Under the midday sun, at the helm of the marching 'Grand Army' whose column spans across the road like a rushing torrent of men in snow-white uniforms, lies a carriage of black and gold steadily moving along the road alongside a group of escorting knights in black-gold plate armor.
On the carriage sit two leaders who are controlling the direction of the entire column.
"…and that's how I scammed the entire family using fool's gold!" Valeria said, her mouth curling into a devilish smile as she took a sip of another glass of her top-shelf red wine.
"Wow, how genius of you to coat lead bars in pyrite!" Victor, aka myself, awkwardly smiled in response to her story. He had been listening to her for a while now. Turns out Valeria is quite a lonely soul, since all her associates are either too scared or too stupid to listen to her stories and reply accordingly.
"Yes, I'm a genius! Indeed, I'm… anyway, how about we talk about our plan for the meeting with the princess one last time?" Valeria asked, her face red with embarrassment as she realized she talks too much, she then decided to shifting our conversation into a more serious tone.
"Okay, my plan is to show her the effectiveness of our force, using it as a bargaining chip to have her grant us the position of the centerpiece in her army. Then we try turning her into our puppet by reducing the importance of her other supporters, so she's left with only us as the single force that can consistently support her." I answered.
"So, we must go against both Wulfgang and Isabelle along with their supporters. Do you really think this through?" Valeria asked again.
"Yes." I answered.
"Well said… vino?" she replied with a nod, handing me a glass of blood-red wine.
I politely refused her with a gentle wave of my hand. I must keep my mind as clear as possible, for we are approaching the rendezvous point with the princess's force.
She nodded in reply as she turned her eyes toward the carriage window and glanced over the great, vibrant green expanse of 'Middenland'.
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At the enormous field camp of Princess Gloria's supporting force, where an uncountable number of colorful pavilions and small tents span across the wide grass field of 'Middenland' near the 'Spring Palace', more than ten thousand troops honed their martial skills, readying themselves for the inevitable conflict against the Prince's forces. The Princess stood at the balcony of her small, minuscule palace, her eyes shining bright blue with mana as she used her 'Farsight' to spy on the coming force of her upcoming subordinate.
The ground itself seemed to tremble in fear at their arrival, while their marching cadence roared through the atmosphere, piercing the air like the thunderous roar of an awakened beast.
The force of thousands upon thousands of men clad in pure white uniforms, stained through marches and battles, wielded weapons so unique they were probably the first of their kind. Their footsteps were synchronized so perfectly it seemed almost comical, like drunken geese, yet their gazes were sharp and fearless, exuding an aura of confidence. At their helm lay a carriage of gold and black, the colors of the 'Conti' family who rule the independent city-state of 'Venetia', both sides flanked completely by ranks upon ranks of knights and mercenaries.
After she saw the display of her supposed "ally" 's force, she couldn't help but feel concerned as her mind conversed with itself, scheming for a way to utilize their power without invoking the 'Prophecy' which both she and her father greatly feared, as her feet moved like the wind to welcome the coming allies.
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Inside the 'Spring Palace', in the hall which once hosted luxurious soirées full of nobles, it had now been completely transformed into a war room filled with terrain maps, planning parchments, and unit models used for battlefield strategy.
The tables once used for platters of food were now assembled into one wide table with a map of Middenland spread across it, used solely for war planning. At its head was a throne upon which the Princess sat, and around her were a series of chairs occupied by her noble supporters, including Isabelle and Wulfgang flanking both her right and left sides.
"Why did you impromptu invade Marquis Scrofa le Massif's territory? Didn't I make my order clear for you to assemble your force with me first before doing anything else?" the Princess asked with subtle anger, her eyes glinting like amethysts under the hall's chandeliers, prompting her nobles to chatter as they glanced at us in suspicion.
Valeria and I sat at the end of the table, smiling confidently back at her with our own evidence in front of us, "We were doing the Divines' favor. They're a bunch of devil-worshipping heretics who summoned literal demons to fight us!" I answered as I slid the first piece of evidence, a grimoire we confiscated from the castle chapel toward her.
She read it for a while before nodding in understanding. "But how is this going to aid us in our war? Isn't this a reckless spending of life and resources?" she asked once more, strangely enough, she didn't seem surprised at all, while the chatter of the nobles around her intensified.
"We also found out that they were the ones who exaggerated the pox plague situation and were materially supported by His Highness the Prince. If they decide to use the plague against us again, our army would be in deep trouble. So that's why we volunteered our own force to crush them before that could ever happen, to spare us from a potential disaster that could easily claim millions of lives. It took just just a day and a half to win by the way." I answered once more with a smile, sliding the Marquis's diary we confiscated from his bed chamber toward her.
"That makes sense, but how did you know about all this in the first place?" she asked, eyes narrowing with suspicion directed solely at me.
"Me! My intel network provided him with the information beforehand." Valeria explained, sipping her wine in the process, lying through her teeth without the slightest slip.
The room fell silent, as Valeria was quite an important figure. She was, technically, a sovereign of an entirely different nation.
"Hmph…" Princess Gloria still glared at us with suspicion, but she realized she couldn't do anything else at the moment, so she shifted the subject, "Let that matter rest for now… Wulfgang, how is my brother's force doing?" she asked.
"His forces are still around the capital, probably waiting for His Majesty's death to be announced before doing anything, as per tradition," he answered, turning his head toward me. "Hmph… but Baron Victor's forces attacked one of his subordinate's cities… that might cause them to move earlier than expected..." he continued, frowning and baring his wolf-like teeth.
"That won't be a problem, Wulf. He isn't going to move because it counts as just a normal squabble between nobles, a pretty common occurrence… and also, if that Scrofa fellow really was a demon worshiper, avenging him might cause some uproar, don't you think?" Isabelle chimed in with a usual smug smile.
The two glared at each other in silence for a while before I decided to break it with a cough and discuss something more productive.
"How about we discuss our strategy?" I asked with a smile, while the Princess sighed heavily in reply.
Then everyone spent their time discussing tactics, but somehow they were more interested in gaining favor with the Princess than actually planning anything effective.
This is why I hate politics. Why can't we just discuss military matters, goddammit!!!