Chapter 52: Well Needed Reinforcements

Brandishing his sabre Victor did not hesitate in slashing the throat of Osmund. His body flailed around as the last moments of his life came to a close. A pool of blood began to form around his fresh corpse. 

Victor was unusually calm throughout this. When his body was first taken over by Conrad over 3 years ago he struggled with the idea of killing someone but now it came naturally to him.

There was no reason to kill the Grand Duke other than the possibility of rewards from the system. Unsurprising Victor was right in his assumption. Shortly after killing Grand Duke Maximillian a blue screen from the system appeared.

'Hidden Quest Completed: Kill Someone Possessing The Title Of Grand Duke!'

'Rewards: 5x 1000-Man Infantry Unit Summon'

This reward was definitely what Victor wanted, yet he was slowly beginning to realise how far he had fallen. Killing Osmund was different to any of his other kills. The likes of Harold Cruyff, his father or his half-siblings had a genuine reason for Victor to kill them.

Grand Duke Maximillian on the other hand had no justifiable reason. There was no confirmed quest for killing him and yet Victor took that risk anyway. To kill for a reward that was not guaranteed sent shivers down his spine. Had he turned into a heartless monster by doing this?

Staring at the roof of his tent, Victor began to ponder what was the point of this war, let alone why he wanted this war. He had achieved great things already and managed to create a stable life for himself but now he was in a tent that still had the blood of Osmund Maximillian in it.

Acknowledging that dwelling on these thoughts was pointless Victor decided to use his 5 1000-Man Infantry Unit Summons. He had lost mostly standard line infantry in the last battle so the ranks had to be replenished quickly. Using 4 of the summons he selected more Brunswick Line Infantrymen to swell his ranks and with the final summon he selected some more French Chasseurs to bolster the light infantry ranks. 

The next morning could not have come sooner. Throughout the night Victor tossed and turned violently as terrible nightmares haunted him. They consisted of the dead people Victor had killed and portrayed him as a monster, no better than a serial killer.

Midday had quickly come, and so had the 5,000 freshly summoned soldiers. Marching into camp, the reinforcements shocked many of the Maximillian soldiers, who were shocked that more Luxenberg soldiers had arrived. Pouncing on their shock, Victor offered many of the prisoners a choice: Stay in captivity or fight for him and receive the benefits of being a soldier in his army.

It was a risky move by Victor, the Maximillian army did not hate or love Osmund. They served out of a sense of honour and duty. Confused by such an offer many of the prisoners looked at one another. To Victor's surprise, nobody took the offer. It seemed like the enemy soldiers would not abandon their pride and fight against their territory.

 'Disappointing, but not the end of the world,' Victor thought while staring at the prisoners. The only issue was what to do with them. Taking them to a siege was risky. If they managed to escape, the Luxenberg army could face serious problems.

Jenkas was 3 weeks away, and Victor could not afford to march alongside so many prisoners. In a pickle of a situation, Victor was stuck to come up with a plan alongside his commanders. The crude thing to do was execute them and be done with them or ransom them back to the Maximillian family.

While in the officer's tent coming up with a plan a soldier burst into the tent. "Grand Duke Luxenberg we have an army approaching us from the south," He said worriedly. Sending the officers into a panic they rushed out of the tent and used their spyglasses to see who the unidentified army belonged to.

In the distance, white banners with purple roses came into sight. It was Duke Cassel's army. With an army composition of 25,000 infantrymen, 5,000 cavalrymen and 120 guns, the Cassell army was a welcome sight for Victor and the soldiers of Luxenberg. Strutting into the camp, the Cassell army began to set up and mingle with the Luxenberg soldiers. At the head of their army was Victor's uncle, Larys Cassell. 

"Am I glad to see you uncle!" Victor shouted across the camp. Smiling at his nephew's enthusiasm, Larys dismounted, walked across the camp and hugged Victor. In a playful tone, Larys complained to Victor. 

"We hurried our march to support your army but we arrived to see you already have defeated Grand Duke Maximillian's army. How about you save some action for us next time dear nephew."

Laughing at his uncle's playful complaints, Victor responded accordingly: "Next time, do not arrive late. How did you even know where we were? I did not call for aid from grandfather. Nevertheless, I am happy to have you. My army currently stands at 55,000 infantrymen, 7,000 cavalrymen, and 220 guns. Your army is much needed. I was worried about escorting this many prisoners with my current number of soldiers."

After catching his uncle up to speed on what the current situation was, the 2 men and their commanders began to formulate a plan. The obvious target was the capital city of Jenkas. Although the men would like to avoid a siege it would most likely be unavoidable. 

"I hear Osiris is the more intelligent son of the Grand Duke, it might be tough to conquer the territory," Larys reported to the group of commanders. He was not wrong in his assumption though, Osiris was the most suited to rule out of his siblings.

"Regardless of his intelligence, we need to conquer the capital and catch the ruling family. With them as hostages, the other 2 cities under their control will surrender." Stated General Rapp. Victor's attention turned to the general best suited to siege warfare. 

"General Bertrand, you are an engineering expert. What are your thoughts on a siege?" Victor asked in a polite and endearing tone. General Bertrand remained silent, thinking carefully about the siege and what he would advise. With his thoughts collected, he started to explain his thoughts.

"Truthfully you could take the city my Duke, but it would come at a significant cost. If we unleash the full might of our combined battery the walls will crumble but that would destroy any chance of a moderately peaceful takeover. If we could sneak some soldiers in and unlock the gate then it could be a better approach."

The group pondered General Bertrand's plan. If they could sneak a couple of dozen men into the city and unlock the gate or sabotage the defences, it would be easier to deal with the city without destroying it. With a spurt of creativity, Victor turned to a soldier in the tent and ordered a hundred prisoners to be stripped of their red uniforms. With a cunning grin, Victor announced his intentions to his commanders.

"Jenkas would not close the gates to their own soldiers."