Rikaner Kingdom's offensive was first announced by Rikaner Glory, but the news spread slowly because the paper was not based in Middle Earth. It only gained traction after Twin Ministers Weekly picked up the story.
The Kingdom's Soldier fought and bled on the front lines, caught in the ratfolk and demons' Meat Grinder. The two enemies posed different threats. The ratfolk were known for their sheer numbers. You might kill a hundred of them in one go, but once you were too exhausted to lift your sword, the hundred-and-first would kill you. They would still come out ahead.
Demons were numerous too, but each one was stronger. Fortunately, they had a fatal weakness: a hundred human Soldier could never beat a hundred demon Soldier, but ten thousand human Soldier could easily finish off ten thousand demon Soldier busy fighting among themselves.
What they had in common was their cruelty.
When news of the war reached Middle Earth, the results were encouraging, if only just. That was when Voice of Freedom quoted Annan: "They should never have had to die for this."
Rikaner Glory reported the results in its New Issue: they had killed millions of ratfolk and retaken a county. Slander from outsiders would change nothing.
It was their first clash. As the various powers watched for entertainment, Voice of Freedom offered a simple reply: in the year since the Betrayer abandoned the Old Land, dozens of times that number of ratfolk had been born there. Rikaner Kingdom claimed it was making amends, but it was like borrowing a gold coin and repaying only a copper coin.
Evelyn dealt a devastating blow by publishing an image of what the Old Royal Capital looked like now.
While the two papers faced off without bloodshed, filming on When Orcs Come Knocking neared