Rizeni Baggardo

To speak of Lieutenant Kolkov is to speak of an expectional young man whose values trouble me deeply, but inclined me to heap praise about nonetheless. It was thanks to the Lieutenant's sound tactical maneuvering that Subutei's swift assault was halted in the Northern land, and the Imperial Army was able to regain control of the Capital.

My earliest memory of the Lieutenant's brilliance was not of his successful campaigns against the Northern bandits, but of his first involvement in the Royal Council. After Admiral Koufodimos was slain in the catastrophic battle of Prisma, the council summoned all generals and royalties for an emergency meeting. Lieutenant Kolkov, at the young age of fifteen, was requested to attend by the King himself to attend to this meeting. I recalled the disgusted look on Lord Inzaghi's face as he learned of the news. He spat on the ground and told me that the King's "indubitable favoritism" of Tsarovich descendants would spell the death of the Socenian Empire, whether we would win or lose. I couldn't comment on his statement, for I have not an interaction with Lieutenant Kolkov up to this point, nor have a Tsarovich been summoned into the Council before.

The King began the meeting in a grim voice. He said, "We have all heard of Admiral Koufodimos' unfortunate passing. Subutei's army have won seven battles in a row, and is storming to the Capital as we speak. Our men are starting to think that he's invincible. I tend to quell that myth, but we have to hold the Capital at all cost. I want to hear what the Council has in mind."

Several generals stepped forward with their own ideas. A few proposed the immediate fortification of the Capital, whereas another advised the King to attack them on the flank from Sumisia to catch them by surprise. None spoke of surrendering. None even thought of the possibility.

The Council started arguing amongst themselves on the course of action. The King asked me of my opinion, but I knew that both prominent ideas were impractical. The Capital is in the heart of the Tilano plain, the same plain that has brought it prosperity for thousands of years. But without so much a river or a mountain to protect it, the city would not hold its own against Subutei's seize. To strike the Mangeni from the flank and succeed, Socenian troops need a large fleet of light infantry already stationed on the mountain, which we don't currently have. Any attempt to move a troop that large to Sumisia would be detected by Subutei's vanguards led by Umasinaqi, famed for their Vision-based Flair.

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Finally, the King asked Lieutenant Kolkov on how he would defend the Capital. The Lieutenant had stayed silent since the beginning of the meeting, so much so that I would've forgotten his existence had the King not called him forth. The young lieutenant took a minute to spoke his mind, "Tome City is in no shape for a defensive endeavor. I propose we abandon the Capital."

His words shocked the entire Council, who demanded the King to dismiss him from the room. However, the King urged the young man to continue.

He said, "Not only we abandon the Capital, but we also burn all our supplies. Grain. Wheat. Farmlands. Everything. We throw our meat into the drain so they rot. Then we set traps and withdraw to the Northern mountains."

I asked him of his reasons, to which he replied. "The Mengani are nomadic tribes. They don't have an established food supply line, so they rely on looting the cities they seized from us. If we leave the Capital open, we will evade them while they're at high morale. Once they run out of food, they will be forced to leave the Capital and march towards the mountain, where we neutralize their cavalry superiority. There, we skirmish them until they break. Subutei will rely on his Enhancement-typed Flair to rout us, but individually, he should be no match for General Rizeni and High Chancellor Tonale."

I was astonished by the how detailed his plan was, but was even more flabbergasted of the audacity of the young man to even propose such a strategy. High Chancellor Tonale immediately questioned him about the supply base the Mengani still had at Cesa hill, to which Kolkov calmly replied, "That? We burn it to the ground."

The entire Council opposed Kolkov's idea. Lord Inzaghi even went so far to insult the Lieutenant in front of the King, stating that a man of his age shouldn't have been involved in the Council in the first place, and that a Tsarovich origin like himself would never understand the Socenian code of conduct. The Lords spoke of honor and the Barons spoke courage. I personally told him to step down and apologize, something I would profoundly regret. I reminded the Lieutenant that the Socenian had won hundreds of battles over the last century with our might and militaristic acumen, and would never resort to such outlandish tactics.

Kolkov wavered not in front of our elder council, to which he only replied: "A 3,000 men Socenian army was utterly humiliated by a hundred Zengan cavalries in Cesa. Honor? Courage? They died on that hill."

The council was speechless. Lord Inzaghi was so furious that he stormed out of the room. All eyes were on the King, waiting for him to put Kolkov back to his place. Surely, the King would not approve of such blasphemy to the Socenian ways.

Instead, the King nodded, clapped, and authorized a sneak attack on Cesa hill. High Chancellor Tonale tried to sway the King one last time, but he said: "We've failed seven times fighting our way, Chancellor. I'd much rather our kingdom not fall into the hands of the nomads."

There was nothing else to be said: once the King had made his decision, it was impossible to change his mind. It was time to judge the feasibility of a surprise skirmish up the hill. As unorthodox Kolkov's proposal might be, it was a practical plan. I volunteered to be the Commander, and since nobody else wanted to involve in such a daring plan, Kolkov would be my second-in-command.

When we walk out of the room, I pulled the young man aside. He thanked me for having faith in his plan, to which I told him, "We better take that hill, or else your head won't stick to your neck for long."

Kolkov didn't flinch. He didn't smile. Maybe he didn't even breathe. He said to me with the blankest look on his face, "Our head will stay where they are."