The End Of Falsehood

by Bisel13

The Saderan Empire has grown into a major powerhouse across the Falmart continent. Yet, their achievement had made them become arrogant and destructive. The Gods cannot sit idly and let the Empire do whatever their wish. And so, they agreed to unleash their authority to punish the Empire. They would give the Empire, an enemy beyond imagination.

11. Chapter 10: Blessing Of Curse

Chapter 10: The Blessing Of Curse

Before we continue the story, please check out these links. It will be pretty important because these are the illustrations that I used for the Grey Numbers Corp armaments.

Tank: shimmering-sword/art/Commission-Goliath-Tank-597664789. Credit to Shimmering-Sword as the original creator. The picture was taken from the DeviantArt website. Fun fact, the illustration of Magic Tank in the original series is similar to this, but the color is vague.

Armor: . /EAmCsB9yfeZEHZLG8. Credit to Desa Madiredo as the original creator. The picture was taken from the Playground AI website.

War Golem/Siege Walkers: avmodels/art/Starcraft-2-UED-Odin-725601074. Credit to AVModels as the illustrator. Originally an "Odin" from the Starcraft 2 game. The picture was taken from the DeviantArt website.

Saare's battle gear: /post/clo2lpigt00t6s6014cgtfsj1. Credit to zlj 454 as the original creator. The picture was taken from Playground AI.

Glenda's battle gear: . /MFWGsEfNQVbVBNzD8. I don't know who's the one drawing this, but the actual credit is also included for the Starcraft 2 game since it's originally Sarah Kerrigan's appearance.

That's it for now. Enjoy the new chapter.

…

Bozes Co Palesti's POV

I left Princess Pina in Her Holiness Rory's care. I couldn't think of anything else at that time, and I just managed to say "Please take care of Her Highness".

Thinking about it, it feels sinful somehow, to order an apostle with my status. But I don't have any other choice either. My mind is full of concern toward Her Highness Pina, and I feel helpless in this situation.

I ran downstairs as fast as I could. I need to take command of the troops. Even though, I too was in a state of confusion. I almost have no idea what should I do. I only knew, what I had to do right now, was to get my troop's attention.

I ran to the bottom part of the fort. I don't even realize many people have hit me along the way. Many people, which I don't remember who they were, were running upstairs. I just realized it after I reached the bottom part of the stairs.

As I arrived, I could feel the hot temperature stinging my body. I hastily turned around and realized I was standing near the fire. Something is burning nearby, and I don't know what it is.

I looked around again. The darkness from the nighttime has gone completely. The light from the fires illuminated the whole part of the fort. I could see the fort's walls still standing around me, and many of the troops were running chaotically around.

Some are trying to be in order, as I saw some climbing using the stairs to the upper part of the walls while carrying a bow and a bag of arrows. Some other soldiers were equipping themselves with armor and swords.

But as I started to grasp the whole situation, I also became aware of the loud sound of the screaming soldiers.

"Help!"

"Please… my hand…"

"I'm stuck, help!"

"No! My hand!"

All the cries are coming from everywhere. I looked to the right, and I saw a man lying down while screaming in pain as he held his burned arm. I looked to the left, and I saw a man struggling to drag himself to the nearby wall while holding his amputated leg, leaving a trail of thick blood.

A sudden disgusting ooze filled the air around me. I don't know what kind of smell it is. But it's like the smell of raw meat stuck to your nose, and the air suddenly becomes thick and hard to breathe.

I can't describe the feeling when I saw those… things. But one thing for certain is I need to give everything I have to hold down from vomiting.

My vision starting to blur, and I can't even feel my body. My leg suddenly trembled, and I couldn't even keep my position from collapsing.

But, all of sudden, someone is shouting my name.

"Bozes!"

I managed to temporarily relieve the nauseous feeling because of the sudden call. I looked up and saw my friend Beefeater running toward me.

"Bozes!"

I could feel a grip on my right arm, keeping me from collapsing. I managed to keep standing with the help of Beefeater, and I put both of my hands on my knee for a while. I started to cough, almost vomiting. But after a while, I managed to hold it down.

"Bozes! Are you allright?!"

I could feel Beefeater's hand on my back, while her face was down looking at me with concern but also a confused expression.

"I… *cough *cough, I'm okay." I used every ounce of strength I had left to stand firmly while looking at her eye-to-eye.

"You sure?! Your face is white as dead!"

I honestly wondered how she could look okay in this situation. As embarrassing as it is, this is my first time seeing a human in those kinds of states. I couldn't help but lose a lot of strength by seeing it alone.

"It's just my first time seeing this. I can't help it. Sorry."

Beefeater's expression softened as she spoke. "I can see why this is difficult for you. It's okay to feel overwhelmed. But we have a job to do, and I believe in us. Suissesse is already taking charge of the defenders on the upper walls, and Panache is gathering the cavalry unit. Let's work together to defend this fort. I'll handle the defensive engine, and I'm here for you as you take care of the front gate. We can do this, one step at a time."

"But how about these-" I intended to point out the wounded soldiers, but Beefeater cut me immediately.

"Someone else is going to take care of it! What matters the most right now is to defend our position from these cowardly enemies!"

I tightened my lip and felt like a fool for worrying about such a trivial thing at this critical moment.

"Yes! I'll go straight away!"

"Good! I hope we can see each other again later!"

"May Emroy with you, Beefeater!"

We nodded to each other before rushing to our respective places.

I ran towards the destroyed front gate. I unsheathed my sword and raised it along the way. I intercepted every soldier passing me and ordered them to come to the front gate. I shouted order as loud as I could. I gathered everyone I could take to the front gate, no matter if they were the militia or the legionnaires.

Many of them seem to be shivering in fear, especially the militia. It was difficult to show bravery when I too felt an immense fear upon thinking about what kind of enemy could blow up our front gate in a single explosion.

But when I arrived at the destroyed front gate along with any soldiers I could bring, I saw someone who made me feel confused. She stands on the rubble of the destroyed gate.

I didn't think of anything at that moment, I even abandoned the soldiers that I brought upon. Because of this, I didn't think twice when I shouted to call her, then ran towards her side.

"Your Holiness!"

She immediately turns her head toward me, but her expression remains the same. She then turned her head again back to the front. She doesn't look bothered, but I can see she's focused on something.

I look forward to the outside of the fort, toward the Gate.

And I saw what she was looking at.

The Gate. The main problem of our situation this whole time had been visible by the white with yellowish light surrounding it. I could almost see it clearly as a day. That tall and wide godly structure stood out from anything I could see in front of me.

However, as much as the Gate has been the cause of the sore eyes, something that stood in front of it was the ones who brought the horror.

10 giant metal-looking creatures, with massive hands and weird backs, had stood out in front of the Gate. Even without knowing what they were, I could already figure out which one was the head.

The light was behind them so I couldn't see their colors.

But it doesn't matter. Whatever they are, I never saw anything bigger than that in all my life.

I stood there, standing still while looking at those metallic giants with confusion and fear.

H-How am I going to face it? I-I should stand against that?!

My internal thoughts screaming, begging me to find the answer that I already know.

I looked around at my troops, they all trembled while holding their shield up. Yet, no one spoke any words. I could hear some mumbles and prayers, but that's all I could hear from them.

The rest were eerily silent.

I don't know what to do. But I have to know so I can do something.

With little hope, I approach Her Holiness.

"Your Holiness?"

"I know Bozes, you're afraid. In fact, I'm not sure either what should I do."

She replied without any waste of time, unlike before. But she still not looking at me, but at those metallic giants.

I spontaneously made a small gasp after hearing that. Our Apostle, the said to be the strongest being in the whole world, saying that she has no idea about what to do against these creatures from the otherworld.

Just… Just what kind of world we step into?!

"Bozes, please organize our defenses here. The situation is uncertain, and I can't predict what will happen next. The explosion stopped, and I don't see any enemy activity, but their skills surpass ours."

"What? Not even one soldier from the enemy?"

It's impossible. It's entirely impossible if there's no enemy soldier in front of us. No way. There's no way those creatures are moving on their own.

But… Her Holiness just said so, her words are the most absolute after our Gods. Yet, I can't bring myself to believe such nonsense.

"I know it sounds impossible. But believe me, I didn't sense any living being from that Gate. I don't see one living creature, no, I don't even sense any movement from there."

"T-Then, how those explosions..."

I cannot bring myself to finish the sentence as I tremble at the thought of the unimaginable capabilities possessed by our unknown enemies.

But Her Holiness strangely responded with a chuckle, before saying "They really are the expert of hiding. It's such a cowardly move to hide in a battle amongst warriors," then she moved her halberd to her right hand, readying it then continued "I wouldn't let myself lose against these kinds of the foe."

"R-Right... Yes, they are nothing more than just a coward."

Strangely, after the last words from Her Holiness, I felt a little bit calmer.

Yes, she's right. The enemy is such a coward. Hiding themselves while attacking. They are striking without any prior notice. And now, they hiding. Probably they were still behind that Gate. Cowering themselves upon our mighty presence.

Then, I as well, cannot be lost against these cowards.

They might be able to strike with a powerful explosion and possess a giant metallic creature.

But if they no warrior, they should be running away upon facing our gallant charge.

Gripping my sword, I steeled myself to face the unknown enemy.

"Now that's a proper face. A warrior shouldn't cower in fear, they should conquer it."

"Yes, indeed. Thank you, Your Holiness."

Her Holiness flashed me a smile and exclaimed, "Go and prepare your defenders!" with the utmost confidence.

"Yes! Right awa-"

But before I could finish my sentence, something happened.

I felt my eyes burn in an instant. It all happened so suddenly that I couldn't understand what was going on.

I was enveloped in a sudden and intense explosion of blinding light that seemed to originate from right in front of me. The brilliance of the light was so intense that it left a lingering afterimage in my vision, and for a moment, I was disoriented and unsure of my surroundings.

It feels so brief yet so long. I couldn't see anything as my eyes were still shut because of that sudden bright light.

Slowly, I found my strength back and I could open my eyes again.

But once I opened my eyes, the earlier spirit I had gained from Her Holiness was sunk immediately.

As I looked out at the vast plain before me, I was struck by the sight that lay before me. Spread out as far as the eye could see were thousands of soldiers, clad in heavy armor that shone in the moonlight that filtered through the clouds hanging low in the sky over Alnus Hill. Their helmets glinted in the dim light, and the sound of their weapons and armor clinking and clanking softly echoed in the night air. The tension was palpable, and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the army that lay before me. Clearly, these were no ordinary soldiers - they were trained warriors, ready to fight and die for their cause.

These enemy warriors were lined up in perfectly horizontal lines, showing great discipline and unison. I could see they wielded long spears and long swords on their waist, still sheathed. They raise their pentagonal-shaped shield while standing there intimidately.

It was chaotic as well. I couldn't decide what was on my mind. Whether I felt scared, stunned, or admiring how marvelous the sight was upon me.

Boz…

Boze…

Bozes…

Bozes!

"Bozes!"

"Huh?!"

I felt like I was awakened from a deep sleep as I looked upon Her Holiness shouting my name. Her hand also shook my shoulders valiantly, and the scary part was I didn't feel it at all.

"Bozes! Get a hold of yourself already!"

"Y-Yes?"

"Tch!"

I could see Her Holiness's face become frustrated, yet I didn't feel anything at all upon seeing her expression. I don't even know what I'm feeling right now.

But then,

*Slap

I felt a sting of pain on my left cheek. The pain is strangely very hurtful, as I can feel some blood flowing out from my nose.

But because of it, my mind had stopped thinking nonsense. And my vision became clear once again.

"Bozes! Come on! Can you hear me?!"

I hear it. I could hear Her Holiness's voice. It's clear as day now.

"Yes, Your Holiness."

I manage to firm my posture and ignore all the scary thoughts. Not even the pain on my cheek could make me lose the focus right now.

"Good. Finally. *Sigh."

"Your Holiness…"

"Yes, yes… I know. But as I said, our enemies are beyond our level. At least, for now, they stopped hiding themselves."

I could see Her Holiness's face become so exhausted, yet at the same time, I could hear some relief tone in her voice.

But I have to say something. I don't know what it is, but-

{We're not hiding. We just haven't shown ourselves yet.}

Suddenly a voice rang inside my head. A sharp male voice. Almost a bit squeaky voice. But the fact that this voice came directly into my head, it's suddenly made my mind in chaos once again.

For the first time since a while ago, I look at my troops behind me.

They all looked at each other in confusion.

"Is that you?"

"No! Maybe him?!"

"No way!"

"Then who's voice is that?!"

"Oy! Quit joking around! Don't be funny right now!"

"But I didn't say anything!"

"Then who's voice is that?!"

"I don't know!"

These arguments grow and grow in just a few seconds. But it seems they didn't notice the important part.

The voice originated from within our heads. I was quick to comprehend it, but I didn't feel a sense of pride. Rather, I was overwhelmed with terror.

I spontaneously look at Her Holiness, who also seems to be in a quite messy expression.

"Y-Your Holiness… That voice…"

"I heard it, Bozes. It's come inside our head."

"… What is this…"

"… I don't know either."

We looked at each other for a brief moment before she averted her gaze once again to the front, watching the magnificent sight of thousands of enemy warriors.

"It must be them." She continued.

"But, how-"

{Listen carefully, I can hear each one of you. However, this voice does not originate from any one of you.}

I froze once again upon hearing that voice again. I can't even comprehend what kind of tone is that. It doesn't feel intimidating, yet it feels overwhelmingly scary.

{I won't tell you how, but this is my voice coming through your heads.}

"Impossible…" I can hear Her Holiness mumbling, but I have no energy to respond as I focus more on this mysterious voice.

But my focus was broken again by a shout from the parapet's wall.

"Someone is coming!"

"On guards!"

Both I and Her Holiness immediately walk several steps forward to see what's going on.

As I took several steps, I could see one person walking alone toward us.

He looks rather short than the other soldiers behind him, but his armors look much more magnificent.

The warrior was garbed in a resplendent suit of armor, with a gleaming silver hue that reflected the light around him. Golden embellishments adorned the armor, adding an air of nobility and grandeur to his appearance. At the joints and other areas where the steel armor did not cover, there were intricate blue accents that provided a striking contrast against the silver and gold.

It was not difficult to figure out that he was the leader of this magnificent army.

{To all Saderan warriors, I request that your leader meet with me. I have been sent to offer a chance for a peaceful resolution before the situation turns violent. Your leader and I must have a brief discussion to avoid any unnecessary carnage.}

I kept looking at him, some part of me wondered what he looked like while the other part of me was thinking what was he talking about?

Unnecessary carnage? Peaceful resolution?

What does that mean?! How can he say something like that after mysteriously blowing up most parts of our fort?!

"I better go." Suddenly, Her Holiness declared something I didn't predict at all.

"Your Holiness! But you-"

"I'm not going alone. I will accompany Pina to meet with him."

"I-I see… Then, I probably should join you two."

"Leave that to Pina to decide. For now, let's go. We have to go to Pina's position."

I nodded. Completely abandoning the troops behind me. But, if the enemy seeks to have a talk, they should not be attacking us right now.

I suddenly became naïve and hoped they would have the honor to do that at least.

And so, together with Her Holiness, we walk toward the second level of defense where Princess Pina is located.

Bozes Co Palesti's POV Ended.

…

In Pina's room, every elite knight from the Rose Order Of Knights and another group representative such as the militia, sorcerers, beast tamers, and mercenaries had gathered in one single room.

"What should we do, Your Highness?" asked Panache to Pina.

"It shouldn't be a question. I'll go meet with him."

"Are you seriously would do that, Your Highness? Don't you think it might be a trap?" Beefeater responded.

"Suissesse said he came forward alone, didn't he? I should do the same to honor him."

"But they have blown up some part of our fort, in a dishonorable way. Why should we honor them now, Your Highness?" asked Grey.

"Because they have shown themselves this time and their leader had come alone to meet me. As the loyal subject of the Empire, I should honor a fellow warrior." Pina answered.

Her tone might be firm, but her body didn't seem to cooperate as she trembling. Is it because of fear or nervousness, nobody knows. Not even Pina herself.

"I'll come with you."

Suddenly, Rory made a statement. Judging from her tone, it doesn't sound like she was asking. She had already decided, that she had to come to her no matter what.

Everyone present in the room immediately looked at her, mostly with a confused look.

Pina can't get a hold of herself to say something, which eventually leads to another figure speaking.

"Me too, Your Highness. I request to join you."

Bozes, now in a better state, also declared that she would join Pina in the talks with the enemy leader.

However, unlike Rory, Pina could immediately decide what to do with Bozes. Not even a second had passed, and Pina answered.

"No."

"Why, Your Highness?" Bozes asked back.

"You're my vice leader, the second-in-command of the whole Order. If something happened to me, then you're going to replace me."

"And that's just adding more reason for you not to come to meet him, Your Highness. I think sending Bozes over to substitute you is a good option." Suddenly, Grey interjected.

That statement sparked a new argument. Which to Pina's displeasure.

Pina actually felt scared for her life as well. She didn't know what kind of trick the enemy could use. Even she also thought that the meeting with the leader could be just a trap to lure her out. But as the head of the Order, she felt obligated to show herself as the leader.

Not just in name, but in the heart too.

Strangely, in this argument, her own knights are against her to fulfill that goal. Instead, she was supported by other representatives. Although not in the way she had hoped.

"The real leader here is Princess Pina. How can she be substituted? You all preached about honor and courage, if the so-called Princess is our real leader, she should have gone herself. Alone."

A muscular Volralden named Wolf speaks up, with both of his hands folded on his chest.

This statement had made Hamilton instantly lashed out.

"Are you crazy?! Sending our Princess to the enemy's hand is absolutely unforgivable for us Knights. Know your place, mercenary!"

However, Wolf didn't back down. Instead, he counters it. "Then the whole time you guys are preaching about fighting with honor is just bullshit. Look at yourself, Princess. You're pale like a ghost. If you're so scared, then let me meet with the enemy leader. Of course, with an extra charge of rewards for me though."

That statement had gone a bit too far. The other knights immediately drew their swords and pointed at him. However, Wolf is unflinching.

"Watch your words, mercenary! Or I'll cut your head off!" Beefeater threatened him with her sword pointed at his neck.

"Take your words back, you savage!" Grey also did the same.

The other knights also pointed their swords toward the Volralden. But again, Wolf didn't budge a little.

Pina couldn't do anything at the sight in front of her, albeit she desperately wanted to defuse the tension as she saw the point of Wolf's words. But for some reason, seeing her own knights had taken a step closer to violence, giving her a sense of shock and disbelief at how fast a situation could turn at any moment.

However, some fortune is still on Pina's side.

*Brack

The sound of broken wood echoed around the room. That sound had successfully drawn everyone's attention.

As they find the source, they all reluctantly calm down as they just see Rory destroy a chair with her bare fist.

"This is getting us nowhere. Princess, go make your decision right now. I'm still requesting to join you, but the decision is on you. Hurry up, or we will make the enemy wait much longer with such a dishonorable display."

Rory's firm posture and domineering aura had successfully calmed down the whole situation. This also allows Pina to finally focus on the problem.

However, not even a minute passed, and Pina already made an answer.

And her answer is simple.

"I'll go alone."

…

Saare had been waiting for quite a time. He has stopped the [Thought Communication] with the Saderans that has been shared by Saika, so now he has no idea what's going on in the Saderan fort.

For now, everything is according to his plan.

He wants to instill fear in Saderan's ranks, and purposefully show his army's strength with some unnecessary display.

He ordered the artillery unit to give a precisive shot at some visible parts of the fort even before he requested a brief meeting with their leader. This is because Saare wanted to show how his army could effortlessly destroy anything the Saderan had prepared for defenses.

He also deployed his Siege Walkers to the scene to scare off the Saderans at the size of these war golems. Albeit, he never really intentionally used it, for now.

And recently, he just casually teleported his 15.000 troops with a new teleportation device that could transport 1000 people at a time. He has a lot of quantity of this device back in the warehouse. The coordinate for the teleportation had been prepared by Saika who already infiltrated the area long before Saare had set up his foot on this world. This is done because he wanted to show not just the sheer number of his retinue at his disposal, but also how he could deploy his troops. Hopefully, this would show how much advanced his arsenal to the Saderans.

All of this was done for a single purpose.

The surrender of the Saderans.

He didn't want to shed unnecessary blood, especially in this case. Because no matter how you look at it, Saare and his troops were the aggressors. Everybody knows that invading other nations was always equivalent to the bad guys.

Although this invasion has its own justification, Saare didn't want to recklessly throw any kind of soul when he could avoid it.

The initial shots from the artillery were carefully calculated. He ordered to find an important part of the fort where there was a small number of troops guarding it. This is done to avoid a high casualty from the Saderans, albeit it would still cause some.

And Saare already thought about it and used it for further steps in making the Saderans surrender peacefully.

But to reach that part, he needs to have a talk with the enemy's leader, who he expects to be Princess Pina.

And his expectation wasn't missed.

After around half an hour, he saw a single horse gallop at his position. And with his [Magic Sense], he could instantly notice who the rider was.

It didn't take a long time before eventually the horse stopped several meters in front of him.

Then, the rider dismounted from his horse, in an unexpectedly bumbling manner.

Saare didn't waste any time, and before even the rider had reached a proper position to face him, Saare already greeted her.

"It took you long enough, Your Highness Pina Co Lada."

The rider, which is Pina, immediately stops her walk as she can't hide her surprise upon knowing that the enemy already knows her name. However, she immediately brushed it off as she realized that the enemy had a lot of tricks up their sleeves.

Pina immediately regained her composure, and then it was her turn to greet the mysterious warrior in front of her.

"It's rather unpleasant to be known by my enemies even before I met them. May I inquire who are you?"

Saare took his helmet off, then held it on his right. He intended to not hide anything in front of Pina—especially his face.

"My name is Saare. I'm the overall commander of the Enlightenment Task Force of the Jura Tempest Federation. You may say, it's equivalent to the general of the army that stands in front of you."

Pina tried to get everything she could from looking at the man's face. But she couldn't find anything. His face was somewhat foreign, and she never found a face anything like him before. Yet, his face emits an aura of a fierce fighter.

"My apologies, apart from your name and the fact that you're the general of this army, I couldn't understand the rest of your statement."

Saare chuckled.

"It would take a long time to explain everything to you right now, and I don't intend to do it at this time. However, one thing that is important to tell, the Jura Tempest Federation is the nation where we came from. And your kin, the Saderans, had intentionally attacked us a month ago."

Pina frowned upon hearing that. But something feels off.

"But, aren't you all humans? I heard we were defeated by a large group of monsters and demi-humans."

"Not with this army. The army behind me, we were all humans. But we live peacefully alongside every creature that exists in our world. Monsters, demi-humans, angels, even demons, we all live together in harmony."

Pina could have a breakdown at that very moment upon hearing the recent information she had received. But thankfully, Saare notices the change and immediately switches the topic.

"But that's irrelevant right now. What I intend to do here is to ask you to surrender peacefully. Surrender and become our prisoner. I'm here to give you a chance and time to rethink the choices I've given. Surrender, or fight."

Pina already knew this would come. But she never intended to surrender. However, her army right now is still in chaos. She needs to buy time to arrange her troops once again. Right now, her army is still tending to the casualties. It's fortunate, almost a miracle even, that there's nobody died. However, many of them were severely wounded.

Pina needs to keep the conversation flowing.

"And what would happen if we surrendered?"

"You'll be treated fairly. I promise that my people will never cause harm to your men."

"That's hard to believe. For instance, I never heard you speak about the Imperial soldiers who invaded you a month ago. How did you treat them?"

{Saare-sama, she's trying to buy time.} Saika, who's nowhere to be seen, is actually monitoring the whole conversation and analyzing every turn of events.

{I notice that. I shall end this façade since I too wanted to give her time. But not like this.}

{Yes, Saare-sama.}

"It seems you asked too much, Your Highness. Let me remind you, that I'm here only to give you a chance to surrender peacefully. I'm not here to satiate your curiosity. However," Saare turned his back and started to walk away slowly, giving Pina a brief panic since she thought she failed to buy time.

But he continued, "Sunrise. I'll give you the time until sunrise. Whether you would line up with all of your weapons and armor dismantled, or line up in formation for a battle. It's up to you."

"…What?" Pina was confused by the statement. Never in her best scenario that the enemy would give her such plenty of time. It's only about an hour past midnight. She could have almost half a day to reorganize her troops.

But it sounds too good to be true.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Your Highness. I gave you time until sunrise. If I didn't see you line up while dismantling your armaments, I'm going to storm the fort."

"… All right. You will have your answer when the sun rises, Saare-dono."

Saare stopped a moment, then turned her head toward Pina. His expression was some kind of playful.

"I forgot something, Your Highness."

Then Saare turns back again, then walks closer toward Pina while she keeps silent.

"I have a gift for you."

"A gift?" Pina puzzled.

"Yes, a gift. Also, as an apology for the initial attack. Now, let me make it up for you."

{Saika, call the trio to come here. Let's give some demonstration.}

{Understood. Right away, Saare-sama.}

"…Pardon?" Pina still couldn't understand what Saare meant.

"Let me show you something. Wait a moment."

Several seconds later, Pina could see 3 little girls walking toward their position. Those three carried 3 wooden boxes each, and they were quite large as well.

The first impression on Pina's mind after looking at those three was they were probably Saare's slaves. However, after they got closer, she could see the three of them were wearing combat outfits.

A combat slave? She thought in her mind.

More to that, between the three, only one of them seems like a human. The others were definitely a demi-human.

"Ah, thank you, you three. Please put the boxes here."

"' Right away! '"

Seeing the interaction, Pina felt confused again. This kind of interaction doesn't resemble any master-slave relation at all.

After the three had put the boxes in front of her, they stood beside Saare in a firm posture, much like well-trained knights.

"Now, Your Highness. This is the gift I have mentioned."

Saare walked up, opened the boxes and Pina could see dozens of large cylinder-shaped bottles with a strange light blue liquid inside them.

Pina had no idea what was that liquid. And she wondered what it was. However, before she could ask, Saare already explained it to her.

"This is Full-Potion. A special product from Jura Tempest Federation. It can heal any type of external wound, and with proper use, it could heal any kind of disease."

Saare lifts one of the bottles and shows it to Pina. At that moment, Saare could see hesitation and disbelief from Pina. Which according to his plan.

Without saying a word, Saare could understand what was inside Pina's mind. And with it, Saare intended to make a demonstration.

"Phos, Stella, come here a bit."

The human-looking girl and a demi-human who had thick tails and brown fur ears walk in front of Saare.

"Let's show Her Highness how this Full-Potion works."

"Um, who's gonna demonstrate it, Saare-sama?" asked Phos.

"Well, you two decide."

"I'll volunteer! Phos! Now cut my finger. Don't hesitate all right?"

"Eh? Ah okay. If you say so, Stella."

Phos unsheathed one of her daggers and readied it on her right hand. Pina couldn't utter a single word as she was too curious and didn't want to interrupt.

But what happened next shattered another common sense inside her mind.

"Ready? One, two, three!" Phos yelled.

*Slice

"Urgh," Stella winced a bit upon feeling a pain in her left palm.

Blood dripped from her chopped finger, as the rest of it was cut with perfect technique.

Pina was surprised at how effortlessly these two little girls hurt each other. And what's more, the human girl did it with her consent. Upon seeing the blood and the chopped finger, Pina spontaneously covers her mouth with both of her hands.

However, she saw the other girl who was a demi-human, immediately pour the light blue liquid into the upper limb of the human girl. And that's when the common sense was broken.

In an instant, the missing arm had grown back.

Pina's eyes widen out of disbelief.

Never in her entire life, she ever saw a limb that could grow back. She is always being taught that an injury could be dangerous during a fight because it takes a long time to recover. But now, not only an injury but an amputated finger could be healed in an instant!

"Thank you, Phos, Stella. Good job!"

Saare pats the heads of both girls.

"Anytime, Saare-sama."

"Yeah, this is no big deal."

Saare laughed a bit, then continued, "All right, go back to your station. You too Nemu, thanks for your help bringing these boxes."

"Yes, Saare-sama".

The three girls bowed respectfully toward Saare, then bid a farewell to Pina before eventually leaving the place.

Now Pina and Saare are the only ones left at the scene. Pina is still in the process of comprehending what just happened. The sight of the missing limb being able to grow back in an instant after being poured with… this full-potion liquid, is still somewhat too much to be understood.

But there it is. That's what really happened in front of her eyes.

"Now you could use this full potion on your wounded men. I'll give it to you for free since like I already said, it's a gift. One bottle of this could be used for 3-5 people at a time. As for how to use it, just pour it where the wound exists or drink it if you want."

"…Are you sure? Aren't these… a special product? Shouldn't it be expensive?"

Pina finally found a good question. However, it only caused Saare to chuckle.

"We have tons of these in our supply. These boxes here are merely dust from our total supply of full potion. You don't need to worry about us."

"…I see…"

"Well then, let's call an end of our brief meeting. Oh, I forgot one more thing. Tell your sorcerers that they can cast a spell again now. If they wondered what just happened before, tell them it is our doings."

Pina couldn't understand what have just Saare's saying, but she didn't want to ponder it more than she already had—this brief talk with Saare already breaking her mental state into pieces.

Saare wears back his helmet and walks back toward his troops. However, as for now, all the troops were following him toward the Gate. The enemies are retreating in perfect order.

They left Pina standing alone, still in confusion, before Grey and Hamilton rode out to her position once they saw the enemy had retreated.

It seems, an option for doing a battle, became less appealing as time passed.

…

The situation on the Saderan Empire's side had calmed down a little. All the legionnaires used this time to properly equip themselves since before they were completely taken by surprise so most of them didn't even properly wear the armor. On the other hand, the militia used this opportunity to take a breath after a moment of horrendous events.

Cavalry horses were also being prepared and were brought outside of the stable, prepared to deploy on a battle up ahead. The same thing also happened for the Wyverns as their riders had taken them into a take-off zone.

The monsters such as Ogres and Orcs were forced to line up outside the fort, anticipating the sudden attack from the enemy. At this time, the beast tamer's yell could be heard across the fort as they worked hard to control those monsters.

However, there are two distinct groups that behave differently from the rest.

The first one is the mercenaries.

The mercenaries groups were seen to gather around themselves and hold an informal discussion. There's no sign of them preparing for the upcoming battle. On the contrary, some of them seem to be preparing to leave.

There are a bunch of groups of mercenaries, and most of them are demi-humans such as Volralden, Centaurs, and Leonoids. However, right now, only the group of Volralden mercenaries still have the intention to stay. The rest are either reluctant or already decided to leave.

The mercenaries who are humans also did the same, albeit most of them have no intention to leave. But the talks over their chances of winning had been growing at a concerning rate. It seems they have lost several percent of their confidence.

It appears Saare's strategy to bombard the fort with a precisive artillery shell has fulfilled its goal. Many of the Saderan troops, regardless of their ranks, had come to realize how powerful the enemy was.

As a result, many of the Saderans started to feel scared even to fight—especially the militia who were only a simple villager nearby.

To rub salt in the wound, when Princess Pina returned with her escorts, she brought a "gift" from the enemy.

3 mysterious boxes that contained around 100 bottles of light blue liquid had been brought as gifts. Princess Pina explained that these liquids are called Full Potion. These Full Potions are meant to be a medicine for any kind of wound.

Princess Pina brought these Full Potions into the medical room and poured several droplets onto a soldier who severed his left arm.

Out of anyone's expectation, the injuries were healed in an instant. The collective gasps echoed throughout the room, as the field doctors dropped their jaws upon seeing the effect of the Full Potion.

Princess Pina instructed the doctors to use these gifts from the enemy to heal the wounded. However, Princess Pina left immediately to her place along with other top officers with no one knowing what they were going to do.

Thanks to these developments, many of the mercenaries decided that it was impossible to win against such an enemy who was not only capable of blowing up a fort but also possessed a medicine that could heal any type of injury. As a result, a massive mutiny occurred among the mercenaries.

The second one is the sorcerers.

Sorcerers are also scholars. They are the closest people in terms of modern scientists. And the fact that they have just witnessed a lot of unnatural phenomena that were caused by the enemy, they have been busy theorizing it by themselves.

The first one that caught their attention was of course teleportation. Ever since the initial clash between Apostle Rory Mercury against the anonymous dragonewt, the scene where the rest of the dragonewts appeared with teleportation had caused a major ruckus among every sorcerer that took a presence there.

Secondly, the recent event where they mysteriously couldn't cast a spell had successfully created a great concern. Many of the sorcerers who have a keen eye had proclaimed that they saw the mana in the air had simply vanished.

Mana is a natural substance that nobody couldn't interfere with and only can be controlled to some extent. So far, the whole civilization could only use it to cast a spell, albeit the spell itself was varied. But to control their existence such as by erasing their presence in certain areas, was something only God could have done.

So the fact that a human could do that was pretty complicated to perceive. It is a joy to know that a human or any mere mortal could achieve such a feat, but sadly these humans are apparently an enemy who would slay them if they didn't do as they say.

To add more weight to their shoulders, some sorcerers who were present are also experts in chemistry. Not many people know this, but recently there's a groundbreaking invention of a healing potion in Falmart. Some alchemists in Rondel had managed to identify several flora that have a medicinal substance. They manage to infuse these herbs with mana and contain it in a liquid state where it could heal some minor injury. They were proud of the invention.

However, as it turns out, their invention was very much pale in comparison with the enemy's "Full Potion".

The group was amazed by the powerful effects of the full potions they had just tried. The sorcerer, who was also skilled in chemistry, couldn't resist his curiosity and suddenly disappeared from the camp. Some say he was last seen sneaking into the medical room wearing a dark robe.

Things couldn't be better as Princess Pina relays a message from Saare, the enemy's general.

"If they wondered what just happened before, tell them it is our doing."

Everyone immediately understood the meaning. They knew it referred to the mysterious disappearance of mana. And now the enemy itself who confirmed it was their doings, things couldn't get worse.

They immediately understood that the enemy had far more advanced civilization in magic and science.

There was no way they could win against this kind of enemy.

Another strategy that was set up by Saare, had successfully fulfilled its purpose.

…

*Flashback*

The Enlightenment Task Force under Saare had set up a strategic goal before setting foot on Falmart.

During the preparation, Saare and his officers brainstormed about the plan they would use to strike at the Saderans in Alnus Hill.

Saare also brought along his new companions, Glenda, Saika, and the trio of girls to join the strategic meeting. The meeting was mostly done without any hitch.

They discussed the plan from the very start of the operation. The issue with logistics, weapons, tactics, and every unit's role was thoroughly planned with care.

The Grey Number Corps is roughly divided into 4 units; Motorized Unit, Artillery Unit, Elite Unit, and Fukutsu Unit.

The Motorized Unit was basically the soldiers who operated the mobile war machines such as Magic Tanks, Airships, Boats, etc. They also served as an engineer, smithing, and maintenance for most of the Corps since they specialized in mechanic parts. Thanks to the special body enhancement, they have an excellent ability to understand machinery. They can build mechanized weapons from any kind of blueprint, operate different kinds of machines, and even enhance the already existing technology. And, although not as good as Kurobee and Kaijin, they were trained to create a good armory for close combat such as swords, spears, bows, shields, etc. At least, they could manage to create Rare to Unique grade armaments. But the cost was in terms of individual, they were the weakest since they only had a basic combat ability. However, they are the best not only in the scope of the whole Grey Numbers but also the whole military units in Tempest in terms of technological knowledge.

The Artillery Unit was basically the soldiers who operated the big guns. The unique part is the War Golem, or the Siege Walkers was included in this unit because of how slow they moved and could not follow the same pace as the Motorized Unit. The skill to deliver a deadly shot is a must in this unit. Although the Elite Unit and Fukutsu Unit also have their best marksman, the artillery unit is on a different scale. However, when close-quarter combat happened, this unit could fight well since they also trained physically and mentally for a deadly battle up close. It is just a coincidence, but apparently, this unit likes big weapons so they liked to carry two-handed long swords for close-quarter combat.

The Fukutsu Unit has the biggest number of soldiers. They are basically the frontliners for every battle. They are the ones who would do the hardest and the most dangerous part in a big battle. That's why they were built with stronger physiques, trained harder than the two earlier units in combat ability, and mastered every single art for fighting. They are the harshest in receiving training since they have to excel in discipline, mentality, and coordination because they are the first who bear the grunt of the enemy. However, the Fukutsu units also have another role for the whole corps. They were assigned tasks such as cleaning, cooking, building, and other logistical tasks.

Lastly, the Elite Unit. This is a trump card for the whole corps in terms of combat skills. Much like the Kurenai whom an elite unit from Red Numbers, Hiryuu from the Blue Numbers, and Goblin Riders from the Green Numbers, the Grey Numbers have a name for their elite unit. And the name is "Shokubai". The Shokubai units consisted of Enlightenment-level soldiers who already achieved a minimum stage of Immortal. Some of them even have nearly reached the Saint stage, or an incomplete Saint just like when Hinata was in her first encounter with Rimuru. They are rare humans who already have great potential and are born with immense talent in combat. Even for Grigori, challenging one of the members of this unit would prove to be a difficult battle. Although they have different kinds of specialties, they all have equal combat ability overall. The Shokubai unit is also the smallest and consists of only 100 members.

With those units at hand, Saare and his officers are trying their best to formulate the best plan to strike the defensive position in Alnus Hill.

The first step is to gather enough intelligence. This is already done excellently by Saika and her subordinates.

Saare reviewed the intelligence report and realized something important.

Although Pina had a large numerical advantage over him, they didn't seem to be on the same page. They basically consisted of different types of people who hardly had enough time to build good coordination, and they had different reasons for joining the fight.

The example is the Knight Order under Pina have a different view from the mercenaries. Although they would fight together, there is nothing to ensure they would stick together when there's something unexpected happens. The Knights are fighting for their honors, while the mercenaries are fighting for money.

Another example is the militia. Saare found out there was a large number of simple civilians who were nearby villagers. They were forced to raise arms to defend the Alnus Hill.

And there's more than the mercenaries and militia who are not on the same page with Pina.

Saare respected Princess Pina, but a weakness needed to be exploited.

Saare has his own goal on how to achieve a victory in this battle. The top priority in his mind is to minimize the casualty on both sides. This is because he pitied the people who were forced to fight such as the militia, and according to the intelligence report, many of the legionnaires also had no desire to fight.

As a warrior, he didn't want to belittle any kind of enemy. He even has principles, "A tiger still used its fangs to kill a rabbit". However, in this battle, the mission was to take over Alnus Hill. He deemed his real enemy was the knights under Pina who genuinely positioned themselves as the defenders. It's not a matter of which one is the rabbit or the deer, it's a matter of which one is the prey. So he has to separate the people who have no genuine desire to fight somehow.

And so, Saare made a quick decision on how they should make their first move.

First, Saare suggested bombarding the fort with a precisive shot from an artillery unit. He aimed at the most visible part of the fort but did not cause any huge casualties. After analyzing the fort's structures, he suggested destroying the 6 watchtowers and the front gate.

Secondly, Saika would infiltrate their perimeter once again while concealing her presence and move with [Shadow Movement]. She would cast a [Anti-Magic Area] to prevent any sorcerers from casting their spells. This is done to hinder the repair of the damaged fort. With the fort being damaged, it was expected that the Saderans would be in a panic state more severely, so the next step would be easier.

Third, he suggests surprising the defenders with the sudden appearance of his forces by teleportation. He would bring most of the Regular unit for this act. This is purposed to show of force of how his army looks like and how threatening his presence could be. And judging from the Saderan defender's quality, he's quite confident it could shake the morale of the Saderans.

Fourth, he would call out their leaders and give them an ultimatum. He expected that Pina would come to answer his call. From there, it was up to him on how to give a threat while at the same time, giving them a chance to peacefully surrender. He didn't expect Pina and her knights to surrender, but he aimed it would cause some ruckus in her ranks.

Fifth, as part of the third step, he would demonstrate another of his army's advantages with something. He decided to show them the Full Potion. He suggests that the role of demonstrating was given to Stella and Phos.

If the plan works, the next step would be easier. He wished this plan could cause many of the people under Pina, apart from her knights, would flee and cause a mutiny in Saderan ranks. However, he admits that it is probably too wishful to expect it would work perfectly. But still, he wants to try.

"I'm curious, if your schemes work, what is the next step?" Glenda asked.

"I would just send the Shokubai to neutralize the Rose Order of Knights. Basically captured Princess Pina and her remaining loyal followers. If the blood spilled, it's the blood of our true enemy."

"Hm, and if it doesn't work?"

"Then it means something very wrong is happening. Which means, we have to get more serious and deploy what we have upon them."

"What do you mean by 'something very wrong'?"

Saare put his right hand on her chin, while his eyes still looking at the map of Alnus Hill.

"Hmm, I didn't mean my scheme is perfect, but I guess it should be enough to put their morale to the bottom. If my scheme is not working, that means I have miscalculated, which could be fatal because it also means I have made a flawed plan or not having enough information. Or… something unexpected happened, which I cannot guess what it is, but it would certainly be very dangerous to our survival."

"You seem a bit too cautious, Saare." This time, Grigori is the one who commented.

However, Saare responded with a firm nod without any denial.

"Indeed I am. The reason is we would step into another world where we have little knowledge about it. We may have perfect intelligence from the Intelligence Bureau, Prince Diabo, and Saika-san. But still, they have their own deities and unknown circumstances. I think it's safe to assume we don't know everything yet about the world beyond the Gate."

"I agree with you, Saare-sama." Saika voiced her opinion. Then she continues, "I have been trained to not be easily satisfied. As an intelligence expert, I think knowing the layout of the defensive position on Alnus Hill, the characteristics of the defenders, and who's leading who is not enough to fully determine how they would act. We still haven't fully figured out how the Apostle's way of thinking, the culture the Saderans possessed in such situations, the other citizens' relation with the current defenders, and many many more variables that could affect the outcome of the battle up ahead. It's wise to think we haven't uncovered everything yet."

Saare nodded, while the others sighed in exasperation.

"That's right. The information from you and Prince Diabo is very useful. But it doesn't mean we know everything. However, I still want to give a chance to them, especially those who are forced to fight, to flee from this situation unharmed."

Saare now leaned on the table, both of his hands were put on the map.

"But that being said, we have to make a plan when we have to give everything we have. So, where we should start?"

Without any single word spoken, the scheme that was made by Saare has been agreed upon. After all, apart from differences in opinion, they have the same view as Saare. Even Glenda who still has a thirst for blood didn't want to waste an innocent soul.

After that, Saare's officers began to share their views upon utilizing the power they had. It was not that difficult for them to draw up a plan when the goal was to completely subdue the Saderans.

The discussion went pretty well, even if it took a bit more time than expected. However, the plan has been set up. The roles were also have been placed. The plan could be explained with an oversimplification like this.

During the time when they let the Saderans discuss Saare's ultimatum, they would install the Dimensional Gateway in their temporary encampment. This is purposed to give quick access to the war machines they have and could be deployed faster when an emergency happens.

The units that would be brought on the initial schemes would be the Fukutsu units, artillery units, and motorized units. However, if the ultimatum failed, the Shokubai unit would be deployed with a specific mission.

If the ultimatum failed, then they would put different roles for each unit.

The Fukutsu unit would be put on the forefront, bearing the grunt of the enemy if they choose to attack. If the Saderans choose to defend their position from their fort, then the Fukutsu unit would strike them up ahead. Letting a hell out loose to the Saderans. This unit would be led not only by their captain but also by Grigori.

The artillery unit would be placed at the back along with the motorized unit. The artillery unit would provide support from the back, and cover the Fukutsu unit's flank with their big guns and artillery. The motorized unit would use the magic tanks, ready at the back but on high alert to spring into the frontline when something unexpected happened. Glenda would be placed in this unit. She would take the position of second-in-command of the captain.

Then, the Shokubai unit would secretly infiltrate the fort. Their objective is to secure highly important figures such as patricians and senators, and if possible, Princess Pina if she chooses to stay on her fort. Saika and the trio of girls would join this unit and sabotage several defensive mechanisms of the fort, making it easier for the Fukutsu unit to storm the fort.

They would also cast an [Anti-Magic Area] once again around the fort to prevent the enemy sorcerers could casting their spell. It was still unknown how lethal their spell was. But it was better to not give them any chance to show it.

The coordination between each of the units would be done by [Telepathy Net] which connects Saare to his captains and other officers. Meanwhile, the officers would relay the communication to their troops on their own [Telepathy Net].

The logistical issues such as food, weapons, and other miscellaneous facilities would be built inside the warehouse prior to the battle. So after the Dimensional Gateway was established, these logistics could be brought instantly.

Lastly, to trick the Saderans, they wouldn't bring their full numbers when they working on the scheme. They would put the most of Motorized Unit and Artillery Unit in the warehouse. This is expected to give an element of surprise if the Saderans refuse the ultimatum and eventually bring their full numbers to fight them. The total number of Grey Numbers Corp is 25.000. But when they are working on their scheme, only 15.000 would be brought along.

And there's also a highly anticipated individual from the Saderan that had made Saare being wary. That individual is Rory Mercury. According to the intelligence report, she has a unique circumstance where she would get aroused whenever a battle happens nearby. It would stimulate her into berserk and let loose a hell out of her. Rory Mercury needs to be dealt with by someone who's on par with her. And that role was voluntarily taken by Saare. However, for now, there's no clue where she would make an appearance. But the best guess is she would spring herself to the frontline against the Fukutsu unit.

And for that, Saare would step aside from the battle until Rory Mercury showed herself in the battle.

"I guess it's settled. If their wyverns decide to join the fray, the artillery unit should take care of it. Use the Siege Walkers in aerial defense mode, it should be enough." Saare added.

"How about we also deploy our airship?" the captain of the motorized unit, named Ophelia, made a suggestion.

"Not now. You know our airship is huge. It won't fit the Dimensional Gateway. We have to dissemble them first, then patch them up on the material world. It would take too long. I don't want to waste our time just to assemble the airship."

"Understood, Saare-sama." She bows down, accepting the rejection.

"In any case, I'm confident my shooting skill would be enough to halt them all," Glenda added.

"Much obliged, Glenda," Saare responded.

"Rory Mercury is dangerous, but good teamwork from several members of the Shokubai unit should be enough. I don't think you should take care of her by yourself, Saare-sama." A captain of the Shokubai unit, named Zeno, made another suggestion. But again, Saare rejects it.

"I appreciate your judgment, Zeno. But Rory Mercury is still a mystery. As much as I believe in your strength, I don't want to get you involved with that apostle. However, if things turn sour, I will call for your aid."

"Understood Saare-sama."

"We would also do our best to cover the Fukutsu unit, just let us take care of your flanks." Rudiger, the captain of the artillery unit, pumps his chest upward with a prideful expression.

"And we will certainly do our part with pristine performance, Saare-sama." Nien, the captain of the Fukutsu unit expressed his bravado.

Saare nodded, followed by another argument.

"Taking over the Alnus Hill will open our path to Sadera. It will be our first step to Falmart, and possibly become our primary base for some time in the future. That's why taking over Alnus Hill would be pivotal for our mission. We cannot fail this mission, understood?"

" 'Understood!' "

Saare gave them all the smile, a genuine smile, and wished them all the best.

"Now, let's prepare ourselves. Let's bring a victory for Rimuru-sama!"

" 'Yes!' "

*Flashback Ended*

…

On the Saderan, things become grimmer than ever.

The air had become heavy as if the oxygen had slowly turned into a liquid.

It didn't take much time for the knights to gather themselves, rushing to meet Pina as quickly as possible when she returned to have a talk with Saare.

Pina herself didn't waste any time.

Pina had recounted all of the conversation with Saare to her knights. She didn't hide any single detail of it, no matter how bitter it was.

And the result was the overwhelming air of despair.

Analyzing the situation was only making things worse.

Don't get too far with their advanced technology and magic, their body armor already tells them how many advantages the enemy has held.

No matter how proud they are of their history, this time that pride would help with nothing against this enemy.

For the first time, they knew that today was gonna be their last day.

The history they have been proud of had shown them how cruel it is to be taken prisoner by the enemy. Hence, it was they who did it.

Sold to slavery or instantly executed, they had done it for many decades. And that's why, the option to surrender has never existed in their mind.

But Pina, tried to think as well as possible to find the best way to end this situation.

She tried her best to assess the situation inside her head. She was barely able to calculate the difference in strength between her force and Saare's army.

However, there's one thing she knows as an absolute fact. And that was the stake of her decision.

This was the first time she was assigned formally by her father. She was tasked to guard the Gate, taking caution if it became a threat to the Empire. Of course, no one ever thought the Gate would pose a threat since they always thought no one could defeat the Empire at first. But how things have folded until now, it turns out the Gate really is a problem for the Empire.

And she had vowed to fulfill her task with everything she could, even if it meant to throw away her life.

To widen the perspective, this situation isn't just about fulfilling her promise to the Emperor. It is also to prevent the threat towards the Empire and keep the hostile enemy at bay.

If the Alnus Hill had fallen, then the path for conquest across the Empire would have been opened. And with the Empire which had lost more than 100.000 of its troops, it would be difficult to defend its territory for the time being.

Her brother, Zorzal might have the army for now. But even with his number of troops, it wouldn't be sufficient to defend the whole territory.

That means, right now the most capable of stopping the invasion lies heavily on Pina.

She has a vast number of troops, a good defensive position, and abundant supplies.

Yet, after many things had happened for the past month, she knew the enemy was more than capable of wiping her position with ease. The manpower, the technologies, the magic, everything had outperformed her troops even before the real battle commenced.

Half of her mind wanted to surrender. The reason is she didn't want her knights and subordinates to die in this certain defeat. After all, she also felt a chill upon realizing how fruitless it would be if she had to choose a battle.

However, the other half of her mind also screaming for battle. The reason is very simple. To protect their honor.

If she can't stop the enemy, at least she would give the enemy a last drop of her blood in battle. She started to think about facing the enemy by herself. But how ridiculous it is, even by her standard.

For a moment, Pina asked to have a momentarily time alone in her room. Her knights, not even Rory, didn't dare to interrupt her. After all, they still have some time.

Pina's head had come into a severe headache for some time. Between her decision, there's her people's life and her own oath. The pain inside her head was very painful until she couldn't even sit properly.

"Your Highness?" Hamilton grabbed Pina's shoulder gently and asked her with a very soft tone. Pina didn't even hear when she entered her room.

Pina, feeling the gentle touch on her left shoulder, lifted her head and saw her closest aide's face. There, she saw Hamilton's worried expression.

"Hamilton? Y-yes, I'm okay. I just… I don't know."

"Your Highness, I'm here with you. Please let me know if there's something I could do to help you."

Hamilton's voice is very gentle, almost like a mother who tried to calm her child. Pina had run out of strength to pretend to be strong.

And so, Pina collapses her head toward Hamilton's body.

Hamilton was surely taken by surprise. But she immediately regains her composure and embraces Pina's head on her chest.

Although Hamilton is wearing a full armor kit, Pina doesn't bother at all and feels it is one of the softest places to rest.

"Your Highness, I notice that you haven't slept properly for days. I know this might be not the right time, but if you wish it, I shall bring you to your bed." Hamilton said it while stroking her hair gently.

"I… I can't, I… need to, bring my knights… They… Awaiting for me, Hamilton."

"We are, but we will understand Your Highness. We are your loyal knights after all."

"You all… are the best friends I ever have."

Hamilton hugged Pina, "We will always believe in you, Your Highness."

Hamilton let off her hug and felt that Pina had lost all of her strength as she slid down uncontrollably from her chest. She immediately caught her and found that Pina had fallen asleep.

Hamilton didn't think much further as she immediately carried her on her back and took her to the nearby bed. Hamilton turned off the candle and walked away silently toward the exit.

Hamilton walks toward a gathering room where every other upper rank of knights had gathered. Upon her arrival, the other knights immediately gathered around her and asked about Pina's condition.

After all, they all noticed how pale their Princess was.

"She's taking a sleep. I planned to wake her up in an hour. For the moment, we should do what we can, and let Her Highness have a rest." She replied.

The other knights felt relieved upon hearing Pina had taken a rest. It's been days since they saw Pina getting more restless.

"Then as her vice leader, for a momentarily, you should take charge Bozes." Grey pointed toward Bozes who flinched a little.

But Bozes immediately regains her composure. "Yes, thank you. For now, let's assess the situation more calmly."

Bozes had done everything she could to suppress her mood and stop remembering how scared she was when the first assault had struck down the fort. Fortunately, seeing her fellow knights who put up brave expressions had affected positively to her mood.

"What are the enemies doing right now?" she asked.

"They-"

"About tha-"

Suissesse and Norma spoke in unintentional unison. They look at each other and Suissesse nods to let Norma speak first.

"About that, Bozes. I flew with my Wyvern several moments ago. I intended to scout them from the sky. But I immediately had to pull off since strange magic had been unleashed from the enemy camp toward me."

"What kind of strange magic?"

"I don't know, I can't describe it in detail. But I suddenly hear a continuous thunder and several red-colored lines from the ground. Me and my wyvern didn't sustain any injuries, but the loud thunder had made my wyvern get restless."

Bozes sighed. The enemy had never stopped bringing strange phenomena.

"Then, at least you're safe. Suissesse, how about you?"

"I've been watching them from the beginning. And all I can see is they are still in their encampment. I have ordered my men to report to me whenever there's a movement from the enemy, but I didn't receive any from then on."

"It seems the enemy kept their word," Grey commented.

"They didn't even bother us when we lined up our monsters on the outskirts of the fort," Beefeater added.

"It's a bit tempting to launch a surprise attack while they think we're still preparing." Panache also joined.

"No, if the enemy kept their word, so do we, Panache." Bozes retorted.

"Yes, I'm just thinking. I didn't really mean it."

"Then, how about ours?"

"Taking aside the enemy's strange magic, my Wyvern Riders are ready to fly anytime," Norma replied.

"The horses are a bit dizzy, but we can make it if we attack now," Panache added.

"The defensive engines are ready to fire. The monsters are already on the outskirts near the ditches. But the enemy is still far from our trebuchet's range." Another report came from Beefeater.

"How about mercenaries and the other?" Bozes asked.

"I haven't checked on them yet. But the last time I saw them, they were still alive. Should I call their representative here?" Grey was the one who responded.

"Yes, please. Also, please summon the sorcerer. It's a… who's the Master's name once again?"

"Master Cato, Bozes." Hamilton answered.

"Right, let's gather them around. We need to prepare everything we can for now."

"' Yes! '" Grey and Hamilton exited the room immediately after that.

Bozes took a seat, followed by the other knights. It leaves only Beefeater, Suissesse, Panache, and Norma.

Bozes expected the room would be silent for a while until Grey and Hamilton came back, but turns out she was wrong. Because only several moments after Grey and Hamilton leave, Panache fills the silence with her voice.

"It must be difficult to bear the stake of this battle for Her Highness."

Everyone else looked at her after she said those words. But they didn't say anything, which made Panache became eager to explain what she meant.

"You guys didn't realize it? If Alnus Hill had fallen to the enemy, then the Empire is in a great threat."

"How is that possible, Panache?" asked Beefeater.

"If that force from Jura… Tempest? Ah, whatever. If the enemy had set foot in Alnus Hill, they could have moved everywhere across the Empire."

"Why?" Norma asked.

"Why? You really didn't figure it out, Norma? They can use teleportation! They can move their troops to anywhere they like at any time they want. The only thing that made them unable to do that, for now, is because they don't have any base in this world. I suspect they couldn't teleport from their own world, and that's why they tried to take Alnus Hill. Because-"

"That's where the Gate is." Bozes cut through Panache's explanation.

"…Correct. This is their only way to enter our world, to enter the Empire's territory. Once they have set a base, or conquered a piece of land in this world, they can move to anywhere they want. That's why…" Panache couldn't finish her words. As if something very heavy in her heart had prevented her from saying it out loud.

Luckily, everyone in that room had grasped what Panache meant.

"We can't let them have Alnus Hill." Suissesse finishes the sentence.

"…Yes." Panache nodded.

"But given the situation, it was nearly impossible to defeat them, let alone harm them when they have that… what's the name once again? Full Potion? Yeah, that. If it can heal a cut limb, then we don't have a chance to kill them." Beefeater added.

"Don't say that out loud. The people under us would hear it, and make them waver." Suissesse rebukes Beefeater's word. It makes Beefeater immediately regret and apologize for her words.

After Beefeater apologized, all of them had run out of words to speak. The silence had filled the room again after a while.

Yet, it's once again broken by one person. Yet, unintentionally.

"What is Her Highness gonna do, I wonder?" Norma mumbled, but his voice could be heard by Bozes who sat near him.

Hearing the mumble, she reminisces about her time with Pina.

She remembers Pina's determination to become a knight during their childhood. Back then, even Bozes felt it was rather ridiculous to see a young princess shouting her goal to become a knight. At that time, she thought that a female should be more concerned about their appearance. The only weapon that a female could carry is their beauty. And being a beautiful female herself, she felt quite proud of it.

However, seeing the resolve that being made by Pina had made her intrigued. In the first place, Bozes liked the story tale of the knight. The story of their gallantry, fearless attitude, fighting for noble causes, and dazzling armor while charging with muscular horses, had always become Bozes' favorite tale to hear.

And so, Bozes decided to watch over Pina. Then, eventually joined her.

Bozes had not only discarded most of her old values, but she also swore her eternal loyalty to Pina. Pina had made her realize that becoming a female knight was possible, as long as you have the will to take it. Together, they endured not just the harsh training, but also the pessimistic and insults from other knights and patricians.

But there's Pina. Leading her newly Rose Order of the Knight. The sight of Pina leading her armies with high-spirited speeches, always taking action together with her knights, working super hard to embrace the honor code, had made Bozes mesmerized and swear to herself that she would accompany Pina even to her death.

And when the day they took their oath as the Knight of the Empire, Pina had vowed she would never abandon the Empire. She would become the Empire's sword and shield, she would always protect the Empire with all she had.

Even right now, in a state where every common sense has been shattered, Pina still fiercely struggles to stand her ground. In all odds against her, she still remained here. Although her condition started to get over her, she never said anything about surrender.

And that means Pina would…

"…Fight."

The other knights, especially Norma turned their heads toward Bozes.

The words that were spoken from her were not loud, almost like a whisper. But oddly enough, they could hear it as clear as day.

Bozes knew that everyone in this room had suddenly looked at her, but she remained still. Instead, she firmly clenched her grip, then said more loudly,

"Fight. I'm sure Her Highness would choose to fight." Bozes now had effectively taken the attention of the whole room.

And what followed was a huge smirk from everyone.

"Right, she would never run away from a battle," Panache added.

*Clap

"Yeah! We might die today, but we will show them what the Saderans are made of!" Beefeater fist bumps herself, and just casually declares she is ready to die.

The tone from Beefeater had made the air slightly softened up, and the mood had changed a bit better.

Bozes managed to crack a smile for the first time today. The other knights, also felt the tension had lifted a little and they could feel some fresh air for the first time.

Then, Bozes giggled as she replied, "If I didn't see you in heaven, Beefeater, I would beg Emroy to curse you."

"Hoy! Like hell you would go straight to heaven. Ey, let's see who's going to heaven first!" Beefeater joked around. Albeit, it doesn't sound like joking.

But it doesn't matter anymore. They all knew they were going to die anyway.

"Seems like I'm going to be first. I would lead the charge with my cavalry though!" Panache responds with a bright smile.

"I don't think so. I'm going to dive into those giant metal creatures. I don't know how am I going to die, but I'm sure I'll be dead in those giants' hands," Norma added.

"Arghh, and here I am, guarding the fort on the wall. Welp, I guess you're not going to see my last magnificent shot." Suissesse joined, then brushed her bow.

They all respond with a laugh, albeit a bit forced, towards these comments. A seemingly warm exchange of words between warriors could be their last moment. It's a good thing to enjoy. It's better to embrace it, rather than avoid it.

After all, they had complete faith in Pina.

If they have to die, then so be it.

Our esteemed enemy from the otherworld, you'll see who we are.

…

"Do you think Her Highness will make us fight against those otherwordly warriors?" an unnamed soldier opened a talk in a campfire.

"Guess she would. After all, she would just sit tight there in her safe place."

"Yeah, all those arrogant knights wouldn't even try to stop her."

"Shh! Don't be too loud, if those females heard you, you're done you know?"

"I don't care. If we fight tomorrow, I'm going to die anyway. Better used this last moment to vent up my grudge."

"Well, I honestly found it as a good idea. What are you going to do?"

"I wanna punch one of them. As hard as I could."

"Wanna make a scene?"

"You serious?"

"I'm joining in, I guess."

"Then, let's go grab some hard liquor in the supply wagon. You know, to ease up the muscles. Hahaha"

"I'm with you,"

"That's settled, I guess."

They all smiled and stood up immediately. They were heading to the supply train but were suddenly stopped by a hoarse voice.

"You guys are pathetic. You all lack initiative."

*Brak

The sound of a dropped box, along with the rattling sound of the bottle came to their senses. They instantly looked at where the voice came from and saw a Volralden chugging a bottle of beer.

"Who are you?" asked one of them.

The Volralden didn't answer right away. He kept chugging the bottle until it was empty. The soldiers didn't disturb either.

"Wolf. Mind if I and my fellow joined you a while?" he asked, after throwing the empty beer bottle.

One of the soldiers, who was apparently also an officer, nodded hesitantly.

"As long as we get the share, we're fine."

"Good. Then go get some."

The soldiers who were apparently well-trained Legionnaires took one bottle each silently. Wolf and his companions came with more boxes, and so did the Legionnaires.

Seeing it, another Legionnaire joined in. And after some time, the militias, and some of the sorcerers also joined.

At first, there's an awkward silence because of the presence of the Volralden. After all, those Volralden didn't even say a word. They just chug the beer, while silently watching the campfire.

But after a while, one of the crowd finally says something.

"I never imagined a moment before battle was like this." A young legionnaires speak.

"Me neither. We usually had some talks about the tactics and all. But I didn't see any of these knights come to us."

"That's because they have all given up on winning. If we fight tomorrow, we'll going to die." Wolf added.

His answer managed to stir up things between the legionnaires. However, most of them agree with him.

"Yeah, have you guys seen those otherworldly soldiers? Their bodies are covered with armor. I wonder how we could stab them or not."

"I'm more concerned about how we defend ourselves."

"There's no point to think about that anymore, pal,"

"You're right. Well, I just wished we could do something about them."

"We can stare at them and admire their craftsmanship."

"Or we can spread rumors about them"

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Maybe give them a bad name or something?"

"We always named our enemies as Barbarians. End of discussion."

"Not gonna do. They are more civilized than ours." One of the Sorcerers butted in, but nobody didn't even bother about it. They simply just focused on each other's statements.

"Oh really? Just because of their armor and that magical liquid, you really think they are more civilized than us?"

"I believe it is."

"You might have forgotten about their strange magics that blow up some parts of our fort."

"And their magic on the sudden appearance."

"And those giant metal creatures"

"And the voices in our head"

"All right all right, I get it. We are nothing compared to them, eh?"

"Yeah, we are. So make sure we didn't call them barbarians."

"But giving them a good name is no good with me."

"Me neither"

"I felt that too. Gotta throw some dirt on their eyes with a bad name."

"Got it. Any ideas, then?"

"How about 'the grey man?'"

"Nah, somehow it feels off."

"Silver man?"

"That's just the same, dammit."

"I got something funny."

"Hit it."

"The Irregulars"

They all looked at the man who said it, but the man just casually chugged his beer.

"I like it," Wolf agreed with him, with a little snort.

"Yeah, they are nothing but abnormals."

"The people who were out of common sense."

"Yet they did it as if nothing was wrong with it."

"Irregulars isn't it?"

"Yeah, 'Irregular people'"

"Nah, just call them 'The Irregulars'. I like it better."

"All right. From now on, let's call them with it."

"Not bad…"

They all chugged the beers and had a moment of silence. Nobody looking at each other. Everyone is looking at random things, but their mind are in the same place.

The silence was kept on for several minutes, but it felt much longer for many of them. And it eventually broke apart after one of the legionnaires spoke.

"By the way, you mercenaries didn't have any obligation to join us tomorrow. Why are you still here? You won't get any reward when you die."

All the attention suddenly averted toward Wolf, the leader of the Volralden mercenary group.

Feeling the attention had drawn toward him, Wolf only sighed briefly and then emptied his beer before answering,

"I have my own reason. And I don't believe I will die tomorrow."

One of the sorcerers stopped his drink and then stared at Wolf with a thoughtful look.

"What do you mean? You have a plan to not get killed in the midst of battle?"

Wolf chuckled, then stared back at the sorcerer.

"Just say I have a gut that tomorrow, I will get a good day. I don't know why, though. But I believe in my guts more than my clients."

"That's just crazy but we were all the same now."

"Yeah, wasting my life for a fruitless battle rather than enjoying a harvest this season. What a life to spend." Replied one of the militia.

"At least you can die like a warrior."

"I don't care."

"Well, me neither actually. Just screw this Empire." One of the legionnaires threw off his helmet.

The night was spent with the banter of grumbles and melancholic talks, albeit it was wrapped under a friendly and tranquil atmosphere. After all, they can't change their leader's decision.

…

Pina Co Lada's POV

I can feel my breath. But the air feels… odd. It doesn't felt heavy like it since several days ago. Yet, it doesn't feel fresh either.

Thinking about it makes me miss the fresh air in my castle. The smell of flowers in my garden, the sound of the flowing water, and the sight of the beautiful landscape from my balcony.

I always knew I wouldn't forever enjoy this because of the path I chose.

I would face something very terrible, something which is in stark contrast to the peace in my castle.

And I thought I was ready for it. Ever since I brought my fellow patricians and formed them into my own Knight Order, I thought I was prepared for the war.

However, these past few weeks have brought me to the edge. The constant anxiety of worrying about what would the enemy do, and the nightmares I had just witnessed one after the other had made me question my own capability as a Knight.

I felt so powerless.

I don't know who's at fault for this whole situation. Neither I should care about it anyway.

But in this situation, someone must brought it intentionally. Someone or something must be doing it on purpose.

Whoever it is, it must have some sort of psychotic reason to do it. And I'm here, must put an end to it.

But I have so little to do it. I have almost nothing. My friends and my men are not tools. I don't want to use them recklessly. At least, not my friends and my men.

{Then you should fight with them}

H-Huh?!

Who's that?!

Wait, where am I? I thought I was asleep!

W-Wait a minute, am I conscious?

I can't move my body! Wait, I can't open my eyes too!

Help!

{Be calm, Princess. You're not gonna be harmed.}

"Who are you?!"

I was taken aback by the sudden loud voice I made. I don't know if I can scream like this. But that voice, the earlier, that voice is not coming through my ear.

No.

It's like what Saare's have been doing before. It goes through my head.

"Is that you again, Saare?!"

{I'm not. And I'm not your enemy.}

"Then who are you?!"

{You might know me, as Emroy.}

H-Huh? Lord… Emroy?

*Voom

However, all sudden, a bright yellow and white light shone brightly, illuminating the whole of my surroundings.

What caught my eye the first time was the giant throne in front of me. The throne seat was huge, much bigger than my father's throne. The floor was made of a shiny material that could even reflect the ceiling.

Behind the throne, there's a daylight and I can see some white puff flying around.

It took me by surprise when I realized, the sight behind the throne was the sky.

{Be honored. You're one of a very few mortals who ever come to my palace}

Suddenly, a figure coming from the right corner of the room.

He looks big, a very big bulky man in his prime. He wears a black colored armor plate, with the same helmet as we used as Imperial Legionnaires. He carried a long scythe and walked toward the throne with a rather displeased expression.

However, he still looks majestic and dominating. As if he has absolute control of everything in his sight. And no one can oppose him.

Because of his domineering aura, and the absolute magnificence of the throne room, I cannot utter a single word. The idea of being able to speak had vanished momentarily.

And… it appears, he is our God Of War, Emroy.

{It appears you're not sure that I'm one of your Gods}

The voice suddenly came again, and not only that, but it appeared that my mind was being read by him. Oh no, it's no mistake then, I have been called by God.

I took every courage I had to look at him more intently and put up some proper face as I thought I was being impolite in front of God. I'm not putting any kind of heresy.

{I know who you are, Princess. And we don't have much time to speak. This is your first, and last time seeing me. So listen to me well.}

"W-Wait!"

My Lord Emroy seemed annoyed upon my word, but I was shocked that I spontaneously spoke without any reserve. It was totally out of instinct, as I could not even understand how I was there.

But words have been spoken, and I cannot retract it.

"M-My apologies, I'm sorry, my Lord. I didn't mean to interrupt you."

{Then speak of it. If you keep quiet, I'll be the one who talks to you}

"Yes, yes, my Lord. Please let me ask you something, my Lord."

{Go ahead}

"What happened to me? Where am I? How I can be here?"

{One answer to all your questions. I'm summoning your soul to my palace. Is that all you want to know?}

Wait, my soul? Am I dead?!

{You're not dead, yet. You have succumbed to extreme exhaustion, but you're fine. I merely summon you here for a while, and I will return you to the mortal world}

Eeek! Again! He's reading my mind! Oh no, no!

I didn't mean to, my Lord. I didn't mean to be rude toward you. I just panicked.

{Becareful of what you think, Pina. Some other Gods wouldn't accept such behavior. Then, it shall be my turn.}

…

{Good. Now, Princess, the enemy from the otherworld has invaded our world. You cannot stop them, and you know it. But you shall fight to the end. And if you do, I will promise to give you a victory.}

A.. victory? A triumph? How?

{I will aid you.}

…But, my Lord, how?

{I will give you, my blessing.}

Blessing? A blessing such you have given to your apostles? Will you really give it to me?

{My blessing for Rory is different, but it works the same way. You'll be invincible. And with that power, you should lead your warriors to drive off these Irregulars}

Invincible… So, I can fight like Her Holiness Rory? I can fight these invaders off? And wait a moment, Irregulars? Is that the name of their kin, my Lord?

{No, this is a name that your men have made for the invaders. And no, you'll be invincible but not to the point of having the same strength as Rory. But at least, you can have the same amount of holy power as her}

My Lord…

{But proves it to me that you are worthy to wield this power. You have to be a leader to the extent that they would die for you. In that way, you will have your blessing}

…

If it can give me enough power to defeat them, it shall be done!

I shall prove it to you, my Lord. For the sake of the Empire, I shall devote all I have to prove that I am worthy of your blessing.

{Then shall be it. Go now, Princess Pina. Lead your men and I shall promise you a victory}

Yes! I shall devote myself to you, my Lord Emroy!

…

I felt like I could move my body now. I could feel my hands, my legs, and even my hips as I tried to move.

But a sudden pain of soreness stung all over my body. My body feels heavy, and my head feels like I'm burning.

But don't falter, Pina! I shall open my eyes for the first move.

With every ounce of strength I have, I open up my eyelids, and I can see a dim light across the room. However, it's enough to see myself lying on a bed.

I have fallen asleep before, haven't I? I don't remember when, but I guess it doesn't matter for now. I shall wake up and get a hold of myself again right now.

The pain is still there, and my headache feels worse, but somehow I can put those aside and get up from the bed.

As I get up, I figure out why my body feels heavy. It turns out, I was still wearing a full set of armor and my body was literally sleeping with steel being put on it.

But again, I choose to ignore it. Let's put this kind of thing aside, and get straight ahead to the assembly room. I'm very sure my knights have been gathering there and waiting for me.

I managed to find the door in the midst of this dim light and opened it to walk toward the assembly room. A knight immediately rushed toward me, but she didn't say anything as she helped me to walk.

"Thank you," I said to her.

"Miss Hamilton has ordered me to guard your room. This is merely helping Your Highness."

"No, it's very helpful. Please help me to get to the assembly room."

"It shall be done, Your Highness."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, and she held my body from collapsing. It might look pathetic because all of this happened because of the simple soreness and headache. But it is what it is. I can't help myself to walk normally if not for her help.

With her help, I managed to arrive at the assembly room safely. As I entered the room, all the gaze from inside the room was immediately directed toward me. Then, it was followed by a deafening silence.

"Your Highness!" Hamilton rushed toward me and immediately wrapped around her shoulder with my arm. She helped me to get seated on my chair.

I didn't say anything at first before I managed to take a sit. Then, after looking around for a moment, I asked,

"Hamilton, can I ask you to bring me water? My throat felt sore"

"Right away, Your Highness"

Hamilton didn't ask twice, and she immediately went to grab some water for me.

After I drank the water, my throat felt the same as before, but at least I could feel a flowing water inside my body. It's strangely freshened up my body.

However, everyone is looking at me with a concerned face.

"Is there something wrong with me?" I asked them.

"We've just noticed that we haven't ever seen you drink water, Your Highness. Is this also possible that you haven't eaten anything as well?" Bozes responded.

Eat? Oh my, I lost the memory of when the last time I had a meal. No wonder I felt so weak like this.

"It is. It's possible I haven't eaten for the rest of the day. I'm sorry, I made you worried, am I?"

I saw Bozes nod her head, while the others, I didn't need any words from them to confirm it.

"My apologies, my friends. Then, shall we have a simple supper? I'm sure you didn't have your dinner last night."

"We will be glad to accompany you, Your Highness," Hamilton responded.

"It's been a while since we have eaten together, have we?" Beefeater added.

"Then, shall I call the cooks?" Grey offered himself, but I immediately raised my hand to prevent him.

"No need, Grey. Let's just take out our dried meat and water. We cannot afford any lavish meal, not even for a moment."

"Understood, Your Highness."

Each of us has a portion in our private supply, but to save time, I ask Hamilton to bring everything I have. Luckily, I still have some other additional food such as cheese and milk.

As I start to munch my meal, I can feel my energy starting to come back a bit by a bit. I didn't even realize that I was starving this whole time. The plain taste of dried meat somehow felt like a well-seasoned grilled lamb meat. Especially the cheese and milk. When I started to sip the milk, the softness of it had eased up my throat from soreness. It definitely felt like a heaven.

But I guess losing myself with a meal is not the right thing for now.

I have unconsciously slept for some time. And our troops, albeit already in a shape to battle, would still need time to fully prepare. We have a lot of things to discuss.

"When I am asleep, is there something happened that I have to know?" I asked while munching the cheese.

Bozes immediately responded to my question.

"Now that you mention it, Your Highness, I was about to summon Master Cato and the leader of each mercenary. I asked Grey and Hamilton to do it."

I nodded then immediately averted my gaze toward Grey and Hamilton, respectively.

They immediately understood what I meant.

"We have ordered someone else to check and summon them. They should be arriving soon."

Hamilton replied, followed by a confirming nod from Grey.

"Okay. Right after we finish our meal here, let's discuss our strategy. Oh please call Her Hollines as well."

After finishing my sentence, I could feel my knights had stopped their eating momentarily. But then, I see them smile like they have won a bet.

I was curious, but Bozes immediately said, "Understood, Your Highness."

And then, all of them finished their meal faster than I ever could done.

Pina Co Lada's POV Ended

…

In the assembly room, there stand Pina, Bozes, Hamilton, Grey, Norma, Panache, Suisesse, Beefeater, Rory Mercury, Wolf, Master Cato El Altestan and his apprentice Lelei La Lelena, Wolf, and some other mercenaries leader named Jekyl, Islan, and Inkajin.

They are representative of each station, such as Norma who led the Wyvern Riders, Panache who led the cavalry, Master Cato represented the sorcerers, Grey who led the militia and practically the one who handled the mercenaries. As for the legionnaires, they were considered under the knight's command so there's no need to call their representative.

The air feels unpleasant, to be honest. There's unknown tension between the knights, militia, and mercenaries. Yet, nobody wants to say anything about it.

Nobody except Pina.

"Is there anything you want to say, Wolf-dono?" asked Pina.

Even though the question was directed toward Wolf, Pina's eyes were wandering around other people with her knights as an exception. It's a sign to tell everyone that Pina noticed something wrong with the other forces.

It is quite fortunate, or perhaps unfortunate that Wolf is the type of person who is blunt with his mind. He tried to cope it up since he had a good feeling about the upcoming battle, but since it was Pina herself who asked what was going on, he decided to spill it out.

"Seems like you really didn't notice that most of your soldiers didn't want to fight for this fruitless battle?"

Wolf answered with a rather bored expression. As if he just recently woke up from sleep and then had to deal with annoying mosquitos.

The response was intense.

The Rose Order Of Knights member who was present immediately gave him a sharp glare, but regardless they said nothing.

Hearing that Wolf was brave enough to not soften his words, Master Cato(although hesitantly) also voiced out his words.

"Your Highness. We, the sorcerers couldn't do anything against the absolute irregularity that has been shown by the enemy. We can't even cast a spell during the initial explosions. Lelei, you said that the mana surrounding us had completely vanished?"

Lelei nodded, then added "Indeed, Master. The enemy has somehow done the absolute nonsense by erasing the presence of mana. At least in my research, I found no other possible way to achieve that."

"Even my genius apprentice couldn't comprehend the ability that was shown by these Irregulars. Not even my vast experience and knowledge were useful to these people. No matter how we see it, we can't win Your Highness."

Pina only looked at him with an expressionless face, while the other knights had their faces reddened by the statement before.

As if it wasn't enough, another mercenary, Islan joined in.

"Princess Pina, your knight over there-" he pointed toward Grey "didn't say anything about the militia. I don't know whether it's because he tried to hide it, or simply didn't care about them. But you have to know that these militias are just common villagers with no experience of battle. They are just simple farmers, villagers, and plebeians who have no idea what the battlefield looks like. Do you want to throw these men out against… those godly otherworlders?"

"Enough!" shouted Hamilton, taking everyone by surprise.

"It was our duty to protect the land of the Empire! Not just me as a knight, but you who are the subject of the Empire as well! Where's your honor?!"

*Brak!

The sound of the table being slammed filled the whole room.

And the perpetrator was none other than Wolf.

"I have enough shit from your useless honor and pride! I swear to god, if you say anything about honor again, I'll slit your throat right here right now!"

Hamilton was enraged, as well as other knights. Especially Norma who was hot-headed, along with Beefeater and Bozes. It was actually a miracle that these knights kept their silence.

But before any of these knights could vent their anger, Pina took over the attention.

She raised her right hand, ordering her knights to stop. Her eyes were gazing toward Wolf intently.

After several moments, the room had quieted down. Master Cato felt some shiver upon realizing how bad things could happen right now, while Rory shut her eyes with an exhausted sigh.

Rory kept her silence and decided to observe the situation rather than join in because she knew it was going to be degraded from the supposedly strategic meeting into a shout-out match between the knights and non-knights.

But luckily, Pina is taking control right now.

"I understand both of you, truly." She looked between the mercenaries and knights respectively.

"I understand the need to fight honorably as a warrior, and I understand those who didn't want to die." She paused, looking around to see if the others were listening to her or not.

"That's why I want to give you a choice. I don't want to force anyone to fight in the upcoming battle. I believe that everyone who comes to the battlefield should do so of their own free will. It's up to you to decide whether to join me or not. I don't want you to feel like I am pressuring you to risk your life in a battle that we may not win. So, I encourage you to make your own decision.".

Pina paused. Now, her voice has turned more melancholic, regretful, but still undeterred. She raises her head, looking at the people surrounding her with emphatic looks.

"However, I can't do that."

The reactions from the others were greatly varied, but to oversimplify it, there are some who are relieved, and some who are mad with sadness.

Wolf and other mercenaries had tried to say something, but Pina cut them off.

"And there's a reason for it. I order you-no, I asked you to listen to me. I promise you won't regret it."

Wolf was looking around, and when he looked at Master Cato, he saw that Master Cato gave him a nod, asking him to at least listen to what Pina gonna say.

"All right. At least explain your thoughts."

Pina smiled gently for the first time in a while. And with that smile, the air suddenly felt different than before. Moreover, the change was meant in a good way.

Her presence created a soothing atmosphere that eased everyone's breathing. It had been some time since Pina had properly used her feminine charm, and even now she was not aware of the effect her hidden beauty could have on others.

Pina was unaware that her expression, movement, tone, and especially her smile had captured everyone's attention. Despite wearing armor instead of royal attire, her elegance and dignified posture created an atmosphere unlike they had experienced before. It almost felt like they were inside a royal castle, complete with the same regal ambiance.

All of her knights are thinking exactly the same.

Our Princess is back.

While the others, much more surprised seeing her aura, had made them question where the hell this persona had stayed hidden since a month ago.

However, the hidden persona of Pina is no more surprising than what she would say.

Pina takes a deep breath, her body is trembling in unordinary excitement. Everybody knows something has made her full of hope. No, not just a hope, but a certainty.

And before they could guess what would she say, Pina dropped the bomb.

"I have met with our God, Lord Emroy. And he promised me a victory."

…

Rory Mercury is the Apostle of Emroy, the God of War. She's been blessed by Emroy for almost a thousand years. In fact, her age right now is 961 years old. She only needs to live for the next couple of decades to ascend into a Godhood.

During her lifetime as an Apostle, she was in constant communication with her God. However, not everything is being revealed to her.

In particular, this time she never knew that Emroy would bestow the honor of summoning Pina into his domain. This has left her baffled, almost in disbelief when Pina says her soul was summoned to his palace.

But what makes it more out of sense, Pina had said she would receive a blessing from Emroy.

Rory felt a lot of emotion upon that announcement. She has no idea what it is. However, she can feel absolute confusion about why her God had easily bestowed a blessing on someone who's not becoming an apostle.

Rory respects Pina for her relentless determination, but she notices that Pina isn't a very devout believer either. She cares too much for her own honor and people. That kind of mentality would make her fail to see the bigger picture.

If the Gods and Goddess wanted to get rid of the otherworlders, they could use other methods that could give a better result. Instead, her own God, Emroy, had unknowingly bestowed a blessing to someone so they could fight off the otherworlders.

What was Emroy thinking?

Rory might seem like a cutesy girl with ruthless brutality when it comes to a fight, but she also has a sharp instinct and a fine brain. She cannot be fooled easily, and she can feel it whenever something bad is happening. Sometimes, she can feel the premonition of a nightmare that would yet to come.

And what troubled her was that she sensed a bad premonition from Emroy's decision. Something is very wrong, yet she can't figure it out yet. All she knew right now was, that Emroy was definitely scheming up about something.

But, she can't say anything about it to Pina, who seems to be wholeheartedly overjoyed by Emroy's words. Rory is certain that Emroy will fulfill his word, but what comes next is the mystery.

Still, looking at the baffled and hopeful expression of Pina's retinue had made herself sure to keep her thoughts to herself. They have been on the edge of the pit ever since the Gate was opened, it's time to give them some hope.

Not only the knights but the sorcerer and mercenary seem to smile with relief.

The room fell silent for a moment, but she could hear Wolf murmuring "My guts never wrong."

It was probably thanks to Pina's sudden change of attitude, who seemed to be so fragile and indecisive in the early days to become an embodiment of regality nuance that made the people in the assembly room not even think Pina was lying.

After all, to lie about the Gods was a huge sin. It would be a complete idiot thing to do in front of the apostle, especially the apostle who serves the God you're mentioning. And right here right now, Rory didn't do anything and it was perceived that Pina's words were the truth.

In fact, Rory did feel suspicious, but her instinct told her otherwise. The Gods would know when their people commit a sin, and that knowledge would immediately be transferred to the Apostle. But Rory didn't receive any information from Emroy, it would mean that he really did say that to Pina.

However, the atmosphere has somehow become tense. Not a tense of uneasiness, but a tense of hesitation to ask more. It appears they wanted to know more about Emroy's assurance of their victory. And luckily, Pina didn't miss this.

"I knew this was too sudden and I would understand if you didn't believe me. However, nor even I had predicted this." Pina loosened her posture a bit and folded her hands on her lower chest.

"I don't even remember how, but our Lord Emroy had brought my soul into his castle. And I must say, the castle itself was transcendental. It's beyond any mortal could imagine. But there I was, coming into a talk with Him." She paused a moment.

She looks around, widening her smile.

"And we talk. I, who never sought any truth about our God, had been given a helping hand by one of them. I felt so embarrassed, yet so grateful. I grumble about what I'm facing. I voice out loud my gripes with my mind. I have even questioned back His words. It's embarrassing. But, He still reaches his hand to me. He promised me victory. He promised me I would emerge in triumph. However," her face becomes serious, "under one condition."

" 'Hm?' "

Everyone's reacted in the same way. They immediately looked around, confirming that each one of them really did let out a soft gasp. It happened in a second, and the next thing they do is try to conceal it with a firm, cool, or undisturbed expression.

Seeing the reaction, Pina couldn't hold herself to smile once again.

"Yes, our God Emroy has promised to give us a victory. But he would only do that if I proved to be worthy."

Now everyone looking at her more intensely. However, this time, someone decided to speak up.

"Your Highness, what kind of proof He asked to you?" Hamilton asked.

Pina didn't let loose her smile, but it dissipated a bit. In return, everyone could see some kind of troubled expression on her face.

"I shall be the leader that you need," Pina answered.

"And what that would be?" Islan asked.

"… A reason."

"A reason?"

"A leader who can give you a reason to fight."

The room fell into silence once again. But this time, it didn't take long.

"But we have our reason already. Actually, we have more than enough reason to-"

"No"

Hamilton once again tried to voice out her mind but got interrupted by someone who's been keeping quiet all this time.

She looked to where the voice came out intending to shout at him for being disrespectful, but soon kept her intention back away when she realized that it was Rory Mercury who cut her sentence.

"Y-Your Holiness…"

"No, Hamilton. Perhaps you and the other Order have more than enough reason to fight alongside Pina. But the rest are not. You're right Pina. You have to give them a reason to follow you into the battle."

Rory picked up her halberd and leaned it on her shoulder. She walked toward Pina with a solid step, making a noise that was loud enough to be heard across the room.

As she comes to Pina's side, Rory says "Turning these people into warrior-hearted is not easy. And you have very little time to do it. How are you gonna do it?"

Pina turns her body to the side, facing Rory up ahead. Her demeanor now seems to be serious. And her face, it was the face of someone who dared to do anything to achieve her goal.

And somehow, Rory didn't like this.

"You're asking that question but you already know the answer, Your Holiness. Or should I say it out loud to you?"

"Not to me, but to them." Rory averts her gaze from her to the people across the room. Pina also followed her gaze.

As she saw them, she noticed that everyone also wanted to ask the same thing as Rory.

"You're right, Your Holiness. Perhaps, I don't communicate properly this whole time."

"Not just 'perhaps', but 'definitely'."

Rory might say a little bit harsh words, but her tone is getting softer. And before Pina could say anything, Rory pat Pina's shoulder.

"I want to help, but this is a matter between you and Lord Emroy. You have to do it by yourself."

Pina, who made a smile upon the words, replied "Your presence here is already a help, Your Holiness. I'm sorry that I've been such a mess since the first day you came here."

"And your gratitude should be addressed to Lord Emroy since he was the one who sent me. Now, we don't have much time. Whatever your plan, you have to do it now."

"Of course, Your Holiness."

"I'll pray for your success, Princess."

Pina nodded, closed her eyes while bowing her head, and then opened them back while facing the other people once again.

She takes a short breath, then says "I need to talk with everyone. Please gather everyone."

…

It's near the time of sunrise. The sky has gotten some reddish color on its horizon. However, the air feels colder, and the wind is not making it better.

A small droplet of water started to pour down from the sky, making the people on the ground become aware of the upcoming rain. Normally, people would grumble upon realizing there would be rain in the early morning. It makes you feel heavy to leave your mattress to go to work.

Yet, for today, all those lazes and problems become the least of their concern. It all thanks to Pina who ordered every person who can wield a weapon, to stand in formation outside the fort. In exception, Suisesse and her subordinates were tasked to defend the fort.

Although they were separated by units, they still stood on the same outskirts, on the same ground, and with the same fate.

"Oy, do any of you have an idea what's going on?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're going to the battle."

"Well, I know that, but why we're standing here instead at the front of those Irregulars?"

"Perhaps the Princess is going say something."

"I bet she intended to speak nonsense about honor or something"

"No doubt. Probably best to cover our ear."

"I want to do the same, but my hands are too tired to cover up my ears."

"Want to plug your ears? I got some bottle caps."

"Nah, it's probably too big for my ears."

"Can I have those bottle caps? I would like to use it."

"Here, take it."

"Thanks, you don't need it?"

"Nah, even without any plug, my ears would conceal themselves from any kind of lies."

"Must be nice to have that pair of ears."

"Yeah, I would take it when I saw your corpse later."

"Only if I die first."

"Oh, you will. You're standing in front of me, that's why."

"That's because I'm less coward than you. Cowards die first in the battle."

"Heh, people like you who will die first."

"Wanna bet?"

"Why not?"

"I'm in."

"Me too."

"I don't know what's goin' on here, but I'm in."

"All right. If I came to heaven first, your wives gonna be mine."

"I'm out. I love my wife."

"I'm in. My wife would give you hell anyway."

"Got it. I don't have a wife, but you can have my sister."

"Can my neighbor be counted? I'm single but I want to join the bet."

"Oy you gave a condition to give our wives, but how about yours when you lose?"

"Good question."

"Yeah yeah, if you say nothing then you're the cowards."

"Calm down gents, if I lose the bet then I'll be your slave."

"Nah, if I go to heaven, I would ask the Gods to have a better slave than you."

"The offer is awful. I'm out."

"Yeah me too. What kind of sick mind do you have?"

"Anyway, why do we do the bets in the first place?"

"No idea, I forgot."

"Damn, so the bets are canceled?"

"Better do."

"Great, what a good way to waste time."

"Better waste it while we can."

"We're going to die right?"

"Still asking that question?"

"Don't ask something obvious."

"SHUT UP!"

…

…

The talks suddenly stopped, as they saw a bulky man in white colored armor with dark blue lines on their edge come from their back, shouting an order to shut their mouths. No one dared to oppose it for several reasons. But funnily enough, only a very few of them didn't oppose it because they were scared.

However, there's one person who could still give them genuine fear.

"I don't like disrespecting someone just because they do something you don't like."

Suddenly, a childlike figure appears near them. The defenders are lined up in a well-disciplined formation leaving no gaps for anyone to slip into it unnoticed. Yet, this little girl was standing there, carrying her large holy halberd on her shoulder without any disturbance.

Nobody noticed how and when she came, but one thing for certain, everybody knew who she was.

"…Y-Your Holiness.."

"My ap-"

"Shut it."

Rory cut anyone's attempt to ask for forgiveness.

"Listen well to the Princess. And if you don't, that means you were all cowards."

Rory walks away from the formation, making her step with absolute dominance over the soldiers on the field.

Then, she continued, "And Emroy would send every coward to hell."

A collective gulp could be heard amongst the defenders.

As Rory Mercury walked away, a figure was standing in front of them. That figure is sitting on her horse, accompanied by several flashy females in the same armor as the main figure.

Everyone knew it was Princess Pina.

"My brave warriors"

Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the place.

As it turns out, it was Pina's voice, enhanced by the sorcerer with a spell to make your voice louder. Thanks to it, the whole people, which more or less numbered 37.000 defenders, could hear her voice very clearly.

Although most of them were already reluctant to listen to whatever she intended to say, the loud voice was difficult to ignore. So, they have no choice but to listen to their princess for the last time.

"My very brave warriors… I know you can hear me"

There's a momentary pause as Pina shoots her gaze throughout the formation.

"But you don't see me. Your eyes are looking thousands of meters away. And I know, you seek your place in heaven"

Pina rode her horse slowly to left and right, making another sound of trotting. The sight of her figure wearing dirtied armor, stained flower motifs, and brownish-colored fur on her horse had successfully helped to draw the attention.

"But I don't blame you. What you saw over there is an army. An army with terrifying might. An Army who can slay us without any effort. An Army that defies any sense of our mind."

As the tone gets softer, Pina's voice is getting more gentle as she stops trotting her horse.

The sun never rose to the sky. Instead, it was replaced by the dark cloud, starting to shout its thunder and raining down lightning to the ground. Water started to pour down more heavily than before.

Yet, no one is leaving the site. Instead, they all stayed with a firm pose.

And somehow, everyone could feel the gaze from Pina's eyes. They feel it. They can feel the gaze from Pina. And it feels, empathetic.

"My warriors, my dear people, I can feel the fear inside your hearts. Your eyes have reflected the sadness of death, your body has been weakened by the terror, and your minds have been filled with images of futile struggle. And your heart and soul have concluded you're going to lose.

However,"

The last word had a different tone. The voice becomes heavier, deeper, as if you hold an anger in it. The tone had successfully lifted everyone's head. And now, literally, everyone had solemnly looked up at the Princess.

Now they were all looking at her. They are looking at her not to find solace, they look at her to find a truth and a glimpse of the future.

Pina's aura also changed. Her empathetic looks had changed to become menacing. She's not going to give forgiveness, she's going to punish.

"If they win, they will take away everything we left behind. If they win, everything you have will be lost. If they win, you don't have a chance to stop them anymore.

And right now, we have a chance to stop them.

That's why, we can't let them win!

We're not going to lose.

We will stand and fight, and not lose.

We will kill, and not lose.

We will charge, and not lose.

Because we will win!

We will win this battle!

We stand here to fight!

We will fight and win!

Because we are warriors!

You are not plebeian, you are not mercenaries, you are not legionnaires.

Today, you are all warriors!

And as promised by our Lord Emroy, the triumph shall be ours!"

*Crrack! Boom boom!

A sound of thunder echoed across the sky, fueling the raging fire inside Pina's heart.

She gallops her horse across the field vigorously. Then shout.

"We are no longer weak! We are no longer cornered! We are no longer crying!

We are going to fight!

It's not us who were afraid! It's them!

We are fighting for our lands, they are fighting to take it!

We are fighting for our loved ones, they are fighting to take it!

We are fighting for our homes, they are fighting to take it!

Fight! Fight my warriors!

Fight for our lands!

Fight for our loves!

Fight for our homes!

Fight! Fight! Fight for our lives!

Because we will win, and live to see another day!"

She stopped at the center. She unsheathed her sword. She raised it as high as her hand could give to the sky.

"Long live the Empire!"

" 'LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!' "

"Long live the Empire!"

" 'LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!' "

"Long live the Empire!"

" 'LONG LIVE THE EMPIRE!' "

"To Emroy!"

" 'TO EMROY!' "

"Hurrahh!"

" 'HURRAHHH!' "

The walls are vibrating, the ground is shaking, and the air is filled with thousands of shouting voices.

The horizon was full of a sword, spears, axes, and battle hammers that were lifted to the sky by every existing hand.

The thunder continues to echo across the sky, the sky is lit by flashes of lightning, and the ground is punctured by the heavy rain of water.

At that moment, a fire is raging wildly inside every person's heart. There is no longer heavy air in their nose. There is no longer sadness over the upcoming death. And there is no longer fear in their eyes.

All there existed, was only thirst.

A thirst to kill.

A thirst to move.

A thirst to win.

The roaring thunder is getting intense, the lightning has completely enlightened the sky with its continuous appearance. The water that was coming down from the sky was so torrential as if it could flood the driest desert.

Yet, nobody flinched. Not even a bit.

And that is when a miracle happens.

They all heard a voice. A voice inside their head and hearts. And that voice was somehow felt so benevolent. As it says,

{Then I shall give you, what I have promised}

Everyone, including Pina and her closest knights, instinctively looks at the sky.

As Panache looked up at the sky, she noticed the silhouette of a dark figure flying in the distance. As it grew closer, she saw it was a monstrous, majestic winged horse. Its coat was the darkest shade of black, and its wingspan was immense. Panache was in awe of the creature as it flew above her, its muscles rippling with every powerful movement. She couldn't help but whisper to herself,

"Dark Pegasus..."

Yet, it was not the only creature that was flying above them.

As the dark pegasus flew through the sky, the troops noticed another creature that was flying alongside it. With its massive size and grotesque figure, this new creature was even more intimidating than the dark pegasus. The troops couldn't help but feel threatened by it. As they looked closer, they realized that the creature had the body of a lion, with a pair of enormous wings and a long, serpentine tail that resembled that of a dragon. It was none other than the Manticore, a mythical beast that was known for being incredibly dangerous and difficult to defeat.

"That… Is that…"

"Impossible…"

"The myth…"

"Those creatures…"

The troops were awestruck by the sight. Yet, the strangest thing hadn't to occur.

As they looked up to the sky, they suddenly felt a jolt of electricity inside of their bodies. For a moment, they thought they were struck down by a thunder. But they immediately thought otherwise once they opened their eyes.

They all still stand on the ground with both of their feet. They don't feel any pain from any part of their body.

Instead, they felt a surge of power. Inside their body, there is something powerful inhabiting it. They felt their bodies become lighter, stronger, and unbreakable.

One of the troops immediately tried to slash the ground with his sword, and the result was the ground ignited by a ray of fire.

"W-woah…" he murmured.

And yet, he's not the only one.

Pina and her knights also felt something they never experienced before. But little they did know, they had more than the Fukutsu troops had.

They not just felt more powerful, but also more fearless.

They felt numb against fear. And the only feeling they have right now is eagerness.

To add more to the dumbfounding situation, the dark pegasus and Manticore flew down from the sky, landing in front of them.

Those creatures bowed down their heads, lowering their bodies as if they bowed down toward their masters.

"Y-Your Highness…"

Bozes murmured toward Pina. But when she looked at Pina, she never saw happiness more than what Pina showed right now. To say she was smiling from ear to ear was not enough. Her eyes, her cheeks, and even her lips were screaming happiness from their core.

Then, without any seconds to waste, Pina shouted,

"TO THE BATTLE!"

…

"Saare-sama" Phos, feeling the sudden change of atmosphere from afar, stands up from her seat inside the command center tent.

"Everyone notices it, honey" Glenda replied with a nonchalant tone, but her face frowned while keeping herself on the seat.

"I… I…" Phos stuttered, she couldn't find the right word to express it.

"Saika" Saare's response was only calling his head of intelligence, Saika. Who immediately showed up beside him from the shadows.

"Yes, Saare-sama. The weather is not normal. I've been doing everything I can to gather more intel about what is going on."

However, Saare didn't focus on the sky.

"No, let's set aside the upcoming storm and focus more on the Saderans. I've sensed they are moving."

"Understood, I shall personally go there and figure out what happened."

"Please, and thank you, Saika."

"Yes," Then she disappeared along the black mist that surrounded her.

Saare stood up from his seat and successfully made the rest of the people inside the tent do the same. He walked out to the field where his army had been resting and continued to walk to the spot where he could see the Saderans had taken place.

Noticing the atmosphere had changed, the troops stopped their activity in unison and grabbed their equipment. The officers had also started to prepare themselves and put their subordinates on alert.

The captains and close aides followed Saare's steps without saying anything, albeit some of them wanted to ask what was inside of his mind. However, Saare put up an expression where he clearly stated "Don't bother me since I knew nothing as well".

They stood up there for several minutes, standing still without doing or saying anything. Eventually, they saw the Saderans had come out from the gate with a good order.

"Perhaps they wanted to surrender, just like the purpose of your schemes," Glenda said.

"And the weather is just a coincidence. Y'know, sometimes there's a storm in the morning too in Tempest." Grigori added.

"But isn't it Saika-san herself had stated the weather is not normal?" Phos tried to ask.

"I have to agree with Saika-san. I can feel the weather has been controlled by someone." Zeno joined in the discussion.

"Is this some kind of Skill? Like Ranga-dono's [Weather Domination]?" Grigori asked.

"It is, Grigori-sama. Which is why it could be dangerous if we're not careful about this." Zeno replied.

"Depending on how much the scale of power the caster has, it could blow us apart. I have to admit, even our Airship won't survive a manipulated storm." Ophelia added the information.

"But the ground troops should be safe. I mean, we have endured this kind of situation during our training. Now we have been enhanced by this armor. We can still fight and win." Rudiger joined the talks with a confident nature.

However, the one who should be saying something in this situation is Saare. And right now, he has spoken zero words this whole time. Because of this, nobody says anything after Rudiger's remark.

Yet it doesn't mean Saare is ignorant. In truth, many things are happening in his mind right now. He wondered who caused the abnormal weather, how much his troops would get affected, what the Saderans would do right now, and many more.

But unfortunately, what happened next would only add more aches inside his head.

As they observed the fort, they saw the Saderans march their way out. At first, he hoped the Saderans would surrender themselves in good order. However, as it turns out, it was much different than what he had expected.

Because what came next, was something he didn't count before.

And that was none other than Princess Pina's speech.

Everyone, including the lowest rank in his troops, had silently listened to Pina's speech. Almost all of them were surprised at how brave the Princess was. They wondered how stubborn she must be, to be able to stand on her feet like this in the middle of horrific odds.

Every word she said reflected the bravery of a warrior, and it successfully made Saare and his men feel uncomfortable.

"Damn, this Princess knew how to talk," Glenda commented.

"Now there's no difference between groups. They all united Saare," Grigori added.

"Then it's all good! We can beat them out equally!" Being fired up, Stella had shown a different perspective on seeing this new development.

This comment made some of them chuckle.

"Stella is right. Come on Saare, no time to lament your failed scheme. We take them down without mercy, shall we?" Glenda commented.

However, Saare still kept quiet.

"Saare-sama?" Zeno tried to call him out. And only after that, Saare finally spoke.

"Sorry, but I do not regret anything about my failed scheme. But I still think about how much I have miscalculated and how to fix that up."

His gaze still looking at the Saderans. He never looks at his back toward his companions.

"But we have made a plan if your scheme doesn't work. Is that not enough?" Glenda once again asked.

"That's what I'm worried about. In the first place, I have underestimated Princess Pina's capability as a leader."

"So?"

"So that means I may have underestimated another factor without realizing it, potentially leading to catastrophic results."

Glenda scoffed, then replied, "And do you know what factor you underestimated?"

Saare turns his back, looking at Glenda with a serious expression.

"No, and that's the problem. I know less than I should, and I made a plan based on it. Now I'm faced with many unknown variables that could turn the tide of the battle. Don't look at me like that, Glenda. Rimuru-sama trusted me to carry out this mission along with the whole team, I cannot fail his trust."

Some of his companions tried to say something after the sentence but were immediately stopped by a sudden increase of roaring thunder and lightning. The wind had blown fiercely, screwed up the grass under them, and rendered their vision.

Some of the troops had to cover their face with their arm as the wind was getting stronger in seconds. At this moment, Saika arrived from the shadow realm underneath Saare's shade.

Everyone immediately looks at her.

"Saare-sama, I have a bad news." She started her report. Saare only gave her nod as a sign to continue.

"The weather is indeed being manipulated by someone. But I have a probable answer for that. And the one who's responsible for this was the God of War, Emroy."

Saare and his other companions look at her with surprised looks, while at the same time, the captain also shares the information with their subordinates.

"But that's not all, Saare-sama."

"Tell me everything, Saika."

"Yes. It's not only the weather, but I also noticed a sudden increase in power in the Saderans. I cannot determine what it is since it's not like an awakening of skill. However, I noticed that their physical power has risen by an unknown percentage. And lastly, I received information from my subordinates who patrolling the sky that thousands of Pegasus and Manticore had descended from unknown places."

"' What? !'" A collective surprised tone came from everybody's mouth.

"Hold on, you said thousands? Saare, this is not a joke anymore. What are we gonna do?!" Glenda started to get uneasy.

"We'll get attacked from the ground and the sky. And we're outnumbered. Can we call a reinforcement?" Grigori tried to suggest.

"It will take time to get a proper reinforcement. Our best bet is getting several hundred from Blue Numbers in several dozen minutes." Saika responded.

"It wouldn't be enough. In the first place, the Saderans are already prepared. They can attack anytime soon, and I guess they would do it in a matter of minutes." Zeno retorted.

"Then we have no choice other than to face it by ourselves now. And to be honest, I don't like it." Glenda concluded.

Everyone looks at each other, before eventually looking at the same time toward Saare who's keeping silent while standing stoically.

Realizing he was being looked at, he sighed. "Glenda is right. We don't have any other choice. We have to use what we have right now. We'll stand our ground and take a defensive formation. With such power, I'm certain the Saderans would be on the offensive."

He breathed out his lungs, not hiding his defeated look. Yet, he put on his battle helm and then turned around facing his comrade. His palm was already in the grip of his sword.

"We don't have time. Let's go." He walked out downright to the Fukutsu unit position.

"But Saare-sama! What should we-"

"Let them charge at us. Tighten our shields, and hold out. I don't think I have to say this but, you may kill everyone who's coming at you. Ophelia, Rudiger, you cover the flanks and above as best as you can. Soften their front row with artillery too. Nien, do your best to hold our position. Don't let any of the ground troops get near our rear. And Zeno, on my signal, storms the fort."

Saare unsheathed his sword, then looked at his comrades through his helm. Nobody can see his face at the moment, but they could guess he's asking for confirmation whether they understood or not.

And so, without further question, they all collectively say "' Understood! '"

Saare gave them a nod and then proceeded to walk toward the Fukutsu unit.

His comrade followed suit, and they also went to their own position.

A battle up ahead was near.

To Be Continued

---

Hey guys! It's been a while. Sorry for taking so long. And sorry for the cliffhanger. The next chapter is on progress, but it's not a scheduled so I can't promise you when it will be uploaded.

Holy hell the reviews is quite a lot. Sorry I might not going to reply it one by one. But I'll try my best.

Eddie199: Lelei would be flabbergasted for sure, but the story would not be that easy for her life.

DaveyL2013 and N1cok: Yeah sorry my English is still pretty bad. I use Grammarly for this one, I hope it helps for now. Thank you.

Da wall: I get what you mean. But initially, I was planning on working some theology and spiritual aspect to this story. Being a God isn't just being a powerful being. As a person who have faith in religion, I can't explain how the spiritual aspect work on character. And that's what I try to bring into this story, but after working this story for some time, I felt it won't be needed.

khotib123jek: Halo! Saya juga orang Indonesia lhooo... WKwkwkw. Terimakasih untuk pujiannya ya! But well, this website is dominated by English speaker. So let's converse with English. Nice to have Indonesian fellow though! Selamat membaca!

VeteranNewGuy: This Agnius is a representative of someone who never thought about being weaker than anyone else. But he's still have some sense of logic so that's how it is. And about Tempest being unnecessarily accommodating is not a right conclusion, mate. Initially(before Prince Diabo agreed to follow along Rimuru's scheme), Tempest just wanted to make the Saderan back off and then deal with the deity of Special Region. So to make it quick and to avoid unnecessary dispute, Rimuru wanted to follow their custom and not sending any non-human delegation. If you are confused why Rimuru act like this, my version of Rimuru is someone who totally pacifist and wanted to avoid any bloodshed as much as possible. Even if he and his nation could wipe out the entire Saderan people in merely seconds, Rimuru wouldn't do that for the sake of peace. After all, there's no casualties from Tempest side, so I think it's pretty fitting for Rimuru to be like this.

Guest: I am wholeheartedly thankful for your comment. Thank you for liking my story this much. I'm sorry I took so long for update, but I can't help it.

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Author's Yapping.

Well, here I am guys. Still alive and well. I got quite a lot of problems in real life so I can't spare much of time for writing. The next chapter is still on progress though. I was initially wanted to upload some other time when I finished the chapter 11 so I can upload two chapter at once. But the recent review make me feel guilty and eventually, I think it would be better to upload it now even though with the cliffhanger.

If something happen to me, I'll make sure somebody would announce it so if there's no news about me, then it means I'm still alive and well but not have enough time to write. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I hope you guys well. I hope we can see each other again in the next chapter. Thank you for your patience.

Sampai Jumpa!