Leading

"And what about Sigtrygg?" Kazi asked.

"What about him?" Toirdelbach asked.

"High-King," Kazi said, addressing Brian Boru specifically. "Your daughter, Sláine, is married to Sigtrygg. I doubt he will leave her side. What will you want us to do with her?"

The eyes of the regional kings went wide, asking themselves, "How does an Otherworlder know about that?"

"...warrior of another world, you overstep your boundaries." The High King's threat fell empty. "However…bring her alive. Safe."

Kazi could only surmise that was the Hidden Objective given the king's expression.

"I am too old. If you must kill her…"

"We must simply pray it will not come to that," Marchad said, though in Kazi's eyes, his words were insincere. His sister's existence could potentially interfere with his plans of taking over. Marchad didn't really care.

Just like Kazi predicted.

'I should consider myself lucky that everyone is so easy to read.'

"An idea then," Kazi said. "We should have another group join the Templars and Holy Knights. A hundred or so mages will suffice. When they reach Howth, rather than go straight for the capital, this group will sail out."

"What for?" Marchad asked. "The Vikings will, at best, delay the group. A waste of horses and mages."

Kazi pointed at Howth. An eastern coast sectioned off and with a single path leading to it. A hook of land that was next to the sea and with plenty of space.

"You're right, Your Highness. In a direct battle, a hundred men will be useless against a thousand. Thus, I suggest an unconventional strategy. I suggest a pincer attack," Kazi said. "We know the Vikings will reach land. There's no stopping that."

There were a bunch of marks on the map. Potential ways to stop the thousands of men from reaching land and joining the battle. A dozen x-marks and scratches of formations and strategies. Indeed, no strategy had been agreed upon. So far, before he and Samantha intruded, there was a plan to have the Templars and Holy Dynasty Knights sink them from long-range after they plundered the capital.

"It's useless to sink them in the sea. They will have Otherworlders too. It's unfortunate, but the Templars and Holy Knights simply don't have the means to combat them from long-distance. It might not have been detailed in the report but among the fifty Templars and forty Holy Knights I saw only ten mages," Kazi explained. "So have them reach land. The moment they do, there will be a group of mages ambushing them from behind. And that's not all…"

Kazi pointed back to their current location: Kilmainham, then went east to Dublin City, the capital. "Have you noticed something about this place?"

No answers.

Kazi's finger went down south. "There's supposed to be a river here. River Comac, to be exact, that connects Clondalkin and Dublin City. If our mages go to this river by foot and then travel up, they will arrive at Dublin City at the same time as the Templars and Holy Knights. The wall at the south will not only be unprotected, distracted by the frontal assault, but the River Comac which connects the whole sewer will be vulnerable."

High King Brian Boru was intrigued. "But, my friend, how do you know this river exists?"

"Magic," Samantha said in his stead. "Trust me, O High King. Our magic grants us sight beyond sight, to see faraway distances with ease."

"As well as simple logic. They are not using the sea for their sewer system. It has to be closer," Kazi said. "You probably saw River Comac when you were coming here to Kilmainham. It's not on your maps but that water does lead to Dublin City."

"Hmm! I see, I see." High King Brian stroked the streaks of brown on his otherwise white beard. "Marchad, this strategy seems sound, no?"

Marchad crossed his arms, glancing from the map and Kazi. "Indeed. Impressive."

"Even if you don't think the river exists," Kazi added, "It won't take the mages long to break through the walls when there's an attack at the front. Mages excel at long distance and collateral damage. If we assume we have eighty mages remaining, I suspect it would take them ten minutes to do it."

"Hmm!"

High King Brian was very much convinced. Whatever other strategies the others had suggested in the past, they were swiftly overshadowed.

Why wouldn't the king prefer Kazi over everyone else? His voice was soothing and he exuded cool, optimistic confidence. Never arrogant but always upbeat. Open to criticism and constantly offering solutions to potential issues.

"What was your name, good sir?" the High King asked.

"Kazi Hossain."

"What do you think about leading our army in my son's stead?"

Indeed, why wouldn't he ask?

*****

"Who is the greatest strategist in all of the Heavenly Games? After the crushing victory of the Templar Order's Commander Roland Blackwood, that question had propped in the media quite often. Many claim it is I. I who has established an empire since the dawn of the Chaotic Era. I who have lived to tell the tell against the Kingslayer and the Great Cultivator. Ha, they are great feats indeed! Whenever my grandchildren ponder and question my miraculous survivals, I cannot blame then. Self-admittedly, I could not have survived without the help of the Great Peacekeeper. 

Yes, without him, the delicate balance of the Great Three would not have flourished in the media as it did. I would have died! Ha! Then it would just be the Great Two!

But as to the matter at hand, the question of great strategists, one must certainly cross off Selim. Selim the Great? Selim the son of the Magnificent? More like Selim the Drunk! One of these days, I will get that name to stick in our publications. But that fraud does not deserve to be called great in any capacity. The Ottoman nobles control him and the Abbasids hate him. A foolishly foolish fool.

The son of William Marshal, the first winner of the Heavenly Games, appears to have the same cunning as his father. His talent and ability with the sword is inferior and word of his training goes around. He is a man without flaws. A man without flaws is a man that cannot be creative in their thinking. Next.

The Heavenly Demon. A shrewd man that thinks to kill above all else. His plans are always limited by short-term gain. One of these days, he will lead to something terrible. But even when that day arrives, the Heavenly Demon will remain a bloody strategist rather than a genius. 

In my own bias, I suggest my great-grandson, Kazuya. Oh, yes, his talent is great but it is because of those talents that he has the creativity to strategize well. I push him and he pushes back. I beat him in shogi and he always tries to beat me back. He has a hunger that I have not since Daiki.

Ah. I have not written that name in a while." 

- Excerpt from the private journal of the Eternal Emperor, 66 HE