The enemy finally sent someone competent.
That alone told Aldric everything he needed to know.
The report arrived before sunrise, carried by a courier who looked like he hadn't slept. Captain Rovan read it once, then again, slower this time.
"They've changed commanders," he said. "This one pulled back three units after reviewing the southern failure. No rash moves. No probing."
Aldric nodded. "Good."
Again, Rovan hesitated. "Good?"
"Yes," Aldric said mildly. "It means they learned the wrong lesson."
The new commander did not repeat old mistakes.
That was the impressive part.
Instead of striking supply lines, he isolated information. Instead of committing forces, he fragmented them. Small movements. Independent units. No obvious objectives.
From the outside, it looked cautious. Disciplined.
From Aldric's perspective, it was elegant.
"They're mapping response time," Arinelle said, scanning fresh reports. "Watching how fast we adjust. Measuring how much control you actually have."
Lysenne's eyes narrowed. "That's dangerous."
"Yes," Aldric agreed. "Which is why it's necessary."
Arinelle looked up. "Necessary for what?"
"For them," Aldric replied. "To feel confident."
The enemy commander's name was Sereth Kain.
He didn't shout.
He didn't posture.
He didn't rush.
He observed.
Sereth allowed two of his units to retreat when contact felt uncertain. He abandoned a promising advance when resistance reacted too quickly. He even gave up ground deliberately to see whether Aurelion would overextend.
It didn't.
That bothered him.
"They're disciplined," Sereth said quietly to his adjutant. "But not rigid. Someone is coordinating responses without broadcasting it."
The adjutant frowned. "Then we force the issue."
Sereth shook his head. "No. We make them solve problems."
By the third day, Aurelion felt pressure everywhere.
Not heavy.
Persistent.
A bridge inspection delayed here. A patrol rerouted there. Nothing that could be called an attack—just enough disruption to demand attention.
Rovan slammed a report onto the table. "They're stretching us thin."
"They're trying to," Aldric corrected.
Arinelle tilted her head. "He's not testing strength. He's testing judgment."
"Yes," Aldric said. "Which means he's already invested."
Lysenne folded her arms. "Invested how?"
"He's convinced this can be solved," Aldric replied. "That there's a correct response."
"And there isn't?" Arinelle asked.
Aldric smiled faintly. "There is."
She frowned. "Then why is this a trap?"
"Because," Aldric said, "it's the wrong one."
Sereth Kain made his move on the fifth day.
Not an attack.
A request.
A formal challenge to a limited engagement near the Gray Crossing—neutral ground, defined terms, controlled force. A test of command without escalation.
Rovan stared at the proposal. "He's confident."
"He should be," Aldric said. "This is a good plan."
Lysenne looked at him sharply. "Then why do I feel like you're pleased?"
"Because," Aldric replied, "this plan rewards intelligence."
Arinelle's eyes widened. "Oh."
She started laughing.
Aldric accepted the challenge.
Publicly.
Cleanly.
No tricks announced. No conditions altered.
The city buzzed with tension. Officers argued. Engineers double-checked systems. Everyone assumed this would be a proving ground.
Sereth did too.
At Gray Crossing, his units deployed flawlessly. Spacing perfect. Signals tight. Every formation positioned to respond to multiple contingencies.
Aurelion's forces arrived and mirrored them—almost.
Sereth noticed the discrepancy immediately.
Too subtle for amateurs.
Too precise to be a mistake.
"They're holding back," he murmured.
Good, he thought.
They're cautious.
That made him smile.
The engagement began with measured pressure.
No charges.
No overextension.
Sereth advanced where resistance was weakest and withdrew when it stiffened. He forced Aurelion to respond to him, shaping the tempo beautifully.
From a tactical standpoint, he was winning.
From a strategic one—
Aldric was watching him solve the problem perfectly.
"That's the third correction," Arinelle said quietly from the command platform. "He's adapting faster than expected."
"Yes," Aldric replied. "He's excellent."
Rovan frowned. "Then why aren't we adjusting?"
"Because," Aldric said calmly, "we already did."
Sereth realized something was wrong when his flanks stopped reporting at the same time.
Not silence.
Delay.
Commands went through—but arrived seconds late. Adjustments landed after the moment had passed. His formations compensated instinctively, but each correction created another delay elsewhere.
He narrowed his eyes.
This wasn't disruption.
It was feedback.
"They're reflecting us," he said slowly.
The adjutant stiffened. "Reflecting?"
"Our responses," Sereth replied. "They're letting us dictate tempo—then using that tempo against us."
He pulled back instantly.
Too late.
Aurelion didn't advance.
It rebalanced.
Positions shifted in a way that didn't threaten, didn't pursue, didn't even look aggressive. But every move shortened Sereth's effective range, compressed his options, and stretched his coordination thinner.
Arinelle exhaled. "He's still trying to outthink it."
"Yes," Aldric said. "That's why this works."
Sereth Kain did the smartest thing possible.
He disengaged.
And lost.
By withdrawing, Sereth confirmed the pattern Aldric needed.
Aurelion's forces didn't chase.
They sealed.
Supply access closed quietly. Communication relays were occupied—not destroyed, just controlled. Sereth's units found themselves intact, uninjured, and functionally useless.
No battle had been decided.
The engagement simply… ended.
Sereth stood in the center of Gray Crossing, staring at the map projected before him.
"You designed this so the best response was still wrong," he said softly.
The adjutant didn't answer.
"You didn't beat me," Sereth continued. "You let me prove your point."
That evening, Sereth requested parley.
Aldric met him alone.
"You're very good," Sereth said without bitterness. "Anyone else would have broken."
Aldric inclined his head. "You adapted quickly."
Sereth laughed once. "And that's why I lost."
He looked up. "You don't punish recklessness. You punish competence."
"I reward it too," Aldric replied. "Just not when it's pointed at me."
Silence stretched.
"What happens now?" Sereth asked.
Aldric smiled faintly. "Now you leave. And you warn them."
"Warn them of what?"
"That intelligence alone isn't enough," Aldric said. "You also need to know what game you're in."
Sereth closed his eyes.
"I see," he said quietly. "Too late."
When Sereth departed, Arinelle joined Aldric on the battlements.
"That was cruel," she said.
"Yes."
"Elegant," she added.
"Yes."
She glanced at him. "You're going to do this again, aren't you?"
Aldric looked out over the quiet field.
"No," he said. "Next time, they won't deserve it."