Everyone went silent after what I said, looks of horror and disbelief displayed out in full glory by the generals and major generals. Actually about Arian having a dark mage which can control a demonic beast isn't confirmed yet, but the spotting of dark mages at their borders has to be taken to consideration especially when we have an irregular and strategic patterns of demonic beast invasion recently and their decrease in numbers shortly after.
"Your highness! You said this would be equivalent to a playgrounds war that we don't need direct support from his Majesty but this is plainly far beyond that. We should seek for his Majesty the king, only he can lead us to victory" said general Henry, third seat on my right, evidently displaying his displeasure with how things were going.
"Well I can understand your insecurities about me leading this war, but rest assured, when I said it would be similar to a playground war, I meant that I had a plan that could guarantee a victory if everything goes accordingly, and the tactics to be italicized has also been approved by his Majesty, isn't that right Marshall Derek?" I asked him, more of a statement for him to acknowledge so that everyone would agree without causing any internal strife when they come to question the absence of his Majesty.
Derek found out about the death of king Athenis on that same day. He didn't look surprised as if he was expecting it to happen. He didn't say anything when I came out the master bedroom of king Athenis, he just stood there leaning against the wall for support before his trembling legs gave up on him. He had that forced smile adorn his face with those lifeless eyes when it came in contact with mine, as if he had lost something very precious to him but still trying to act like it didn't affect him only to fail miserably with that mourning look.
I can never come to understand him, how can he love a heartless man or maybe he's just heartless to me and not him. But for some reason my expression mirrored his.
"Are you that confident that what you have planned will give us a victory against Arian" asked General Logan, paying full attention to this pressing matter at hand. This is the only thing I have come to acknowledge about this man. He will ignore all the disagreement between people in the past and focus on the vital issues, even to the point where he wouldn't hesitate to work with the enemy if it's beneficial to him or the kingdom, no matter how many times someone tries to persuade him, he will remain adamant.
"If I wasn't confident in winning then his Majesty wouldn't put me in charge " I replied back with as much seriousness I could muster.
He stared at me for a good while, perhaps searching for something, and he have found it when his expression loosened up "I see, then after discussing your war tactics the inferno field army will support you fully if it's to my satisfaction " he said, not loosing eye contact.
"your support will be much appreciated, general Logan " l replied with a sigh, one problem out of the way. With the support of general Logan, I can confidently say that I have received the full support from the members of the war council even if they don't support me politically.
"Now that we have our unity of command decided with everyone cooperating, let's discuss the battle itself full in depth. Major general Feodore, if you will? " asked Derek, pleased with how things were processing far better than he expected.
"Yes your highness " he replied. Major general Feodore is part of the field army commanded by general Andres in the north where the war will take place, a respectable noble with the title of marquis. He passed a map of the northern border of Fiore and spread it across the table detailing all the mountainous areas with the delicate contour lines showing it's steepness.
"With the information gathered so far, Arian plans to use the two mountains separating the two countries as a shield from the eastern and western sides to protect their base which will have communications with their military district in Arian and their high powered long distance weapons. The steepness of the mountain side facing the enemy will put us at a disadvantage because we will be easily spotted and a small group won't be able to do much damage " Feodore stated, analyzing the field then looking at me with a grave face, waiting for my tactics that would decide the lives of hundreds if not thousands of soldiers.
"We will use a pincer attack, a 'U' shaped formation and go around the mountains to attack the base first, a simultaneous attack to disrupt their communications with Arian and their commander who will most likely be at the front lines leading the attack" I paused, letting the information sink in before continuing "once their communications is down it will cause a panic, we need to take advantage of the panic and do two things. One, scorch their weapons and anything useful to them, and two, raid their supplies to win if this war drags on to a battle of attrition"
"There is a major flaw in the strategy. The entire success of this war will depend on how long the midlane can hold off the enemy but we don't know how long our right and left flanks will take to reach the enemy's rear and if the rear is fortified more than our expectations then the pincer attack will fail" he said while studying the terrains near the mountains. "what will you do in that situation, princess?" he asked, now observing my reactions.
"Well spotted general Logan, I have also thought of those situations, and the possible solution to this is very simple in fact. What we need when we do a pincer attack is not only strength, but also the experience of the harsh snow terrain to be able to adapt to any unexpected situations. And for that, I think everyone would agree that the army under general Andres is best suited for it, as they have years of experience by living in the environment and even protecting the northern borders from those demonic beasts continuously" I replied.