Out of arrogance or a sense of dignity, the Empire refused to let civilians onto the battlefield. It believed war had nothing to do with them.
Annan did not care about that. He even thought the Empire was betraying its ancestral teachings. Back then, the "Barbarians" had all been warriors.
So he told Femi to accept every Professional who volunteered to defend their homeland. He also had Evelyn write an article titled "With the Ratfolk Army at the Gates, Imperials Show Their Loyalty in Their Own Way" to praise them.
The story caused a sensation across the Empire. Newspapers sold out, and even more civilians headed for the Northern Great Wall, hoping to serve their country.
Given the attack on Montreal Mountain half a month earlier, going to war against Chaos was beyond reproach in the Empire. No Noble dared accuse Annan Reeves of stirring up trouble. At most, a few grumbled: Annan Reeves had nearly as much influence in the Empire as its own government. Who was the outsider here?
Annan ignored them. They could talk all they liked. The more Imperials came to the Northern Great Wall, the stronger the Empire's border would be.
The large crowd before Femi included Rangers dressed like Bards but carrying bows, bare-chested Berserkers wielding twin axes, Swordsmen in fine armor holding Noble rapiers, and Knights mounted on warhorses with four-meter lances at the ready.
In small squads, they would have been elite Mercenaries. Each was formidable alone, too. But gathered together in a noisy mob, they looked like a field of wheat a Dragon had rampaged through. There was not a straight line among them. They looked less like irregulars than a routed army.
Yet Krian, standing beside Femi, never doubted the resolve of these warriors who had brought their own weapons,