The Alexandria glided across the land, an invisible presence. From her command center, two figures observed the passing landscape.

  One of them was calm. The other watched the spectacle with open-mouthed amazement.

  "You really built this, Zeke?" Leo asked.

  Zeke nodded easily. He had no problem claiming credit for Akasha’s achievements in front of Leo. The spirit would forgive him.

  Leo shook his head in disbelief. "Last I saw, you were rolling in the mud with the rest of us, and now this?" His gaze turned faintly reproachful. "Aren’t you growing a little too fast?"

  Zeke chuckled. He was probably the only one who ever got to see this side of Leo. The usually so reticent man was suddenly acting like a petulant child. It was not as if Zeke did not understand it. From Leo’s perspective, it must have seemed incredibly unfair.

  While Leo had been fighting for his life, desperately trying to improve every single day, Zeke had spent most of his time in the safety of his own home. But now, years after their separation, Zeke had arrived with a massive warship and an army at his back. Not only that, but even his personal strength was far superior to Leo’s.

  Naturally, his brother would feel a little discontent.

  After all, he had no way of knowing about the struggles Zeke had endured to reach this point. The sacrifices he had been forced to make.

  "Don't worry too much about it," Zeke assured him. "I have not forgotten about you, okay?"

  Zeke had already decided that he would allow Leo to use the Mana Purifying Device soon. His strength as a True Mage was simply too lacking for the enemies they were going to face on this battlefield. Right now, Leo was only slightly superior to the Ehrenlegion’s foot soldiers, not even a match for their lowest tier of mages.

  In terms of combat strength, he was likely not even on par with a single member of the Bloodguard.

  Leo held his gaze for a moment before nodding, seemingly content with the vague promise.

  "For now, though, we've got more important matters to think about." Zeke pointed to the scenery below them. "Is this the way?"

  Leo’s gaze returned to the landscape as well. His eyes darted around, briefly stopping on familiar landmarks. After a moment, he nodded confidently. "It is. There should be a Legion camp where we are going to meet the river, half a day’s march from here."

  Zeke nodded. His mind quickly calculated the distance. Half a day’s march for Leo and the Chimeroi would translate to only a few minutes at the Alexandria’s speed, half an hour at most.

  He relayed the order to the troops at once. Everyone was to remain on standby.

  About half an hour later, the river came into view. Zeke knew it well, having studied the map of Rukia extensively. It was the Flowsand River, connecting the outer and inner regions of the country. In terms of importance, it had been one of the main trading and transport axes of the nation.

  Now it lay deserted.

  Not a single sail was in sight. Not a lone fisherman. And, more importantly, no Legion.

  Leo’s brows furrowed, his expression turning confused. "They were here days ago..."

  Zeke’s eyes traced the river’s edge. It did not take him long to find it. At a nearby bend, he spotted the signs of habitation. The earth had been disturbed. Earth Mages could restore the soil, but they could not bring back the vegetation.

  This was the right spot. The Legion had been here. But without any other traces, it was impossible to say how long ago they had left. Still, it was not hard to guess what had prompted their departure.

  Zeke pointed out the area. "They must have been warned of our approach."

  Leo shook his head. "How could that be? It has not even been a full day since you arrived, and we left no survivors. How could they have known?"

  Zeke’s gaze hardened. "Do not look down on Mind Mages. Calculation. Prediction. Probability. With enough variables, a sharp enough mind can predict the future with frightening accuracy."

  Leo remained skeptical. "Do you really think that is what happened here?"

  Zeke shook his head lightly, unwilling to speculate further. His gaze followed the river. "If we follow the Flowsand, we will reach a settlement in less than an hour. Last I heard, it was held by the Legion." He looked back at Leo. "If my guess is right, we will find it abandoned as well."

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  Leo visibly tensed at the thought, and Zeke could not blame him. The idea that their enemy could predict every move before it was even made was more than unsettling. It left Zeke with the impression that he was dancing in the palm of their hand.

  The next hour passed in tense silence. Both their gazes remained fixed on the horizon. Zeke’s thoughts wandered. His first battle had been a success, but that had largely been due to the element of surprise and the timing of his strike.

  It would be hard to repeat such a feat.

  That meant his current performance was far more indicative of how the war was going to play out. That was a worrying thought. Without even engaging in a fight, he already felt as though he was on the back foot.

  No. It was too early to judge. The advantage he held thanks to the Alexandria’s invisibility was not something easily countered or overcome. Forcing aside all distractions, Zeke refocused on the present.

  The settlement, called Trehon, came into view exactly where the maps had placed it. Nestled between a forest and the river, it stood on slightly elevated ground. However, the natural landscape offered no other protection or tactical advantage.

  Zeke could see that high walls had been raised around it. Strong defenses that were not typical of any half-elven settlement. Clearly, they had been constructed by the Legion.

  The Alexandria closed in, allowing Zeke a glimpse of the interior. The houses were mostly intact, wooden structures that looked like an extension of the surrounding forest. Trehon looked like it had once been a prosperous place, doubtless benefiting from the river trade.

  There was no trace of that prosperity left. The entire settlement was lifeless. No merchants, no customers, no trade, and no Legion. It was a ghost town.

  Zeke sighed. It was exactly what he had expected... and feared. The enemy high command had already predicted his move. Not that it had been difficult. Coming here had been the logical step.

  That realization left him in an awkward position.

  Zeke hesitated, unable to immediately decide on his next step. He could take the obvious path and follow the river further inland. It would lead to other important strongholds and, eventually, allow him to strike at the very heart of the Legion.

  But they would expect him to do that.

  The other option was to do something unpredictable. He could hide. He could circle around. He could act like a vulture, waiting for chances to strike. He could even seek out one of the other human forces that had arrived and attempt to join forces with them.

  The problem was that each of these choices came with its own drawbacks. There was a reason they were not the obvious options. In the end, either path carried significant risks, and there was no guarantee that he would succeed.

  Zeke sighed deeply. It was in moments like these that his inexperience showed. Though he had read every book written on strategy and war, that did not make him an expert commander.

  In this war of nerves, he felt himself wavering.

  Maybe that was exactly how the Legion wanted him to feel. Even now, before he had faced them at all, he was already considering turning back. No. That would not do. The thing about mind games was that they existed only in the mind. As long as he refused to play, they would not work.

  Zeke stopped thinking about it entirely. Trying to predict the Legion’s moves based on what he believed they knew about what he knew was a pointless exercise.

  Sometimes, thinking less was the smarter choice. He would do what he believed was best. Until he faced a wall he truly could not overcome, his path would not change.

  "We are following the river."

  Leo gave him a worried look. "Didn't you say they would expect that?"

  Zeke smiled, a hint of anticipation now entering his eyes. "So what if they do? Just because you know a punch is coming, does that mean you can block it?"

  Leo thought about it for a second. "Not if it's too hard or fast, I guess."

  "Then that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Hit them as hard and fast as we can. Let’s see how they deal with that."

  Leo nodded in response. Zeke had expected as much. This was the kind of strategy Leo approved of most. No tricks. No games. Force against force. Strength against strength.

  Zeke ordered the Alexandria forward, never straying from the winding course of the Flowsand River. There was no need to. The Flowsand was one of the five major rivers that led straight to the capital, to the very heart of Rukia. Sooner or later, they would run into the Legion. They had to.

  After another two hours, they reached the next city. It looked to have been even more prosperous than Trehon, yet lay just as abandoned. Zeke had expected nothing else. Neither of these cities was easy to defend.

  The Legion’s retreat pointed toward a single conclusion: They intended to face him on their own terms.

  Zeke already had a good idea of where that would be. Strattlehold. A fortress built where the river met the mountains. It was the gateway between the center and the east, and the last bastion before the inner regions.

  Strattlehold was the most important stronghold left in their path and offered ideal defensive conditions. Harsh terrain and towering walls. Easy to defend. Hard to attack. If the Legion was going to face him anywhere, it would be there.

  As the journey continued, Zeke’s mind remained caught between worry and anticipation. He could not tell whether he wanted his suspicions to be right or wrong. Facing the Legion on their terms would be dangerous, but surrendering the initiative without even trying was not an option either.

  For all he knew, Strattlehold might be deserted. Until he confirmed it with his own eyes, the path ahead was both blocked and open at the same time, a strange paradox born from both sides trying to read the other’s intentions.

  Thinking around too many corners had led him to doubt everything. Now, there was only one choice left. He would set aside his conjectures and confront reality head-on.

  Under the Alexandria’s relentless advance, morning gave way to afternoon, and afternoon to evening. Just as the light began to fade, the mountain range finally came into view.

  Zeke’s gaze followed the river, searching for the point where it met the mountains. There. An opening that looked like a natural cave, seamlessly woven into the surrounding rock. Above it rose a fort that seemed to have been birthed by the mountain itself. Beneath the darkening sky, its torches and bonfires burned like a beacon.

  They had reached Strattlehold.

  And it was far from deserted.