1382: Brilliance – Part 1 1382: Brilliance – Part 1 Oliver leaned back heavily into his chair, his arms folded into contentnt on his lap.
“It feels good to be on top, Nila, let tell you,” he said contentedly.
“This is what it feels like to be king, to have everything…” “You didn’t winnnn!” Nila said.
“And a beautiful – albeit it rather loud – woman to go along with it,” Oliver said.
“Truly, there could be nothing more that I want for…” “You can’t hide behind a complint,” Nila said.
“You didn’t win.
I’m going to take your tea away now.
Liars don’t get to drink it.” It was awfully petty, but it was a very Nila line of thinking.
She took his fruit tea hostage, and put it on a table far out of the way of his reach.
Oliver had to pretend he wasn’t genuinely upset about that – he’d been looking forward to drinking it after all.
“…Your turn,” Volguard said, interrupting the silence.
Oliver gave a small smile to himself.
He was a lamb going towards the slaughter, but never had he felt so satisfied in it before.
It was strange, just how fun it was, poking fun at Nila through the Battle board.
He made his moves without too much thought.
He half-heartedly harried Volguard’s advance, as he attempted to get to the other side of the board, and then he made reckless stabs forward, attacking Volguard’s pieces in manners that he’d call stupid, as soon as the opportunity presented itself.
They were decisions that he thought to hurry his end, but sohow, ten more turns passed, and the Professor was deep in his thought.
And then, Oliver took one of Volguard’s pieces, without much thought, having gone to the other side of the room for just a mont, and wrestled his tea back from Nila, as she tried to stomp on his foot.
He didn’t pay it much mind, knowing that Volguard would instantly recapture as he always did.
And yet, the Professor didn’t.
Oliver stared at the board, confused.
It wasn’t that Volguard had missed the opportunity – it hadn’t been there at all.
Sohow, the whims of his strategy had built in his favour, to the point that he’d been able to secure an entire piece, without recompense.
In the endga, that was a fatal blow.
“Uhhhh…” He didn’t know what to do now.
Being up a whole piece in the endga, provided he made no insane blunders, was practically as good as a victory.
Volguard usually crushed him in the endga one sidedly, but that was provided that they were equal, or at the least, Oliver only had a slight positional advantage.
Now, he had a whole piece.
“Indeed,” Volguard said.
“It is your victory.” “Wait..?” Nila said, as confused as Oliver.
“How did that happen?” Oliver said.
“I was unable to foil your attempts,” Volguard said.
“Your attacks presented quite a troubling amount of tactics.
You have my comndations, Ser Patrick.
It appears there is hope for your strategy after all.” “But I don’t understand… I was just ssing around,” Oliver said.
The only thing he’d focused on was teasing Nila.
The ending moves of the ga, as far as he was concerned, were just a formality.
But sohow, it had all been tied up in a bow with his victory.
“I will make no excuses,” Volguard said.
“Perhaps the unconventional nature of your thods is what defeated my experience.
Whatever it was, you have bested .
That is the first ti, is it not?
Congratulations, Ser Patrick.” “…Really?” Nila said, looking at Oliver with big round eyes.
“Realllly?
Today of all days?
Haven’t you been bothered by your strategy for the longest ti?” She looked as if she was barely holding back an excited outburst, as if she was looking for permission to let loose.
“Well, yes…” Oliver said.
“But I can’t really accept this as a victory.
After all, you were made to play a style of strategy that you are unused to, in accepting Nila’s hunting strategies… I can’t call that an achievent.” “You do not think I can manoeuvre my way through territory that is unknown to ?” Professor Volguard said.
“You are a harsh critic of your elders.” “That is not what I ant…” Oliver said.
“What sort of strategist would I be if I was unable to reform myself, after being given command of n in a formation that I was unused to?” Volguard said.
“Strategy encompasses the entire state of all different battlefields, not rely the ones that we prefer.
Still, an encirclent attack – that is what saw you to your victory here.
Was that not the sa strategy that you bested belonging to Zilan?
Perhaps, trying to throw a net on you, might be the least advisable thod of doing battle against you.” “Well… I can’t say… It was different.
I didn’t do well there, either… I was too slow.
And Zilan bested in the counterattack,” Oliver said.
“Before you once more bested him again, relying on your sword,” Volguard said.
“I would not say that you erred particularly strategically there – at least, from the sources that I have heard.
But of course, I could not say you operated to your fullest capacity either.
Make no mistake, Ser Patrick, whatever you might think of the ga that we just played, that was a brilliant victory.
I have a mind to show General Skullic it, and have him formulate an opinion.” “…It can’t be,” Oliver said, shaking his head.
“I didn’t do anything… I was just joking around.” The Professor smiled.
“You played the Battle board.
‘Played’, Ser Patrick.
Is that not what you described the First King as doing?” Chapter 18 – Brilliance Oliver attempted another ga with Volguard after that sudden victory, only to be imdiately rebuffed.
‘Played,’ he thought, hanging on Volguard’s words.
He went in with the sa intention, rely on playing around, but he was crushed as suddenly as he had expected to be in the ga previously.
The battle had only just managed to make it to thirty moves, before Volguard saw Oliver’s General defeated.
In a strange sense, Oliver found himself relieved to have lost.
For, at least it ant that his understanding of Battle wasn’t entirely wrong.
He supposed that, in thousands of Battles, as bad as he was, it made sense that he would score at least a single victory against Volguard.
There was nothing more to it than that.
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Nick_Alderson Sorry everyone.
Was unable to check whether the automatic updates had gone through as they should yesterday.
Only just noticed the error now.
Here’s a bonus chapter to make up for it (sorry again 🙁 )
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