I awoke in the morning and tried to keep my eyes shut for a while, hoping that I had just had a nightmare and that everything that had happened to me last night was just a fevered dream. However, as much as I wanted to keep my eyes sealed and believe that the events of just a few hours prior hadn’t happened, the stench of gore and smoke was still there and forced me to accept that my quiet life was no more. I opened my eyes and sat up in my bed-corner of the burned out remains of my home and then got up. Part of me wished I had stayed behind on my birthday and died along with everyone else, at least that way I wouldn’t have had to see what I have seen.

The rest of me, however, was fully on board with the fact that I had done what had been done. If that scumbag, Prince Edwin had been allowed to become King then the whole Kyrellian Kingdom would have suffered immeasurably. At this point there was no going back, only time will tell if the civil war that will likely happen due to his death will do less damage than what he could do if he had lived.

I walked out of the charred remains of my family home and saw the Mobile Suit Golems patrolling through the village. Oddly enough, the ones that had fought in the battle were not the only ones there, as the entire Hangar had seemingly emptied itself on its own and now the village and surrounding area looked like a Mobile Suit Gundam Zeon Forces Costume Convention. I looked though the list of new and old Mobile Suit Golems, Equipment, Optimizations, Upgrades, Ships and more.

I was wandering through the village while checking the new things I could do and ended up in the village square by accident. When I noticed where I was I nervously looked around only to discover that the only thing remaining of the former Prince was a burned-up head impaled on his own banner. I smiled a bit when I saw it and when I noticed the words on the banner in what I assumed to be blood I began to realize just how fanatical my army was. I then sat down beneath the desecrated banner and tried to plan my next move.

I was convinced that I needed more opinions, but I was careful in choosing who to consult. I knew that my Golems were fanatical in their devotions to me and therefore would likely try to urge for a strike against the King of Kyrell and the nobles under him. Such a move would be costly on both sides but seeing as how 200 Knights had managed to nearly cut my initial force in half, I didn’t want to fight the Kingdom of Kyrell immediately.

The kingdom had over 50,000 Mounted Knights alone, not to mention the over 500,000 Knights who fought on foot. If last night’s battle had taught me anything it was that a Zaku II or a Zaku II Commander on their own was no match for a Knight, and only through overwhelming numbers and better weaponry could they win. The thought of telling them that they were no match for our foes was difficult, so as I convened a war council I decided to say it in a different way.

“Everyone, I am glad you could join me.”

“Of course! It is our duty to serve your glory! If that can be done by this council, then so be it! So, when are we gonna bring the fight to these Kyrellian Bastards!” Dozle Zabi, a custom Zaku II Commander Type roared with enthusiasm.

“Regrettably, everyone, we currently lack the firepower and numbers to take on the Kyrellian Kingdom at the current time. Sure, we could overwhelm them with an endless tide of Zaku Is, but how many of our comrades would fall in the process? Also, let me remind you, Dozle, that I once had Kyrellian Citizenship. Not all the people in this land are deserving of our righteous vengeance; only those who both actively and/or passively seek to harm us are our enemies.”

“Grr. War is about the numbers! Besides, we would all gladly give our lives for the sake of a glorious victory!”

The others who were here let out cries of, “Here, here!” and “Of course!” and agreed with Dozle wholeheartedly.

“Whether you will gladly die for me is not the point! I want to lose as few of you as possible! This battle has taught me that, as we currently are, we would be no match for the Kyrellian Knights in a straight up fight. Therefore, a strategic withdrawal is in order. We will cross the border into the neighboring Kingdom of Grellek and build up our strength there. Once we have sufficient capabilities, then and only then will we strike. Remember, it only took 200 of the Kyrellian Knights to nearly cut our fighting force of Zaku IIs in half. If my parents spoke true, the may have over 550,000 Knights on standby that could be immediately deployed on masse to the front lines. That doesn’t count the Adventurers who outnumber the Knights by a factor of at least 5 or 6 and are easily capable of being the equals of a relatively new knight, just like the kind we just faced last night…”

Silence reigned for a while as the assembled Mobile Suit Golems thought and looked at each other. Their creator was right, with their current capabilities, a full war would be suicide and would result I their creator dying.

“Then how do you propose we withdraw, Sir?” Ramba Ral broke the silence.

“We currently have three new means of expediting travel. We can use a Mad Angler Submarine, a Gaw Aerial Transport or a Gallop Land Battleship. As the land around here is too uneven for a Gaw to use and there are no large bodies of water that the Mad Angler can operate in, we have no other option than to use the Gallop. Sure, we’ll stick out like a sore thumb, but we will be moving faster than the enemy can and have the firepower and personal carrying capacity to allow us to safely cross the border without worrying about the threats that could assault us. While the ground is uneven, the Gallop is a hovercraft, and therefore can ignore some of the uneven patches of terrain and doesn’t require there to be a large landing strip for it to take off and land from like a Gaw.”

“Then it’s decided! As much as I’d like to crush our foes right now, you are right. We make a strategic withdrawal and assault the enemy once we have built up enough of a force!” Dozle said, his loud voice echoing through the ruins of the church where we had set up the council.

“Do you all agree with Dozle?” I asked. There were a few who wanted to fight to a glorious death, but they ultimately acquiesced and joined the rest in the decision to use the Gallop to escape.

I would not let a repeat of last night happen again, not to those I care about going forward or my creations. As most of the MSGs retreated to the Hangar and I summoned one Gallop – class Land Battleship, I was glad that none of the named Golems had been cut down by the Knights. As I boarded the Gallop, I gave one final look at the remains of my village. I swore that the next time I came back to this place, I would do so with an army the likes of which had never been seen before and whose power was unrivaled in the world.