Soslan swept his arm wide, unfurling the map behind him for all to see.
He pointed to Autongard on the map and announced, "We will depart from here, cross the Gray Forest, follow the mountain range, and finally reach the Tianyin Plains."
"We may face obstacles along the way, but we must be as swift as a raging storm!"
The nobles were roused to a fever pitch, all voicing their assent, but what they truly thought in their hearts, no one knew.
Henry and Fass exchanged a glance, silently forging an alliance.
The horn of battle had sounded. That very night, Autongard was ablaze with light as military supplies and wagons were organized throughout the city.
Early the next morning, the Eighth Legion departed first. With a full-strength force of ten thousand regular soldiers and thirty thousand serfs, it took them until eleven o'clock to completely clear the city.
The Ninth Legion followed close behind. With an identical force, it took them four hours to fully depart from Autongard.
