Chapter 8: So, it has come to this

"Sir the reports say that the Tet army is putting no effort into patrols all the 100,000 troops are staying within the campsite they've established." A scout told me as I stood in the headquarters.

It was strange, it's been two days since we started this, "game."

-directly after the game started-

After releasing Tet's hand I looked around expecting something to happen but nothing did. "So, what's the plan here? Turn-based? Real-time" I knew very little about games but I knew that was a term used in strategy games.

Tet smiled floating up into the air. "Hehe, real-time sounds fun," then with the snap of his finger the landscape changed into an open field surrounded by low hills and some mountains blocking the off the edges. Forests were scattered around blocking the immediate field of view.

"What? Where are we?" I exclaimed.

Just before he snapped again Tet replied. "We're on the game board." *Snap* In the next moment we were surrounded by massive armies of human soldiers. "We'll be doing this military game like those old people from your world: swords, bows, spears, and horses. The winner will be decided if one of us has no alternative but to surrender, or if the army we lead is destroyed. We will have three days from this moment to decide how to manage our armies. Then on the morning of the third day, we will begin the game. Have fun until then. I look forward to having fun playing with you." Tet then disappeared.

-present-

I scoured the map on the table. Hills that can be fortified and defended. A river running from his side to mine, he'll likely use it to get the drop on my men. So I had the army shift the HQ due East and build a defendable fortress on the hill. Having the high ground on the map is imperative to have a good ability to last long enough to get a good feel for the opponent's movements.

49,990 Infantry,

15,000 Calvary,

20,000 Heavy troops

15,000 Archers

10 Officers

These are the troops I was given by Tet. Assuming that Tet was a fair player as the god that created the 10 rules of the world would follow his own ideals, he should have the same numbers across the board.

Something bothered me to no end though. It was not the details of the game itself. Why would he bother giving me this chance? As it stands, I've had little to nothing good to say to this pint-size god with a childish attitude. So why then? What does he stand to gain from sending me back?

"Why are gods so passive?" I thought aloud, the officers that were in the strategy tent with me at the time passed glances back and forth when I spoke, they probably thought that I was crazy.

I was always a student of history and to my shock, Tet wasn't kidding when he said. "we'll do it like those old guys from your world." After talking to the officers I discovered that Tet created an army for me based on the end of the warring states period of China. The officers' names were that of Meng Tian, Wang Ben, Li Xin and many others of the like, though none of them had memories of said events so they were just shells created for the games. It's a real shame, I would have loved to learn what really happened, away from the annals of history and learn it from the horse's mouth as it were. That doesn't mean they didn't have the personality they, just didn't know who they were based on.

Night fell on the second night,"Well men you have your orders. You will get into position before the morning sun rises and then when the sun crest over the mountains we will begin. Best of luck to you all."

They bowed and vacated the tent leaving me to my thoughts.

I must say, commanding 100,000 men is not something I would wish to be placed on someone with no experience in doing so. Tomorrow is the day that marks the beginning of the end for me in this world of games. "Sora… Shiro… I pray you two will get on well without me. Stephani… I'm sorry. I'll have to break that promise I made to you at the hot springs." I raised a cup of water to the Moon that was nearly full.

That night, I couldn't sleep well. I don't know if it was nerves or that I know I'm about to lead so many men in a battle of this degree. Either way, I awoke to find that the men did as I instructed. They were out in formation before the sun rose over the mountains to the East. I had the officer Meng Tian secure the hill as a way to oversee the battle and dictate from above. Then as the sun rose I saw the Tet army approaching from the West. He had done exactly as I thought he would. He tried to sneak behind my lines and strike my flank, instead, all he did was waste resources on building enough boat to ferry about 20,000 men down the river.

"Sir-" A messenger approached but I stopped him as I watched the armies get into position to clash.

"I am about to witness something that no one in this world or my world has seen in centuries." The thought was both heavy and exciting. "Tian, are "those" ready?" I asked the officer that was next to me.

He smiled and spoke in a casual tone. "Of course. Finished and placed yesterday afternoon."

"Good. Now let's let Tet make the first move." A smile came across my face, a smile that I myself don't think I've ever made.

Before long the Tet army began to charge to the hill. The air was so heavy and hard to breathe properly, it nearly felt as though I was being strangled by Shiro. "So this is warfare?"

The armies clashed. The heavy soldiers walled the infantry that Tet sent forth when his heavy soldiers met mine they had a distinct difference. My men were being pushed back too easily.

"S-Sir?" The messenger spoke again.

"Speak!" Tian ordered.

He bowed. "Yes, of course." He then addressed me. "General, The enemy commander, he's not overseeing his troops. He has remained in the main camp to the Northwest."

Did tet stay away? I mean, I can guess why. He's a god of games and fun, who outlawed violence and war, this must bring back memories that he'd rather forget. "Thank you, Bi, I will keep that information in mind, you may take a break for today."

He bowed, "Yes. Thank you General," he then returned to the camp.

"Meng," I spoke to the commander beside me.

"Yes General?" He replied without missing a beat.

"What do you make of the enemy commander not overseeing the battle?" These shells may not have the memories of the people they are based on, but they did have military knowledge.

He was silent for a moment. "I can think of a few possibilities. First, the enemy is very confident in his men and their ability to face the opponent before them. Second, he has no strategic acuity, probably not the case, given the move, he attempted earlier. Third, he's biding his time to create a key move in the days to come. Fourth, he's studying the battlegrounds to see something others cannot. Finally, he's baiting you."

All of those suggestions were well thought of. Though one stood out to me. Was there something that you could only do once you've taken a very long look at the surroundings? "Tian, are there other people near the battleground?"

Tian turned his gaze to the Northwest. "Our scouts found a string of small villages in the forests away from the plains."

"How was this not brought to my attention earlier?" I asked angered by the lack of info.

Tian shook his head. "The men must have figured that it was unimportant information."

"If it's in the field it must be important. Tet wouldn't include them if they were meant to be used." I concluded that Tet was trying to persuade the villages to help him and his forces. At least I thought that until…

"Sir! The enemy they're far stronger than we predicted. They are smashing our front lines and our men are struggling to keep the formation!" A messenger reported one of the many from the many units on the front lines. "Tet, how are your men so strong? It doesn't make sense."

There was only one unit that did not send word of its struggles. That was because one of the units lead by Li Xin overcame the enemies brute strength with his own. It was due to his success that the front lines did not collapse on the first day as he took the attention of the attackers off their assault, creating a balance in the fighting. We took many casualties today, nearly 10,000 were dead or wounded, to their roughly 3,000 in comparison. A bad start was putting it lightly. That night in the command tent The commanders were gathered, many of them were down trotted with the day and had low morale. I had to do something different from today. But what? What would be a way to shift the balance in our favor? "Commander Xin! Why was it that you faired better than your fellow commanders?" I decided that the elephant needed to be addressed first.

He crossed his arms. "Wasn't anything special, I just found a blaze on the battlefield and ignited it."

"A blaze?" What did he mean by blaze?

"Yeah, the enemy just kept pushing forward with no regard for the men in front of them, their commander sent his guard unit forward and so I opened a path and cut him down personally. With the loss of their commanding officer, the unit buckled like a wounded horse. So, I capitalized on the blaze that I saw before me."

"You managed to take out an officer?" I was astounded. He chose to battle as he saw fit and it was a way I could not fathom. He "felt" a blaze and capitalized on it. I still needed to come up with a plan for the following day. "All right men, I have come to a decision. Xin, I'm giving you 70,000 men tomorrow. Start the day similarly to today but I want you to use the men as you see fit. Find a great blaze and keep their focus on you. I will take 15,000 men with me tonight and we will sneak through the enemy formation to the Northwest. If I am not back in 2 days then you are to use the remaining men with you and take create a massive clash and push the enemy back to the riverbank. I shall help you should it come to that. Let's hope it doesn't though." I headed toward the doorway. "Tian, with me."

"Sir." Tian followed after me and using the reports of the scouts gathered, we managed to sneak only 6,000 men behind their formation before the next morning came, the rest returned to camp as reserves for Commander Xin, giving him 79,000 at his current command.

"Tian, can we accomplish our goal with just this many men?" I asked his advice as we came up with this together.

Meng Tian again became quiet. "It is not ideal, but these villages likely won't show us any opposition as they appear to be merely hunters and gatherers. I still question why we should use the villages at all."

As the force waded through the shallow end of the river they begin to hear the beginnings of the clash. "Sounds like Xin really didn't give them time to set up. Wonder how far that will get him…" Tian thought aloud.

I couldn't help wonder myself but the mission I'm undertaking is something that leaves the information network we established, meaning that Xin's forces could be completely destroyed and we'd not know. Luckily when Tet split his army he didn't leave many scouts in the forest. Though he did have some they were stationed just far enough apart to allow small portions of men to sneak through the area, so long as they remained quiet and moved at a constant speed. I didn't like it, but what I was about to do next is not something I wanted to do but it was to give me a chance to win. These villages when brought together had combined roughly 3,000 able-bodied men for combat and 15,000 in terms of total population. I would use them to spring a surprise attack on Tet's right flank performing a pincer attack them and putting the odds in my favor. The more people I could persuade to join me the better chance I had to destroy his flank. This is of course only possible if Tet didn't persuade them himself to begin with. My only hope is to trade knowledge with them.

By midday, we arrived at the first village and I was able to get in, with no hostility, to see the village chief. A tall man, easily towering over me and more than three times my age. "What brings the commander of an army to my village?" He asked skeptically of me, the man who brought 6,000 armed men with me.

I bowed in respect. "Sir I have come requesting the help of your village and all the villages in the forest. Right now, My forces face off with the Tet army, we stand little chance of stopping them as they are inhumanly strong. I am not asking you to fight for me, just to add to the numbers of my men artificially. None of your people will be in harm's way as we only need to demoralize the enemy-"

"Ok."

"- I have little to offer to persuade you to join- come again?" I was dumbfounded he answered so quickly and with little need to negotiate.

He laughed. "Son, I said we'll help you. As the quicker one side leaves the quicker you will all leave our land." He took to the idea very quickly, shockingly so.

"I-I see sir. But what of the other villages? Will they join as easily as you did?" If they didn't just hem won't do a whole lot of good. This gets stranger and stranger by the minute. Why would Tet put something like this in the game that he created if he didn't intend to use them? The thoughts flew through my mind at such a rapid pace I could barely think straight. I was smart to bring along Tian as he kept my mind from wandering too far.

The elder laughed once again. "They are of the same mind son. We may not be one large tribe like you folk but we have a sense of community with our neighbors all the same. I'll send word to the other tribes, we should hear from them by sunrise tomorrow." He assured me.

While this was good news and allowed me a breath of fresh air there were other things that quickly entered my mind. I had instructed Li Xin to minimize casualties so that we could make an effective flank attack on the third day but given what I felt from his method he might take out commander but what of the men following him. From the reports and what I saw he suffered nearly one to one in terms of troops with the unit he fought against, succeeding only to "kill" the leader leading to the collapse of that unit, if he could manage to take out one or two more in the days to come then maybe we'll be in good shape. The second was the thing that has been bugging me since I became aware of the villages here. It makes no sense for Tet to place these here if he didn't intend to use them in the game. I thought on the subject well into the night when I remembered something that Stephani taught me a while back. The first exceeds, the "Old Deus" other the old gods, what if they still had the powers of gods but just not the authority of the "one true god?" Tet is, as far as I could tell, a fair player, he wouldn't do something to give himself an unfair advantage. Maybe he had one of the Old Deus create this stage so that Tet wouldn't have an advantage over me. But this was created when we agreed on the game I thought. That said he is a god, so it's not too much to think that he stopped time went to talk to one then started the game.

"Gah, my head is killing me. I need to think of something else for a moment." I put my head down for a moment to rest. I must have been tired because the next thing I know I'm being woken up by Tian.

"Sir, I think you should come and see this." It was just before Dawn when he came to get me, his face was concerned, which lead me to believe we didn't get much help.

"How many came?" I got up dusted myself off. "Less than we thought?"

He remained silent as he waited for me to head toward the exit of the tent. As I approached he lifted the cover and smiled. "I think you'll be surprised sir."

When I left the tent I was greeted by the sight of nearly 15,000 tribesmen and women all ready to head out. In front of the large crowd were the 30 or so tribe leaders. The elder from last night came to greet me. "Well, son, what did I tell you? They wanted to get you guys out of here as quick as possible."

I laughed along with him this time. "Thank you, really thank you so much, sir. I am indebted to you."

"Think nothing of it." He smiled placing his hand on my shoulder. "The tribe chiefs have each brought 200 capable warriors each, the rest will be in the middle simply to create the appearance of the larger force. You did promise that that was all you were hoping for, to begin with after all."

I couldn't help but bow. "Yes, of course, this is more than enough."

The rest of the day was spent training the tribesmen and woman on what the formation was going to be. I was actually starting to have fun with this game. I got to experience so much from this game, met so many interesting people because I was playing. It actually kind of hurt me to think that these people will no longer exist when the game is over. I had to think of other topics when the thought crossed my mind. Later that night, around midnight I had Tian send scouts to clear a path through the forest so that we get into position for the coming third day.

Finally, on the morning of the third day of the game with all 21,000 people, we marched to the army was not being pushed back like I had hoped. Seems we'll have to meet up with Xin. I could only hope that Xin was able to hold out the last two days to minimize losses. When the hill came into view, close to noon, I saw that he was holding the hill and that Tet's army was attacking in full force. He was likely attempting to finish the game today. We needed to hurry and with myself leading from the front, with the general's glaive I was given and the sword that came with me to this world, we hit Tet's flanking army from behind. I could hear the men of Tet's army panic. "What an army from behind? Where did they come from?" In hindsight, it was probably for the best that there was no communication between Xin and me during the last two day.

This feeling I had, I've never felt it quite like this before. The rush of a plan such as this succeeding against the odds, the flow of a battle of strength, it felt incredible. I couldn't afford to slow down to appreciate the feeling. The commander of the flanking army came into my sights. Just the same I came into his. He was charging at me through his unit making a b-line for me, it makes sense considering if I'm defeated then the game is over. Without taking a moment to stop we readied ourselves for the clash. When we got within the other's range our weapons clashed. Now it would come down to who is better with the weapons in hand. I cannot lie when I say I was at the disadvantage, I never trained with a glaive or any kind of pole-arm to be honest. He had better technique and could use the glaive better than I could. My only saving grace was my mobility and speed, without that, I would have lost three times over by this point.

The two of us were in a commanders duel and as if they were trained to do so the soldiers formed a circle around us no interfering and not attacking one another. The man I faced was large and was just as strong as he looked. Whenever our weapons did clash I would be blown back but he would shrug off my blows with little effort. Even though I was on the back-foot I was able to learn a lot in the little time I had in-between clashes. I even managed to find an opening in his attacks I just needed to figure out how to exploit that.

We dueled for what felt like hours when in truth it was mere minutes. It was at this point that the commander began to speak to me. "You know, I shocked. I thought the general would be ridiculously strong, but you're nothing special. How… disappointing." I could tell that he said that to get into my head.

"Says the man who hasn't managed to get any decent hits in." I taunted him right back.

"Touche." He smirked.

I returned the smile and readied myself for the next clash. Just then I saw a blinding flash. He used his weapon to direct the high noon sun into my eyes. Using that moment he charged at me and all I could do was block the incoming attack. His attack this time was stronger than the others that I had pretty much gotten used to. He knocked away my weapon and with his follow up the attack he cut across my chest, clean through the chest plate that I had, then he rammed his shoulder into my chest sending me back several meters. Tet must have modified the pain in the game because I barely felt the cut or the blood I was losing. After a few moments, I managed to stand back up and drew the only weapon I had left, my katana, my unsharpened katana. Something had clicked in my mind, I needed to fight the way I was most comfortable. To the surprise of the commander, I proceeded to remove all the armor that I wore. The helmet, bracers, shoulder guards, chest and back plates, and my shin guards, I took them all off. After that was done I stretched my legs and arms and readied myself again. I don't know why he allowed me to do as much as I did but maybe he was curious about what I was doing. Either way, he allowed me to do all that, this was my last chance to achieve victory on this day. He had a longer reach and I could not hope to cut him which gave me one choice. I charged straight for him hoping that I could get within his reach before he had time to swing at me, I was a bit faster without the armor, but not fast enough he anticipated that I would be faster and started his swing before I even entered his range and he cut clean through where I was. Only I was not there, the commander's great strength lead to the realization that he'd swing with all his might and I would be able to land on his follow through when I jumped over his attack. When he realized where I was it was too late, I lunged forward piercing his neck with the tip of my katana. He coughed up blood and fell over, I did it. Once again I rose to my feet. The exhilaration and adrenaline keeping me going even though all my energy was spent. I stared at the defeated commander for a moment then lifting my right fist in the air I let out a victory cry.

"Orah!"

As I did, so did my men. "ORAH!"

Not too long after the enemy around me lost their morale and began to fall back to the main force. It was at this point that Meng Tian came to get me away from the battle. I had no strength left and could barely think straight. I blacked out and at that point, I only know what Tian told me. He ordered the men I lead to pick off as many of the retreating enemies as they could before they got to their main force he estimated that they took out at least 10,000 to our only 200 in that clash.

With the attack being a success and with the flank no longer in danger, Xin had ordered a frontal assault of the men I gave him. He had dug in those two days and only lost about 4 thousand in those two days, as opposed to what was lost on the first day. At the end of it we had the numerical advantage now of about 10,000 - 15,000 men as well we still had all our commanders while the enemy has lost three now.

When I awoke that night I was in great pain, turned out Tet didn't alter the pain in the slightest I was just hyped up on adrenaline was all. I bleed out a lot and it was only thanks to Meng Tian's timely intervention that the game was still going. The pain didn't stop me though. There was still one thing that I need to do at this moment. I staggered my way to the tribesmen and woman that aided us. I started speaking with the representative. "I cannot thank you and your people enough. Today was a big victory for us." I bowed. "You have all fulfilled the agreement. All that is left is for you to return to your homes. I ask that you wait until the battle is over as the way back may be dangerous."

He didn't say much, he merely placed his hand on my shoulder and smiled. As if to say, 'Think nothing of it. Now win.'

I lowered my head once more before retiring for the night to my tent, to rest for the coming day. The day that wouldn't come.

In the middle of the night, I awake to the sound of men shouting and the smell of smoke. "What?" It was a night raid, Tet had launched a raid on the day I returned, it was too perfect.

I ran outside with my sword in hand. "Tian, Xin! What's happening?"

"Enemy attack sir." I heard Tian shout. "They came in with no resistance!"

"How?"

Tian went quiet. "…"

I staggered around trying to find out anything I could. There were occasional soldiers that I met and had to deal with. It got harder with every step but at the same time I was getting faster. "Tet, you bastard! I knew it was too good to be true." I saw the tribesmen attacking my men. They were in Tet's pocket already. He must have known that I would be seeking their aid and got to them first. Gain my trust and infiltrate my camp and attack from within. My gamble came back to bite me in the ass. I knew it was too easy but I had to try anyway.

I tried fighting for as long as my body would allow but soon I fell to my knees, exhausted, unable even lift my arms anymore. It was at this point that I saw someone approach me. A small childlike frame and a childish voice rang in my ears. "You know, it really was a smart move to try and use the villagers to your advantage. Unfortunately for you, I got them first."

All I could bring myself to do was smile. "Looks like you played the better hand Tet."

Tet placed his hand over my mouth. "Hey hey, mister. Tell me, did you have fun?"

I was surprised by this, why ask? I closed my eyes and he removed his hand.

"Well?"

I opened my eyes and spoke clearly. "More fun than I ever had playing games. I finally had an idea of what Sora and Shiro have been feeling their whole lives." I closed my eyes again, "It's my-" Tet covered my mouth again.

What he said next shocked me to no end. "You win Mister Tatsuya, I surrender."

With those words, the area around use vanished and we were back at the spot where we made the deal. "Wh- What did you just do?"

"It's pretty simple mister. I lost, you won." Tet smiled.

"Why, you clearly won," I argued. I had resigned myself to being separated from everyone, but he threw away his victory.

"No, the deal was the one who admits defeat is the loser." He started to float. "Looks like you also won again Mister Sora."

-To be continued-

What does Tet mean by that? Find you when Tatsuya's adventure in the world of Disboard continues. This chapter was exceedingly difficult to write. I was unsure of how much detail to go into in terms of combat and strategy. I hope I found the proper equilibrium in detail, combat, and strategy. This is a longer than usual chapter I likely won't be able to keep posting chapters at this length as it would become too detailed I feel from point A to B in the chapters.

As always I encourage reader response. Comment, suggestions, criticism, rant, correct grammar or continuity, share ideas, or anything else you have to say I welcome it. For those of you who enjoy my little story, I want you to know I really appreciate your views and comments. Chapter 9 should be up by the beginning of next month… but I have a bad time adhering to those kinds of schedules. Thank you all and if you celebrated Easter, hope it was a good one.