should have been damaged at that time, and the surrounding lands should have been raided and razed. So how have they been feeding everyone in the city while it was under siege by Agelia and Bern this time around?"

"Who knows?" Kyren shrugged. "If it were me leading 'em, I'd retreat too, even if the numbers were in my favor. The war's just started. As defenders, they have the benefit of being able to whittle down your troops since you're on their land. Only a fool would risk losing their army fighting a decisive battle right at the start."

Arthur stared at Kyren in surprise. "That... was surprisingly insightful despite coming from your mouth."

"Hmph." Kyren proudly puffed out his chest and crossed his arms. "I told ya, kid. I may not be clever, but fighting is different. What did the reports say about the numbers besieging Rothwel? If they had few men, it makes even more sense to flee."

"Our reports are months old. Rothwel has been cut off since the siege began, so we only have the initial report, which claimed the imperial troops were defeated and trapped in Rothwel by a force numbering three hundred thousand. However, the Agelians and Bernish troops might've reorganized since then. There's no way to be certain until we hear from the scouts."

Kyren shrugged. "Then we gotta wait anyway. All I know is they ain't near the city anymore."

Arthur rose to his feet, grabbed the old map of Bern he had taken from Revan manor, and unfurled it on the desk. "What sort of geography did you see when you were above the city?"

Kyren floated over and pointed to the map. "The city is mostly surrounded by farmland and fields with a forest to the east and grassland to the south. There's also a lot of marshland to the west that seems to continue on south beyond the horizon."

Arthur nodded, confirming Kyren's information with what was displayed on the map. "Could they be hiding out in the forest to the east?"

"Not unless they wanna get themselves trapped in eastern Bern for the rest of the war." Kyren mocked and pointed to the map. "It's probably not a coincidence that they fled since Ollerin still hasn't gotten word from the imperial troops in the city. That means the Agelian and Bernish troops withdrew recently.

Since they left right as you arrived, they probably knew you were coming. And if they knew that much, they'd understand that setting up an ambush to the east cuts off their path of retreat. You never wanna have your enemies standing between you and your path home. It's common sense."

Arthur hummed and scanned the map some more before deciding to play it safe. "Since there's no battle to be had, we'll probably be spending the day in Rothwel. Go scout out the eastern forest just to be sure."

Arthur felt the Bernish and Agelian army likely fled south to escape, but the southern forest was twenty to thirty miles from Rothwel, which was too far to be of a threat right now. An army could only march about a dozen miles a day, so the southern forest remained out of range for the time being. Of course, troops could move faster if needed, but if they did, they'd be far too tired to fight effectively.

It may be a foolish strategy, but the edge of the eastern forest was only a few miles from Rothwel, and because it was so foolish, most would write off an attack from the east as improbable. Arthur was no military expert, but he knew from Earth's history that dubious strategies could often deal severe damage to those who ignore them.

Kyren rolled his eyes. "I'm telling ya, kid. It's a fool's errand. They ain't gonna be there."

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but Foster's voice came from outside the tent first. "Young master?"

Arthur glanced toward the tent's entrance before looking back at Kyren and silently repeating the order to scout out the forest.

"Fine." Kyren grumbled before flying straight up through the tent's roof.

Feeling satisfied, Arthur called Foster inside. "Come in!"

Foster entered and glanced around the room curiously. "Is someone else in here? I could've sworn I saw Senna and Ellena washing clothes outside a minute ago..."

"No, just me. I was talking to myself while looking over the map of Bern. Don't pay it any mind." Arthur replied with a level of confidence, unbefitting such a bald-faced lie.

Foster awkwardly scratched his head. "Okay, well, it's time to break camp. Are you ready to leave yet, young master?"

"Yeah, give me a few more minutes. I'll be right out." Arthur replied, waving Foster off.

Once he was alone, Arthur threw on his armor and drake skin coat before snatching his research journal off his bed and leaving the tent. Outside, the sun appeared to be breaking free from the horizon, bathing the chaotic camp in its brilliant light.

Most of the tents had already been broken down and stowed, so it wouldn't be long until they marched. With that in mind, Arthur made his way to where Aithon was tied up. Once there, he climbed up the auburn tuft's back before hiding his research journal within one of the saddlebags.

It wasn't long before they began their march, and within a few hours, the Bernish city of Rothwel entered Arthur's sights.

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