“Yes,” said Loaf. “I’ve led men in battle. They don’t have to have fought a huge army. They just have to have fought somebody. They have to know what it means to stand their ground, to fight loyally beside their comrades. To depend on each other. And to win.”

“So there will be killing in the raids,” said Rigg.

“There’ll be fighting,” said Loaf. “That’s all we need. Yes, a few will die—with luck, only the enemy. But we’ll train our men not to charge in and slaughter the enemy. We’ll train them to disarm captives and control them. We’ll train them for as bloodless a victory as possible. Out of those defeated, demoralized soldiers, we might find many recruits for our own cause. But yes, if they face soldiers who stand and fight, then our men will have to kill them until the rest of them stop fighting. Or nobody’s standing.” Loaf looked around at the others, as if the fierceness of his gaze would convince them.

Olivenko was nodding. “Loaf has fought in war. I never have. But I’ve read about battles till I nearly went blind, and it’s the simple truth. Training is essential, but it’s not enough. You have to blood your soldiers. Maybe not all of them, but enough to hold the fabric together on the battlefield. Things don’t always go your way, even if you achieve surprise. There has to be a cadre that will stand their ground, someone that the others can rally around. That brave cadre is never composed of green troops. It’s always composed of tough veterans.”

“So the raids are to gather supplies and weapons and demoralize the enemy,” said Param. “But they’re also to turn some of our soldiers into those tough veterans.”

“Then there’s no choice at all,” said Umbo.

“There’s a choice,” said Olivenko. “If we take the second path—a green army that appears out of nowhere—I think we have a good chance of winning. Better than even odds. But Haddamander’s soldiers have experience—even if it’s only terrorizing villagers or beating down pathetic village revolts. They’ll know the sight of blood. And they’ll know the terrible things they’ve done, so they’ll believe that their enemy will have no mercy on them if they lose. There’s a chance they’ll have the cadre of veterans that the rest of the army rallies around. I give them one chance in three of winning.”

“Not good enough,” said Rigg.

“If we have a thousand soldiers who’ve taken part in raids,” said Loaf, “what does that do to our odds in that battle?”