Darin chuckles. "Yeah. For the time bein'."
Velinor glances down at him from his horse. "Speak for yourself. I's gonna live forever."
You look over at the mouth of the jungle. Loyalist infantry pour across Rade's bridges. They must have followed the cavalry that charged out moments before.
You glance back to Darin. "Rade's army is pullin' back, but we haven't won yet. We need to secure the bridges, or he'll push us right back into the jungle."
Darin nods. "Understood."
The day's fighting comes to a close.
Hundreds lie dead on the soil.
Next
It was convenient that your rangers were able to die so close to Krorid. It means you won't need to hastily dig graves on the battlefield or cremate the bodies. You can load the corpses up on your wagons and send them back through the jungle trails.
Back to Lanorlay.
You wonder how the Kroridian people will feel. Perhaps receiving the mangled bodies of their young men will shatter their illusion of you.
You're still not sure if the sacrifice was worth it. You're still counting the bodies of the rangers. The men holding the jungle pass took noticeable losses as well, losses which are still being tallied.
It was a necessary action. You needed to force the rebels from the jungle's mouth. The loss of these rangers is necessary in order to clear the way for the rest of your army to pass over the river.
You sigh.
Such thoughts do not sit well with you.
You've gambled so many lives, thrown so many upon the pyre that it's now routine to you.
Make the decision. Commit the men. Ready weapons. Brace for impact.
Bloody good that did me, you think, clutching a hand to the side of your chest. Now that your adrenaline has crashed, the pain has flared back up again. Your cuts and scrapes were bandaged, but they're minor compared to the pain in your chest.
According to the surgeon, the blow to the chest you took from the mace earlier broke two of your left ribs. Deep breaths send a flare of pain through you. Twisting and turning is alarmingly painful.
Compared to many of the others, however…
You were lucky.
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