"What do you think?" Sonalion turned to the young man and asked in a deep voice.
"Have someone else impersonate you as commander and remain here to hold the line, so the troops won't suffer a complete rout." The young man's face lit up with excitement as he blurted out his answer.
Sonalion stepped forward and patted the young man's shoulder. Then he removed his cloak and tied it around the young man's neck. "General Baja, I'll leave this matter to you."
"As long as you return alive, I'll seek credit for you from His Majesty the King."
The young man's expression instantly froze.
Ignoring him, Sonalion waved over an officer and directly issued an order. "Pass on my command. Leave five thousand men in the central camp under General Baja's command. The rest of the troops will withdraw thirty kilometers with the central army, reorganize the defensive line around East Rock City, and resist the enemy."
"Yes, Commander."
After issuing his orders, Sonalion mounted the steed brought over by his guards and headed for the rear.
Seeing this, the others left one after another, returning to their camps to gather their Direct Lineage troops and prepare for withdrawal.
As they passed Baja, their expressions varied. Some pitied him, some mocked him, and some admired him.
That earlier statement had clearly been about finding a stand-in. Otherwise, how would it ever have been this hotheaded fool's turn to step forward?
Baja stared at the backs of the departing men, a powerful sense of humiliation rising within him.
At that moment, an incredibly bold thought surfaced in his mind. But when he thought of his family far away in the Royal Capital, he could only abandon it.
Starting three months ago, any general commanding more than a thousand soldiers had been