Game of the Monarch

[Randol Sabian]

Tactician LV.5

Strength — 11         Command — 72

Intellect — 91        Politics — 80

Loyalty — 00

Special Traits — Strategy, Tactics, Intuition, Level-headed, Silver Tongue.

Strategy LV.6: Excellent ability to see the overall flow of war.

Tactics LV.8: Efficiency of tactics used in battle increases and exhibits great effects.

Intuition LV.4: The ability to detect a critical situation for your troops in advance. 

Level-headed LV.6: High resistance to temptation and bribes, and can remain composed even in the face of death.

Silver Tongued LV.5: The ability to persuade or subdue others through dialogue. It may be counterproductive to someone with strong pride.

At this level, he was basically an A-class war tactician. In Milton’s eyes, as a war tactician, Viscount Randon Sabian was a coveted treasure that he had been greatly lacking. 

Griiip.

“Ah…”

Viscount Sabian frowned as Milton unintentionally tightened his grip. 

“Oh, forgive me, Viscount. That was wholly unintentional.”

Seeing Milton hastily apologizing, Viscount Sabian gave him a wry smile.

“I must look like a very suspicious person in your eyes.”

He seemed to believe that Milton had intentionally squeezed his hand in order to threaten and warn him. 

“Ah, no, that’s not it… again, I’m very sorry.”

While Milton tried to apologize and reassure him, Viscount Sabian didn’t believe him.

‘Is he trying to threaten someone he just met for the first time? He didn’t seem like an arrogant upstart from the countryside though.’

Viscount Sabian looked at Milton and continued to think.

‘He’s not easy. He might be more profound and clever than I had thought.’

He judged Milton Forrest to be a very suspicious and vigilant person. 

‘Hm… he seems to have misunderstood something… Eh, whatever.’

Milton decided to just ignore it, after all, that wasn’t the important thing. 

“So, Viscount Sabian. I heard you have a tactic that could help us win this war… was that a field you originally studied?”

“Yes, I studied strategies and tactics in the Academy. And… while I’m not proud of my career, I was the Chief Strategist in the First Prince’s army that subdued the rebels.”

“That failed… Oh! Forgive me.”

“No, it’s true anyway.”

He gave a deep sigh. Since it would all be revealed later on, he decided to say it himself from the very start, but it still wasn’t something to be proud of. Especially since the First Prince’s subjugation army was annihilated in the worst way possible. Although none of Viscount Sabian’s advice and opinions were taken into consideration during the war, he made no excuses for the decimation of the army. Making excuses wouldn’t help him; it’d just make him look bad. 

‘It can’t be helped.’

He mentally sighed, then looked at Milton.

“If it’s the Count, I think there’s at least a 70 percent chance that you could capture Lobiance Castle if you attacked it.”

“Thank you for thinking so highly of me.”

“But, if you go with a frontal attack, you’ll incur at least 3,000 casualties.”

“Hm…”

“Even if you defeat the Second Prince’s army, when you consider the Republican forces hiding in the North, it’s best to reduce the casualties as much as possible.”

Milton sighed as Viscount Sabian accurately pointed out his concerns.

“You’re right. So what should I do?”

Viscount Sabian’s eyes widened.

“You believe me?”

“What you said was all true, so why wouldn’t I believe you?”

“But I…”

“I agree that when you were the First Prince’s tactician, the results weren’t great.”

“But you still trust me?”

Milton had to pause and think for a moment when Viscount Sabian continued to question him. The only reason Milton was listening to Viscount Sabian was because he knew the Viscount’s abilities were great. But Viscount Sabian didn’t know that. He probably thought Milton trusting him so easily was odd. 

‘It’s understandable now that I think about it.’

Having grasped the situation, Milton gave the Viscount a smile.

“I look at the person currently in front of me and not at their past or the rumors about them when I’m evaluating them.”

“What’ll you do if you misjudge a person?”

“I have confidence in my ability to judge people.”

‘That’s because I have a convenient ability called the power of the monarch.’

With a bit of admiration, Viscount Sabian changed his evaluation of Milton Forrest’s character.

‘He’s not just an ordinary Count.’

Up until now, Sabian had thought Milton was just a lucky guy. He left the First Prince’s subjugation army and at the perfect time, he moved his army to save the kingship, and was trusted by Princess Leila. Seeing how everything went smoothly for him, Viscount Sabian could only think Milton was fortunate. But now that the Viscount actually met and spoke with him, he realized that he had been wrong. Milton Forrest was the biggest hearted man Sabain had ever met. When he had been unwillingly dragged into First Prince Skyt’s subjugation army by his teacher, he had realized the First Prince was noble only in blood. He wasn’t someone that could be compared to. 

At that moment, Milton had a satisfied smile on his face. He had seen Viscount Sabian’s Loyalty rise from 00 to 10 on the status window. 

‘Nice. Then, hopefully…’

Seeing Viscount Sabian’s heart leaning more towards him, Milton approached even stronger.

“I don’t doubt you or your abilities, so show them to me. Whether I accept them or not is up to me.”

Viscount Sabian’s face was full of confidence.

“You’ll never be disappointed.”

He then took out a map of the area, unfolded it, and began explaining how he thought the siege of Lobiance Castle would proceed. And once all the explanations were over…

“Very good. I like that even if we do fail, we wouldn’t cause significant damage to our allies.”

Milton continued to shower Viscount Sabian with praise. 

“Thank you for the acknowledgments Count Forrest”

“Viscount Sabian.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll have you lead this operation. Please do your best to take Lobiance Castle.”

“Really? You’re really going to have me lead?”

“It’s a strategy that you’ve come up with. Who else would execute it best but you?”

“But…”

Viscount Sabian couldn’t say anything. 

They had just met today. He hadn’t been introduced to the Count by anyone, and his career was a mark against him. For Milton to have easily accepted his strategy was surprising but to have him lead the operation? It went beyond exciting, it was shocking. 

‘What exactly does he see in me?’

Milton saw that Viscount Sabian was bewildered. 

“You’re not confident?”

“No, that’s not it.”

Viscount Sabian got himself together at Milton’s short question.

“I can do it. If you leave it to me, I’ll surely live up to your expectations.”

“Good.”

When Milton laughed and patted him on the shoulder, Viscount Sabian made a resolution. 

‘I must show him my abilities. I’ll become the person that you must have and need, Count Forrest.’

Meanwhile, Milton only had one thought.

‘Dibs.’

* * *

Holed up in Lobiance Castle, the Second Prince’s army began to make preparations for the siege. They collected as much food as possible and placed equipment on the castle walls to prepare for enemy attacks. Just as they had finished their preparations and begun to wait, Milton appeared with his Southern Army. 

“So they finally came?”

Standing on top of the castle walls, the Second Prince gulped as he saw them. It was about to begin. If he managed to last until the North sent reinforcements from the Republic, then it would be his victory. But if the walls collapsed before that, he would be defeated.

‘Let’s do this.’

Although it was like a cornered mouse trying to bite a cat, the Second Prince was still determined.

The Southern Army began attacking the Lobiance Castle walls.

“Attack!!”

“Wahhhhh!”

“Defeat the rebels!!”

The soldiers yelled as they attacked the walls.

“Fire the arrows! Don’t let them get close to the walls!”

The Second Prince’s army fought back and soon, arrows were covering the sky and a battle broke out. But…

“That’s strange.”

The Commander of the Northern Army frowned. Was there a problem at the walls? No, that wasn’t it. Rather, it was too easy to defend against the enemies. They were firing arrows and using catapults to attack the walls, but that was it. They weren’t using ladders or grappling hooks to climb up the walls. Instead, they were attacking from a safe distance. Since shields could be used to protect archers and siege weapons, there weren't any issues in the eyes of the defenders. But the problem was…

“Why are they doing that?”

Why was the enemy fighting so listlessly? Lobiance Castle walls weren't as high as the former Baikal Fortress walls. If they wanted to, they could easily scale the walls using grappling hooks and ladders. So, why? Why won’t they? He couldn’t understand why the enemy was only fighting from afar. Thinking that it was strange, the commander reported this matter to his superiors. But, the other commanders at the walls had reported the same thing. 

Naturally, the Second Prince was troubled.

“What is their motive?”

From his perspective, this battle was going in the desired direction since all he had to do was wait out the siege until reinforcements came. But, because it was going in the right direction, it was rather suspicious. Usually, the Second Prince would ask for advice from his uncle, Marquis Marius, but he was currently on his way up north to ask for reinforcements from the Republic. So, the Second Prince had to ask the other advisors about this strange situation. 

“Do you know what they’re intending to do?”

One of his advisors answered him.

“The enemy seems to be thinking about the next battle, Your Highness.”

“The next battle?”

“Yes, Your Highness. The Republican forces behind us is probably worrying them. If they lose a lot of men during this siege, then it will be impossible for them to withstand the attack from the Republicans. So it seems like they’re doing everything they can to minimize their casualties.”

The Second Prince frowned as he heard the advisor’s thoughts. 

“So they’re not giving a shit about me?”

Just as the Second Prince’s pride was wounded, another advisor spoke.

“Your Highness, it may be a good thing.”

“What do you mean?”

“The siege would be easier to withstand if they don’t go all-out, Your Highness.”

“Hm… that’s true.”

“Our goal was to hold our position and wait until Marquis Marius brought reinforcements from the North. There is no need for us to expend all our energy into this battle, Your Highness.”

“That’s also true.”

While he was a bit offended, the situation was actually favorable to him.

“But just in case, be vigilant. Got it?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The Second Prince was relieved that the situation seemed to be advantageous for him. 

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