"What do you mean, the beasts started to transform?" The Grand Duke's voice was laced with disbelief as he sat in his tent at the temporary camp set up by the Wyvern Knights.
Patricus, his second-in-command, stood before him, his face grim. "It is exactly as I've said, my lord. The beasts that were with the barbarians started to change shape grotesquely. Bones popped outside, and the entire scene was absolutely disgusting."
The Grand Duke furrowed his brow. "Did you bring a few corpses with you to perform tests on?"
"Yes, sir," Patricus replied with a light nod.
"I assume the mage unit is already doing tests on these creatures," the Grand Duke asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, your majesty. The general could not hold himself back once he saw the mangled corpse of the beast," Patricus said with a flicker of a smile.
"Huff, that guy really needs to learn some restraint," Dante muttered as he rubbed his forehead in annoyance. "Anyway, how many did we lose?"
"Forty light cavalry soldiers, 25 scouts, and quite a few injured," Patricus explained with a serious expression on his face.
"Benjamin, ask the healer unit to treat the wounded and send 10 aurei {plural for aureus. coinage is divided into three main classes; gold (aureus), silver (denarius), and brass (sestertius)}to the families of all the deceased," the Grand Duke instructed his butler, who was standing by his side.
"Understood, sir," Benjamin replied before leaving the tent.
"Now, give me a proper report on the battle. I want to know more about the strategy these bastards are using," the Grand Duke said, turning his attention back to Patricus.
Patricus stood at attention as he reported to the Grand Duke. "They seemed to know all our movements, your Highness. They had even prepared a pike wall beforehand in preparation for our light cavalry."
The Grand Duke's eyes raised in surprise. "You're trying to tell me the barbarians have started to organize themselves?"
Patricus nodded solemnly. "Precisely, your Highness. But they even seem to have a decent degree of intelligence about the functioning of our army."
the Wyvern Knight spoke up. "But they seemed to be unaware of the existence of the mage unit."
Dante, remained silent, lost in thought. Patricus grew concerned at the lack of response. "What should we do, Your Majesty?"
Dante snapped out of his thoughts. "Nothing, proceed as planned. Coordinate with the other commanders and generals and start guerrilla warfare... as for the spies, I will take care of them."
Patricus nodded in understanding and left the room. Nicholas who had remained silent up until now, curious about Dante's plans asked, "What are you planning to do about the spies?"
Dante grinned. "Let's just say I have something special planned."
Nicholas raised an eyebrow, but Dante didn't elaborate. "You won't tell me?"
"I'm sure you'll figure it out… give it some thought," Dante replied, still grinning.
Nicholas shifted the topic. "What do we do about the boy?"
Dante chuckled. "What else? He wanted to go on the battlefield himself. I should at least let him have a taste of it once, right?"
Nicholas nodded in agreement. "Fair enough."
"But of course, I have no intention of sending him to the battlefield just yet. That would practically be a death sentence. Perhaps when I join the fray, I will take him along with me," Dante said.
Nicholas raised an eyebrow in concern. "Would that not be a worse idea?"
"He would be safest being with me, is how I think of it," Dante said with confidence.
Nicholas shrugged. "Fine, whatever. Also, how will you do his training today?"
"I'll do it personally. There's nothing major going on right now, and I have taken care of all the urgent issues," Dante replied.
Nicholas nodded in understanding. "I see. Well, I will be observing you from the sidelines then."
Dante nodded and got up from his seat. "You can do whatever you want." He left the tent and shouted "JOHN" once he was outside, alerting pretty much everyone at the camp.
A minute later, the young prince could be seen sprinting towards the grand duke's tent with a wooden sword in his hands, his breaths heavy from the exertion. His eagerness was palpable as he stood before the grand duke, John's eyes shining with anticipation.
"Yes sir," John said as he reached the grand duke and stood up straight.
"Let's go, it's time for training," Dante said as he walked towards a temporary training area prepared in the camp.
John followed closely behind Dante as they made their way to the training area. Once they arrived, Dante spoke in a serious tone, "We will be training with real swords from now on…since you were so eager to go into a battlefield, you best be prepared to train like you are in one. Any and all dirty tricks are allowed, there is no need for chivalry or any of that bullshit inside a battlefield. If you think you can fight with that kind of mindset, you should save both our times and return to the castle right now."
John nodded in understanding. He, too, had been a part of many wars, and his past life was anything but peaceful. "Understood, sir."
"Good," Dante said, pleased with John's response. He gestured to a nearby soldier and ordered him to fetch two real swords.
"By the way, I want you to know right from the start, I have no intention of teaching you my sword art. If you want to use fancy techniques, either create your own or find one somewhere out in the world. Personally, I'd suggest you create your own sword art like I did, but that is totally up to you." Dante said as he took the sword from the soldier.
"Hmmm, alright, I am okay with that, but in case I decide to make my own sword art, would you be willing to help me out in the process?" John asked as he exchanged his wooden sword with the real one that the soldier brought him.
"Yeah sure, why not. But for the time being, we need to get your basics straight. Since the fundamentals of the sword and the spear are completely different before you can do that, don't even think of creating something when you can barely move your body," Dante said, his voice filled with authority and conviction.
"Yes sir," John said, understanding the importance of building a strong foundation before moving on to more advanced techniques. He nodded his head, eager to begin his training.
Dante stood with his sword pointed towards the ground and instructed John, "Now take your stance. I will instruct you as we fight, so come at me."
John replied, "Yes, sir," as he pointed his sword up, almost as if he was holding a spear.
Dante commented, "There is no point in keeping your sword up like that. Only a fool who has no experience in warfare would keep their sword up. Rather, keep it low. Unlike with a spear, having a lower stance will give your weapon more freedom of movement."
He showed John the amount of flexibility a relaxed position could give an attack. From an up-slash to a redirect downward slash, to a redirect side slash, and ending it off with a straight stab. It was unlike the only possible move you could do with an upright stance when using a sword, the downward slash.
John replied, "Yes, sir," and fixed his stance. He then launched himself towards Dante.
Dante commented, "Your footwork is all screwed up. Unlike with a spear where you have to keep your distance, it is much more beneficial for you to approach the enemy. So try to change your movement towards the enemy, not away."
He then kicked John's leg before the kid could approach him and punched him straight in the face.
John muttered, "Yes, sir," as he got up and took his stance once more. He then launched towards Dante once more.
Dante said, "You are fighting someone taller, faster, and stronger than you right now. If you give me any wiggle room, you'll get hit. Now go back and come at me again." He deflected John's sword and punched his stomach.
As the sun slowly settled down, John's training session with the grand duke continued. The number of times he had gotten punched by the time their training had ended was already too many to keep track of. However, there was one thing that made Dante happy—the rate at which John was accepting his suggestions. The boy practically perfected every suggestion after his third attempt.
Nicholas, who was looking at this scene from the outside, was absolutely shocked at the insane growth rate of the young prince. Of course, the kid was nowhere near ready to fight properly yet. After all, he had to take a break every 10 minutes, but even that was impressive considering his physique.
At an undisclosed location, a shrouded man listened to reports of the progress of the barbarians they had been supporting. His blood-red eyes fixed on Caelum, who knelt before him, stuttering out his report.
"You're telling me that after all the support we've given those barbarians, they're still losing?" The shrouded man's voice was low and dangerous.
"Y-y-yes, my l-l-lord," Caelum managed to say before his body was violently jerked away, his throat caught in the shrouded man's grip.
"Caelum, do you remember what I told you last time you visited me?" The shrouded man's blood-red eyes bored into Caelum's bright green, tear-filled eyes.
"Y-y-yes, s-sir, ughh," Caelum barely managed to breathe out as the chokehold tightened.
"And what did I tell you not to do?" the shrouded man asked, cocking his head to the left.
"You told ugh, me not to disappoint you, sir," Caelum choked out. He struggled for air, but the terror he felt was not from lack of oxygen but from those deep, penetrating eyes.
"And how do you think I'm feeling right now?" the shrouded man asked.
"Disappointed, sir," Caelum gasped, barely able to speak.
"So you do know," the shrouded man said, tightening his grip even more. "Then what is the meaning of this failure?"
"I-I-I-I-I am sorry, my lord… just one last chance, sir… I will take care of this myself," Caelum said, his mouth foaming slowly.
"Fuuuuuhhh," the shrouded man exhaled, "this has made it quite difficult for me to face Father. Pollux, how do you suggest I take care of this?"
Pollux, who was standing at the edge of the room, sweating profusely, answered, "You should forgive him after we kill all his family members, as punishment, of course."
"Hmmm, alright," the shrouded man said, nodding in agreement. "Caelum, you have until tomorrow afternoon to bring me the heads of your family members. Perhaps my disappointment in you will be satiated after this."
He released his grip on Caelum's throat, and the man was launched into the back wall of the massive hall with a loud THUD.
"Y-y-yes, my lord," Caelum said as he stood up, his body now bloodied and battered.
"You may leave now," the shrouded man said, paying no attention to Caelum as he struggled to walk out of the room.
The shrouded man's attention turned towards Pollux. "Pollux, has the high king responded?" he asked, his deep voice resonating in the otherwise silent room.
"Yes, my lord. He has agreed to ally with us," Pollux responded, avoiding the shrouded man's piercing gaze by staring intently at the floor.
The shrouded man remained silent for a moment, his mind lost in contemplation. Finally, he nodded slightly and said, "Well, we have at least one piece of good news today."
Pollux let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. He didn't dare speak, knowing that any noise or movement might draw unwanted attention.
"You, too, may leave," the shrouded man said, dismissing Pollux and turning his attention back to the maps and reports spread out on his table.
Pollux bowed deeply, backing out of the room slowly until he was out of sight.