"Dalio? Suitan?" [Mooly]

"Oh right, you didn't know what happened." [Angelica]

Dalio and Suitan are the two cities that were attacked and occupied by the orc legion, which we have stopped long ago.

If Kate is telling me this... then, they were probably having problems getting the orcs under control.

"Due to them occupying the two cities, they were able to multiply faster than we had expected..." [Kate]

"That means the populace is being..." [Maria]

"I'm afraid yes..." [Kate]

They were using them to reproduce...

"What are their current numbers?" [Blake]

"Aerial scouts estimate that there are about 15,000 or more, per city." [Kate]

"What?!" [Angelica]

"Per city..." [Maria]

"We tried to draw them out, but they wouldn't leave the city walls." [Kate]

"Isn't that a good thing?" [Blake]

"If we let them be, they will just keep on increasing. Also, the reason we need to retake them is because they are blocking a vital trade route that can only pass through from there. Cutting off food supplies to and from other cities, towns, and villages. As we speak those cities have almost exhausted their supplies." [Kate]

"Can't you just bombard the city?" [Mooly]

"It has already been suggested, but if there were any survivors inside..." [Kate]

"What about storming the gates?" [Angelica]

"An orc fortification is well-defended, Angelica." [Maria]

"Kate, why are you telling us this?" [Angelica]

"It's about the Princess..." [Kate]

"Mother?" [Angelica]

"When she heard it via telepathy, she decided to participate in the campaign with Terrence..." [Kate]

"?!" [Angelica]

"Not only that... even the King..." [Kate]

"Grandfather?" [Angelica]

"Yes, about a week ago. The Princess, arranged a meeting with the King, in an undisclosed location. She says that they will take command of each of the attacking forces." [Kate]

"Meaning one head the force in Dalio and one in Suitan." [Blake]

"That is correct." [Kate]

"And father?" [Angelica]

"He'll be on the frontlines, where the princess will be at." [Kate]

"Just three days ago, the scouts have seen movement from Dalio. Five thousand orcs were marching towards Suitan. It seems like they are preparing to occupy a nearby city called Raele." [Kate]

"Have you ordered an evacuation?" [Blake]

"No need. Almost, all of the cities nearby have become ghost towns, because of the fear of being slaughtered and used by them." [Kate]

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Well, even I would get scared if I tried to stay next to a ticking time bomb...

"Who heads what then?" [Maria]

"Here is a more detailed explanation of the situation." [Kate]

The orcs traveling to Suitan will get there in exactly three weeks. By that time, the forces headed by the King shall intercept them and proceed to march and retake Suitan. This is the right time to strike, now that they have exposed themselves.

He shall be accompanied by 20,000+ of their knights, magicians, and elite troops with Regina.

The 15k+ soldiers are already enough for the 20k+ orcs. They really plan on having few casualties through that number. Since a single trained knight can most likely take out 2-3 orcs, I don't know how an elite knight would have fared though.

The King had also requested for Jose and he's en route there, as we speak. Too bad, I was about to ask him and Maria to teach me earth-based magic. I guess it'll have to wait.

Meanwhile, Michelle will be heading for Dalio. The reduced number of orcs will leave a gap in their defenses.

She will be accompanied by Steven and a few elite knights that grandfather had provided, with Kate as the captain. Along with adventurers from the guild and also magicians from various magic academies.

They numbered at the 8k's with the adventurers forming the bulk of the force. 5k adventurers, 2k magicians and 1k of the elite knights.

The situation must have been pretty dire, given that the guild and even the academy had to get involved. Most of the time, they just let the kingdom handle stuff like this.

I asked Kate, the reason why the adventurers weren't part of the force going to Suitan. She just said that adventurers do not like being ordered and they also disregard formations.

I won't get mad at her because it also happened to us during the siege. It was one of the main reasons why the frontlines broke in the first place.

But... wouldn't Michelle have a hard time commanding the adventurers? No... she's good at changing strategies on the fly. Even turning a losing battle into a win.

Kate had gone to rendezvous with Michelle. She said that they'll be back, the day after tomorrow. Dalio is a little bit near here, so it is only natural that we stay put.

"I'm going to participate." [Angelica]

"If you're coming, then so am I." [Blake]

"My choice should be obvious." [Maria]

"Thank you." [Angelica]

"Sister?" [Mooly]

"Mooly, you stay here. It's very dangerous to where we're going." [Angelica]

"No! I wanna come!" [Mooly]

I cannot take her with us, she's just a child. For her to witness something like death and... It might just be too hard for her to bear. This is something that we adults should shoulder alone.

"Please." [Mooly]

She is really determined. I can see the fire burning in her eyes.

"I'll let you come, under one condition. Only stick with us and don't go off on your own." [Angelica]

"Yes." [Mooly]

"Promise me." [Angelica]

"I promise." [Mooly]

I'm getting bad vibes, am I raising death flags here? I better shake it off.

"Maria." [Angelica]

"Yes?" [Maria]

"Come with me. I'm going to train you thoroughly." [Angelica]

"T-train in what?!" [Maria]

"Imbuing." [Angelica]

"Ahh, that." [Maria]

"Are you expecting something else?" [Angelica]

"No-no-no." [Maria]

Why is she so flustered? Did I say something weird? Don't tell me that she was looking forward to that kind of training.

I also asked Blake to train with Mooly to condition themselves.

The next day, after waking up at dawn. I taught Maria, how to imbue magic crystals. Her concentration is superb, even with disturbance, she was still able to concentrate.

Well, you couldn't break a magician's concentration so easily. They needed it to cast their spells and to any magician, every second counts or it may cost them their lives.

The same day that evening...

I cannot believe it. In just a single day, Maria was able to imbue a magic crystal. She is really talented, I find her learning ability is a force to be reckoned with.

"We still have more time." [Maria]

"You're making me jealous. In just a day you can already imbue stuff..." [Angelica]

"Umm... ah... there-there." [Maria]

Unable to give me a comforting answer, she just gently petted my head.

"Now, time for the real deal." [Angelica]

I brought out a few magic crystals from my waist pouch.

"Angelica, these are good-quality crystals." [Maria]

"I want you to imbue all of these." [Angelica]

"Huh? But isn't that dangerous?" [Maria]

"It is a lot easier, trust me." [Angelica]

She imbued seven crystals with Regular level Healing magic, for each of us. So in case of emergencies, we have one in hand.

Since they are of good quality. Maria's Regular level Heal can be used up to 5-7 times till it needs to recharge.

We now have free space for more energy potions. Almost self-sufficient if I could say so myself.

I had her imbue some medium-quality ones with offensive spells, that she can use and one especially for Michelle.

I then imbued a crystal for myself with the wind enchant. I'll attach it later on my kris.

Later... Kate, along with Michelle and Steven, came to our room.

We exchanged greetings and proceed to talk about preparations. Michelle, stares at the map on the table, studying it silently.

"The orcs have good eyesight when it is dark, it'll only be futile if we try to ambush them at dusk. So we'll attack at noon. " [Michelle]

After sometime. She stood up and declared our time of the attack. All of us around the table agreed on the strategy.