Pathfinder: Sacred Order - Chapter 80

Jacob stood tall as his blue eyes overlooked a map. Gazing down at the large map he could see the capital city along with the neighboring towns and villages. Not only that but the various travel routes a person could take to reach each city, town and village.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Jacob thought back on the history of the game.

The empire that laid a claim to the strongest in history and held on against the tide of time crumbled. Not from an outside threat but from its own government officials fighting with each other.

It was sad really, but that is what drove the story forward and gave birth to so many ideas.

Jacob really had to take his time and think things through as his next steps would be vital.

To save the emperor or let him die by his captives.

It seems bold and big in the eyes of others, and Jacob would not deny that.

The current emperor was a foolish boy who ascended the throne at such a young age. He was nothing but a child mentally and physically. Eager to please and win the hearts of those around him that he did what they said almost in a heartbeat.

As stupid as he was, that did not mean that the lad was a bad child. He had the authority to remove all those vile scheming men who wanted nothing but power and wealth. All he need do is say the word and they would be gone.

At least, that was all he had to do before. Now his actual power has dismissed greatly, almost a joke amongst the other officials in his own court.

The only reason he was still emperor at this point was due to the fact that the people still respected his families bloodline. And none had the right to usurp his title, meaning it would be a revolt against the crown.

While many powerful figures eyed such a title, they would not act without a guarantee they would succeed.

If they acted at all then others would move to stand against them. It was a constant war for power underneath the surface.

While many seemed to be on the side of the emperor a large majority were only looking out for their own goals. Which was survival.

As for the emperors family members, Jacob could only sigh.

The famed family that held the reign on this empire was declining fast. The family leaders were all dead, throughout the years of various plots their heirs have been killed or severely weakened in power and influence. All of the females were in the hands of the most powerful families, meaning they could not go against their husband.

As for the emperor’s mother, she was a sad case. Smart as she is, she was locked up in her room against her will. Forced to stand on the sidelines and watch everything crumble apart.

All it took for this mighty empire to crumble was one last push. And Jacob knew exactly what would ignite the fuse.

No, it wasn’t the rebel army. Although they heavily contributed to the cause, they were only a threat because the empire was divided before they sprung into action.

The main cause was the dispute between the generals and Prime Minister.

Jacob shook his head and sighed once more.

As long as he managed to get ties with one of the generals and inform them beforehand, the emperor could be saved. Yet, if he did that, that same general could use it as a means to rise to power and overthrow the emperor.

Which is why he had to be careful with who he chose to support. Call him biased if you want to, but he would throw all his stones in with Veronica or Albert. They were more loyal to the emperor than all the others.

Sadly Jacob felt the need to save the emperor dwindle. With what he knew the lad had been so manipulated that no one would be able to get through to him. If saved the same people in power now would still be there after the rebellion.

The empire needed a deep cleansing. That was the only way it would manage to recover itself.

Once again Jacob let out another sigh.

“Thats the third time in the span of three minutes. What’s gotten under your skin?”

Matthew who was also in the study with Jacob observing his actions asked as he cut into his apple with a knife.

Jacob glanced up and over at Matthew.

“Nothing, just trying to figure out a couple of strategies for defense if this city was invaded.”

Matthew raised his left eyebrow as that caught his attention. He walked next to Jacob and focused his attention on the map.

There were markings spread across the map so he couldn’t help but ask what they were.

“The enemy and the locations they are coming from. The city is basically surrounded and if there is a chance for escape…”

Jacob pointed at a path outside of the city that led into a forest.

“This would be the only way to go. Unless you have the numbers and strength then you might be able to break through their lines.”

Matthew smirked.

“Not necessarily true. There is a lot more to battle than numbers. While greater numbers have an advantage you have to take into account the enemy composition, the layout of the land, food supply and so much more.”

“There is a difference between a general and a strategist. A general fights to win the battle in hopes of leading his men to victory. A strategist moves the troops in a way that losing a skirmish or two won’t mean anything because at the end of the day they’ll win the war.

Whilst a general thinks about his men, the strategist thinks about his kingdom. What is losing a platoon of soldiers compared to losing an entire castle? One victory does not guarantee the war is one. You need to decide beforehand, is your plan to escape the city or defend it? You cannot do both.”

Matthew explained to Jacob before he asked him a question.

Jacob played games before, and guild wars were always fun. You had the leaders and shot callers. Except, this was not a game and he was never a leader or shot caller in those games.

Not to mention once he joined the company his time to play games lessened dramatically.

Jacob thought over Matthew’s words for a moment before a light gleamed in his eyes.

“Defend.”

“Escaping is easier but does not mean it is the correct choice. You live to fight another day, but you give your enemy a city that they can defend from. I too would have defended in this situation. Now, what troops are we working with? Do we have any knights? Mages? And how many are there of us versus the enemy?”

Matthew asked.

“We are outnumbered ten to one. With us having one thousand troops total. Five hundred being city guards, one hundred knights, the rest being mercenaries for hire. As for the enemy, a large portion of their force are civilians, but they have six mages along with a templar.”

Jacob said.

“This will be a tough battle to win, but it is possible depending on how it is done. First you should search for the weak points in the city. The obvious ones being the entrances into the city. The not so obvious ones would be the sewers for example. Anywhere the enemy is capable of entering needs to be closed off. Afterwards you can focus..”

Jacob studied the words that Matthew was explaining to him. It was a different type of strategy but he realized that some scenarios were definitely the same as those guilds used in large scale pvp games.

Matthew went over a lot of details, and without them realizing it three hours went by. Jacob had many questions during this time and Matthew happened to answer them.

With age came experience and Matthew had just that. His wisdom of war and battle was greater than Jacob’s.

Still with this, Jacob learned how he could defend the city in case it was invaded. The troops, the enemy numbers… mostly matched what would occur in the following weeks.

Jacob had no plans to use what Matthew taught him just now. It was best to know for future events.

With all the brain power it took to come up with a plan to defend or siege down a city, Jacob understood that planning was not for him. He would rather fight than plan things out.

Matthew left the study in a happy mood, something anyone rarely saw him in.

As for Jacob, he was still in his study with his eyes focused on the map. New marks have been made, ones that Matthew drew.

He never mentioned to Matthew, but this was basically the way the rebels would attack the city.

If Matthew, a knight was capable of defending against the rebellion. Why couldn’t the others?