The soldiers gave him a crisp salute. They'd already been used in several Battle board games before him, but that didn't make them slack in their discipline. They were ready and willing. Blackwell found that he didn't mind the formation that he had been left with, as balanced as it was.
Broadstone, however, had netted even more archers for himself. Blackwell tutted at the sight, thinking it to be typical from the defensively minded General. 'Which is why he would not know properly the nature of the stratagem that Karstly presented me with…' he thought, revealing to himself that the wound still hadn't begun to heal properly between them.
With his formation, Blackwell thought that his opponent made his intentions obvious. He'd play a defensive battle, just as he would in the real world, and he'd hope that Blackwell and his troops would have to pay a hefty price for fighting through his arrow storm – enough that Broadstone would be able to turn the tide with a crushing counterattack.
