Here's an observation--it was only in the second battle, in the Mountains of Betrayal, that it was an 'epic battle' that we all got notified for. The first battle in Inklen did not trigger that report.
If he didn't recruit any troops along the way, then their training/cohesion must have increased sufficiently (maybe from 7990 CS to 8010 CS) for the second report to be reported as 'epic' and give them away.
Also, they must not have taken much in the way of casualties or damage in Inklen, or they can repair damage in the field.