Firstborn: Return of the heir - Chapter 3

Saulus didn’t need to reach the main plaza to see his troops rallying. Just by walking through any route within the camp, the young general could spot more and more people gathering, all hurrying towards the central point of the area.

Just the difference in how everyone looked was enough to make any wise man puzzled. There wasn’t any rule to how the next person appearing would look like. There was a huge chance that there would be a man wearing his full military outfit, showing that his leave was still about to start soon. There were also just as many wearing casual clothes, proving that a huge part of the military force already had enjoyed their free time in the city.

Hailing from a line of soldiers and reaching his current position thanks to his own military exploits, Saulus could sympathize with the people that surrounded him. He wanted to care for them, to be an outstanding leader… But the fact that he was the prime culprit whose schemes would push them into the horrors of the war remained. The dark reality turned the general into a hypocrite in his own damned eyes.

Walking down the main lane of the camp, Saulus’s face twisted in grief as those thoughts continued to plague him. Just like a few months in the past, right before one of the greatest battles against the southern uprising.

The young general had to cope with the weight of his position, both on the court and within the ranks of rebellion. Forced to make decisions he wasn’t proud of, Saulus only had one hope. That the years of prosperity that his actions could bring would be enough to pay for all the scars that his personal war would bring to this world.

“Everyone, thanks for coming. Since the bells sounded their melody, I think everyone should already know what it means…”

On the stage at the center of the camp’s plaza, one of the higher ranking officers was already heating the atmosphere up. They were operating on nothing but scraps of orders passed along by unconventional means. Thankfully, in the Retesian hinterlands, the discipline was high enough for no one to dare to even think about ignoring their commander’s direct orders.

“But why should I speak here now and waste your time? Time better spent on drinking beer and making out in the city. Today, we can have our general himself do the honors for us!

That was the entire introduction that Saulus would receive. But he preferred it this way. Instead of using complicated social forms like the ones high nobles forced him to use in the court, going straight to the point suited Saulus’s character far more.

Stepping forward, the young general could see with contentment how the entire crowd was stepping aside to give him a comfortable path to the stage. Thanking his loyal soldiers with a simple nod of his head, the young commander walked to the center platform and after climbing up its stairs, Saulus exchanged a handshake with the chief officer.

“Thanks for the quick reaction. We are on the clock.”

“An order is an order, sir. No matter how badly the legion will react to it.”

This entire exchange took only the briefest of moments. The grimace on the veteran officer’s face already said everything about how the legion would react to the information that their long-awaited and well-earned leave would be cut short by yet another, likely prolonged campaign!

……

After all, most of the minor houses across their borders were either already conquered or swearing fealty to their stronger neighbors. Right now, there wasn’t a single direction in which Retesia could spread its influence without facing a considerable threat from the opposing army.

And thankfully, Saulus made sure over the past few years that his soldiers would be aware of this situation!

“Hello everyone!”

Shaking his head, Saulus forced himself to spread his arms wide. When compared to the strict division between serfs and knights, the legion felt a lot more like a family. This was what Saulus intended. Because of this aspect, despite his age, Saulus was like a father to all the soldiers, even though some of them were twice as old as the general himself! With all that said, as much as he abhorred it, acting theatrical was something Saulus felt compelled to do.

Even though the young general clearly didn’t enjoy how hyped up his entrance was, he still went with the flow. After all, if that’s what his legionaries expected…

“Long live general!”

“Glory to Retesia!!”

Given how he held one of the highest positions in the entire household, Saulus still couldn’t bring himself to promote the official line of propaganda to the soldiers. This could bite him right back in the ass later on. Sadly, the young general couldn’t tell everyone the truth about this damned ruling dynasty of Retesia without sparking a strong reaction from the capital.

No, he was no one but a stray dog picked by the patriarch and incorporated into the family. Never openly adopted – giving away the nobilities for his favorites was the last thing that the current ruler of Retesia would do. But despite that, Saulus not only held the title of chief commander of the legions but he was also the warden of the Istoa province! All thanks to the patriarch’s complete ignorance regarding the mundane reality of maintaining a huge legion.

Given the situation, any attempt at undoing the prestige of the ruling family would be dealt with swiftly and decisively. That left Saulus with no choice but to accept the natural indoctrination of his soldiers.

Thankfully, the officers didn’t seem to be stupid enough to believe in the common propaganda, something that the veteran officer from before just proved.

“Everyone, I wager that once I tell you what is about to happen, all those cheers will disappear.”

Shutting the crowd down with just a single sentence only proved how immense the respect was that Saulus wielded within this army. But the looks of suspicion in the eyes of the crowd that appeared after his words didn’t bode well for the prospects of the projected war.

Which was aligned with what Saulus hoped for!

“I came here in a rush because the patriarch… Our lord and ruler, decided that we had enough of peace. I should now praise his military genius… outline what we will conquer for the glory of Retesia… But I doubt even I could survive the outcome of attempting to feed you this bullshit.”

Keeping his voice steady, Saulus had to often take additional breaths. Not only to get some more air in order to maintain his deep and loud voice but also to make sure the crowd wouldn’t rile up too fast. Just a few men shouting and starting a commotion was all it would take to make it impossible to say anything else to the legionaries.

And the young commander still had a few things left to communicate.

“In short, we are to drop everything we are doing and go to our deaths in some faraway southern land. Just because the patriarch wishes to conquer a road there that would bring him some immense profits.”

There wasn’t any need to wait for the reaction of his soldiers. As soon as Saulus finished his first bit, a clear wave of discontent moved through the crowd. So far, the occasional shouts of unrest didn’t seem to rile up everyone yet. But Saulus could tell that with those two sentences, he brought the first legion to the brink of open rebellion.

Sadly, the world wasn’t as easy. As great as it would be to just throw a torch on the flammable ground he had prepared and push the first legion to a mutiny, Saulus had another task for them. A task that had to be fulfilled in order for the uprising to have any chance at succeeding in the first place!

“Everyone… I promised I wouldn’t feed you bullshit. Those who followed my lead in the past campaigns should know that I tend to be realistic to a painful degree. And speaking out of this realism of mine… As horrible as it is of the patriarch to throw the country into another war, once again, we are his subjects. And what would be left of us, if just a minor inconvenience like this were to make us betray the one thing that the entire world envies us for? Our discipline?!”

Raising his voice as he spoke, by the time the last words were coming out of his mouth, Saulus was already shouting with his entire might. His face, filled with rage, gave the best testimony of how he himself felt about the order. His fists smashing against the table in a mute expression of desperation only added to this picture.

Every bit of Saulus’s disposition was the perfect embodiment of what the soldiers felt when hearing the news. All with the addition of the main basis of the first legion’s pride – discipline.

“Some of you might know it, some of you might have heard about it, some of you might have noticed it on your own. Thanks to all our shared efforts at developing this part of the country, we obtained the funding necessary to raise up the secondary forces. I know some of you didn’t agree with the idea but kept silent, just for the respect that I can happily enjoy…”

There was no such thing. What Saulus just said, and what all of his higher officers knew, was just a blatant lie. Obviously, there were many occasions of some light bullying and comparing the sizes of one’s muscles. Thankfully, as a general rule of thumb, there was no soldier in the world that didn’t wish for the number of allied troops to grow larger.

By putting the reality of this into perspective, Saulus could not only place himself as someone with better oversight than his opponents, but he could also claim to be someone who used said oversight to take care of his loyal retainers!

“… it will be their responsibility to guard your homes once we depart. After all, I wouldn’t be a leader if I couldn’t secure our backside before advancing!”

This was one of the major worries of the legion. Given how volatile the situation was in the eastern provinces, not to mention how Istoa itself was one of the boiling points of the rebellion, leaving the country for another war so soon… Even if most of the legionaries weren’t scholars nor highly educated men, they knew the feelings of the folks. In fact, they most likely already knew where the popular rebellion would erupt! That’s why leaving their homes right now would fill them with uncertainty.

The uncertainty that Saulus wasn’t willing to ignore.

“I need you guys to organize the formations and march the legion out to the south right away. The sooner you get to it, the better.”

Muttering those words to his high-ranking retainers standing behind him, Saulus taxed the crowd in front of him with a swift glance.

“I know I shouldn’t ask you to do it, but this is the burden I have to carry as your commander. Guys, are you willing to follow me this one last time? Are you willing to show the world who is the best?!”

Riling up the crowd even more with his words, Saulus didn’t even bother waiting for the response from the mass of people. As he turned around to face his retainers, the cheering of the crowd was already building up.

“Sir, if you are here, why are you giving us the honors of rallying the units?”

Stepping up, Rylas put a focus on his presence for the very first time since the two of them arrived in the city. With his face filled with curiosity, it was clear that Rylas was unwilling to let go of this question. Such were the inner workings of the upper echelons of the legion. While discipline was the basic tool of the common soldiers, the officers developed a less proper relationship between each other, turning the headquarters into a friendly counsel rather than yet another court.

“I still need to deal with some matters in the city and raise the second legion. If we want the war plan the patriarch forced on us to be successful, we can’t afford to waste time. I will leave you the orders, open them only if I fail to arrive at the southern provinces a week after you do so.”

A sudden commotion stopped the two friends from debating any longer. While the orders were abrupt, one couldn’t deny how rapidly all the legionaries jumped into action. One by one, entire groups of soldiers were packing their belongings up, before dismantling the entirety of the tents that each of the units used as housing.

It would only take a moment before the entire camp would turn into chaos.

“Let’s not waste any more time. Prepare yourself. I still need to fix all the damned paperwork so that our beloved patriarch won’t be able to skimp on the wages later on. We will meet at the wall once the legion starts its departure.”