Chapter 14

It was evening when the 5th, 6th and 7th Divisions arrived at the meeting point. They were supposed to arrive a few hours earlier and invade the city on the same day, but due to unexpected events, they were late and the siege was moved to the next day. Whole army moved their camp to a better location, hidden from the enemy sight, with better surroundings that will aid during defense, if necessary. 

Following Razjeel's orders, they moved closer to the mountains, on a hill covered by thick forest and few streams with pure water. Scouts were deployed to look after the incoming enemy and to observe every movement of the city. Every soldier was trying his best to rest as much as he could. Some were sleeping in their tents, some under the starry sky as that made no difference to them. Others made campfires and gathered in groups to talk with each other, to exchange what they experienced during a whole day of battles, to talk with friends that were in the different Divisions. They were drinking a weak wine, but in reality, it was closer to a juice than an actual alcohol, but still, that helped them relax a bit. In every group where were members of the 1st Division, you could hear the excited voices of soldiers, telling to others about how their Commander stormed through the crowd of enemies, unstoppable, like a storm on the sea and similar things. Many of the stories were exaggerated, but they were still pleasant to hear for others and their respect for Razjeel has grown even more. 

Meantime, in the biggest tent, at the same center of the whole camp, Razjeel questioned Commanders of late Divisions, about the reason for the sudden delay. The commander of the 5th Division, Solan, stood up from his seat and bowed towards Razjeel.

"I'm sorry for being late, my lord. The resistance was much tougher than we expected it to be, so we had to take care of that calmly and carefully, as to receive the smallest casualties possible. We are truly sorry for our incompetence, my lord." He bowed once more. Razjeel didn't look at him, not because of annoyance or disdain, but because he was reading a detailed report about Eastern invasion.

'Hmmm, so that is what happened. Many High-class and three Cadre in one place? That had to be tough for them. So how they dealt with that...' He skimmed through the report until he found what he wanted. 'Oh, here. Hahaha hah!! I can't believe this. Two Cadre killed each other haha, while the one left was taken care by "Hit and run". Simple and effective.' Razjeel smiled slightly thinking about the idiocy of Rebels.

"So, how many soldiers have you left?"

"In my 5th Division, I have 4 054 soldiers ready to fight."

"I report 4 475 soldiers from 6th Division ready to battle."

"4 300 soldiers, 7th Division at yours command, my lord."

"Hmm, so we have 22 385 soldiers. Not bad, not bad. Okay, enough with the raport. Let's discuss what we should do tomorrow morning. The city walls are packed with soldiers, there is no chance for sneak attack. Head on assault is also out, maybe 1/4 of us at least will survive. So, any suggestions?" Razjeel asked, resting his head on his palm. He had a plan already formed in his head, but he wanted to see if they could come up with something on their own, if they were able to handle such a situation. In the end, he won't be with them every time, he has other things to do.

Silence descended on the tent. Four Commanders, including Baraqiel, were trying their best to come up with something. Sometimes, one of them opened their mouths to speak, but in the end they shook their heads without the word or clicked their tongues.

 'Ehhh... They can't come up with anything. I should search for strategy and tactics books and re-educate the officers.' When Razjeel was about to open his mouth, Solan already started speaking.

"How about luring them out of the walls? Not all, but at least like 1/4 of them, or even half?" 

'Finally...' Thought Razjeel with a wry smile. 

"But how are we going to do that? They won't send their troops recklessly this time, after Lord Razjeel and I destroyed their two armies." Baraqiel responded.

"O-oh, I'm sorry, you're right." Solan said perplexed, he cursed himself inwardly for saying something stupid.

"Don't apologize. You are Commander of Division, you have to speak what you have in mind, because sometimes even the most ridiculous idea could lead to a solution. Just like now." 'It's not ridiculous though' He looked at all of them and stood up. Solan blinked and smiled almost unnoticeably, he felt gratitude for his Leader's encouraging words. 

"Then how are we going to do this? Are we going to engage in battle, then pretend to lose it, only to fallback where an ambush will be laid?" Commander of the 7th Division asked.

"No, that's a bad move. We don't know if they will even chase after us and we risk unnecessary casualties." Baraqiel inquired.

"Still, I think it's only solution we have. This is war, casualties are unavoidable, so we should at least use them for something productive. If necessary, I will volunteer my Division to play as bait." Commander of the 7th Division continued with a stoic face.

"They are yours soldiers! How could you use them just like that?!" Commander of the 6th Division asked with a slightly angry expression.

"You answered your own question. As you noticed, they are soldiers and this is war. Soldiers die in war, but it depends on us, if their death will be useful or not. Wouldn't you sacrifice a thousand to save a million? Because I would, without hesitation." Commander of 7th Division said without slight change in his expression, with a cold and serious tone of voice.

"Your job is not to use their deaths! It's to bring as many as you can back to home!!" He raised his voice and slammed his hands on the table. 

"First, behave. We are at the strategy meeting, not in the pub, and we're in the presence of our Leader, so show some respect or someone will teach you how to. Second, stop dreaming. I know, you, the youngsters, are full of ideals, but this is how it is. Not everything is pink, there isn't always 'the good way'." The discussion was slowly changing into the quarrel as the two people of different views started exchanging arguments.

Razjeel was curious about the Commander of the 7th Division, Kael. He has short brown hairs and yellow eyes, that combined with his tall and muscular frame gave him an intimidating feeling. From what he knew, he was former Angel, leader of the 15th Legion. Calm, calculative, thinking before acting, always doing his job conscientiously, without questions and most importantly, he was merciless to his enemies. That was how you would describe him. When asked why he Fell, he said it's personal and didn't want to talk about it, and Razjeel didn't ask again, it wasn't his business. With his 2000+ years of life and Cadre-class power, he was one of the best commanders Razjeel found.

Contrary to Kael, the Commander of the 6th Division, Dorian, was kind, liked to help others and preferred to talk things out rather than using violence straight away. He was a born Fallen Angel and was young compared to others Commanders, with only 56 years of life. With him having blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, you could mistook him for an Angel, if not including lack of Halo and white wings. With High-class power he was considered as a talented person. Due to lack of any support, only by training, he became High-class on his own.

"Enough."

One word from Razjeel was enough to silence both of them. They flinched and both sat down, without uttering any word.

"What Kael said might be the way, but not the only one. And for the future, Dorian. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something, to achieve your goals. It's only a matter of survival and death, benefits and losses, everything come down to that. Contrary to appearances, we live in a nasty and cruel world, remember that." Razjeel said to the youngest Fallen in the tent, receiving only a slight nod.

"Okay, so, does anyone have any other idea?"

No one responded again for a few minutes. After some time, Razjeel sighed and pointed at someone who was standing behind him. It was a really pretty, young woman with long black hair, violet eyes and attractive figure. She was of course his maid, Raynare. 

She arrived with the 3 Divisions after they secured one of the cities, where she helped with a few things, like giving away food for civilians, medicines and even eliminating remains of the Rebels. But in reality, she was sent by Razjeel to write a detailed report on the progress of the Eastern invasion. He wanted to check, if what Commanders said would cover how things really looked like. Of course Raynare wasn't the only one, Tamiel sent five of his men to do the same thing, two accompanied by Raynare and the other three on the Western front. 

"Raynare, what would you do if you were in my place?"

Suddenly asked, she flinched in surprise. When she realized everyone was looking at her, she felt tense. 'Why did you even ask me?! I'm just your maid!' She thought.

"My Lord, I think you are expecting too much from her. She is a simple maid, without any experience in planning. And judging by her past she shouldn't even be here." Solan said aloud. He once came up with a plan, so he wanted to at least gain a few more seconds of spotlight, counting on words of agreements from his fellow Commanders or even Razjeel himself.

Raynare clutched her dress tightly and looked down. She felt it, he was looking down on her, with disdain in his eyes. She didn't like it, not at all. But contrary to Solan's expectations, before Raynare could excuse herself from the tent, Razjeel spoke up.

"Hoh? I know she is a maid, I'm not blind. But she is a MINE maid and I asked a question to HER, not YOU. By what law you dare to decide who I talk with and who should be here?" His words were sharp and cold, they stunned Solan, but also Raynare. She couldn't help but lift her head and look at Razjeel with wide eyes. He was looking at Solan with indifference, like he barely acknowledged his presence. 

'He is defending me...' She thought, losing grip on her dress.

"I... I'm sorry, my Lord. It's old habits, it won't happen again." Scared Solan apologized, without looking at Razjeel in fear of meeting his eyes. He decided to be quiet for the rest of the meeting and speak only if asked.

"It's okay. Just do mind your manners. What you did was simply rude, an act of a senseless need to feel superior." It was two of the few things he didn't like, 1st, butting in on his conversations, without having something smart to say, and 2nd, judging people by their past deeds. What he learned in his really long life, was that the people could really change if they learned from their mistakes, not all people, but still. "Now, would you please say something or else I'll make fun of myself." He said with a small gesture of his hand, signaling Raynare to speak.

She closed her eyes and started tapping her index finger on her leg. Thinking of the solution to this problem, tens of ideas invaded her mind. She quickly threw out the most ridiculous one's, but still, she couldn't come up with something breathtaking.

She bit her lower lip and frowned slightly, with her eyes still closed. 'She looks pretty cute' Razjeel chuckled inwardly, again resting his head on his palm.

Raynare felt like minutes passed already, but in reality it wasn't even more than ten seconds. 'Wait, I don't have to come up with anything on my own.' With that thought, she tried to remember any situation similar to that of theirs. 'No way to attack head on, enemy in a better spot... Lure the enemy out... Or attack in the way he doesn't expect... That's it!' She shot her eyes wide open in sudden realization.

"Battle of Thermopylae. We can use the method Persians used to defeat Spartans. With small changes of course." For a few seconds, no one spoke, but Baraqiel was mumbling to himself. 

"This... May work." 

"He? Elaborate. What was that battle? But story short please. '' Said intrigued Razjeel.

"Almost 2500 years ago, in Greece, a human alliance led by Spartans, humans blessed by Ares, were defending against Persians. Few thousand Greeks were defending in the pass of Thermopylae against 100 thousand of Persians. Their defenses were flawless, in majority due to the terrain. All was good until Ephilates, Greek, betrayed them and showed the Persians a path that led to Spartans back. In the end the Spartans lost, but no one of them surrendered, excluding Thebans. In human history, battle of Thermopylae is considered as an example of manhood." Baraqiel explained, being aware of Razjeel's lack of knowledge due to being imprisoned for centuries.

"Hooo, it seems humans had an interesting piece of history. So, back to the topic, what is your plan?" He looked at Raynare.

"I think we should send someone as a fake spy or traitor, or even few of them, to the Rebels and inform them about our location, weaknesses, numbers and make them attack us when we 'didn't' expect that."

"Hmmm. So we'll sending our own fake Ephilates, to lure Persians out of their castle, toward their own demise. Cunning. I like that. But are you sure this will work? They may kill our "Ephilates" on spot and we wouldn't move anywhere." Razjeel questioned again.

"If I may, my Lord. I think we can make it. From what I know, the commander of Rebels in this city is Byron. Not so powerful as a Cadre, but a prideful son of a bitch. We killed many of his men today, it was like a slap on his face, he must be enraged. If we tell him that he will have an opportunity to kill us all and add that the core of Grigori's army is here along with the Main Commander... " Kael explained.

"He will jump after us like whore after coins... Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't intend to." Solan mumbled aloud and, perplexed, quickly apologized, still remembering what Razjeel said about manners. Razjeel wanted to laugh seeing how stressed he was. 'Maybe I scared him too much?' 

"Yes... Like a whore after coins... but we will be ready for the said 'whore' with warm welcome." Replied Kael after hearing that... Specific epithet. 

Razjeel cleared his throat and spoke. 

"So this is the plan, any questions?" 

Kael stood up from his place and declared firmly.

"I ask for the permission to volunteer a few men from my Division to play the role of Ephilates. Some of them have worked with Byron in the past and know how to talk with him."

"Hmmm... This will increase our success chances. Permission granted. But do not choose women. We can't be sure what they will do to them."

"As you wish, my Lord."

Seeing that no one had more questions, Razjeel stood up.

"Now, Baraqiel, you will be responsible for finding a proper place for an ambush and its preparations . Dorian and Solan, your people's task is to play to a fake crowd, if they will notice that the camp is not as populated as we told them, then this whole planning is a waste of time. Tomorrow, me and Kael will attack the city. It will be just an act. We will shoot at the barrier, pretending that we try to destroy it. After a whole day of attacking they will think that we are tired, which will encourage them to attack." Seeing that everyone nodded their heads in agreement, he continued. 

"Kael, your people have to sell Byron some bullshit like, they have to attack in two days or our reinforcements from the capital will arrive, got it?"

"I understand, my Lord."

"Then, that's it. Rest for today, we have a lot of work to do."

They stood up and bowed slightly before leaving. They had their things to do, like order slight preparations for tomorrow. 

Razjeel also stood up and moved towards the only person left in the tent, his maid. She saw him coming and took a half step back unconsciously. He stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes.

Charmed by two gems like eyes, she found herself unable to move, nor speak. He just stared at her for a moment and started raising his hand. Thinking that he wanted to hit her, she forcefully closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, waiting for the slap. 

But the slap she thought would receive, never came. Instead of that she felt a gentle touch on her bare shoulder. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the smiling face of Razjeel, staring at her with a warm look.

"You did a great job, Raynare."

Her eyes widened noticeably, Iris started quivering. She even stopped blinking, trying to save in her mind the image of his smile, surprisingly enjoying the feeling of his warm touch. 

'What a silly girl' Thought Razjeel, after he saw her earlier reaction.

"But it saddens me that you thought I would hit you, without any reason at that. You really thought I would hit you? Am I such a monster to you...?" He said jokingly, taking his hands off her, with a fake sad face.

Feeling that she lost the source of warm on her shoulder, she somehow woke up from her daze. Finally understanding what he said, she started stuttering.

"I... yes. No! I mean, NO! But, I-I, I emm-" She started shaking her head furiously with grave expression, making her hair sway from side to side. She wanted to explain herself, but then she heard it.

"Pffft~! Hahaha"

She then noticed. Man in front of her was trying his best to not laugh aloud. Then it struck her. 'He was messing with me...' Razjeel couldn't hold it any longer. 

"Hahaha hahaha, oh my. You look so cute when you stutter, you know? Haha."

She became a bit red and looked down, feeling embarrassed. She didn't know what to say, or think, or even feel! She was angry, embarrassed and... She shook her head denying her own thoughts. 

"You really did a good job. Now rest. And smile more often. I noticed you never do that."

He said passing by her, walking towards his bed.

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Author Note (3193 words without it)

Heyaaa!! I'm back! I decided that in New year I will move my lazy ass and try to entertain you as much as I can. I noticed that even when I wasn't posting in months, you kept sending PowerStones, for that thank you, you make me remember that you still want to read my awful story hahaha!

Sorry for not posting for months. It's that that I started to read few new novels, first time played Metro: Redux (I'm huge fan of the Metro 2033 universe, both books and games) and I watched anime for the first time since a long time. And I had, and I still have, a certain problem, few authors may knew what I'm talking about. It's like that, that when I watch a movie, anime, read a novel or play game, I'm starting to think of my own story about them, my own Fanfiction.

You have no idea how much time I spent just thinking of my FanFic of Metro 2033, Witcher 3, the Second Coming of Gluttony, classroom of the elite or MHA with Inumaki with cursed speech as a quirk and my original novel that would be the mix of all three former mentioned. Because of that I can't focus on writing this FF because I suddenly start to thought "what would Ivan do, when he would found himself with empty magazine in the nest of nosalis (mutant from Metro)" or about story of parallel world that due to conjuction of the sphere, gained access to magic but different monsters and other beings invaded the planet, changing its geography, all during medieval period. Or modern Age, but with magic where 1 on 10 people awaken magic, monsters roaming the world, different races, 80% of the planet is destroyed by nuclear war, MC is well trained soldier and yes, no sword, no magic for MC, only his brains and guns. C'mon! Who wouldn't want good Metro or Witcher FanFic!?

I just can't focus on this FanFic. God, good to tell someone about it. For those who read so far, Happy New Year, I know I'm late, but hey, now or never.

(Secret, I'll probably change it to Romance)