Malin shaved the beard off his face and looked at himself in the mirror, with his youthful life smiling back at him.
According to intelligence from the North, news of Malin's return had already spread along the battlefront from north to south. Soldiers from both sides began to openly defy their commanders' orders — in fact, even the lower-ranking officers in the Northernist army had faith in Malin's coming.
Only in the noble army, fearing rebellion, the officers didn't have the courage to suppress it.
There were nobles who entertained illusions about Malin's arrival, especially among the smaller nations between Sydney and the Northern Kingdom. Many nobles were eager for action, believing that as a prince, Malin would surely defend the nobility's honor, and some nobles couldn't wait to join Malin and set the North right again.
