Wilhelm loved war.

  No, that sounds wrong.

  To be more accurate, Wilhelm loved winning. The greatest challenge to all individuals, groups, or more accurately, societies, was war. As one old philosopher once said, ‘War is the ultimate test of a state's resolve’.

  To win in warfare was the greatest pleasure Wilhelm knew. It was why he fought the demon horde, until now, with great gusto. He wanted to reach that height, where he would stand above his enemy after a brutal struggle.

  To win was Wilhelm’s most important goal. Nothing else came before that. Even now, even after working with Alexa, where he learned bit-by-bit the importance of people around him, he couldn’t deny his unquenchable thirst for absolute victory.

  It was why he wanted to defeat Ludwig.

  It was also why he wanted to defeat Henry.

  It was good then that now, his results, which he vowed to deliver, wouldn’t be meaningless. Phoebe and Alexa were behind him; he was sure that even if his desire to win was craven in nature, someone else would be using that victory better than he would.

  So he marched out into battle.

  He was supported by his staff, alongside his most important aide-de-camp, Captain Richard Erhart. The man recently finished a tour in the northern front, so he was allowed to temporarily return to Lotharingia proper.

  While it would probably be best for him to stay in the 101st Rapid Reaction Brigade, which was still knee-deep in fighting the demon horde with Army Group West, Wilhelm knew that the 101st’s officer cadre was exceptionally talented.

  They were the most elite unit of the Defense Forces after all. It was why he could pull off men in a rotational manner from the 101st and reassign them under his command easily. For now, Richard Erhart would be serving as Wilhelm’s deputy for the 2nd Group Army.

  Now, officially, Wilhelm wasn’t in charge of the 2nd Group Army. Neither was Richard Erhart. Instead, they were both ‘liaisons’ from the Royal Guard, because Wilhelm was Alexa’s knight.

  But, unofficially, General Pascal Seyfried, the new commandant of the 2nd Group Army, was subordinate to the two. The rest of the 2nd Group Army’s officer corps was the same, as they were handpicked officers after Wilhelm purged the 2nd Group Army after their dishonorable actions in Letia.

  Suffice it to say, everyone in this military formation was rabidly following Wilhelm and Richard into battle. They wanted to prove themselves in the eyes of the next Empress.

  Right now, they were at the city of Mainz, conducting a meeting about their ongoing operations in the central region. While one would expect that they would be distraught about the rapid progress that Henry’s forces were making, the truth was the reverse.

  “Heh, the dumb bastard’s falling into our trap,” Wilhelm declared. “Pascal, you just have to keep baiting him to the Rutherford Pass, and we should be in a good place.”

  “Are you sure about this, Sir Wilhelm?” Pascal subserviently asked. “Our position there is too weak. I only have four brigades ready to face them off, and I have not ordered them to dig in.”

  “Don’t dig in.” Wilhelm shook his head before moving pieces on the map, each of them denoting the numbered brigades of the 2nd Group Army. “Henry hasn’t had a battle for days now. He’s trying his best to chase us. He’s hungry.”

  “That does not mean we should give him tasty food.”

  “On the contrary, tasty food makes a hungry man grow irrational. Rutherford Pass is a perfect defensive point if he wishes to move westward and take Perlenstadt.”

  Wilhelm then moved the positions of nearly sixteen brigades on the flanks of the Rutherford Pass.

  “If he tries to bum-rush our weak position here, we can use our troops here to envelop him,” Wilhelm declared.

  “Surely, he wouldn’t fall for such an obvious trap?” Pascal asked.

  On the side, Richard laughed lightly at that question.

  “General Pascal, I’m sure Sir Wilhelm has that covered,” Richard declared. “He knows Henry all too well.”

  “We won’t win in one battle,” Wilhelm said. “But this is a good place to start.”

  I know Alexa wanted no bloodshed in this campaign.

  But I never said I can ensure that.

  He eyed the current towns and settlements captured by the 4th Group Army.

  Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your squeamish heart won’t shatter by getting a perfect play.

  +++

  While Wilhelm was conducting his campaign against Henry, Alexa, Phoebe, and Adele were executing their own plans meticulously. After picking up Anastasia and dropping her off at the House of Wolgast’s summer palace, which was a safer palace located on the southwestern coast of the Empire, the trio went on a tour throughout the rest of the Empire to rally people to Alexa’s side.

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Since it was heavily guarded by the Royal Guard and far away from the frontlines, Alexa could rest easy that her valued family member was safe and sound. It made it easier for her to move around without worries, and she used that opportunity extensively.

  First, Alexa went to the HQ of the 1st Group Army. They were located in Ostend, as they were now assigned to guard the east coast of the Imperium. When Alexa arrived in the eastern port city, she half-expected that they would end up in trouble due to the 1st Group Army’s disloyalty.

  After all, they were under the wing of Ludwig’s clique. While officially, Ludwig and the rest of the Imperial government were at war with Henry’s mutinous group, they weren’t exactly moving to stop Henry.

  It was like Ludwig wanted Alexa and Wilhelm to bleed their forces first before joining in. It was a classic craven tactic, Alexa thought, so it was reasonable to assume that the 1st and 3rd Group Armies would be somewhat hostile to Alexa’s presence.

  Yet, when she arrived, she was greeted by soldiers making way for her. Just seeing the crown princess and the saintess herself made them practically kneel to Alexa. The local commanders and low-level officers were the same.

  “I thought you’d have to save us and get us out of here,” Alexa told Phoebe, as the two smiled and waved at the people around them. “Seems like that’s not the case.”

  “Lady Alexa, they seem like they want to fight for you,” Phoebe’s eyes shone. “I knew it. You’re truly winning the hearts of the people.”

  “My, that indeed seems to be the case,” Alexa snickered. “But, that’s only for the lower soldiery. We don’t know yet where the rest of their command stands.”

  “I…I see,” Phoebe sounded dejected.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Adele proudly said, catching up to the two girls. “Whatever the case, I’m sure Lady Alexa has a solution for this.”

  “Right. I didn’t come here empty-handed after all.”

  Later, Alfred, who was escorting the trio alongside a contingent of the Royal Guard, met them at a restaurant where they dined in. Alfred reported that the 1st Group Army’s commandant was open to Alexa visiting their headquarters.

  Naturally, Alexa bolted to get there quickly. Her plan was simple—she wanted to undercut Ludwig and gain the strength of the 1st and 3rd Group Armies. While tricky, as they were all sycophants and cronies placed by Ludwig to counter Alexa’s influence, she had her own play.

  Wilhelm has taught me many things already.

  Alexa recounted her lessons while planning this scheme with Wilhelm, all while she elegantly walked through the hallways of the 1st Group Army’s headquarters building, going straight for the commandant’s office.

  On the side of the hallways, lines of soldiers all saluted her. Unlike the soldiers outside, they were much, much stiffer. There was little revelry or adoration coming from these troopers.

  Alexa knew why. They had very little reason to like Alexa. Many of them too were junior or senior officers more aligned with Ludwig than Alexa’s camp. Quite frankly, the atmosphere was so frosty that if Alfred and Phoebe didn’t flank her, they might just kill her and be done with it.

  But Alexa raised her chin. She wasn’t going to be beaten down by this stock of rubbish. When she entered the office of the 1st Group Army’s commandant, she made that clear by not moving an inch.

  Until the commandant, alongside the officers and aides flanking him, all bowed in Alexa’s presence. It was a reluctant bow, but a bow nonetheless. It amused Alexa a bit.

  All peasants were truly the same. Their hearts may oppose her, but when she moved a certain way, enough that she had an aura of authority, they would cower and bow.

  “Gentlemen,” Alexa spoke up. “I’m sure that all of you have heard of the conflict in the heart of our Empire’s territory, no?”

  The general in the middle nodded after they finished bowing.

  “Your Highness, welcome to Ostend and our formation’s headquarters. I hope that you feel at ease and welcome here. Yes, we have received word of the traitorous mutiny by the 4th.”

  “Is that so? Tell me, what’s your name?”

  Of course, Alexa knew the general’s name. She wouldn’t come here like a dumbass without knowing names and details of the high-profile officials she was going to conduct business with.

  Still, she wanted, always, to assert her dominance over these fools. The reason why they were breaking away from here and not marching in lockstep to her policies was because they believed she was weak.

  Well, she wanted it clear that she wasn’t. Strong people only respected strength.

  She may look like a young girl to them, but she wanted the aura of a lioness. Immediately, the general introduced himself.

  “Your Highness, my name is General Kurt von Keitel.”

  Alexa nodded, while the rest of the general’s staff followed through. She also introduced Phoebe and Alfred, with an extra emphasis on making it clear that Phoebe was the saintess and that she, unlike them, managed to kill a literal archdemon.

  That quickly managed to make the officers fold. They sat in their chairs, while Alexa faced the general directly. The first part of the discussion was mainly about the general details of the ongoing conflict.

  She largely just tried to get a pulse of the sentiments from the officers around her. They were quite conceited, and they were bad at hiding it.

  Still, they all reported their part gracefully and professionally. Alexa was somewhat proud of it. Even if they were just noblemen assigned to her for loyalty, they had quite the air of proper professional soldiers.

  Truly, the Empire did churn out a decent stock of officers to lead its armies. All that it truly lacked were leaders who would whip them into operating properly.

  When the dreary part was done, Alexa finally dropped her demands.

  “We’ve all said our parts already,” Alexa haughtily said. “Now, all that’s left is for you, gentlemen, to take action. Will you take action?”

  As expected, the response was muted.

  “Of course, Your Highness,” Kurt replied. “The 1st Group Army is currently assessing—”

  “I don’t want assessments, General Keitel. I want you all to move out, now.”

  “The current conditions are not ideal for an early deployment.”

  “Goodness sake,” Alexa fumed. She turned around. Then, with a frown, she demanded that everyone in the room vacate, except for General Kurt and two of his senior officers, alongside Phoebe and Alfred.

  When that was done, she faced Kurt again.

  “Now,” Alexa started. “Let’s discuss the ailment of your daughter and the future of the House of Keitel under my rule.”

  The man’s neutral face suddenly darkened.