[Narrator pov:]

*CLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANK*

Echoing across the fields is the sound of metal armor clanking rings.

*TICKATITICKATITAT!*

Wardrums play a tune, in time with the beating of boots against ground. Silver shining armor glistens in the sun, with a singular golden clad knight mounted on a black warhorse at the front. Her hair, a bright red that shines in the light of day. One of the knights in gold-lined silver armor speaks to her while riding his horse,

“Lady Rosanna, we’re coming up on a battalion of soldiers with a small team of ten mages. The scouts couldn’t get any closer, as the artifact you gave them detected the usage of search magic.”

Rosanna nods her head and speaks in a voice as smooth as butter,

“Good. Get the troops into formation. We’ll start the battle off with a volley of spells. Tell the 1st Mage Company to prepare a wide range water spell. I’ll follow that with chain lightning. They should be completely demoralized after that, so the infantry will charge in afterwards.”

She looks towards the mounted knights to the right,

“The mounted knights will flank completely around and take out the mages. Make sure they have their shield amulets ready. I don’t want us to suffer a single casualty. Dismissed.”

The noble knight rides off to relay her orders.

—————————————

[Rosanna POV:]

Thirty minutes passed since I relayed my orders to Count Augustine. He took the cavalry with him to go around enemy lines to surprise the mages. Over the horizon, I see the glow of steel as the troops of the empire crest a hill. I yell out, using mana to increase the volume of my voice,

“POSITIONS!”

The foot soldiers stand in close formation with their spears and shields at the front, similar to the phalanx but with shorter spears, with the soldiers at the rear creating a sort of testudo with their shields. I stand at the front, holding no weapons. The empire’s soldiers all seem to panic and hurry to get into formation. I yell out,

“1ST COMPANY MAGES! READY!”

Behind the wall of shields and spears, a group of around two hundred mages ready up a few waterball spells. They begin their chanting as the enemy mages quickly cast a barrier spell. I kneel and pick up a pebble on the ground, casting an alchemy spell on it and transforming the stone into iron. As the mages finish their spell, I turn my hand into a railgun, shooting the reinforced iron pebble through the air. The sound of glass shattering echoes across the battlefield as the pebble easily crashes through the barrier. It flies through the air, striking the chest of one of the knights, causing his body to explode from the pressure.

The giant wave of waterballs then surge forth into the enemy lines. The mages hurry to try and recast the barrier, casting an even thinner barrier. As the water impacts into the empire soldiers, several of them are thrown from their feet and washed away. Some of the higher level knights send out their aura, blasting the water away. However, the spray from the balls still soaks them through. They start to sink as the dirt under their feet is soaked through, becoming a thick mud that grips their boots.

As the empire soldiers attempt to lift eachother up again, the mages at the rear scramble to attempt to create another barrier to block any following spells. This barrier is even thinner than the last, being about as thin as a sheet of paper.

I start to cast a sixth circle chain-lightning spell. The air around me starts to grow static, causing the knights hair to raise up around me. I hold my arms out to the side, as sparks of electricity start to gather at my fingertips. I point one arm up towards the sky as a storm begins to manifest above us. Thunder echoes across the battlefield as lightning travels within the cloud, all going towards a single place directly above me. I point the other arm towards the enemy lines.

*BOOM!*

The knights all begin to flee in terror as a lightning bolt shoots down into my arm. Out of my other hand, a wave of electricity shoots out, instantly crashing through the thin barrier, and into enemy lines. As one of the forks hits a soldier, it courses through their body, cooking their flesh, and stopping their heart before passing on through the wet ground to the next person. The bolt continues to pass through my arms for ten seconds straight, creating a constant stream of electric death that ravages enemy lines.

As the spell finishes off, I look at the empire’s soldiers, and find nothing but a smoking field of blackened flesh. The knights behind me begin to cheer as they see not a single living soul, so far. I look back at them and say,

“Forward! If you find any survivors, put them out of their misery. Our priests cannot heal this much damage. Let us not cause them undue suffering.”

We march forwards as the cavalry finally makes an appearance, easily dispatching the demoralized and weakened mages. As we reach the enemy lines, a few of the younger knights start to grow sick. Due to the constant electricity flowing through it, much of the metal armor of the empire's soldiers has fused with their flesh, making it impossible to salvage.

“lp mmmmm!”

One of the younger recruits recoils in fear as a charred, but still living soldier attempts to speak. Though he can’t, because his lips have fused together due to the intense heat of the spell. I climb down from my horse and walk over to the suffering soldier before speaking to him,

“You were a strong soldier. Rest now.”

And I cast an earth needle into his head, killing him.

I didn’t realize at the time, but this would eventually lead to me gaining a nickname that would stick, even into my future.

The young knight who watched me end this mans suffering mutters under his breath,

“A Cruel Saintess…”

I get back up onto my horse and speak,

“We continue on. We shall arrive outside of Galeford by the end of the day. If they don’t meet us outside the city, we’ll have to prepare for a siege. Younger ones, burn this image into your brain. This is the reality of warfare. You can only hope that you’re not on the receiving end.”

A few of the veterans from the previous war nod their heads. We continue on our path, slaying any surviving members of the battalion. After another thirty minutes of walking, we see a walled city built into the side of a mountain. A large windmill overlooks said city, spinning at a quick, but steady speed. I look to my men before saying,

“Welcome to the city of Galeford.”