《Aurora, another world and a war that changed history》


 Prologue

    Russian Federation, year unknown


    Kleng!


    ¡°Who is it!?¡±


    The voice echoed deep in the cold taiga forest, near a port on the Arctic Ocean in Siberia, far from the outside world. A lone inspector patrolled the port, holding a dead fluorescent lamp.


    ¡°It¡¯s so dark.¡±-The inspector reached into his pocket in annoyance-¡°What idiot would come out here at this time of day? And even if it was a thief, couldn¡¯t he find a better time? Let this old man out in this weather.¡±


    The old man grumbled, then pulled out a new battery, replaced it in the fluorescent lamp, threw the dead one into the snow and turned it back on. But¡­it didn¡¯t work much. The fluorescent lights were completely blocked by centimeter-thick snowballs, so thick that it was hard to see half a meter in the almost windless sky, making it hard to distinguish a grizzly bear from a log cabin, but fortunately there were no grizzlies here, only polar bears.


    The only light left in the darkness was the North Star, the last star still shining in the sky. The rest was pitch black, cold and ominously gloomy. The old steward''s feet were freezing from the ice. If it weren''t for that damned noise, he would have been warm and cozy in his log cabin by now:


    "If I catch him, he''s dead to me. If I''m imagining things, I should bang my head against the wall. Damn it."


    Being a steward near the Arctic Ocean is a cold and boring job. The only requirement of the job was not to let anyone steal the ship during the winter. ¡°No idiot would take the train from Yakursk to Northern Siberia to steal any ship in the winter¡± - that was what the old inspector thought before signing the contract - ¡°I will work there to enjoy my old life¡±. Unfortunately for him, right now there is no chance to regret that decision anymore.


    Kleng!


    Another noise, a metallic sound, there was definitely something out there.


    ¡°Stop there! I have a gun!¡±


    The gun had actually been left in the cabin, the old man said that only in the hope that if the thief heard it, he would be scared and retreat away from the scene. Actually going back now to get the gun would be a shame, and besides, the damn thief might have already pulled the anchor by that time.


    The inspector stood still, ready to ¡°draw his gun¡±, then moved silently. The quiet sound of the night really made him shiver a little.


    ¡°Uhh¡­do I need this?¡±


    Suddenly, a voice came from behind the falling snow, hoarse, hard to distinguish male or female, old or young, maybe not even Russian because the old man couldn¡¯t catch a word. And the thief spoke loudly, loud enough to be heard from a distance, as if he wanted to confirm his presence.


    ¡°Idiot.¡±


    Stopping for a moment to get his bearings, the old steward turned his feet to one side, walking towards the dock. In this weather, he was the one with the better sense of direction, not the thief. The thief was definitely at the docks, struggling to untie the mooring rope, and even more certain that he was just a rookie, if he dared to speak so loudly while stealing. If so, then there was no need to worry, it would take a long time for that inexperienced guy to untie that cold freezing rope from the mooring.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Anyway, his hands were quite cold. After beating the thief up, he had to press his hand against the coffee pot at home-


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Why did the snow suddenly stop falling?


    The snowstorm suddenly became smaller and then stopped, all in less than 10 seconds, as if the Snow Queen was tired she turned off the snowy weather and rested? Something like when you turn off the TV, it shuts down immediately. But how could that be for snow? This phenomenon had never happened to the old steward in his entire life, even though he had lived for more than 60 years. This was a strange occurrence, he was sure that there would be a news bulletin tomorrow about this-


    ¡°Hey!¡±


    Amidst the snowflakes, an LED light shone on the farthest sailboat from the beach, without having to confirm, it was definitely the thief. The stealer himself was standing on the top of the mast, both hands holding a rope pulled the sail to pop out of the reel. He was about to sail the ship away:


    ¡°Damn it- oh damn!¡±


    Hearing the noise, the thief turned his face to look at the steward, then pulled out something resembling a dagger. Ducking down for a few seconds to aim, he used all of his strength to jump down and cut off the rope connecting the sailboat to the dock. The boat began to slide on the ice and into the water at a speed that was hard to believe it was just a simple wooden boat. Seeing this, the old steward panicked and ran toward the ship, at the same time gaining momentum, hoping to jump onto the sailboat before it went too far¡­


    Suddenly, a green light flashed from the sky in the corner of his eye


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Northern Lights¡±-Aurora Borealis-people often call it that. The phenomenon occurs when solar flares make contact with the earth¡¯s magnetosphere, creating a magnificent light scene at the North Pole, which can be seen in Russia, Canada, Finland, America or anywhere the radiation reaches. That phenomenon is happening right in front of the old steward, he has seen it dozens of times in his life, living in Russia, who hasn¡¯t seen this?


    Except it didn''t look like an aurora at all:


    ¡°What the hell is going on?


    The aurora he saw behaved differently from the ones he had ever seen in his life. Rather, it was not one aurora, but dozens of them gathered together to form a giant mass of light shining in the sky. The light rays from the core of the aurora shone down on the ground, melting all the ice and snow in its path, shining on the old shipmaster''s face, making it abnormally hot. Frightened, he knelt down, unable to lift his feet and ran, as if the end of the world had come. This was absurd, utterly absurd, how could an inanimate light behave against the laws of nature like what he is seeing at this very moment? He stood there rooted to the spot, asking himself that question. It was not until another sound struck his mind that he woke up from his fear, it was the sound of a ship leaving the port:


    "Hey!" ¡°Is he crazy?¡±


    ¡°He¡± is the wrong pronoun to be used here. The long, disheveled hair and the small figure, from a distance you could tell it was a girl, a child at that. Anyway, the thief didn¡¯t seem to stop and in contrast, might even be accelerating. The wind suddenly picked up, fiercely, pushing the sail and along with it, the stern of the boat closer to the aurora, which was weakening on its own.


    ¡°Dammit.¡±


    The old man used all his strength to push himself up, staggered towards the wooden hut. He had a landline there, he needed to report this phenomenon immediately, take some pictures with his Soviet-era camera if they didn¡¯t believe him, and then call the navy to come and catch the ship and the thief on it, if the navy were willing to help him.


    ¡°Tsk¡±-he took a breath after entering the house, panting, shaking off the snow that had accumulated on his coat and leather shoes. The phone was right there, he ran to it and dialed. 863 240-93-91, he pressed the call button, but it didn''t work.


    "Ah"


    Outside, there was a piece of abandoned wire and a pair of pruning shears.


    **


    The light from the aurora gradually faded, leaving only a faint green tint.


    The wind that had pushed the boat here suddenly stopped blowing.


    On the sail, the thief lit a fire with a match, then threw it into the sky.


    Less than a second later, the aurora returned her light with a blinding flash that swept down, engulfing the boat and its only crew member.


    Both disappeared into the night.

 Introduction

    The Kingdom of Latila


    Population: 238 thousand


    Capital: Latila


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    The Elestovakian Empire


    Population: 27,28 million


    Capital: Levantia


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    The Maritime Federation


    Population: 102 thousand


    Capital: GaneoStolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


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    The Kingdom of Vlenna


    Population: 73 thousand


    Capital: Vlenna


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    The Kingdom of Milishila


    Population: 18, 6 million


    Capital: Ethanolin


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    Map of the new world (According to the Latilian Geographical Institution)


    Cities with red text: Elestovakia


    Cities with blue text: Latila-Vlenna coalition


    Cities with green text: Neutral


    <figure>


    </figure>


    Distance from Latila to Levantia: 2416km

 Unexpected Visitor

    Around the 15th century, the continent of Atlasia had two great wars.


    One war changed the face of the continent.


    The other war - the one this story will unfold- changed the history of the world.


    -Chapter 1- April 1463


    ¡°Why is your face so dull, Klein?¡±


    "Huh?"


    Looking up from the pile of papers and documents stacked on his desk, Klein, Klein Caesar Voyage, a young high-ranking soldier of the Latila Kingdom Army, glanced around the room to find the person who had just asked him.


    As one of the youngest commanders in the country, largely thanks to his family, a line in the aristocratic House of Voyage, partly also thanks to his ability to learn fast and his constant achievement of high scores in exams, Klein was assigned to command an independent legion after the former commander passed away. That''s why he was considered an excellent soldier, and was respected by quite a large number of people in the military, both superior and subordinate. Klein was so respected that he even had his own office in the Royal Palace itself (the one he was currently sitting in), although it was somewhat thanks to someone else''s hand in it, and it was no accident that the person who had a hand in establishing him an office in the palace is sitting on his office window.


    ¡°Flarius?¡±


    Full name is Belisari Flarius Latila, another young commander of the Imperial Army, another military noble. Like Klein, Belisari is also a formidable and capable commander in the military, but their ranks are slightly different, Klein is one rank lower than Belisari in the military, and two titles lower than Belisari in the nobility.


    These two people are friends, the most unbalanced pair of friends in the whole kingdom. Not just hierarchy, those two people, except that they are both human, having the same gender, in the same age group (Klein 23 Belisari 24) and the same nationality, both of them frankly have nothing the same. Klein belongs to the eastern Grecolatina ethnic group, while Belisari is a western Remenus. Klein is also short, 1m67, while Belisari is quite tall, 1m88, nearly 1m9. Klein also has a pair of thick and large glasses, covering almost a third of his face, while his friend does not wear them glasses, and is even an excellent marksman.


    Although their hair color looks similar, if you look closely, you''ll notice that Klein has light sunburn and is a bit rough, while Belisari''s hair is black and almost perfectly smooth. In addition, the Voyage officer hates people who are not serious at work, especially at times in need, while Belisari¡­ rarely takes his work seriously, unless urged by a superior, in which the whole country only has one.


    Anyway, regardless of the differences, Klein was still Belisari''s childhood friend, and that friendship was still going well until now. The relationship could have been even tightened if it weren''t for an invisible boundary separating two people at two different levels in society:


    ¡°Nothing, Your Highness.¡±


    Klein''s rank in the nobility is a member of the House of Voyage, Belisari, the Archprince, or in other words, heir to the throne of the Latila Kingdom. A common noble¡­and a future ruler.


    ¡°Say it, Klein, I won''t ask twice.¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­¡±


    Even though they were friends, Klein rarely addressed Belisari intimately. He didn''t even call him by his first name but always called him by his middle name or title, no matter how many times his friend the prince convinced him to do so. It''s not because he is afraid of being rude or anything, many people in the Voyage family also call the Archprince that way, but this soldier is a disciplinarian and always maintains proper etiquette when addressing anyone:


    ¡°I have concerns, Your Highness, the upcoming war...looking at these reports, looking at the current state of the army...I''m afraid it will be difficult for us to defeat the Empire.¡±


    Enough about introducing the characters, now we''ll summarize the history of this world with some political geography knowledge:


    The continent of Atlasia is one of two fully explored continents, the territory of a great empire called Elestovakia. The Empire is the largest country in history after the Northern Expedition that lasted more than six years ignited by its emperor, and the Latila kingdom itself was also a victim of that Northern Expedition. Exactly ten years ago, after a series of defeats in every battlefield, the Kingdom''s Royal Army was pushed out of most of their territory by the Imperial Expeditionary Force, except for the capital and a few offshore islands. Even then, in the final act of the war, the kingdom''s capital, Latila, was besieged by the Elestovakia army and almost fell, if not for a little luck and the timely arrival of a foreign relief fleet.


    Although it was able to keep the capital from being lost to the enemy, the Kingdom had to grit its teeth and recognized Elestovakian legitimate occupation upon all captured regions in order to maintain its independence. And so, from a powerful kingdom, Latila was kicked off the map by Elestovakia and lost 97% of its territory in just three months. The empire then did not stop, but continued to direct its army north and conquer the rest of the continent, giving the condition to establish the Second Empire of Elestovakia, the supreme giant who alone dominated the continent Atlasia.


    That was the war that changed the face of the continent.


    Unfortunately for the empire, they would have expanded into the Gaulli continent next to Atlasia if they had not suffered a catastrophic failure when invading this neighboring continent. The Imperial Fleet during an expedition encountered and fought the combined fleets of the Kingdom of Milishila and the Maritime Federation, two masters of naval warfare, and lost completely to the allied fleet. This defeat destroyed the Elestovakia fleet, completely cutting off Elestovakia from Gaulli and thereby extinguishing the fire in the Empire''s war machine.


    After losing the battle, the Empire, instead of reviving the dream of conquering Gaulli, put it aside to completely unify the continent of Atlasia first and at the same time restart its war machine, which the Kingdom unfortunately located on the continent of Atlasia. Knowing that it was about to become a target, Latila went everywhere calling for support, seeking help from the Maritime Federation and Milishilian Kingdom, and allied with another country that was also about to become a victim of Elestovakia, a southern kingdom named Vlenna, to join forces to repel the Empire. The Latilian army, after 7 years of renovation, has become quite formidable, with a force of 70,000 strong.


    It sounds like Latila will have a chance to win because she is well prepared: she has allies, both direct and indirect, she has the army, she has a plan... but unfortunately that preparation is far from enough, because:


    ¡°Latila and Vlenna are small countries, Your Highness. Our opponent is a great power. Two against one sounds easy, but have you taken the fact that the two Kingdoms combined are only as big as the Empire''s capital? Elestovakia defeated us once, and we were strong at that time, now looking at the map Latila is a tiny dot."


    To put it bluntly, the potential of the two Kingdoms of Latila and Vlenna combined cannot match the Elestovakia Empire. From population, territory to economy, everything is inferior, even with supporting allies. And when it is said that 70 thousand troops are strong, that is for a small country, because Elestovakia, as a superpower, has a total army of up to one million:


    ¡°So you''re saying we are sure to lose?¡±


    ¡°I''m not saying that, Your Highness, I''m just making an honest comment as an upright soldier. It''s good that the Milishilian Kingdom and the Maritime Federation help us, but allies...I feel like we lack a lot. And even within the national army itself, there are racial problems.¡±


    After Elestovakia pushed north, many nations, including nations of non-human races, were forced to evacuate their populations. From the bloodthirsty vampires of the former Nosfetura Empire, to the elves, expert archers of the former Duchy of O''well, to the sky-humans, the sky-explorers of the former Aeropostales Republic,...


    Except for the citizens of the vampire empire who were too far from the Kingdom for the population to evacuate, almost the entire flier population and half of the elves on the entire mainland had flocked to the city. Many joined Latila''s army on the day it nearly fell, instrumentally pushing the invaders outside the walls protecting the city. But now, miserably, Klein is questioning them with half-open eyes:


    ¡°Elaborate, Klein.¡±


    ¡°I mean those guys are foreign troops. I consider their merit in defending the country to be great, but we must accept that they did it to avenge their ruined countries, not for Latila, they are not loyal to the Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Is that all?¡±


    ¡°That''s not to mention the cultural differences that make things messy, fliers are easy to please, but elves are very difficult. Culture, language, customs, fighting style... To be honest, considering the national army''s total combat potential is 100%, by the fact that it is not a unified bloc, we should expect just 70% of the combat efficiency.¡±


    Klein leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath, a completely valid concern, but Belisari waved his hand and replied:


    ¡°Oh, I see you''re too worried. If there''s an emergency, they won''t care about racial differences to help our Kingdom.¡±


    Then the prince looked out the window.


    Latila Royal Palace was built right next to the main street of the city, so just a glance outside can see the entire view of the city.


    Down the street, in the crowd of people walking around, there are a large number of non-humans. ¡°The friendliest human city.¡±-Latila was called that by the arcane races. Since the first landing of a pioneer flier in this territory more than 2700 years ago, before Latila''s predecessor city was even founded, this place has been home to many non-human intelligent beings, and it is still home to their descendants and newcomers to this day:


    "There are still many people down there who call this place home" - the prince cleared his throat


    ¡°So what?¡±


    ¡°I mean I believe they would be willing to shed blood for the Kingdom. This place is their home, they will not give up their homeland just because of racial differences. Don''t worry, Klein, I will make them fight with 100% of their fighting power.¡±


    Having finished speaking, Belisari turned off his serious mode:


    ¡°Do you sound like my father, Klein?¡±


    ¡°Father¡± here is of course the King of Latila.


    "You do"


    ¡°It probably looks ridiculous, right?¡±


    ¡°Well...I''m sure my sister will say that.¡±-Klein sighed-¡±I¡¯d rather say you ought to act like that more often. Anyway, even if what you said is correct, I''m pretty sure we are still the underdogs.¡±


    The Voyager soldier put the completed documents aside, then stood up and walked to the prince at the window:


    ¡°I still hope we win though, I am a Latilian and will always be a Latilian anyway.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ...


    ¡°Hey Klein...I am still trying to get some vampires into the army, please see if you can find a way to dig up some of them for me.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely impossible.¡±-Klein immediately replied.


    The reason he said that was because the territory of the former Nosfeturan Empire of vampires was several hundred kilometers from this city and was always locked by the Elestovakia Imperial Army. For over ten years no vampires have approached any human nation. The old Empire has cut off all communications with the outside world.


    ¡°Unless¡±¡ªVoyage continued¡ª¡±You somehow manage to find an available vampire, then we open a bloody path and use that person as a catalyst to negotiate with the Nosfeturan exiles, so that they might grant us some of their soldiers...Yes, that''s the only way.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let me see. If I see a vampire coming to Latila, I will capture it for you, is that okay?¡±


    "If"


    ¡°Sounds hopeless, right?¡±


    The two face out the window.


    Latila is so peaceful out there, nothing like they are rushing to prepare for the upcoming war.


    "Hey"


    For some reason, Belisari suddenly asked:


    ¡±Do you want to go down the street?¡±


    "Your Highness, if you''re still thinking about going out at this time¡­."-Klein was about to object, but was interrupted by the prince:Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°The war didn''t come sooner because you took a day off, relax. Lately, you''ve been cooped up in your room all the time, and you look really haggard."


    The two were already extremely different physically, but that difference became even greater in recent months when Klein was busy burying himself in work, saying that he was not a foot troop, but an office military commander to avoid exercise. On the contrary, the seemingly exemplary prince has an extremely formidable physical health, being an elite fighter:


    ¡°Look at yourself, my friend, even I can carry you with one arm, let alone your sister. People like you are hopeless to get married."


    Having his pride touched, Klein lets out his angered:


    ¡°Tch! You don¡¯t have a wife either to judge me. Okay, we go, I also need some air and sunlight...and new glasses, so when do we leave?¡±


    ¡°Right now.¡±


    ¡°Right now? Okay!"


    The Voyage officer immediately rushed out of the room to prepare his things.


    "Heh, it''s easy to trick him into doing something."-Belisari laughed, he stood up, put the chair back in its original position, closed the window and left the room.


    A moment later, a sailboat emerged from the horizon


    **


    ¡°Ah ha! The wind is strong here, isn''t it?


    Through binoculars fixed on a sailboat departing from northern Siberia, a little girl in a lab coat was looking for the city of Latila from a far distance. Her silver hair shined in the sunlight, the wind blew wildly, making her long, flowing hair cover her vision:


    ¡°Dammit, should¡¯ve tied it- Ah! Here it is.¡±


    Catching a glimpse of Latila port in her sight, the girl used her left hand to brush her tangled hair out of her face, then used her right hand to remove and put the binoculars fixed in her backpack. Finished, she grabbed the rope between the sail and the bottom of the boat and swung herself down.


    - Splash! -


    The little girl jumped into her flooded boat, picked up the bucket and scooped the water out. Then she broke a piece of wood from the mast and patched the hole in the ship''s hull. It must have been punctured when she pushed it out to sea, the ship must have hit some iceberg, the hull was already quite weak to begin with.


    The ship won''t be able to float much longer. However, the mainland is quite close so it is nothing to worry about. The important thing now was to keep the belongings from getting wet. The girl quickly threw all her belongings on the deck onto her oversized backpack, leaving behind whatever she could, then climbed back onto the deck-


    Rattling


    ¡°Who¡¯s that!?¡±


    With a quick hand, the girl reached into her backpack and pulled out a handmade gun, pointing it at the place where the noise came from.


    Turns out, it was just an old ship stuck on a rock, the wood was rotten and the sails were tattered, looking like it had been here for a century. Encouraged by her curiosity, she steered the boat close to the stranded ship:


    ¡°Ah¡±


    On the hull and sides of the ship, a few symbols were still there, that the girl could recognize, even though they were worn out:


    ¡°So¡­this was where you ended up...goodbye then, compatriots.¡±


    The girl saluted the ship, then turned the sail back towards the city, leaving the deceased ship of the Eastern Roman Empire''s expedition team behind, the ship that will never reach its destination.


    **


    ¡°Hey Klein, want to try the apple?¡±


    The sun shines throughout the port area of ??Latila. Merchant ships parked side by side came from various countries, with the most impressive being the fleet of ships of the Maritime Federation. The traders from the Federation are truly experts in trade and commerce, with abundant sources of goods and huge markets throughout the two continents. Among the products sold by Federation traders here are some of the highest quality apples imported from Vlenna, which Belisari always picks up every time he goes out:


    ¡°No need, thank you.¡±


    Klein politely refused. He had just returned with a new pair of standard glasses. It seemed like he wasn''t lying about having to replace them. On the outside, Klein had to speak in a somewhat civilian manner so as not to reveal Belisari''s identity, and they both wore low-level military uniforms, highly-titled enough for others to see and decide not to mess with them, but also low enough to go out without attracting much attention.


    By the way, the prince accidentally spent all his little money, so he had to ask his friend for some more:


    ¡°Okay¡±¡ªKlein put his hand in his pocket and tossed out two gold coins¡ª¡±but what to buy?¡±


    ¡°Coffee, from Milishila, Elestovakian coffee sucks.¡±


    Coffee is not a luxury item, but good coffee must have a great growing place. Only coffee imported from Milishila is delicious. Unfortunately, traders in that kingdom never come ashore, so Belisari has to come to the selling place himself. Dragging Klein around is tiring, so:


    ¡°Take this¡± - Belisari gave the bag of apples to Klein and told him - ¡°If you meet your sister, give some to her. I''ll come back later."


    ¡°Hurry up, the whole palace probably knows you''ve escaped by now and is looking for you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know.¡±


    Saying goodbye to Klein, Belisari walked into the harbor alone. Latila Port is a huge complex that combines military and civilian areas. The inside is a large ring-shaped structure, containing dozens of warships of the Kingdom''s Royal Fleet, each equipped with ballistas and flamethrowers and always on standby against pirates and enemy fleets. The outside part is two long rows of dock parallel to each other so that boats can anchor from both directions to load, unload, and transport goods with high efficiency. Both areas have roofs to protect them from rain and storms. For comparison, Latila port would be similar to the former Port of Carthage on Earth near the city of Tunis nowaday, with the differences only being larger in size and the traffic is ridiculously busier.


    In the harbor, each country is assigned a separate area to anchor ships. Latila is the heart country, but other than the inner military part, Latilian ships only anchored in the left quarter of the port. The Vlennians take up one-fifth, the Elestovakians the rest. On the right side however the Maritime Federation alone occupied three-quarters of the port as an anchorage, leaving just one-fourth for Milishila, quite modest in area, but it was also a place frequently visited by the Archrince, Of course, without revealing his identity:


    ¡°Yo Cereus¡±


    ¡°Is it you again, Flarius?¡±


    After hand waving, Belisari tossed the two gold coins he had just taken from Klein onto the table.


    Hearing the sound of coins hitting the table, Cereus, a famous spice merchant from Milishila, stepped down from the side of his ship. The man with many years of experience takes no more than thirty seconds to open a container containing coffee and began scooping roasted coffee beans into boxes, for Belisari to brought back to shore, obviously:


    ¡°How do you know I will buy coffee?¡±


    ¡°You always buy coffee, or you want raisins today?¡±


    ¡°No no, just coffee.¡±


    ¡°I knew it. I¡¯m used to it¡±


    While shoveling, Cereus picked up the gold coins to examine:


    ¡°You always pay me in gold coins, I''m also used to that. Gold coins are always more valuable than silver coins, even though I find the silver coins to be more beautiful, especially the Latilian Denarii silver coins. I mean, the more silver coins are produced, the more experienced the people who mint them are, the more beautiful the coins are."


    "So" - Belisari suddenly questions - "How many Denarii coins will it cost to buy your ship?"


    Cereus''s ship was a three-sail ship built in Vineci, one of the four republics of the Maritime Federation, so the quality was excellent. Her price must be equal to the sales revenue of a Federation merchant in five years. Of course the price must be cheaper now because of her age, but the number is still quite large:


    "100 thousand denarii."


    ¡°I will consider buying your ship.¡±


    ¡°Nice joke.¡±


    Tying the coffee box carefully, Cereus gave it to Belisari:


    ¡°Goodbye kid, see you next week, if our ship doesn''t sink.¡±


    "Yes."


    And that completes the coffee purchase, that''s it. Belisari happily stretched out his hands to receive the coffee box Cereus was holding. He was carefully taking final measurements before handing over the goods....And done.


    ¡°Okay, let''s go home-¡±


    Just as he was about to turn away, the prince caught a glimpse of a sailboat approaching the other side of the port. There wouldn''t be anything worth paying attention to if it weren''t for that boat... almost half its masts were submerged, the ship''s hull was completely submerged in the water, and pieces of ship debris were floating around the ship, washed up by the waves. Not only Belisari, Cereus and the surrounding merchants were also attracted by that strange scene.


    But perhaps the sinking boat is not the only thing worth noting, maybe the boatman himself is even more noticeable: A white-haired girl in a white robe, holding a sinking mast in her hand, waiting for departure. That hair, the white hair of the girl is the thing that dragged the attention of them all:


    "Eh... I''ll get it tomorrow" - the prince put the coffee box back into the bewildered Cereus''s hand, picked up the two gold coins and put them in his pocket, saying - "I¡­think I have an emergency."


    **


    ¡°Woah, land.¡±


    Right before the ship completely sank, the girl driving the boat used all her momentum to swing on the rope and jump onto the shore, almost falling, but luckily she was able to duck and push herself forward. Coming back to her senses a bit, she realized she was standing on the harbor:


    ¡°Cool breeze, Mediterranean climate, just like when I was in Greece and Italy, maybe in Rhode Island and Sicily. Well, I heard people in this area speak Latin..."


    Anyway, time to enter Latila-


    ¡°You, you over there.¡±


    Suddenly someone called out to her from behind, it was a shipmaster. But why did the shipmaster call me? Or does he know that I stole this boat? - The girl thought worriedly. But the shipmaster just looked at the boat, or at least what was left of it above the water (namely half of the windward flag and about five centimeters of the mast) and said- ¡°A denarii to anchor the ship here. And you tell me your name and nationality too.¡±


    Phew ¡°I thought I was going to be jailed.¡±


    The little girl searched her bag. No one would suddenly use ancient Roman coins for anything, but there was probably something she could use instead:


    ¡°I''ll pay with this.¡±


    The girl pressed a silver bar to the shipmaster''s chest, which was clearly worth dozens of times more than that "one denarii" - "I will not say my name, but my nationality just says¡­ Roman."


    The shipmaster looked at her in surprise, but happily secretly put the silver bar into his pocket, muttering-"Okay, welcome to Latila, have fun, kid." "Though¡­when did Nosfetura change its name to Roman?¡± he whispered, then turned and disappeared.


    ¡°Heh, isn''t it easy to bribe these guys? Wait? What is Nosfetura? Nosfe...Nevermind.¡±


    The girl put her backpack back on her shoulder, then walked towards the city, not realizing the glares of people around her, or simply couldn''t care less.


    **


    ¡°Damn it, where is it!?¡±


    Returning to Belisari, the man was impatiently searching everywhere to find the ship driver he saw at the port after losing sight of her near the end of the port.


    It was thought that it would be easy to find a girl with such outstanding hair color, people in this whole country are either a little tan like Klein, or are dark like Belisari or Klein¡¯s big sis. A snowflake in the middle of a pile of coal? The search would be a piece of cake.


    But no, that''s just humans. Elves in O''well and Latila have silver-blond hair, fliers'' hair is half gray and half blue. White mixed with those two colors is hard to differ. Confusing white hair with light blonde elves is not uncommon for a regular person. So even though he ran all day through nearly a quarter of the city, Belisari still couldn''t find that girl.


    "Damn it." - The prince angrily kicked some pebbles along the road as he walked.


    The reason Belisari went out of his way to find her was simple.


    White hair is the hair color of vampires. At birth, vampires have natural hair like humans, but after a long life of drinking blood, the amount of iron in the blood accumulates and is excreted through the hair, making the hair turn silver. If you meet someone with white hair who looks young, pretty sure that person is a vampire.


    And vampires are what Belisari needs right now. It was quite difficult for Belisari to admit that his subordinate was smarter than him, but Klein was right at the palace, Latila needed a vampire to open negotiations with the Nosfetura exiles. That girl''s hair...Belisari insisted it was white, of course, on the boat it was impossible to mistake the color. Yes, she''s a vampire, no matter how she got here, she came to this country, Belisari needs her. But the search is a bit hopeless. Two hours passed without finding her. The people with white hair turned out to be all elves, fliers had other easily recognizable characteristics so Belisari couldn''t be mistaken, but if he searched a little longer, maybe the prince would be crazy enough to mistake black for white, much less fliers and vampire:


    ¡°I pray to you, Lord Yehoshua and Saint Morgan, please don¡¯t deceive this prayer.¡±


    The prince looked up and glanced at the street, the bright heads were all yellow and blue. Unfortunately, this prince was a sniper but his ability to perceive colors was zero, no wonder he couldn''t find her.


    ¡°How about I go back to the palace and order the gendarmes to find it?¡±


    Belisari crossed his arms and thought, well, using his power to mobilize people to search would be easy, the problem was how to convince Klein''s sister - Belisari''s only superior in Latila - to let him send soldiers to search. just one person, even if it''s a vampire... let''s think about it as he go - what about bribing her -


    Bang!


    "What the-?"


    A loud explosion that sounded like the sound of a cannon firing from somewhere unknown suddenly shook the street where the prince was standing. That shrill sound attracted everyone''s attention. From the other side of the road rose high a column of black smoke, followed by a strong volcanic smell.


    What else is going on?


    Parade? Coup? No, this isn''t a headquarters or a square, it has to be something else. Pulling out the decorative sword in its scabbard, the prince quickly jumped into the middle of an alley connecting two streets and then came out at the other end:


    "Hah?!"


    As soon as he walked over, Belisari saw two lightly armed people lying on the ground on the road. Nearby there was a large black streak where the black smoke the prince saw was coming out. Their injuries were only minor, a little bandaging was enough to heal them, but the faces of those two people looked like they were scared of something. As for that smoking black streak... I''m not sure what it is, but it''s best to help the other two first. The prince rushed forward and helped the two people up:


    ¡°Are you okay, you two-¡±


    Suddenly there was a child''s voice behind him saying:


    ¡°Don''t help, they''re robbers, they almost took my bag.¡±


    ¡°Is that so, but why don''t you seek help?¡±


    ¡°There''s no one to help, so I''ll just do it myself.¡±


    ¡°Tsk, next time-¡±


    Belisari turned his head and was suddenly stunned.


    Standing in front of him was the girl, who was holding a metal pipe towards the thugs. The girl was wearing a long white coat, with a pair of strangely designed glasses made of leather on her forehead. Her body is very short, about 1m45, so small that the metal tube she is holding is a quarter of her body size, and the jacket she is wearing almost touches the ground even though it is tailored to fit her. A person of average height can wear it comfortably. The bag on the back would fit if Belisari was wearing it, but what she was wearing was too big. The face is quite young, not youthful but childish, looks less than eighteen, and the expression says she''s only five years old, some people still believe it-


    But that information is not important, that girl''s nearly one meter long hair is white, White!


    The prince stood up, calmly clasped his hands and prayed:


    ¡°In the name of God, I ask you, father of Joshua and master of Saint Morgan, to bless this prayer, and guide my sword.¡±


    After praying, Belisari drew his sword and rushed towards the girl. Seeing that, the girl suddenly panicked, dropped the metal tube and reached into her bag to get a gun. Where is it? The enemy is getting closer and closer. Glanced for a second, she tried to back away but almost fell over:


    ¡°Stop right there!¡± Belisari shouted at her, then sped away.


    ¡°Ah, here it is!¡±


    Gun found! The white-haired girl shouted happily, then pointed the gun at the prince-"Stop-"


    But before she could do that, Belisari neatly placed the blade between the girl''s neck and head:


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    The prince only needed to move his sword two centimeters to the right and it was enough to cut her neck:


    ¡°Hah¡­hah¡± -Belisari panted and said - ¡°I told you to stop right there, you damn vampire frick..."

 Successful Mistake

    ¡°Eh?¡±


    ¡°That hair color¡­.You¡¯re a vampire- Hey!¡±


    In an attempt to break free from Belisari, the white hair girl tries to rotate her pistol on her hand toward Belisari. But the prince quickly recognizes the threat and responds by grabbing her wrist with his left hand and holding it tightly, causing the gun to slip out of the girl¡¯s hand and fall to the ground-¡±Do not do anything stupid. I just want to negotiate."


    ¡°Then release me!¡±


    ¡°Maybe later, but not yet!¡­anyhow¡­¡±


    The prince gazes his eyes around. People began forming a curious crowd surrounding them. Completely understandable. The explosion, then the appearance of a vampire individual , then there was an officer holding a weapon on the street and rushed out to suppress that vampire... All of these happening in a short time could drag many people¡¯s attention. That is not good at all, however, all of these things are enough to alert the mounted gendarmerie to come here and see what had dragged people here. Belisari is a prince, so he will not be arrested for making a fuss if they come, but he will have to reveal their identity to the policemen, which is not an option if Belisari want to keep his reputation to go outside:


    ¡°Follow me¡±


    Belisari said to the girl behind him, before he picked up all the things that had fallen to the ground, stuffed them back into her backpack, then held her hand and rushed out of the crowd of people into a nearby dark alley. There''s a foul smell in here, probably coming from some barrels of spoiled fruit. Does not matter, the prince grabbed the girl with one hand, and with the other held those barrels to block the entrance to the alley, just in time. Outside, the mounted gendarmeries have arrived to disperse the crowd.


    "We are safe for now" - the prince turned back to look at the girl after making sure no one was following the two. She has stopped resisting, probably too tired, which is rather strange. The ¡°vampire¡± weaker than he thought, but it''s fine because Belisari has had a vampire:


    ¡°Okay, let us make a deal, if you answer all my questions, I will release your hand.¡±


    "No! Set me free first.¡±


    ¡°Don''t try to bargain-¡±


    ¡°Please.¡±


    Using all her remaining strength, the girl clasped her hands together into a begging gesture. That, combine with the fact that the vampire¡¯s appearance as a child, the desperate look on her face, and the ¡°please¡± that keep coming every ten second, the prince felt soft-hearted, so he let go and sat down on a nearby barrel to rest, but he still held his sword tightly in case of need:


    ¡°Phew, thank you- no, I don''t owe you anything to thank you.¡±


    ¡°May I knock your head?.¡±


    Having said that, Belisari is not sure if he can beat the girl if she goes all rage.


    Vampires have two phases, normally their physical condition is quite average, only a little stronger than an average human. For a soldier like Belisari, beating a vampire in normal mode is fairly easy.


    However, in an emergency such as in battle, the creatures can manifest their vampiric strength and increase their combat power significantly. Once they are in rage, vampires will be far beyond ordinary people in terms of raw power, in return of a massive amount of energy. If the girl in front of Belisari switched to rage mode, the prince would have no way to fight back alone. In all of Latila there are exactly two people stronger than vampires in combat mode, unfortunately Belisari is not one of them. However, he can easily last long enough and fight loud to attract the arquebuses-armed gendarmeries nearby, from that point suppressing the vampire is an easy task


    Also, if the girl actually went into rage mode, she would be the one to be blamed for making the fuss, not him, so the prince¡¯s reputation is completely sealed in that situation.


    ¡°Phew¡±


    Being set free, the "vampire" reached into her bag and rummaged through her belongings. Belisari saw this and pulled out half of his sword, ready to deal with whatever was coming...but the thing the girl pulled out, it was a bottle? And she began pouring the water from that bottle onto the place Belisari had just grabbed, which now looked purple and red:


    "What is that?" - the prince asked curiously.


    ¡°Uh...antiseptic...well, if I say that, you probably won¡¯t understand...let''s just consider it as pain relief, okay? By the way" - The girl put the bottle back in her backpack - "You are so rude. You said you want to negotiate, yet you approached me with aggression."


    ¡°Yeah, sorry, I was a bit too hot-tempered.¡±


    Belisari scratched his head apologetically. At the same time, the girl walked over and sat down right next to the prince:


    ¡°I forgive you. Now, would you be so kind as to let me know your name, my good sir?¡±


    "Belisari Flarius..." - the prince hesitated for a moment, but decided not to reveal his last name - "What about yours?"


    ¡°Um¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you tell me you forgot your own name-¡±


    ¡°Aurora...you can call me Aurora.¡±


    That girl calling herself Aurora finished speaking and winked, as if she were the main character revealing her secret name to a background support.


    ¡°That your real name?¡±


    ¡°Just call me Aurora.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah okay.¡±


    The prince surrendered- ¡°Aurora, right?¡±


    ¡°That''s right.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡± - Belisari finally calmed down - ¡°I have generously called you Aurora, please tell me that your parents are aristocratic vampires, that would make me very happy, but if they are just regular vampire individuals then it is also fine.¡±


    "Huh? What vampires and former empire?¡±


    ¡°Stop joking around, Aurora- huh?¡±


    The second time the prince was stunned that day.


    Well...actually, vampires have, in addition to the identifying characteristic of silvery white hair, they also have red pupils, matching the color of the blood flowing under the eye because that race lacks color pigments, a factor that normally influences eye color of non-vampire. A vampire may have black or brown hair if that individual is very young and the iron hasn''t accumulated in the hair enough to form a white silver color. For their eyes however, they are always red, male or female, old, young or newborn, pure blood or not.


    Aurora is different, her eyes are very beautiful, sparkling and deep. They bring a very comfortable feeling to those who look at them. Her eyelashes are long and curved, a charming beauty, nothing can compare to her beautiful dark brown eyes. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    It''s dark brown, not red.


    ¡°You...aren''t a vampire?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve always told you I am not.¡±


    Then Aurora bared her teeth, white and straight, no metallic smell, no fangs. She is human.


    "HUH?!"


    When looking from a distance, it is difficult to determine the color of Aurora¡¯s eyes, so Belisari only focuses on hair color to identify vampires. Now looking closely, Belisari realizes that the girl who he thought to be a vampire turned out to be just an ordinary person, though her hair color is a bit special. Regardless, Belisari had fooled himself:


    "Damned! I wasted a whole day looking for you!¡±


    ¡°It''s your fault, not mine? But why do you need vampires?¡±


    Aurora glanced at Belisari, the clothes he was wearing... Although it was a bit messy, perhaps because it was old, the design was quite neat and easily recognizable:


    ¡°You look like a guy from the army...if that''s the case then...are you planning on recruiting vampires into the armed forces? It is said that they are much stronger than normal people when fighting.¡±


    ¡°That''s right, at least you have some...background knowledge. Yeah, that''s obvious. You have white hair so I thought you were a vampire..."


    ¡°Oh, sorry to have disappointed you.¡±


    ¡°God! Why did you deceive this desperate man-¡±


    Wait a minute, if Aurora wasn''t a vampire, how would she defeat those thugs? Thinking of that, Belisari immediately stopped complaining.


    The clue lies in that black streak, Aurora must have used something explosive to repel those people, but what was it? There was an explosion sound like a cannon firing, then smoke rose from the black streak. It wasn''t a gun for certain, a gun is too small, it wasn''t a cannon either, cannons are too big to carry, and it wasn''t a grenade, grenades mainly just burn, right? They don''t create loud explosions or dark streaks on the ground...The more he thinks about it, the more confused Belisari is. Better ask Aurora herself:


    ¡°Well¡­the shell exploded. I fired an explosive shell¡±


    She said she used explosive shells.


    ¡°Explosive shell!?¡±


    "Exactly, shells with explosive heads are fired with this tube"-Aurora pulled out the metal tube that was previously used to target the bandits and showed it to Belisari. Looking closely, the prince can see how exquisitely crafted this thing is, far beyond anything he has ever seen- ¡°And what''s so special about explosive shells that makes you scream?¡±


    There is every reason for Belisari to scream about finding explosive shells in Latila- no, Atlasia in general. They are supposed to be absent in this continent, as no nation has them aside from Milishila.


    The first explosive shell was actually created by a Vinecian merchant. After failing to sell the invention to the government, the merchant sought for a deal with the Milishilian Naval Institution, and succeeded. Four years ago, the Milishilian Navy with their new fleet of explosive shell equipped warships, together with the Maritime Federation Navy, easily crushed the Imperial fleet in a massive naval battle near the Milishilian island of Teuto. Following the battle, with the Elestovakian naval force entirely gone, the coalition navy then sailed to support the bombardment of Elestovakia''s coastal defense and drowned countless garrison troops in explosions of those devastation shells, forcing the Elestovakians to lay down their arms. Compared to the regular blunt cannons of Elestovakia, Latila or the Federation, the Milishila Kingdom''s explosive cannons have much higher destructive power and lethality, it was those shells that stopped Elestovakia''s attack upon the Gaulli continent and brought victory for the Milishilians and their allies.


    Obviously, explosive shells are extremely powerful weapons, it is understandable if Milishila decided not to reveal the production method to any country, including its former ally the Federation, so there is no way the Latilians could have a chance to get a hand on that deadly war gear. Yet, this girl said she has explosive shells, something that the whole kingdom does not have even one, yet Latila needs right now to increase the nation''s military strength. Aurora has one thing that Belisari, aside from vampire, has sought desperately for:


    ¡°Let me see it.¡±


    "No"


    "10 Denarii"


    Belisari threw a gold coin that was supposed to be used to buy coffee toward the girl.


    ¡°Still no.¡±-Aurora refused.


    ¡°Then 20!¡±


    Then the prince threw out the remaining coins.


    ¡°I knew it.¡±


    Her dark brown eyes sparkled as she stuffed two gold coins into her pocket.


    Aurora took off her backpack, reached in and took out a cylindrical object with a cone-shaped end, on which were written a few numbers that the prince can recognize (Arabic numbers), and letters (Russian) that he is unable to read. Aurora then inserted the object into the metal tube and locked it firmly. Looking at the process of reloading, Belisari guessed that the tube is the cannon barrel, and the object is the shell. The loading design is strikingly familiar to a regular cannon if that is really the case:


    "Did you forget to add propellant powder?" - the prince reminded, but Aurora replied:


    ¡°They are already included.¡±


    The girl replied, then took the loaded cannon and went down to the end of the alley, where there is an open view toward the sea. It has close bearing to the port, but lacks ships passing by.


    Aurora looks carefully one last time, then places the cannon on her shoulder, and aims, but she does not shoot yet. Rather, she is still waiting for something.


    ¡°Hurry up,¡± Belisari urged the girl, after seeing clouds starting to gather on the horizon, it is going to rain soon. The prince probably has to stay at the Voyage palace before heading home, but before that, he must see the explosive shells of Aurora. Curiosity arose, even if it was raining at this hour, he must see those shells no matter what!


    ¡°Just take it slowly, wait until it''s safe to fire so you don''t accidentally hit someone.¡±


    Aurora replied in a relaxing voice, in contrast to the prince''s restlessness.


    Gradually, the ships are getting less and less in the firing general direction:


    ¡°Okay, the wind is clear, the angle is -5 degrees above the shoulder. Confirm firing!¡±


    After saying something unmeaningful , Aurora finally clicked the launch button. It doesn''t look very different from the way a normal musket is fired, Belisari commented, but then he realized that after pressing the button, there was no explosion, the shells had not come out:


    "Hey-"


    Brrrr


    From the end of the cannon tube, a stream of red gas was released accompanied by an invisible shockwave that pushed Belisari almost to the ground, but fortunately the prince was able to regain his composure to witness the scene he paid to see.


    "God¡­"


    The tip of the cannon tube emitted a ray of light, the shell has just left the barrel and is rushing straight forward, aiming towards where Aurora guided it at with the launching force provided by the red flame pushed behind the cannon. The shell glides gently in the air, compressing the air layer in front of it into a dense mass visible to the naked eye, then that layer of gas burns into fire, making the shell shine like a star in the middle of the day. Looking from afar, this thing looked many times more terrifying than a cannon. Cannons do not explode while firing as fiercely as the one Belisari had just witnessed.


    Splash! Bang!


    Very quickly, the cannon shell collided into the sea surface, then exploded a few seconds later, creating a mini tsunami which attracted a number of nearby Latilian naval ships to approach the location where the explosion had just occurred. To avoid being detected, Aurora immediately ran away, fleeing from the scene, towards Belisari:


    "Is it great?" - the little girl asked, but the prince could not answer. He was stunned for the third time that day:


    ¡°Hey¡­Lord Belisari¡­are you still there- oh!¡±


    ¡°Do you¡­have more?¡±


    Suddenly, Belisari grabbed Aurora''s shoulders with both hands, demanding - "I will take every of yours, the price you choose, okay?"


    ¡°No, I only have four left, if you are actually going to equip it in the armed forces en masse, it would be far from enough.¡±


    "Damned!"


    The prince let go his hands off Aurora and turned away, muttering, his face showing anger...no, it wasn''t an angry face, but the face of calculation. But it''s hard to understand what Belisari is thinking right now. Pretty sure it has something to do with Aurora and her explosive shells though:


    "Can you... make more of them?" - Belisari changed the question, perhaps it was a bit unrealistic to ask a little girl to draw the detailed blueprint of a weapon, but if she could...


    ¡°Of course, I''m an engineer, as long as I have enough materials and manpowers, I can do it.¡±


    "Great!"


    At this point Belisari''s intention is clear:


    ¡°It seems like you intend to hire me to help you build those ammunitions, right?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, you''re clever. I take back what I just said, thank God.¡±


    Spending a few hours looking for her is worth it, much more worth it than looking for a vampire without being sure if it can help you or not. Aurora is a much more valuable reward for all of those searching:


    ¡°Aurora, I need you- no, I demand you to join my army as a manufacturing engineer, then I''ll do whatever request you may ask for. Deal?"


    "Deal."


    Without a second of thinking, Aurora immediately accepted the prince''s proposal.

 House of Voyage

    ¡°?¦Ó¦Á¦Í ¦Ö¦Ó¦Ô¦Ð?¦Ò¦Å¦É ¦Ï ¦Ê¦Å¦Ñ¦Á¦Ô¦Í??, ¦È¦Ô¦Ì?¦Ò¦Ï¦Ô ¦Ì¦Å¡±


    **


    Tonk¡­. Tock


    It¡¯s raining in Latila.


    The raindrops splattered all over the windows, falling and colliding with other raindrops, before accelerating and hitting the ground, creating numerous pondles all along the now-muddy streets of the city. Light candles could be seen shining behind the curtains of many windows, some situated on a table, many more moving from one place to another, adding to that a gray color of gloomy weather, creating a city of ghost-like scenes right off the window.


    The trees situated between the path to the palace are being tilted along the wind. Leaves are falling by the hundreds, landing on those small puddles of rainwater scattered all along the gravel-covered road. On the watch tower of Voyage Palace, a handful of lights could be seen moving from a distance. That¡¯s the Border Guard units changing their shift, from one to another. One could tell from far away.


    Bang!


    A thunder struck right close to the balcony of the palace. The rain gets heavier and doesn¡¯t seem to stop anytime soon. The wind becomes stronger and stronger, blowing away all the leaves on those bushes out of the balcony, leaving behind only those thin, lifeless branches.


    ¡°Ah¡­they are back¡­¡±


    From a room inside the palace, where a fireplace is burning and filling the room with its warmth, Lily Sobieski Voyage-the only daughter of the Voyage family, or as people refer to: Archduchess of Voyage-watches through her right eye, as the Royal Servicers entered her residence from the front gate, along with her younger brother, who¡¯s riding on his horse, soaked wet by the rainfall, after a failed attempt to find the prince.


    ¡°Fool¡­¡±


    When Klein¡¯s view gazes in her general direction, Lily closes the curtain and leaves to the other side of the room, where she sits down next to the fireplace and picks up her half-drinked tea cup from the table.


    ¡°Whatever¡­.what¡¯s the matter, Alice?¡±


    Lily said and glared up at the door of the room. Just behind it, the maid named Alice was just about to knock on the door-¡°Uhmm¡­Your Grace, your father has just called you for the annual family meeting. You haven¡¯t joined any lately-¡±


    ¡°Tell him that I won''t give up my title as the Archduchess of Voyage as long as I am alive. Do not waste my time any further.¡±


    ¡°Madame¡­¡±-Alice finally opens the door and steps in-¡±...father noted to you that:¡±You must know your place-¡±


    ¡°Quite bold of him saying so in my house, my birth parents¡¯ house. I remember having said that clearly that I will not go, you are the one who must go if you don¡¯t want your lifeline to be shortened.¡±


    With a heavy and threatening tone from the person in the room, the maid steps back and closes the door. However, before leaving for good, Alice said into the keyhole:


    ¡°If you change your mind, please come to the meeting room on the third floor.¡±


    Then, the hall went into silence.


    Bang!


    Another thunder struck down. This time right by the window.


    ¡°Haizz.¡±


    Snap!* Frr*


    Lily takes a deep breath, she stands up from her chair, picks up a piece of wood from the pile, snatches it into two halves utilizing the strength of her hands and throws it into the fire. The fire, fueled by dry wood, blew up with a white shade of orange, releasing a cloud of ashes and hot embers into the air, before it returned to its normal state. A warm feeling filled the rest of the room, a bit hot in fact, but Lily doesn¡¯t bother changing it back either, she just leaves it there, going to the other side of the room, and sitting down on the armchair.


    Knock! knock!


    Then, another knocking sound came from the door.


    ¡°Come in, brother¡±-saying Lily-¡±If you want to complain that I didn¡¯t help you to find Belisari, then please leave. Or I will kick you out of the room by myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re aggressive and loud as always, Big Sis¡±


    Klein Voyage, after changing his clothes with a new attire, steps inside the room and sits next to her-¡±I could hear your voice all the way from the hall. Father is there too, and I could say he¡¯s not very comfortable with it. Here, catch¡±


    Klein picks up an apple from Belisari¡¯s bag and throws it at Lily, in which she catches it midair and puts it onto the table:


    ¡°Heh, he better hear it loud and clear, consider that as a message to him. Anyhow, aren¡¯t you and Belisari supposed to be at Latila Palace right now doing your work? Let me guess, he begged you to go out with him, and you lost his trace.¡±If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly what happened.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s Belisari¡¯s¡±-Lily said while pointing at the apple bags Klein¡¯s holding in his hand.


    ¡°I will pay him later, so this is mine for now. Also, don¡¯t address his Highness with his first name like that¡±


    He said, while holding an apple in his hand, spinning back and forth looking for the best place for the first bite. Meanwhile, his sister takes out an unopened cigarette box and puts one in her mouth, while striking a flint into the side of a piece of iron to get fire:


    ¡±New Milisilian cigarette, want to take a try?¡±-the Archduchess asked while her brother was taking bites on the apple. The flint on her hand has caught fire and lit up the head of the cigarette.


    ¡°No thanks, it would ruin the apple¡¯s taste. Besides, it does not even smell good.¡±


    ¡°Correct, it¡¯s tasteless.¡±


    Despite saying that, Lily still puffs out a cloud of smoke, seemingly enjoying it.


    ¡°Smoking feels like the sensation when you stand up too fast you feel dizzy, but for a longer duration. Once you are used to smoking it will be addictive¡­To release stress, one has many methods, this is mine, and I don¡¯t see any downside to it.¡±


    Klein shakes his head:


    ¡°Damn you chainsmoker, your mouth smells like burned herb at any time.¡±


    ¡°...so?¡±


    ¡°Big Sis, you¡¯re the patriarch, yet is also truly the weirdest member of the entire House of Voyage. Why don¡¯t you come out and seek a new hobby, rather than withering your lungs here inhaling literally smoke?¡±


    A brief about the history of the House of Voyage. The family line is a long noble house in Latila, born and fought along with the Latila family since the dawn of civilization, started with James Fortius Voyage, the first true member of the House after he pledged to the first king of Latila to be the protector of the city. All the way since, along with the House of Flemton, Voyage had held responsibility for being the military power of the kingdom. If Flemton was the shield and spear of Latila, Voyage would be the sword and their banner, and now are both the sword, the spear, the banner and the shield. Under their command is half of the infantry, the navy and all cavalry and aerial units of Latila. Without any doubt, the loyalty and leading skill of the Voyagers is the only thing that keeps Latila still being an independent nation until nowaday.


    ¡°I have a duty of living with my name and honor, brother. I have to take responsibility for this entire House of Voyage. Then I shall continue this tradition, by passing it down from my generation to another¡­¡±


    ¡°As if anyone would dare to be your husband to give you a child-¡±


    Bonk!*


    ¡°-sorry¡±


    Receiving an apple into his forehead, Klein shouted it out like it actually hurt and quickly covered his head with both hands, while looking away somewhere else. Seeing that, Lily assemblies her hand into a fist, her mouth curves a wicked, annoyed smile:


    ¡°I know that didn''t hurt my brother, or I must let you taste what actually hurt.¡±


    ¡°No I¡¯m sorry Big Sis, don¡¯t punch me.¡±


    Klein removes his hands from his forehead, chuckling.


    ¡°Stop acting like a clown¡±-Lily releases her hand, her face clearly expressing a confused emotion -¡±I don¡¯t remember you acting like this around His Highness Belisari nor anyone else, as if you only want to mess up with me. You know that if I die you will be the Archduke of Voyage, right? Hence, don¡¯t act like that to stain the name of the House. Also, I like cigarettes, is that a problem?¡±


    ¡°No no¡±


    Klein turns back with an apple in his hand. However, his visual attention was not entirely on it, but on his sister, more specifically her face and her body, which had not been going unnoticed by Lily. She responds by puffing a cloud of smoke into his face:


    *Cough cough*


    ¡°What¡¯s up, Klein? Your look is not innocent¡­Don¡¯t tell me you are attracted-¡±


    *Cough*¡°No, you are mistaken, I have no such interest in an aggressive golem like you. But I gotta admit, you are beautiful, very beautiful. I am saying this as your brother, men and women fell for you alike if you actually want them to. Someone would gladly take you as his wife.¡±


    ¡°That kind of complement is no use to me.¡±


    ¡°Of course it won¡¯t. Aye, do you want another apple?¡±


    ¡°Sure¡±


    Lily takes the apple while throwing the burned out cigarette out of the window. The room fell into silence again,only interfered by the cracking coming from the fireplace.


    It is still raining outside. Rain water leaked through the windows, dropping on the frame, before vaping and mixing into the warmth of the room.


    It¡¯s turning cold, Klein reaches out and adjusts the fire. He silently watches, as the fire bursts out cracks of ember from it and burns the carpet a bit. It¡¯s¡­peaceful here. Rarely returning to his home, Klein seemingly forgot the quiet, because of having Belisari all day long, even at night, Klein never had any personal space since he joined the army for so long.


    Yet, despite Lily still sitting by his side, chewing the apple he has just given her on the table, and the noise of raindrops echoes around the room, it¡¯s just like there is no sound here, he is all alone, lonely and peaceful in this room. Lily had fortified this room to be a place for her relaxation.


    ¡°Klein, are you loyal to Latila?¡±


    Suddenly, it was the room owner herself who broke the silence:


    ¡°Why are you asking now?¡±


    ¡°I have the right to know, brother. Tell me. Let us say one day I point my sword at Belisari, will you be on his side or mine?¡±


    With a serious tone, Klein says:


    ¡°Belisari, obviously, I will protect this country and the House of Latila with my life. Because I was given the responsibility to do it.¡±


    ¡°I see¡±


    The conversation ended with five sentences exchanged, but that was enough to make Lily feel her pressure lifted for a bit. She fixes the eyepatch over her left side eye, stretching her muscles all along the length of the chair. At least there¡¯s still someone in this family she can entrust the army of this country with, Lily whispers to herself in mind.


    ¡°Well¡±-The archduchess places both hands on her hip-¡±It¡¯s good to know that you are a reliable person. In time of war, trust is the most important factor out of all, I trust you and your army. Should I repay you by finding His Highness-¡±


    ¡°You are looking for me, eh?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Out of the sudden, a voice came from the other side of the door ,while both Lily and Klein were off their guard. Following that, the door opened, and a right hand of the prince of Latila came in, waving with them. And on the left hand, Belisari was carrying the hand of another person:


    ¡°I have one to introduce to you two.¡±

 I Have a Plan

    A few minutes earlier


    ¡°So this so-called umbrella is really helpful.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Under a blue umbrella, shielded from the heavy water droplets from the sky, Aurora and Belisari are walking toward the closest palace to their position: the Voyage Latilus Palace. Although Aurora is mildly concerned whether or not she is going to be welcome there, Belisari assured her that she would be treated as a guest. Added to that is the heavy rain tapping all over the blue umbrella, they would be wet if unable to find somewhere to stay soon, Aurora¡¯s decision was to listen to Belisari and follow him to Voyage palace.


    Besides, Belisari looks like an aristocrat to her, and his surname is Latila, sharing the same name with the nation. Aurora guessed that he¡¯s a high class aristocrat, definitely had some monarch blood flowing in his veins, or at least something like that.


    ¡°Say¡±-Aurora speaks-¡±There are two stand out palaces in this city, one belongs to the Latila Royal family and one belongs to the House of Voyage. Am I right?¡±


    Aurora was referring to what Belisari told her earlier on the street. Latila has had three aristocratic family lineages that at least once took this city as their headquarter: Latila, Voyage and Flemton. House of Voyage-the offensive militarism faction of Latila-had the largest, most ambitious building standing right close to Latila port, overshadowing even the Royal Palace itself.


    Meanwhile, amidst the rainfall beyond their visual range, Latila Palace of the House it shared name with stands proudly in the middle of the city. From the highest tower of the palace, in the clear weather, one could see the entire nation of Latila, and even an Elestovakian village from afar.


    House of Flemton, less noticeable, but they used to have a castle near the coastline of the city; one could over watch any ship that approached Latila from the south. It was abandoned after the entire family line was killed in the Elestovakian War.


    ¡°Yes. And we¡¯re heading to one. Voyage, I expect it should take five minutes before we arrive at the gate.¡±


    Belisari points toward a weak orange light source on top of the outside wall. The gate of the palace is relatively close, they could determine it even in the rain.


    ¡°By the way, Aurora¡±-Belisari asks her-¡±Where did you come from?¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­Russia.¡±


    ¡°Russia? Never heard of it, is that a region in the Further North?¡±


    Nodding¡±Yeah, very far from Latila, I had to risk my life to get here.¡±


    ¡°Glad that you made it. Why did you come here? Is there any particular reason?¡±


    ¡°I want to become a saint.¡±


    ¡°...That was¡­ambitious to say the least.¡±


    Still a bit of time left before they arrive, Aurora speaks out a question that she should have asked earlier:


    ¡°I know I would be mainly responsible for the manufacturing progress, but can you please tell me about Latilian industrial capability? No bias, I need to know everything as correctly as possible.¡±


    Belisari stopped walking, his face turned to her, both arms crossed, seemingly serious:


    ¡°As far as I know, we could mass produce black gunpowder, but just that, maybe welding guns and cannons, but not in large quantities-¡±


    ¡°Knowing how to produce gunpowder is enough, that means your nation could produce those chemicals that I need. Hey, it¡¯s your turn to hold the umbrella.¡±


    Taking the umbrella from Aurora, it¡¯s now his turn to hold it for them. They then continue to walk toward the palace, but Aurora doesn¡¯t concentrate on Belisari anymore, but something else:


    ¡°Please be careful with your steps Aurora, what can I do if you¡¯re injured?"


    ¡°I could still draw with my hands, you know, just follow the recipes and things shall be done rather correctly and efficiently. Oh, by the way, could I rebuild your arsenal as well?¡±


    ¡°As long as you can make it in four months."


    While still chatting, Belisari and Aurora have stood right outside Voyage palace. A few guards came from the room by the wall to confront them. However, when they saw Belisari under the umbrella, they all kneeled, and let the two enter freely. Although that does not come without a guard came and offered escort, but Belisari rejected it:


    ¡°But¡­the woman next to you is¡­¡±


    ¡°No worries, just consider her as my friend, you should return to your mission.¡±


    ¡°I get it.¡±


    The guards still have some concern about Aurora, still, if Belisari told them to have no worry, they could do nothing but return to their post. After ensuring that no one was following them, Belisari and Aurora continued on their walk.


    ¡°Aurora.¡±-Belisari said while looking around-¡±I will introduce you to two of my friends, both working within our military rank, I suppose that they would know what they need to enhance those units under their command. Both of them are Voyage, their name is Klein and Lily.¡±


    ¡°Say,what branches are they working for?¡±


    ¡°Klein is the Close combat and Siege Infantry Corps, called the Legionary Army, while Lily, you can call her Liliya, holds a unit called Winged Husaria, we also call them Charge Cavalry Brigades. But honestly, we lack heavy firepower, that¡¯s why I desperately need your explosive shells.¡±


    Aurora nods her head frequently.


    ¡°I see¡­so there is room for some major upgrades.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t make anything too crazy, the logistic chain has its own limit. Latila might be able to mobilize all of its manpower to fight, or build a cannon so big that it could penetrate any wall, but when there is no food to sustain such a large army, or horses can¡¯t tow that cannon because it was too big, that version of the Latilian military will be unable to succumb more than one month into war.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re surprisingly good at understanding the war of resources, unlike a certain nation that once invaded the Soviet Union- I mean Russia but failed to realize that, so they poured their money into big war machines that turned out to not work at all. They lost the war in the end, eventually.¡±


    ¡°Then we won¡¯t make that mistake then¡±-Belisari laughed-"Just make things simple, we appreciate that. After all, it was I who needed your help, not you who needed mine.¡±


    Suddenly, Aurora stops walking:


    ¡°You could ask a bit more, you know? What if I told you that there is a weapon that could be very light, that even a person could carry, yet so powerful that it could penetrate any wall? Do you love that concept of weapon?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the weapon you have just shown me? That¡¯s why I hired you.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    The two continue to walk to the palace.


    Fast forward


    ¡°Belisari¡±


    Having kneeled down on one leg, Lily and Klein had their heads bowed and closed their eyes. But surprised over the presence of another person by Belisari¡¯s side, Lily couldn¡¯t help but glance a bit. An unidentifiable person, but she could know that that person is an aristocrat, judging by the quality of the shoes she saw with her right eye. Nevertheless, that was a woman, she can tell.


    Belisari, gently pulled the hand of that girl behind the door, then said:


    ¡°Aurora, this person is Lily Sobieski Voyage, Archduchess of Voyage and he is Klein Caesar Voyage. You two could raise your heads."


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you,my name is-.... Lily Sobieski Voyage.¡±


    Trying to contain the urge of asking about Aurora¡¯s hair color. Lily steps forward,hand raised, as a formal meeting procedure.


    Aurora, at first a bit concerned thinking of shaking hands with any real aristocrats aside from Belisari, after seeing Belisari out-rank both of the two individuals in front of her, she gathers all the remaining confidence and steps up, shaking hands with Lily, then withdraws back side to side with Belisari.


    ¡°I¡­I am Aurora Borealis. Nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not your real name, for sure. But anyhow, Klein Voyage, sorry for my manner. Your Highness.¡±-the man named Klein called Belisari-¡±May you kindly introduce me to the individual you brought along?¡±


    ¡°Eh? You¡¯re-¡±


    Your Highness-that¡¯s what the aristocrats of the Voyage family call Belisari, which only meant one thing: Belisari is not just a noble, but a monarch member, a prince, crown prince even.


    (Thank God I am very lucky!)


    Upon this realization, Aurora feels like the weight of the atmosphere was lifted. On her side is one of the most powerful individuals in the state, and he seems to act friendly to her. That means there won¡¯t be any problem that might come to her in the future. Good. Aurora lowers her head down, prevents anyone from seeing the exciting expression her face is making, because that would be embarrassing-


    ¡°Hello¡±


    Suddenly by her ear, the woman named Lily calls for her. And also suddenly like that, her excited expression escapes from her face, leaving only a worry of how to speak with an aristocrat like Lily.


    Aurora glances at Belisari, the prince however didn¡¯t notice that and he¡¯s still on the other side of the room having a chat with a person so called Klein. Aurora is alone here with Lily:


    ¡°You¡¯re not a vampire, aren¡¯t you.¡±-the Duchess of Voyage speaks, with her face and Aurora almost touching each other.


    Repetitively nod


    Lily¡¯s face has two scars, a large one that might¡¯ve claimed her left eye, and another smaller one on the right. Aurora can say that there are definitely more scars hidden behind that attire she is wearing right now. She is muscular in comparison to any woman, and also very tall, taller than even Belisari and Klein, 1m90 at least, and her hair is half of that length, jet black and silky. That is the part that makes her look imitating, what is not however is her eye, which looks very gentle, in opposition to her outside look.


    ¡°Yeah,I can tell, you have no red eyes despite those silver hair.¡±


    Withdrawing her face from the newcomer, Lily turns away, she heads toward the pile of apples on the table, picks one and hands it to Aurora-¡±I¡¯m not hostile, no need to be that cautious, have one.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡±-Aurora takes it with both of her hands-¡±Thank you.¡±


    Aurora takes a bite to the side of the apple. Sweet, with a bit sour, delicious, she loves it, and it is clear to see that in Aurora''s expression. Seeing that, Lily smiles, she gave her another:


    ¡°Here, just buy a few for Belisari when it stops raining.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Lily, may we take a seat?¡±


    At the same time,Belisari had finished talking to Klein, he began moving his attention to the sofa placed right next to the door. Realizing this, Klein and Lily, each carrying a side of the sofa, move it up and place it to the opposite of the armchairs they already have around the fireplace, and get back to their seat.


    ¡°Thank you, now Aurora¡±-Belisari turns back to the girl-¡±Shall we begin the formal introduction?¡±


    **


    Surrounding the only table in Lily¡¯s room, door locked, isolated from the outside world, Belisari, Aurora, Klein and Lily sit back on the chair, watching each other in silence while waiting for the tea to be finished.


    The eyes glanced at Lily and Klein, checking their reaction. However, most attention came to Aurora. Klein is curious at how Belisari suddenly managed to bring up a ¡°vampire¡± out of nowhere from this city devoid of such creatures.


    While on the other side of the chair, fully knowing that Aurora is just a human like her, Lily wants to know why he brought this ordinary girl along with him. Maybe he mistaken her for a vampire- ain¡¯t no way that happened, right? Lily told herself, no way Belisari would make such a silly mistake, she knows him well, they grew up together.


    And so, the archduchess asked, but not directly-¡°May I ask where you came from?"-but instead of Aurora, it was Belisari who answered it:


    ¡°Russia¡±-the prince glares at Aurora-¡±She¡¯s a foreign engineer that I hired earlier, eh¡­on the trip to Milishila capital of Ethanolin.¡±-he lied-¡±Just consider her as a business partner.¡±


    ¡°I see, but where is this Russia that I¡¯ve never heard of?¡±


    ¡°Russia as I heard it is in the Further North region. I don¡¯t know too much about the details, but the country was described as a cold vast land. But don¡¯t bother about it, I found her at an institute in Milishila working for them.¡±


    All of those were straight up lies that Belisari prepared earlier so that he wouldn¡¯t have to admit that he picked Aurora up from the street, and to convince Klein and Lily to put their faith in her, and Aurora knew that in advance. Therefore, her only job is to agree to any fact that Belisari told these two people about her. No matter how ridiculous it might sound, Belisari looks like a person who can pursue people into believing whatever he says:


    ¡°Still, mysterious origin, I might say¡±-Klein intervenes in the conversation, as he has a little suspicion-¡±How much had you considered before tagging her to Latila, Your Highness?¡±


    ¡°Just enough for me to decide that it was a wise decision, Klein. No need to question me that much, I know what I am doing. You know that.¡±


    Better finish this quickly before they grow any question out of her profiles:


    ¡±If it¡¯s your decision, then fine.¡±


    Good! Just as they intended!


    ¡°If Klein does not suspect anything, then I won¡¯t, as well.¡±


    The Voyage aristocrats had accepted the fact that Aurora was selected by Belisari in a trip to Milishila quite easily. Aurora and Belisari can sigh in relief already, if not for them to pretend that they weren¡¯t lying to them. Still remaining a straight face, Belisari told them:


    ¡°As I said, Aurora was hired as a technology assistant all the way from Milishila. So in short, we would be able to have some access to their technological advancements.¡±


    Milishila, as Aurora gathered its information throughout her conversation with Belisari, is a developed nation in the southern continent of Gaullia. Their technological advancement had been proved in their victory over Elestovakia in the recent war, and her signature weapon, the explosive shell, was first known as Milishilian war gear. That¡¯s why Belisari chose her this nationality, to make his words further convincing, and Aurora needed less to deal with possible questions about her home nation.


    ¡°But Your Highness, you haven¡¯t told me this¡±-Klein stands up-¡±We were supposed to be the ones who knew about this sooner. And isn¡¯t this too late for any change in the military system? Further modification might not work in the time we need them. Our infantry stood at seventy thousand men, how can you upgrade them all in such a short time, much less reorganize it?¡±


    Klein really did point out a problem with this plan: the deadline is tight. Just three months for preparation, any further than that would make Vlenna and Latila vulnerable to the Elestovakian army. What he didn¡¯t know is that Aurora and Belisari had a plan on their own:


    ¡°Actually, the project would be divided into two separate parts.¡±-Belisari presented the idea-¡±The first part shall be focused on the cavalry units, especially yours, Lily¡±-He said, looking at the Voyage archduchess-¡±And Arlin¡¯s, and our Elf Archer Cavalry. That means, by the time the war has started, we would have the cavalry ready for war, and an infantry that was ready in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Yes .Time-¡±-Aurora said,she was about to say more,but she forgot about its context. So she tries to find an escape by looking at Belisari. Belisari, glaring at Aurora sitting next to him immediately understands what she wants, so he speaks up to drag Klein¡¯s attention to him-¡±Time isn¡¯t a big problem, as long as it takes, at most it would take two months for the first half of the development plan to be done, so that we could be ready for the war.¡±


    ¡°Quite a bold assumption there, Belisari¡±-Lily said-¡±But I believe you can comprehend time. If you said it was two months, then two months it would be.¡±


    Receiving the agreement face from Lily, Aurora and Belisari can have some room for breath. Lily is done, now it¡¯s Klein:


    ¡°I would place my trust in my sister¡¯s judgment. But what is the second part of your and Aurora¡¯s plan of military reform?¡±


    (Huh?)


    Klein might not have noticed, but Lily did, there was a grin on Belisari¡¯s face, before it turned back to normal, as he continued:


    ¡°Some of the few selected infantry units shall receive their upgrade, alongside with the cavalry. And after that, we would love to have some of our own surprises for the Elestovakians. About the detail¡­I will tell you later¡±

 Heads of the Army

    "Ah...hot water¡­¡±


    Several hours after the talk between Aurora, Belisari and the Voyages, Belisari has returned to his palace after a chariot arrived and brought him back, but he can¡¯t bring Aurora along. Under Lily and Klein¡¯s pressure, and Belisari''s personal request of giving Aurora a place for tonight''s sleep, the Voyages family was forced to prepare a room for her. A room close to the rooftop which previously was a storage was cleaned up by the maids in order for Aurora to stay in.


    Meanwhile, after stripping off her belongings in Lily¡¯s room, Aurora was exhausted. But there is one more thing she has to do: taking a bath, before the cold from the rain hits and turns her sick. Wandering around the hall of Voyage palace, Aurora searches from room to room looking if there is any bathroom there.


    As she walks aimlessly around the building, her hair color dragged the attention of many people, some nobles from Voyage family that she was introduced to by Belisari, a few maids as well, but there was a hall where several men wearing chainmail armor and black fabric, with white cross armbands could be seen trekking from one place to another. Their eyes were hidden behind their metal helmet, so Aurora can¡¯t tell if they were staring at her, but for certain, to Aurora, they were the most uncomfortable ones for her to encounter.


    Luckily, her journey doesn¡¯t take long. Right below the first floor of the palace, walking to the extended part into the front field, Aurora saw a cloud of steam coming from a vent right by the wall. She followed it, and it turned out that there is not just an ordinary bathroom, but a massive size one, dwarfing any bathroom she has ever seen in her life. Equipped with a hot water system and all kinds of towers to clean the body after a long day, it was the ideal bathroom that Aurora expected when visiting a modern palace.


    However, in opposition to the massive size of it, there was only one person in this room aside from her. Lily, who is having her body washed in the large hot bathtub glared at Aurora the moment she entered the room, and she is smoking a cigarette?


    ¡°Ah,sorry¡±-Aurora panicky said, while trying to close the door-¡±No means to disturb your time here, I could wait outside.¡±


    ¡°No need to, come, this bathroom is big enough to serve a dozen people at the same time, but usually it''s just me here all alone, and you must been cold from the rain, I suppose"


    ¡°Can I?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Receiving a nod from Lily, she entered the room. A cloud of steam leaked out of the room as Aurora opened the door.She then closed it firmly, locked the door up following Lily¡¯s guidance-¡±I forgot to lock it.¡±-the Voyage said, before she rested her body to the side of the bath. Aurora, who can''t resist the desire of having a soak, takes off her clothes and puts them aside into a basket. She grabs a tower from the pile next to the entrance, wraps it around, then joins into the bath with Lily.


    ¡°Haizz¡±-Aurora let out a small voice as she slowly soaked into the bath. The warm water surrounding her body, washing out the remaining dirt and rainwater. Heat began to rise,the steam emerging from the surface of the water blended into the air obscured Aurora¡¯s vision from seeing Lily, despite they were just five meters away from each other. So satisfying, Aurora rested her back on a wall of the bath and looked over the glass ceiling, where she could see as the raindrops collided and flowed down along the rooftop.


    ¡°It has been a long time since I bathed with another person.¡±


    The one who said that is Lily, she has moved from her place toward Aurora, and lies down next to her:


    ¡°Usually I would have waited until nighttime¡±-she said-¡±It is much better seeing stars while having a bath as well. But I want to sleep early tonight.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡±


    ¡°Those Knights Cathedraller who designed this are truly amazing. Who would have thought that those muscular tall weird-looking guys love bathing as we do? As it turned out the cathedrals banned people from going in without having themselves cleaned.¡±


    Lily took a soap and began cleaning herself, then tossed it to Aurora:


    ¡°Here. This thing called soap, you said you came from a northern continent nation, so probably you¡¯ve never seen it, right?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen several in Milishila.¡±-Aurora said while catching the soap Lily threw to her-They are a bit expensive tho. By the way, what is the ¡°Knights Cathedraller¡± you were talking about? They weren¡¯t really popular in my country.¡±


    ¡°How old are you?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen.¡±


    ¡°That explains. Things just happened ten years ago. Anyway, they are just our allies, who sought asylum in Latila after their holy land fell into Elestovakian hands. Since then they¡¯ve been working in an effort to build an army to regain it.¡±


    Lily uses her finger to draw something midair-¡±Their insignia is a two-stripes cross with a small circle,you can see several in the eastern part of the city, on their public churches. Actually you don¡¯t have to go too far, one third of Voyage palace is their headquarters. You must have met a few of their members on your way here.¡±This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Digging back her memory, Aurora realized that those black armored men she met earlier had a white cross on their armband:


    ¡°So they were knights.¡±-she nodded-¡±Yes, I¡¯ve met them back on the second floor. They seem scary, I would say. Must be a crusade enthusiast to realize that they were knights in the first place.¡±


    ¡°What is a crusade?"


    ¡°Nothing. May you tell me more about them?¡±


    ¡°Well, they were an international knight order formed in a cathedral in the city of Montgilsard, also where they got their name from. The clan was founded with the sole purpose of escorting pilgrims to the Cathedral safely. That is until the Elestovakian declared that the Cathedral was theirs and drove the knights out of their operating territory by forces. Their leader ,a middle-age man- an old man now I guess, went to Vlenna and sought help, but the king of Vlenna rejected them, so they sailed to Latila, where we fought together and halted the Elestovakian while they were assaulting the city.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s quite a wild adventure.¡±


    ¡°Sure. By the way, if you have time, you should go to visit their other temples and churches in the city. I usually pray in the Northwest cathedral on Sunday. My mother got this from their commander, and now it is mine¡±


    Lily held out the necklace around her neck, between the silver chain is a cross,the symbol of the Knights Cathedraller,on it carved a sentence:


    "Laudate nomen Domini"(Praise the name of the Lord)-Aurora reads it out quietly


    On the outside, the rain has stopped falling, the cloud being gusted away by the wind and replaced by twilight reflecting down below. The two women stopped for a few minutes to watch as the moon appeared behind the layers of clouds.


    A sound of wind whistled into the few cracks on the wall, followed by a cold breeze. From far away, fliers from the air base took off and began their annual patrol. Lily stands up from the bath, she takes another tower, drying off the steam remaining on her body, then she reaches out for the eyepatch, then her clothes, putting them on and prepares for leaving. However:


    ¡°Lily"-Aurora said-"May I ask you another question, why is your left eye gone? And why are there so many scars on your body?¡±


    A moment of soundlessness filled the atmosphere, before Lily broke it with a long sigh:


    ¡°War¡±-she said, before closing the door-¡±I will tell you sometime in the future, but not today.¡±


    In the meantime, on the other side of the palace


    ¡°Klein? Why are you here?¡±¡±


    ¡°Am I not supposed to return home, Arlin?¡±


    When Klein was on his way to his room in the palace, he bumped into a person. That person, indistinguishable from Klein, if not thanks to the fact that he does not wear glasses as Klein does, is his twin brother Arlin Alexander Voyage. He was walking toward the living room upon hearing that Belisari and another guest visited his home.


    Arlin Alexander Voyage is the captain of the Latilian Companion Husaria, an elite melee cavalry legion which along with the Elf Archer Husaria served as ranged cavalry units of the Latilian army. He is one of the two brothers who Lily pays respect to.


    ¡°Not that, long time no see, but aren¡¯t you supposed to work at Latila palace?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but¡­you know, I have some jobs at home. Besides, it was his Highness who went here, so I just kinda followed him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because of him again, huh? Speaking of Belisari, have you met the guest who came along with him? I heard from the maid that she was a vampire or something?¡±


    ¡°Yes she i-¡±


    "She is not.¡±


    Suddenly behind them, a voice came, along with the footsteps of a figure appearing from a room. That figure in full chainmail armor looked at Arlin and Klein, the armored man then cleared his throat and said:


    ¡°She¡¯s not a vampire, as far as I could tell, she has dark brown eyes, not red. I feel like your observation ability has gone down quite a bit, Klein.¡±


    The knight walks toward them, hands placed on the helmet and opens it, revealing an old man in his late 60s, with a few scars all over his aged face skin. His name is Gerald de Payens, a noble knight from the country of Milishila, and the head of the Order of Soldiers of Crossroad Pilgrims and of Montgilsard Cathedral, famously known as the Knights Cathedraller. He and his clan are mainly responsible for religious activities in the city of Latila.


    As a cathedral knight, he has several encounters with vampires. To talk about the relation between the Knight Cathedraller and the Nosfetura vampire community, the knights weren¡¯t hostile to vampires like many orders westward, but one never said they had a good relationship. But at least Gerald still knows everything about how to set apart vampires from normal people:


    ¡°We have two simple characteristics to identify a vampire.¡±-Gerald sits down on the wall-¡±Silver hair and-¡±


    ¡°Red eyes¡±-Arlin continues his words-¡±Lack of one then it¡¯s not a vampire. So, say old man, our guest is just a regular human?¡±


    ¡°The first one is correct, but the later one, if she¡¯s just a ¡°regular¡± human she won¡¯t be invited by his Highness here. That said, I have to question myself when I first saw that girl too, she¡¯s so young, younger than my granddaughter, even. By the way¡±-The knight looks at Klein-¡±You know her name,right?¡±


    ¡°She told me to refer to her as Aurora Borealis, even his Highness doesn¡¯t know her real name.¡±


    It¡¯s true, Klein asked Belisari about Aurora¡¯s actual name, but all he received was a head shake and the reply:¡±She and her colleagues have already referred to her as Aurora Borealis since I first met her.¡±-¡°Now thinking back, every fact I know about Aurora came from my conversation between his Highness and I.¡±-Klein concludes.


    ¡°A silver-haired human who calls herself Aurora Borealis, weird. Honestly, I¡¯ve never seen one like this before, and I remember every single pilgrim who came to the Cathedral.¡±


    ¡°Me neither, that¡¯s gir-¡±


    Loud voice¡±Laudate nomen Domini¡±


    Out of the sudden, a knight from behind them shouted out the motto of the order, the specialized communication method of the Knights Cathedraller to announce an emergency meeting between the high ranking knights. Seeing that, Gerald quickly stood up, but before he went away:


    ¡°In whatever case it is, I believe we must put our faith in God and his Highness.¡±-He pats on Arlin and Klein¡¯s shoulders-¡±Their encounter must have some meaning, and I believe it shall lead to our victory. Anyway, I have several more jobs to do, sorry for not being here any longer with you kids¡±


    Gerald waves his hand, before disappearing after the door leading to the knight''s headquarters.

 Morning

    ¡°He who conquered Latila¡­will have the world¡±


    **


    ¡°Long live the Elestovakian Empire!¡±


    A charting voice of a thousands men army awakened Latila while the citizens were in their slumber. Bells ringing across the street, calling for men, women and children to take shelter in Voyage and Flemton fortresses or Latila palace. Those who were lucky enough to live close to the port aboard ships to escape from this city before the chains were fully tied to protect the port from the invaders'' warships. One thing every mind in Latila knew at that day: war had come to their land.


    In front of Flemton wall, the outer defense line of Latila city, the guards were in fear, as they saw an army of fifty thousand men marching toward where they made their stand. Holding the banners of Elestovakia flutter high in the sky, the invading army trampled on burning flags and corpses of the fallen Flemton defenders.


    Offshore, forty warships with catapults are bombarding their beloved city. Hellfire is raining down, but they can¡¯t do anything about it. Latilian warships, despite being equipped with flamethrowers, are very short range, they were easily outmatched by their Elestovakian counterparts. Half of their fleet were sunk without leaving the port.


    Outnumbered twelve to one, demoralized by the horror of a defeated army, the remaining force withdrew to the rear of the garrison. They could hold off the Elestovakians for months but eventually this garrison will fall and Latila will be captured.


    Yet, command was given, those men were ordered to not abandon their position.


    Standing on a wall over the fortification of the city is a young female aristocrat, sixteen years old Lily Sobieski Voyage, who has been waiting here for this moment since when the news of their army¡¯s defeat reached Voyage fortress. She is here, along with her parents and relatives, the entire remainders of the Voyage bloodline and the Flemtones fighting to protect the capital of their country:


    ¡°Lily, adjust the gunpowder in your matchlock, don¡¯t let it be faulty.¡±


    Lily¡¯s mother takes the gun from her, inspecting the gunpowder inside before giving it back.


    ¡°Thanks, mom.¡±


    ¡°Here they come¡±


    As the invaders bring out their siege engines-the infamous 778 pounder cannons that had decimated Carthagia¡¯s fortification last week-to destroy the garrison¡¯s gate, the defenders on the wall load their guns and ready to fight back. On the opposite, the Elestovakians are having their guns preloaded from far away, so that they could fire them all at once when the fortification gets well within range. The invaders had no cavalry, they were busy dealing with force from the Knights Cathedraller far away from the city, but with the overwhelming force from sheer size of their foot troops, it would be a matter of time before they break through this garrison.


    And so, they began laying siege. The Latilian gunners waited for command.


    ¡°All units! FIRE!¡±


    From their barrels, hundreds of ammo shells glided into the air. The Latilian force fired wave after wave of bullets upon their enemies. The Elestovakians expected that would happen, they deploy a heavy metal shield to cover the cannons. With their guns fixated on the wall, they began the bombardment on the garrison.


    ¡°Hold on something!¡±


    The heavy cannonballs smashed into the city¡¯s defense, crushing numerous men behind these walls and staggered the fortress. The Flemton wall was a marvel of technology, but for ancient times, it wasn¡¯t designed to hold off any modern weaponry like cannons. The wall shakes violently, dropping gunners of their standing points. Yet, the Elestovakians show no mercy, they will keep on bombarding the wall until it submits.


    Then, a short moment of silence, the guns need to be reloaded and loaders are rushing to do it. Seizing that rare opportunity, Latilian melee assault cavalry charged at the cannons. From the middle gate of the city, the Konstantine gates, a group of a hundred armed riders take off toward the Elestovakians.


    ¡°Good god..."


    Overlooking the chaos battlefield created by their horsemen from behind an arrow slit, Lily gazes her vision around at an incoming cannon, a gunner standing side by side to it loading a cannonball into its barrel. Drawing out her matchlock, Lily carefully aims at that man, and pulls the trigger.


    Bang!


    The ammo released from the rifle barrel flew into the head of the invader, pierced the leather helmet and splattered his blood to the ground. Lily temporarily disabled a cannon with that kill, but not for long, another one came and the cannon continued to fire. Fortunately, a cavalryman cuts him down. The enemy¡¯s position has been broken. Good, she has to keep the momentum by continuing covering the cavalry. Loading her matchlock again with fresh new ammo, Lily exposes her head right a little bit¡­


    Sling!


    Suddenly, out of thin air, a bullet came, slicing right into her left eye.


    ¡°AHHH!¡±


    The archduchess Lily wakes up from her nightmare, breathing heavily. Looking around her,it was just her bedroom.


    The fireplace has long gone off. The rain has stopped since yesterday, and birds are singing outside.


    Still sweating cold and shivering, Lily tries to stand up from her bed. She grabs on her eyepatch, carefully placing it onto her left eye to cover the scar on her eye. At the age of twenty-six, it¡¯s hard to accept the fact that Lily could be considered an experienced war veteran, but she is one. The war ten years ago, when the Elestovakians unleashed their power upon the northern land, Lily joined in the defense of the city, two months before Latila was relieved by the Milishilians.


    On that fateful night, when the Elestovakian army attacked the city, Lily lost her left eye, and then, became an orphan, before being adopted to this family. Long time has gone after the war is over, yet, many nights, the memories of these nights still find their way back in her dreams.


    And every time when Lily wakes up from those dreams, she kneels down, making a cross sign with her hands and prays, silently, in the hope that the men and her parents who fell on that day could rest in peace. The prayer lasts until the Knights Catheraller order rings the golden bell on their temples, when the sun illuminates its light on top of the Order''s highest flagpole. Then, the prayer stops, Lily stands up and heads to the dining room, if it is just an usual day.


    But today, she went to another place. Open the door of the storage close to Voyage palace¡¯s rooftop, Lily looks into it, where Aurora is slumbing, with sheets of papers and tons of strange-looking devices lying everywhere on the floor which has just been cleaned off dust yesterday. As a fastidious person, plus this is also her domain, Voyage can¡¯t help but find it extremely uncomfortable:


    ¡°Geeze¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Hearing noise coming from the door, Aurora opened her eyes, she looked all around,realizing that this is not her house. Then, she saw Lily looking at her:Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Good morning.¡±-Aurora said, then fell back to her bed, continuing to sleep.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡±


    ¡°She hasn''t awakened?¡±


    Suddenly, a familiar voice is calling Lily from her right-¡°Your Highness.¡±-she turns around and greets the approaching figure, Belisari-¡±Why did you come here so early?¡±


    ¡°To accompany Aurora back to my palace. By the way, Liliya, I told you to skip the ¡°Your Highness¡± part, Belisari is fine, you¡¯re older than I am anyway. And it feels rather strange when seeing one that has been always called you by name suddenly changes to calling you by title.¡±


    ¡°Klein would scold me for a while if he found out.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely he would.¡±


    The two look at each other, giggling:


    "Ahaha...Belisari, then. Only if Klein is absent. Anyhow, Aurora, wake up, His Highness is here for you.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    No answer


    ¡°You stay here. Let me wake her up.¡±


    Lily entered the room, carefully choosing places to land her feet so that she would not accidentally step on and crush anything important. Now looking closer, those papers lying on the floor were not just any random papers, but blueprints,and there is still a fresh ink smell mixed with burned out scented candles filling the room. She did all of this while I was sleeping? Lily questioned herself. However, no excuse is now good enough for Aurora to continue dozing while Belisari is here for her:


    ¡°Hey there¡±-


    Lily chooses the soft method, she pokes at the pile of blankets-"Wake up, it¡¯s morning already. His Highness has come.¡±


    ¡°I am here.¡±


    Aurora slowly awakes, brushing off the dust buildup on her eyes-¡°Belisari?¡­¡±-she noticed Belisari is looking at her from the door-¡±I¡­I mean Your Highness, why are you here for this sole individual?¡±


    ¡°Belisari is fine, just consider me as your friend, I don¡¯t mind it, unless Klein is here. Hey Liliya, can you grab me something in the kitchen? I haven¡¯t had anything in my stomach.¡±


    Belisari did have breakfast at home, but he wanted to have some private talk with Aurora. Understanding that intention, Lily nodded:


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    After Lily has gone away from his eyes, Belisari turns back to Aurora, the girl is trying to straighten her messy hair with a comb before going off the bed. Walking on the same path Lily took to enter the room, he arrives at the table close to the window, where most of Aurora¡¯s personal stuffs are located, then picks up a small fragment of glass from the table and takes a look:


    ¡°This one¡­''''-Belisari shows it to Aurora and asks-¡±The glass is very clear. I''ve seen many high quality panels in Ethanolin when I was there two years ago, but this one is on another level. How did you obtain it?¡±


    ¡°From Russia, we know a thing or two about making glass.¡±


    ¡°It looks incredible.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­¡±


    After having been excluded from monarch rules, Aurora seemed to have returned to a normal altitude to speak with Belisari.


    ¡°You really speak to me like we are friends.¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­sorry Your Highness, am I not actually allowed to do that?"


    ¡°No no,if I say I don¡¯t mind it then it means I don¡¯t mind it. You can call me whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    Aurora stopped for a moment, thinking:


    ¡°Belisari Flarius¡­May I call you Belisarius?¡±


    ¡°Fine for me.¡±


    ¡°Thank you Belisarius for your hospitality hosting me in this comfortable palace.¡±


    ¡°Okay okay. Enough.¡±


    Belisari found himself a comfortable place to sit down. A chair was there at the end of the bed,but it was occupied by Aurora¡¯s backpack, and fully aware of how dangerous those explosive shells inside of it could be, the prince decided not to mess with that thing.


    A wooden plank protruding out of the wall has only a few metal plates on it. After having those things carefully placed aside, Belisari brushes off the dust and takes a seat:


    ¡°So, sorry for yesterday, I have to go home early.Is everything okay here?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t complain about anything except the food.¡±


    The steak Aurora had last night was disgustingly thick and tough to chew, and made her stomach hurt. That¡¯s why she couldn''t sleep and had to distract herself from the pain by working instead. It was so bad that although she should be grateful for the food, Aurora¡¯s honest opinion about the meal overcame her etiquette:


    ¡°Well, sorry about that, I will ask if they could improve it. Hey, how about Liliya, is she good?¡±


    ¡°Liliya? Lily? She seemed like a good person, unlike her scary appearance, although she saw me as a child. Not that I am bothering with that though¡­How about you? What do you think about her?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s a reliable senior, I guess so.¡±


    At the same time, Aurora has done with preparing herself to get off the bed. She takes the backpack, burying her hands into it trying to pull out something. Belisari looks with some curiosity, he never saw what Aurora got with her since they first met. Is there anything more interesting than those explosive shells in that bag?


    ¡°Anyhow¡±-he decided to ignore it-¡±It¡¯s breakfast time, if you don¡¯t hurry up soon the Knights will occupy all the seats in the dining room. Go to the first floor, you should see it around the stairs."


    ¡°Uh huh.¡±-Aurora nodded, hands and face still grinding into the haversack-¡±I will be there in a moment, you should go first.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I can help with?"


    Belisari wants to help, but at the same time he wants to have a glance at the things inside the backpack.


    ¡°No, please just go first.¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Fine, be there soon.¡±


    Said done, the prince turned away and left.


    Thirty minutes later


    Aurora, Lily and Belisari are now in Voyage¡¯s dining room. The breakfast here is simple, just bread with vegetable soup, which according to Aurora as she later described, is an absolute nightmare to swallow. The bread is hard like hardtack and the soup even has a rotten taste in it.¡±-Just like British food.¡±-Aurora complained quietly-¡±Better to cook by myself next time.¡±


    However, for some reason, Lily and Belisari seemingly enjoyed it like it¡¯s good. Sometimes it¡¯s hard to know what medieval people are thinking when they eat something, Aurora concluded, she will note that later in her diary.


    Nevertheless, Aurora still tried her best to finish the meal, risking all the possibility of vomiting the whole breakfast in the dining room. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t. Throwing the empty bowl to the side with a disgusted face, she looks at Belisari, who¡¯s sitting opposite her, saying-"Now may you tell me why you came here so early today?¡±


    ¡°As I said¡±-to which he replied-¡±I want to accompany you to my home, the Latilus Latilae Palace and meet my father, King Justinius the First, His Majesty, remember to call him so, and ask for his approval to execute our renovation project. Just simple like that.¡±


    ¡°May I come tag along?¡±


    Said Lily while she was trying to cut bread, she just wanted to have a visit. It has been a long time since her last time in Belisari¡¯s palace:


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s okay, the carriage is enough for four people, Aurora, I, you and a bodyguard, though it¡¯s unnecessary to have any guard when you¡¯re onboard. No raider would even dare to come close¡±


    ¡°Is that a compliment?¡±


    ¡°We all know that you¡¯re reliable.¡±


    ¡°Reliable she is, indeed.¡±


    A big and rough hand, covered in a metal gauntlet suddenly placed on Aurora¡¯s shoulder:


    ¡°Lily is surprisingly trustworthy to be a personal guard. Anyway, Your Highness, may you introduce me to this particular individual?¡±


    A person appeared behind Aurora, and she almost jumped out of her seat, if it wasn''t for her to be frozen by fear. Judging by the shadow of the figure alone, a rough estimation of him is two meters tall, with heavy armor and a matchlock musket. Added to that is a scary low tone voice, this voice is familiar to one of the voices she heard when coming across those black armored men. When combining all of those elements, there only meant one thing: The person who¡¯s standing behind her is a Knights of the Cathedral:


    "Take a seat first, Gerald. Don''t scare our guests."-Belisari ordered. As an instant effect, the knight releases the girl from his hand. He draws out a chair beneath the table and settles. Aurora takes a glance, this man is double her size at least, what makes him look scarier is those battle scars covering the area of almost half of the elderly face just like Lily, and of course, that black, dirty metal armor:


    "Aurora"-Belisari speaks-"This person is Gerald de Payens, commander of the Order of Soldiers of Crossroad Pilgrims and of Montgilsard Cathedral, you might call them..."


    "The Knights Cathedraller"-The knight named Gerald cut short his words-"It was an honor knowing you, Aurora Borealis.¡±

 The Latilian Monarch

    After having finished their breakfast, Belisari, Lily, Aurora and the knight began their journey to Latila Palace.


    The distance between Voyage and Latila Palace is around one hour by carriage, or to put it into geographical perspective: half of the city of Latila, and a sixth of the entire nation. Aurora did expect the nation to be relatively small, but she was frightened to see how small it is compared to any state in the region, aside from Vlenna, or course. But to Elestovakia¡­even in the impossible scenario of the Elestovakian Army suddenly disappearing and Latilians could just march straight to their capital, Aurora is not sure if they could make it.


    That said, she¡¯s not a tactician, while Belisari is. Who knows if he is having something in his mind. She intended to ask, but seeing the man and Lily are having a conversation, Aurora decided it is wise not to interrupt them.


    The girl looks outside of the windows. The dwellers in this city, as she had observed yesterday, are very diverse in races, both human and non-human. Elves, of course, look just like descriptions from any kind of fantasy books or mangas people could find in a cheap store uptown, with pointy ears and bright hair color. Their attire however resembles a modern version of toga instead of green maneuverable and camouflage costumes, probably to blend into urban society. The Fliers, on the other hand, are more explicit in their style of clothing. The airborne creatures whose home is located in the further north of the continent tend to wear a light tunic, with exposed back and flexible shoes to support their flight ability. At first, Aurora pictured them to have bird-like wings, with feathers and peaks even, like any bird she had ever seen in her hometown. What turned out to be is that these people have very geometrical wings, as if they were planes, specifically B-2 or something similar with human form, 75% human 25% plane. Nevertheless, as their name suggested, they can fly, unlike any other race in this world aside from pure blood vampires.


    ¡°Latila is open to all kinds of creatures who are willing to be its citizens.¡±


    Behind Aurora, the knight in the black armor spoke. He seems to has been looking at her from the beginning, and noticed how Aurora glaces at non-human people with a look of curiosity:


    ¡°It¡¯s not like there were no other native arcane creatures in Milishila¡±-he continues-¡±If I remembered it right then there were dwarfs. But they primarily live in mountain regions, I heard, so encountering one is almost impossible, and I had only met one in my entire life. I guess you had no chance to encounter one before, right?¡±


    Aurora nodded, although she had no idea about whatever Gerald said.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we reintroduce ourselves a little bit¡±-the man continues-¡±My name


    is Gerald de Payens, a Knight Cathedraller as I said earlier. I¡¯m also from Milishila, from the city of Belkut to be specific. Again, nice to meet you, Aurora Borealis. I have a granddaughter around your age, hope you two can be friends.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you too, Mr. Payens. And I am looking forward to seeing your granddaughter as well.¡±


    The knight raises his gloved-hand for a handshake. He is smiling, with the kindest face expression Aurora has ever seen in her life aside from her parents. People in this world are weird, they might seem very scary, but they are very gentle. Lily and this person for example, Aurora thought of that for herself, but did not speak that out loud.


    The girl again looks out of the window, she gazes at the houses and infrastructures. The road they were moving on right now was covered by a layer of flattened large stone, unfit for carriages like this chariot, but very well made and durable. Other buildings such as houses and churches are made from stones and wood logs, some luxurious buildings even possess marble walls and pillars. And there was the port she arrived at yesterday¡­a marvel of construction¡­If there is any ancient civilization on Earth that was capable of building houses like this, it must be the Romans, or to be fair, Hellens and Carthage as well. Nevertheless, they speak Latin here, modern Latin. This nation is more Roman in its core-


    ¡°Woo!¡±


    Aurora was caught by surprise, the chariot had just taken a tight turn on the road. Her view changed from a row of home establishments to a public street. As the descriptions said, buildings here mainly serve public needs, such as public baths and churches, taverns and storages of a union of countries named the Maritime Federation. Aside from Milishila and Vlenna, the Maritime Federation, a Western nation consisting of four major trading port cities: Ganeo, Vineci, Milin and Nakoli, is also an ally with benefits of the Kingdom.


    The Latilus Latilae palace is now within a short distance. From the carriage, Aurora can tell that it is really smaller than the Voyage Latilus palace:


    ¡°Hey Aurora, how do you see this country?¡±-asked Payens the noble knight, to which Aurora replies-¡±Something worth to discover and deserves being protected¡±


    The chariot stopped right in front of the Latila palace, where it was surrounded by soldiers equipped with shields and crossbows guarding from every side of the wall, their armbands carrying the insignia of Latila and the Maritime Federation mercenary corp. Already familiar with the knight order¡¯s men, the crossbowmen look not so imitating to Aurora.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, Aurora.¡±


    Said Belisari, as the prince opens the gate for Lily to come out first, then Payens, then himself. Aurora steps out. In contrast to what she imagined earlier, there was no one greeting them with red carpet or guards playing trumpets, the entrance of the prince was just as quiet and humble as the entrance of a normal guest.


    No, not really, there was a person that is waving at them from the palace, someone that look like Belisari:


    ¡°Your Highness Aurelian, long time no see.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Good morning, Aurelian. How is father?¡±


    ¡°He is okay. And is that the woman you told me earlier?¡±


    The man points at where Aurora is standing.


    Aurora, later being told, that person is Aurelian Dominitate Latila, the second prince of the Kingdom, brother of Belisari. And behind him:


    ¡°Your Majesty.¡±


    Justinius Sabbarius Latila, or Justinius the First, king of the Kingdom of Latila and father of both princes. He is here for Belisari and the special individual he brought along. Taking a few steps forward, the king meets up with the visitors.


    ¡°Archduchess of Voyage, Sir Payens, Belisari¡­¡±


    The King looks quite old. Although he is just forty, Justinius¡¯s appearance, adding to that is his tiredness makes him look like he is around Payens¡¯s age. The labor of managing this mid-crisis nation for ten years has worn down the person once the master of a great kingdom:


    ¡°...and you are Aurora Borealis, if I was right.¡±


    Justinius glances at Aurora, his eyes show a sense of suspicion, like a true wise emperor looking at his enemy, but he still welcomes her to his palace as a foreign guest. After all, it was his first trustworthy son who introduced this individual to him:


    ¡°I am King Justinius of the Latilian Kingdom. Aurora Borealis, welcome, and you may enter my palace.¡±


    Said done, the king turns and walks away. It was not exactly a warm greeting, but that means Aurora was approved:


    ¡°Alright¡±-Belisari claps his hands-¡±Let us enter, Aurora. Hey Aurelian, would you mind spending some time with us?¡±


    The first prince turns his attention at the second, the one that is staring at Aurora, especially her hair, and makes her extremely uncomfortable:


    ¡°Okay, I will see what this woman used to interest you.¡±


    **


    Walking along the hall of Latila palace with her companions, Aurora can¡¯t help herself but turning all around to capture as many things into her eyes as possible. She wishes she had some independent moving eyeballs to see for more, because her pair is not even enough to witness the magnificent of this palace.


    The palace was built on marble structure, with walls and the ceiling supported by granite pillars covered with fabrics in many colors, even purple, something that should be considered luxury pre-19th century on Earth. A main large entrance-not the entrance they used to enter-in the middle of the building made of fine wooden planks and plated with silver., serving for ceremonies or triumphs.


    Paintings covered half of the ceiling, half of which were mosaic, showing the imperial history of Latila, and an old map of the country when it was a great kingdom. Aside from some states that are still existing, a few old nations are there as well, the Empire of Nosfetura, the Kingdom of Carthagia, the Aeropostale Republic, the four Maritime Republics before they united, etc.


    Soldiers and guards moving around, not just the crossbowmen, but musketeers and halberdiers as well, and they are all wearing shining steel armors and shoes, and all of them are looking at Aurora as they journey through the hall. Her hair color again is the spotlight of everything, but she is used to it already.


    ¡°Here¡±


    The six stopped in front of a small door, this is Justinius¡¯s office, where he would stay all day long managing the country from there, but today it is being used to welcome guests:


    ¡°You may take a seat.¡±


    Aurora sits down on the wooden long couch, on her side there are Lily and Payens. It feels like they were her bodyguards. Belisari and Aurelian on the other hand lie down on the ottomans in the corner of the room, and the king himself is in his usual position, behind the table and the tower of paper scrolls.


    ¡°Aurora Borealis, welcome you to this country of Latila. I¡¯ve heard that you were hired by Belisari to support this nation. And although you look like a vampire with that hair color, you are not.¡±


    ¡°Correct, Your Majesty.¡±


    The king nods his head, he goes on:


    ¡°But Belisari said that you are capable of producing explosive shells and may help expand our military arsenal with a renovation plan. Is that right, Belisari?¡±


    ¡°Yes father¡±-the prince says.


    ¡°You are correct, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°That is somewhat hard to believe, I must say, but my son told me that he witnessed you perform the capability of that weapon per his request. If that was true, then it is amazing. We¡¯ve asked Milishila to share that technology, but they refused to. Your help would be vital.¡±


    The relationship between Belisari and Justinius, it is hard to describe it, but it seems like Justinius placed his belief in his first son, no matter how disbehave he is, running around the country without protector, without informing his father or anyone else, even, he still trust his son. The king might not be a person that is good at speaking with others, but he is excellent at trusting the right people at the right time when it is needed. Knowing so makes Aurora feel relieved.


    ¡°In spite of our lack of finances, I will provide funds and workplaces for the plan if it is necessary. Of course, Belisari- no, Aurelian will manage the budget, to avoid any risk of corruption.¡±


    ¡° Thank you for your cooperation and generousness, your Majesty. But the budget need not be supervised, since I will personally provide finance for this project.¡±


    ¡°You will pay for us?¡±-Justinius surprises-¡±We would be delighted to receive any support. But what can you offer-


    ¡°What!?¡±


    What followed made everyone in that room shocked. The monarchs and the knights almost jumped out of their seats.


    Aurora, while the king was still speaking, took out a bag full of large pieces of gemstone, specifically white diamonds, out of her backpack and poured them onto the table, where everyone could take a look. They are not ordinary big, but extremely huge, cutted, and are shining the most shiny light they¡¯ve ever seen. Each one of them outshine any gems in a Milishilian king''s treasure room, even the smallest one can be more expensive than the most valuable real estate of the richest Maritime dye traders, and more valuable than every gems casted into the crown of the monarch of the old Nosfeturan Empire combined.


    (Hehe, that did the trick)


    Of course, they are all synthetic diamonds, they are not valuable, and cost much less than steel back on Earth, where these gemstones originate from. But in this world, where nothing is known about synthetic diamonds, to these medieval people, these are real, biggest, shiniest diamonds in the entire world. And the amount on Aurora¡¯s right hand alone can buy a whole small kingdom:


    ¡°H- how?¡±-Justinius stuttered, so did Belisari and Aurelian-¡±Where did you have this!?¡±


    ¡°It does not matter, I brought it from home¡±-Aurora speaks-¡°I¡¯ve heard of the Maritime Federation. Your Highness Aurelian and Your Highness Belisari, may you contact them for me. I want to have a deal with their merchants.¡±

 A Generous Gift

    ¡°There was a dream, a dream called a greater Latila¡­¡±


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    In the White square, the largest open space in the city of Latila, a column of trebuchets and catapults are working tirelessly, firing burning stones after another to the outer wall and enemy naval warships. Cooperating with them is the Flier Reconnaissance Corp, with the task of measuring the distance to the targets, then report back to the operators working below:


    ¡°Vitta 1 to headquarter Latila, reporting enemy cannons in the north east, the Ganeoese holding the line are in struggle. Request fire support immediately.¡±


    Words from a flier notify about an incoming attack. Seeing that, the Latilian defenders quickly get to work.


    ¡°Headquarter Latila got it. Withdraw Vitta 1, incoming projectiles.¡±


    Two people from each gear throw a large stone covered in oil onto the sling of each war gear and set them afire. Then, the controllers fire them into the night sky by moving the level and letting gravity swing the swing arms to launch projectiles onward and release them from their launchers. The stones covered in burning oil lighting up the paths on their way to the enemies. It is very hard to score a hit with that ballistic trajectory of the weapon, but that is the only way they could use these trebuchets now.


    BAM!*


    A large explosion followed as the ammunition hit the ground, shattering into thousands of burning debris. If it hits, it would cause great damage to the invaders, if not¡­then they¡¯ve wasted another bucket of oil for nothing. Better let a flier to go there to check:


    ¡°How is it, Vitta 1.¡±


    ¡°I am coming closer¡­No¡­Emergency situation! the Ganeoese are abandoning their position! I repeat¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    For whatever reason, the crossbowmen mercenaries they bought from Ganeo are running from their position on the wall. Amerius Luscusius, called Vitta 1, the commander of the 2nd Fliers corp flies closer for a clear look:


    ¡°They are fleeing, still maintaining their weapons¡­where is their commander- oh God. Vitta 1 to headquarters Justiniana is dead. This wall needs to be reinforced as fast as possible. Vitta 1 to headquarters, Flier Melee Centuria XII and Flier Aerial Centuria XI will hold them, but we will need more than that.¡±


    At that moment, a few projectiles from the ground come, almost shoot down Amerius if it wasn¡¯t for her to dodge them in advance:


    ¡°They have anti-air ballistas to deal with us too, we the Fliers cannot hold them off for too long.¡±


    ¡°I got it. Keep firing into that general direction, I will go to support the Maritime mercenaries.¡±


    ¡°No your Highness!¡±


    Among the operators that were working at the White square that day, Belisari, the fourteen years old crown prince of Latila was the only monarch member. Taking a crossbow from the stock left by the army, with a Ganeoese mercenary uniform, the young prince jumps from his position and rushes across the street, searching for a way to arrive at the wall as soon as he can.


    The city is full of people with their belongings packed to leave the city, they are leaving his country. Fine, as their prince, Belisari must help these people, by buying them more time to leave.


    **


    ¡°Here.¡±


    Lily, returning after a trip to the nearest firm of the Maritime traders, throws a chest full of gold coins onto the table.


    Aurora, the receiver of the money, was in total shock. Although it is unclear how much this would be in dollars or rubles, this is without a doubt the largest amount of fortune she has ever seen in her life, came from just selling the smallest out of the large pieces of diamond she used to donate to the Latilians.


    And she is not the only one either. Belisari, Aurelian and pretty much everyone there, aside from Lily because she was already shocked a moment ago, opened their mouths widely. They don¡¯t know how the Maritimers gathered the money so quickly, nor how much the diamond was valued to them. They just know that they now had a lot of money that needed to be exchanged.


    ¡°Twenty million Denarii, they said¡±-Lily places on the table a note-¡±This is more than enough to pay salaries for our army for five months, including the mercenaries. And this is¡­just one. How many pieces do you get there, Aurora?¡±


    ¡°Fifteen, minus one, fourteen. Assuming they would buy with the same price in the worst case, we would have two hundred eighty million. That is¡­amazing¡­¡±


    All of a sudden, Aurora stands up. With sparks glowing crazily in her gray eyes and a large smirk on her face, she opens her arms wide:


    ¡°Your Majesty¡±-she says-¡±I will keep one of these gems for myself, the rest can be exchanged and expropriated into Latilians warchest. Ahaha, be grateful to receive my charity.¡±


    Aurora starts laughing like a maniac in front of everyone, she entirely forgot that she is meeting the monarch. However, neither Justinius, Belisari, Aurelian nor anyone here could care less about that, their attention is entirely on the amount of fortune being shown in front of their eyes.


    ¡°This¡­this is incredible-¡±


    ¡°Hey¡±


    The door suddenly opened, stepping in Klein Voyage and Arlin Voyage, the two people who followed the team just a moment before the chariot left, they opened this door because of the weird noise coming out of the room. Seeing Aurora in a weird pose while everyone else are sitting, Klein walks toward her and raises his fist:Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    *Bonk!*


    ¡°Ouch!¡±


    ¡°Aurora Borealis¡±-he says, while cleaning his hand with a towel after using it to knock on Aurora¡¯s head-¡±You might be His Highness¡¯s guest, but you cannot do so in front of him nor His Majesty-¡±


    ¡°Hey hey what is over there-¡±


    Arlin, the other Voyage at the door points at the chest on the table, a second before him joining the rest of the Latilians here stunning because of that amount of treasure:


    ¡°Klein¡±-Justinius stands up from behind the table-¡±Don¡¯t harm Aurora. She gave us that money- no, she gave us more than that. She deserved being treated as an aristocrat, no, more than that.¡±


    Said done, the king walks from his place to Aurora, she has calmed down a bit, though still hurt from the knock:


    ¡°The Kingdom of Latila thank you for your generosity.¡±-the king places his palms on her shoulders-¡±This nation owns you and the donation you gave us, we will repay you someday. I promise I will support you with everything I could if it is within my possibility. You may leave.¡±


    **


    ¡°Just who are you exactly?¡±


    The Voyages, Aurora and Gerald decided to stay in Belisari¡¯s domain for tonight.


    It is just the middle of the day, the sun has not even reached its highest place, almost, but not yet. Though there are still ponds left after the heavy rain yesterday, it is basically sunny now, an opportunity to go around the city. However, as much as Aurora wants to do it, she has to sit here, on the highest tower of the Latila Palace, being questioned by Belisari, the person who dragged her here:


    ¡°I am an expeditioner.¡±-she said, gazing beyond the window-¡±Is there any wanderer who does not bring some money with them when they go somewhere?¡±


    ¡°That does not explain the amount of treasure you brought along with yourself. You are richer than any person in this country- no, in the entire known world. I knew there is something in that backpack¡±-Belisari points at the thing hanging on the back of Aurora:


    ¡±In the grace of God, you are no more fit for the role of being an ordinary engineer who was hired by me any more. Your action broke that role, why?¡±


    ¡°Ehehe¡­¡±


    Aurora points her fingers against each other. She seems to be regret, although there is not much of it:


    ¡°Sorry about that. But I guess they don¡¯t care about it, they just see me as a generous donor. That would also keep them busy for a while finding people to purchase these gems.¡±


    Klein and Arlin were tasked with finding customers to exchange the diamonds into coins. They took more time than they should have, considering that not many individuals could spend that much money just to buy these valuable stones. Meanwhile, the King himself had just contacted the Milishilians, in seeking for a deal with them:


    ¡°It would be at least a week before we could gather sixty million Denariis, I¡¯ve predicted.¡±-Aurora elaborates, trying to switch the topic to something else-¡±Most of the money will come from the Maritime merchants, a small portion from the Milishilians, the rest from the neighboring region in the Elestovakian Empire.¡±


    ¡°The Elestovakians¡­Why?¡±-Belisari asks.


    ¡°What, aren¡¯t they the enemies? Lily told me so.¡±


    Aurora tilts her head a bit, she does not understand why Belisari switches his tone when speaking about dealing with the Elestovakians:


    ¡°They are enemies, you know that, why do you still trade with them?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Isn¡¯t that good? By draining their funds in the neighboring regions with these gems, their army bordering Latila will shrink in number, without Latila losing any men.¡±


    ¡°Wait-¡±


    ¡°And we have money from them to build our strength. That was a fine strategy to say the least.¡±


    ¡°That was all of your plan?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Diamonds, they are extremely valuable according to the market, Aurora fully aware of that. However, she also knows that they are not suitable to be used to pay salaries for troops, or purchase weaponry, gold coins are much better in that role. By trading these carbon-based stones for coins, Aurora has got money she can use, and binding her customers a fortune in which they can hardly use for exchange, nor can be smelt into weapons.


    Or course, whatever happens to these diamonds is unknown, the Elestovakians might pass them over with higher prices, which would make the money draining plan go spoiled. But that is a gamble worth to play, and:


    ¡°Is that nation maintaining nobility ranks, if that is the case, we are lucky.¡±


    With a nobility system like the Holy Roman Empire, the local army will be drained, since they are entirely dependent on financial support of the local lords, the targets in Aurora¡¯s plan:


    ¡°Ah¡­I see the mind behind this. Their lords will purchase these gems and to have the money, cut the militia¡¯s fund. They cannot call for imperial nor foreign support either without paying them.¡±


    That was how the Battle of Vienna would¡¯ve worked out if not thanks for donation from the Roman Catholic church. History can be applied from one world to another, Aurora thought so. Hence the plan was drawn out to avoid mistake of the Ottomans:


    ¡°Exactly, I¡¯ve researched carefully before my expedition.¡±


    The girl takes a look beyond the border of the city, outside of the wall.


    An Elestovakian village is there, so close, it was a Latilian village just ten years ago. Stones and missile remains are still left in the field, never being cleaned up or harvested. The place where the Fliers Centuria XII made their last stand now emerged a lavender field. The Elestovakian War was a devastating blow to the Latilians, and now in hard time they have to use gems to scam resource from their once righteous territory:


    ¡°It is not necessary we have to target the Elestovakians, but it is worth a try. Do you think so?¡±


    Belisari, taking a long sigh, agreed:


    ¡°I guess so.¡±


    The two do not say anything for a while, they just silently look beyond the window, at the Latila port, at the walls, at the abandoned Flemton fortress, and think about many months ahead, what change may occur¡­


    *Stomach growling noise*


    ¡­maybe later, it is time for lunch. Medieval foods tend to not carry so many nutrients to make a person full for a long time.


    ¡°I will make some food¡±-said Aurora, as she stood up from her seat-¡±Do you want some as well?|


    ¡°You will?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡­can¡¯t rely on other people when it comes to cooking.¡±


    She lied, Aurora cooks not exactly good, but compared to anything she had eaten from yesterday, it is better to make herself a meal, and Belisari and Lily as well. Maybe that would change the overall eating habits of this country, if she could¡­.


    **


    ¡°It¡¯s good! So good!¡±


    Both Belisari and Lily say after having just a spoon of soup which Aurora cooked. Compared to what they¡¯ve eaten this morning, this is like a feast of the angels. The two aristocrats, after experiencing such a high quality dish, cannot go back to their old way of eating. That is exactly the Russian girl expected and hoped for:


    ¡°You are a really great chef, Aurora.¡±-Lily wiped her mouth with a towel-¡±Are you willing to teach our chefs how to cook like you?¡±


    ¡°Of course, with my pleasure¡±


    Aurora smirks a little. The main key for a good modern dish is some spice.

 Antiquity Kingdom

    The renovation project happened, not a week later, but just three days.


    ¡°I got the ships.¡±


    For some odd reason, Aurora, the head of the project ordered Belisari to purchase at least twenty ships, and she also noted that they must be large and fast and big enough to carry goods and people. Not taking a minute to consider, the prince headed straight to the port, to the Milishilian docking space, and:


    ¡°He was kinda surprised and frightened at first, but the deal was quick.¡±


    Cereus¡¯s cruiser, once a coffee delivering vessel, is a high quality full-rigged ship, which was built in Vineci, capital of the Maritime Federation. That is one fine ship for their fleet. Belisari takes another trip to the Maritimer bay, where he buys the rest of the ships on Aurora''s demand. The ship-building technique of the Federation, as their name suggested, is superb. They were the naval dominance power in the known world until recently, when the Milishilians invented explosive shells for their wartime vessels.


    However, for trading ships, which prioritized transport weight over armaments , merchants would still favor the Maritime over Milishila, and so does Aurora.


    ¡°Good, that is pretty much all of it. Although all of them need to be retrofitted, they might be able to both carry out naval combat and logistic missions.¡±


    The Great Expedition, a plan which was drawn out by the Latilian Army to repeal the Elestovakians as well as reclaim their empire, had three objectives that require a naval force:


    Firstly, keeping Vlenna fighting for as long as possible, to keep the imperial force of the Empire far from their army, better in the south of the Granisus river, and to do so, supply ships are a must to deliver weapons and grains to Vlenna.


    Secondly, to resupply their army far in foreign land. Food and water can be seized from captured territory, but not ammunition or gunpowder, and on some occasions, even food cannot be harvested, they need to be delivered from the homeland.


    And last but not least, defending the city of Latilia from the Elestovakian navy. The imperial fleet was significantly reduced after the war against Milishila, almost all catapult ships were wiped out, but they were still able to threaten Latila if they were not prepared for it.


    ¡°Is twenty enough?¡±


    ¡°For coastal defense that is more than enough. Watch this.¡±


    Aurora, the girl is sitting on a cliff by the shore. And Lily is helping her to place a large tube into a mechanical complex using two iron rails to stabilize the tube. Belisari sees, although he is not sure what is happening.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be ashamed to admit it. I have no idea either¡±-said Lily to Belisari, putting her cigarette aside. Aurora meanwhile is adjusting the receiving end of the rail-based machine:


    ¡°Adjust to 07 degrees, wind 04. Ready¡±


    Suddenly, Aurora says some unusual words to Belisari, while at the same time igniting something. Then, the girl covers her ears, and tells Belisari and Lily to do the same. It is better to listen to advice from this girl, the two have decided a few days ago, and so they did.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    From the tube, a cloud of hot orange air sprayed out, pushing the tube forward into the sky, into the direction Aurora aimed it into. The ammunition travels a massive distance, further than stone launched from trebuchet, beyond their biological eyes vision:


    Bang!*


    Then, before it makes an impact on the ocean floor, the tube flashes a light of fire and disappears. Without needing an explanation, that is definitely an explosion.


    ¡°Test success, black powder worked fine, no need for nitrocellulose. I guess that should be the best option considering the cost effectiveness.¡±


    Aurora takes out a note she brought with herself and writes these words into it-¡±That is how we are going to arm the ships by the way. It would give our fleet an advantage against the Elestovakians¡±-she adds-¡±Hey Belisarius-¡±


    In contrast to her, her two companions are stunning. This is only the second time Belisari ever saw a blasting shell, while for Lily it was the first. It is understandable how they are like this. Black powder rockets were not new for them, the Fliers had been using them for a century, but their true potential only exists after being fused with blasting warheads.


    Putting back the note to her backpack, Aurora uses her fists to knock these two people from their own world and back to reality:


    ¡°Ouch.¡±-both say, clutching their heads.


    ¡°That should make you less distracted. I have more things to show, don¡¯t be surprised by the first one.¡±


    ¡°Aha. sorry about that¡±


    Belisari rubs his head, looking at the launching platform. With that, the smaller Latilian fleet should be able to outmatch their Elestovakian counterparts in range and firepower. Aurora really made it to her promise: she gave them explosive shells. With blueprints and mass producing method notes being delivered across the nation, into every blacksmith houses and military complexes, soon, Latila would be flooded with these types of weapons.


    ¡°I could imagine how the Elestovakians would feel when we showed them this. They might just surrender in an instant.¡±


    Lily says with a joking voice, giggling-¡°Yep¡±-to which Belisari agrees with her.


    ¡°If you two think that is enough for a war, then you are absolutely wrong!¡±


    A voice suddenly comes and makes Aurora, Belisari and Lily startled. Behind the three, off the cliff, three figures are running at them. One of them was Klein, the two others probably guards. Klein is in rush, for some reason:


    ¡°What do you mean by not enough?¡±-asked Lily, her brother immediately replies:


    ¡°I said not enough is not enough. I¡¯ve seen that weapon, it is impressive. However, the Elestovakians are not willing to give up a bunch of land out of fear¡­in fact, none did, or is going to do so. They are going to win us by an attrition war if that happens.¡±


    ¡°I know I know. I was just kidding, don¡¯t take my words seriously.¡±


    Klein flaps his right hand-¡°No no, it is hard to distinguish between you and His Highness joking and being serious, no matter how satire it may sound.¡±-At the same time he drags Aurora closer to him with the other hand.-¡±And may I borrow her a bit.¡±


    They walk out of the hearing range of the others:This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Hey Aurora, sorry for yesterday¡±-The Voyage whispered to her-¡±I lost my control and punched you, sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°No no, no problem, I did the same to Her Grace and His Highness just a few minutes ago¡±


    ¡°You did what!? Geeze¡­Gosh, your nation has no hierarchy? Is your country ¡°Russia¡± a republic?¡±


    Aurora nods-¡±Probably, I guess?¡±


    ¡°Well, now you know that you are in a monarchy state, you should learn how to behave with an aristocrat.¡±


    ¡°You dragged me here just to say that?¡±


    ¡°No of course, though it is still important- Anyhow, I am here to give you this. James, give it to her.¡±


    One of the two guards takes out a thick metallic tube and throws it to Aurora. This is not a frame for a rocket, for obvious reason, it is too heavy to fit that role, not mentioning the mechanical part which is too complicated for a projectile in this era. There is a handle, even.


    The blueprint of this particular device was sent to only one institution of the entire nation, the only one capable of producing such a complex weapon: This is the handheld rocket propeller, one would enable launching rockets on horseback and in the infantry, without relying on artillery support:


    ¡°This is for you, Liliya- Your Grace. And your cavalry unit, the Winged Husaria¡±


    The Winged Husaria, one of the most formidable cavalry units in the entire known world, probably even the best, is a unit consisting of 1500 personnels. They were all horse riders, armed with light black leather armor with extra breastplate, a matchlock, a 6,2 meter lance and a melee weapon. What is special about this unit is that their cavalrymen were decorated with wings, to create an illusion about their height and distance. Another thing, their horses, despite already carrying so much of an arsenal, has not reached their weight limit. Hence it is why Aurora chose this unit to renovate first:


    ¡°Put a rocket into the tube¡­.like this?¡±


    Now, Lily Sobieski Voyage, the commander of that unit is testing the weapon that was designed for them. It is far heavier than a conventional matchlock, but smaller than a ship cannons. Belisari realized that its design resembled the gun Aurora used to demonstrate the explosive shells to him.


    ¡°Yes, and ear plugs as well¡±


    Aurora puts two ear plugs for Lily, before her and the rest run out of the site as if they are running for their lives, leaving Lily alone with that launcher.


    With a projectile ready in the barrel, the archduchess pulls the trigger. This is¡­more familiar to a gun that she thought.


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    Just like the repeating of the explosive shell test, the rocket again exploded when it flew out of their vision.


    **


    ¡°Your Majesty, it was a pleasure meeting you here.¡±


    ¡°Sit down, Sir Khaliz. I know you are not here for a mere visit.¡±


    While the young generation of the Latilian monarch is spending their time testing weapons on the shore for the incoming war, the older one is managing the Elestovakians on the diplomatic battlefield.


    Justinius had received a letter from Levantia, saying that a consul from that nation is going to arrive at the city, and now that consul is here. Khaliz, Consul and Duke of Rashid, was sent by the empire to receive tribute from Latila. It has been a practice for a long time, since the Latilians were defeated by the Elestovakians. Milishila did manage to help Latila to hold on its independence, but cannot prevent Elestovakia from forcing them to pay tribute yearly.


    ¡°Yes, you got the point. So, may I receive it?¡±


    The Latilian king places a small chest full of gold coin onto the table, his face having a sorrow expression:


    ¡°Sorry, but we¡¯ve only managed to gather tribute for two months ahead. Please take it, we will try our best to gather money to pay you later.¡±


    It was a lie, obviously. The expression is also fake. The money Latila had from exchanging the diamonds is forty times this amount. Justinius, if he wanted to, can easily pay tribute for another decade. However, it is unwise to send more money to their future enemies, when there will be an inevitable war. Justinius, both of his sons and the House of Voyage thought of that, hence they just offer these as minimum:


    ¡°I see.¡±-Khaliz nods his head, saying-¡±I will take it, or course, and negotiate with the empire. Let''s see if I can give another exception this time. May you leave us for a moment?¡±


    After Khaliz raises his hand, all of his guards withdraw from the room, leaving only Khaliz and Justinius:


    ¡°My friend¡±-Khaliz says-¡±Justinius, give up Latila, there is no point in existing as an independent nation anymore.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean when you say that?¡±-asked Justinius


    ¡°I mean, your nation has a population of a quarter million, that is a lot, a lot for a tiny country. I know, the Latilian monarch had done many things to avoid that huge population being starved: selling artifacts, heavily taxed the Maritimers and Milishilians, borrowing a huge sum of money¡­to buy grain, but it has the limit.¡±


    Khaliz looks at the map on a wall, this map, unlike the one that Aurora had seen on the ceiling of the palace, this map shows Latila not as a big kingdom, but as a depressing small city, so small, and lacking arable land. The vast plain of the Duchy of Voyage was claimed by the Elestovakians, those silver mines in Flemton, forests in O¡¯well,...were lost. Nowaday, that depressing Latila cannot survive on its own, always relying on Milishila and the Federation to keep its running, from food to water, to even military defense. Ten years, that time should be enough to show this country and its people that there is no way they can survive for any longer if there is nothing to change. Elestovakia had been merciful and extended the tribute period, but time is getting tighter, Latila is again on the brink of collapse both economically and politically.


    ¡°Let the kingdom die to release its people. I am saying this as your friend, Justinius¡±-Khaliz looks at the eyes of the king-¡±Being king of a dying kingdom is not a viable choice. I promise, if you agree to be part of the empire, I will help you to be a count or something, I can do that.¡±


    Justinius was shaken by these words. This has not been the first time he was offered to give up his kingdom, he was already facing these requests from the very first day after the Elestovakian War ended, and he rejected them all. Latila had never lost its independence, never.


    But as time went by, his willingness became more and more weakened. The palace Justinius is in, the Latilus Latila palace, was much more prosperous than it is right now, with gold and silver shining on the throne, in the armors of the guards, marble sculptures came from ancient time, before this city was even rebuilt¡­but they¡¯ve all gone now. Anything that had not been attached to the wall was sold to the Milishilians, and now had gone forever. All for the money to rebuild their military strength, yet compared to fifteen years ago, the Latilian Army is just a small presentation of its former glory, the one that was defeated under the hand of the Elestovakian Imperial Army.


    The Latilian Port, the port that made the face of this country, the masterpiece of the Latila and Voyage family built from a hundred years ago, half of it was now owned by the Maritimers, not as a rented place, but as a colony, for Latila to receive some annual financial aid from Ganeo and Vineci. A kingdom that was already small, being colonized by merchants, that cannot be more humiliating, but it is a price they must pay because the Latilians still want to renovate their kingdom after the devastating Siege of Latila. And although they¡¯ve not been starved, overpopulation is also endangering the city. A single disease can wipe out ten, twenty, thirty thousand in a week. He had seen it, just eight years ago, a disease had swept across the street of Latila, spreading rapidly due to its population density, killing one sixth of its population, including Justinius father:


    ¡°Justin¡­¡±


    That should be enough reasons for a wise king to submit, knowing that resistance is certain death for this nation, that Elestovakia is the master of this continent, that Latila is not a threat to them, and will never return to its glory days. But:


    ¡°I am not willing to give up Latila¡±


    Justinius casually places his hands on the table, his vision of a wise emperor met with the look of his old friend. He is a king, king of a nation which had survived many wars, survived through the test of time, through all attempts to vanish it. This time, Latila will not give in either:


    ¡°This country is ancient. Tell the Elestovakians, as long as I am the king, there will be no province of Latila, Latila can only exist, as either a kingdom, or an empire.¡±


    With Aurora, her innovation and her charity, things would change, they would not be defensive anymore, they would invade Elestovakia. He and his family, the Latilian monarch, could change the fate of this country. That is the gamble Justinius is willing to play, for the sake of Latila.


    ¡°So, that was your decision. Goodbye, then¡±


    Khaliz shakes his head, he turns around and intends to walk away, but the consul stopped right by the door:


    ¡°Vlenna has also rejected us. We will invade that country in less than months, the imperial army is being ready in Levantia. I don¡¯t know which time, but Latila is definitely the next target after Vlenna.¡±


    The Elestovakian consul then leaves the palace.


    ¡°This is the last time we will ever meet, perhaps.¡±

 To Vlenna

    Amidst the high towers of Levan castle, the Emperor looks down upon his army with pride. This is the army which he had founded twelve years ago, the army which had fought along his side, the same army that had conquered Nosfetura, Aeropostale, Carthagia, Vlenna and Latila ten years prior, the army by the name of ¡°The Expedition Imperial Army¡±.


    ¡°Ave, imperator Kaval¡±


    Behind the emperor, the door opens, and a man steps into his room.


    ¡°Good day, Sir Khaliz, may you take a look at our army.¡±


    ¡°I can see that, I was on the street just a minute ago. As people said, we might not be the brightest star on the sea, but on land we rule.¡±


    The count sits down on a chair near the emperor:


    ¡°But that is not why I am here today. I¡¯ve returned from Latila with the tribune. Let me get this quick: they only gave us tribune for two months, and demanded that I and you extend the period to a few more months.¡±


    ¡°Quite an arrogant request, I dare say. I believe that they rejected joining the empire as well, otherwise they wouldn¡¯t pay the tribune.¡±


    ¡°Your excellency is formidable, Your Majesty. They¡¯ve turned down our offer. It seemed like Justinius wanted to lengthen his time for something.¡±


    Khaliz says to the emperor, his eyes meanwhile looking at the army assembling down the street. There are at least 70 thousand men down there, all in high moral before marching into the fight:


    ¡°I get it¡±


    Emperor Kaval stands up and walks out of the room. His legs were weakened by time, being an old man and ruling a vast nation had worn down a wise emperor like that. But still, he will not rest until his duty is completed, to unify this continent under the banner of Elestovakia.


    ¡±Let us call the man in charge. The Latilians are definitely preparing an army¡±-He said to Khaliz-¡±Respond by doubling our troop number. After defeating Vlenna they will immediately march to Latila. I want to take that city before I rest.¡±


    **


    ¡°I¡¯ve been sailing a boat, but a long trip like this¡­is not what I¡¯ve been trained for.¡±


    Two weeks have passed since the beginning of the project.


    Usually, this time should be the busiest time in the entire work, having done all of the easy parts, and now placing the first bricks for the real challenge. However, with things being settled in Latila, plus this time of the year is full of trading ships arriving at the port due to the last harvest season, which is not a nice time for testing new weapons, Aurora is now heading to Vlenna, a strategic ally of Latila, to provide them aids and help fortifying the city before the war. Following her is Belisari, as usual, Lily is somewhat considered the Minister of Defense of Latila, so her going along is completely understandable. In addition, the granddaughter of Gerald, the one who is said to be around Aurora¡¯s age, is also said to be living in this city.


    The ship had been sailing for three days, along the coastline of the continent, but very far for the Elestovakians ships nor their navy to see them from the shore. According to the Maritimer navigator and star patterns, they were just hours away from the city. They¡¯ve met some vessels on their way, so that information should be correct. Nonetheless, Aurora is getting a hell of seasick, she is lying somewhere underneath the deck, like a dead corpse.


    Right now, Belisari is the pilot of the ship. Having the best spyglass in the entire known world given by Aurora, the prince can see a dozen of miles ahead, compared to just a few miles from the best sea navigator the Federation could offer.


    ¡°I see sails¡­. A lot of them¡­Blue-white stripes¡­red angel¡­yeah it is Vlenna. We are very close.¡±


    The port of Vlenna is within a short distance.


    **


    ¡°Thank god it is dryland.¡±


    Immediately after being towed ashore by two sailors, Aurora quickly returned to being lively, as nothing had ever happened. She takes a brief gaze around the city harbor. Vlenna harbor is the fifth largest harbor in the known world, only being surpassed by the harbor of Latila and a few Maritimer ports in Ganeo, Sacili and Vineci. In fact, in this continent, Latila and Vlenna own two largest strategic warm water ports, there is no wonder why the Elestovakians are desperately preparing to take them both. Vlenna is going into the fight first, then Latila the second:


    ¡°It has been quite a long time since my last visit here with Lily.¡±-Belisari suddenly says-¡±Must¡¯ve been five years, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Six actually, and it was on a diplomatic trip.¡±


    That diplomatic mission was a step toward the Vlennian-Latilian alliance. Belisari, who had just turned 18 that year, was sent along with the Archduchess of Voyage to the city to meet the king of Vlenna and establish a mutual defense pact. Upon their arrival, the Vlennian king had welcomed them with open arms and befriended Belisari as soon as they met. Vlenna, a human-majority nation once a colony of the Vampire Nofeturan Empire, has had its first ally like that.


    ¡°It brought back many memories. The Vlennians couldn''t afford the budget for our trip back then, so Latila had to pay for themselves. I remember having been given just enough money for food and rent.¡±-Lily reminds Belisari-¡±Saying food, but if I included the rent it was barely enough for bread.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I shared with you my room and the cost of meals instead, so you could use your money to treat yourself¡­with Vlennian cigarettes. You seemed to be happy when returning to Latila at least.¡±


    ¡°That is correct, and I really appreciate that you made the trip much more like a vacation to me.¡±


    Lily¡¯s face blooms with a light smile, whispering to Aurora-¡±His Highness is really a nice guy.. Although it does not look like that, he is kind and is a very reliable person to depend on, if you managed to get close to his side obviously.¡±


    (They seem to trust each other a lot¡­)


    Aurora thinks so in her mind, then she finds a way to submerge somewhere else.


    ¡°This time however, hehe¡­¡±-the archduchess giggles loudly, back to Belisari, shoving her hands into pockets full of silver coins-¡±Budget unrestricted, I will treat you this time, Your Highness. And we should buy something for Arlin and Klein too.¡±


    ¡°I agree.¡±


    ¡°Really~¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡±-Belisari looks around-¡±¡­wait¡­where are you Aurora?¡±


    ¡°I am over here Belisarius.¡±


    Aurora is now on the pole of the ship, it is not clear when, or how did she climb up that fast, what is known is she is using her spyglass to have a sight of the city¡¯s wall.


    Vlenna¡¯s defense line, unlike the one in Latila, is much more well-engineered. The wall also has two layers, but instead of a straight line hugging tight to the city border, a design that was outdated for a long time ago, this wall has characteristics of a star-shaped fortress, allowing cannons and trebuchets to focus their firepower on the enemies when they are being funneled into some marked area. Trenches and shallow ground works filled with water are also another excellent feature, helping the defenders to go outside attacking the attackers while still retaining their defense, as well as slowing down the enemies. Whoever built this was a capable engineer, if not quite excellent.


    Nonetheless, there is room for renovation, this city should be able to hold off an army twice the size of its population at least, and Aurora is here for it.


    ¡°There should be more obstacles in front of the wall to slow them down to be honest, and materials, and gun distribution,...too.¡±


    ¡°Glad that you get to work immediately, but we should meet the king first.¡±-the Latilian prince was about to say that, but then he hears a voice behind him and Lily:


    ¡°Welcome to Vlenna, it has been so long, Belisari, Lily¡±


    The one who spoke is Leopol VI, a handsome man, the young King of Vlenna and former Grand Duke of Lower Granisus. After the death of his father, Leopol V in the Elestovakian War, Leopol Charles Lorrine, by that time just thirteen years old, had become the new king of this nation, and he has been ruling it for the last ten years.


    The king of Vlenna is said to be very busy, having to manage Elestovakian raiders and pirates (Vlenna is on the highway of maritime trade), to negotiate with the empire, diplomatic work with the Kingdom of Milishila, attempting to communicate with the vampire community in the Alpsles Mountains Range, and rebuilding their army. However, when he received a letter from his ally in the north saying that the prince of Latila would come to this city, Leopol, without any hesitation, abandoned his office work to the parliament  to come here greeting Belisari:


    ¡°Glad to see you are fine. I heard that you were married, how is your wife?¡±


    Despite them being on the same age, with Belisari is even slightly older, he has no affair, but his Vlennian friend does:Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°She is fine, and please by the next time you are here let me say that line too.¡±


    Leopol says to Belisari, but his eyes sometimes move to somewhere behind his friend. Belisari did not notice that, he tells the king:


    ¡°It''s not like I am going to get married anytime soon, at least let me enjoy my life first¡­Wait, we are not here for that.¡±


    ¡°I can tell, and¡­that is ¡°Aurora Borealis ", the person you mentioned in the letter, if I recall.¡±


    ¡°Yep¡±-Belisari turns around.


    Aurora is running everywhere around the port, like a child discovering a newly built playground near her house and getting overly excited with it, looking at everyone with eyes of curiosity and touching everything she has never seen before. She must be corrected, if Klein was there he would say so, fortunately he is in Latila.


    ¡°Get back here, His Majesty and His Highness is waiting for you¡±


    Lily screams out loud, hoping her voice could reach the girl that is touching a Maritimer ship, and it did. Aurora after hearing the voice immediately rushed back to her team:


    ¡°I am sorry Your Vlennian Majesty, I was too excited, this is my first time here.¡±


    ¡°I can see that. Welcome to my country, Aurora Borealis. Come with me, we have more things to discuss, let¡¯s go back to my palace first.¡±


    **


    ¡°So, this is what you¡¯ve got from selling resources?¡±


    In this voyage to Vlenna, the Latilians decided to bring some financial aid to their ally.


    On the roundtable, which is surrounded by important figures from both countries, Lily Sobieski, the Latilian archduchess, puts down two massive barrels of gold coins, each worth roughly fifteen million denarii. At first, the Latilian monarch was unsure how much they should share their wealth to the Vlennians, or should they at all. The more money in Latila, the better armed the coalition¡¯s overall army would be, since Latila knows how to produce advanced weaponries, while Vlenna still has to rely on the usual matchlocks, crossbows and swords. However, if Vlenna is ill equipped and unprepared, they might fall before the Latilian army could arrive, so not aiding them is also not an option.


    After a careful discussion between Lily, Belisari, Justinius, Aurelian, Klein, Arlin and Aurora, they¡¯ve come to a decision of sending around a sixth of their fortune to their southern ally. The coins were sealed in barrels, and were towed onto the ship. At this moment, they are being given to the Vlennians:


    ¡°No, that is just a portion of it, we cannot give you everything, obviously.¡±


    ¡°I understand, if I were you I would¡¯ve prioritized my country over yours as well. Nonetheless, we really appreciate your help, at this point every coin is essential to this city¡¯s defense line. We now have more money for mercenaries and cannons.¡±


    The Vlennian king orders his subordinates to carry the barrels away.


    ¡°Again, thank you for your help. Your Highness¡±


    ¡°No problem Your Majesty, helping an ally is one way to strengthen our survivability.¡±


    ¡°I  suppose it would be like that.¡±


    Leopol and Belisari say to the other with respect. They understand each other well, no wonder how the two could be friends so easily.


    With the financial aid settled, it¡¯s time to move to other important matters. The renovation plan of the Vlennian¡¯ walls:


    ¡°I am back.¡±


    Aurora pushes the doors to enter. Leopol VI had earlier ordered his men to help find blueprints about the construction of the walls, measure everything and give Aurora a horse ride to the outside of the wall. In less than two hours of waiting, the immigrant Latilian engineer had returned with a fresh reconstruction concept in her hands:


    ¡°I am not an architect, therefore it is impossible for me to actually design one, my time here is short too, so this is very brief of what has to be done to protect Vlenna. The real plan must be executed with help from Milishilian engineers.¡±


    ¡°I get it, just please tell us what to do.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Aurora spread the blueprint of the new wall onto the table, with the city on the side of Leopol VI, and the wall facing Belisari. Her finger shifted, drawing along the outer line of the city border:


    ¡°First and foremost, we have to mobilize some cannons to protect the open water. I¡¯ve read about the previous siege of Vlenna, the city has a shallow wall surrounding the city from all sides, with a steel chain watergate allowing ships to pass, and raise up when the city is threatened from the sea. That design was also used by the Latilians, is that correct, Your Highness?¡±


    The girl glances at Belisari, who nodding to her words:


    ¡°Correct, this is not an uncommon design, as the Ganeoese had popularized them in the past hundred years, both Latilia and Vlenna protect their port that way.¡±


    The Ganeo Republic, one of four republics of the Maritime Federation. With most of their cities laid by the shore, this method was cleverly invented to protect their harbors from foreign invaders and pirates.


    ¡°Yes, that is what I wanted to confirm. Your Majesty¡±-Aurora turns back to Leopol-¡±When the Elestovakian fleet attacked, your father had ordered the chain to be raised to prevent their ships from entering the port of Vlenna, protecting the city from all sides.¡±


    ¡°True, that side was impregnable because there was no method to go through the chain from the outside once it was raised, no in or out, and the wall was too slippery for their men to climb up. So placing cannons there was unnecessary, having guards patrolling around is enough.¡±


    Vlenna, having walls so thick that ship cannons cannot penetrate, and chain that could sink any ship that dares to go over it, is invulnerable by sea once the city turns on its defensive mode. That is what the Vlennians had away been proud about, that is until:


    ¡°That siege ended up with half of the city starving to death¡±


    Hearing that, the Vlennian king freezes.


    ¡°The chain is fully shut for the entire duration of the siege, which prevented the Elestovakians from attacking via sea route, but it also stopped Milishilian ships from supplying the city when the grain stock dried out.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is the greatest problem¡­


    Leopol¡¯s eyes turn into a grim look.


    In the siege of Vlenna ten years ago, Leopol V, the previous king of Vlenna had accumulated grain in the city behind the wall to last for at least three months. However, when the city was attacked, an Elestovakian ship-based catapult had struck a hit on the grain warehouses complex, which resulted in a massive fire that rampaging around the street of Vlenna for four days


    The fire only claimed half a thousand deaths, but 80% of the food was gone, and the city had faced the largest hunger from its entire history of seven hundred years, including the time under rule of the vampire.


    Leopol VI had seen it, he was there when it happened, when he was thirteen, he saw from his palace children his age then eat rats and birds just to survive another day. Most of them did not make it through the week. Vlenna, from a city populated by 150 thousand people back then, after a month this number dropped down to just 70 thousand, and the population hasn¡¯t yet to be recovered, not in another 50 years:


    ¡°...that is the cruelest thing once the war breaks out¡±-the king continues his sentence with a bitter voice-¡±And I am finding a way to prevent it from happening ever again, otherwise this city will be populated by only rats and living corpses. Say, what is your idea?¡±


    Aurora answers, smiling:


    ¡°No worry Your Majesty, we, the Latilians, had dedicated several warships to deliver weapons and grains to the city this time. Our fleet will help supply the city during the siege, but in order to do so we need the Vlennians to open their watergate. You now probably understand why we need cannons there.¡±


    ¡°A plan to supply the city? I can see, when we open the gate, Elestovakian warships could also seize that opportunity to attack and slip in. We have to prevent that from ever happening.¡±


    ¡°Glad that you figured that out so quickly.¡±-Aurora claps her hands together-¡±Let me move to another thing: material for the wall.¡±


    ¡°What material?¡±


    ¡°Wood, the outside wall should be covered in layers of logs, as many as possible.¡±


    ¡°No need for logs, we can do that with stone-¡±


    ¡°No Your Majesty, the Elestovakian cannonballs cannot be halted with stone nor wood. I was talking about what will happen after they¡¯ve penetrated the wall. Stone, while they are durable, when being broken apart, creates a nice road for men to walk over, wood, on the other hand, creates splinters and wattles, they are much harder to move men over¡­¡±


    ¡°...Hence they are the best material, if you expect your wall to be fired upon in the first place.¡±


    Leopol draws out the conclusion gathered from Aurora¡¯s explanation. That way of thinking did surprise him. Normally, people would prioritize making the walls as durable as possible, and defaulting that they cannot be taken down. However, this plan did included an extra protection for the walls, saying if the Elestovakian cannons cannot be stopped:


    ¡°That is¡­a clever assumption to be honest, I¡¯ve never thought of that. And they are easy to set up as well, you¡¯ve really put your mind into this, thank you.¡±


    ¡°I am grateful for your compliment, your Majesty.(Thank God I¡¯ve read the Battle of Vienna enough for this) Let us continue.¡±


    For the rest of the day, Aurora points out every part on the wall that needs to be fixed, troop deployment, blindspots around the wall, etc, to the Vlennian king.


    By her side, a young assistant is noting down everything he heard, this would later be passed down to the Vlennian and Milishilian builders, then the project can begin.


    ¡°Once the Elestovakians have arrived, send a flier to inform us, we will take action and come for relief as soon as possible.¡±-Belisari prompted his friend, before the Latilians departed from the palace. The prince and his companions would stay in an accommodation near the port and the open market instead for a few days, waiting for the direction of the wind to turn for them to sail back to Latila.


    **


    ¡°Hey Your Highness.¡±


    Lily says, while she is carrying a box of Vlennian apples on the way to her and Belisari¡¯s abode. The prince claims that he bought those fruits for Klein and Arlin, but obviously he would eat them all before arriving home.


    ¡°What?¡±


    Belisari is also busy taking cigarette boxes with him. They were Lily¡¯s, and for her. The only difference is that the archduchess does not try to hide it with any logical reason, she just straight up admitted that it wasn¡¯t for anyone but her.


    ¡°I heard that Aurora is calling you Belisarius.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­yes, as soon as I allow her to speak with me without any hierarchy law.¡±


    ¡°You really let her be as childish as she wanted.¡±


    ¡°She is not childish, she is in fact a child.¡±


    Belisari takes a long sigh of worryness, the girl would be lectured by Klein if he ever knew about it. But then he hears Lily tells him:


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, you allowed her to be childish. If that is the case, may I be childish and call you so as well? Belisarius?¡±


    ¡°You want to?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, if I let you call me Liliya then you should allow me to call you Belisarius. That is a fair deal.¡±


    ¡°That is what the word ¡°childish¡± really mean¡±-the prince takes another sigh. If it can¡¯t be helped-¡°I guess it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Belisari chuckled, then Lily as well:


    ¡°Just don¡¯t let Klein find out.¡±

 To Vlenna(II)

    The city of Latila, a major point, the key city of the Atlasia trade network, is experiencing its greatest change for over a millennium. The main road network, which was only partly repaired after the Siege of Latila due to the lack of finance, is now being renovated with concrete and sand-¡±For military purposes¡±-they said, but clearly the city dwellers are enjoying benefit from the work as well. Alongside is the reinstall of the coastal defense line, with most of the guns being towed from the land wall and placed directing the sea. Many guard towers grew like shrooms, hugging along the city border, armed with musketeers and ¡°rocketeers¡±. About the ¡°rocketeers¡±, they are a new unit which was introduced earlier, but they will enter service sooner or later, rumors said, they use ¡°explosive rocket launchers¡±, a new invention of the Latilian Defense Institution as their primary weapons.


    In addition, many ships from Milishila had come to the city for the last few days, carrying not grain, but processed metal, weapons like matchlocks and field cannons, and horses. Even an idiot could know that the price for those things is not something a foreign-dependent country like Latila can afford. The civilians of Latila are circulating about a mysterious nation in the north that has lent them a huge sum of money in order to manipulate this country both politically and economically:


    ¡°They weren¡¯t fully wrong about the ¡°lent a huge sum of money¡± part¡±


    Arlin says, and his words were agreed upon by his twin brother:


    ¡°Exactly¡±


    While Lily, Belisari and Aurora are having their time in the city of Vlenna, back in Latilia, the two Voyage brothers are testing new weapons:


    ¡°So this is the ¡°enhanced repetitive crossbow¡± she gave us?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡±


    The Companion Husaria, the semi-ranged melee cavalry unit of Latila under the command of Arlin Alexander Voyage, was gifted with a modified crossbow designed for rapid fire, or in other word, a ¡°Chu Ko Nu¡±. This weapon was designed to fire arrows one after another by fusing the firing mechanic with reloading, thus increasing the weapon¡¯s firing rate. According to Aurora¡¯s final words before she left, this weapon was said to improve the strength of the current Latilian melee cavalry.


    ¡°But why did she give us this?¡±-asked Klein inspecting the arm.


    However, unlike the rocket launcher which was given to the Winged Husaria. This time, there is likely a mistake.


    Repetitive crossbow is not something new to them. A Ganeoese merchant had first introduced this weapon when he returned from his expedition to the continent of Orietinus, and popularized it across the known world. Soon after that, the Milishilian monarch ordered him four hundred samples of that weapon to arm their land army. The idea of an army armed with rapid firing crossbows was born on that day, when the kingdom established a cohort using only crossbows as their main armament. There is one issue however:


    ¡°Call me wrong, but that thing fires very awfully.¡±


    After the first shot, every shot after it fires extremely weakly, weaker than even bow. In the Nosfeturan-Milishilian conflict fifty years ago, the ¡°modernized¡± crossbow cohort was deployed in an island landing mission. However, they were annihilated by a centurion of vampire garrison guards protecting the beachhead, because their arrows cannot penetrate the vampire¡¯s shield in long range before the Nosfeturan legion arrived. In close combat, humans are no match to vampires, the crossbowmen were defeated easily, many of whom captured. That incident alone shattered every attempt of building an army using these crossbows as their main weapons. Arbalists, from Ganeo to Belkut, Voyage to Levantia then sought for refined conventional crossbows, Slower in reload, but fired much further and deadlier, able to fight in tense combat situations, and it has been the standard ever since.


    But why did Aurora give them this thing now? Is there any intention? If they were armed with these weapons, not just the Elestovakians, but other units in their army would laugh at them as well, being so weak in long range while possessing a weapon built for that purpose.


    ¡°Give me that.¡±


    Arlin takes back the weapon from his brother, and he loads a few arrows into the chamber.


    ¡°Let us see¡­¡±


    Aiming to the target 25 meters from his standpoint, the cavalry commander turns off the safety switch-*Click!*-the weapon can now be fired. Arlin takes a long breath, then pulls the trigger:


    Phew! Phew!*


    Both bolts scored a hit on the targets, punching holes through the wooden shields that were supposed to protect it. Arlin is an excellent maskman, for sure. But that is not what caught Klein¡¯s attention:


    ¡°Wait¡­the second shot did not become weaker¡­¡±


    He says in surprise, then speechless, then his mouth opens wide, as more and more arrows are fired, with exactly the same speed, strength and direction. The bolts are no longer weakened by shooting rapidly like how it¡¯s supposed to be. Aurora, with some magic fused into the chamber of the crossbow, has made this weapon much deadlier.


    Meanwhile, Arlin are bursting out a large laughter, the cavalry commander knocks on a small box attached to the crossbow, saying:


    ¡°So this is the key. Borealis mentioned that their cocking mechanic needed to be fixed, and one can mitigate that issue with a"gearbox ". I guess she did manage to resolve that issue.¡±


    **


    *Having a nice rest there Belisarius?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you too Liliya?¡±


    Fifth day since the Latilian diplomatic corps arrived in Vlenna.


    The prince and the archduchess are spending their time on the seawall of the city, partly to check its condition since the Vlennians are focusing their manpower on renovating the land walls complex, but mostly for taking a sunbath and relaxing.


    The past few days had been a series of nonstop working, traveling around the city on the behalf of Leopol to negotiate with the Maritimers and Milishilians, helping the Vlennian army to reform their defensive lines, and consulting decisions to their monarch. Lily, for sure, but even Belisari did not rest well enough, having to stay up late if Leopol ever needed his advice. But today the weight of work was partly lifted, thanks to the fact that the Milishilian engineers and advisors had finally arrived. The two aristocrats finally have their free time after such an intense working period. Aurora is still working however, and knowing her too well, she would actually cry if she has to work when her friends do not. So, Belisari and Lily still have to go here, pretending that they are busy.


    ¡°Come here Liliya, take a seat.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t even need to tell me to do so.¡±


    Lily hops on the wall, legs hanging into the air, just like the prince next to her. Her left hand¡¯s fingers carried an expensive Milishilian cigarette.


    Haizzz*


    The sky is clear, without sight of any cloud, seasonal southward wind blowing lightly into fresh breezes, flowing into the city over the walls and the watergate, into the wind vane making it point south, bringing a new life to Vlenna for a long promising day ahead. Peaceful it is, at least to this part of the city, the other side are working day and night, fortunately they did not get dragged into it.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Around them, cannons are being placed and moving around, just as Aurora¡¯s plan had drawn out earlier. She also mentioned something about throwing stones around the watergate, unsure of its purpose, but the girl ordered that as soon as she heard about the shallow depth of the seafloor.


    ¡°How many days left until the war?¡±-asked the prince to his companion.


    Belisari was about to say something else, but he did not manage to think out a good sentence for it, so he had to resort this dialogue:


    ¡°You told me to sit here so you could ask about that?¡±-saying Voyage-¡±Why are you questioning that now?¡±


    ¡°Tell me.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­then¡­more than a month¡­no, less than that, that is a safe number. In the late summer, probably. The Elestovakian Imperial Army probably had assembled in Levantia, waiting for the logistic line to be set up. Then they will march here, then to Granisus, then Latila.¡±


    ¡° They are coming, I see.¡±


    Belisari draws out a conclusion. Lily meanwhile sighed:


    ¡°And we are wasting our time here like this.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that, resting is important too, you can¡¯t expect an army marching ten hours straight, you need to let them rest for them to actually fight. The same can be said for an individual, in this case it is you, Liliya.¡±


    ¡°I know. The value of an army does not rely on just numbers, individual¡¯s skill and technology, but morale as well, that¡¯s just basic things.¡±


    ¡°Hence, you cannot force yourself to overwork, resting is a necessity of mankind. You can¡¯t expect your body to function properly with such little relaxation.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and you have to make sure your subordinates rest well too. Never expect or make them exceed their working capability, am I right Belisarius?¡±


    ¡°You are right, but don¡¯t say that, I am feeling guilty for Aurora.¡±


    ¡°She will be fine ... .I guess¡±-Lily laughs off-¡±She is still young and lively, unlike you or I.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you still young?¡±


    ¡°I am already 26¡­I am getting old¡­Soon I will be 30¡­¡±


    The archduchess moves herself closer to Belisari-¡±You are getting old too, in a blink of an eye you turned from that fourteen years old kid who cannot load an arrow, yet still charging into the enemies without any fear that yourself might be turned into deadman¡­ into the Mercenary Prince.¡±


    ¡°Who called me by such name?¡±


    ¡°Me, Arlin, Payens...¡±


    ¡°Me as well, for obvious reasons.¡±


    Suddenly from behind, there was a voice of a woman:


    ¡°Long time no see, Your Grace, Your Royal Highness.¡±


    Belisari and Lily turn behind. The voice they heard was from the granddaughter of Gerald Payens, 19-years old Katherine, recognizable although it was distorted by the layers of her heavy helmet and armor. She, as her grandfather, father and mother, is a member of the Knights Cathedraller.


    ¡°No need to be so formal¡±-Belisari stands up greeting the knight-¡±You are our friend, and I don¡¯t want to call you Your Majesty either.¡±


    ¡°The Knights Cathedraller¡± allowed marriage for its military members. The purpose was to quickly increase the number of the order, since many parents who were knights also encouraged their children to become knights as well, and also extend the inner circle of the order to noble families across the continent, thus expanding their influence and varying their source of financial support..


    Of course, that along with some exceptions including non-believers, criminals, children under 18, etc. However, Leopol VI is none of that, the Vlennian King is a good person, a devotee, and clearly over 18. Marrying him also guarantees probably the second highest place in Vlenna, to be on the side of the king deciding the fate of a whole country and possibly mother of a future king. The seat is only for one person however, and the one who was lucky to be the Queen of Vlenna is Katherine de Payens, now Katherine Lorrine, daughter of a noble in Vlenna, granddaughter of the head of the Knights Cathedraller and former Countess of Marcial.


    ¡°Belisari and Lily then¡±-the woman named Katherine says-¡±Sorry I didn¡¯t pay a visit, I was quite busy earlier. But I did see a Latilian ship arrive at the port with an imperial symbol, I guessed that you two are here, and I was right.¡±


    The knight queen walks toward them, sits down. She takes off her helmet and puts it on a side, revealing a brown, short hair woman that was oversized by their combat attire. Seriously, that armor is double the size of her entire body, many plates were pure steel and joints made of hardened cowhides. It is questionable how any human could actually wear that amount of weight and still properly walk and fight with it.


    ¡°The last few days were so confusing¡­¡±-Katherine began complaining, trying to make herself stable while still holding the weight of her plates-¡±a 15-16 year old child, I thought she was a vampire but she isn''t, popped up from somewhere, introducing that she came from the Latilian diplomatic corp and announcing that we will rebuild the walls¡­.¡±


    ¡°Uhh¡­¡±


    ¡°...Then came the Milishilians and the Maritimers, they tore down the outside stone wall and replaced it with wood logs and earthworks, and the Knights Cathedraller joined in the effort as well. I¡¯ve been carrying a solid ton of logs, and now my back is hurt.¡±*Haizz*¡± ¡°I have no idea what is going on, but I am really tired.¡±


    Hearing that, both the prince and the archduchess look at each other, almost burst out a laugh, but they managed to suppress it:


    ¡°We are the same, this is the first time Liliya and I have taken a break since we arrived in this city. Tell Leo to hire some real advisors, we are not always available here.¡±


    ¡°I will take note, but this time it is hard to find enough competent people. The previous parliament had gone along with my father-in-law. Vlenna is lacking competent governors, so we have to rely on Milishila and Latila to make strategic policies for us. I would appreciate it if you and Lily could accompany my husband here.¡±


    Belisari rejects-¡°We cannot, we will leave as soon as our ship can go north. The preparation stage is in a hurry. I¡¯ve ordered a few hundred wagons with horses from Milishila, can''t let Aurelian pay for it on my behalf.¡±


    ¡°Why would you need so many wagons and horses?¡±


    ¡°It is a flexible component in an expeditionary army, you would not get it ... .that is not the main point, Vlenna has its own government. This country is not the County or Duchy of Vlenna, but the Kingdom of Vlenna, a country should make decisions on its own if it is and wants to be independent.¡±


    The prince is right, Vlenna is an independent state, not a colony of Latila nor Milishila. They should not interfere with its inner politics and policies in the first place, keep doing this makes Vlenna less of a country than it already is. Belisari and the rest of Latila needs Vlenna to stand on her own as long as possible to buy time for them.


    Katherine nods:


    ¡°I see your point and decision. I shall notify Leo later, but on the behalf of Vlenna, I appreciate your support for the last few days. Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome. Latila is willing to assist Vlenna by any way we can.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for that. Anyway, I gotta go¡±


    ¡°But you were just here for two minutes.¡±


    ¡°I have work to do, I¡¯m just here to say hello, then I have to return to my palace. So bye¡­Woah!¡±


    Katherine stands up, trying to stretch her body a bit, forgetting that she is wearing armor and almost tripping over. Luckily, Lily rushed there fast enough to prevent the queen from falling:


    ¡°Ah, thank you. I was a bit clumsy.¡±


    ¡°Be careful¡±-Lily says, releasing her arms from the girl to make her standstill-¡±You are no more a child nor my subordinate, you are now the queen of this country. Don¡¯t be tripped at any cost.¡±


    ¡°A life lesson? But to me it is tripping and stand up by yourself, that is what my grandfather told me-¡±


    ¡°That was when you were a knight¡±-Belisari came to them, adding:


    ¡±Being a queen, you only had one attempt to impress other people. They will watch every step of yours, you must keep your image in front of them as an invulnerable commander, that way you will make them follow you anywhere. In contrast, seeing your leaders trip, whether because of the enemies or natural causes, results in demoralization. Henceforth, do not make yourself unstable. ¡±


    ¡°I¡­.I got it.¡±


    ¡°Good, remember that, we are not going to be here for much longer, you and Leopol will have to take care of this country from then on. Only a month left before they come to you. Be wise.¡±


    ¡°Thank you again, and goodbye.¡±


    The knight puts on her helmet, waving her hand to her Latilian friends, then she leaves. Waiting for the silhouette of that knight to fully disappear from his range, the prince then turns to his archduchess:


    ¡°Katherine hasn¡¯t grown much, that is concernable¡±-he takes a long sigh-¡±Anyhow, do you want to go somewhere, Liliya?¡±


    ¡°If you want to, then of course.¡±

 The Prince and the Archduchess

    The two Latilians wander around the Vlenna open market. Due to its rather low population for such a massive city, the open market here is not crowded and more prosperous in quantity, contrary to the image of everyday Latila. A good space to hang around and not worry about being crushed by tons of people, even for a small child.


    ¡°What did you buy there Belisarius?¡±


    On Belisari¡¯s hand there is a mysterious glass bottle, one covered with wrap to prevent people from seeing what is inside. It looked heavy to say the least. With some curiosity kicking her urge, Lily asked her companion such.


    ¡°Just some sugarcane syrup. I guess this would be a fine gift for Aurora, considering how much she asked for some sweet cooking ingredients.¡±


    Few days ago when they had just arrived at Vlenna, Lily did mention buying gifts for Klein and Arlin, her two brothers in homeland, and Aurora. Probably this much syrup might be enough for that child, they should depart and really look for something that would fit the Voyage brothers:.


    ¡°And I remember you said that you will treat me as well¡±-saying Belisari, smiling while looking at his companion on his side-¡±Would you be so kind as to give me something good?¡±


    **


    ¡°Good morning, Sir Payens¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, did not expect to meet you here.¡±


    ¡°Here¡± is the Voyage Latilus Palace, also known as the headquarter of the Knight Cathedraller in Latila, a place where is filled with military personnel walking from here and there, a place where only 2-3 rooms for family members are comfortable, the rest were just like an actual training camp, a place where aside from Belisari no one in the Latila monarch want to stay there. King Justinius despite all of that decided to pay a visit to this place while the first householder and her brothers were not present:


    ¡°Where¡¯s Zenos¡±-asked the king about the second householder-¡±Is he here?¡±


    ¡°You want to call me Your Majesty?¡±


    From behind Gerald a middle aged man walks forward and kneels down to his king. Zenos Servus Voyage, second in-line of inheriting the title of Archduke of Voyage, one of the elite members among the elites of the Knight Order, the most powerful man in the House of Voyage, and¡­


    ¡°...so you are the adoptive father of Lily and father of Klein and Arlin. This is the first time we meet face to face like this.¡±


    After Lily¡¯s parents died in the 1453 Siege of Latila, Zenos stood up and took the responsibility of adopting the girl into his family. That is why despite calling each other brother and sister and considering them so, Lily is not blood related with the two brothers of Voyage, nor the person she refers to as ¡°father¡±.


    And in spite of being a noble, the man had never been in contact with Justinius. At best, the king would send a few letters to him when the Archduchess is busy, but because Zenos almost never shown up at the Latila palace, nor Justinius been here, the two surprisingly never been this close:


    ¡°Yes, and please address me as Zenos, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Sir Zenos, okay. May I enter?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Highness, I will tell the maids to prepare some tea.¡±


    ¡°Good. Sir Payens, may you go with us.¡±


    **


    ¡°The tea is nice and has a light apple scent, I like this. Is that true that Aurora made this?¡±


    Justinius places down the tea cup to the table. Just like the king said, the tea, a drink which was introduced by a Vinecian merchant after his journey to the Oriente, aside from its usual taste, added a tender smell of apple. Aurora earlier had cut apples into multiple slices, spread some sugar on their surfaces and dried them, which resulted in cuts that could be added to the progress of making tea to make it have the scent of apples. The girl planned to introduce this product to the Maritimers to make a profit, but she went to Vlenna earlier. The Voyagers with that had the chance to have a sample of this product before anyone else, and for sure they really love it:


    ¡°Yes, and we do appreciate that. It makes tea much more pleasant to drink. I wonder if she would make more of this, but with different fruits. Your son, His Highness Belisari had brought us a wonderful person¡±


    Zenos finishes his drink and places his cup aside:


    ¡°So, Your Majesty, may you be pleased to tell me why you are visiting this domain? You usually exchange words with my daughter or send letters. The King being here today meant that this is some emergency matter, I believe.¡±


    Justinius answers him:


    ¡°You are correct. Yes, Vlenna is on the brink of being invaded, the schedule is put to around a month, now we have a fixed date for us to prepare in advance, I am here to discuss that matters. You might¡¯ve heard of it from Lily, I¡¯ve informed her I recall? I trust that she has informed both of you about that¡­¡±


    ¡°Not me¡±-Zenos raises his hand, complaining-¡±She never informed me anything, it was Sir Payens here who told me about that.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­.I see¡­ my son was right, the relationship between you and her is not exactly warm. You should resolve this conflict as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t end anytime soon. It has been like this for eight years when I first asked her to give me the title of Archduke¡±-he says, smiling, yet his voice contains a bitter tone-¡±I tried to be casual at first, but when that didn¡¯t work I became more and more aggressive. Before I realized I was wrong she had truly hated me.¡±


    ¡°Why did you ask for the title anyway? You are an aristocrat already, and unlike Lily you take no responsibility.¡±


    Justinius asked honestly. The aristocracy system in this kingdom gives a heavy burden to the patriarchs of every House. The Archduke of Voyage and former Count of Flemton were somewhat Ministers of Defense of Latila, with family members being advisors and can help consult decisions of their patriarchs via vote. Now with House of Flemton exterminated in the Elestovakian War, the responsibilities solely lie on the patriarch of Voyage. And unknown to the king, it was those responsibilities Zenos was aiming for.


    The House of Voyage had existed for 1448 years up to this point. In its entire history, rarely has there been any patriarch younger than 30, if excluded those ¡°temporary patriarchs¡±, a title which could be appointed by another patriarch before his or her death, or before heading to battle, to give the House one that could lead them before appointing someone better. Those can be in various ages, official patriarchs however weren¡¯t young, since elder members tend to have more commanding experience than young ones. Yet, when the title of patriarch of Voyage was descended from Lily¡¯s father, to her mother, then to her, or course just temporarily, the girl took over the House and claimed herself to be the official patriarch of Voyage when she was 16, which at that time the Voyage family was in a crisis so nothing could be done to prevent it from happening. Nonetheless, after the House is stabilized, the question of whether Lily could be the Archduchess is now a topic discussed not just between the members of Voyage, but the Knights Cathedraller and other military factions in the country as well. After all, with the current seat, Lily is the head of the Latilian Royal Army, and Zenos doesn¡¯t want that happen:


    ¡°My daughter¡¯s fighting capability is undeniable, her charisma is even greater, though her decision making ability and self-control is problematic. Not me being overconfident, but I should be the one who claims the title instead of her.¡±


    Zenos said confidently. It might be true that he is weaker than Lily, no one in this kingdom nor anyone he knew can fistfight, sword fight or gunfight her and win, and with that people are willing to follow her into a fight knowing that they are fighting on the side of an omnipotent warrior. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    However, Lily herself is easily triggered and hardly controls her temper, and that attitude can barely command an army:


    ¡°In order to protect this nation, I should be the Archduke.¡±


    ¡°I understand¡±


    The king pours for himself some more tea, then continues:


    ¡°That makes more sense when you hear it. I thought you were just greedy, hungry for power, like how Lily described you to me. It truly takes a visit to truly understand people, by looking at them and listening to their stories and thesis. Of course, if that is your true intention, Sir Zenos.¡±


    Zenos raises his hand to make a cross:


    ¡°I swear in the name of God, Joshua Krist and Saint Morgan, all I¡¯ve just said is my true thought.¡±


    ¡°I trust you. Nevertheless, I cannot help you, my son Belisari will not be pleased with that. Your daughter is within his inner circle, perhaps the person he is closest to, more than his own father¡­.¡±


    ¡°I can see that. They have been joined at the hip since that day ever.. .¡±


    **


    ¡°So some fine wine for Klein, a sharp sword for Aurelian and necklace for Arlin, do we need anything else?¡±


    Finding gifts for the two Voyage brothers and Aurelian is a rather simple task. Aurelian likes something practical in combat, a light sword would fit that description. Klein meanwhile enjoys something nice to show off his aristocratic status when meeting with other people, wine is the finest choice for that. As for Arlin, because the guy can consume any type of alcohol, jewelry is arguably the better option:


    ¡°Nothing I guess¡±-Lily checks her pockets-¡±I still have plenty of money. As I said I will have you something. What would you like?¡±


    ¡°Something you think that would fit me well.¡±


    ¡°That answer makes it harder to pick. Is a crimson scarf okay? I find you look great with that color.¡±


    **


    ¡°As for Belisari¡±-Justinius switches the topic to his son-¡±Unlike Aurelian, he was born earlier and received a better education, and wiser I dare say. And although you may find my son not being serious about anything, it is just because that thing does not affect anyone within his circle¡­¡±


    The king speaks, to which Payens agrees with him. Like Justinius here, the knight has witnessed Belisari grow up, how he interacts with everything, everyone surrounding him. Gerald is a person who knows exactly what characteristics the crown prince of Latila had, and he can easily tell:


    ¡°...the closer a man is to him, the more care His Highness puts to that person¡­I¡¯d say it has both merits and demerits. For one he can focus his time and emotions entirely on just many people, but on the other hand his carelessness to the other makes his charisma rather low in a large group ....¡±


    ¡°That is something he would learn later on. Besides, at this age he should care more about people on his side¡­¡±


    ¡°Especially Lily, these two people can fill the weaknesses of the others, I believe¡­¡±


    **


    It¡¯s time to give this archduchess something. Belisari wants this thing to be a bit more special than gifts for the others, something meaningful¡­and also fits her look. Having an idea in his mind from the beginning, he leads his companion to a flower shop nearby, and:


    ¡°Here¡±


    Taking a bouquet of flowers from the florist, the prince immediately hands it to Lily.


    ¡°Flowers?¡±


    The flowers, ones large, fragrant, with flora purple color tepals spreading out like a bunch of trumpets, contained within it a light smell of sweetness of citrus and gentle touch of spice. If there is a word to describe this flower, it would be ¡°fancy¡±. What is even fancier is the name of it:


    ¡°A bouquet of lilies for you, one that is as pretty as these flowers.¡±


    Belisari speaks with a confident voice, with every word in his sentence being honest words from his heart. He knows that he had chosen the right thing to buy, seeing how his archduchess be so delightful and blushed taking it from his hands, saying:


    ¡°You know how to flatten a woman.¡±


    The girl takes it with pleasure, smiling brightly-¡°My name really makes it easier for you to choose a gift, am I correct?¡±


    ¡°You are right, but truly, you fit those lilies very well¡±


    ¡°If you said so¡­then I should put more effort into taking care of these flowers¡­¡±


    (Not sure if they can survive the trip back to Latila, better carry some extra water on the ship)


    ¡°Hey¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Belisari was looking at his companion, but a voice snapped him back to reality, and it came from behind the two. A voice that could be described as voice of a teenager, yet has some childish it it, which both the prince and the archduchess recognize immediately:


    ¡°What are you two doing?¡±


    It is Aurora, she might¡¯ve done all the work and is walking around to see the city. He didn¡¯t expect them to meet her here though:


    ¡°Hello Aurora¡±


    The prince and the archduchess turn back to greet the girl who is coming at them.


    ¡°Good afternoon, and that scarf looks great on you Belisarius.¡±


    ¡°Huh¡­o¡­okay¡±


    ¡°And that bouquet is beautiful too. Lilies, eh? Belisarius really knows how to treat you, Liliya¡±


    Aurora shows them a necklace with a silver cross, the same one Lily had on her neck:


    ¡°I got this from the Knights Cathedraller, they thanked me for my help, we have a pair decoration now, right Liliya? Anyhow, I suppose you have a present for me too, Belisarius.¡±


    She said so because on their hands there are gifts for other people as well:


    ¡°Ah, yes. This is for you, Aurora¡±-Belisari hands her the syrup bottle.


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...huh?¡±


    ¡°You call this a gift?¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    As the girl takes the bottle from the prince, she displays a clear oblivious expression on her face. Having expected a grateful attitude from Aurora given how many times she has been asking him to have her syrup, Belisari and his companion were caught in total surprise and confusion when Aurora¡¯s face manifests dissatisfaction:


    ¡°This is a gift?¡±


    ¡°You told me to-¡±


    ¡°I cook!¡±-the girl starts screaming-¡±I cook for you and Liliya, hence why I asked for sugar syrup to make better food for you and her. This cannot be considered a gift for me, because it is actually for you.¡±


    (Like a child screaming at their parents for receiving an unwanted gift, except this time the child is right)


    ¡°I thought-¡±


    ¡°What do you think I need cooking ingredients for?! Give me something else. a real gift for me, otherwise¡­ eh¡­eh¡­.¡±


    Aurora¡¯s voice turns sobbing as if she was about to cry, or probably she was actually about to cry over having this as a gift. This girl must be spoiled too much at home, Belisari thought, that is such an inconvenience.


    ¡°Is having a child also like this? If it is really like this then I ain¡¯t have one soon¡±-Belisari thought for himself, although when he looks at Lily, he feels like that she also think the same as he does


    ¡°Hey-¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡±-the prince decided not to escalate this further. He walks toward a store nearby, picks up a random item, gives the shopkeeper fifty denarii (That¡¯s costly) and throws it to Aurora, all under a minute-¡±Is this okay?¡±


    What Belisari gave Aurora is a silver face mask, which could cover the entire face of its user aside from their eyes. He honestly asks himself why didn¡¯t he choose a leather one, a way cheaper alternative, nor if Aurora is even interested in this thing considering that she is a girl after all. What he knows is that he has seen children wearing masks back in Latila before.


    ¡°Hmm?¡±


    Aurora tries the facemask on. Her normal face is kinda pretty, which is a fact agreed by Belisari, Lily, Klein, Gerald and many person who has seen her before, but with the mask on, that beauty completely disappear, leaving a gruesome gray blank, creepy expression fixed by the mask:


    ¡°Okay sorry Aurora I didn¡¯t-¡±


    ¡°I accept this.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Belisari as well as Lily thought they heard it wrong. Aurora seems to really like his ¡°gift¡±, although her emotion frankly is unknown behind the cover of that mask:


    ¡°I like this one, I will keep it.¡±


    The tone of her voice changed, seemingly expressing excitement. The girl finds herself a good place on the shore wall to sit down, one leg crossed fully over the other. Her right hand lifts up the mask a bit, revealing half of her face unmasked, the other side still hidden, saying:


    ¡°Ehehe, do I look like a background villain?"

 Master of Logistic+The Prophecy

    Levantia


    King of cities, outmatched any city in the continent with its buildings carved from thousands of tons of marble, towers reaching up to mountains of the Alpsles range and houses, even of the least privileged of the city, decorated with an expensive purple imperial flag, as to show of people from other city the wealthy level of Levantia. As if they needed to do so, for the truth that cannot be denied, this city is capital of the largest empire in the known world: The Elestovakian Empire.


    ¡°Attention, we are about to exit the city within an hour. Ready your weapons, men.¡±


    Today, that city is drunk on celebration. Men and women drinking, children cheering across the streets, throwing flowers to the soldiers walking in the line.This isn¡¯t a triumph, they did not win a war yet, there wasn¡¯t a festival either. It is just that the Elestovakian Expedition Imperial Army is about to depart for a journey to the north to invade the Kingdom of Vlenna.


    ¡°Most of us are going to return home alive, so don¡¯t let the fear of death make you waver¡­¡±


    On the stage close to the front of the army, emperor Kaval is moralizing his army with an arousing speech. After this, their destination will be the County of Vlenne Exterius, where they will gather with the local army and with them conquer Vlenna. The journey shall cost them a month and a half at least. That would also be the time countdown before the war begins.


    **


    ¡°I have returned¡±


    The Latilian full-rigged sailboat rammed ashore the harbor of the capital city. After a week in foreign land and another three days stranded offshore heading northward, the Latilian diplomatic corp has just returned to their home, which had changed much when they left the city to Vlenna.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to be home.¡±-Belisari says, stepping on land while together with Lily carry Aurora back to the shore. Unfortunately no one is here to greet them, nor carriage to deliver them home, they would have to walk. In addition, Aurora seemingly sicker than normal, the girl can¡¯t move by herself and must be towed back to the Voyage Latilus Palace to rest:


    ¡°Aha, it will be a long trip.¡±


    After another twenty minutes, the three had arrived at the gate of the palace. Awaiting them is the usual guard patrol team, who Belisari greeted with some dried fruit he brought from Vlenna-¡±Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness¡±-They appreciate the gift, then let the prince and the archduchess and Aurora to enter.


    ¡°Arlin, Klein.¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, Big Sis and¡­Aurora¡­that girl is like that again.¡±


    Klein lets out a long sigh, before he comes to them to help Lily lift the sea sickened girl to the nearest bedroom. Meanwhile leaving the prince and his brother standing outside, talking:


    ¡°Long time not here.¡±-Belisari opened the conversation with his friend¡¯s brother-¡±Is there anything I missed?¡±


    ¡°Nothing really¡±-to which Alexander answered-¡±Aside from a few Aurora¡¯s tools for us to renovate the army, nothing new. Probably the most exciting thing is that the fliers had remastered the continental map.¡±


    The man takes a scroll around his waist and opens it for the prince to see. As he previously mentioned, this map has a greater level of detail compared to the old imperial map. Thanks for the support of Aurora¡¯s scope and mapping methods, the task of drawing map became much easier for the Latilians:


    ¡°That is great news. Have you checked its reliability?¡±


    ¡°I did, it is much better than what we had¡±-Alex hovers his finger on the map-¡±And I made a logistic map out of it. That way we can ensure that our army will march with full stomachs and with finest weapons. Water might be the issue for your and my sis¡¯ expeditionary force though¡­¡±


    ¡°I can see why. While the main army is going to be situated by the river of Granisus, my and Lily¡¯s army will travel deep inland and have to look around for water sources. There are several lakes that can be considered however¡­¡±


    With this map in their hands, traveling for them would be far easier, it¡¯s like having an eye over the sky. Even excluding the difference in size and war gear, the Latilian Army would still be able to travel at greater speed than their Elestovakian counterpart everyday to maintain their schedule. Not to mention that in hostile territory, where food might be deficient, this map will locate far more than what they needed to continue the journey without a supply line for a long time:


    ¡°By combining sea lanes, airborne and carriage delivery, we can sustain an army of thirty thousand 150 kilometers away from Latila. Not to mention that our territory got rapidly expanded once the war began, many people would come along with the army for settlement outside of the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Thus shorten the line in non-friendly land and make supplying even easier.¡±


    ¡°You got my point, Your Highness. By constantly having intel on the battlefield combined with the accuracy of this map, we can surely sustain such an army for several years without running into any major issue.¡±


    Alex rolls back the scroll and hands it to Belisari:


    ¡°Tell Aurora to me, this thing is very useful. We need at least three of these for three separated fronts, two if we count this one as well¡­¡±


    ¡°Five actually, for our seafaring force. We cannot cooperate with them unless they have the same accuracy as we do.¡±


    ¡°Well said Your Highness. By the way I think we should enter the domain, standing here isn¡¯t a good idea, the sun is getting high and hot.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°Okay¡±


    The two then step into the palace. It looks no different from when Belisari left. ¡°Perhaps I should go to see what these three are doing¡± he thinks. But then he meets Lily walking down the stair, who greeted him and Arlin with a puff of smoke into the face of her brother:


    ¡°You¡¯re back Liliya.¡±


    ¡°Enough Big Sis.¡±


    ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s fun. Right Belisarius?¡±


    Belisari discreetly nods behind Arlin so the man cannot find it out.


    ¡°We already have a sickened Aurora to deal with¡±-Alex says-¡±A heavy smoker won¡¯t make anything better. I can stand your smoking habit, but Klein has been complaining about it a lot. Belisari here does not like it either.¡±


    (I didn¡¯t say so though?)-Belisari thoughts.


    ¡°Fine¡±


    Then Lily puts out the burning cigarette in her mouth, but instead of throwing it away, she puts it back into one of her pockets, intending to light it again when Belisari and Arlin have left. Seeing so the prince is now regretted having bought her too much cigarettes back in Vlenna, although when he remembered how much Lily enjoyed those cigarettes, his guilty feeling simply disappears:


    ¡°Don¡¯t be too strict on her, Alex. Liliya, just restrain yourself from smoking everywhere-¡±


    Almost immediately after says so, Belisari sees Lily with the cigarette lighted again. He didn¡¯t even notice when she takes that out and puts it in her mouth, and does not know how she even lit it that fast, beyond his ability to acknowledge changes of the surrounding:


    ¡°Seriously, you are addicted to it.¡±-Arlin shakes his head in disappointment.


    ¡°Correct.¡±-Lily speaks as if it is a thing to be proud about-¡±By the way, haven¡¯t you wasted too much time here with me. Don¡¯t y¡¯all have more things to do?¡±


    ¡°Yes, and it included you as well Big Sis. Sir Payens, father and Caesar too. Where are they?¡±


    ¡°Calling for us?¡±


    Gerald and Klein appear behind Arlin and Belisari all of a sudden. Zenos was absent though.


    ¡°Good enough¡±-Alex pulls Belisari along with him-¡±Aurora and father can be notified later. All follow me to the war room.¡±


    **


    County of Rashid, a territory situated between the Alpsles mountain range and the County of Vlenne Exterius. Its northern border is naturally created by the Granisus river, while the south faces a Lordship named Danuvii. This is the territory founded back two hundred years ago by the Nosfeturan Empire as a territory ruled entirely by the human race. Nowaday, Rashid is under the control of the Elestovakian Empire. The current Count of Rashid is Khaliz al Walidis, a former general of the Empire, who supported Kaval in his northern expedition.


    ¡°Hey Khal¡±


    Khaliz is about to enter his castle after a long trip from Levantia back home, when he heard voice of one of his closest friend calling for him:


    ¡°It¡¯s you¡±


    Greeting him is a sickened man, quite old, Kassem, a famous prophet who lives in the countryside of the County of Rashid. He was a friend of Khaliz when they first met twenty years ago, and usually has a visit to the castle any time his friend invites him, or to deliver him prophecies about himself. This time Khaliz did not ask him to be here because he was just returned home, so the latter scenario is more likely:


    ¡°Another message of God for me? Come in, Kassem.¡±


    ¡°Thank you my friend.¡±


    Kassem was about to walk on the stairs, but he almost tripped over, so Khaliz come and walks him:


    ¡°Sorry for bothering you too much¡±-Kassem says, breathes heavily-¡±I cannot live for much longer, God is calling my name.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say such, you will live for a hundred years.¡±


    ¡°What good is that? Living long isn¡¯t a privilege, but a curse, knowing that God has forgotten you for so long¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah I get it.¡±


    Khaliz puts his friend down a chair with one hand, the other hand pours some water into two cups, one for him and one for Kassem:


    ¡°So, what are you here for today?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen my last prophecy.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    The count was surprised, because in his memory he remember that Kassem told him that he will be a prophet as long as he is still alive:


    ¡°God told me in my dream that this is his last message I need to deliver, and it is for you, Khal. I just have a few moments left¡­¡±


    ¡°So you weren¡¯t joking about not going to live much longer¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Stops for a while to grab some air, Kassem then continues:


    ¡°In that dream, God¡­I don¡¯t know why, either because this is the most important prophecy I shall give to this world, or because this is the last time he grants me the chance to deliver his message, but he placed his hand on my shoulder. He said that the Atlasia continent will be watching a great change in its history. You will be a part of that great change, in a war sparked by a conqueror¡­¡±


    ¡°What conqueror? Isn¡¯t Kaval-¡±


    ¡°...let me finish saying...not the Empire, but a kingdom. A kingdom strikes back from ashes and shall conquer the empire¡­This kingdom is going to be ruled by a wise benevolent emperor, the conqueror I mentioned earlier. He and his army will eventually come to this land.¡±


    ¡°Then what should I do when that happens?¡±


    Kassem looks into Khaliz in his eyes, saying:


    ¡°For you Khaliz you must submit to him, be under his command. He is the conqueror chosen by God to change history, obey him and you will write your name into history for eternal. Resisting only results in your death and destruction of the people. I believe that is enough for you to decide which path you will choose¡­¡±


    ¡°But I am loyal to the Emperor-¡±


    ¡°But you are also loyal to God, am I right, Khaliz?¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°Yes-¡±


    However, as Khaliz was about to answer, Kassem closed his eyes and lay peacefully on the chair. The count thought his friend has dozed out, so he tried to wake him up:


    ¡°Kassem, Kassem¡±


    No response.


    The body of the prophet turned colder and colder, the glass of water on his hand fell down and shattered, but that didn¡¯t wake him up from his sleep. Kassem had stopped breathing, and the skin became purple, not receiving any air from the lungs that had withered so much it ceased to work. He lay there, having a deep sleep, a sleep he never had before in his life, one that he will never be able to wake up from, but he sleeps.


    Up to this moment, Khaliz realized that his friend was dead. He died before receiving the answer from Khaliz, before Khaliz had the chance to understand the meaning of what Kassem had just told him. But he can say for sure what is the kingdom in the prophecy God had given to Kassem for him to deliver it to him in his last minutes.


    ¡°Rest well, my old friend.¡±

 Expeditionaries

    ¡°Settle down, and light out your cigarette, Big Sis.¡±


    In the war room of the Voyage Palace, Arlin is taking preparation to brief about the incoming war frontiers.


    Around him are a few of the most elite military personnel in Latila. Gerald de Payens, commander of the Knights Cathedraller Order in Latila, unofficially Legion KC. Klein Caesar Voyage, commander of the Legion I Legionary Corp, the most crowded branch of the Latilian Royal Army which consisted of seven thousand personnel. And himself, Arlin Alexander Voyage, is the leader of the Companion Husaria, Legion II Melee Cavalry Unit of the Royal Army.


    Lily Sobieski Voyage, patriarch of the House of Voyage, the (somewhat) Minister of Defense of Latila. The infamous Legion III the Winged Husaria is under her command.


    Finally, Belisari Flarius Latila, the Crown Prince of Latila, will as well join in the expedition. His army is the Latilian Marine Corp, Legion M, the same unit that Aurora saw guarding around the Latila Palace with crossbows earlier when she first visited that place.


    ¡°Let us begin.¡±


    Arlin rolls out the map on the table.


    ¡°We¡¯ve collaborated with the Latilian Aerial Reconnaissance Unit, the Milishilian Institution of Geography and the Maritime Federation Hall of Cartographers to create this map. There are still errors, but at worst it would be around a kilometer and considerably acceptable, better than anything we¡¯ve had before.¡±


    The map displayed almost everything that is necessary for a standard modern map, from settlements to forest, lakes, rivers, mountain passes. Roads included several signs for travelers to follow without fear of being lost, paddy fields with details about yield and population of nearby villages. Obtaining a map with such high quality can be considered having unlocked the entire battlefield, which in turn significantly helped the Latilians to draw out a war plan for their expedition, which is what they are doing right now.


    ¡°Our force will be divided into three separated armies.¡±


    Arlin takes out three mini flags he made to represent the armies:


    ¡°First, we take a look at the northern army, consisting of thirty thousand men, which would be under the command of my father Zenos and His Highness Aurelian. This army will exit the city via the Remenus Gate in the north, and move in to liberate the Duchy of O¡¯well, then continuing¡­¡±


    Gerald and Klein listen carefully to everything Arlin says, while Lily and Belisari couldn¡¯t care less about it. After all, the movement of the northern army will not affect their front as that army shall move in ways that differ and are unrelated to the others.


    ¡°Want to try?¡±-Lily hands a cigarette to Belisari, which he declines.


    ¡°Stop dragging me into your hobby. I don¡¯t need smoke to cope with stress.¡±


    ¡°Pay attention you two over there.¡±


    Arlin¡¯s voice reaches out for them-¡±Damn it was because of you¡±-whispered Belisari to the archduchess.


    ¡°Come on you two¡±-Klein speaks with an expression on his face, which can be translated to annoyed-¡±At least listen to what Arlin says, as this is real serious intel that can''t be overlooked.¡±


    ¡°We know, sorry and please continue, Alex.¡±


    Arlin nods and again looks down the table, focusing entirely on it:


    ¡°Now we come to the second front, the southern army, consisting of again thirty thousand people. Klein and I are going to be the commander of that front.¡±


    ¡°Which means the Companion Husaria and the Legionary Corp¡­¡±


    ¡°Will be in the south, yes¡±-the man finishes what his sister says and continues-¡±And many more legions, as well as 80% of the Knights Cathedraller, who are familiar with that region. This army is planned to exit via the Bosphor Gate, and will be tasked with the mission of conquering our former territory of the County of Flemton. After that, we will build a defensive line along the river of Granisus.¡±


    ¡°Because after hearing of our attack, the Elestovakians will redistribute their force to the north. By making defense behind the Granisus, they will not be able to cross that river to enter Flemton.¡±-the prince added.


    ¡°By far they are considered the largest and most well supplied force, considering the fact that we will be stationed in one place. In the meantime waiting for the third army to show up, we would establish a logistic line from there to Latila as well¡­¡±


    Arlin then places the last flag onto the map:


    ¡°Finally, the third army, under the command of my sister Lily and His Highness Belisari¡­¡±


    Unlike the two previous armies, this force only consisted of ten thousand troops, and will be the force with the longest journey. Their job will be the least comparing to the other two at least:


    ¡°You two will exit via the Konstantine gate, marching to Voyage, the Aeropostale Republic, then Carthagia, creates a rebellion there and seizes control over that region. The army will then move to Nosfetura to negotiate with the vampires.¡±


    The task of this army is not fighting, at least it is not their main mission. They hold the responsibility of seeking allies in foreign territory, triggering revolutions on their paths and destabilizing the empire internally. In addition, their plan included a visit to the vampire community in the Alpsles Mountains Range, in which they might be able to invite them into the war. Knowing well that their seventy thousand men alone cannot defeat the empire, Arlin, Lily, Belisari and Justinius had discussed and considered this as an official strategy in their expedition east:


    (I wonder if my friend is still there?)


    ¡°Alright, so that is basically the plan of our armies. Now, I think there is one question we should answer right away¡­¡±


    Arlin becomes silence for a moment, he inhales, exhales, before continues:


    ¡°Which army should Aurora follow?¡±


    This question is crucial for many reasons: Aurora is a great planner no doubt, excellent at managing technology and I besides, their arms were made by her, she knows how to use them the best. Her presence will significantly boost the strength of an army, increase the frequency of new weapons being used, which is important considering how outnumbered they are.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°Obviously not the Northern Army since she has no relation with any of the legions in it, so either she would follow my brother and I, or His Highness and my sister.¡±


    With Arlin saying so, they¡¯ve narrowed it into two answers. Still, it is worth being discussed between all important members of the two armies.


    ¡°I opine her going with us¡±-Klein raises his hand, trying to gain the girl to his army-¡±Our legions are large and require plenty of supply. Aurora is needed for us to quickly set up the routes, establishing bases and fortifying our positions. Additionally, I heard from her that she can help make ¡°rapid float bridges¡±, which I guess by its name will be vital for us when we cross the Granisus.¡±


    ¡°I agree with your vision¡±-complementing Arlin to his brother-¡±Also, my cavalry had just received repetitive crossbows from her. They were amazing. If she stays with us a little longer, she might figure out how to improve their quality even further.¡±


    The strategic points of Aurora staying in the Southern Army are quite clear, and overall having Aurora in this front shall increase their national army strength. If they want to build a strong coalition though, the Eastern Army is perhaps preferable:


    ¡°Disagree¡±-Lily opens her counterargument-¡±Our army is significantly inferior in numbers, so quality is a must, having Aurora on our team shall ensure that. Not to mention that our job is to create internal problems for the Elestovakians, Aurora can further strengthen the Carthagians and Aeropostians rebels by arming them with her weapons.¡±


    To Lily, Aurora would be better arming a huge number of militias. By doing so, the difference between the total sum of coalition¡¯s fighters and Elestovakian troops would dramatically decrease.


    ¡°So you say that we have to choose between a professional thirty thousand men army and potentially half a million to a million armed citizens.¡±


    ¡°You get my point Klein. A powerful standing army is valuable, but infecting a nation with funded rebellions can weaken them even faster.¡±


    While the Voyagers are discussing their ideas, Belisari and Gerald are still silent-¡±Let the professionals execute it their way¡±-said the knight to the prince, because he is fully aware that when it comes to warfare, no one can say they are better than a Voyage:


    ¡°No, I think I should start joining war conferences like this from now on.¡±


    Belisari says, then moves toward the table:


    ¡°We need Aurora to negotiate with the vampires.¡±


    Upon hearing what the prince spoke, the three Voyagers suddenly stop. Aurora and vampires, what relate in that?


    ¡°The vampire community became extremely closed after the Elestovakian War. Latila, Vlenna and Nosfetura did have a good relationship before their country was destroyed, but have we received any contact from them since? No.¡±


    Belisari elaborates, but that make Klein and Arlin even more confused:


    ¡°So why Aurora?¡±-Lily asks, she should be on his side since they are going to be deployed into the same army, but now even she can¡¯t understand what the prince wants to achieve by doing such.


    ¡°Well, I can see by their behavior that they are now forbidding humans to make contact with them. Humans, like you, your brothers, Sir Gerald here, me and of course, Aurora. However, when y¡¯all first meet her, how many thought that she was a vampire?¡±


    In fact, all of them thought she was a vampire at first glance, and it usually takes more time before they recognize her brown eyes. If Aurora¡¯s appearance can trick humans into thinking she is a vampire, to real vampires, it should work the same:


    ¡°So, we can use her appearance to at least be welcomed into their colonies, after that there will be talking. Otherwise we would have no choice but just stand there in front of their gate begging them to open the doors, and I doubt that it could work.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t you just dismiss the idea of inviting them into war?¡±


    ¡°Are you telling me not to recruit the remainder of what used to be considered the strongest army in the continent?¡±


    Indeed, the Nosfeturan Empire once had the strongest standing army in the world, which helped them to seize control of half of Atlasia under the banner of theirs. It wasn¡¯t until the Elestovakian War that they were defeated for good, but that is all the point needed for Klein to throw a counterargument:


    ¡°We are about to wage war against the very same army that had decimated them before. They will not make that much of a difference.¡±


    ¡°I do not think so, their force might be dwindled and defeated, but they are still stronger than most of our legions. And under our command they will have a chance to repeal their old enemies, they have determination to do so, and that would ensure their loyalty. Another fine legion into our army, a gamble worth playing.¡±


    Both Belisari and Klein have the right in their ideas. On the one hand, Belisari and Lily need Aurora to help arming a huge number of militias and being the catalyst for the talk with the vampires. On the other hand, Klein wants her to focus entirely on building logistics and increasing the strength of the national armed forces.


    ¡°What is your opinion, Sir Gerald?¡±


    Asked Arlin to the knight, and he replied:


    ¡°Me? I will definitely go with His Highness and Her Grace. They will meet up with the vampires, right? The Cathedrallers need an ambassador to represent the vampire, I will be the one to do that job.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    ¡°No worry, as I said, most of the Order stay with you two.¡±


    ¡°I know¡­but if that is the case, then Aurora should go with Belisari.¡±


    ¡°Wait! What?-Gerald says in surprise-¡±I thought you were going to say that the third army has me so Aurora should stay in the second army?¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t even have that idea in mind. No matter how we see it, this is war, it has every type of risk you can think of that might kill you if you are being careless. Aurora meanwhile is a valuable person, we cannot let her risk her life. Hence, it is better to have her by the side of you, His Highness and my sister, you three can supervise her to prevent any harm toward Aurora¡­¡±


    ¡°So you are leaving us the responsibility of siting Aurora?¡±-said Belisari


    ¡°If you want her, Your Highness, then that is the case.¡±


    ¡°Now to think of it.¡±-Klein added-¡±You are the closest person to her, you must know how to protect that child from harm. But for such simple work, I can too, hence I am not giving up on the idea of inviting her into my army though. My Legionaries need her more than your Marines do.¡±


    ¡°How about doing things like back in two thousand years ago? De-mo-cra-cy?¡±


    Klein stunned for a second upon hearing that word, then he smashes his fist down the table:


    ¡°Agh! Fine!¡±


    Democracy, like how the Republic of Remes, the former state of the Kingdom of Latila did to resolve every conflict in their life. Without hierarchy, the votes would be counted fairly and systematically, and always in favor of the majority of the people. It was a stable system and was used for three hundred years until the Republic dissolved and changed to monarchy. The idea of it still lives on among the people of Latila however, and is still being used when people want to de-escalate a conflict, not with weapons and ranks, but with their voices and ballots:


    ¡°Damn it! You betrayed me brother.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I am not going to choose a side.¡±


    The topic for the conflict today is ¡°Should Aurora follow the Third Army?¡±. And in this case democracy was brought up again, and Belisari won by a landslide. Klein is the only person who opposes him, Arlin goes with a blank vote, the rest are on his side. Three to one, Klein cannot oppose it.


    ¡°Okay, Aurora is ours, then.¡±


    The prince declares, though he cannot be so happy about it seeing his friend be disappointed in the background. Nevertheless, the archduchess by his side claps her hands together, continues:


    ¡°So we settle, Aurora will go with His Highness, Sir Gerald and I. Arlin, deliver this message to Aurora for me. Be ready everyone, the war will begin in not much longer.¡±

 Library of Lvina

    ¡°May you find your book in this place¡±


    After the meeting in the war room, Klein and Arlin are now on the street of Latila. Escorting them is a certain short white hair girl, who has just awakened from her bed after recovering from sea sickness.


    When Aurora woke up from her slumber, she was informed about her expedition to the East with Belisari and Lily. At first, the girl was confused and flustered, but then suddenly, she agreed to the deal, with a condition of a trip to the city¡¯s library.


    ¡±To learn more about the world¡±-she explained the motivation behind her request, the sentence which handed her confusion to Arlin, who said-¡°Well at least it was easy to accomplish. Though I don¡¯t know why she even needed to go to the library, while Aurora herself is one already.¡±


    ¡°No, nobody knows everything about the world¡±-his brother objects-¡±Maybe spending some time in the library to sharpen your knowledge is not a bad idea. I would go as well.¡±


    Skip for ten minutes, they are now standing in front of the city¡¯s largest library, the Library of Lvina. Despite being called the largest library in the city, even comparable to the Latila Palace in size, the number of visitors here is surprisingly low, at only 2-3 people per day. Maybe the main reason is that this library looks old, very old, as if it was abandoned for at least a decade. In addition, it is also quite far from the city center, where most people know how to read live.


    Aurora takes an overall look at the library. Surrounding the main sector of the building are a few branches-like structures, they were balconies for the visitors to relax in the sunlight reading books, but due to the lack of usages, they look very old and stained in black, creating a creepy look for the place. To be honest, this place looks like the remains of a giant burned tree being turned into a building for storing books rather than a proper library, as Aurora later wrote.


    But then, when stepping in, the girl¡¯s attitude changed as she was stunned by the amount of books in this place. Towers of shelves reach all the way up to the roof, while the place itself is five stories high and¡­eight stories deep. Between each shelf there are places shaped like two to three floors-benches for readers to settle and finish their reading under the light of lanterns and chandeliers hanging on top of the shelves, except for several places being shadowed by¡­flat wooden balconies? Nonetheless it is still magnificent. For a library in medieval time, this place surpassed every place Aurora had ever gone to, and she had gone to the Library of Congress in the United States once before.


    Upon their arrival, they were greeted by the head librarian, her voice come to them from behind her working desk:


    ¡°Long time since your last visit, Arlin, Klein, and who is the new guest today?¡±


    The head librarian is an average height woman, still much taller than Aurora though. Her hair is quite unique with the combination of aqua, a bit grayish and silver, and short, with a pair of eyes matching the color of her hair. What she is wearing is a long black coat, with white shirt and shoes casted of steel. However, that is definitely not the strangest thing about her outlook, it is actually the fixed wings on her back that stood out the most and claimed entirely Aurora¡¯s attention:


    ¡°This little one is Aurora Borealis¡±-Arlin pushes the girl forward a bit-¡±You may address her as Aurora. Aurora, this is the director of the library, and also is the head librarian, her name is Angela.¡±


    ¡°Angela Lucius. Welcome to my library Aurora, may you find your book in this place. What are you looking for?¡±


    Aurora, still focus her mind analyzing the wings of Angela, stuttered when the librarian talks to her:


    ¡°Well-¡­well-...I want to read as much as possible.¡±


    ¡°If that is the case¡­¡±-the woman named Angela walks from her table toward Aurora-¡±You are a foreigner right? Then better study history first. Wait for me for a second.¡±


    ¡°Ah right, here we go again.¡±-Arlin drags Aurora back to where he is standing.


    The librarian steps toward a marked floor area, surrounded by nothing, no book, no table, no chair, absolutely nothing, well, aside from a few walls that have the purpose of protecting whatever behind it from whatever going on in the area:


    ¡°Eh¡­what is going on?¡±


    ¡°You never saw a flier take off before?¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    While Aurora and Arlin were talking, Angela lowered her body, making her fixed wings become parallel with the floor¡¯s surface.


    ¡°No, this is the first time.¡±


    ¡°Well, then let me explain.¡±-Klein jumps in-¡±Flier is a creature born to be skyfarers, blessed with their wings and ability to control wind to fly. Unlike birds which take off by flapping their wings, Fliers use their wind bending magic, fire conbursting spells and their wings to create a force called ¡°lift¡± under their wings, helping them to fly.¡±


    ¡°So like planes.¡±


    ¡°What is plane?


    ¡°Nevermind.¡±


    Aurora turns her attention back to Angela, the woman is running fast and accelerating in the area. Fiers are fast, very fast, not many humans can outrun them. As Aurora later read from a biology book, they are fast in order to generate enough lift for their flight.


    And Angela, she is close to the end of the runway, 50 meters isn¡¯t a long area after all. Aurora closes her eyes in fear that the librarian might crash into the wall at this rate, if she can¡¯t make it. Fortunately, that is not a case:


    ¡°Take off.¡±


    Just moments before hitting the wall, Angela lifts her body off the ground, into the dense compressed air surrounding her wings.


    ¡°Wooh¡­¡±


    The librarian flies up and turns another way, crossing a section on a shelf. Seconds later, Angela¡¯s arms are carrying several heavy books, then another book, then another, before she departs and makes a gentle landing back on the runway on the floor. What an amazing performance there:


    ¡°Here. Titu Levy¡¯s From the Founding of the City volume one to five, Polibius¡¯s The History volume one to six, Procop¡¯s On Build summarized edition¡­¡±


    The list of books needed to read is quite long¡­is there anything very interesting here?


    ¡°...this and this¡­and Lily Voyage¡¯s The Finest Hours.¡±


    ¡°Lily Voyage?¡±


    The Archduchess of Voyage wrote a book?


    ¡°Yes, She was a part-time librarian here after the war, when she first wrote this book¡±-Angela hands the books to Aurora while saying to her-¡±I am her only reader until now though, no one had ever looked for a book like this here so I didn¡¯t have a chance to introduce it to any other. What a wasted gem.¡±


    ¡°Part-time? And who taught Her Grace to write a book?¡±


    ¡°On the Language Section, although she only knows Grecolatin and Reman. Fortunately His Highness usually comes to help her sort books in other languages. As about the book¡­ I knew her father when I was a child, he was a journalist before the war. Perhaps he taught her a thing or two about writing.¡±


    The librarian said, her eyes looking somewhere far away, remembering some distant memories.


    ¡°That is the story of the past. Now go study. May you enjoy your books.¡±


    Angela says, then pushes Aurora to corner of the library where sunlight concentrate the most, giving her a glass of mead (fermented honey, a type of alcohol, though Aurora is forbidden to drink at this age) and leaves to the two Voyagers brother in the reception area:


    ¡°What about you two? Which book may satisfy your desire for knowledge?¡±


    **


    ¡°First chapter, the foundation of Latila¡­¡±


    Opening her book, what Aurora sees the first is the date which according to the Latilians is the day this city was founded, 20th April 753 AKN:


    ¡°20th April¡­21st April¡­753 AKN, A for Ante, N for Natum, then ¡°K¡± here is Jesus Christ in this world? 20th April 753 BC¡­a day prior to¡­ If that is the case, then this is very coincident¡­a frightening coincidence¡­¡±


    Putting that matter aside, Aurora flips to another page. This particular page contains the map of the entire known world, for people to understand where an event occurred, and how impactful it was for the countries in that region. Despite not being as accurate as Aurora¡¯s map, this thing still holds a geographical and historical value to it.


    In the Southern area of the map is the continent of Gaullia, where located the Kingdom of Milishila where Aurora was supposed to come from. The country stretches along the coastline of the continent, with some areas invaded further inland. Aside from the colonies chain of the Maritime Federation, there is no existence of another large nation on that continent except Milishila.


    Two islands on the upper left of the map are the mainland of the Maritime Federation. Being founded by Milishilian and Latilian traders back in 247 AKM as the Trade Confederation, no wonder why this nation chose trading as the core of their economy. Their colonies appear everywhere, from the continent of Atlasia to the continent of Gaullia, to an Eastern continent named Yuropa (Europe?). The Maritimer trade network no doubt rivals every nation in the world combined.


    And, the largest continent on the map, Atlasia. Latila, Vlenna, Nosfetura, Carthagia, Aeropostales, Elestovakia, aside from those nations there were many more, yet they vanished after the Elestovakian War, erased from history entirely.


    ¡°That is a sad truth¡­¡±


    The girl whispers to herself, then flips a page. Well, it¡¯s time for actual history. The information here is usually about major events, wars, noticeable rulers and technological advancements, like every common history book on Earth. History might be different, but the mindset of recording history is the same everywhere, even in another world.


    ¡°Year 1 AD, the end of the Second Arcane War, the extermination of¡­¡±


    Aside from countries, some occult races also disappeared throughout history due to various conquests. That is a thing that also happened on Earth, but on a much smaller scale, concerning to say the least, but it does not seem like a problem nowaday.


    In the corner of her eyes, Aurora sees Arlin and Angela talking to each other, while Klein reads a poem collection, seemingly from an elf author, and enjoys a cup of fine wine made by Milishilian dwarfs in his hand. It looks like after such a long time, people from races different from another had adapted to each other and chose to live in harmony, an act of peace which ensured no other highly intelligent species were wiped out from year 1 until this day.


    Aurora spent another few hours reading history books. Her reading speed is fast, so completing a book in less than half an hour is normal. It is very helpful that many books were written far into detail, very clearly in two Latin variants, antiquity and modern, hence understandable. More interesting than I thought, she said, it was like reading lore for a fantasy novel, maybe because this world contains many fantasy elements on its own. Very soon, the girl had thrown Procop¡¯s book aside, ready to absorb the final one on her table, the Veteran Diary:


    ¡°Alright, here we go, let¡¯s see what Liliya wrote¡­eh?¡±


    Unlike any other book, this one was written in Greek. Not a translation problem though, Russia is Aurora¡¯s homeland, Russian borrowed many words from Greek. Aurora had learned to understand Greek since she was young. What surprised her is the fact that the language of this book stood out from any others.


    ¡°I hope I can read this¡­¡±


    ¡°Say, Angela, are you willing to join the army again?¡±

 Recruit the Veteran

    ¡°Alex¡±


    Before Klein, Aurora and him left for the library, Arlin was called back by Belisari:


    ¡°If you meet her- well you will certainly meet her there¡­then¡­help me do something.¡±


    **


    ¡°May you repeat what you said?¡±


    ¡°I said, are you willing to join the army again?¡±


    While Aurora and Klein were sinking into the content of their books on the tables far away, and Arlin and Angela were telling the other about their life during the time Arlin was absent from the library, out of the sudden, the Voyage¡¯s second son staggered the head librarian with that question.


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to hide me Angela.¡±-Arlin elaborates-¡±You must¡¯ve heard about our expeditionary plan from someone.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡±-Angela denies, speaks-¡±But I am sure that the monarch is up to something. The library has windows looking over the port, you know.¡±


    From the third floors of Lvina, thanks to the fact that the surrounding area was full of low-rise buildings, the vision of an individual can be extended quite far, capturing even the harbor of Latila within its view. Angela, who spends her days wandering around the floors of the library, couldn¡¯t help but notice the sudden change in frequency of foreign ships entering the port and unloading their cargo, a sign of a preparation for something massive. Yet although knowing all of that, Angela can¡¯t properly explain the motivation behind this change, at least not until now when she has heard Arlin himself confessed to her about that matter, when he was trying to recruit her back into the army:


    ¡°Well, at least now I can confirm that y¡¯all were preparing to invade Elestovakia with what you said. Quite a bold and risky move there I must say.¡±


    Arlin nods, then saying:


    ¡°Your mind is as sharp as how I remember it was. Yes, we are about to invade a superpower, and in order to win, with such a small population compared to the empire, we need all available hands, especially experienced people, like you Angela, or should I call you Amerius Luscusius?¡±


    Hearing that name again, the wings behind Angela flap a bit.


    Angela Lucius, Amerius Luscusius, Vitta 1, the commander of the 2nd Fliers corp. The  solitary librarian was in fact fought as an aerial scout/attacker during the Elestovakian conquest and the Siege of Latila. After the war, the woman retired from the army and changed her name to work here as a director of the librarian. Since then, her life became much more peaceful, at least until this time when Arlin decided that he would drag this woman out of her retirement:


    ¡°So, are you willing to help us?¡±


    ¡°Of course no, are you an utter idiot?¡±


    Angela replies to Arlin, placing one hand on her cheek. The answer is reasonable, who wants to fight in a war in the first place? Unless that person is driven by madness, or is being encouraged by patriotism, or money.


    However, none of these cases can be applied to Angela. The librarian is totally not insane enough to go to war for her liking, nor want to kill people. As for nationalism, her original homeland was the old Aeropostale Republic, not the Kingdom of Latila, there is no existence of loyalty between this librarian and the kingdom for Arlin to exploit to have her recruited.


    Money, that is even less of a problem for Angela. This library they are sitting in right now was a fortune left by her relatives in Latila. Therefore, Angela could just sell the entire library away, move to Milishila, build a brand new palace and live in luxury for the rest of her life, that is if she didn¡¯t find it boring in the first place. To put it in perspective, even if we included the profit from selling synthetic diamonds and shared it evenly between the House of Latila and the House of Voyage, Angela would still be one of the most prosperous individuals in the entire city by owning the library and every book inside it alone. It is not ideal for one to hire someone who is even richer than they are to be a mercenary with something as simple as money, especially when that person is already a billionaire to begin with.


    Additionally, the librarian is completely out of the conscript age. In Latila, the mature age for fliers is twelves and the optional retirement age is twenty-two, Angela is twenty-five, or fifty fliers years old. For reference, the official service age for humans is 16, for elves is 32, for dwarfs 20, and vampires 40. Of course, she could choose to serve until the age of 35, but it is entirely dependent on her decision, not Arlin¡¯s, and she chose not to do so.


    ¡°I thought you would like the idea of adventuring?¡±-Arlin claps his hands into a begging pose-¡±Come on, please help us Amerius¡±


    ¡°Again, why would I?¡±-Angela sighs-¡±Unless you have something that could convince me to play the game of war with you, and I am certain you can¡¯t find anything like that.¡±


    She utters with confidence. After all, for a person who had everything like her, what could Arlin and the Latilians pay for her service?


    ¡°Here¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Just as Angela thought Arlin was about to give up, the man reached out to his waist, then drew out¡­a pistol? But instead of pointing it at Angela and forcing the woman to accept his offer, Arlin simply shrugs his head, then places the gun gently and elegantly on the table in front of Angela, as if the gun was made entirely for the show off purpose:


    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°This is not an ordinary one like many you saw in the army¡±-the man turns his head to the corner where Aurora is sitting while explaining-¡±That girl said this one can fire multiple times before needing to reload with the help of a thing called ¡°percussion cap¡±. She also told me that if you throw this in front of an intelligent, knowledge-hungry person, that person will-¡±


    Angela picks the pistol up and inspect before Arlin has a chance to finish his sentence.


    ¡°Sound queer, I am interested. May I try it?¡±


    The librarian says, then not waiting for the answer but stands up from her seat immediately to test the weapon. The design looks 70% like any ordinary musket in the armed forces around the known world, but according to what Arlin told her, it should be able to fire more than once at a time. Switching off the safety mode of the gun, Angela aims its head at a general direction and pulls the trigger:


    Bang!*


    After the first bullet was released from the barrel, the gun emitted a flash which almost blinded Angela if not for her eyes to react fast enough to close and prevent it from happening. Then, something was rejected out of the chamber. Something like a copper cap, and was smelting hot on the wooden floor of the library.


    Bang!*


    Another shot came out of the barrel.


    ¡°Hah¡­hah¡­¡±


    Angela rests her arms down and breaths heavily, shocked. She can confirm for sure that it did fire twice, but¡­.how? The librarian wants to do it again when staring closely at the gun:


    ¡°Hold up.¡±


    However, Arlin grabs back the pistol from her hands:


    ¡°Enough testing¡±-he says-¡±Percussion cap bullets haven¡¯t been mass produced yet, they are still limited in number. Two is enough, you¡¯ve just thrown forty denarii into the wall.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter¡±-Angela seeks under her table and throws a bundle full of silver coins in front of Arlin, and then reaches out to the pistol-¡±Take the charge, I will take this gun and break it down into pieces, no, just to fire two more bullets-¡±


    ¡°Absolutely not¡±-Arlins steps back-¡±This is a valuable war asset, equipped only by the airborne army of Latila, and only for high rank individuals who will fight head on into battle. This thing is not for anyone to buy¡­¡±


    Tch!*


    Angela clicks her tongue.


    As it turned out, she has one weakness, only one thing that could be exploited.


    There is a reason for Angela to be a librarian, is the joy of diving into the content of the books on shelves, finding wisdom and knowledge hidden within pages of books. And it is not just books either, it applies to anything surrounding her. Something new and unordinary like the multi shot pistol Arlin has just shown her would absolutely seduce her desire for knowledge without any effort:


    ¡°Unfortunately¡±-Arlin changes his speech tone to a teasing voice-¡±In just a month every pistol like this one will go with us to Elestovakia, we can''t leave any advanced weapon behind in such an ambitious war, right? You will not see them return any time soon¡­unless¡­¡±


    Unless Angela joins the aerial force, where she will be trained with that gun and living with it. But that idea do make Angela hesitant, she does not want to go to war:


    ¡°Alright, I think it¡¯s time to leave. It is very unfortunate that I have to bring a gift home, but what can I do now if you reject it? Anyway, bye-¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...Now to think of it, being in the expedition army, I might learn how this thing even work, or how to make one like this from Aurora, that kid also join the army-¡±


    ¡°Agh! Fine, fine, I get it.¡±-Angela screams-¡±I will join the army, okay? Now give me that!¡±


    ¡°Not yet. I have one more request.¡±


    Taking advantage of the situation, Arlin has another demand. Now he might¡¯ve gone too far, but this is for the good of the nation:


    ¡°What do you want?¡±-said Angela out of frustration.


    ¡°Write invitations to all of your old friends, tell them to gather at the Voyage Palace within a week. That¡¯s all. Say it ¡°I agree¡±¡±


    Tch!*¡±Fine, I will.¡±


    ¡°It was a pleasure working with you~¡±


    Then, the man gives the pistol to Angela. It is hard to describe the expression displayed on her face after having received the pistol. Happy because she got what she wanted, but also worried that she might¡¯ve traded too much just for it. Nevertheless, Angela is now unofficially back to the army:


    ¡°Alright, see you soon¡±-Arlin pronounces-¡±If you don¡¯t mind, we will borrow some of your books home. Come on Aurora, brother, let¡¯s go.¡±


    **


    ¡°Are you sure that would work for her?¡±


    At the same time when Arlin and Klein were at the library to do their job, Belisari, flanked by Lily and Gerald were going out to the training camp supervising the preparation of the armed forces:


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it''s worth a try, and we know her well enough to try it and have a higher chance of success. Let Alex do his job, he is a master of negotiation after all. But hey, we are not here for that.¡±


    They are here to see their army.


    On the field, the magnificent Winged Husaria, Lily¡¯s unit is training with their new rocket propellers. Knight angels with bazookas, the scene here best matches with that image. A wild combination it is, but that¡¯s just how the Winged Husaria looks right now in the eyes of a modern person.


    Far from the place where they are standing, riders of the Companion Husaria are machine gunning with their crossbows. It doesn¡¯t take a question to know that they love their new weapons, repetitive crossbows are no more a joke, more precisely, even considered deadly. Klein¡¯s Legionary, which is thought to be a perfect unit with no room for improvement, are training assembling what Aurora called ¡°Rapid Assembling Bridges¡± and ¡°Fast Setup Camps¡±. Other units in the army are also transforming dramatically. Since Aurora¡¯s arrival in Latila, more and more Belisari confidents about victory of his kingdom:


    (I don¡¯t- no, I cannot regret mistaking Aurora for a vampire on that day anymore. This is far more than what I¡¯ve asked)


    His private army, the Latilian Marine Corp, are testing new tactics with their carriages purchased from Milishila and the Federation. Finally, at last, the plan for a rapid react infantry unit is being executed, thanks for Belisari¡¯s vision for this kind of force, and thanks for Aurora¡¯s donation to make the plan more than just an idea:


    ¡°I hope in history books in the future my name would still be there around that child¡¯s name, maybe being written smaller, but still there.¡±


    The prince speaks to himself silently, chuckling, unknown that the archduchess by his side heard it:


    ¡°I doubt your name will not outshine us all.¡±

 Final Preparations

    There are three main entrances connecting the inner part of Latila to the outside world.


    The Remenus Gate in the north, named after the founder of the city of Remes and the Republic of Remes, predecessor of the city of Latila and the Kingdom. With a road leading to Elves Duchy of O¡¯well situated not too far from the city, Remenus holds an important position in the kingdom¡¯s relation with elves communities in the north prior to the Elestovakian conquest. By far, this is the only gate that was still able to keep its original design from the time it was built, unharmed by any war or natural causes.


    The Bosphor Gate in the south, named after the very strait close to where it stood. Being a strategic line connecting Latila to Voyage, Flemton, Upper Granisus and Liston, no wonder why this is the largest and most fortified gate in the entire kingdom. It was also the first part of the city to make contact and be attacked by the Elestovakians ten years ago, and was also where members of the House of Flemton and the House of Voyage successfully repealed the invading army. The Latilians could have had their city intact, if not for a disaster occurring in another place.


    ¡°Here¡±


    The Konstantine Gate, named after king Konstantine the Great, first king of the Kingdom, who rebuilt the city of Reme from ashes and renamed it to Latila. It has no important value compared to the two other gates mentioned earlier, but on that fateful day in the Siege of Latila, the gate was unexpectedly breached, and the invaders came and swarmed into the city. Latila was vandalized and plundered for three days before the Elestovakians were pushed out through the very way they used to enter. Still, damage was done, the Kingdom lost many commanders, soldiers and civilians to the invaders.


    From then, the gate gained more attention from the Latilian monarch and their Voyager allies, and was hastily repaired, and then renovated entirely new after the war. However, the renovation was useless, or at least its whole original purpose was thrown aside.


    The gate which was supposed to welcome the invaders, is now preparing to release an army that would soon conquer the enemies. They are still in the preparation phase though, the final stage of the preparation phase:


    ¡°Ave Caesar!¡±


    ¡°I am kindly asking you to stop saying that, and good morning, Aurora.¡±


    While overseeing Elestovakian territory from the top of the wall, Klein Caesar bumped into a hurrying Aurora, who was from the Konstantine Gate hasting go to the camp of his army in Bosphor:


    ¡°And why were you in such a hurry? Is there anything emergent?¡±-asked Klein to the girl. She is breathing heavily, as if her lungs are dying from exhaustion. Behind her is the usual oversized backpack stuffed with something looks like white bricks:


    ¡°No ...hah.. .I meant  ¡­hah¡­perhaps? I want to deliver this.¡±


    Aurora throws a ¡°brick¡± at Klein¡¯s face, luckily he catches it with his hands. Then, the girl collapsed on the wall, letting all of the white bricks scattered around her in a circle. Now seeing closer, as it turned out, those white bricks are just¡­soaps¡­


    ¡°What the-¡±


    ¡°Yeah, soaps....¡±-Aurora recovered from where she lay down after a sip of water-¡±Synthetic detergent might be a better term to call them, but soap is fine¡­¡±


    Having recovered from the tiredness, Aurora picks up the bars scattering on the ground and puts them back in her backpack. While doing so she not forget introducing this type of soap to the man who is looking at her in confusion:


    ¡°Soap, yes. You know it well. They can be used for cleaning clothes and your body¡­but hey, that was not a deep case study about soap. Soaps can be used to prevent diseases by washing hands regularly¡­¡±


    ¡°Which is vital for an expeditionary army, I see your point. Usually at least 1/4 of the army would die from disease before they even had chances to see the battlefield.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is why I think soaps are important¡­and this one (synthetic detergent) can be used in hard water ... .well I meant water from every river and lakes, and not just a few specific clean ones¡­I guess this would help us tremendously. It¡¯s not like we could find a freshly tranquil water source if we want to¡­¡±


    In the antiquity and medieval time, excluding neither Earth nor this world, infectious diseases had always been a headache problem for both civilians and the military, especially for an expeditionary army where thousands of armed men were crammed into a limited space moving force. That and the lack of hygiene and clean water were responsible for at least half of the casualties or any army prior to the modern era. This is the reason why soap is such an important luxury the Latilians must have to maintain their already small army in foreign territory.


    ¡°That was clever¡±-Klein cracks a compliment-¡±Who was behind this idea in the first place?¡±


    ¡°Your sister.¡±


    Lily, of course. The person who values tidiness and likes to bathe. There is no surprise if the archduchess asks Aurora to make her some soap, and this girl would end up industrializing the whole process to make enough of these items to supply a whole army in years to come:


    ¡°At least this time it is good when you overdone it¡­¡±


    ¡°Heh heh, I¡¯ve calculated everything carefully this time, feel free to admire the great Aurora Borealis for being too useful!¡±


    ¡°Now that is not appreciated, restrain yourself.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±-Aurora nods, but herself was looking for something else-¡±I got this for you as well¡±-She pulls out something manifest a pipe with weird substances in it from the bag-¡±This thing is called a water filter, which help you to clean dirt from your water sources¡±-and another thing resemble papers-¡±And eh¡­just throw a piece into water, if it barely change color then it is safer to drink¡­¡±


    And many more things. Aurora seems very cautious, which is good, but her precaution is too overwhelming even for a careful person like Klein, as if she is excited for the war. That makes Klein wonders, what is Aurora¡¯s true intention:


    ¡°Who are you exactly?¡±-Klein asked, the question made Aurora tilt her head with stupefaction before replying-¡±Aurora Borealis.¡±


    ¡°I know, but- whatever, why did you come to this land?¡±


    ¡°I remember having told His Highness before I met you¡±-the girl packs her belongings back in her bag-¡±I want to become a saint, when I am alive of course.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s-¡±


    ¡°And if I help His Highness to achieve his dream, do you think he will help me with my dream too?¡±


    Speechless, judging by her attitude and words, Aurora is not lying, she might actually want to become a saint, but it makes Klein even more perplexed. Wartime saints are nothing too extraordinary in Kristianity, but a girl at this age wanting to become a saint by that method, seems unthinkable.


    Also, among many people he could¡¯ve brought from Milishila here, why did Belisari choose this dreamy girl to be his advisor and engineer in the first place?


    (It is not my duty to question)


    Though, if his prince chose Aurora, he would accept it, and he would accept everything about the person Belisari trust:


    ¡°Quite an ambitious, but ideal dream you have¡±-he speaks-¡±Being titled a saint while still alive, eh? I¡¯d say good luck.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, I wish you the best luck too.¡±-Aurora says with an adorable smile of a child-¡±Anyway, can you help bring these things to the army in the south? I have to go to Konstantine Gate now, bye~¡±


    As her bag was thrown to Caesar, Aurora immediately without delay sprints back toward the direction where she came from, disappearing before Klein even noticed:Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Perhaps that energy is the reason Belisari chose her?¡±


    Klein thought for himself without saying into words. He picks up the backpack from the ground (quite heavy to say the least), then turns around and returns to his army camp.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    From the backpack, a letter fell out.


    **


    Earlier


    Knock! Knock!*


    In the foot of each gate, there would be a series of office rooms built inside the wall, not only serving as places where commanders and officers of the army discuss their tactics and strategies, but also provide safe travel routes from gate to gate. Konstantine Gate is no different. In fact, because the compact stone layer of the gate was destroyed before, Konstantine was rebuilt entirely with this half-wall half-headquarter format. It is also the gate where it was decided to situate the secondary office of the head of the Latilian Army, in other word, Lily Sobieski Voyage¡¯s office.


    And now, Lily in that very office, with a lighted cigarette on her left hand, is working with piles of report papers from the Flier Scout Unit. Convenient, because her old librarian friend Angela, who has just rejoined the army, was an expert navigator. Words said that Elestovakian militia forces around Latila are getting thinner and thinner due to the loss of a huge finance for an unknown reason, but whatever the cause is, it is great for Latila and her army. At least in the first phase of the war there will be little bloodshed:


    ¡°Greeting Liliya.¡±


    Unexpectedly, while doing half-way the report, Lily sees prince Belisari sneaking his eyes into her office:


    ¡°Morning Belisarius. Come in¡±-she says-¡±What brought you here today?¡±


    ¡°Am I not able to visit my dear friend now, Liliya?¡±-the prince shakes his head-¡±Also, I see you¡¯ve taken care of these flowers well.¡±


    On the only window of the room, stood a ceramic flower vase filled with white lilies, the gift Belisari gave his archduchess earlier in Vlenna. The flowers flourished in sunlight, blooming beautifully:


    ¡°They made nice decorations for my office. I¡¯ve never been given flowers before, but at least I know how to take care of one.¡±


    The Archduchess answers, then continues with the contents of the report. Driven by his curiosity, Belisari comes closer and sits next to Lily to read with her:


    ¡°What made you think so much?¡±


    ¡°I got papers from our espionage agents in Elestovakia¡±-Lily hands the sheet to Belisari-¡±The Imperial Army has arrived at the border of Alysiae Occident, right underneath Vlenne Exterius, waiting for the supply force to catch up to them, and in the meantime establishing camps. I dare say they will attack the city in less than three weeks.¡±


    ¡°Coincident¡±-Belisari takes out a letter from his pocket-¡±From Leopol to me, written yesterday arrived this morning thanks to fast aerial delivery.¡±


    Among twenty ships purchased by Aurora, two of which were converted into flier carriers and docked on the sealane between Latila and Vlenna. They serve as checkpoints for the Latilian Navy, as well as bases for fliers taking off from Vlenna landing in Latila rapidly without the need of rest and resupplying in the continent where the Elestovakians have full control of. Arlin and Angela are the masterminds behind this mail delivering tactic:


    ¡°He says a Milishilian patrol galleon had reported encountering the Elestovakian Navy sailing along the shoreline from Levantia, a week before this letter was written. By now it is likely they''ve been stationed somewhere close to Vlenne Exterius, and might even arrive in Vlenna earlier than the army.¡±


    ¡°They will probably assault the city with naval force first. How did Leo respond to that piece of information?¡±


    ¡°He reserved the Vlennian Navy behind the wall already, and put cannon mounts on high alert¡­.and he sent me this letter, saying that he needed help as soon as possible.¡±


    ¡°I see¡±-Lily sighs-¡±The war is crazily near. Say, Belisarius, how long until we depart from Latila?¡±


    ¡°According to the original plan, two weeks, according to the recent development ...I say a week? Should we adjust the schedule?¡±


    ¡°By doing so morale would be harmed a bit, and our force might be underequipped, but the sooner we take off the sooner we arrive at Vlenna to help them.¡±


    Morale and equipment versus time, choosing between one is critical. This is a problem that cannot be resolved with just Lily and Belisari:


    ¡°Should we consult with Klein, Arlin, Aurelian and your father?¡±


    ¡°I hate Zenos, but we cannot ignore the importance of this topic and let only two people among many to decide.¡±


    The archduchess crosses her arms


    ¡±Personally, I would choose to depart immediately, risking the fall of Vlenna is not favorable. Not only that would make us lose a great ally and create more difficulties for our army, but also severely damage our reputation to civilians in territory we will occupy.¡±


    ¡°That is a great point, I can see.¡±


    ¡°As for morale and equipment, I don¡¯t think there will be much of a difference between a week and two weeks. I don¡¯t expect any major combat at least until we reach Carthagia. Look.¡±


    The woman hovers her finger on the report earlier talking about the demilitarize of Elestovakian Army bordering Latila:


    ¡°Oh¡­so it really went into effect¡­¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°The diamond strategy¡±-Belisari explained-¡±Aurora¡¯s diamonds we sold earlier were hunted down by Elestovakian aristocrats around here¡­¡±


    The prince then elaborates the plan to Lily exactly how Aurora elaborated the plan to him months earlier, which at the end made Lily chuckled-¡°A very brilliant move there. I didn¡¯t see that coming.¡±


    ¡°I was surprised when Aurora suggested that idea too. That girl is quite clever, I must say.¡±-said the prince.


    ¡°I understand why. Anyway, that said, we still need opinions from other commanders. I will get some papers, ink, and envelopes.¡±


    Back to present


    ¡°From Arlin:¡°Klein and I have carefully analyzed yours and His Highness¡¯s new plan, and to some extent we do agree with you judging by what we¡¯ve understood about the current situation. Your brothers will cooperate and continue preparing the army to be ready in a week. We are currently announcing this development to officers under our command.¡±


    Within twenty minutes after sending the letters, Lily and Belisari have had the answers from their colleagues. Aside from Klein and Arlin¡¯s approval earlier, the northern army did not object, Aurelian and Zeno said the same thing the archduchess told Belisari earlier about the pros and cons of taking off within a week, and they eventually decided to follow the new plan. The only force hesitated is the Knights Cathedraller, which delivered their concern via the reply of Gerald via mail, arguing that their militias might not feel comfortable from this change. Nevertheless, they said they will follow the Latilian movement no matter what:


    ¡°I think we can conclude now.¡±-said Belisari, to which Lily agrees with him.


    The schedule is now set in a week. In other words, the Latilians will invade Elestovakia two weeks before the Imperial Army arrived at Vlenna¡¯s outskirt. After hearing news of the Latilian invasion, the force attacking Vlenna shall be divided into two groups, one to attack the Vlennians as they¡¯ve planned, the rest will have to move immediately to confront the Latilians under Arlin and Klein¡¯s command, thus lifting the pressure on Leopol and his troops in Vlenna.


    ¡°Your Grace, Your Highness¡±


    The office door opens, standing in front of it is Angela, who had flown from the Latila Palace here to bring news from King Justinius-¡°His Majesty has just called the Elestovakian ambassadors to arrive at noon, there he will hand them the war declaration.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡±-Lily nods.


    The clock was set. From now, there will be no more time to lose.


    ¡°I gotta go for a while.¡±


    The archduchess stood up from her seat and hit the ground running. Her first task is to announce this change to the army under her and Belisari command, the army of Konstantine Gate:


    ¡°Deliver this message to the officers¡±-Voyage hands a dozen letters she prepared prior and a gold coin to a bodyguard by the door of her office-¡±Make sure every one of them receive and read it at least once, if needed, stand there until they¡¯ve finished reading. If they dare to ignore you, show them this¡­¡±


    Lily then takes the silver cross necklace off her neck and gives it to the man:


    ¡°...and tell them this is an emergency order from Archduchess Lily Sobieski Voyage, that alone will ensure they will read. I expect no less than everyone receiving this message within five hours, now you may go.¡±


    The guard, without needing his commander to finish, rushes out immediately for his mission.


    Meanwhile, Belisari, still sitting in Lily¡¯s office, writes letters to administrators of Latila Port and Maritimer/Milishilian firms across the city, asking them to evacuate their valuable traders away from Elestovakia and Vlenna before the invasion commences. By doing this their allies will not be caught in the flame of war, and their alliance will be ensured safely. They only have them as allies, cannot lose them by idiotic mistakes:


    ¡°I¡¯ve included addresses here¡±-Belisari gives the sealed envelopes to Angela-¡±Deliver them to the Milishilians and the Maritimers.¡±


    ¡°Okay, do you have anything else?¡±


    ¡°If you do go by the furnace center, tell them to hurry and finish our orders.¡±


    ¡°Roger¡±


    Angela takes mails, puts them into her bag and jumps out of the window, it is the shortcut to the runway of the wall.


    ¡°Hey no need to be that hasty-....


    Purrr


    The flier has long taken off before he even finished.


    ¡°Haizz¡­.I guess that is okay.¡±-the prince scratches his head-¡±Time is no longer an abundant resource after all¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°...¡±


    ¡°I must also hurry for the preparation.¡±

 Diplomatic Shifts

    ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    These were the words Lily heard when she was lying next to a collapsed wall.


    That moment, a reddish gloved hand was given out to her. That hand was injured from pulling the crossbow string repeatedly without any training, without proper protection, scratched and was dripping blood.


    The owner of that hand manifested a painful expression while giving his hand to her. But the important thing is, he reached out to help her.


    **


    In Latila, there is a specific building in the city dedicated to house ambassadors coming from the Empire of Elestovakia. The employees serve there with the purpose of delivering messages from Latila to Elestovakia, resolving potential conflicts between the two countries, managing Elestovakians living in Latila and providing a broad service for diplomatic missions. In other words, this is the Elestovakian Embassy in Latila, the first and currently the only one in the known world.


    ¡°Take a seat.¡±


    Having arrived at the Latila Palace, the Elestovakian ambassadors from the embassy, led by an expert negotiator named Narsieh, were welcomed by Justinius with an order for them to sit down.


    ¡°That is unnecessary Your Majesty, please answer-¡±


    ¡°I said sit down.¡±


    Justinius says it with a calm voice, de facto flat, emotionless.


    ¡°Fine¡±-a man in the diplomatic corp quietly sits down on the bench, following suit by his colleagues.


    Currently they are in a state of confusion and chaos as this morning. When they were just woken up, a letter was sent to the embassy saying that all Elestovakians, following an order from the House of Latila and King Justinius, were expelled from Latila, as if they were going to be at war. Narsieh, responsible for all Elestovakian problems in Latila, whether he likes it or not, takes off to meet Justinius anyway to know why he did that.


    ¡°You might¡¯ve known why I called the Elestovakian diplomatic corp, all of you here.¡±-The kings speaks


    ¡°No we don¡¯t¡±-Narsieh replies, smashing his right hand onto Justinius¡¯s table-¡±First, you must explain why Latila is expelling Elestovakians from their domains in Latila. This act severely violated the 1453 Treaty of Nova Voiaiologos (New Voyage). We the Elestovakians need an explanation for this barbaric act of your country.¡±


    ¡°Speak calmly sir Narsieh.¡±-Justinius clears his throat, his eyes glares down upon the men-¡±And it was always Voiaiologos, there is no need for an extra ¡°Nova¡±. As for your question, may I say that I am providing them safety.¡±


    ¡°Safety what?¡±


    ¡°Because once we are at war against your nation, it will be hard to restrain our people from harming innocent Elestovakians.¡±


    ¡°What? At war-¡±


    The Latilian king claps his hand twice. Simultaneously, the marine guards standing behind them raise up their muskets and halberds and point them at the Elestovakians. The diplomatic corp was caught in total surprise, they jumped from the bench and stepped back, still confused:


    ¡°What do you mean!? What is the meaning of this!?¡±


    ¡°Here.¡±


    With a swift move, Justinius gently places a scroll of paper onto Narsieh¡¯s palm:


    ¡°This is the Latilian War Declaration against the Empire of Elestovakia. I have prepared a ship for you and your men to depart from the city and deliver this message for those who are in Levantia and especially, your Emperor Kaval. From this moment, our two nations are officially at war.¡±


    **


    ¡°Loyal to God, you said¡­.¡±


    A few weeks after Kassem¡¯s death.


    From a distance, Khaliz on horseback is watching mortimers bury his friend into his grave. The prophet was buried far from Khaliz¡¯s castle and his hometown, as far as in the furthest point in the south of the County of Rashid. This was done following his death wish, to be buried directly eastward of the Montgilsard Cathedral. Fortunately for Kassem, that was a thing Count Khaliz can grant him, in honor of their friendship and for Kassem for helping him many times in his lifetime as a prophet.


    ¡°You never predicted anything wrong¡±


    Khaliz whispers in the afternoon breeze.


    ¡±That is a concerning thing¡±-he continues-¡±If you made just one wrong prophecy then it would¡¯ve been much easier for me to decide, knowing that you might be wrong this time as well¡­but you didn¡¯t.¡±


    The Count of Rashid stops talking for a moment, thinking about Kassem¡¯s last words for him before his death.


    Kassem mentioned something about a conqueror of a reborn kingdom who shall conquer the empire, and he, Khaliz ibn al-Walidis, must submit to that conqueror.


    And by doing so, Khaliz will have to betray the emperor.


    ¡°You know, betraying Kaval and his empire was and will never be a good idea¡­¡±If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Betraying Kaval, meaning betraying Elestovakia, a grand superpower unrivaled in ground fight by any nation in the known world, a superpower once decimated the entire continental army and forced them to submit under their feet. Maybe they were not the bright stars when it come to naval warfare, but on land, they were the total dominators.


    Khaliz once fought for the Elestovakians, he fully understands what the empire is capable of, and the consequences for resisting or betraying Elestovakia.


    Besides, seeing the might of the Imperial Army, he cannot make himself not waver. That army is literally camping just a distance from where he is standing at this moment, waiting for their supply lines to catch up with them.


    The land where they¡¯ve encamped bright in a bright yellowish light like a whole city. That army is, frankly said, a war machine built by Kaval for his dream of unifying the continent, one that could wipe out any force daring to oppose it. Khaliz knows that, and he fears that. He asks himself a question: what force did Kassem mentioned could wipe out such a magnificent army?


    ¡°The Latilians.¡±


    The Vlennians are preparing for a defensive war, only the Kingdom of Latila left as a possibility. Still, as he recalled it, the Latilians cannot pay their own annual tribune, much less funding an army to go to war against Elestovakia. Simply impossible, unless¡­the Latilians, his old friend Justinius was planning something. To be honest, this king has been known for being a clever ruler.


    ¡°I should rally my army, just in case.¡±


    The count says, then hurry his horse back home.


    **


    Ethanolin, capital of the Kingdom of Milishila.


    Being located right ashore of the Ganeo-Latila-Belkut-Ethanolin quadrilateral trade hub, center of the colony network of the Kingdom, connecting Milishilian inland territories with their island-based counterparts, this capital of the Milishilians is without any doubt one of the most privileged regions in the known world, and homeland of multiple great seafarers, rivaling even the Maritimers on their own sea. In fact, before the Milishilian-Elestovakian War, this only city in the Kingdom alone and the Federation were economical nemesis, and usually encountered in various wars indirectly against each other¡¯s benefits. It wasn¡¯t until the war against the Elestovakians they teamed up and finally resolved their conflict. With the two powerhouses being allies, Ethanolin and many Milishilian metropolitan areas became much more prosperous than they used to be, benefitted from the flow of supplies from the Maritimers.


    However, after 4 years of flourishing, the economy of Milishila is now again under threat of destabilization. Around one week ago, a Milishilian warship patrolling close to Elestovakian sea territory reported having witnessed fifty vessels of the Imperial Fleet sailing north, toward Vlenna. This action of the Elestovakians was mailed to the Milishilian monarch, with the King being the leader of, obviously.


    King Edmund IV, the thirty-years old king of the Milishilians, upon hearing of this development, immediately called for a consultation among many elite members of the feudalism system and ambassadors from the Maritime Federation, and now they are arriving in the meeting room where he is waiting.


    ¡°Settle down, ladies and gentlemen.¡±


    After the order, everyone in the room sat down, except for the guards standing by the door.


    ¡°As you might¡¯ve acknowledged from my letter.¡±-The king takes an envelope and holds it in his hand-¡±The Elestovakians are making their initial move by targeting the city of Vlenna, do you have any comment?¡±


    ¡°That would be an uncomfortable problem¡±-speaks the Minister of International Trade while he stands up-¡±Vlenna is a vital point situated between Latila and Belkut. If the Elestovakians dare to blockade the city¡­the route from Latila and Belkut would be unusable-¡±


    ¡°I am not talking about that¡±-The king flaps his hand to order the man to sit down-¡±I was talking about the risk of supporting Vlenna, and furthermore, Latila. Should we help them by sending a fleet, the Elestovakians might be antagonized. That is a thing I want to discuss with you, about whether or not supporting our two little allies that way.¡±


    After the king finished his words, the room turned dead silent. It seemed like even the wisest minds of the nation needed time to think.


    Finally, the Minister of Foreign Affair raises his voice-¡±As you might know, the relationship between us and the Elestovakian monarch couldn¡¯t go any lower, and yet their traders cannot obey their government and continue making deals with our merchants because working with us is too beneficial. So I don¡¯t see this as a problem.¡±


    ¡°I can see your point. The navy, what about you?¡±


    ¡°Our fleet is ready for foreign deployment¡±-the Milishilian Grand Admiral says-¡±Though I recommend you, Your Majesty, do not use them to support the Vlennians. Helping them might risk another war, the previous war was costly enough.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d say the difference.¡±-The War Institution speaks otherwise-¡±Even if we risk another war against the Elestovakians, that would be less costly than fighting them AFTER they¡¯ve conquered Vlenna or Latila. These two nations will provide a stable beachhead for our force to land in the continent-¡±


    ¡°Sorry sir, but you are missing the key factor, we are not here to go to war with them, we are here to drag them down as deep as possible.¡±


    Yes, this is the true reason why the Milishilians and the Maritimers helped Latila and Vlenna in the first place, to keep their power status topped all in the known world. By weakening the Elestovakian Empire, Milishila would ensure her influence in the Atlasia continent as a trade powerhouse. Conveniently for them, Latila and Vlenna were great pawns for them to exploit. And conveniently for Latila and Vlenna, they are interested in helping them. However, there are limitations to consider:


    ¡°We don¡¯t want another war, we help Latila and Vlenna barely enough to weaken the Empire, we are not willing to go to war to help them.¡±


    ¡°Remember, the decisive idea is we do not go to war.¡±


    ¡°No war? I have a plan. How about sailing to Vlenna and surrounding the city with our ships? That might stop their fleet from having a clear field to fire upon Vlenna without risking hitting our ships. We no shoot, they no shoot, and no war either.¡±


    ¡°Even if we start moving now, by the time our fleet arrives, the Elestovakians must¡¯ve established not only the blockade, but also a harbor near Vlenna to dock their vessels. The only way to surround the city by then would be destroying a couple of Elestovakian ships to create a hole for our ships to enter, but again¡­no.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right, financial support is enough, they must figure it out on their own how to protect their nation. The Empire won¡¯t declare war against us for just aiding Latila, that is where the line draws.¡±


    ¡°I agree, their determination and our aid will surely make them fight until their last breaths. They will definitely decimate a portion of the Empire¡¯s might, exactly what we are interested in. Just pour more money, don¡¯t pour the navy in.¡±


    ¡°A total war against Elestovakia equals the loss of 60% of our customers, so no, we are not interested in another war.¡±


    Those arguments make sense, by supporting Latila and Vlenna with their budget alone, all Milishila wants on their checklist would be already fulfilled, and is the most cost-efficient and the least diplomatic-risk option out of all. Besides, maintaining a fleet in foreign land ain¡¯t cheap at the slightest, might even surpass the cost of financial aids by multiple times.


    King Edmund has had his decision, so he smashes down onto the table to retain order:


    ¡°Take twenty million denarii  from the National Treasure and send them to Latila.¡±-Edmund commands-¡±We will keep aiding the Latilians and Vlennians for their defense to maintain pressure onto the Empire, but we will not interfere with forces. That will be our policy for this war, at least it will be so until the next major development.¡±


    Unknown to them, the Latilians are about to pull the most ambitious plan ever.

 A war, Far from home

    The night before their journey, Belisari sits alone in an abandoned watchtower on the Voyage Wall.


    Klein, Arlin, Aurelian, along with several officers and elite soldiers by the afternoon had come to the gate of Konstantine, drinking wine, laughing, and then finally, saying goodbye. The goodbye ceremony wasn¡¯t such a teary and emotional one as portrayed in multiple war movies in our world, where there are flowers, letters, family-gathering meals and people crying all around hugging those who will go to the front. Instead, the ceremony was rather simple, with just some alcohol, and juice exclusively for Aurora (no matter how desperately the girl begged for a cup of wine), and finally, a visit to Lily¡¯s mother''s grave. The ceremony party ended with the Archduchess declaring there will be a promise, a promise that they will meet again someday. For Arlin and Klein, that would be around 60 days, for Aurelian, it might take years, but what matters is that they will not die before the next gathering.


    Of course, there will be people Belisari will see face for his entire journey. Gerald for example, the knight shall be the Cathedraller representative in this army. His place is simply here, that can be said for sure.


    Angela, Americus, a former librarian of a library where Lily used to work there and Belisari usually pays a visit. That flier woman is going to be their scout commander, their valuable eyes of the sky, one that can hardly be replaced.


    To state the obvious, Aurora, who the prince had fought to get her into his army. That girl told him earlier that she has to bring her gift for him and Lily, and has disappeared from the party in the middle of it.


    Finally, Lily Sobieski Voyage, the true commander of this army and his dearest friend:


    ¡°Belisarius?¡±


    Speaking of which, at that moment when Belisari was thinking about her, the woman suddenly appeared behind him:


    ¡°Care to explain why you are here?¡±-said the archduchess comes and sits down next to him-¡±Shouldn¡¯t you go to sleep? We will go tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t, I keep thinking about the incoming journey. Besides, I can sleep in the wagon tomorrow instead.¡±


    ¡°I see, privileges of a Marine, it is. I wish I could do that as well, but to be frank, I can sleep on horseback fairly easily.¡±


    ¡°Ahaha, knowing you for so long, I bet you can actually do it.¡±


    The Prince and the Archduchess, at the same time, gazing their eyes toward the window, toward the green plain field beyond the border of their country, for the last time:


    ¡°We are living in the final moment of peace in Latilian history.¡±-Speaking Belisari


    Tonight, the sky is clear. Moonlight reflecting on their hair and clothes through the gap of the windows, on their combat attires, on the slumbing Marines and Husaria riders gathering below the wall where they are standing over, undisrupted. The midnight wind blew lightly into their faces, raising smoke on the cigarette Lily is smoking and the Latilian imperial banners hanging on poles over the wall fluttering. Peaceful it is, as if the whole universe is watching in silence as he Belisari, Prince of the Latilians, is about to change the world, for better or worse it might be.


    This is it, the final moment before the war:


    ¡°It has been ten years, time surely flew.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time to recall memories, huh?¡±


    Ten years ago, the Elestovakian Imperial Army laid siege to this city.


    Ten years ago, Belisari found Lily lying by a collapsed wall, and gave his bleeding hand to her and together, they fought arm in arm in the street of Latila for their lives, and for the survivability of their Kingdom.


    Ten years ago, after the Elestovakians had retreated from the Voyage Wall and the Latilians were recovering from the shock that had just swept over their land. Lily made her eternal promise to Belisari, and for the first time, Belisari called Lily as Liliya.


    **


    ¡°Do you have any wish?¡±


    In a dark night ten years ago, a peaceful night similar to tonight, Lily suddenly asked to Prince Belisari that question, while they were seeing the Ganeoese mercenaries and Latilian Legionaries removing bodies from the debris that was once the Gate of Konstantine after the Elestovakians had withdrawn from the city.


    ¡°Huh? What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°I want to do you a favor. Speak to me about your desire, I will help you to achieve it. You helped me once after all, and I cannot live with the burden of owning someone something¡­¡±


    ¡°I see, but I just help you to get up-¡±


    ¡°You¡­.actually helped me much more than that¡±


    Embarrassed by thinking of how to continue her sentence, the soon to be Archduchess shook her head-¡±Forget what I said. Say it. I will not repeat. I, Lily Sobieski Voyage, in the name of my parents Theodosius and Konstantina, Saint Morgan Voyage and Joshua Krist, promise to help you to achieve your harboring dream no matter what. Now, please confess it to me, if you will.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡±


    Belisari placed his cotton-wrapped hand on his head and made it look like he was thinking of something important, but then he spew:


    ¡°Then¡­can I address you as Liliya?¡±


    ¡°What sort of payment is that? Is that a joke?¡±


    Lily confusingly spoke. She couldn''t understand why Belisari said so to her, risking the only time she might do this favor to him.


    ¡°Haiz¡­.fine, you may call me Liliya¡±


    ¡°Thanks-¡±


    Seizing while Belisari was off guard, the girl quickly drew out her sword and pressed its dull tip into his chestplate-¡±As a friend, but not as my favor to you. You still must confess to me about your wish, and don¡¯t hide it, Your Highness, you clearly want something, don¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Hey hey¡­be calm Liliya.¡±


    ¡°Just tell me and I will be calm¡­¡±


    The 14-years-old prince stepped back, half-afraid, half-surprised considering the positions of their titles. He was hoping if anyone who sees this might come help, but with all people around him were already busy, and as Lily applies more pressure on the sword, Belisari, with a hesitate voice, let out a sigh and said:This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Well, then¡­.fine, I do have one, that is¡­


    To restore Latila back to its former glory, to create the Empire of Latila, and he, Belisari, will become its emperor.


    ¡­.


    ¡°I was actually terrified when you pointed your sword at me.¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t forgotten it?¡±


    The prince shakes his head-¡°Never did I, not even when I slept. It haunts my dreams from time to time, how could I even forget? And even if I could, I will not forget that an Archduke¡¯s daughter once dared to point her weapon at me, yet I still supported her to be the next Archduchess.¡±


    ¡°Sorry about the former, but if I didn¡¯t do it it would take me a million years to know about your dream.¡±-The archduchess smiles lightly-¡±And thank you about the latter.¡±


    Ten years after that day, they are about to make that dream come true. This kingdom is going to strike back from the ashes the Elestovakians had burned them into. Once they go, there will be no step back. Either they go and win, or would die together in a battle. Whatever the possibilities are, they will not live to regret it.


    ¡°May God bless us and our army, for us to make this ancient nation flourish again...¡±


    This time next week, they might sleep together in a camp, probably close to the city of Voyage, and far away from Latila, and will not return until their dream has been fulfilled.


    ¡­


    ¡°Ah, you are here- what the heck is that?¡±


    While the prince and his friend were going down the stairs, they encountered Aurora. That girl, for whatever the reason is, is carrying a black great sword as massive as her body with both hands, and on her back is a crossbow- no, something that resembles both a crossbow and a musket. The sword is for Lily, and the crossbow is for Belisari, that is for sure.


    ¡°Good evening¡­ you two¡±-Aurora lowers the sword showing them an expression of exhaustion on her face-"Luckily¡­ they arrived¡­.on time¡­.Hey, may you be¡­.kind enough¡­.to¡­help me¡­¡±


    Right before the girl trips over, Lily has rushed out to prevent Aurora from falling down and during that short extension of time, takes the sword from the girl to relieve weight.


    (Huh?)


    As Lily grabs the blade with one hand, she realizes something odd. This sword, despite its property as a great sword, is surprisingly light for one, just around half of a sword this size, if made of steel. In fact, she can hold it, though it might be a bit tiring, with just three fingers as fulcrums. It can be carried by horse riders, one thing that would be impossible for a conventional giant blade:


    ¡°I know what you want to ask¡±-Aurora says, winking one eye-¡±I made this with Ceramic Matrix Composite, a material tougher yet lighter than steel, but extremely complicated to work with, so I just made one for you, as a favor.¡±


    ¡°Ceramic¡­what?¡±


    ¡°You will not see one like this in¡­eh¡­.the year is 1463¡­.at least five hundred years later, I guess?¡±


    Seeing the prince and the archduchess¡¯s face turns incomprehensible from what she just said, Aurora can¡¯t help but chuckles, and she still chuckles a lot while handling the crossbow to Belisari:


    ¡°And this is for you, a rifle crossbow. The second one will not be available in three hundred years.¡±


    Unlike Ganeoese crossbows, the universal weapon of the Latilian Marine Corp, the rifle crossbow Belisari is holding is significantly lighter, with a handle to help the albalist to has a better grip on the crossbow, and a fire mechanic just like a musket, allowing scope and protection to be equipped onto the weapon:


    ¡°Hope this will fit your combat style.¡±


    Needless to ask for the price, Belisari is fully aware that the crossbow he is holding and whatever Lily is swinging over there are extremely expensive. These things might be as valuable as a whole fleet, but Aurora just conveniently gives these to them. Where did she have the money to make those in the first place?


    ¡°Well, the last diamond I sold gave me a lot of money, so I decided to spend a portion of it to make them for you two.¡±


    That explain a lot.


    ¡°I guess¡­.thank you? Can I do anything to repay your deed?¡±


    ¡°Praise my brilliance more, and if you can, nominate me to become a saint, please.¡±


    Some sort of bribery, it is, though Aurora smiled so adorable for either of them to detect that truth beneath those words.


    **


    Ding!....Dong!*


    Night past, as the first ray of sunlight illuminates the highest tower of the Latila Palace, bells rang in a beautiful harmony. On the churches, the military watchtowers, the harbors, the lighthouse, the two palaces of Voyage and Latila and the abandoned castle of Flemton, the people across the street join the resonance of ringing bells by clapping their metal tools together. This sound echoes around the city, scaring away birds from their nests and flying all over the city to fly side by side with the Latilian Flier Corps and independent fliers performing over the city. Had they won the war? They haven¡¯t even fought yet, but the scene of Latila at this moment feels like they were victorious, as Aurora later wrote in her diary, perhaps because she hadn''t seen any Latilian victory ceremony.


    Nonetheless, for one moment in Latilian history, after thirty years, they again were the conquerors. Though it was not as brightful and luxury as the Elestovakian Imperial Army with their purple flags and color papers, this event surely marked a turning point of their country, no matter the result it is:


    ¡°Hey, stop throwing flowers! You too, pals!¡±


    Gerald angrily shouts underneath his armor as his stallion he mounted on stops to eat those flowers lying on the ground. Can¡¯t help, the horse needs a lot of food carrying such a heavy person with such armor, a grant of 110 kilograms, on its back.


    ¡°How could yours behave so well, Lily?¡±


    By contrast, despite carrying much greater weight (125 kg in total), Lily¡¯s horse keeps moving in the line, seemingly nothing that might distract it, well fed and elegant when combining with the wings and the new sword of its horseman. Looking at the contrary of the two riders, Aurora and Belisari watching from a wagon nearby can¡¯t help but laugh at it, and several of the Marines join their laugh as well:


    ¡°No one beats Lily when it comes to fighting skill.¡±


    But then, right before exiting the gate, the entire army halts, Belisari immediately shuts his mouth, and the others follow suit. Aurora is curious, she looks out to the front of the carriage. On top of the gate of Konstantine, there was a shadow, king Justinius of the Kingdom of Latila, his hand holding a speaker made by Aurora for this moment:


    ¡°I could not have blamed you for being the first to lose heart¡±


    The king begins his speech


    ¡°The enemy is a strong, powerful empire that once defeated our nation. They swept an apocalypse across our land ten years ago, took away our prosperity, our grace, and lives of many Latilians compatriots¡­while we, the Kingdom of Latila, is no more powerful as we were before¡­¡±


    Another quiet moment, then Justinius continues:


    ¡°But be not afraid just because of that. We are the Latilians, sons and daughters of King Konstantine the Great and mother Licelia. Our kingdom is blessed by the grace of God and the light of heaven shines directly above us. That light will guide us to victory, to the victory we the Latilians deserve¡­¡±


    From the front of the army, drummers are playing the Latilian Battle Hymn. Aurora looks around, few of the men joins the singing, though the remains be silent to hear the rest of the speech:


    ¡°We¡¯ve gathered everything for this moment, for the victory lying ahead, this will go down as the most historical moment in the Latilian history, the finest hour of the nation for her two thousand years of existence, and thousands more if you come back in triumph¡­


    Now, as all of you have prepared your mind, as the king of this country, I wish you the best luck. Let us the Latilians be bathed in glory once again.¡±


    With a quick switch of a lever, the doors separating between Latila and the outside world wide opened. The Konstantine Army, along with their brothers in arms in the north and the south, begins moving. The Winged Husaria go first, then the Latilian Marines, the auxiliary troops will leave the city last.


    ¡°Wait!¡±


    Walking in between the Marines, Aurora rushes to the end of the carriage and unveils the cotton cover.


    Latila, the first city she arrived in after coming to this world, is slowly shrinking in her eyes.


    -Project Aurora, Act 1 end-

 Reinvaders

    -Project Aurora, Act 2-


    ¡°They attacked!?¡±


    From Latila, after a week strandering on the ocean, the Elestovakian diplomatic corps arrived in Levantia to deliver the declaration of war to their Emperor. The following is what happened just mere seconds after the words were said from the head ambassador:


    ¡°Call for physicians!¡±


    A guard said while trying to pull Kaval back from the floor he had just tripped down onto it. A shocking news can knock out the greatest mind, they said, but this is not the case. The emperor takes a second to rally his mind up into one place, he pushes away the guard and with some effort stands on his own, though still startled upon receiving the news:


    ¡°I am good.¡±-spoke the emperor to his men, his voice mixed with a sense of disbelief-¡±Good enough¡­just a bit¡­whatever, is that true?¡±


    This news has been unbelievable, a mere tiny nation like Latila declare war against a superpower like Elestovakia, and not on the defense, but offense, one thing Kaval to the end of his life will ever think of because it seems too impossible, if not for this action of the Latilians:


    ¡°Yes, it is true. King Justinius was the person who gave us this before he expelled the diplomatic corps on a ship.¡±


    Hand shoving in bag, the head ambassador Narsieh handed his emperor a scroll with the seal of the House of Latila. Kaval violently tears it out and reads:


    ¡°


    REXUS POPULUSQUE LATILUS


    From king Justinius the First, king of the Latilians, of the Kingdom of Latila, of the Archduchy of Voyage, of the Duchy of O¡¯well, of the County of Flemton, Marcial and Liston.


    This letter is a message for Elestovakia, the Elestovakian monarch, all of the citizens of the Empire and the city of Levantia, as well as every city under the rule of Emperor Kaval and the Elestovakian Empire.


    Ten years ago, the year was 1453, across this country of Latila, people heard the news that the Nosfeturan Empire was destroyed, the dominant power of this continent was destroyed by your Kingdom of Elestovakia. That event alerted the Latilians. With the balance of power totally favoring your people, the Elestovakians, this continent was about to change into a warzone.


    As it turned out, the prediction was correct. Just one week after that event, our diplomats in Vlenna found themselves hastily escaping the city as the Elestovakian Imperial Navy approached from afar. One month later, the flame ignited by the Imperial Army had burned away what left the prosperity of the Carthagian Republic, reaching so high that it even caught the sky of our Aeropostale allies¡­


    And then what we feared most came, the Empire declared war upon the Kingdom of Latila. Despite all of our preparation efforts, the Imperial Army with their tremendous power had entirely defeated our army in Flemton, in Liston, in Marcial, and sank our expeditionary navy in Vlenna. The city of Voyage held their ground, but not for long, just enough time for the remainers of the Latilian Army to leave for Latila. There, in the heart of the Kingdom, we miraculously made our stand and by then, had the privilege of remaining as an independent nation, unlike many of those entirely conquered.


    However, although victorious, our land, our families, our pride,...those things were forever lost in that war. The expansion dream of Elestovakia has taken everything from the Latilians, and we, my people, the Latilians, cannot let it go and continue to live. We, my people, the Latilians, want to take back everything the Elestovakians stole from us ten years ago. We, my people, the Latilians, want our Kingdom to be prosperous once again.


    As the king of my people, I, Justinius the First, have to do what I have to do. For ten years, this kingdom had poured all of the resources needed to rebuild a revenge  army that could contest the Imperial Army in the battlefield, and now, that army is ready to be deployed. The Kingdom of Latila shall use our armed force to retake what we lost from the Empire of Elestovakia.


    We, the House of Latila and the House of Voyage, on the behalf of our Kingdom, declare war against the Monarch and the Empire of Elestovakia.¡±


    Signed


    King of Latila


    Justinius Sabbarius Latila


    ¡­Yes, it really said so.¡±


    The emperor throws the scroll down the floor, his disbelief voice turns into anger:


    ¡°I did expect them to fight, I did not, however, expect them to attack us. Those punies, the last war was not enough for them to submit. You said you received this declaration a week earlier, is that correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my emperor.¡±


    ¡°So they might¡¯ve started now. I must act quickly, otherwise the province of Nova Voiaiologos (New Voyage) and Upper Granisus will fall. I must not let them cut our access to the region...¡±


    Said done, Kaval rushes into his office:This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    ¡°The domination of Elestovakia is being threatened.¡±-he says-¡±Give me some papers and ink. I must write a letter to the Imperial Army invading Vlenna to tell them to split a portion to go confront the Latilians immediately. We cannot let them secure the north bank of the Granisus river.¡±


    Elestovakia is reacting to the Latilian threat.


    **


    ¡°Halt! We will rest here tonight.¡±


    After eight straight hours marching from Latila, 40 kilometers from the city, 20 kilometers into the Elestovakian, capturing a few small settlements across their path, the Latilian Center Army lays rest in a vast grassfield in the middle of nowhere. Rapidly, the auxiliary soldiers and settlers set up their fireplaces with help from the Husaria riders, while the marine coachmen circled their vehicles around their encamp area. In the outer, a small independent cavalry unit was sent to patrol around the camp in cooperation with the fliers to ensure there would be no ambush that might strike the men while they were in their slumber. This will be their first night sleeping outside in the many-years long journey.


    Obviously, being the VIPs of the army, Belisari, Lily and some of the others have the privilege of sleeping comfortably in tents. Aurora, however, rejected having her own tent and instead, joined with the auxiliary in their fireplace. At first, Belisari was confused by this decision of Aurora, seeing the outside too cold for a little girl like her. But then he saw the auxiliary troops bring out sweets bought from opportunistic merchants onto their tables:


    ¡°¡­Fine. If you want to, then you may, but be careful, and better choose a fireplace where females claim the majority. You will be safer around them¡±


    ¡°Yay¡±-said Aurora, then the girl departed to the firesite. The prince can see his words were not taken seriously, Aurora just heads where there is the most treat. Should ask one of the marines to look after her.


    ¡°What about you, Your Highness?¡±-Lily suddenly calls for the prince from behind which makes him turn around-¡±Would you be so kind as to share a place with me in your tent?¡±


    ¡°Huh? Where is yours?¡±


    Lily shrugs her shoulders-¡°Angela took it.¡±


    That¡¯s true, in the tent that was supposed to be Lily, the former veteran is struggling to insert her wings in. Angela, despite being a field scout and fought in multiple battles throughout the sky of Aeropostale, Nosfetura and Latila, has never slept outside a single day, so she is not used to it. As her old subordinate in the library, Lily offered her tent to Angela to help simulate the indoor, while herself can ask someone to share a tent with her, or she can just sleep outside with her troops around campfires.


    As for the reason why Lily cannot sleep with Angela, is because Angela¡¯s wings alone claim half of the size of the tent. Being given the magnificent luxury of flying above the clouds and communicating via telepathy, the fliers had to exchange their lifespan, their swimming skill (for obvious reasons, those wings are huge obstacles under water) as well their ability to crumble into a small place.


    ¡°I guess that is fine¡±-Belisari nods-¡±Having a bodyguard is better after all.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Finishing polish her sword, Lily rests it along with her horse outside, cleans out her oily hands with soap and water and then, steps into the tent of the prince. Belasari¡¯s tent was huge, enough for at least three people to sleep in comfortably, having Lily in it with him is not a problem.


    Gerald, his tent is close to the border of the camp. He and the Knights Cathedraller are cooking soup and distributing them to hungry men who had just done with their campfires. Looking further, some of the civilian followers had placed the first stones for their future domains. This will be vital, as they will soon become the backbone of the logistics network, responsible for providing the frontline with grains grown on occupied arable land. The foundation of a prolonged war is being built by all Latilians, military or not, to ensure that they will emerge out of this war as victors. Combined war effort, as Aurora referred it as, and that term shall be popularized and used even from since.


    For the first day, it was not bad at all. They haven¡¯t encountered any Elestovakian yet, but there will be soon.


    Belisari looks up. The night sky is quite similar to yesterday¡¯s sky, but where he sees it from is different. No more the lights of Latila, no more the giant banners fluttering in the wind, only left a few campfires of an army standing on a barren land.


    ¡°Ahh¡­¡±


    By this time Kaval must have received the war declaration, Belisari thought. Assuming it would take a flier a week to fly here and another week to spread the news across the region, they would have plenty more time travelling unopposed by any major force.


    **


    ¡°Shoot!¡±


    A hail of arrows launched from the Latilian Marines'' crossbows rains down upon a group of Elestovakian garrison cavalry patrols following Belisari¡¯s order. At noon, when the army approaches the first Elestovakian fortification in their journey and Angela reports that there is a group of scouts ahead, Lily has decided to cut off their far-reaching reconnaissance first before continuing advance.


    Within a few seconds, fifty arrows from fifty crossbows had reached the cavalry patrolmen. Some of the projectiles hit the riders on horseback and push them onto ground, some others targeted horses and their armors and disabled the animals, the rest dug their heads into the soil. Nothing to expect much from this distance, the penetration of those missiles gradually went down the longer they traveled, and shooting from so far away Lily only expected them to be staggered. The following is what really matters. With half of the patrolmen on the ground and the rest having their horses immovable, 20 Winged Husaria armed with pikes and muskets move to confront them, led by Lily herself holding her new sword. Seeing the approaching dust cloud created by charging riders, the patrolmen have no choice but to surrender:


    ¡°I admire your intellect¡±-Belisari says after seeing the six captured prisoners. Ridiculous for him saying so, it does not take much intelligence for a man to yield in such a condition when being so heavily outnumbered.


    ¡°Now looking closer, you are our people.¡±


    Moreover, they weren¡¯t real Elestovakians, but former Latilian men who joined the Imperial garrison army to earn a living, hence less loyalty to the empire. But so therefore:


    ¡°I shall give you back the horses. Go somewhere they speak Reman, continue to go until you see a giant city. That is Latila. You can live there or around, even better if you ask an officer for recruitment. I¡¯d be delighted to see experienced people like you on my side.¡±


    After having the prisoners disarmed and prosecuted, Belisari releases them back to his country. As for the reason why the army takes no prisoners with them, is because taking care of extra people is a burden in logistics, Belisari and Lily had agreed to release any captured soldier back to Latila or any nearby friendly settlement where they could be supervised by common citizens, and can work to support their war effort:


    ¡°Besides, they were fellow compatriots, and they will be compatriots again in the future.¡±


    That is how Belisari answered Aurora when she asked about that topic later.


    That happened once, and will happen again in the future, the capture-and-release thing. Belisari is benevolent.


    The sun is about to set again. It¡¯s time to set up camp for tonight.

 Siege of Voyage(I)

    ¡°Your Grace¡±


    ¡°I can see them.¡±


    Emerged from beyond the horizon, around three hundred yellow lights are approaching Voyage.


    They come closer and closer, brighter every foot the men holding them step toward, shining their brilliant light on the banners that the army is bringing along. The imperial banners of the Latilians, with their crimson-blue navy-gold colors cannot be mistaken for any others in the continent. Latila, unbelievably and ridiculously, is invading Elestovakia, and this city will be their first target.


    Ten thousand men, that is the low estimation of the might of the invasion force. Cavalry of the Winged Husaria, former Ganeoese Crossbowmen, some knights from the Cathedral, musketeers, many more, few of the most elite units of the Latilians army are there, outnumbering the defenders more than three to one. With those observations, even the most idiotic mind can say that the attacking army is far from being underprepared. However, so is the city:


    ¡°Close the gates.¡±


    The new duke of the city orders from the command tower of the city¡¯s central castle. A moment later for the command to be delivered to the entrance, the giant wooden gates of the city slowly move, they move with strength of mechanical wheels and manpower. With the gate sealed, it will be a great problem if the Latilians want to assault the city via this entrance.


    Oompah!


    A navigator blows his giant tuba, alerting the citizens to take shelter and military personnels to hurry to their positions on the barricade. The Latilian are just 2 kilometers away from the city, they will come tomorrow. Having received the intel of a coming invasion force, the city and its officials had prepared everything they could, they had always waited for this moment to come.


    ¡°They are here.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Gelime, the Duke of New Voyage, standing with his advisor on his back, takes a deep breath. He smashes a flint into a bar of steel and lit the pile of tenders and drywoods on the tower the duke is standing over.


    The fire illuminates its beautiful yellowish light in the moonlight.


    **


    A week passed after the invasion of Elestovakia, the Center Army was encamped on a small grass hill located in the outskirts of the city of New Voyage, capital of the Duchy of Nova Voiaiologos formerly known as the Archduchy of Voiaiologos (Voyage). From where the soldiers are standing, with a little help from Aurora with her scope, Belisari could see the top of the Voiaiologus Voyage castle. Or, in other words:


    ¡°My domain.¡±


    Lily says, giving the scope back to the little girl-¡±Tomorrow we will encounter Voyage, the first advanced settlement in our expedition and might be the first major garrison on our expedition. I hope the citizens can cooperate.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, Your Grace, Your Highness.¡±


    Said Angela, stepping out of Lily¡¯s tend joining the conversation between the Archduchess and the Prince. Surprised, Belisari asks about the details:


    ¡°How so? What told you that they will not help us?¡±


    ¡°They are willing to, but they cannot.¡±


    The flier continues with her words-¡°From my scout squadron hovering over the city yesterday. The Duke of New Voyage, his name is Gelime, Gelime Valdai. He was a notable commander in the Northern Expedition, hence he was given title and land in this area.¡±


    ¡°So¡­what with it?¡±


    ¡°He has a loyal army of around eight hundred men¡±-Angela says-¡±They were all given privileges to be guards of the city and suppress the revolting civilians and protect the city. I dare say so because I saw a few men being executed in the square of the city in public for trying to reach us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. The army is willing to enforce their rules upon the civilians, so we cannot seek their help. Quite an iron fist policy. What the hell is that loyal army you mentioned?¡±


    ¡°The New Voyager Guard Corp they are called, and for sure they are well-armed, extremely loyal and stubborn, and are not willing to surrender and give up their goods. Their commanders are also smart enough to not try to engage us in an open field and rather choose to be besieged. We have no choice but to attack the city headon¡±


    ¡°But by attacking Voyage.¡±-Lily draws-¡±We will have to fight from a disadvantageous position, which is from the outside of the wall.¡±


    Forgot to mention, unlike the two armies in the north and the south, the central army brings no war gear, as they are too heavy for a maneuverable army. This may increase their moving speed, but it will be a problem when facing a city or a garrison that is not willing to submit:


    ¡°We will need a good plan¡­.¡±-Belisari said.


    Ten thousand against three thousand. They can win, but how to win without many casualties, that needs trickery.


    ¡°Trickery, I have.¡±


    Lily stabs her sword down to the ground while saying that. She does have something in her sleeve.


    The moon fell under the skyline, the sun rose up. After the camp was packed up, the army descended downhill toward the city.


    By now, dwellers living in Voyage must have seen the dust cloud created by their cavalry, troops and wagons descending the hill and heading to their home, not to mention the massive Latilian imperial banner hanging on the pole of the carriage Belisari is staying in. That banner, moving with a black cloud created by feet of the mighty force of ten thousand men, should be imitating enough to warn any defender to lay down their arms and avoid resisting at all means. This is also what everyone hopes for, because they cannot afford to lose too many men in this early stage of the war.


    By noon, the army reaches the outer wall of the city.


    Unlike Latila with her extraordinary multi-purpose triple-layers wall, the Voyage wall of this city is rather simple, too poor in fact. It¡¯s just soil built over a stone platform. It appears that for a thousand years of defending Latila, the Voyagers mainly focused on the capital of the kingdom, rather than the city bearing their family name. Maybe that was why the city of Voyage fell too quickly into the invaders'' hand, but Latila stood.


    Never did the Latilians expect that the lack of fortification in Voyage would give them advantage, not until now when they are the force that wants to gain access to the city. If their desire is to storm the city, it would be difficult for the defenders to hold them off. Acknowledging this, most Elestovakian archer guards on the wall had already assembled on their firing positions. Thank God they do not have cannon, otherwise the army would have their first major loss in casualties.


    Oh yeah, before attacking, they must offer a chance of surrender first.


    ¡°Alright.¡±


    Remain a distance between him and the entrance to the city, with two Marines holding their shield side by side to provide cover and fifty more on his back, Belisari holds the speaker Aurora gave him on his hands, saying loud:Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Citizens of the city of Voyage and her defenders, the voice you are hearing is from Crowned Archprince Belisari Flarius of the Kingdom of Latila, this army is led by Lily Sobieski Voyage, Archduchess of Voyage, along with me is also Gerald de Payens, commander of the Order of Soldiers of Crossroad Pilgrims and of Montgilsard Cathedral.


    I came here, brought with me a portion of the Latilian Expedition Army to liberate a former Latilian territory. As the most important city of the Kingdom besides the capital itself, Voyage was listed first among the cities we want to set free. We are willing to do that, no matter how costly it will take. Voyage shall reunite with Latila again.


    However, that will be the last resort, we are still at war, losing men is undesirable. As the Archprince of Latila, I want to resolve the mission peacefully with the least bloodshed as possible. Elestovakian troops and officials in the city, if you surrender, I will ensure you, your families and your wealths will be kept safe under our rules. I promise all of what I said were true words, I pledge to God that I am not lying, for being a liar, I will be executed immediately by my friends. If you agree with the term, open the gate. We will give you three hours to decide. Choose wisely-¡±


    Phew!


    ¡°Woah!¡±


    At the moment Belisari was about to end his negotiation, an archer from his tower position fires an arrow toward the prince. He was standing behind shields, so Belisari was unharmed. The only damage it does is scratching off paint on one of the Marines¡¯s shields, too bad for that guy, the paint was beautiful, now not anymore.


    Putting that aside, more importantly, that arrow sent a clear message: The defenders do not want to surrender without a fight. Belisari, antagonized by Elestovakian hostility, mumbles:


    ¡°Damn, this is not a peaceful negotiation as I thought it would be.¡±


    Pulling the arrow off the shield it pierced into, the prince loads it onto his crossbow rifle and returns fire. The missile did not hit anything important, just penetrated the wall, somewhere close to the aggressive archer.


    ¡°I guess we have to count on Lily. Send words to the main army, form a line and besiege this front of the wall.¡±


    **


    ¡°I need some light. Move here.¡±


    Navigating underneath the city in an abandoned underground aqueduct system, Lily is leading a team of a hundred Marines and a couple swordsmen to sneak into the city Voyage with little help from a gadget Aurora called ¡°flashlights¡±.


    The so-called ¡°flashlight¡± devices shine a bright white light on Lily¡¯s hand and several others¡¯, illuminating their bright on every corner where they were pointed at like portable stars. They shine brighter,emitting no bad smell of burning oil nor making smoke that can blur men¡¯s vision, far superior and magnificent to any light that is available in the market. They assist the rangers to seek paths underneath this barren way. Helpful it is, indeed, but Lily nor anyone was surprised by it. Any miracle that comes from Aurora should be considered a normal scientific gear, and that fact was agreed by anyone who had witnessed what the little Doctor of War is capable of, as nothing she crafted carried any magic with it, Angela confirmed.


    Back to what¡¯s happening underground, the men are walking toward the other end of this route, or to put it another way, the castle of Voyage. This aqueduct was what supplied the castle with water from a nearby lake until it was abandoned a dozen years ago. For the reason why Lily knows of this entrance, that is because she had explored every corner of her home. Vividly in her memory, there is a single abandoned entrance that led far outside the wall¡¯s defense, which is this way.


    ¡°¡°An ambush from within¡±. Well damn, this is the only way to force them to surrender without a fight.¡±


    Entering the aqueduct, the combatants have to duck down, the height of the entrance does not allow full size people, especially heavily armed soldiers like the knights, bowmen or musketeers to enter. The Marines here have to leave their iconic crossbows and shields behind and only equipped themselves with matchlocks and a blade, barely enough for skirmishing.


    For Lily, her massive sword was pointed forward like a pike to reduce its frontal surface. Can¡¯t wait to test the might of this weapon. Nonetheless, they do not prepare for a full scale conventional clash.Minor battles are alright, but if a large group shows up, they must retreat.


    Also, who the hell thought proper sewage systems existed back in the medieval era, they should reeducate themselves. At best, a normal size city would have an aqueduct to supply water into privileged households, while contaminated water would exist via a local river. Voyage is no different, although the river entrance is heavily guarded, so this route is more desirable when it comes to access. From here and out, pretty sure there will be no men who jump out to ambush them.


    Going through the corners, they are coming straight to the castle approximately around the city center, thanks God there is only one way, otherwise getting lost is very likely:


    ¡°Where will we exit though?¡±-someone from the team asks.


    Suddenly, Lily stops, then say:


    ¡°A female bathroom.¡±


    Bang!


    The Archduchess makes a hard kick into where she guessed to be ¡°the way out¡±, and it really is. What is exposed after Lily moves her leg out of the way and debris stops falling is what seems to be a bathroom, a female bathroom according to the Archduchess. Why not male one might ask, it is because Lily only entered the female bathroom, so reasonably she only knows the aqueduct that led to the female one.


    Whatever, they are inside the castle. To be specific, the second lowest floor of the castle. At this place guards are absent. The sneaky intruders jumps out one by one from the aqueduct, trying their best not to slip over on the wet floor of the bathroom, readying their matchlocks to secure the floor:


    ¡°Morgan team calling Lilium Unus, we are about to go upstairs. Require cover.¡±


    Aurora taught them to communicate like that, ¡°Sounded more professional¡± the little girl told them. Gradually, the entire marine corp adapted the codes:


    ¡°Lilium Unus heard that. Copy.¡±


    And the Archduchess acts along as well.


    A group of six marines, half holding matchlocks half holding blades hurry their feet onto the higher floor. No enemy, at least that is what the Latilians believe.


    ¡°We go.¡±


    Taking a few steps toward, the men pull down every possible thing that might provide them covers, from tables to vases, to doors. They are making it to the main tower, where previously the former Archduke¡¯s office stood. Gelime is believed to be there.


    The squads move in rapid speed, trying to avoid guards. The closer they are to the main tower, the denser the network of defenders. Cautious is a must!


    ¡°Halt!¡±


    ¡°Hya?¡±


    Another corner, a maid sees them, but she is a Latilian, and she did not alert, probably out of fear and surprise. Lily signaled her to run, and so she did. Having citizens in the middle of a fight is not a good scenario. Anyhow, just a few more corners to go:


    ¡°Alright, I can see-¡±


    Just as the team was about to come out from that hall, a go by patrolling Elestovakian soldier, perchance, very unfortunately, found the intruders.


    ¡°Hah!?¡±


    ¡°No!¡±


    Taken by surprise, the man went back by a few steps and drew out a sword, though almost fell on his knees. He is trembling, with no will to fight, and can be considered disarmed. Seeing that, a Marine come to him, trying to comfort the man before coming any trouble:


    ¡°You there, I can guarantee you safety, so please do not-¡±


    ¡°Alert! The enemies had entered the castle! All personnel gather at the sixth hallway immediately!¡±


    Much to their surprise, the man shouts loudly, alerting the whole castle about their presence.


    ¡°Wha- no!¡±


    ¡°Alert! I repeat-¡± Slash!


    The soldier¡¯s words were cut short as Lily launches herself out and smashes the guy into his skull with the weight of her mighty black greatsword.


    Sling!


    The black sword was pulled out from the pile of skull debris and blood. It was quick, mere second, too fast for the Elestovakian to reach, to even feel death coming toward him. The man died with open eyes, painlessly:


    ¡°Tch!¡±


    The Elestovakian body falls. Blood shoots up onto the black attire.


    The Archduchess looks up. The alert of the soldier kneeling in front of her has gathered more guards, and they are forming a defensive shield wall.


    On the other end of the team, the same thing is happening. They are besieging them in a castle.


    ¡°Damn you all¡­¡±


    From Lily¡¯s observations, each one of them equipped with a sword and a heavy shield, matchlocks of the Marines cannot do much harm, so even when the commando team gathers around Lily, the Elestovakians manifest no fear at all. They have numbers, and they have better arms, it is sensible to think that the intruders will be grounded within a moment:


    ¡°...I wanted to avoid this, but you forced me to.¡±-Lily says with the corpse in front of her before brutally kicking it aside-¡±Switch the plan, we have to go all assault.¡±


    However, they did not bring ranged weapons.


    ¡°Draw out your melee weapons. We will wipe the floor with their blood.¡±

 Siege of Voyage(II)

    ¡°Coming! They are coming, hold your ground!¡±


    After having detected the Latilian attackers, the defenders are throwing every man they could call over to stop the storm from reaching the duke. Their efforts however, turned into nothing but trembling screams:


    ¡°All men, regroup and form a shield wall! We must stop the Latilians before they come to the main hall-¡±


    The sentence was cut short as a massive black greatsword flew and pierced through the shield wall of the Elestovakians, followed by a volley of matchlock¡¯s bullets while the guards were in disarray. Bullets rain down upon the now loosened line, penetrating deep behind the wall of shade, spraying blood as they tear off layers of skins of those who got caught in the fire. The devastating combination of destruction killed a dozen and injured many more and effectively decimating the line of defense. With that, Latilian professional marines under the guidance of the Archduchess, advanced forward:


    ¡°Do not let them rest, charge at will. I will take the lead¡±-saying Lily, reloading her gun for the next round.


    ¡°Your Grace, we have more problems ahead, the wall troops are entering the castle.¡±


    ¡°Then I will destroy them.¡±


    More Elestovakians are coming, this time actual soldiers, armed with bows and pikes, but that is nothing but a minor inconvenience compared to anything previous. Launching herself forward and taking back the sword to her inventory, Lily smashes into the chaotic Elestovakians and welds. Using its massive kinetic energy given, the blade easily slices through its victims¡¯s flesh and bones, giving them an instant and painful death, along with a trait of blood subsequently around Lily:


    ¡°Goddamn¡­¡±


    The Archduchess¡¯s killing glances pierced through the bloody mist.


    It was not exactly violence, in fact, it was very much neutral, the Archduchess simply wants to make her way to the duke and takes him down, the Elestovakians here make her have to go brutal.


    Though, that neutral glance makes that woman even scarier.


    In fear, plus not knowing how to address Lily, the guards uttered a nickname for the Archduchess, based on her surrounding aura:


    ¡°The Vampire Knight! The Bloody Fog- No, The Red Mist!¡±


    Lily swings her blade upon the pikemen that were about to approach her. A cloud of red blood soon surrounds the sword and its welder.


    ¡°The Red Mist has destroyed the pioneers! They are coming! The foot troops!¡±


    The Marines running after the Red Mist Archduchess unleash their blades onto the vulnerable archers. Caught while still building a line, the bowmen had no chance to pull the arrows nor draw out their melee arms to fight back and thus, they were overwhelmed. The full frontal assault thrusts against the forming wall, allowing even more Latilians to swarm in and killing Elestovakian troops. They raise their daggers against the archers, turning the leather armors of their target into blood. Again, and again:


    ¡°Open fire!¡±


    On the other end of the Latilian line, the swordsmen and gunners have brought down minor ambushes from their back. And they step back. Having entirely focused on the front, the back is gradually retreating with discipline, but they did not miss their chance to inflict casualties on the defenders. Castle guards are their only enemies, they are not as troublesome. Ten minutes into combat, on this side alone more than half a hundred corpses are on the ground, just three being Latilians. The Elestovakians do not have heavy armed men available on this front, they were easily defeated by row and row of matchlocks. The Latilians meanwhile don¡¯t have to fight with those unfavourite unreliable matchlocks for long:


    ¡°Crossbow! Crossbow!¡±


    The Marines, now armed with crossbows taken from a captured armory, on both ends, are killing the enemies with ease. Though not as powerful as Ganeoese crossbows as they are smaller, having no leg-pull handle and fire at a smaller rate, Elestovakian crossbows are still powerful enough to land a decisive hit into armored troops:


    ¡°Agh! I got hit!¡±


    Back to the front, where Lily is unleashing her wrath of rampage. Even with armored reinforcements from the wall, things are not better at the slightest for the defenders:


    ¡°Move back, the Red Mist!¡±


    ¡°The Red Mist is com-¡±


    The bloody black sword suddenly arrives on one of the armored soldiers¡¯ chest, before his face is trampled on as the Archduchess lands on it to swing her newly founded sword from the armory. The white blade swept its exceeded violence into heads and chests of the rest of the vanguards, killing every in an instant.


    ¡°Hah.¡±


    Taking a moment to restore her vision after the red trails of blood following is gone, Lily takes back the ceramic sword and throws the body that was stuck onto it into the remaining swordsmen:


    ¡°Fu- Agh! Hah!¡±


    With the swordsmen in confusion, the Archduchess throws the white sword at them, killing one then jumps forward and brutally smashes her fists in the middle of the shields, breaking them at once and leaving the rest to be eliminated by crossbow arrows. Elestovakian men fall after another, a dozen at a time. The floor bathes in red, as the bloody mist sweeps through the hall. Suddenly, a dash:


    Bang!


    Lily rams herself into a wooden door blocking between her army and the main hall. The Marines behind swarm in, they raise the crossbow on their chest¡¯s level and discharge.


    **


    ¡°Vitta 1 to Belisari, the number of defenders is dwindling on the wall. They are coming to the castle.¡±


    Over Voyage, the flier monitors detected unusual movements. Elestovakian troops from their position on the wall are retreating. As they dispatch with their arms, a worrying look can be seen on their face, even fear. This is abnormal, no army being besieged would risk withdrawing their troops on the wall on the very first day of combat without replacement. However, Belisari has already figured it out what is happening: Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    ¡°Liliya and her team were detected, before they captured Gelime.¡±


    He says, face displays a certain worryness. Aurora sees it and empathizes, having your best friend trapped is worrying, and herself also concerned for Lily too. They are not that close in terms of friendship, but Lily is still a reliable companion for Aurora.


    Gerald, the man who coincidentally standing close to them and heard the conversation on the other hand, concerns more about the mess they have to clean up after liberating the castle, and he thinks Belisari is thinking of the same. Lily? She needs no care, but having an entire mini genocide in the Voyage castle is not a good way to not traumatize the population. This time he is right.


    ¡°Whatever it is, we must support Liliya.¡±


    The prince turns around-¡±Alright, we will hit their mental stability with another strike. Take your time, Aurora.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already finished.¡±


    Striking the flint against steel, the Doctor of War lit up her so-called ¡°rocket orchestra¡±, named by its own creator with her creative mind, an instrument created by combining rocket propellers of many Husaria together into one, a solution for the lack of siege engines:


    ¡°Ready set, launch!¡±


    From the head, Aurora¡¯s orchestra dashes a rocket at a guard tower. The projectile flies steady toward its appointed direction. An explosion soon followed, knocking down the weak structure of the tower and every men inside, as they fall like calmness of every Elestovakian soldiers who witnessed what happened:


    ¡°What was that? Lightning? Sound like one¡±-an unknown man says in tremble, trying to give out an explanation-¡±But the sky is clear?¡±


    ¡°In that case, gunpowder exploded.¡±


    ¡°We have no gunner in this city, why do we even have gunpowder? That must came from the Latilians-¡±


    Bang!


    Even more explosions. In just a minute, one by one, most archer positions near the gate were hit. They either crumbled or their men were thrown out of their standing points. At this moment, words of the last man who said must be true:


    ¡°What is that thing!?¡±


    Chaos let loose among the rank of the Elestovakians. Besieged by ten thousand troops, the enemies are rampaging inside their very headquarters and mysterious explosions that came out from the besieging force and took down their guards, all of that can drive any soldier insane. The Elestovakians, famously known for their indoctrination even when fighting a larger army, upon being attacked by unknown forces from the unknown, their discipline collapsed. It was the archers on remaining towers who first abandoned their ground, simultaneously followed by bowmen and pikemen along the wall, but that was a terrible mistake as it allowed combat fliers to sweep in at low altitude. A scout flier, precisely coordinating positions of the defending troops, orders his allies:


    ¡°Shoot!¡±


    At the moment the Elestovakians are in disorder, Latilian ranged units release their missiles onto the city within the war. They hope to somewhat thinner the line behind the gates.


    ¡°AGHH!!!!!¡±


    As the projectiles land, screams can be heard from this side of the war, not one of calling command, but one in pain-¡°Mobius, how are the defenders?¡±-Belisari questions as he hears the screams. To answer, the flier called Mobius decrease her attitude for a closer overview:


    ¡°I can see they are heavily damaged. No, they are routing. Squadron Leader Mobius to Squadron Leader Trigger, commence aerial assault.¡±


    ¡°Roger Roger¡±-Trigger replies to Mobius¡¯s message. Drawing out a dozen grenades from his waist, the squadron leader drops them onto the retreating men, followed by every other combat flier above the city. The bombing resulted in a storm of fire as those grenades ignited and shattered into flaming hot metal pieces and ravaged between Elestovakians ranks¡­The fire from the grenade took no time to finally break the sanity of the Elestovakians. They run without needing to know where to run, men step over each other in panic. There can¡¯t be any better opportunity than this if they want to breach the line. With that in mind, another squadron leader calls for the prince:


    ¡°Now are chances, do it, Your Highness.¡±


    Needless to say, ¡°It¡± is a full frontal assault.


    ¡°Brilliant. Sir Gerald, may you take the honor?¡±


    For ones who don¡¯t not know, Belisari is asking for Gerald to signal the wall assault, but the knight declines politely:


    ¡°I do want to, but I am old. This time I will step back.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, give me your tuba.¡±


    Being given the horn war tuba from the knight, Belisari holds its handle upward, facing the wooden gate. The prince takes a deep breath, then:


    Oompahhhh!


    The tuba sings in a deafening song that echoes across the open field. For the Elestovakians, that song equaled nothing but death, as when the sound of horn ended, the Latilians light shielded swordsmen lines comefor toward the wall where they were hiding behind.


    ¡°They cannot hold it. Take them down, men.¡±


    ¡°We will recapture Voyage.¡±


    The prince and the old knight charge with their men. Belisari with his marine and light infantry jumps on the wall and climbs. The wall was made out of soil, it was slippery, but can be climbed over as his feet can dig holes into the wall and firmly fix his standing point.


    On his flanks, the swordsmen already got on the top of the wall, and are jumping down onto the Elestovakians.


    **


    ¡°You lose.¡±


    From the Duke¡¯s office, on the highest floor of the Voyage castle excluding the high tower, Lily, puffing clouds of cigarette smoke from her mouth, is holding the duke within her strike range.


    In front of her, a bondaged Gelime is being forced to watch his Elestovakian line collapse under the weight of the Latilians. When the gate was forcibly opened by light infantry that climbed the wall and unlocked it from behind, the Latilian army went full on violence. His Guard Corp, while fleeing are being slaughtered mercilessly, Winged Husaria charging from the main gate axing the Elestovakians down, or they being targeted by Cathedraller musketeers on the wall. No hope. He lost the castle, and now his troops lost the gate, it will just be a matter of time before the Latilians banner enter Voyage:


    ¡°Goddammit¡±-Gelime speaks with anger-¡±My city¡­my city fell¡­You know this is worthless right? An Elestovakian Army will come here and reclaim Nova Voiaiologos again, you will not succeed in holding my city.¡±


    Lily turns her face down, glaring at the degraded Duke. Her eye lies an anger even fiercer than Gelime¡¯s:


    ¡°Who¡¯s city? Even if you call it Nova Voiaiologos (New Voyage), the ¡°Voiaiologos¡± (Voyage) is still there. Coincidentally, my name is Lily Sobieski Voyage, so this city is actually mine, I only took it back from you and your Empire.¡±


    Saying that, puffing a smoke into the defeated Duke, Lily picks up her black sword from the side and points it at Gelime:


    ¡°And also, the fire you set on the tower yesterday was to alert other scouts to call for garrisons in the region to send reinforcements, right? When they see the fire they will hurriedly return to the nearest Elestovakian camps to alert the men there. But before they did that, our flier squadrons had stopped them.¡±


    While saying, unknown when, a flier has landed on the balcony with her duel pistols emptied, a certain librarian named Angela:


    ¡°Your Grace. Our squadron had cleared all of them.¡±


    She says, then the flier woman throws out a bag that contains insignias of every close in scout group, each one of them stained by a bit of blood, the result of fighting against the fliers and being killed. Angela and her team eliminated all communication lines from the city to allies and thus, the duke¡¯s call for relief was left unheard. Acknowledging that, Gelime was speechless, while Lily carves a satisfying smile:


    ¡°They will not know that Voyage has fallen, they will not gather. We will come for them, one by one, they will be conquered just like this city. Let¡¯s see how your Elestovakians will take Voyage from us again.¡±


    ¡°Hah?!¡±


    The now former Duke looks down to the floor, admitting his defeat. Voyage has been captured.

 Take rest

    In the main square of the city of Voyage, a concentration is happening. Thousands of Elestovakians, around a thousand and nine hundred to be specific, are sitting on the stone floor of the square with their swords, spears, bows and every other type of weapon lying in front of them, waiting to be collected by the Latilian soldiers. They were also soldiers just a moment ago, but now they are just a bunch of prisoners of war. Their fates shall be decided by the new owners of the city.


    All the while, on the outskirt of Voyage, there has been a funeral. The casualties for the battle were high, up to almost a thousand deaths, mostly Elestovakians with over nine hundred. As for the Latilians, they only suffered fifty losses, a fraction of the casualties, mostly occurring when the light infantry went skirmishing against heavy Elestovakian infantry.


    Nonetheless, the men, both Latilians and Elestovakians, were placed side by side with respect, awaiting their living comrades and foes to give them a proper burial. Pastors of the Cathedraller Order are doing rituals for their slumber.


    ¡°See you again, maybe someday. Fire!¡±


    Pow!


    The number of graves is too huge for individual ceremonies. Instead, there was a musketeer every hundred graves, each firing three volleys into the sky. This was suggested by Aurora, the little girl said this can be done during war, when time and resource are tight:


    Pow!


    ¡°Farewell.¡±


    Pow!


    **


    ¡°God witness.¡±


    After the fight, the Voyage Castle, frankly and undeniably, turned into a hell of reddish bloodbath. Sure all corpses were removed to the graveyard on the outskirts, but blood, broken bones, pieces of flesh and organs which cannot be easily removed are still lying there, and are rotting into a disgusting smell, unbearable to even the toughest minds. Even when all maids in the castle come to help clean up, they can just help for a portion, for one they don¡¯t know how to deal with bloodstain, and many also faint seeing bodies parts lying on the ground. Gore is too much for a weak heart to cope with.


    To actually deal with the flesh mess, the Knights Cathedraller, including Gerald, and the ranged infantry, those who can stand seeing blood and contributed the least in the battle, were called by Belisari to help clean up the castle. After all, this is not just Lily¡¯s domain, but also a vital administration building, functioning as headquarters of the city of Voyage.


    Hence, it must be mopped clean. It¡¯s a fortress, not a haunted house.


    Until night, the hall where Lily and the Latilian intruders unleashed their rampage was sparky clean.


    As for the Archprince, the Archduchess, Aurora and a couple dozen more individuals of the Marine Corp and regular skirmishers, they are also busy cleaning. Not blood, not organs nor bone debris but civilian¡¯s confusion. In other words, they are stabilizing the population.


    ¡°One question at a time, please.¡±


    They have to go around to explain things for the dwellers. Around Voyage, there is no lack of people who are still bewildered about what has just happened as it was too quick for them to adapt to the situation. What are they? Where do they come from? What is their purpose being here? All questions that needed to be resolve for the population to not turn against their army:


    ¡°We are, as I said earlier¡±-The Prince opens his conversation with the people, raising his hands up showing zero hostility-¡±We are the Latilian Central Expedition Army. We come here to reclaim Voyage from the Elestovakians and reunite the city back to the Kingdom of Latila.¡±


    To prove themselves to be Latilians, the Archprince and the Archduchess show out their House crests. Upon seeing them, the citizens, those who were adults ten years ago, immediately recognized their old rulers:


    ¡°I am Belisari Flarius Latila, Archprince of the House of Latila and Crowned Prince of the Kingdom, my friend here is Lily Sobieski Voyage, daughter of your previous Latilian ruler, currently the Archduchess of the House of Voyage and of this city.¡±


    ¡°Greeting.¡±


    Lily bows her head to the city¡¯s inhabitants, showing her respect to her new subjects.


    ¡°Your Royal Highness, Your Grace. Okay, we get it.¡±


    A strong-looking middle-aged man steps forward from the crowd, bows down and raises his rough right hand to the prince-¡±Welcome back to Voyage, Your Highness. I have seen you go by this city when you were just a child.¡±


    ¡°Thank you¡±-Belisari shakes his hand-¡±Sorry, I was young then, I cannot remember any face here.¡±


    An elder woman come to Lily, strugglingly patting her head:


    ¡°I do know you, do I? Your mother usually bought weapons from my son. I remember you used to go along with her, but you look different now, you are tall and big and¡­strong.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Ah¡­I do recall seeing an old woman sitting in front of that blacksmith, so it was you¡­¡±


    ¡°So you do know me. Where is His Grace and your mother? I don¡¯t see them.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ve gone, long ago.¡±


    The woman displays a pitiful look on her face-¡°Oh dear¡­sorry about that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    Lily says and smiles, though that smile manifests some underneath sadness.


    ¡°Anyhow¡±-Belisari comes and pulls his Archduchess out of the talk (Woah)-¡±Let us save those conversations for later and focus on emergent matters, starting with unifying Voyage into the Kingdom. Though on paper it would take a bit longer, but from this moment, you can consider yourself Latilians.¡±


    ¡°The Kingdom will reestablish her rule upon us and the city. That is good news, we prefer the previous Latilian rule over Elestovakians. But then¡­.as citizens of a surrendered city, what will happen to us?¡±


    That question is important. Depending on the answer and how Belisari¡¯s army fulfill their promise, the stability level of the city shall be decided:


    ¡°Obviously¡±-the prince explains-¡±You and your families will be under our protection. Your fortune, they will be untouched, but we will seize most valuables from the Voyage castle and deliver them back to Latila for our war efforts. The rest shall be utilized to repair Voyage, repay people who lost their family members and pay for our garrison troops within the city.¡±


    ¡°A portion of Gelime¡¯s fortune was ours, taken by heavy taxes. May we take our money back?¡±


    ¡°It is hard to actually compensate everyone accordingly, as most of the documents were eliminated before we entered. Instead we will repay via public services. Do we have terms?¡±


    ¡°I appreciate your decision, we have terms, and we will see if there is anything we can help.¡±


    The prince refuses in a proper manner-¡°You don¡¯t have to, it is our duty to do what we¡¯ve promised.¡±-but then a woman from the crowd says:


    ¡°We want to help the Kingdom, we want not to be your burden. I know that the previous war must have devastated Latila to a certain degree.¡±


    ¡°Yes it was, before the expedition, the Kingdom of Latila only owned Latila and six kilometers around the city and barely functioning as a nation. It was thanks to that girl¡±-The prince points to Aurora, the girl who is giving out honey candies for children-¡±that we have enough funds for this invasion.¡±


    ¡°I doubt that.¡±


    Lily shrugs her shoulders-¡°You should trust that as a fact. Without her, we might not be here today.¡±


    Indeed, Aurora was the one who gave them those carriages for rapid maneuvering, thus helping them arrive here today instead of next month. She was also the person who created those fantastic ¡°rocket arsenal¡± and ¡°flashlights¡± which contributed directly to the battle¡¯s victory.


    Most importantly, the girl was the catalyst that really triggered the war machine of Latila and really encouraged the Kingdom to advance, which is how they were here in the first place:


    ¡°She is a saint, not a titled one, but for us she is a saint.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­about that¡­¡±


    But nonetheless, relying on a child sounds desperate, the inhabitants of Voyage all thought of that when seeing Aurora. There is¡­no way that could be the case, eh?


    ¡°FIne, you can have my money.¡±


    The previously mentioned middle-aged man handling out a bag of silver coins to Belisari:


    ¡°You still accept voluntary donations, right? Consider this as a tribune for liberating us from the Elestovakians.¡±


    ¡°As I said, you don¡¯t have to-¡±


    Belisari was about to say against receiving people¡¯ donations, but an elder silenced him-¡±We are Latilians, we must fulfill our role to help the Kingdom of Latila in its time of need. The more funds you have, the better the victory of the Kingdom is secured. I want to see Latila win this war.¡±


    Then the old man gives the prince a medium size silver ingot. It is nothing in comparison is a hundredth of Aurora¡¯s treasure, but it must¡¯ve been this man¡¯s life saving.


    Encouraged by the two previous, gradually, the peasants approach and offer their valuables to the Latilians. Bracelets, bags of silvers, rings,...those are the most common things that were given out, Belisari sees and surprises, very surprises, his Archduchess the same.


    Very soon, all hands, from the Archprince to the Marines following him, all were filled with treasures on their hands and bag:


    ¡°But-¡±


    ¡°Let us be patriotic Latilians, Your Highness. We are just doing our part.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­thank you then¡±-the prince mutters-¡±Thank you very much. I promise, after the war, this city will flourish, I pledge with my honor.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to, your victory is our reward.¡±


    The amount of valuables was later determined to be at twenty million denarii, a year''s worth of salary for this army. Though not as great as Aurora¡¯s fund, for a nation lacking resources like Latila, that was a welcome donation. And the fact that it came from the lower class of the Kingdom tore Justinius up a bit when he heard about it via Belisari¡¯s letter written to him the same day.


    A week later, although the war is still out there ongoing, a healthy secret law was written by the King, in which stated that the inhabitants of Voyage are tax exempt for ten years to come.


    ¡°I am glad that Voyage is the first city we come to.¡±


    Speaking Belisari, sitting on a comfortable bed inside the castle. Finally, after a whole week, the prince and the army had a sleep on a proper bed. Though not everyone receives the privileges of resting inside the magnificent castle of Voyage, they still find their places on garrison beds and beds of families who are voluntarily letting them in.


    Tomorrow, the army will dispatch from Voyage to eliminate surrounding Elestovakian garrisons to ensure the city''s safety. They will be here for a time before continuing the journey to the East.


    But for now, the moon rises, and night falls over Voyage, the Latilians snuggle into their slumber. Only a few dim lights left along the wall and the castle, one of them coming from the prince¡¯s room, as he is still awake:


    ¡°God help us.¡±


    Beliasari claps his hands saying so, then he lies down. A feeling of tired floor to him as his back rests on the bed. His vision turns blurry, surpassing his ability to cope with exhaustion. Truly, after an intensive fight, a person can be dried up entirely, like how Belisari is right now. Tired of everything, even at keeping eyes open:


    ¡°Good night.¡±


    He says, then falls asleep. Tomorrow will be tired.

 Wall Breakers(I)

    The city is burning.


    It was lost, Latila is helpless. That is what was thought by many Ganeoese Mercenaries running away from their defense line as their commander was wounded, and was on her way to the ship.


    Behind them, the Elestovakians swarmed into the city en masse via the breached Konstantine Gate, skirmishers confronted the archers buying time for their comrades to enter unattacked. The wall, meanwhile, was still being bombarded in full force, ripping off what was left of the defenders and preventing troops garrisoned on the wall to come to confront the intruders.


    This is it, the fate of Latilia is sealed.


    They run, without looking back. Reinforcements coming from the Voyage Palace, the Flemton Castle and the White Square certainly saw those mercenaries running away. The Fliers navigating all across Latila witnessed their cowardly withdrawal. But they didn''t have time to stop the Ganeoese from running, in fact, they moved aside for the Ganeoese to go by. Even if they didn¡¯t, the Ganeoese with their crossbows will force them to move aside for them to run:


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    Goddammit, speaking of which, a person is blocking their escape. Few of the men in front of the line raise up their crossbows. But hold on a second:


    ¡°Your Royal Highness Belisari?¡±


    Standing in front of the mercenaries, the fourteen years old royal Archprince Belisari Flarius, wearing a combat uniform, is aiming his weapon pointing it at them. With his voice holding back a certain amount of anger, Belisari asks:


    ¡°I am. Where are you going? You¡¯ve abandoned the wall, causing the Elestovakians to overwhelm the position and now the city is being threatened. We are doing all to fight them back outside the wall. Where the hell are you going at this moment?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Your Highness. But¡±


    Forget what was said earlier. Despite being mercenaries, they are not heartless. The oldest member of the team steps forward, then with a swift action, he disarms the prince from his crossbow, saying:


    ¡°We are not warriors, we are mercenaries, we abandon a battle once we see the lost. We have no loyalty to the state we serve as the guards you saw in the palace everyday.¡±-the prince was handed back his crossbow-¡±We see that Latila will soon be gone, so we decided to depart.¡±


    ¡°So you are running away?¡±


    ¡°Exactly, Your Highness.¡±


    Hiding her bleeding wound walking to the prince, Countess Justiniana-captain of the mercenaries placed her hands on Belisari¡¯s shoulders-¡°If you want to, you can come with us, then we will help you and your brother to reach Ganeo. Or, you might stay here and fight, and die. But whatever option you choose, please do not prevent us from leaving Latila.¡±


    Justiniana signaled the team to continue going, the rest of the Ganeoese followed order, dragging their wounded commander along:


    ¡°Stop!¡±


    ¡°Your Highness, we¡¯ve been merciful not to shoot you right away.¡±-a mercenary speaks to Belisari, raising his voice with a bit of intimidation-¡±But if you keep doing this, we would have little choice but to wound you.¡±


    ¡°Not that, I am making an offer.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Hearing the word ¡°offer¡±, the Ganeoese halt their steps:


    ¡°What offer?¡±


    The crowned prince, while reloading his crossbow, saying:


    ¡°The treasure for my future coronation is in Vineci, half a million denarii, worth three of your Ganeoese galleys. My father and I are the only people to know its location, but you can have it if you agree to fight under my command for three days.¡±


    Belisari raises three of his fingers:


    ¡°Just three days, I promise. If I extend the service time, I would increase the payment, you need not worry about losing anything to me.¡±


    (Poke!)


    Three days of service, one ship per day. The deal is somewhat too tempting to be resisted by any right mind, much less Ganeoese mercenaries:


    ¡°Three days?¡±-Justiniana asked again, to know that her ears were hearing it right.


    (Belisarius)


    ¡°Just three days¡±-Belisari again confirmed-¡±In the name of God, Joshua Krist and Saint Morgan, three days. Then you are free to go claim your prize.¡±


    ¡°I accept.¡±


    (Belisarius)


    There is no way that offer can be turned down. The mercenary Countess shoved into her pocket and gave out Belisari her captain insignia, then speaks:


    ¡°I grant you the captain position, for three days, in exchange for your money. Use my army at your will, but do it wisely, Your Royal Highness.¡±


    (Belisarius)


    Slap!


    ¡°Agh! What the-¡±


    While overseeing the Elestovakian garrison, Belisari was hit by a blunt force from the hand of his friend. The Archduchess has assigned him and the Marines to overwatch the fortress while she and her cavalry wandering around terminating possible scouts, but when they returned, the Prince was in the middle of something, seemingly half-sleep:


    ¡°What distracted you?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, just thinking about an old memory of mine.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not the right time for that.¡±


    They are about to assault a garrison, of course daydreaming is somewhat to be avoided:


    ¡°So.¡±-The Archduchess comes to him-¡±How is the fortification?¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Quite hard to break. Needless for Gelime¡¯s warning, they¡¯ve been ready to welcome us to their gate.¡±


    ¡°Or, that damn guy has had to call them to reinforce themselves way before the battle.¡±


    The Elestovakian garrison they are planning to attack is large, standing on over a hectare of valley fine land, surrounded by civilian homes and fields residing on the protection of the base. The number of defenders is estimated at anywhere between 600 to 2000, quite inconsistent due to many factors that might contribute to the capability to support troops of the fort.


    The fortification is also equipped with anti-air weapons, thus denying Angela and her flier corps to commence raids, it will be hard to attack without losses. And unlike the last time, there will be no trick to attack the building from within, so certainly they must attack it head on, there is no other choice.


    However, two new problems emerge as they choose the option of a frontal assault. First is, how do they force the insiders to come and fight them hand-by-hand, instead of just shooting at them from a secured position.


    And the second is, their force is limited.


    Not the usual ten thousand men, just three thousand, the rest are protecting Voyage. Not to mention that 400 of them are mounted charge cavalry who can¡¯t do foot melee combat. Hacking into the fort by direct fighting is also not a good option.


    Their only advantage is the surprise element, they got to use this effectively:


    ¡°What is your opinion on this problem, Gerald?¡±


    The Archprince and his peers decided to consult their knight leader.


    ¡°I am thinking about a siege.¡±


    To break the will of the troops inside, and force them to surrender. If needed, then three thousand more soldiers from Voyage can join in the siege with them.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is good¡­¡±


    However, the fortress is too big to be besieged by three thousand men, the line would be too thin to create any significant threat. It was also an unified defensive-civil complex,with support from its locals to sustain a prolonged encirclement. It is a position for a long battle they have. For the Latilians, the siege would go nowhere:


    ¡°Not to mention that we don¡¯t have much time to spend. I¡¯d like to see the fort yield in a day or two.¡±


    ¡°Our knight is an excellent fighter, but not the brightest when it comes to tactics.¡±


    ¡°Yeah yeah, not everyone is bright-minded like you two.¡±


    The Knight mumbles, then he departs, leaving room for the commanders to discuss:


    ¡°Say, Belisarius¡±-it¡¯s time to ask the Prince instead-¡±How do you trick an army to confront us beyond their defended position?¡±


    ¡°There are many. But given our situation, we have three: bombardment, feign retreat and a relief force. All of them are needed if we want to successfully lure them the Elestovakians out of their nest.¡±


    Feigned retreat is obvious. For bombardment, they will focus their firepower, particularly from Aurora¡¯s rockets, to cripple the fortification and force the garrisoned troops to run from their walls to avoid being crushed in the debris, thus triggering a controlled open fight that would be in the favor of the Latilians.


    As for the relief force method, a besieged army seeing a rescue force is coming to help them tends to come out of their position to corporate assault the offending foes from both sides. This was seen at the Battle of Alesia, or the Siege of Jerusalem. Though both of them haven''t, and will never hear of the two mentioned sieges, the same tactic should work, but:


    ¡°The idea of fighting on two sides is scary though¡±-Belisari added, his concern is something that should not be overlooked-¡±If we wait for an actual army to come and help them, we will be pressed and besieged, I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    A moment of silence follows, but not out of disappointment that they¡¯ve been stuck again after thinking out of a plan. Silence is needed for brains to function in its fullest, or, you might say, Lily and Belisari are working to make their plan work:


    ¡°Then, we can fake an Elestovakian army, don¡¯t we?¡±


    Suddenly, the Archduchess was the one who had an idea first. She goes outside for a moment, then she returns with a dozen of Elestovakian flags on her hands:


    ¡°We can send like¡­200 men to go over the valley where the garrisoned army can see¡­and wave these flags, creating a false image of an incoming rescue force. A delusional relief army, that should do the trick.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­a great idea. Good job Liliya¡±


    Belisari speaks, then he claps his hand to display his admiration to Lily. The Archduchess, receiving the admiration of her friend, half-embarrassed, half-proud. With the plan in shape thanks to her idea, Lily continues:


    ¡°I will help organize the formation. You call for Justiniana, your Marines will need to be prepared a lot.¡±


    **


    Today¡¯s afternoon started with a hot wave stranded across the valley, the middle of the summer is alway the hottest in this region. It was so hot that the surrounding area turned this week into a holiday, when people, men or women alike, will take bath in a vast lake by the western side of the village and spend their night around its shore, having dinner and sleeping camp by camp, thus tightening the bond between the villagers, and giving chance for loving couples to be together longer.


    The tradition is fancy, and is not limited to just the locals. Everyone can participate, as long as they want to. Hence, regularly, Elestovakian soldiers in the fortress nearby are invited to practice the tradition with the locals, and because having time with the occupied civilians is encouraged by Emperor Kaval to further stabilize the region, they usually join in.


    Except for this year:


    ¡°The soldiers are complaining a lot, Sir.¡±


    ¡°Tell them to complain to Duke Gelime, this was his order, not mine.¡±


    Overseeing the surrounding emptied settlement, Lord Martin, commander of Fortress Separ, can¡¯t help but treat himself with a sip of cold tea. He was supposed to be by the lake shore by now, if not for a damn letter from the nearby duke a few week earlier telling him and his men to stay on guard:


    ¡°Latilian invaders.¡±-the Lord mumbles in anger-¡±That damn duke should¡¯ve dealt with that, not me.¡±


    ¡°I will say that we should be on high alert¡±


    An advisor comes by his side, the Lord pours some tea for the man, then they settle:


    ¡°We know that the Latilians attacked us, right? We don¡¯t know where they will strike. This place is just behind Voyage. If they want to secure Voyage after having occupied it, they would certainly attack the fort.¡±


    ¡°Can they capture Voyage, though?¡±


    ¡°No, sir.¡±


    ¡°Of course. That¡¯s why I say this is so unnecessary¡­¡±


    ¡°Now come to think of it, you are correct¡±


    ¡°See? Ahahaha¡±


    The Lord bursts into laughter. The advisor seeing so also laughed.


    ¡°Aha¡­Hah?¡±


    On the outskirts of the settlements, a number of men in combat attires (not Elestovakian ones) can be seen moving around. Their back carrying shields, very large and outstanding shields. Each one of them is also armed with a crossbow and a dagger. They are not bandits, but an organized army:


    ¡°It can¡¯t be¡­right?¡±-the advisor speaks


    ¡°I am seeing¡­wait, you see them as well?¡±


    ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°But¡­how?¡±


    The men from afar start forming into a line and approach the settlement. The decorations on their shields are now visible.


    They are the Ganeoese Crossbowmen Mercenary Corp.


    After the Elestovakian War, the Latilian Royal Army invited them to be the Latilian Marine Corp.


    ¡°The¡­Latilians?¡±


    ¡°There is no way¡­¡±


    There is an actual Latilian Army right outside of the fortress, which only means one thing.


    Voyage has fallen.


    ¡°Goddammit, I did not expect this to come. Quick!¡±-Lord Martin hastily jumps from his seat, he rushes to his office in the wall of the fort-¡±Every man gets to your position, we are being threatened by an unknown Latilian force. Voyage might¡¯ve been captured by the Latilians, we need all men armed right away to confront this threat.¡±


    ¡°We have to be quick, there is no time.¡±


    **


    ¡°I entrust your command, Justiniana. Don¡¯t let me be disappointed.¡±


    ¡°Roger that, your Highness.¡±

 Wall Breakers(II)

    ¡°Be ready, my soldiers.¡±


    As the sun rises high above the highest peak of the valley, the Latilian Marine Corp stretches its humble number of 50 soldiers along a thin line trying to cover the distance between each end of the valley, thus maximizing the coverage of their weapons on the field, or, if the defenders intend to charge toward them, they can do a perform maneuver to flank the Elestovakian.


    Accompanying the Marines are double the amount of infantry skirmishers, with the task of providing extra protection for their ranged infantry in case of a melee clash. They were primarily armed with short blades for thrust and shields for coverage, but some were also equipped with pikes for close ranged harassment.


    The combined formation is under the command of Archprince Belisari to the left, and formerly Countess, madam Justiniana on the right.


    On the other side of the battlefield, the rallied Elestovakian troops have been dispatched to their defensive key points around the fortress. Traditionally the crossbowmen should be sent on top of watchtowers to effectively increase their range and anti air capability. However, due to rush decisions, most ranged troops were instead scrambled along the wall.


    Meanwhile, Elestovakian melee units assemble in various locations of the settlement, blocking roads with their shield walls and pikes, a solid way to counter cavalry charges. The infamous Winged Husaria, feared by even the Nosfeturans on the battlefield, needed to be dealt with with cautiousness.


    Nonetheless, the defenders of fort Separ have had themselves a considerable amount of protection in just ten minutes. The architect of this defense is no one other than Lord Martin himself, who is overseeing the battlefield from the height of the fortress, watching carefully as the Latilians make their moves.


    Over the sky, Latilian fliers are scouting the area, but they cannot descend to a proper altitude for air raid, due to the presence of crossbowmen and anti air armaments. However, their increasing number is something needed to be concerned about.


    ¡°The situation is somewhat emergent.¡±-speaks Martin to his advisors-¡±We have two scenarios: Voyage has fallen, and the Latilian army is here to break this fortress and secure the city.¡±


    This is the more dire one, as for the other:


    ¡°Or, Voyage has not yet fallen, but they chose to go around the city and clear the surrounding area before launching a total assault on Voyage. Though I would say this scenario is slim chance, very slim, as travelling by Voyage is the only way to reach here.¡±


    As their commander draws his view upon the situation, the others nod their head. There can¡¯t be anything in between. And while they really pray for this to be the latter scenario, their hearts are not comforted by the lie of their minds, it is better to assume that the worst situation happened, better to overrate the enemy than to take them lightly.


    Now, let¡¯s uncover the plan of the defenders.


    The fortress is home of 1600 troops, over ten times the size of the Latilian line, which is far more than enough to penetrate it in no time. But, if that is really the size of the Latilian line. Martin guessed that the commander on the other side had set up an ambush to blow his army if they ever stepped out of the fortification. The Latilian Marines are about 400 meters away, beyond the reach of their crossbows. That 400 meters is far more than enough for a flank development:


    ¡°How should we intercept them?¡±-an advisor speaks out his question-¡±I¡¯ve had all melee infantry gathered behind the gate, a small team flashy dash out might decimate the threat quick enough, then they will retreat.¡±


    ¡°For that I propose five hundred troops, a balanced number for both supremacy and maneuverability. I will take command and strike at their heart.¡±


    It was a decent idea, but Martin turns it down-¡±What if we did not manage to deal them a quick blow, but being stalled into a scaled battle?¡±


    What Martin said needs to be considered. Even with overwhelming power, a large force can still be stuck into a lengthy fight against a small team. And given the situation that an ambush might be waiting for them, their 500 men army might be at risk of being dragged into a long clash, be flanked and destroyed entirely.


    ¡°As much as I want the Latilians to be vanished, I don¡¯t want to throw soldiers¡¯ lives into a gamble. I¡¯d rather stand in this fort and wait for their next move.¡±


    ¡°What about ranged skirmishing?¡±-another person suggests-¡±Crossbowmen can attack from far away, avoiding the possibility of a sudden flank.¡±


    While Ganeoese crossbows outmatched their Elestovakian counterparts, the Elestovakians have the number advantages. It is not a bad idea when considering the risk of enemies¡¯ development maneuvers, but:


    ¡°That would leave the air vulnerable.¡±


    The heavy anti air crossbows can only partly cover the fort, not the entire of it. The absence of crossbowmen and archers allows flier¡¯s air raid.


    So, both ideas are unsuitable.


    ¡°I appreciate your work, but we are not the ones who are controlling the battle, they are. Taking the initial move will result in heavy casualties, I don¡¯t like seeing it.¡±


    The Latilian army¡¯s real number is unknown, they have to proceed with careful plans.


    ¡°By now, assemble the shielded swordsmen into formations-¡±


    Bam!


    Suddenly, a deafening lightning echo comes from the other end of the fortress, alerting every defender Elestovakian about a devastating attack.


    ¡°Huh? What?¡±


    Being thrown into a state of half-scared half-clueless about what was happening, Martin¡¯s legs quickly rushed to the site-¡°What was noise?¡±-He said. There he saw the leftover of an explosion over what once was one of their heavy anti air crossbows. The asset is nothing more than a burning wooden frame now, as its bowstring is burned and reloader expelled somewhere far from their place.


    Speaking of moving, the Latilians are doing exactly that.


    **This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Final adjustment. Ready!¡±


    Behind the Latilian formation, eight rocket launchers, each aiming at an individual heavy crossbow system, are fully loaded with their ammunition and are ready to fire, except for one that was exhausted. By destroying the crossbow assets, fliers corps may now descend to combat altitude:


    ¡°But do them slowly, one by one, okay?¡±


    ¡°Eh!? Why though!?¡±


    Aurora, the little girl who was calculating the ballistic paths of the rockets, was confused by Belisari¡¯s order. Normally, an attacking army wishes to decimate the enemy defense before the battle. In this case however, the Prince ordered her to restrain the annihilation:


    ¡°Well, you see¡­¡±


    If the Latilians went all out right away, after the heavy anti-air components were removed, the Elestovakians would have no reason to get out of their fort. They will hold the fortress as long as the walls are still standing, with their light yet numerous crossbowmen to desperately guard the air. The situation could be turned into a waiting game if their plan is executed too quickly.


    If they harass them one by one, that would be a different story.


    ¡°...seeing their assets being destroyed, one by one¡±-Belisari explains-¡±The commander of that fort will try to neutralize the threat to prevent any equipment losses by sending out his or her army to confront us. This plan is to test the patience of whoever is standing in that fortress watching us right now.¡±


    Both ways result in the loss of Elestovakian equipment, but what they are doing right now strikes into the physiology of the defenders, rather than actual strength.


    Take a bottle of expensive fine wine for example, if you accidentally slip it from your hand and break it, well, there is nothing you can do but to accept.


    But if someone is slowly drinking it away from you, you would try to save the remaining wine.


    Which is what Belisari is doing right now, just instead of drink, it was weapons. In addition, The prince ordered all of his fliers to take off, threatening the garrisoned men with risk of an aerial raid, placing even more pressure upon the Elestovakians line.


    ¡°Launch!¡±


    The third system blew up in front of their eyes. The sound of the blast can be heard across the fortress and the surrounding area:


    ¡°Aha! Here they are.¡±


    Far away where it can only be seen from here by scope, Belisari saw as a formation of Elestovakian troops went out of the fortress. Just as intended.


    ¡°Dammit¡±-Martin mumbles-¡±Men, be ready.¡±


    ¡°Alright Aurora¡±-The Prince speaks to his War Doctor-¡±You can stop now, save those ammunition for later, we will take over from this point.¡±


    Receiving signal from the prince and the former countess mercenary from both sides, the formation of the Latilians begins to form barricades. The shielded troops raise their barriers firmly on their left hands, while holding swords parallel to the ground, enabling thrust attacks. Behind the line, the Marines slit their loaded matchlocks in between the gap, patiently waiting until the foes are within their firing range.


    The other side responds to the Latilian movements, by placing their heavy infantry on the front and the flanks as they approach their enemies. Most of their ranged infantry was left to guard the fort, so they seriously lacked long range units. Nevertheless, they have better numbers. Basically, this will be the gamble between quantities and qualities.


    ¡°Now!¡±


    Very quickly after the line was formed, the Elestovakians collided against the Latilians, and they swung their blades, hoping to end the battle fast before the attackers could pull out a flank ambush. The Latilians meanwhile, very disciplined, held the weight of the line well. With their policy of conserving the number, they slowly step back, one, two, three¡­


    ¡°Fire!¡±


    After a while, the Latilian Marines discharged their matchlocks into the Elestovakians. The bullets did no major damage, but was enough to make the infantry struggle, slowing down the pushing speed and even reversed it in some locations along the line. With that, the Elestovakian formation was distorted, not too dramatic, but ample to break their discipline by giving them false information and hope.


    ¡°Hold my position a bit, I shall be back.¡±


    ¡°Please do it quick, ma¡¯am¡±


    ¡°It will take less than a minute.¡±


    Seizing the opportunity given, Justiniana, tasked by Belisari earlier, turns around and runs away from the line. The Ganeoese hag shoots an arrow tied with red ribbon from her loaded crossbow to the rear of the army, signaling the plan to be executed.


    The arrow, being released from its chamber, flies high, carving a red line on its trajectory path.


    ¡°Look!¡±


    When Justiniana returns to the line to reclaim the control of her wing, an Elestovakian soldier shouts and points his finger toward a nearby hill, dragging the attention of many of his fellow comrades.


    Over there, there is a parade of two hundred Imperial banners. Each of the banners are held by an ¡°Elestovakian¡± soldier, and they are actively marching down toward the rear of the Latilian line. Was that¡­help? Rumors started to spread among the Elestovakians.


    ¡°Voyage is sending help, they are coming.¡±


    ¡°The city hadn¡¯t yet collapsed, I knew it. This contingent is just to hold off us. His Grace must¡¯ve detected their wicked trick and sent out his army to relieve us.¡±


    ¡°Alright! Fight them fearlessly, gentlemen, we are going to meet our comrade in Voyage soon. Let them be envious of our glory.¡±


    And, another thing:


    ¡°Which means¡­there is no encirclement? This is the best the Latilians could pull out against us? They must be kidding me!¡±


    Lord Martin says as he is still in disbelief. Unfortunately, those soldiers under his command, those glory seeking men, can¡¯t help but break their formation and take down their foes on their own, hoping to strike down one or two. Their morale is extremely high and likely they are not going to listen to their commander. They did very well to be fair.


    ¡°They are losing ground! Keep pressing them, comrades!¡±


    Slowly, the Latilian line, unable to cope with the weight, bent with the pressure of the mighty force, turning into an inverted crescent shape, with the two sides being pressed down the most, while the center, where Belisari scrambled to, stayed firm. To everyone except Martin, this must be a poor decision made by the commander of the opposite side, as when the Latilian flanks route, they will turn around and encircle the center.


    Little did they know, it was the plan of the Latilian Archprince all along.


    Lily and her cavalry, settling around the woods, were waiting for that moment. Extinguish the light on her cigarette, Lily mumbles:


    ¡°Set them ablaze.¡±


    The Archduchess raises her smoke flare high above her head, then, using all of her might, Lily catapults it into the air, to the plainview of the Latilians on the hill. Seeing the flare trailing smoke, the flag bearers ignite their banners on fire. All in sight of the Elestovakians, who, just a moment earlier, had hope of victory and glory:


    ¡°What is going on!?¡±-they all said in confusion, some even stopped fighting, they were then being hacked to pieces by Latilian steels. The tide had turned, or was the tide on their side in the first place for it to be turned?


    ¡°Why are they burning the banners- oh¡­¡±


    From the sides of the valley, multiple smaller Latilian units show up with their true flags, and the cavalry directly aim at the Elestovakian flanks. The Archduchess personally rides on her horse to lead the cavalry charge. The Latilian line, which was about to break, was reinforced with fresh troops led by Sir Gerald coming from the rear.


    It¡¯s over. Martin was correct, but he was not able to prevent his army from falling into a trap.


    Far away, the remaining ranged infantry can do nothing but watch in desperation, they are too far and little in number to provide relief. Martin¡­can¡¯t be angry at them for them to decide not to intervene, it was his fault for his incompetent, that led the army to this failure.


    ¡°Lord grant me mercy.¡±


    Well, there is nothing more for him to do but to pray.

 A day to refresh

    Oompahhhh!


    After that signal, the battle changed to its final phase: the slaughtering ending falling upon the losers of the fight.


    The original Latilian line, having regained its strength after being reinforced, successfully stalled the Elestovakians frontline while it was being distorted, allowing the Winged Husaria and regular cavalry to charge down on the back of the defenders uncontested. It was not just a double flank, it was an entire encirclement.


    From his mount, Martin can only see in grimm as Latilian riders smash down onto the rear of his army from everywhere possible. Overrun by the immense pressure inflicted upon them, his Elestovakian line shattered into multiple smaller contingents, each carrying on a desperate last stand until their very last breath. The men fought with all of their strength, though their effort was devastated by the sheer amount of Latilians thrusting swords and pikes upon their armors and bodies, painting them in a red crimson color, with guts spreading on their shield and blackpowder smoke blind their eyes. Some who tried to break the encirclement were struck down by the cavalry, leaving no chance for them to reunite with the still garrisoning force. Eventually, the battle ended after half an hour of bloodbath, with a monumental result in the favor of, obviously, the Latilians.


    Out of a thousand and three hundred Elestovakians joined the battle, only seventy survived. What is left of the battlefield looks bloody and somewhat unpleasant for the eyes of an innocent. The Latilians, on the other hand, suffered almost a hundred deaths, mostly from the early stage of the battle. Still, compared to the number of dead Elestovakians, the Latilian number is far too little, needless to say the victory was a landslide.


    As for Martin, he was found dead with his club firmly on hand, dismounted. The Elestovakian commander¡¯s body was discovered thanks to his distinguished armor, which was buried with him later on, as a tribute to a valiant enemy soldier.


    Seeing the defeat of their comrades, the remaining troops in the garrison laid down their arms, accepting surrender.


    The Latilians later entered the fortress for occupation, and even later for looting valuables of it to deliver back to Voyage. It would take a whole day just looking for goods and inspecting them as there are too many to look for. Fort Separ, aside from being a strategic fortification, one might claim it is also a massive size treasure room, one that the Latilians gladly take into their collection. While that will be the task of the dozen of men that were deployed to garrison the captured fort, meanwhile, Belisari, Lily and their army returned to Voyage, triumphant:


    ¡°Great work, everyone. Cheer!¡±


    ¡°Cheer!¡±


    And they are now having their dinner in the dining room of Voyage Castle, the only building in the entire city that is able to serve the three thousand victors who have just returned from Separ.


    The tables were rearranged as a beer hall, allowing more soldiers to gather around, sitting side by side, drinking beers and enjoying their hot meal cooked by local volunteers. The last week was tiring enough, those hard working fighters deserve a good, ample and rewarding rest, maybe a few days rest before continuing the journey.


    **


    The day after, Lily called Belisari to go out with her.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve taken more rest.¡±


    Belisari speaks, he is still tired from the previous battle. His arms are losing their grip, and his head wasn¡¯t recovered from a blunt hit on his helmet during the last phase of the fight. Nonetheless, those excuses weren¡¯t enough for Lily to spare him. As she said earlier, ¡°I need you for a bit.¡±


    ¡°You can sleep after returning to the castle, now may you come with me first, have you brought your helmet yet?¡±


    Speaking of which, Lily also requested Belisari to bring his helmet with him, while herself bringing her own sword along. Having greeted the Prince, the Archduchess signaled him to follow her, and he did.


    ¡°Ehh¡­¡±


    They went by several notable buildings.


    A newly set up open cafe, first in the city, serving as a place for the regulars to gather and enjoy the once uncommon drink of coffee, or just have a good midday meal. Most of the seats were however occupied by soldiers of the Winged cavalry. They do seem to love this kind of service.


    A temporary training camp complex, currently home of the light skirmishers and their Archery friends on the back row. There are some opportunistic locals setting up all kinds of stores nearby to make money from the soldiers, and most of them made a huge fortune out of it, especially after the battle of Fort Separ, the troops now are richer than ever.


    Finally, a Vinecian jewelry shop displaying a dozen of silver and golden arm rings on their glass. One thing stood out from that shop is a single ring that manifest the color of silver, yet being solemnly places in a red blanket:


    ¡°It''s called aluminium, which is extracted from clay. Though its origin is humble, the price for a single ring outmatched its golden counterpart.¡±


    In fact, in the entire city of Latila, there is only about a kilogram of this metal.


    ¡°Fascinating¡­¡±


    Lily blankly replied, continuing walking across the street. Alright, what is she up to now? Belisari questioned, he didn¡¯t know that it is already in front of him, just a bit far away:


    ¡°Is this¡­¡±


    After ten minutes of walking around, the two arrived in front of a massive building, with four individual chimneys and a hot steamy atmosphere surrounding it. Along the sides of the building, there is many debris of pig irons covered in black charcoal, the remains of the process of burning and melting. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    All around, there are echoes of welding hammers, hitting repeatedly into something that creates such a distinguished sound: melting metal. By this point, it isn¡¯t difficult for anyone to realize this place is:


    ¡°A blacksmith.¡±


    More particularly, this is the workshop of the son of the woman a few days earlier who recognized Lily:


    ¡°Come.¡±-Lily says-¡±The blacksmiths here are giving discounts for soldiers, it is a good time to do you a favor, I think. Your helmet is broken, I¡¯ve noticed. Your armor is scratched as well.¡±


    Oh yeah, the blunt hit left a clear mark on the steel helmet, one that is hardly noticeable for anyone, but not the one-eyed Archduchess. Dammit, the Prince tried to ignore that:


    ¡°Ah¡±-Belisari embarrassed-¡±You don¡¯t have to, I can pay on my own-¡±


    ¡°No, I will, just consider this as I am taking care of my subordinate. Also, I am not buying you a new one, just repairing the old.¡±


    Hearing his friend politely reasoning, Belisari surrenders. Well, good, this attire is very old anyway, it was a surprise that it still fit. The only problem Belisari got with it is having his friend pay for his goods.


    Knock knock


    Lily knocks on the door of the blacksmith, then she opens the door and enters. A stream of dense hot air immediately flows out, blinding their vision with its shade of gray white. When the mist was clear, a figure steps out, welcomes them into his workshop, the young blacksmith of the workshop:


    ¡°Greetings, Mr.Blacksmith.¡±-Lily speaks.


    ¡°Greetings, Your Grace, Your Royal Highness. Welcome to Atelier Workshop, we make, repair and tailor all types of metallic tool here, military and civilian alike-¡±


    The blacksmith was about to read out his full-length introduction to his workshop, about half an hour or so, but thankfully, Lily rudely skips it, like skipping dialogues:


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I know.¡±-she flaps her hand-¡±Just do your job, please.¡±


    ¡°Fine, as you wish.¡±


    Despite his introduction being ruthlessly ignored, the blacksmith quickly excitedly got to his work. He grabs a rope with length marks, measuring Belisari and the old combat attire of his, while noting everything he saw into a piece of paper nearby, by centimeters. So this is how a tailored repair combat armor is made, unlike those mass-produced of the gear complex in Latila:


    ¡°Ten centimeters from here and here.¡±


    (Ugh!)


    Well, the scratching feeling of the rope really makes the Archprince uncomfortable, it was like someone was trying to restrain him. His vivid and exaggerated bothersome expression on his face caused Lily, who was looking at him, to chuckle a bit.


    (Dammit, I will do the same to you one day.)


    Then it comes to height. Even when compared to the gigantic body of his friend, his height is not too bad, much less when compared to normal people, though it is always a shame when these two people stand side by side, measuring the other¡¯s figure.


    ¡°Hah¡­¡±


    Thankfully, the process ended quickly, though Lily¡¯s chuckle can still be heard in the background.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m done.¡±-the blacksmith says as put down his ruler-¡±Please return in a few hours or so, I will have it done for you.¡±


    **


    ¡°Two cups of coffee, one with sugar and some milk please.¡±


    Back to the street again, the two decided to go somewhere while waiting for Belisari¡¯s armor to be fixed. After a while, they ended up in the very cafe they saw from the beginning, when Belisari said that he wants to taste the flavor of coffee brewed by people in Voyage with Lily:


    ¡°The aroma here is most pleasing.¡±


    The entire shop is filled with the scent of coffee beans, which is somewhat very enjoyable. This is not a thing from the process of making coffee alone. Clearly, the owner here deliberately put baked coffee underneath the tables in order to create the smell, thus attracting more customers to his shop. Additionally, they also planted some flowers around, making the experience here delight not just your nose and your taste, but your eyes as well.


    ¡°Yes, though I wish the taste would be as pleasant as its smell, though¡­


    Looking at the expression of the horsemen around, the coffee must be amazing. Lily doesn¡¯t drink coffee as regularly as Belisari, yet she understands while her friend loves it:


    ¡°Such an elegant drink, the cafe too, very pleased.¡±-She says-¡±I must say it was quite a fine choice for a date-¡±


    ¡°Pfft-¡±


    ¡°Ew, gross.¡±


    Cough ¡°A date?¡±


    ¡°Ah, it was I who called you out for armor repair, but we could¡¯ve returned to the castle while waiting. However, instead you suggested that we should go walking and eventually we visit this cafe to kill time. Wasn¡¯t that your intention to lure me into a date? Or was it just my misunderstanding?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­I think¡­¡±-Belisari hesitates to give an answer-¡±¡­it is up to you to decide what it is.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind considering this a date.¡±


    The words were a bit teasing, enough to make both the speaker and the listener blush a bit. They stop talking for a while, until the waiter comes to bring their drinks over:


    ¡°Such a fancy flavor¡±-Lily says, while taking the first sip-¡±The bitterness is strong, but it turns rather tender when we drink it with milk.¡±


    ¡°Right?¡±-Belisari adds-¡± It is not a drink to be served alone, with some milk and sugar included, a cup of fine brewed coffee can easily win people¡¯s hearts. Honestly I don¡¯t understand why there are people who drink this alone though, they are immune to the bitterness of something.¡±


    Coincidentally, the table next to them is the gathering place of a bunch of sole-coffee drinkers. They heard what Belisari said and tended to explain, but upon recognizing their bosses, the men decided to just shut up.


    ¡°I still prefer cigarettes, but I guess this is not bad at all. I would love to spend time drinking coffee with you. Have you ever brought Arlin and Klein out for a coffee before?¡±


    ¡°No, Arlin doesn¡¯t like coffee, Klein and I on the other hand usually drink coffee brewed right away in the palace, though the quality is a bit lower and I occasionally had to go out to buy beans.¡±


    ¡°Klein, huh?-saying Lily while she pours some sugar into her and her friend¡¯s coffee-You two are close, I¡¯m almost jealous.¡±


    ¡°Jealous?¡±


    Belisari says, he thought he misheard something, but the Archduchess turns away with her ears turning red.


    ¡°No, nothing. Though I wish I also had an office at the Latila Palace like Klein does, then I could¡­¡±


    Stopping the dialogue in the middle of the sentence, Lily grabs her hand on the cup, then takes another sip.


    ¡°Ah- dammit.¡±


    It was too sweet, perhaps she forgot to stir it up.

 Ambushed

    ¡°Take care of the prisoners, don¡¯t mistreat them. We will know if you dare to harm those men.¡±


    ¡°I got it, have a great trip, Your Royal Highness. Beware of bandits.¡±


    A few days had passed after the battle of Fort Separ, with the fort opened, the road to the old eastern border of the kingdom was clear. With this, the Latilian Central Army scrambles back to their expedition, hoping to reach the inner desert of the continent by the end of summer.


    After saying goodbye to the man they left in charge of the city, the Archprince return to his conveyances, embark on the continuous military journey with their men. From this part of the country, it should take a week moving constantly to get to the border, where they will enter the old territory of Carthagia from, and liberate that country from ELestovakian bondages.


    ¡°Make sure that the road is clear, we don¡¯t want any encounter on our path.¡±


    At the front of the line, three riders, one of them is Lily, are doing scout work. Right behind them are the vehicles of the Marine Corp. The main army will march after, then the supply force. Finally as well as very oddly, the far end of the army is the cavalry, both the elite Husaria and the regulars, their task is to protect the supplies, considering how harsh it would be once they enter the desert.


    For extra safety, Aurora is placed in front of the first carriage, using her scope to roughly navigate the terrain surrounding them.


    The narrow greenfield of Middle Atlasia Meadow, its image looks exactly what a modern person thinks of when they are requested to imagine how a plain looks like, with miles of weed and grass, decorated with some bushes, some flowers and random fields and settlements on the side of their road. It would be a pleasant place for the army to set up their camp, unfortunately the destination of today¡¯s trip is somewhere far from this place:


    ¡°To be specific, it would be the entrance of the Northern Plateau of the County of Liston, the former buffer zone between the Kingdom of Latila and the Carthagian Republic.¡±


    ¡°Buffer zone?¡±


    ¡°Well, you see¡±-Belisari elaborated the plan for Aurora-¡±Around five hundred years ago, the Carthagians suffered a disastrous famine, which led to many of their people turning into raiders and attacking Latilian settlements alongside the old border. While the Carthagian government was unable to control the situation, our Kingdom took measure by annexing the hilly western part of Carthagia and established a sovereign territory as the frontline to protect the rest of the country from plunderers. Thus born the County of Liston.¡±


    ¡°That sounds very interesting. But doesn''t that mean the Carthagians hate the Latilians? For invading their territory?¡±


    ¡°No? As I¡¯ve just said, that was five hundred years ago. The Carthagians forgave us a long time ago, especially after we helped them to stabilize their government right after the annexation. In fact, the two were allies before the invasion of the Elestovakians.¡±


    ¡°Oh, cool. So we do expect Carthagian support once we get there, right?¡±


    ¡°For certain there will be, after all Liston itself is home of many Carthagians who have their relatives on the other side of the border.¡±


    And uncoincidentally, many soldiers from their infantry corps are people who fled all the way from Liston when the Elestovakians attacked, about a thousand or so. They can rely on local support once the army left the former territory of Latila.


    Moving on with the journey, they¡¯ve gone half of the goal for today.


    The green empty field of the Middle Atlasia Meadow slowly changes. There are flowers, more and more flowers and other types of plants all around, which is the result of the plateau in front of their path. They served as a natural barrier blocking low flying clouds from reaching the other side of the Atlasia, drying the land and thus forming the Carthagian Great Desert.


    In exchange however, thanks to the barrier, clouds mostly rain upon this side of the plateau, prospering the soil of the meadow. Though it was a bit unfair that the Latilians held the most gorgeous territory of the narrow field, the Carthagians, the Aeropostalis and the Nosfeturans rarely did anything about it; they wanted to preserve the purity of the Meadow.


    ¡°Ah¡­so beautiful.¡±


    On the sides of the road is a vast flower field.


    ¡°Yeah, such a blessing for the eyes.¡±-Lily at the front overheard that line also agreed.


    ¡°Such unfortunate that we are in the middle of a rushed war¡±-the Prince speaks, widening his eyes onto the view-¡±Otherwise I would love to enjoy the scene for many more days. Still, there is a forest at the end of the road, where we can establish a proper forward outpost. Not as romantic as a flower-covered camp, but we can have a good logistic base.¡±


    Aurora meanwhile, concerned-¡°I¡¯ve read many stories about a group of merchants being ambushed by bandits as they enter a wood, hope we won¡¯t encounter any. Lord knows if we are able to fight them off with no casualties.¡±


    ¡°You are worrying nonsense, we have ten thousand troops, with literal cavalry and elite ranged infantry, no sane bandit would try to rob us.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, our conveyances look like a bunch of luxury chariots. They might mistaken us for a bunch of aristocrats or something¡±


    That is because the Marines hang their painted shields around the vehicles. Ganeoese shields are decorated with bright red and yellow, very majestic and outstanding, but it is a fatal flaw in camouflage. That is not their fighting style though, so perhaps it is acceptable.


    ¡°Fantastic, let them come then. I want to eradicate raiders before leaving the region.¡±-calling out loud to the scout cavalry-¡±Keep an eye on the wood, alert if there is any problem.¡±


    **


    The branches on trees shake a little.


    ¡°Twenty carriages and more are coming, so far I see just three escorts, we will eat good tonight dad.¡±


    ¡°You heard it, sharpen your spears, we will take down the cavalry then assault the vehicles from all directions.¡±


    ¡°Got it, boss.¡±


    Hiding between bushes along the forest main road, beyond Aurora¡¯s surveillance and cavalry reconnaissance, a company of raiders has had the impression that the Marine Corp is their next victim.


    ¡°Are you sure they are merchants? With so little protection I doubt they carry anything important.¡±


    On a tree outskirts the wood, two scouts, one of them is the commander, are watching as the convoy closes the distance.


    ¡°I am pretty sure¡±-whispered scout 1 to scout 2-¡±Look at their vehicles. The merchants must be among the luxury class, or even aristocrats if we are lucky.¡±


    ¡°I doubt if they are aristocrats, their caravan should be more protected. Fine, must be merchants. I guess you are not an all time idiot.¡±


    And those ¡°merchant carriages¡± are coming in huge numbers, the raiders should have a proper plan if they want to gain as much profit as possible for this mission. They have forty people, far ¡°outnumbered¡± the three guards in front of the line. A classic road-blocking flank should work:


    ¡°Alright, heavy guy¡±-scout 2 informs his fellows-¡±You should be at the front to lure their attention, remember to wear heavy armor for protection, we don¡¯t know if the escorts are something deadly. Spearmen, you will take care of the riders when they are stalled. The rest will flank them.¡±


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    **


    ¡°I smell something fishy.¡±


    The conveyances had entered the wood¡¯s road. But also in the moment, Lily feels something is wrong.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Your Grace?¡±-asked a cavalryman from behind, concerning something that might''ve just happened beyond his awareness. He was about to alert everyone, but Lily tells him not to:


    ¡°I sensed danger, but just a mild one, no need to assemble the entire army. I will go first, you just keep looking around, stay near the vehicles if needed, they will protect you.¡±


    **


    ¡°Dummy, the front guard dismounted¡­¡±


    Obviously, the Archduchess¡¯s sudden act did not go unnoticed for the ambushers.


    ¡°I see, hey¡­that is a nice long hair, a female knight, and she is¡­Wow! What a look, I will have a fun night tonight.¡±


    ¡°I care not about your libido, dumbass son.¡±-scout 2, the father of scout 1 lands a hit on his son¡¯s head-¡±I think she has noticed our present. Dammit, everybody ready for pursuit. We might have to chase them down, gather ranged weapons up.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­and is that a vampire (Aurora)? And she looks young as well, alright I will take them-¡±


    Bonk! ¡°Spunky idiot¡­grab your spears, we go.¡±


    **


    ¡°So far so good.¡±


    The Latilians are moving between the trees. The road is clear, but it is a bit dark due to the density of plants in this forest blocking away sunlight. It also didn¡¯t help that trees here have their branches overgrew, making the forest more obscured as if it wasn¡¯t already, hence it is useless to use scope to look around.


    Hmm¡­Hmm¡­Hej, tam gdzie? z nad¡­


    Aurora humming along the road, waiting for something exciting to happen.


    Her song is pleasant to ears, dozing out several men in the same conveyance into a sense of comfort.


    The calm breeze flutters the leaves, merging into a lullaby of the forest sending to the men on the road. Birds sing, insects echoes, those sounds can hardly be heard in Latila, only the Meadow here can provide them such a beautiful resonance of nature.


    They haven¡¯t seen any enemy.


    Maybe, there is nothing to worry about after all.


    ¡°Hey.¡±


    Suddenly, Lily¡¯s loud and sharp voice alerted the Marines and their mounteds.


    ¡°Who are you? Occupation? Nationality? Unit?¡±


    In front of the line, a huge man, roughly one and a half of the Archduchess, with full body armor, weapons and barricade is blocking the road. The armor shows signs of damage from multiple engagements, representing no insignia or something similar to tell which country he belongs to, while his sword dripped in dried blood. Everyone seeing that could tell that this is something out of the ordinary:


    ¡°Move aside.¡±-Lily speaks.


    But the man stays firm.


    ¡°Stop the convoy.¡±-He says, raising high his sword for everyone to see-¡±This road is blocked. Turn around or I will slaughter every man, woman and child on the carriages.¡±


    ¡°Such nonsense. I am afraid you are the one who must listen to my command.¡±-the Archduchess, ignoring all of the odds-¡±I will consider you didn¡¯t say anything. You may surrender, move aside and we will let you go. I don¡¯t want any unnecessary bloodshed-¡±


    Bang!


    Before the Archduchess got to finish her sentence, the armored man swung down his sword upon her standing place. However, having prepared her sprint earlier, Lily easily dodged the hit:


    ¡°I see. All men ready for ambush-¡±


    Just the moment the order was given out, coincidentally from the bushes, many dozens of projectiles flew out and collided with the vehicles. Then, bandits with swords and daggers jumped down from surrounding trees, effectively besieging most of the carriages at the front of the line. It was at this moment that the Latilians realized that they were being ambushed by a group of mysterious origin, not Elestovakians. The soldiers pick up their weapons, are about to go, but:


    ¡°I have an offer.¡±


    Out of nowhere, probably from a safe place on the trees, a voice comes talking to the Latilians. Hearing that, Belisari secretly ordered his troops to not engage right away.


    ¡°I will let you go, but you must leave everything valuable here for us, including gold, silver, spice, dyes, women and your own carriages.¡±


    (I understand the others, but women? Disgusting)


    Belisari says. Taking his helmet off, he pokes his head out to negotiate:


    ¡°Why should we? How many men do you have?¡±


    ¡°A hundred, compared to just three of yours. I dare say you have no other choice. Fine, I will let some women go with you, but the vampire and the dismounted knight must be left. I deemed that it is generous.¡±


    The ¡°a hundred¡± was a big exaggeration, but to intimidate the target into yield, inflating the number is a fine option. Plus, they also have the element of surprise on their side.


    (Lily must be bursting with anger right now, while Aurora¡­yeah she is loading the flare gun.)


    ¡°A hundred?¡±-Belisari continues-¡±That is a big number, I can see, we ought to be severely outnumbered and surrender¡­¡±


    But the Prince¡¯s voice manifests a calm attitude. That does make the commander of the bandits feels uncomfortable, and so he pushed:


    ¡°Enough dragging all around, surrender now or we will attack. I give you ten seconds-¡±


    ¡°Our answer is no¡±-Belisari cuts it short, wearing back his helmet and jumping off the vehicle-¡±It was your bad luck for attacking a military convoy. Aurora, fires a signal for the cavalry. Liliya, take down the guy. Everyone else, follow me.¡±


    ¡°What-¡±


    From every single of the conveyances, the Marines swarmed out with loaded crossbows. They quickly take the shields of their carriages and rebuild a barricade around the convoy, all to the surprised faces of the bandits around, now aware that they¡¯ve made a great mistake.


    ¡°This is Archprince Belisari Flarius Latila of the Kingdom of Latila, I demand your total unconditional surrender right away. Your fate shall be decided by the Commander in Chief of the Central Latilian Army, Archduchess Lily Sobieski Voyage, the one who is dismounted over there¡­¡±


    that is (probably just imagination) having her only eye glowing in red.


    So¡­they¡¯ve made far more than just a big mistake. Upon realizing such, the commander almost falls from his hide spot. He was fortunate enough to hold dearly on the branch to not fall down, but the jiggle of the leaves disclosed his position.


    ¡°So you are there¡­¡±


    Belisari, with a very gentle gesture, handed out an offer:


    ¡°I give you ten seconds to surrender, like you do, all of you. Starting-¡±


    ¡°Goddammit, attack!¡±


    In the chaos, the commander doesn¡¯t care of it anymore, he desperately orders an attack:


    ¡°Foolish¡­¡±


    A volley of spears came into collision with the Marine shields and were stopped right away, and were returned by arrows from powerful Ganeoese crossbows, those that deemed armors easy to be penetrated, much less bandits with little leather wears. As a result, many raiders immediately fell just half a minute into the fight.


    ¡°R¡­run!¡±


    To make matters worse, a couple of men who saw what happened to their colleagues chose to flee the fight, leaving many holes in the encirclement allowing more soldiers to flood in to help their allies. The bandits were so quickly overran, that they didn''t even have enough time to take out more spears for a second attack, many just being cut down in the process:


    ¡°God is punishing us.¡±-the commander sweats a bucket, seeing as his team is being crushed one sided-¡±Heavy, at least make your way out, we have to withdraw.¡±


    He screamed to the armored man at the front, who had had some more swordsmen gathering with him to take down the Archduchess and was too focused on it he couldn''t hear what his commander said. Instead:


    ¡°I will at least take your head, fag.¡±


    The voice was heavily distorted, but still recognizable, that is the voice of fear, anger, barbary and anxiety, and even somewhat blaspheming the one-eyed knight. She doesn¡¯t really mind it though:


    ¡°That is very impolite, but I will forgive you if you surrender right now.¡±


    ¡°NO, you didn¡¯t hear what I said!? Bitc-¡±


    ¡°Now that crossed the line.¡±


    ¡°AS IF I CARE.¡±


    The man dashes forward with a firmed blade, welding at the Archduchess hoping to land a hit, followed by several with the same intention. The movements were heavy, not one of professional troops, but swiftly enough to wipe out inexperienced escorts. So that is how so many convoys here had disappeared without any trace.


    Danger is close.


    Still, Lily stands there, waiting for them to get into her range:


    ¡°Goodbye.¡±


    A great red horizontal split suddenly appears midair, trailing behind the famed black sword. As its welder embedded it back to the ground, what was left of the raiders were multiple pieces of limbs covered in red mist.

 Onward!

    At night, an outpost has been established by the Latilians outside the wood.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see what we have here.¡±


    With everything settled, it¡¯s time to investigate those who had ambushed them in the forest. Overall, they have fourteen prisoners, two dozen corpses to bury while the rest had probably fled far away into the trees. It is not likely that they will reorganize though, because their commander had been captured, but just to be sure, the cavalry was mobilized to patrol throughout the night.


    ¡°Wake up.¡±Slap


    Forcefully dragging the bandit commander out of the open field, Belisari greets him with a decent slap. He didn¡¯t have to do so, because the commander was awake all the time, but he still wanted to do it on the behalf of Lily. Partly, because he was a bit angry, but mostly¡­ehh¡­let¡¯s say if it was the Archduchess who did that to the bandit, his face would be too deformed to speak.


    Speaking of Lily, she is standing right behind the man, hands firmly on the sword that just delivered seven of his friends to God. Crueler, its blade is still stained in blood of the killed men. The sight of it must be terrifying to the bones for the bandit.


    ¡±Why is there a Latilian Army in this place?¡±-The commander, despite all of those against him, grits his teeth-¡±This is Elestovakia, not Latila.¡±


    ¡°No more¡±-Belisari, gentle and calm as he mostly is, replies-¡±This area is now liberated and will soon rejoin the Kingdom of Latila. You unexpectedly tried to attack the Latilian Central Army when we were on our way from the newly captured Voyage to Liston.¡±


    Said gentle, but the Prince at the same time pressed his voice, nailing his pressure on the man. Not unexpectedly, the bandit is totally surprised hearing that explanation:


    ¡°H¡­how? Alright, please let me calm myself first.¡±-he takes a deep breath-¡±This is a war?¡±


    Nod ¡°Yes, there is a war between the Kingdom of Latila and the Kingdom of Vienna against the Elestovakian Empire. By the way, this is the Latilian Central Army, led by the Archprince of Latila, which is me, and the Archduchess of Voyage behind you.¡±


    ¡°So, the claim that you are the Archprince of Latila was not gibberish talk?¡±


    ¡°I can assure you that I am indeed the Archprince of Latila, unless my mind is drunk and I just imagine things and stuff, but I don¡¯t drink, so that is not the case¡­¡±


    Meanwhile, Gerald, Angela and Aurora are watching them from a distance and have their dinner. They seemed to be paying attention at first, but then disinterested when they realized the talk may take hours if it keeps going this way.


    Not judging the Prince, but Aurora must say that his way of talking to strangers dragged everything too long. Well, lucky she didn¡¯t have to encounter that on their first meeting, probably because he was shocked enough to skip the extra dialogues:


    ¡°He usually does things around to grab more info, at least that is what His Royal Highness claimed. By doing so he might be able to pick up more of the scattered info to fold them into a big picture.¡±


    Angela said that. She is one of the people who knew him a lot, so that is probably true. But Aurora thinks wise:


    ¡°I think he just wants to enjoy the talk.¡±


    Whatever, let Lily and Belisari do their job. Aurora is more curious about the book Gerald is reading.


    Noticeably, unlike most times, the knight doesn¡¯t wear armor. Instead, his current attire is a red coat decorated with several golden stripes, with hat and a silver cross necklace on the neck. He does look like a giant Catholic missionary in this uniform:


    ¡°What book are you reading?¡±


    ¡°The Holy Bible.¡±


    Alright, so he does not just look like a missionary, he is one himself, aside from being a knight. The existence of the Holy Bible in this world is not something Aurora did not expect, as evidence of its religion Kristianity (The alphabet here had no ¡°Ch¡±?) are everywhere during her time here. In fact, before she even embarked on her daring world jump, she knew that the equivalent version of the holy book of her old world had been floated everywhere around.


    That said, what she didn¡¯t know though is the content of it. It is a terrible assumption to say that the Bibles in both worlds contain the same stories, as the two worlds grew different from the other. Thankfully, she had a Bible from her homeworld to compare, borrowed from one of her acquaintances.


    ¡°May I borrow it for some time?¡±-asked Aurora politely, and that¡­actually worked. Gerald just closes the book and gives it to the girl, without any further question.


    (Maybe he thought I wanted to convert? Well, whatever.)


    Happily taking the book from the Knight, Aurora hurriedly returns to her tent, which is the first time it is ever being used from the day they left Latila. The girl can be seen crumbling into the tent, trying to read the book with a dim light from a candle.


    ¡°Gerald, Angela.¡±


    It seemed like the Prince has done with the interrogation:


    ¡°Apparently.¡±-Belisari sits down to the campfire-¡±The guy agreed to lead us to the entrance of the plateau in exchange for us to release his team. He also promised not to be a bandit after this ever again and will submit himself to the nearest village around. I guess that is the best deal we could ask for.¡±


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t we pull them along?¡±-Angela wonders-¡±We have enough accommodation to house some extra men, right? That should make sure to keep them away from the path of crime.¡±-and that is a sensible and frankly a smart idea, however:


    ¡°No, because the army will dwindle to a minimum soon enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that makes sense why don¡¯t you want them to come along. But why? Why does the army need to be shrunk?¡±


    The flier commander awaits for her answer from Belisari, but then Lily comes, she speaks:


    ¡°We are about to march into Carthagia right after Liston. The thing is: the Great Desert is vast, but with little water and food for our full army to sustain. Hence, we must cut the number of men before sending them into the sand.¡±


    With their number of ten thousand, the logistics would be a nightmare. Imagine having to feed ten thousand combatants two meals per day, in two or three weeks, that would drain the last drop of water on the already barren desert. Not to mention that their marching speed will be reduced once they enter the sandzone, thus the slow moving force must be left behind:


    ¡°I planned that we go with just half of the Winged Husaria, the Flier Corp and the Marine Corp. About two thousand troops, that is it. A fifth of the men and a third of the horse. That is the most we can bring along if we want to reach the city of Carthagia before starving to death.¡±


    ¡°And there is one more thing.¡±-Belisari raises his hand to speak:


    ¡°Saying two thousand, but we must scatter the number into three prongs.¡±


    ¡°Even smaller!?¡±


    Angela, at this point, doesn''t know what her commanders are thinking anymore. They already leave behind eight thousand troops, and now they will split up into three, making an average contingent only consisting of six to seven hundred soldiers, too small for a scaled battle. This better has a proper explanation:


    ¡°Yes, because the plan will give us three benefit:


    One, to reduce the logistic pressure on the paths. By moving in three individual groups, the army will cover a broader area to look for food and water.


    Two, by moving in small prongs, we will be able to travel faster. The heat of the desert is lethal even for an equipped caravan. The less time we walk on sand, the better.


    And three, we are attempting to force surrender Carthagia.¡±


    **


    ¡°Goodbye, see you again.¡±


    ¡°Have a safe trip, Your Royal Highness.¡±


    After leaving behind 500 men to man the newly built garrison, the army continues to navigate through the Meadow¡¯s forest. Under the guidance of the bandits, they slowly, but steadily walk into the narrow pass of West Meadow Wood.


    The deeper they sink into the wood, the greener their path becomes. At first, they only find trees with trunks that are normal in size, the same one they used to build their outpost with. They are nice, reminding people of forests in fantasy RPGs and novels, those with bushes underneath the ground and tall plants surged right above.


    However, as they move, those plants fall behind, giving places for giant trees that are higher than even the Latila Palace to grow. Those trees arching into green cathedrals, sparking their leaves in sunlight of gold and dropping shadows to those who walk below. The scent of grass flutters away, replaced by the smell of moss and damp earth.


    This is the borderline between a world where humans had discovered, and a world where nature remains almost untouched:


    ¡°Ah! So adorable!¡±


    And then there come the animals.


    They found some black bunnies on the way. Aurora picked one up from the colony and cuddled them respectively. The girl seems to love rabbits a lot, Belisari as well. What can¡¯t be said the same are the rest of the team in the same carriage with her, they rather found them quite annoying when the bunnies keep climbing onto their shoulders:


    ¡°They love you.¡±-Lily speaks to the behind, giggling-¡±Why don¡¯t we let them travel with us a bit. Their entire family is here, it won¡¯t hurt.¡±


    ¡°No, I think their home is here.¡±


    Belisari gently put them down and cut some grass for them, then they continued:


    ¡°Alright, careful, don¡¯t get off the main road.¡±


    The path is now hardly visible through layers of green. There are still some rocks marking the two sides of the path that distinct solid land from complete soft earth, but they also vanished as they approach the upfront plateau: which is already visible with scopes by now. Upon looking at the 700 meters tall range, Aurora¡¯s heart fell. Climbing all of that will be a messy task.


    Anyhow, for now, they have entered the grassy road, which is prettified with hedges of white little flowers that Aurora cannot recognize, and probably this plant cannot be found on Earth. According to Lily and Belisari, it is called White Flame, and is edible:


    ¡°Bleh.¡±


    But when Aurora picks one up to taste, she is antagonized and immediately regrets it. Because just like its name, the flower is very spicy, like concentrated jalapeno but in the form of gentle bouquets. The spiciness is enough to disable the taste bud of a person for a few hours:


    ¡°You should¡¯ve warned me.¡±


    ¡°You should¡¯ve known it when we mentioned its name.¡±


    With face slowly turning red, Aurora drank her entire water stock for this morning.


    Due to its extremeness, no one uses Grass Flame for spice. That is a knowledge added to Aurora¡¯s notebook, although its cost is quite painful. The next time she encounters anything new, there must be decent precautions!


    But that is utterly unnecessary, because the rest of the new plants she found gave out fair touches to the tongue. A fancy orange flower with sweet honey, or another plant that tastes like a lighter version of vanilla. There are more spicy things (80% of the edible plants here give out a sense of hot-tongue) but none can compete with whatever White Flame poured into Aurora¡¯s taste bud earlier.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to taste this ever again.¡±


    However, the most valuable gift the forest has to offer Aurora is a bouquet of brown grasses, one that resemble a fancy spice, the best one Aurora ever tasted in her life:


    ¡°Cinnamon!¡±


    The girl chews with visible joy on her face. The plant tastes exactly like her favorite treat of cinnamon rolls. Later she learned it is nicknamed Mud Candy, which can only be said as a perfect name for the plant.


    It is not wrong to say that this Meadow is the spice factory.


    The abundance of spices here really wonders Aurora, of how a country blessed with so many types of tongue-triggers can cook food so horrible. Perhaps they don¡¯t know how to apply them into their meal? Though this comes with a benefit: If Aurora can simulate the growing conditions here in Latila, she can grow many of them and be rich in no time.


    Regardless, tonight she will cook.

 Rocky Highland

    ¡°Slowly, hold tight, comrades. Here we go.¡±


    A few days after the journey in the forest and the exhausting mountain climbing, the Latilian Army is now standing on the rocky Eastern Liston Plateau.


    There is no idea why this particular place has the ¡°Eastern¡± in its name, because the County of Liston is a solid flat area occupied by only highland, so a separation between East and West is absolutely unnecessary. In fact, there is no clear line to distinguish the Eastern and the Western Plateau from one another. Although people said that Liston, the town that is the heart of the County, is the point where the two regions draw the line, that explanation hardly convinced Aurora. Who uses a city to separate geological regions anyway? They can be moved, or be demolished, using those as landmarks can be very confusing.


    Letting that aside, the plateau is truly something else compared to the Meadow.


    ¡°Like traveling to a whole ¡®nother world.¡±


    Despite the minor elevation from the vast plain down below, the climate of Liston dramatically transfers from humid maritime to dry continental, added extra by light breezes flow from the far away ocean to the desert upfront. This makes the weather in the plateau fairly cold and lacking in life, in contrast to the lively meadow and the dry desert bordering it from both sides.


    And, as the description earlier, the plateau is rocky, the surface is covered in layers of endless stones, sights of soil can rarely be seen, and so do plants and animals, thus agriculture here is underdeveloped. There is no valuable resource in this region either as to make this poor area even more desperate. Liston is, truly, just a buffer zone between Latila and Carthagia, holding no other value than that.


    All of that, plus the difficulties when trying to access this county from the prosperous Voyage, made the population here the fourth lowest in the continent even before the war began. Standing at ten thousand people scattering around an area the size of Israel, it would be hard to see any person here, much less receiving support from them.


    They are on their own.


    ¡°Well, whatever.¡±


    There is nothing to do here at least until they¡¯ve reached Liston, so Aurora pulls out the two Holy Bibles and puts them side by side.


    One of them being the Christian New Testament written in Russian of her old world, the other being the Kristian Collective Bible written in Latin she brought from Gerald. The two books combined weight half of Aurora¡¯s belonging, which is quite an impressive thing to speak about:


    ¡°What is the book there?¡±


    Some of her companions, including Belisari and Lily while looking back, asked about the Christian book, they know about the Collective (obviously, all people here except the fliers are Kristians, even then their religion also be included in their Bible), but not the New Testament. But, saying that she is comparing the two books about their contents might result in blasphemy and banishment, so:


    ¡°Just checking the translation, I am not sure if the version written in my hometown language is wrong or not.¡±


    Luckily, the excuse works because her book is in Russian, not Latin or Greek, which both of them have a huge number of speakers in this world.


    And why are there Latin and Greek here anyway? This is not supposed to happen. Perhaps the answer lies between pages of these books. Aurora flips a page, then two five seconds later. Her reading speed is so high everybody else thought she was jumping pages:


    ¡°What a person¡­¡±


    Uttered Belisari, admiring such dedication the girl poured into those pages.


    Though, he himself meanwhile is dedicated as well, not for the same job, but for brewing a hot drink for the men using a device called ¡°On-road stabilized enclosed pocket kitchen¡± made by Aurora. It might not be as holy as a girl reading the Bibles, and his tool relies on the girl mentioned earlier, his act however, as seen by his comrades, is much more noble:


    ¡°Thank you, never thought one day Your Royal Highness would serve us hot coffee.¡±


    Some of the fellow Marines and the pioneer cavalry were surprised by this act, they didn''t mind having a warm cup of coffee though.


    ¡°It¡¯s a normal thing to do.¡±-The Archprince humbly pours some into the empty cups-¡°Thank Aurora for the kitchen, Ma¡¯am Liliya for suggesting me to do this and the daring Vinecians for the coffee beans, I am just a brewer.¡±


    ¡°We do appreciate your generosity, Your Highness.¡±


    ¡°Calling me Belisari is fine.¡±


    The coffee is most pleasing.


    But treating the Marines like this is so unfair for the others. Thus, far away, at the place of the regular troops and the calvary, the Cathedraller Knights with few other kitchens were tasked with heating up pumpkin pies and sharing them between the troops. The common soldiers, upon receiving the gift from the commanders, feel joy and gladly dine on their feet. This small celebration after the mountain climbing lifted the spirit of the army as they continued to march forward.


    In this altitude, the smell of coffee and pies floats, trailing behind the caravan as they carve their way on the hard soil.


    ¡°How long will it take for an army to march to Liston, do you remember, Liliya?¡±


    While still on track, the commanders continue to talk about the upcoming plans:


    ¡°Let me guess¡­¡±


    As daughter of the previous Archduke of Voyage, Lily has paid a visit to several fortresses before. The Granisus line, the O¡¯well frontier, and Liston as well, as it is the furthest east fortress of the country. Accounting on the Archduchess¡¯s blurry memory, a trip from Voyage to Liston should take:


    ¡°A week for carriages at casual speed, so around a week and a half on foot at fast pace. We¡¯ve spent a week on the road, so a few days left, maybe four.¡±


    Or around 80 kilometers for the sake of distance. Not a long trip, but quite challenging for this environment. Not to mention at night, the plateau¡¯s elevation makes this place quite cold, comparable to Latila¡¯s winter, yet little woods to make campfires.


    ¡°Heating is a big problem.¡±


    To help over nine thousand troops keep warm is not an easy task, for sure. They might have to use reserve fuel-


    ¡°I think I can help.¡±


    Suddenly Aurora pokes her head out of the blue, though she was reading?


    ¡°I can help with heating. This will slow our marching speed a bit as it cuts the time for marching each day, but if you insist, then may you let me try?¡±


    Okay, this is out of their plan:


    ¡°May you further elaborate?¡±


    ¡°Well, first of all, you know that air is important for the burning process, right?¡±


    ¡°Definitely, we know a thing or two about blacksmith despite not being one. They use an air pump to blow air into the furnace to enhance the fire, thus melting the metal into dense liquid.¡±


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°I was a blacksmith before.¡±-A Marine interferes suddenly, revealing his former job-¡±Burning logs alone hardly melt iron and gold, even for dried logs, coal is not cheap¡­so we tend to use many men to blow the air in for smelting. Are you trying to say that we should apply the same method to yield as much heat as possible?¡±


    ¡°Nice guessing.¡±


    The war doctor closes her books:


    ¡°But no, we will do the reverse. Say, blacksmith guy, do you have to constantly add fuel into the furnace as it burns?¡±


    ¡°For sure, yes, that¡¯s how it works.¡±


    ¡°Yes, using them like that only makes the wood burn out faster, the drier and more air dense the wood is, the faster they go out. In this scenario, the method is deemed worthless, we need not a very hot pot that lasts for an hour at best, we need something that lasts long.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that¡­¡±


    Belisari might¡¯ve snapped out what Aurora was about to say:


    ¡°We use fresh logs and burn in low air, so it burns slower and longer?¡±


    ¡°Ding Ding! Correct, we have to build a chamber to keep the oxygen level low, at the same time heatening the wall with the highest efficiency possible. We will then have a basic heater for an entire army to use. Do I forgot to mention that they produce smoke as well? You can use it to smoke hunted meat¡­¡±


    ¡°What the heck is oxygen level?¡±-The blacksmith Marine feels dumb-¡±I swear I don¡¯t even understand half of the words she says.¡±


    ¡°Me neither, but I gotta admit that Aurora is bright-minded and knowledgeable. If she found a company or something and used her knowledge to run the business, most blacksmiths and merchants would lose their customers overnight¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you even listening?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am. Please continue with the explanation.¡±


    ¡°Okay then, we do have mining tools and specialists, right?¡±


    Among the crews, there is a team consisting of two hundred workers hired from the mines across Latila. Their role is to clean up the path for the army to march over, and is also useful for resource gathering as well:


    ¡°I need them to collect stones and build a structure like a furnace, but with a narrow air entrance. The rest I will do.¡±


    **


    ¡°Fwah¡­¡±


    What a cozy feeling, when you gather with your comrades around a hot outdoor heater.


    All around the camp, hundreds of columns of smoke rise up into the cold air, emitted from the exact same number of furnaces the mining team built according to Aurora¡¯s blueprint for the sake of keeping warm. Underneath those clouds of black smoke, the men are having a good time in their life, smoking meat hunted from a few mountain goats scattered along their path:


    ¡°Soup here.¡±


    To make the morale better, the top of some furnaces were made using flat stone, allowing the former chefs in the army to show their cooking skills. Several days in the Meadow wood provided them with plenty of spices and ingredients that was sealed carefully in Aurora¡¯s airless barrels for preservation, making the meal expand in both quantities and quality:


    ¡°What a nice sight to see on an expedition.¡±


    In fact, extraordinary, they are probably the firsts to ever cross the plateau with such optimism. In this land where even rats hardly choose to make home, an entire army of nine thousand holding a feast is a miraculous achievement:


    ¡°I agree. I never thought I would ever see this in Liston.¡±


    Saying Lily watching them from afar, taking a freshly cigarette up to her mouth. The air is still breezy enough for a smoke, especially those who want to be just with her friend tonight:


    ¡°Want one?¡±


    The Archduchess hands the Prince a box with a single cigarette left:


    ¡°You know what, maybe just this one. Just a try.¡±


    Taking the cigarette from the box, Belisari put it into his mouth.


    Unlike Earth¡¯s cigarettes, those things here had no such modern treatment for the smoke. This also means that for the whole time, what Lily was smoking was closer to a cigar than an actual cigarette. Poor treatment, plus the leaves are still at their purest form, those cigarettes are far deadlier than Earth¡¯s deadliest modern day equivalents:


    ¡°I heard that people who smoke will die early in their life¡±-Lily began-¡±They will suffer diseases in their lungs, they cough blood, their muscles will be loosened¡­What a terrible way to end a life, isn¡¯t it? Maybe if I could redo my life, I would choose to stay away from these things.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you keep on smoking?¡±


    ¡°All those I mentioned are fine for me, I don¡¯t plan to live any further than forty. I don¡¯t care how I die either. Also¡­I am addicted, I can¡¯t keep myself concentrated without those.¡±


    The Archduchess clearly displays a regret, based on her voice:


    ¡°What about me then? Are you trying to pull me down the hole with you?¡±


    ¡°Maybe, perhaps I want you to die with me. I don¡¯t want to be alone in heaven. Come closer- ah.¡±


    Lily lit up her cigarette using a flint, but before she could lit Belisari¡¯s cigarette, the fire was put out by a cold breeze. As the shards of flint extinguish their light, Lily laments:


    ¡°Sorry, let me-egh?¡±


    !!!


    Before the Archduchess has had any chance to relit the flint, Belisari, holding his unlit cigarette in his mouth, presses it into Lily¡¯s.


    !!!


    No word was said between the two.


    The light from the lit cigarette spread to the unlit, burning them both heads into ashes. Until then, the Prince withdrawal his cigarette from the friend that is manifesting a reddish on her cheeks:


    ¡°Ah¡±-Belisari reasoning-¡±I don¡¯t want to wait for you to light up the fire again, so¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­I¡­I understand¡­but that is¡­quite sudden¡­You were quite bold there¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry¡­¡±


    (Though it was worth it, seeing her in such a face.)


    **


    Humming


    While all of that is happening, a girl is isolating herself in her own tent. She does feel hunger, and wants to join the fun outside with the soldiers, but there is a much more important thing that draws all of her attention to it. Burying herself into the notes on the two Bibles, Aurora found many odds in the records:


    ¡°The timeline is consistent¡­some maybe¡­around here¡­¡±


    Each discovery came with a line on the books:


    ¡°Some can be deemed straight up unrealistic¡­while just a small portion of them are¡­possible with higher tech. Can I assume both worlds develop parallelly?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me ma¡¯am Aurora.¡±


    Just as Aurora thought of an interesting theory, in the middle of the thinking, however, someone intruded her private area:


    Gun grabbing ¡°Halt!¡±


    Upon hearing the movement, the girl, with a very professional movement as if she was an expert combatant, summons a pistol on her right hand and points the weapon at the intruder, giving a warning. But to her surprise, it was a man from the Knights Cathedraller, on his hands bringing a bowl of hot soup:


    ¡°Whoa whoa¡­hold your fire. I am friendly, no worries. Just here to bring you dinner. You haven¡¯t eaten, right?¡±


    ¡°Uhm¡­yeah.¡±


    Taking a closer look, the man is a pastor, as his attire and the silver cross on his waist belt showed. He is young too, probably around 20-23. Before Aurora can react though, the man places down her dinner aside and approaches:


    ¡°Is that the Bible in your language?¡±-he asks, looking at the Russian New Testament, to which Aurora denies-¡±Not really my first language, but the language of where I was born. My mother tongue is Gree- Grecolatin.¡±


    ¡°Glad, I do too speak the language. Not many people speak it, only Her Grace, His Royal Highness, a dozen more people I know speak it. Such a shame, the language of King Konstantine being forgotten like this, such a disgrace for his deeds.¡±


    ¡°King Konstantine¡­the founder of the Kingdom, I heard¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes. He who rebuilt the city of Remes into the city of Latila and granted it the banner of Four Betas.¡±


    The banner of Four Betas of the House of Latila. But there is another House with four Betas on their banners.


    ¡°Wait! Then-¡±


    Something snapped out in the girl¡¯s mind:


    ¡°I have¡­some theories.¡±-Aurora says in a whisper, then turns around-¡±Pastor, I want to ask you for a favor. I want to¡­convert into a Kristian. I want to know more about Kristianity, of its history and values. May you educate me about the book?¡±


    Aside from that, there is another reason, but that should be kept only to herself:


    ¡°Missionary is a part of my job, ma¡¯am. I suppose I ought to help guide a lost child back to the grace of our Lord.¡±


    The pastor agrees easily-¡±Great!¡±-Aurora delights-¡±I¡¯m looking forward to your lessons. Now come to think of it, may I know your name?¡±


    ¡°Pastor Daniel Borei of the Order of Soldiers of Crossroad Pilgrims and of Montgilsard Cathedral. Nice to meet you, Aurora.¡±

 The hill we die on(I)

    ¡°Here we go¡­¡±


    Behind a mound, Lily extends her vision with the spyglass.


    The end of her sight stood the fortress-city of Liston.


    Lying its back on a rocky hill, overwatching the entire surrounding with its high stone towers on its wall, fortress Liston was the last point of the Latilian civilization in the East. Being built over an old Carthagian castle, Liston was designed to be a perfect defensive barrier between the two nations, at least until the Elestovakian War when it was captured.


    ¡°I¡¯ve visited Liston once, about fifteen years ago.¡±-Lily says-¡±The fortress-city was home of five thousand people before the war, and is also the only place with large arable land in the whole highland¡­.


    ¡°By simply taking Liston, we will liberate the entire eastern region from the Empire.¡±-Belisari then finished the sentence-¡±Then we may march toward Carthagia.¡±


    However, it is easier said than done.


    Per Lily¡¯s account, Liston itself is half of a city and half of a fortress, with the perimeters being a wall that rivals even the capital city plus a tunnel system built within the hill it leans onto, which is a key in diverting troops within the fortress. In addition, the rocky steep is a natural defense to hamper any cavalry from attacking the gate. Then come trench, rocks, several lifeless trees,...It is almost impossible to be penetrated from the outside by conventional means, while on the inside the number of troops possibly reach up to three thousand.


    As for the gates, there is one main gate to the West, which the army is facing at, two secondary gates to the South, which is covered in uneven terrain that stop any cavalrymen from trying to lead their horse into attacking those entrances. All of them being guarded heavily by archers, slingers and arbalists, there is no hope of a shock assault:


    ¡°We ain¡¯t gonna take Liston by muscles alone, no.¡±


    Gerald knows. In fact, back in many years, Kaval must have used one hundred thousand troops besieging just Liston alone in five months (even after the surrender of Latila) before the force inside, which was just five thousand troops, surrendered. Despite that, the defenders inflicted thirty thousand casualties for the invaders, making the siege the second deadliest battle in the Elestovakian War for the Empire.


    Noting, the delay unknowingly saved Latila, as Kaval and that army were absent in the Siege of Latila, and his replacement failed to take down the capital city on time.


    Anyhow, that should be enough to say how hard it is to take down Liston. Belisari and Lily only have over nine thousand troops left, and a tight schedule to reach Carthagia before turning around to relieve Vlenna.  And to make it harder, the two previous tricks they used to breach Voyage and Fort Separ do not work with this obscure of information and difficult terrain. No internal rampage, no cavalry flank. As always, their only advantage is the element of surprise, they need a new tactic.


    Fortunately though, they do have one trick in their sleeve, and a certain group that may work on that plan:


    ¡°Let¡¯s put our faith in them.¡±-spoke a regular Marine, they will join the fight late today.


    ¡°Javeli Melee Squadron had successfully landed on the hill. They are approaching the wall. Angela is leading Vitta Squadron to the right.¡±


    Following the plan, the landing elite fliers would stealthily enter the city from the hill the fortress is lying onto and launch an assault on the high walls. By taking their entrance far from the view of the men on the wall and choosing a landing point in a blindspot of the hill, the fliers landed undetected.


    If they actually exist on Earth, the fliers can be considered airborne troops or even light fighters, very flexible for combat operation. It was a fortune for the Kingdom that the Elestovakians were rarely able to recruit these creatures into their force, otherwise the war would¡¯ve been much harder.


    Frankly said, the Latilian Army Air Force is stronger than any air force prior to 1917¡¯s Earth.


    ¡°All men inbound.¡±


    ¡°Valya Ranged Squadron has landed.¡±


    ¡°Angela has taken over the squadrons. Ready.¡±


    Ten minutes after take off, the entire skirmish Central Air Force, consisting of 100 individuals, had set their feet on the height of hill Liston. As the commander of the force, Angela immediately organizes the force into two prongs, the idea is to take a tower, using it as a turret and quickly overrun the wall defense:


    ¡°I wish I had more rounds per gun.¡±-says the former librarian, holding both of her pistols-¡±Still having a trump card though.¡±


    The fliers lurk to the closest watchtower. As they move, the barricades of stone and windblow obscure their silhouettes and their heavy footsteps. According to accounts, Liston fortress had a small path that led to a flat surface on the hill. While humans cannot access the surface due to its height, fliers can, hence this plan needed Angela and her troops to be executed.


    They quickly discovered a guard tower nearby their standing point:


    ¡°It looks promising.¡±


    ¡°But taking the tower won¡¯t be easy.¡±


    The turret is fortified with many archers and pikemen. Still, it¡¯s their best bet if the team wants to have superiority in a flash. Without further consideration, they lock their target and discuss the plan-¡°Alright, the ranged troops will go for a skirmish first, then the melee men come and cover us, understand?¡±


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°Good.And finally¡±


    Before initiating combat, the leader opted for a final check-¡°All units report your weapon status.¡±


    ¡°Swordsmen ready.¡±


    ¡°Crossbowmen ready.¡±


    ¡°Gunners ready.¡±


    ¡°Great, descend.¡±-Angela jumps down the wall-¡°O our Lord, over the hill we die on, may you watch us serve the king who is faithful to you.¡±


    Gunshot


    ¡°What was noise- Agh!¡±


    In a swift moment after the first bullet was fired as a signal, while the Liston defenders were still clueless about the sound the round made as it exited the chamber, the Airborne Corps swarmed onto the right wall, beginning with a barrage of arrows and ammos from the ranged team.


    ¡°Intruder Alert! The right section is being attacked! The attackers appear to be armed with melee weapons, crossbows and guns, and are fliers, unknown nationality, numbering around half a hundred.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing? Regroup!¡±


    Although the element of surprise was used, the defenders quickly identified their foes and began preparation. The pikemen grab available barriers nearby and separate the fliers from their position, protecting their archer behind hastingly taking out arrows. Meanwhile, with their projectiles discharged, the ranged fliers withdraw for their skirmishers to come front:


    ¡°Agh! Damn it. Is there any heavy axe?¡±-A sword landed upon the barrier, barely piercing through its thick wood, disabling the steam of the assault side. However at the same time, as the swordsmen continued to pour their men in a close range, the archers and pikemen of the Elestovakians could not properly counter attack except those on the tower.


    The line bends upon the violence clash, but it maintains the stalemale. But the Elestovakians only need to wait, the Aeropostalis Latilians on the other hand, had not that option:


    ¡°How are the guns?¡±


    ¡°Ineffective¡±-said a gunner when asked if he can penetrate the reinforced wall. More and more, the Elestovakians place their barriers one after another. Angela fired two or three rounds into the shields, but them bullets cannot thrust too far. Others tried to burn them with their spells, but it is hard to ignite flame in such low air density:


    ¡°God¡­¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    Bad news, more defenders are coming in.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s time for you to shine then.¡±


    Impatient about the progress, the former librarian pulls out the one-of-a-kind stick she has towed along. It is a very fancy stick, with many parts unrelated to any melee combat, even a scope and a bipod attached.


    Well, it is because the ¡°stick¡± was actually a gun, a sniper rifle, tailored for the commander of the air corps:


    ¡°One that is very different apart from the others¡±-commented Angela-¡±I wonder what feeling I will have pulling the trigger. Melee, move out of my path.¡±


    The little Aurora has designed the weapon to be portable and easily be used by Angela. With one knee down and the other lifting her arm and the gun up, the angel takes aim. The target is upfront.


    Angela takes a deep breath.


    Bang!


    With a noise rivalling several pistols fired at once, a bullet rushed out from the barrel of the rifle, trailing behind by a blaze of flame. A 30 cal, as Aurora called it, effortlessly rips a hole on the barricade and kills the first men behind it.


    ¡°Good God¡­¡±


    Upon its crazy recoil, Angela feels a tingle rushed within her blood, making her fingers excitedly tremble.


    ¡°Wha¡­what happened?¡±-several men who witnessed the gruesome horrifyingly uttered.


    Click!Bang!


    Another man fell, he was a wall holder. This makes the barrier weaker significantly, then:


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    An airborne swordsman strikes his steel down the shield with all of his kinetic raw strength and collapses it. He was shot down right away by a bolt, but his bravery allowed other comrades to rush in and overwhelm the Elestovakians at hand to hand combat.


    Click!Bang!


    An archer on the tower falls, his body landed on the others, causing a disruption in the formation. Within three rounds fired from the rifle, the Elestovakian line shattered. The melee fliers chop their axes and blades on the panicked defenders, giving chance for their ranged to rush onto the castle to use its height to cover the troops underneath. Blood spilled all over the wall, splatting down the rocky grey beneath. The corpses of the fallen be towed away in order for the ranged troops to maximize their coverage.


    ¡°Commander Angela, the left contingent are moving.¡±


    ¡°Good, we have to attract their attention as long as possible. Two of you¡±-the angel points at two crossbowmen-¡±Come with me onto the turret, I need a better view of the surroundings.¡±


    Entering the turret, the former librarian plants her weapon onto an open slit where she can watch the inner city from. Angela has two more rounds in the chamber, plus an addition of ten inside her inventory, she must use them with consideration.


    Click!Bang!


    A lightshot picks up two archers on the wall. Their corpses blocked an incoming contingent, slowing down the incoming foes for her subordinates to prepare their newly formed wall around her firing spot.


    ¡°Gather the melee combatants and any sufficient coverage at the front and the inner flank.¡±-the battle angel orders, holding firmly her gun¡¯s trigger-Click!Bang!


    **


    ¡°What was the weapon that killed our men from far away?¡±


    ¡°Seemed like a long barrel gun, reports from the withdrawn men suggested that its piercing power can wreck our wooden shields.¡±


    ¡°If that is the problem, deploy heavy infantry, the gate has a hundred of them, and direct them to confront the fliers.¡±


    **


    ¡°One¡­two¡­three¡­ten. Just ten more targets. This is so expensive.¡±


    Angela recounts her remaining sniper round. The value of each one of these is worth a hundred denarii. Every shot feels like throwing a fortune into killing somebody:


    ¡°Every bullet counts, that is the best thing I can do.¡±


    Poking her gun¡¯s barrel out of the slit, Angela takes no time to wait but looking for her new targets right away. A team of archers funnelled into the main wall, not worth it considering the chaos won''t distort the movement of the men. They soon encountered a flier contingent moving there, and were hacked to pieces from the casted fire and blades.


    Elite gunners flocking to the stairways to the occupied wall. Angela was a bit hesitant, but fortunately a flier dropped a fire charge at the place and effectively created hell in the tight stairways.


    ¡°Good job, Marla¡±


    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am, but watch out.¡±


    ¡°No need for a warning, I already saw them.¡±


    With an expected movement, the Elestovakian defenders finally deployed their heavy armed company. The flier crossbowmen and matchlock gunners upon noticing them discharged their arms at the men, but their reinforced steel shield and tilted position didn¡¯t let the bolts and balls harm the armored soldiers. They were deflected.


    ¡°They are having troubles¡±


    Angela and the commander of the armored company shared thoughts.


    ¡°Those shields¡­¡±-the angel recalls knowledge from a book she read-¡±They were reinforced steel, no wonder why they were so good at deflecting projectiles.¡±


    And they are damned expensive as well, might be comparable to a fine set of armors. Moreover, Liston doesn¡¯t have any blacksmith nor ore to make such things, so it¡¯s likely that they were imported from other regions, which added to the overall price.


    The Elestovakians poured a huge sum of money to solidify Liston, this region must be serving a purpose. With that in mind, they cannot lose this battle:


    Click!


    The battle angel reloads her firearm. Her breaths felt heavy and intense, but her eyesight did not waver. The former librarian pulls the trigger:


    Bang!


    ¡°How the hec-¡±


    In an unexpected development, the 7,62mm bullet echoes from its chamber rippled through the refined steel plate, carving a small hole on the metal surface where it continued the journey to the chest of the shield¡¯s holder:


    ¡°Not¡­even¡­this thing can save us¡­¡±


    Click!Bang!


    Another hit, another man fell, then another. The sight was so phenomenal that some elite fliers forgot that their armor-piercing 7,62mm rounds inside their pistols could do the same work. It took a while for them to start firing, and when that time come it was hell for the Elestovakians:


    ¡°Felix! David!¡±


    One by one, the first line of shielded men falls, then comes the second. Each bullet took down a man with it, and when the defenders realized that it was no use trying to use their shields to cover, their heart fell. But, the attack must be done, they march on, enduring the loss of their men side by side, while continuing forward.


    ¡°There must be an end to this.¡±-the commander thought, assuming the bullets must run out at some point, in which he was right.


    Bang!Bang!Click!Click!¡±Damn it¡±


    The rain lasted in the same magnitude for a minute, claiming up to forty deaths, before the first elite flier emptied her chamber. Fifty deaths, slowly, gunners let down their guns and draw out their blades in preparation for a close quarter fight.


    ¡°Just a little more¡­¡±


    With just ten of them they can slaugh the entire formation of fliers, considering how excellent their training was in hand to hand combat. The fliers however, their enormous wings made the fighting hard for them. Along with the differences in weapons, they will win if they survive the volleys of ammos:


    Bang!Click!Click!¡±I¡¯m out¡±


    The last gunner drops his firearms, ready for a bloody skirmish. Seizing the opportunity, the Elestovakian line charge:


    ¡°Forward!¡±


    The fliers move in discipline, trying to form a line with their number superiority. However, facing a force with such weapon advantages, most will not make it.


    ¡°It should be enough.¡±


    The shielded men closing in, they still have twenty men, a commander and a fierce determination to slaughter their foe-


    Thump!


    Out of thin air, a pair of wings appear in front of the forming fliers line. Angela deviated from the turret:


    ¡°What, who is that!?¡±


    Upon seeing a new foe, the Elestovakians hesitated, but their attitude soon readjusted as their commander ordered them to march on, assuming that she is just another combatant, there is nothing to worry about. Actually, there is:


    [Let you eternally rest, and be graceful upon receiving my solemn lament.]


    The angel chants in her language. Then suddenly, from her pockets, Angela pulls out two fresh pistols, both full in chamber. When that happened, it was too late for the defenders to reach:


    Bang!


    Angela¡¯s right hand pulls the trigger.


    Bang!


    Another shot by the left.


    Bang!Bang!Bang!


    Each time the triggers were pulled, another man collapses. The line of shields break into piles of corpses as the bodies fall upon each other.


    ¡°Mercy¡­¡±Bang!


    The beg for surrender of the commander was cut short as Angela empties her chamber.


    ¡°We won.¡±


    ¡°We haven''t.¡±


    The flier commander looks to her left.


    Unsurprisingly, as the fight dragged on, most men from other parts of the wall slammed into the height where the fliers were making their stand, like an eclipse of moths being attracted into a fire.


    ¡°But we¡¯ve done the objective.¡±


    Which is exactly according to the plan.


    ¡°Are everyone armed?¡±


    At the same time as the battle on the wall is going on, another group of Latilians sets out to invade the main gate. Among them, five are dismounted Husarias, fifteen are Knights Cathedraller, ten are Marines, fifty are heavy infantry, forty are wall attackers, the rest being regular soldiers, about three hundred. They are planning to attack a secondary gate.

 The hill we die on (II)

    ¡°Lord, be merciful to us sinners, and save us for thy mercy''s sake. Thou art the great God, who hast made and rulest all things: O, deliver us for thy name''s sake. Thou art the great God to be feared above all: O save us, that we may praise Thee. Amen¡±


    Pastor Daniel prays before the fight. He is among the Cathedraller who will launch an assault on the secondary gate.


    Commanded by Belisari on the right wing and Lily to the left, the Latilian column slowly emerges from their cover. With their voice and sound and silhouettes overshadowed by the ongoing fight on the wall, it took no difficulty to arrive two hundred meters in front of the gate undetected. Upon their arrival, the Latilians see the final challenge they must face before reaching the small gate in front of them:


    ¡°Ouch. Damn.¡±


    Cursed a regular infantry, upon him accidentally trampling on a sharp rock edge it bites into his skin. The ground in this front favors not soldiers without proper protection in their feet, only those rich nobles with luxurious fine leather shoes can travel over the terrain with ease, which is unfortunate because no one here prepared a good pair of boots except Aurora. Not even the Archprince and the Archduchess, their cheap standard trench boots rippled apart as their legs walk through the stone minefield:


    ¡°When I become king, I swear I will raise the quality of military boots.¡±-spoken Belisari Flarius with his voice manifesting dissatisfaction. His men will respect that decision.


    ¡°My grandpa once taught me how to make good shoes to walk on terrains. I think I can help with that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Aurora.¡±


    When they finally reached the flat side of the ground, their legs and boots were battered by the sharp rocks. But, they also have successfully transported three hundred combatants to the obscured side of the fortress. With their objective within sight, the soldiers quickly organize their force. That however didn¡¯t go unnoticed by the men standing at the fortress.


    ¡°And they saw us.¡±


    By now, the defenders, despite the distraction of the fliers, have noticed the group of unknown intruders assembling at their gate. The first shout of warning came from a slinger guard, probably an officer according to how he dressed, while handling a projectile on his sling and swings:


    ¡°Alert! The Southern gate is being attacked, all available hands man the wall!¡±


    ¡°Raise your shields!


    The Elestovakian slinger propelled the rock on his sling onto the Latilian formation, to which they blocked it with a standard testudo formation, by moving their shields and (in not a very formal order, their pavises) above heads. As they do that, the decoration on their shields exposed their identities:


    ¡°They¡­were Latilians! Likely Latilians!¡±-Loudly said that slinger-¡±So the rumor about the fall of Voyage and Separ was true. Also it was likely that the ongoing fight on the right wall was orchestrated by their force. Men, this is not a simple raid, this is an invasion, the city is under threat of being captured. Tell the troops to assemble to this front, I deemed they are a bigger threat than the fliers.¡±


    ¡°But the fliers are on the wall, and actively killed a hundred of our men with just fifty!¡±


    ¡°Ugh!!! Try to hold them at their place, call the rest over here. We are risking a breach, you know?¡±


    With the order being given, the Elestovakian soldier had no choice but to rush to the command center to call up troops.


    All the while, the Latilians have formed up their formation and are advancing toward the gate, slowly. The remaining tree obstacles were cleared by axemen at the front when they rolled over them for the behinds to march without delay. As they meanwhile do that, in a calculated display of aggression, the Latilians line deliberately stretched out larger than usual, classically with heavy troops on the front, backed by Marine, regular soldiers, then the archers, deceiving the foes into thinking that the army was bigger than reality. This image concerned the men on the wall, who responded by stepping back while maintaining their sight on the display of force.


    ¡°Lord of Savior; May Thou save us sinners; May Thou graciously open your arms to the men and women who will die on this field, for they to rest peacefully in Thy hands. Amen.¡±


    Praying Belisari overseeing the wall they must face.


    Steadily, the intruders are now a hundred meters from the south gate, facing little resistance from those inside the wall aside from a few tossed stone pieces. That is because the defenders need time to mobilize available bodies.


    Although the fliers did their best to drain the manpowers, Liston fortress still had reserves. Years after the siege, the Elestovakians had upgraded the fort, allowing them to take up to five thousand troops compared to the previous three thousand, most of them were the infamous slingers and archers from the former County of Flemton. Thanks to them Liston had become a formidable key in the military network. That will cause troubles for the Latilian attackers.


    ¡°They are coming in hordes. Prepare for a ranged attack. Aurora, don¡¯t miss.¡±


    Over a hundred meters away, a small earthquake-like sound could be heard from the other side of the wall, it was the echo of hundreds of boots of the defenders running, rushing toward their position with their arms-¡±Draw your arrow¡±-The plan is to fire immediately when they got their enemies into a clear sight, then retreat, reload and repeat, which is a good tactic when the attackers are at close range as it both provides coverage and firepower.


    That is, if they were the ones who took the initiative. However, the Latilians were the ones to initiate the blood list:


    Bam!


    ¡°Got them!¡±


    When the first archer arrived on the wall, awaiting the coming Elestovakians was something out of the imagination of their troops and their commanders. Flashing like a summer lightning bolt and followed by a thunderous deafening sound, the wall around the gate exploded and shattered into thousand pieces of debris, bringing with it lives of those who stood on that wall in that unfortunate moment:


    ¡°Was that a cannon!?¡±-said an injured officer. Regardless whatever it was, the death toll pumped up to four or five dozens in the matter of seconds without even skirmishing. Fire sparkles float on air like fireflies, bringing with them heat and the smell of burned flesh, destruction a cannon cannot achieve. It was something unseen by almost everyone here, almost:


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Was that¡­Milishilian explosive shells?¡±


    A former sailor spoke.


    **


    ¡°Nice shots! Reload!¡±


    Under the protection of the shields, Aurora wasted no time to reload rocket launchers with new ammunition from the inventory, while the army that is protecting her position moves forward, to where their nemesis stood. Their crossbows and bows raise overhead, hiding between the slits on the barriers. Seeing that:


    ¡°Man the wall!¡±


    In the light of the advance, the defenders trampled their feet on the blazing detonated spots, trying to get their legs in balance while pulling the strings. Incredibly, in spite of the damaging shock, the garrison soldiers pursued fighting with indomitable spirit. This is not according to the plan, Belisari thought they would partially panic at least:


    ¡°I guess they will not surrender after just a single attack. Another!¡±


    Bam!


    A devastating shockwave of the second blast picks out numerous fighters standing on the wall and throws them away. But:


    ¡°For Emperor Kaval!¡±


    A courageous spirit kept pushing Elestovakians toward the wall despite the death awaiting them, their number is huge and replacements can fill in the role easily. To make matter even worse, the Elestovakian officers had some ideas to nullify the rocket strikes:


    ¡°Draw back and reorganize. I have a plan! Don¡¯t make yourselves into a group, you will be targeted by that thing. Keep the resistances individually.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir!.¡±


    **


    ¡°They got comprehension¡­¡±


    ¡°Those puny¡­curse them¡­¡±


    Respectively said Belisari and Lily.


    ¡°I can¡¯t have them on scope to make the shot worth it.¡±


    Aurora gave up with the rockets after a while.


    Although it was out of any ordinary protocol, the Elestovakians scattered around and decided to shoot while on maneuver, thus disabling the chance for the attackers to utilize their trump weapons of rocket propellers. Without a proper standing point, shots coming from the fortress were deemed ineffective. However, with their plan failed miserably and bolts raining all around their feet, the Latilians slowly lose heart:


    ¡°Stay firm in formation, we cannot let ourselves be exposed to their arrows. Concentrate and march forward! Goddammit those stubborn idiots.¡±


    That certainly does concern Belisari and Lily, the two that are holding in the frontline of the rank. Think, there must be a way to put more pressure on the opposition at this gate. They just need to harass, not penetrate the gate, but that thing alone is quite hard to do.


    And, at noon, when the sun rose high, heat from the baked stone broke sweat on their faces. They must act quickly before troops crumbled upon panic and heat pressure:


    ¡°They are quite damn stubborn. We need to deal another hit to their will.¡±


    ¡°A shock¡­¡±


    Which is what they need to break the will of the defenders:


    ¡°I am thinking¡­of a classic frontal assault.¡±


    Lily suggests her classic tactics. Unexpectedly, Belisari also thinks that it is a great plan. However, contradict to his thinking, he asked to confirm the credibility of the idea:


    ¡°That would be quite risky, they have the high ground and ranged advantage. Also, we don¡¯t have that many heavy armored knights to throw to the line, you know?¡±


    ¡°Let me lead the fight, I can do it.¡±


    It seems like their only option is to commence the battle before their troops are exhausted. That is a daring decision, but if they outmatch their foes, the attack would bear fruits. And with Lily in hand, the Latilians could perhaps win a charge?


    ¡°Good idea. Say, how many people can you bring along if we provide you sufficient cover?¡±-asked the Archprince to his chief, to which the Archduchess considers-¡±Around sixty.¡±


    ¡°Then take all of the heavy infantry along, my Marines will help with the shots.¡±


    ¡°Got it. Give them all to me and protect us properly. By the way¡­¡±


    The Archduchess turns around and sees a pastor, Daniel, the man with a cross in his inventory:


    ¡°Lend me that, I will give it back later. Lord of Savior, let I rest by Your grace.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t deliberately do something that might hurt you, Liliya.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask for that.¡±


    No more than a second after the goodbye, Lily dashes forward at an inhuman speed-faster than even Angela running-while still carrying her blade with. Subsequently, the heavily armored knights and Cathedraller soldiers followed her.


    ¡°How¡­the¡­what are the mad fools doing?¡±


    Fearlessly, the Latilian heavy charge fiercely on their feet. Witnessing such a dramatic development, the Elestovakians halted their feet and arms in total surprise, trying to figure out what the heck was happening. So for a brief moment, there was no arrow fly, allowing Latilians from the large formation to close in the gap to support their development. It took a while for the Elestovakians to realize the situation and continue the shooting:


    ¡°What are you doing? Shoot them!¡±


    The archers upon hearing the command immediately began raining down the approachers with volleys of arrows, but their haste backfired and their shots came short. The attackers in contrast did not yield, with their steel shields protecting their head and chest, the troops moved fast to the gate, seemingly impossible to stop. As if something is guiding them, a mascot, a spirit:


    ¡°It¡¯s the knight over there, that woman with black sword is leading the Latilians.¡±


    ¡°God¡­she wasn¡¯t¡­an angel, right?¡±


    Regardless of the humanoid atmosphere surrounding her heavy and sadistic footsteps, in image, Lily is like a humanoid angel, with her men-half of them with white cloak-as wings following her as she moves. And while her black sword swung by one hand, the other hand held tight:


    ¡°God save us!¡±


    A silver cross, borrowed from a pastor, is the symbol that is leading the charge. Most of the combatants were Kristians, seeing their light running forward, their spirit overwhelmed the fear. On the other hand, the Elestovakians, trembled upon the new tsunami coming to their gate, some of the men fled. The morale changed tide, quickly than ever:


    ¡°Shoot! Shoot them!¡±


    An Elestovakian officer shouted, then there was shooting, but from the Latilians ranged soldiers rather than his own:


    ¡°What a fascinating sight.¡±


    Lily was running, but she still spent some seconds looking up to see the arrows her friends and his troops sent out to protect her contingent. Hundreds of bolts rained upon the archers on the wall, picking out several immediately, while the rest break will. Because of that, the volleys of projectiles from the wall were reduced. The rocky path, despite still rocky and struggling, has been much easier for the knights to travel over.


    ¡°Grrr¡­Come back here! I curse you cowards¡­¡±-An officer of the wall spoke loudly-¡±Mobilize all troops to this front! The main gate, the second military gate,...wherever there is availables! I will crush them in this very own gate.¡±


    Smash!


    The attackers had arrived behind the wooden door, numbering sixty elite combatants and the Patriarch of the House of Voyage. As change visible from far away with the banners drift toward the south, the Latilian main army finally dispatched from their hiding place.


    **


    ¡°Alright, time to move.¡±

 The hill we die on (III)

    ¡°Sir, I recommend not to withdraw all men from the main gate. This might just be a feign attack.¡±


    ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t say we all leave. Most of us will go, but some must stay here. If they detect any trouble, they will come to alert us about the situation, so no worry about the city being inflated in total surprise, clear?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I got it, sir.¡±


    The Elestovakians on the Western gate hastily abandon their guards to come and aid their allies.


    **


    ¡°The situation is, the Elestovakians have withdrawn most of their force stationed around the West gate, probably to deploy in the south or the north. Regardless of where they are being directed to, we are going.¡±


    While fighting has been going on at the right section and the southern front of the wall of Liston, other tactical developments have been occurring elsewhere all around


    For example, Angela had ordered her freehand combatants to return to base, rearm and commence bombardments upon locations across the Northern district of the city, noticeably the town hall and the entrances to the tunnels. The bombing resulted in a significant reduction in the deployment speed of the defenders and thus, aiding their allies indirectly, a great success.


    In a different manner, the Latilian regular cavalry also showed up in the Eastern section of the city¡¯s perimeter, with the intention of putting pressure upon this area. However, they suffered some losses as the aggressive Elestovakians in desperation utilized their heavy anti air crossbow system against them. In the end, while sustaining casualties out of the original plan, the Elestovakians eventually did deploy more men to this wall for defense, a (kind of) success.


    Regardless of them, and the already going on combats, the main show is still in the beginning stage.


    ¡°Step quietly.¡±


    From the direction facing the rising boiling sun, half of the main Latilian army, led by Gerald, which had been taking cover beneath the elevation of the earth to avoid detection, had suddenly sprung up from their hiding spots and marched quietly to Liston¡¯s main gate on the West.


    ¡°Boy, do you see any winged man?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, sir.¡±


    The elder knight is waiting for something.


    With the noisy and exhausting ongoing clashes all around, it was quite easy to march four thousand men to the West gate undetected by the men that were concentrated in fighting. However, as for stationary guards, they can¡¯t hide themselves from them. An entire army is too large of a figure to camouflage to the gate. They will be detected by eyes, then the Liston defenders will alert their men in arms to confront them.


    But if that happens, the plan to sneakily bypass Liston¡¯s main gate will fail. So what on earth will the Latilians do to execute the plan?


    Well, the answer comes from the sky:


    ¡°Warning! A contingent of fifty fliers is attacking the West gate!¡±


    From the north, four dozen pairs of wings emerged from behind the hill the city leaned onto. At first, when the gate guards saw them, they mistook the Aeropostalis with birds due to vague vision. But, as silhouettes of their motionless wings grow bigger and the fire on tailing them glow in bright yellow as they directed their aim at the West gate, it was clear that they were fliers, no other creature fly like that:


    ¡°Huh!? Weren¡¯t they supposed to be dealt with by the troops on the right section?¡±


    Upon seeing a new threat from the sky, one man out of many in the West gate section can¡¯t help but utter the question. That was true for the fifty fliers that were fighting under Angela¡¯s command to defend their turret up north. They are still fighting, desperately against waves after waves of Elestovakians trying to push them away from the position. There is no way they can deploy raids on the West gate now.


    However, that is if there is only one flier contingent, because the other half, the second prong that the former librarian commander separated from the main team earlier, consisted from many airborne light swordsmen, had stealthily waited for the right moment when the mobilization of guards from the West to the South makes the defense thinner, before conducting attack:


    ¡°Clever¡­¡±


    Anyhow, out of any previous expectation and observation, the Aeropostalis Latilians dropped an air strike upon the Western section of the wall, particularly around the gate. The Elestovakians tried to pull their bowstrings, but it was too late. The bombardiers splitted into two groups, tossing specialized crafted grenades on the turrets side by side the entrance as they flew over their tips. Moment after the grenades made contact with the brickwall, they detonated:


    Bang!Bam!


    The blasts punished the walls harshly, tearing holes on the towers to allow intense blaze to flood in. The men inside, unable to cope with the boiling heat, or in fear of seeing their comrades injured by the blasts, ran outside:


    ¡°Targets in sight. Decrease the altitude and get your razors ready!¡±


    But the moment they stepped out of their hiding places, they were met with melee flier combatants flying right close to them with their sharp blades on hands, who hacked their bodies to bits:


    ¡°Agh! My¡­throat-¡±


    ¡°Dammit-¡±


    A stream of gruesome blood follows the trace of the steel blades. All Elestovakians soldiers standing at the West gate were either killed, or heavily injured and immobilized by the devastating razor strikes.


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    ¡°Target clear, Valya squadron ready for landing.¡±


    After a few flybys to make sure the position was clean, the fliers landed gently on the wall, reaching out for the lever that controls the grand West gate:


    ¡°Secure my right hand with barricades and broken bricks or something that can be used for blocking personnel. I entrust that wing to you all. The rest secure the control room, from there we will control the gate to make it open.¡±


    Flip!


    With a violent pull, the Airborne commander unlocked the Listone Western Gate.


    The doors haven¡¯t yet opened, but it is ready to be breached at any second, and that second is coming when the main Latilian Army finally arrived upon seeing their airmen successfully conducted the swift attack. Their feet rammed onto rock, splashing deep into stone, creating clouds of debris and noise sounded like thunder. In front of the formation is Sir Gerald de Payens in his full armor suit, hands carrying something resembled a bludgeon, but long like a huge sword:


    ¡°Aye, finally got a use for it, though a bit heavy.¡±


    In fact, much heavier than most greatswords, and slightly overwhelmed Lily¡¯s blade. Despite that, unlike the sword of the Archduchess, which can perform horizontal slash with its sharp fullere, a bit blunt strike with the duller forte and pierce damage with its pointy tip, Gerald¡¯s weapon only focuses on dealing destructive blunt hits. Nevertheless, it was blunt that the weapon excels more than anything ever seen:


    ¡°What a fine piece of weapon, I declare its name is Conquista.¡±


    By this time, the Latilian Army is too close to keep it quiet, they became too loud, thus alerted the Elestovakians, who are now realized that they were tricked when they saw the flag of the Latilians coming to their towers:


    ¡°Does that mean all of the other attacks were just feign?¡±


    ¡°I deemed that¡¯s true, officer.¡±


    The clash on the right sector, the assault on the Southern gate, the cavalry line,...none was the main prong. The main gate was what Belisari and Lily aimed at from the beginning. Even if the Elestovakian main contingents immediately rush back now, it will be impossible to halt the inflation:


    ¡°Let hell break loose!¡±


    Said the commander of the Airborne Corp, then he ordered the gate to be opened.


    ¡°Charge!¡±


    Just seconds after the wooden doors were removed from their sight, the Latilian Army flooded into the city like an unstoppable force. Gerald and the heavy knights first, followed closely by the less protected skirmishers and Marines, the cavalry ride behind to clear the remainders. It¡¯s now that Liston must fall.


    ¡°Hyag!¡±


    ¡°What the heck, why was the gate opened!? Stay back!¡±


    When the Latilian entered Liston, some armored guards arrived on the scene just in time to confront and buy time for their allies. In response to the movement of the enemies, Gerald throws his weapon up high, with his right hand grip on the handle. The knight launches himself toward the group of soldiers that are assembling the line, and releases the blade. As gravity pulls the entire weight of Conquista down, its kinetic damage was unstopped by the armor:


    Klenk! ¡°Agh!!!¡±


    Muttering the man before his death, the hard blunt fall broke the skull of the guard and killed him without delay. His blood sprayed out of the helmet, bleeding the armor red.


    ¡°Ugh¡­stay back!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can do it. Hyag!!¡±


    Seeing the death of their brother in arms, the rest panicky form a line. However, before they could do that, the knight reacted by wielding the sword swiftly horizontally, throwing the men out of the line. Their bodies smashed into walls, plus the already staggering blunt hit, left many injured. Witnessing such horrifying sight, the soldiers drop their weapons:


    ¡°Aye¡­I surrender¡­please don¡¯t kill me.¡±


    ¡°Wise choice.¡±


    Gerald plunks Conquista from the mushy mess of armors and body parts.


    From the tip of the dead edge, blood painted the bludgeon in crimson.


    **


    ¡°What do you mean when you said the West gate was penetrated?¡±


    As news of a new attack spread between ranks of the Elestovakian defenders, chaos broke. Firstly, the Latilian Marines came to the Northern sector and together with the fliers pressed the guards from both sides, resulting in heavy casualties before the Elestovakians could withdraw from place.


    After securing the entire sector, they quickly ran to the Eastern wall via the underground corridor and overwhelmed the defense there, giving chance for the cavalry to come close to the wall to harass without the worry of being shot at by heavy crossbows. The combined force then rampaged around the perimeters, taking down turret after turret with shots from horsemen and blades from the infantry. It took a while, but the Eastern sector of the city has completely collapsed in formation.


    Now, in Liston, only the South is standing. Nonetheless, the Latilians are charging toward this sector sooner or later. Not to mention that they are also facing a spearhead of the Latilian army, which had successfully sent a small group of sixty to the gate where they are trying to break through:


    ¡°We were tricked, we were bamboozled¡± Smash! ¡°Dear God who the hell planned their tactics!?¡±


    In anger, an Elestovakian high-ranking officer questioned, though he knew no one under his command knew the answer. Thus, he switches the question:


    ¡°How many men do we have left?¡±


    ¡°We might¡¯ve lost 5%, but you likely can only control the Southern contingent. Other groups were scattered in resistant pockets, but we cannot rescue them, nor order them to try to reconnect with us.¡±


    ¡°Goddammit. Can this get any worse?¡±


    Bam!


    ¡°Speaking of the devil¡­¡±


    A platoon of Latilian light infantry has just broken the defense around the South gate, allowing their awaiting heavily armed comrades to go to action.


    Klenk! Thump!


    ¡°Sir...¡±


    As echoes of clashing swords and maces could be heard all the way outside to the turret, one reality came to the mind of the people in that room: They¡¯ve lost Liston to the Latilians.


    ¡°Can we flee?¡±-suggested a soldier, but the idea was dismissed right away:


    ¡°We were surrounded from every side. Also, even if we make it, where could we go?¡±


    The closest major human settlement is Voyage, which is one trip downhill. Not to mention that the city was no longer on their side:


    ¡°So¡­we surrender?¡±


    The sound of wielding blades is closer and closer. Yet, in that dissonance, the sigh of the officer can still be heard of clearly:


    ¡°I deemed that the only option we have if we still want to live. Wave the white flag, we will surrender. I hope their commander is benevolent to us.¡±

 For Bright Future

    What is Liston?


    For the Latilians, it is the shield that protects their country from raiders coming from the desert of Carthagia, and their beloved plainfields from the wrath of whatever will come from the East.


    For the Carthagians, Liston is the point where their desert navigators tend to rest after a long journey over hot burning sand, before continuing their walk to the Kingdom of Latila.


    For the Nosfeturans, the fortress is the light they see in the dark of night, shining over there beyond the boundary of their empire.


    For the Aeropostalis, the city is a checkpoint, for them to know which direction to fly to using the hill it leans onto as a significant landmark.


    Other than that, Liston is nothing.


    No resource, low population, lack of skilled workers, non-arable land, all of that combined created one of the most useless pieces of territory across the whole continent. Yet, despite that, it was here the Elestovakians posed the hardest challenge the Latilian Expedition Army had to face until now, and it is not without a reason:


    ¡°What is this¡­Gravel? Sand? Rock?¡±


    ¡°Oh they are still here.¡±


    While digging through the loot of the city they have just finished fully occupying, Belisari and his companions came across a massive complex of underground storages. Upon the discovery, Aurora immediately jumped into the rooms, hoping to find piles of gold and jewelry. But to her dismay, the storages contain nothing but (according to her note) mountains of building material:


    ¡°What do you mean when you say "still"?"


    The young engineer brings up that question to the Archprince, who has just spoken up that sentence. He speaks:


    ¡°You see, Liston, while being useless itself, was built on a key strategic point. We have Voyage in the West, Carthagia in the East, Kether, capital of the Aeropostalis Republic in the North and the Nosfeturan Empire in the South. Thus, the city, while having no civilian value, is quite important for military activities and national defense.¡±


    ¡°So the Elestovakians were trying to build a hub network to connect in between territories they captured?¡±


    ¡°No it was actually us, the Latilians, who wanted to build the road. Around twelve years ago, we gathered a large sum of materials for the construction of the network. However, other nations weren¡¯t pleased with it, the project was postponed and then¡­well, you know. That is why I said they are still here, the material for the construction of the road hub. It seems like the Elestovakians haven¡¯t done anything with them since then.¡±


    ¡°But¡±-Lily suddenly joins the talk-¡±Having such a high defense in this city, it is probably safe to say that they might be about to launch a similar project on their own. Now come to think of it¡±-she says-¡±The flat field where we deployed troops in the South earlier wasn¡¯t there the last time I visited Liston. It might be the works of the Elestovakians.¡±


    Thanks to that flattened field, the Latilians managed to suffered much less casualties than it might have been:


    ¡°If that was the case I might say that they dug their own grave.¡±


    Belisari and Lily chuckled, Aurora hearing the conversation, laughs along:


    ¡°But hey, seriously saying.¡±-The Archprince holds back his grin-¡±Now we¡¯ve liberated the city, we ought to restart the project.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s easier said than done.¡±-The Archduchess added-¡±We need the city itself to develop, otherwise there will be no chance of it being finished.¡±


    ¡°Good luck then.¡±


    Aurora, having dispatched from the conversation between the nobles, returned to digging rock in hope of finding something valuable, like silver ore or gold. Sometimes, ores might be dug up from the ground when harvesting rock, and Aurora, who is willing to get anything she wanted, will not let this potential treasure slide. It was a faint hope, but there is hope nonetheless:


    ¡°I think you should give up Aurora, the stone was dug from around here.¡±


    Seeing his engineer went back to the piles of rocks, Belisari prompted her to stop, but the girl then replied:


    ¡°So what? This is a huge amount of stone samples, there must be some rough resources lying within these piles. I won¡¯t give up until I¡¯ve found one thing that¡¯s worth my search.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t remember? I told you there is no resource in this highland. No gold, copper, iron or anything valuable. It will only waste your time.¡±


    ¡°I still gotta have a search through, maybe I might be able to find something good that you deemed worthless.¡±


    The engineer throws some gravel aside to have a closer inspection, she digs deeper. The Archprince and the Archduchess look at her in pity, hoping their girl will eventually give up. They know many people who were like this, searching through the barren Liston in hope of enriching themselves, only to be disappointed:


    ¡°Hey, we ought to return for dinner.¡±


    ¡°You go first, I will be here for a while.¡±


    Aurora speaks. However, that ¡°while¡± wasn¡¯t long at all, because just fifteen seconds after that was said, her left hand accidentally collided with something that seemed like an ugly-looking brown piece of rock. When she finally recovered it from the gravel, she was stunned:


    ¡°And¡­there it is¡­Christ¡­¡±


    The girl picked out the brown rock, as she digs her hand further down the pile, more and more of these things emerge. Carefully looking around the sample on her hands, Aurora can say for sure this thing worth more than gold:


    ¡°Bauxite, a lot of bauxite¡­Lord¡­only if you know how much they are worth¡­¡±


    Per Belisari¡¯s account, the rocks here were all harvested randomly right in Liston, meaning this area might be stuffed with these valuable brown ores. If only the Latilians knew how to extract the aluminium that made up these stones, they would¡¯ve been rich. It¡¯s a pity that they don¡¯t know how to:


    ¡°What the heck is Bauxite?¡±-Lily questioned, then Belisari says-¡°It¡¯s just a brown rock, not good-looking enough to be used in decoration, nor durable to be crafted into tools. Unless¡­¡±


    But unlike the Latilians, Aurora knows how to make metal from them.


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    ¡°...you have an use to it.¡±


    ¡°Yes I do!¡±-the girl proudly declares-¡±Christ¡­there must be tons of these around here, but I need legitimacy to mine on Liston territory. Can I be adopted into the House of Liston?¡±


    ¡°The House of Liston was disbanded after the loss of many key members of the House. That being said, this territory now belongs to no one, you can establish a new house by your surname. Considering the contribution you gave us, my father would be more than pleased to grant you a title and territory, especially if you ask for Liston.¡±


    ¡°If that is true, then great! Can I rename the city as well?¡±


    ¡°Rename? It¡¯s optional, but fine. What do you want to call it?¡±


    ¡°Huh, I am thinking of¡­¡±


    For the first time, Aurora can be seen thinking very seriously. Is naming really that hard? Maybe, because that name will eventually go down to history books no matter what, so the name must be good, and signify the first ruler of it:


    ¡°...Auronopolis, yes. Auronopolis should be it.¡±


    **


    ¡°I will establish a blacksmith¡­then finish the road network, hire more people to upgrade my blacksmith into a workshop, then a company,....so many things to reckon¡­¡±


    After the hearty supper, Belisari, the Archprince of Latila, under the witness of Lily, the Archduchess of Voyage, had written a letter for the King of Latila in request to found a new house over the old territory of Liston. The letter was then signed by Aurora, the person who shall be the first patriarch of the new house, and was given to a flier to send back to the capital:


    ¡°Ah¡­I will be the head engineer, obviously. But better hire some executive officers to help me operate the workshop as well. Hold on, doesn¡¯t that mean I started modern capitalism three centuries earlier? Can I?¡±


    Although according to the law of the kingdom, a new house can only be founded after the death or abdication of the current ruler for simpler paperworks, which means Aurora¡¯s house will be postponed until Belisari becomes the king of Latila. Nevertheless, the plan for the new house can be written down now to be executed right away after it was founded officially.


    Sitting on the highest tower of the city, where she can capture the view of the whole city she will rule over within eyesight, Aurora is doing that very job:


    ¡°I can also request Belisarius to settle a thousand or so soldiers here, and then give them job-¡±


    ¡°Why are you here?¡±


    While the girl was writing down her plan into a note, a voice suddenly called for her from behind. It¡¯s Pastor Daniel, accompanied by Sir Gerald. It was a surprise that they even came to this place, but even more surprise when they brought with them chalice, candles and a crucifix. Adding, a corporal, holy water and ciborium:


    ¡°I should be asking- hold on, today is Sunday. Are you going to perform a liturgy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it was unfortunate that there is no church in the city, but we were allowed this place instead. May you leave for a while?¡±


    ¡°Sure. But can I watch?¡±


    ¡°From a distance, then okay.¡±


    Per request of Gerald, Aurora jumped off downstairs, leaving space for whatever the pastor and the noble knight were about to do. But, only Gerald went upstairs, Daniel stays down with her:


    ¡°First time seeing a ritual?¡±-asking the pastor, seeing how surprised Aurora was seeing just the lone knight went upstairs for the liturgy:


    ¡°No. I¡¯ve seen many, those who were my family came from many places around the world, I had chances to witness them all. It''s just that at my place we do it in the morning and with more people, and with priests, not knights¡­my grandfath-¡±


    ¡°Be quiet, please.¡±-spoken the knight from above.


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Boths said.


    On the floor where Aurora has just left, Gerald slowly sets up an altar. He lights the candles, one by one, very calmly and peacefully. Watching from afar, Aurora, out of nowhere from her mind, suddenly feels nostalgic, just like when she was at home again:


    ¡°Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name¡­¡±


    While doing so, the knight reads out a psalm from the Bible on his hand. Ah, no wonder why it was so sentimental for the girl who was watching the ritual. The pose of the knight, his gestures and voice certainly remind her of memories of home. And the psalm Gerald is reading right now is:


    ¡°Psalm 103¡­¡±


    The same one that her grandfather read to the followers of Christ every weekend, as he was a priest:


    ¡°Gerald is a great man.¡±


    Daniel suddenly told Aurora, and he begins telling story:


    ¡°He is not just certified as a high-ranking knight, but also recognized as capable of performing official liturgy and baptizing, in spite of not being a priest himself. I¡¯ve met many pastors, priests and bishops in my life, but Gerald is the most outstanding person.¡±


    ¡°I can see, his working attitude is far beyond just being serious, he is truly devoted.¡±


    ¡°He was raised to be a Cathedraller when he was a teenager, of course he is devoted. By the way, I was actually baptized by Gerald himself, and so were many members of the younger Cathedrallers.¡±


    ¡°Cool.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and what about you? Care to share something about yourself, like childhood?¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­ehh.¡±


    For a moment, the surrounding covered in dead silence, before Aurora continues:


    ¡°...I¡¯d rather not talk about it, it was not a memory I am fond of.¡±


    ¡°Not fond of¡­¡±


    Something Daniel did not expect Aurora would utter. The pastor suddenly feels bad, perhaps he has falsely assumed that the girl has had a great young life, given the level of education she received as he was told of. He says, right hand sign a cross:


    ¡°If something is wrong, always remember that the Lord is with you.¡±


    ¡°I know, God saved me from that bad dream, so that now I am here, standing side by side with many great people. The grace of our Lord shines upon everyone, the utmost important of all.¡±


    Spoken like a true Christian, though Aurora isn¡¯t one. She knows there is God, but she is not a religious person, that¡¯s it. Nevertheless, hearing that, Daniel, for no reason, speaks:


    ¡°That¡¯s true, the light of the Lord shines upon us all. But, you know what is important as well?¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°The grace of yourself.¡±


    ¡°Please enlighten me.¡±


    ¡°Well, Conservative Kristians insist that only the Lord can give out eternal grace, but most Cathedrallers like me think we all can. You can do good deeds, you can help the people, do many great things, so that when you go to heaven, you can ensure that you will leave this world with graceful acts for the people to remember about you. And this is the point: Because your grace remains even after you die, aren¡¯t they technically eternal?¡±


    ¡°Wait. Living in a way that the world will remember you for forever, you meant that?¡±


    ¡°No¡­wait, yes, that¡¯s correct. I didn¡¯t know you are that progressive about thoughts.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I know several people who wanted to live by those words.¡±


    Many, in fact. Modern world gave chances for even a common person to shine, so the thought was much more widespread. But for this era, for a common pastor to utter those words, Daniel is certainly more brightminded than the majority. He was a wiser man with that egoism:


    ¡°It is a good ideal to live for.¡±-Aurora continues-¡±But how to do it, I don¡¯t know, I am trying. Do you have any ideas to tell me?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, everybody has their own way. I overheard some of your future plans of establishing a workshop. Why don¡¯t you build your wealth and then use that wealth to help people in need? Our Order and the monarchs also did our best to help the peasants, but we are not capable enough.¡±


    Daniel says, then he pauses for a moment, then continues. His finger points upon Aurora, nailing:


    ¡°You however are special. You are talented and educated, you also work hard for what you want. I think you can do it.¡±


    ¡°You are right. I know I am capable, but I need some help. Maybe I may ask His Highness and Her Grace, and Sir Gerald¡­you too can help.¡±


    ¡°Me? What can a random pastor like me do for you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe help me to spread goodness. I believe you can help me with that, can¡¯t you?¡±

 Road to the Desert

    A month had gone since Levantia received the war declaration sent by the king in Latila. It was at this time the Elestovakian Imperial Court was in the middle of an important meeting.


    ¡°Around two weeks ago, our main army under the lead of Count Pyrrhik defeated the Vlennians in their attempt to pre-strike our force. With most of their power exhausted, their Royal Army was forced to withdraw into their city where our army soon laid siege upon together with the navy.¡±


    Hovering his finger upon the map of the continent, the general of Kaval informs his Emperor of the progress of their invasion. As expected, for Vlenna, the Elestovakians are dealing with them well, inflicting casualties and winning while sustaining minimal losses. Even when Vlenna had prepared themselves before the attack, their force succumb to the might of the empire:


    ¡°Excellent, what about Latila?¡±-asked Kaval.


    However:


    ¡°As for the Kingdom of Milishila and the Maritime Federation, our relationship with them is maintained at a neutral level. Not good, not bad, but for sure they will not join the war against us. That being spoken, there are rumors saying that their naval activities are getting closer to our shore,we ought to be cautious-¡±


    Table slammed¡°General, I was asking about Latila.¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t avoid the question, tell me!¡±


    For the last three weeks, Kaval hasn¡¯t heard anything of Latila. Aside from when he was told that his separated army encountered a Latilian army when they were about to cross the Granisus, there has been no other development on this front informed to him to this point. This silence concerned the Emperor, who is known for not wanting vital information to be concealed from him. In his head, multiple theories had emerged: could his Elestovakians be crushed by the Latilians? Or a coup is undergoing with that army, and they cut communication with him to form a state before the imperial capital could act?


    ¡°Please calm down, Your Majesty.¡±


    But to Kaval¡¯s anger and frustration, the general calmly replied:


    ¡°The reason why I don¡¯t talk about Latila is because they are not active, thus nothing new to talk of. As I¡¯ve said weeks earlier, the main Latilian Army stopped entirely after our arrival in Granisus, and they had been there for the last few weeks without any strive to cross the river. Plus, it has been said that their force numbering up to thirty thousand, far less than ours, they have no chance attempting to attack our force.¡±


    ¡°You might say so, but what about the other armies?¡±


    ¡°Well, while I am not too sure, I don¡¯t think you have to worry much about them. First of all, Latila is not likely to be able to field a sufficient army aside from their main one, so they won¡¯t be able to take more than a weak garrison or two, if their main force is in the watch of Your Imperial Army.¡±


    And that is true given that Latila is a small nation, with little resources and constantly relies on foreign aids to support their own city. It is quite reasonable to think it that way, Kaval considered:


    ¡°True¡­but do you have anything to say so sure that the Latilians will cause no harm to us?¡±


    ¡°Well, Your Imperial Majesty, you ought to know that the center of our continent is harsh and unsustainable for any army that is big enough to pose a threat. Voyage, sure, maybe if they can take it. However, anywhere further than that point, like Carthagia or Liston, they will starve. So, per my request, please calm down Your Highness, it¡¯s safe to assume that everything is under control.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you are right¡­¡±


    After hearing the presentation of his general, Kaval feels a bit relieved, though some suspicion remains. Nonetheless, the general¡¯s analysis was quite reasonable. The Emperor might¡¯ve worried too much, probably because this was the first time his nation receive a war declaration since his reign:


    ¡°Would you like some tea?¡±-spoken a maid nearby, offering the two men some drinks after the long meeting.


    ¡°Yes¡­hold on¡±-Kaval pleasantly takes the cup-¡±This aroma...is of apples?¡±


    ¡°Correct, Your Majesty. A Vinecian merchant arrived a week earlier and introduced this type of tea to us. They are pricey, but very delicious, so the chefs decided to import some of the samples for you to try.¡±


    ¡°I will see.¡±


    Kaval takes a sip from his cup. The scent of apples really captured his sense of smell. They are tender, not too sweet, such a nice flavor:


    ¡°Amazing.¡±-He says, astounded by the scent of the tea he had just drunk-¡±Where did the merchant import it from, I wonder?¡±


    ¡°Rumors said it comes from Latila, Your Majesty.¡±-the maid speaks.


    ¡°Latila, huh? I will go to that city and taste the drink in its original version, after my army has captured it of course.¡±


    **


    ¡°Move your arms up! The road will not build itself.¡±


    Today is a beautiful day in Liston- no, Auronopolis.


    As effects of the earlier battle fade away in almost instant, life in the city returns to normal. Well, almost normal, because the administrators of the city are now Latilians. Meanwhile, Elestovakian prisoners of war, instead of being treated like ones, were immediately released and work on the new road hub planned by the new Countess. The positive thing is that they get paid, were allowed to keep their personal fortunes and clothes, and considered freemen while if this wasn¡¯t the case they would¡¯ve been all slaves. The negative thing however, is that the job is quite mandatory, otherwise they would still be imprisoned. Nevertheless, with the construction plan restarted, Auronopolis will soon be connected to Voyage, then Kether, and soon there will be a road from the city directly toward the former Nosfetura:


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°That¡¯s a creative way to use them.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    While all of that is happening, the Latilian Army is already on the move. Their destination: The Carthagian Desert. The schedule is that they will be at the edge of the sand within two days of travelling, expecting nothing less:


    ¡°But why aren¡¯t you just enslaving them?¡±-asked Belisari curiously, about the decision of Aurora to employ Elestovakian prisoners of war, to which the girl answered frankly:


    ¡°There is no place for slavery in a perpetual capitalist economy. No slave is better than having them. A good market only exists by promoting freedom over everything, even the fates of the people, which means no slave.¡±


    ¡°Are you saying that to grow fast, Latila must eliminate slavery?¡±


    ¡°I will not make any political statement, but that is true, and will stay like that.¡±


    Letting the argument of slavery aside, the Latilian Army, by this point, remains at only just two thousand combatants, coming from the most elite class of each unit, just like the plan when it was discussed back when they were in the meadow. With that, the pressure placed upon the logistics team was lifted, and the soldiers got to eat well, because they still have one more place to take supplies before entering the desert:


    ¡°The Outer Carthagia Savanna. It was the point where we left the Kingdom of Latila, and entered the republic of the Carthagians.¡±


    In fact, they can already see it within spyglass sight now. The road here is very high in elevation, while also less sloppy than the other side, thus furthering their vision. According to Aurora, they are about 40 kilometers away from the soil of the savanna.


    ¡°And it¡¯s also beautiful.¡±


    Indeed. To the Meadow, the Outer Savanna is not any less gorgeous on its own. Tranquil springs and lakes, vast fields of weed and grass in yellowish green, quite captured the atmosphere of the border that separates desert and plateau. It is a nice reward after the feat of surviving on the height of Liston plateun. Good for raising morale of the army as they lay down to rest on the field, and good for aggressively resupplying for the incoming ordeal:


    ¡°Should we draw a hoarding plan right now on the road?¡±


    ¡°We ought to, we have not much time.¡±


    Inside the carriage of the Archprince, with her scout position be taken over by another individual, Lily, along with Belisari and-for no particular reason-Aurora draw their next plan for the sandy trip:


    ¡°We will separate five teams of six out of the cavalry. A navigator along with five combatants, they will be tasked with searching for usable water sources, and will go ahead of the army.¡±


    Despite the availability of water in the region, according to the mappers, they tend to be small and will be used up quickly if spent unwisely, especially if an army lives on that source. Thus, the problem of water is one of the hardest problems for the Latilians to solve. They have to constantly look for water before the main army arrives there and use it. That way, times will be saved:


    ¡°Should we ration the water portion?¡±


    ¡°Definitely.¡±


    Aside from searching intensively, they must also save as much as possible. After entering Carthagia, it will take days to find any oasis in the desert, and most are unable to yield much water for them. It¡¯s harsh, but they have to survive. That being said, thinking of the idea that their army will vaporize water from the savanna as they trample over it, it¡¯s quite frightening:


    ¡°Okay, enough you two.¡±Lily says-¡±I will later inform my cavalry about the plan and they will execute it, I hope it will be flawless.¡±


    As any mistake might lead to munity.


    Now moving to the problem of food. The fauna and flora of the Savanna is sufficient for hoarding and storing in the long term, not limited to meat, milk, butter, fruits and nuts. The only thing that need to consider is how much to carry:


    ¡°We need meat for sufficient nutritions, but storing them is a waste of salt and water.¡±


    No fridge is a real big problem. Salting meat or smoking them were the best methods to preserve them before the invention of modern food preservation. That said, they are not good if the meats have to travel hundred of miles under the heat of the sun:


    ¡°They might be spoiled. Spoiled meats are not safe to consume, and will slow us down.¡±-Belisari reckons-¡±So, just bring enough for us to last half a week or so. Aurora, can you calculate?¡±


    ¡°Both maximized and minimized. I do.¡±


    ¡°Good, Honestly, I¡¯ve always wanted to try some meats from that land. I¡¯ve heard of elephants, their meat was said to be very bad, but I want to have a try, maybe eat one or two if I turn out to like it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡­Wait, hold on a minute¡­¡±


    Suddenly, Aurora turns around and asks:


    ¡°Belisarius, do you know what an elephant looks like?¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­no¡­are they as big as a cow-¡±


    ¡°Way bigger! They are way bigger! Comparing a big cow to a smaller elephant is like comparing me to Liliya!¡±


    It is worth remembering that Lily is 192cm, and Aurora is just 145cm, not to mention the muscles and chest-size, both of which the Archduchess far outmatched the other. Nevertheless, judging by how surprised the two aristocrats were upon receiving the information, it is likely that none of them had any idea how much of a unit an elephant is before Aurora told them. And probably, probably, they have no idea what animals look like in the savanna either.


    If Belisari and Lily have no idea what animals to look for when entering the region, could they be absolutely clueless of how savannas and deserts are like, and the plan was drew just by general theories:


    ¡°No¡±-Lily clarifies, as if she can read what Aurora is thinking right now-¡± While we have no knowledge of what specific animals are living in the region, we do have a brief understanding of the environment, water availability and food sources coming from Aeropostalis merchants. Plus, given information from the map, the plan is pretty much well thought of.¡±


    ¡°Still, you have no idea of what the biggest land animal looks like¡­that¡¯s terrifying to me¡­¡±


    ¡°Tch¡±-the Archduchess clicks her tongue, lamenting-¡±Well, I did never see one, okay? Nor Belisarius, we just know about elephants from the accounts of a friend of his in Carthagia.¡±


    ¡°You have a friend in Carthagia?¡±-Aurora asks curiously. Belisari confirms-¡±I do, I met him a few times when his father went to Latila for diplomatic missions. The last time we met I was just thirteen or so, while he was seventeen. Most of the things I know about the desert of Carthagia came from him.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­you made me curious. What is his name by the way, I ought to know?¡±


    ¡°Ehh¡­Barka. His family name is Barka. Hannibal Barka.¡±