"Welcome to the Second Trial of the Saint of War's Trial, The Trial Of Wisdom."
"Welcome to the Second Trial of the Saint of War's Trial, The Trial Of Wisdom."
"Welcome to the Second Trial of the Saint of War's Trial, The Trial Of Wisdom."
So there really isn't much of a breather. I can understand why people would fail this test now. It not only pushed your skills to the test, it would also mentally test you, James realized. To be able to keep a high focus for an extended period of time was heavily taxing on the mind.
By now, James already felt like his brain was about to implode, but somehow, it had a certain refreshing feeling to it. James had always liked to push past his limits, albeit he was a bit lazy to do so.
He then noticed that he was in a tent of sorts, surrounded by soldiers eagerly looking at him.
"General, when are we going to set out to fight? The enemies have already started to breach our defensive lines and are currently taking ofensive positions. According to our scouts information, they outnumber us by 500 men."
"What does our army's condition look like?" - James asked this, nervously.
"We have been fighting for the last week, sire. Our morale has suffered through each of our defeats and as such, if we were to clash directly with the enemy, our losses would be tremendous. Defeat will be the least worriesome of our problems."
"Unless general thinks up of something, I can only suggested we retreat, lest our army be wiped out."
"How does the geography surronding this area look like? Are there any wild beasts?"
James had begun to think of several different methods that used to be extremely effective in the ancient era of cold weapons. In such times, winning a battle didn't rely on just outnumbering your opponents, it was also the time were tactics played a big role in battles. Of course, extreme strenght trumps all schemes, but tactical warfare was a must in this era.
One could say that Terranova's world was precisely in that era.
"This is a mountainous region, and a pretty austere for that matter. The only wild beasts should be a few wolfs, nothing too major. This is located in a valley, and the enemy only has one way to attack us."
"Is there any wood in stock?"
"Yes sire, there is plenty of wood, and logs at that. Do you wish to really do that?" The soldier looked at his general with a frightened look in his face.
"Indeed. The greatest victory is that which requires no battle. Even though it can be considered to be inhumane, war is just that. It's survival of the fittest, winners are the just and correct ones while the loser ends up being villanized."
"Ready the army, men. Arrange into battle formation and await your enemy."
Meanwhile, James started formulating a plan in his head. Although the war was looking lost, James had the advantage in this fight. He was playing on the home ground , and he wouldn't fight fair.
Since the enemy only had a way to come up to them, James would think of several ways to try and booby trap the path of his enemies. From hidden holes covered in spikes and ditches, to sending burning logs rolling at them, James would spare no mean, humane or not, to defeat his enemy.
Once James saw the first sign of enemies in his horizon, he told his men to stand down and stay in formation. They would await their enemies to arrive.
The enemies suffered some light losses, especially their horses, which many were injured due to falling in the ditches. As such, the slight advantage that the enemies had, their numbers, started to dwindle.
Once their enemy finally stood against their formation, James ordered the few hundreds he had stationed in the base with him to flank their enemies. To do this, James had sacrificed some defenses in the main army, making it look enticing to the enemy.
As soon as the enemy understood that their army had been flanked, they started to break formation and panic. The most important step was just about to come up, and that was to kill the enemy general.
James had planned to do so in the midst of this confusion. Just as he had planned, due to the pannicked state of the enemy army, James was able to slip his way into the deep enemy lines and assasinate the enemy general.
The other was fighting on foot, and one would not be able to distinguish him were it not for the fact that he was able to fight about a dozen soldiers at a time. James took the opportunity and once he saw an opening, James took it and beheaded the enemy general.
Once he did so, James got a system warning.
James instantly decided against it. You shouldn't push a cornered beast, lest it bite your hand. If James really intended to decimate the enemy, the losses he would incur on his own would be far too grave.
Once James selected the option to not continue chasing his enemy, he heard a voice. James was creeped out. He was instantly transported to a different place, and that's when he understood that everything had just been a vision, not one bit of it was real.
Guess that explains why my Experience wasn't going up.
He saw a small, old man standing next to him. Once he saw the man and read his name, James understood what he had been trough.
"General Sun Tzu, Ancient Saint of War, Level ???, Celestial Warrior,Legendary"
Description: Developed the Art of War, and managed to impress even the God of War during his time as a Saint of War. Extremely wise, devoted yet passionate.
"You know, you really suprised me there young boy. To be overcome with bloodlust in the midst of battle is not an uncommon thing to happen. Indeed, to not chase the enemy there was actually the correct answer."
"Had you really chosen to do so, you would indeed win that battle, but the heavy losses you'd incur in the army would eventually lead to a seed of doubt to grow in the mind of your soldiers. Had that indeed happened, sooner or later, you would lose the slight advantage you had won in this war, and you'd most likely end up losing it."
"As such, you can be considered to have done a pretty good job. Although harsh, your manners never disrespected your opponent. Very rarely do people get such a good result in this trial. Well done."
"I will now take you to the Third Trial. Are you ready?"
< System Warning >:" You will now undertake the Third Trial of the Saint of War's Trials, The Trial of Will. Are you ready?"
James selected the "Ready" option and was taken somewhere else.
< System Warning > : "You have entered the God Council!"