The next day, we both left for the castle. I wore a royal cape for the first time, the cape was crimson red with an intricately embroidered Arcadia insignia. Cynthia was wearing her royal dress which is a purely white dress with so many frills, I held her hand as we walked together.

"Cynthia, I'm going" I stated as we headed for the throne room

"I see... then I'm not stopping you" She looked at me as she replied

"If you ever get worried about me, go to Alissa, she can also keep you company" I replied

"I will" She sat on her throne while all of the nobles kneeled

'Keep her safe' I ordered to Guardian 2 who was hiding behind the throne where no one can see him

'Roger' Guardian 2 replied

"I have an announcement, my Royal Knight Zeno will lead the battle that will occur in Alphon city 3 days from now. Our enemy kingdom has chosen to wage war with us but don't worry we will win" Cynthia announced

"VICTORY WILL BE OURS!" All of the knights roared out, all the nobles can only sit still and kneel

I can very much guess that the nobles here doubt our victory, 1000 men can't fend off 5,000 men led by the prince which is also aided by some high leveled warriors and arc mages

'Lilith, change frequencies and connect to Alissa's private radio'

'Connecting.... connected'

'Alissa, hear me?'

'Loud and clear'

'Behemoth, is it battle ready?' I asked

'It's full of energy, the makeshift chainsaw I created is good to go and the modified rail gun I got from Mirigai is also a-ok' She happily replied

'Look's like I'll be needing it on a war, never thought I'd massacre people with it'

'Hey, an enemy is an enemy right? this isn't your first time murdering humans you know'

'Yeah'

I cut off the call and stood up, I unsheathed Azazel

"I will return victorious" I stated and left

A carriage pulled by 2 horses were waiting outside, Albert was the coachman while Melphis, Brunhilde, and Reina were waiting inside.

"Let's go sir" Albert called out

I sat beside Albert and we strode off, we were sent off by the Blackguards as the crowds cheered for us, wishing us victory

We strode off and journeyed for a day, we reached Alphon city which was devoid of any civilians but was filled with vigorous soldiers, eager to fight for their kingdom.

"THE ROYAL KNIGHT HAS ARRIVED! ALL MEN LINE UP!" I heard a scream from the watchtower

All the soldiers stopped whatever they were doing and started lining up, I left the coachman's seat and climbed up the tower. Upon reaching the top, I looked around and saw all of the soldiers, Lilith did a head count and the numbers reached a thousand men

"ALL MEN, DIVIDE INTO DIFFERENT DIVISIONS! ONE DIVISION FOR MAGES, ONE FOR HEALERS, ONE FOR ARCHERS, AND ONE FOR VANGUARDS!" I roared out

They did as they were told and separated into different divisions

"Good! I need a representative for each division, send out the ablest man or woman from the field you are in" I ordered out

"From the archer's division, 2nd only to Albert. Arvis reporting in!" A man who wore hood walked up and introduced himself

"Sarah from the healer's division!" Sara was a woman who wore a nun's garb only with some armor plating

"Jarg, from the vanguards" A very swoll man whos armors were barely covering his muscles walked forward

"Apologies but the best mage in our division is Melphis" A man who wore a robe walked forward and stated

"Good, Melphis! step forward and lead the mage division" I roared out as the carriage opened and Melphis walked out

"Now listen, the war will happen two days from now and as I can see it, you are prepared but no amount of preparation can ensure a victory without any casualty, some of you will die, are you all prepared?" I asked

"We are prepared!" Everyone shouted at the top of their lungs

I nodded

"GOOD, Now go back to what you were doing, be sure to rest properly the day before the war" I stated before leaving

I checked on the equipment section where most of their big guns are stored, I only found 3 catapults and 3 ballistas, 6 huge boulders and 9 ballista arrows. This is all they got? I really will need Bahamuth

I headed for the tent that was given to us, Brunhilde and the others went ahead and divided the small tent into small rooms which separated men from women. I looked at my own private spot and noticed that my M4 and Desert eagle was nicely laid down on the bed. I wrapped the guns up in cloth and hid them underneath the bed

I headed for the mages division, Melphis was first to greet me

"What brings you here sir?" She asked

"Are all the mages able to enhance weapons?" I asked

"Everyone can but they vary from type to type" She replied as she gave me a tour around the small field the size of a stadium

"Alright, on the first wave of attack, I will need them to cast enhancements on the archer's arrows, most preferably poison, if you can, please brew some poison so that the archers can dip their arrows in. Also, set aside half of them to raise a barrier" I stated

"I will do my best but only alchemists can brew poisons, luckily for you, I studied a bit on alchemy" She proudly puffed up her almost non-existent chest

"I will count on you" I replied

We strolled the field together for a bit before I left her and headed for the warrior's area, I met up with Jarg and informed him of something that shocked him

"Wait, what do you mean we will stay inside the walls" He asked

"It's as I said, we welcome them and you will slaughter anyone who goes inside the city but you must remember to not step a foot beyond the walls" I ordered

"But Royal Knight, we-"

"Will you or will you not follow my orders, you may all be warriors but I am not willing to lose your lives in a small war" I stated, my tone unwilling to back down

"I understand, I will follow your orders" Jarg backed down

"Good, relay my orders to all of the warriors" I left and met up with Arvis

"All archers are to be stationed above the walls, they will not shoot their arrows if I will not give out the order, understand?" I stated

"We understand" Arvis nodded

"Relay my orders to all archers"

"Yes Royal Knight" He left

I left and finally headed for the Healer's area. They seem to be inside a church, praying. I entered and Sarah greeted me

"See the buildings in the center of the city? clean all of them up until you have 100 buildings with at least 4 clean beds, all of the injured will be taken there" I ordered

Sarah looked at everyone and nodded

"Understand, I will take my leave to carry out your orders Royal Knight" She nodded

"Go ahead" I replied

"You heard the Royal Knight! let's go!" She shouted inside the church and all of the priests and priestesses stood up. They all left

I headed back to the tent and had a small talk with Brunhilde, she might know of their capabilities since she was a Royal Guard

"Let me remember... They mostly have footmen but since they will be attacking, they will be using controlled beasts"

"Controlled beasts?" I asked

"Yeah, monsters that were captured, and brutally trained to follow their bidding" Brunhilde explained

"Then what beasts do you think they will send?" I asked

"Probably some war elephants, they're 10-15 feet tall, equipped in armor with their tusks sharpened. Also, a small fort is built on top of them where archers will be stationed. Then there are some war lions, they're mostly in the Coliseum but they're going to use it here" She stated

"How can you be so sure about the war lions" I asked

"Those bastards love to see flesh being torn apart" She stated in disgust

"I see, I have to apologize in advance" I replied

"Why?"

"Because when I'm done with them, it will be worse than that of an animal's" I remarked

"Oh? you don't have to, in fact, I encourage you to, I will make my enemies suffer" She smiled, a crazed smile.

Brunhilde seems to be different with her father around, it seems this the Brunhilde who doesn't hold back

Days passed with the training and preparation in progress and soon, our enemies came.

"ALL MEN PREPARE FOR WAR!" I shouted as I stood on top of the wall