"What!? Did they break through?"

"Not yet, Sir. Lord Daemon sent a small group of warriors, and they stopped them for now. Little Sapi is keeping them at bay almost alone. That pest is a force of nature."

"We absolutely cannot give in. Even her won't be able to stop the enemy if they manage to get through here too."

"Captain! Here they come again!"

With the ninth assault, I understood that the situation was becoming dramatic when my orderly told me that he was left without bullets to reload my guns, while to repel the tenth we had to use up almost all our grenades.

"By Gaia and Belion, there's no end to them!"

Even from the right and left we heard less and less shooting, a sign that the other units were now almost empty.

The worst thing was not being able to give and receive news from the rest of the front; in the middle of the battle, I had tried to send one of my messengers to request orders, but after an hour he still hadn't returned, and I was now running out of solutions.

There were two options, either we remained barricaded hoping that the enemies would surrender before we ran out of ammunition, or we tried to do something very stupid indeed.

I chose the second option.

"Let's get ready to charge." I said after summoning all my subordinates.

"Captain, are you serious!?"

"We have no other choice. We're running out of shots. We can fight them off two more times, maybe three, but then they'll get to us."

"They have shields and armors, we only have bayonets. Even using the momentum, how can we think of overpowering them in melee?"

"They attempted to climb this slope ten times after marching for days. They're probably exhausted, and we will take advantage of it. Moreover, we too were legionnaires. We know how they fight, which they can't say about us."

"And what do we do with our orders? They told us not to leave this location for any reason. The risk is creating a hole in the line."

"He's right. If the maneuver fails and the enemy does not retreat, we will have served him victory on a silver platter."

"We have no other choice. Now or later, it would still be the only thing to do. We will close ranks as much as possible. At first we will let them advance. If they don't see us shooting they'll think we've run out of ammunition and they'll start running, becoming unglued and tired even more. When they are a little closer, we will all charge together. Everything clear?"

"... Yes sir."

"Yes sir."

"Yes sir."

"Well. Let's get ready."

At the command of the non-commissioned officers, all my men stood shoulder to shoulder, their bayonets fixed and their bodies ready to spring.

"Here they come."

"Let them advance... a little more... Now! Trumpeter!"

"4th Company Mistvale, charge!"

I really don't know what convinced me to do something like that.

Everyone knew I was a coward.

Nevertheless, the moment I heard the trumpet behind me I was the first to throw myself down the slope as if I had fire inside me.

We charged furiously, shouting like a mass of fanatics, as if nothing could scare us.

I was so caught up in the thought of reaching the enemy as quickly as possible that I didn't even notice that a few seconds later all the other units, after a moment of confusion, followed our example.

The imperial legionaries couldn't believe their eyes at the sight of this mass of madmen armed only with bayonets who were charging at them while screaming as loudly as they could. We overwhelmed the first while they were still motionless, and so did the second and third.

And before we had even descended half the slope the enemies began to flee, throwing away their weapons and shields and thinking only of saving their lives.

We stopped only once we reached the edge of the woods, regaining control and reason as the fire in our chests was extinguished as quickly as it had started. And when we looked back, behind us there was nothing but abandoned weapons and dead or wounded soldiers, both friend and foe.

A few minutes later, as we were now exhausted and returning to our starting positions with more than fifty prisoners, we heard the imperial retreat signal in the distance.

Somehow, we had done it.



In the evening we returned to our camp to rest and count our losses.

Even before becoming a Captain, I had accepted the idea that death was part of a soldier's existence, and that appearing insensitive to the death of a friend was the only way to bear the pain.

During that battle alone I had lost almost fifty comrades, many of whom were my friends before subordinates to my orders.

But despite everything, the others were happy.

Because we had won. We had won just when, according to those who had fought in other sectors of the front, everything seemed compromised.

The Empire's attack had been much more violent than expected, and on several occasions the enemy had been one step away from gaining the advantage. Lord Daemon had been forced to use all his genius to reverse the situation, and now that the entire Grand Army was reunited, for the first time since the defeat at Bedburg there was a sense of hope in the air.

As for me, I knew it was only a matter of time, and when two members of the Great Guard came to tell me that Lord Daemon wanted to speak with me, I was almost not surprised.

The meeting took place in his tent; he was sitting on the bench in front of the table, and as soon as I entered, he ordered his collaborators and advisors to leave us alone.

I confess that I have never trembled so much with fear as I did on that occasion.

First, he wanted to hear my report on the battle; and I gave it to him, without trying to soften the responsibilities that I knew I had.

With every word I said his gaze became more and more dark, and I felt the breath of the two thugs behind me on my neck, the only witnesses of what could have been my last night of life.

By the time I finished speaking my heart was beating so fast I thought it would jump out of my chest.

"Did you receive orders that it was necessary to hold your position at all costs?"

"Yes, sir. And we did it. But the enemy was pressing on, and we were running out of ammunition. It was only a matter of time before they could overwhelm us. I requested reinforcements and ammunition several times, but the units close to us were just as tired as we were. I even tried to ask you for directions personally, but my messenger never returned. Only later did I discover that he had been killed while trying to reach you, struck by a spell as he passed near the hole between us and the center."

"With your conduct, you put all of us at risk, and worse still, you ended up dragging the whole flank with you. Haven't you stopped to think what could have happened if your charge hadn't had the desired effect? That entire sector would have been compromised, and the battle would certainly have been lost."

If my legs trembled before, now they felt like reeds in a storm.

"Sir, I know I disobeyed orders, and I deeply apologize. I would add that if the maneuver had failed, and by some miracle I had managed to survive, I would have returned to you only to offer my life."

Two seconds later his eyes were an inch away from mine, and what I saw inside them was not at all reassuring.

"Your life counts for one! Everyone's here counts for one, including mine! We could have lost! Everything we had built with so much effort and with the sacrifice of so many of our comrades would have been destroyed! In light of all this, do you seriously believe that throwing yourself on your sword would have been of any use?"

I didn't know whether to stay still, try to respond or throw myself at his feet begging for mercy.

"I... I'm sorry, Sir."

He seemed to calm down, sighed and rubbed his nose.

"Did your NCOs agree with your decision?"

"I... I'm not sure. At first some seemed hesitant. But then, in the end... I think they all agreed with me."

When he looked me in the eyes again, I felt like a naughty child sent to detention.

"One last question. Pretend that the enemy had not fled, and that your attack had failed. Would you still be convinced that you did the right thing?"

I had a feeling I would regret my words no matter what I said.

"Sir... I don't know what to answer. In fact, perhaps it is more correct to say that I am unable to answer."

"What?"

"There are no certainties in war. None of us can know in advance the consequences of our actions, especially in the midst of battle. We can only analyze the situation, make assessments, and decide based on the information we have. It was you who taught me this with your example. At the time it seemed like the right thing to do."

If I had told the me of a year ago that one day I would say something like that to Lord Daemon's face he would never have believed it.

As for the me of that moment, I was now just waiting for Lord Daemon to call his two guardians to take me to the gallows.

He grabbed my shoulders, tore off the braids, then put his hand in his pocket, and hit me violently in the chest; when he took it off, I had something pinned to my jacket.

"Congratulations. From this moment, you are Major."

If I didn't faint where I was it was only because my brain still couldn't process what was happening.

"Sir...!?"

"The enemy hit hard all along the line, but it was your flank that suffered the worst attack. Basil is like a bull, he charges anyone who waves a cloth in front of him. The more you repelled his offensives, the more he persisted in wanting to take that hill. He even overlooked the gap that his men had managed to open in the center. He must have thought it was a trap, but in truth, our difficulty in that area was entirely real. I honestly don't know how it would have turned out if it wasn't for you."

I almost didn't listen to him, because I was too busy convincing myself that I wasn't dreaming.

"Orders are important, but what I want from an officer is for him to trust his instincts. I have no use for an army of mindless puppets."

Then once again, he wanted to shake my hand.

"Well done, Major. This is your victory."

He had just offered me to have a coffee with him, when the sounds of frantic galloping came from outside a tent, followed immediately by the thud of a horse collapsing exhausted on the grass and desperate exclamations.

"Let me pass! I have to speak to the Commander immediately!"

A moment later an explorer literally covered in mud and dirt entered the tent with the look of someone who had stared death in the face.

"What happens?"

"Commander! It's terrible!"



The bridge over the Jesi river was a kind of monument erected in memory of Emperor Ademar's iron will to put an end to decades of tension and skirmishes with the Union.

Before the signing of the Treaties of Rhodes it was just a simple wooden bridge, easy to tear down in case of problems. Now, however, it had turned into a superb building of marble and stone, large and comfortable, through which goods and people passed without problems.

Of course, no one on either side of the river was naïve enough to think that Maligrad and Mickarn would suddenly live in harmony; this is why by mutual agreement they had established no man's land, and why two large, permanently manned fortresses stood at opposite ends of the bridge.

After the birth of the Free State, a rebel garrison had occupied the northern fortress, and except for an initial moment of mutual distrust, the situation had quickly normalized.

It was quite common for the two garrisons to organize reunions or friendly meetings, to exchange products and spend a few happy hours drinking together.

According to the agreement, every evening at eight both doors were bolted, the drawbridge was raised, and until dawn, no one could cross the bridge.

That night, one of the guards awakened the Lieutenant in command of the Free State garrison soon after he had managed to fall asleep.

"What's up?" he grumbled as he climbed to the top of the tower

"Sorry to disturb you, Sir, but there is something strange. They haven't lit the signal fire on the other side yet."

"Maybe they're just late."

"It's already been three hours since we closed the doors. It's quite strange."

The Lieutenant looked into the telescope. Absolute darkness reigned on the other side. Not even the lights of the sentries patrolling the banks could be seen.

"I don't like it... among other things, the door is still open, and the drawbridge lowered. It almost seems like there's no one in there."

"Should we wake up the soldiers, Sir?"

It was a serious and risky decision, because it could be interpreted in various ways.

Before doing something rash, the Lieutenant wanted to follow the procedure.

"Make the signal."

The sentries then threw special minerals into the fort's brazier, whose flame took on a blue, then green, and finally red color.

In these cases, it was expected that the other strongman would respond in the same way, to indicate that everything was in order.

However, nothing happened.

Before deciding to ring the alarm, the Lieutenant wanted to take one last look through the spyglass. At that moment, the clouds covering the moons partially cleared, allowing him to see something behind the fortress.

"What the..."

He couldn't say anything else, because a moment later the light of hundreds, thousands of flaming arrows lit up the sky like day.

"Curse! Battle station! Everyone..."

A bolt pierced him in the middle of the forehead, and the fortress was literally swept away by the shots of dozens of trebuchets, which reduced it to rubble in a few minutes before his men could even have any idea of what was happening.

The Lieutenant hadn't spotted a small group of soldiers, but the largest army the Union had ever assembled in decades.

And in the center of the formation, riding a black horse, stood President Medici, who drew his sword and pointed it in front of him.

"Patria Union Army! Forward!"