Several days passed without incident, the other reported armies nowhere to be seen as of yet. They were likely on foot which meant it would take a great deal of time to get anywhere, thus their lack of appearance. It would not be long however and I had the thought of them always nagging at the back of my mind like an unseemly itch. Bloodshed was forefront in my mind, something I had to avoid at all costs whenever I dealt with the next army. I'd send them fleeing or capture them, but kill them I would not. How to actually go about doing so was still something I plotted out when I had a spare moment to be alone with my thoughts. My planning did not have long to wait before it was put to the test however as the next military force made itself known.
A whole slew of prayers came to me from the town of Vemdelen, an actually pretty important place to me. It was in the early morning this time instead of the dead of night. Whoever was in charge of this army had clearly decided that a sneak attack in darkness was cowardly. Their banners displayed proudly as they set up their battle lines at the edge of the forest that stood past the fields. There were over two-hundred men and women all adorned with various types of weapons and armor. Alongside them there were several pieces of siege equipment such as small catapults and a battering ram. It was a traditional medieval attack: just march up to the enemy's walls and smash them down so you could run inside.
All of this I saw laid out before me as I stood on the wall of the town with my arms crossed across my chest. I was just above the large wooden gate having teleported over immediately after receiving the prayers. Obviously I was the size of a human child as I had figured showing up goddess size would have caused collateral damage. While these troops seemed to be mostly actual Pheoan troops I still had no idea just how suicidal they would be. Besides I wanted to toy with them a bit to vent some frustration.
Standing next to and around me were some of the local militia. They all served the duke of Vemdelen and were not properly equipped or trained for open battle. Normally how these things went is there was a siege and messengers went out to ask for reinforcements from neighboring towns. That whole process could take weeks and so it was up to defenders like these to hold off the enemy, or die trying. Often the troops coming to assist found a looted and burnt out town on their arrival. With a battering ram certainly there was no hope for aid.
This was all assuming the rules of normal human warfare however. This particular town had a goddess standing on its walls facing out to the enemy. I was going to end this battle without shedding even a drop of blood. At least if I could help it. Because of my resolute look and awe inspiring power the militia and people of this town found themselves strangely at ease. Their goddess would deliver them from the swords of the enemy this day.
None of the enemy troops knew I was here of course, something I was ensuring in order to further facilitate my fraternal bullying. My plan was to appear before them at just my normal little innocent human girl self and then take them all out with some manner of display. Something to really cement my absolute power over them and thus break their will to fight. That would therefore cause them to flee or surrender in accordance with my statute on bloodlessness. All I would need to do is wait for them to march a bit closer to the town.
Thankfully I did not have to wait long to enact my plan. As the sun began to rise in the sky from early morning to mid morning the troops began to advance. They were clearly going for a show of force to intimidate the town, all lining up with their machines out in the open field across the road. How foolish they would feel if they knew just how ineffective their little gesture would be. They may as well be putting on a parade.
I watched alongside the gathered militia on the walls as the enemy settled into their battle lines, their flags swaying in the breeze. The winds were getting even warmer now and spring was a week or two away. All of the civilians were hidden away in their houses. Not that they were in any real danger of course, but it was a precaution I had taken just in case something remarkable happened. After all I couldn't see the future and who knows what the enemy might have up their sleeves.
Once the enemy army had completely finished its formation I let out a big huff and dropped my arms to my sides. One of the militia standing behind me, a young man in his late teens, spoke up with a nervous voice.
“Y-You're sure you can handle them all goddess?”
My mouth lifted up into a rather sardonic smile as I replied without turning to face him.
“Oh I got this.”
Without another word I jumped down off the wall, falling twenty feet to the hard dirt road below. The air rushed past me, lifting my skirt and rustling my hair. I landed with barely the bend of my knees and stood up straight. There was a momentary pause as I readjusted myself before I started walking towards the enemy line. My arms were casually behind my back and my face adorned with an expression of cold calculation.
The Pheoan troops would only see a little gild with golden hair and colorful clothes walking from the gate of the town, her steps unfaltering as she stepped down the hard packed dirt. Their minds surely would wander and perhaps even fill with concern as this child came to face them alone, her own mind clearly unbothered by their number or armaments. She was a young mage they would assume. One of her age would be trouble but not unmanageable.
I kept walking until I was around one hundred feet away from the men in the front of the formation. That was where I was ordered to stop by one of the few men riding on horseback. With a small smile I complied and stood there waiting to see what would happen next.
The man on the horse was clearly an officer or general of some kind as he was dressed in the fanciest armor of the bunch. His hair was short and black, his eyes flaming red, and his build muscular despite being in his late thirties. He also had another much younger man on a horse to his rear who was holding a standard. A squire if ever there was one.
“Who goes there?” The leader demanded with a shout.
I rocked back and forth on my feet and called back to him in a calm voice.
“Shouldn't I be asking that?” I asked. “You're the one making a big stink outside of my town!”
This innocent man pulled his sword from its sheath and pointed it directly at me, his eyes burning intensely in start contrast to the fear in the eyes of his men.
“We are here to take possession on this town little girl!” He yelled out. “Surrender yourselves or be taken by force!”
Perfect.
My devious smirk returned as my eyes began to glow brightly. I learned forward while tilting my head up to look at him above me.
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“Oh? You and what army?”
With but a thought the divine power surged within me as I enacted my opening move. It had been decided just a few moments ago that knocking them all out would be most effective with the method being a shoulder chop. I remember seeing that move in various media and knew roughly where on the neck you smacked to knock someone out. The correct application of force to do so without killing someone was where my superhuman goddess reflexes would come in.
Using magic to further augment my amazing goddess body I ran forward in a blur of color, my speed especially being powered up by my mana until it reached literally insane speeds. In fact the moment I leapt forward a sonic boom erupted from the displaced air behind me. It echoed for miles around and certainly caused most everyone who heard it to jump in surprise.
Using this speed I ran towards one of the enemy soldiers in the back of the army and then stopped in an instant. To him I appeared out of thin air and he alongside his comrade jumped in shock. Or at least they would have if I hadn't already jumped up into the air and karate chopped the man in the side of the neck. I was extremely careful to hold back enough not to kill him but still knock him out. It worked and he crumpled unconscious to the ground in a heap. But I had already disappeared.
Another sonic boom echoed across the army as I ran to someone in the middle of the formation, this time attempting to strike him without slowing down. In fact I only increased the mana, boosting my speed even further. Was I going to reach light speed or something? Right now it didn't matter as I successfully hit the next man, knocking him out without killing him.
Thus and so did I continue around the invading army, the only sound to mark my passing the occasional sonic boom whenever I mistimed my footwork and had to slow down or stop. I was traveling too fast to even be seen now with brief instants of blur only accompanying the booms when I slowed. Onward I went, my bursts of speed getting more precise as I gained ever more control over my power. It was exhilarating! I had never used my super speed like this before.
One by one the enemy soldiers fell. All they could do was stand around in utter confusion and terror as their fellows collapsed to the ground one after another, the air being filled with thunderclaps every once in a while. They were too afraid to even move, standing there as if patiently awaiting their turn to fall. Fall they did. Until every single man and woman was laying unconscious on the ground.
All that is except for the general and his loyal squire, their relative importance sparing them for last. Perhaps this was more of a curse than a blessing however as they witnessed events unfold. They both looked on in horror as the little girl once again appeared in front of them in a flash of color, this time only a dozen feet away from their horses. They didn't even have time to properly panic before the next misfortune vexed them.
My eyes were still glowing and I sent a mental command to the panicking horses. “Throw your riders off your backs and leave.” I said to them. They obeyed immediately and after tossing their passengers to the dirt they galloped off with a frightened whinny.
With my eyes still glowing brightly I walked towards the two men, my hair beginning to glow as well with radiant light. I even brought up a small wind to blow around me as the surrounding area dimmed as the light was drawn in towards me. Truly I was a terrible sight to behold. Lucky were those that had already fallen asleep for they could avoid seeing me.
Both general and squire scrambled backwards on the ground, their mouths were open but they were unable to make a sound.
With their rapt attention I began to speak in a commanding and somewhat booming voice.
“I am the Goddess of Light and Knowledge!” I proclaimed. “You have made a grave error coming here today!”
The two stopped their pointless retreat, their mouths mumbling panicked babble as they soiled themselves. With my point justly made I stopped my advance and lowered the special effects, now only with my hair glowing while everything else returned to normal.
“As of now you're all my prisoners.” I said in a much lower voice. “Now sleep.”
After I finished speaking those words I used my super speed to zip over to stand above them. Then I just as quickly bent down and gave them each a quick chop to the side of their neck, knocking them out without causing any lasting harm. Or least without any significant risk of death, there was some harm of course.
I then took several steps back and looked over the field. Every single person in the army over two-hundred strong was now laid out on the ground. They would wake up between several minutes to hours however and the defending force was not going to be enough to keep them all prisoner. So in order to keep them all contained until they could be properly captured I used my magic to summon forth thick vines to bind them. Their arms and legs were tied together just tight enough that they couldn't escape.
They would be like this for several days so I also grew a bush in the middle of the road that would continuously grow goodberries until I chose to end the effect. I didn't want to keep this thing around forever as it would be a drain on mana but since I would be keeping an eye on when the army is picked up I'll have no problem knowing when to cut it off. It might seem strange to create this bush to some but if I hadn't then all these Pheoans would surely starve to death.
Now that everything was taken care of here I braced my legs and leapt up into the air hundreds of feet. Then I ignited my flame jets out of my hands and feet to propelled myself back to the town in a matter of seconds. With a light flip I then landed back on the wall in front of the waiting militia who all looked at me with a mixture of fear and thankfulness. They had all seen me unleash some of my true power after all.
“Everyone out there is a prisoner of war.” I said flipping my hair back over my shoulders. “I grew of bush of magical berries out there. It will be enough to keep them fed until they can be properly taken into custody.” My expression then changed to be more serious as I placed my hands on my hips. “And they will all be taken alive. Am I clear?”
The gathered men and woman all gave me a salute and verbalized their understanding. I then nodded and even cracked a small smile.
“Good! You can tell everyone its safe to come out of hiding now then.” I turned back to the field. “I'll be leaving now.”
Everyone gave me the expected “thank you goddess” and other words of praise as I jumped up into the air again and blasted off towards the small castle that stood in the middle of town. It took only a few moments to reach my destination and I did several mid air flips in order to fly myself through one of the open windows and into the castle's halls. After that it was only a quick series of jet boosts to reach the chamber in which the town's duke was covering with his wife.
Hernan Ulbe was someone I had not seen in a very long time, though as the duke of a boarder town I would probably be seeing more of him in the future. While the heavyset man wasn't entirely evil he was a bit too selfish and morally questionable for my liking. For now however he was in charge so as long as he didn't cross any lines he would remain the duke here.
I landed next to the man and snapped my fingers above his head with my left hand.
“Alright silly man.” I said a bit dismissively. “Time to get up. Danger's over.”
Hernan sat up and his wife did the same. They both looked at me with some degree of fear, their unscrupulous ways likely giving them concerns that they would be on my list soon. Regardless they still gave me the respect I deserved as a goddess and as such bowed before me.
“Y-Yes g-goddess!” Hernan said. “Thank y-you!”
I sighed and tried not to shake my head too much as I looked down at the two nobles. My hands moved to my hips and I gave my instructions.
“There's an army of around two-hundred people out there. All wrapped up with vines to remain captured until they can be taken officially as prisoners.” I tapped my left foot a few times. “I'm leaving this part to you as its part of your job. Call for whoever you need to so you can get them all processed. I expect them to be treated fairly. Also I've left a bush of magical berries to feed them until they're out of your custody so use it.” My eyes narrowed. “I'll know if you don't.”
Hernan just nodded and kept his head down.
“Yes goddess!”
Satisfied with this I nodded my head and exhaled through my nose.
“I'll take my leave then.”
Without further instructions or interactions I opened a glowing golden portal in front of myself. I paused for but a moment to watch the symbols rotate around it before stepping through and off to my personal castle. Even though this went about as well as it could have I still needed to go somewhere private to destress. There would surely be more so called battles like it in the future.