The Queen Strategist

Right after defeating Frederick Billing, once titled as the strongest knight in Melvinger City, George moved towards the Military Barracks, where the Melvinger City Guard operated. As soon as he approached the gates, the soldiers knelt in respect.

There was no one in Melvinger City who did not know of the Golden Lion Knight's military prowess, or his achievements as the [Medicine King]. In the eyes of the population, he was a hero and an asset that would allow the humans to prevail against the orcs once again.

However, the reality was grim, and it could be seen on the face of the knights gathered inside the military barracks. Soldiers and commoners seemed oblivious to the threat that the orcs posed. They were incomparable to the standard of orcs from thirty years ago. Each orc possessed strong foundation and military weapons gathered over hundreds of merchant raids. Besides that, their intellect had risen tremendously, especially with the appearance of orc shamans. They could even talk now!

Lady Emma was wearing an armour. Her blond hair and beautiful pair of blue eyes were as alluring as always, her beauty being equal to her brilliant mind. Many were attracted to her, yet no one dared to approach her, for she was the 'known lover of the Golden Knight'. In fact, most people shipped them, and loved the drama around it in this time of crisis.

As soon as George entered, her face made a 180° turn. From a frowning face to an expression devoid of worries and pure happiness. If before, she saw him as someone to seduce and take advantage of, she was now in pure love. George had been her only emotional support for the past year.

"George! You haven't visited me once in the past week! How come?"

"I was busy...The last attempt to deliver a message to Qaarth failed, and the mercenaries who came back were so injured that their own mothers would have trouble recognizing them. Stitching them back was no easy task", George smiled apologetically when he thought of the disgusting operations he had to do.

Unlike modern age, his chirurgical skills relied heavily on trials and errors. With his biochip, he would explore the routes with the highest success rate, but sometimes, his patients would have to go through excruciatingly painful operations without the aid of relaxing drugs since their body was too weak to handle it.

This was tough, but thankfully, warriors were tough both physically and spiritually. His reputation also played a role, since the death rate of his patients was close to zero. In the worst cases, he would use hemostasis potions to stabilize them until they could handle the operations. After all, George had access to a significant amount of magical ingredients, and anything he used would be paid back twofold by the Dragon Pavillon, who was ready to do anything for increasing their forces in these harsh times.

Naturally, George abused their trust, and often asked for more ingredients since his success rate in refining potions was absurdly high for a recipe he had only practiced for a year.

George scanned her, and nodded in acknowledgement.

[Beep! Scan complete!]

[Name - Emma Billing | Status - Healthy | Rank 2 Acolyte

Attributes :

Strength - 1.2 | Dexterity - 1.8 | Vitality - 2.3 | Spiritual Force - 5.6

Spells - Acidic Shot, Aqua Orb Shield]

Emma was a water-elemental acolyte with tremendous potential, grade 2 talent, and impressive will. Her days in the military also helped her refine her fighting spirit, which was usually overlooked by light path magi. She had potential.

Without anything said, the other knights quickly left the room, giving the two of them some privacy.

"How is the Melvinger Magical Society going?", Emma asked, "They are of crucial importance for the battles to come. There are 22 recorded orc shamans, some of them having reached rank 2, one of them being a rank 3 orc shaman! Besides Grand Knights, we do not have anyone capable of dealing with such a strong powerhouse"

George nodded: "They are afraid. But acolytes are stronger than orcs, because the path they walk has been refined by generations of geniuses-like magi. Although they might have rediscovered an extinct path of magic, we also possess the terrain advantage. We have sturdy walls and thousands of commoners willing to repair the breaches. Melvinger City won't fall so easily"

Lady Emma smiled bitterly.

George, however, was quite excited. Since the orcs possessed so many orc shamans, who had reached such high realms in less than thirty years without support, George was confident that there was some sort of treasure that helped them raise their spiritual force. Anything that they used to increase their cultivation, George was confident that it would allow him to break through the rank 3 acolyte realm.

George looked at the confidential reports held by Lady Emma.

[Beep! Siege of Melvinger City Ongoing.

Status: Melvinger City will run out of food in 16 months if it does not begin creating underground plantations by now.

Odds of Victory: 38% if a large-scale battle is initiated by the Orc King, 18% otherwise]

"I will let the Melvinger Magical Society know about underground plantations. It is a matter of the city's survival after all. I do have a nice piece of news for you. The Golden Lion Villa Guards have all reached the knight realm. Although they are only 15, it's still good for the city defense to possess 15 more knights"

"The Golden Lion Villa Guards? You managed to train 15 preparatory knights into the knight realm in less than a year? This is huge...", Emma spoke with amazement brimming in her eyes

"It is...I hope they will continue to progress further. I have sparred with your father today too. Your family misses you"

Lady Emma shook her head: "I miss you..."

George frowned: "You know I cannot stay here too long. The other acolytes have not forgotten you are a dark path acolyte"

"I know...But I miss you nonetheless. It is not easy. I train, I work and I sleep. I do not do anything else everyday. I can't escape my title of 'Queen Strategist', because if I leave, the city will fall. You would be surprised to know that there are less than 15 people who know how to read in this forsaken City Guard Order. They call themselves knights, but can't write! How stupid are they?"

"I know, I know", George said in an attempt to calm her, "I am overworked too. But it is a war. Soon, everything will be over"

Lady Emma nodded while tightening the embrace around George: "Can we at least stay like that for a while"

"As long as you need to, my lady"