Two days later, after a long march by such a massive 'Grand Army', now split into many corps led by many different marshals.
Under the morning sun, a group of open-top armored wagons strides down the dirt road of Middenland, they carry the newly created squads of 'Stormtrooper', who're currently checking the condition of their half-plate armor and their SMG-01s while chatting with each other in their usual nonchalant tone.
And on one of the wagons lies the spearhead of this operation, 'The First Stormtrooper Squadron'.
"How long do you think it's going to take for us to win this one?" a trooper from the first squadron asked his comrade with a relaxed smile.
"Two or three days, I guess?" his comrade answered.
"Wanna bet?" another one asked, pulling out a silver coin from his personal pouch.
"Four days!"
"Five days!"
"A week!"
They all place their bets until a man named Konrad, who was handpicked by Marshal Elena herself to lead this squad, places his own bet with a booming voice.
"Eight hours!" he shouted confidently, placing a gold coin as his stake.
All of his subordinates stare at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, assuming he's obviously joking.
But as they continue with their usual shenanigans, their wagon comes to an abrupt stop at the center of a nameless abandoned village, which serves as their assembly point, located near Marquis Scrofa le Massif's personal holdings.
A whistle is blown by their captain who's one of Elena's old comrades from the original Red Lion Company, calling them to assemble and form a line so he can brief them on the plan of attack one last time.
"As planned, we're going to use the fauna around here to camouflage ourselves and sneak through the forest," the captain said, "We'll hide near the walls until the firework signal is launched. Then we assault as we were trained until we reach the inner castle wall. Any questions?"
"What's the rule of engagement again?" Konrad asked.
"No killing surrendered prisoners, no killing innocent civilians unless they try to kill you, no rape, no looting, and watch out for those with white armbands because that means they're friendly." the captain answers.
Everyone nods in understanding.
"Any other questions?" the captain asks again.
The men fall silent as they ready themselves for the operation that is about to begin, the captain smiles faintly at their professionalism before drawing his battle rapier and gesturing for them to begin camouflaging their uniforms using branches and leaves from the surrounding area.
They then disappeared into the forest like an army of phantoms, readying themselves for the signal to begin their fast and sudden strike.