Edmund got out of the back of the truck. Around him, soldiers were patrolling, and others were talking to the locals. It took him some time to get here because of some things he needed to do in the duchy's capital, but being back in the town close to the dungeon brought him memories of testing the rail cannon, which made him smile, but he had no time for that.

  Of course, the town had changed compared to before. It was larger, but the houses were rebuilt from the ground up to look more like those in the duchy's capital. Edmund saw a kid playing with a soldier as he walked in the mayor's direction home. As he walked by, he heard the little Shafran hug the soldier and call him dad.

  Edmund ?couldn’t imagine why someone with a kid and wife like him would want to go on such a dangerous mission; that soldier wasn’t the only one; many soldiers had families. He wondered if the link with Ariadne had something to do with it, but that could only stay in his mind, as there was no proof.

  He nodded to the soldiers at the entrance of the mayor’s home and walked in; he just followed a female Chatzi with a headset on, and as she entered a room, Edmund followed, and there was Ariadne, Alon, and each of the platoon leaders surrounding a table with a larger version of the map he had drawn.

  ‘Right, the peasant is here; let’s begin, but before that, let me remind you all that this mission is voluntary, and for those that die inside of that dungeon, your families will be taken care of by me.’ She looked at everyone and smiled.

  Their reaction was to salute her. As their eyes opened, they looked at one another and nodded.

  ‘Everyone here is thankful for your kindness; we will conquer this dungeon by your name.’ Alon spoke with a firm tone.

  ‘You can begin now, captain.’ She nodded to Alon.

  ‘Here is the plan.’ He pointed at the map.

  He explained how things would work based on Edmund's information and the feedback from the captains and platoon leaders. In the hallway, he was just going to get a squad to act as scouts and ?clear the hallway so they could access the city inside the dungeon.

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  ‘Egor squad is going to be the scouts.’ Bartel raised his hand.

  ‘Good.’ Alon nodded at him.

  Alon continued, now pointing ?at the city part of the map. He placed four pieces of wood along the side of the map.

  ‘Each infantry platoon will take a part of the frontline and push; assume they are intelligent, and they will try to exploit gaps in our formations.’ Alon pointed at the gaps between the wood pieces.

  ‘I said it to Alon, but I’m going to say here to everyone: if you kill one, another will replace him in time.’ Edmund crossed his arm.

  ‘Yes, because of that, we will have Nortis here of the Mortar platoon at the back proving support, and if their ammunition is depleted, we will serve as reserves in case we need to reinforce the frontline.’ Alon pointed at Blue Eye Shafran.

  ‘Count on my platoon, sir.’ Nortis nodded at Alon.

  Alon nodded back at Nortis and continued moving the wood pieces until they reached the center of the map, where a larger structure was drawn. He looked at everyone momentarily and put a red piece of wood on it.

  ‘Right here is where the actual battle begins; this is where the mortar platoon will use what they have left at my command so that Her Highness and Edmund can fight a weaker form of the dungeon guardian.’ Alon taps the piece at the center.

  ‘What if we don’t kill the guardian and have no more mortars left?’ Calb looked at Alon, puzzled.

  ‘We start dying to buy our precious savior time.’ The gray-furred Shafran spoke calmly and coldly while looking into the brown eyes of the young Chatzi.

  That took him back, and he looked to the other platoon leaders. They had mixed reactions, but none were of fear; he wasn’t afraid, but he cared for his man, so this made him sad for a moment. He took a deep breath, and for a moment, he noticed how Ariadne looked at them with saddened eyes; it looked like she was almost tearing up. Not just him but everyone took notice of her, and their state became one of pure resolve.

  ‘Zaken, thank you for reminding me of our job.’ Calb smiled at the gray-furred Shafran.

  Ariadne saw Zaken nod at Calb as they continued to talk about the plans; she was overwhelmed with emotions; her face didn’t show anything but inside; the fact that these people would die for her made her almost burst into tears; the connection she had with them amplified what she was feeling in a way that cut deep.

  But she found it strange that those tears she wanted to shed were out of happiness, as she felt how important she was to them and their overwhelming gratitude for her.

  ‘Thank you, everyone. This is not just for me but for everyone. Everyone now has a land to call their own, which guarantees it will stay true. I hope everyone lends me their strength.’ She looks around at everyone at the table.

  ‘Even me? I knew one-day things would come around, duchess.’ Edmund smiled at her.

  ‘What are you talking about, peasant? You are not lending me anything; you are mine.’ She looks at him with cold eyes.

  ‘Well, it was worth the try.’ Edmund shrugs his shoulder

  Alon let out a short laugh, and every other platoon leader followed. Ariadne was confused by the situation. She noticed that even Edmund had a smile on his face, so she sighed, not understanding what had happened.