1:02 AM. Somewhere on the border of Fuji’s lands, wherever it is.

A lonely soldier guarded his comrades while hoping that he will wake up tomorrow with all of his limbs attached.

Every time he heard a sound he jumped up and prepared a spear. However, there was a sound which he always anticipated.

‘Vrooom’

A loud noise of his goddess’ hand. When the monsters come, they will face the might of the flying weapons created by an unseen magic.

When he heard another sound, coming from a bush, he prepared for battle. A moment later a bear showed up out of the bush. A huge monster, perhaps even a demon, it is not something a mere peasant can take down. While a swordmaster or an archmage can kill this abomination with low risk, the soldier was too weak for that.

“WAKE UP!”

In a few seconds all of his comrades woke up and grabbed their weapons. Bowmen shot fire arrows in the sky and now their only duty is to survive.

The soldiers mumbled prayers to the goddess of air, the one whose planes flew above a couple of minutes ago.

The squad’s sergeant organized the resistance and the soldiers managed to contain the monster bear and held their ground without casualties. The issue is that the planes are yet to arrive.

With every passing minute the men were losing more and more strength, the beast was still kept away from them but it was only a matter of time when it gets close enough to tear apart all of them. The help came not from the air but from the ground, their fellow men brought pikes and that allowed the already tired soldiers to retreat. Long poles were held by two men to hold them even when the monster pushes the line.

30 strong men were barely enough to hold back the bear, and the situation was only held in a stalemate until the planes arrive.

When the humming sounds approached, the bear rammed the line and the pikes broke. The beast started slaughtering people with its claws. The monster was too close to the infantry to attack it from above, it is possible only with collateral casualties.

[S*, I am running out of options. Abort the attack, we will try it the next time.]

I had to send the planes for another circle, there is no way I can bomb the bear when the troops are so close.

When the reinforcements arrived, the battered left overs of the troops retreated with their wounded. The beast was held in a distance so I dared to attack it.

Bu-bu-bu-bu-bum

A burst of 30mm shells hit the bear with deadly precision. The wounded beast was dealt with by the ground forces.

There were a lot of similar attacks, all of them ended with victory. While loses were high, they were not disastrous. My air arm was handling everything well and I had no shortage of airpower deployed.

Another bunch of fire arrows, another flight of bombers sent in, another mission ended and the bombers landed for resupplying. My flight deck was constantly busy with landing and launching planes.

I expect today’s loses to be about 500 men. Well, 1 death is a tragedy, 10 is a disaster, 100 is a statistic.

By the time my bombers arrived to deliver 2 tons of presents, a group of orcs which attacked my troops was already dead. I sent one of the bombers to evaluate the situation. When the results were reported I wanted only to facepalm.

On the ground I saw a figure in a white cloak. When the figure saw my plane, it started waving and jumping around like an imbecile. I had to go there to resolve the situation.

From the very first second I entered the figure’s view I was called out.

“Lady Fuji! This is me!” Lily showed up.

“Why the hell are you here?” I was irritated, because this person doesn’t know when to stop.

“I heard about what happened with Father. You already refused me but let me tell you something that will interest you.” She was still pushy but I let her continue.

“Brother wants to guide the war effort against you: ‘She is the enemy of my people, she cold-bloodedly murdered the king and threatened the continent into submission’. He is yet to be crowned, you get what I mean?” She pointed both of her index fingers at her face and smiled.

“And why should I be concerned right now?” Even if he becomes the next king, why should I change my plans?

“He has low support, with your backing I will have easy time becoming the queen, and with that you will have both the country and the army. And also this will buy you some time before you have to protect your fortress.” (L)

“What is his route?” I handed her a map where she swiftly showed his way to the capital, as well as some of more hidden details.

“I am useful, right? Right?” She was proud with herself.

Drake’s route is close enough to mine so I decided to give this plan a shot. I want to kill him for making such plans.

New companion added, for now.