Magic was a strange phenomenon, one that could only be controlled through mana and no other force. That also meant that anyone with mana could manipulate it, including us.

I had the engineers in the 4th Corps make some modifications to our MPAs, specifically adding a function that could release a short burst of mana into the surrounding air.

Since the Storm Crusaders used mana to control wind, we could disrupt their magic by releasing these bursts of mana, effectively disturbing the mana in the air and rendering their control useless.

Of course, this was only a theory. I couldn’t be sure it would actually work, but I kept that doubt to myself. The last thing I needed was to lower the morale of the soldiers.

The plan was simple. After initiating the mana bursts to disrupt the Storm Crusaders' wind magic, we would temporarily disable the bursts, allowing the winds to return just strong enough for us to safely land.

All the MPA soldiers in my unit would drop onto the Storm Crusaders’ rear, as the 4th Corps' MPA soldiers were either killed or too injured to fight. Our objective was to inflict enough damage on their rear guard to render it useless. That would give General Declan the opening to charge in with 10,000 soldiers and mop up the rest.

We anticipated that the enemy would regroup quickly, so 5,000 of Declan's soldiers were mounted cavalry for swift hit-and-run tactics, while another 5,000 were armed with longbows for ranged support. The goal was to buy time for the main army to arrive.

I wasn’t entirely sure if the plan would succeed. But as we dropped down and the winds carried us safely to the rear of the Storm Crusaders, I silently thanked the Goddess of Luck.

“Kill her!”

“Regroup! Regroup!”

“102nd to 105th Platoons, take that girl’s head!”

Chaos and panic erupted immediately as my soldiers and I sliced through knights and mages alike with brutal efficiency. The mana bursts worked as intended, rendering many of the mages’ wind spells useless. Without their magic, they were easy targets.

The knights, while well-trained, were clearly inexperienced in actual combat. Their movements were stiff, hesitant, and filled with uncertainty. Many faltered when they faced me, their hesitation costing them their lives. I cut them down without mercy, showing no hesitation in return.

This was no place for pity. It was a battlefield. And as cruel as it might sound, it was the perfect opportunity for my soldiers to gain experience.

I had wanted Lura to be part of the attack force, eager to see her abilities in action. But as a mage, she wasn’t suited for such close combat. I sighed inwardly, saving that curiosity for another time.

“Lady Aria!” A soldier rushed toward me, panic in his voice. “Enemy reinforcements confirmed, numbering about 500!”

“Give the order to fall back!” I shouted, cutting down another mage. “We’re already running low on Mana Crystals. Fall back!”

The mana bursts had been critical to our success, but they consumed an enormous amount of mana. Each of us had come equipped with 20 Mana Crystals, yet it had been less than five minutes, and I was already on my eighth. The energy drain was no joke.

Retreating was the only option. This battle wasn’t about destroying the Storm Crusaders. It was about survival and buying time.

As my soldiers began to pull back, I kept my blade, Windwhisper, high, cutting down anyone who dared to get too close. Since my blade was also affected by the mana burst, it was just a normal sword for now.

As we continued to retreat, the thunderous sound of hooves echoed across the battlefield. Moments later, 5,000 cavalrymen charged forward, their war cries piercing the air as they crushed any unlucky knights or mages who hadn’t sensed their approach in time.

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“Kill them! Avenge our comrades!” the officer commanding the cavalry shouted, his voice booming over the chaos. All around him, soldiers echoed his cry for blood, their fury driving the charge forward.

Despite their bravery, they lacked the mana bursts our unit had used. Many fell under the spells of the mages before they could even reach the enemy line. But thanks to the damage we had already inflicted, their charge wasn’t entirely wasted. Soon enough, they closed in, forcing the mages into frantic close combat. Without the space to cast their spells freely, the mages hesitated, afraid of striking their own allies.

“Lady Aria, should we assist them?” one of my soldiers asked, gripping his blade tightly, his knuckles white with tension.

“No,” I replied firmly, keeping my voice steady. “It’s too risky. For now, we’ll continue our retreat and try to save as many of our soldiers as we can. However,” I added, my tone sharp, “you are permitted to kill any knights or mages we encounter during our retreat. Do not hold back.”

“Yes, Lady Aria!” the soldier responded with a salute.

I turned back toward the chaos, watching the battlefield erupt in an inferno of blood and steel. Knights and cavalry clashed, mages struggled to cast amidst the melee, and the ground itself seemed to tremble under the weight of the carnage.

For the first time in a long while, I felt a strange pang in my chest, a deep, hollow ache. I couldn’t help but wonder, ‘why does so much blood need to be shed?’

“I really wish I hadn’t been reincarnated here...” I murmured to myself, forcing my legs to move as I ran with my unit, retreating once more into the chaos of survival.

[(0)]

YEAR: 1724. OCTOBER 17TH. LOCATION: IN THE COMMAND TENT OF 20TH KNIGHT BRIGADE

“And?”

It was the day after the surprise attack launched by the 4th Corps. Commander Otis, the leader of the 20th Knight Brigade, the Storm Crusaders, sat in his command tent, going over the reports from the raid.

“The new recruits were too panicked by the enemy’s unorthodox tactics to respond properly,” a knight reported, his hand resting on the gray chestplate of his armor. “1,000 knights and 200 mages were killed. Most of them were new recruits.”

“I see,” Otis murmured, letting out a deep sigh. “While it’s fortunate that many survived, it’s clear the new recruits are shaken.”

Ever since the Empire had been at war with multiple nations, the shortage of soldiers had stretched even the elite Knight Brigades thin. Suppressing the rebellions in the Empire’s conquered territories had become more difficult with every passing year. To address the issue, the Empire had begun deploying Knight Orders to quickly handle uprisings and bolster its strained forces.

The Storm Crusaders’ current objective was to support the front line in the Shiena Kingdom before moving onto the Yiuiong Dynasty. Shiena was meant to be nothing more than a brief stop, a proving ground where their new recruits could gain combat experience before the real campaign began.

This year alone, the Knight Orders had been burdened with 50,000 new recruits. The rebellions across the Empire had made proper training for these recruits nearly impossible.

With all the Knight Brigades tied up in various battles, there was no time or space for traditional training methods. As a compromise, 20,000 of those recruits had been assigned to the 20th Brigade. Their deployment to Shiena was intended to serve as both a live battlefield experience and a test of their mettle.

But no one, not even Otis, had anticipated that the Shiena Kingdom would dare to make such a bold move.

The enemy’s unorthodox tactics had disrupted part of their storm, a phenomenon that was the core of the Storm Crusaders’ identity and power. The storm was everything to their brigade, the very foundation of their strength and strategy. If the storm was disrupted, chaos followed. And that was exactly what had happened.

Otis’s expression darkened as he set the report aside, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the table. Losing recruits wasn’t unexpected. After all, they were originally 20,000 force and adding the twic of number was a burden rather than an actual help. But allowing their storm to be disrupted? That was a failure he couldn’t ignore.

“This cannot happen again,” Otis said firmly, his voice cold and resolute. “Have the remaining recruits trained immediately. No excuses, no delays. And double the guard on the mages maintaining the storm. If the enemy tries something like this again, we will not be caught off guard.”

“Yes, Commander,” the knight replied with a bow, before retreating to relay the orders.

As the tent fell silent, Otis sat back, staring at the map spread across the table. The Shiena Kingdom was proving to be more troublesome than expected. And somewhere on that battlefield was the force responsible for this humiliation. Whoever they were, Otis vowed silently, they would not survive the next encounter.