Chapter 184
Amelia took a deep breath before closing her eyes for a brief second.
The board was a replica of the battlefield. The terrains, forests, rivers, and elevation points were all the same.
She compared the reset version of the board to how it was earlier, and her smirk deepened.
It was indeed a trap to humiliate her in the name of helping her.
“I am ready p>
Just three words, and the general leaned backward in his seat.
Honestly, this wasn’t the first time he sat before anyone in this strategic gaming. This was also part of the test for soldiers aiming higher, with every move earning points.
Amelia began her placements slowly, trusting her instincts, weighing the consequences of every move.
She positioned the decoys on the lower ridge and then hid her actual anchors behind the trees, making them appear more camouflaged. She split the cavalry. Half were repositioned and flanked along the narrow forest paths, while the remaining were kept as a feint.
She wasn’t just trying to win the war. She was rewriting every possible strategy that anyone had ever proposed.
She just needed to defend for twelve moves.
By the fourth move, murmurs in the halls grew louder, and those familiar with war strategies began to ignore the other boards, focusing on her. They never saw such a clean sweep of territory.
By the sixth move, General Wren leaned in and looked at Amelia in a new light.
He greatly underestimated her.
A hint of guilt and respect started shining in his eyes.
By the eighth move, he couldn’t help but mutter… “By God’s grace p>
Amelia countered every move with calculated precision, like a seasoned warrior. She saw right through the traps, their clickbait-and-switch strategy.
On behalf of Amora, who wanted to see Amelia’s intellect since Cyrus was hell-bent on keeping her, the best general on the battlefield, who had fought the most wars, was placed as her opponent.
At the last two moves, General Wren took a long pause before making his next move. He never had to think so much earlier, but today… It was almost as if he were fighting against their king himself.
It didn’t make sense. How come a girl who was a mere unseasoned healer, just a prodigy who always had her buried in books, knows so much about war strategies?
Cyrus looked at Kyle, who smiled proudly at their mage’s way of handling the situation.
By the twelfth move, the enemy’s forces were in disarray and had suffered a terrible defeat. Her phantom cavalry, which had looked trapped earlier, now walked ahead of the supplies, cutting through the routes and decapitating the command.
Amelia looked at the board with a satisfactory smile before she stood.
The dome-like cover was immediately removed from around her table since the results were glaring before everyone.
There was no argument, no defense.
She won against General Wren.
She had turned the losing battle into a winning sight with her master strategy.
Amelia turned to General Wren as he was about to wear his mask again.
“What I said earlier wasn’t out of pity. I meant it,” she said.
General Wren’s hand around the mask shook as the girl turned to sit on the side, her scarf slipping, making everyone see the bandage around her head.
Guilt took over him as he realized the girl was probably hurt and still showed such bravery, not once flinching or making excuses for anything.
He walked to Amelia before taking out his sword and laying it before her feet.
“I underestimated you, Miss Amelia. I don’t know if you will win or lose the Queen Trials; you have my respect,” he said.
Amelia smiled at him before taking the sword from the ground.
“Are you offering it to me as a gift, General Wren?” She asked.
General Wren’s eyes widened.
“You want this sword? But this is worn down. I can arrange a new one for you,” he said.
Amelia shook her head.
“Nothing better than a sword that has won so many battles,” Amelia said, and the man took the scabbard out from his belt and placed it before Amelia.
Everything happened right before everyone, turning the public expression of Amelia even more.
Amelia held the sword in her hand before she placed it back in the scabbard and looked straight at Cyrus.
The man leaned back in his seat, relaxed, but nothing could betray the pride he had in his eyes for her.
Soon, the board games of the other Lunas came to an end, and Amelia was surprised to see that only two more females were able to defend their boards for 12 moves.
Luna Maximine and Hannah.
Amelia’s eyes turned a shade darker at Hannah’s smirking face, and she looked away as the results were announced.
As was the custom, Amora stepped down from the high balcony of the royals and walked to the three participants who won the third round.
Amora walked to Hannah first and nodded at her before giving her a red envelope with some cash.
Hannah took the envelope and bowed to her as a part of custom.
Amora repeated the process with Luna Maximine.
Once she was done with the two, she stepped before Amelia, who looked straight into her eyes.
“How are you?” Amora asked.
Amelia forced a smile.
“I am good,” she answered.
Amora nodded and gave the red envelope to Amelia.
The latter took the envelope and was about to bow to Amora when Cyrus walked to her and stood between Amora and Amelia.
“That was one good game. I am impressed,” he said, and right before everyone, he held her hand and kissed the back of it, his actions shocking everyone.
If their subtle exchange of looks went unnoticed by everyone, this little gesture was more than enough to tell the family and the guests which participant King Cyrus wished to see winning.
Amelia blushed at his gesture and cleared her throat before nodding and walking to the side for the lunch that was arranged for everyone.
At the same time, Dominic, who had been put under observation and forced to stay in the Bentley Estates, heard the news of Amelia winning the second round with flying colors and couldn’t help but curse out loud.
“Amelia Everleigh! It all comes down to you, doesn’t it?” He roared, throwing the vase from the table, shattering it into hundreds of shards.
Dominic stood in the hall and walked to the large floor-to-ceiling windows beside his garden, his gaze landing on a particular species of plant that he had been growing without anyone knowing what it exactly was.
“I guess it’s fine to play my trump card. They dared to humiliate me and put these invisible chains around me, no? They think they have everything under control. Cyrus definitely would be looking forward to seeing Amelia win these trials, no? Now I would like to see how that would happen p>
Dominic clapped his hands to call his right-hand man before he asked him to arrange a meeting with Amelia, his lips stretching into an evil smile.