[This chapter is the past of Argen and is written from his POV]
Chess and human psychology always amazed and captivated me. These two things were the pinnacle of my interests. I always wanted to master them, and I did. Chess was a game of wits and intelligence. Psychology enabled me to study my opponents. I hated to lose. It was the ego and the suffering of my enemy that I loved. I was from a noble family. My uncles always cared about their ranks and fame. They never worked for the country. They only waited for their chance to get the throne, which was just a childish dream. I hated it. I never liked them. So I did what our family had never done. And that is why I decided to join the strategic corps.
I was 25 when the siege of Lornik City began. This attempt was made 340 years after our last attempt. The defences of this city were famous for breaking our victory streak. At that time, I was a Major. Rokhnir Millet was the only friend I had. He was a genius and a good strategist.
The war was raging when one day I spotted a weakness in the walls. It wasn't obvious, but the movement of their troops gave me all the answers. They were nervous and would gather in a specific place after every wave of attacks. I went to the General of the Army.
"You wanted to meet me? You are going to run away as well?" The general asked me with a smirk when I entered the room.
Many majors, captains, and some colonels had requested to leave the army. In easy words, they ran away. They only stained the name of the empire by staying here.
"No general. I have a plan to take down the wall." I said and handed him a paper. He grabbed it and began to read it. The more he read it, the more his eyes opened, and his expressions changed.
"How can you make such a barbaric plan? I am not going to kill my soldiers needlessly." He replied.
"If we don't do it, we lose just like 340 years ago," I said
"No, major, I am not doing this."
"Yes, you will," I said and walked further ahead, close to his table.
"And who are you to say this?" He was angrier than before.
"The grandson of the 255th emperor Joseph Hisefield, Argen Hisefield," I said and stared deep into his eyes.
"This isn't a joke." He replied
I interrupted him and showed him the Hisefield family badge. He was shocked and stepped back. The members of the Hisefield family were above every government official. Even if they were not in the government.
"But, sir…Too many will die." He replied.
I stepped forward and placed my hand on his shoulder.
"A game of chess doesn't stop until the king isn't checkmated. Whether he is alone or not." I said, he nodded, and I left his office.
The plan was followed, and after the death of 70% of our forces, the walls were down, and the city was ours. I made them win. The general had no guts to take the credit. The whole empire, no, the whole world knew that it was my plan.
But I never write my plans in a diary. All my plans are mine, and they will go to the grave with me.
"Now, enters the grandson of the 255th emperor, Argen Hisefield." The herald said.
I walked up to the throne. My grandfather, the king, was standing there. He pinned the badge of the chief strategist to my uniform and placed his hand on my shoulder. He was smiling.
"My grandson proved to be better than my sons." He said.
"It's an honour for me," I said and smirked.
I was the first one in his bloodline to do something this big for the empire. My uncles and father were either idle or focused on personal fame. But I was different. I only craved for victory. Not through nobility, but through my own fight and hard work. Not for my personal self, but for the country. Whether I had to sacrifice my soldiers or my own family.
I turned and looked at all the members of my family and the generals looking at me. They weren't happy. That was their problem. They were focused on nobility, ranks, and fame.
After that, I was recognised and, using my nobility and the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, I led operations, armies, and then I became the true Chief Strategist. I never lost. I always won. The time passed, and I rose in the ranks. And then at the age of 45, I was a general.
I was there when Arkania was formed, during the ceasefire deal between Zaphlis and Arkania. That was where I met the two brothers, Yarna and Yornus. They had the expressions and eyes of those who knew how to fight. I had the feeling that they would be good opponents. After all, we were going to attack them ten years later. The empire hasn't recovered from the attack on the Lornik Islands. By that time, we would be ready and take the resources. But to avoid the rising human rights movements, we decided to form the Hectagon Alliance. They were nothing but sacrificial pawns for our victory.
When the Alliance attacked ten years later. I had my encounter with Yarna and Yornus at the northern Arkanian city, Narkin. They were good, too good. I understood why Zaphlis was scared of them. Those two brothers made the plans for all the attacks ten years ago in the resistance war. Yarna was nothing for me, but Yornus was a real problem. He understood my every plan. He knew every weakness of the city. He wasn't protecting them. He was studying my movements. His complete focus was on me, not the city defences, and he eventually made us leave the northern front and attack from the east, at Egnisk.
The Arkanians were fast. They were oppressed for 70 years after we defeated them back then. But they never lost their hard-working nature and intelligence. They always had the resources and minds to make weapons that countered us. They were the only problem we had back then, and we decided to take them down before they could rise.
We fought at Egnisk, we took it, but just hours later, lost it again. And just as I thought, it was Yornus's plan.
In the upcoming years, the news of a five-man Arkanian squad spread throughout the whole alliance. They infiltrated Zaphlis and killed high-ranking officers. The Zaphlisian, Zerathian, Margusian, and Tartusian generals were totally dumb and incompetent. They couldn't kill mere 17-year-old soldiers.
But they attracted me, and I studied all the reports. I studied the squad and the way they attacked. First, I thought it was they were given plans by Yornus. But when I read the squad leader's name, I was shocked. Their leader was from the Arkila family. The same family that ruled Arkania before we attacked them 80 years ago.
All the generals of the alliance were good strategists, but they followed book moves. They acted according to the conditions. But I made the conditions myself. However, this boy, Martin Arkila, was unlike me and any of our generals. Even Yornus and Yarna couldn't think like him. He used everything at his disposal. He would first plan based on the situation and then set his own conditions. He would never care how long it would take him. He only cared about success and survival. And that is what impressed me. He was a worthy opponent.
And as my pawns are heading towards the valley. I know he will come and attack. No, he had come. I stood on the tallest hill in the valley and watched his squad move. He was hidden from my naked eye. But not from my binoculars. And now, I will see. Whether he is a genius or our generals are the losers.