I quickly scanned my surroundings, taking stock of who I had by my side—Nidar, and over a dozen archers, their bows at the ready. Lariel and Alynna were closing in from the flanks, but there was a risk the enemy could cut us off before they reached us.

But magic shields were good against projectiles. Not so good when they had to deal with close combat.

“Alright, comrades,” Nidar said as the first one jumped. “Swords ready.”

As if choreographed, the elves slid their bows back through their shoulders and unsheathed their daggers.

“Do you have any trained maneuver, Nidar?” I asked, stepping back.

He nodded curtly, a grin forming on his lips. He turned around and bellowed at the new troop of archers.

“You heard our tactician! Show him how we do it! Form a wall!”

They didn’t hesitate.

A handful of mercenaries were already, leaping over the ledge with weapons drawn. The mages, trailing just behind their comrades, were the last to arrive, their eyes flickering with dark intent as they assessed the battlefield.

The remaining elves pressed their shields together, forming a tight phalanx. Their pavises, long and broad, provided ample coverage for the group. We huddled together and got ready to smash some mercenary skulls and kick their asses.

“March forward,” I shouted, safely crouching beneath my comrades, Nidar by my side. The time had come to unsheath my sword.

The enemy tried to slide through our shields, ramming collectively against us, rocking us backward.

And then I felt it.

This was what I lived for. The adrenaline.

“Forward!” I shouted again, and our soldiers pressed on, pushing through the fatigue, ramming forward, withstanding their swords, the hands that slid between our shields. One thick, smelly mercenary, managed to pass through, but was quickly met by an elven dagger through the heart.

We took another step, drawing closer. Step by step, we moved closer to the battlement, and then, with insurmountable momentum, we saw the edge of the cliff.

“Kill!” I ordered, the group shifted their shields, breaking the formation, just enough to make way. And then, the melee began.

I took a deep breath, feeling my muscles tense as a mercenary charged me, an axe in his hands, dented by usage, and with coagulated blood on its blade.

He swung in a wide arc, aiming to cleave me in two. I sidestepped, my body reacting before my mind could fully process the movement. His swing was wild and powerful, but it left him open.

He swung horizontally, and I ducked, instinctively sliding my sword up and ramming it under his chin.

Where had that come from?

I drew it out immediately, bright blood staining its tip.

[MERCENARY HP -8]

[HP: 0/7]

[EXP + 3]

The realization kicked in. I had just killed a man.

No matter how evil Hath Aman was. This… felt wrong.

Around me, the elven soldiers were finishing. One of the sorcerers scrambled in fear, preferring to leap down from the fortress instead of facing elven steel. He tumbled down, fell on one knee and screamed in pain. He had probably broken it, and crawled back in fear.

Another mercenary swung a knife dangerously close to my neck, as fast as a rocket. I slipped out of reach, closing the distance between us, locking his arm and twisting my hips in a sharp motion. A scream tore from his throat as I dislocated his shoulder, and with a quick sweep of my leg, I sent him crashing to the ground.

Before he could recover, I stabbed him through the gut.

[EXP + 5]

It was excruciating. It was… Not nice.

Another mercenary came at me, this one with a longsword, his eyes gleaming with bloodlust. He was faster, more disciplined than the first. His blade sliced through the air, narrowly missing my torso.

An arrow sang through the air, and I heard the satisfying thud of metal piercing flesh. This mercenary was down, with an arrow poking from his neck. He collapsed to his knees, revealing Lariel a few spans behind me.

She winked an eye.

“Thank you,” I said.

I turned around, to see our enemies reduced to a handful, a few had been subdued, raising their hands on high.

Zyra’s scream broke through the air.

“Surrender, or die!” she shouted with a loud shriek. A few still fought through, but most had dropped their weapons.

The mages, however, would not surrender. They preferred to fight tooth and nail, hurling magic blasts to and fro. I pulled out the aerial view, like a hunter drone searching for my victim.

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“Who wants to go get them? I want two volunteers.”

“Me!” Alynna said, raising a hand. Her blade was stained with blood.

“I’ll go with her,” Leriel said, her eyes filled with resolve.

“Good luck. I’ll prompt you through the group chat. But please be quick, because I’m afraid they might walk out of my area.”

“We’ll do it!” Lariel said, her eyes drifting toward the steppe warrior.

“You two please take care.”

Lariel winked at me, and they jumped down the wall and raced across the forest.

But overall, our first battle was done. I was surprised to find that I hadn’t even got a scratch.

And I was left wondering. How did this happen? How had I, Zyra and Nidar been able to command all of these people and not lead them into a disaster.

Was this even me?

I was still convinced that this was a dream.

Nidar and Zyra walked over to me.

“Master Tactician,” Nidar said, bowing his head. “We have a prisoner. A mage. We’re ready to begin interrogating him.”

“I’ll be there soon…”

I didn’t feel like myself. And yet, this felt entirely natural. It felt, somehow, like this was my job. That I had been doing this for decades.

I took some time to take a deep breath.

And now that Lariel had gone to hunt the mages, I felt like I already missed her. She was still… an elf.

And yet, I felt like I could trust her. Like she had earned my trust centuries ago.

This was too much to take in, too soon. Not even a day had passed and I was already leading troops.

I took a look around.

“Nidar,” I asked, stumbling forward. “Zyra… How many people did we lost?”

“None,” Zyra declared.

“But…” I took a look around. Our healer was on her knees. Beneath her, an elf with an ugly gash across his chest. He had taken off his armor, already dented and broken. Ina stretched her hands, whispered a prayer, and a ball of pale pink light emerged in between her palms, passing on to the wounded elf.

I gazed in wonder as the wound disappeared.

Right after the light faded, Ina let out a tired breath.

“We have a few wounded, but our healer will take care of the most dangerous wounds.”

I nodded absently, barely believing what I’d seen. I could see Ina’s power, a separate bar that others didn’t have, showing [MP]. Just with that, she’d drained half her reserve of [16 MP], but her experience had increased.

The captive mercenaries were all on their knees, and the captured mage had been tied up entirely, his ankles, knees, his wrists and his arms. And yet, he continued screaming and cursing. One of the elves kicked him in the ribs with his metal boots. It looked painful as hell.

I could understand the elf, but this made me think for a second. Whatever happened, I didn’t want to have torture on my camp.

I walked over to them. Zyra stared down at him with arms crossed. He looked about sixty, with white hair over a slightly tanned face, baggy eyes and green pupils. Those eyes… There was always something sinister about his eyes. That man had seen things. No, he had done things that could not be forgiven.

Even his snicker would’ve made me shiver if I weren’t made of tougher stuff.

“Do you fools really believe you can stop us?” he said.

“I don’t care about your stupid anti-gods,” Zyra snapped, leaning into his face, a dagger in her hand. “Tell us how you do it. We know you could see our positions. How?”

He laughed again. “You see how superior we are? This world is fading into darkness. Your puny firelights in the night can’t do anything to stop the coming night. It’s coming. The children of darkness are awakening now.”

Zyra rolled her eyes.

Nidar stepped forward, teeth clenched, and smacked the man’s head with his spear.

“She asked you a question, you fool!”

“Nidar,” Zyra said softly. “You can save that. He won’t break.”

“Believe me, lady general. Everyone breaks.”

“Not this,” she said.

The mage’s eyes were poison, still fixed on each one of us.

“You heard him,” Zyra said. “Can you prove me wrong, Nidar? What do you plan to do?”

What was this, good gop bad cop?

“How about boiling him slowly?” Nidar suggested.

The mage chuckled with a sick laugh.

“I don’t need to hide our power. I only need to glory in it. But you… You all are pathetic. We’ve reached new pacts. New oaths of blood and flame. And the ones that are coming… You won’t even survive the beginning. I could tell you all about it. And you will know it when you see it. You will know fear… You will…”

Suddenly, his expression morphed. It looked like he was in pain. every muscle of his body tensed, his skin paled, his skin became patchy.

He had enough time to let out a terrifying scream, before his entire body caught fire.

We stepped back, and I shut my eyes in shock and awe, protecting them from the blazing heat. The fetid smell of burnt flesh and organs wafted and grew, but it didn’t last long. Whatever freaky magic the man had done, his thoughts were soon gone entirely, and nothing remained but charred bones.

None of us spoke.

“They serve a cruel master,” Zyra said solemnly. “Who leads them to terrible ends if they fail.”

“They’re loyal, though, I give them that,” Nidar said.

“What does this mean?” I asked, looking at the elven woman. “I barely understand the politics here. But what does this change with our mission.”

“We have proof,” Zyra said. “That Hath Aman wants to attack us. He sees us as a threat. I hope at least this wins over the Alabenian’s. It breaks through their cynicism. And to be honest, it seems as though your presence here makes Hath Aman even more worried.”

I didn’t know why it didn’t seem surprising. They had learned, hopefully not through spies, that Aria had a new tactician. How could they’ve learned them? Through astral projection? Through invisible demons working in our realm? I had no idea.

“It’s about time,” Nidar added, anger in his eyes. “The Alabenians have abandoned us for so long.”

I nodded, my glance getting lost in the distance. I was still fresh from a normal human world. And suddenly I found myself here. Worst of all, I felt ridiculously comfortable.

I wondered how the girls were doing. I took a deep breath and took my aerial view. I was confident that they’d be fine, but just to be sure.

The vision would’ve shocked the old me. Alynna walking around with a severed head, and Lariel carrying a mage’s body on her shoulders. How strong was that woman?

I took a deep breath.

Behind me, our healer continued working on our comrades, and elves started walking up to me and congratulating me.

“Thank you, lord Tactician, I know for certain that our goddess has not Abandoned us.”

I smiled weakly. Now this, I didn’t deserve. I couldn’t bask in all that glory, if the soldiers had done the work.

I dismissed myself, walking to the corner of the fortress, climbing down and waiting for them. It took a few minutes before they appeared from opposing paths of the forest, their figures cut through the trees. Lariel dropping the body of her fallen enemy along a tree, three arrows poking out from his belly.

Her face lit up as soon as she saw mine. Her eyes moved toward me, her pace lightened up, prancing happily, her feet bare against the soil until she jumped into my arms.

But Alynna kept walking. Proudly. How was it so normal that she was carrying a severed head. Even a few elves turned their faces away. This girl was no joke, a barbarian, and sexy as hell.

She seemed to ignore our elven friend. Instead, she planted the head in front of me, horribly deformed, that I looked away, but it somehow managed to remain within my field of vision. And then, she planted both knees on the ground in front of me.

“Alynna…” I said, letting go of Lariel for an instant. “You don’t need to—”

“My commander Connor, great chieftain, conqueror of mages, destroyer of sorcerers. As a daughter of the steppe, I have seen you in battle and wondered at your strength. And as the Skyfather lives and as the steppe is firm, I have decided to give myself to you as a steppe-bride. And as the sun shines today, you will take me.”