The War King
Chapter 0: The General and the Despair
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PAGE 1
Panel 1: Wide shot of the throne room of the kingdom of Garden. The room is majestic, with high vaulted ceilings, colorful stained glass filtering a solemn light. A long dark wood table occupies the center, around which are seated about ten nobles in ornate armor or ceremonial robes. At the end, on a throne carved with lions, sits King Mio, his face impassive, a silver crown on his graying hair.
Panel 2: Close-up on Leo, a young man with relaxed features, seated to the king's right. He wears a black general's uniform, carelessly open. He sips wine from a crystal goblet, his eyes half-closed, indifferent to the heated debate.
Panel 3: Luc, a noble with a trimmed beard and a piercing gaze, stands up, pointing an accusing finger at Leo.
Luc (furious speech bubble): "How dare you drink during a war council, Leo? The king himself presides over this assembly!"
Panel 4: Leo lowers his cup, a casual smile on his lips.
Leo: "This meeting is useless, Luc. You talk, you debate, you panic... and in the end, I'm the one who will fix everything."
PAGE 2
Panel 1: GI, another noble, massive and scarred, slams his fist on the table.
GI: "Your smugness knows no bounds! And you, Your Majesty, why do you tolerate him?"
Panel 2: King Mio slowly turns his head toward GI. His gaze is calm, but filled with an overwhelming authority.
Mio: "Leo is the general I chose. No one, not even a noble of the blood, has the right to oppose him. His worth is beyond your judgments."
Panel 3: Close-up on Luc and GI, their faces distorted with rage and humiliation. They fall silent, but their clenched fists tremble.
Panel 4: Suddenly, the heavy doors of the hall open with a creak. A messenger, covered in dust and panting, collapses to his knees.
Messenger (broken voice): "Asia's army... it's less than a kilometer from our borders! They're advancing fast, very fast!"
PAGE 3
Panel 1: General panic around the table. Several nobles rise, knocking over their chairs, their faces pale.
Noble 1: "Already?! But our defenses aren't ready!"
Noble 2: "We're lost!"
Panel 2: King Mio raises a hand. An immediate, heavy silence falls.
Mio: "Calm yourselves. Leo will repel them."
Panel 3: All eyes, filled with hope and doubt, turn to Leo. He finally sets down his empty cup.
Leo: "I will win, of course. But I hope to get a promotion after this."
Panel 4: Luc bursts into a bitter laugh.
Luc: "A promotion?! You're already the Supreme Grand General, there is no higher position!"
Leo (raising an eyebrow): "The king can always invent a new one. Can't you, Your Majesty?"
PAGE 4
Panel 1: GI stands, his armor clinking.
GI: "Enough of this charade! I will accompany this... this pretentious man to the battlefield myself. I'll see with my own eyes what he's really worth. And if it's a fiasco, I'll take command."
Panel 2: Leo rises in turn, stretching his limbs nonchalantly.
Leo: "As you wish, GI. Just don't get in my men's way."
Panel 3: Exterior shot. Leo and GI, on horseback, arrive at the top of a hill overlooking the vast Green-Grass plain. The wind makes their cloaks snap. Below, we can make out the small army of Garden, formed in a square. In the distance, a huge cloud of dust announces the approach of Asia's army.
Panel 4: Close-up on GI, his eyes wide.
GI: "Leo... Where is the rest of our army? Why have you only deployed a fraction of our forces?! This is suicide!"
PAGE 5
Panel 1: Leo, without answering, signals to an attendant. The attendant brings two folding chairs. Leo sits down comfortably.
Leo: "Sit down, GI. And enjoy the show."
Panel 2: GI, scarlet, grabs Leo by the collar of his uniform, lifting him halfway.
GI (growling): "Are you mocking me?! Mocking Garden?! I am the Duke of..."
Leo (voice suddenly icy): "...You are a noble. But here, on this battlefield, I am the general. Let go of me. Now."
Panel 3: Leo's eyes, for the first time, are no longer nonchalant. They are metallic gray, piercing like blades. GI, despite his rage, feels a shiver run down his spine. He releases Leo.
Panel 4: GI sits down heavily, crossing his arms. Behind Leo, four soldiers in dark tunics stand, each holding a large silk flag: red, blue, yellow, and black.
GI (suspiciously): "And them? Standard-bearers for your parade?"
Leo (smiling again): "My eyes and my voice. A color code. One color, one order."
PAGE 6
Panel 1: Panoramic view of the plain. Asia's vanguard, 200 masters of heavy cavalry, comes into view. They stop, observing the small square of Garden's army with contempt.
Panel 2: Leo raises a finger. The soldier with the red flag waves it vigorously in circles.
Panel 3: Below, Garden's army, though small, begins to shout with one voice, a provocative and taunting cry that carries up to the hill.
Panel 4: Furious, Asia's cavalry charges. Their mass seems about to engulf the square in an instant. GI stands up, pale.
PAGE 7
Panel 1: Leo raises his hand horizontally. The blue flag is raised. Instantly, Garden's square falls back in good order, swift, dodging the frontal impact.
GI (shouting): "They're fleeing?! Is that your strategy? Fleeing?!"
Leo (calmly): "The art of war isn't just about muscle, GI. Watch."
Panel 2: Asia's cavalry, launched at full speed, struggles to pivot. They are disorganized. Leo abruptly swings his hand down. The yellow flag goes up.
Panel 3: Garden's square, which was retreating, suddenly pivots and counterattacks with incredible ferocity. They slip between the horses, targeting weak points in the armor. Dozens of cavalrymen fall.
Panel 4: Asia's ranks begin to crumble, surprised by the audacity and precision of this small unit. They retreat in turn, trying to re-form.
PAGE 8
Panel 1: GI is stunned.
GI: "They... they're holding their own? But why not pursue? The enemy is in disarray!"
Leo: "Because the real strike hasn't come."
Panel 2: Leo raises both hands. The black flag is waved frantically.
Panel 3: BOOM! Large sections of earth, camouflaged with grass and nets, collapse on the flanks and rear of Asia's main army, which is arriving just behind the vanguard. Thousands of Garden's soldiers, who were buried in shallow trenches, surge up like demons from the earth, striking from the sides.
Panel 4: Asia's main army, already tired from a forced march, caught in a pincer between the small square that has become an iron hedgehog to the front and this new army springing from nowhere on its flanks, sinks into total confusion.
PAGE 9
Panel 1: The carnage is swift and methodical. Garden's soldiers, fresh and disciplined, exploit the panic. The black flag guides their pincer movement.
Panel 2: GI watches, slack-jawed, the whirlwind of violence below. In minutes, it's over. Asia's immense army is in rout, the survivors fleeing. Garden's square and the soldiers from the trenches regroup, 95% intact.
Panel 3: GI turns to Leo, his look now filled with a terror mixed with incomprehension.
GI (trembling voice): "How... Where did that other army come from?"
PAGE 10
Panel 1: Leo stands up, turning his back to the battlefield.
Leo: "Asia arrived too early. Their soldiers were exhausted. I made them run a little more with my provocation. Fatigue impairs judgment and reflexes."
Panel 2: Quick flashback showing soldiers digging makeshift trenches the night before, then covering them.
Leo (voice-over): "I only showed a third of my forces. The rest were underground, a few centimeters from their feet. They were just waiting for the signal."
Panel 3: Close-up on Leo's face, his smile is no longer casual, but marked by an absolute coldness.
Leo: "An exhausted, troubled, surprised, and surrounded enemy... Even the greatest army in the world is just a shadow without substance in front of me."
PAGE 11
Panel 1: Back at the palace. Luc is in his quarters. A messenger on his knee whispers the news to him. The wine cup Luc was holding falls and shatters on the marble floor.
Luc (whispering): "A... crushing victory. With minimal losses... It's a miracle."
Panel 2: Luc rushes into the throne room, where King Mio alone contemplates the city through a large window.
Luc: "Your Majesty... You knew? You knew he was capable of this?"
Panel 3: Mio does not turn around. His reflection in the glass is grave.
Mio: "Leo has only been a general for a week, Luc. Before that... he was no one. Or rather, he was someone I had been watching for a long time."
Panel 4: Close-up on the king's eyes, reflecting the setting sun, bloody.
Mio (low, heavy voice): "That young man is not a prodigy. He is a demon of war. He doesn't know the honor of the battlefield, only ruthless efficiency. He uses the earth, fatigue, psychology, deception... as others use a sword. Garden is now protected by a monster I have unleashed."
PAGE 12
Final double-page spread.
Left: Leo, from behind, looks from the hill at the battlefield strewn with Asia's broken standards. The wind blows strong. At his feet, the four colored flags are planted in the ground.
Top caption: LEO'S ARMY: 2,000,000 (Only a tiny fraction fought).
Right: Low-angle shot of Leo's face, turned toward the horizon where the sun is disappearing. His gray eyes gleam with a calculating and insatiable light.
Bottom caption: ASIA'S ARMY: 4,000,000 (Defeated).
Text at the bottom of the page: "The first stone of a legend... or a nightmare? The War King has just been born."
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END OF CHAPTER 0