After all of my troops outside of the people required on the s.h.i.+ps to protect them from potential raids finally moved on the dry land, the worst part of the entire event was in front of us. With only a single shovel per entire squad of twenty people, filling up the bags with dirt dug out directly from the ground, finis.h.i.+ng this one vital part of our war preparations took way longer than I would like to.

At this point, one might ask, why didn't we take more shovels? Or why wouldn't we fill those bags directly on the site where the fighting would take place?

As smart as those questions would be, the reality was unforgiving. With all the troops that I had to gather on the limited number of s.h.i.+ps that I could use, all the ammo, weapons and rations, there simply wasn't enough s.p.a.ce to fit additional s.h.i.+pful of shovels!

And with that said, trying to fill all the bags with cavalry potentially trying to get to our flank while under constant fire of the enemy troops that wouldn't just stupidly wait for us to finish whatever we were doing, we had no other choice than to prepare beforehand.

Yet even with how long it took for this part to be finished when it finally was over, the mentally worst part came. As easy as walking on the roads through the nights could sound, for my people who never went through the h.e.l.lish training known from the modern militaries, doing so while weighted by their rifle, provisions, a bag full of sand and ammunition, could easily turn into a nightmare. When one added the fact that the last day was filled with rain, turning the so-called roads into nothing more than muddy paths, travelling turned out to be even harder than expected.

Seeing as everything was happening way slower than I hoped and even expected it would, I couldn't help but recall the popular saying from back on earth. 

"All plans survive until the first meeting with enemy or obstacle."

If not for the fact that outside of playing World Universalis I also had my chance to dip my hands a bit into the absolute war series, then coping up with the insanely slow pace of my troops would get me crazy. 

Yet there was simply nothing that I could do about it! 

But despite how slow we were, it took us only about an hour or just a bit more to reach the outskirts of the market, from where we could already see the buildings that were finished just a few weeks ago.

Just like this market turned out to be a great success, it only required a single week to get going, and another one to gain its deserved fame. With the modern way of operating aking to that of a stock market of the future, a lot of merchants saw the allure in it, not to speak about the ability to buy this famed beer of mine from here!

Yet as much as I expected this entire place to be overrun with enemies when I finally could see what was going near the buildings, I couldn't help but be flabbergasted!

Yes, there were units of what appeared to be enemy troops. But rather than camping in the safety of the concrete walls, they were all resting outside of the urbanised area, suffering from cold and water with only the measly protection of some tents!

"Al, get some met to scout the situation. If there are no hostilities so far, then I don't want to upset the status quo without a reason."

While the port in the marketplace was vital for all my plans, if my action of using it would lead to the devastation of this place, I would have no other choice than to withdraw and think about another plan!

Thinking about this, there could be only three reasons for the current situation. First, Ostros didn't want to upset the balance of the market, as they hoped to take control over it. That would mean that the troops camping outside were placed in the area only to deter the local garrison from stirring up any trouble, as there was no way for an untrained militia with the normal type of current-day guns to cope with the onslaught of battle-hardened soldiers.

On the other hand, the merchants themselves might be responsible for creating this status quo. As much as the middle cla.s.s was bullied in the entire country with the entire focus of the society placed on the n.o.bility, one couldn't be too cautious when dealing with them. Just as I came up with the plan that every s.h.i.+p of mine that transported goods from the border to the marketplace would be outfitted with a unit of my soldiers, since I never had the time to implement this time, I could say with an honest dose of certainty, that outside of being wealthy beyond any imagination, this place was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with veteran mercenaries that the merchants brough with them!

"Sir, we brough the news. It appears that there is some kind of deal and blockade between the market and the units. From what we learned, as long as they stay within the building's area and limit their actions to sending s.h.i.+ps, they were guaranteed safety!"

And that report was enough to a.s.sure me that the third and the worst possibility, wasn't thankfully the case. If the city was in fact already filled with Ostros troops, awaiting my arrival only to spring the trap right up my a.s.s, then even with those great weapons of mine, taking this place back would be a nightmare!

"Okay then, we will follow the original plan. Get in the open and get to work!"

As stupid as it may seem for anyone watching us, as soon as my order was relayed to the other units that already used the time that we had to waste while waiting for the report to spread around the entire enemy encampment. 

Yet as much as the moonless night gave us the advantage in terms of the time it would take the enemies to notice our movements, by the time only about a half of my troops prepared their positions, alarm bells finally started going off between the dark tents.

In just a few moments, the opposing force managed to a.s.semble, showcasing just how insanely well-trained and organised they were. But even with that incredible edge that they had over my measly trained troops, the time they had to take to form, was just enough for my men to finish their own preparations!

Moving to the very front of the curved line that enclosed the enemy between my reinforced line of men and the line of the marketplace buildings, I crossed my arms on my chest and stared in the distance, just barely outside of the effective range of the enemy weapons. 

"What are you going to do now?"

Whispering to myself, I took my sweet time to locate the enemy field commander, placing himself in a very similar position to my own. As our eyes met, despite the darkness of the night and the distance that separated us, I could bet that he was asking the exact same reason as I just did!

"Men, advance!"