The non-blooded units refer to the replacement characters. I decided for the purpose of this fic they're a part of the army as well. XD
*
Noble and commoner, knight and mercenary, they all stood before him. They'd become almost a family, even the ones who didn't initially get along.
"I want to thank you all for your support during these hard times. For your strength and courage and all your hard work," he said. "Even in times like right now when everything looks so bleak. We've lost one of our own, we don't know the fate of all those kids and we're about to return to the source of all the trouble." Celice squared his shoulders. "Even now I remember the story of how it all ended for my father, for all your parents, and I get scared."
He took a deep breath, drawing deep into the well of his confidence for the next words.
"But we've no reason to be scared," he said. "Where they failed, we'll succeed. Whether our power comes from the Crusaders, experience, or our own determination, it's power shared. Together, we are strong."
Murmurs rose from the crowd and everyone looked towards him with hopeful gazes and smiles. Celice blinked back the tears he felt rising in his eyes.
"Our parents' dreams will not go unrealized," he said. "Today is the first day of the final liberation of Jugdral!"
The crowd cheered, and for the first time in his life Celice truly felt like a leader.