Now that I'd thought about it specifically, I ensured that I had at least 50 subordinates with me as I led out a pack to find the next traces of the Misti Hawar. The furry menaces were nowhere to be seen at the moment, but despite everything that they tried, there were slight traces left from wherever they went. I couldn't really find them, while Foire and Silf both were confident in pointing out which paths the shadowy hunters followed. Each of my followers was pretty confident in their own intuition and expertise, and I was more than happy to pass over that assignment. Instead of attempting to track our enemies, which was far from my own forte, instead I focused on ensuring that I learned better and better how to command multiple packs at the same time. Whenever I'd taken specific command over the swarm before, I might have sent out a pack or two and had them do different things at the same time, but this wasn't a mere journey or a hunt. This was war, and I knew nothing about war.
[Pack Tactics] tried to give me some measure of information about what to do while preparing for battle against our enemy, but it wasn't a [Skill] built for warfare, at least, not yet. It's a [Skill] built for hunting, which would help me in chasing down any Misti Hawar, but it gave me no understanding of the movements of battlefields, or the flow of battle, when to retreat, when to pursue, how to understand a feint, and so many other things. Instead, with every day I only learned more and more how little I knew. Even so, with each new experience, I was more and more confident in my ability to learn. There were dozens of ways I could improve myself, and improve I would.
"Akta, your pack is in charge of being the supporting first fighters. As the Sik'Tal learn from their scouting, they'll bring messages back to other packs. Your responsibility at that point is to be the first to enter the battle. You're the cavalry, so to speak."
"Yes, Zaaktif!"
"Hala, your responsibility is, more than to act in support of Akta's pack, instead entirely on entrapment. You are the Alpha of our magic pack in this campaign. You'd better lead. It is your responsibility to ensure that, wyrm or Misti Hawar, nothing's allowed to escape. In any fight that we've managed to catch them, we've won and that will continue to hold true. Without you and your Sou'Tal keeping the shadows and their magic at bay, it will only be a shallow victory as, once they're routed, they'll escape."
"I will not fail you, Zaaktif." She flared her frills and bowed as she said as much.
I continued down the line, giving quick instructions to the other three Alphas. With 50 of the Saharliard accompanying me, the entire expedition was broken down into five packs of 10. The scouts, the Sou'Tal with magic, the two packs of Hak'Tal warriors, and one pack with two of Vefir's healers and eight Khatif to protect them. At their head, I stood, commanding and demanding. Of course, Brutus had insisted that he accompany me, and I didn't stop him from doing so. In the past week since we'd begun trekking through the deep snow to find any sign of our enemy, he'd remained a constant companion and friend. If he was bored or frustrated in our search, he never let it on, merely trudging along through the snow in front of me, his heavier steps breaking through the snow and tamping down an easy trail for me.
"Every sign that we've found until now seems to indicate that they're pulling back." Foire's report was unsurprising, even though it wasn't what I wanted to hear. "We're getting closer to the trails that they're leaving, but every single clue we're seeing is still at least several days old."
"It just doesn't make sense." I snarled at no one in particular. "They came in here themselves and blatantly challenged us in Nievtra. They announced themselves, they killed hundreds, and now they're just running away? Nothing that they're doing even approaches making sense. Did their leader change?"
"Do we need to understand why they're doing it to track them down and make them pay?" One of Foire's scouts jumped in. My elite turned and snarled at the male's impertinence, but I didn't show my own frustration. Instead, I gestured for him to come forward. He did so, though his body language obviously betrayed that he knew that he'd somehow misstepped.
"How do we make our enemies pay?" I asked him the question with an even tone.
"We kill them. We show no mercy. We find victory by fang and blood." The response was prompt and proud.
"And how many do we need to kill?"
"Every one of them."
"How many do we sacrifice to do this?"
"Our… Our lives don't matter? So long as we follow your commands?"
"That isn't entirely wrong, but it isn't right either." I snapped my teeth together in disapproval of the answer. "If 500 of the Empire die to kill five Misti Hawar, was the sacrifice worth it?"
"No, Zaaktif."
"If 500 of the Empire die to kill ten of the Misti Hawar, is it worth it?"
"No, Zaaktif."
"If 500 of the Empire die to kill all of the Misti Hawar, is it worth it?"
"Yes, Zaaktif."
"So, by your own admission, there's a point at which the sacrifice of our lives is too much and doesn't work. It's my job, the assignment of all of the rulers of the empire to ensure that every fight that we get into is worth it and does not threaten our ability to survive in the long-term. So, do we need to understand why they're doing what they're doing? Yes. If we do, we can ensure that the Empire isn't going to be destroyed as we impulsively follow a trail that's been managing to stay in front of us for 80 miles without us seeing a single one of their number."
"Yes, Zaaktif."
I waved him off, and he stepped back to stand beside his fellows. Despite the anger that continued boiling inside of me through the entire conversation, I liked to imagine that I'd managed to keep myself from being outright hostile as I explained the shortsighted nature of the question.
"Do you think they know we're following them?" Brutus asked.
"They definitely do. We killed an entire clan, there's no way that there's no contact between them, even if they aren't in close contact." I answered with a flick of my tail.
"So, knowing that we're able to ambush some of their number, or at least just outright slaughter an entire clan and let none escape, then there's probably a good chance that they're doing something in retaliation to that." Brutus's words were matter of fact as he said it, but I found myself nodding along as my own suspicions were indirectly confirmed.
"So they're preparing a trap. I probably should've prepared the rest of us for that." As I said it, Brutus didn't say anything more. I met eyes with Foire then the other Alphas who stood nearby, and said, "Let's prepare to surprise the surprise, shall we?"
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