Chapter 5

The Beginning of a War

The last thing Shiv remembered was the smiling Altair snapping her cute little finger. His senses had then begun to fade as his conscious drifted away.

When he came to his senses, Shiv found himself in a totally different place than where he had been a while ago. Not sure how long he had been unconscious, Shiv looked down to check his body only to find himself in an entirely different attire.

The newbie shirt and pant which could be mistaken for an old rag had completely transformed into a red armour which covered him from his head to toe with an ominous looking black sword hung at his waist.

Shiv got on his feet and scanned his new and unfamiliar surroundings which looked like the inside of building made of stone. At one end of the room, bright light pierced the darkness of the room through a door like opening.

Walking out through the door to confirm his location, Shiv was greeted by an astonishing sight causing him to marvel the game’s architecture. What he was standing on looked similar to a mid-century European fort that was surrounded by huge walls. When he turned towards his back, a mountain range greeted his surprised eyes. ‘Why am I at such a place?’ Shiv wondered when suddenly a window popped up in front of him.

“Trrrng”

THE WAR BETWEEN KINGDOMSThe Great Kingdom of Verunisya has always been on bad terms with peace loving Lithinian Kingdom. For centuries, peace existed between the two kingdoms until the Verunisian Army decided to ambush the Lithinian Kingdom and conquer it without even declaring a war.

For centuries the Lithinian kingdom had been free of war, prospering under their benevolent kings! But now the arrogant Verunisians have dared to bear the fangs upon the peaceful Lithinian Kingdom. The Verunisian army has begun its march towards the Kingdom of Lithinia. Spies have reported that the enemy could take two or so days to gather their army and another 3 days for them to reach the kingdom’s border.

You, the Great King of Lithinia, have set out with your private army of 10,000 to delay the impending doom on your Kingdom. Orders have already been sent to gather the entire kingdoms army of 50,000 which lie scattered across the country, under the hold of different lords and nobles. You have taken it upon yourself the task of delaying the enemy till the kingdom’s main army arrives. In addition to that, your allies have also promised you aid in this battle and have requested you to hold off the attack till their armies reach the battlefield.

The enemy understands your predicament and has decided to attack you before you could gather up all your army to resist their attack, and so the veil Vernusians have planned a secret attack on the fort of Linford, a fort with great strategic importance. Luckily a spy at the cost of his life delivered you the news so that you could somehow save your country from the brink of destruction.

You are now at Fort Linford, the only military structure between your capital and the Verunisian army. If Linford falls you will lose the war and your country will fall into the hands of the Verunisian kingdom.

Save the country from the clutches of the Verunisian kingdom and rise up to the ranks of the greatest king Lithinia has ever seen.

May the fortune of war be with you, King of Lithinia. God Speed! Private Army10,000Reinforcement50,000Allied Army50,000Verunisian Army100,000Time left for preparation: 6days

‘What the hell is going on? How did I end up in this shit? Why am I a king?’.

Shiv rewound his memory a bit and recalled that he ended up here after Altair had snapped her fingers. He knew that whenever Altair snapped her finger something out of the ordinary would always occur. His brain told him that the current change of situations too was that woman’s fault.

‘So you set up eh. You want me to fight huh? Lead an army? Altair you a witch, do you want me dead so badly? I promise you, I will crawl out of this hell alive.’

Shiv was now extremely pissed. He was trembling now, his blood boiling with rage and his usually calm and clear eyes were now colder than ice.

The usual cheerful and polite boy was now an existence of past. The current Shiv had a murderous aura around him. The boy was consumed by so much rage that he did not notice him biting his lips. Blood oozed down from his lips.

As wiped the blood with his hands and said, “You want a war? Then I will give you one. I will crush you! I will rip out the heart of every Verunisian soldier that dare attack me. Just you watch Altair, just you watch”.

---***---

In a large underground training hall, three figures were now talking to each other. Thorwin, Altair, and Petra were standing around a small pool, witnessing each and every action Shiv took. The three of them had cold sweats running down their body.

The Shiv who was always cheerful and humble towards them, the Shiv who had always listened to them and obeyed their every word, the Shiv who would always have an innocent and bright smile had disappeared.

In the pond was an after image of what one would call as a devil. The boy was emitting such an intense blood lust that even the three masters felt fear trickle down inside them. They were terrified at the sudden change and the most shocked of them was Altair.

Altair was a mana harvester, an existence immeasurably powerful than a common magus or mage. With her vast knowledge and mana, she had created a small world so as to let Shiv experience the power of using strategies and tactics. She was asked by Petra to do so as Petra had told her that this would let the boy grow much faster.

Never had she thought that such an action would cause her such fear, not even once.

---***---

“Private Army-Show Status”

“Trrrng”

THE KING’S PRIVATE ARMYThe private army of the King of Lithinia himself. They are loyal to the king and are even ready to lay down their life for him. They considered the words of the king as the words from a god and would do anything to fulfill the king’s order.

Supreme Commander- Stryn Geol

Second-in-Command – Vivain Gilbert Warriors5,000Archeers2,500Cavalry1,500Priest500Mage450Assassin50

‘How the hell am I supposed to delay a 100,000 strong army with just 10,000. No, wait, there must be a catch somewhere. There must be something I could use to turn the tides.’

“Stryn”, he screamed at the top of his voice. He screamed to release the building stress and frustration. He was then startled by the sudden swinging of the door. Two people in the same red armour as his came in and kneeled before him. One a man in his late thirties and the other was a woman who too appeared to be at least in her late thirties. The two had a worn out face but their golden brown eyes did not even show a hint of fatigue.

The man who was known as Stryn seemed to have a good physique. Though the armour covered his entire body, Shiv could feel the strength that dwelled in the man’s body and gaze. The woman next to him, on the other hand, seemed like a frail woman. Her beautiful skin now had a dark tan to it with dirt sticking to her. The woman had dark bags under her eyes showing clear signs of sleepless nights. Her blond hair which was supposed to belong was trimmed neatly to the point that one would mistake her for a bald.

“What is your command, Sire!”, both spoke at the same time.

“Stryn, I require the map of this area, find me one.”

“At once, Sire” saying so Stryn rushed out and came back immediately with the map. Vivian by then had already found a table and placed it before the King. Stryn spread the map on the table for his king and took a step back, awaiting his King’s order.

Shiv walked up to the table and began examining the map while Stryn and Vivian stood behind silently.

For almost an hour Shiv stared at the map without uttering a single word. Shiv let out a sigh and then gazed at the two beside him. The two commanders who were waiting for new orders stood motionless before him.

“Stryn, how much salt do we have?” Shiv asked in a carefree manner startling the two.

Both Stryn and Vivian stood silently as if they were petrified into stone statues while they thought, ‘Salt? Why does the sire need salt?’

“How much?” Shiv asked a second time, his tone a little heavier.

“Enough to last for 2 months’, sire.”

‘Two months eh! Salt being a product that does not go bad they have stored quite an amount’, Shiv continued to think for a while and then spoke, “Find out the exact amount of salt we have, Vivian.”

“Yes Sire”, Vivian said as she rushed out.

“Blind an animal and it would lose all its will”, when spoke those words, Stryn who could not fathom what his king was speaking could only silently gaze at Shiv, “Stryn, if we have to win this war we need to blind the eyes of the enemies first.”

Stryn nodded, he still had not grasped what the king meant and so waited for further orders patiently.

“I want any enemy scouts or spies removed from the area. Find them all, kill them all. Except for one. Capture one of the spies alive and bring him to me. Send 30 assassins for the task. Remember, only one survivor! No escapees.” Shiv gave out his first order.

“As you desire my king.”

“I want the 5 of the remaining 20 assassins to gather poison herbs. Another 5 to gather the sap of the ignutus tree. The rest are to gather edible herbs and other food items. Assign 200 warriors for each unit and ask them to gather as much as possible within 2 days. They must gather things only at daytime. Also, check the armoury and make a catalogue of all the weapons and amours, take 50soldiers with you!”.

“It shall be done. Anything else sire!”

“Summon the one in command for the warrior, archer, priest and mage units immediately.”

“Yes, Sire!” Stryn now bowed at his king and paced out of the room.

Within minutes, Shiv heard a knock on the door. As he gave his permission, the door opened and four figures made their way in.

All the four who were in charge of the various units kneeled in front of their king.

“I have a task for each one of you! If you successfully complete it, we shall win this war!”

The last sentence surprised them. They had considered this a lost cause. And now the king was saying they could win. All four lifted their head with disbelief and looked at the king. What they saw made them even more confused.

Their sire, the king was smiling!

---***---

The Lithinian Kingdom was considered as a gateway to prosperity and the Lithinian king to be the gatekeeper. This was not due to the kingdom being the richest or greatest kingdom but due to its geography.

The continent of Aslain was divided into two halves, the northern Aslain, and the southern Aslain while at the middle of these two halves was Lithinia. The only way to cross from one-half to another was through Lithinia. From time immemorial Lithinia had prohibited the crossing of the borders and so the south and north remained without any contact. The other kingdoms knew that the one who could conquer Lithinia would become the strongest in the continent. So whenever a country tried to invade Lithinia, the others aided Lithinia to withstand the attacks.

This was an unending cycle, no matter which country tried to attack, the others would immediately come to Lithinia’s aid. This made it impossible to conquer Lithinia.

Now, the Verunisian Empire had set its eyes on Lithinia and had sent its army to conquer it, even before the allies could arrive. In the past, every country which tried to attack Lithinia had always amassed its entire army for the invasion. This usually gave Lithinia and her allies’ time to gather their armies.

But now the situation was different. The Verunisian Empire did not even try to send a quarter of its army. The total army count of the empire had was near 900,000. The empire knew that by the time all their soldiers gathered up, their enemies would already be waiting for them with an army of equal strength. So the empire decided to do a surprise attack with just on ninth of its total strength.

The empire also knew that the fort of Linford was the key to conquering the empire. The fort of Linford was well defended by its surrounding mountain range and passing Linford was the only way to reach the rest of Lithinia. The empire also knew that, once Linford fell the rest of the continent would fall easily.

They were so sure of their victory in the war that they did not even bother sending any reinforcements. They thought that they would mobilize the main army only when Linford fell, thus letting the main army have enough time to prepare.

But what awaited them was nothing but despair.

---***---

Half a day had passed. Shiv was waiting in his room. He had done everything that the situation had called for.

‘Now the only thing I can do is trust my soldiers and wait for the result.’

Shiv had given all the heads specific missions to accomplish. The assassins, just like he had ordered, had brought a single survivor from the enemy spies. They had also brought everything the spies had, including the Verunisian empire’s armours and weapons. Shiv then ordered them to use any means necessary to extract information from the spy, the king showed no mercy to his enemy.

The assassins had kept one they thought would break easily, and they were correct. The spy talked after a little torture. To make sure that it was the truth that he had told he was tortured a little more. The information was then delivered to Shiv and what he heard made him speechless.

The Verunisian Empire had intently leaked the arrival of the army. But there was a minor difference. Instead of 7 days, the army would reach the fort in just 4 days. He also got information about the remaining 900,000 strong main army.

The king froze as all his calculations had gone wrong and so panic began to strike him.

‘No Ryu, don’t panic. Everything is a part of a carefully laid script. There must be something I can manipulate.’

“Trrrng”

[td4]The true plot of the Verunisian empire has been uncovered by your assassins. You have found out about the treacherous plans of the empire. You are now able to prepare countermeasures against the enemy army. Your allies have been notified and they have dispatched a much larger army for your aid.

First reinforcements will reach you faster than before.

Days left till army arrives: 6days

Second reinforcement has been dispatched

Army strength: 200,000 each from five allied countries

Days left till army arrives: 9 days[/tds]

‘6 days? The enemy will reach here by 4 days. I have to withstand the attack for more than 2 days with 10,000 soldiers. No there must be something I can do.’.

“Did the spy tell you the route? Do you know from which side the enemies will come from?”

“Yes Sire.”, the assassin then walked over to the map on the table and continued his explanation, “There exist two paths that the enemies can come from. One is from the south, through here, crossing the dark forest, the other is by crossing through Elden Mountain pass here.” The assassin pointed to two points on the map as he made his explanation.

‘Two ways, a dark forest, a mountain pass. Hmm, interesting!’

“Sire, of the two, the mountain pass is shorter and less dangerous than the dark forest. Crossing the dark forest is time-consuming as the army has to travel an extra of 2 days. The dark forest is believed to have dangerous beasts and so they would most probably come through the mountain pass”

“Dangerous beast? Why are they not attacking us then?.”

“These beasts are believed to hate light and so do not come out of the forest during day time. At night, the magical spells cast a barrier to any intruders.”

“We have a barrier?”, Shiv was amused, “Why was I not told about this before?”

“Forgive our foolishness, Sire. The barrier is effective against monsters, but against humans, it has little to no effect.”

“Hmm, I see. Summon Stryn!”

The assassin bowed and left.

A few minutes later, Stryn was kneeling in front of Shiv.

“Stryn, have you heard the new information?”

“Yes, Sire. Those bastards and their treacherous plans!” Stryn sneered.

“At this rate we will be annihilated even before our reinforcements can arrive. We must do something. Summon the mages who specialize in earth and large area offensive magic. Summon the archer unit commander and his best archers. I need them here now!”.

“Yes Sire!”, Stryn ran out like the wind and after almost an hour, returned with almost a hundred mages. Behind them, the archers entered. Since the room was not large enough for all of them, only the archer commander was asked to come in.

“These are the 43 who specialize in earth magic. However, all of these 97 mages are capable of large scale magic, Sire. As for the archers, the commander of the unit has chosen 470 of them whom he guarantees to be the best in the kingdom.” Stryn reported to his king the details about the people who were gathered in the hall.

“I believe; you all have been informed about the enemy’s real plans” Shiv looked at the people in front of him.

All of them nodded, their face went pale. They knew that they would lose their kingdom. They did not care for their lives, they wanted the kingdom to survive and they were ready to throw away their life for that.

“We are going to push back the army. Me and you, we are going buy us some much needed time and here is how we will do it!”.

Everyone stared at their king in disbelief, some were even frowning. They had thought this as a lost cause. Even Stryn had given up. And now the king said he was going to buy them time. Even though the found it hard to believe, they nodded their heads.

“Our life is yours to command Sire”, the answer was the same for everyone that was present

---***---