The clamor of angry shouts and screams filled the command tent. It had only been an hour since I arrived at the gathering of the coalition forces and already there were more problems than I could even begin to count. Most of these problems stemmed from the fact that most of the people here hated each other more than they feared the Demons. Getting even the smallest of compromises from these pompous kings and nobles was like pulling teeth. While there were a few that saw the danger for what it was, they were few and far between. A majority of these so-called commanders were more interested in their own glory than the war itself.
I had yet to speak my opinion and preferred to just watch for now. While frustrating, it was moments like these that told me what type of people I was working with, who I could use, and who would be a hindrance. I had already picked out a few promising seeds from among the bickering crowd that showed some promise. These people were worth looking after when the fighting started. When the fires burned and blood turned the valley red, the cowards and incompetents would be rooted out. I would be keep a close eye on the few with potential and a squadron of undead nearby in case of a dangerous situation. If the unpolished gems died too early, the army would only suffer.
As I watched the bickering commanders, the tent blew open and a man in a bright red jacket walked in. His attire was not as immaculate as I remembered. Fresh blood still dripped from his sword and the intense smell of copper followed in his wake.
“Looks like ye stated the party without me.”
“General Arthur, we sent a messenger to your encampment over an hour ago,” one of the commanders said with a disapproving frown. He had been introduced to me as the prince of one of the smaller nations but I did not bother remembering his name. From my observations, he was the type that focused only on proving his own glory. People like him were either the first to die when the fighting started or the first to run away. I only hoped the men that served under him did not follow in his footsteps when that time came.
General Arthur replied with a shrug as he claimed one of the empty chairs near me and leaned back. “Was scoutin’ the edge of the blood mist. Unlike ye sorry lot, I do not have the patience to sit here and wait for our enemy to make the first move.”
“So, you just abandoned your encampment? You were the one that volunteered to take up location on one of the only two paths up the plateau. What would you have done if the Demons chose that moment to attack?” The prince asked with a haughty tone that clearly looked down on General Arthur no matter how he replied.
General Arthur just grinned as he met the gaze of the prince without concern. “Do ye not trust your men enough that ye can’t even leave camp for two hours? Are ye fightin’ a war or startin’ a babysittin’ service.”
The prince frowned as many of the other commanders in the tent shook their heads at him. It was far too obvious the prince was trying to drag General Arthur down because of some personal agenda but none of the other generals or kings here were naive enough to change their opinions on a decorated general just because of a few words from a stuck-up prince. The prince was too caught up in his own performance to notice or perhaps he was just used to being surrounded by people that always agreed with him. He continued to speak down to General Arthur without restraint.
“Perhaps you need to go on scouting missions yourself because your men are too incompetent to do the task themselves.”
General Arthur laughed at the obvious taunt. “Boy, I think you forget, I was the one that conquered half your little country two years ago. Ye lost in one of the easiest battles of my life. If my men are considered incompetent, what are yours?”
The haughty prince’s face turned bright red in fury. “You cannot speak to me this way. I am the prince of Fastus. I –”
“Enough,” I sighed softly. The flickering candles that lit the command tent dimmed and turned green, bathing the men in the eerie light. “We have gathered here to fight Demons, not to bicker with one another. I have seen enough. Before our discussions go any further, the coalition needs a proper command structure.”
“So that you can rule us once again?” accused one of the kings.
“No, all the domain warriors, including myself, need to be ready to react to any situation the Demons might throw at us. We cannot do that if we are too busy commanding the troops on the ground or dealing with supply lines. The commander of this coalition does not need to be the most powerful of influential, he simply needs to be the most qualified.”
Realizing that the most powerful people would not be competing for the position, more than a few of the generals in the command tent puffed out their chests, ready to step forwards and volunteer. Leader of such a massive coalition would be the greatest honor the war could provide and each of them wanted their names written in the history books of this event. Most, however, were just deluding themselves. Even the haughty prince looked like he thought he was qualified for the position.
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“How will we decide who will lead?” one of the kings asked skeptically.
“We will put it to a vote,” Svend said gruffly, “Each nation’s representative and each domain warrior present will each get one vote.”
“That arrangement heavily favors certain people,” the king said with a glance at me, “Should we not just have one vote per army?”
Another man huffed as his domain flared to life. “You are just saying that because your little nation does not have a domain warrior. In the end, it will be us that will kill the Demons, not your toy soldiers. I agree with the King of Kala’s proposal.”
A fierce debate soon started. These people could not even decide on how they were going to decide. If things stayed like this, the Demons would not even have to attack us, the coalition would fall apart on its own. Fortunately, there were a few reasonable people found among the chaos. A compromise was reached that allowed the countries to remove the coalition’s commander so long as more than two-thirds of them agreed. While the domain warriors still had a say in the initial vote, the ability for the smaller countries to have a say in case of a tyrannical or incompetent leader allowed the vote to move forward.
One of the generals gestured towards Svend. “Since you were the one to propose the vote, why don’t you go first?”
Svend nodded. “Very well, I nominate General Arthur for the position. He has led a coalition in the past during the Ciel Empire’s expanse. He has the experience, and more importantly, the motivation to lead the troops.”
The vote that followed lacked any tension. Once the vote began, I knew it would fall as we planned. The domain warriors from Bellator as well as my family all followed my vote for General Arthur without question. Sebastion also had no reason not to nominate one of his own men and Vissna just did not care. The representatives from the other nations had not realized until it was too late just how united our group was but since General Arthur was not one of my puppets, they did not complain too much. It was unlikely I could get the coalition to vote in such a manner a second time but that was fine. I had accomplished the most important goal and each of the representatives agreed to the outcome of the vote.
The haughty prince that had badmouthed General Arthur became increasingly pale as his new reality became official. He was unwilling to meet General Arthur’s gaze as he slunk into the crowd and tried to hide behind others from his nation.
A discussion followed that ironed out the rules of the coalition. Any soldier or commander that disobeyed General Arthur from now on would be subject to martial law regardless of which country they originated from. It was also agreed that any country that left the coalition before the defeat of the Demons would be barred from returning and would not receive any assistance should their country come under attack. The talks and arguments continued for several hours but unlike when I first arrived, agreements were reached. In the end, everything was ratified in a single document uninspiringly called the Demon Eradication Pact. Each and every person present at the time signed it and agreed to fight until the end. Despite the boredom of the proceedings, I still felt a sense of pride, seeing my name at the bottom of the document along with all the other domain warriors present. I had done my best to prepare for Envy’s arrival and now all my actions had born fruit.
By the time I left the command tent, night had already fallen. All I wanted now was to lie down but I did not walk very far before General Arthur caught up to me. “Ye heaped a lot of responsibility on my head without warnin’.”
“Would you rather be obeying someone else’s commands?” I asked.
General Arthur chuckled as he walked beside me. “I was actually plannin’ to strike out on my own before ye showed up.”
“I am guessing the church’s forces are hidden somewhere nearby. How well did they prepare?”
“Not well enough,” general Arthur replied with a sigh, “The resources we have access to are bountiful but the Demonkin… they are far stronger than we feared. I have gone into the blood mist ten times since its outbreak. Each time, I barely escaped with my life thanks only to the church’s resources… The ones hidin’ beyond that haze, they are nearly as strong as domain warriors… at least a hundred of them.”
I grimaced as my worst fears were realized. Envy was willing to risk monumental losses sending stronger Demonkin through unstable portals. The stronger the being that went through those cracks in the realm, the more likely the rifts were to collapse. Any creatures caught in the collapse would be lost forever. I did not know why Envy was so desperate that he could not wait a few months before sending his more powerful troops through but it was not good news for our coalition.
“I will find a way to thin their numbers,” I said with false confidence, “For now, the army should focus on defensive measures and preventing the spread of the mist. Also, send people with the appropriate talents to monitor underground. I have been caught off guard by tunneling Demonkin too many times.”
“Ye can count on me!” General Arthur replied with a confident thump on his chest, “I have prepared my entire life for this. So long as ye can deal with the big threats, I will crush their army without fail.”
“I also have a plan in place to throw off the Demon capable of seeing the future, a bit of chaos in our movements. In the next few days, after you finish organizing the troops, come find me.”
General Arthur looked like a child barely containing his excitement as his eyes sparkled. “War is chaos. If that is all it takes to throw them off, I think I might have a few ideas as well.”
General Arthur’s enthusiasm was infectious and I could not help but smile back at him. “Just be careful. You are now the most important person in our army. If you fall, the rest may fall with you.”