Soul of the Tempest - Shinatsuhiko

by BringZStorm

Tatsumi lost everything at the young age of seven. He is found and raised by a former general of the empire as a warrior destined to pave a road with blood and death. Carrying the blessings of the wind, he has only one mission. Bring down the Millennial Empire. [Originally Blade of Tempest - Shinatsuhiko]

18. Chapter 18 - Approaching Threat

Heya guys.

Sorry about the really, really long delay. The last term of my senior year came around the corner and hit me like a truck. From College placement tests to AP testing to course testing and projects and papers and more projects and language busy work and more papers and more testing and even more projects. It was a mess.

But I am back and everything has calmed down somewhat. Hopefully, I can restart my usual update schedule. Thank you all for your patience.

Enough talk. Let's go.

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Chapter 18 - Approaching Threat

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The land that the Empire stood upon was once riddled with small nations and tribes. These nations coexisted in peace, but remained separated and interaction between these groups was scarce. It was the First Emperor that unified the land through war. Many brilliant minds gathered under his banner, wishing to escape the stagnant era. Soon, the entire continent fell under his rule.

The continent prospered socially and economically. Yet the tension that loomed over the land never left. The Emperor, who wished for his Empire to last for eternity, sensed the tension and feared for the future of his Empire.

In his fear, he commissioned the creation of the fifty ultimate weapons. Teigus. Weapons of either endless potential that could be unlocked by the right wielder or weapons with a specialized function that ranged from assassination to mass destruction.

Confident that these fifty weapons would guard his country against internal and external threats until the end of time, the First Emperor passed away. But the tension never left his Empire and it was the presence of Teigus that catalyzed the destruction of his continental Empire.

46 years after the Emperor passed away, war engulfed the continent. Groups rose against the government. Groups that never felt like they belonged under the Empire's rule. Warrior tribes who hated the peace, peaceful groups that grew suspicious due to the Teigu's' presence, and former countries that lived too differently to belong in the new environment.

After a long war that lasted 8 years, the country split apart. The warrior tribes occupied the western third of the continent. The peaceful groups gathered in the southern third and the others headed north. Over a century later, they solidified their own countries. The northern tribes named themselves Laclea. The peaceful group named themselves Yashen.

And the warrior tribes gathered together under the name of Nostr Ares.

Throughout the history of the Empire, Nostr Ares had been a constant thorn in their side. With a culture that revolved around the concept of 'Might makes Right', they were the most militarily centric country in the world. They launched countless invasions against the Empire but failed every time in the face of the mighty Teigus.

When they were first invaded, the Empire retaliated and conquered Nostr Ares. But within 75 years, after having to deal with dozens of rebellions, they backed out of the area. Afterward, the Empire never attempted to regain their rule over Nostr Ares. They concluded it was a useless effort.

But even the battle junkies that lived in Nostr Ares realized the difference in their strengths after hundreds of failed invasions. Thus for the past century or so, a temporary peace came between the Empire and Nostr Ares.

That peace ended abruptly.

"What?!" The young Emperor shouted. Yoshiro slowly repeated his words.

"The army of Nostr Ares has been mobilized and the first soldiers will cross our border within two weeks." The young Emperor fell back into his chair. Standing on the right side of the throne, Prime Minister Honest frowned slightly. Despite the amount of baggage Honest naturally had on him, his back was straight and chest stuck out. His head was raised high, and his eyes looked down at the kneeling assassin.

"Why have you neglected to tell us this until now?" His voice was sharp like a needle. Knowing Yoshiro's network, or rather, the network of the Shadow Guards, the spies stationed in Nostr Ares should've reported back quite some time ago. Yoshiro didn't so much as flinch and replied in monotone.

"My apologies. I received the initial report a week ago, but the messenger broke the protocols so I couldn't trust his intel. I wouldn't dare report false information, therefore I had the report checked." Yoshiro replied. The glint in Honest's eyes remained there for several moments before he stepped back and turned to the young Emperor.

"Your Highness." The young boy jerked on his throne and snapped back to meet Honest's eyes.

"A-ah, right." The child cleared his throat and turned towards the multitude of advisors that stood at the base of his throne. "Honorable advisors, what do you propose we shall do about this?" He inquired while trying, but failing, to hide the shakiness in his voice.

Murmurs spread amongst the dozen or so advisors as they discussed the issue amongst themselves.

"Those barbarians may be lacking in finesse, but their battle prowess is not to be underestimated."

"We don't have the troops to fight a full-scale war against that country. Not while our main armies are spread out between the Northern Tribes and the Land of the East."

"Should we recall General Esdeath to deal with them?"

"You fool! General Esdeath should be able to conquer the Northern Tribes soon. If we pull them back now, then the resources we've poured into that war for the past half year would go to waste!"

"We should stall their army at the border until General Esdeath conquers the North!"

"Who should we send?"

"How about…" The sound of debate continued to rage in the throne room for nearly half an hour, through which Yoshiro knelt and listened. Under his lowered head, he couldn't hide his smirk. His smirk was filled with amusement. He wanted to laugh at the predictability of these old fools.

They came to the very decision Yoshiro had thought they'd arrive at.

"Your Highness. We believe the best course of action is to send our best troops at hand towards the Western border. They will occupy the enemy until General Esdeath can return from the north." The young emperor closed his eyes in mock contemplation. A few moments later, he looked up and nodded at the decision.

"Very well." Was all he said. Honest stepped forward and followed up on the Emperor's decision.

"Relay the plan to Great General Budo. I will leave the troop selection to him. Yoshiro, return to your duties." Yoshiro silently stood up, bowed one last time towards the emperor and quickly backed out of the hall. The large, crimson double doors swung shut behind him and he walked towards General Budo's office on the second floor of the palace.

A week should be enough for the rebel scouts to confirm the leaked intel. If things go well, we can wipe out at least a portion of the Empire's army. If this operation is successful, we might be able to stop Esdeath from fully conquering the North and ease Hayami's burdens a little.

A lonely smile appeared on Yoshiro's lips as the thought of the chocolate haired companion crossed his mind. The sun shining from outside drew Yoshiro to a nearby window. He leaned against the window sill, sticking his head out and felt the breeze from the height of the palace. He sighed, it's been so long since he's seen her.

They kept in touch with mail, of course, but Hayami, being prudent as always, kept their contact to a minimum in fear of ruining his cover. Every once a month or so, she would send him a letter telling him about her situation and maybe even a pleasant story or two. And he would reply similarly. But once a month was… a bit too long of an interval for Yoshiro's liking.

I wouldn't mind if she sent them more often… it's not like a letter or two would expose me. Yoshiro grumbled to himself sadly. He had thought about encouraging her to send letters more often, but wouldn't that make him seem, like, desperate or something? He felt his face heat up and stuck his head out further so that the wind could help him cool down. He shook his head clear and continued on his way to Budo's office while having a lingering thought.

...I wonder what Hayami is doing right now?

---

The Archanean army, as it has been for the past two years or so now, was enveloped in pure mayhem. Soldiers rushed from camp to camp, from the city walls to the barracks and back to the city walls.

Surrounded by the chaos that has become everyday life, a young woman in her late teens patrolled around the main camp that stationed most of the Archanean troops. Her light chocolate brown hair swayed behind her back as she moved forward at a quick pace. Her face was serious, but not stern. Her natural beauty, combined with the air of confidence and charisma that she has obtained through years of practice and performance, any normal human would unconsciously step aside and lower their heads slightly.

A large bow was slung across her shoulder, sitting there like it was only natural. In one hand, she carried a small, cloth wrapped box and in the other, a small notebook just larger than her hands which were covered in a pair of thin, fingerless gloves.

No matter how you looked at it, she was no ordinary soldier.

"Division twelve through fifteen, I want you all at the northern wall by noon! Tell those men already there to head directly home! No need to report back unless something happens!" Her orders pierced through the air, unobstructed by the pandemonium. Those who belong to divisions twelve through fifteen heard the order and immediately began assembling their groups.

Without a hint of worry that her message may not have reached the intended targets, the young woman continued shouting without missing a step.

"Scout division 7! Scan route 43 for enemies, wild animals, and sharp rocks! The next supply caravan will be arriving tomorrow at twilight and I want them to be completely unobstructed!" She took a few more steps before a young girl ran up to her and saluted.

"Ma'am! Enemy troops spotted heading Southeast from their main camp! We believe their intended destination is the cluster of lakes south of Velisse!" Hayami nodded. Her eyelids drooped slightly and she fell silent for a moment. The young girl froze, mesmerized by the artistic beauty that her concentration painted.

"Good work." The women replied after a moment. Her eyes then lit up brightly, like a child ready to open a present. "That's right! I heard your sister is nearing the day of her delivery correct? You are relieved of duty until the child is safely born. I'll have a messenger deliver a small gift courtesy of Morgan and me." The eyes of the young messenger girl opened to wide no one would be surprised if her eyeballs fell out. The young woman smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Take care of her." Drops of tears formed at the edges of the young girl's eyes and she nodded.

"Yes, ma'am! Thank you!" She saluted and disappeared into the crowd. Without lingering, the woman continued on her way. She finally arrived at a medium sized tent near the southeast edge of the camp. Without announcing her presence, she pushed the flaps open and walked in.

The inside of the tent was rather unremarkable. A small desk stood at the center with a bed behind it. Stacks of paper and maps were strewn across the table top. Books and blankets haphazardly decorated the floor. To the left, a smaller table stood with a large map laid out and several small chess pieces were laid out on top.

A woman in her mid to late thirties stood over said table, glaring at it with a pouty, annoyed look. She was so concentrated on the map that she hadn't noticed the younger woman sneaking up on her until she felt taps on her shoulder. She jumped and a cringe-worthy thud resounded in the tent, followed by a whimper unbefitting of a grown woman.

"Nnnnn! Hayami! What are you doing?! Are you attacking me?!" She screamed while furiously rubbing her wounded knee. Hayami sweatdropped thinking she had nothing to do with it, but apologized anyway.

"Ah, sorry Morgan-sensei. I didn't think you'd react so violently. You were too focused anyways. Whenever you become like that, the only way to get your attention is physical contact or very, very loud screaming."

Morgan's large, purple-black coat which usually covered all the way to her calves was now piled up beneath her due to her crouching position which kinda made her seem like a black ball. In contrast to Hayami's rapid growth, Morgan's appearance hadn't changed at all since Hayami first met her. For better or for worse, her childish mentality hadn't changed either.

Morgan wiped away a few stray tears and fully turned her attention to Hayami.

"Hayami, how many times have I told you not to call me Sensei anymore? I've got little to nothing left to teach you so when you call me that, I feel incompetent." Morgan crossed her arms and scolded. She would've looked more authoritative if she was bent awkwardly to the side so as to ease the burden on her knee. Hayami shook her head. She stepped up to the map and looked down on it.

"No. There are still so many things to learn. Even if you don't have knowledge left for me, I can still learn off of your actions and decisions. You still haven't finished telling me about every single battle you've fought, nor the tactics your father used. As long as you still have a single drop wisdom left, you're still my sensei." Morgan slumped and sighed.

"So you're not letting go until you drain me dry? Give me a break…" She grumbled while holding back a smile. Morgan credited Hayami's rapid, no, godspeed growth to her endless curiosity and her attitude of never stopping until she's explored and understood every nook and cranny of the subject.

Of course, that's not to say she didn't have talent. Hayami's mind works incredibly fast and she's capable of thinking a dozen steps ahead, and she also has the creativity needed to come up with tactics on the spot.

To Morgan, she was the perfect student.

"...Why'd you come all the back to your tent to eat lunch?" Morgan asked while pointing at the cloth wrapped box Hayami held in her hand. It was clearly a lunch box no matter how you looked at it. Hayami held the box up to Morgan.

"It's not for me, it's for you. I already had lunch." Morgan took the box from her and opened it. The box was split into two smaller spaces, one much larger than the other. The larger side was filled with sparkling white rice with sesame seeds sprinkled throughout. The smaller space contained meat, vegetables and other dishes that looked absolutely delicious.

"Ohhh, thank you! How did you know that I was in your room?" Hayami giggled. She patted the map that was laid out on her table.

"Even though you said you were leaving the strategizing to me, I knew you wouldn't be able to last long before you would want to scratch that itch. So when I couldn't find you where you usually were, I assumed you'd be here." Grand Tactician Hayami explained. Just under a month ago, Morgan had stepped down from the position of Grand Tactician and ceded it to Hayami, be it temporarily. Until Hayami inevitably leaves Archana, she was essentially in charge of the army.

Morgan's eyes widened at Hayami's accurate deduction and then pouted angrily.

"Being read like this doesn't feel good at all!" She protested while stuffing her face full of rice. Hayami giggled. Her teacher was still as amusing as ever. She stepped around the desk and began diligently chipping away at the mountain of paperwork. She wasn't planning on finishing the paperwork today. She was just waiting for Morgan to finish eating so they could discuss the important things. Tactics.

"Well, since I'm here and all, why don't you tell me what your plan is?" Morgan asked after swallowing the last bite. Hayami nodded, signed off one last sheet of paper which approved of increasing the budget for rations, before standing up and walking over to the map laid out on the smaller table.

The map was a close up of the city of Velisse and the surrounding one hundred miles. Velisse sat on a large piece of grassland, surrounded by patches of forestry and hills. Far north lays a large span of valley formation. To the south, a large area filled with countless lakes and ponds. To the west, grasslands that lead to the ocean and to the east, various cities and villages that live under the flag of Archana.

9 years ago, Hayami arrived in Archana and after overcoming the initial crisis, joined the Archanean army under the tutelage of the Grand Tactician Morgan. After the initial failure, the Empire delayed their invasion for 5 years in order to prepare their fleet for a larger scale invasion.

The force that rushed into Archana amounted to 750 000 men. Only 400 000 men managed to land on Archanean soil. The rest died, drowned along with their ships after falling for Morgan's strategy. Yet the remaining men still greatly outnumbered the 250 000 men strong Archanean army.

For an entire year, the Archanean army held the Imperial army from stepping within one hundred miles of Archana's capital, Velisse. Morgan's strategy was ingenious, but it was only viable because the Empire held off their invasion for five years. In those five years, Morgan mobilized nearly the entire nation in order to build dozens of medium-sized forts, spaced out with 50 miles between each. Villages west of the forts were reallocated near the forts to act as support for soldiers permanently assigned to each fort.

Those forts forced the Empire troops into siege warfare. Since the biggest challenge for the Imperial army was obtaining supplies and disposable weapons like arrows, or large siege weaponry, they were held at bay for an entire year. Thousands of imperial soldiers starved to death, unable to procure their own food, forced to wait for supplies to arrive from overseas.

Morgan made sure to sabotage attempts by the Imperial army to cultivate their own crops and intercept supplies to gain the advantage in this battle of attrition. But the situation changed slightly when three people arrived in Archana a year later.

The remnants of the empire's elite assassin's group, the Elite Seven. Poney, Green, and Najasho arrived in Archana and with their arrival, the Archanean army began losing ground slowly. The first fort fell after four months. Even though Hayami and Arthur did their best to prevent it, the Elite Seven remnants managed to take down several generals and commanders in charge of running the fort over the months.

Hayami recognized that with just her and Arthur, they couldn't possibly command all of the troops in the fort and reallocating other generals made their overall defense weaker. While gritting her teeth, she ordered for the villagers in the fort to evacuate and for the soldiers to retreat to the nearest fort under the cover of the night.

This process repeated again and again and over the course of two years, the Archanean army was pushed all the way back to their capital, Velisse. But at this point, a stalemate settled between the two armies. The Imperial army could not physically bypass the great walls that surrounded Velisse. The thirty-meter tall walls that encased Velisse was unsurpassable without the assistance of tools. Tools which the Imperial army didn't have.

The Velisse sustained itself with the supplies it received from cities and villages in the east and held the Imperial army to the west. The imperial army had no practical way of putting Velisse under a complete siege, as Morgan was not afraid of taking advantage of an army that has been spread too thin.

At the same time, Velisse was stuck without a practical way of regaining ground from the Empire.

This equilibrium has been sustained for a year now, and a situation has arisen that may break this equilibrium.

"A month ago, I received information from my informant that a shipment of siege weapons have left the Empire's ports. They should be arriving in a week." Hayami told Morgan. Morgan tapped her chin in thought.

"Siege weaponry. You mean like the 'trebuchet' thing you told me about?" Historically, Archana has never seen proper siege weaponry. Taking down a fort generally meant finding a way to climb the walls during the dead of the night or cutting off supplies until the fort starved. When Morgan first heard of these amazing weapons that threw boulders at the walls of a fort, she was surprised.

"Yeah. According to my informant, there are fifty trebuchets on ten large boats heading towards us. If the imperial army gets their hands on those, we can say goodbye to our walls and possibly our capital." Hayami said gravely. Morgan scratched her chin with a small 'it can't be helped' smile.

"Ara, that sounds pretty bad." Hayami noticed her smile and shook her head nonchalant-ness. "So? What's the plan?" Morgan asked. Hayami tapped her chin and looked down at the map, perfectly replicating Morgan's habit when thinking.

"The objective is clear enough. Destroy the trebuchets and eliminate the crew that comes with it, either before they land or after. There have to be people to maintain the trebuchets, and those people might know how to recreate them, so we have to get rid of them." Hayami thought out loud.

"We can expect that the Imperial army will send troops to meet the delivery ships when they arrive, therefore attacking them at sea seems to be a safer idea." At this point, Morgan spoke up.

"But currently, all the land between Velisse and the ocean is under the occupation of the Empire. Sneaking a group all the way to the sea, one large enough to bring down a 10 ship fleet, is next to impossible. Even if we manage to do that and bring the ships down, the Imperial army will definitely find out and the group definitely won't return." She pointed out. Of course, there was a simple solution to this. If the group heads in while knowing that they won't return, this won't be an issue. In other words, a suicide mission.

"Yeah, you're right. In order to pull this off, we have to answer the three hows. How do we get our troops to the sea? How do we bring down the fleet? How do we bring them back?" Hayami summarized. She didn't stop and continued to answer her own question.

"First, we need to make the group as small as possible. A smaller group can move at a faster pace and is less likely to be noticed. In fact, for the highest chance of survival and success, 10 people should be the optimal number." Morgan chuckled at the thought.

"10 people for ten ships. One person has to bring down a ship. Hayami-chan, you say some extreme things sometimes. I like it." In tactics, the crazier the idea, the more likely it will work. If the enemy doesn't think you will do it, they won't be ready to defend against it.

"Now the biggest issue is how to take down the ships…" The rate of Hayami's finger tapping increased slightly. She stopped suddenly and began searching the tent for a larger map. But thanks to a certain black-haired tactician, her once organized room had been completely trashed and now she had no idea where to look.

"Sensei, please stop messing up my tent when I'm gone! Help me look for the bigger map!" Morgan grinned sheepishly and obediently began looking. They eventually found the map buried under a pile of clothes. It was slightly crumpled and the upper left corner was folded down in an annoying manner. Hayami laid the map down onto the table and weighed down the corners with the small models. Her eyes narrowed and her finger glided over the map until it stopped on top a small land formation in the middle of the ocean.

"Here." The area marked on the map was quite ominous, with a large skull symbol right below the area. The island was named after the woman who discovered it, Ereshkigal. She was an adventurer who roamed the seas a century ago. She was paid a large sum to map out the ocean west of Archana. She found this island near the end of her career and immediately recognized the danger it posed.

The area consisted of a cluster of 7 medium sized islands, with many rock formations decorating the shores of each. The water was incredibly and abruptly shallow. Sailors who were unaware could easily get caught in this natural trap. In fact, Ereshkigal stated that she saw dozens of ships either beached or laid wrecked on the ocean floor.

"If we can somehow misdirect their ships towards this area, nature will do our work for us." Hayami stated. Morgan couldn't hold back a smirk.

"Hmm? Interesting idea. How would you do that?" Hayami closed her eyes as she wrote, scrapped and rewrote dozens of plans. At each step of the way, she thought about everything that could go wrong and remade her plan to cover for the unexpected.

Hours passed as she moved around her room, pacing, sitting, standing, reading, writing, and thinking. Finally, a road to victory appeared in the depths of her mind.

"Sensei." Morgan who was snoring away on the floor slowly opened her eyes and yawned. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and pushed herself off the makeshift bed she made out of paperwork and scattered bedsheets. She glanced over to Hayami and smiled when she saw the look on her face.

"By the looks of it, you seem to be pretty confident huh? I'm looking forward to it!" Hayami nodded and smiled gently.

"Yeah, it'll go well. But first, go arrange a meeting with Leicia, Aaron and Shishou. I'll need the entire army for this one." Without questioning her, Morgan nodded and disappeared outside. Hayami looked back at the plan she wrote down, scanning for the umpteenth time for any holes or uncertainties before breathing out a sigh of relief.

---

Unlike the Archanean army camp, the Imperial camp was deathly quiet. Each and every soldier moved around without making any sounds. Even though it was in the afternoon, everyone spoke in low tones or whispers.

Though some may see this and think that the soldiers were well disciplined and the leaders were doing well in maintaining order, if the Archanean chaos demonstrated their energy and vitality, then the silence in the Imperial army may very well represent their exhaustion.

Through the camp where the only ones who walked about were patrols or leaders, a scout swiftly ran. He had entered through the entrance and headed straight towards the main tent where the commanders of the army were surely gathering, arguing about their next moves, and leaving later in the night without having made a single decision as per the recent routine.

He stopped outside the tent, halted by the guards. After transmitting his purpose, one of the guards disappeared into the tent and reappeared moments later, granting the scout permission to enter.

Inside was a large, oval table. A dozen people sat around the table with a large map in the center and several books and pens scattered about. That was all there was in the room.

At the end of the table on the other side of the tent, where the overall commander of the army was supposed to sit, sat a young man in his early twenties. His sharp eyes were golden yellow, molded into a permanent glare that radiated an oppressive aura. His white hair which should've made him appear much older was thick and unruly, instead granting him a strong sense vitality. He sat straight, his chest out and shoulders broad. The white and gold military uniform that had become his signature look fit him perfectly.

Next to his chair, resting against the armrest leaned a large, broad, double-edged sword. The crossguard was diamond shaped with a sphere at the center that resembled a dragon's eye.

To his left and right sat his companions. A pony-tailed girl in her late teens and a glasses-wearing boy of similar age. But the scout was much too focused on the golden-eyed young man to notice the other two.

"Sir, we've spotted enemy movement. A small army is marching south. We believe they are after the troops that were sent to make a stronghold south of their city." Those sharp gold eyes narrowed slightly, sending terrible shivers down the spine of the messenger. The pony-tailed girl noticed and frowned.

"Hey, chief! Stop glaring! You're scaring the messenger!" She exclaimed. Najasho glanced towards the girl and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just contemplating the meaning behind the enemies actions." He denied. "And how many times do I have to tell you Poney? Don't call me chief. Smallfry." Poney growled and stood up.

"Stop calling me small-fry! We are over this aren't we?!" She yelled with a pout. Najasho looked at her eyes to eye. Even though she was standing, her small stature was only able to put at the same height as the sitting Najasho. An amused smirk crawled its way onto Najasho's face and he leaned back, resting the left side of his chin on his knuckles and casually watching the sole of Poney's foot pass by his face.

"Hey! Poney! Stop fighting in the meeting tent! And Najasho, stop provoking her. If you guys are going to have your lovers quarrel, do it outside!" The boy on Najasho other side stood up and said in an attempt to mediate the conflict, something he has become rather adept at. He pushed his rectangular-framed glasses up, a habit of his when he was trying to exert authority.

Poney huffed and sat back down. Her matured face that still retained her old childish feel, that combined with her pouting expression made for a picture that would definitely turn a few eyes. Green sighed and sat back down, unable to comprehend how years at war still haven't changed his two old friends even by a little.

Even though he said that, he himself hadn't changed much in terms of personality or in terms of appearance. He grew taller, of course, and his face was now more mature and intellectual than before. But he hasn't changed on the inside whatsoever.

The other dozen people in the room stayed silent as they looked at this comedic conversation, unable to find a good time to cut in. Not that there was any need for them to as Najasho quickly returned to the topic.

"Green, what do you make of this? He asked, referring to the news. Green pushed up his glasses with his middle finger.

"Hmm. As much as I'd hate to admit it, the enemy tactician is a brilliant person. The fact that this war is still dragging on with no end in sight despite our overwhelming numbers is a testament to this. They wouldn't weaken their defenses of the city without a goal in mind." Green analyzed. He secretly admired the enemy tactician as he or she was exactly what Green wished to be, brilliant in the mind.

He was extremely reluctant when leaving the Empire. He didn't want to leave Akame alone back there, but orders were orders and he had no say in it. Therefore, he wanted to end the war as quickly as possible and go back to her. But to think that despite their expertise, it took the three of them, the best assassins of the Empire, and several thousand troops months to take down a single, rather insignificant fort.

And now he's been fighting this war for around three years now. At each and every turn, the plans he came up with were completely and utterly read and destroyed. It was frustrating, but eye-opening at the same time. He would like to meet the enemy tactician at least once, just to see who they were.

"What could the goal be?" A general asked. The room fell silent for several minutes before a few hypotheses were made.

There were three possibilities. One, there was something south that they definitely didn't want the Empire to notice. Two, they were trying to bait the Empire into attacking the city and they have a trap set up for when they do. Three, they were trying to divert attention from a somewhere else.

"Green."

"Yeah. I believe it's unlikely for them to turn their capital into a bait. The soldiers of this country are clearly patriotic, they would never agree to do that. But I wouldn't launch a full-scale attack right now. They could react to our attack and we could end up being pinned between their army and their city." Green said. His mind worked overtime as he tried to decipher the meaning behind the enemy's actions.

They could be diverting our attention from something else, but what? A pincer? A supply line? Maybe they were trying to sneak troops behind us? Each seems plausible but rather pointless. The Archaeans currently held the absolute advantage behind their walls. As long as they don't step out, the Imperial Army could do nothing but keep on the pressure and twiddle their thumbs.

Therefore, the most likely answer was that there was something down south that they didn't want the Imperial army to notice.

"I believe we should take advantage of this opportunity. As long as they are outside the walls, we hold the advantage in numbers. Even if we can only chip away a percentage of their forces before they retreat back into the city again, it will make taking down the city easier once the siege weapons arrive." Green proposed. A wave of consensus swept across the table as the generals and commanders nodded at the suggestion.

Except for Najasho. A frown marred his face and his eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Siege weapons. Once they arrive, their walls become nothing but accessories. Do you believe they would just let that happen?" Green was dumbfounded for a moment. He pushed up his glasses.

"A-are you suggesting they are trying to draw our attention to intercept the siege weapons? There's no way they could know about that! From what I know, siege weapons haven't been invented in this country and there's absolutely no way this country has spies in ours, since they didn't even know we existed before this war began!" Green argued. Najasho looked at Green for a few moments before relaxing.

"Yeah, you're right." He assented. Green relaxed and pushed up his glasses once again. He began thinking. The shipment should be arriving in the next few days, and suddenly the enemy was making a move? This was too much of a coincidence.

In the one in a million chance that the enemy did know about the incoming shipment of siege weapons, then surely they would take action. In the one in a million chance that they use their entire army as a diversion for their troops to intercept that shipment, then he had to do something to stop them.

It was one in a million chance, but that should be enough to be cautious.

"Najasho, how about this? We'll tighten security between their capital and the coast. We'll also send a small group of men to receive and guard the shipment. There's no way a group larger than 15 men will be able to sneak past our defenses, so if we send 30 men to guard the shipment, we'll be able to ensure its safety." Najasho thought about it for a few moments before nodding. He then turned to one of the generals.

"PIck out thirty competent men and send them towards the coast immediately." The general stood up and saluted before leaving the tent. Najasho then turned towards the rest of the group.

"The rest of you, gather your troops. I want two-thirds of our army up and marching southeast by dawn tomorrow. We'll catch the enemy by their tails and tear off their heads. You are dismissed." Najasho then stood up, Poney and Green followed, and the three of them walked out of the tent and towards their own private ones.

Green sighed in relief, glad that everything seems to be progressing smoothly. He's covered all the options and all they need to do is wait for the siege weapons to arrive and they could end this war in one fell swoop.

Little did he know, he was running circles on the palm of Archana's Grand Tactician.

---

By the dawn of the next day, just as the horizon lit up with a dim, golden glow, a group of 30 soldiers handpicked by the general set out on their horses westward towards the main port that sat at the mouth of the bay where all rivers in Archana spilled into. The horses were well fed and mighty strong, carrying the men at an astonishing pace of 60 miles per hour. At that pace, they would arrive at the port in less than 3 days.

They made it a good 10 miles before the leader of the group, a well-trained soldier and lieutenant named Vincent heard a thunderclap under the clear, blue sky. At the same time, his men heard a thump as his body struck the ground. His head was gone, having flown nearly twenty feet away, lost in the grass by the road.

Where Lieutenant Vincent sat just an instant ago stood a man in his early forties. His golden blonde hair swayed in the wind as he stood and balanced himself on the horse that hadn't stopped galloping. His posture was perfectly straight, from his poise and expression alone, he emanated charisma.

Unsure how to react to what they just saw, some soldiers rubbed their eyes, others tried blinking the illusion out of their consciousness. Others really didn't have a chance to do anything as they too fell off their horses with daggers or swords stuck into their legs or through their torse.

By the time the group finally realized that they were under an ambush in broad daylight behind their own front lines, it was far too late.

"Sir Arthur, all enemies have been eliminated." Arthur nodded and began giving out commands, or rather, repeating the plan to the group.

"Proceed as planned. Switch your clothes with the soldiers and bury eight of them near the forest. Strap the other bodies onto the spare horses and pull them along. We'll bury them by the dozen as we move. Now hurry." He commanded. His subordinates, each wearing light leather armor and thin gloves, as well as a hooded cape, saluted with practiced motion and began carrying out their orders with perfect organization.

Arthur himself grabbed the Lieutenant's body and carried it into the forest. He washed the blood off the uniform with the water he carried with him and changed into it. He hopped around, letting the wet clothes settle. It was only recently that he finally managed to dry his clothes too after Hayami's absurdly genius idea forced him to swim in a river for nearly an entire night.

In order to slip Arthur and his ten men past the Empire's front line, Hayami proposed to use the river to their advantage. All rivers in Archana flowed towards the bay in the west. Arthur and his group headed to the nearest river which was around 10 miles north of Velisse. From there, they broke off large pieces of wood and drifted down the river, clinging to the underside of the planks.

The ten soldiers he brought with him were no ordinary soldiers. They were part of a small group he's been personally raising for the past several years. After handing the job of a tutor over to Morgan, he began training special forces to deal with special operations that regular soldiers wouldn't be able to perform.

Mainly infiltration and assassination. That being said, they have not been very active even though they've long been ready. This was simply because there was no need for them to act thus far. The war has been mainly defensive, and until Hayami decides to begin an offensive, it was best to keep this special force a secret.

This operation to sabotage the delivery of siege weapons would be the special force's first big operation. The men and women in the group were secretly excited to finally start their contributions to the country, so they suffered through almost eight hours of drifting in the water. Since it was at night, they only needed to duck underwater whenever they saw torchlight in the distance.

Once dawn arrived, they climbed out of the water around forty-five miles downstream, well behind enemy lines. There, they laid in ambush for the group that, Hayami predicted, the Imperials would send to escort their shipment for fear that it would be sabotaged.

Arthur shook his head at the truly absurd prediction.

"Just how much trust does that girl have in the enemy?" Arthur chuckled to himself.

Hayami trusted that the enemy had a competent leader. A cautious, clear-headed, logical thinker who would make the right decision and the right response to her movements. It was exactly because of this trust that she was able to predict their movements and craft her own strategy.

"Sir Arthur, all preparations are ready." A woman in her late twenties appeared behind him and announced while kneeling down on one knee. Her cool brown hair was tied up in a neat ponytail that reached down to her shoulder blades so as to not get in her way. Arthur nodded. His hand patted around his own body, checking the Lieutenants clothes for anything notable and happened upon a letter.

The letter was sealed with wax and a certain symbol was embedded into the wax. Arthur carefully and skillfully opened the letter without damaging the paper or the wax and read the contents. He smirked and resealed the letter.

"Relay this message to the others immediately. From now on, you are to refer to me as Lieutenant Vincent, second in command to General Alexander. I will do all the talking, but if you are asked questions, answer as if you are a soldier ordered to escort an important weapon though you do not know what exactly it is. Understood?" The women lowered her head and nodded.

"Yes, sir!" She disappeared on the spot, leaving behind only her footprints in the grass. Arthur sighed and shook his head before walking over and erasing her tracks. Sadly, he still hasn't been able to raise this group of people to a satisfactory level. Maybe his expectations were too much, but small mistakes like these can lead to the death of assassins.

Then again, it may just be that his three disciples were a little too talented in their work.

---

"Hchnn!" Hayami sneezed into her palms. Beside her, Leicia brought her left hand up to her mouth and giggled. A wonderfully pleasing sound that was like the gentle ringing of windchimes reached Hayami's ears. Hayami felt heat rising up her neck and pouted slightly.

"Leicia-sama, don't laugh please." Leicia lowered her hand but a playful smile remained on her lips.

"My apologies Hayami, but your sneeze was just too precious. You should sneeze more often."

"I'm afraid that's outside my capabilities. I don't have that special of a talent." Hayami declined.

"What a shame." Hayami turned her head to look at her benefactor and the ruler of the country of Archana.

Her slim torso was covered by light leather armor. Her shoulders were protected by layers of thin, sturdy steel plates decorated by golden lines and curves. Her leather sleeves stopped at her wrists and a pair of fingerless gloves took their place. She wore light woolen pants, hidden behind high boots that reached just above her knees, plated with metal by the shins. Her attire matched the color of the navy blue ocean and so did her hair, which swayed in the wind, kept in order by a simple hair band made out of gold. On her back, swaying with her hair, was a cape colored blue on the outside and royal red on the inside.

Strapped on her left waist was one of the Sacred Treasures of Archana, Excelion. A sword that is three inches wide near the base of the three feet long blade and converges to a point. The frame forms a teardrop between the hilt and the base of the blade. It had no sheath but was strapped on the waist of the Royal Princess.

Hayami and Leicia were currently sitting upon their horses on top of a hill, waiting for the enemy to show up. At the base of the hill a few hundred feet away, their one thousand men army was patiently waiting, lazily sitting around and laughing with a few drinks in their hands. Hayami permitted it to calm their nerves, though she warned anyone who drank too much would be heavily punished.

Hayami had to be there as the tactician. She couldn't sit back and entrust the command to someone else, especially since her teacher was behind enemy lines and his life may very well rest on how well she can act out this diversion. On the other hand...

"Leicia-sama, are you sure you want to be here? This will become a warzone in approximately two hours. We can still safely escort you back to the capital." Hayami offered with concern. This was the ruler and symbol of the country of Archana. A wonderful, benevolent ruler who laughs and cries with her people. The moment she announced that war was coming and that she planned to fight, thousands of soldiers poured in to fight with her. Her mere presence was enough to rouse the spirits of the men and raise their morale.

Should she be heavily wounded, or God forbid, die, then not just Hayami but the entire country of Archana would fall into a terrifying panic.

Leicia herself knew that, surely, yet she shook her head.

"Even though this is but a diversion for Sir Arthur to perform his duty, it is still one of the few times we have acted on an offensive. If I were to ignorantly sit on the throne whilst my country fought to defend itself, my ancestors would avert their gazes from heaven with shame." She stated firmly, but not aggressively. Leicia then smiled confidently and patted the hilt of her sword.

"In addition, though I may not look it, I do have a few degrees of confidence in my swordsmanship." Hayami laughed nervously and averted her gaze. Honestly speaking, from the day they met, the thought of Leicia being aggressive never even crossed her mind. That is, until the war began and she saw Leicia on the battlefield.

This princess was definitely on par in skill with Arthur, losing only in physical composition but making up with technique. Her style was amazingly efficient, using the minimal movements for greatest effect. But what situation would lead to a country having a princess that could fight like that? Aaron is always so protective of her, but he probably can't even beat her in a duel. Hayami retorted in her mind.

"I-is that so? Well, your very presence raises moral so you are more than welcome to stay. I will do my best to make sure no harm comes to you." Hayami said with a slightly cramped smile. Leicia returned the smile gently and nodded.

"I will rely on you to watch my back."

The sun was reaching its vertex when a thin dark line emerged from beyond the horizon. Hayami squinted her eyes slightly and nodded, confirming that it was the enemy army. She turned to Leicia and nodded. Hayami took a deep breath and raised her voice so that her words would be carried by the wind to the entire army.

"The enemy is approaching! March southeast at a leisure pace so that the enemy can catch up! But once they come into full view, march full speed eastward towards the Ashlen river! Archers! Should they come with calvary, aim for their horses! Prioritize survival over all else. I want to see every single one of you alive and well on the other side of that river! Got it?!"

Her message was transmitted to her army clearly and concisely. Instantly, cheers of assent filled the air. The immediately set off, marching at a relaxed pace southeast towards the large cluster of lakes that the Imperials were attempting to scout out. There was nothing important down there, so chasing the imperials was just a believable facade that Hayami created. The main objective was, of course, to distract.

As both armies were marching in the same direction at slightly different speeds, the Imperial army finally closed the four-mile gap between the armies after four hours. Hayami got a good count of the enemy and came to the conclusion that victory was impossible. The enemy amounted to a terrifying six thousand men. A fight against an army six times their size there on the grasslands was synonymous to defeat.

And so, Hayami unleashed her trump card. The ancient Archaneans were brilliant tacticians, over the course of thousands of years, the scholars of the country compiled all famous tactics into a book titled "Thirty-six stratagems". From the said book, Hayami pulled out what was in her opinion the most ingenious strategy.

Running away.

"Attention! Change course towards the east! March as quickly as you think you can manage without collapsing! Stay near your assigned groups and begin the rest cycle immediately! We're getting out of here!" Roars filled with energy responded to her commands and the speed of the army noticeably increased.

The rest cycle was a simple little system Hayami came up with for the sake of making long periods of high-speed marching easier to perform. The soldiers were assigned to groups of five and each group was granted a horse. During the march, the soldiers took turns riding the horse, each riding for five minutes before swapping. This allowed a fifth of the army to rest their legs without having to decrease the speed. It was a strategy only effective in smaller armies, as large armies would require more horses.

Hayami couldn't hold back a giggle as she looked back and saw the distance between the armies slowly but surely draw away. The exhilarating feeling of leading an enemy on by the nose was one that Hayami couldn't get enough of. It was a questionable characteristic Hayami inherited from Morgan.

Just the thought of six thousand enemies being led on a wild goose chase was enough to force Morgan onto her knees in hysterical laughter. She then got a terrible stomach cramp and was sent to the infirmary, which was the reason why she wasn't with the army at the moment.

"Ma'am! A force has detached from the enemy army! A group of three hundred cavalry units!" Hayami smiled happily. She looked at Leicia who had a serious expression.

"According to the reports, that is around a tenth of their full calvary force." Leicia said. Hayami's smile widened and she nodded.

"I didn't think they'd invest so much into this attack. We're quite lucky." She turned to her left and told a soldier walking right beside her to take care of her horse before hopping over to Leicia's horse. Leicia shifted forward to give Hayami some room. Hayami stood up on the back of the moving horse, wobbling a bit at first but quickly adapted to the movements and stabilized herself. She removed her bow from around her chest and plucked the string once, feeling the comforting vibrations spread from the string to the bow and up her arm.

She stretched out her left arm and flexed it slightly. An arrow shot out from a hole in the gauntlet right above her wrist. The arrow came out at speeds high enough to pierce wood, but Hayami caught it with a practiced motion. The gauntlet that covered her hands and arms up to her elbows protected her from the friction that would've burned her skin otherwise.

She knocked the arrow and it began shimmering yellow. The moment she released it, the arrow vanished into the sky, leaving behind a yellow streak accompanied by the sound of thunder. All the nearby horses shrieked in surprise, but their riders quickly calmed them down.

The entire army noticed the sound and instantly interpreted that as a signal to change formation. Immediately, the soldiers went to actions. The archers spread throughout the army swapped with whoever was on the horse and mounted their steeds before quickly retreating to the rear end of the army where Hayami and Leicia were waiting.

The moment they were in position, Leicia raised her right hand. Standing behind her, Hayami raised her bow and took aim at the approaching enemies. But then she lifted it upwards towards the sky.

"Rain it down!" Her glowing blue arrow left her bow in the same manner as those words that left her mouth. Following right behind, two hundred arrows drew similar arcs in the air. Seconds later, it rained down onto the Imperial Calvary-like a fishing net. The calvary responded quickly, spreading out thin so as to minimize casualties, but dozens of arrows hit their mark.

Horses toppled over, struck in the back, the head or even the legs. Their unlucky riders suffered similar wounds, or even worse, were thrown off the horses back and trampled by others who approached from behind. Many attempted to stop and were thrown off their startled horses.

Before the rest could recover, the second wave of arrows came raining down. As long as they entered the range of the arrows, they would inevitably be stopped by the hail of sharp edges. Hayami didn't take her eyes off nor let her guard down, carefully observing the movements of the cavalry.

Only after two hundred of those cavalry units were either wounded or killed did they finally back off. Hayami had hoped they would continue for a bit longer, but it seems that was the limit. She had been dangling her army as the bait for the enemy so she wasn't about to risk anything in order to kill a few more horses. The imperial cavalry will probably rejoin the main army and continue the pursuit. Hayami would just have to maintain their current pace and they'll be able to escape once they reach the river in less than half an hour.

Sadly, things weren't about to proceed that smoothly.

"Ma'am! There are two figures rapidly approaching our army from the north!" Hayami spun in that direction and her eyes widened. About five hundred meters away and rapidly closing in were two young adults, running on the grass at speeds that made them seem like leopards. She narrowed her eyes and frowned.

"Leicia-sama, the troublesome ones are coming." She warned as she nocked an arrow. A light yellow aura coated the arrow and it shot off while leaving behind a thunderclap. The arrow instantly closed the five hundred meter distance, aimed precisely at the forehead of the white-haired young man.

Without batting an eyelash, his broadsword swung up and batted the arrow out of the sky, it whizzed past his stoic face like a buzzsaw. In its course was the young man's female companion, who panicked as the buzzsaw closed in on her face. She dropped to the ground and slid across the grass, safely ducking under the arrow that nearly cut off her ponytail. She quickly recovered and continued to chase after the young man.

Without caring about her results, Hayami brought out two more arrows and fired them into the sky.

"Those are the ones that are leading the Imperial army right now. Powerful assassins from the Empire. In our army right now, only you and I could possibly match them." Hayami explained. Leicia's hand came to rest on the hilt of Excelion.

"Then it was correct for me to come on this expedition." Hayami smiled sadly and nodded while closing her left eye and taking aim with two arrows. Both were shimmering yellow. Hundreds of meters away and closing in, Najasho and Poney felt their danger senses ring and quickly slid to a stop. Two arrows fell from the sky, dropping a few feet ahead of them. Right at the spot where they would've been should they have kept running.

But just as the arrows reached their eye level, the arrows snapped in half, pierced through by arrows that broke the sound barrier. Both Najasho and Poney reacted and tilted their heads. The arrow shot past their faces, leaving deep scratches in them.

"Uwa! That was close! What the hell is this?!" Poney exclaimed while wiping away the blood that dripped from her wound. Najasho lifted his left hand and tapped the wound, feeling the slight sting to be annoying.

"Whoever shot those arrows is worthy of special attention. Let's go Poney, we're rejoining the army." He said coldly before renewing his high-speed sprint. Poney didn't expect her to be left behind and chased after him in a hurry.

The chase continued until the Archanean troops found themselves at the side of a long river, about two hundred meters wide. Najasho and Poney had rejoined their army to conserve some energy, but at the same time lagging behind by a large margin during the chase.

Hayami let loose a small sigh of relief once she saw the edge of the river. Around a hundred small boats were tied to the shore of the river in a row. This was the escape plan. By crossing the river, they can escape the Imperial Army's pursuit.

"Move according to the plan! Riders! Change course and head North towards the city at full speed! Everyone else, do not rush but move quickly and orderly! I want everybody on the boats and out in the waters in ten minutes!" Hayami ordered. Shouts of affirmative echoed back and the army quickly split up. Two hundred soldiers mounted the horses and began speeding away north along the river. The rest split into groups of eight as they were assigned and began boarding the boats.

Hayami and Leicia overlooked the process and kept the system going efficiently. But time was a scarce resource at war. They somehow managed to pull away from the Imperial army, but not by much. Hayami turned around and grimaced at the enemies slowly closing in like a dark tidal wave. Her perfect vision spotted two figures closing in on their location.

"Leicia-sama. It seems confrontation is inevitable. I can't handle both of them on my own. I'm very sorry, but I'll need your help." Hayami said with deep regret. It was her mistakes in calculations. She should've laid a few more traps to delay them even for a minute or two longer. Leicia smiled lightly and shook her head.

"Do not blame yourself. You got us this far, so I am glad to offer my assistance." Leicia said while drawing her sword, the sacred treasure Excelion. Seeing her draw her blade and take her combat stance, Leicia's guards protested.

"Leicia-sama! Please, leave this to us! We will-" Leicia frowned and her expression turned into that of a mother scolding her children.

"You are not strong enough to deal with them. Against them, you'll only be sacrificing yourself in vain. If you wish to protect me, then retreat quickly so that I may do so as well." She commanded. The guards immediately closed their mouths and nodded with bitter disappointment. They stood still for a few moments, before one of them saluted.

"Please stay safe, Leicia-sama!" Leicia smiled and nodded. He turned around and ran towards the river shore. The others saw his gesture and steeled themselves. They saluted and chased after their companion.

"Ready Leicia-sama? This won't be an easy fight." Hayami asked. She did so while dispensing another arrow and placing it against the bow in preparation to fire. Leicia smiled confidently.

"Yes. But make no mistake. I've experienced my fair share of desperate fights in this lifetime." Hayami giggled.

"Five minutes. We only need to stall for five minutes and retreat to the river. I hope you wouldn't mind doing a bit of swimming if worse comes to worse." Leicia nodded.

"Of course not, taking a dip in this season is a wonderful idea." Hayami nodded once and closed her right eye. She nocked the arrow, pulling the string all the way back to her ears.

"I'll leave the swordsman to you, is that alright?"

"Gladly."

The first shot was fired. An arrow that shattered the sound barrier and left a shimmering yellow trail in its wake. At that speed, one hundred meters was crossed in a blink of an eye, yet it missed its mark by a short margin. Poney tilted her head and heard the arrow audibly shoot past her ears. It was a spine chilling feeling.

To Poney, one hundred meters was also nothing but a hop, skip and jump away. She achieved her Shingu and felt the wonderful rush of energy that entered her legs. The soil sunk beneath her feet and she erupted in a burst of speed, sending the earth flying behind her.

Hayami raised her bow with another arrow nocked, but then lowered it again. Poney raised tilted her head in confusion, but closed the distance anyways. Her first attack was aimed to take off Hayami's head, a kick that would've ripped her skull off and send it flying.

Hayami ducked down low and raised her bow to block the axe kick from the same leg. The ground beneath her sank in, absorbing some of the impacts. Poney's eyes widened, unexpected to find someone who could actually block one of her enhanced kicks. Hayami narrowed her eyes and pulled back the string of her bow, sending the nocked arrow flying at Poney's face from what was basically point blank range. The green coated arrow flew by Poney's cheek as she contorted her body to bend backward, putting her incredible flexibility to its full use.

Quick as lightning, Poney pulled back her feet and kicked outwards, striking Hayami's bow and sending her skidding backward, destroying the grass and plants beneath her feet and carving a scar into the land.

Hayami came to a stop and straightened herself back up. Her arms felt a bit numb, but nothing she couldn't handle.

Poney, on the other hand, felt confident that she had the upper hand. Against a bow user, victory in close quarters was like stealing candy from a child. That was until she felt something drop from her chin. She reached up and wiped the liquid off her cheek and her eyes widened. When did she get this wound?

That last arrow should've missed.

"What did you do?" She asked curiously. Hayami smiled lightly.

"Oh, that? That was just a little greeting." Hayami nocked another arrow. Her eyes narrowed slightly and her smile faded. The temperature of her gaze plummeted and her pupils turned an ice-cold shade of blue. "This next one will go straight through your skull." The arrow was shot. Poney narrowed her eyes and tracked the arrow, trying to pick out what was special about it, and proceeded to walk straight into Hayami's trap.

As the arrow neared Poney, she tilted her head, while scrutinizing the arrow. Suddenly, her vision was blinded by a canvas of pure white. Light so bright that it felt like it was burning her retinas shone from the arrow. She bit back a scream and immediately closed her eyes and jumped backwards but was completely defenseless against the arrows that approached her.

If it weren't for Najasho assistance, she would've suffered at least a near-fatal injury.

"Smallfry, stop letting your guard down." Poney rubbed the pain out of her eyes while complaining.

"Stop calling me smallfry! And where were you when I was fighting?" Najasho scoffed and narrowed his eyes at Leicia.

"Hmph. This woman is no slouch." Leicia smiled happily.

"Why thank you. You are rather impressive yourself. There aren't many swordsman's in my country that can match you in speed or technique." Najasho frowned and disappeared, instantly appearing beside Leicia. Without missing a beat, she spun her body sideways and smoothly parried the brutal swing from Najasho's broadsword. A complete transfer of momentum that Najasho was unable to stop. Leicia took a step forward, sliding her sword up Najasho's blade and aimed to injure his sword hand.

That was until she hopped to the side to avoid a punch from the young man. She took a few hops backwards and steadied herself, returning to her opening stance with her right hand holding the hilt of her blade by her face and her other arm guarding her midsection.

"That's right. I had forgotten that the western style prefers to add variety to their attacks. Had I not practiced with a strong partner, I probably wouldn't have been able to react." She commented. Najasho's frown deepened. A powerful opponent, able to match this woman, that came from the Empire. There was only a handful that could meet that requirement and none of them were smallfry.

Whoever they were, they might just be the trump card of this nation. He tilted his head back to dodge an arrow that flew by and immediately hopped away from that spot when he sensed danger from above. An arrow fell from the sky, lodging itself straight into the soil.

"Oi, smallfry, have your eyes recovered yet? Deal with the archer." Poney squinted her eyes over and over again, trying to regain the lost focus. She could only see blurs and shapes, but she didn't want to hear it from Najasho anymore.

"Yeah of course. I'll take care of her. Now hurry up! AND STOP CALLING ME SMALLFRY!" Najasho returned his attention to Leicia.

"What is your name?" Leicia tilted her head.

"Well, isn't it courtesy to state your own name first?" Najasho paused for a moment.

"Najasho. Temporary commander of the Imperial Army." Leicia's eyes widened and her aura changed from a calm and graceful one to one of complete solemnity.

"I am the current ruler of Archana. Leicia. Leader of the barbarous invaders. Why have you come to our land?" She inquired. Najasho had very few moments in his life that gave him a shock, and this was one of them. The enemy leader whom they had pursued and aimed for years now was right before his eyes.

"Hmph. Orders are orders. I do not need more reason than that." Najasho brought his shingu - Water-Dragon sword up to his chest, holding it with both hands.

"Princess of Archana. Your head will fall here." The hair on Najasho's head grew until it reached down to his shoulder blades. His hair color changed from white to the lightest shade of blue. Leicia instantly noticed the changes and steeled herself.

He disappeared from her vision and she felt a presence appear in her blind spot right behind her. She spun around and lifted her sword but only felt a crushing weight that blew all sensation out of her body. Her sword, the legendary blade forged from the bones of a dragonic deity, creaked under the blow. She winced at the impact and felt all control over her body lost as she shot backwards in the air. She somehow managed to retain consciousness but slid unceremoniously across the ground, tumbling and rolling. She flipped back onto her knees nearly ten meters away from her original position.

"Kuh." Leicia grunted with a pained expression. She stabbed the sword into the ground to stable herself and pushed herself back onto her feet. She glanced around, unable to catch even a glimpse of her enemy. She focused her attention on her blind spots when Najasho suddenly appeared right before her eyes, mid-motion towards her neck.

Her life flashed before her eyes but an arrow intercepted Najasho's swing, aiming at his sword hand. He turned and caught the arrow with his free hand, snapping it under his grip. He eyed the perpetrator and watched as Poney landed a kick in Hayami's torso, sending her flying towards the river shore. When he turned his attention back to Leicia, she was already several steps away and at the ready again.

Leicia took a deep breathe, suppressing the adrenaline that was rushing through her body and clouding her mind. She must remain calm if she didn't want to die. The enemy was strong, but there must be a weakness somewhere. As her breath left her, she felt something off. It was like a sense of deja vu, not in the sense that she was remembering this scene from somewhere, but just the unexplainable feeling of familiarity.

Her gaze wandered down to her sword that seemed like it was waiting for something, like a leopard hiding behind foliage, staring at its prey. Her eyes widened slightly as a possibility crossed her mind.

"That sword. It's the rumored Water-dragon sword is it not?" She asked calmly. Najasho faltered for a moment. That was a piece of knowledge the princess of a foreign country should not have known. In fact, even in the Empire, only a handful of people knew about the names and abilities of the Shingus.

There was only one explanation. A traitor, and a very important figure at that.

Leicia took his silence as confirmation and smiled slightly. Her sword was in fact anticipating. Silently eyeing its prey.

And the prey this time was a dragon.

Najasho noticed that Leticia's lips were moving slightly and had a bad feeling. He pushed the thought of traitors among them out of mind for now and quickly closed the distance between them, opting to forgo a feint and attack from the front. He swung his sword, confident that her blood will spill without resistance. To his astonishment, her sword flew up to meet him and in a fluent motion with minimal energy, tipped the end of his blade to the side.

He lost any and all control of his sword. The tip of his blade stabbed into the ground. At the same time, Leicia's sacred sword split open his shoulder. He grunted and gave up his sword, leaving it stabbed in the ground, opting to open some distance between them. As he landed several meters away, the hair on his head shortened to its original length and a heavy wave of fatigue struck him like a two-ton weight on both his shoulders.

Leicia didn't wait for him to recover. She attempted to end it all but was stopped when Poney intercepted her, covering for the weakened Najasho. She heard his grunt from nearly a hundred meters away and immediately disengaged from her fight with Hayami, which had tipped in her favor when Hayami moved to save Leicia. She stood protectively over the fallen Najasho who had one bloody hand over his bleeding shoulder.

Leicia frowned, debating on her next move when a streak flew into the sky and erupted in a bright, brilliant green sphere of light. That was the signal that the last of the soldiers have boarded their ships and had left the shore Leicia sheathed her sword, taking one last glance at the two before rushing towards the river.

There, Hayami was waiting for her. Hayami rushed up to her and looked her over from head to toe.

"Leicia-sama, are you okay?!" Leicia smiled at the panicking Hayami, not used to seeing her in this state of mind. She nodded and gently patted Hayami's head.

"Of course. Just a bit bruised here and there. Thank you for saving me." Hayami shook her head, calming down once she confirmed that Leicia wasn't badly wounded.

"Don't mention it. There is no time to waste. We must cross the river before the Imperial army reaches here." Hayami said urgently. Leicia nodded, she glanced back.

"Sadly, we were not able to finish off the enemy commander." Hayami had already turned around and was working on freeing their boat from the shore.

"Don't worry about it. There are many more opportunities ahead. We have accomplished our objective, so asking for anymore is just petty greed." She commented offhandedly. The rope tying the boat to a stake in the shore came loose and the small boat began drifting away. "Get on, we're getting out of here." Leicia nodded and hopped onto the ship, the boat tipped and rocked, but she quickly stabilized it and beckoned for Hayami, who followed right behind.

As they rowed away, they turned around and saw the enemy army crowding at the shore. They heard the enemy leaders shouting commands to the soldiers. Soon, a dense rain of arrows shot up from the shore and landed on and near their position.

"Keep rowing." Leicia said. She drew her sword and began deflecting the arrows that were on course towards Hayami and herself. Once they left the range of the enemy arrows, Hayami released a sigh. Leicia sat back down, feeling a hint of fatigue.

"Will this be enough?" She asked Hayami. Hayami nodded.

"Yeah. Shishou should be well on his way to the port under the guise of escorts. Now that the Imperial army has gained control of this southern area, they would undoubtedly shift their main area of occupation southeastward and begin investigating the lakes down south for whatever they thought we were trying to protect." Hayami said between grunts as she rowed their arrow-riddled boat across towards the other side.

"As long as Shishou follows the route I planned out, wrapping around north back to the city, he should be able to come back unscathed. Even if the enemy does become suspicious and send groups to patrol the area, a regular group of soldiers isn't going to be a match for him." Leicia smiled happily. Hayami noticed that and tilted her head.

"What is it?" She shook her head.

"No. It's just that when you begin speaking strategies, you come to resemble Morgan. If only she was as mature and responsible as you are, I could've avoided so many trials during my youth." Hayami giggled and stopped rowing. She leaned over the boat and stuck her hand into the water. The refreshing chill of clean, clear river water caused her entire body to relax. She felt an urge to dive in for a swim, but knew that was a terrible idea.

"Leicia-sama, I want to go swimming once this is all over."

"Very well. Once we return peace to this land, I'll arrange the best swimming location for you." Hayami smiled at the wonderful thought and began rowing again.

---

The port town Valverde is located at the mouth of the Hysen Bay. The bay was the main passage connecting Archana to the ocean and the world in the west. The bay itself was extremely large. Standing at the main port, one could barely make out the shore spanning towards the horizon on both sides. The ocean glittered under the sunlight, a deep, beautiful navy blue.

The ocean breeze was refreshing, but one could easily taste the salt in the air. Ships, large and small, drifted with the waves, bobbing up and down just off the coast. The coastal city was large. Most of the buildings were two stories, many were inns and the majority of others were restaurants or fishmongers. Most of the residents lived in their shops, either in the back or on the second floor.

It was a tight but lively city. At least, it used to be.

As the first area, the Imperial army occupied, it was also the first town that was evacuated. In fact, when the Empire's army first arrived, the city was literally a ghost town. The sight of such a large city completely empty, devoid of life was spine chilling for many soldiers as they hopped off their ships.

Even now, over seventy percent of the city was unoccupied. The imperial soldiers that stayed behind settled in a small area right near the port. They were in charge of receiving and distributing supplies sent by the Empire. All in all, there were around five hundred men in the area.

During the periods of time when there weren't any supplies to be distributed, the life in this port town was truly mundane. Most of the soldiers were laying around, rolling in their beds and counting their ceiling tiles to confirm for the thirtieth time that there were in fact 254 and three fourth tiles. Others were playing card games, inventing new cards games, or just making cards. The guarding the gate was probably the most exciting occupation in the city, and so many fought over the opportunity to rest their eyes from the endless ocean, opting to stare at the endless grassland instead.

And so, when shadows appeared from beyond the horizon, the guards immediately entered a state of high tension. They stood up, back straight, facing forward with serious expressions that felt so forced it was humorous. When the figures in the distance finally reached the gates, the guards crossed their spears and stopped them.

"Halt! State your name and purpose." Arthur took one glance at the fellows and instantly knew they were bored out of their minds. The amount of enthusiasm they put into their statement was way too much for a person in his normal state of mind. But he played along anyway.

"I am Lieutenant Vincent, second in command to General Alexander. By orders of our Commander Najasho, we are here to escort the incoming shipment to the front lines. Call out your General. Commander Najasho had sent a letter informing him of our purpose." He stated with a deeper voice than usual while emanating a dominating presence from his entire body. The soldiers shivered at the presence of the man, already convinced that he was an envoy from the Commander.

"Yes, sir! Right away!" One of them saluted and rushed into the city. The other went back to his guarding duty, his back extra straight and his facade especially stoic. Arthur forced down the amusement he felt bubbling inside his chest. He had to keep up appearances.

Around ten minutes later, the guard came back with a short, stout man in his early forties. His appearance was… unique. His balding head shone like a mirror under the sun, with only a tuft of hair right above his left ear. He had a magnificent mustache, curled like fishhooks downwards pointing towards his mouth. His eyes were small and his nose large.

"Lieutenant Vincent! I welcome you to this humble port town. I am the one overlooking the area, Captain Monopoly." He began with a large, obviously forced smile. This man was probably bitter about being stuck in a humid town for nearly three or so years now. Arthur felt obvious enmity from the man, but dealing with someone of his mentality was simple.

"Save the pleasantries. I trust you have received Commander Najasho orders." He stated with haughtiness. Monopoly's eye twitched at being looked down upon and his cramped smile somehow became even more cramped.

"Yes. Yes of course. I have received that letter. But I was informed that a group of thirty men were due to arrive in my town a few days ago, but not only are you late, but you also seem to be a few men short. Do you have a good explanation?" Monopoly asked with obvious menace. Arthur frowned and hopped off his horse and approached Monopoly. He said to him in a low whisper.

"We were ambushed on our way here. And not just once or twice. We stopped in a nearby town to warn Commander Najasho that enemy troops had already wrapped around them and requested reinforcements, but I'm afraid they won't be able to arrive for several days. Until then, I will be depending on you and your men for assistance." Arthur explained in a low tone. Monopoly opened his mouth to speak, probably to mock Arthur, but Arthur continued without waiting.

"I heard that this time, the shipment is extremely important. Absolutely crucial for our army to take down the enemy capital. If this shipment is successfully delivered, I promise that I will tell Commander Najasho of your loyal deeds. Surely you will be rewarded, say, reallocated from this mundane port town." He whispered. His words were like sweet honey, and Monopoly pounced on it like a thirsting bear. His eyes widened and a large smile instantly appeared on his lips.

"Why of course! We will gladly assist with all we have. I will have men deliver another request for reinforcements immed-" Arthur raised a hand and cut him off.

"No need. Commander Najasho is not one to tolerate repeated requests. It only serves to irritate him, and let me tell you, you don't want to irritate him." Monopoly nodded carefully.

"Of course. Of course. Right. Follow me. We will settle you in the town immediately."

Captain Monopoly lead Arthur and his group across the vacant town towards the port. He found the highest class in in the area and settled Arthur's group into the place, assigning several men to take care of them. Upon arrival, Arthur requested that Monopoly immediately prepare a medium sized ship for departure. When he was questioned why, he responded simply.

"We already know that enemy assassins are in the area. We cannot afford the one in a million chance that they head out to see to ambush the shipment before it lands. From today on, my men and I will set sail from dawn to twilight and meet the shipment out at sea when it comes." Monopoly nodded obediently at the logic.

"I will prepare my best cre-"

"No need. My men are well trained as sailors on top of being proficient soldiers. They are the elite of the elite, chosen personally by the Commander. Or do you doubt the Commander's eye for men?" Monopoly immediately shook his head in denial and backed off the topic.

Arthur wasn't lying when he said his men knew how to sail. There were three people within the group that were taught the art of navigating the sea and were specially chosen to participate in this mission for that ability.

Over the next two days, Arthur woke his crew at daybreak and set out to sea, drifting around enroute until the sun was at the base of the horizon before heading back to port. To the Imperial soldiers, it seemed like stupid diligence, to Monopoly, it seemed like impressive fortitude.

But it was a necessary measure. Diligence was always rewarded.

At the twilight of the third day, just as Arthur was about to declare his order to return to the port, one of his men spotted small specks appearing from the horizon, smack in the center of the disappearing sun. They were around 15 miles west of the port, directly south of the Ereshkigal islands. Minutes later, masts appeared above the specks and Arthur confirmed that it was their target.

The sun was no longer visible when boats reached Arthur's medium-sized ship. Basking under the afterglow of the sunset, the flagship pulled up next to Arthur's ship and dropped its anchors.

"State your name!" A voice said from above. Arthur looked up at the flagship that stood around five meters or so higher than their ship. The flagship was also around fifteen meters longer in length.

"My name is Vincent! Lieutenant under General Alexander! By the orders of our Commander Najasho, I am here to redirect this shipment towards a new strategic location! I request an audience with your Captain!" Arthur lied through his teeth. The spotter from above took a good look at him, his gaze filled with suspicion.

"Do not move from your position!" He yelled down before disappearing into the ship. Around five minutes later, a long rope ladder was thrown down from the starboard and landed onto the deck of Arthur's ship.

"Lieutenant Vincent! Climb up here by yourself! Leave all weapons on your ship or else you will be treated as a hostile!" Arthur immediately complied, stripping off his sword and armor before climbing up the ladder. He hopped onto the supply ship with a smooth, professional motion as a demonstration of his strength.

He was immediately pounced by several men who began patting down his body, checking for anything remotely resembling a weapon. After confirming that there wasn't anything on his body, he was brought before the captain of the ship who stood at the top of the quarterdeck, overlooking the ordeal.

The captain of the ship was a man in his late forties. He had a scruffy beard that was brown but in the middle of its transition to grey. His hair was short, grey above his ears and nowhere else on his head. His gaze was obviously suspicious. As he spoke to Arthur, he was constantly assessing any possibility of being lied to. Arthur could immediately tell he was not dealing with a gullible man.

"Lieutenant Vincent was it? Do you have proof of your identity and your claims?" Arthur nodded and grasped the cuff of his jacket, carefully pulling it back to reveal the inside of the jacket without provoking caution from the jumpy crewmen. On the inside of his jacket was a pocket holding a single letter. He carefully retrieved the letter and presented it to the Captain.

The captain opened it and skimmed it.

"Mm. This is certainly the seal of Commander Najasho. In this letter, it mentions that you and thirty men are supposed to escort our shipment to our destination, but I was informed that only ten of your men was spotted on your deck." He inquired with suspicion.

"General Alexander only informed me that Commander Najasho suspected that there may be enemies attempting to sabotage this shipment. It turned out that the Commander was right on with his predictions. On our way here, we were ambushed multiple times. We managed to kill off all assassins that attacked, but suffered twenty casualties." Arthur reported with a realistic hint of anger and sadness. The captain narrowed his eyes, assessing Arthur's sincerity. Under that gaze, even professional spies would undoubtedly begin feeling nervous. With nervousness comes holes in his or her facade, a fatal blow to any cover. Arthur knew that too well. He would not make that mistake. After a minute, the captain nodded.

"Very well, I shall believe your story. There must be a reason why you have waited all the way out here for us." Arthur suppressed a smirk and nodded with an extremely serious and cautious expression.

"Commander Najasho himself handed us an order just before we departed. You are to change course to the North. Fifteen miles away, there is a small peninsula that is connected to the mainland. A small army is waiting for us Northwest of the enemy capital. Commander Najasho will draw the attention of the enemy and keep it in the south and we will attack the enemy capital with this shipment." The captain frowned and habitually stroked his beard. He then raised an eyebrow at Arthur.

"This shipment? We aren't carrying anything special, only foods and medical supplies." Arthur's eyes widened outwardly, but inwardly, he scoffed. The captain was rather clever, lying about the contents of the cargo to test him. If Arthur knew anything about the trebuchets, he would naturally react differently.

"W-what?" He stuttered. "We've been continuously attacking the enemy capital for a year now but have been unable to breach their wall! When commander Najasho sent me to escort this shipment to a smaller army before leading an assault on the capital, I thought for sure there was something here that would help us with it!" He exclaimed. He looked so distressed and confused that the captain was a bit taken aback.

"Did you not know what our cargo was?" The captain asked. Arthur shook his head before sighing.

"No matter… My orders were to direct you North to the peninsula. I was originally supposed to lead you there, but since I suspect that our movements were being watched by enemy assassins, I believe that I best return to the port so that they wouldn't become suspicious. As for what we'll do when we meet up with the army… sigh… I'll just have to do what I can." Arthur said dejectedly. With that, he saluted and walked towards the starboard, climbed down the rope ladder, and disappeared into his own ship.

After he was out of earshot, a crew member approached the captain and whispered.

"Sir, should we follow his orders?" The captain stared at the letter in his hands for a moment before responding.

"Yes. In this letter, it explicitly said that the escorts were not informed of the contents of our ships. This letter shows no signs of being opened beforehand. The enemy wouldn't foolishly attack a random shipment. Therefore, we can deduce that they would've known that we were delivering siege weaponry. Since that man did not know, he was genuine. Immediately send signals to the other ships. We are changing course and heading North on the double. I want us on land before it becomes pitch black outside." He ordered.

Arthur watched from his ship which was slowly drifting towards the port as the shipment of Trebuchets changed their direction and began heading immediately North. He shook his head, unable to believe how smoothly it all went.

"What a fearsome child…" He mumbled. He turned to his crew. "Full speed ahead! Once we get back to the port town, pack your items immediately. We will head home after one last voyage tomorrow!"

---

The ten ships headed north at a whopping ten knots per hour. An hour and a half later, under dark navy sky dimly lit by the rising moon, the captain spotted land. He ordered the ships to maintain speed and prepare for docking.

But in the dark of the night, the land approached like a silent killer, hidden by the waves and the shadows. Without a warning, the flagship was struck by tremors that threw the crew onto their backs and sides. Shouts of panic and confusion filled the air. Soon, ear rupturing sounds of wood scraping against rocks and the cracking and snapping of wood joined the shouts to really drive in the panic.

The captain angrily shouted at his crew to calm down and assess the situation, but felt the ship tipping unnaturally to the side. His men panicked, thinking that the ship was sinking, and one by one jumped into the sea to save themselves.

Several died as their necks snapped on the stones that laid inches beneath the black waves, others broke their legs and arms, and others found themselves with head-splitting concussions.

The ships tipped to the side but did not fall over. The captain quickly realized their situation.

Their ships were beached. He ordered the remaining men, which amounted to less than five, to quickly grab the ladders and climb down to assess the situation.

The remaining crew climbed down and collected those who survived their fall from ten meters high. Of the 100 crew members spread across the ten ships, only 32 were uninjured. Of the remaining 68, 16 were dead, and the others were crippled.

The captain gathered the uninjured men and attempted to push the flagship back out to sea, but found it to be impossible. The land beneath their feet was loose sand, no matter how hard they tried to push, the only found themselves sliding back. The ships that crashed into the beach at 10 knots were almost completely on land. Soon, they gave up.

They decided that leaving by boat was synonymous to impossible and decided to rest until morning and then heading east to meet up with the army. They would leave the trebuchets here and come back later with more men to retrieve them.

When morning came, they realized just how naive they were.

This wasn't it a peninsula, but an island. Not only that, but a deserted island with little to no proper soil. It was more or less a huge rock. There were a few trees growing haphazardly, but no signs of wildlife nor any edible berries or vegetation. As they looked out from the shore of the island, they saw multiple other land formation, each around five hundred meters away.

The captain immediately sent their best swimmers to scout out the land and report back before twilight. He had the remaining men gather any and all supplies from the ships.

Counting it all, it was only enough to last them for another three days. Two weeks if they ate sparingly. Maybe a month if they abandoned the injured.

They passed out the rations and tried one more time to push the ships out to sea, but once again, they realized that it was impossible.

A few hours after noon, a ship appeared from the edge of the horizon. The stranded group cheered, recognizing the Imperial Flag that waved proudly above the ship. They shouted and waved, hoping to catch the ships attention, and surely enough, the ship drew near.

Flaming arrows, a few at a time, drew red arcs through the sky, mercilessly setting their ships and hopes on fire. The ships would burn until the dawn of the next morning and the ashes disappeared into the sea.

Twilight came and none of the soldiers he sent came back. The captain despaired.

A week went by. The captain ordered for small rafts to be crafted from the scraps they salvaged from the parts of the ship that had failed to burn so that they may try and escape. They waited for the day when the wind would be in their favor and carry them East.

Two weeks went by. Finally, the wind blew east and everyone boarded their raft and began sailing east. But for some reason, they weren't going anywhere. The wind was certainly moving them, but the water was moving them back.

The current of around the island flowed towards the islands. It was weak, not enough to move a larger ship, but for small rafts with only half a dozen men aboard, moving only by the power of the wind, the current was equivalent to an insurmountable wall.

Three weeks went by. The crew decided that the sick and injured were worth feeding. A huge brawl broke out between the injured and the healthy. The healthy won, but not before being injured.

Four weeks went by. The crew has reached the limit of their starvation. The captain fears that they may begin attacking each other. That night, he died when three of his subordinates attacked him in his sleep.

The rest of the story was lost to history.

---

Inside the meeting tent of the relocated main camp of the Imperial army, not a single person dared to open their mouths. The base, which used to be directly west of the Archanean capital, was shifted south to better cover the new territory they have captured after the Archanean army retreated across the river.

Though it should've been a huge victory for the Imperial army, not a single leader inside the meeting tent felt that they were victorious. The reason being the shipment of siege weapons that should've arrived a week wasn't here yet. Several letters have been sent to the port town to confirm the situation, but each time the same response returned.

The thirty men that have been sent as escorts are still waiting in the city. The shipment has not arrived.

Najasho accepted this report at first, but after the third day, he started having doubts. He immediately sent out a large group of one hundred men to investigate.

As a result…

Captain Monopoly knelt right by the entrance flaps of the tent, drenched from head to toe in his own sweat. His eyes were wide open, staring right at the withering grass beneath him. His body shook in periodic tremors and his heartbeat was dimly audible to the others in the tent. None felt sympathy for him.

"Why don't you say that again?" Najasho asked with eyes that seem like they were looking at a pile of dog turd. His voice dripped with malice. A calm, deadly malice.

"W-w-we received a group of ten soldiers you sent l-led by Lieutenant Vincent. H-he claimed to be escorts for the incoming shipment so we showed them hospitality. They went out to sea every morning and came back at night. B-but a week ago, he and his group disappeared. We sent people to find them, but they were no longer in the city nor anywhere near it. It wasn't my fault! I didn't do anything!" He pleaded in a voice bordering hysteria. Najasho eyes narrowed dangerously.

"And so you sent me false reports." A wave of killing intent washed over Monopoly like an arctic title wave. It was cold. So very cold. His body shivered and his teeth chattered.

"I-I-i-I-I…" He stuttered desperately to excuse himself, but he couldn't even think straight under the pressure, much less think of an excuse.

"Get rid of him." Najasho said leaving no room for debate. Immediately responding to his commander, the tent flaps were thrown open and two fully armed soldiers walked in and dragged Monopoly out. No one ever saw him again.

Green slammed his fist onto the surface of the table and clenched his teeth.

"They got us." He stated bitterly. Poney was very lost. She had no clue what was going on.

"They got us? How?" She asked.

"They must've known we'd send escorts and ambushed them on their way there. Then, under the guise of escorts, they intercepted the shipment and escaped." Green said while holding his head. He then glanced at Najasho. "The army they sent south was to divert our attention. They made us think we covered our bases, but took advantage of our measures to complete their objective." Green closed his eyes and felt a chill go down his spine.

He felt as if a pair of eyes were peering right into his mind, reading his thoughts like an open book. Using his own logic against him, the enemy defeated them on every front. To think they'd send their Princess, the ruler of their country, out onto the battlefield as a diversion. Is the enemy tactician even human?

"Immediately request another shipment of trebuchets to be prepared. Their tricks worked once, but it won't work a second time. They only delayed the inevitable." Najasho commanded. General Alexander stood up immediately and saluted, wanting to leave the tent as quickly as possible. The men he sent were his elites and they failed miserably, he had to get out before the blame falls on him. He rushed out of the tent and went to send the message.

"Should we try and intercept the enemy before they return to their capital?" A general suggested. Najasho scoffed and leaned back in his chair.

"They're long gone. Shut up and sit back down"

---

Hayami was busy in her tent filling out paperwork. Her pen scribbled across pages upon pages, filling in numbers and signing budgets. As soon as one was done, she threw it into a box that was right beside her desk and began working on a different sheet. She took a sip of her tea and looked up at the ceiling, resting her eyes for a moment without stopping her pen.

"Refill please." She asked politely.

"Sure." Morgan responded. She pushed herself up from her sitting posture and set down the book she was reading in the corner of the tent before making her way to the tea pot near the map table. She grabbed Hayami's cup and filled it before setting it on her desk again.

"Thank you."

A soldier walked in quietly, picked up the filled box, and backed out with a quick salute. Hayami's hand stopped at the new page. She leaned back and picked the sheet up, reading it quickly and quietly. With a nod after she was done, she signed it and chucked it into a new box Morgan had prepared.

Just as Morgan was about to go back into her corner, the tent flaps opened again and in walked Arthur. Hayami, who didn't even bother looking up when the soldier entered the tent, raised her head when she sensed Arthur's presence.

"Shishou! Welcome back! Thanks for the hard work!" Hayami exclaimed happily without stopping her hand from scribbling her signature. She threw the page into the box and leaned forward.

"You're saying that like you know I was successful. I can fail too you know?" Arthur said with a smile. Hayami giggled and shook her head.

"A task as simple as identity theft and sabotage is at most a walk in the park for you isn't it?"

"Those expectations are heavy. It would've been much more difficult if not for your intricate plans."

"Ah, so I take it the mission was successful?" Morgan confirmed. Arthur nodded.

"Yeah. The enemy crashed right into the shore in the dead of night and was stranded. The next day, we burned their ships down. They won't be receiving this shipment. But I doubt they'll just give up." Arthur reported quickly.

"You're right. The enemy won't hesitate to request a second shipment, and this time, intercepting it will be much more difficult. We have to either end the war by then or retake the port. Neither of which are probable in our current situation." Morgan said.

Hayami clasped her hands together and rested her mouth against it. Her teachers were correct. This mission was only a temporary countermeasure. The next one won't be easy to avoid, and the one after that will be even more difficult. At present, Archana can only hold the Empire in a stalemate.

To be honest, she's been racking her brain for months on end, trying to find a path victory. But once they leave the walls, they enter a situation where their troops are at a deficit in both quantity and quality. The battlefield would be on the grasslands where numbers equal victory.

At this rate. They'll last another year at the longest. If she can't find a way out then it'll be her lost.

She can't let that happen. She must find a way.

Arthur watched Hayami enter the trance that signaled an internal struggle. It was a bad habit of hers that she developed in recent years. Though it didn't appear often, it only appeared when she was at her wit's end. He stepped around the desk and rested a palm on her right shoulder.

Hayami snapped out of her trance and tilted her head to look upwards at Arthur.

"Hayami. Don't try to bear the burden of victory and loss on your own. As the tactician, you are responsible for the army's actions and consequences. But you have to understand that you do not have to shoulder that alone." Arthur said. Hayami stared dumbly at him. Morgan also stood up and ran over to her desk, slamming her palms onto it, knocking over the large piles of paperwork.

"That's right! I haven't retired yet so how about relying on me?! I've been sitting here this whole time waiting for you to consult me but you just stayed silent!" She exclaimed amidst the storm of falling papers and spilled ink. Arthur chuckled at the childish behavior of his fellow teacher.

"Her Majesty the princess, Morgan, Mark, me and even Aaron. You can rely on all of us. If you have trouble coming up with ideas, we can help you. You are the army's leader, but not the army's everything. Understand?" He asked. Hayami turned her eyes to the pouting Morgan and smiled lightly. What a stubborn idiot she was.

"Morgan-sensei, you made a mess again." Morgan froze and a sheepish smile appeared on her face. She began diligently picking up the scattered sheets from off the floor.

"Thank you Shishou." Hayami said quietly. Arthur smirked.

"There are also two others you can turn to for help. As long as you ask, they'll definitely come." Hayami's eyes widened as images of her two close companions floated to the surface of her consciousness.

"But…" How could she do that? They each had their own parts to play. How could she pull them away to clean up after her? Arthur knew she would hesitate, but he only said two words.

"Trust them." Hayami saw a vision. An image created inside her mind that looked vividly real. Inside the whiteness of her mind, they turned to her. Yoshiro gave her a grin and a thumbs up. Tatsumi smirked and looked at her with expectations. She stared at them with surprise, but slowly smiled.

"Alright." Hayami reached for her pen and grabbed a blank sheet of paper. She slowly and neatly wrote a short message and isolated it from the blank areas by ripping it off. Shishou saw what she wrote and smiled warmly.

She stared for a moment at the message she wrote. She still felt hesitant, but knew that this was the right thing to do. She stepped out of her tent and brought her hand to her mouth. A loud, screeching whistle rang through the air. Moments later, a shadow descended down and landed on her outstretched arm. The bird-like danger beast pecked at its own feathers as Hayami opened up the small capsule attached to its leg and inserted the rolled up message.

She brushed the creature a few times gently and whispered a name before pushing it up into the air. As it disappeared off into the horizon, she whispered.

"It seems we'll see each other earlier than expected. Sorry, my friends."

The war in the East was approaching its end.