Lynn was determined to do it, and no one could stop him.
He could be quite overbearing about it.
On the other three sides, the encircling forces were digging trenches, building defensive lines, and steadily closing in.
The encirclement had taken shape at night. Lynn planned to attack the following afternoon.
Lynn was in a hurry. He couldn't let them get away.
After the earlier fighting, Lothair still had more than twenty thousand men. Lynn estimated the number at twenty-four thousand.
At three in the afternoon, Lothair sent scouts in every direction. During the hours he had been surrounded,
he had been thinking about how to break out.
Lucia had captured Melbury City, then rushed off to threaten Louis and draw in Louis's Army. That meant they could flank the enemy from the south.
But new forces had appeared to their south—quickly, and in great numbers. There were sixty thousand of them.
The great river to the west made it difficult to attack with sixty thousand men.
There was a great river to the east as well, and even worse, a large number of fortresses remained there from the earlier battles between the Northern Territory Army and Louis's Army.
Every direction presented a dilemma.
Just then, the enemy to the north began advancing.
The vanguard consisted of ordinary troops: infantry who were only around the First Stage, with a few at the 2nd Rank.
The enemy's Magic Masters had already filled the skies above.
They also had wagons hauling machine guns into position.
The infantry weren't advancing recklessly. Instead, they spread out over a wide area and moved forward along the various roads.
On the northern front, a flag was raised.
No, not one flag. Two.
One was a griffin flag, and the other was an Iris Flag.
Lothair recognized