After this battle, few Ratfolk remained within a hundred miles for them to earn Merit from.
As for going farther north... they were here to practice, not to go looking for trouble.
Jack ordered the soldiers to pull back to their temporary camp and resume training under the Elf instructors.
Pike, meanwhile, was taken away by his instructor for secret training. He had set out with only three days' worth of rations and ammunition.
Jack left the Legion behind and returned to the City Lord's Mansion. He spent every day in the Strategic Room with Femi, Reynaldo, and the others, watching developments in the North.
Thanks to the Empire, the pressure on the Dimon Kingdom had eased sharply, and it was preparing to counterattack. Olmedo urged them to be cautious: so far, the Empire had faced only Ratfolk. The Demons were nowhere to be seen, and they were far more interested in the Dimon Kingdom than the Ratfolk were.
The Dimon Kingdom remained determined, but told Free City not to worry. It had fought Demons at Snow Mountain Fortress for centuries and knew them inside out.
Its soldiers could smell a Demon's scorched stench from hundreds of miles away.
Olmedo truly wasn't worried. The Empire's advance seemed unstoppable. Every few days brought another report of victory: a Rat King beheaded, a Rat Nest wiped out. Destroying a main Ratfolk force was barely worth mentioning.
On the map, the Red Radiance Guard Legion, the Blackwatch Legion, the Silverwing Storm Legion, and the Ashen Bone-Torture Legion drove deep into the Northern Frontier like an arrow, drawing the attention of the surrounding Ratfolk and Demon Allied Forces. In the process, they also relieved the siege of the Duchy of Keating.
The Mage Corps of the Imperial Royal Magic Academy and the conscripts served