Godfather's System

My initial plan was to deliver the mana bomb against the army that was planning to attack us, but, once I caught up with the attacking army, I began having second thoughts about it.

The offensive regiment was barely two thousand troops importantly, they were rushing forward recklessly. There was no need to weaken them when the caravan had already bunkered down, with enough ballistas to turn their position into an unbreakable bulwark.

Then, Limenta sent me a report, telling me that there was a flying castle that had just appeared at the edge of the sea, moving directly toward Town Maell. The castle was covered with Ralum flags, but that didn't fill me with confidence.

After all, while we had decent relations with the princess, the rest of her family was a completely different situation. Though, it was more fair to say our relationship with Ralum was horrible due to our good relationship with the princess.

Not that it mattered much. Ultimately, we were stuck with our choices.

We needed the classified information she could access, and she needed our military assistance. Codependence might be a horrible recipe for interpersonal relationships, but it was as close to ideal as it gets for alliances between organizations.

I asked Limenta to delay the flying castle as much as possible without getting near or actually opening fire. I had examined Takis' new defenses, and they were certainly strong enough to take down a flying castle, especially one that would barge into our territory unprepared.

Unfortunately, that was not an option. They were bearing Ralum flags, and any attack against them could be considered as a declaration of war.

Ordinarily, this was not a situation that the Kingdom could impose on their vassals easily. It violated several agreements, and even more unwritten rules. But, like everything in life, neither meant anything without the power to back them up. We — both as the church, and as the dukedom — lacked the allies necessary to lobby on our behalf, which would in turn force the kingdom to play nice.

I didn't return to the camp directly. First, I parked the flying cart — and the mana bomb — in a random cave, and left a few isolation wards for good measure. It would be useful during the current encounter, but using it against the other enemies would be even better.

As I returned to the caravan, I found a red-faced Baron Maell watching as the soldiers assembled the ballistas on the carts while the caravan continued to move. He didn't appreciate deception. The other army were just a few miles away, thinking that their magical protections had kept them hidden for us.

A dangerous assumption.

As I watched them, I decided to appear as the Lord Crusader. The assassin would have been useful, but he could always appear once the attackers had been routed, picking up the retreating commanders. As for appearing as the Lord Steward … since taking him down was one of the objectives, it was better to keep him hidden.

I picked up the armor from the camp, went away, only to walk toward the camp. People knelt around me as I approached, including Baron Maell. "My lord, what are your orders?" he asked.

"The enemy is about to arrive within less than a minute. Be ready to defend," I ordered. "You will be commanding the camp. Keep the ballistas out of your command radius," I said as I spread my Charisma like a limb.

He followed my orders. But, he was confused, as, during the earlier battle, I had revealed Charisma strong enough to organize the whole Town at the same time, making me the better option to command the camp.

I didn't bother explaining my decision to him. Unlike Takis or Mahruss, Baron Maell lacked the strategic acumen to come up with a good decision. He was an excellent warrior, but his usefulness as a commander was limited to his command skill.

Luckily, he was essentially star struck by the Lord Crusader, making the job of ordering him around much easier. He didn't even question why he hadn't been informed about the true contents of the caravan as its leader before he went on to follow my orders.

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I stayed in the middle of the camp while the army moved slowly, still disguised as a mere trade caravan; until our enemy attacked from the sides, all mounted as they rushed forward in a thunderous charge. I immediately moved forward, letting a golden glow spread.

A golden knight was not easy to hide in a world where Perception existed, so I made sure that my presence gave courage to our army.

Even with the Baron's Charisma supporting them, it was necessary, as our attackers were certainly intimidating. The front line approached, their lances glowing deep with mana, ready to smash against ours but I cared more about the mages that were spread in the crowd, ready to start using offensive spells the moment our ward would get broken by the initial charge, or defend if needed.

Too bad their disguises were not enough to hide from my gaze. I waited until their first line was about to smash against ours, feeling their mages reach to their mana, forming their attack spells. "It's time for some sniping," I muttered to myself as I flared my Charisma, ordering the ballistas to fire. They smashed the walls of the carts at the same time, revealing the presence of fifty siege weapons.

Already an impressive display, but wouldn't have been enough to change the balance between the armies. But, when fifty ballistas fired their mana enhanced ammunition, that was a different story. Thirty of them hit the same spot, overwhelming their defensive ward.

It didn't come as a surprise, as my growing magical knowledge allowed me to pinpoint the weaknesses of the ward.

The mages tried to shift from their offensive spells to defensive ones, trying to establish a new ward, but they were too late. Since I knew the fate of the ward, I had already fired the other twenty ballistas after a fractional delay, targeting the mages.

Just like that, the attacking army had lost a majority of their magic support. "Attack!" I ordered even as I pulled back from the Ballistas. Not because they suddenly lost their value, but I needed my Charisma for my next trick.

I charged forward, my greatsword glowing golden as I moved forward. At the same time, I brought my Charisma forward like a battering ram, shattering their command skill and replacing it with a thick aura of terror.

"Take him down!" their commander shouted in panic, which was understandable. The classes that received one extra point in Charisma each level up were already rare for the kingdoms, and even rarer for them to reach level hundred. Add in the fact that they only had Basic Life elevation at best, their effective Charisma impact had a theoretical maximum of one fifty.

Which meant, in theory, the command aura of my opponent, roughly supported by a hundred twenty effective Charisma, should have been safe from my intervention. At most, I should be able to lock him, which would leave another commander to take his place.

Yet, I displayed an effective Charisma of three hundred … overwhelming their combined weight, the fear aura turning their army into chaos.

"Kill the enemies of the light!" I shouted with a booming voice, which was particularly effective considering every swing of my sword was bisecting at least one soldier. At the same time, the ballistas continued to rain on the back of the army, putting their reserves into disarray.

Just like that, their well-put army had shattered, and was forced to retreat.

A tragedy. As much as their instant defeat disagreed with that conclusion, they were not weak. Not even close. Even with all of our advantages, if they approached us with caution, they would have turned it into a painful, lengthy battle that would have pinned us in our place for hours, turning it into a pyrrhic victory.

But, it was the truth of war. Sun Tzu was not wrong with his proverb. Know thyself, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.

Just by knowing that they were desperate enough to deal with a potential Domain holder, I was able to turn their counter-attack into a three card game, forcing them to check each card desperately to find the Queen … losing more and more with each attempt.

Unfortunately, the game was not over.

"Gather the lines, and stop chasing," I ordered with my booming voice, though, in the haze of victory, it wasn't enough to stop our forces chasing the enemy. "Stop!" I shouted again, this time enhancing that order with a wave of Charisma.

They stopped. I walked up to Baron Maell. "You have two minutes to gather everyone and move the caravan to support the Wall —" I started, but right at that moment, I received a message from Limenta. One of our scouts had noticed a familiar face on the walls of the approaching flying castle.

"Actually, no," I said as I pointed at one of the other commanders, "You are going to lead the army. You have two minutes to loot the fallen before you start moving. Maell, you're with me," while sending a message to Zolast to meet with the army and support the wall.

While the rest followed my orders, Baron Maell froze, looking like a kicked puppy. It was a hilarious sight, particularly for a hulking man that was covered with the fresh blood of his enemies. "Did I do something wrong, my lord?" he asked.

"No, we need to return to Town Maell," I said.

"Why, my lord? Is there another attack?"

"No," I said even as I called down one of the captured flying carts. "You have a family reunion to attend."