The Third Prince Of Darkness

Chapter 200 - 200: New chapter

My Utkanc match with Alpshar lasted nearly an hour, but in the end, the winner was Alpshar. Toward the end of the game, I deliberately allowed him to win to prevent him from learning more about me. Additionally, this ensured that no hostility would arise between us. Of course, if I had taken the match seriously, we probably would have ended in a stalemate again.

Meanwhile, the battle below continued. The war had likely started at least a few hours before I arrived here, and by my estimate, the battle had been raging for over three hours and it looked like the battle would continue for a while.

When our Utkanc match ended, Alpshar stepped away from the board, leaned back, and placed his hands on the edge of the table. His face carried the trace of both victory and a cloud of thought.

"You presented me with an interesting game, Ethan," he said. "But actual wars are always more complicated than this board. Someone like you should be able to see beyond it."

I nodded silently. I understood what Alpshar meant. While he analyzed me and my strategies, he also knew that I was trying to decipher him. But he didn't care. His confidence was greater than any concern about what his opponent thought.

He stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked down. From where we stood, we could see the battlefield below. Smoke was rising, and soldiers continued fighting for their lives. Both sides were nearing the brink of exhaustion, but it was clear that Alpshar was indifferent to this. To him, the losses on both sides were merely numbers.

"Watch, Ethan," he said, gesturing toward the battlefield. "This chaos you see, is always something that can be controlled. When you are strong enough, even chaos bows to you."

I stood up and moved a bit away from him, watching the scene outside. Seeing thousands of soldiers clashing reminded me once again of the weight of responsibility on a leader's shoulders. Every loss would probably feel like a wound for a leader. But for Alpshar, this was merely part of the game.

I felt Alpshar standing beside me. Without taking his eyes off the battlefield, he spoke. "You know, Ethan, the path to gaining power lies in recognizing weakness. You learn the flaws of the defeated and emulate the methods of the victorious."

I didn't respond to his words. They were the clichéd thoughts of anyone chasing power. But I couldn't deny there was much to learn from him. What made Alpshar such a dangerous figure wasn't just his strength, but also his ability to wield his mind as a weapon.

"My losses do not reveal my weaknesses, Alpshar," I finally said. "My losses are merely sacrifices. Victory always requires some loss."

A faint smile appeared on Alpshar's face. "An interesting perspective," he said. "But no matter how valuable a leader's sacrifices are, how the people perceive those sacrifices is even more important. If your people see you as weak, there's no way to stay on the throne."

His words always felt like a test. Every sentence was like a knife probing my mind,

I let out a short laugh at his words, though it was less of an amused chuckle and more of a cold challenge. "Satisfaction," I said. "I didn't set out on this path to be satisfaction, Alpshar. Victory isn't achieved through satisfaction; it's achieved through control. For me, Richard is merely an obstacle. Defeating him is no different from knocking over a piece on the board."

He considered my words carefully, a faint smile playing on his lips. "You really live as if you're in the middle of a game, Ethan. But this game board exists only in your mind. In the real world, victory must be absolute and final. Just like defeat."

"You're right," I said, turning my gaze from the battlefield to him. "But defeat is not always absolute, Alpshar," I continued. "Some defeats are merely the heralds of the next victory. If a leader can't understand that, then no victory they achieve will ever hold meaning."

Alpshar listened to me with interest, though a subtle expression of mockery crossed his face. I chose to ignore it. In his mind, this conversation was just another strategy game, much like the Utkanc we had played earlier. But for me, it was a way to lay the foundations of my future triumph.

Honestly, I don't think it's entirely accurate to call my current situation a defeat or an escape. For someone like me, there is no such thing as fleeing from battle; the fight is merely postponed until an advantage is gained against the enemy. That's exactly what my current situation was. Officially, the main coalition army might have been defeated, and I may have lost in a one-on-one fight. But these outcomes occurred because I lacked the advantage. If I had been the one commanding the main coalition army, we wouldn't have suffered such a catastrophic defeat. Likewise, had I fought Alpshar with my full strength, I believe I would have won.

That said, I won't hide behind excuses or think of myself as perfect. I acknowledge that I made many mistakes in this war, and despite everything, I still believe there was a chance of victory, no matter how difficult it might have been. But what's done is done—or rather, this chapter of our story is temporarily closed. Yet, just as the sun rises after every night, every chapter ends only to give way to a new page and the writing of a new chapter.