"Throw this! Can it still be thrown?"
...
When Winters and Mason hurried back to the main camp, Jeska's battalion was assembling.
In the area allocated for the militia support troops, the reprimands of centurions rose and fell in succession.
One of the keys to forming ranks quickly was for everyone to know their place, and it was obvious that the Paratu militia did not quite grasp this.
Seeing the two centurions return to their troops only now, Colonel Jeska showed some displeasure, "Where have you been?"
"If Montaigne hadn't come for me, I wouldn't even know there was an urgent assembly," Lieutenant Mason asked the colonel with suppressed anxiety, "Sir, just how many Herders have come?"
"Don't know yet," Jeska's expression was grim, "Get your men ready first."
Jeska's battalion had not been directly involved in last night's siege. Half of Winters' subordinates were on trench duty, while the rest were on standby in the camp.