As Atenzi laid out his revised strategy, the war room hummed with a mix of tension and dark excitement.

His golden-crimson eyes blazed with intensity as he moved pieces across the map, each gesture precise and purposeful.

"Khan thinks to catch us unprepared, but his haste will be his undoing," Atenzi explained, his voice carrying an undercurrent of lethal anticipation. "We'll use the terrain to our advantage. The Whispering Woods here," he pointed to a dense forest on the map, "will be our first line of defense."

Báthory leaned in, her eyes gleaming. "The woods are treacherous even in daylight.

At night..."

"They'll be a nightmare," Atenzi finished, a cold smile playing on his lips. "We'll position your shadow weavers throughout.

As Khan's forces enter, they'll find themselves lost in a labyrinth of illusions and terror."

He turned to one of the vampire generals. "Vislav, your blood mages.

How quickly can they alter the landscape?"

The general, a gaunt figure with eyes like smoldering coals, stepped forward. "Given enough sacrifices, we could raise a quagmire that would swallow horses whole in a matter of hours."

Atenzi nodded. "Do it.

Position them here, at the edge of the Crimson Marshes.

When Khan's army is fully committed to the woods, turn their escape route into a deathtrap."

As the vampires began to mobilize, carrying out Atenzi's orders with swift efficiency, Musashi approached.

The swordmaster's face was a mask of concern.

"Atenzi," he said quietly, "this strategy... it's brilliant, but the cost in lives-"

"Will be high," Atenzi cut him off, his voice cold. "But necessary.

And they are not human.

Would you prefer we wait for Khan to reach the heart of Bloodmire?

To slaughter everyone?

You know Gengis Khan, Sensei.

You know his methods.

He was born before you, and you read about him in the books.

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Those were no legends, he is a vicious man."

Musashi's eyes narrowed. "There was a time when you would have sought a way to minimize casualties on both sides."

For a moment, something flickered in Atenzi's eyes - a hint of his old self, perhaps.

But it was gone in an instant, replaced by the predatory gleam of Oni no Atenzi.

"That time is past," he growled. "This is war, Musashi Sensei.

There is no clean way to win it."

Before Musashi could respond, a commotion at the entrance to the war room drew their attention.

A scout burst in, his face pale with urgency.

"My lords," he gasped, dropping to one knee. "Khan's vanguard... they've breached the outer defenses. They're moving faster than we thought possible!"

A ripple of alarm spread through the assembled vampires.

Báthory's eyes flashed with anger. "How? Our traps, our wards-"

"Broken," the scout interrupted, then quickly added, "Forgive me, my queen. But it's as if they knew exactly where to strike. And their shamans... they're countering our magic somehow."

Atenzi's mind raced, calculating and recalculating.

This was unexpected, but not insurmountable.

In fact, it might even play into their hands.

"Change of plans," he announced, his voice cutting through the growing panic. "We let them come."

All eyes turned to him, expressions ranging from shock to outright disbelief.

"You can't be serious," one of the generals protested. "If we let them penetrate this far-"

"We draw them in," Atenzi continued, his eyes blazing with a fierce light. "Let them think they've outsmarted us.

Let them commit fully to the attack. And then we spring the trap."

He turned to Báthory. "Your castle, my queen.

How quickly can it be evacuated?"

Understanding dawned in Báthory's eyes, a wicked smile spreading across her face. "You mean to use it as bait."

Atenzi nodded. "More than bait. A killing ground.

We lure Khan's forces inside, thinking they've struck at the heart of Bloodmire.

And then we bring the entire structure down on their heads."

A hush fell over the room as the audacity of the plan sank in. It was bold, ruthless, and incredibly risky. But if it worked...

"It will take time to set the charges," one of the vampire engineers said, already calculating. "And the cost in ancient artifacts and tomes-"

"Is nothing compared to the cost of defeat," Atenzi cut him off. "Begin the preparations immediately.

Báthory, I need your most powerful illusionists.

We're going to make Khan think he's facing your entire army, when in reality..."

"We'll be waiting to strike from the shadows," Báthory finished, her eyes gleaming with bloodlust.

As the war room erupted into frenzied activity, Musashi pulled Atenzi aside. "This plan," he said quietly, "it's brilliant, but incredibly dangerous.

If even one thing goes wrong-"

"Then we adapt," Atenzi replied, his voice hard. "We overcome. We do whatever it takes to win."

Musashi studied his former student's face, searching for any sign of the idealistic young man he had once known. "And after?" he asked. "If we win this battle, what then? What kind of ruler will Oni no Atenzi be?"

For a moment, something flickered in Atenzi's eyes - doubt, perhaps, or a hint of his old self. But it was gone in an instant, replaced by a cold determination.

"The kind this world needs," he said simply. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we have a war to win."

As Atenzi strode away to continue coordinating the defense, Musashi couldn't shake a feeling of foreboding.

They might win this battle, but at what cost?

And what would be left of Atenzi's soul when the dust settled?

Outside, the first sounds of battle could be heard in the distance.

Khan's forces were approaching, unaware that they were marching into a trap of unprecedented scale and cunning.

Atenzi stood at the window of the highest tower, watching as the first fires began to bloom on the horizon.

A grim smile played across his lips.

Let Khan come.

Let him bring his entire horde.

For in the game of gods and monsters that Naaim had become, Oni no Atenzi intended to emerge as the ultimate victor...