The flood waters raced up the valley with its momentum all while consuming the knights unfortunate enough to be in its path. The few knights who escaped were too busy scaling the side of the valley to assist their comrades. The screams of men died off as their unit was scattered and assaulted.

Sol watched the scene from her vantage point without sympathy. “This King didn’t expect you to destroy your own dam for this. Isn’t this damaging yourself by 1000 to hurt the enemy by 800?” An’s voice followed his abrupt appearance beside her. It was clear he enjoyed the show.

“This village was going to be evacuated anyways. The dam was only constructed to test out the mills anyhow. All this land far from Arcgate’s center will be repurposed in the long run. In this way, those men can contribute to Arcgate’s future…” Her voice gradually thinned out as her spiritual awareness scoured the valley for a particular target. Her lips soon curved up as she continued “... as the fertilizer for crops.”

In the far distance, Sol managed to glimpse Prince Elric’s retreating form. Sadly, the Prince was across the torrential waters. From her pocket, Sol pulled out the final ‘Temperamental Betty’. Her spiritual awareness judged the distance and her eyes glowed a silvery hue. The Unchained Queen Beast method pulsed as Sol drove her magic in circulation.

A bit of focus funneled the magic in her system towards her muscles and she soon took a tensioned pose as if to throw the coin across the ravine. Her brows puckered and the magic circulating through her pulsed once more. Despite the wind up, Sol felt the distance was still a bit much, however she refused to ask An for help.

“How stubborn… He’s a bit far for you.” An commented from the side while admiring Sol’s control of magic. “This King can take him out for you easily if you ask.” As if in response, the magic around Sol increased once more. Its density was visible as silver strands twisted around her torso and limbs. Although she knew the power was lacking still, Sol’s entire focus was on compressing the magic available to her.

Short pulses of magic flared from her body as the condensed energy slipped Sol’s control. She knew her limit was reached and took a final inhale. Her eyes closed and she shut out all senses except her spiritual awareness and sight. Silver arcs of magic leaped from her taunt limbs as the entire magical system Sol constructed collapsed on the spot.

Sol’s eyes widened and her body sprung from its tension as full power. Magic rippled from her limbs and torso to the delicate coin resting in her hand. The coin, which was launched rather slowly at first, suddenly accelerated past the sound barrier.

Repeated explosive compressions trailed the coin as it crossed the valley at absurd speeds. Sol’s figure collapsed on the spot after she released the built up tension. Her stubborn eyes remained locked on her target despite the collapse.

The coin ripped through the air all while encased inside a dense chunk of magic. It soon left Sol’s range of control and the magic attached to the coin expanded as a secondary explosion. The coin once again blasted forwards with anewed velocity.

The final shielding that protected the ‘Temperamental Betty’ from the atmosphere unraveled a mere 200 meters from Prince Elric. Unaware of how close to death he was, Prince Elric only ushered his horse forward in panic. The torrential waters had mostly subsided, however the valley was still filling up rather quickly.

As his attention was focused on controlling the horse, Prince Elric failed to notice the approaching danger until a monumental explosion detonated behind him. He only had time to glance behind him before the blast wave consumed both him and his horse.

Sol watched from a distance as the Prince was thrown through the air and into the valley wall. She saw hints of him vomiting blood, but it was clear the blow wasn’t lethal. In response to the sight, Sol only cursed under her breath at her failure.

With shaking legs, Sol used An’s assistance to stand up once more. “This Lady will get him next time.” While allowing her prey to live, Sol tapped An’s arm and the two scaled the other side of the valley. “Let’s get to the next dead drop. The other team should be waiting by now.”

Sol gazed once more at Prince Elric’s heaving form before she climbed up the valley side. Between the two, a new lake gradually filled in. The precipice of the valley was left behind as Sol and An retreated from the area. They had already wasted 3 days setting up the village to appear occupied. While not long in the grand scheme of things, Sol was hesitant to waste time when possible.

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

Meanwhile, Duke Reviarra just finished issuing a retreat order for a particular linchpin. Although Sol was able to distract the first brigade that housed Prince Elric, Queen Blonsall would never allow her son to leave as the only force. Even so, Prince Elric’s unit contained the most well trained men and as such, she managed to accomplish her goal of easing pressure on the territory.

Rather than a complete steamroll, Duke Reviarra was able to pick his fights and reinforce where necessary. As a result, The Arcgate territory was gradually shrinking from lost battles, however their strength remained constant.

On the other hand, the Blonsall forces attacking were nearing starvation. No matter how many villages they gained control over or how much land they took, not a single grain of food fell into their possession. Of the many Knights included in the assault, sycophantic Nobles consisting of second and third sons were included.

The wealthy were spoiled and rarely faced hardship as common as starvation. It didn’t take long for conflicting interests to crop up in the Blonsall army. Nobles took advantage of their titles to requisition the limited food from the commoner Knights. The gradual buildup of internal stress in conjunction with Arcgate’s consistent defense sparked dissent among the army and with it cases of desertion.

Such self-inflicted conflicts only served to show how strong the Royal family was. Despite the many issues, Arcgate remained on the backfoot. Nearly half a month of battle wore away the youth and naivety once carried by Reviarra Knights.

Duke Reviarra was rather thankful to An. Had he not sparred with the Reviarra household Knights, holding the territory would have been far bloodier. Instead, Duke Reviarra was able to perform controlled retreats.

Maps showing the reported state of the war were spread across a central desk for representatives to see. It was clear that nearly 30% of the Arcgate territory was surrendered to the enemy. Although losses were minimal, the future didn’t look nearly as good.

“Duke Reviarra, there’s not much more land we give up. The North East segment in particular has almost reached Glondal city.” A merchant representative voiced his worries. He was followed up by Sir Leory acting as Commander Knight. “We should shift forces to reinforce it. The intelligence clearly shows the Blonsall army is falling apart at the seams. Another 10 days… no, another 7 days should be enough. Defections will become rampant and they’ll no longer be able to press on.”

“That’s only assuming the Blonsall capital remains idle. That’s too optimistic to consider.” Countered the merchant. Although his worry was evident, he retained his respectful tone. It was clear no one in the room was hostile and the desire to win leaked from each of them.

“Has there been any word from Sol?” Duke Reviarra questioned. “The Lady was last reported around Donvut village. The message left at the dead drop suggested the Lady had a plan in mind, so this servant doesn’t believe there’s anything to worry about.” Duke Reviarra’s servant soon replied.

“Haha… This Duke wasn’t as concerned about her as hopeful. All our forces need right now is a counterforce along one of our lines of battle. There’s too many frontlines for us to make a solid reversal. If only a little bit of pressure could break one of the fronts…” The group of representatives turned silent while observing the table of maps.

At his side, the servant who initially responded to Duke Reviarra cleared his throat awkwardly. “Duke Reviarra, this… this servant took the liberty of providing a summary of our situation in the last dead drop. This… this servant believes Lady Reviarra is quite intelligent and would likely come to the same conclusion as the Duke…”

Although he stuttered while admitting his actions, no one at the table seemed to blame the man allowing him to recover himself. “Good! Sol will undoubtedly understand our situation. The question then is how do we respond and should we take the chance to rely on her?”

Duke Reviarra’s gaze swept across the representatives as if daring one of them to call his daughter unreliable. Many of the men present chuckled at the glance. Who wasn't aware of Sol’s capabilities? Had it been another child, it was unlikely they would support the plan.

“Duke Reviarra, I think I speak for the others when I say our trust in Lady Reviarra is second to none. The Lady has performed far too many miracles for us to start doubting her now.” A marquise native to Arcgate spoke the opinions of the group.

“Good, then let’s discuss how to take advantage of that eventual opportunity.” The representatives moved into planning. As expected, Sol received the letter surmising Arcgate’s state after rejoining her group. Her eyes consumed each word beyond the average human’s pace and before long, the letter was tossed to An to read as well.

“This Lady’s father is in a deadlock. This Lady intends to breach the Glondal City front line and relieve pressure in the North. Will you follow this Lady to the front lines?” Not an ounce of hesitation showed as the team genuflected in response. “We hear and obey!”