A/N: Just wanted to correct a typo - last chapter, Lucina mentions Morgan told the Future Children to 'show up fighting' - that's a mistake, it's supposed to be that Morgan told them to 'never show up fighting'.

-Valm Encampment, Northern Plegian Desert-

"I'm not the last one, am I?" Ravena burst into the tent in a run, skidding to a stop.

Inside the large tent that had been erected as a field headquarters, Robin was gesturing over a map, with Ignatius and Zulas beside him, nodding and helping him move figures on the map. Argeni was busy reading a thick book but managed to look up and shoot a dirty glance towards Ravena for her rude entrance. Vermil was reading an equally large book but gave her an encouraging wave instead. Ravena blinked and winced.

"You are late, but not the last one." Robin answered absently. "And we can't start until she arrives, so you're in luck. You've accidentally not inconvenienced us."

"This is supposed to be a military encampment, not a day care." Ignatius scowled. "Robin, tell your brat to play somewhere else."

"Ravena is just as capable in her own right as any other member of my elites." Robin replied. He stepped back and looked over the map again. "Anyway, I think that's the best division of units that we've got right now."

"I still want at least one Dire Wolf unit." Ignatius protested.

"Sorry, but those are reserved for my personal use." Robin shook his head. "Tell you what, though. I'll let you have one if any agree to follow you."

"You know they'll all refuse."

"Yes, that's the general idea behind making a unit composed of elites." Robin said. "You still have three Wolfguard units of your pick. Sort that out with Zulas." Ignatius grumbled, but complied. Robin turned to Ravena. "Do I want to know why you were late? What mischief have you been up to?"

"I thought …" Ravena sighed. "You called a meeting together of everyone important, and I was keeping an eye out for her if she arrived."

"Ah. Well, that's not as bad as it could be, but try to be on time, next time." Robin said. "It's poor form to be late to meetings with other people."

"I thought being early just meant that you had nothing better to do."

"Playing politics is something better to do. If it could clear away my problems, I'd gladly sacrifice ten, even twenty, minutes every day." Robin said. "Showing up late should be reserved for when no one there can complain about it. Not when you've got people who can make life hard for you."

"Even I can't help someone who's completely hopeless." Argeni piped up. "Trust me – bad habits are the worst thing you need, and Robin's got enough of them."

"Message received." Ravena sighed.

"You don't have to gang up on her, you know." A voice scolded Robin behind Ravena. "Besides, you've got no problem waiting for me."

"That's because you have an excuse."

"Dant! Hah, you did come after all!"

"Heya, small bird." Dant looked at Ravena and chuckled. "You're a bit taller since I last saw you. Glad to see you're still growing. How's life on the team?"

"It's good to see you, Dant." Zulas looked up. Argeni kept her attention on her books but raised her eyes for a brief flicker. Vermil gave a wave.

"Glad to see you too, Zulas." Dant waved. "Argeni, I'm sure your composure right now is the only thing keeping those emotions in check."

Argeni rolled her eyes. "It's nice that you've decided to return, Dant."

"Glad to see you're ignoring me." Vermil commented.

"Glad to see you noticed."

"Good, everyone is here." Robin said. "Dant, would you mind?"

A knife flashed and the rope keeping the flap rolled up was cut, leaving the tent closed. Vermil stood up, drew a green tome, and cast a spell to keep the noise inside the tent and prevent eavesdropping. Robin coughed to draw everyone's intention.

"Attention, please. Nothing from what I say right now leaves this tent without my personal authorization." Robin said. "Anyone who does so, no matter who, will be jeopardize this whole offensive and place out entire army at risk. The short of it is, we're in trouble. Look at the map."

The map in the center showed the Archaneian continent. Three groups of armies were on it, Valm's in Plegia, the Feroxi alongside the Longfort, and the Ylissean marching east from Archaneia. All three were roughly the same size, with the Ylisseans having the largest.

"A pincer attack." Ravena said. "Classic. They outnumber us, two to one, so they've decided to follow the most basic and effective option available to them – divide in to and engage us on two fronts."

"Exactly. And we'll lose if we battle both of them at once." Robin said. "As it stands, the reason that we went to war isn't prevalent right now, but the fact remains that we're at war still. I'll let Argeni cover that. Argeni?"

"Right." Argeni said. "From what we know, this war was caused by misinformation spread to Dalton, who attacked Regna Ferox. This brought its allies, Plegia and Ylisse, into the fight against us. As it stands, we've managed to defeat Plegia so far. This war was caused by the Plegian Hierophant, Desert Hawk, and we've killed him. There's been some negative repercussions from the Grimleal devout, but we're not as behind in public opinion as we could be, thanks to Robin's status as the long-lost heir to the throne."

"What are our chances of ending this war using diplomacy?" Robin asked. "If there are any at all?"

"Regna Ferox won't have it." Argeni shook her head. "They value strength above all, and they'll want recompense for out unprovoked invasion. It's additionally unlikely they'll believe out story, especially given Robin's penchant for double-dealing."

"Ahem!" Robin glared at her. "I'm standing right here."

"Telling it like it is. Ylisse, possibly, would be open to peace, but its likely that we'll have to cede back captured Plegian territory." Argeni said. "Even then, we're still looking at a nasty fight from the Feroxi, and Ylisse is allied with the Feroxi, so if they attack us, Ylisse will be dragged into fight. If Chrom were with the Khans, he may be able to persuade them to stop, given how essential he is to their leadership structure – Ferox is weird, don't ask – but he isn't."

"Not to mention we came to this side of the ocean for a reason." Ignatius thundered.

"Indeed." Robin agreed. "Diplomacy is still off the table. I'm not giving up Plegia, and I'm not surrendering to either Ferox or Ylisse. And they want us to surrender. Which leaves us with only one option. We're continuing this war. And we're going to win it."

"Because what's being outnumbered two-to-one matter against the amazing Battlemaster?" Dant said.

"You have a plan, right?" Zulas asked. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Indeed. It would be rather difficult to defeat two armies of that size, and still retain a significant number of troops. Even if we won, that would mean lots of casualties on out part." Robin said. "If we took the initiative – let's say we charged the Longfort – then we'd suffer losses and have to hold a hostile Regna Ferox. If we charged Ylisse and routed them on open plains, we expose ourselves to Regna Ferox chipping away at our supply lines. And suppose we hole up for defense, that means that Regna Ferox and Ylisse would be able to corner us and take the fight against us, two on one."

"Winnable." Zulas said. "They're strong. But they're not Valm strong. If they're anything like Plegia, we could defeat an army triple our size."

"They aren't." Dant shook her head. "Regna Ferox made be disorganized, but they're strong. Very strong. Ylisse is well organized, and the Shepherds are not to be underestimated. And if we let them combine – then we're in for a world of hurt. Their tactician, Morgan, isn't on Robin's caliber but she's quite skilled in her own right. And she can make effective use of both their strengths if we let their armies combine."

I have two trump cards in play right now. Robin considered. One that will be played regardless, and the other which can only be played once. The latter of which absolutely guarantees victory, and the former of which only makes it far more likely. But I'm been having quite a good run of luck recently. I'd like to save my ultimate ace for when that luck finally runs out.

"Our best option is to sneak past them and start laying waste to the capitol." Ignatius said. "Obviously."

"No, that'll make us lose the gains we got from conquering Plegia." Zulas countered. "We should solidify our hold here and hold out for reinforcements."

"That'll take too long!" Ignatius countered. "It's hardly been a month since we landed. We'll need at least half a year for the fleet we sent back to land with more reinforcements."

"And you want to spend those six months in enemy territory." Zulas replied. "Why is that any better?"

"Zulas is getting good at this 'tactics' thing." Dant whispered to Robin. "Have you been giving him lessons while I was gone?"

"Argeni's doing, I fear." Robin replied. "But not an actual problem. Fortunately, he's not one of those idiots with only enough knowledge to be dangerous to themselves."

"Like a certain someone else." Dant fixed Ignatius with a look, who was too busy shouting at a calm Zulas to notice her. "By the way, where's Morgaine?"

"…I don't know?"

"As in, you don't know or won't tell me?" Dant rolled her eyes. "Is it the latter, but I'm going to find out anyway in a few minutes?"

"The fact that you know that is kind of creepy and I'd be really it a bind if you ever had the initiative to act on your own orders. Ahem!" Robin coughed loudly. "Ignatius, Zulas. Attention. Ignatius, the plan is to do both."

"Both?" The two chorused, then look at each other and glared.

"Ignatius will take half the army and go east to deal with Ylisse. Zulas will take the other half and hold the line in Plegia." Robin said.

"Oh, that's why you wanted us to divide the army." Zulas said.

"Yes, that's why." Robin said. "Ignatius, here are your orders. You are to delay the Ylissean army for as long as possible. You are not to win, you are to seek to delay, understand? Zulas, your orders are to hold the line."

"And, what will you be doing?" Vermil piped up.

"What I see fit." Robin said. Defending Plegia, obviously. "I need my two best generals to lead my armies, as I'm still undecided as to which one exactly I'll be leading. Understand?"

"Yes."

"Why am I stalling Ylisse?" Cervantes asked.

"How many ships did we make, Cervantes?" Robin asked. "And where did we make them?"

"One thousand ships." Cervantes said. "We made and stored them in the southern docks."

"No, northern." Zulas interrupted. "They were mostly stored in the northern docks. About two hundred were ship to the southern docks, but we had eight hundred in the northern docks."

"Funny story." Robin said. "Turns out that when you have really large numbers of things, people don't bother trying to count. And it also turns out that it's very easy to confuse a few hundred with around a thousand."

"Oh, I see." Dant snickered. "You made two fleets and used paperwork to hide the fact. You've got an entire second fleet of soldiers on their way here right now, don't you?"

"Ylisse only had one fleet of 1,000 ships, true." Robin said. "But I've been preparing for this war since I was Battlemaster. Valm's full fleet isn't 1,000 ships. It's 2,500. And we've got a second wave incoming, one that's got a second army coming after us."

"Why haven't you-"

"-told anyone? Because I didn't need to and concealing the knowledge gave me an advantage." Robin said. "I'm the legendary Battlemaster. I've never lost a fight. I've come out ahead in worse odds than a mere two-to-one, and everyone knows it. If I order our troops into battle against a numerically superior foe, everyone would just assume it's part of a master plan of mine and go along with it."

"Because it always is." Argeni interjected.

"Everyone is under the impression that we'll receive a wave of reinforcements based on our original fleet of ships. But no one is under the assumption that we'll have a second wave so early." Robin said. "If we divide our forces in half, then we can bait Regna Ferox into attacking us. As long as we can keep Ylisse and Regna Ferox from uniting, we can delay the fight."

"As it stands, the plan is simple." Robin said. "The reinforcements will arrive and attack when Regna Ferox charges us. They'll go down, and then we focus on Ylisse. Of course, this only works because Regna Ferox isn't expecting us to have reinforcements. That's why nothing leaves the tent."

"Marvelous plan, Battlemaster." Ignatius said. "I believed in you, of course."

"How long-"

"Ten days." Robin said. "Morgaine was out scouting via pegasus, and she reported to me on the comm crystal. She's on the main ship, and they'll land in one week's time, then a day and a half of forced marching. Add in some safety, time for resting, and that's our ten days. But Ylisse will be there before then. Ignatius. Stall them for a week, and then regroup to our forces."

"It'd be my pleasure, Battlemaster."

"Zulas, your duty is to hold the defensive line until reinforcements come."

"I understand."

"And that concludes this meeting." Robin concluded. "…Zulas, I understand you wanted to talk with me about a personal matter?"

"Hmm?" Zulas blinked as Argeni elbowed him. "Ah, yes. I just didn't expect you to have free time now."

"Rest of you, dismissed."

-Valm Encampment-

"Ah, but it's nice to be back in Valm territory." Dant stretched. She had a dagger in each hand that she was absently twirling around her fingers. She made a quick motion with her hands and daggers disappeared. "Heard you took my old spot, Ravena?"

"Yeah, but I couldn't have done it without a lot of training." Ravena said. "You want it back?"

"Best if I don't." Dant shook her head. "You can keep it."

"Aw, but I'll miss you, Dant." Vermil interjected.

"Don't you have something better to do than hang around us and try to be sarcastic?"

"…Not really." Vermil shrugged.

"I'm going to take that as an admission that you're single yet again." Dant shrugged. "What happened to this one, wannabe casanova?"

"She's back in Valm."

"His girlfriend this time is a civilian." Ravena said. "Researcher, lots of innate magical power, but kind of bad at casting spells."

"Huh." Dant rolled her eyes. "I'll ignore the potential jokes I could make on that. So, tell me – got that Flare tome finished while I was gone?"

"Yeah!" Ravena shot up, eyes sparkling. "You need to see it in action. It's the first S-Class spell developed in ages. A colossal burst of pure magic energy, which is made using the fact that you summon magic without constraining it which normally is a bad idea but what you do is you-"

"Breathe!" Dant blinked. "Slow down there, Ravena."

Ravena blink as she stopped talking and took a deep breath. The younger tactician looked away, looking a bit red. "Sorry. I get carried away sometimes, and since Vermil is the only one I talk to, I'm used to people who can handle it."

"That's fine." Dant said. "I mean, honestly I should have an interest in it, I guess. But it's really not necessary in my line of work."

"Blasphemy of the highest order." Vermil managed to look haughty. "The ability to create giant explosions is always necessary."

"Not when you're a silent assassin." Dant hissed.

"…oh, yeah."

"Beside, I'm pretty sure you can't cast it." Ravena said. "You're not very good at magic, are you?"

"I'm a C-rank caster. I once met a Plegian sorcerer who informed in no small amount of words that my potential was 'wasted' as I didn't use my Shadowgift." Dant made air quotes as appropriate. "He had a point, I guess. Those with gifts should use them to the fullest. But we just disagreed a bit on what the fullest meant."

"How so?"

"Well, I only mastered Shadowgift insofar as I needed it to be an assassin." Dant said. "He wanted to teach me it to be a first-rate caster. Which is pretty stupid if you think about it – anyone can be a master dark mage. Shadowgift lets you cheat, so there's no point of cheating if you're going to master it, right? Only take the effort to cheat on things you'll never master anyway. Take notes, Ravena."

"You studied dark magic from a Plegian sorcerer?" Vermil interjected. "I heard they don't teach the art outside of Plegia. How'd you convince him to teach you?"

"I beat the stuffing out of him and tied him up in a cave. He was pretty amendable after that."

"That would do it." Vermil sighed. "You know, I don't have any actual idea where you come from."

"I'd be a bad assassin if I could be tracked down by a bored fire mage."

"Can't argue with that." Ravena said. "Still, back to the first point – sure you don't want to take over my spot on the squad.?"

"I'll fight against Regna Ferox with you, don't worry about that." Dant said. "But I won't join in the fight against Ylisse. It would be … problematic … if I did, I think."

"Because you'll risk blowing your cover?" Ravena asked. "So you were in Ylisse this whole time, after all!"

"Who said that?" Dant shrugged.

"Robin." Vermil said. "He told the Plegian Hierophant that to get him to go to the Dragon's Table."

"Ah, yes. That was definitely true, especially considering everything else he told the Hierophant was true as well." Dant said. "Oh, no wait … no, that was all a pack of lies, wasn't it?"

"Gah!" Ravena angrily huffed in frustration. "So were you Plegia after all? Then why can't you fight Ylisse?"

"…Who said anything about me being in Plegia?"

"And now she's messing with us." Vermil sighed. "Well we may not know where she was, but at least we know this is definitely Dant."

-Valm Encampment, Commander's Tent-

"You wanted to speak with me, then?" Zulas asked.

"No." Robin shook his head. "I was serious about that. You want to speak with me. I know you've seen and talked with Balt. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask them."

"You're serious?"

"As I ever am." Robin said. I must deal with this situation now, or risk it getting out of hand. I don't have any spies on hand who could have safely listened it on that conversation without risking them hearing something they shouldn't have. "Zulas, we need to have this conversation now. For both our sakes. Understand?"

"I'd rather…" Zulas looked away. "With all due respect, Battlemaster. I'd rather if we didn't talk about this."

"Why?" Robin frowned as Zulas looked away. "You can't do this to me. Zulas, I order you. Why don't you want to talk to me about this? Is it because of what your brother has told you about me?"

"Balt has … " Zulas grit his teeth. "Battlemaster, sir! The captured traitor has told me many things about you, and implied that you've committed a great deal of crimes. I want to independently find proof that he's mistaken before this conversation occurs."

The perfect soldier doesn't question his orders… and when he faces the possibility his superiors are corrupt, he believes everything but that possibility. Robin blinked. Zulas truly is the perfect soldier. If only that was a compliment.

"And what if what he says is true, Zulas?"

"…" Zulas swallowed. "Battlemaster, you know what the laws of Valm are. I don't think this is-"

"Too bad." Robin said. "Good to see you haven't changed much, even as the world changes around you. But we haven't the luxury of time, and I don't want to see a wedge driven between us. A tactician is only as strong as the pieces on his board."

"Never one to mince words, were you?"

"It's not my habit, no." Robin said. "Now. Talk to me. Zulas, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to ask you one question." Zulas said. "And I want an answer. An honest answer. And if you do that, we can leave this behind us."

"I understand."

"Did you kill Cervantes?" The question was a knife directed straight at Robin.

So it seemed like Balt has told him that much. Does Balt suspect me of being responsible for Walhart's death as well? Robin's intuition told him that Zulas didn't mean for the question to be a trap, but perhaps the man behind Zulas, Balt, was setting up a trap with this question. I can't refuse to answer, and an outright lie is out of question right now. Robin said. And I can't tell him not to tell Balt, because that'll raise suspicion. Make no mistake. This is as dangerous as any gambit I've attempted.

"No. I did not personally kill Cervantes. But I cannot say that I'm completely blameless in his death, that is, I can't say that I did all in my power to prevent it. I also cannot deny that certain actions I've taken have led to other actions that have caused his death."

"That's not an answer." Zulas said. "That's a jumble of meaningless words."

"Nonetheless, it's the closest thing to the truth I can tell you. But I understand, it's not the kind of answer you wanted to your question. Very well, I'll give that kind of answer then." Robin said. He cannot know the full truth of this matter. But I also cannot lie completely to him, now that Balt's placed some doubts in his head. Well, they do say the best lies are the ones with a grain of truth in them. "Let's try this one. I didn't kill Cervantes, but it wasn't for a lack of trying on my part."

Zulas stared at him, face completely frozen.

"Shock? That's perfectly natural." Robin chuckled. "That's not what you were expecting me to say, right? You wanted me to say something like 'Of course not!' or maybe 'Actually, someone was framing me.'? Something of that nature?"

"I had hoped…"

"Stop." Robin shook his head. "Hope is great, but there's a time and place for hope, and that certainly isn't now. If you want to crack open that particular door, then you're going to have to stop thinking the best of every highly-ranked official of Valm, including me. Now do you understand why I wanted to talk to you about this? I'd rather this come from me than anyone else. I did want Cervantes dead, but trust me when I say it was for good reasons."

"Explain yourself." Zulas challenged.

"Alright." Robin said. First, the lie. "Here what I will tell you – I had nothing to do with his actual death. At the time, I still hadn't worked out who the spymaster was – Ravena and Vermil can confirm that if you ask them. But I did have plans being made to kill who it was."

"You had nothing to do with Cervantes' death?"

"That's correct." Robin said. Thankfully, both Vermil and Ravena know how to keep their mouth shut. "Honestly? I think it was just bad luck on his part. Rumors were going around that Cervantes might have been in line for a promotion due to his work during the rebellions in Valm, so the rebels made him a target. Ignatius and Farber got lucky, and Cervantes didn't. It's kind of ironic that he got killed for his cover role – but if he had been good enough of a spymaster, he'd have seen it coming. But I can't really talk. I didn't see that coming either."

Zulas tightened his grip, white knuckled. "But that still doesn't change the fact that you wanted to kill him and would have attempted it, given the opportunity."

"No. And especially not to someone like you." Robin agreed. "An idealist like you cares more for intent than action."

"Why?"

"…" Robin clasped his hands together, deep in thought. I think it's fine for me to tell the truth from here on out. I don't think Zulas will tell anyone who doesn't already know this. And this is something he can understand. "Are you familiar with the term 'Gray Tactician'?"

"It's who you thought was responsible for the rebellions in Valm."

"Exactly. During which, I had a number of traitors in the Wolfguard." Robin said. "Cervantes helped the Gray Tactician, you see. Half the appointments to the Wolfguard were influenced by the Valmese spymaster, and a fair number of them turned on me as a result of their excessive Valmese pride. All of which were spymaster picks. Essentially, Cervantes sabotaged me. And that was just out of principle, to make my Wolfguard look bad."

"My brother said the two of you had a shadow war, even before that."

"Certainly." Robin said. "I had agents trying to figure out who he was, he had people trying to figure out if I was a traitor. And I would have left it at that, if I had to. But then he raised the bar. He sabotaged the Wolfguard, turning Valm soldiers against me, and that put the fight against the rebels in jeopardy. At that point, he was a traitor to Valm, Zulas. He crippled my fight against the rebels. If not for his actions, Walhart might still be alive today. I was getting prepared to do what needed to be done when, in what can only be described as blind poetic justice, the rebels killed Cervantes first. Not that it would have spared him from me."

"Sic semper proditor." Zulas grit his teeth. "I understand."

"Do you?" Robin asked. "Zulas, do you understand because you want to trust me and believe what I'm saying, or do understand because you genuinely understand my point of view?"

"If you said he's a traitor to Valm, then he's a traitor to Valm." Zulas said. "But I have another question, if that's alright."

"You did only say one at the start of this conversation. Though I think we can make an exception given the revelations you just experienced." Robin said. "Alright. I think I should have time for one more."

"Who is the 'Gray Tactician'?"

"Now that's an odd question." Robin said. "You want to know the identity? Why? You're the type of person to kill rebels without finding out unimportant details like their name. Why are you asking me this?"

"I swore an oath to my brother." Zulas clenched his hands. "He told me that it was the Gray Tactician's fault that Walhart died. I will have vengeance. Robin. No lies. Do you know who this person is?"

"I do not, though I wish I did." Robin honestly said. "The closest I ever came was a corpse, a thug named Ruger that was fairly high up. He almost certainly met the Gray Tactician on at least one occasion, but he was killed well before we found him. As for who it is…"

Was it Hawk, now that I think about it? Hmm. Robin mused. Was it part of his plan to chase me into Plegia? That is what Hawk attempted to do by sending me Aversa. But if that was his intention, he's failed spectacularly. No, there must be another person. Another reason in play.

"…I don't know. Not for certain, and honestly my guess is as good as yours at this point."

"And you're not trying to find out!?"

"When forced to choose between a pressing concern and one that isn't, I'll choose the one that can kill me sooner. As it happens, we're in the middle of a war." Robin said. "Make no mistake. That dastard is going to show himself again, and when that happens, I'll take his head then. But if you feel the need to find out more…"

"Trust me, I do."

"Talk to Morgaine, tell her I give you authority thirteen-twenty five-six." Robin said. "Ask her about the Gray Tactician. From there, you have resources at your own disposal – money, troops, connections – which I'm sure you'll find quite the use for. I'll even transfer Balt to you if you want to use him as a resource. He's a well-trained spy."

"…Are you serious?"

"Zulas." Robin said. "You're my friend. I may be callous when the situation calls for it and downright cold-hearted on occasion, but I will help my friends out. It's part of what makes a person a person, and apparently I've been skating on thin ice in that department lately. Please. Take my help."

"I understand. Thank you."

"I'll be fighting on the front lines with you against Regna Ferox, incidentally." Robin said. "Is that alright?"

"Perfectly." Zulas said. "It'll be just like old times."

-Valm Defenses, North Plegian Desert, One Week Later-

"They're approaching us, Battlemaster."

"I can see that." The fortification had been completed, and Robin stood atop a constructed wooden tower. The Valmese army had sent up defenses, archers at the ready, a palisade to fall back to, and had assembled in a giant sea of red. Plegians who wanted revenge of Regna Ferox had joined them, alongside loyalists who would follow the true heir of Plegia, but Robin couldn't bolster their numbers above 60,000 men. And an all-consuming wave of Feroxians were on the march. As they march, they pounded their axes against their shields, sending a drumming vibration ahead of them.

"Interesting." Ravena commented.

"What?"

"This is a trap for Regna Ferox, which works because you've split our forces in half." Ravena noted. "But if you didn't, you might have lured Ylisse to this trap as well and defeated everyone in one fell blow."

"It would have been riskier." Robin said. "The odds of a complete victory aren't as good. Too many variables at play. It's possible that we'd see success, or we might accidentally scare them off. This allows us to have the highest possibility of success."

"And the fact that this course of actions leads to the highest likelihood of Chrom surrendering peacefully has nothing to do with it?"

"Of course it does." Robin said. "After all, that's the best outcome for the war. The one with the lowest number of deaths, and the surest chance of a lack of an Ylissean insurrection."

"…And that's the only reason?"

"…Of course." Robin said, after a pause. "Ravena, this isn't the time for this conversation. We'll have it later. For the time being, we need to focus on the now."

"Alright. Then what do we do, Robin?" Zulas asked.

"Regarding our current situation, we hold out." Robin said. "Lock shields, hold our ground, and make them pay with blood for every inch. Even under these conditions, I could last for two weeks with defense alone. But we'll need even less than that."

"You're confident." Dant noted.

"Oh, victory will be ours, make no mistake." Robin said. "At this point, it's really just a question of what losses we'll take. Argeni."

"Yes?"

Honestly, we have no more reason to fight them. If they're willing to let me have Plegia, we can end this war with no more dead right now. Robin thought. It's a long shot, to be sure, but we're in a strategically advantageous position now, with our approaching army. If we get Regna Ferox to agree, then Chrom should be easy to persuade. The odds are slim, of course – I didn't lie to Ignatius about that. But a slim chance is certainly better than none.

"Signal for a parley. Let's give this one chance to stop the war."

Argeni nodded and gave a command to some of her subordinates. A large flag was raised on the Valm side, indicating that they were asking for a parley before the battle began. Robin accepted a spyglass from an aide and focused on the lead Feroxi army where the two Khans were so that he could clearly see what response they'd give, their facial expressions and everything of that nature. It'd be useful to know whether or not they were enthusiastic about the parley or just doing it out of a sense of duty.

Basilio responded to the request with both his middle fingers.