The silver-polished walls that shone the moon's reflection soon became enveloped by numerous shadows.
Flying ships and Striders of numerous sizes rushed through the skies, closing in fast from the distance.
The bell tower rang, again and again, alerting the civilians to flee toward defensive positions.
For the first time in many centuries, the great maritime fortress city in the azure lake was once again put to the test.
Lady Lake, nevertheless, had always been built to be ready for any kind of siege.
Ballista mounts were present in every corner, upon rooftops, and inside alleyways.
They were all set up without any blind spots.
Shall it be dragons, demons, or even what... Sky Invaders?
No problem! LadyLake was always ready for a hard beating!
Vixella stumbled into the entrance of the usual planning room in the citadel.
After glancing around, her gaze paused to the left.
"Why is that window all patched up like that?"
Everyone else in the room looked up for a second before ignoring her.
"Is wearing this dress even necessary if I'm going to be flying up high?"
She lifted her dress slightly and glanced down at herself in slight frustration.
It was the dress she wore while healing the soldiers on the Valoratian front a few weeks back.
Alderius stepped away from the drafting table before sighing heavily.
"Lass, if you hate wearing dresses so much then don't-"
Upon hearing Alderius' remark, Vixella vanished out the entrance before returning within seconds.
The spider-silk cloak and her usual adventurer gear swished slightly as she came to a stop.
"I'll admit... Lady Vixella... That was indeed quick..."
"You learned to smile?"
"I...!? Please don't joke around..."
John coughed softly before quickly resuming to his usual mundane face.
"Ahm... What's that thing behind you?"
Alexei butted in and pointed at the bundle of cloth that was strapped over her back.
"My secret weapon to use against the enemy."
"Woah there, lass! You have an ace up your sleeve for once!?"
"Yeah... Sometimes."
"Ahm... Anyways... How are you holding up, Vix?"
Vixella annoyingly turned to face Alexei.
"Of course I'm still feeling sluggish... Including this broken arm cast... Why even ask?"
"Hmmm...? Did she not understand what Alexei meant...?"
Princess Sasha who approached the scene seemed a bit confused.
John looked up at the princess.
"Your highness... It's not like this is the first time that she doesn't understand when people-"
"Yeah yeah, I'm glad you're worried... I'm doing fine up here as well."
Vixella smiled and softly tapped her head.
Everyone then became silent as they mutually gawked at her.
To think she would understand stuff that had deeper meanings-!?
"Arara? Might our lady be truly okay up there though?"
"Ahm... Vix, did you hit your head somewhere?"
Vixella scoffed slightly.
"I make sure to hit my head once in a while."
"Alexei... Don't you think she's a bit...? Anyways, I'm much better, right?"
Princess Sasha closed her eyes and puffed her chest, much to Alexei's weariness as he shuffled away from her.
"Better at what...?"
Vixella tilted her head, not understanding what they were getting at.
"Aye lass, why are you just standing around? There's no time to waste!"
Alderius called from the background just as Jessica and John rushed over to pack the city blueprint maps off the drafting table.
Upon the outer walls of LadyLake, knights steeled themselves as they awaited the enemy air fleet that closed in from the distance.
"Sir, they're coming!"
"Hold... Hold it... Now fire!!!"
Unfastening the ballistae, giant bolts flew forth and took down the smaller ships that carried the enemy's landing teams.
A Strider strafed by, blasting away ballistae positions as the soldiers and Valoratian Knights abandoned their posts in fear.
CRANK-- POOSH!
A giant steel bolt pierced through and ignited the said Strider's magical engine compartments.
"Take that... You... Flying thing...!"
A young knight clad in chainmail sitting on the empty ballista mount claimed out with an unsteady face.
"Hey hey! 9 o'clock! Hurry and turn!"
The ballista mounts beside tried their best to rotate towards another Strider which dove down high from the side.
The young knight glared up as he froze in fear at the sight of the autocannons sucking in air as it zoomed against his position-
TWANG!
A loud shudder of metal erupted the sky as the enemy Strider's form was replaced by another Strider...?
The enemy Strider crashed down into the edge of the wall and tumbled out of view, rolling over the portholes.
The deformed wreck fell and splashed into the lake before sinking after taking in too much water.
The defenders on the wall then glanced up at the Strider which had the fearsome painting of a howling wolf on its side.
"Sir, do we shoot that thing as well-!?"
"Wait! Hold fire! That's... It's friendly!"
Moments later, the said Strider puffed out air from its thrusters before zooming over the wall to descend below it.
The azure became paved apart by wind currents as the lone Strider sped forward just above the water's surface.
The full moon glinted upon the lake, revealing the listing ships that were sending smoke into the star-filled night.
Destroyed Striders and broken airship parts lobbed up and down as the sky invaders held onto them to stay afloat.
The men and women who were clasping onto the floating bits all gawked at the unidentified Strider as it flew past them.
Deeper in the townscape, certain districts were smoking and burning heavily.
However, the population had already evacuated toward the secure locations in advance.
The battalion of Valoratian Elites rushed out with the garrison to help with the town's defense alongside everyone that could fight.
"Relocate down this street... Then... Fire at will...!"
The guild master's muffled shout sounded the street filled with rumbling footsteps as varying bows were nocked and lifted.
The Strider squadron that charged towards them began dispersing to avoid the volley of valoratian steel-tipped projectiles.
"Now's the time! Show them the power of Valoratia's Knight at Arms... For Valoratia!"
Knight clad in jet-black armor raised and fired off their magical crossbows which shone brightly as they filled the night sky.
"Wait, aren't we being lured into their firing positions-!?"
"Damn it, you were right! I'm out of here!"
"W-Wait, I'm going as well!"
"But we need to flush the enemy out so the ground troops can advance-!?"
"Screw that... Break formation, now!"
The Strider squadron broke apart even further as the ground troops were left to fend for themselves below.
Smaller explosions erupted the airspace as some of the Striders were then hit and shortly turned into nothing but smithereens.
"Take turns in moving! Spread out! Don't let those flying things focus you down! Take cover and flank through the alleyways!"
Andre shouted out as he ordered the adventurer and melee fighting force to rally up and advance carefully through the gaps.
The sky invaders which were cluttered down by the end of the street were still firing upon their barricade positions.
Beyond the row of houses on the parallel street just beside them flew a unique-looking Strider forth.
It had a few stars etched upon it, however, the count was nowhere near the ace that Vixella had fought.
It strafed down to scatter the gathering of archers and crossbowmen knights with its autocannons.
Seemingly succeeding in doing some damage, its cockpit would then be abruptly pierced by a larger ice trident.
Arch-Mage Johnathan Bluestars stepped forward as a rank of mages conjured their varying spells after him.
The following wingmen of the said ace who caught up and saw what happened began spreading out wide to escape the barrage.
Clanking noises sounded Jessica's claymore as she braced it against pellet shots by jabbing it into the ground.
A few long seconds later, the rotary musket that was firing at her stopped sucking in air as the hopper ran empty.
Jessica, realizing the opportunity, ran down the street against the Sky Invader Paratrooper.
The rotary musket that was raised to block was easily sliced in half as the man was cut down.
In the background were also other Valoratian Elites that were pushing to thin down the ranks of the other paratroopers nearby.
"It was just like Lady Vixella said... Once they run out of pellets-"
Pellets impacting Jessica's back interrupted her speech as she fell over.
Being shot so close, the silvered plate that was pierced was clearly visible.
The sky invader paratrooper stood back up while clutching his torn and slightly bloodied flak vest.
Shakingly holding the musket pistol in his hands, he breathed unsteadily and coughed out.
"Haaah... Learn not to mess with Algoria's commandos... What-!?"
However, upon seeing Jessica slowly stand back up, the injured man began to panic.
"Why... Why won't you die-!?"
CLICK!
His eyes grew wide upon realizing that his pistol's hopper was already empty.
"Arara... Captivity or Death... What shall it be?"
The man's grip fell loose of his pistol as it clanked onto the ground.
"C-Captivity..."
Instead of having chainmail underneath, the Valoratian Elites listened to Lady Vixella's suggestions to wear Spider-Silk.
This threaded armor woven from magical spider beast webs was proved to be much more effective against the enemy's pellets.
Spreading out the impact and slowing down the projectiles were much more reliable than using a hard thin surface to stop it.
Alas, the sky invaders that made their way into the districts did not expect the much fiercer resistance as they went in deeper.
Most of the sky invaders fled back into the lake and decided to swim themselves away to a safe distance or wreckage to hide.
They also had to throw away their bulky muskets and ammo packs to swim which naturally rendered them useless in battle.
Even if they kept their weapons and gear, the water that contacts the chamberings would still ruin the compressor devices.
Throughout the history of LadyLake, the Fortress City has never once fallen into enemy hands past the outer districts.
If the demons couldn't make it through then no one should believe that these 'Sky Invaders' will do so either.
The flying battlecruiser that was present above the great bridge fired out massive lead balls from their larger cannons.
It did little against the extraordinarily thick silvered walls of LadyLake as they bounced off and splashed into the water below.
"Rear Admiral... This is bad... Our ground troops aren't advancing as expected... Plus, this town's defenses are too strong..."
One of the deck-hands muttered out as she speculated the fight below with a telescope.
The man who sat by the helm seat began shaking his head a few times.
"Why are we even... This is an expedition team... Not an armada! That warmonger is dead so shouldn't we just make peace-!?"
The calm-looking boy with the scruffy white hair and crimson eyes then turned to face him.
"Too bad. It was the Admiral's last order to attack with all we have. We'll face court-martial otherwise."
"I know---- I KNOW THAT!! But... This... This is just pointless..."
Back down the streets of Lady Lake, Alderius took a deep breath as he rested himself upon some rubble.
The scoped pneumatic rifle he held was pointed straight at an unknowing enemy paratrooper in the distance.
Resting his finger by the trigger, Alderius inhaled before firmly pulling it back.
The paratrooper in the distance never knew what had hit him as he fell over.
"Lad... These firearm things aren't that bad, aye?"
King Alderius glanced over his shoulder to see Alexei scan the vicinity with his shorter combat musket.
"Ahm... Yeah, this 'gun' stuff is pretty easy to use."
"That's the spirit! Let's thank that stupid lass for teaching us how to use these things later!"
King Alderius scoffed as he took out the other Sky Invader who tried to run away from the clearing.
"Gah, I'm just going to reload in case..."
Alexei replied while carefully swapping out the nearly drained magical battery for the filled one resting in his leather pouch.
Back on the towering bridge of the flying battlecruiser, the deck-hand lowered her telescope and ran up to the two by the helm.
"Wait, what's that-!?"
The Rear Admiral pressed a button on the console as he shouted through some sort of speaker.
"Forward Gun Mounts, what do you see-!?"
A while later, a panicked voice shouted back through the speakers.
"It's an unidentified Strider! Deemed hostile! Approaching fast, at 6 o'clock!"
"Give me the telescope."
"Huh-!? Alright, here you go, Sir Wolfe!"
The deck-hand passed it over.
"Hey, that's my Strider. Well, I can at least see that. Looks like she's coming straight for us."
He glanced forth to see many friendly ships begin to lister as his Strider took out their engines and weak points one by one.
"She...? Wait, did one of our aces turn upon us-!?"
"No, not at all. It's her from the last battle."
Sir Wolfe passed back the telescope before he stood up.
The deckhand gasped as she looked back at the horizon to see more of their ships losing altitude.
"The one who took down the Admiral's battleship with that light cross magic-!?"
The Rear Admiral seemed restless.
"Though to have that much magical output... She could probably power all of Algoria District by herself..."
"Sir... Then... Shall we try to capture her?"
The deckhand sounded a bit unsure.
"Don't ask for the impossible. We would've already been dead if she wanted to kill us."
Wolfe gestured at the bridge's wide window.
The deck-hand raised and twisted her telescope to get a better look.
"Oh...!? She's already here-!? W-Wait, she's swishing a white flag! Kill us...? No! I think she rather wants to negotiate!!"
The wind rushed by as the three on the side bridge-balcony grasped onto the railings.
Vixella hovered down with her Strider just a few meters above them.
"First of all, I'd like to thank that dog family guy! Can I have him-!?"
She slapped the metal frame a few times.
"Y-You! How dare you! Sir Wolfe has already engaged with Lady Ir-"
Wolfe tapped the deckhand's shoulder.
"Wake up. She meant my Strider."
"Oh...?"
She seemed a bit flustered before nodding a few times.
"Sorry about that. I hope she didn't anger you."
"Aah, no problem... Everyone seems to misunderstand me occasionally."
She then lowered the craft to meet them and tilted the turret barrels up at them.
"Aah, it's not like I intend to... But I'll shoot if you guys try anything stupid..."
Wolfe quickly raised his hands in surrender alongside the other two.
"Come on now. We're already out of our wits."
Vixella abruptly tossed the white flag at Wolfe who caught onto it reflexively.
"And just what am I supposed to do with this."
"Aah? If you don't know that much then-"
WOOSH!
Vixella's Strider descended away from view.
"What...? Why did she leave...?"
The deckhand blurted out, not understanding what just happened.
"Hey. Don't ask me-"
The battlecruiser then shook violently numerous times before it began to tilt, causing the three of them to scramble back inside.
The altitude gauges on the panels were spinning haphazardly into the negative.
"Sirs, we're losing airspeed! She took out our main left thrusters!"
"Divert all power to the remaining thrusters. Just keep this thing afloat."
"Sir Wolfe's right... And make sure to sit tight... I'll try and bring this thing down softly...!"
The Rear Admiral staggered and ran towards his seat as he desperately grabbed onto the steering wheel.
"Sir-!? Shouldn't we jump-!?"
The deckhand pointed at the pile of parachute packs hanging to the side of the balcony exit.
Sir Wolfe grumbled out as he had already strapped the safety belt over his seat, still clutching onto the flag Vixella dropped earlier.
"Good luck using the chutes from this low of an altitude."
"Then please say so earlier because I was planning to jump!"
The deckhand quickly threw away the chute pack she had grabbed earlier and made way for her seat.
"This... This won't be my last rodeo...!"
The Rear Admiral smiled unsteadily as he whistled before chuckling unsteadily.
"Might want to put on your belt."
"O-Oh...! I nearly forgot... Okay, done!"
"Good... Argh... Prepare for impact!"
The battlecruiser crashed diagonally into the middle section of the Great Bridge as large chunks of granite crashed into the azure.
Despite smoking and flaming relentlessly, not many lives were lost thanks to most of the crew fastening themselves to something.
Sir Wolfe alongside the captain and deckhand crawled out from the wreckage of the crumbled bridge as they staggered to get up.
Their eyes all narrowed wearily upon seeing Vixella stand ahead of them with a gigantic magical formation ticking behind her.
"You guys okay? Yeah... Good... Aah... It's quite back to hold this back with just one functional arm so make it quick..."
"I give up! No... We give up! Straight-out surrender! We'll completely listen to all of your demands!"
The Rear Admiral exclaimed out first, falling onto his knees as he pleaded out loud.
"Aah? You don't seem to be surrendering-"
The deckhand also fell down onto her knees.
"H-Hey...! W-We a-are being serious here! S-Sir Wolfe, p-please also kneel..."
"No. This is what she wants."
The tattered white flag in Sir Wolfe's hands was then suddenly strung up to swish back and forth as he fumbled left and right.
"Good job, dog family guy! You figured out how to use it!"
"So the flag was necessary all along. Glad I held onto it."
Sir Wolfe grumbled as he unwillingly continued to swish the white flag about.
The Rear Admiral cleared his throat.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Ahem! My mistake... Once again, we fully surrender!"
"Aah, can't move... I've strained such a large formation for too long..."
"Wait... W-What d-did she just...?"
"I think she's talking about the magical formation."
"Sorry, I was never too good at magic studies here... You guys got any clue in what she meant...?"
"W-Wait... Rear Admiral... Sir Wolfe... We all went to the same academy, didn't we-!?"
"Huh? Well, I guess we did...? Sir Wolfe enrolled during our last year though..."
"E-Eh? If I remember right... Weren't we taught that direct application of magic is a rapidly repeating process..."
" " "And to strain it for too long would cause an overload- Ah." " "
The three of them then slowly creaked their view back towards Vixella who was profusely sweating.
"So you did your homework... Anyways, I can't hold it for much longer... Ahaha..."
Vixella smiled weakly as the magical formation behind her began to whirl out of control.
The three bridge members never had a moment to hesitate as they ran off the deck and dove into the lake.
The battlecruiser crashing alongside a bright beam of blinding light was the ending mark of that pointless night battle.
A CENTURY LATER
(OOF Transition Music)
Valoratia.
Lady Lake.
The next day.
The bridge which crumbled down were replaced by wooden plank and beams to support transport and trade for the time being.
The many wreckages from the fight, otherwise, were still present as they bobbed up and down in the vast glimmering azure.
They were to be towed out later when the more important rebuilding tasks of the town had been cleared out of the way.
Giant ropes protruded from the silvered walls as they latched onto giant battlecruiser to keep it from drifting away.
The broken Wind Magic thrusters were currently being repaired by dwarven smiths who worked alongside the Sky Invaders.
Labor workers alongside their foremen rushed back and forth restlessly with their magical tools.
It seems like the destroyed and burnt districts were also quickly being rebuilt by the second.
The town of LadyLake itself was bustling as usual without much mischief.
Seagulls soared high up in the sky as they began to look for some fish to snatch.
Past the Great Bridge was a hill in the distance that had a tunnel path recently paved through it.
Where did this magnificently paved tunnel suddenly appear from overnight?
Let's just say it was thanks to Vixella who couldn't undo her magic attack.
Despite lifting it to fire it at the sky, the ship slid off the bridge just at that moment, causing her aim to tumble.
That tumbled aim ended up carving an open tunnel through the mountains in the front scenery of LadyLake.
The said magical formation that went out of control, otherwise, was just supposed to be a bluff.
That's right... A bluff, she said.
Either way, thanks to that, Valoratia had officially made it a shortcut tunnel that went straight through the mountains.
The said tunnel would then be known among the common folk as 'Vixella's Lunacy'.
Elsewhere, in the palace of LadyLake.
A few days after the final battle.
"Feels nice to be shoved around like prisoners of war."
"You surely jest! My lady merely wishes to negotiate in goodwill with you all."
The butler who guided them through the inner walls of the palace implied out.
His looks were seemingly average.
A young man with brown hair and eyes.
Nothing out of the ordinary came from him.
"Specifically your lady."
"Yes, I'm her personal attendant... For the majority of the time."
Wolfe nodded and continued to follow the butler alongside the Rear Admiral and deckhand.
A finely decorated door swung open, revealing a vast room polished by marble.
Prominent looking figures sat upon each throne present in the room... Alongside a few other airship captains... In smaller seats.
"Welcome! As everyone else has done, please take your seats."
A young noble lady gestured out with a soft smile on her face.
The extravagant yet reserved figure alongside with that exquisite face? Oh, such beauty!
The amber eyes that match according to the orange-ish blonde shine of her hair? Oh, how elegant!
She captivated all the men in that room at that moment.
All except one... Sir Wolfe.
Surely there wasn't any make-up.
As if she would ever dare put on make-up.
That aside, the three who had just entered mistook the Young Lady for the Valoratian Princess.
On the opposite thrones were the Kings of Valoratia, Enchantia, Katraia, and Elderia.
Princess Sasha sat timidly beside her father and Alexei Kiravichi.
The chubby head merchant of Merchantia sat in the foreground, looking a bit unsure of the situation at hand.
Oh, and that's Mr. Qatar by the way.
The orientally dressed woman had ears and a tail that reassembled a certain breed of a dog mixed with a human.
The Shober Priestess, Mesa, was looking somewhat content as she jointed her hands underneath the shrine garbs.
Around the corners and walls of the room were intimidating Valoratian Elites with swords and polearms at the ready.
The three who had just entered then took the empty seats beside the Lady who was sought to be Valoratia's Princess.
"Good work, Xenthur."
"I'm honored, my lady."
The butler, Xenthur, bowed gracefully before coming to a stop beside her seat.
"Aren't you lucky to be able to sit next to the princess? Wolfe, go on boy! Make us adults proud!"
One of the captains sitting in the far back whispered out to him.
Upon turning to ask the deckhand... The only hope and female friend nearby... She nodded supportively and gave him a wink.
At this point, Wolfe seemed a bit troubled but nodded to himself once.
"For the sake of the negotiation. I'll perform this act."
"Pardon...?"
"I think we've met before, princess."
"...?"
The lady then glanced over at Princess Sasha who in return giggled slightly.
"So you're not a princess."
Wolfe seemed discontent.
The butler, Xenthur, reached into his tailcoat and passed something over to his Lady.
High up in the skies... It was the same pistol Wolfe saw... The barrel he stared down upon.
To be exact, it was the covert recycler prototype pistol given to their regiment's best infiltrator, Ivan.
The lady skillfully spun it through the air before pointing it straight for Wolfe's forehead.
"Even after all we've been through... The promise is still valid, right?"
"So it was you. As for the promise-"
"Ahm...!? Vix, just what did you promise that guy-"
John sprung up from his throne, seemingly flustered.
"I would also like to know...!?"
"Aah? Can you guys stop barging into other people's business?"
Vixella barked before slinging an arm over Sir Wolfie, moving up close to him.
"The promise is still valid."
"Aah, really? Then I'll make sure to have lots of fun and feel really good when I come to visit!"
Naturally, Vixella meant that she would enjoy petting his dogs while feeling all their fluff.
However, by this point, most of the people in the room had already fallen off their seats.
"Just keep it in moderation. Also, I wonder why they all seem so shocked."
"Tehehe, what's wrong with having a little fun once in a while? Also, it's Vixella... Vixella Langford."
"Wolfe Farena. By the way, I am Algoria's Governer's son."
"Algoria...? Is that your nation?"
"No. It is just one of the four factions that make our continent, Demo."
"Aah... Boring backstory? Why don't you keep that for telling everyone else later."
"Sure. Then let me ask something."
"Go ahead."
"Vickersella. Where did you learn those maneuvers."
Muttering began in the room, much to the two's unawareness that their conversation without context is going astray.
The women began to squee... Even those knights in armor are beginning to fidget in weird ways... Just what-!?
"Not Vicker... And I don't consider myself to be that good... What do you think?"
Sir Wolfe grasped his pilot goggles before letting out a sorrowful sigh.
"You have great potential to do me in like that. But your maneuvers are quite rough sometimes."
"Is this salt over my wounds?"
"No. I still think you are capable. To think that you have mastered such a daring maneuver."
"Aah, maneuver...? I'm afraid that can't be called a maneuver..."
Vixella seemed to regret her decisions as she slouched down onto the table.
"Wait wait wait...!? All that hot steamy topic aside... Isn't she the one who shot that gigantic light magic thing-!?"
The deckhand stood up from her seat, causing a few Valoratian Elites to shuffle slightly upon hearing so.
"Wait... What hot steamy topic?"
Vixella raised an eyebrow at Sir Wolfie, in which he in return shrugged back.
The other captains began to mutter in the background.
"That cross of light that took the Admiral's battleship in an instant!?", "It's her?!", What?!", "Monster!!"
"What-!? Dragon-!?"
Vixella expanded out the arm-blade as she went into full-blown-panic, shifting her eyes wildly here and there.
Everyone in the room gawked at the enchanted blade coated in eviscerating light-magic as they all froze.
Only a few in the room had known that she was concealing such a dangerous weapon on her throughout all this time.
Sir Wolfe slowly reached out to poke her in the cheek, causing Vixella to snap out of it.
He sighed upon seeing the blade harmlessly slip back into her puffed detached sleeve.
"Vickersella. Why were you hiding a weapon like that."
"Aah, it's obviously for self-defense."
Sir Wolfe casually smacked a fist into his other hand.
"I think I finally know what kind of person you are now."
"Aah, what kind?"
"An idiot."
Vixella smiled and slammed her low heels onto Wolfe's throne, causing it to crack just a few inches from his crotch.
"Looking to die early, dog family guy?"
The deck-hand waved her hands in surrender as she drew Vixella's attention away from Wolfe.
"A-Ah... Speaking of which, that pistol... Isn't it Ivan's...?"
"Wait, don't tell me you're planning to take this back...!? Can't I have it...?"
Vixella seemed a bit disheartened.
"It's just a prototype anyways... You can keep it if you'd like... Hahaha..."
The deck-hand smiled wearily as if trying to comfort a troubled child.
"Really...!? Thanks!"
Vixella's eyes seemed to sparkle as she tossed away the pistol to Xenthur and ran up to grab the deckhand's hands.
"Really... It's... No problem..."
The deckhand seemed a bit out of place as she looked back at the others who were silently cheering on her to 'keep it up'.
"Where's Ivan then. If he's dead, we're going to have a slight problem."
Wolfe sounded a bit more intense in his tone upon asking.
"Xenthur, go ahead and tell Jessica to bring him in."
Vixella then dashed back to sit down by her throne.
Xenthur gave a stern face as he lifted his finger to scold her.
"Pardon me... That's not how a lady should behave... You should walk slower and your form needs to be-"
"Aah!? Don't order me around! I'm seriously sick of playing this dumb noble lady stuff!"
Vixella lashed back with slight frustration as she stood up and grasped Xenthur by the collar.
Everyone else in the room then became a bit shocked upon seeing Vixella's hidden side.
However, upon seeing the intimacy of the two as they talked back at each other, they all felt a bit relieved.
Muffling noises were then heard behind the double doors.
WHAM!
The door flew open as Ivan was thrown into the room.
"Ivan-!? You're alive!!"
The deckhand rushed up to check on his condition.
Recovering from the impact of the toss, Ivan weakly glanced up at everyone.
"Oomph-!? Hah... That knight woman is pretty strong..."
"Arara? Looks like I must head back to take care of my dear brother now!"
Jessica clapped her hands happily before pacing back down the corridor.
"Aah! Finally... That's that! So, let's talk!"
The doors were then shortly closed by the Valoratian Elites as the room became flooded with seriousness once again.
Everyone in the room then became weary upon realizing the pressure Vixella began to give off as she jointed her hands.
"We fought... People died... For what purpose?"
The Rear Admiral, in return, averted his eyes before steeling himself to look straight at her.
"Let me... Tell you the whole honest story... Why we all came here..."
An hour passed by as the explanations alongside the many discussions went into deeper detail.
Demo Sovereignty, a continent across the Great Sea, was roiling up for a full-scale civil war.
Algoria District (Faction) begun to look through the ancient archives of the Great Libary for ways to increase their warring power.
Stumbling upon the books that contained the tales of an ancient land beyond the great sea, they came in search of such a place.
Heroes possessing powerful magic and valoratian (immortal) steel who fought bravely against the demonkind.
The sky invaders came in search of such a place.
They blindly grasped at anything to gain leverage.
You could say that they were desperate.
War makes people desperate for power.
That's normal.
They were sent to find magicians and resources to power their machines and stock up their magical supplies.
Making contact with the help of Ivan, their peaceful approach was ruined when the warmonger Admiral ordered an invasion.
Just as Vixella had speculated, they were all just a fraction of their militaristic power.
An expedition team formed under the wing of an exceptional battalion that were sent blindly after the legends.
One of the many reasons why they didn't come in much greater force was because only a few of them believed in the archives.
The expedition took place for about a month until they began spotting trade vessels from the smaller islands that lead to Islandia.
From there, they followed towards the coastal sailing routes of the islanders and found the shores of Afria; Great Port and Betras.
Ivan, their best infiltrator, was then told to make the nations wage war against each other so their military powers would crumble.
This process took a few long months for him to settle in before Ivan somehow ended up becoming the Valoratian King's aide.
During all this time, the living supplies on the ships were running low.
Seemingly failing to cause much destruction, Ivan was partially at fault for why they were forced to attack.
"You're all just an expedition team? Aah, now I'm getting scared."
Everyone in the room then glanced silently at her until Mesa raised herself to bow.
"This one apologizes in her master--- AWOO!! Lady Vixella's stead... She says weird things sometimes, woof..."
King Alderius who sat beside tried to comfort her.
"Cheer up, lass! If you compare yourself to the power of their flying battleship you took down, that's already-"
"We'd never expect to lose one of our main battle vessels to a single mage like her."
"My sincere apologies for making you lose such a large vessel-"
The Rear Admiral butted in by raising out an arm to gesture 'stop' upon seeing Vixella look a bit sorry.
"Don't worry! All of the ships we took here are just old variants that were meant to be scrapped soon anyway!"
"Hah! That's right! No need to feel bad about it!"
Ivan came into the conversation loudly as he tried to cheer her up.
For some reason, Vixella's mood sank even further.
" " "Eeeh-!? Why-!?" " "
After that commotion, everyone in the room then went off to idly chat with each other.
John, Mesa, Alderius, Qatar, and the others were all busy shaking hands with everyone.
Vixella leaned closer against Wolfe to whisper.
"If the ones I took down were just outdated ships... Then just how powerful are your standardized ones?"
He took a slight glance at her.
"The newer models are fitted with all-round anti-air armaments. They will kick your little ass."
"Aah? I am by all means confident that my backside isn't small."
"So she says."
"That aside, your men seem pretty lax... Are they new to the job?"
Vixella asked out of curiosity upon overlooking the crowd of captains, pilots, and gunners.
They all seemed just like everyday people according to their stance, speech, and liveliness.
"You are kidding. We are all veterans and have seen plenty of fight and death back at our place."
"Really now", she turned to look at the few dropship officers, "even though your ground troops don't seem to qualify...?"
"Our district's military regulations are quite humane."
"Aah, I get it... The soldier mentality is somewhat lacking then?"
"I can not deny that assumption."
After everything had finally settled down, contracts and paper forms were handed forth for everyone important to fill.
The continent of Afria then promised to hand out Magical Induction Jars for magicians to fill daily under safety regulations.
These jars that Vixella's company provided would then be shipped to Algoria District and put into to their Magical Batteries.
The use of these Magical Jars were much better off than having to stuff mages into draining tanks, according to the Sky Invaders.
Massive chunks of Valoratian Steel were then told to be refined and delivered alongside said jars.
Everything would be shipped off when an armored corvette cargo ship came to visit every month.
The thriving future of Vixella's business was already set in stone; the current continent and the other continent!
A shadow network governed by Xenthur had also already long spanned throughout the continent of Afria.
It was only due time until it would also span over to the newfound continent across the Great Sea, Demo.
Sneaking someone he could trust onto the freight cargo ship, Xenthur had already begun weaving his new web.
The prisoners from both sides were then freed without much incident after the discussion for peace was settled in place.
The image of the Afrian Empire was slowly coming back as everyone began to mutually cooperate for the future ahead.