I looked down at the plans spread before me one more time, then forced my gaze upward, stifling a sigh. I was trying to distract myself, but it wasn’t working very well.
Instead, I rolled them up in one hand while I stood up and walked forward a few paces, ignoring the looks I was getting. Before the balcony, the landscape spread out, dyed in somber colors by the setting sun’s rays. The conspirators’ stronghold and its town dominated the view, making the soldiers arrayed before them seem almost inconsequential. By the standards of Earth, it would have been a small force indeed.
“My lady?” one of the guards asked.
I glanced at her. The woman, a seventh-stager with an athletic build, short hair and a sword on her hip, seemed to be in command of the detachment currently, but I hadn’t caught her name. Most of the guards I’d seen since the attack were new, although I might have seen them around before. From what I could tell, what used to be Mother’s personal guard were now assigned to me. They were certainly strong enough, with few of them below the sixth stage.
“Is everything ready?” I asked.
“Just about, Your Highness.”
I looked at the stronghold one more time, then turned around. “I’ll go to the terrace, the officers can join me there.”
The walk down the quickly constructed building didn’t take long. Its insides looked bare, with no decorations and minimal furnishings, but considering it had only been here since yesterday, the building was a good defensive emplacement. I had to wait for one of the guards to heave the heavy, reinforced door open before I stepped onto the broad terrace, which led down directly onto the plain and to the soldiers waiting there.
San Hashar was already here. She bowed when I arrived, looking composed despite the sword and bow strapped to her armor. “My lady. We can begin the attack on your order.”
I smiled a little. While the basic idea had been mine, I’d discussed our strategy with the officers, to make sure it would work out. San Hashar had been one of the more optimistic ones.
I couldn’t help but look at the plans I still carried in my right hand, rolling them out and taking a look. I wish things worked as well as she thinks.
“Are those plans for the battle?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No, just technical specifications, ideas I was playing around with.” I let them vanish into my storage ring.
I’d been considering ways to use my modern knowledge and affinities effectively for warfare. If I really put my mind to it, I could probably build a nuclear bomb. The theory isn’t that complicated. But this clearly isn’t the right answer for a situation like this.
Instead, I’d been thinking more in terms of creating lasers and high-energy radiation by itself. I’d mostly finished transferring my technique to shift light’s frequency to a formation, but if I wanted to create a weapon from it, it still needed energy. I could use qi, maybe take something like glowstones, and shift the light they emitted. But that wouldn’t be too different from using it for other attacks, in effect.
What I’d like to do was use electrical power. Maybe batteries to power it. I could create laser weapons or something like a real gamma ray gun. The idea just wasn’t very practical, at least as things stood. And I’d thought about something else, a formation mechanism I could hang in the sky to soak up sunlight, maybe different parts of the spectrum, store it, and then be able to release the energy as concentrated attacks. But that needed more than just tinkering for a day while I prepared to deal with the current challenge. I’d passed my ideas to my research team, maybe they’d make some progress.
For today, I’d settled on a more brute force approach.
“Are the planes in position?” I asked. “And the assigned elites?” She’d said they were ready, but it couldn’t hurt to double check.
By now, the other high-ranking officers had joined us, and one of them spoke up. “They’ve all started their approach, Your Highness.”
I took a deep breath, trying to savor the moment and suppress my nervousness. “Alright, then, this is it. Attack now.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
I listened to them give the order via radio and qi communicator, then glanced up, although I couldn’t see the planes that were now about to launch our opening attack. They could fly up higher than airships, and we were making full use of that capability today. With some of them, at least. The fact that we basically had airspace superiority really wasn’t good for the conspirators.
I’d been observing our enemies, and was pretty sure that they’d at least been smart enough to put General Wei in charge of their defense. They’d struck out once, but our soldiers had repelled the attack easily. More of a probing sortie than an all-out offensive. But time wasn’t on their side, so they’d launch one of those soon, unless we attacked first. And I’d rather not give them the time to start taking civilians as hostages. Wei was too honorable for that, but the others might overrule him at some point.
A bright flash marked the start of the battle. It had come from above, although I couldn’t see its origin point. I smiled and pulled out a telescope to take a closer look.
The qi shield the conspirators had laid over their stronghold was visible now, chiefly by the way it stood against the bombardment. Dark objects crashed through the sky, only to stop or explode meters above the ground. A haze like strong heat in a desert marked the qi shield, and while it held back all the attacks for now, it was clearly taxed.
I couldn’t get a proper look at the bombs themselves, since they moved too quickly, but I knew them. We’d taken several options for explosives, some known previously and some found with our new research. This would be a good test to see which was most effective. Of course, it wasn’t just bombs. The planes and cultivators had also taken up big rocks and were now dropping them from high up. Very high up. The fall would give them quite the momentum.
I winced as a boom shook the stronghold, signifying the first shield failure. Dust rose from a corner of it. Our soldiers, who’d been steadily advancing forward, seized the opportunity to take some potshots, but the shield held over the main buildings. By now, I could see cultivators swarming over it. The shield flickered for just a moment, and shapes rose rapidly into the sky.
I glanced around, noting the way San Hashar set her jaw, the tenseness the others showed. We’d expected this sort of response. I guess using storage rings as a trick and just dropping stuff from above can’t be a new tactic. That’s why there’s qi shields. And while they might not have planes, flying cultivators are bad enough on their own.
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That’s why we had cultivators in the air. The high stage air cultivators had helped guide the explosives to land on target, but their main job was playing defense.
I regarded the flickering qi shield for a moment longer, before I turned to the officers. “I think we can let the planes stop their strafing runs soon, if not now. It’s getting dangerous.”
San Hashar nodded. “I’ll tell the pilots to use their judgment, but to not risk their crafts unnecessarily.”
I sighed, glancing upwards once again. Our new planes were fast, certainly more maneuverable than your typical airship, which would help them get out of the zone of fire quickly. Now, it would mostly be down to cultivators fighting against cultivators. Even though we had the advantage of numbers, I knew there’d be losses.
In the meantime, the qi shields over the conspirators’ base were still taking a beating, and failing. Dust swirled into the air as explosions rocked the buildings. Wooden parts of the structures started to burn. I even saw lower stage cultivators thrown around, and parts of the stonework were not holding up too well, either.
I shook my head. This was a pretty one-sided fight. Not that I didn’t prefer it that way, of course.
“You think we should sound the charge?” I asked.
San Hashar frowned. “A minute more, my lady. The bombs are tapering off, but we don’t want our soldiers caught in their blasts.”
I nodded. “I’ll leave it to you to sound the attack.”
In a way, this was more like what I’d have expected of war than the whole campaign against the nomads. Bombing runs, explosions, individual fates caught by chance and overwhelming force, rather than some cultivator duels. And I couldn’t deny that, while I still disliked it, there was a certain satisfaction in beating down my enemies this way. Mother’s loss was too fresh, and I couldn’t help a grim smile as I watched some of the people responsible for it see the world crashing down on them.
San Hashar gave the order, and the rest of our force moved out. The soldiers crossed the distance to the stronghold quickly, tearing through outer defenses that had already been mostly annihilated. They finished off the flickering qi shield and started to swarm the stronghold.
I crossed my arms, watching intently from my safe position as the battle continued to rage, gaining a new intensity. Cultivator fights tended to be quick, and this was no exception. Explosions and showy attacks blocked most of my vision, but I could see the occasional fighter falling like puppets whose strings had been cut. Even from here, I could hear the rumbles and crashes of the fighting. It had to be deafening on the actual battlefield.
The battle paused for an instant, and my jaw tensed as I watched a shape shoot into the air. I couldn’t feel any auras from here, but the way fighters cowered away or dropped down if they were too close made it clear that this was a strong cultivator. Quickly, I put my telescope back to my eyes, and managed to get a glimpse of Wei Yong carrying his brother as he ascended into the air. A moment later, they were gone.
“Seems like he decided to honor the ban on black stage cultivators fighting,” San Hashar remarked. “I have to admit I don’t understand it. Wouldn’t the spirits disciplining the Zarian for a perceived breach be good for him?”
“Black stage cultivators fighting can be devastating,” my new guard captain said. “This is their home, too. They want to rule the country, not devastate it.”
“Right,” I said. “I think they have several reasons to restrain themselves. There are probably more eighth stagers on my side now, and unlike the soldiers, they’re not tied up fighting the Zarian. Not to mention our allies. The Terbekteri King would certainly send help. He wouldn’t want to see a coup like this succeed.” I paused, frowning slightly. “Plus, while they might seem to be on the side of the Zarian, I hardly think the spirits would only punish the Dominion for them breaking the agreement. They’re not stupid.”
San Hashar nodded. “I see. Thank you for explaining, Your Highness. In any case, his exit seems to have lowered their morale even more.”
I couldn’t help but glance at where the two cultivators had left, wondering if Wei Yong loved his brother. The cynical side of me thought it had more to do with him being the conspirators’ top general. Wei must have had other relatives here that he didn’t try to rescue.
I could see what she meant about morale, though. The fighting was winding down, and while the noise decreased, the haze obscuring the battlefield lifted. I noticed several enemy fighters kneeling on the ground, secured by our soldiers. They had orders to take prisoners, of course. We might even be able to use them against the Zarian. And at least the nearby town had been spared the worst of the fighting.
We stayed and watched for a few more minutes in silence. I didn’t feel any hurry to get closer to the battlefield. We’d already won, anyway. A small, satisfied smile settled on my face, and I didn’t bother to control my expression.
Finally, the guard broke the silence. “Your Highness, we’re receiving a transmission from the northeast.”
I glanced at her. “Yes, uh …?”
“Ru Lis, my lady,” she provided her name. “It’s relatively short-range, probably from clan Tener’s base.”
“I see. You seem a little bewildered.”
“Apologies, my lady, but they’re using a code developed by the Imperial Guard.” She shrugged. “The message is inviting us to approach, or something to that effect.”
I nodded and couldn’t help glancing in that direction, although I couldn’t see the location from here. I shifted my weight, feeling a bit anxious. I needed to see what this was about. “San Hashar, would you pick out a force to go there with us?”
“Of course, my lady.” The general turned to confer with her subordinates, and started assigning units and elites.
I took out my flying sword and rose into the air, moving carefully since I hadn’t had the time to really get accustomed to my new stage of cultivation. My guard detachment surrounded me, with Ru Lis staying at my side.
The officers worked quickly, and it didn’t take long until a group of soldiers was ready to head out with us. They were all in a high enough stage and had enough qi reserves to use their flying swords. Soon, we were off.
The flight didn’t take long, since clan Tener’s estate was very close to this stronghold. I didn’t spare much attention for the terrain, simply noting the position of towns and villages among the rolling fields. They were clustered pretty closely, and the light played off a river winding its way north. This should be a fertile, prosperous region. The wind blew more clouds this way, covering the sun quickly, but it should still be a while before it rained, if it was going to.
Our target was more of a mansion than a castle, although it did have stone battlements around the building and gardens. They looked well taken care off, everything kept neatly in order, although the roof of the building was cracked in a few places. One spot was even still smoking. There were a few people on the walls, but not many considering the situation. We descended, coming at it from a low altitude, and I realized the main gate was standing slightly ajar.
A bit of theater might be called for, so I descended to the ground, preparing to stride forward through the gate. I was wearing a silver robe with wide sleeves that billowed in the wind, and let my hair out of its ribbon to stir in the breeze. One of the guards opened the door with a kick, and we strode inside. The defenses still sat silent, though I could sense my guards pulling up qi shields and charging weapons.
As it turned out, that wasn’t necessary. Once we stepped into the front yard, the cultivators on the walls descended and knelt down. Some of them still had bloodstains on their clothes, and I could see a few matching stains on the ground beside the building. More evidence that there’d been fighting. But it was clear which side had won.
The main door opened, and Aston stepped out. He kept his aura barely veiled, enough to make it clear that Mior’s possession had helped him advance to the seventh stage. He wore a rich robe and looked perfectly coiffed, but some of the tension left his face when he laid eyes on me. He bowed deeply. “My princess.”
I grinned. “Aston. Come here.”
When he got closer, I caught him in a short hug, then stepped away to sweep my gaze over the mansion. “This is a nice coming back present, I have to say.”
“Thank you, my lady.” He hesitated for a moment. ‘And I’m sorry for your loss. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.’
I nodded, the reminder crashing through my joy at seeing him again. But I tried not to dwell on that.
Even with Mior saying Aston was with his family, I knew he would never betray me, and this scene didn’t particularly surprise me. If he had telepathy now, that would make it easier to coordinate with loyalists, or dissidents depending on your point of view, in the clan. And I’d bet on him against any opponent in the same weight class. He wasn’t an Imperial Guard captain for nothing. Still, I felt some tension drain out of me having him back at my side, and it wasn’t about concern for my safety.
I shook my head to dismiss these musings. “Let’s get going, we have a lot to sort out. It’s good to have you back, Aston.”
He smiled. “I could say the same.”
At least his time with Mior did seem to have helped him loosen up a little.