《My Real Empire》


 1 Ch 01 Transfer Successful

    MRE Ch 01


    In a dorm house near the university campus. Everything was in disorder, shabby furnitures, scattered laundry, disheveled books. But his military uniform was neat and hinged on the wall.


    On the screen of the computer on the table a message came from the game, he played called ''The Great Empire''. This game was released a year back in 2443, it was free to play and used VR technology.


    The origins of the game were unknown. But it came on the internet and became the next big thing in the gaming industry.


    [''Congratulations! You have been selected'' ]


    This was the only message on screen when his virtual empire covered the whole continent.


    Jason thought it was just a common message to congratulate him for forming the virtual Empire. He didn''t give it any thought and clicked ''okay''.


    [But was it okay? Of course not! This changed my whole fucking life upside down. Even now as I am the greatest emperor of planet Terra and have everything within my reach. I am still  searching for the person who created that game so that..... ha ha ha ( hellish laughter)] Jason''s thought.


    A week ago everything was perfectly normal....


    Jason is addicted to the kingdom building game ''The Great Empire'' . His in-game character has the same name and physical features (thanks to awesome VR technology of the 2040s, yes it''s available now, I feel sorry for you) . He quickly became famous in the game. Besides his job he just plays the game.


    Jason, currently in his 30s, works in Union Military in Beijing, China. He was a mechanical engineer and his job was to keep guns and machineries in working condition.


    He got just slightly above average looks which definitely doesn''t stand out. His parents have passed away in the last terrorist attack that the world faced, after that Union Military decided to exterminate them. So, there was massive counterattack on terror havens and terrorist groups were f***ed so hard they vanished.


    All of this happened while he was in his last year of engineering college. He had lost his parents , had no one to depend on. His college Girlfriend left him for a successful man. His otakuness ended any future chances.


    His life was pretty simple work to game, game to work.


    Present...


    Jason woke from slumber, he felt like he had been sleeping for his whole life. He tried to open his eyes but then his head started to hurt, it gradually became severe.


    Jason clasped his head, tried to squeeze it , but the pain increased '' Argh ! Ah ah  , where this damn Argh Ah ! headache came from Argh ..'' unable to endure, he fainted again.


    Next morning he woke , but felt something different , his memory was blurring and he couldn''t recall many things . He tried hard but he had been pulled back to flashback like thing, where he was standing in a black background and many events passed through it some clear some unclear. He saw himself but also not himself. It was in a completely different settings.


    The youth he saw was also called Jason. He was the only prince of the kingdom called Arcania. The world in which he lived was called  Terra, on Tallus continent.


    Arcania was a great kingdom, full of riches but now it had declined to a miserable position. It could disintegrate any day.


    It''s own citizens , more than half of them had left the dying kingdom. Traders stopped coming here due to lawlessness, they only passed from here as it was a short route to reach other kingdoms and empires. But due to losses from being looted they started taking longer routes.


    There was no one to guide or support farmers and peasants; they were in even more miserable states.


    He tried to open his eyes, a bit fearful of pain , slowly the large room came into his view. A slight pain caused him to shiver but it didn''t increase.


    He heard a sobbing sound, he shifted his head towards it. A middle aged woman came into his field of vision.


    She turned her head towards him , started wailing loudly " Oh, my son Sob! Sob! Ah, My son , Sob! You woke. ¡­ you woke" she stammered a few times.


    From his recollection of memory he could tell that the tear soaked woman in front of him is Jason''s mother.


    She had been a beautiful and cheerful woman in her thirties, but now looking at her appearance he couldn''t help but feel immense pain more than he felt yesterday, as if someone smashed his heart.


    His eyes welled up . Mother Kathy hugged him. And again started crying " y..you, how can you,...B...be like th.. this, you how could I have s.. survived ¡­".


    He knew what his mother was talking about.


    His father had gone to survey the area near a forest in the east called Wolf Creek. He had been assaulted there by a wolf, this was claimed by Duke Conley which previous dumbass Jason believed. It happened two years ago.


    Since then his father Ruth Arcania, previous ruler of Arcania, had been bedridden. He got relieved from this world a week ago.


    Foolish Jason was tipped by someone that they had seen wolves in the creek. Thus Jason got there to investigate and take revenge for his father.  He fainted there, he felt like someone hit him from behind but his memory becomes fuzzy here..


    Jason tried to lift his hand , he wiped the tears in his mother''s eyes. He didn''t know why but felt emotionally attached to her, maybe because of Jason''s lingering spirit, but whatever he had once lost his parents doesn''t want to lose again.


    Jason spoke mildly " mom don''t worry , your son won''t do anything like this again, mom stop crying, please mom¡­."


    Mary , his mother''s attendant came in. She must have heard the commotion inside. She was wearing a blue tunic and woolen stockings. She had wrinkles on her face, she had been with mother Kathy for almost 15 years . She had taken care of Jason since his birth with mother Kathy.


    Mary''s husband left her 30 years ago , because she was unable to give birth. Mother Kathy nagged her in initial days to marry again which she declined saying " who will take care of both , of mother and son. You are completely, irresponsible."


    Mary waited on the door as she didn''t want to disturb the mother and son''s heartwarming scene.


    Mother Kathy noticed Mary standing on the door " Ah! Mary enter! What are you waiting for." said mother Kathy.


    " Milady, both of you have not been eating well. Master used to be force fed. But now he is awake , I will go bring food, you freshen up." Mary said . She had a fiery temper, she was protective of both of them.


    Jason blurted with shock " force fed?"


    Mary enthusiastically explained " Young Master, I press your jaws open, Milady would dump porriages in, water in, healer said , fed you well."


    Jason swallowed his saliva , he ducked his head a little flushed. Mary left the room, she should be going to the kitchen.


    Mother Kathy helped Jason leave the bed. Took to him a pair of water, he saw his reflection in it, he was really young ,'' it feels so good to be young again''. He was nearly 30 when he crossed over. Now he had turned half, just fifteen. Maybe this is called blessing in disguise.


    Washing his face and mouth, he turned to look at his mother, not his birth mother but his current bodies'' mother. She had a kind look always, maybe forever will have, In his recollection he found, she helped everyone that comes in contact with her, even if it''s out of her reach, she tries. This makes her entire persona peaceful or divine. She is daughter of Duke Wilkinson , and queen of Arcania, what would she lack but she knows the pains of the poor. She tried some welfare schemes but all of it was enjoyed by nobles and their henchmen.


    Mary arrived carrying a big silver platter with some small plates and bowls on it.


    Mary said "Milady, the kitchen was empty, they went to rest, I got porridges, for master, buns and oatmeal, Please eat". Mary had a habit of taking slight pauses while talking , words come out clear but with some pauses.


    Both of them were overprotective of Jason, they could not bear to see tears in his eyes, he got what he desires. His arrogant and spoiled behavior was thus formed.


    Jason build was tall, he was healthy neither too fat or thin, but his muscles were on the down side. He had not taken any physical hardships.


    After eating he felt some relief, but the taste of porridges or buns was not that good. How could it taste good, he was an otaku fond of pizzas , burgers, fires and ramen. How could plain porridges or stiff bread match it.


    " Mom what happened to me , I can''t remember anything" mumbled Jason.


    Mother Kathy heard him , she recalled and said " You went to Wolf Creek, When I came to know I sent Sir Charles behind you. He got you back on his horse "


    Sir Charles and his family had been serving the royal family since the beginning of the kingdom. Sir Charles is the military Chief of the kingdom. He is a talented individual , other kingdoms have tried to recruit him , gave many gifts and promises. He turned them down, this was his character, not even moved by riches and power.


    It was great for a sinking ship like Arcania to have Charles. Mary sent the door guard to call for Charles.


    Charles should have been nearby, it didn''t take long for him to arrive. He hurriedly entered the door " Your highness, you are all right, thank goodness, I reached the creek in time."


    " Sir Charles , I''m sorry for creating trouble for you." He tried to bow, but Charles caught him mid way. Charles has an aura of general, a bloody image forms in mind when you close your eyes .


    He was in training uniform, a leather padded coat and simple stockings. He had a heavy longsword to the side attached to his belt.


    " It''s my duty Milord, how can I let you bow " Charles assured Jason that he didn''t mind it. Still Jason felt embarrassed in front of him because of troubles caused by previous Jason .


    " Sir Charles did you find anything suspicious when you got to the Creek . " Jason paused, messaged his head as if in pain , he continued " I can''t remember clearly, but I think I have been attacked by someone from behind. "


    " Hmm, I too when I got there found you clenching your bleeding head, rolling on the ground. But the place where this happened nothing was out of sort except a blood soaked stone." replied Charles, he was trying to recollect the details of that day events.


    " Your highness, I also noticed that there was a trail which should be of a person , not an animal , as the trail was not leading to forest but to village. If any wild , entered village we would have known." Charles informed Jason of that accident.


    " I think you are right. It must have been plotted by someone. Try to investigate it." said Jason.


    " Yes Milord, " Charles bowed.


    " Oh, sir Charles, what about the kingdom , is everything fine or more miserable." Inquired Jason.


    " Milord , the kingdom is in deep mess. Nobles have started rebelling openly. They incite the remaining citizens to protest with them." said Charles.


    " Okay, what your investigation says about the cause" Jason asked.


    " Milord, there had been a major event, few days ago" replied Charles, his eyes got red .


    "Hmm, Explain sir"


    Jason could see Charles is upset about this event.


    " We had a minor battle on one of the border outposts. The rebel nobles were trying to smuggle their wealth to other kingdoms. We denied them access.


    " They brought with them a large band of mercenaries. They attacked our  camp from behind. Some soldiers caught off guard were killed. However most of the soldiers attacked with just weapon, no protection, still we overpowered them and captured them"


    " Many nobles were in that convoy, were put behind the bars, killed were burned and we took convoy back to royal capital."


    " The protestors are incited by these traitorous Nobles'' accomplices. " Concluded Charles.


    Jason was very impressed by the investigations and reports made by Charles.


    " You have done well. Atleast much better than me who had been just passing time and creating trouble, without caring for the kingdom" lamented Jason sighing and shaking his head.


    " No Milord, it was my duty and you were younger , it wasn''t your fault." Charles sincerely consoled Jason.


    " Charles notify the factions closer to the royal family and still loyal to us to meet in morning and arrange for a full meeting in after noon " said Jason , he leaned back in bed.


    Charles knew Jason had been ill for a week, rest is necessary. So without any delay Charles left the room.


    Mother Kathy who had been silently listening to their conversation, spoke with a tearful eye " It''s good that you started thinking about the kingdom. You also admitted your mistakes. Mother is happy today, very happy. My child " tears rolled down her eyes.


    She left the room after Jason closed his eyes.


    Now the room was silent, he was thinking laid in bed. '' what happened to me. I was happy just playing the game. I wanted to be the emperor but not like this. What will happen to my job and my precious PC and my fantasy game collection and my VR set. '' He was rambling endlessly in his thoughts  about the things he was not going to see anytime soon. He was about to sleep, a message popped in his head.


    [ Ding! Transfer completed successfully]


    ''What success was anyone hung in between. You took me for granted, didn''t even cautioned me . What the hell.''


    Few more messages followed


    [ Ding! Memory assimilation completed]


    [ Ding! Good luck ]


    ''What the freak, All protagonists get some beginners package or initiation gift provide me some'' he waited for reply, a few minutes passed


    ------- No reply came -------


    ''Atleast give me a choco bar''


    ------- No  Reply -----------


    He continued rambling but no reply came. He fell asleep.....


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 2 Ch 02 Meeting

    MRE Ch 02 Meeting


    Night passed and nothing major happened in the capital city of Arcania.


    In the morning the sun stopped being lazy and got up. Protestors got back at their posts, to protest at palace gates.


    A group of people led by Army Chief Charles entered the largest meeting room in the palace. The room is spacious enough to accommodate thousands of attendees and has a long  polished oval table with over a hundred seating spaces kept in the middle of the room .


    All the members of Duke Wilkinson''s faction took their seats. They all are related to each other and depend on Duke for trade and political issues.


    Duke Wilkinson was different from them. His aura alone can beat people in submission. He can be said to be the most feared person in the kingdom, even more than Charles. He is a little arrogant and a bit egoist, fine for a lot of men like him who have seen everything in the world.


    Jason was walking towards the meeting hall. He was informed that the rest of the people had arrived. But he can not help. He searched for some comfortable clothing in his closet but could not find any.


    After bathing he had to run to his mother''s room for clothes. She then randomly called some tailor who did the fittings. But still it wasn''t fine, it still gave him problems.


    Anyway how could a man leading a comfortable life on Earth 2044, feel comfort in these clothes.


    Lines were visible on his forehead and he was mumbling something inaudible, maybe cursing the person who sent him here.


    He entered the room , without looking at anyone , taking long strides reached the high chair designated for the king. Charles gestured to him to not sit now. Everyone got up from their seats, greeted him politely, he followed back and sat down. Others took their seats after him, Charles heaved a sigh of relief.


    Jason''s mood became normal seeing their polite faces, he said " Sorry to trouble you all." Jason paused , everyone gave it''s okay look.


    He continued " But this meeting is important, people are protesting in front of our gates. Which is not good for our reputation. Do any of you have any suggestions." Other people nodded.


    Duke Wilkinson was first to put his views " We will not bend to their demands , this is our bottom line. Above this we will make sure to find the instigators and deal with them first. We all know that where these people are coming from"


    listening to Duke all the people present agreed with him. Duke Wilkinson is known for his strictness, his devotion to work for development of the kingdom is second to none .


    His only son, Jason''s uncle, gave the ultimate sacrifice fighting against northern barbarians in the mountains.  That incident affected him badly, he became more distant and did not meet anyone if it''s not something very important. He started to live an ascetic life.He was a rank 7 knight, he stopped training for breakthrough to rank 8 .  But had to come back after his son in laws'' bad health started affecting the Kingdom''s affairs.


    Duke did not like his grandson, Jason , who always does stupid things. Once he signed a treat to give north mount to the Savage mountain barbarians.


    Duke was pissed over this matter, he chased Jason in the whole palace , Jason had nowhere to escape. Lastly he ran into mother Kathy, who protected him from his ferocious grandpa.


    Mother Kathy went to royal court , she negated the deal of transfer. Jason learnt his lesson " never ever do anything that relates grandpa". Since then he never came in front of Duke .


    Geographically Arcania is quite blessed, it has protection of different natural features. It had north mount ranges in the North.


    In the west of Arcania flows the mighty Tong river, which provides and animates the whole Western landmass. West is rich in farming resources, and a bit of fishing freshwater fishes.


    Tong river that covers the west dumps it''s water in the fin sea , it envelopes the southern coast of Arcania , this sea is connected to the larger Southern Ocean.


    The forest cover of east is unbeatable, it has dense forests stretched over hundred of kilometers. It connects Arcania to the Porus Empire .


    It makes any large scale invasion difficult and provides ample time to protect the kingdom.


    "What Sir Duke said, we all agree with him, but what  should we do so that they can be restrained?" Questioned count Helmsford , Count Helmsford was an energetic middle aged man. He also leads the royal guards and is second in command of the military.


    Unconsciously everyone''s head turned to Jason, the head of the meeting, for a solution. Jason thought '' how the hell am I going to provide any inputs, I just cross over yesterday and your dumb prince doesn''t have anything useful in his mind. god save this kingdom.''


    He shifted his gaze at Charles and gestured to him to provide a solution. Charles knew that Jason would not be able to put in any useful words.


    Jason was just a 2nd ranking knight. Ranking of knights were done in terms of power and defence. Level 1 and level 2 knights were just beginners if a person undergoes normal training he could easily reach up to peak level 2 by the age of 15. normal Nobles'' sons of his age are preparing to reach 3rd levels. That''s how hardworking Jason was ...


    Now coming to knights ranking and how they are measured? Not too difficult just get a boulder or rock weighed and lift it with both hands and tally with requirements given below


    Early levels or novice


    Level 1 more than 20kg


    Level 2 more than 40kg


    Level 3 more than 70kg


    levels with blood power awakening


    Level 4 more than 120kg


    Level 5 more than 180kg


    Level 6 more than 300kg


    Level 7 more than 450kg


    Advanced levels


    Level 8more than 600kg


    Level 9 more than 800kg


    Level 10 more than 1000kg


    Above level 10 knights were present in ancient times but it had been a few thousand years without anyone reaching above 10.


    " We should just detain all the leaders and related nobles, who are inciting people . Making them example by giving capital punishment will make anyone thinking of going against kingdom abandon his thought  " said sir Charles clenching his hands, who was also a early rank 8 knight .


    But listening to Charles'' straightforward advice all of them sighed. "It''s not so easy to detain them, it may refuel the riots as people of their regions are dependent on them" one Noble spoke his mind.


    They are also nobles so they didn''t want of their kind to be subjected to such cruelty.


    Jason was in deep thought as if he had been pondering over something. He had learnt about the deficiencies of the feudal system. It stops productivity and development of all but aristocrats.


    Jason advised " Why don''t we revoke their title. In Fact we should bring a little change in the kingdom''s administration. "


    Duke angrily retorted, his nose flared up " You cannot think of something good , how can we replace a system that has been here since the start of the kingdom." Duke thought it is one of the his excuses to do something dumb again.


    After Duke retorted Jason thought '' I shouldn''t be so straightforward, it needs to be step by step. Gramps is surely a fierce need to avoid much contact. ''


    Count Helmsford gave Jason a chance "  Prince Jason can you explain what you are going to do in detail . The changes you are talking about is not some small scale project . If even word of this goes out it will worsen the overall situation. What people fear the most is unknown and changes ".


    ''Hmm count is right, it even follows Newton''s laws, no one wants to change their situation till forced by someone.''


    Rest of participants redilly voiced their agreement as if even if they are a second late they would miss something valuable.


    Jason had expected an even harsher retort . It was alright at least count Helmsford was pitching for him. Jason and others discussed several strategies before coming to the conclusion that they need armed men to control nobles.


    Jason said " We need to gather the maximum number of  soldiers in the minimum time possible."


    Charles said " I can gather around five thousand soldiers from reserves near the capital and need more time to gather some more. If I could go out of the city without these nobles knowing I can recruit some from villages and towns, if the situation is dire."


    Jason then shifted his gaze at others.


    Duke Wilkinson said " I will provide one mountain brigade." Duke turned his head to Charles and added " Charles take proper care of them".


    Count Helmsford " I could gather a brigade of royal guards from border areas without compromising security of borders, but if the situation turns worse, I will call more brigades."


    Jason replied " There is no need to compromise the security of the Kingdom . Do it safely. Let these nobles fly some more, then we will chip their wings."


    Jason leaned forward , got up from his chair, everyone followed him. Jason left the room, followed by others. Everyone went their own ways.


    Jason directly went to the kitchen to grab something to eat . The Royal kitchen had plenty of space and the oven''s lid was just opened , the fragrance of sweet bread filled the whole room. This was a coal oven, the taste of something baked in it differs from electronic ones.


    He got some sweet bread, kitchen maids were much cooperative and quickly brought some extras for him to enjoy . They were simply currying favor with the next to be king.


    Royal palace is built in the North Western part of the royal capital . Capital city whose boundaries once stretched beyond 20km now had succumbed to only five km,  an area less than quarter of what it used to be.


    Palace however remained the same in area and construction; not much change happened, it only lost its magnificence due to lack of management . From the top of the lookout tower of the palace everything is visible within and outside the city as far as you can see on a clear day.


    Jason sat on top of the guard tower and was pondering something , he got to see eagles eye view of the whole city. Below the tower at some distance, people were protesting near gates for benefits they were promised, Jason knew these promises will never be fulfilled.


    Residential area of the city is quiet, no movement can be seen, probably they had gone for work.


    Trading centre in the South was bustling with people, where people could be seen walking to different shops and bargaining prices.


    Nobles'' district in the North was too calm as if something big was going to happen and everyone was sitting still in anticipation of what was about to come.


    Beyond the city lies large green fields in every direction up to where Jason could see . Crops were not ripe yet for harvest.


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 3 Ch 03 Blood and Sacrifices

    MRE Ch 03


    After the meeting in morning, nobles of Duke Wilkinson''s faction ( or loyalist nobles)  went to take some rest before the afternoon''s meeting , things could get messy there.


    Duke Conley was the mastermind behind the whole revolt and other activities taking place in the kingdom . His first son studies in North Dakota kingdom which is about 10 times larger than Arcania and the relationship between the two kingdoms is not amiable.


    Dakota has its eyes set on the natural resources of Northmount, they had sent their troops and scouts to persuade barbarians to attack Arcania''s military posts . They had promised them food and land if they could capture Northmount .


    But due to the harsh environment of Northmount, attacks were not successful, except once in the reign of Jason''s father when Duke Wilkinson lost his son defending the kingdom.


    Duke Conley''s second son was just a scumbag, nothing important, could be easily found in the city''s brothels, no aspiration or anything like that . Mess created by him were cleaned by Duke''s subordinates.


    Duke is a 7th rank knight and his forces and Dominion is near eastern forest region from where he sends gifts and tributes to the Dakota kingdom undermining Arcanian authorities .


    Duke Conley arrived with his pack of 27 nobles and 17 rebels; he smirked at Wilkinson , when his eyes fell on Duke Wilkinson''s group. "What a good surprise !! Duke Wilkinson has left his nest and graced us with his presence " .


    Duke Wilkinson got agitated, his eyes burned with naked hatred for Conley. People beside Wilkinson were pressured by Wilkinson''s rage. Count Helmsford came and whispered something in his ears. Wilkinson eased, gave a hearty laugh.


    " What are you doing with traitors, don''t tell me that you plan to leave the kingdom,  to meet your son''s real father in Dakota and slave yourself there . I heard that your second son is like you unable to satisfy women  " Wilkinson got back at Conley .


    Conley was rumored to be impotent and his sons were the result of someone from Dakota''s royalty , Conley''s wife was from Dakota daughter of a regiment commander.


    [Conley''s first son was exiled by previous king (Jason''s father) because he facilitated Dakota''s military in infiltrating northern area which also caused Jason''s maternal uncle''s death]


    His son in law is the son of Dakota''s southern guards commander Timothy, a rank 8 knight who is posted on the other side of mount. Conley''s goal was always to help Timothy gain Northmount and be promoted.


    His previous plans to revolt and create chaos had been obstructed by Wilkinson and Charles. But this time he was fully prepared and had gained Commander Timothy''s assistant Kipler a rank 8 to keep Charles on bay and 1200  elite troops from the Dakota kingdom. He and other nobles have gathered more than 16000 men, mostly mercenaries from Dakota, and even more men are on the way.


    He was confident in taking advantage of this situation( king is dead, prince on deathbed) and had enacted the first part of his plan to create unrest and distrust so that the royal family couldn''t get support from citizens to resist his legion and he could easily take over the capital.


    Duke''s plans are grand , to take over the whole kingdom in one full sweep.


    Both Dukes without giving each other any further heed went inside the meeting room with their factions and sat opposite to each other .


    Arcania being a small kingdom it doesn''t have that many higher nobles it has 2 Dukes, the northern part is under Duke Wilkinson and eastern part was controlled by Duke Conley.


    Six counts having their Dominion in six major Towns of Arcania , their family names and town names are similar as they were formed by their ancestors, Helmsford, Maplewood, Newshawk, Landow , Alvaton, Greenfield are their counties. 32 landed barons control other small towns and villagers. Titled nobles were just for enjoying benefits they had no right over land.


    Wilkinson''s faction have 2 counts Helmsford and Greenfield , 11 landed barons which are near their Dominion. Rest of the landed nobles and all titled nobles choose to be on Conley''s side.


    Arcania from North to South is 480 km and east to west is 650km . Due to bad economic conditions and internal conflicts many people have migrated to other kingdoms and empires . Duke Conley had sent many refugees to Dakota for mining or other menial labour.


    Western side has 3 bordering kingdoms from North mount to sea Dazar, Roma , Campbell but they were constantly at war with each other  and had no spare time to concentrate on the fourth party .


    When Jason arrived, the hall turned quiet , everyone was looking at Jason who wasn''t a bit interested in them, he sat on a high chair. Nobles of Conley''s faction had a shocked expression, they turned their gaze at Conley.


    Conley had told them that prince Jason was on deathbed and the previous king was dead. It was a great opportunity to seize the kingdom. So they believed him and openly rebelled. But now their brain has stopped working, what could they do now? They have boarded the Conley''s ship thus can only wait to see if he fails or steers clear of current predicament, their result will be the same.


    ''oh what a good relief seeing these f**king bastards shocked expression. They must have thought that this mighty prince has fallen. ha ha!!! fret not! Jason (previous) I will take revenge for you , your father.'' thought Jason and said smirking " Welcome my dear friends, I have been looking forward to meeting you all . we are here to peacefully solve the issue of riots in the capital" Jason then continued  " It is not good for people to leave work and protest. They are dragging the kingdom down. What is your view? How should they be handled?"


    " Milord, their demands are simple and there is nothing wrong with fulfilling their demands to give them back the things  confiscated by the military chief as it is not ours and shall be returned to their owners'' relatives. As for the compensation for the loss of life on the border it is our duty to fulfill them as a responsible kingdom" said one of the rebel Noble count of landow . As all the rebels supported it.


    Charles angrly slammed his hand on the table and stared glaringly at the nobles . Rebels could feel pressure building upon them and started sweating. Seeing his people frightened like this Duke Conley got agitated " Sir Charles what are you doing? Are you trying to ignore the rules of the kingdom by pressuring them to not put their side. They are still nobles and this action is itself proof that you have been bullying those weaker than you . Milord see, in your presence, what is happening." As per Conley ,that dumbassJason (previous) will obviously support him as he had done in the past and send Charles to the border region.


    But contrary to conley, in the morning meet they Charles and Jason had already planned their strategy and sending military Chief Charles out of the royal capital could  help them in gathering more troops to suppress the rebellion nobles. " What Duke Conley says makes sense chief Charles you will immediately head out of the city after the meeting as your punishment" Conley smiled as Jason gave his command .


    Now it was Wilkinson''s turn to play it''s part . "Milord without the protection of sir Charles you and the royal palace remains vulnerable to external threats . This cannot be done . You must let Charles stay here . As for the Riots demands they are too shameless as they have lost it in a proper battle fought by both parties and loss of nearly 3000 royal guards cannot be compared to their mercenary guards as for who started the battle . "


    "Your group shamelessly attacked without any warning from behind on resting camp otherwise our loss would not be so much . They are the ones who violated every code of nobles in battle. Because of their cowardice and petty tricks so many royal guards lost their lives . They protect the whole kingdom from external threats so that  you all could peacefully live in your houses and scheme against others. Yet you shamelessly dare to say like that and smear the reputation that royal guards have built by their blood and sacrifices for 400 years. Do you really think that you are so capable."


    Conley and rebel nobles now know that they lost the high moral grounds  . Duke Wilkinson who is very much trusted by the citizens and other guards .


    They don''t need to look outside to know how much they are being glared by guards guarding the meeting hall. Soon it will spread out that Conley''s faction has falsely accused Royal Guards who were doing their duty and have been backstabbed .


    ________________


    This chapter has been reviewed


    Again the same thing I will be shamelessly asking for suggestions and . I will adjust it ha haha !!!!


    thanks for your valuable feedback

 4 Ch 04 Meeting ends

    MRE Ch 04


    Situation had turned against them and the result might also not favor them . Dukes brows furrowed, his hand tightened, Conley glared at the nobles on the opposite side , as if he was going to eat them alive.


    Duke Wilkinson was truly happy seeing that old bastard at his wits end, but he could not let his guard down against someone like Conley.


    Seeing Conley''s wrinkled face contorted , both sides got quiet , looking at the ugliest expression of decade. Conley controlled himself and made a straight face.


    Conley devoid of any emotion said " Please! Duke Wilkinson we acknowledge the burden carried by Royal guards but this is not the point of discussion of this meeting. Here we are gathered to find a peaceful solution to settle the issue of public outrage at the gates of the palace. For Royal guards we are thankful to them from our hearts."


    Hearing this coming out from his mouth Jason felt like vomiting'' what a sly old man''.


    "What''s the need to talk about just provide them compensation they have been asking for and release nobles that sir Charles have detained. I think there should be enough money in the Treasury for compensation. " Said one of the rebel nobles count of Lanlow.


    " Meeting their demands is difficult to implement both politically and economically. if we fulfill their demands as they protest a few days then we will see protests happening everyday and people demanding all kinds of things, then what should we do? Open the Treasury for them, and if their demands get bigger send them to you." said Charles. count of Lanlow shut his mouth and started staring toward Conley


    " we are not compensating for some false pretense but for the dead in the battle __" before Conley could complete his sentence count Helmsford cut in "We also have to pay the family members of Guards that died in the battle and amount we got from captives is not enough and as a losing party they must pay for the battle cost." Said count Helmsford captain of royal guards.


    "How can it be not enough, are we not compensating the guards family member as we used to compensate them previously." Said count of Newshawk. As for asking how he knew it ? Jason is not so dumb. He could clearly see that they are partners with captured nobles.


    "Of course we are following kingdom rules that''s why I was saying that we don''t have enough as all the spoils of battle goes to the Royal Treasury than 10% of it given out for those participating in battle. But compensation for dead and injured must come from losing party and if they are unable to do so, only then it is charged on Treasury , I am not asking your people to compensate my Guards or you are related to captives and doing their chores" said count Helmsford with a grin , Count of Newshawk fell silent without saying any further.


    " Ridiculous ! How can they compensate if they are held by your men. It should be charged on the royal Treasury" said count of Alvaton with a grim face he could feel that his faction was falling in a well dug pit .


    " Why it should be charged on Treasury it must be recovered by seizing their and their relatives'' properties if they can''t pay even after that then only we can look towards Treasury . Oh I see Count Alvaton one of them is your brother in law. Could it be that you are also involved in this." Count Greenfield''s reply made count of Alvatons face ashen.


    Duke Conley''s expression does not need to be guessed it was red from shame and anger. They have come here to ask for compensation for the damages they incurred but here they are discussing how to compensate the other party. Thinking this he got even more angry as if he were to explode. But what can Conley do alone? He has been led into this pit by Jason and the loyalist faction.


    "Then I think the matter of compensation is done and as it is now being done by rules, it''s even better  . '''' Said Jason as he ordered his aide Robert,a rank 5 knight ( under his Gramps) now working for him " Get your men and from reserve troops tomorrow and confiscate everything belonging to offenders in the capital city".


    " Your will be carried out, Milord" Robert accepted the order with a bow.


    "What are you doing,Milord ? It will make the situation even worse than it currently is. Milord please rectify your order. What will people at gates do if they get to know that their lords are further going to be looted. This can''t happen no this can''t... '''' Count of Alvaton was now sweating profusely thinking about Chief Charles coming to his county for recovering money. He pleadingly looked towards Duke Conley who is like a volcano that is going to blast.


    Conley closed his eyes to calm himself and then he signaled the count of Maplewoods to sidetrack current issues and bring out their problem.


    " Milord , we have talked about compensating Royal guards. Now we need to address the problem of people outside." Said count of Maplewoods politely.


    "Can anyone provide any good suggestions?" asked Jason .


    "Milord , why don''t we do the same as we have done for Royal Guards?" said Helmsford with a bright smile.


    "What do you mean by that?" asked the Count of Newshawk angrily.


    "We can seize more of their family property and compensate the people outside the palace," suggested Helmsford innocently.


    Duke Wilkinson chimed in " Hmm you are right this can be done that way, without any extra burden falling on Treasury"


    Duke Conley said " how can you treat a noble like that, aren''t you also a noble. How can you seize their family land? It''s their identity. This is getting over the threshold . I cannot bear to see such things happening in our kingdom . What are you waiting for? These people have no respect for nobles like us. We will not sit here a second now". Saying this he stormed out of the room and his supporters followed him.


    Throughout the entire meeting none of the barons or titled nobles said anything . They would just nod when their faction said something . Jason found it to be quite funny.


    Now the room was left with Jason and loyalist nobles. Duke was watching Jason like he is some kind of peculiar species. ''Why do I feel that something changed about him? No it seems like he is a completely different person . Maybe I haven''t seen him for a long time. I need to meet Kathy to ask about this.''


    " Hey what are you going to do about this . Conley surely is not someone irrational; he must be up to something ." said Count of Greenfield.


    " What are you worrying about? Our faction is surely not inferior to them by any standard. We are even Superior to them . "  consoled count Helmsford.


    " We can''t give them any chance . Everyone gathers your troops, we will just crush them before they plan to do something." said Charles.


    Everyone had already agreed to gather their nearby forces and send someone to alert their Dominion in the morning meeting.


    Everyone had gone their ways . Jason asked Robert to send someone trusted to tail rebel counts and Duke.


    When the meeting was over Jason went to his mother''s room . He heard Duke''s voice coming from the room as he got near the door. As he turned back to Sprint out of there. He heard a sharp cry and paused where he was.


    " Ehhhhh!! " shrieked Mary .


    The Duke who was inside the room came out running  with a sword in hand barking "what happened , Who dared to cause trouble in the royal palace" . Jason was now truly shocked.


    When Duke reached the corridor he saw Jason standing still in fright and Mary sitting on ground . After inquiry Mary told him that she saw a person  sneakily standing on the door of milady and was hesitating to go inside, so she came to check on him . As she got near him he suddenly turned and she was shocked and thus gave a cry .


    While Mary was being questioned Jason has also come to realisation and was blaming his past self for being frightened by Duke. Duke was pleased to see Jason, who was behaving as a king in the meeting, now scared silly by him. His lips curved upward as he left the corridor as if he won some great battle . Seeing Duke''s proud smile Jason got red from shame.


    Mother Kathy was amused to see the exchange between Grandpa and grandson. She asked Jason what he wanted to eat then left for the kitchen .


    Jason left from there to the library and brought some books of basic knowledge , previous Jason doesn''t have basic knowledge of any field. God knows how that fella survived for so long. He just knows what he saw or was told by others by chance. Not a single bit of energy was wasted on learning anything at all .


    Mother Kathy tried to teach him but would leave seeing his crybaby face. His father would appoint tutors but he would run away to his mother.


    '' You are truly lucky Jason (previous Jason) that you were not born on my planet or you would surely have died of knowledge overdose'' Well we need not know whether he is praising him or lamenting on his fate of coming here and all this happening.


    ''Good night''  Jason went to sleep


    _______________ _______________


    contents been revised


    thanks for feedback


    Today''s second chapte

 5 Ch 05 Brewing Storm

    MRE Ch 05


    Duke Conley left the palace from one of the side gates which is 200 meters from the main gate, leaving the members of his factions behind . His angry expression was gone , his lips curved upwards and  a sly smile formed on his face as he thought about his plan.


    Leaving the palace he strolled towards the main palace gate where a protesting crowd had gathered. Main gate tells of the glamor the palace used to have. Main gate is built from two bronze sheets of 7 meter by 3 meter and half foot thick. Walls surrounding the main gate are nearly 10 meter high and 1.5mtr thick built from the stones and lime clay . You can''t help but feel dwarfed standing beside these magnificent constructions of ancestors.


    He got near the crowd and waved his hand towards a person wearing black hooded cloak standing on a high pedestal . That person noticed someone was waving at him. He got down , started towards the person who waved at him,he passed through the crowd. Coming out of the crowd he realized the person is none other than the Duke Conley his expression became ecstatic his eyes started glittering ''Money is coming''.


    Duke moved away from the crowd and got inside his carriage parked on the opposite lane to the crowd. Duke''s carriage was well furnished and comfortable , could easily accommodate four people inside and go on long trips.


    " Milord ! Is there anything that this lowly servant of yours can do for you" hooded man asked politely as he reached near the door of the carriage. thinking to himself  ''Just give me money I will do anything even eat your shit. By the way earning money by eating shit seems good and easy. My darling Money ! I can do Anything for you even eat shit  Just come to me''


    " Of course ! I have called you for another job. Your performance in your previous job to fetch people for protesting is utterly disappointing. Because of your inability to get more people no one is giving any heed to this issue. They took it lightly, My future plans are held back." Duke complained sitting inside the carriage staring at the wine cup in hand. He angrily splashed wine on his face.


    Hooded man was shocked by the wine splash on his face but his expression didn''t change , he licked the wine near his mouth loudly  "Milord! From where did you obtain such a fine wine? Even normal wines are hard to get nowadays." Shamelessly hooded man praised, he looked at the spilled wine near his feet and with a crying expression moving his head disapprovingly he lamented " what a waste! Such godsend wine,  can''t be drunk now what a waste!!!"


    " Come to my house in the evening . Everyone will be present there , you will get to drink this wine there without any limitations, but first keep these people protesting and create even more disruption in the city. We are in the last phase of our plan so be careful. " grumbled Duke and threw a pack of coins out of the carriage and headed towards his house in the capital city.


    Hooded man picked the sack of coins , his expression elated '' What a nasty fellow if not for my dearest money , I would''ve thrown dogshit on his face''. He forgot insult by Duke and returned to his pedestal in the middle of the crowd, encouraging them to keep protesting. He gave some coins with dejected expression to his other guild members for gathering more people.


    Guild Members also knew what a miser their leader was, but nothing could be done , this is the only Guild in the city perhaps the  whole kingdom, other Guilds have perished long ago. In Arcania growing poverty and imigration of rich citizens and traders to other kingdoms made the guilds move along with their patrons.


    Now only one Guild is present; it is surviving only because of Duke Conley and other nobles. Mercenaries that died in the battle were from this guild. Their leaders have taken money from nobles to take them safely out of the kingdom but because of the battle they lost half of their members either dead or injured. Their families got to guild headquarters for compensation ,  the guild leader had already stored the money , he was going to expel them by force .


    Luckily the next day he got a sack of coins and was ordered to create chaos in the city and take the family of the dead to protest for compensation from the kingdom.


    Evans who had been following the Duke saw his interactions with the hooded man who incited the crowd . When Duke left Evans tailed him on foot stealthily, horse carriages can''t run faster than a rank 5 knight.


    Conley''s carriage reached a large two storey bungalow with lush green garden in front and a padded track leading to the main door. Carriage stopped at the main door , servants came running toward the carriage and opened the gate . Duke entered the main hall , A tall person with broad shoulders and tangled Brown hair was sitting near the wine case. Conley got near that man " Have you been drinking since morning " Conley asked politely. "What else can I do? You have barred me from going out" reply came from the person


    "Oh Kipler! Can''t you wait some more days , we have been planning this for years and now the right time has come, just keep patience. Brother Timothy has high praises for you, he even said you are much better than him when he was your age, you will surpass him in a year or two. This mission is important for your future so nothing can go wrong" Conley urged kipler to be patient. Kipler is in his 40s and a mid level rank 8 knight. His achievement is much better than his peers. His commander, Timothy ,  had sent him here with his elite troops to help Duke defeat Arcanian forces.


    Both of them got up from there and went to the kitchen for a light lunch before the arrival of other members of his faction . Then they got down for tea brought by Kipler in the backyard. In  Bunglows backyard a small table and two chairs were kept , a kettle that had just been put out of the stove vapour still coming out of its mouth and two sets of silver cups we''re on the table.


    A small garden with various flowers, fruit laden trees  and exotic vegetables planted in it was in the backyard. Conley himself had sown and cared for the plants in the garden. Just as they took their seats in such a peaceful environment, Head servant came running toward him " Milord Count Alvaton requests your presence"


    " Alvaton is alone or others have arrived with him." Inquired Duke while enjoying tea.


    "Milord Count is alone no other members have arrived yet" answered head servant


    " Have him wait, we will come after we enjoy tea. And don''t disturb again ." ordered Duke. The servant hurriedly left the garden and informed Count Alvaton. Alvaton was displeased that Conley ignored him.


    " Sir Kipler where did you get these tea from , Does it grow in your kingdom? It has such a soothing and relaxing feel." praised Duke after taking a sip. Duke''s eyes were closed and a smile formed on his face.


    "Sir Duke they are not grown in our kingdom in fact no such kind of thing grows in the whole of Tallus continent. It was brought by a merchant from some other continent and he gifted it to the Porus emperor . Sir Timothy was sent to Captol city of Porus Empire to sort out some trading issues at that time . Tea was served to high level officials of the Empire thus he got his chance to drink it and he got entranced by it''s flavor. After bribing some officials of the palace he got 700 gms of tea leaves . When he returned he gifted 400 gms to Dakota''s Royal family . Our king was impressed by the tea so the King offered him some tax rebate." explained Kipler with an aloof expression.


    Duke was growling inwardly '' that miser only sent me 40 gms when he got to keep 300 gms and even after that I have to share it with his aide'' .


    Both of them drank their remaining tea without much talking . They kept their cups on the small table , took a light stroll in the backyard garden, where Duke informed him about trees and plants he had selected.


    ________


    Evans following Duke got near the bungalow . He saw Duke going inside . Bunglow is heavily guarded. Guards were present everywhere. He got to a nearby street from where he could see the main door. He looked at the nearby tree and climbed on it for rest.


    He heard some commotion there on the main door . He got down the tree and saw another carriage going to Duke''s house . Paying closer attention to the carriage and person that got out he was sure that person was Count Alvaton. After some time some more carriages got into the Duke''s bunglow. He was now sure that something big would happen soon.


    His interest piqued , all the bigwigs of the rebel factions were present there. This night was not going to be some normal night and surely would be mentioned in the history of Arcania whether in good light or bad will depend on the Victor of the tussle.


    _________________  _________________


    Sorry! Only one chapter today as I am reviewing the previous chapters


    will be waiting for your suggestions

 6 Ch 06 Wheres the wine

    MRE Ch 06


    The hall of Duke''s bunglow is built lavishly with imported furniture and crafts from different parts of the continent. Even the simplest of wine presented to them here  cannot be found in the Royal palace.


    Duke Conley and Kipler left the garden, they started towards the hall. The guard on the gate saw Duke and Kipler , he announced it to the nobles in the room. All murmuring and gossiping nobles shut their mouths , and the room became still for a second.


    Duke entered the room with Kipler. Other nobles started guessing ''who this square faced and brown haired guy is that even Duke is so courteous to him''. Duke saw them confused, he understood thus introduced Kipler " My dear Friends this person here is Sir Kipler from the Dakota kingdom as you can guess he is here to help us."


    Nobles'' expression eased momentarily only to change when one of them asked Duke with curiosity " Sir Duke how can a man help us alone even if he is from Dakota."


    Duke started boasting " What one man, Sir Kipler is here with his 1200  elite troops of the Dakota kingdom which are at least hundred times more advanced than our elite troops. Even if we exclude the troops he is still a mid rank 8 knight who can stop him in Arcania."All the nobles are now stunned by the information they got their mouth agape .


    Duke further added "Dakota only has 5 brigades of elite troops those sent here are best of the best." Some nobles which were more knowledgeable reached a conclusion '' Dakota is surely giving it''s all to get the mines. They must have mobilized 2 brigades,which is more than 1600 combat ready men but only 1200 made it to the capital . They must have selected high mountainous path to avoid the Kingdom''s patrolling men.''


    Nobles were looking at Kipler with adoration in their eyes,  it made him feel slightly uncomfortable, he subconsciously tried to loosen the collar of the padded coat he was wearing and thought '' Duke is truly a master in conning others . Good Duke keep boasting, keep these fools motivated, till we need them.''


    Duke took people from the hall to the meeting table on the second floor. Duke lives alone in this house with his servants . His wife and second son left for Dakota earlier this year to meet his elder son and daughter who is pregnant.


    The big rectangular meeting table made of ashwood with seating for 40 people was in the middle of the room . All of them took their seat . Duke sat opposite to the door, along the breadth of the table, Kipler took his chair near Duke and sat there , the rest of them took their seats as their rank stipulated. Room fell silent, everyone looked at Duke waiting for him to start the meeting.


    Just as Duke was to say something, the sound of running with heavy steps came from the corridor outside the room. Everyone moved their head towards the door as a man wearing a hood appeared on the door breathing heavily "Oh milord ! I Ah! Ah! I am sorry , Ha! Ah! " thinking '' thank God ! I reached on time or that shitty Duke will cut my fees what will I do ''


    Duke gestured to him to take a seat. Other nobles had seen this narrow faced man with broad nose many times with Duke .


    Hooded man asked innocently " Milord Duke , where is the wine that you promised" thinking '' he he , old man do you think I will forget about the wine, you moron''


    Duke was now irritated by this fellow''s shameless behaviour and angrly glared at him " you will get wine after this meeting is over. "


    Duke with a serious expression asked for everyone''s attention " Now that everyone is here. We can start now."


    ___________________


    It had been more than an hour by the time other nobles entered the house. Evans was circling the perimeter of the house to find a way to enter without being spotted. But Duke had arranged his patrols meticulously so that no intruder could go in without being spotted.


    Having failed to do anything he got back to the palace reported his observations to Robert. Robert knew from his narration that the situation was grave without wasting any time.


    Robert took him to report to Jason, after inquiring about the prince''s location he got to know that he went to the resting area . On their way they saw Duke Wilkinson coming from the opposite direction with a delighted expression.


    " Robert at this time why are you going to the resting Chambers." Questioned Duke .


    " Sir Duke we have been sent to investigate Duke Conley after meeting so we are going to report to his highness" replied Robert with a straight face.


    " Don''t disturb him now , he has gone to rest , his health is not completely well and it needs some time to recover. " then looking at their downcast expression he assumed ''they had found something crucial'',thus he further added " Both of you come with me to Charles office . We will discuss your report there ."


    Trio of middle aged man and two young men left the corridor and entered the palace grounds which had grass and some trees here and there . They crossed it  and reached the pavilion of palace guards.


    Palace guard pavilion is built separate from the main palace, near the main gate. Here sounds of instructors yelling at their full lungs on practicing troops, swords clanking, Pike thrusting, maces smashing on wooden dummies can be heard.


    Duke took them to one of the larger rooms. Inside was a pretty simple table and lots of documents. Charles is analysing some documents sitting on his chair opposite to the door . Hearing the door opening sound he moved his head upward and recognized the person on the door. He left his chair to greet him but stopped when he saw two other people with him.


    He now knew Duke had come to discuss some important matter . "Sir Duke please be seated  . Young fellows you two also take a seat" said Charles pointing towards the chair in the room, then he signaled the doorman to shut the door, he asked Duke " how can I help you sir Duke".


    "These fellows were tailing Conley and have come to report their findings." said Duke . Charles looked at two of them .


    They are of the same age and it seemed that they have good synergy . Both of them had well built muscle, tall and with broad shoulders.


    Charles inspected their physical condition, a look of admiration flashed through his eyes. Noticing Charles'' changes , Duke mentioned " Both of them are members of elite men I assembled to protect the prince . They are the best young soldiers of our kingdom. Future of our military depends on them." Robert and Evans felt elated.


    " With just one look I can see they are good." If the troops practicing outside heard him saying that , they will also take their belongings and start protesting at palace gate. No one in the past year heard Charles evaluating ''good'' , at maximum a '' not bad'' evaluation comes from his mouth.


    They have heard about Sir Charles'' evaluation while their stay in the palace, Evans with an ecstatic expression explained everything.


    Charles'' expression became glum , from what Evans said , he inferred that " Duke Conley is going to reveal his hand soon, he doesn''t fear us as he has gone to visit protestors openly. This means he has got powerful support to deal with us."


    " I agree with you Charles. Duke has never been the one to do things without being in control of the situation" Duke affirmed Charles with a sour expression.


    Whole room fell silent, everyone was in deep thought . Charles responded first " we need to gauge the support Duke obtained".


    " Yes but how are we going to ask Conley himself?" asked Duke Wilkinson .


    "He is being overconfident and is not taking us seriously. We can use this to our advantage, he will surely do something to our advantage" replied Charles looking towards Robert and Evans.


    Evans hurriedly replied " Sir When I was there I circled the whole boundary of the house but was unable to find any opening . "


    " Hmm! Sending someone inside to gather information can not be done. Anything direct and threatening is not possible , it will alert their underlings.Threat will remain there and without someone guiding them, they will be uncontrollable doing more harm than good. Conley sure has thought about this." mumbled Duke.


    " Ha! Ha! Ha..." laughed Charles  as he said " there''s a saying '' your enemy knows you better than you know yourself ''. That Sly old man sure knows what we will do even if he gives us some hints." Duke Wilkinson also started laughing. Men stationed on the door stared at each other''s faces with confused expressions '' Pal didn''t you say something serious is being discussed'' as the sound of laughter reverberated inside the room.''


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 7 Ch 07.1 These kids

    MRE Ch 07.1


    Robert and Evans were leading a group of youngsters to the Duke''s bunglow. They stopped on the street, at some distance from the bunglow where Evans patrolled earlier .


    Robert went ahead to the gate of the bunglow . He waved his hand towards the young guard at the front gate . Young man came forward without hesitation . Robert asked " hey pal ! Can you tell me where Count Alvaton''s residence is? I am new in the capital."


    " Oh Count Alvaton ! Yes I know, but you don''t seem to be from his county." asked the guard while furrowing his brow.


    " I am surely not from the plains , Count Newshawk had recommended me to join Count Alvaton''s forces" said Robert plainly with a smile and showed him a forged recommendation letter he got from the palace.


    Young Guard took a glance at the letter, then at the well built body of Robert and said " You surely are fit for service in the military, even without a recommendation letter you would have been recruited. Anyways come with me, " he took Robert to an old guard.


    " Chief, this person came here with this letter to join Count Alvaton''s forces and wants to go to Count''s residence. I took him here to you" informing the old man he passed the letter. Old man saw letter and nodded his head. he looked at Robert and asked with blank face in harsh tone " what''s your rank boy?"


    " Sir I have reached peak rank 3." replied Robert , maintaining his village bumpkin smile, looked at bunglow in awe.


    " Hmm! Not bad ! You are barely 20 and are about to reach rank 4. You have a good future ahead. Why don''t you join our mercenary group." asked oldman , he didn''t concealed his admiration for Robert''s talent.


    " But Sir , what will I say to Count if he ever meets me." Asked Robert .


    " Hey young man don''t worry we are working for Duke who is superior to the count . You will have a bright future with us." said the old man . He wanted to expand his group . he never got any opportunity in declining Arcania Kingdom so he took Duke''s commission. Robert had talent which he needed for expansion of his group.


    Robert was here to get some information from them but they are only bullshiting about recruitment. He felt a little nervous.


    Seeing Robert''s nervous expression the young man said anxiously " Let me tell you ! There is battle going to happen , if you join Count''s forces you can be deployed in front lines. But if join us you will be fine and will get much more benefits"


    " How can I get more benefits" asked Robert with shiny eyes.


    Young man took it for he piqued Roberts interest in joining , he gleefully answered " We will be with elite troops and a rank 8 knight in vanguard in support role He he he ."


    Robert got what he was looking for but still feigned innocence and further inquired with a look of adoration " Oh! Sir!, Military Chief Charles will be joining this battle and we can be with him . " Then he pleaded to the old man " Please recommend me to him. If I train under him I will surely advance faster "


    Seeing his bumpkin like behaviour all of them present in post laughed " what a fool, he even doesn''t know condition of kingdom and came here to join military , truly a village bumpkin"


    Robert''s face turned slightly red . Young man said " He he ! You don''t know anything. They are fro¡­"


    Old man barked with displeasure at " what you are doing." to shut the young man then he looked at Robert and said " we can''t reveal things to others , if you join us we can make profit together."


    Young Man said " Captain he is joining one of Duke''s forces whether he joins us or count Alvaton''s , he will get to know it sooner or later"


    Old man hurlumped looked towards Robert and asked skeptically " what''s your plan"


    Robert became alert but on sensing others relaxed attitude he collected himself. He replied " Oh! I need to think about it. I don''t know you, so I can''t decide anything, I need some time."


    Robert lifted his left and fanned himself. Seeing the distress signal given by Robert , Evans hurriedly got to the gate. Without giving anyone a chance he angrily rebuked Robert " you moron didn''t I mentioned you to wait on the city entrance in the letter I sent you. Do you know how difficult it was to get a recommendation." Evans slapped Roberts head heavily, Robert stumbled.


    Guards have seen Evans taking rounds a while ago, they were initially suspicious of him for being a spy. But now everything made sense. He was searching for his village buddy.


    Old man was dejected that he couldn''t get Robert to join him. He tried again but was decisively rejected by Evans who gripped Robert''s ear and pulled him out of their sight.


    Two men who came with them for backup were laughing heartily. Robert shook Evans hand and angrly started chasing him .


    ___________________


    Four of them entered the palace and went towards Charles'' office.


    Charles looked at them then his eyes stopped at Evans, looking at his sorry look, he asked with serious face " do you got into conflict with them"


    Evans glared at Robert and said " No sir , Everything''s fine, mission is successful. It''s just when we were returning a mad dog chased me"


    Duke asked with concern " did it bite you".


    Evans replied gleefully " Ha! How can a bitch like it bite this master". Roberts expression was getting dark '' just meet me after meeting, I will tell you who''s the bitch''


    Duke sighed noticing their glaring contest mumbling '' these kids, really kids''


    He asked about their task. Robert vividly described his conversation with Duke''s guards leaving the portion after Evans arrival.


    Duke Wilkinson and Charles started pondering about the situation. They have to make decisions and the situation has now become more tense.


    _______________ _______________


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 8 Ch 07.2 These kids

    MRE Ch 07.2


    Meeting room of Duke Conley,


    Duke from his seat announced the plan they are going to follow and assigned their respective jobs to them. Duke is trying to get up from the chair. Other nobles'' expressions loosened .


    Count Alvaton asked " Milord , Why is that dumb prince is healthy and kicking , didn''t you said that he is at deathbed." Others were also guessing the same thing in the afternoon meeting.


    Duke replied with a little regret " that damned Charles must have taken him to some good healer in time."


    " Sir when the prince is still alive can we carry out our plan. Other Nobles will label us as traitors and no one takes in traitors ." Said Count Newshawk. This is the major concern for other nobles , they don''t have connections like Duke to higher-ups of other kingdoms and if word gets out that they are traitors, no one will take them in.


    " Don''t overthink, we will release our brothers then we head to Dakota , it''s as simple as that, preparation on their side is complete." assured Duke thinking '' ha !  I need these fools'' riches , who cares about them.''


    Kipler nodded his head in affirmative looking at them with pity.'' fools''


    Everyone left the room, they got to the city gates. Guards there tried to stop them, but after Conley showed his title, they stepped back.


    Conley and his supporters moved out of city, being in city meant to be under Charles'' vigilance, which would affect their plan negatively . But one person slipped away from their group.


    He returned to Duke''s house, it was empty everyone had left. He reached the wine case, opened it, and fragrance filled his nostrils.


    He was befuddled by exotic smell, he took the special bottle of wine which was half filled. He took a mouthful, he wanted to savor it slowly, but could not resist the temptation and emptied the bottle.


    In his drunk state he collapsed to the ground, he tried to lift his hands but his body wasn''t under his control.


    _____________


    Palace, Arcania


    Sun had set, protestors had gone home after a day of hectic work , to take some rest and prepare for the next day .A guard came running towards the palace gate. Palace guard intercepted him. He said something in his ear. Palace guard was shocked,  he ordered to open gate. Both of them dashed taking long strides to their Chief''s room.


    Charles'' room is occupied by four people. Few guards are standing outside the room. They saw two people running towards them wearing insignia of palace guards. All of them became vigilant, raised their pikes. But soon relaxed seeing one of them was the main gate keeper.


    Both guards were allowed to enter the room , breathing heavily one of them announced " Chief , Duke and his men moved out of the city ."


    Charles and Duke Wilkinson''s brows were furrowed. Room became deathly silent. Guards bowed and left, their work was done.


    Charles muttered blaming himself " I should have stopped them , if I knew they were going to move out so soon ¡­."


    Duke being more experienced consoled Charles " it''s not your fault. They will take a few weeks to organize themselves so we can use this time to enact countermeasures".


    Charles slammed his hand on the table with bloodpower and the table turned to ashes instantly. His eyes became fiery red as if they are burning.


    Duke used his bloodpower to react fast, he grabbed a shield to prevent it''s impact from harming others. He said " it has been so many years Charles since I last saw you using bloodpower."


    Charles came back to his senses, " sorry , I was very frustrated and¡­." then he turned to stunned young men behind Duke and apologized.


    Bloodpower is a special type of ability that gives yielder the ability to use the elements of nature . What''s the cost of using it ? Blood which everyone has in limited supply . Everyone beyond rank 3 knight can have it checked ....


    " What to do now? " asked Charles. Duke had made his move, he made his stance clear.


    " Why don''t we take a look at Duke''s house , maybe we can find something useful there?" Robert blurted his intention.


    " Have you been enchanted kiddo , you always say you want to go to Duke''s bunglow" Duke Wilkinson asked playfully.


    " It''s not that, just I feel that we may get something useful in his lair."


    Charles lastly seeing Roberts behaviour agreed to it " you can go but be on guard"


    Again Robert and Evans with their companions headed towards Duke''s house . This time it''s devoid of living beings.


    Evans asked Robert "Umm,  brother , do you have some kinda feeling for the house "


    "Just do your work" said Robert grumply.


    " Duke seems to have a knack for banquets , " commented Evans inspecting leftover things and kicking them away.


    " Hey be quiet , you will alert others" grumbled Robert.


    " Ha! Alert who Ghosts"


    "Shut up , Ghosts don''t exist" they continued arguing.


    They reached near the wine case , opposite to it saw a person sleeping like a log. Robert irked by Evans constant naggings gave a kick to the sleeping man .


    That man felt a sharp pain in his belly , he tried getting up, but he still couldn''t take a step. He heard some murmurings but can''t make out what they are talking about. He felt like he was flying before slumping again.


    Evans lifted him on his shoulder . They left.


    Charles was waiting for them on the gate wall. He saw them carrying a sleeping person. He got down and took the person to the interrogation room. He tied him on the table.


    Evans had recognized this person. Evans told them about this person and Duke''s meeting at palace gate.


    " This person isn''t simple , Charles take special care of him" advised Duke with emphasis on word ''special''. Charles understood and nodded with a devilish grin.....


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 9 Ch 08.1 Longbow

    MRE Ch 08.1


    In the morning Duke came looking for Charles. He reached the guard''s pavilion where he got to know that Charles went to interrogation Chambers as soon as he arrived.


    Duke hurried towards the Chambers, he met Jason who was also going there with Robert and Evans. They greeted Duke and followed him.


    They heard cries of agony from quite a distance thus they fastened their steps. The sight inside the room was enough to make people puke on the spot. A man in his undies was hanged upside down by his toes ,black burn marks , cuts on all moving parts lastly something like a nail pierced his joints. Blood was sliding from cuts towards his head, some even went on his facial orifices then on ground.The man was constantly crying, wailing , pleading for mercy from pain and anguish, his throat became sore.


    Charles looked towards his visitors and moved away from the hung man . His tunic was slightly soaked in blood. He said removing his gloves" this person gave up pretty easily , I don''t have to use advanced methods on him." that man shivered when Charles'' words entered his ears.


    Jason pitied the hung man, he ordered Robert to release him. Robert took him down and laid him on the table. That man was still whimpering , sobbing continuously. He tried to move his toes, a sharp pain came, but still he felt relieved that his torture was over.


    When Charles got to him he shuddered and tried to move away but he couldn''t even move his hand, he stopped his movement, lied there and closed his eyes. He feared Charles even more than a demon.


    Charles asked him about protests, he said while stammering " I...i  was j. . Just followi...ing Duke''s o¡­. Order." and told him all that happened.


    Charles questioned him about Duke''s plan, he told everything he knew about. But he knew nothing more than troops numbers and meeting points. Duke was not a fool . How can he reveal all his plans to his subordinates? They only get to know their part and nothing else.


    Charles and Duke Wilkinson were aware of their opponents strength and could work out on how to deal with them. They left the tortured man lying on the table. Charles said " you all go ahead , I will come after I change this mess" pointing at blood stains on his tunic.


    Duke nodded and led Jason and others to hall. To make plans for the upcoming battle. They now know general information about Conley''s forces now it was time to plan and deploy Royal forces.


    Jason inquired " what kind of force distribution do we have".


    Duke heard Jason, he smiled at him, Duke was delighted that his dumb grandson was taking interest in Military. He replied " Our force distribution is the same as other kingdoms. 2 parts cavalry, 6 parts Pike/ swords men, 1 parts knights and 1 parts archers, but archers are not deployed on battlefield."


    Jason again queried "Why don''t we use Archers in open battles ." Jason was confused. Archers are such a valuable asset, before the invention of modern guns, they were feared as hell.


    A good archer can take down 10 knights, he had read about English bowmen and french knights. How the archers suppressed knights, king of England was so impressed that he made it mandatory for his subjects to learn archery.


    Duke replied "they are vulnerable in open fields, although they are good for hunting, their arrows can''t penetrate plate armor."


    Duke''s reply made Jason bewildered, there can''t be so much change between two worlds. He called an archer. When the archer arrived he saw a hunting bow on him Jason understood the problem.


    Jason looked towards Duke" Grandpa where these bows and arrows are made."


    Duke was a little worried now '' what mischief he plans now.'' But upon Jason''s consistent requests, he led Jason to the workshop where bows and arrows were made.


    Reaching there, he found they have an extensive collection of different kinds of bows. But when he looked at arrows he asked bowyer " Sir why they don''t have metal heads."


    " Milord, the one with metal heads are costlier and their range is also low. Not much useful in hunting normal animals " bowyer replied politely with a bow. He saw Duke came with him, that means the youngster must be extraordinary. Not many people had seen Jason, especially people in the military, so they didn''t recognize him.


    Jason surveyed the wooden plates kept to make bows and arrows then he decided on yew wood. He asked Craftsman to take a yew wood log and follow him. Duke was skeptical of Jason from starting . But decided to let him do whatever he wants till he didn''t harm anyone.


    In the royal garden, at one corner a small workshop was set up. Few people were pacing here and there carrying their recently carved bows to show the person sitting on ground and drawing some bow like images on ground using straw.


    While drawing on beastskin was feasible , Jason felt uncomfortable when he tried to draw on it. Paper was costlier than gold so his grandpa denied his request.


    He was trying to come with the design of a modern longbow, but steel is not present here so he chose a wooden bow and a arrow with a metal head to match it. This was the first part of his plan. ''He had to make an undefeatable army. Then conquer the world hahaha..''


    After more than a hundred trials and a whole day of work. Bowyers were finally able to meet the expectation of their prince.


    Now was the time to begin the second part of the plan.


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 10 Ch 08.2 Great longbow

    MRE Ch 08.2


    Jason asked them to bring some experienced smiths to make arrow Head. When smiths arrived he showed them the design he made on ground and the arrow on which they are to be fitted.


    Amongst them, an experienced middle aged man took the arrow and said "your highness , we have made many arrowheads but all of them were left in the workshop to rust. Making more will just be waste, no one buys them"


    Jason assured him " Worry not , I guarantee that it will be utilized and your work won''t go to waste."


    " Your highness, we can make prototypes by evening if we put it on priority," he told Jason.


    " Okay, put it on priority and make more armor piercing type than others" Jason said .


    The man left for smithery with excitement all over his face , he got to make arrowheads for Prince.


    Jason again went to the workshop he set up in the royal garden.


    They have made about 30 bows, they have dipped the bow and string in resin for extra strength like Jason had advised. They were the best bowyers in the kingdom , brought to the capital city by the military to supply hunting bows.


    Jason this time went to Charles , it was easier for him to make Charles do things for him than his grandpa . Duke Wilkinson had given him a good beating had he known Jason''s thought.


    Charles stood and saluted Jason " What can I do for you, your highness"


    " Why can''t I come just for sightseeing?" asked Jason grinning. Charles gave him a knowing look '' as if I don''t know that you take me as your soft target''.


    Getting no response from Charles he was embarrassed , but still said  " Sir Charles I have made a new bow so I want some men from archer brigades". He had made the bow, he had to take this forward .


    " Okay , I take the men at city reserves , how many do you need? I will notify them to transfer them to the palace" said Charles, taking a glass of water.


    " Well I want the whole brigade¡­" just as he was about to finish Charles choked on water and started coughing.


    Jason explained " I want to make a brigade of archers with the bow I made." Thinking '' even in my Kingdom I have to depend on others to get troops. All credits to previous Jason Clap! Clap!''


    Charles thought for a while and came to a solution " I will provide you 100 men they will be here tomorrow. You can do anything with them for a complete brigade, go ask Duke, only with his approval such a large movement of troops be made."


    Hearing mention of Duke , Jason agreed for 100 men" okay but I want the best of the best." And left without even looking back at Charles'' grinning face.


    Charles sent a messenger to the archer brigade with order to mobilize 100 archers to test newly designed bows at Royal palace tomorrow.


    Having completed his first objective he got to his next target Robert. He took Robert and his elite company to the garden. Jason took one of the bows and passed it to Robert .


    Robert felt this bow is quite different he asked " your highness, what kind of bow is this , this is longer than us ".


    " The thing you have in your hand is the first of its kind, to be produced in the Tallus continent. Strongest bow of all times Arcanian longbow" finishing his intro he looked at them ''no one clapped what the hell is going on , prince is the brand ambassador, at least throw some curtsies''.


    A group of smiths arrived carrying a large sack. They had made more than 400 arrow heads . Jason placed a plate at 100 meters and  returned.


    He took a armor piercing arrowhead and put it on the arrow , snatched bow from Robert and said with a smug look " witness the greatness of me with your eyes, the great prince and his bow"


    He aimed at armour and shot the arrow, closed his eyes, turned back and bowed to the crowd.


    But the much anticipated applause never came. He opened his eyes and saw everyone glancing in different directions, no one looked at him . He became angry and was about to shout at them. He saw his grandpa was there, pointing towards the target with a weird smile.


    Jason thought ''it seems , the arrow couldn''t Pierce it.'' His all presentation was wasted, he was embarrassed but when he looked at Target there was no arrow near it, he was dumbfound his jaws wide open. Everyone started laughing,


    "Umm, I just missed the target by an inch. It''s due to the wrong calibration of the bow, I''m not used to it. Or a great prince like me miss this puny target at 100 meters. huh." Jason shamelessly justified himself. While the arrow was ten meters away from the target.


    " Hmm! Let me try" said Duke.


    Duke took the bow from Jason , an arrow was brought to him by the Smith . Duke aimed and shot the arrow ''swish''. Path of the arrow is blurred with a ''dng'' sound , it pierced through the armor completely and fell on the other side.


    Everyone was astonished, they could imagine the changes in warfare that this event will bring. A thunderous applause for the bow and Duke . Audience ignored the inventor who was drawing circles on the ground in some corner.


    Duke is greatly surprised by the bow''s performance. He saw Jason on the ground and kicked him to get up. Some people couldn''t help and chuckled. Jason glared at them '' Am I joke to you''.


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 11 Ch 09.1 Dead Valley

    MRE Ch 09.1


    Duke called all military officials for a military trial of longbow, the morning of the next day. Charles came running to Duke to verify the trial report.


    Duke said jovially " the bow my grandson made is truly powerful. I have personally tried." Charles was a little surprised by Duke emphasizing on ''my grandson'' .


    Duke went to his Chambers to rest and prepare for the next day.


    _______________


    Sun rose in the east as usual.


    Inside the palace everyone was in a hurry. All top officials of the Royal military were called for a presentation.


    Like everyone, Jason was also in a hurry to leave the room. But the reason was different. Mother Kathy wants him to be at his best, so she came early with Mary and woke him. She had made him a living mannequin on which she would put different combinations of clothes and ask for maids opinion, this had been going on for hours.


    In the palace ground , everything was ready . Officials and participants have arrived.


    Jason somehow escaped from his room (but mother Kathy wasn''t satisfied). Jason entered, everyone saluted him, he saluted back and got to his position. He wanted to be the presenter , Duke denied him citing yesterday''s failure.


    Duke Wilkinson started " Today we are going to witness a weapon that will give rise to a new class of more deadlier warriors. " This caused some murmurings in the crowd.


    Duke signaled , several wooden dummies with different kinds of armor were placed on the field. Robert and Evans came forward with longbow


    Duke further added " this is the advanced bow created by my grandson, we named it Arcanian longbow."


    Robert and Evans were asked to start a demonstration. They released arrows on armored dummies. People in stands were shocked, as the bows showed their might. It is a powerful surekill weapon. It pierces armors like they are sponge.


    Duke continued his presentation " At 200 meters no iron plate armour could protect the prey, at 100 meters even heavy armors are pierced."


    "We are making a new regiment for archers with 2000 soldiers initially, then as more people join, it will be increased."


    All the archers present have ecstatic expressions. Their role in battle is going to change.


    Jake, the current brigade leader, was made vice regiment commander, he would be incharge of commanders duty till New commander arrives.


    Jason had done this because he wanted to create a new chain of command starting from him to lower rungs . He had debated this with Duke and Charles and they at last lost to his reasons. Jason started reorganization from the archers regiment.


    Jake took his men and got 30 new bows for practice. More than 5000 are to be made this month. More than a hundred Boyer''s are working to reach their target.


    Jake was emotional and thankful to the prince for the bow. He divided his men in groups of thirties who will practice for one hourglass time, each on alternate days, as more bows arrive the size of groups would increase.


    Many new recruits who were hunters previously, joined their regiment in the evening and a batch of a hundred bows came with some spares for maintenance.


    He had been given peculiar instructions to reform his regiment and divide it''s people. First step is to form cohorts with at maximum 500 men within the regiment and assign them to 100 men company.


    They previously used to form companies of soldiers randomly for specific missions. But now there would prefer formed companies.


    He had worked the whole day on it to assign soldiers to their company and cohorts. After a day full of work he left his office and saw other generals enjoying setting sun in palace ground.


    He asked them if they had rearranged soldiers as per Royal orders.


    They looked at him and said " wasn''t it easy. We just have to assign cohort leaders then let them do sortings"


    Jake felt like he had been stomped by heavy rock. He felt sorry for himself, he worked so hard, yet it had been that easy. He did not divulged his work and left.


    ________


    Charles and Duke were reviewing changes made by Jason in the military.


    " He had done pretty well. Organising our men was a hectic task but was done easily by him. What do you think Charles " asked Duke glancing at reports.


    "Hmm ! He said he wanted upper leaders to give more responsibility to lower stratas so that they feel a part of the system and be responsible. This fella has completely changed after his accident on wolf Creek. " said Charles.


    " Whatever, he is changed for good, unlike his father who was inflexible. Let''s hope he continues to come up with these kinds of things" replied Duke. He had been delighted by Jason''s change but would not admit it.


    Now they are looking at the training schedule and methods devised by Jason.


    " If it is to be applied, our forces would have better cooperation between them." Said Charles.


    " Hmm from tomorrow onwards these will be training schedules and procedure for our forces." Duke supported Jason in this.


    Jason after much thought and recalling, he came up with special troops training programs from Earth . People here were much stronger, Normal troop training won''t suffice.


    All the military commanders got notices to meet with their men in the military ground in the palace.


    Every commander obeyed and started building temporary barracks in the palace.


    Prince is adamant on changing the way things are. They could not change his decisions.


    This major movement of troops shook the ordinary populace some who were better informed gossiped about the prince being bringer of change and will resolve problems of Arcania.


    Citizens were hopeful and supportive of the prince''s endeavor to change. They wanted to change their lifestyle and be more prosperous. Jason gave them hope ....


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 12 Ch 09.2 Dead Valley

    MRE Ch 09.2


    Kingdom had more than 30000 men in military service . Of them only about half could be mobilized and the rest protect different exit points and forts of the kingdom.


    Those in border areas had also received the reorganization and new training manual.


    In the palace , Military ground is filled with chattering crowds guessing changes being brought to them. Jake and his archer regiment were also present .


    Jason came there and gave commanders the beastskin handouts. He had made Robert and Evans make this while he drew on ground.


    " My dear comrades today is the day we will be taking our first step towards our goal to transform our kingdom." said Jason and sat down in center.


    Robert came up and announced " The salary of soldiers will be increased according to training exercises devised by Milord. Those who pass all exercises will get 50 percent increase and those who do exceptional their salary will be doubled"


    Robert stepped down to let the first dose of information be digested by them. When murmurings within the crowd stopped Evans came up.


    " This is not all, the second change brought by his highness is for those who give their life on the battlefield for the kingdom." as he said men became emotional as they had friends who never returned and their families could not get enough for living.


    " His highness proposed to give full salary for one year and thereafter half salary to immediate family members only. Families of those brave men who had sacrificed themselves in previous battles for the kingdom, will also get half salary. What do you think? " Evan announced the contents of beastskin in his hand.


    Without any warning a deafening applause and cheering came


    " Long live His highness"


    " Long live the braves"


    Was being chanted by soldiers, many of them felt touched by the prince''s care and thoughtfulness.


    Duke and Charles knew from the reaction of people that Jason had won hearts of kingdoms soldiers. They are happy to be part of this. '' masses once excited they will do anything for that person''


    Arcanian was the first kingdom to announce such heartfelt policies. Military officials were impressed by Jason''s gift for their subordinates.


    Arcanian gave salaries as per norm in Tallus continent one silver per month but from now it will be between 1.5 to 2 silvers, based on their qualifications. This will motivate them to do better.


    After the meeting, training of 15 thousands men who were here started . They were trained on cohorts and company levels mixed with other regiments.


    All soldiers were impressed by archers and their deadly bows; they did not want to be on the receiving end. These arrows penetrate metal armor as if they are leather. With time and practice archers became more perfect with longbows.


    Weeks passed quickly soldiers are training diligently to pass the tests with flying colors. Their cooperation with other regiments became nearly  seamless; they knew each other''s limitations and strong points .


    Every soldier got many new friends during training who would be their comrade in arms for the rest of their life.


    While soldiers were enjoying benefits and working hard on training,. Duke and Charles are getting more anxious as more time passes. They were worried about Conley''s movement in eastern part of the kingdom and his Dominion near eastern forests .


    They got a report that Conley has gathered more than 20000 men and other nobles can bring about 10000 men. Furthermore Conley had elite soldiers from Dakota.


    Charles and Duke had planned to attack Duke this month if he doesn''t attack the city. More they waited, the more support Conley would receive from other kingdoms.


    Conley had a large convoy and they couldn''t go through Newshawk to Dakota due to bad roads. They had to take the highway which passes through the capital then to Northmount to reach Dakota.


    Conley had planned to gather everyone at Dead Valley .Dead valley is a barren land where major battles of the kingdom took place,  all of them having great influence on the Kingdom''s development .


    Jason suggested sending archers with cavalry to the dead valley. Charles agreed with Jason''s suggestion.


    Jake had received his official deployment notice. He had to take over Dead Valley and wait for Conley''s forces. Kevin , commander of cavalry would support them there and assist in movement of Archers.


    Archers got on the horses brought by cavalry. 2200 archers with 3000 cavalry left for the dead valley. Citizens came to city gates to see off their protectors going to battlezone.


    Robert and Evans were with Jason as he was now creating more designs of swords , daggers, pikes he got them built and showed it to the commander of forces. They were very excited about the new weapons that the prince designed.


    Many of them had adopted these into their forces in different proportions according to their need and uses.


    They were about to go to battle, the archer regiment and cavalry had left early to prepare grounds for foot soldiers and knights.


    They had been divided into two groups of five thousand to march towards the valley. First group will leave tomorrow under commander Spencer''s leadership.


    Jason would go there with the first group along with Charles, his elite guard company, Robert and Evans.


    Second group would leave after remaining hunters complete their longbow training in the city and collect enough supplies to last 3 months.


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 13 Ch 10.1 Battlefield

    MRE Ch 10.1


    Jake and Kevin saw the dead valley up ahead. They sent troops ahead to survey the valley.


    When scouts returned they reported that some other brigade had arrived earlier and had camped at dead valley. Jake and Kevin went there to look at the other camp.


    They identified from banners that they were under count Alvaton. There were at least 3000 men .


    They were tasked to secure the dead valley before main forces arrived. Failing to do so will lower their credibility. They decided to plan before attacking the enemy.


    "We will attack tomorrow morning. Today we rest here. Be alert, always on guard" Announced Kevin and went to a tent with Jake to discuss battle plan


    " Like taught during training we will be in the middle with a shield. You will divide your men in the left and right flank to circle them and finish off" planned Jake.


    " Agreed, but send out some archers to block their exits. My cavalry will take them there," advised Kevin.


    " Yes, mercenaries are not like us they flee whenever disadvantaged" they laughed. Thus the first encounter of two forces was fixed.


    _____________________


    In the morning in a large tent, count Alvaton got a messenger who had  Arcania''s insignia. He was dumbfounded at the letter''s contents '' Surrender to his highness Jason or be ready to face consequences'' .


    Alvaton did not know what he should do. He was waiting for Conley''s forces. ''But Why did the Royal military come here? Did they get information from spies'' he thought.


    He got out of the tent and saw about 3000 soldiers of the Royal military set in formation, about 500 meters from his position, ready for battle.


    He commanded his soldiers to get in battle formation and be ready. He then called a meeting with commanders under him, they advised him to go for battle as they have numbers advantage. So he returned the messenger stating his choice.


    Kevin and Jake laughed at Count''s foolish decision, Count did not even sent his scouts to assess their capability and came for battle.


    Jake sent 700 archers with Kevin''s cavalry brigade to block their path to flee by highway. They wanted to capture them as war prisoners.


    Jake with his 1500 archers was sandwiched by Kevin''s cavalry at ends.


    They were waiting for Counts forces to attack.


    Count Alvaton seeing so many archers was delighted. He got so many easy targets, he started praising his commanders intelligence. It will be an easy win , their only problem is cavalry at the ends of enemy formations .


    Both sides thought it was an easy win, but is it really easy to win?


    He ordered his heavy armor knights to get in front. Rest of the troops followed behind them. Count has five rank 5 as commanders in his brigade. On his opponents side he could only recognize Jake and Kevin as rank 6 knights.


    Defeating them will be a major achievement for him. He might get more benefits from Conley.


    Jake is a little nervous now, they had practiced with longbows in training grounds. This is the first time bows were going to be used in battle.


    He collected himself , he can''t show his nervousness to his men or he would be a great failure as a commander. Enemy was getting closer as they approached the 200 meters mark he got his men to load their bows.


    Seeing the front row was of heavy armored knights he let them wait.


    Alvaton was worried, something was wrong with their enemies, why their cavalry did not attack them.


    "Why did they miss their best chance to attack? Or they had planned to let him think that everything was under their control. They wanted him to withdraw" he thought .


    His questions were soon answered as his first row of knights got within 100 meters of the enemy and were ready to bolt into the enemy line.


    Jake saw them entering their arrows range; he shouted ''loose'' , a volley of arrows got to the enemy. Heavy armor knights don''t fear arrows. They freely marched ahead amid incoming arrows.


    But that was the last thing these knights saw before being pierced and pinned to ground.


    As the first row of knights fell under their arrows they had released another two sets of arrows in enemy lines.


    Alvaton was shocked by what happened before his eyes.


    His much cherished knight brigade of which he is proud of, was decimated within seconds. He was transfixed on the spot, his mind went blank.


    Looking at their knights falling in eternal sleep, Count''s soldiers turned back to count for orders, who was standing still without movement or any expression.


    Then they looked at each other''s faced confusion and fear rose, formation broke dropping their weapon and they started running back towards the highway.


    There another adversary was waiting for them.


    Kevin had ordered his cavalry to only kill those who stray from the herd. As they herded them like sheep''s to be culled.


    Archers blocking the highway saw their target . They fired a barrage of arrows.


    Remaining soldiers lost their will to flee and slumped there. They all surrendered.


    Kevin binded them in ropes and took them back to the valley.


    Jake had already binded soldiers remaining in the valley.  Now all that remained for them was to write the report of this battle.


    Kevin sent his cavalry to get those soldiers who strayed from the pack and ran into the forest.


    Count was still in shock, he could not believe that his one decision to not Surrender got him here tied and waiting for the inevitable. He knew at this point his life is over now, just a question remained when.


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 14 Ch 10.2 battlefield

    MRE Ch 10.2


    Jake and Kevin busied themselves in making reports, a large stockpile of documents waited for them, they were exhausted. They thought '' fighting battles is easier than making reports after it'' sigh!


    Report of first battle, dead valley, Arcanian.( Summary )


    Our side,


    2200 archers and 3100 cavalry.


    Count Alvaton,


    1100 knights


    3200 soldiers


    Losses:


    Our Side 87 died , 176 injured


    Tried to stop the fleeing enemy.


    Alvaton, 1312 dead, 604 injured


    2280 surrendered rest missing


    Alvaton and six other nobles were captured alive with their money and other assets. Estimated value 33000 gold coins. Probably trying to smuggle out of Arcania.


    We gained control of the dead valley and prisoners.


    End.


    After reports were prepared, they left to see the progress of battlefield cleaning . All the intact weapons and armor were cleaned and stored in armoury . Rest were heaped on one side to be processed later.


    Dead bodies were piled on side to be burned ,but upon Alvaton''s pleading they left 100 prisoners of war (pows)  to bury them.


    Kevin took the rest of the pows ( prisoners of war) to dig trenches and pits so that Duke''s forces did not spread during battle, especially fast moving cavalry or their small force would be surrounded by them.


    Their work of securing the dead valley was done, only digging of pits and trenches remained.


    Jake was delighted, the effect of the longbow was astonishing; they could kill heavy armored knights even before they reached near them. What else do you want on the battlefield? It was an invincible weapon.


    Two days went by and digging was nearing its completion.


    That morning a messenger arrived and informed them that the prince would arrive on the battlefield by afternoon.


    Kevin and Jake were on alert and they sent 500 soldiers to scout the area and inform them of any potential disturbance.


    Then they ordered prisoners to rebuild the large tent that Count had brought here and to clean the area.


    Soldiers were excited when they heard that the prince was coming to the battlefield . Kevin and Jake made them stay in formation and did not let them bulge. Even if only one person did any mistake, the whole company or sometimes the whole cohort would be punished.


    This principle of '' one for all, all for one'' was taught in one month''s training by punishing them heavily, To the extent that other soldiers of the group would help those making mistakes in their group . It made bond between soldiers stronger and made the group more disciplined.


    Jason arrived at the valley with more than 6000 men. They recruited about 2000 hunters in the military in two phases . 1000 hunters of the second phase were still in training and will arrive soon. But those hunters who passed the first phase of training,  had been brought by him.


    Jake thanked the prince for 1000 archers and quickly sent them to cohort commanders to be enlisted in regiment and assigned duty.


    Charles when learnt that they had neutralized Count Alvaton''s forces and captured him alive, he directly went to see the count.


    "Hello Alvaton, how are you doing?" asked Charles gleefully.


    " What do you want, I don''t have information on Duke except he asked me to gather my forces and come here." Said Alvaton.


    " His title of Duke is struck, he is nothing more than a fugitive. I know already about him , you worry for yourself " said Charles.


    "Oh, What will be done to us?" Alvaton asked. He had left his hope, anyway what''s about to come will come.


    "Uhm, the prince will decide that." Charles left Alvaton alone .


    Two Days after the prince''s arrival digging of trenches was completed .


    Charles started soldiers'' training and formation setup according to Jason''s manual for the upcoming battle.


    Jake and Kevin shared their experiences with other commanders during training sessions . Debate on different strategies would go on for hours before being practiced on the field and implemented.


    Scouts of Conley started appearing . It meant that Conley''s forces would arrive within a day or two and Kingdom''s one third soldiers were still in the capital city. They sent several messengers to the capital city .


    Charles decided that if the situation became dire they would retreat towards the capital.


    Jason disagreed, puffing his chest out and with a burning desire in his eyes, he said " we will hold our ground here. If they tried moving forward, our arrows would hold them back".


    He sent spies to measure Conley''s strength. He commanded Robert and Evans to circle the whole Duke''s army and damage their supplies. He sent 1000 cavalry men with them.


    '' Strike the enemy where it doesn''t expects''


    After he thought of guerrilla warfare to harass the enemy, Jason sent more than 200 archers with normal bows to Count''s camp.


    He did not want to alert enemies about longbows. It was a surprise gift for the Conley and his imported soldiers. Jason thought with a smile on his face.


    Formation for battle was the same as the previous one, just that heavy armor guards will be in the forefront.


    In the Afternoon they received a report that Conley has more than 22000 men. About 10000 were from Dakota regular army, 2000 from elite and rest were hired mercenaries and his loyal dogs. More men may be coming with supplies.


    With mercenaries in the army there was a good chance to create chaos within military formation.


    The Duke''s convoy must have more money than the Royal Treasury.


    Conley had with him count Maplewood and other small baronies, count Lanlow joined him one day ago. Conley''s face brightened when he saw his massive army. He felt proud of himself, he knew that the Royal family and their supporters could gather only around 15 thousand men, they would not call forces from border areas.


    Count Newshawk told him that he would meet him in the valley but he still hadn''t arrived.


    Conley was just waiting for him to arrive, then he would attack the royal military and uproot them...


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 15 Ch 11.1 before battle

    MRE Ch 11.1


    " Hey Robert say something! Trip is boooooring" Evans said .


    " Shut the hell up. " angrily Robert barked.


    " Why can''t you say a few good things to me?" blabbered Evans.


    " Are you my Girlfriend" retorted Robert.


    " Huh, Just try a bit maybe ¡­.." Evans acted coy.


    Robert kicked Evans'' horse , Evans fell backward and cried " Just don''t ask me for help when you try to woo Fina."


    " Who wants your help?" Robert got down to help Evans get up and said with a deadpan face "we will rest for a bit before heading."


    whole cavalry unit stopped, soldiers gave wry smile '' who doesn''t know your intention,''


    They had been walking for over half a day to find Conley''s supply group. They had come twenty kilometers since they crossed Conley''s army.


    After resting and feeding horses they left.


    Next day afternoon, they saw Conley''s supplies. There were at least 1500 soldiers and 1000 workers with supplies wagons.


    __________________


    Duke Conley was worried about count Newshawk . He received news that Newshawk was on the way and would arrive in two days.


    Conley was relieved to hear it. They had to camp 10 km away from the valley , near a forest area, they were surrounded by trees from all sides. Which makes them vulnerable to surprise attacks.


    But they could not do anything about it.Valley had gone into the hands of the Royal military. Conley could not help but curse Alvaton , he could not defend a small valley .


    Night fell, soldiers retired in their tents, a cool breeze was blowing, they slept. Within an hour everyone had slept, night guards were standing in silence.


    They did not know from where, but arrows started raining and continued for a few minutes. In the dark night they could not see anything, just by instinct they rushed at attackers , but found no one except wastes and some broken bows, arrows, and they returned.


    In camp all the sleeping soldiers had woken up, some of them were slightly injured. They did not know who shouted first '' enemy attack'' , but the whole camp got into chaos, thus they were hurt by the stampede more than arrows.


    Conley and Killer were dissatisfied with the behaviour of their troops. They could only sigh, they had chosen to recruit mercenaries to make the numbers.


    Mercenaries we''re good at fighting, but only until you had the upper hand, the moment you were pushed , mercenaries would flee. They had no moral obligation like soldiers.


    Conley''s soldiers did not sleep whole night, as morning neared their eyelids became heavy and started dropping. Many of them went into slumber.


    Archers had woken, felt refreshed, there was still an hour left in sunrise. They left their hideout and rained arrows on Conley''s camp. This time they went to Royal camp, their mission was completed.


    Soldiers in Conley''s camp were again jolted awake by arrows. They started cursing loudly at archers.


    In the morning Conley sent soldiers to scout area, they found archers hideout, except some half eaten buns, nothing was there.


    Conley decided to plant more guards from tonight, he used two brigades of four thousand soldiers to cover the whole area at night . But after that night no attacks happened. Still Conley was cautious and did not call off night patrol.


    ______________


    Robert and Evans were ready to raid Conley''s supplies ; they decided to raid an hour before sunrise. This was the most vulnerable time to catch them off guard. They ate and went to sleep early in the evening leaving few guards on lookout.


    Robert woke everyone in the morning , they got ready to attack within minutes.


    They climbed their horses, directed them towards wagons.


    Night guards of the supply caravan were feeling sleepy and tired after guarding whole night . They were cursing those sleepy bastards who were snoring . Their term will be over in a while now.


    Before that, they heard hooves sound coming toward them, they started shouting in panic " we are under attack" . Sleepy soldiers got up, but before they could do anything, Evans had lit the wooden carts, soldiers and workers were frightened, they started running hysterically.


    Robert was depressed seeing that they didn''t even gave a fight worth numbers. Only a few hundred guards opposed them , rest fled.


    After burning supplies, they recovered 4680 gold coins and left for the valley.


    ______________


    Conley was happy that Newshawk arrived here with his 3000 mercenaries. Conley''s tally increased to 25000.


    Conley''s lips were curled upward and eyes were beaming the whole day, but his mood soured when he heard in evening that his supplies had been destroyed.


    Remaining soldiers of the supply chain reached the camp three days after the incident. They had grouped together to be safe .


    Conley was furious over them, without showing even a thread of Mercy , he got them all decapitated, saying that if they can''t even protect a supply carvaan, what use of keeping such cowards. Rest of the soldiers were appalled by Conley''s action.


    Conley had rations for two weeks, but what after that . Panic started growing inside his camp. Soldiers were distressed, food was of utmost importance and their supplies were burned. They thought of running away but the scene of  Conley putting supply soldiers to death would deter them.


    Only way to resolve this crisis was to attack the royal military and get their hand on its supplies from the capital city.


    Conley had also sent soldiers to harass and loot supplies, but they got nothing, the enemy had anticipated it and were prepared.


    Conley discussed the situation with Kipler, finally they decided to attack with full force, after two days. Soldiers started cleaning their weapons and got ready for further orders. Reorganization and formation drills started.


    ______________


    Robert returned on the 4th day after his departure.


    "Your highness we completed the mission given by you" reported Robert


    " Hmm I am confident in giving you tasks. You both are excellent" Jason praised them, and asked to report the summary.


    Both of them were gratified by Jason''s praise. Before Robert could reply Evans started" your highness we kicked their ass in morning, burned everything many of them pissed their pants and escaped, however we got 63 casualties and 43 injured. We got more than 4500 gold"


    Jason looked at Evans and said " hmm, I have another job for you. Get those prisoners there and create perfectly round rollable boulders from the forest."


    "As you wish for your highness" Evans left after saluting ,winking at Robert.


    "Robert gathered wax, resin, animal fat, oil and anything flammable"


    Robert accepted the order, he bowed and left.


    Robert went to kitchen " give me all animal fat you have, it''s his highness'' order"


    Then he went to the store manager of the army and took all available resins and oils. They would receive supplies from the city, which was not that far, so the manager provided all he had leaving some for emergency use.


    Robert produced all he collected on the ground in Jason''s tent. Jason prepared a sticky mixture from these materials.


    By evening Evans returned with boulders.


    Jason told them to apply the sticky mixture on raw wood.he put similar but more solid mixture on some arrows.


    " Now take these wood and make two barriers, one at 200 meters from our formation and another at 50 metres ." Jason ordered.


    Robert was confused but he obeyed. He was a little bit certain that this had something to do with fire .


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 16 Ch 11.2 Before Battle

    MRE Ch 11.2


    Robert was on the edge of valley building barriers through out the night . He didn''t let any prisoner rest, whoever tried was beaten harshly. Before sun could rise his work was done a three foot tall barrier built by stacking boulders was ready.


    Military drill of formation and movement had been completed. They are now ready for fight.


    ________________


    Conley was getting impatient and anxious " Sir Kipler , what do you think , should we retreat". His gut feeling was telling him something is not right.


    Everything is going wrong since Jason got back from creek. His every plan has backfired on him.


    Kipler grumbled " what do you think that they will spare you. Don''t forget about assassination that you attempted on Jason" he need to secure Northmount at any cost. Crown prince of Dakota has personally called him to give this mission and explained the consequences of failure...


    " But it was done by your man, and also the King''s accident it was planned by your kingdom" growled Conley.


    " Ha ha ha! Do you forgot who requested help and leaked King''s location, we got together for our own selfish interest. You want money , we want resources. It''s just that simple" replied Kipler.


    Duke asked grimly " are you sure to take down Royal military"


    " Where in the world are you living, even the mercenaries we brought are better than their soldiers" Kipler stated with a proud look.


    Duke gave a wry smile and said " Yeah, I heard they have dug nice trenches for royal military"


    Kipler''s smile stiffened " it''s the fault of that Alvaton. And you tell me how can a two mercenary brigade fight more than double enemies." Kipler had deduced that Alvaton was surrounded, tried to fight back but seeing no result surrendered.


    Duke saw reason to what Kipler said, that Alvaton mustn''t have used scouts properly, thus got captured unprepared.


    But both of them are far away from actual reason of defeat however they are right that count was ignorant of his surrounding, or at least he could have escaped.


    Tomorrow was the important day, their army will clash with Royal military.


    It is the first time that internal conflict of this magnitude is going to happen in Arcania.


    All soldiers on their side have been informed , night watch has been tightened.


    Kipler got his elite men and regular soldiers to get their weapon and armor ready.


    Anyone could feel the tense atmosphere in the camp, new solders got closer to their supiriors " Sir what kind of environment is this, it feels so uncomfortable"


    " He he ! Comfort in war."  He laughed and added " the people you see today in camp, many of them may not see the sunset tomorrow" older solder explained and narrated his previous war stories.


    All of them drunk full and slipped away in the dreams of their home.


    ____________


    In contrast to the gloomy environment in Conley''s camp. Royal camp was brighter , Jason organised singing, dramas and other activities to stop them from worrying unnecessary for war.


    Charles praised Jason for his wits using simple means to alleviate tension.


    They are about to sleep they received message from spies that enemy camp preparing for battle it may start tomorrow morning.


    Charles called all his commanders and started mulling over strategies to delay it as there men are still on their way.


    Jason was worry free " fret not sir Charles just stand in formation , I will handle the rest"


    " Okay if you are sure then I leave the rest to you." Said Charles. Jason has started behaving like leader. He has became responsible and can think , what others can''t.


    ______________


    This morning dead valley is giving a feel worth it''s name .


    Conley and Kipler are standing in middle of formation giving commands . First row is of Dakota''s regular army with pikes on hand wearing a plate armor and sword tied to belt.


    After them are elite men , fully and heavily armored with just a heavy sword in hand. After them were thousands of mercenaries brought from Dakota. On each side there are 3000 newly trained cavalry men ready to flank. There are about 20000 men ready for battle.


    They started marching towards the battle field . In barren land under the stomping of soldiers dust started to rise. They stopped 100 meters away from the first barrier.


    From the opposite side the formation is the same except for archers being in front .


    Jason and Jake (archers commander) were in front. Soldiers watching their Prince himself leading them in battle from front were filled with confidence.


    Charles had asked Jason to be in the rear but Jason declined " A true leader leads from the front". Well, except for him being a low ranking knight everything he does gives a feeling of a wise general who had been through countless wars.


    This morning he got a message that the remaining soldiers will come latest by tomorrow morning.


    Jason brought his special arrows created two days ago with Robert .


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 17 Ch 12.1 Battle of dead valley

    MRE Ch 12.1


    Both armies are just three hundred meters apart.


    Charles shouted " Conley surrender yourself and disband the army, you will be dealt mercifully."


    Conley got agitated " Huh ! I have a larger and better army. You step aside , we won''t harm anyone , and will take what''s ours and leave"


    Charles shouted last warning " if you cross that barrier then don''t blame the death of soldiers on us."


    " Heh! We will see who blames whom."


    Then Conley barked orders" soldiers get ready." Soldiers tightened their grips on their weapons.


    "Attack"Duke roared.


    "Attack" commanders leading soldiers ordered .


    Barrier was not that high, foot soldiers and cavalry easily crossed it . Duke mumbled " heh, this puny barrier can stop us, wishful thinking."


    Most of the front row and some elite troops crossed the first barrier .


    Bows have been strung. Jason ignited the arrow and gave it to Jake and a few others " fire it there, when they crossed the barrier near us " indicating towards the barrier at 200 mtr.


    Conley''s soldiers reached the second barrier within a minute. Kipler got to the barrier and saw oily and sticky things on it. He looked at sky and saw burning arrows , he turned and frantically shouted " Stop the attack,"


    "Stop " .


    His men also started shouting , by then arrows had hit the barrier and in a flash a whole lot of boulders caught fire.


    Some tried jumping back but got heavily injured by the heat.


    Duke and Kipler shouted " stay where you are, don''t cross the barrier , wait for fire to set off."


    On Jason''s side Archers we''re ready .


    Jake shouted " loose" a set of arrows and got into the fire drawing low arcs in air, soon other sets followed.


    Three thousand archers with firing speed of 12 arrows per minute. A minute was enough to decimate Duke''s whole Army let alone those trapped inside the fire barrier.


    Soldiers inside barriers were already panicked on being surrounded by fire but when arrows started pouring they ran frenziedly.


    Some soldiers got pierced and pinned to ground, dread and panic got the better of them; they tried jumping out of fire but intense fire devoured them .


    It was completely a hellish sight. Blood flowing, fire burning , cries of agony and helplessness . It was as if some angry deity crossed this area.


    Duke tried putting water, it burned with more intensity. At last when Kipler got sand and dust poured on the barrier then only fire was controlled.


    When their side put off fire, they saw the scene inside the barrier , and felt terrified by Carnage that happened inside. Even now some half dead soldiers were crying with the half side was burned, the other side pinned by an arrow.


    No soldier in Duke''s army was ready to cross the barrier ; they were fully terrified .


    The Duke''s army hadn''t lost many soldiers. But now most of them were filled with dread completely shaken from inside.


    Duke was fuming inside, he commanded some soldiers to remove boulders but no one followed him.


    He looked towards Kipler helplessly. Kipler and his elite men got to remove barriers and carry injured and dead back to their camp.


    Without even reaching their enemy, their formation had completely crumbled.


    Now was there any soldier ready to fight? They got their men back to their camps. First thing they have to do now is to stabilize their men and uplift their morale .


    Injured got to healers, dead were buried.


    Duke decided to let soldiers rest for a few days then they will consider what to do. He was sure that even if he talked about battle his soldiers would flee from the camp.


    On Jason''s side everyone was shocked , completely shocked when they looked at the scene and thanked God that they were not on the opposing side of the prince, even thinking about it was enough to make them sweat and shiver.


    After the soul shaking battle ,


    Charles felt relieved that now Conley won''t think of attacking for some days .


    But Jason doesn''t want to give Conley any chance " if we don''t utilise this opportunity then all will be for naught. They may think of a way to counter our arrows"


    " Conley''s forces are in despair but still they are larger than us, it won''t be advantageous for us." rebuked Charles


    " That''s what I was saying it won''t benefit us if we let them recover. We need to keep them in despair. That way they will surrender easily." said Jason.


    ____________


    Conley was now at his wits end, he can''t think of anything but fire that burned everything before his eyes.


    Kipler came to him and presented the battle report.


    They lost 1780 soldiers and 235 elites


    Injured total at 2269 soldiers and 128 elites. His losses were a little less than five thousand.


    They still have more than 20000 soldiers. But soldiers are not ready to even talk about battle, much less revenge or anything else.


    " Aagh , in what mess have I fallen. " Duke tooked report from Kipler and shoved it in his bag.


    " Worry not, we will be ready in a few days. Now what tricks can they play? We now know about their special arrows that can penetrate armor , we will use shields to defend us" suggested Kipler and left the Duke pondering .


    Kipler is good at commanding troops and his presence of mind is far superior to others. He could have been a great asset for any kingdom. But Dakota sent him here to meddle.


    Night breeze was flowing through the tree, night guards got to their posts for night watch. Night went peacefully . Sun was about to rise in an hour. Some guards went missing from their posts.


    No one noticed the storm that was about to arrive , which may decide Victor of this tussle.


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 18 Ch 12.2 Battle of dead valley

    MRE Ch 12.2


    Jason gathered cavalry and archers. He gave archers remaining fire arrows and told them to be ready .


    Charles was still not sure " Are you really confident about this "


    Jason assured him " It will be a huge success . But we need to fight the elite soldiers and higher ranked knights, ordinary soldiers will not fight and possibly flee "


    Charles asked " Why don''t you wait for your grandpa and backup to arrive. They will be here soon."


    Jason said " if we wait for them, Ordinary soldiers would have woken, though most of them will flee but some will obstruct our advance. But when they wake in panic they will flee."


    He further added " I have sent several messengers in the evening to notify grandpa and others to hurry."


    Whole camp slept early, hours before morning Charles woke first and then he woke commanders. Then they woke everyone else , commotion stopped after every one was awake.


    Charles was waiting for Jason to wake, but seeing no movement in his tent , he got there to wake him.


    Charles saw him sleeping soundly, he got angry that he had to wake early for his plan and he himself is sleeping. But looking at his young face, he remembered that he is still a 15 year old child. How unfortunate for him to be on the battlefield at his age .


    Jason in his dream was poked by someone he slammed his hand in that direction. His eyes opened and he saw Charles holding his hand.


    Jason and Charles got out of the tent and the soldiers were ready in formation. Jason told them to follow him without making sound and in small groups.


    It was a half Moon night, things were visible upto some distance. On their way they encountered two scout groups . They were dealt by archers.


    Jason stopped everyone half kilometers from sentry posts. They started towards the enemy posts in small groups of five with a rank five knight . They reached near post crouching behind trees. Two soldiers were at this post , they were talking something. Faint sounds could be heard.


    Robert was nervous , when sentries turned their back toward them. Robert lunged and covered their mouths, gripping them in his arms. They were mere rank three how could they contend with a rank five . If there were more of them then it would be possible, but now they can only struggle in his grip in desperation.


    Evans got there and took out his dagger and cleanly sliced their throats. Blood started rushing out , they struggled frantically . After a few minutes their body went limp.


    Robert released them from grip . Wiped his hands on their clothes. Jason puked , this was his first time seeing someone die so closely. He felt nauseated , soon he collected himself.


    Such things happened in other posts . They then gathered archers with fire arrows . Hundreds of luminous arrows started falling on tents, and soon most of the tent caught fire. Soldiers have not forgotten what happened yesterday , and they saw fire yet again. Soldiers who woke listening to commotion hurried out of tents . Chaos filled the camp. Soldiers were running away from camps in fright and nervousness.


    Duke and Kipler tried to stop them. They deployed elite men to stop chaos but soldiers started fighting with them instead of the enemy.


    Chaos and infighting infuriated him. He killed some of his soldiers in fury. Conley was also seething in anger. Some of the soldiers assembled to assault the enemy. But when they charged towards the enemy they were punctured by armor piercing arrows. Dropping to the ground and moaning in pain. Many of Kipler''s elite men fell to these arrows.


    Kipler moved towards the enemy to capture their commander but was held back by archers. Whenever he tries to go near them hundreds of arrows would charge on him, forcing his retreat. He got pricked by some arrows. Pain further distorted his reasoning.


    Jason ordered his troops to move ahead . They started moving towards the camp. While fallen enemies in the way were being smashed by maces and axes.


    They successfully got hold of the camp. But by this time Kipler and his men had acquired Shield to protect themselves from a flurry of arrows.


    Kipler , his elite men and duke gathered some soldiers. They now have about four thousand men, they were inferior in numbers but most of them were ranked knights.


    Kipler was ready to use his bloodpower; he just wanted to wash away the shame he had suffered today. This has been his worst defeat in his life.


    Conley''s and his subordinates condition was far more worse than that of Kipler''s, they don''t mind losing but today they lost their lifetime of savings. I


    Whatever be the reason neither Kipler''s nor Conley''s side was ready to give up ....


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 19 Ch 13.1 End of battle

    MRE Ch 13.1


    Conley and Kipler gathered as many soldiers as they could. Kipler still had 1145 of his elite men. Conley''s subordinates and other nobles who had been trying to find escaped soldiers gathered around 3000.


    Now their total forces tally about 11800. They had built their camp a few hundred meters away . They could easily watch their enemies movement  .


    Kipler told them " we still have our elite forces, it''s easy for us to gain upper hand on their commanders. Without commanders their side would fall in chaos during which we have to capture the prince. This way we could force them to surrender and have our things back".


    Conley and other nobles were delighted, a ray of hope shone in their eyes. They were ready to do anything to get their things back.


    Kipler had become the de facto leader of this camp . Conley knew his limitations and his only way to get back his belongings was Kipler .


    Kipler got them in position. It was his final attempt to wash away the shame of two consecutive losses .


    This time Kipler and his elite men will be in front with their shields to block arrows.


    ___________


    Jason was beaming with joy. At last he broke the number advantage that his enemy enjoyed.


    He had planned to completely wipe them out. But his soldiers, especially archers, had been extremely tired. He had to stop his plans. He could see their movement clearly .


    Jason furrowed his brow, on opposite camp soldiers were getting back in battle formation.


    He glanced at his side,some soldiers had closed their eyes while lying on ground. It doesn''t look like they can even walk a bit. He called Charles and gathered active troops. Some archers got up but Jason sent them back to rest. He didn''t want them to die of exhaustion.


    Now they are going to fight without the Archers. Other regiments were mostly on standby during the first and second clash.


    Now it is the perfect opportunity for them to show their might. They were excited and full of confidence.


    Charles shouted " Conley got them to surrender, they will be dealt mercifully" the same message again .


    This time Conley was pondering over it. He didn''t dismiss it like he had done previously. Kipler said something in his ears. Conley shuddered , his jaws clenched , he gave his reply " we won''t give up."


    Kipler led his men to battle. Others followed him. He rushed towards Jason , Charles stood in front of Jason. Both rank 8 knights started their fight. They got sidetracked from the main battle.


    Charles was a little excited and a bit nervous also he was first time fighting someone at his level in a real battle. Charles was clear with his strategy , he had to keep Kipler away from the main battle.


    After his first few blows he had started losing his ground. Kipler was pushing him towards the main battle.


    Conley saw Kipler failed to get near Jason . He tightened his jaw and darted towards Jason. Jason still had his assistants cum bodyguard Robert and Evans.


    Robert tightened his grip on his sword and lunged towards Conley to stab him. Conley was about to parry as he felt a threat . He looked ahead, Evans was holding a helbard with one hand and flung a dagger towards Conley with his full might. Conley took a few steps back but was still hit by a dagger. They fought Conley for sometime without anyone having a upper han


    He tightened his grip on his sword, he used blood power to boost his energy. He became fast and agile. He swung his sword at Evans, Evans got badly hurt. He couldn''t get up.


    Robert burned his bloodpower and thrust his sword towards Conley with full might. Conley parried it. After exchanging a few blows Conley jabbed at his chest but while dodging his hand got struck.


    Conley sneered " huh, you a mere rank 5 want to defeat me" as he caught Robert. He clasped his hand on his throat.


    Royal regiments gave a good fight to the soldiers but when elite men started intervening , they lost their edge. Many cavalry horses got badly injured . Kevin commanded them to fight on foot. Horses will get wounded in close range . He was busy fighting with Count Newshawk.


    Count Lanlow and Maplewoods were being held back by Jake''s arrows.


    The Royal military was in a battered state; they had lost more than a thousand soldiers . While they managed to kill about two hundred elite men.


    Charles and Kipler were struck in stalemate. Charles was a little anxious their battle had stretched a lot. If he doesn''t deal a good blow to Kipler. His side will lose.


    Jason was glaring at Conley with murderous intent. Conley had Robert in his hand , he was tightening his grip to strangle Robert. Who was struggling maniacally. Tears rolled down Evans cheeks, his body trembled , he was blaming himself for not being able to stand for his friend....


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 20 Ch 13.2 End of battle

    MRE Ch 13.2


    Battle was not going well for Jason. Their forces were being pushed back.


    If this goes on his side would be defeated before the day ends.


    Robert was struggling to get free , he was being tormented by Conley deliberately. If Conley wanted he could kill him in a flash. But was purposely delaying it, he wanted Jason to surrender.


    " Conley, leave him , we can discuss the conditions. But first let him leave" Jason said grimly, his hand tightened into fists.


    " Ha ha ha¡­." Conley laughed madly, " leave him, how can I negotiate if I leave him. Do you take me as a fool?" Conley wanted Jason to come to him for negotiation . He loosen the grip around Robert''s neck.


    " How about I come over to you, I am only a rank 2¡­" before Jason could complete Robert interjected coughing "No your highness¡­puk." Conley slammed him on the ground, Robert threw a mouth full of blood. Conley pressed Roberts'' head with his foot. Robert groaned in pain .


    " Conley , you bastard" roared Jason.


    " Huh , Now he won''t disturb our discussion" Conley stopped abruptly, he sensed danger. He leaped backwards, a Pike pierced the ground where he was standing.


    Jason turned and saw his grandpa had arrived and with some soldiers having arrived, his hands loosened expression turned back to normal.


    " Gramps you reached on time, ¡­." Jason was cut off before he could complete.


    " You brat, how dare you put yourself in danger? go there and wait for me to decide your punishment." Duke said to Jason. Jason thought '' today no one is letting me complete my se¡­'' he was pulled by Duke''s guards .


    " You have grown guts! Conley. How dare you threaten my grandson . Now we should settle our scores once and for all." Duke scowled at Conley.


    Conley''s face turned pale, he started looking for an escape path. He turned and started running . He had already expended much of his bloodpower . Duke has just arrived and is full of vigor.


    Duke smirked and roared " you think you can escape Conley. I have waited for this moment since my son died."


    Conley heard everything but had no time to retort, he had to escape.


    Duke took a bow from Archer and released an arrow with bloodpower. Arrow pierced Conley''s left thigh. Conley didn''t stop running. Second arrow pinned his tight foot to ground, he fell flat on his face.


    Conley glared at  Duke . Duke released a third arrow , it struck his left foot. Then he pinned Conley''s hands with daggers. Conley grimaced in pain, his eyes were blood red and swelled up,but he bit his lips to stop groans from coming out of his mouth.


    " Ha ha ¡­." Duke laughed hysterically with tears on his face " Conley why don''t you plead to me. My son got killed because of your schemes."he stomped on Conley''s face a few times " why are you not pleading".


    On arrival of backup the Royal Military started gaining grounds in battle. Conley''s forces were being suppressed to the state that they cannot fight back.


    Kevin thrusted his sword with full might and dealt the final blow to Count Newshank. He twisted his sword and pulled back.  Count Newshank''s internals splattered on the ground. Both of them collapsed to the ground.


    Kevin''s soldiers got him back to camp for healing.


    Jake was having hard time dealing with two counts, he could restrain them with arrows but he had to maintain distance. Count Helmsford approached patted Jake''s shoulder and told him " you go get some rest. Leave them to us."


    Count Helmsford and Greenfield quickly got the count of Maplewood and Lanlow down and bound them.


    They proceeded towards Charles. Charles glanced towards them , his face brightened.


    Kipler was aware of his surroundings. He had been trapped between Charles and two Counts. His face contorted, he decided to fight till death. He burned his remaining bloodpower.


    He threw his sword towards count Helmsford , who tried to parry taking a step back, but the bloodpower infused by Kipler in the sword got his sword pushed back and his arm was cleanly cut , blood gushed out from vessels.


    Count Helmsford tore his surcoat , bound his arm and ran towards healers.


    Charles also infused remaining bloodpower , his blade glowed red moisture in air started vapoursing, he sliced on transfixed Kipler''s neck, his head made two rounds in air then fell to ground before his slumped on ground.


    Charles rushed towards the infirmary.


    Battle was over , and the rest of the soldiers surrendered seeing the dead bodies of their commanders.


    Jason was in infirmary , watching over injured and wounded men in battle. He wanted to do something to appease his grandpa. He wanted to see what''s happening in battle. But he dared not to disobey his Gramps.


    He got news from injured men coming from battle. This was another reason he was here.


    __________________


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 21 Ch 14.1 leaving Battlefield

    MRE Ch 14.1


    Final Battle was over. Dead bodies and severed limbs were scattered all over the field. Green grasses have turned a little reddish .


    Duke returned to the camp and found Jason is in infirmary helping the wounded. Duke got there and saw him giving weird instructions to healers. Most of the Healers used up all usable power. Thus they could only rely on simple methods of bandaging.


    Jason was instructing them on closing bandages , sewing wounds and applying herbal antiseptics and anti-inflammatory lotions.


    Duke''s eyebrows raised as he asked " Hey Brat , what are you doing, do you need to teach them ?"


    Before Jason could reply, Adney started " Sir Duke, his highness has been a great help for us. Without him we couldn''t have treated such a large number of patients". There are only a few in the kingdom who could talk to Duke as equals . Duke is respectful towards Adney for his efforts in healing.


    Duke a little surprised uttered a questioning " huh?" Looking at Adney. Adney is the Chief healer for military personnels. He is in his 40s , wrinkles on his face are not visible clearly. He has awakened healing powers 20 years ago and is now a grade 4 healer.


    " Sir, we healers can heal only a limited number of people, but with his Majesty''s aid and herbal lotions anyone can help a large number of people. Thus giving us time and energy to heal severely injured men. Reducing overall casualties." Adney summarized Jason''s effort and the positive effect it had.


    Jason showed a proud smile like he was saying to Duke '' see how great I am''.


    Duke would have given him a smack if not for people around.


    Now the task remained was to clear Battlefield and make reports.


    Duke gave orders `` burn enemy corpses and collect weapons. Send the bodies of our soldiers to their families with a 3 months salary and identity slip to get benefits that prince had announced." Duke paused, then he continued " if there are any able men to recruit them. And remember to provide these to immediate family members only."


    This was the first time in the continent such arrangements were made.


    Regiment commanders divided the task to cohort commanders and so on, finally  reaching soldiers who carried it out.


    When the battle report came out, all commanders gathered in Jason''s tent.


    Summary of the battle.


    Our side 2465 dead , 1788 injured


    Enemy, 4578 dead, 2453 injured


    All enemy commanders died


    A rank 8 was killed


    We recovered about 1.2 million gold worth of possessions, possibly belonging to Dukes and counts, out of which 700,000 are gold coins.


    All the commander''s jaws dropped seeing such a figure, they couldn''t move their eyes from the parchment.


    Duke was first to break the silence " No wonder, those bastards were in a hurry to leave the Kingdom."


    " I wonder how long they have been plundering our kingdom''s resources,"  Jake said as he leaned back on his seat.


    " Huh, admit it or not, they have done a great deal for the kingdom. Now we have a bigger chance to recover."  Count Greenfield chuckled.


    " Hmm, What count said makes sense " laughed Charles. He during his fight had reached near the threshold for rank 9. He could break through anytime.


    Atmosphere lightened, they started making plans to utilize the money.


    Jason had expected to get a large amount of resources from war. But it was greater than his estimation. He was in complete disbelief how Conley and others earned it.


    " First most important task now is to find the escaped mercenaries and seal the borders." Jason interrupted their planning, he waited for everyone''s attention , he continued " We also have the problem of so many war prisoners. We have currently more than 10,000 prisoners. What are we going to do with them." He shifted his gaze from commanders to Duke when said the latter part.


    Duke understood what his grandson was upto, he asked him with displeasure" What do you recommend , Milord". Duke wanted to skip the last part.


    Jason replied in an extremely polite tone " Oh, my dear grandpa, you don''t have to address me like that¡­" he wanted to continue but stopped when he saw Duke leaned forward and raised his hand above the table.


    Jason further added but now in a matter of factly way " Ahem, We will now convert their status from prisoners to workers contracted to the Kingdom. They will be paid according to work. They will get freedom after 5 years, meanwhile they can call their families and settle here, as most of the kingdom''s populace have moved away."


    Jason knew the kingdom needs tireless workers, what''s better than to get prisoners to do the work. They just need someone good enough to deal with them.


    Carrot and stick strategy works everywhere. He would give them payment and other benefits but needs someone who they will fear. Ha ha ha ( Jason laughs maniacally in his mind.????)....


    ____________________


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 22 Ch 14.2 Victory speech

    MRE Ch 14.2


    Everything on the battlefield was settled, they started packing , the time required to return would increase with such a large convoy .


    Robert and Evans had gone to nearby villages to capture escaped soldiers. They had taken with them 1500 archers and 3000 cavalry. Jake and Kevin were with them.


    A feast was organised, soldiers gathered in the middle of camp. The environment became cheerful, at least it was not so dull .


    Many of the soldiers have lost their comrades and friends who had been with them since the beginning of their military careers.


    But they still were happy , their sacrifices had not gone waste. They won against such a large force gathered by Conley with help from Dakota kingdom.


    If they had not won consequences would be dire for their families and friends. Most probably they would be sold as slaves or servants. Women would have even more horrible fate , just thinking of that shook them to their core.


    Jason did not want to give a speech. He was forced by his grandpa and Charles, they wanted him to build a strong relation with common soldiers and motivate them.


    Jason looked towards soldiers who were waiting for their prince who personally came to lead them in battle. Without his trap which changed the tide and bows which made their army almost invincible .


    Jason started towards the stage. Stage was built by joining some flat tables. Whole camp started to boil by the sounds of cheering. Jason was dumbfounded , that was his bloody first time on stage , his smile faded and sweat appeared on his forehead.


    He recalled that on TV screens actors or politicians would wave their hands towards the crowd. He imitated them, waved his hand, but the effect was opposite, the cheering got even louder. They were not from Earth that they would recognize, what that gesture meant.


    Watching the crowd''s reaction and Jason''s sweating forehead, Duke sighed '' ha, this dumd kid is impossible''.


    Duke came forward , he waved his hand down unlike Jason who had raised his hand while waving. Soldiers stopped cheering, they shifted their head back to Jason, complete silence .


    Jason mumbled '' this is my worst day. ''


    He had forgotten what he was to talk about. He collected himself, after being still for few minutes.


    Jason asked " how are you doing".


    Soldiers gave excited cries. Jason learnt from his previous mistake. He raised his right hand then waved down toward the left.


    They got quiet.


    He said " everyone please bring your wine with you." He turned and asked for a goblet.


    Adney took a goblet filled with wine and walked towards the stage, he passed it to Jason . Jason caught the goblet, he turned and waved it at soldiers. They waved their mugs at him, some wine splashed on others, but no one minded it.


    Jason started " We have been together for a month now. We faced immense adversaries, forces twice larger than us together. We could call ourselves brother now, I think" a loud '' yes'' reverberated the camp .


    Jason added "This would not be possible without the sacrifice of our brave men, who left us, but made the path of victory for us using their blood."


    He paused shifted his gaze from left to right, he saw many of them had tears in eyes. He continued " lets honour the immortal spirit of these soldiers. "


    " In the name of the immortal spirits of soldiers" he raised his goblet towards them , then brought back to take a sip. Soldiers followed the prince when they recited a deafening roar came out. They took a gulp , the whole camp fell silent. Tears rolled down the faces of soldiers who lost a friend .


    After a few minutes, Jason moved his goblet , silence was broken. " Their names would never be forgotten till Arcania thrives."


    A loud cheer accompanied it.


    " Let''s take a sip for better recovery of our injured brothers. Without their heroic action , we would not have overcome the crisis."


    " For the recovery of our brothers" Jason waved and took a sip.


    Everyone followed.


    " Now it''s time to honour ourselves  for coming out of such a difficult situation. And we have to work for the better future of our kingdom to repay the debts of our ancestors and give a thriving kingdom to our children."


    Jason raised the goblet " For a better future" took a gulp , finished the goblet.


    Everyone cheered, Jason got down. This was the first time that such an uncommon victory speech was made. But everyone liked it more than the boring speeches going for hours. By the way, Jason was prepared to give a long speech. But he forgot and thus he had to do this.


    Reached the table set for commanders . He stood next to his chair.


    Everyone reached their places, they waited for the prince and commanders to sit.


    " Eat and drink sumptuously" Jason took his seat. Victory feast began.


    ________________


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 23 Ch 15.1 Arrangements

    MRE Ch 15.1


    Victory feast ended and now was the time to move, they had been away from their families for a month now. They were eager to reach home and narrate war stories to their children .


    Bigger the convoy , greater the time required. It took a week to reach the capital, speed of moving was slow due to injured soldiers, captives and large amounts of wealth. Thus they could only travel ten to fifteen kilometers in a day.


    News of victory had reached the city , and might have spread throughout the kingdom. Those who had brought bodies of martyrs have already informed them.


    Citizens were at city gates to welcome their victorious army.


    When Jason''s carriage entered the gates. He was greeted and hailed by them. They all bowed before the carriage, Shouting started " All hail to the prince". Amid cheering and greetings convoy entered the town.


    _________


    Jason entered the palace gate. Mary caught him, " young master, Milady is waiting for you," she said. Before he could realize anything , he had been dragged towards the Royal residence. No one said or tried to stop Mary. Jason mumbled '' your prince is being kidnapped in broad daylight , at least just pretend to stop her''.


    Mother Kathy was wearing a light blue gown, sitting on her chair next to the bed. She was humming some tune, she paused , saw him entering.


    " Thank you, Mary, for dragging this impulsive son of mine," said mother Kathy.


    " It''s my pleasure" Mary bowed and went to a side jovially, as if she was about to watch a good show.


    " I have heard that you charged with 10000 men into an enemy camp with more than twice your number. Should I praise you for bravery or beat you for foolishness." asked mother Kathy furiously .


    Palpitations started, sweat formed on his forehead  , his hands were a little shaky. Jason squealed with tear filled eyes " mom ¡­.." he stuttered.


    Mary chuckled " our young ,and bold , prince could, not even talk, clearly" .


    Jason did not mind her words, his attention was on her mother.


    " What mom, did you forgot to speak. Today you must be punished or what will you do in future, " grumbled mother Kathy. Her eyes were red. Everyone forgets after seeing her harmless and kind face that she is a rank 6 knight. Only a few in the kingdom would dare to fight her.


    If he receives a good slap from his mother he would surely go to meet his deceased father,  '' father I am coming''.


    He could fight or trick anyone in the world but would be witless against his own mother and grandpa.


    Jason was being reimparied for his actions. Duke arrived, he gloated when he saw his grandson getting his dues ''he he , let''s see where are you going to run today''.


    He supported his daughter, " this is my daughter, where were you when this kid ran rampant everywhere creating chaos, but it''s not too late to punish him. Do it " Duke persuaded his daughter.


    Jason became further embarrassed. ''What rampant and creating chaos. Do you take me for a T-Rex, I am just a rank 2 not even rank 7 like you to run rampant '' Jason rebuked his grandpa in his mind.


    His pitiful act wasn''t getting him anywhere.


    He used his last weapon, extremely shamelessly. He a person who lived two lives , a walking encyclopedia of future technologies, started crying, tears rolled his cheeks, started falling down.


    Mother Kathy''s expression loosened, eyes turned normal, she thought she had been too tough on her dear son. She got to Jason and hugged him, wiped his tears with her sleeves, " Don''t cry my son, mother was wrong to be angry at you. Mother was too harsh" she said ,her eyes welled.


    " Milady, what about, teaching , young master , a lesson"


    " Daughter, were you not about to punish him for insolence"


    Mary and Duke said at the same time.


    " Both of you shut up" she rebuked them , wiped remaining tears on Jason''s face .


    Duke and Mary were slack jawed , their mouths open enough to fit an apple .


    Duke sighed '' my daughter is impossible to change'', he shifted his gaze to Jason who looked at him and gave a sneaky smirk. Duke was irked.


    Both of them left, Jason was tired after shameless acting, he slept in his mother''s embrace .


    He woke up, felt fresh, he moved his head , his  mother was not in the room. He left the room. Mothers are the best gift a child can get. He reached the conclusion from his two lives.


    The guard on the door saluted him " your highness, His grace Duke had asked , what to do with captives."


    Jason saluted back " you were waiting for me to get up" , guard nodded.


    " Okay, inform grandpa that we will deal with them tomorrow morning," Jason informed them and got back to his room.


    Nothing much has changed in a month.


    _______________


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 24 Ch 15.2 Arrangements

    MRE Ch 15.2


    Next Morning,


    Jason got out of the bed, today''s task was set. He had to handle the captives, they can''t be fed for free forever.


    He walked to the palace grounds. Duke was already here, arranging the soldier''s duty. Duke saw him , Duke said " What are doing here, go to hall I will go there shortly."


    Jason said " I will go with you".


    " Okay" .


    It was a sunny day, clear white sky, sun shining brightly.Jason just strolled in palace grounds watching guards reporting for duty.


    After Duke finished, Both of them reached the hall, commanders were already present . They took their seat after salutations.


    Duke informed the group " Today we are here to discuss the future of the captives." It was a normal meeting. Decisions would be taken by Jason, it could be said that they were present here to know what had been decided. They could give some inputs but it wasn''t necessary that it would be included in the final order.


    Jason already had an idea in mind " we are going to use them as workers, miners and for other functions the kingdom requires. "


    " They will be initially contracted to the Kingdom for a period of five years. If their performance is good during the first year, we may consider giving them their freedom. They can live alone or bring their families to our kingdom" Jason paused here, he looked at everyone , no one objected.


    Jason continued " They will be paid half salary for first year , remaining will be funded to them if they pass the criteria mentioned earlier or it will continue till five years in same way"


    " Now, allocation of work will be done according to qualifications. Have someone collect it, make them take oath in front of the holy book of Terra."


    The Holy Book of Terra was a book obtained from the ancient runes . Almost every kingdom or empire has one or two such books.


    It is written in a language that is completely incomprehensible for people of Tallus. In its presence no one can lie. If they lied their blood will vanish.


    Arcania has three such books. They were kept at different places, one with Charles , another in the throne room, last one in the Hall of Justice where special judicial proceedings take place.


    It prevents you from speaking lies, but doesn''t stop from half truths, till you believe it''s true it will be judged true by the book. Whether you want to take such risk depends on you.


    Duke went to military ground where captives were kept . He announced the choice they were given, he then asked " Those who agree with this go to palace ground and complete the procedure."


    This was how the future of captives decided and it was the most lenient way that the war prisoners were dealt throughout the history of Tallus continent.


    Captives had no qualms about the judgement, they were so eager that they started running towards the registration office in palace ground. They were afraid if they delay a second more this choice will be taken away.


    Settlement of captives was done.


    Nearly eight thousand choose workers and a little above two thousand choose mining. Mining has higher payment but also more risk and work.


    Captives were thankful for such good treatment, they had wasted the whole night yesterday thinking about their future.


    Jason was strolling in the garden, he looked at the workshop created by him to make bows, but now it was empty.


    They had shifted it to open ground behind the palace.


    He had to make arrangements for the Dominion of Conley and their supportive nobles.


    He could now discard the Noble system easily and took control of everything.


    For this he called a meeting tomorrow to sort this out.


    After settlement of captives , the next thing to be done is punishing the rebel nobles that are captured alive.


    Jason notified Charles to bring them to Central square. It is situated in the centre of the city and is a raised platform where important meetings or special punishments are done.


    Jason advised Charles " bind them to the pole in Central square, I will arrive after arrangements are made."


    Several curious people passing by Central square stopped to take a look at what was happening. They saw poles taller than their height were being erected here, about seventy in numbers.


    One soldier was loudly shouting " people of Arcania , today the betrayers of our kingdom and people, will be brought here , all of those who want to be part of this are requested to come in the evening."


    Not many people in Arcania were literate so writing a message and expecting them to come would be foolish. Messenger went to every Street and announced the message.


    Even before evening , people started gathering. They saw small stones were kept on a stall, with prices set at 2 coppers for a piece. They were thinking who would be fool enough to buy it. They did not know that they were the fools who would buy them.


    Many Military carriages arrived, one of them was containing stones and dumped it near the stall.


    This idea was given by Jason, Charles was doubtful that people would buy stones for money. Jason had replied to this that the people needed a little persuasion and they would buy it¡­..


    ________________


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 25 Ch 16.1 the crossbow

    MRE Ch 16.1


    Jason''s carriage arrived at City square. City square was full of people , packed closely. It was the first time that people were invited by the administration to take part. They were interested to know why these arrangements had been made, the mystery behind two copper per stone.


    Jason got off his carriage, climbed the stone platform, and saw a curious look in their eyes. When someone in the crowd noticed that the young man on the platform was their prince he yelled, murmuring started within the crowd, later it was confirmed that he was the prince when guards announced.


    People bowed and greeted him, they tried to reach him. But Charles'' men pushed them ten meters away from the platform. Those in back couldn''t see anything but they heard it, they climbed on nearby House''s terrace and balconies to get a glimpse of what was going on.


    Jason returned their salutations, " This evening we have gathered to punish those nobles that sucked our kingdom, they looted it . They kept you deprived of what should be yours and they lived lavish lives." He paused , gave the crowd enough time to process .


    He wanted them to feel that for everything bad going in their lives these nobles were responsible. Common people to be envious of nobles with lavish lifestyles was normal, but if they were told that it was on their expenses nobles lived such life.


    " The war that caused many families to lose their bread , was waged on our kingdom by them¡­." . Murmurings became loud, frustration on their faces. Even if they did it, what could we do now?


    " Today, I have decided to punish them. But they will be punished by you, they are your criminals."


    Jason pointed towards the stall " there you could donate money to help those families, affected by wars. You will pay one copper, the other one will be contributed by the Royal family."


    Now it was clear to them, they got to take revenge for what had been inflicted upon them. Meanwhile they would help the families, burdened by war.


    They were excited to get an opportunity to take revenge . There was nothing wrong with their mindset, living in the Kingdom might have made them lose sense of compassion for those who they see as enemies. They were struggling in the scorching sun and nobles were enjoying fruit of their labour.


    Crowd gathered near the stall , they paid one copper and bought stones. Within a few minutes all the stones brought by the carriage were sold.


    They got a way to vent their agony, how could they let it pass.


    Conley and his group were brought to square, bound in iron chains.


    Nobles were frightened when they saw the furious crowd with stones in their hand. They could guess their fate.


    They were chained to poles , tightened, and it did not allow any sort movement. Conley was in the middle, with Counts next to him.


    Conley looked at the furious glare people gave them. The people he abhorred his entire life , were about to kill him. But  he would not plead or show any weakness. He glared back at them with a smirk '' come at me''.


    People got enraged , stone pelting started and continued for an hour. Many nobles pissed and pooped . After pelting stopped, all nobles were dead except Conley .


    Duke Wilkinson came forward with a spike, impaled badly wounded Conley on it and left the square without saying anything.


    The punishment was finished. People left, soldiers cleaned the mess.


    Charles and Jason returned, they left Duke alone.


    ___________


    In palace Jason asked Charles " Sir Charles, is there nothing to record dates or events"


    Charles replied " There are, we denote dates in official documents but many times they are not written."


    "Then what date is Today "


    " Umm, let me see" Charles left.


    A guard arrived running with a parchment in hand " your highness, sir Charles sent this," guard handed it , bowed and left.


    Jason opened it and saw ''23rd of june 432 Arcania''.


    In Tallus every kingdom has its own calendar , dates and months are the same everywhere , difference is in the years.


    [In Arcania callender 432 Arcania represents it''s been that many years since formation of the kingdom.


    Date 23 June will be same for every kingdom/ empire]


    Jason got to the field behind the palace, a warehouse like workshop was there. Several people were present at the workshop, most of them were soldiers who came to get their bow repaired.


    Sale of bows had increased many fold; this was the effect of the longbow.


    Archers were given double the salary of common soldiers. It was very easy for a common man to excel with a bow than a sword which needs a dedicated teacher to master it''s moves.


    Jason went inside the workshop , guard at the door saluted. He said  " Sir Hekler , I have a new weapon idea, do you have time for it?"


    Hekler was embarrassed , he did not go to see the prince when he arrived from war because of workload. " Why trouble yourself ,your highness, you could have just called for me. Your time is precious than mine." Hekler told Jason.


    Jason saw a bow , it was not the same he had designed, he took a bow and looked at Heckler.


    Heckler said " this bow was made from the input we got from the training and soldiers who returned from war. It''s more effective than the previous design."


    Jason was happy to see someone doing improvement in design. After firing a few arrows, he said " Hmm, this bow is better than the previous one. Good, you have done a good job."


    " No it was just a stroke of luck" Heckler replied politely , then asked " your highness you said you came with a new weapon design".


    " Yes, I came here to build a new bow like weapon"


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 26 Ch 16.2 Crossbow

    MRE Ch 16.2


    Jason sat on ground , drew a sketch of crossbow, he had done it parts wise not a complete crossbow. It would be easier to explain the working of crossbow, then it could be put together.


    Heckler stared at the sketch, for him it was no less than a divine order to unlock his imagination. He in his mind put the parts together and made several bow like designs , but some parts were still left, he couldn''t fit them in his designs however he tried.


    Jason looked at Heckler''s dreamy face, Heckler had furrowed brow and moved his his hands in air like he was assembling something, but was not successful.


    Jason gave a chuckle, Heckler came back from his imagination. his hands clasped together, he bowed and said " I''m sorry your highness, I was trying to put these parts together but was unable to do it"


    Jason smiled " Which part, blocked your way to completion"


    " Your highness, the long wooden blocks, then this hook, these small pieces" pointing towards the trigger mechanism and holder, Heckler explained his troubles.


    " Okay, I''m going to draw how it looks when completed" Jason said and drew a complete crossbow on ground.


    Heckler was surprised to see the sketch. This was something unimaginable to him, he laughed at his imaginative designs, not even one was near Jason''s design.


    " So Sir Heckler are you making it."


    " It will be my honor, to be a part of this grand design"


    " I''m trusting you on this, don''t leak it under any circumstances."


    " Sir, why don''t we set up a workshop in garden like before , it will be safe to develop there"


    " No we can''t go there every time we make something new"


    " Then I will increase the security of workshop and won''t let anyone in without his highness''  permission in research area." suggested Heckler


    Jason nodded " okay, when prototypes will be ready."


    " I will start working now on it , maybe by tomorrow we will have some prototypes" responded Heckler.


    " Your highness, we make such a excellent bows, why don''t we sell it to other kingdoms and empires. We could generate a great amount of revenue for kingdoms development." Heckler gave his idea a shot.


    " If you give us permission , I have planned to recruit more workers and contact traders to start our business." Heckler looked at Jason with anticipation.


    " If our bows design is copied by others" Jason queried.


    " Your highness, this is possible but whatever they make will always be counterfeit , not able to match our standards and progress"


    " Hmm, " after pondering Jason replied " No we are not ready for it now. I will let you know if we plan to sell" .


    Jason left the workshop, Heckler was a responsible person, he had no worries about him. But thinking about selling bows and other military wares, it made him excited . On Earth selling weapons was lucrative business and those involved made huge profits.


    But Jason first wanted to set up a kingdom backed trade union, to have complete control on sales and profit.


    Sun was about to set, sky had a reddish hue, Jason returned to palace. Today''s day was over.


    Jason went to his mother''s room, spent sometime there, he left with a happy face with a natural smile.


    He reached his room, got on bed tried sleeping. But this night , he would not be able to sleep.


    Middle of the night , a loud ''ding'' rang in his mind. He was wide awake, eyes bulged, from the shock that sound gave. He closed his eyes and concentrated on message


    [ Ding! Prerequisite completed]


    ''okay'' Jason mumbled.


    [ You can now enter control panel]


    ''How''


    [Just say it]


    '' control panel?''


    Light flashed and a blue window with many options and instructions opened. Most of them were covered by grey light.


    [ Congratulations, you have entered the Control Panel in 69 days.


    You have completed 10% of Mission #1 ]


    [ You can check your progress here]


    ''My progress'' he mumbled. He can''t remember being given any mission.


    '' When have I been given mission''.


    [ You have been given mission when you entered this world]


    ''But I don''t remember it''s


    [ Analysing...


    Complete


    As per analysis, You were unconscious at that time, without enough progress you would not be able to enter control panel to see mission and instructions]


    '' what kind of system are you , can''t even inform about mission twice , what would have happened if I failed''


    [ It is programed that way, no user can see first mission. It is left to users instincts]


    [ Failing to complete it, you will be transferred to Empty Space for 30 years]


    ''Living 30 years without doing anything, meeting anyone just nothing''.jason mumbled completely dumbfound. What''s the difference between it and being dead, its even worse.


    Show my mission


    [ Mission #1


    Peace and Prosperity in Arcania


    Progress: 10.2%


    Remarks: Order had been restored.


    Suggestion: Use Knowledge from earth


    Mission #2


    Reputation in Terra World


    Progress: 0.1%


    Suggestion: Reopen Trade


    Further missions locked


    You will be rewarded when progress in missions reach multiples of 10%]


    [ One reward available]


    _______________________


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 27 Ch 17.1 bandits

    MRE Ch 17.1


    ''Reward? What kind of reward'' Jason thought for awhile. Then decided to check it


    ''Open reward''


    [ You have two options to choose from


    #1 Memory Capsule quantity: 1


    Helps you recollect everything you have done previously.


    #2 Grade one power capsule


    Quantity:1


    Helps you advance 3 ranks


    More rewards will be available as you progress.]


    Umm, if I choose memory capsule , I could get more help in development of this place. But if I use power capsule, it would make me advance ranks and I won''t be febble as currently I am.


    He he, choice is obvious


    ''Give me #1'' Jason gave command


    [ You would be provided capsule when you wake .


    statistics of what reward is chosen


    #1: 78%


    #2: 22%]


    '' hey I have questions to ask¡­...'' he continued rambling but like previous time -------No reply came----


    Atleast he could access Control panel now, to see his active missions and track his progress.


    ''What would be if I complete all missions. Will I be dead or sent somewhere else, God knows how this damn system works.''


    He slept, dreaming about cakes and pasteries, drool dropped from his mouth. In morning he got out of bed, wiped the drool stuck on his cheeks.


    He started searching for something, he opened closet , threw all robes, turned table, chairs, everything in room was in disorder. He didn''t get what he was searching for, he scanned the whole room again, his gaze stopped on the bed which was the only thing neatly arranged in the whole room.


    '' how can I forget to check bed. I am becoming dumb like previous Jason''


    He got near the bed, removed bedsheets, finally under the pillow he found it, his search ended.


    The pill was in a golden case, it glittered like pearl. It was awesome, he quickly gulped it without reading instructions parchment.


    After that he opened the parchment there was written in English " Eat before sleeping with warm water or milk or It causes severe headache " and a smiley. As if writer of parchment knew that people will eat the capsule before reading instructions.


    When you don''t want something to happen, it happens. Slight mistake cost him one whole day, today he was going to check crossbow prototypes.


    Pain came, he gave a sharp cry, fell in bed.


    ________


    Jason opened his eyes , he found that he was not in his palace room, '' Did I again got transmigrated'' he thought. He raised his hand , saw fimiliar hand, ''oh I am still in Terra'' he sighed, relieved.


    After a while, Adney arrived with his assistant, a young man with blue eyes and a fit body.


    Adney saw Jason awake, sitting on bed, he asked " your highness, how are you feeling. We first saw the mess your room was in, we thought it was an assassination attempt".


    Jason raised his chin , looked at Adney " Sorry for trouble sir Adney, I am fine now".


    " It''s nothing, it''s my duty to take care "


    " How long have I been sleeping for"


    " 2 days to be exact, your highness"


    Adney and his assistant left.


    Mother Kathy and Mary entered. Mother Kathy said " sir Adney told us it was due to exhaustion, you had gone in shock"


    " From today onwards, you will not leave palace" she added


    " Mom , I am well now"


    " No means no, understood. If not I will accompany you whole day"


    If mother followed him the whole day, he could not even lift his hand, just eat and sleep, thought of this made him tremble.


    " Okay Mom, but only for today"


    " One month"


    " Three days"


    " A week, it''s my minimum, if you tried to break out of the palace . You will be in house arrest for a year." Mother Kathy warned him, pointing her finger at his nose. ( today is mother''s day)


    What else Jason could do, he agreed, tears filled his eyes. Mary giggled and took mother Kathy away before Jason could throw any tantrum.


    Jason started contemplating the capsule he had taken . He could recall his nursery teacher''s name. He could recall anything from his past. Books he read in highschool, engineering everything.


    ___________


    Robert and Evans had been wandering in Forests and villages near the dead valley with cavalry. They had scoured the area clean. Within 50km they had not left a stone unturned.


    They got some success but it was not what they wanted. They put increased effort into finding those runaways, they want perfection.


    A scout came running, he informed " Sir, we have seen some large movement beyond the mountains."


    Robert ordered to increase scouts sent to the mountains.


    Next day he received the most important piece of news. " Sir, the rest of the fugitives have joined the bandit groups, they have created a force of more than five thousand men, they are raiding villages of Greenfield county" reported one of the scouts.


    Evans gave him two gold coins. Evans said to Robert " I am sending a messenger to inform, sir Kevin and Jake. They will arrive tomorrow with their men. Then we can attack"


    Robert agreed with him. He did not want to take more risk than necessary. Robert said " they must have known about us, this is their area. We will move back and then attack with full force when both commanders join us".


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 28 Ch 17.2 Bandits

    MRE Ch 17.2


    Jake and Kevin were busy settling the captives, the number of captives kept increasing. They had estimated more than ten thousand soldiers had fled from battle.


    This combing operation was taking more time than they were allowed. They had initially captured some hundred men, after interrogating them and giving assurance that if they surrendered peacefully they would not be put to death.


    Thus those men actively gathered more fled soldiers, gradually without any serious fight they found six thousand men. But for the last four thousand , neither they had any information nor the captives knew anything about them.


    Jake had arranged for them to be sent to the capital. Kevin provided one cohort of cavalry to escort them.


    Robert and Evans went towards Greenfield county to scout the area with two cavalry cohorts. It was the ideal area where fugitives could hide easily.


    Today was 23rd June 432


    Jake and Kevin were done with their Normal routine training with their troops. They had sent captives to the capital. They were wondering about the situation of Robert and Evans.


    A messenger arrived , he delivered the beastskin. Jake opened it, his brows arched, he showed it''s contents to Kevin.


    Kevin''s lips curled up he said " Ah!  Jake, Finally we are going to see some action. This trip was too dull and boring. Now we got a chance to flex muscles"


    Jake with furrowed brows said " It''s not good, did not you saw, Evans mentioned there are more than six thousand men"


    Kevin was not perturbed, he said " Oh my brother, we have been through three battles yet you take these thugs, bandits and mercenaries so seriously. Relax, have some self confidence"


    Jake was not assured but he could not do anything else. Both of them gathered the remaining 3200 soldiers and marched. Robert and Evans were 23 kilometers away, they would reach there tonight , if they started now.


    Jake was on guard the whole way, he would not miss any small details. They decided to rest near a lake. Some soldiers knew fishing, they fished and tonight''s dinner was fixed.


    Beyond this lake was Greenfield county, it was as its name completely green, every inch of soil was covered by trees, plants and grass.


    Jake noticed that two groups  were heading towards them, he sounded the horn, and the soldiers picked their weapons. Archers strung their bows and loaded arrows.


    The group stopped a few hundred meters away. One horseman came out, and prodded his horse towards Jake''s group. Jake raised his banner.


    When the banner became visible , Robert''s expression loosened, apprehension in eyes receded. He raised his banner, to check other groups'' reactions.


    Jake saw Roberts'' banner, he mounted his horse and galloped to see who was that person.


    Both of them came into each other''s viewing range. They saluted . Jake lowered his banner, soldiers on his side became relaxed, cavalry soldiers got down from horses, archers unstrung their bows. Robert flung his banner forward before lowering it. His soldiers moved ,relaxed, Evans paced his horse and reached Robert.


    Evans spoke glaring at Robert " see , you don''t believe me, I have said it before they are our reinforcement.". He tried to persuade Robert, but Robert did not cast away his uneasiness and followed the protocol.


    Jake was pleased that Robert followed the protocol, he praised him. But also gave an earful to Evans for dissuading Robert .


    Three of them entered the commander''s tent. Kevin was leaning on his chair, he asked " why do you fall back. Were you chased"


    " No we decided because of safety reasons. It was their area and we had a great number disadvantage." Robert gave his reasons.


    Jake and Kevin nodded , Kevin openly praised " It''s a good decision, safety of our soldiers should be top priority. You will be a great General in future. Very good."


    " Okay, now we should make plans for the bandit groups" Jake suggested.


    " We had done scouting of their area, it''s at the foothold of the mountain , on the other side. It will be easier to go by circling this lake,not the way we came from." replied Evans.


    " Okay, tomorrow we will circle the lake and attack from the other side." Kevin confirmed the battle plan.


    _____________


    In the Dakota''s southern region military camp.


    A table full of delicacies was arranged in the commander''s tent. A middle aged man with a scar from his cheek to nose, and a young man wearing a purple coat trimmed with white fur were talking.


    The handsome young man asked " General Timothy, why there isn''t any news from your aide Kipler, he is a talented man. I assigned him to you for this mission. But why no updates have come recently"


    Timothy replied " your highness, they must have been caught in some trouble. They will reply soon."


    Crown prince said " You should be aware that how much effort I have put in the southern region and gaining Northmount will be a major achievement for me."


    " My brothers were against it, but still I supported you, my crowning is set in stone. But I need this achievement to please my old father"


    " I will send some spies to gather information from Arcania and Kipler" replied Duke , his forehead was full of sweat.


    This handsome young man was the crown prince of Dakota kingdom. He had killed 5 of his 11 half brothers.


    Remaining 6 princes left the capital and formed a United front against him. They were waiting for an opportunity to attack him.


    His father was not interested in these conflicts, he promised him, if he could get more resources for the kingdom, he would give his crown to him.


    _________________


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