After a brief moment of leisure, the members of the Veteran Mercenary Band returned to their duties or rest.
Their numbers were not particularly large, maintaining a scale of about one hundred and twenty men.
In an era of rapid population growth, many able-bodied men rejected factory work, choosing instead to become Dogs of War or explorers.
The size of the Veterans was modest, but every member was hand-picked by Rodrian, giving them a distinct edge in capability.
Thanks to the leadership of the retired Reikguard instructor, his tactical brilliance, and his obsession with detail and caution, the band enjoyed an excellent reputation.
Rodrian himself, aside from his hideous scars, had no obvious vices.
He abstained from the typical mercenary pastimes of brawling, gambling, whoring, or hallucinogenic drugs.
He was never known to keep a mistress; aside from necessary procurement or business trips, he spent all his time in the camp.
Stephanie had once subtly expressed an interest in taking their relationship further after a battle.
As the daughter of a fallen noble house, she possessed the fire of her lineage, and any woman who left Kislev to become a mercenary was no shrinking violet.
However, Rodrian had decisively declined her advances, and the romance ended before it could even begin.
They remained close comrades and strictly professional.
The campfire crackled, wood popping in the heat, as Rodrian kept watch while mulling over their current contract.
The Bilbalians had offered a high price, and free mercenaries had smelled blood even before the Kingdom's government acted.
They had flocked to Estalia, hoping to secure a fortune amidst the chaos.
Rodrian's team was a step late; they had spent time recuperating in Marienburg.
He had personally returned to Altdorf, a city whose status remained unshakable since the Great War against Chaos.
Because of this, the Veterans set out a little later than others.
But the Bilbalians were not picky, ignoring fiscal concerns to hire anyone with strength, even loose bands of wanderers.
Large mercenary armies were usually assigned to garrison duties or gathered into grand legions for fortress defense and decisive battles.
Rodrian's band and a few other small but capable teams were given a special task.
They were to head south into the Piña Forest to support a "tribe" of Beastmen against the Greenskin horde.
The Northern Council considered the unique terrain of Piña unsuitable for massive legions.
The five thousand men of the Vanguard Legion were meant for proactive strikes, hence the recruitment of these small, elite teams.
The Council preferred to keep the larger mercenary groups for territorial defense or the upcoming major war.
The combined mercenary teams numbered less than a thousand, though they were accompanied by many laborers transporting supplies.
This was essentially the final support the Northerners intended to give their tribal allies before the decisive battle began.
According to the Northern Council's logic, there were over two hundred thousand refugees there.
Given the tribe's rumored traits—Dwarf-like in their combat prowess and adherence to oaths—they felt confident.
With the five thousand Vanguard troops and the potential to arm tens of thousands of refugees, the tribe should be able to hold off fifty thousand Greenskins using the terrain.
That would be enough.
If a portion of the Greenskin strength could be bogged down in a guerrilla war in the forest, the Council felt their investment was justified.
Rodrian's team and the others arrived with this mission to support the forest war.
They were few in number but elite, perfectly suited for the small-scale skirmishes common in the dense woods.
A night passed without incident, and the mercenaries continued their journey. After several more days, they reached the outskirts of Piña.
Shortly after they set up their perimeter for a rest, a werewolf scout discovered the human unit.
In reality, the moment the mercenaries approached Piña, Al's tribe was already aware of their presence and the laborers with them.
Al deliberately waited before making contact to avoid showing too keen a mastery over the forest.
The werewolves brought a sentry from the northern Vanguard outpost to make initial contact with the reinforcements.
The situation was quickly confirmed, and under Al's instructions, the Kingdom's reinforcements were split into two groups.
A handful of mercenaries led the laborers to deliver the ordnance and supplies to a designated settlement.
They were then given a ritualistic escort back to the north, as the tribe could not afford more mouths to feed.
The laborers' contracts also stipulated that they return to Bilbali for work once the delivery was complete.
The primary combatants, however, were directed straight to the front lines by Al and his puppet commanders and councilors.
They were sent to the stagnant battlefield:
The fortress known as "The Sacred Grove," a cheap knock-off version of the magically enhanced "Golden Wall."
These mercenaries were individually powerful, and some were even spellcasters.
Al did not want to risk them wandering through the tribe's various settlements and seeing things they shouldn't.
The name of the fortress was something Al had made up on the spot to sound grandiose.
He wanted the Greenskins to believe this was a vital tribal site, enticing them to attack its hardened defenders.
How would the Greenskins know?
In war, there are always prisoners on both sides.
Al had been fighting prepared skirmishes; while some Beastmen were captured, the number was tiny.
The Khorngors were particularly tough; unless their bones were shattered or ripped out, they would fight to the death.
The ordinary Gors were less fanatical and could accept being captured.
However, being a slave to Greenskins meant the risk of being eaten or used for "pit fighting" amusement, so they fought fiercely as well.
Humans, in contrast, were more submissive.
Under the Great Warboss's orders, Greenskins would not immediately kill "umgi" who surrendered.
They would be kicked to the rear to be guarded by Goblins or humans already serving the Warlord.
Al used this to feed propaganda to his human units: this place is a holy site, the ancestral altar, the birthplace of the tribe.
He emphasized that the tribe would defend it to the last, and this information was passed to the enemy through the mouths of prisoners.