“Your insignia is wrong,” stated the elf. “General Fortella heads the 2nd Corps, not the 11th Corps.”
“It is what I have available,” frowned Alex. “I will have to hide the patch in some way or think of a reasonable excuse for it.”
“There is time for me to pick off one of the soldiers of the 2nd Corps and bring you the patch,” offered the eleven princess, “but you must decide immediately. The scouts arrive early and settle in to wait for the rest of the column.”
Alex shook his head. “It will be dark. Blood will suffice to obscure the patch.”
Princess Rhula raised an eyebrow. “Human blood?”
Alex chuckled and shook his head. “Neither human nor elven blood. Go slay me something that bleeds while I search for a good hiding spot.”
“Go kill your own game,” the elven princess replied with an uncharacteristic smile. “There is no one better than an elf to find you a hiding spot in the forest. I will pick you a good one.”
Chapter 40
Fire in the Woods
Colonel Wu-sang peered over the ridge at the Federation column marching along the road between Barouk and Ongchi. Behind him, five-thousand Lanoirian troops waited in a cold camp.
“You made good time from Chi,” Rut-ki said softly.
“The men are eager to engage the enemy,” replied the Lanoirian colonel. “I think our victory over Team Chi has raised their spirits for the first time since they learned of the coming Zaran invasion. They insisted on force marching most of the way.”
Rut-ki frowned slightly. She was pleased by the boost in the men’s morale, but she was also concerned about them being overly confident.
“You must temper their enthusiasm,” stated the Knight of Alcea. “Our goal at the present is not one of full engagement. It is rather one of retreat.”
“Retreat?” questioned the colonel. “The enemy does not even know that we are here. I do not understand.”
“Then I shall explain it to you,” Rut-ki said with a sympathetic smile. “The purpose of this engagement is to stall the Federation’s advance towards Ongchi until General Za-hong can position his men. With that in mind, we will attack the rear of his column in the hope of getting his army to turn around and pursue us. If he does pursue us, we will tactically retreat, dragging them with us. That means that the retreat must be closely controlled to keep the enemy interested, yet clever enough to avoid serious loses to our men. If they disengage, we will advance and attack again until they do pursue us.”
“I understand.” The colonel nodded. “How long do we need to stall the enemy?”
“If we can delay them one day we will have accomplished all that could be asked of us,” answered the Knight of Alcea.
The Lanoirian colonel nodded and fell silent, his mind looking for pitfalls in the plan.
“If the rear of my column was attacked,” the colonel eventually said, “I would try to outflank the attackers. The Federation column is so long that we would never see them pulling forces out of it to attack us.”
“The fairies will keep watch for you,” promised Rut-ki. “Also, the enemy has no cavalry so their attack should not arrive without ample notice. General Za-hong figured the best possible scenario is that the enemy divides the column in two, with one half attacking you, and the other half continuing on towards Ongchi. If General Kolling does that, Za-hong will destroy the first half of the column and then come to your aid.”
“That is not a likely possibility,” stated Colonel Wu-sang. “He will be more likely to rush our positions at the rear of his column. The retreat will have to be structured carefully to prevent offering such a temptation.”
“I will leave that planning up to you,” stated Rut-ki. “Elandros and his elves will be nearby. If it looks like you are in trouble, he will take action to ease the pressure on you.”
“His people could fill my lines,” offered the colonel. “We would be proud to have the elves among us.”
“Adding a hundred archers to your line will not change much,” replied Rut-ki. “Remember, we are not seeking to kill thousands of Zarans. We are seeking to delay the column. Elandros and his elves are better used as a roving force that can turn the head of the serpent should it become necessary.”
* * * *
Colonel Ednor of the 9th Corps of the Empire of Barouk ran forward as fast as his legs could carry him. By the time he reached General Kolling and General Gertz, the colonel was out of breath. The two generals stepped out of the column and waited impatiently for the urgent message to be delivered.
“Out with it man,” scowled General Kolling. “What is it?”
“Attack,” gasped the colonel. “The rear of the column.”
“That would be your stragglers, Gertz,” General Kolling said dismissively. “It sounds like the band that has been sniping at our foragers is getting desperate. Perhaps you should go back and teach your men about proper defensive measures.”
The Aertan general frowned at the thought of walking in the wrong direction. It would only lengthen the walk to the next camp if he had to cover the same ground twice.
“No,” gasped the colonel. “It’s bigger.”
General Kolling’s eyes narrowed with concern as his foot tapped the surface of the road. “How much bigger, Colonel?”
The colonel took a deep breath and straightened up. “There are thousands of Lanoirians behind us. They have engaged the rear of the column, and they do not seem willing to disengage. We have a battle on our hands, General.”
“Thousands?” echoed the Baroukan general. “Where did they come from if all of the Lanoirian army is before us?”
“Evidently they are not all before us,” retorted General Gertz. “Could it be the army that attacked Franz and Somma up near Chi?”
“They should be days away,” frowned General Kolling.
“Days away from when they attacked Team Chi,” countered General Gertz. “We never did ask Somma when the attack had occurred. Team Chi came into the country on day six. That was five days ago and plenty of time for an army to march cross country, especially if they had horses.”
“But Somma said that the Lanoirians against him only had five-thousand men,” argued General Kolling. “What fool would attack this column with only five-thousand men?”
“One that wished to slow us down,” answered General Gertz. “Rut-ki made a point of mentioning our schedule. That means that she knows what it is. She seeks to delay us.”
“Delay us?” scoffed General Kolling. “For what purpose? If the other two teams are no longer fighting forces, our schedule means nothing. We have no one to meet up with. Ongchi is not going anywhere.”
“Maybe she suspects a fourth team?” shrugged the Aertan general. “I do not know her reasons for wanting to delay us, but it is the only thing that makes sense.”
“No.” General Kolling shook his head. “Rut-ki knew far too much about us. She knows what the invasion plans are. The delay has to do with something on her side of the equation. She needs time to prepare for our arrival at Ongchi.”
“The Lanoirian force from Hun-lo Heights?” posed general Gertz.
“That is what I am thinking,” nodded General Kolling. “Ongchi stands undefended right now. Instead of bringing their men down from Chi to defend the capital, they sent them to attack us. I am half tempted to force march our men and seize the city while it is undefended.”
“Half tempted?”
General Kolling sighed and shook his head. “The men are weak and weary. If I demanded a forced march right now, we would arrive with only half an army. If that.”
General Gertz nodded in agreement. “And we would have five-thousand Lanoirians behind us every step of the way. Arriving with half of our men might be a bit optimistic. What are the alternatives?”
“There are only two alternatives,” stated General Kolling. “We can form defensive ranks which will give the Lanoirians precisely the delay that they are looking for, or we can engage the enemy completely and annihilate one fourth of the Lanoirian army. I wonder if they have horses and supply wagons?”