Looks like we were right to leave Cattlea in charge of the north. As for the eucharists spreading around Mira’s southern flank…
“The southern flank’s made up of the Miran army, the forces of the Country at the End of the World, and the Reserves Brigade.”
Count Rohm’s part of that unit too—the man I met at that fortress in northern Ulza.
One of the commanders on the southern flank was Liselotte Onik.
The Reserves Brigade are made up of demi-humans who sided with Mira… Demi-humans who hid themselves away from the world, and those who stayed on the outside fighting together. Lise was worried about whether the two sides would be able to get along.
Just then, the Wildly Beautiful Emperor rode up to us on his white steed.
“The spider…the prime minister of the Country at the End of the World,” he said. “It seems that she has been successful in her attempt to win over the hearts of the Reserves Brigades. My army also appears to be coordinating well with the forces of the Country at the End of the World.”
“I am sure their discipline reflects the depth of trust that they have in you, Your Majesty. I think their faith has much to do with that—but Lise has let nothing of those advantages go to waste, and in that respect, I also credit her abilities.”
“She’s changed since we last met. Seeing her now, I feel confident in her future as a leader.”
Messengers came to give reports to the Wildly Beautiful Emperor. Our reports weren’t just being delivered by mounted couriers, but by black dragons and harpies too.
It sure helps that they can fly.
Nyaki was also delivering messages, mounted on the back of a great wolf—a position she had requested personally.
“Nyaki wants to help out too! Nyaki wants to do something, even if it isn’t meow-ch!”
Still, I’m keeping her away from the dangerous front lines just in case. Nyaki’s learned the basics of how to fight from Geo and the others. She’s also got her older sister, Nyantan, riding with her, so she shouldn’t be in any real danger. Not to mention that the great wolf she’s riding is faster than any horse, so she’s really making herself useful as a courier.
I watched as the monsters of the Country at the End of the World rampaged through the enemy’s southern flank.
I’m glad we’re only up against eucharists—makes it easy to see exactly who’s on which side. It might be a little tough to distinguish friend from foe based on whether their eyes are golden or not, especially in that chaos. It can be easy to mistake who you’re fighting against with adrenaline running through you. Those people are fighting for their lives, so friendly fire accidents might happen—but on this battlefield, telling friend from foe just means checking whether what you’re swinging at is a eucharist or not. The humans can fight with the knowledge that every non-eucharist monster is from the Country at the End of the World, and therefore firmly on their side.
“I felt a similar way during the fight against the Thirteen Orders of Alion… But I never thought a day would come that we would fight alongside monsters,” said the Wildly Beautiful Emperor.
Among the monsters, the hellhound Loa was especially effective. He was the commander of the monster forces and while the monster battalion was officially a part of the Band of the Shining Dragon that was guarding the Country at the End of the World, Loa and the other monsters had been allowed to join the present fight. Those monsters now stood bravely on the front lines, fearlessly fighting the eucharists. Kil’s Band of the Shining Horse also seemed to be coordinating their fighting well, and Gratrah’s harpy division was with them.
“When do we deploy the rest…”
I was paying attention to the whole battlefield, but in general, I had left the big decisions to the Wildly Beautiful Emperor and Cattlea.
Large-scale battles aren’t really my thing.
The three things I have direct control over are: The Lord of the Flies Brigade. The Holy Knights of Neah that Cattlea has given me. And finally, the heroes.
“The real problem here is that we’ve gotten no more reports in from Eno.”
Reports from the spies of Mira had long since dried up, and no contact had come in from Erika’s familiars either.
Do I send out the heroes now or not? Are those disciples here? Is Vicius here?
“Come to think of it, part of your body is still in the capital of Alion, isn’t it?” I asked Lokiella, searching for a way to resolve the situation. “Well, um… You don’t think you could get in touch with it to get us some intel, do you?”
Lokiella shook her head.
“Right now, the part of me that’s left there is…how should I put this? My head is in a sort of independent self-sustaining state. I can’t connect with it from here, and if I tried to draw forth whatever remnant of power is left inside it, I think it’ll just die. I don’t even know if it’s properly conscious anymore…”
Never hurts to ask—but hey, that makes sense. If it were possible, Lokiella probably would’ve done it a long time ago.
“…”
What worries me is the possibility that Vicius is here with all three of her disciples. I’m sending Sogou Ayaka and the Takao sisters out against the three disciples if they do show up. The Wildly Beautiful Emperor and Geo were options too, but I want to prioritize making use of their abilities as commanders—especially the Wildly Beautiful Emperor. We’ve got me, Piggymaru, Seras, and Munin to face Vicius. I want Asagi and her group to move independently of the rest.