RD 5 Ch 31

I rushed alongside the others back to where all of our forces were hopefully still laying siege, with Princess Almeria’s forces bottled up inside the Citadel of Blood.

Winnie slid up next to me as we made our way back. The headstrong woman wore a scowl that, thankfully, didn’t seem directed at me. “Do you think she predicted all of this?” Winnie asked, but she wasn’t just asking. I got the feeling that she was leading into whatever she was going to say next.

“Unless she’s some sort of divine oracle, I doubt she saw this exact situation.” My brow furrowed as the next obvious question came to mind. What had Almeria planned would happen next as she put this series of events together.

“I see you already got there on your own,” Winnie said, a smirk replacing her scowl. “We have to accurately understand what she thinks she knows and what she thinks will happen if we’re ever going to get ahead in this situation.”

“I am well aware.” I did my best not to snap. “Strategy is always vital, but there are times when there is no option but to react to the situation at hand. People’s lives are on the line, and as a leader, we have a responsibility to protect them.”

“We have a responsibility to protect as many as we can,” Winnie corrected me. “I mean, sometimes sacrificing a few is worth saving the whole. And as you said”, she cast a glance at the soldiers around us, “there are critical troops, and then there are those that are non-critical.” Her eyes tracked to Simone and Circe, indicating exactly what she meant.

I was as human as anyone, so my first reaction was anger at Winnie calling some of them expendable, but I squashed it and let logic take over. Winnie was correct on some level. The trial takers were the only people that really mattered. Still, we needed troops if we were to take on Princess Almeria. We couldn’t throw everyone away and still complete the Trial of Kings.

“I’m not omniscient. Tell me what’s in your head and perhaps we can come up with a plan together,” I said, trying to keep my frustration at bay. Winnie had a point in her head that she wanted to make, and I wanted her to stop dancing around the topic.

“The princess has been several steps ahead of us,” Winnie replied as we ran through the forest. “She took the Citadel when you were only thinking about that as a move. Then she turned the lake into a trap, knowing you would visit. I think we got lucky that we were cautious enough to only lose a single scout to the water. The obvious reaction is to rush back to the siege.”

“Of course, after what we just experienced, we have to assume she’ll break the siege the second she realizes we’re gone.” I held a finger up even as Winnie opened her mouth to follow up. “Now, if you keep your eyes up and activate your inspect as often as possible, you should hopefully avoid being completely caught in an ambush.” My own eyes glowed as I spoke.

“If we rush back, that’s a single option for her to plan against,” Winnie pointed out. “Why don’t we change the plan and do something completely out of her expectations?” For all her icy demeanor, Winnie showed a fiery temper when it came to war.

“Just because we’re forced into one option doesn’t mean it’s the worst option,” I said. “If we don’t rush back, there’s a chance she will crush our siege forces.”

“There’s also a chance she lays a trap along the way.” Winnie pressed.

“That’s a risk we’ll have to take. Not every plan has a perfect option.” I shrugged as we ran.

Winnie narrowed her eyes at me, not liking my reasoning.

“If it helps, rushing back so quickly might actually be outside her expectations,” I added. “Perhaps she thought her poisoned lake would do more damage, or at least delay us far longer as we tried to recover. In that regard, rushing back might upset her plan.”

Before Winnie could argue, Circe seemed to grow tired of how slow we were moving. Wind gathered at my back like a howling gale a moment from breaking over us. Winnie felt the push too, glancing over her shoulder to see Circe’s magic swirling.

“Brace yourselves,” Circe called, and then the wind hit our backs like being launched from a cannon.

I suddenly found myself shooting above the treetops as a strong current wrapped around me and carried me through the air. Simone and Winnie were aloft with me, the former clapping her hands in excitement.

“I can’t carry the whole group,” Circe shouted over the wind, “but the four of us are the most important blades to get there and turn the tide.” Her tone left no argument.

“Or this will shove us straight into an ambush,” Winnie muttered, her eyes raking the forest below.

I activated Soul Gaze myself and picked out a few monsters, but nothing our group couldn’t handle. “Circe, can you take us higher?” I asked, nodding toward the area ahead. If we gained altitude, we might spot any large moves on the battlefield with enough time to plan.

Circe didn’t seem to register the request, but wind steadily pushed us higher as her own gaze was fixed ahead.

Far in the distance, the Citadel of Blood rose like a dragon wrapped around its hoard. The air around the fortress glowed brighter than the dreary day should have allowed.

I squinted through the haze, trying to make out exactly what was happening.

“They must have struck while we were gone,” Winnie growled, frustration sharp in her voice.

Simone shielded her eyes and squinted at the distance. “There’s no way she could’ve known all three of us left. The only way she’d have that level of information is if there were traders in our midst, and I guarantee there are none in the Mul Branova.”

“How can you be so sure of that?” Winnie huffed. “It’s not like the class itself generates loyalty to our cause.”

“They genuinely revere Lord Brand,” Simone argued. “If they’ve been given the class and they revere him, they would never betray the order like that.”

“They only have to revere Lord Bran in order to get the class. After that, they’re not locked in,” Circe pointed out.

“Well, ” Simone’s mouth hung open for a beat. “It’s not as if your two groups are any more immune to betrayal than mine.”

“I never said that. But because I’ve considered the possibility, and I’ve taken precautions,” Winnie said.

“You two argue like a married couple,” Circe rolled her eyes. In our flying formation she shifted closer to us. “Which is fine. Just go get a room already so I can take Bran for myself.”

I rolled my eyes. “Now is not the time for flirting, you three. The situation ahead is becoming clear.”

Visibility was crap with the storm, but we had closed enough distance that I could see what was causing that glow.

Bright, powerful wards ran along the citadel walls while a battle raged just outside those wards. At this distance, it didn’t look like Princess Almeria’s forces were fighting. Instead, several red shells popped up at the base of the wall, along with a scattering of icy blue flashes.

The others must have seen it as soon as I did. “Why are my ladies fighting yours?” Simone demanded, glaring at Winnie.

“Because I think you’ve both been had,” I said, jaw tightening. For their forces to engage so fully was nothing less than a complete disaster, one that had to have been orchestrated by Princess Almeria. At least she was the only one who’d benefit from it.

The idea that she’d been able to manipulate both of their forces to such a degree was disheartening.

“What do you want to do, Bran?” Circe asked. All three of them gazed at me expectantly, as if I was supposed to decide.

“Ignore all of them and go straight for the princess’s throat,” I said, even as they shot me bewildered looks

 “Can’t you see all four forces are engaged in this fight?” My words made them look back over the field. The blue and red flashes were obvious, but there was clearly more happening at large. Circe’s forces were engaged with Princess Almeria’s, but not at the walls; instead, something had struck Circe’s camp from behind.

I pointed. “I’d bet money the princess is out there. That’s the most critical operation on the field right now.”

“Regardless of whether we return, and in what condition,” Winnie said, coming to the same conclusion as me, “with the damage to my forces and the Mul Branova, the only force that could still threaten her would be Circe’s. She needs to take a big bite out of that group if she’s to come out on top.”

“She’s a valuable general,” I said. So far she’d proven that she could make immaculate plans. “She’s likely the strongest among her forces. And one of the problems when the most powerful is also the leader is it’s hard to predict whether they’ll sit back and command or be the hammer in the operation.”

“And if she’s not there, we’ll crush her forces,” Simone pointed out.

“When we pick up the pieces, we’ll still be three wounded groups united against a fourth wounded one. That’s better than facing her forces if they’re relatively unscathed.” I answered.

Some of the more cerebral people I knew in a past life called this game theory. There might be math to it, but I wasn’t going to over-academize it; I looked for the most likely scenario instead, playing it out in my head.

Right now it was clear Princess Almeria likely had information from near the top of leadership in one, or more, of the three groups. That meant she knew all three of us had joined hands against her. If I were in her shoes, I’d be trying to break up my enemies’ forces as quickly as possible using swift, decisive blows to even the odds.

She had done that effectively, sowing discord between Winnie’s sect and the Mul Branova, drawing our elites away, and chipping at Circe’s force.

That also meant she was in an incredible rush. If she didn’t level the field now, she might not get another grand opportunity, especially now that she’d used an inside man or woman.

“So, we go in and crush that force. There are good odds Almeria is there, if she is we’ll capture her.” I paused, looking over my shoulder at them. “No one is going to argue with me on this one?”

Winnie held up her hands. “I’m just glad I finally have a warm body I can stick my scythe into.”

AN - I still owe you all a make up chapter. I haven't forgotten, but having trouble getting ahead while packing KS. That's done though today and I'm going to rest a little this weekend before hitting the ground hard on Monday.