The God of War
Chapter 6 Betrayal and Reply Attacks

After successfully retaking the gold mine in the city of Dylurd, Prince Louis set up camp there just in case. Count Kylar along with some of his troops helped the Prince in defending the gold mine.

In the encampment, Count Kylar and Prince Louis spoke in four eyes about the war situation.

“Prince Louis, thank you for coming to help the Dylurd family region, I as the representative of the Dylurd family thank you so deeply” Count Kylar bowed his head.

Prince Louis nodded his head in response to Count Kylar's words.

“Count Kylar, call me Marshal, I come as Marshal not prince” Prince Louis said.

“Well, if that's the Marshal” said Count Kylar while nodding his head.

“So how is the current war situation?” ask Prince Louis.

“According to the info from the reconnaissance team, the Federation forces retreated all the way to the United City. They don't seem to dare to attack due to the arrival of the Imperial” Marshal Count Kylar replied with a proud face.

United City is a border city in the territory of the Federation.

“My squad will come in approximately 9 or 8 days, when it arrives we will attack United” City, said Prince Louis.

“Marshal, the area near the United City is a vast prairie, it would be very difficult if we just attacked from the front”, said Count Kylar.

Count Kylar unfurled the map of the kingdom, then he thought of another attacker's path aside from the front.

“We can pass the waterway instead?” prince Louis said.

“Yes, some soldiers could disguise themselves as merchants there, but when entering the territory of the Federation there would be very strict checks, if there were no insiders, but when entering the territory of the Federation there would be very strict checks, impossible to enter through the checkpoint” said Count Kylar.

“Inner, it looks like..” murmured Prince Louis.

“What's the Marshal?” ask Count Kylar.

“We can get through these waterways, I have a plan. But we have to wait for my troops to come, before they come there must be a counterattack” Prince Louis said.

“They will no longer dare to attack Marshal” Count Kylar said.

“No, my hunch says that they will attack, not to seize this gold mine but to destroy it” Prince Louis said.

***

The next morning, the Federation forces launched a series of raids using light cavalry. Their goal was not to retake the gold mines, but to destroy the artillery and bombardment cannons that had been captured by the Imperial forces.

Federation forces are made up of various states, where each state has an infantry force of about 2-3 thousand personnel. However, the challenge that Federation forces sometimes face is the decision-making process that requires the presence of more than 3 generals in a strategy meeting. This sometimes impedes the speed of decision-making because it requires mutual discussion.

Strategy Meeting is taking place at the residence at the border of the Union City within the territory of the Federation. The meeting was attended by 5 generals and 10 lieutenant generals. Each general had their own views on the war situation at hand. Although this meeting had been going on from early morning until late afternoon, no clear agreement had been reached yet.

"We must wait for the arrival of the main force. Enough to hold their attacks for 2 weeks, and after the main troops arrive, we can launch a full offensive" said one of the five generals at the meeting. The general was over 40 years old and had an authoritative appearance. His trademark attire indicates that he is the head of the military, which is marked with the Eagle badge worn on his chest.

"We?" General 1 confirmed, "I told you before, the main army of the Empire will arrive in the near future. If we don't attack now, that opportunity will be lost. What are we afraid of? They only have 2,000 troops, while we have 10,000. At the very least, we must destroy the Empire's army before their main army arrives!"

"But there was Prince Louis. How can we beat him?" said General 2.

"Prince Louis is the most feared Marshal of the Empire. We must not be reckless in attacking" said General 3.

"Stop this meeting. We better vote, but we won't vote, but the lieutenant generals who are here" Leo said.

Everyone became quiet for a moment. If the vote is conducted by the generals, then it will be clear that the decision taken by the Chief of Military will be more advantaged because of his position.

"You have to choose between attacking or not, or if you have other ideas, convey them. Don't think about your General status, speak according to your own thoughts" General Leo said.

"I agree" said the Chief of the Army.

"I have an opinion. I agree with General Leo that we must wait for the main forces of the Empire. However, I would like to suggest that we destroy the Gold Mine now" Lieutenant General Wein said.

Everyone was surprised by that opinion.

"But what's the point of destroying a gold mine? It would only be a waste of valuable resources" asked General Leo. 

"The gold mine is an important strategic point. If the Empire's main forces established a command post there, they would gain a significant advantage. By destroying the gold mines, we can prevent them from gaining a favorable position" General Wein said.

The atmosphere of the meeting became tense. The generals and lieutenant generals looked at each other. Finally, the Chief of the Military made a sound. 

"Alright, let's take a vote to make a decision. Each lieutenant general must vote according to his own convictions."

The vote began. One by one, the lieutenant generals cast their votes. After all the votes were counted, the majority of the lieutenant generals expressed their support for destroying the Gold Mine.

The decision was eventually accepted by all the generals present, including General 1 who proposed to attack the Empire.

"In accordance with the results of the joint decision. We will destroy the Gold Mine to protect our territory and prevent the main forces of the Empire from setting up a command post there. This decision we will make, immediately prepare the troops to destroy the mine" said the Chief of Military. 

The strategy meeting ends with a decision that has been decided through a vote. The Federation forces prepared to destroy the Gold Mine as part of their plan in the face of the Empire's incoming main force.

Lieutenant General Wein's forces along with 5 heavy artillery units and 1000 personnel moved early in the morning to the location near the gold mine, but before attacking Lieutenant General Wein got a report that the party from the Empire had abandoned the mine.

“They already know what we are going to do. Are we leaking information? No, it is possible that this is an estimate from Prince Louis” muttered Letjen Wein.

LetJen (General Lieutenant).

Before LetJen Wein's forces attacked, a trumpet was blown as a sign of attack. The attack was carried out by General 1 along with 2000 personnel. General 1 did not agree to wait for the main army, so he decided to attack first in hopes of weakening the Imperial army.

General 1 was also very curious about the figure of the Imperial Marsal, Prince Louis. The other generals were afraid to attack because of this. The actions of General 1 who were not in line with the joint decision were considered treason. LetJen Wein advanced with his horse to meet General 1, but this effort was in vain because General 1 was so stubborn.

The 1st General attacked the gate of the fort with a wall, but his efforts were in vain. The Imperial Party had not expected this attack but it did not mean that they were unprepared, the gate of the Citadel was opened after the Federation troops retreated. The cavalry of the Imperial Marshal Prince Louis attacked.

"Get down! Get their leader's head!" prince Louis said.

The cavalry advanced in Prince Louis's footsteps, with the Marshal flag held by LetJen behind him. Prince Louis' forces managed to break through the main defense and finally reached the middle of the battlefield.

Some cavalry lost their horses and were trapped, while others continued to attack. Prince Louis fell from his horse with both swords, but before his horse fell, he jumped and with his swords he hit the enemy around him.

The troops from the Federation surrounded Prince Louis, they kept a safe distance and retreated for a moment. Then, a rain of arrows began to fall from the sky. Prince Louis, who was not carrying a shield but holding both swords in his hands, General 1 looked at the situation and smiled.

How will Prince Louis face this deadly situation?