Fulilian: Becomes a disciple of Celia at the beginning

"If you succeed, you'll take the credit. But if you fail, everything from the border of Castex back hundreds of miles will be in ruins, with not a single soul left alive!"

"Wouldn't it feel hot in your hand if you held the military merits you earned by gambling like this?"

"Sit down first, you need to calm down."

To Sayidat's surprise, despite his heartfelt questioning, Duncan's expression remained the same, calm without any change.

There was no shame, no hiding, and no anger.

"call--"

"Duncan, it's really suitable for someone like you to play power games in the imperial capital."

"Maybe," Duncan replied.

"Anyway, your personality isn't suited to going there. Spending your life in a remote military unit might not be such a bad idea for you."

"."

Sayyidat didn't respond, but grabbed the kettle that Duncan had placed on the stove and poured himself another glass of water.

Seeing this, Duncan simply ignored Saidat and started fiddling with the flags on the battle sand table.

Time passed minute by minute. During this time, Sayyid drank all the water in Duncan's bottle, and Duncan tried one tactical arrangement after another.

Finally, when Duncan had found an excellent ambush position but was wavering in his estimation of the combat capability of one of the [Demon General's] subordinates, Sayyidat took action.

A chess piece engraved with the warrior team number was placed in the appropriate position.

Duncan's eyes lit up when he saw this arrangement. He pointed at the number on the flag and asked inquiringly, "Can this group of warriors hold on?"

"No problem. This group of warriors has fought against this demon many times before, and most of them ended in victory."

"In this kind of ambush environment, even if we can't kill him, we can at least make him unable to think about anything else."

"If that's the case, then this arrangement is indeed appropriate."

After saying this, Duncan took a step back and handed over the control of the sandbox to Saidat.

"Take another look and see what other changes are reasonable while maintaining the ambush strategy."

"Row."

Time passed like this, and night gradually came.

Outside the main tent, the captain of the guards with pigtails looked at the soldiers on his left and right who were still holding him up, and said helplessly.

"I say, I am your superior after all. Since Duncan is not here, can't you secretly let me go for a while?"

"You keep pressing like this, don't blame me, aren't you tired too?"

"This"

The soldiers on both sides looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and decided to let the captain of the guards go for a while to let him relax.

"Don't let go!"

A shout interrupted the two guards' actions, and a royal guard stepped over and ordered the soldiers to continue holding the captain of the guards. They were not allowed to let the offender go without permission before receiving a signal from Lord Duncan.

"I really do!"

The captain's mouth twitched as he said to the two soldiers on his left and right, "Don't listen to his barking. He's just an ordinary soldier. It's just that his working environment is a little better than ours."

"Sir, I need to interrupt you for a moment."

"I am a duly appointed knight, a member of the nobility. Were your previous remarks a mockery of the nobility?"

"."

"Okay, you two should follow my movements a little harder."

At this moment, the captain of the guards felt deeply that even though they were all soldiers of the [Empire], those who guarded the national border and those who guarded the home border were treated differently.

The soldiers of [Imperial Capital - Esberg] are also noble lords.

In the main account.

With repeated sand table simulations, the atmosphere between the two people who took turns playing the roles of humans and demons became much more relaxed than before.

In other words, they put all their attention on the game and had no time to care about the grudges in their hearts.

"Lord Duncan, Guard Ugo requests an audience."

"come in."

A royal guard was ordered into the main tent, put down the two lunch boxes he was carrying, and asked what to do with the captain of the guards who was taken away in the afternoon.

"Let him go back before the war begins. We shouldn't reduce our combat capabilities any further."

"it is good."

The royal guard nodded and then retreated.

There were only two people left in the huge main tent again, but because their thoughts of deduction had stopped, they stared at each other and fell into an eerie silence.

"Come over and eat first."

Duncan pulled up a chair and sat down. He looked at the dinner brought by his personal guards and shook his head.

This arrangement is truly worthy of the Royal Guard.

There were two lunch boxes of the same size and shape, one containing exquisite and luxurious dishes, all of which were Duncan's favorite dishes.

The other portion was much simpler, consisting of what ordinary soldiers ate on a daily basis, perhaps a little more refined, but the difference was not huge.

Saidat naturally understood what the guards meant and knew that the meal was prepared for him.

After a snort of laughter, he reached out to take the lunch box containing the simple dishes.

Unexpectedly, Duncan's hand got there first and snatched the lunch box away.

Saidat raised his eyebrows, took the remaining luxury lunch box, opened it and took a bite, then spoke to Duncan.

"You don't need to put on a show in front of me. My impression of you has already been made. Even if you try your best, it won't change anything."

"is it?"

"But you're probably overthinking it. I just kind of miss the feeling of being in the army."

"hehe."

Saidat did not argue, but instead enjoyed the luxurious meal prepared for the noble commander.

"but."

"Duncan, although I despise the means you use to gain power, after this afternoon's deduction, I admit that you are indeed suitable to command this battle."

"No matter what your goal is, if you can truly lead your troops to annihilate that [Demon General], then you will be a hero to the people of this region of [Castai]."

"The promotion you've been working so hard for will come true because of this."

"So Duncan, please win this battle for your own sake."

Saidat quickly finished the food in the lunch box and confided these words to Duncan.

"You're pursuing it with all your heart."

Duncan, who was leisurely eating his dinner, put down his cutlery with a wry smile upon hearing this.

"Saidat, I've never been willing to explain things that have already happened, because even the best explanations can't change anything."

"But since you're so obsessed with this matter, I'll take advantage of the break between meals to give you a brief account of it."

"The information you inquired about is correct. I am indeed competing with someone for the position of Dean of the Imperial Magic Academy."

"Not only is this position well-paid, allowing one to learn the many magics treasured by the Empire, but it also allows one to forge bonds with past students and the families behind them. For a down-and-out noble like me, this is indeed what I lack and desire the most."

“That’s right.”

"But there is a big flaw in your reasoning, Sayyidat."

"If you want to be elected as the dean of the Imperial Magic Academy, besides the Emperor's support, the most important thing is to gain the support of as many student groups as possible."

"Military merit is only a decent bonus in the selection process, but not a requirement."

"Because this is an academy for training magicians, not a military academy for training soldiers for the empire."

"In terms of [Military Merit], I am not lacking. Even if my previous achievements are not as great as the achievements after this one, they are still enough to make me look down upon my competitors."

"At this critical juncture, it is far less effective to approach student groups without risk than to risk taking another chance at military merit."

"Saidat, if it were you, what would you choose at this moment?"

“But,” Saidat frowned, “you ended up here.”

"Wait a minute, Duncan."

"Are you trying to say that it wasn't your intention to appear here and command this battle?"

"if not."

Duncan shook his head helplessly. "Besides, you've probably already guessed it, right? Why don't you dare say it out loud?"

"It is not my intention to command this battle alone."

"Even the emergence of this battle was not my intention."

"This [annihilation war] on the [Castell] border was, from beginning to end, nothing more than a plot against me."

"I was able to win because of my meritorious command and was rewarded, but the [Deanship] I wanted to fight for is now completely out of my reach."

"If I lose this battle, then whether I return alive or not will be of no consequence to those nobles."

Saidat bit his lip tightly, forcing out words through gritted teeth, "Can they really do this?"

"Ignoring border defense and the lives of soldiers and civilians along the border"

"What else?" Duncan asked.

"Politics is a dirty game."

"If you want to avoid being kicked out, you have to be a dirty player."

Chapter 95 [Extra] No War in the North (End) [Long Chapter]

"Goddess, please protect your loyal believers."