Schemes Set in Motion, and a Prelude to Carnage

As the guard exited the tent I turn to the gathered officers and say calmly "Let's return to the topic at hand. Hasdrubal start with the casualty report, and then you may give your battle report."

Hasdrubal nodded as he stood up and said loudly "Understood, sire. During today's battle we had 57 casualties. We also had 226 wounded, but they were entirely comprised of light injuries and all of the injured should be able to return to the front in two to three days. As for the enemy, we estimate that they lost nearly one thousand mortal soldiers, and a few hundred level 2 martial artists from their emperor's personal army." Hearing his report all the officers showed ecstatic expressions, as they loudly cheered.

Hasdrubal continued saying "As for my battle report, the plan was going smoothly until the unexpected arrival of the enemy's reinforcements, which arrived faster than we estimated, not to mention that they were far more numerous than we initially expected, but I was able to slow their speed by personally attacking them. It was then that I was ambushed by two seventh level martial artists; general Luthor Vanar, and his younger brother general Heinrich Vanar. But I managed to escape them with little effort."

Hearing this I say seriously "It's good that you managed to escape them, it would've been a disaster if we lost you."

"I'm honored by your words, my emperor." Hasdrubal says happily as he bows respectfully.

I nod to him and ask with the same serious tone "Tell me Hasdrubal, will they be a threat?"

Hasdrubal takes a few seconds to think before he answers humbly "I didn't fight them that long, so I can't be completely certain, but I don't believe they will be, sire. I'm confident in defeating them if I face one at a time, and I'm also certain that I'll be able to hold my own if I'm fighting them at the same time, if I was able to utilize my speed properly."

Hearing this Hamilcar nods in agreement as he says "I agree with his judgement. After all, why would they bother ambushing him if they had the confidence of defeating him head on."

I also agreed with this deduction as I say "Excellent! Then that means that we are ready for the second step of the plan." The officers all nod resolutely upon hearing my words.

Seeing this I say "Then let's begin preparations for tonight's hunt!"

"Yes, sire." The men all loudly saluted.

***Scene Change***

As the Luminous army camp was still awash with the clamorous noise of the soldiers finishing the primary preparations of their base, the grandiose tent that currently housed all the high ranking officers including their valiant commander, Great General Georgios, was deathly still as they all stared at the mutilated body of the still unconscious emissary they sent to the Eclipse Empire camp.

After a few minutes of suffocating silence, Georgios asked emotionlessly "Was the men's morale greatly damaged when they saw him?"

Georgios's right hand man Lucas calmly stood up from his seat and said in a confident and loud voice "Not at all, my lord. And I was thankfully able to very quickly stop the spread of any rumors throughout the camp."

Hearing this Luthor Vanar quickly suggested "That's perfect! If you managed to stop the rumors then we can tell the men, whatever we see fit! This a perfect opportunity to inspire the troops!"

Hearing this, Lucas calmly said "I'm afraid that won't be very effective general Luthor. After all, he was despised by the soldiers for his overbearing, and arrogant nature. Even if we tell them that the Eclipse soldiers ate his flesh, and drank his blood, the men will most likely praise the Eclipse Empire not admonish it." The officers all nod their heads in agreement to Lucas's words, since they also disliked him.

Seeing this Georgios sighed as he said "It will indeed not be very effective, but we must nonetheless do it. Even though you managed to stop the rumors for now Lucas, they will eventually spread, and that could reflect negatively on us."

The officers all agreed with him, as Lucas said "Understood, my lord. Then I will try my best to exaggerate the ruthlessness of the Eclipse Empire, to gather as much sympathy, and rage from the soldiers."

Georgios orders the guards to take the emissary to the infirmary, before nodding to Lucas, as he says with the same emotionless tone "Leonid. Your battle report."

Hearing this Leonid did not even turn to face Georgios, as he curtly said in a nails on chalkboard voice "Victory is impossible, but defeat is unlikely."

Being already accustomed to Leonid's unpleasant voice and mannerisms, Georgios simply said "So a stalemate, then? As I expected."

Georgios turns to Luthor and Heinrich and says "Your battle report Vanar brothers. Were you able to defeat Hasdrubal Tistra?"

Before Luthor could answer, Heinrich says arrogantly "He ran away with his tail between his legs, my lord. He is no threat." Hearing this Luthor simply stayed quiet, but he couldn't help the sigh that escaped his mouth.

Georgios stared at Heinrich for a few seconds before eventually nodding and saying "We lost 1,328 men today, while our adversaries only had a few dozen casualties. This is unacceptable. That's why we will change our strategy."

The men were all stunned upon hearing this, as Georgios pulled a folded piece of paper from a nearby drawer, and said "This is the latest intelligence from our spies. The Eclipse army only has enough supplies to last them at most a month, so our plan from now on is to hold fast against their attacks, until twenty days from now. That's when we will launch our counter assault."

The officers all show confused expressions, as Luthor asks "I don't understand, my lord, why don't we simply wait an entire month before attacking? That way they will be at our mercy!"

Georgios replies emotionlessly "Because they would have retreated by then, but if we attack them within twenty days, not only would they be on their remaining few supplies, but if they try to retreat using the cover of the mist we can quickly respond, and annihilate them!"

Hearing this Lucas couldn't help but ask "But my lord, fighting a desperate enemy is very dangerous, and our mission is to simply repel the enemy force with as little casualties as possible, wouldn't their retreat without facing them in a costly battle be the perfect outcome?"

Georgios slowly shakes his head, as his eyes narrow dangerously and says "The new Eclipse Emperor has shown great talent in warfare and strategy. If we allow him to return safely to his country, he might become the greatest threat our great empire has ever faced. Even if we don't kill him here, we must at least cripple his army, to ensure the continued safety of our nation."

The men were amazed by the extremely high praise their general afforded to the new Eclipse Emperor. But this also showed them the severity of the situation, as their evaluation of this young monarch was raised by a few levels.

Seeing this a trace of satisfaction flashed across Georgios's eyes as he said "Considering that we just had a pitch battle with them, they should stay quiet tonight. So make sure you get plenty of rest, because starting tomorrow they will constantly attempt to goad us into a decisive battle. An invitation we must never accept until we are ready to welcome it, am I clear?"

"Yes, my lord!" The officers all acknowledged loudly.

As the officers slowly trickled out of Georgios's tent, and the setting sun covered the world in an ominous shade of crimson, he looked at the distant horizon that was veiled by an ocean of mysterious white mist, and thought 'I keep getting this uneasy feeling whenever I think of the future of the Luminous Empire. I must clip this new emperor's wings as soon as possible! I won't allow him to sink his young fangs into my beloved homeland!'

Little did he know that hidden behind the curtain of white mist, lie the predatory gazes of the Eclipse soldiers, like a pack of ravenous wolves staring at a flock of helpless sheep!