"No crime is permissible in war,

unless necessary."





"I hope you're joking!" Philippe shouted at the poor messenger. "Repeat what you said!"

"Unfortunately it's all true, your Excellency. An enemy force suddenly attacked the village of Todlen two hours ago, at first light. The garrison defending the village was caught completely off guard."

"But how the hell did they do it? Gael Pass is still blocked, and none of the strongholds have reported anything! Where the hell did they come from?"

"How many were there?" Victor asked

"I don't know, My Lord. They suddenly fell on us, while I was sleeping. We didn't even hear them coming. They pounced on my companions like wild beasts. They literally mauled them. Just before the village fell the Captain ordered me to come and report, and I fear I am the only survivor."

"It's just as I feared." Lefde said funereally

"What do you mean?"

"Thirty thousand men is too many, even to besiege a well-protected fort like this. That army isn't just here to retake Grote Muren. They want to march against Eirinn."

Such a prospect made Victor and his uncle's blood run cold, putting them face to face with the worst possible scenario; they had undertaken that campaign to reconquer the lands of their ancestors, and now they risked losing their own.



The strongholds that Eirinn's army had built to protect the road to Grote Muren could withstand common assaults from conventional armies, but there was nothing they could do to oppose the cannons.

And to ensure that they could not coordinate defenses or support each other, Daemon had ordered his lieutenants Septimus, Jack and Richard to attack the three fortresses at the same time, in a coordinated assault that left no escape.

In reality none of the three had physically taken part in the battle, because in the meantime Daemon had recommended each of them to find good subordinates to whom they could delegate operations in the field, limiting themselves to coordinating the operations while being among the men without however risking too much.

"A non-commissioned officer or a soldier can be easily replaced." Daemon had told them when they protested this decision. "But an officer, or even worse the commander of an entire division, are priceless."

It might seem cynical, considering one life more precious than another, but all three had spent enough time at war to understand that the death of a commander often meant the death of many of the men under his command. It was therefore necessary for the generals to always be safe, because the lives of those who could not or did not want to decide for them depended on their decisions.

A few cannon shots were enough to tear apart the embankments and log palisades, and the frontal assaults with the support of artillery and archers had done the rest.

The coordinated attack had begun less than three hours earlier, when a messenger entered the command tent to report to the rest of the War Council.

"The third stronghold has also surrendered."

"How many losses have we suffered?"

"In all divisions, less than a hundred, Lord Daemon."

"It could have been much worse without the guns." said Adrian "Lefde really lives up to his reputation. Even with the little time available and those two balls in tow, he still managed to prepare considerable defenses."

Oldrick didn't seem at ease, and scratched his bald skull clearly annoyed: "I don't like my guns being used without me managing them."

"The coordinated attack was essential." Daemon replied. "We couldn't allow the three strongholds to support each other. But don't worry, you will soon have your command of the artillery back."

"So now we're going straight to Grote Muren?" Scalia asked

"Naturally."

"I admit I'm not thrilled about it." Adrian said. "With all the effort it cost us to modernize it."

"Maybe it won't be necessary. I mean, after this further defeat they might even decide to retreat."

"It is practically certain that they will retreat.» said Daemon «Especially if, as I think, our maneuver behind the lines was successful. With nothing left to cover them and their supply lines cut off they would be crazy not to do it. Also because the fort is designed to support a garrison of a few thousand soldiers, certainly not an entire army."

"We could try to move immediately, maybe with a little luck we could stop them from moving away." Oldrick said

"Even though our attack was sudden and very rapid I would be surprised if someone hadn't left the strongholds in time." Adrian observed "The same goes for the attacks on the rear. No, I think that either they are preparing to retreat or have even already done so."

"The problem is that they will surely have left someone at the fort to keep us busy and slow down our progress, so as to have as much time as possible to regroup."

Daemon sipped some coffee, breathing deeply as if trying to calm his nerves: "Send messengers to all three divisions. They must regroup and prepare to leave again. We must be under the walls of the fort by this evening."



"Leave the fort!?" Victor exclaimed

"We have no other choice, My Lord. This fort could have been useful for coordinating our operations, but it is not sufficient to guarantee adequate defense. Not to our entire army at least. And now that the enemy has attacked us from behind too, it would be crazy to stay here and wait to be surrounded."

"Do you realize what you are proposing? Should we leave that mob free to invade our country?"

"I know too that this is a difficult decision, and I regret having to make it. But the alternative would be to stay here and wait to die of hunger, and in the meantime the enemy could still sweep through Eirinn while keeping us locked in this tomb."

Since Philippe didn't seem inclined to listen to him, Lefde had no choice but to immediately remind him of the document the young Grand Duke had just signed.

"I am forced to remind you that His Excellency has entrusted me with the absolute command of the army. This also means that the final say on the operations to follow lies with me, even if you do not agree with my decisions."

Philippe expected Victor to object, but once again the boy was unusually cooperative, ceasing any further objections.

«Did you hear the commander? Let's get ready to fall back."

"But..."

"I thank you, My Lord."

"But never forget what I told you. Either Haselworth's head on a pike will grace the entrance to the palace, or yours will be in its place."

Preparations for departure then began immediately; but just when everyone thought things couldn't get any worse the news arrived that all three strongholds had fallen, and that the enemy was now preparing to march towards the fort.

"The situation is dramatic. Probably the troops who attacked the rear are not numerous enough to worry us, but we cannot offer our backs to the enemy like this. It would be like inviting them to jump on us."

"So what do we do?" Philippe asked provocatively

"We have no choice. Someone has to stay here to cover our retreat."

Abel, who was waiting silently in the corner of the room, immediately took a step forward.

"General. With your permission, I would like to volunteer."

As if he was expecting his second in command's reaction, Lefde didn't even try to dissuade him.

"You know the risks, right? At best you will be captured, at worst..."

"I will do everything necessary, General. Without you, Eirinn will have no future."

It had been so long since Lefde had fought that he had forgotten how much he hated the feeling of being forced to see young soldiers like Abel sent to die in his place.

In the end it was decided to leave a garrison of six hundred soldiers in Grote Muren, enough to guarantee the protection of the fort for at least a week.

But even if the salvation of their country was now at stake, the General could not accept the idea that a boy with such a brilliant future, entrusted to him directly by a dear friend, would meet his death for no reason.

So he waited until they were alone, when everything was ready for departure.

"Five days. Five days are what we need to get beyond Mablith and establish ourselves on new positions. You must promise me that you will resist at all costs, but also that you will raise the white flag and surrender at dawn on the sixth day."

"But, General..."

"Please, son. Years ago I had to tell your mother about your father's death. I don't want to have to tell her yours too."

Abel had dreamed all his life of being able to live up to his father, a man who had lived and died without ever breaking the code of chivalry that governed the life of every true noble of Eirinn.

Nevertheless, he promised to obey the order, and when, a few hours later, the rest of the army had left the fort, he gathered all his companions to prepare them for the battle.

"Soldiers. In the next few days we will fight the most important battle of your entire life. It's vital that this fort resists the enemy advance for five days. If we were to fall before then, the enemy army could catch our comrades from behind and inflict heavy losses on them. This should give you an idea of what is at stake. Within these walls, and over the next few days, the fate of our homeland will be decided. Eirinn's fate. Which means that at this very moment that destiny lies solely in you and your courage. I know that almost all of you have volunteered for this task, and therefore I am more than sure that each of you is determined to fulfill his duty to the death. And I would be a liar if I told you that right now our chances of survival are high. Surely the news about the benevolence that the enemy commander reserves for those who surrender, or even worse who choose to join him by betraying their homeland, has also reached you. But precisely because I trust each of you I know that you will not even consider this possibility. We will fight. We will resist. We will spend every last drop of blood if necessary. And if fate finally decides to call us to itself, we will die knowing that we have done our duty to the last. For Eirinn!»

"For Eirinn!"

At least, Abel thought in front of his newly motivated men, he could count on trusted comrades ready for anything.

He didn't intend to break the promise he had made, but he would hold on until the end anyway.

Or at least, this was the belief that he and everyone else tried to cling to, and which was put to the test when the enemy army finally made its appearance on the horizon, spreading like wildfire and enveloping in a short time the fortress in an embrace with no way out.

Abel had ordered the flag of the Grand Duchy to be raised atop the main building so that everyone, friend and foe, could see it.

"There are so many of them." said Yvette, his deputy and old friend, watching the enemies set up camp with him from the walls.

The scariest thing, of course, were the cannons, which seemed to increase in number with each battle, and were now numerous enough to fill an entire hill.

Both Abel and Yvette were too young to have fought in the border disputes with the Union alongside the Empire, like their parents. Nonetheless, they were aware that never before had any army made such massive use of artillery, managing to improve it so much in terms of efficiency and practicality.

Everyone thought that cannons were too cumbersome, imprecise and dangerous to have any use overcoming catapults, trebuchets and other siege weapons; yet this Daemon had managed in a short time to turn it into reliable and fearsome weapons, capable of deciding the fate of a battle.

"Let them try." Abel said trying to project confidence. "Star-shaped plan, low and sloping walls, reinforced foundations. We will use the improvements they made to the fort against them."

A few hours after the arrival of the enemy, a white horse left the camp and trotted across no man's land right under the walls waving a white flag.

"Soldiers of Eirinn! We are here to reclaim what belongs to our people! You are completely surrounded! But we don't want to shed innocent blood! Lower your flag, surrender now, and I give you my word that you will be treated with the utmost respect!"

"You are here to invade our land!" Abel replied promptly. "And we will fight to the last man to stop you!"

"We didn't want this war, nor were we the ones who started it! The only ones you have to blame are the same ones who ordered you to stay here and get killed while they got to safety! It is not our intention to reclaim what does not belong to us, but just like you we are ready to do anything to defend our homeland! You have until tomorrow at dawn to surrender, otherwise we will attack!"



When the sun soon set, the vastness of the army besieging Grote Muren became even more threatening in the form of a proper and true forest of fires lit all around the fort.

In addition to the main camp, the rebels had also set up a large number of small camps and guard posts to block any possible escape route, and perhaps it was precisely to instill fear that they had decided to light all those bonfires.

As promised the assault began the following day.

The rebel cannons unleashed a hail of bullets against the fort, which, although failing to cause significant damage to the thick, brand new walls, heralded the arrival of the infantry.

The attack came from various directions and was very violent, but whoever had redesigned and rebuilt that fort had made sure that the walkways on the walls could be walked quickly and easily.

In this way Abel could easily concentrate his men in the points where they were most needed, while from special positions located at regular distances and well protected by further barriers the catapults and other siege weapons relentlessly discharged fireballs and darts against the attackers.

Every now and then the young man turned his eyes to the horizon, and every time he could see a figure in the distance stationed on the highest hill and surrounded by a small army of massive monsters, who was observing the progress of the battle through a strange tube that reflected the sun's rays.

On the first day the assault was repelled, and so on the second.

On the third day, however, it seemed that the external wall would give way at any moment under the incessant weight of the cannon fire, but in the end, albeit at a considerable cost, the besieged prevailed again, and by the evening they were still masters of the entire fortress.

But even when the weapons fell silent and night took over the valley there was no peace for Abel and his men, who in addition to the tension also had to endure the inviting scent that came from the enemy camps and made their stomachs twist. A low but also very sneaky way to push someone to question their resolve.

Yvette, who could take off a man's armor without him noticing, offered to go and explore beyond the walls, in the hope of finding information and perhaps planning some sabotage.

"It could be very dangerous."

"Dangerous? I remind you that we are locked inside a fort, besieged by an entire army. And anyway, which of us was better when we played hide and seek as children? Trust me, I'll be fine."

Even though he was her superior there was no way for Abel to win in a confrontation with Yvette, so he eventually gave her permission to go.

Under the cover of darkness the girl slipped silently like a cat along no man's land, and having stolen a uniform she managed to sneak into the main camp without any problems.

There was joy and good humor in the air, everyone was singing and eating as if they were in the middle of a celebration rather than a siege.

So, she thought, the rumors that there were no racial distinctions were true; there were men and monsters eating and conversing together around bonfires, monster officers with human subordinates and vice versa, and even a young cleric who gave blessings to anyone who asked, whether human or monster.

"You there!"

When she heard that loud voice behind her, for a moment she thought she had been found out.

"Are you talking to me?" she asked the person who had called her, a girl at first glance the same age as her with long brown hair, dragon horns and tail and amber skin.

She didn't know her name, but Yvette remembered seeing her several times during the battles trying to fight her way towards the fort, regardless of the arrows raining down on her.

The satyr and the little yeti who sat with her didn't seem to be doing too well, both clutching their swollen bellies and moaning in pain.

"They just brought us this big boar from the kitchens, but apparently these two are already full, and I don't think I can eat another one all by myself. Would you like to keep me company?"

"But, really, I..."

"Come on. They even stuffed it with chestnuts."

Fearing that a refusal might appear suspicious, Yvette finally accepted the invitation, also because the thought of being able to eat meat after so many days didn't displease her at all.

"I have never seen you. Are you new?" the dragon-girl asked her between bites

"I am. I just signed up."

"Ah, you're a conscript. And where are you from?"

"From Basterwick."

"I knew that my brother... I meant, that the Commander ordered to enlist as many people as possible for this expedition. But if he ordered the enlistment of young people like you, it means that he's determined to get to the bottom of it."

"So, are we really going to invade the Grand Duchy?"

"They left us no choice. We didn't hurt anyone. We just want to live in peace, be free and master of our lives. And if we have to fight to get there, so be it. None of us want to go back to being slaves."

"Yes, I understand. I have never supported the practice of slavery, and I find it legitimate for slaves to claim their right to freedom. However, invading another nation..."

"I also had some doubts. But my brother says if we don't do it they will continue to be a threat. We must make everyone understand what the price will be for those who attack us. But Daemon also says that he is ready to stop at any moment if our enemies stop threatening us, so it's up to them to decide whether to do so or not."

"However, if we invade their land it is difficult for them to recognize our claims. After all, we have just seen, one attack always leads to another."

At which the dragon girl scratched her head and snorted loudly.

"I don't understand anything about these things. But we all trust Daemon and his judgment. If he says that by doing this we will have peace, we have no reason not to believe him. After all, until now he has always guided us in the best way."

A sudden cackling pushed Yvette to turn around, just in time to see the passage of a young man with a magnetic gaze greeted loudly by everyone he met, to whom he responded with smiles and nods.

"Is it him?" she asked

"Right him. My little brother."

"I have never seen a general move with such ease among his men, even without an escort. Isn't he afraid of murderers?"

"We would all give our lives for him here. If anyone tried to touch him he wouldn't live long enough to regret it. Moreover, my brother is more than capable to defend himself."

When Daemon left, Yvette used an excuse to leave too, secretly following him to the command tent where an old soldier with an eyepatch, a man-horse, a lion, and a blond man with icy eyes were waiting for him.

Trying to sneak inside was out of the question, but luckily for her the guard was so tired that he didn't notice her, allowing her to slip into a dark area and listen.