The Wishing Princess - Chapter 6

6. The meeting of the Kings

The journey to the encampment was hard, but swift. There's hardly a moment of rest. Even then, the Warrior King held war council during travel. Not all kings are as fit as the Warrior King, and so he divided his time among various carriages. It was a war council on the move. The King gathered much intelligence along the way. Even so, he was unprepared to see the enormous challenge that was to come.

The encampment was in the middle of the desert. It was a place that not many people would travel. However, now there will be a great meetings of armies. The Queen's army would be the mightiest and will fight the united armies of the smaller kingdoms. Alas, even the combined armies may not be enough. There are rumors about the Queen recruiting young men to serve as soldiers. Normally, they are too young to be considered, but the Queen was ruthless and cruel. It was obvious that she did not care if she suffered heavy casualties as long as she can hold on to power.

The only saving grace was that the recruiting process was rather slow going, and it won't be until the prophesied day that the recruitment would be complete. However, some of the Queen's army has arrived at the location. They were preparing for war. Both armies will arrive about at the same time.

A screening force from the Queen's cavalry was easily met and defeated. The Great King himself led the charge. The princess was fuming at being left behind under the guise of "guarding the convoy" but did saw the wisdom of it. She rode among the baggage carriages and made sure that the soldiers remained alert.

In defeating the Queen's cavalry, the Great King managed to learn some of the tactics and strategy of the opponent. This, he discussed a great deal with Opa, secretly thankful that the princess managed to persuade him to come. The old warrior came alive at discussing old battle tactics, and they had long talks until reaching the encampment.

The encampment itself is a series of tents, erected hastily and in groups representing each kingdoms. Yet, there is a place where many great tents gathers where the royal families gathered together. It was nearly dark when they arrived, but messengers have rode ahead to warn them. As such, a great dinner awaited them when they arrive at the encampment.

They were welcomed with open arms, and under the guidance and training of the Great Warrior King, the arriving army set up their tents with great battle efficiency, impressing their hosts. Many whispered conversations confirmed that all should learn battle tactics from the Great King.

The greatest obstacle facing heterogeneous army had been solved without so much a spoken word. Leadership would be ceded to the Great King.