"general Andres, please give them the report our spies have given, detailing every suspicious activity of Arian that made us believe they plan to go to war with us which cannot be avoided at this point" I order him. He was sitting on my right in the first seat. The seating of every generals are organized as such that the strongest or the wealthiest dukedom of Fiore would be situated closest to the head seat— the king.
This is one of the reasons why the infernos are the greatest thorn to me, not only because they are the leading figure to oppose me, but also because of their bottomless wealth, not to mention the queen is general Logan's elder sister. It makes me weary of who I want to associate with because anyone can be brought over with wealth and the vast influence of the queen. So even though there are three generals backing me, I can only put my faith and trust on general Andres as I know he will never betray me.
The wealth of inferno equals that of the royal family, that's what makes him one of the strongest duke and loyal, not to me but to his nephew, the second Marshal Derek. My dear half brother, my elder brother Derek De Lampetia Fiore, the first child of the queen. Therefore he was given a name that determines his life 'to be king' on his birth, a fitting name for someone who was in direct line to the throne, but because he didn't possess magic, the main quality of a king, he couldn't take the throne. But he excelled in swordsmanship rising to the title of a Marshal dividing the noble factions in two.
I personally know the strength of Derek. After all, we were both taught by the same teacher, general Andres Carnell. He is the strongest aura user in the entire continent, the protector of the north not only from the invasions of barbarians but also the demonic beast that roams the mountains.
Even though the influence of his existence has brought me nothing but a headache, I do not hate him and I try not to love him but fail all the time, I can do nothing but acknowledge that. His existence brings some colours to this dull life of mine.
But I cannot show my affection towards him, I'm afraid of my fragile heart breaking again. Time has done nothing but weather it away leaving only a hollow behind. Only now has it started beating again from the warmth of a family I feel from my brother, so I cannot let it be seem by others or it will become a weakness to be used. His jet black hair falls slightly covering his pale sapphire eyes that screams with handsomeness, distinguishes him as a pure royal as he is the exact copy of the late king. His black military uniform highlights his pale skin complimenting it.
I used to hate how I looked when I was young. Nothing of mine can prove my royal blood as I was born with platinum silver hair with ocean green eyes, highlighted by my pale skin, anyone who looks would not be able to tell by lineage unless told so.
"On those documents are the intel's on the enemy reported by the scouts" I said, as I got up from my seat and walked towards the continental map displayed on the wall to my right.
" Now then, let's discuss some battle tactics on defending our northern border and winning this upcoming war keeping in mind they might or might not be aware of our knowledge on their invasion" I continued, studying the location near the northern border, looking for the best possible battlefield sites that can put us at an advantage. In these three days me, Andres and Derek went over and over thinking of the best strategy for a sure victory. We did come up with few but they are not full proof, each has a loop hole we discovered and a parts that highly relied on certain people. These factors were not favorable to me but nothing can be done when our nemesis is approaching soon.
" If it's the northern border, it would be surrounded by mountains and few flatlands, the climate there is also unpredictable so why would they choose to attack us from there when they would clearly be at a disadvantage?" questioned general Logan.
" It's quite the opposite actually " spoke Derek, finally opening his mouth for the first time since this assembly started. " The soldiers that guard our northern border are quite less compared to others, even though they might be our strongest, they will still out numbered if they are deployed on the battlefield alone. That means not all soldiers are experienced with the harsh weather of North, as that is the only part that faces eternal winter while the rest of the kingdom is blessed with all four seasons"
He paused, looking at all the present members before continuing. " Just imagine what would happen if our inexperienced soldiers fought against Arian's experienced ones especially if they are out numbered or with the factors of demonic beast involved"
" are you stating that Arian can control demonic beast?" Exclaimed general William, sitting on his right, on the side of the table, close to the vacant seat next to Derek that was meant to be mine.
" It's a possibility due to the decrease in number of demonic beast spotted near the northern border. And there have been sightings of dark mages as well" I replied. Dark mages uses shadows and powers of darkness in combat. Fiore has it own company of 200 dark mages specialized in assassination and scouts, but there has never been a dark mage powerful enough to control demonic beast until now.
Everyone, doesn't matter if they let out a gasp or not, were evidently shocked as they didn't look at the total number of soldiers the enemy possesses, or the irregular abilities within.
"Their total number that we are aware of is 400,000 and that is just the soldiers they have trained. There is a possibility that they might hire mercenaries so to estimate it roughly that would be a total of 410,000 which would include their mage unit, cavalry, sharpshooters and gladiators not to mention to their royal knights and magic swordsman. Also if they are now able to control demonic beast then we will be at a very big disadvantage " I continued. "we need to think of something that can give us a sure victory, without much casualties. So, keeping this in mind I want to hear everyone's thoughts and opinions of our approach for the war"
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I have finally caught up.
yay!!!
as promised from last week I'll shortly release 1 additional chapter as a bonus for the inconveniences caused so enjoy and make sure to vote and leave a comment pls!!