As the two women battled, Lydia’s spear meeting First’s blade, there was also fighting going on all around them.

“Terra, you’re in the way again!” Bernice snapped, trying to get a shot.

“I was going to get that one!” Shao complained as her strike missed thanks to a fly-by spell pushing the enemy away.

Elaya shrugged dismissively.

As the battle continued, more and more mishaps occurred. First put on a mocking smile as she glanced at Lyda.

“You truly call this a harem? Look at them bicker. They’re about to fall apart.” She chuckled.

Lydia’s brow furrowed, but rather than respond, she shouted. “Terra!”

“Ah! Lydia?”

“I know you’re large now, but shoving through a crowd like a bull was never your strength!” Lydia declared. “You need to do what you do best. You need to protect everyone. You have dominion over the ground. Control the earth, and turn it to our advantage. Defend everyone!”

“Y-yes!”

“Celeste… I know you’re fast, but you can’t be everywhere at once. Rather than trying to suppress the entire field, concentrate on a few people.”

“Okay!” Celeste replied.

“Shao, every hit doesn’t need to be fatal. Stop trying to get a perfect assassination. Instead, try to weaken your enemies and make them susceptible. Work with the others to weaken them down and hit them when they least suspect it.”

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“I will!”

“Miki, you should be in the front lines. Get behind Terra and make it easier for her to redirect traffic. Astria, take advantage of this grouping.”

“Yes.”

“Bernice, you need to support Faeyna. She’s not used to battle, so you need to keep them from taking advantage of her inexperience.”

“Right.”

“Elaya, focus on weakening the enemy. Any distraction or damage you can do won’t matter if there they are strong enough to withstand it. Whittle them down, just like we do in a dungeon!”

“I-if you insist.”

In moments, Lydia shouted out orders to every girl, and the entire atmosphere of the fight seemed to shift. Terra created walls, segregating off groups of girls and forcing them to line up on her. Astria began to bombard them, her spells that had once spread out over the entire battlefield were now concentrated on a space a tenth the original size. At the same time, Miki’s death aura struck them, making it difficult for them to block those spells.

Faeyna began to attack more freely with her broom. Any time an enemy tried to get around her, Bernice would send them back with a bullet or two. Shao’s attacks always came right after a friend, causing the enemy to unbalance and get even more damage. The battle that had been equal had suddenly shifted into a one-sided slaughter, and the reason for it was none other than Lydia. She had seemingly changed the course of the battle.

This wasn’t because she was a great leader or some skilled strategician. It merely came from her intimate understanding of every woman present. She knew their strengths and their weaknesses, and she was able to call out the best in them all. While this was happening, she was still fervently fighting First, who grew increasingly frustrated as she saw her girls being pushed back more and more. Some of them started to retreat or fall.

“Third, help Forth!” She tried to call out. “Flyers, go after those damn fairies!”

Even though she was barking out orders too, her people continued to fight in a disordered fashion that seemed to become more disorderly the more they were pushed back. They seemed to ignore her completely.

“They’re not listening to you anymore,” Lydia observed calmly.

“What do you know of it?” First spat.

“When people grow panic and afraid, when they are overwhelmed, it takes respect, trust, and love to listen. The girls listened to me because it isn’t just Master they love. They love each other too. That’s why they bicker because deep down, we’re family!”