The Forge of War - Part 2

Strategy Trial (Illusion Battlefield)

Act I — War Unveiled

The runes beneath our boots flared.

Mist swallowed the arena—stands gone, banners erased, even the roar of the crowd smothered into silence.

Then—light split.

We stood inside war.

A forest swayed beneath smoke-black skies. A river cut the field, its ford shallow but treacherous. On the ridge ahead, enemy banners rippled. Behind us, three villages burned faintly—flames licking rooftops, screams carrying across the wind.

Heat blistered my skin. Ash stung my throat. The cries of children—too raw to be illusions.

Phantom soldiers clattered into formation around each cadet. Not tokens. Not pawns. Breathing. Bleeding. Real enough to die.

Above, the system rune burned:

Scenario: Border Incursion
Primary Directive: Protect civilians at all costs.
Troop casualties: acceptable (within limit).
Civilian deaths: disqualification.
Condition: until collapse or victory.

A hush fell over us.

This wasn’t a board. This wasn’t a drill. It was sacrifice, coded into war.

And we weren’t watching it.
We were in it.

Act II — Kael’s Discipline

Kael’s voice snapped across the chaos like steel.

Kael: “Shields—lock the ford! Second rank—brace! Fire crews—burn the thicket, controlled sweep!”

His army moved like gears in a machine. Shields slammed into mud, forming a wall. Spears bristled like teeth. Fire swallowed brush to choke raiders into narrow lanes.

Villagers streamed past in order.

But half his phantom line lay broken in the mud—shields splintered, spears snapped. The rune pulsed faint, accepting the loss.

Kael (inner): Order wins wars. Not chaos. Not chance. If soldiers fall for villagers, so be it.

His soldiers burned in the choke, buying the civilians time.

Whispers (spectators):
“Perfect formations…”
“He’s sacrificing soldiers to save villagers. Textbook.”

Cadet Failure #1

A child’s scream cut off mid-breath.

System Rune: CIVILIAN LOSS RECORDED.

His rune pulsed red. He vanished. OUT.

“First loss…”
“He couldn’t choose.”

Act III — Selene’s Silence

Frost spiraled from Selene’s staff. Rivers froze into silver veins, her troops crossing where raiders thought impassable.

Selene: “North flank—cross on ice! Water mages—flood the canyon. Reserves—hide in frost mist.”

A canyon drowned in silence. Raiders slipped, swallowed without screams. Her soldiers advanced, their faces blank under frost.

The villages stood intact. But her soldiers didn’t. Dozens drowned with the raiders, swept under by her own waters. The rune accepted the price.

Selene (inner): The world doesn’t need noise to win. Fire dies quietly in ice.

Civilians lived. Dozens of soldiers froze in the collapse.

Spectator whisper:
“She chose villagers over her own men…”

Cadet Failure #2

Raiders cut through her villagers.

Rune pulsed red. OUT.

“She didn’t last a minute…”

Act IV — Lyra’s Mercy

Southern edge. Enemy cavalry thundered toward villagers.

Lyra spun, bending the river. Current reversed. Ice bridges rose like ribs of glass.

Lyra: “Cross! Don’t stop!”

Families fled over ice spans. Riders plunged into torrents. A spear clipped her shoulder—blood bright against frost. She didn’t falter. Walls of air shielded medics patching wounds.

Villagers made it across. But her medics collapsed under raider fire. Half her line gone. Her hand trembled. She forced herself not to look back.

Lyra (inner): Even illusions deserve mercy. If I bleed so they live, it’s worth it.

Her troops screamed behind her, buying the crossing with their bodies.

Whispers:
“She bled for them…”
“…and still shielded them.”

Cadet Failure #3

Rune flared. OUT.

“Even kills don’t count…”

Act V — Ryn’s Precision

Metal shards orbited Ryn, glyphs burning.

Ryn: “Engage. Civilian perimeter, priority one.”

The shards rotated into a defense grid, slicing raiders mid-step. Sparks rained like a halo. Villagers streamed past untouched.

Ryn (inner): Precision saves lives. Efficiency proves me worthy.

Dozens of troops broke under strain—burnt circuits in his grid.

Whispers:
“He built those drones himself…”
“StarForge genius.”

Cadet Failure #4

System Rune: CIVILIAN LOSS RECORDED.

He fell to his knees, sobbing. OUT.

“He killed his own…”

Act VI — Astra’s Radiance

Starlight spun in Astra’s hands, doming villagers in radiant shields.

Arrows shattered against the glow.

Astra: “Run. My light won’t fail you!”

Astra (inner): Starlight isn’t to blind. It’s to guide.

Villagers ran safe. Behind her, soldiers fell to spears in the mud.

Spectators:
“She chose them over her troops…”

Cadet Failure #5

Rune pulsed red. OUT.

“He doomed them all…”

Act VII — Mirae’s Fire

Mirae traced constellations in the air. Astral flame fell as meteors—surgical arcs striking only raiders.

Mirae: “This fire burns for them, not me.”

Civilians cheered beneath a painted sky. Soldiers charred in stray blasts.

Spectators whisper:
“She’s drawing stars into war…”

Cadet Failure #6

System Rune: CIVILIAN LOSS RECORDED.

Rune flared. OUT.

“He saved his men… not the people.”

By mid-trial, more than half the runes flashed red.
Failure after failure.
Survivors weren’t cheering—they were trembling.

Act VIII — Lioren’s Roots

Roots burst from Lioren’s staff, coiling raiders and siege carts. Earth itself betrayed them.

Lioren (inner): The forest remembers. And it does not forgive.

Civilians shielded. Soldiers crushed alongside enemies.

Act IX — Kyra’s Command

Kyra stood steady, eyes sharp.

Kyra: “Left flank—three steps forward. Right flank—steady! Don’t follow fear. Follow me.”

Her line steadied. Villagers crossed. Losses measured.

Kyra (inner): Strength isn’t shouting. It’s being still when they can’t.

Act X — Haise’s Vow

Then—me.

I saw her.

A mother clutching her child, stumbling in the mud. Raiders closing. Spears raised.

No one near enough.

Except me.

The ember in my ribs burned violet-gold, crushing from the inside.

The mother’s scream cut through the chaos.

Mud clung to her feet, dragging her down. The child’s arms shook as he tried to push her forward. Spears glinted.

Every cadet watching knew what came next.

But I didn’t move for a heartbeat. I watched. And I decided.

I won’t let death be the price of survival. Not here. Not anywhere.

Haise: “Even if this is illusion—under my watch, no one dies.”

Wind detonated at my feet. My blade erased raiders in one sweep—fire laced into light. The mother froze, alive.

I didn’t stop. Storm carried her and the child across the ford, untouched.

Behind me, my phantom line bent—then snapped back like a slingshot, crushing the enemy flank.

The raider king raised his banner—then fell into silence as the ground cracked.

The battlefield stilled.

System Rune (above): ERROR. Recalculating… CIVILIAN LOSS: 0.

Gasps tore the air.

Whispers:
“…He saved them all.”
“…That’s what the God King’s heir should be.”
“…The system wasn’t ready for him.”

I slid my blade into its sheath, smirk sharp. My hand trembled once, hidden.

Inside, violet-gold roared louder than the trial itself.
This is who you are.

Act XI — Watching Eyes

Renji (inner): Zero losses. No commander accepts that. And yet—he made it real. Soldiers will follow him, not us. If he rewrites war itself… the rest of us will break trying to match him.

Kaoru (inner): Mercy without sacrifice. Impossible for anyone else. But he did it. Maybe this is the weight of the God King’s heir—to embody an ideal the rest of us can’t even reach.

Kaien’s voice cut silence like a guillotine:

Kaien: “The Strategy Trial ends. Tomorrow—Beast and Healing. Live with what you showed us.”

The forest cracked. Villages vanished. Sand returned beneath our boots.

Itsuki smirked:
Itsuki: “Don’t hog the spotlight tomorrow.”

Kael’s fists clenched—rage quiet.
Lyra whispered close.
Lyra: “You were shaking.”
Me: “Only inside.”

Mask intact. Smile sharp.

But violet-gold shadows curled where no one could see.

End of Chapter 25 - Strategy Trial (Illusion Battlefield)