The third chapter finds us following our protag into his new assignment. He is disoriented and is being introduced to a new collective of people. We learn about his place of birth by learning about where the other people come from. He is being introduced to people who have no interest in him save for one woman who keeps looking at him. She is with the others and does not appear to have a high rank but he discovers she is important.
We learn about the rank system here and how it differs from unit to unit as well as how each of these different forces that comprise the bulk of the national army are actually independent units who serve different lords and represent different tribes. This is something he knows but he is surprised by how far east this unit has come from as it is unusual for groups from this region to range this far. They should be at the other border between the five realms but they aren’t. They are here to get action and because they are known for their aggressive nature. They also have a magic user. He doesn’t feel them because they are not here presently, but that makes the unit more valuable and its leader, the lady, more important and influential.
Following the raid they are given orders to push forward with several other units (including his old one) and finish the push to take the mage from this upstart barbarian horde that has been ranging between two kingdoms. Their opposite number from the other region has pushed down and trapped them. This means they will be trying to end the threat and show out to their opposite number who’ve been maintaining a ceasefire for an extremely long time.
This is where the full plot begins to develop. The woman wants to task him to cross the border and perform a mission for her.