Chương 151: Chapter 148 - Rebuttal

Next day at sundown, I made my way to the mess hall. This was the designated location for the meeting with the sergeants participating in the mission. I was looking forward to the meeting; after all, there were two sergeants in the group I already knew. One was a sergeant I had worked with, and the other was a sergeant I had rescued during one of my previous missions. Once I entered the mess hall, I saw all five sergeants were already there. With a massive grin on my face, I approached Colin.

The last time we had seen each other, I was injured, lying on a bed, and Colin had just taken over Sergeant Fenward's position.

"Hey! Colin, how have you been? We are meeting after a long time. How are Owen and the others?" I asked.

"Hi, Edward. Everyone's good," Colin replied in a monotone, wiping the smile from my face. His expression remained completely serious; he did not even bother to smile. My first thought was that something had happened to Owen or a member of his squad. Without dwelling too much on Colin's reaction, I turned to Victor. He was the sergeant I saved, a tall, warrior-like build with cuts on his face and arms that reminded me of Walter.

"Hey Edward, how are you?" Victor spoke before I could.

"Good, Victor. How about you and your squad? Are there any injuries—" Rowan cleared his throat, cutting me mid-sentence.

"I had heard that soldiers here lack manners, but I did not expect this much. Please, everyone sit down. I will conduct this meeting and introduce the sergeants. Then we will go through the plan… not everyone here has time to waste," Rowan said in a poised tone, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. What bothered me more was that all the other sergeants, except Victor, nodded along with Rowan's words. I frowned. I had expected this to be an informal meeting to get to know each other, not some formal gathering.

I took my seat, deciding to keep quiet and see where this meeting was going. Taking my silence as acceptance, Rowan's smile widened. He nodded to himself as if he had achieved something great.

"Sergeant Edward, you already know Sergeants Colin and Victor. To my right is Sergeant Celeb Vance, and to my left is Sergeant Aaron Pike. Both of them have served at Stonegate," Rowan said, gesturing toward the sergeants seated beside him, his tone implying that those who served at Stonegate were somehow superior to those stationed at the fort.

Maintaining the same tone, he continued:"So, before you arrived, Sergeant Edward, it was decided that, given your age and lack of experience, I would handle caravan security and determine the formation for our travel. You can also rely on me or Sergeant Celeb Vance once we reach the village," Rowan said, and Sergeant Vance nodded. I almost felt like a toddler who did not know how to walk, being guided by his uncles. But for some reason, I began to enjoy their way of speaking.

With the confidence Rowan carried, I only hoped they had a plan to back it up. I nodded to Rowan's words, but even after my best effort, a small smile appeared on my face. Thankfully, no one commented on that.

"Here is my plan. We have eight wagons—six carrying construction workers and two carrying basic supplies. I have decided that Sergeant Colin, Sergeant Celeb, Sergeant Aaron, and I will each guard two wagons. As Sergeants Edward and Victor have the most combat experience, they will form the outer circle.

This compact formation will allow those of us in the center to support and protect the civilians in case of an ambush, especially from archers, while Sergeants Edward and Victor hold the enemy's front line until we can provide support," Rowan finished, looking around for approval. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Aaron and Celeb nodded without a second thought.

Colin hesitated for a moment, but when Rowan, Aaron, and Celeb turned their gazes toward him, he nodded as well. Only Victor and I had not replied. I had a doubt that they were not interested in what the two of us thought. But I was not going to miss this opportunity. My smile widened into a full, ear-to-ear grin. Looking Rowan straight in the eye, I said:"Thank you, Rowan, for presenting your plan." At my first sentence, I saw relief flash across his face.

"And also for proving why I was given combat-related responsibility by the captain," I continued, wiping the smile off his face. He was about to speak, but without giving him any chance, I continued:"Your plan would make sense if we were only dealing with bandits or human threats. But on a twenty-day journey to Frontier Village, fifteen days are spent in the forest. Anyone experienced in traveling through untamed forests knows that attacks from beast herds are common.

A compact formation like this might work against archers, but against beasts, it creates more problems. The outer ring would take the brunt of the attack and suffer heavy casualties, while the center risks getting boxed in if we are surrounded. Once that happens, our maneuverability is gone." I said. Then, making eye contact with Colin, I simply shook my head. Rowan, Aaron, and Celeb were new to the fort and the untamed forest; they were not familiar with the formations required for large caravans.

Before I could continue with my plan, Rowan spoke up.

"Sergeant Edward, are you questioning my plan and qualifications?" Rowan said, pressing his mana on me.

"Yes," I said bluntly. Rowan's face turned red.

"HOW—" I stopped him before he could speak another word by pressing my own mana and raising my finger.

"Sergeant Rowan, it is not up to debate. If you or anyone else has any problem with me leading, they can go and talk to the Captain. This is the army, not some mercenary group. We will follow the orders given to us," I said, looking at Rowan, Aaron, and Celeb.

"That does not mean we have to follow someone like you blindly. The Captain might have declared you in charge, but we are all sergeants with more experience leading squads than your total experience in the army," Aaron said.

"Well," I smiled, trying to imitate Rowan, "thankfully, I am not someone who makes plans unilaterally." Then my expression hardened, and I let a hint of mana slip into my voice.

"By tomorrow, I want the basic profile of every squad," I said, looking around at everyone.

"Now, I'll outline the initial plan. You have today to review it. If you have concerns, bring them to me tomorrow at the same time, here in the mess hall." Letting my words settle, I continued.

"Our formation will consist of three layers. The outer layer will be made up of our most agile soldiers and those with strong danger perception. Their role is not to engage, but to provide early warning. At the first sign of beasts, they will fall back to the middle layer. This layer will be spread around the perimeter in rotating positions. The middle layer will form the main defensive line. It will consist of the bulk of our soldiers, with balanced offensive and defensive capability.

Their role is to engage and contain threats while maintaining formation. The inner layer will consist of the sergeants and two of our Tier-2 soldiers. We will stay close to the wagons, each responsible for two carts. From there, we will coordinate the defense and reinforce weak points as needed. We will divide command zones and assign soldiers from our own squads to those areas. That way, we maintain familiarity and reduce confusion during combat."

By the time I finished, the tension in Victor's expression had eased. Even Aaron and Celeb were paying close attention to my words. After plenty of verbal sparring and more than a few mistakes, I had learned one thing: even when you have the authority to command multiple squads, you cannot assume soldiers will follow you simply because of that authority. It is always better for your orders to pass through their sergeants first and then to the soldiers. They know their units best.

"Tomorrow, we will go through the plans and the situations we may encounter. We will also cover extreme scenarios so that we already know the appropriate course of action. However, it is almost impossible to predict everything. If such a situation arises, our proximity will ensure that the flow of command remains seamless."

Then, letting a trace of mana seep into my voice, I continued:"While I am open to suggestions and the exchange of ideas most of the time, in active combat, any disobedience or even delay in carrying out my orders will be treated as treason. I will consider it an act of sabotage," I finished in a commanding tone, leaving no room for discussion. I stood up, walked over to Victor for a handshake, and then left, giving everyone time to think.

While I was satisfied with how I had handled myself among my fellow sergeants, I had lost confidence in them. Rowan might not have said anything after I took control, but I knew this type of man. He would not take this lying down. One way or another, he would try to regain control. More concerning was that three of the remaining sergeants seemed to favor him. If I could not trust them, I would need to find my own way to keep an eye on the situation, both within the soldiers and within the village.

Leaving the mess hall, I headed straight for Lieutenant Cicero's office. I had a plan that would allow me to keep an eye on everything, but it required approval from someone higher up the chain of command.