The Thalurian battalion expected maybe half of Aethelgard's knights to appear. They underestimated them, badly. Most believed they would return home quicker than planned, no matter how powerful the new sorceress was rumored to be. And Selvaris, despite refusing to stand at the front, had already cast his strongest barrier over their entire formation.
Only a mighty dragon could break Selvaris's barrier. Which is why the whole battalion brimmed with confidence. No dragon had been seen on the continent since that one sorceress killed the last known serpent of the skies.
Meanwhile, the Aethelgard envoy neared Blightmere Plains. The journey from the capital to the plains typically took a month by horse and wagon, slowed further by infantry forced to walk. But with the new vehicles at their disposal, the entire host crossed the distance in just five days—none of them exhausted, none worn down.
