Gavin and the other elders were left stunned by the odd behaviour. 50 men went back and forth, transporting wood on rafts across the river. It was odd behaviour until some spies came to Gavin with grave news.
Ulysses planned to use the wood to create a smoke screen. Then he would have wind mages blow the wind over the city to blind them.
"Do they even have enough wind mages to pull that off?"
"This is troublesome. If our people see smoke they will freak out. It could cause panic."
"This is sneaky. I've heard of some crazy armies trying such unorthodox tactics overseas, but it rarely works. What stupidity!"
"Well, they are also desperate. They know our reinforcements are coming. We don't even need to win or do anything. All we need to do is stay here calmly. If they dare come by the river we will pick them off in groups. If they come by the northern or western walls a rain of arrows awaits them."
"They didn't even bother hiding what they were transporting! The arrogance!"
Gavin was quiet as he had these conversations. A messenger approached at that moment and whispered into Gavin's ear. Then, at last, he spoke.
"All we need to do is last. We need to take the safe route and wait for reinforcements. No excessive action is necessary. However, we need to take precautions. I just receives word that the news about the smoke has been leaked by some of our troops. "
A lot of elders groaned in anger. This was not what they needed at this moment in time. Civil unrest was already peaking, now there was going to be a creeping fear of impending doom.
"Maybe it wasn't our soldiers, maybe the enemy did this to put us into disorder."
"For what? It's useless if they can't climb the wall. I bet it's that drunkard captain of the 4th infantry division. The house of Carlos has always had loose lips!"
A hand slapped the table in response, "How dare you!"
"Jonathan, you are not even a Carlos, why are you offended." Said a snickering Malvin.
Jonathan was a fat man who had served in the army a few decades ago and was now an accomplished merchant. He had a stout figure that rippled in anger whenever he was infuriated.
"Malvin, you know full well that my wife is a Carlos! Besides, your Gallagher house has produced a lot of spies, how do we know it's not your dirty work?"
"Because good spies do not have loose lips." Said a confident Malvin."
"That's the point, you guys are garbage. You couldn't keep a secret even if it meant getting you safely into the afterlife."
"You are courting death!"
"The only courting I've done is with your sister!"
"Jonathan! I swear I will-"
"Silence!"
Gavin's magic-infused bellow calmed the seething old fellows in the room. Gavin could see that the mental fatigue was catching up to everyone in the room. This was truly a difficult time for them.
"Gentlemen now is not the time for petty insults. We have a duty to our people and this land. We need to crack down on the news and prevent panic. Let them do as they please. We will hold our ground."
....
Soon the city was abuzz with gossip about how a large smoke screen would cover the city, and that the enemy would try and use it to attack the northern and western walls.
Many people were whispering about how cruel and savage the Batur soldiers would be when they entered. Voices of dissent started to spread from the mercenaries. Soldiers from Gavin's men would often hear, then it would to disputes. This was happening all over the city as people were venting out their frustrations differently.
...
'Prince Ulysses' plan is truly vicious. He seems to have quite the grasp on human nature.'
Right now, Ulysses and a handful of his most trusted subordinates were in a small clearing in the forest, just outside the camp. A few men were had their hands tied and we were kneeling in front of Ulysses, or rather Danny as he inspected them.
"So these are the prisoners I requested?"
The three men were held by Danny's men and suppressed firmly. A burly soldier who seemed like he had a high rank said, "As you requested, three prisoners who were to scared to battle.
Deserters were a common problem in most armies, especially those that had fought intense battles. Batur, despite having many brave souls was not exempt from this. After seeing Myca The Wise die in the previous battle, many believed they would lose and the battle was lost. But Michael led a surprise attack that killed the enemy King. The enemy headquarters were too centralized and their King held too much sway. Gavin did not have Michael's combat power not pedigree.
Watching the king fall caused a wave of chaos to spread among Moldamir's numbers. Hence the Moldamir troops ran before the Batur troops did.
From the Batur deserters, only 3 men were still alive. The rest had been killed by Michael before Ulysses had arrived.
They were part of a group of that had tried to run after Myca's death but were caught and arrested.
"You have a chance to regain your freedom. What I require of you I'm sure you already know."
Danny was not happy about what was about to happen. But he had no choice. If one deserted and wanted to redeem themselves, according to military law, they would battle the leader of the army. If they won, they would survive and be left alone. But losing meant death.
This was one of the laws left over from ancient times to make sure that the leader of an army was always worthy of the position, and it also was a chance to display one's strength to troops. If a soldier survived it meant their martial prowess was valuable enough to warrant another chance.
Danny had never fought a life-and-death battle but here he had no choice. The ancient law was something not even he could avoid.
The soldiers made a circle for the duel. The first of the prisoners was a blonde man with missing front teeth. He had no armour but he had a small dagger. One could freely choose whatever weapon one wanted to use so long as it was short-range. No armour was allowed.
Danny only had an ordinary silver sword. It was superbly made according to their national standards and was well-balanced. Thanks to Ulysses' fitness and training, the sword felt natural in Danny's hand.
He swung it around just to make sure he had a feel of his executing sword strokes in preparation.
Ulysses the Bold was known for his superb duelling skill among Noble Social circles and commoners. He often held public duels where he embarrassed many a foe.