Tower of Karma Chapter 64-65

Contrary to William's declaration of victory, the following days carried on with the same dullness. A war that accomplish only exhausting both sides. The morale of the warriors was rapidly decreasing because of that. Missing Nikka and the Noir Guard on their side, Nehderks offensive capabilities decreased and they couldn't make any progression in the war. Both Gilberto and Ywain were occupied with each other on their battles while William and Volf held each other back, constantly trying to catch each other. It was only the recently recovered Anatour that has been able of showing his brilliance in the war.

"Everything is going according to the plan."

William showed a smile to the ones present there: Gilberto, Anzerm, Gregour and Karl. The many stale battles that have been endlessly continuing. The amount of sacrifices were huge, and so were the amount of sacrifices of the opposing side. It was because of that fact that victory was possible. The birth of a miracle was possible.

"It has been going like this for a while until now, but… will everything really go according to the plan?"

Gregour showed an uneasy expression. The others also had their own doubts regarding the plan. Was it really possible for the war to be won from that point? Of course William only had been able to receive the command of the army after they had agreed to his plan. But even so, doubts would still remain.

"The signs are evident. Except for the front Anatour's troops are fighting, all the other front are either at evenness or greatly on our favor. Of course those results aren't very surprising considering that we are are on the defense…. However, everything is going in accord to the preliminary stages of the plan.

Anzerm argu. It was necessary that they. Most of the doubts had already been explained in the by William at that day. It was a plan that was going to take very long to complete and that lacked the element of certainty. Gilberto and Anzerm were going to reject it at first, but Karl and Gregour supported the plan.

"It should be fine, I think. After all, even us the ones carrying out the plan are getting exhausted…. Their side are definitely the same."

Karl said. Despite the small voice, his words had confidence. Gregour nodded in agreement.

"Other than that it would be Anatour's return. They still haven't noticed it yet because they are relying on Anatour's charisma, but well, I'll be very thankful to him if he continues dragging all the attention to himself like this."

William's smile deepened. Everything was going according to his plan. Not only that, it was going very smoothly. The absence of Nikka, the bad condition of the Noir Guard, and the blue army that suddenly became livened up again with the return of Anatour.

"Nothing more than a mercenary. You will be experiencing that fact yourself first-hand."

Everything was going just as planned.

The first one to notice the irregularity was the greatly injured Nikka, who now was recovering from her wounds at the Nehderks' base.

"..For some reason… It kinda feels like those glares have returned."

One thing would be if that was the case just for Nikka since she had been overwhelmed by the strength of Anzerm and Gregour and was incapacitated for battle. However, the stares of the Nehderks soldiers were the same even for the other members of the Noir Guard that were commanding the other troops. Volf and Ywain didn't put much thought on that, but the bad feeling Nikka had about it would still recur inside her heart.

"Those glares are just like the ones on first time we got together. It isn't like they are looking down on us, but instead it sorta feels like rejection. Even though they were treating us as their saviors a while ago, you know…."

It wasn't like there was any very noticeable change. However, the mood they were giving off was completely different. Their expectation on the Noir Guard disappeared, and now they had skeptic looks.

"Tch, let's go talk to Volf about it. It's not like I'm hurt to the point I can't stand."

Nikka carefully stood up.

"Ouch, ouch. d.a.m.n it. I'll definitely kill that blockheaded boy and that "キモドロ" b.a.s.t.a.r.d."(TL:Couldn't find any hints on the meaning. Took me 1h searching on google -.-)

Leaving her tent, Nikka went to find Volf.

Nikka realised that her bad presentment was spot on the moment she found Volf .

"Are you r.e.t.a.r.ded, you b.a.s.t.a.r.d!? We are going to win the war after just bit more, you know!? What kind of nonsense are you even spouting there!"

The one Volf was directing his anger to was the commander that used to be in place of Anatour when he was out of the field. Even though his position as the commander of the army changed with the recovery of Anatour, he was still a commander, the top of the cream.

"Then when are we going to win!? We have waited long enough. There were already many opportunities for us to win.! As if I'm going to leave the command to some incompetent mercenary that show no results!"

A vein popped up on Volf's forehead. When Volf was about to swing his arm and give the commander a punch, both Ywain and Anatour intervened.

Looking at Volf's att.i.tude, the commander said.

"You rowdy b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I suppose that's what there is to expect from someone of lowly birth like you. I don't know what kind of luck you had to be able to bring the war back to our favor, but I wasn't commanding the army at the time we were losing. It was all the [Crying Spear]'s fault at that time. I can do much better than him as long as I am the one at command. I have confidence I will."

His unyielding posture was solidified. One couldn't help but be surprised that Volf was able to let this be despite his anger. the commander wouldn't even be of any comparison to Anatour in terms of individual strength. In addition, Anatour was also ahead in terms of military tactics, though the difference wasn't that big since both were from the Nehderks army. Looking at it from an objective perspective, it would be impossible to consider such idiotic claims. However, logic wouldn't go through the head of the commander so engrossed by status.

"I will be taking the command from now on. I am about to be fed up with your exotic tactics."

"Wait. It was Rudolf-sama's will to allow these people to have the command of the army. Are you going to ignore Rudolf-sama's will?"

Anatour argued.

"All I've been told by Rainberka-sama was to become your subst.i.tute in commanding the army. I've been following the orders of those mercenaries until now just because of your urges, but in the end they didn't raise any, and their vice-commander even fell into one of the enemy's ploys and was heavily wounded. We can agree there isn't any good reason for us to keep them telling us what to do."

Hearing that, Nikka made a dejected look. She believed she had just held Volf and the others back because of that. The moment Volf heard those words, his expression turned into a cold one, just like the sand underneath is revealed when the tide lows..

"Alright. I'll give the command back to you guys. Fight the way you want. We'll be doing as we wish on our side too."

Giving a short response, Volf turned around and was about to leave the place.

"Wait! I won't allow you to do as you please. You are part of our Nerderks army. You must follow my or…."

The commander held his tongue in the middle of his speech. The reason for that was because of the great of killing intent coming the back of the man before his eyes.

"Let's go, Ywain, Nikka."

A presence that wouldn't allow any qualms. Volf quickly left the place, followed by Ywain. Nikka did er best in trying to follow after them as she dragged herself on her feet, but because of her hurry, she ended up tripping on herself due to the unevenness of the ground.

"Be careful. You are still heavily injured. Don't force yourself too much."

Anatour put his spear aside and went to help Nikka stand up.

"So-sorry there."

Nikka apologized. Nodding to her with a smile, Anatour shouldered Nikka without even giving a glance to his subordinates that were losing their heads over Anatour's social status in regard to his actions, leaving the place soon after.

"He is an incompetent commander. I must apologise for letting that happen."

Anatour lowered his head. Both Ywain and Nikka were surprised. As for Volf, seemingly like he was pondering over other things in his mind, he was.

Anatour recognized the strength of the Noir Guard. Not only was their individual strength strong, but so was their prowess when they acted in group. That same strength was never shown in Nehderks' troops. Let alone recognizing their strength, Anatour was also resolved to let them be the focus of their operations. That was what he had been intending to do.

"But for something like this to suddenly happen… Even though we are very close to winning the war."

Ywain tilted his head in puzzlement. The war has been on their favor ever since the Noir Guard took command. But despite that, something like that ended up happening at this stage. This was something that Ywain found difficult to understand.

"Well, it's really weird but… I don't really get it but did it really seem like we were winning?"

Ywain made a wry smile at Nikka's stupid question. Her individual strength as a warrior was reasonably good, but her insight as a commander was still lacking. It didn't seem like the person in question herself would be putting much effort to fix that either. She would always leave the thinking to Volf. After all, it wouldn't make any difference even if someone inexperienced was to join in when making new plans.

But it was because of her lack of insight….

"…So that's how it was… That's what that was all about!"

…that her words became a revelation to Volf.

Volf suddenly shouted, surprising the three. Without caring at all about their surprise, Volf excitedly began spouting.

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He was aiming for that from the beginning! The ordinary soldiers don't know about the little details on the battlefield. All they know is the exhaustion and the stagnation of the war."

Volf's mind began working at full speed. He began thinking about the enemy aims he only now had caught on. All of Volf's strategies were based around the battlefield itself. He had been mistaken to believe that strategies would only revolve on using the terrain well, getting the upper hand in the battles, and defeating the opposing army.

Ywain's wry smile became twisted. He finally realized what happened. It was a small hole the [Lion Marquis], a man to have fought countless battles, hadn't noticed. A hole Volf and Ywain hadn't noticed exactly because they were the [Black Wolf] and the [Lion Marquis]. This hole had been spreading up open throughout the long war.

"We are mercenaries. Results are expected from mercenaries. We brought those results just like we were supposed to. But…"

"They couldn't grasp the value of these results. Our advantage didn't get conveyed to them. Instead they only saw the harsh side of the war."

Volf desperately held back his desire to laugh out loud.

Volf was above William in all aspects. He was stronger, faster, and was even a bit above in strategy. Because of that, William gave up on trying to win through those aspects. Instead, he carefully began growing the sprouts of his victory outside the battlefield, right inside his opponent's army.

"The main reason this happened is because we are mercenaries. Outsiders acting arrogantly after taking the command of the whole army. There is n.o.body that would like that happening to them. Besides, we even took down the positions of the decarions and centurions before so that we could increase our mobility. While they had to accept all those conditions because they were in a hopeless mess back then, all this just serves to get them angry now that the war is stale."

Volf's defeat was set the moment he had decided to go for the long war. Volf forgot two main points he should have considered. Firstly, they were mercenaries, while on the other hand, the soldiers were ordinary people. Secondly, looking at the two in the same light is a fatal mistake.

"Nikka, and even Anatour were done in just to add to the fire. The effects of their defeats on the war might have been pretty much nothing, but at the end of the day the truth stands that they were brought down. How come, an unmatched genius like me was just…."

Volf has finally reached the scenery William had visioned. Volf couldn't hold himself back from laughing. Just how far has William seen it through; a single man that was nothing but a decarion. Who would have thought that William was this good in leading people by their noses at such young age.

"I gotta admit. He is also a genius like me. The thing that really p.i.s.ses me off is that… he is an ordinary person at the same time."

Volf scratched his head as he was laughing. There would have been many measures that he could have taken if only he had noticed William's goal earlier. It was his responsibility that they were now in this predicament. It was his narrow vision that had allowed this to happen. Even if they were to try to appease the Nehderks' army again, it would be impossible for them to take the command of the battle anymore now that they had lost their credibility.

"…Fine then, we'll be doing the menial tasks if that's what it takes."

Due to all the frustration he had, blood began flowing from the corners of his mouth as he laughed.

The next day it became clear that the movement of the Nehderks army had changed. The nimbleness they had before was no longer there. In place of that was tight formations focused on muscle. The important part wasn't comparing which one of the approaches was good or bad: it was the fact that it changed. The reality which Volf stepped back from the command has been realized….

"I've been waiting. I've been waiting for this!"

It was the moment William had been eagerly waiting for. The results of the most anguishing period of time in his life have finally shown. There was no way he could be certain about the success of his plan, but it would be impossible to win if he hadn't taken that bet. The sole thing he has been relying on in his plan was the weakness of humans. The one to have taken advantage of this time of weakness was someone else other than Volf.

"Alright! Alright, alright!"

Very unlikely to his usual self, William was very cheerful. It couldn't be helped he was this much happy this time around. The opponent he was facing this time was above him in all aspects. William has done all he could have possibly done, carefully putting everything in place. Originally the defending side had the absolute advantage. But despite that, all they had been able to do was to slowly shave away the enemy forces. Whether it was in the perspective of a strategist or a general, this could only mean defeat.

"I accept that I am weak. However, the one to win will be me!"

William loudly declared. It was his final plan he had put all his heart into. Now that it has proven a success, he could finally declare that everything was settled perfectly.

At that day, Arcadia's army had greatly retreated. It seemed as if the stalemate from before was nothing but a lie. They have suffered a great defeat to Nehderks' troops.