Firstborn: Return of the heir

“The main points of resistance are expected to appear here, here and here.”

Tracing his fingers on the map, one of the higher officers of the second legion was showcasing the compiled information gathered by one off Saulus’s spies, who was located in the city in advance.

“Governor’s palace and central plaza I can understand… but a tavern? One on the periphery of the town at that?”

Hidden within an inconspicuous tent set in a relatively safe space, a cream of the commanding crop of the legion was discussing their next moves.

“General, I would recommend using the third and fourth companies to deal with these strategic points… while sending two of the others to deal with the tavern. As for why that place was chosen… According to reports, this is where the greatest number of lord Akay’s forces can be found.”

Swinging his head with an understanding smile of a veteran, Gabriel quickly fixed his expression when he noticed the taxing gaze of the chief commander.

“Sir, with all due respect, lord Akay’s forces are on a level comparable with the second legion. If we were to take the gap between the first and second legions, then those warriors are just as far below the second legion. There is no point in expecting all of our enemies to have any military discipline.”

Explaining this situation to a man who thrived in solving complex quandaries, Gabriel seemed to turn strangely happy when his words made Saulus face light up.

“So, you propose to send the veterans to take the seat of power and the main logistical crossing of the city. At the same time, two entire companies would set off to deal with some drunkards?”

Raising his head from above the map at his direct subordinate and the oldest officer in the room, Saulus smiled gently. It wouldn’t take a genius to see through the reasoning behind this kind of deployment.

The palace was bound to be protected by a respectable force. With the lord’s personal guard and his very own magic coming into play, it would take no less than an entire company of veterans to deal with it. Truth be told, even though he had no magic to speak of, Saulus quickly decided to go with that group of soldiers to command them during the attack. After all, saving the veterans from the needless and unnecessary casualties was a priority during the ongoing hostile takeover.

But this perspective didn’t really matter, as the ironic smile of the general was enough for Gabriel to back out suddenly.

“The idea is not bad, but it’s not great either. Instead of relying on what we have before us right now, I think it would be better to set the stage for a party we will host ourselves instead. Let me tell you what we will do.”

Moving away from the map, Saulus sat on one of the portable chairs – a novelty brought from the far east by a passing merchant. Stretching his tired legs forward while moving his head to the back, the young general’s eyes closed, turning him immune to the distracting visuals of the ongoing day.

“We will wait.”

Suddenly rising from his seat, Saulus looked over at the faces of his officers.

“If we attack now, we might take over those important points. But if by any chance Akay escapes…”

For a moment, Saulus stopped his words to see what kind of reaction calling one of the lords without his honorary title would have on his men. Satisfied with the results, the general picked up where he left off and once again approached the map.

“If we give them time to regroup and gather forces, if we make them think that we are far weaker than we are in reality… And if we actually fool them about the true number of veterans within the legion, then we just might pull them into a trap.”

Pointing his finger at a small forum building right beside the main plaza discussed before, Saulus tapped at the part of the map that depicted it.

“We can locate some of our greenhorns there. We will tell them we are preparing to kill the traitors that attempted to raise their hands at the… majesty.”

Given the role he had to play as the chief general of both legions, Saulus couldn’t afford to be caught in a lie. More precisely, every word that his legionaries heard had to either be true or never leave their mouth before their untimely demise. And given how he would move entire companies, only a white lie remained as the medicine for the problem of Saulus’s troops’ motivation.

Most of the recruits were from the lands of the fallen Burn household. With little to no attachments to the former regime, they didn’t really consider themselves Retesians or Burnians, but simply soldiers of the legion. That’s why, with all the state propaganda, there was a huge doubt in all the officer’s heads whether those companies would keep their allegiances.

And that’s where this political word of majesty came from. According to the official dictates, majesty was something unreachable for humans, an ideal to strive for. Starting with eight, now there were only five majestic beings, otherwise called firstborns, remaining somewhere in the vast array of worlds.

Thankfully, no one expected the common folk to understand such philosophical and religious talk. For simple people, the word majesty could refer to literally anything that presumably touched the grace of the firstborns. Be it Retesian or other lords that wielded the magic thanks to their bloodlines, or be it anyone marked by them as a person with granted authority. Yet what was most commonly understood by that word, was a direct attack at everything that local people held dear!

“As for the veterans… I will lead them personally. They are loyal directly to me and no one else. Given their role… They won’t follow any of you if you go alone. And no, stop.”

Raising his hand to stop Gabriel from interfering in his decision-making process, Saulus waited for a moment to ensure no one would prevent him from speaking his will. After all, it would ultimately translate into his direct orders.

“The third and fourth companies will go with me. We will march through the Principal Road, all the way to the plaza in the middle. I need one of you to take the greenhorns to the forum at the same time. I will slow the veterans’ march down to give you enough time to settle in your positions. And in that plaza… We will ignore the strategy and face them head on with just our veterans alone.”

Dropping a stinking job like that on the table, Saulus once again gazed at each of his direct subordinates, one at a time.

“Men, once the fight gets heated, we will move back, through the royal alley to the forum. And then…”

Suddenly smashing his opened up palm against the map, Saulus revealed one of his rare expressions. A face that only his fellow brothers in arms saw back when he still served as a common soldier. The otherwise passive face of the young general filled with bloodlust.