Chapter 15

Once Rayan had cleared the English camps, there's been a lot of rumors among the army...

Some were reasonable and some were absurd...

Some said that Rayan was an incredibly gifted warrior and strategist, capable of accomplishing the most difficult tasks in the shortest amount of time.

Some said that Rayan was reciprocating power from the outside, and of course, the assumption was that he had made a deal with the Devil.

However, one thing they had in common was that they felt that they could win this difficult war...

By now...

Rayan rode his horse to Jeanne's camp, eager to inform her that the task had been successfully accomplished.

However, the blowing wind accompanied by the jerking of the horse made his thoughts drift further away...

"Why didn't I feel anything when I killed a hundred men?" - Although they were his enemies, they probably had their own families as well...

The thought of killing people or enemies didn't scare him, however, what did scare him was how easy it was.

Clenching his fist, he mentally promised himself to behave with more restraint...

Finally reaching the camp, Rayan climbed down from his horse and approached the main tent.

As he entered it, Rayan noticed Jeanne reading a letter thoughtfully.

He gently approached her and shook her by the shoulder, which made Jeanne a little frightened.

When she noticed that it was Rayan, she sighed with relief and joy.

Without waiting for his words, she hugged him tightly. "I'm glad you're okay!" - She exclaimed in relief.

It was clear that Rayan's trip was weighing on her from the inside and she couldn't keep still.

Rayan, still unaccustomed to this, was slightly in a stupor, but still hugged her back.

After not standing for so long, they reluctantly separated.

Jeanne decided to return to the main topic. "How did the mission go?"

"I successfully cleared the camps. All that remains is to make our way to the main and most defensible occupied part of Orleans. The scouts were able to roughly estimate the number of soldiers in that part, and frankly, the numbers aren't impressive." - A slightly dejected sigh escaped his lips, but he continued. "About 1,500 or 2,000 soldiers. If we decide to fight, it's going to be a bloodbath." - he finished.

Rayan sincerely hated to see Jeanne get her hands dirty with blood, but he knew she had to do it, because there was no turning back.

Jeanne made a complicated expression on her face. "1500-2000 people means..." - she muttered.

It was hard for her to imagine how she would be with her relatively small group trying to drive the English out of Orleans.

However, her thinking was honed enough that she could try to come up with various strategies...

"I'll help recreate the tactics with you." - Rayan suddenly said.

Jeanne was slightly surprised, but didn't resist, as she knew that Rayan was a good strategist and capable of much better than her.

Sitting down at the table, they started to pick up the most different and unusual ways of offensive and retreating for the best result...

A few hours later...

It was already evening and the sun was slowly descending over the horizon, giving place to the slowly rising moon...

Rayan and Jeanne had managed to come up with a pretty good strategy in those few hours.

Its essence was the principle of "hold and slash".

The strongest soldiers would hold the defense to the last and tire out the attacking English, thus giving them the opportunity to destroy them more effectively afterwards.

The archers above will also destroy some of the English, so getting into the heart of the English army will not be difficult.

If the question arises, why this tactic? The answer is quite simple - Rayan will be the cornerstone of this tactic.

His task is simple and complex at the same time - Destroy the opening gap in the defense of the English and open the heart of the army, thus giving the destruction of it on the root.

The difficulty lies in picking the perfect moment, for the Defense can fall back into line, thus preventing him from comfortably attacking.

"I might have to resort to magic..." - He thought with a complicated expression.

He had told Jeanne about it before, but she had been adamant about it, believing that he would quickly be considered a heretic.

A tired sigh escaped his lips. "I need to rest, tomorrow will be a challenging day."

Jeanne intended to drive out the English as quickly as possible, for they could reach Paris, which is highly inadmissible...

And she would mobilize her army tomorrow and the campaign would begin immediately.

Of course, many were dissatisfied, but on the other hand they realized that there was no other way out.

Rayan's thoughts flowed calmly and serenely. "I wonder what the meaning of this sword is?" - he thought curiously.

During the time he had had it, he had noticed a very useful feature of the sword.

Namely, its inability to dull, its ability to calm people with its presence, its self-purification...

Unfortunately, that's all he noticed...

He felt that this was not the full potential of this sword, but how to unlock the further capabilities of this sword he was completely unaware of.

"The only answer to my question is what is the meaning of this sword?" - he knew that if he understood the meaning of this sword, it would be much easier for him to unlock its potential.

"However, why did I call it exactly 'Burning Hope"?"- His consciousness once again revealed the beauty of this sword.

Its snow-white blade and blue hilt seemed to represent the serene sky wandering through the world...

"I should read more books about the concept of Hope..." - he thought.

In his mind, the understanding of Hope was small. To him, the feeling was simply... A desire to leave someone else's burden to someone else?

He knew that opinion was likely wrong, but he shrugged it off, wanting to leave that topic for another time...