The moment General Tiberius gave the order to retreat, an icy wave of shock rippled through the Graecia army. For over six arduous months, they had fought on these bloody slopes of the Korokor Mountains, each confrontation ending in a hard-earned victory. Even though every battle carried casualties and tested their endurance, they had never tasted the sting of outright defeat.
Yet now, for the very first time, the call to withdraw echoed across the battlefield.
Despite the surprise, the men and women of Graecia were seasoned soldiers—fighters who had survived years, some even decades, in the unforgiving Land of the Three Calamities. Their discipline did not waver. While a knot of dread twisted in their stomachs, they reacted swiftly, trusting in General Tiberius's judgment. They had not become veterans by hesitating.
