Kingsbia had a great river called the Shallow River, which wound through its territory and was considered the nation's mother river. But in northern Kingsbia, this beautiful river cut across the country from its estuary inland, narrowing the routes available to Dierjia's Forward Legion.
The Shallow River's current was not particularly swift. A dozen or so small boats were pushed into the water in an uninhabited area, and Dierjia soldiers and a dozen Black Castle students carefully boarded them.
Each boat held roughly a dozen people. In two trips, the boats quietly ferried a force of around five hundred to the opposite bank. Their commander was a lieutenant with a brutish face. Under his direction, they quickly concealed the boats and entered the woods.
In the woods, the soldiers gathered on one knee. The lieutenant took out a Direction Dial and a map, indicating their position and a bridge across the river.
Half an hour later, bodies were being dragged away from the outpost at the great stone bridge over the Shallow River. Many had no bullet wounds at all; instead, sharp blades had pierced their hearts or heads.
By the time the bodies were piled inside the outpost, nearly all their Kingsbian army uniforms had been stripped off.
Handel and the other Black Castle students were scattered nearby, wiping blood from their daggers as they watched the Dierjia soldiers change into the enemy's uniforms.
Two Kingsbian warrant officers and a second lieutenant knelt trembling beside the bodies, each with a bayonet-fixed rifle pressed against the back of his head.
"Heh, relax. We're just carrying out our legion commander's orders. As long as we can keep the bridge open, I guarantee you'll live. You're nobles, aren't you?"
"I'm a f-first-rank baron."
The lieutenant looked at the two warrant officers, who