238 To Duke Armenia’s territory.
“Excuse me, Captain. We’ve finished with supplies.”
After rousing the spirits of the soldiers and grasping their hearts, I led them toward Duke Armenia’s territory.
Somehow they’ve started calling me “Captain”…but perhaps that’s part of leading an army. I didn’t correct them.
Along our route we didn’t forget rest or replenishing supplies, so we approached the territory at twice our regular speed.
“All right, we’re almost there. Everyone, confirm you have everything you need and we’ll be heading out in ten minutes.”
My words and actions were everything a captain should be.
“Understood!”
After issuing my order, I observed the resting soldiers.
Their nervousness seemed to shoot up as they approached Duke Armenia’s territory.
Especially the ones who hadn’t been on a battlefield before. Their emotions were written on their faces.
“Schlay, talk to the stiff ones. Some jumpiness is good, but being too nervous will just slow them down.”
“Understood. But I’m sure they won’t be nervous anymore if they see you in battle.”
Schlay too, his usual flippant tone and relaxed aura was completely gone. He carried himself with a sense of seriousness.
Him and the other soldiers who had been on the battlefield alongside me were the same way. They were tense in a different way that only grew while we approached our destination.
The new soldiers were crushed by nervousness, while old soldiers were tense from anticipation.
Perhaps the latter was acting that way because I was leading them.
They’ve already seen me on the battlefield up close. Maybe they were excited to see me there again.
It made me reminisce about the battlefields of the past
Just like Schlay in the past.
“Who knows what will happen in the end. Either way, thanks for your help. If you think anything is off, report back to me.”
I smiled in exasperation at his cocky swagger and responded like I had in the past.
So after ten minutes, when we’d received the report that everything was normal, we set off on our journey again.