The feeling of two armies trying to stare each other down as they get into position is strangely indescribable. The feeling is different from the battle in Eagswall, where it was night, and we could only see a limited number of troops due to the Royal Castle’s gates.

Here, across the open plains, the battle to come is as clear as day. We can see the entirety of our army right in front of us, and an invisible battle of competing determination has already seemed to begun. The air is heavy, and thick with tension, to the point where it’s a little hard to breathe.

It must be doubly harder for Atwood’s forces to breathe. He has only 30,000 troops, while we have 60,000. Of course, I could have brought more troops, but Munimentis and I both brought only 60,000 soldiers with us so as not to leave Eagswall undefended.

In the end, we still have a significant numerical advantage.

Atwood currently has 30,000 troops.

Munimentis’ enemy, Cromwell currently also has 30,000 troops.

And Roger Davis, who is hanging back to see which of us is weaker, possesses 30,000 Royal Troops.

On the other hand, Munimentis and I both brought 60,000 troops.

Which means, in this battle, our side possesses 120,000 people, to combat their collective 90,000.

The troops are ready now. This battle is on the precipice of beginning.

I close my eyes, as my nerves grow ever tighter. I can see their faces in my mind’s eye—Munimentis and Ducis. For all his insults, Munimentis wasn’t wrong. I haven’t received any training in strategy, and I am far more inexperienced than the nobles who have joined our cause.

Ducis’ concerns were valid too. I stubbornly clung to my morals in the battle for Eagswall, and such an action could have had disastrous consequences if Fidel had just been a little less skilled.

I will be different. I must.

That was the vow I had made to myself. It was a foolish vow, made by a person too overwhelmed by the chaos surrounding him. I clung to my morals like a person clings to something solid in the middle of a terrible storm.

I never should have made that vow. I never should have clung to those morals.

Nothing of value can be gained without sacrifice.

That’s why… I’ll be throwing those morals away today.

Reaching into my horse’s saddlebag, I pull out ‘An Introduction to Military Strategy by Lord Julius Consilium’. I flip to a certain page and look up at my troops to see if they match the illustration.

Good, they do.

I take deep breath, then—

“Ready yourself,” I say to the flagbearer. When I give the order, the flagbearer will raise his flag, and our forces will move to my design.

“Wai-wait!” Luna yells, “I don’t get it! We have double the enemy’s forces, right? We can easily surround the enemy and take them down, right? So why did you order 30,000 troops of ours to stand back?”

Yes, that’s right. It would be simple to use my overwhelming numbers to defeat my enemy, but instead, I ordered half of my forces to stand back, so as not to interfere. In other words, this battle will be 30,000 soldiers against 30,000 soldiers.

I know that I’m throwing away a golden advantage, but this is the only way I know how to close the gap between me and the other nobles in terms of experience.

I look at the book in my hands again.

“I would read this thoroughly if I were you, it is the only way you will reach some degree of competence—”

Munimentis’ words are designed to hurt, but the truth hurts more than lies.

I’ll show you, Munimentis…

It’s time to try the tactics in this book. First on the list, the centre force made of infantry for the main battle, and flanks made up of cavalry to harass the enemy.

“Flagbearer, give the order.”

The flagbearer swallows nervously and raises his flag, and my forces charge.

ROGER DAVIS

Loyalty is not a choice.

A vassal must serve his liege. That is the way of the world.

If people start disregarding the rules, then society breaks down, and destructive chaos reigns. Order must be maintained by following the rules, even if it is distasteful.

I am well aware—I was well aware—of the failings of my liege. A nation cannot be held firm when in a tenuous state of war-readiness by a weak or cowardly king. However, this is far worse.

And this is only the start.

This peasant—Ducis—I understand his frustration. I know why he did what he did. His reasons are probably far nobler than Lord Wilhelm’s would have been, however I cannot abide by his actions.

His ambitions must be stopped.

And the one standing the way of that, is his partner—

Sir Eremus.

I don’t have a full report of what happened, but my spies say that the entire ploy to conquer Eagswall was most like concocted by this man. It was a fairly decent stratagem, but I still don’t have enough of a grasp on how skilled he actually is.

More importantly, I must know if his skills surpass Lord Munimentis’.

I have never met Lord Munimentis before, but I have heard much of him. His flighty attitude is infamous throughout the nation, but his skills were acknowledged when he put down the bandit uprising of Devil’s Bay. The bandits possessed 35,000 troops, and Lord Munimentis had only 15,000 troops on hand, and yet, he emerged managed to emerge victorious.

Sir Eremus or Lord Munimentis, I must find out which of the two is weaker as fast as I can. It is the only chance I have for victory.

EREMUS

My mind is calm. It’s as though I’m watching a play.

Twenty minutes have passed, and the battle has been progressing well. More importantly, I have noted down most of the strengths and weaknesses of the infantry main force and cavalry flank tactic.

“Signal our forces to fall back,” I tell the flagbearer.

He looks shocked and confused. An understandable reaction. As I said, the battle is progressing well, this tactic is certainly a reliable one. However, pulling our forces back now will lead to additional unnecessary casualties due to the enemy continuing their attack while my forces retreat.

“Get on with it,” I order him.

Even though I know the consequences, I persist in giving this order.

The flagbearer finally acknowledges my order and raises a red flag.

It takes a while for my army to actually start falling back, and it’s for the same reason the flagbearer hesitated in acquiescing to my order in the first place. The order does not make sense—it is completely antithetical to victory. If anything, the best course of action right now is to send in the 30,000 forces I held back to crush Atwood’s forces once and for all.

As my soldiers are falling back, Atwood’s forces take the opportunity to inflict as much damage at the retreating soldiers as they possibly can. But Atwood’s forces do not pursue. This is because I still have 30,000 fresh troops waiting here. If they pursue, then they will only be charging headfirst into defeat. It seems Atwood knows at least this much.

My forward army is battered, and they look significantly demoralized. Continuing to use them would be folly. I must let them rest.

I give the order for the forward and rear army to switch places, and as they are doing that, I flip the page in ‘An Introduction to Military Strategy by Lord Julius Consilium’. The next tactic to try is the ‘triple line formation’. The weakest troops stand in the front, the more skilled stand in the second line, and the most skilled stand in the final line. It’s a more defensive tactic that works better when waiting for the enemy, but that doesn’t matter. It can still work when attacking, according to this book.

I wait for my forces to get into the correct formation. This is the solution to my inexperience. If I don’t have the experience, then I’ll simply get some. Every time I’ve analyzed enough of a tactic, I will move on to the next one in the book. Thus, in one battle, I will close the gap between me and the nobles.

Yes, it will lead to a far higher death toll than if I just properly defeat the enemy with all my forces, but I’ve already thrown away my morals. I will do what is necessary, and this is what is necessary for the long run.

JOHN MUNIMENTIS

The laughter erupts from my throat unbidden. It goes on for a long while, making my advisors a bit nervous.

But I can’t help it!

The report from my spies is unlike anything I have ever seen! That uneducated chief of military affairs… I never expected this out of him.

“HAHAHA! He’s insane!” I say loudly and gleefully.

To use his own troops, that he raised so painstakingly, as fodder to increase his knowledge of warfare in the span of a single battle…

I have to admit, my expectations of that man have been utterly smashed!

I knew that peasant king—Ducis—would be an interesting man to follow. How could I not? The sheer ambition in his eyes was almost tangible! Now there is a man who will stop at nothing to get what he wants!

However, I never expected his aide, Eremus, to be just as interesting. I could see his massive pride wafting off of him, however he was too unsure of what he was doing. I thought he would remain the weak link to his king’s campaign to conquer the world.

I was clearly wrong.

Eremus…

He may be even more interesting than Ducis—if he survives this battle of course.

He may not realize it, but he’s about to make a foolish mistake. I would leave him to his fate, but I can’t let someone as interesting as him die so soon.

“Ridley! Fetch me a messenger.”