***The port city of Maverny***

  The streets of the duchy’s capital were busy with people doing their daily business, as it always had been. However, also with the town's locals were the groups of elvish soldiers from the various vilges all over the territory and the neighboring ones. Their red-gold-brown uniforms drew everyone’s attention; not only did it make for a good public spectacle, but the other races found it peculiar to find so many elves gathered in one pce.

  The destination of these long-eared soldiers was the city's port area, as there were ships in the docks waiting to ferry them to the kingdom of Amaranth, where the ‘boot camps’ were set up.

  Gmden, now wearing Benhrien’s uniform, was amid the throng of his fellow soldiers. Of course, with his retively shorter height than the tter, the clothes almost hung on his body. Nevertheless, the young elf kept low, trying to avoid suspicions. However…

  “Hey! You there!”

  “!!!” Gmden never turned towards the person calling out to him, who was actually one of the recruiting officers in charge of them until they reached Amaranth. He just continued walking through the crowd of other soldiers in an attempt to blend in.

  “I called you, didn’t I?” the officer, nevertheless, caught Gmden’s arm. “Why won’t you listen, soldier?”

  “S-Sorry, sir!” he replied. “I thought you are calling for someone else.”

  “Well, you’re the only one who didn’t stop when I yelled,” the officer revealed. “Made it easy for me to catch you. Where are you going?”

  “I-I’m looking for the line to the ships, sir.”

  “You idiot! Hasn’t anyone told you to find your regiment first before boarding the ships? Where are your enlistment papers?”

  Gmden nearly froze for a moment, though he recovered his senses soon enough to produce the requested documents. His hands shivered as he gave the papers to the officer, who examined them.

  “Here,” the elf pointed to a certain part of the enlistment papers, showing it to Gmden. “That’s your unit, soldier. The ‘New Elebor-New Guriev’ regiment. Those guys are at the other side of the pier; now hurry and fall in line before the ships leave.”

  “Y-Yes sir, th-thank you!”

  “Oh, and wait up!”

  “S-Sir?”

  “You should get your uniform refitted! It hangs loose on you!” the officer ordered.

  Gmden only saluted in reply and hurried away.

  ----------

  The young elf took his time to go where the recruiting officer had earlier told him. After all, the ‘New Elebor-New Guriev’ regiment was with people who knew him and Behrien; thus, his disguise would be uncovered.

  And only the heavens know what will become of him after he gets caught.

  So Gmden weighed on his options. He thought of mixing with other units, though he refrained from doing so since the officers of each regiment were checking the papers of each soldier. The idea of going back home also crossed his mind. But he decided against it, for he would surely get an earful from his parents, and also from Behrien’s family, after what he did to their son. Sneaking in the ships could also nd him in hot water, for the vessels were well-guarded. And, even if he was successful getting in, Gmden could still arouse suspicion if no one recognized him in the regiment he’d blend in.

  That’s why, he had no other choice but to risk it.

  He found the ‘New Elebor-New Guriev’ regiment at the st dock, still waiting for a ship to take them to Amaranth. Most of the elves from his vilge were gathered on the far side, while the ones from the vilge of New Guriev bivouacked near the main streets. Gmden silently moved to join with the tter while keeping his distance so no one would talk to him.

  But then…

  “There you are, you mad long-eared beast!”

  “!!!” Much to Gmden’s horror, he saw Behrien walking towards him, his raging eyes gring at the young elf as the bandages on his head loosened. His hands were already abze, having chanted his fire spells beforehand. As the former cowered at his spot, the injured elf unched his attack, throwing fireballs towards his enemy.

  “Give me back my enlistment papers and uniform, fraud!”

  Gmden could only parry his magic spells with his own wind magic. As he was caught red-handed, the elf’s feet froze, and he couldn’t find the strength to escape his incensed ‘friend.’ Their acquaintances cheered as Behrien poured his anger on each of his attacks, not minding if those fireballs hit anyone or any nearby properties.

  When the furious elf reached the paralyzed Gmden, he took hold of his colr and sent a fist to the young elf’s cheek. That tore off a part of the uniform, as Gmden was sent to the ground. However, Behrien wasn’t content with just flooring his enemy; he followed up with another fist to the other cheek. Then, back to the first one, and then to the other.

  “The saints damn you, little thief!” Behrien bellowed. “Now everyone knows how cowardly you are! Give me my enlistment papers and uniform!”

  Gmden could only shield himself from the blows, though it wasn’t effective, as his arms would get pinned repeatedly. Their fight ended only when the soldiers from New Guriev intervened to separate them.

  “What’s the meaning of this?” a recruiting officer took control of the situation.

  Behrien expined, “Sir, this thief stole my enlistment papers and uniform on my way here.”

  The officer gred at Gmden. “Is this true?” he asked. “Show me your enlistment papers!”

  With no other choice but to follow orders, the little elf complied. He brought out the documents in question, and his fellow vilgers backed Behrien’s cim.

  The officer never his displeasure. “You rascals!” he bellowed to the recruits from New Elebor. “Instead of stopping the fight, you even encouraged it! Now, look around you!”

  To everyone’s horror, the stores nearby the pier were damaged, all from Behrien’s stray fireballs. The human and beastmen owners of the properties gred at them; some demanded they pay them immediately for the ruckus' results.

  “For this dispy of ck of discipline,” the officer ordered, “all the recruits from New Elebor shall clean this area before I let you into the ships! Reflect on your stupid actions!”

  “Yes, sir!” the soldiers of New Elebor saluted, then went to do what was told them. Meanwhile, the officer turned to the cause of the fight, still restrained by their fellows from New Guriev. “So, you are Behrien of New Elebor?”

  “Yes, sir,” Behrien answered, never taking his eyes off his enemy.

  Then, the officer asked the little elf, “And who are you?”

  “Gmden, sir. Of New Elebor.”

  “Is he telling the truth?” the officer returned to Behrien, who nodded.”

  Then, he returned to Gmden, “You two are neighbors?”

  “Y-Yes sir.”

  “Why did you take your neighbor’s identity?”

  “I want to fight, sir. But I was rejected.”

  The officer sized Gmden up and said, “Well, I can tell why you got rejected.”

  “Sir,” the little elf pleaded. “I may be cking in height, but I got the same tenacity as other elves! My sister is a former mercenary; I learned much from her!”

  “There’s no question about your tenacity,” the officer pointed out. “It takes a great deal of courage to beat your neighbor senseless then assuming his identity, after all. And I don’t give a damn about the stories of your sister; I’m also a former mercenary, and I tell you, I’ve killed my share of mortals. Now, tell me kid, how will you have the Duke of Maverny pay for the damage you caused in his city?”

  At that moment, Gmden fell silent. He knew the severity of his deeds that led to destruction in this part of Maverny. He also didn’t expect that the duke would pay for it.

  “The great Duke of Maverny is the one who owns this army,” the officer continued. “Whatever stupidity you do will come back to him. How dare you tarnish his name because of your foolishness!”

  Behrien and Gmden could only bow in regret.

  Seeing that they won’t offer any excuses, the officer told them, “Well, it’s no use crying over spilled milk, is it? And we got two feisty young’uns who love to fight in wars, they can’t wait until they finished training. Okay then, you want to see war? Then I’ll give you war!” He turned to one of his orderlies, “Give uniform sets that fit the body of these idiots.”

  Both of them exchanged gnces.

  ----------

  **Kuro**

  Two weeks after the final ‘call’ for the enlisted elves, the training of the ‘Elvish Expeditionary Force’ began, with the soldiers from the Royal Army of Cherwind and the demons’ J?ger regiment teaching them discipline, physical fitness, and drills. Out of the hundreds of thousands of elves who tried to get enlisted, we chose around 20,000 able-bodied males to train, with bias towards those who had prior military experience, such as retired mercenaries, male and female. Based on the reports I received, around 15% of the army recruits had fought in some conflict, either in Chersea’s past or somepce else. The rest were green elvish youths, eager for an ‘adventure’ and making a name for themselves.

  And, out of those 20,000 elves, three thousand people opted out of boot camp after facing obstacles with their families. So that left us with 17,000 recruits, to be organized into 15 regiments each with a thousand or more elves in its rosters.

  Two weeks had passed since the start of the ‘boot camp,’ which we set up on the southern shores of the kingdom of Amaranth. I specifically chose this area since, according to Lady Hinwe, the northern part of Cherwoods had a long shoreline. Like the preparations leading to Operation Overlord, I chose to have the elves train in an environment simir to their actual battle site. So, after I asked the permission of the Queen of Amaranth, Lady Jessica, the ‘boot camp’ kicked off.

  Yes, while I knew this army was significantly different from the one the Allies used in the Normandy Landings, it wouldn’t hurt to take ‘inspiration’ from that event. Aside from that amphibious nding, no one else came close. And I doubt we could nd somepce else peacefully, given the welcome we received before when we tried breaking into the elvish fleets in Tenedrim.

  Also, I’d like to finish this war as soon as possible; prolonging it would only benefit the Seductress.

  So, with the limited time I had, I decided to train the soldiers with mercenary backgrounds in how we’d implement the ndings. After they got the ‘idea’ of how they would transition from water to nd and fight, they’d pass the knowledge on to the ‘greener’ recruits, who were still in the middle of their boot camp.

  “…”

  Of course, there’s no other way to effectively accustom the soldiers to the sights and sounds of battle than to use actual ammunition.

  “30 seconds to shore!” I heard an officer shout from one of the nding boats. The ships began firing their cannons, though it was deliberately pointed away so they wouldn’t hit our forces. For their enemies, we hired some soldiers from the army of the Kingdom of Amaranth, who peppered the nding parties with ‘duds’—arrows with blunted heads wrapped in cloths so they wouldn’t cause damage. We also included ‘designated magicians’ in every wave so that they could protect their comrades with barrier magic.

  Just to be extremely safe, I purchased thousands of ‘substitute dolls’—those that were used in Nerfes’ Tri-Skill Tournaments—so that the participants of this military exercise would be protected from their injuries in case someone fucked up.

  The original pn, while it was disapproved by Maddie, Ruro, and Natasha, was changed to make the city of the ‘Saint’s Tree’ the ‘immediate’ main aim of the ndings. A victory here would quickly ‘behead’ the elvish opposition with crucial leadership during the battle, disorganizing their forces and reducing the risk of resistance. The Elf Saint’s capital was also served by a small port vilge, only a few distances away from its walls, and its capture would give us a port to which we could unload our supplies.

  From the Saint’s Tree and the port vilge was the shoreline; capturing this part would allow us to advance into Cherwoods’ hinternds, and threaten the elvish cities that won’t submit to the authority of Her Lazy Holiness.

  “…”

  Just as I also pnned before, we’d conduct airborne drops. Their goals were still the same; to block possible reinforcements to the Saint’s Tree from the sympathetic elvish cities in the interior. For this part, I asked the help of the Royal Air Force of Cherwind, especially the Red Feathers, to transport the airborne regiments.

  Gathering information from the Lady Hinwe and Meanor, we divided the prospective nding site in Cherwoods into four sectors. Utah to the westernmost beach, Sword for the shore next to it, going east. Then, Gold for the part of the coast bordering the port vilge. And Juno for the nding site in the Saint’s Tree area itself. As the Lady Hinwe said the port vilge had a dock, and we’d like to capture it as soon as possible. Because of this information, I had a simir mock-up built beside the other ‘practice beach sectors’ in Amaranth.

  “!!!”

  My thoughts dissipated when I heard a loud whistle, our signal for the moment the first feet stepped ashore. The smokescreen id by the nearby steamships effectively concealed the nding waves’ movement. In fact, I couldn’t even see the archers from the Amaranthine army, who were instructed to keep firing their arrows.

  “Sir,” an officer reported to me. “The nding waves are going as expected. The boats disembarked their passengers on the right sectors, and the magicians are keeping steady amid the bombardment and the hail of arrows.”

  “Alright, it’s good,” I replied. “Well, these guys are former mercenaries, so it’s already a given. What I’m worried is when we include the rest of the army; this maneuver is complicated after all.”

  The officer only nodded. I think he also knew what I was talking about since he had served in the army levies of the Eastern Confederacy before. Its member kingdoms—like Cabria, Colveente, and Shent—were near or in the middle of the sea.

  Then, I remembered something.

  “Colonel?”

  “Milord?”

  “Where are the airborne regiments?” I gazed at the skies. “There’s not a single Eagle beastman in sight, even earlier, when the initial shore bombardment began.”

  The elf then looked at the papers in his hand. “Sir, are the Eagle bombardment part of the nding sequence?”

  “I’m sure it’s not the aerial bombardment,” I took the list from him. “See, that would come in case the nding waves couldn’t advance. The Eagles would bomb the enemy defenses from air. What I’m asking for is the airborne regiments, which should be dropped behind the opposing lines just before the actual ndings.”

  “Uhm…” the elf’s face suddenly went pale. “I-I think the order didn’t reach them as pnned.”

  “Because?”

  “My apologies milord,” the officer admitted. “We thought we’re going to drop them after taking the beach.”

  I could only shake my head in disbelief.

  ----------

  The first ‘day’ of the nding exercise was full of absurdities.

  One of those was the deyed airborne ndings earlier because of the misunderstanding of the officers interpreting my instructions. Other stupid events included that one unit, after lunch, went ashore with all of its members drunk. Of course, they couldn’t function well and became dead weight to other groups. There are also these people (the older guys) who would charge ahead of their units, trying to be ‘heroes’ because ‘that's what mercenaries do.’

  Yeah, I keep forgetting that even while these guys are veteran warriors, ‘discipline’ is the st thing on a mercenary’s mind.

  God, thinking of these things only gave me headaches. Even their trainers from the Beastmen and demon militaries were not impressed. With the way things were going and the limited time I had on my hands, I was really concerned this gamble of mine would only lead to disaster.

  I need more weeks to train these guys. I don’t want my hands soaked in the blood of these elves if I can help it.

  ‘Kuro!’

  Gaius? Do you have any idea how to help me with my problem?

  ‘No, but I got more problems to dump on you.’

  Fuck you! Can it wait?

  ‘If it’s me, I can. However, it’s someone else,’ the Roman said. ‘Uh…well, I think that aside from additional problem, this guy can also give you some form of help? Any case, talk to him! And make it fast; he’s got limited time because of the Seductress’ influence.’

  How?

  ‘I’ll take your consciousness here. Just make sure no one else would come to your tent.’

  Why? Is it dangerous?

  ‘Well, I just don’t want you to look like a catatonic idiot staring into nothing while your aides try to talk to you. You’re their commanding officer, after all.’

  You make a point, but you sure have a roundabout way of telling me you care.

  ‘I’m a former Roman consul, doofus, take a clue! Of course, appearances matter when you’re in command. Any case, close your tent and come here.’

  When I told the guards outside never to let anyone in my tent, my vision immediately turned into an all-white scene. Then, when I looked behind me, I saw Gaius greeting me with a smile. Beside him, seated on a chair, was a person…all dressed in bck, including the mask on his face.

  “Who’s the masked guy?” I asked Gaius.

  “He’s K*men Rider—”

  “Care to introduce me properly, Gaius Julius Caesar?” the man in bck interrupted him. “And don’t tell Kuro of Arles that I’m some edgy guy in bck suit.”

  “Right…” the Roman chuckled. “Anyway, this guy’s name is the ‘Bck God.'”

  ----------

  The Bck God.

  According to Gaius’ introduction, this deity was once a god in charge of a world simir to Chersea and the Other Realms. However, his universe was consumed by the Seductress, watching his people die before his very eyes. Still, the Bck God was a peculiar case, because of all the gods and goddesses killed and devoured by the Seductress, he was the only one who escaped that simir tragic and grisly fate. Since then, he swore vengeance, his mind only motivated by the will and determination to kill that accursed creature from the Void.

  I can’t help but think that he is like those ‘warrior monks’ I’ve read in history and some fantasy stories when I was young. It’s pretty cool, honestly; notwithstanding the sad background of this god.

  “Ahem…” the warrior deity spoke. “I commend your admiration for me, Kuro of Arles. However, this is not a time for pleasantries, if that’s what you’re thinking. I can only talk to you because I still have the powers to fight back that monster’s corruption. It’ll disappear after a while…”

  “Sorry, Your Holiness. I’m willing to listen to you now.”

  “Good. Now that the Roman introduced me,” the Bck God stood from his chair and reached out a hand for a shake. “Let me get straight to my purpose of appearing in this vision of yours; I want to ask when you are going to attack Cherwoods?”

  “Eh?” was my only reply. When I heard he was asking about the preparations of the Elvish Expeditionary Force, all those stupid mistakes came rushing back into my mind.

  “I see that you haven’t fully prepared that army of yours,” the deity quipped. “Well, for how long will you keep dawdling?”

  “A-Are you making me hurry, Your Holiness?”

  “I won’t ask that question if I don’t. Time is of the essence when dealing with the Seductress; the longer you dey, the stronger she becomes. And, the weaker I become.”

  “I-I’m sorry, Your Holiness, but what you’re asking from me is impossible!” I replied. “The training of the soldiers will take time, at least, ten weeks of basic stuff! Then, we’ll still have to practice the invasion maneuvers!”

  “I see…I see…” the Bck God nodded as he muttered. Then, he continued, “This loop is different from what I remember…”

  “Y-Your H-Holiness? What do you mean by ‘loop’?”

  “Kuro,” Gaius answered. "You know the principles of time travel, right?”

  “Oh, you mean, the Bck God has traveled back in time to help us in the fight against the Seductress?”

  Gaius fell silent for a moment, and I noticed him gncing at the other deity. The Bck God replied with a nod as if permitting him to say what he had in mind. “Look, Kuro,” the Roman began, “you and the Bck God have the same goal in mind: defeating the Seductress. However, if you expect him to help you outright, I believe you misunderstand his motives.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s pretty simple. I won’t help you,” the warrior deity was blunt. “Though, I would give clues on how you should proceed.”

  “Uh…isn’t it the same as helping me?”

  The Bck God fshed a thumbs-up sign. “It does. However, see, the consequences of our actions…it’s really unpredictable. Why did I say that? It’s because I went into a time loop several times now. Each time I deviated from my original actions in the previous timeline, the events would change. First, it was subtle, easily-fixed subversions. However, as I repeatedly go back, these subversions are getting complicated, it’s really hard to find solutions for me to arrive at a successful result.”

  “Err…milord, when you say that, are you telling me that the situation is hopeless?”

  “Not really, though the chances of success are low…that is, the previous loops,” the Bck God pointed out. “However, for this one, the deviation is so high, the chances of success and failure are the same. Are you following me?”

  I could only nod. Honestly, one of the most confusing ideas I ever encountered was the concept of time travel and paradoxes. With everything happening around me tely, my mind was too ‘overloaded’ with problems and concerns to think about time-travel stuff.

  “Kuro,” the warrior deity heaved a sigh. “Look, let’s just keep it simple. I won’t ‘help’ you directly, is what I mean. And by ‘directly’, I mean giving you knowledge of what path you should take, or fight with your army. I can, however, create conditions you can exploit to increase our chances of victory against that monster.”

  “So, you mean, you’re taking care of not dipping your feet too much into our affairs for fear of completely changing the result?”

  “More like, I try not to upset the bance, Kuro. Remember, I already reached 50/50 chances of win/lose percentage.”

  “How do you even get to calcute that?”

  “I am a god, beat it.”

  Gaius chuckled and whispered to me, “I’m liking this guy.”

  “Well, in any case, Kuro,” the Bck God tapped me on the shoulder. “Whatever it is you’re pnning, hurry it up. The elves of Cherwoods can’t fight the Seductress forever, and their forces are not enough to defeat even just her minions.”

  “I’m trying, Your Holiness,” I couldn’t help but feel frustrated at his demands. “It’s just that, I’m only mortal, like the rest of my army. We need time to prepare; I don’t want any more blood in my hands than necessary.”

  The warrior deity was silent all the time I ranted. However, in the end, he told me, “Your mind is given to you to use it, not whine. You’re not the only one suffering here, otherworlder. If you are afraid to shed the blood of the mortals willing to die for your cause, then put them in armor! Protect them any way you can. You have the background, you have the means! And most importantly, you…you still have your supporters.”

  And with that, my vision ended, and I was back in my tent before the long sleep.