The next morning seemed deceptively peaceful. For a brief moment, it felt as if the tension from the night before had dissipated. Richard and the other generals this was just the calm before the storm. They had spent the night ensuring the full mobilization of the city's military forces, and by dawn, nearly twenty thousand soldiers stood ready within the capital.
While the sheer number of troops seemed impressive, Richard and his fellow generals did not allow themselves any sense of comfort. They knew that less than half of these soldiers had received proper military training, and only around five thousand had managed to enter the Level System. The rest were mere mortals and would be little more than cannon fodder if forced to fight in the open.
