King Carmine was awoken with a loud pounding at the door. Pushing one of the prostitutes aside, he stared at the closed door angrily, before shouting, “Come in!”

A rather pale and anxiety-stricken Lieutenant Colonel Windfell rushed into the room, the many medals he had pinned on his uniform through generous contributions of wealth to the state making a loud tinkling noise as he entered.

“What is it about? I gave strict instructions not to be disturbed when I am sleeping!” King Carmine shouted, his voice causing one of the prostitutes to stir a little.

Windfell immediately went on his knees, stuttering. He had resisted reporting the various requests as he was well aware of the king’s temperament to being awoken in his sleep but Colonel Hassan had arrived at the Imperial Castle and threatened to challenge Windfell to a duel if he did not convey the immediate seriousness of the situation. In fact, Windfell and his entourage of armed military officers were still fuming and pacing around in the castle grounds after Colonel Hassan roared at Windfell.

“The Gerheist army has begun attacking our positions all along the border. Colonel Vava has already retreated with the Frontier Forces…”

“Mhm… Just beat them back… What’s the problem?” King Carmine said, raising an eyebrow. To the king, this was probably a show of strength by King Gerheist against King Carmine.

“How many men are they attacking with?” King Carmine asked and Lieutenant Colonel Windfell swallowed his saliva.

“5-50000 men at least… From initial reports… Colonel Vava’s forces have received heavy casualties, however, I have received personal assurances from Colonel Vava that the enemy is of no threat-“

“That’s a steaming pile of horseshit!”

Another voice, a much more masculine voice. Colonel Hassan walked into the room, having used his officers to hold back the servants trying to stop them.

“Your Majesty, we have received reports that there are at least 50,000 men pouring through the gaps that Colonel Vava has left in our defensive line. The only person who has yet to retreat is General Kaffe and his soldiers.”

“Secondly, we have reports that several villagers from the borders all the way to the capital have been seized by Gerheist infiltrators. If we do not act quickly, they will have a clear way to here-“

“Then just push them back!” King Carmine shouted, still not truly grasping the magnitude of the situation. Colonel Hassan resisted jumping across the room to strangle his liege.

“We need to raise the banners, all of them. We also need Your Majesty’s permission to use the reserve troops!”

A silence fell over the room. The only sounds one could hear was the sounds of the servants attempting to get past the wall of officers who have stood outside the room.

“You want the reserve troops?” King Carmine asked and Colonel Hassan nodded, keeping his eye contact with the King. At this point, Windfell had a smug grin on his face. The Imperial Reserve troops can only be activated by authority of the King. However, the issue was this.

What was supposed to be for the defense of the nation has been twisted into the current King Carmine’s private army, which he used to crush dissenting nobles. Basically, it has become a joke.

“That is out of the question. Use what you have. Rally the nobles if you have to, but you will not be using the reserve troops,” King Carmine replied, a calm expression in his eye. However, Colonel Hassan could feel the King glaring at him.

Colonel Hassan opened his mouth, wanting to object. However, he closed it and saluted. Walking out, his leather boots made a clicking sound against the polished floors of the castle as he is joined by more officers walking out, presumably to go to the frontlines.

“We have completely occupied the frontier lines, with the exception of the Kaffe Plateau. The resistance there is stubborn. However, we expect it to fall within 72 hours. Colonel Vava has completely underestimated our forces and our spies have reported that they will not be sending reinforcements to the frontlines or counterattack,” General Donovan reported, King Gerheist sitting in his war tent set up some ten kilometers away from the frontlines.

Barely able to repress a smile were the two lords, Earl Malai and Duke Fiesen.

“Our casualties were about 600 men and we attribute this to the tougher soldiers dispersed within the frontier forces that managed to rally and make a stand. However, by and large, the discipline the Carminian army used to have is gone,” General Kaffe reported and King Gerheist nodded approvingly.

“Have the cavalry keep on harassing anyone on the retreat. I want as few survivors rejoining Colonel Vava’s new positions.”

Though Colonel Vava had expected war, he had not expected for Gerheist spies to infiltrate all areas of the Kingdom. The moment he had heard that there was trouble in his flank, he simply uprooted his entire army and fell back, making camp in the dense forest behind, perhaps hoping for the Gerheist army to simply march into it and fall prey to defensive positions already waiting.

However, Colonel Vava was foolish. If he had simply dug in with his army, this plan would have been foiled on many levels and there may even have been a decisive battle where the victor could have been decided. Even though the recruits of the Carminian Kingdom was inexperienced, the more experienced commanders also led the veteran elites of the army. A combination of the two would have led to some serious headaches to the Gerheist offensive.

However, the backup plans that the Gerheist generals and officials have drawn up in the event of a counteroffensive by the enemy seems to have been for naught. They have inflicted serious casualties, forced the enemy into the defensive and they have surrounded the most elite soldiers under General Kaffe at the plateau. Things could not possibly get any better…

Could it?