17 Choosing the Battlefield and Half of War

It's been two days since we set out to the Luminous Empire, and in that time we haven't been idle. Hamilcar and I have already began to enact our plan. We 'accidently' leaked the news that we barely had enough supplies to last us a month, and began to march quickly, giving the impression that we were in a hurry. After that we just had to wait until our enemy took the bait, which didn't take long.

Hamilcar, Sodarus, Abraham, Horus, Hasdrubal, several other high ranking officers in the army and myself were in my tent discussing various plans in case our main plan failed, when a man entered the tent saluted us and said dutifully "My emperor, my lords, our spies in the Luminous Empire have just sent word that our enemies have sent 80,000 men from their imperial army to reinforce the 40,000 already here. They have also assigned the tenth rank general Iron Wall Georgios as the high commander of the southern war." The messenger finished as a scared look flashed across his eyes.

Hearing this the men, including me and Hamilcar, showed worried expressions. Then I waved my arm signaling the messenger to leave. As soon as he left, all of us relaxed and showed satisfied expressions.

"It appears that our enemy has taken the bait." Hasdrubal said amusedly.

"Indeed. And we were able to catch quite the large prey this time." Sodarus said excitedly, while accidently releasing a tiny amount of his monstrous aura.

"And all that's left now is to devour them." Hamilcar said emotionlessly, but everyone noticed the cruel light that settled in his eyes, that showcased his near limitless blood lust.

Between Sodarus's monster like aura and Hamilcar's cruel gaze, the atmosphere in the tent became extremely tense, and the weaker officers became petrified, not daring to even breathe. But Sodarus and Hamilcar were no amateurs, and quickly regained their composure, allowing the gathered men to relax.

Seeing this I nod and seriously say "We managed to bait our enemies, but I'm afraid that we caught more than we had expected. To corner them we need a better trap than we had originally planned." And then I mentioned for the cartographer to enter, to show us the maps he drew.

The cartographer quickly spread several maps on the table and stood at the side of the tent, ready to give us any maps we could ask for. After he was done I say "We are facing 120,000 men, with only 74,000 of our own, we are obviously at a severe disadvantage. That's why we must find the most perfect location and plan to nullify all their advantages. And if anyone here believes that they have a better plan, I want to hear it."

"Yes, sire." The men loudly saluted with enthusiasm burning in their eyes.

"General Sodarus, and Grand Marshal Hamilcar, you are the most experienced here in the art of war, so your counsel will be especially valued." I say seriously to them.

"Understood, my liege." The two replied calmly.

Hearing this I nod satisfied, and we begin our long night of planning, but we ran into a problem very early on. We couldn't decide on the best place for the battle. This battle held the fate of not only this war, but also the fate of the entire empire! Mistakes were not something we could afford to blunder against an army of 120,000 men, so we had to find the best spot to give us the best chance of a decisive victory.

We scoured the maps the cartographer placed before us, checking every inch of the map for any area that might seem to give us a slightly better edge. Slowly we began to scratch off locations that seemed to not be as useful, like the beautiful Cardinal Forest, the fertile Ash Fields, the treacherous Secluded Swamp, the eerie Black Mausoleum Hills, and many more.

As all of the men were scratching their heads in frustration, still trying to find a solution, I was intensely staring at one location on the map. Both of Hamilcar and Sodarus noticed my expression, but they decided to not ask just yet, and just waited expectingly for me to finish. And in a few minutes I was done.

As soon as I finished, I pointed to the map Infront of me and said confidently "We will have the battle in the Melting Mist Plains."

Hearing what I said the men showed confused expressions, except for of course Hamilcar and Sodarus, who upon hearing the name of the place immediately had a flash of enlightenment in their eyes, followed by an amused grin, but I could sense a little bit of melancholy for some reason?!

Seeing their expressions I smile, and then begin to tell them my plan, with Sodarus, Hasdrubal and Hamilcar occasionally interrupting me to offer further improvements to the plan. And within a few hours we had finished discussing the last parts of it, and all the men were wearing large confident grins on their faces, as if we had already won, when Hamilcar said in an authoritative voice "Remember what the emperor ordered. Wipe those grins off your faces, not one of the soldiers can see your expressions. And not a single word must leave this tent, or I'll personally hang you by your own guts!" Hamilcar finished as his eyes shone in a cruel murderous light.

Seeing his expression the men nodded like frightened chicks, and their confident grins turned to solemn expressions as they left the tent. After they left only Horus, Abraham, Hamilcar, Hasdrubal, Sodarus, and myself remained in the tent, when I heard Horus say from behind me "My liege, there is something I don't understand."

Hearing this everyone turns to him, as I calmly ask "What is it Horus?"

Horus appeared to be slightly embarrassed to ask a question Infront of the highest command of the Eclipse Empire, but motivated by his curiosity he gathered his courage and asked "My liege, why did you order the high ranking officers to always show a concerned or unpleasant expression whenever there are soldiers present?"

Hearing his question Hasdrubal also showed a curious expression, wondering the same thing, since similar to Horus this is also his first campaign in foreign soil. But before I could answer, Sodarus scoffed and curtly replied "You two are still too inexperienced. Wars aren't won by swords and spears alone."

Hearing what Sodarus said, Hasdrubal and Horus showed even more confusion than before. Seeing this Hamilcar says calmly, like an old sage passing his teachings to his young students "What Sodarus is trying to say is that war is split into two parts. The first part is all about the massive armies, glorious battles, and heroic generals. And the weapons of the first part are many, like terrain, martial art prowess, numbers, weapon quality, and many more. While the second part is done entirely in the silence of the shadows, and it has only one weapon; knowledge and information. That's why his majesty issued an order like that, it's to stop the enemy from knowing anything, and to keep our real strength and objectives hidden from any eyes that may want to see our down fall." Hamilcar finished in a very serious tone.

"Basically kids the battle has already started, and even the mood of the high commanding officers can give our enemies valuable information that we would prefer not be known. Especially since our entire battle plan is dependent on the enemy believing that we are weak and in a hurry, because of our dwindling supplies." Sodarus said calmly.

Both Horus and Hasdrubal showed shocked expressions, but they quickly rearranged their thoughts and emotions, and nodded their heads seriously, and thanked both men for sharing their wisdom with them. But I noticed that their gaze toward me had changed. The respect and awe they had for me seemed to have doubled, which made perfect sense if you think about it, since in their eyes the emperor who has barely left his childhood, and entered his early teenage years already had a deeper understanding of war than they do!

After that we stayed together for a while discussing all sorts of counter measures in case things go wrong. Within two hours we finished and I was exhausted and wanted nothing more but to sleep, when suddenly Hamilcar and Sodarus asked to speak to me in private. Hearing this my expression became very serious and solemn, Hasdrubal sensibly left immediately, while Horus and Abraham went to guard the entrance of the tent.

As soon as I was left alone with them I nod to the two of them signaling that they can talk, but they did something I never expected; they bowed their heads! But before I can say anything they simultaneously said "My liege, please forgive us for failing you."

".....Huh?" Is all I could utter, since as far as I remembered these two have never even once come close to failing me.

"You asked for our counsel yet we were too incompetent to even spot such a perfect location for the battle." Sodarus said in exasperation at his own short sightedness.

"Sigh... Indeed. It appears that our edge has grown dull after a thousand years of peace. We have failed you my emperor." Hamilcar said in melancholy.

Hearing this I quickly say "What in the gods names are you talking about? If the two of you say that you are incompetent, then every man in this army might as well pack up and go home! And failed me? If anyone failed someone, it would be my father, and grandfather who failed YOU, by keeping two powerful blades in the dark due to their petty fear of your power and talent!"

Hearing this they looked at me in surprise, since most royal families would claim that they are perfect, and every decision they make is objectively the best, since they are descendants from the gods, but I would never make such an absurd statement. After all, no one has suffered more from their own mistakes and poor decisions than me.

Coming out of my depressing thoughts and memories, I look at them again and say domineeringly as I accidently released the full might of my divine power "You're rusty? Then I will wash it away with the blood of thousands of soldiers! Your sharp edge has become dull? Then I will hone you with the sound of conquered cities! Even if you say you're broken, I will simply reforge you in the flames of carnage into the titans of war you should've always been!"

A warrior's hell is a peaceful land. And that's exactly what Hamilcar and Sodarus suffered from for a thousand years. Everyday was torturous to live through, they were warriors and their place was on the battlefields, bathing in blood and glory. But their emperors always forbade them, fearing their power, talent and reputation. They forgot how many times they considered to disobey their emperors and go to satisfy their endless bloodlust, but their honor always forbade them from doing so. But now they were before an emperor that not only allowed them to return to their rightful place, but also wanted them to gain more fame, glory and power?!

Hearing their emperor's words they lowered their heads even further and said in a voice bathed in loyalty, respect, expectation, excitement, madness and battle lust "We have embarrassed ourselves before you, sire. And we swear to live up to your expectation."

Hearing this I smile maniacally and simply say "Excellent."