Two weeks later, in the furthest north city in Miaan, west of Easthill.
Han's eyes scanned through the crowd around him, a bit of sorrow surfacing in his gaze as his eyes swept over a crying child. All the survivors of the northern villages had fled from Easthill, finding refuge in Miaan. Han's village had the least number of survivors- Only Joff, Kormac, and Han had survived as they fled, the other two villagers who'd lived to see the soldiers repelled eventually succumbed to the wounds left by the battle.
Thanks to the warnings sent by their village, the other villages secluded in the north had managed to prepare for the incoming attacks, and now just over 100 survivors had traveled to Miaan.
Staying in Easthill wasn't an option- the eastern power's military had a reputation- calculating, powerful, and precise.
The botched attacks on the northern villages didn't measure up to the country's reputation, but even so, sticking around any longer would surely lead to doom.
Even with the benefit of surprise on the villagers' sides, whoever was commanding the soldiers had made countless mistakes. Having the soldiers attack the villages at different times was a big one, as it could allow for the other villages to be alerted in time to escape.
A large man from one of the other villages stepped to the front of the crowd and began addressing them.
"Everyone, listen up! Easthill has been our ally for over three hundred years, even before our ancestors were forced to flee north. They have always been open to trading with us and protected us from any possible enemies. Now… they have stabbed us in the back, and killed our family members!"
Shouts of anger echoed from the crowd, accompanied by the despairing cries of those who lost their loved ones in the attack.
"They didn't even need a reason to attack us! What have we ever done to them?"
The man's voice cracked as a few tears slid down his face, drawing even more emotions from the crowd of villagers.
"Those traitorous cowards sit up there in their little city, thinking that they are invincible! Should we just let them murder our people and get away with it?! "
"Kill them!"
"Tear them down!"
The crowd grew rowdier as many of the younger men in the crowd called for the fall of Easthill.
The faces of fallen friends and family surfaced in Joff's mind, and soon he had joined in with the chanting.
Han let out a sigh, stepping to the front of the crowd.
"Easthill is full of traitorous scum, and I agree that we need to get revenge on them… but we don't have the resources or manpower to fight them. They didn't show it in their attacks on our villages, but their reputation of being the best-trained military in the world isn't baseless bragging."
Angry shouts rang through the crowd, clearly disagreeing with this viewpoint.
"You want us to just take this lying down? My son is dead! I won't rest until their traitorous heads roll!"
The large man from before stepped up, raising his hand to quiet the crowd.
"Han brings up an important point, we don't stand a chance at toppling Easthill's military. So why try? Their capital city's perch on a plateau might make it impenetrable to any army, but what of a small group of warriors sneaking into the city?"
The man turned to Han.
"You once traveled, correct? Surely you know someone who could supply us with weapons and smuggle us into the city."
Han's gaze swept back over the crowd, his eyes noticing the fanatical expression on his son's face.
'This big guy, Goerg was his name? He looks a bit crude but is frighteningly intelligent. The crowd is following his every word.'
"I do know a few merchants who might be willing to help us out, but I think we have a better option. The so-called Immortal Emperor leading the Empire hasn't advanced east yet, instead continuing the ages-old war against the Western continent. That said, he hasn't hidden his aspirations of conquering the entire world. I'm sure he'd be overjoyed by the idea of chaos in Easthill's capital city.
Han stepped forward, attempting to imitate Goerg's speech.
"Let's find a place to rest and rebuild our strength. A group of us will head west to request assistance from the Empire, and the rest of us train and prepare to take revenge. Attacking too swiftly will only result in failure. If we are well prepared, we can do much more damage to Easthill, and we might even stand a chance at toppling the entire country!"
A frown covered Goerg's face, showing his displeasure with the idea of sitting idle for months and delaying their revenge.
Han quickly moved to Goerg's side. Getting revenge was important, but attacking now would just bring more death to the villagers.
"Goerg. I heard your son died in Easthill's attacks. I want revenge just as much as you, but if we want to put those traitorous scum in their graves, we need to be patient. Look at the crowd. Many people are still injured, and if we try to fight now, many more will die."
A bit of rationality crept back into Goerg's eyes, and he grit his teeth.
"We will follow Han's plan. Hold on to your rage. We are injured and on the run. Right now, we need to recover. We've been uprooted and we've lost our loved ones. We will return the favor to the traitors! Let us prepare to burn their precious capital city to the ground!"