My wait didn't last for long. As Spearhead had just said, in less than five minutes, I could hear the loud, rhythmic bangs of fighting coming from the front, much closer than the perimeter we had been holding.
"What's going on?" Karoline asked in surprise. She had been standing silently by my side, finally using a few discarded military towels to clean the dried blood from her face and neck. She looked toward the bridge, her eyes wide as the sound of battle intensified.
"My army is here," I said. I felt a surge of genuine pride in saying those words. A youngster like me, who had arrived at this point in time having nothing but knowledge and a few desperate plans, was now speaking like a mighty warlord commanding a regional power.
The new boys were really capable—hungry for battle and desperate to prove their worth. They came in hot, arriving in such large numbers that they created an instant, overwhelming impact on the battlefield.
