149 Chapter 149: Strategem

After Caesar explained most of the content to his plan, all of the clan heads entered into deep contemplation. Most of them were not stupid, and knew that the ruthless idea that Caesar suggested was their best chance.

Unfortunately, no stratagem was perfect, and Ebisu, who was seated on the left side of the table, knew this well. He stood up and scrutinized Caesar for a few moments, "although your plan, in theory, would work… in practice, I can't help but feel that it will fail. The fox-kin would've already retreated by now if they were so willing to leave the stronghold" Ebisu pointed out with furrowed brows. He and his sister knew better than anyone, how prideful the fox-kin truly were.

In response to his words, Caesar let out a chuckle and gracefully walked towards him, "you are correct, pride is a very strong emotion, it clouds judgment and forces people to believe they are special, however, throughout history, fear and hope have been proven to be stronger" Caesar spoke quietly as he reached Ebisu's back, his slender finger resting on his shoulder.

"If we stay, we will inevitably die, this fact makes the citizens and warriors alike feel despair. However, if there was a chance of victory, a fire would be lit in their chests, they would sacrifice everything in hopes of winning, in hope of a new life" Caesar explained and removed his finger from Ebisu's shoulder.

"The fifteen of us are the leaders of the clan, we are expected to do whatever means necessary to win. Whether or not our actions are unethical or immoral, none of that matters in the face of war. Those that are weak, ignorant, and soft-hearted, are fated to die in vain" Caesar said coldly and sat back down on his chair.

After his strong rebuttal, Ebisu could only close his eyes and sit back down, he only had one question left, "you, who just recently joined our clan, have no ties with us. So why are you trying so hard, and why do you have the right to take command over the clan once Musashi falls… you aren't even amongst our race" Ebisu said sarcastically, it was clear that he didn't trust Caesar, nor like him.

"I was brought into this mess by Ahri, and I will not sit by and watch as her entire family and clan gets murdered. Maybe it's for love, or maybe it's just me attempting to keep my word, however, as for now. I will live and die with the rest of you" Caesar replied with squinted eyes.

His words caused Ebisu to nearly fall over from laughing, "for love? Haha, what a twisted showcasing of love, your 'plan' will inadvertently kill her grandfather, her last remaining family member, and you preach about doing it for 'love' how ironic" Ebisu said after roaring in laughter.

Caesar clenched his fists tight, his nails were embedded into his skin and small droplets of blood fell from his hands, "do you think I want to do this? Do you think I want to sacrifice my friend and my fiancé's grandfather? Do you think I want to be the villain? the one who is remembered as a man who sacrificed his very own allies and kin…" his words paused for a moment as he raised his chin with anger reflected in his eyes.

"If not me, then who? Can you do it?" he asked while looking towards Ebisu, "or you?" he asked whilst shifting his attention to Faust, "or maybe you can do it?" he asked while pointing at Musashi.

However, instead of answering Caesar, the three he pointed at, could only look towards the ground in shame. None of them had the resolve to give such orders and sacrifice so much. And even though this was true, many of the clan heads didn't hesitate to condemn Caesar for his ruthlessness prior.

It wasn't that Caesar wanted to do this, no, he had to. He knew that Ahri, the love of his life, would be angry at him. He knew that he would be condemned by many others for being evil, or having no shame. However, he still didn't hesitate to give these orders, because he knew that Ahri would never leave her clan to die, and just the thought of her being captured by the trolls' caused Caesar's blood to boil.

After Caesar's explanation, the rest of the clan heads could only draw in a breath of cold air and sit back down, "now that the topic has been cleared up, I am fully willing for one of you to replace me as the general, that is, if you believe you can handle the job" Caesar said while closing his eyes and sitting with one leg over the other.

No one answered for a solid five minutes, until finally, Joe, who was standing next to the doors walked forward, "I have completed the first magic accessory, sir" He said respectfully, after noticing the current mood. He was Caesar's great friend and knew better than anyone, how tender he was when he was alone with Ahri.

Caesar opened his eyes and unfolded his legs, he tapped the desk with his index finger and smiled widely, "excellent, since there appear to be no volunteers, we will go with my plan, under my command" Caesar said loudly and gestured for Joe to walk forward.

Joe did as commanded and presented an elegant and sophisticated looking silver earing resting on a white cloth, it had a small red gem, beautifully embedded into the middle of the earing, and strange spiral-like engravings further authenticated its beauty.

Caesar gently rubbed his finger on the earring and couldn't help but feel repulsed by it. The earring felt extraordinarily warm, opposite of Caesar's cold mana, the magic accessory didn't fit him in the slightest.

Seeing this, Joe smiled, "this is a red mana gem, it's more fit for those with a fire affinity… it should improve the quality and quantity when the wearer uses fire magic, however, it can still get stronger, as it hasn't been bound to anyone yet" Joe quickly explained, worried that Caesar would get angry.

"Is it similar to that sword Azir used in the tournament? The one that made his flames twice as hot" Caesar asked curiously, to which Joe nodded his head.

"Excellent work Joe… can you make more?" Caesar asked after a moment of thought.

"I can make two more, unfortunately, I only have red mana gems" Joe answered truthfully whilst scratching the back of his head. A smile playing on his lips, as he was happy that Caesar praised him.

"If you can, try to complete two more by tomorrow, we'll need the extra firepower…" Caesar replied and stashed the earing inside of his storage ring. He figured he would gift it to Ahri, to increase her power.

Everyone at the table knew of his intentions and didn't say a word, but instead, waited for his next instructions. They were now painfully aware of how important Caesar was to them, and none of them could refute this fact.

Once Joe receded and moved back to the doors, Caesar stood up from his chair, "Akari and Khan, start preparing the citizens for evacuation, I want our supplies to be ready for transportation by tomorrow" He ordered

"Yes, sir!" Both Akari and Khan said respectfully and swiftly exited the room.

"Tiberius, Magni, and the kobold leader prepare your clans for evacuation, make sure they are equipped with weapons and brief them of the upcoming war" Caesar ordered.

"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison and headed out of the meeting room.

"Falthor and Leo, brief your soldiers and start constructing as many bow and arrows as possible… we'll need them" Caesar instructed after a moment of thought.

"Yes, Sir!" they responded and similarly left the meeting room after.

"Riku and Kaito, stash an extra amount of thatch and other flammable materials on the streets and houses, and prepare to poison the wells when we leave…" Caesar ordered, to which both Riku and Kaito looked at him strangely for a few seconds.

"Yes, sir!" they roared and went to go complete the task with confusion.

"As for the rest of you, brief your soldiers and prepare for war, tomorrow morning, I want everyone to group up at the training grounds… DISMISSED!" Caesar shouted.

"Yes sir!" they roared back in unison and left the meeting room, leaving only Caesar and Musashi in the room.

"What do you want me to do?" Musashi asked after a few seconds of awkward silence passed.

Caesar stroked his chin for a moment before replying, "I need you to convince the citizens to temporarily evacuate… they will listen to you" Caesar replied. Even though he was confident that the citizens would leave, it would be much easier if Musashi ordered it.

"Very well…" Musashi spoke wearily and stood up from his large chair, he then walked towards the doors, but before leaving, he turned around and glanced at Caesar, "I'm sorry" he said softly before leaving Caesar alone in the room.