Since he had made this decision, the first question he had to consider was: should he personally go to the king's city?
This would be the first time the First Army of Border Town fought a battle far away from the Western Region. Unlike the previous cases of defensive warfare, there were sure to be problems caused by unfamiliarity with the terrain. It was unclear how well they would fight without being able to set the battlefield. Roland felt that he could not be at ease if he did not go—though his military knowledge was heavily limited, his understanding of firearms was certainly ahead of the times.