Dynasties Online

"I have always found my duties as a Pelican Guard far harder to complete than those I had fighting in a war."

"Not only must I deal with the whims of an eccentric master, but I must also protect him when he gets dismounted, which can bring an entire column to a halt."

"Compared to war, this is much harder, for we can usually use our momentum to break the enemy down and break through, unlike when you are protecting a VIP where even the flow of battle or a war could depend on whether they live or die."

Aldorus Belerion, The First Commander of The Pelican Guard.

....

Railius’ mind was working at a breakneck speed. The last time this had happened was when he was in an exam getting into what he liked to call the zone, which is a state of mind where his concentration peaked, allowing him to work far faster and more effectively than usual in actual fact because of how fast the young man’s brain worked at times he even found being slightly tired helped keep his thoughts from running away from him like a train.

In the young boy’s opinion, the man who rode away was obviously trying to get help as small forts and border garrisons dot the heavily contested border, and it would only take around 20-30 minutes for these men to arrive and help his opponents who already outnumber him by a large margin.

While the duke’s men and those of his loyal vassals would not obey the vice count’s orders, the troops of the imperial army stationed along the border were different. Even though they could not leave their posts easily, it was perfectly possible for them to come out on a patrol if told that they could catch a traitor. What made it worse is that they were not part of the forces under Lucius’ control in the past, so they would have no past affection that may stop them from trying to kill his son and ignore the vice counts’ call for reinforcements for Lucius was in control of troops outside of Nadron.

Unlike Archtorius, who tried to hide Leon’s identity and give Railius a chance to escape because of his sympathies with his old commander, who was falsely accused of treason and his own reluctance to help due to being forced by Flavius kidnapping his son to blackmail him these men were different.

Just like Lucius in the past and the imperial guards, they only cared for and heeded the emperor’s orders. If the emperor said that a person was a traitor and to kill them, these old elite loyal soldiers of the imperial army would not have any problems whatsoever in executing the son of a traitor or anyone else that the emperor ordered killed.

So when enemy reinforcements were on the way, who would be stupid enough to have a nice talk and let them arrive without doing anything?

Railius certainly wasn’t!