"Prepare the defenses. I want you to arm every able-bodied man in the city. We shall need all the help we can get." Ethan gazed at the three men beside him. He had steeled his thoughts and calmed down before speaking.
"As you wish, Your Majesty," Asher replied solemnly, and with a curt bow, he departed the war room.
Turning towards Magnus, Ethan said, "Make sure all the women and children are safe. Escort them to the throne room and barricade the door. They should be kept safe at all costs!"
"Yes, Your Majesty," the man spoke and departed soon after.
With that completed, Ethan dismissed the meeting, and the last remaining commander called Rowan Nightshade. He was also middle-aged, possessed a wiry frame, and his raven-black mane fell in loose waves, touching his shoulders.
Ethan gazed at the man as he walked out. He could not help but shiver slightly. The man had a mysterious and frightening aura surrounding him, and his long hair and dark brown eyes made him seem even more so.
Shaking his head, Ethan discarded the distracting thoughts and called out, "William!"
The old man walked into the room as if he awaited Ethan's command. Pushing the doors open, he waited for Ethan to continue.
"I want to partake in this battle. Is there any armor that I can wear to battle?" Ethan asked, a quiver of fear still ringing in his tone, but he was determined. He had thought about it and wanted to experience the battle for himself.
There would be nothing else he could do if the enemy were to successfully breach the city.
William's expression changed visibly, and he shouted out, "Your Majesty, you can't!" The shock was evident in his expression, and fear lingered in between.
"Your Majesty is the sole remaining heir to the Darkwood royal family and if you were to fall the kingdom would as well. Your Majesty isn't even a late stage Trainee, battling on the walls is suicide!" he called out as he tried to reason with Ethan.
"William!" Ethan shouted to silence the man from his incessant rambling.
"I don't even know if we can survive this battle. We are heavily outgunned and outnumbered. At least this way, if they were to breach the walls, I could die as another soldier they would need to kill. I would rather die fighting on the walls than wait for death hiding behind the walls!" Ethan spoke. With every word, his conviction grew stronger. He began to speak louder and louder, with strength in his voice.
William stared at the young king, stupefied and unable to refute. Yet his expression turned from shock to admiration and then acceptance. He, too, knew the chances of surviving were slim and could only accept the young king's declaration.
With a sigh, a slow and soft smile crept on William's face. 'A tiger cub still is a tiger cub, no matter how weak,' he silently thought.
"Very well then, your majesty. The previous king had a second set of armor that he rarely used, stashed away in the storage for emergency use."
"Good! Prepare it for me, I will be there shortly!" Ethan smiled brightly.
After William left, Ethan's face changed at a visible rate. He had spoken his conviction to battle on the walls, and he was determined to do so, but if anything, he wanted to live longer, and there was only one thing that could help him now.
He browsed the system quickly, intent on finding something that could help him in the war. Contrary to his hole-filled thoughts, the system had nothing to help him.
"Shit!" he cursed under his breath. This was not something he had foreseen happening. Usually, based on the system novels he had read back on earth, there was at least a starter pack or something to help him but there was nothing of the sort.
Yet, for all the frustration and anxiety he felt, screaming and cursing the system would not solve anything; it would not get him out of his current predicament, and thus, he accepted it with a bitter smile.
"There must be something I can do? I can't die here! I want to explore this world!" he muttered under his breath as his mind raced on possible ways to overcome this predicament and win this battle.
His mind raced to the men under his command, specifically the stages of warriors. The warriors had stages between 1 and 10, whereas the trainees, being literal trainees on the power scale, only had three realms: early, mid, and late stages.
Trainees are warriors who are significantly stronger than normal humans, to the point of almost being superhumans.
In the world of Tallania, where the continent of Valeria was, the warriors cultivated using breathing techniques. These techniques enabled them to inhale the vortex mana in the air and cultivate it, growing stronger.
However, warriors at the trainee stage are not able to use breathing techniques properly as they have not broken through to the Disciple rank; thus, they train their bodies in all sorts of extreme ways to increase their strength.
Only once the body is strong enough to contain the vortex mana/ elements are they able to advance.
Thus, trainees were still considered humans in all regards.
At this point, a thought popped up in Ethan's head: "Fire! That means the fire could still kill them!" he realized and shouted out in excitement.
Ethan rushed outside to the courtyard and called for Rowan. "I want you to collect all the possible hay and bale and spread it in the field about 70 meters away from the wall. Use whatever oil and flammable liquids and objects you have as well!"
"Tell the soldiers to get fire cauldrons on the wall and ready the archers. When they are in shooting distance shoot fire arrows at the fields. We will use the fire to block most of the men and those which the fire doesn't kill, we will!'"
"Now go! Make haste!" he urged, his eyes gleaming with a smile.