The morning mist had yet to clear from Iron Creek Fort when a column stood ready to depart.
Riding Nefarian, Veylin took one last look at the newly captured town. A few Worker Mantises clumsily carried stones along the walls to repair the breaches. Sarah stood atop a tower, her purple-black hair dancing in the wind.
Outside the town, the vast swarm silently advanced along the southern road.
[Hold this place.]
Veylin issued the order through the mental link.
Sarah nodded slightly.
Veylin flicked his riding crop. His warhorse neighed, and pounding hooves shattered the morning stillness as the army moved out. Under the townspeople's bewildered gazes, this Iron Tide rolled forward, heading straight north.
The column hurried along the winding mountain road. The farther north they traveled, the higher the terrain rose and the stronger the smell of sulfur became. Vegetation thinned on either side, giving way to increasing stretches of limestone and mining pits.
Alex's head throbbed-not from altitude sickness, but because the Mind Channel in his head had erupted into a deafening racket.
[Captain, where exactly are we going?] a member of the fifth squad complained in the channel, plainly anxious and disgruntled. [We'd already taken Iron Creek Fort, and now the whole army's retreating before we've even warmed our seats? Isn't that a bit cowardly?]
[Shut up. Save your strength for the march.] Alex answered mentally, but more voices of protest quickly drowned him out.
[Exactly! I heard a heavy infantry corps came up from the south. Why aren't we charging them?]
[Damn it, I spent a thousand Gold Suns to win glory, not to become a deserter!]
Complaints rose one after another in the channel. To these proud young nobles, abandoning a fortified town to march north into the wilderness could only mean one thing: