26 Chapter 26: moa (1/2)
After the prince's carriage drove off Caesar turned to the rest of the knight's and smiled ”training for today is over, but we still have one thing we need to do... ”
The knight's all looked at Caesar with perplexed eyes.
”I want you guys to go home and get any extra buckets you have, preferably ones that can contain water and meet back with me on the outskirts of the kingdom”
The Knight's paused for a second then roared ”Yes marshal”
*step*
*step*
The knight's started flooding out of the training grounds and running back to their houses.
”Hey, what do you think we're going to be doing?”
”I don't know man but I'm kind of excited”
”Hey do one of you guys have an extra bucket… I don't think I have one haha”
”Yeah, no problem! My wife and I have tons of extra buckets”
The Knight's all had wide smiles on their faces as they rushed to their homes… Seeing this Caesar smiled quietly and thought to himself ”After enduring that grueling training together they have all become like family”
Caesar started walking towards the outskirts of the kingdom after the last knight left Caesar looked at the sun going down ”ah, I told Sebastian to prepare lunch for two… what a waste” Caesar thought bitterly
*step*
*step*
Two people started following Caesar, they were naturally Ahri and Edward…
”What are you planning on doing ordering them all to bring buckets??” Ahri asked extremely curious from behind Caesar
”Have you ever heard of a moat?” Caesar asked back
”A moat?? No, I have never heard of such a thing”
Caesar stroked his chin and said ”to put it simply, we are going to fill the large trench we created with water to bolster our defenses”
Ahri nodded slightly in understanding but still had traces of doubt in her eyes
They reached their destination while talking and started waiting for the knights to arrive… Ahri suddenly looked up Caesar and asked ”I have never been in a battle before but when the warriors in my clan went into battle they would always pray prior… I have not seen you pray or show a concerned face even though the upcoming battle is extremely unfavored to you”
Caesar looked at Ahri surprised and rubbed her hair ”haha when I see a commander praying do you know what I think?”
Ahri shook her head
”When I see a commander praying or showing a concerned expression I immediately would think that the commander is not confident, even if the soldiers are not confident and you are sure to lose. The commander must always keep a smile on his face to reassure the troops”
”I see” Ahri replied back then she showed a hesitant expression before continuing ”I heard some people in the pub call you evil for burning the northern forest and massacring the elves… is that true?”
”Yes, its true” Caesar answered back without a change in his expression
Ahri's expression turned into sadness and said quietly ”but I don't think your evil”
”I destroyed many families, many homes… hell, I even killed the elf princess's father and brother, however, I saved many of my men's lives. If I didn't burn the forest many more of my soldiers would have lost their life. Even If I didn't command those men, the kingdom would have found another to command them”
Ahri looked at Caesar with confusion
Caesar paused and continued ”The elves were stopping trade within our kingdom, without trading, many in our kingdom would starve to death”
”B-but why do those same civilians call you evil even though you did it for them,” Ahri asked with a confused tone
”That Is the responsibility of a commander Ahri, I will hold the weight of all the mistakes my soldiers or my kingdom make on my shoulders. I'm not here to be hailed as a hero or a saint, I am a leader and I will do anything to make sure I win with the least amount of casualties… People call me evil? So what, this kingdom doesn't need me to pray for them, it doesn't need me to be a hero nor a saint… It needs me to win and that is what I'm going to do no matter the cost” Caesar said in an extremely domineering tone
Caesar slouched down and looked at Ahri in the eyes ”do you think the church fought with the vampires fairly? No!, but who is hailed as a hero and who is hailed as a villain now… you must understand one thing in war Ahri, there are no such thing as morals only victory and defeat”
Ahri nodded absentmindedly at Caesar's words and started contemplating… seeing this Caesar laughed and said ”but don't worry too much about it, just follow my back and I will lead you”
While they were talking the knight's slowly arrived with buckets in their hands, seeing this Caesar walked towards them and roared ”Alright, let's go for a walk to the nearby river!”
”Yes, Marshall!”
Caesar led them towards a river that was about a mile or two away and ordered them ”fill up the buckets and walk them back towards the trench… this is meant to train your balance!” Caesar ordered out shamelessly
”Wow! We haven't trained our balance yet, I wonder how that will help us in battle?”
”Who knows, all I know is that the marshall is always right so let's do it”
”Hey, has anyone seen Ronny?”
The knight's started filling up their buckets and walking back to the trench at a slow pace, Caesar supervised them as they walked back.