Morning in the Swamp.
Cold, clammy mist clung to the water, lingering without dispersing.
Ola and his Shatterrock Knights had come without horses. In this muddy terrain, their best mounts were their own long, ironclad legs.
Thirty knights stood silently in three ranks behind a patch of reeds.
They were a sledgehammer.
A sledgehammer poised to pound the enemy into pulp.
"Our lord chose the perfect moment to launch the Strong Foundations Plan," the adjutant beside Ola murmured, excitement filling his voice. "Look at the men's eyes. They're practically blazing."
Ola grinned and turned to look the other way.
Barrett was smearing black mud over himself alongside the dozen or so handpicked Garrison veterans he had brought.
"Hey, One-Eye." Ola tipped his chin at him. "Are you sure those sneaky little tricks of yours will work? Follow me through the front gate, and I guarantee no one inside will still be standing ten breaths later."
Barrett did not even raise his head, merely glancing at him from the mud. "My job is to find Pike and twist his head off. Yours is to make noise. Don't let the rats slip out through another hole."
"Noise?" Ola's brows knitted.
"That's right. The louder, the better." With that, Barrett stopped paying him any attention.
He waved a hand and led his men silently into the shadows on the other side, soon blending into the Swamp.
Ola curled his lip, turned back to his knights, and raised his battleaxe.
"Brothers!"
His powerful voice thundered in the knights' ears.
"Our lord is watching us!"
"Merit points, honor, and the bloodline power you've always dreamed of are waiting in that camp!"
"For our lord!"
"ROAR!"
Amid the rumbling roar, thirty-one iron giants began to move.
They did not shout. They simply picked up speed, then