"Ada." Calling out to his sister, Lesezek brought her into a side room and took a seat. "The Gotic King has sent word."

"He agreed to the marriage?" Ada asked casually, not caring about the whole thing. She knew she would always be married off; it was just a matter of to whom. Lesezek stiffly smiled.

"It’s not the Prince. The King has decided to marry you himself." Despite her thoughts, she couldn’t help but frown thinking about the King.

"He already has a few wives. Why him?" It was obvious why she was confused, and Lesezek could only sigh and shrug.

"That man is beast. I’m not too surprised that he hijacked his own son’s marriage." It wasn’t a good enough reason for Ada, and Lesezek could see that. It made him think. What was the point of taking the marriage himself? Was it simply because of his own desires, or was there more to it?

With cold eyes, Ada stood up. "I’m not marrying him. I already decided against the Nogrovod Prince for the same reason."

"SIT DOWN!" Lesezek yelled at her departing back, stunning Ada. Shooting daggers into her brother, she was obviously upset with his attitude but did as she was told and retook her seat. "I don’t care anymore, Ada. I know what you want, but we no longer have that luxury."

"I had one condition for my marriage, brother. Even father agreed to it." Lesezek stood up and towered over his sister. Leaning in, his cold eyes stared directly into hers.

"I am not, father, and he isn’t here. You will marry this prick, and you will secure his support in the war. Do you understand?" Ada remained silent, staring at her brother. In a swift motion, Lesezek grabbed her hair and pulled her closer. "Do you understand?" His voice was like a growl. Ada didn’t flinch in his presence, smacking his hand away.

"You’ve changed. Did you get arrogant because you are sitting in your father’s seat now?" Standing up, the two were inches apart. "Don’t think you are the only one who can sit on it."

The veins on Lesezek’s temple popped as the two siblings stared at one another. "Do you honestly think I’m doing this because of arrogance? We need to survive, and if it means handing you over to that man, so be it. What are you compared to the survival of the Commonwealth?"

Ada scoffed and shook her head. "You’re such a sad person, Lesezek." Ada pushed pst his shoulder, trying to leave again. "I won’t marry that man, and you won’t force me to. If you do..." Ada let her words trail.

"ADA!" Lesezek screamed in hate at his sister, but she ignored him and left the room. Watching the door close, he took a couple of deep breaths and rested his hand on the small table. "AHHHH!" With a loud yell, he flipped it over, smashing the small vase on it.

Why couldn’t she understand? It angered him to no end. His sister couldn’t see it was all for their home. She should have been happy to help save their home. Happy to help keep the throne. ’It doesn’t matter what she says.’ Telling himself, Lesezek walked out of the room towards his office. Going in, he grabbed a sheet of paper and began to write.

’King Theodoric. The Commonwealth happily accept the marriage proposal. All I ask is you send someone to collect the Princess, as we cannot divert resources to send her to you with the ongoing war.’ Lesezek looked at the letter and nodded happily. Whilst it made them seem weak, he had no other way to secure the marriage without Theodoric coming himself.

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Standing outside the second fort, the smell of blood filled the air. The battle had been easier than the first thanks to how poorly it had been built, but Kacper couldn’t help but feel lost. What was Marcus’s plan? Was he really trying to just buy time?

"What’s wrong?" Ludwick came up behind Kacper and asked. Looking at him, Kacper shook his head.

"What is it?"

"The reserves have secured a camp at the first fort we took. We can expect a steady stream of supplies now, so mobilising more troops for your next attack will be fine." Kacper nodded and looked out into the distance.

"What do you think is the point of this?" Ludwick looked at Kacper in confusion, wondering if he was second-guessing himself again. "The first, I mean?"

"ah." Ludwick tried to think about it deeply. He wasn’t a general and only good at management. "Isn’t it normal to defend all your fronts? It buys them time to create a defence." Kacper looked at him and sighed.

He knew Ludwick wouldn’t give him any help other than what he already could think and just asked on the odd chance he could. "I don’t know. There has to be more. What does he want to achieve?"

’There has to be more. What is it?’ Kacper wanted to pull out his hair trying to think. ’What is his victory condition? "What does this achieve?’ Kacper’s eyes went wide as if he had been enlightened.

"He’s waiting for the Empire to come. He doesn’t care about the defence."

"Kacper?"

"Think about it. Marcus was sent to shore up the defence of the south. The Empire knows it is vital that it doesn’t fall if they don’t want their war dragged out. All this. It’s to keep us from advancing quickly. He knows I can’t win a pitch battle, and the North of the island was impenetrable. He already planned for our attack in the forest." Kacper went cold thinking about how far Macrus was seeing. Before, he saw everything as a chess game between him and Marcus, but now, it felt like Marcus was playing both sides, and Kacper was a simple piece.

"What are you going to do?" Ludwick asked, looking at Kacper with eyes that showed he was ready to do whatever he ordered.

"If he want’s to buy time, we can’t give it to him. He knows how to make them fight to the death aswell, giving fake promises to reinforce them in the heat of battle. So we just have to be quick. We can’t let him have the chance to prepare a solid defence." Kacper turned around and walked into the fort. His commanders were all waiting for him to discuss the next phase, but seeing Kacper stopped them.

"Gentleman. When is the earliest we can move?" The commanders all looked at one another.

"Two days, but we would not secure a proper supply line if we did." Kacper thought about it. It was risky. But gritting his teeth, he nodded.

"We will march. The enemy is buying time for the Empire’s arrival. If we can breach the forest, we can secure the South before they do arrive. At least the majority of it. Food can be gathered from the villages once out compensating for the dwindled supply we will get."

The commanders looked at one another and nodded, feeling it wasn’t completely stupid. Much like Kacper, they had wondered what the forts were for, and the only thing that made sense was to buy time. If they made it so Marcus had none, then they could easily remove the threat he posed. "We will relay the order. In the meantime, we should gather whatever supply we can before we march."

"Good." Kacper turned to Ludwick. "I leave you in charge of this." Ludwick nodded and ran off, leaving Kacper and his commander to plan.

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Adam walked through the camp created just outside the forest. Nearly all of the Commonwealth rebels and the Empire’s own troops were here waiting for the summon. Marcus had been quiet about his plans, not trusting the Commonwealth soldier, and only he and the other Ammary soldier knew.

Morale was high in the camp despite that. The soldiers had been given an extended rest and would be in perfect condition for the final battle. The only problem was that Adam couldn’t trust the Commonwealth rebels. They weren’t like him or the rest of the Ammary soldiers. They didn’t undergo rigorous training, nor were they a unified force. Marcus’s plan would work perfectly if it was just the Empire’s troops, but it wasn’t.

Despite that, he didn’t say anything. He knew better than to question a plan without having a better one himself. It may have been risky, but for as long as he knew Marcus, he knew the man was a risk-taker.

"Adam," Marcus called out to his second. "The second fort has fallen. The third will likely fall in the next few days." Adam took a deep breath.

"Shall we begin?" Marcus smiled and looked at him.

"Move half the troops. Depending on how quick the third fall will tell us what he is thinking. If it takes four days, their leader sees it’s a trap. If it’s less, he knows we are being time but doesn’t see the trap. Make whatever you move seem like we are preparing for a final stand. I’ll have the rest in place once I have the news. Also, increase the number of scouts on the forest road."

Adam nodded and walked off. Looking at his camp, Marcus smiled. If everything went smoothly, the South would be free for the taking when William arrived.