Just as Varre commanded, the army spent two full days recuperating in the Banbury. Even though the troops were freshly drafted and had spent weeks in the capital preparing for this journey, it wasn’t easy for them. Unlike normal travelers or pilgrims, the soldiers couldn’t walk at their own pace. They had to match everyone around them. And stick in formation. They couldn’t take a break whenever they got tired or even to relieve themselves. They had to wait for the commanders to order a stop.

  Even after finally arriving at their destination for the day, it would take hours to set up tents or distribute the soldiers into housing. Cooking food and fixing up clothes took even more time.

  These two days of rest were desperately needed. Fortunately, the royal council managed to send resources to Banbury ahead of time to accommodate everyone’s needs. Plenty of beer barrels were sent to the city, as the local taverns and breweries couldn’t hope to serve everyone otherwise. The city’s cobblers also worked double shifts to fix up everyone’s boots. Even though the crown sent additional supplies, the city was entirely stripped of leather for repairs.

  When travelling through enemy territory, the army wouldn’t risk any more marches of such length. The soldiers would need to be ready to fight, shortly after arrival. They couldn’t be this exhausted again. Count Jan recommended limiting future trips to around three days at a time. Then, the troops should be given a full day to recuperate.

  That number wasn’t set in stone, of course. If they approached a safe city, it might be a good idea to rest after just two days, or travel a day longer instead, to reach it. Alternatively, if the army was chasing an enemy, who was desperately fleeing back to their homeland, it could make sense to keep up the pursuit. Even though the injuries and casualties would be higher, the opponent would be just as exhausted when it came time for the next battle.

  Fortunately the Western province wasn’t that vast. Tresannes was just two days away. The army could make the full trip easily. Quendon, was another two, three days further West. Depending on the speed of marching. The plan was to move to Tresannes, begin the siege, and observe Clement’s army. Sooner or later, they’d leave the safety of their castle and ride out to meet Varre’s forces. That’s when the battle would occur.

  Though many of the veterans had fought in the West during the Langogne war twenty years ago, they hadn’t memorize every location. Baron Gregory’s men did a far better job mapping the territory, but the optimal location for that coming battle could only be decided after the siege began. Scouts would be sent out to track Clement’s progress and the commanders would deliberate on the battle plans.

  Though Varre could spend his two days in relative comfort, he couldn’t fully relax either. Thanks to the communication mages, he was able to speak with the councilors who remained in the capital directly.

  The Steward, Head Merchant, and Treasurer had all stayed back in Westbridge. Their jobs required constant access to reports from all over the kingdom. While the soldiers fought the actual war, their task was to keep the war machine fed and operational. They arranged shipments of food and supplies to Banbury, and made sure that the kingdom continued running in the Varre’s absence.

  The king communicated with them every evening during the march, but now that he had more time, he had a lot of work to make up for. He read through so many reports, that the numbers started spinning in his head. It was just like cramming for a test. Fortunately, from what he understood, the councilors seemed to be doing a good enough job without him.

  Kerryn didn’t let up either. Throughout the march, he only assigned light exercises to the monarch that he could do before going to sleep. Now, the coach tried to make up for the lost progress. Each night, the king ended up going to bed even more sore than he’d been after sitting in a saddle all day.

  Fortunately Benjamin was as helpful as ever. He made sure to provide as much comfort to his liege as he could. He also watched over the chest of elixir. Varre needed to consume a vial of the precious substance each day, to maximize the results of his training. And since no one knew exactly how long the war would last, he took enough to last for a few months. He ended up exhausting the reserve stock in the capital, normally intended for the royal guard, but even that wasn’t enough. All of Westbridge was depleted of elixir and the city’s alchemists now toiled to replenish their stock.

  If the war lasted even longer, Varre would need to receive additional supplies eventually. That would be a nightmare. A single vial was worth around fifty golden thalars on the market. A truly exorbitant sum. If some bandits managed to somehow steal a chest containing monthly supplies for the monarch, they’d obtain unimaginable wealth. The only way to transport such treasures safely was with an army. At that point, it might be easier for the king to return to Westbridge in person and allow his commanders to continue the war without him.

  Everyone wanted the war to end as soon as possible, which is why on the third morning since the army’s arrival in Banbury, they were ready to set out again. The wagons assembled outside of the city, while the soldiers paraded through the streets. Meanwhile, three hundred troopers would remain in the city to guard it. They, along with the town guard, joined the crowd wishing luck to their king.

  Banbury was smaller than Westbridge, which meant that the parade had a much shorter route. Without a moat, the city had no need for a drawbridge either. Unfortunately, that changed little, as the gate was still too narrow to allow more than two riders at a time. Yet again, a full hour was needed to get everyone to pass through the gates.

  The army had to wait for everyone to leave the city and regroup before moving on. Now that they were heading into enemy territory, they needed to be ready to fight off ambushes.

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  The honor guard led the way, followed by the king’s entourage. That technically put them in harm’s way, but the symbolism was deemed more important. Besides, the cavalry scouting ahead would warn them of incoming threats.

  Next, came the core of the knight force. Most of them travelled here, arranged in a long column. Their squires either followed closely behind, or served as some of the scouts.

  The infantry was split into eight units of five hundred men. Each was appointed a commander, and these leaders, together with a few of their closest knights, travelled at the front of each formation. Four of the eight columns followed behind the core of knights.

  Then, came the wagon train. Or at least half of it. The carts were mostly pulled by oxen, making them slow to maneuver. They needed to be protected. That’s why the wagons were split into two separate units. Two of the remaining infantry columns separated the sections of the wagon train. In the event of an ambush, each would move to, and cover, a different side of the formation. The camp followers stuck close to the carts and would take shelter among the carts in case of any danger.

  The last two infantry units defended the back of the marching army. They too would turn around and reposition in the case of a sudden attack.

  Count Jan did not expect any ambushes. The army was made up of four and a half thousand soldiers overall. To even threaten them, the opponent would need to bring thousands of troops of their own and that wasn’t an easy force to hide. Besides, the scouts travelled miles ahead of the formation, keeping a watchful eye out for danger and delivering messages back and forth. Still, it was considered standard practice to travel in a defensive formation, just in case.

  By the evening, the army had reached the Elster river. This was considered the unofficial border between the loyalist and rebel forces. Each side used the larger fortified cities of Banbury and Tresannes respectively as the main points of defense, but technically their influence spread all the way to here.

  The Elster wasn’t a particularly large river. Even a simple peasant, if dedicated enough, could swim across it. But that was enough to make it a stable border. Most people in Logres didn’t know how to swim. Even for those who could, doing so with armor and equipment was no easy feat. Horses could have a better chance, but they’d struggle with a rider on top. Especially an armored knight with a ton of gear of his own.

  While Varre had only limited contact with horses back on Earth, he had noticed that the ones in this world seemed to be smaller. Though the ones used for war were large and impressive by the standards of the time, they still had a few centuries of breeding to go through before they could match the varieties that the former student was used to.

  Even assuming that the army could somehow make it across the river anyway, the wagons would be completely stuck. That’s why the road led to here. The village of Elstercross.

  It was a relatively new settlement, only built several decades ago together with the bridge. Before that, people had to travel miles away to use one of the fords, or even further to find the next bridge. With time, Elstercross would most likely develop into a proper town. It was in a great location to accommodate merchants travelling between the West and the capital, but for now, the two inns in the village were sufficient.

  All of the buildings were located on the Eastern side of the river and the settlement served as an outpost of the Banbury forces. Most of the scouts investigating Clement’s territory came from here. Using the inns to rest and resupply.

  Elstercross couldn’t hope to house the entire army. The inns were assigned for the royal entourage and the commanders, the village houses for the knights, while the common soldiery set up a campsite.

  During the evening, as the infantry was busy putting up their tents, the commanders met again for a brief strategy meeting before the crossing.

  “This is it,” Varre began, “starting tomorrow, we’ll be in enemy territory.”

  “I’ve spoken with the scouts,” Count Jan reported, “they’ve spent the last few days investigating the area on the other side. There’s no sign of the enemy anywhere. We’re free to cross safely.”

  “What about Tresannes?” the king asked.

  “The city is still open, but very few people are crossing the gates. They must know we’re coming, but it seems like they’ve already gathered as much supplies as they could,” the count smirked, “that, or they’re planning to surrender.”

  “Clement knows about us?” Varre raised an eyebrow, “how many scouts does he have? Are we just letting them do whatever they want?”

  “There’s not much we can do, your majesty,” Hakon answered, “it’s not like we want our scouts to try and duel theirs whenever they happen to meet.”

  “Exactly,” Jan nodded, “we’d run out of people too quickly if we tried that. Or, waste them trying to chase down fleeing cavalry. Besides, Clement’s scouts can just ask any random peasant about us. Those fools won’t keep their mouth shut if a knight asks them a question.”

  “I see. So we continue tomorrow, and should reach Tresannes by the evening. Should we leave anyone here to defend the crossing?” Varre pointed in the direction of the river.

  “We shouldn’t,” the count said, “the village doesn’t have a wall. We’d need to leave thousands of people behind if we hoped to stop any rebels here. The few guards that Banbury already sent here will do. At least they’ll complicate the enemy’s scouting.”

  “And what if Clement will go past us?” the king insisted, “will we just let him through unopposed?”

  “What would he achieve by that?” Jan countered, “Banbury has stone walls. He’d need a long time to siege them down. Long enough for us to catch up to him and smash him against them.”

  The rest of the meeting passed on discussing the minutiae of tomorrow’s deployment. Eventually though, the commanders had to go to sleep. They were setting out early tomorrow. They planned to get to Tresannes before the evening. With any luck, the city would surrender and they could relax in comfort. Without it, they’d settle in for a siege.

  The next morning, the army crossed the river safely. The scouts worked all through the night, making sure the coast was clear. The crossing took many hours and the army was extremely vulnerable throughout it. Fortunately, the latest reports showed that Clement was still gathering his forces in Quendon and it seemed like all of his supporters were there with him. Still, it was better safe than sorry.

  Once everyone made it to the other side, the army kept moving. Just as the reports suggested, the villages had been deserted. Only a few stragglers remained, those unable, or unwilling to move away from the marching army.

  They kept their distance. Experiences with previous wars probably taught them to expect looting and devastation. Fortunately for them, Varre’s army was different. They had no need to rob peasants for grain. Some of the servants did go out to make purchases, shocking the locals, but the day passed without incident.

  Fortunately it was mid-August. The sun was up until late. The army kept marching for many hours until finally, by the early evening, they arrived at their destination. Off in the distance, the walls of Tresannes jutted out of the picturesque landscape. They had made it.

  Will the city surrender? Or will it need to be sieged?

  And of course, how does Clement plan to stop Varre now?