Her Majesty’s Swarm - Volume 4 - Chapter 12

The Phros Offensive

“So, the operation failed.”

A cold voice echoed through the Nyrnal Empire’s military headquarters.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Marshal Bronberg squeaked. “The enemy introduced a new breed of monster during the battle, and we couldn’t break through the fortress line. But we did show them the steep price for opposing the Empire. We put their capital city, Khalkha, to the flame!”

“Your plan still failed,” Emperor Maximillian said with clear irritation in his voice. “And I’m surprised you have the gall to say that when all you did was give them a reason to join forces with the Arachnea. Remember, I ordered you to succeed in this operation no matter what. I gave you sixty lindwyrms to do it, and you still failed? Yet you think burning Khalkha taught them a lesson?”

“B-But the new creature from the Arachnea was frighteningly powerful, and—”

“That changes nothing. And rather than burn Khalkha, you should have occupied the city. Did that not cross your mind, you senile old man? Thanks to your stupidity, the Arachnea can waltz right through the Eastern Trade Union and invade us. Now we need to do something to stop that. We have to launch a second attack.”

Maximillian looked down at the map.

“The lindwyrms can cross the Phros River. We’ve avoided doing so thus far because of the dangers, but we’re in no position to worry about that anymore. We must cross the Phros and apply pressure to the enemy. And then...”

His eyes trailed to the edge of the map.

“We’ll traverse the elven forest and take control of Schtraut. If there’s no road through the forest, we’ll have the lindwyrms create a path.”

The forest he spoke of was the same one the Arachnea’s queen had promised to protect.

“But first, we start with the Phros. Whether we can take control will determine whether we can protect our homeland. Capture the Phros, no matter what.”

Marshal Bronberg nodded. “Understood, Your Majesty. We will succeed this time.”

“Oh, you thought I was speaking to you, Bronberg?” Maximillian asked with a raised brow. “No, I think I’ve had quite enough of your bumbling incompetence. You will be court-martialed for your failure, and I will decide your punishment right this minute. With this, your role in this war is over.”

The man turned pale, stammering, “Wh-What do you—”

“You will be beheaded for insubordination. It’s decided. Soldiers, execute him at once.”

“Wait! Please, Your Imperial Majesty, wait! Their new monster was simply that fearsome! Were it not for that, Khalkha would have been ours for the—”

Maximillian’s personal guards arrested Marshal Bronberg and dragged him away to the gallows. The marshal bellowed all the while, claiming that he hadn’t failed through any fault of his own. His screaming only stopped once his head was severed.

“Now then, we’ll need a new commander to establish a bridgehead at the Phros,” Emperor Maximillian said coolly, scanning the attending generals. “General Brauchitsch, would you take command?”

“I would be honored, Your Majesty,” the general said, straightening his posture.

“It’s decided, then. I will give you a hundred lindwyrms and an army of thirty thousand men. The enemy should be careless following their victory, so take advantage of that. May the Empire emerge victorious.”

“May the Empire emerge victorious!”

Thus, the Nyrnal Empire’s plan of attack on the Phros River was underway. While the Arachnea and the mercenaries were still drunk off their victory, the ever-greedy Nyrnal set forth in pursuit of victory...

♱

The Phros River flowed from the Eastern Trade Union’s northern wetlands into the southern sea. Due to its location, it had been the subject of repeated invasions from the Nyrnal Empire. The Empire sought to secure the river as a powerful position from which to defend their country. For the Union, it was an important waterway they couldn’t afford to relinquish to Nyrnal.

A momentary calm settled over the river. The apparent central force of the Nyrnal army had been wiped out, so for now, the river seemed safe. A handful of mercenary groups were to guard the place and keep an eye out for any enemy soldiers attempting to cross.

Suddenly, one merc raised his head in alarm. “Huh?! Enemies ahead! And there are...over five thousand of them?!”

“What?!”

The guards blew a horn, alerting the commander and the rest of the soldiers. There were more than just five thousand troops. They were in the tens of thousands. And worst of all, they were accompanied by gigantic serpents—the lindwyrms.

“Send a runner to Commander Konrad! Let them know the Phros is under attack!” shouted the leader of the assembled mercenaries.

“Roger!”

A runner quickly mounted a horse and bolted out of the camp to deliver the news to Konrad. But he didn’t make it far before an arrow pierced through his chest. He fell from his horse, coughing up blood.

“Dammit!” the mercs’ leader cursed, seeing the runner had died. “They’re planning on keeping the river pinned down! But wait...the Arachnea’s bugs!” He recalled what he’d been told about the collective consciousness. Turning to face a nearby Ripper Swarm acting as a scout, he shouted, “You there! Contact your queen! Tell her the Phros is under attack! We need reinforcements quickly, or the Phros may fall into enemy hands!”

His words rippled throughout the consciousness and rapidly reached the mind of the Arachnea’s queen.

♱

“An attack on the Phros?!” I whispered, shocked. “The enemy’s hellbent on keeping up the offensive!”

I’d received the message in the middle of our efforts to rebuild Khalkha.

“I figured they’d attack again at some point, but this quickly...? They must have a lot of soldiers. Or maybe they’re under some amateur trying to flood the Union with Nyrnal’s troops. Either way, this is bad.”

I tapped into the Ripper Swarm’s consciousness and observed the situation at the Phros.

“A hundred lindwyrms? You’re joking...”

But it was no joke. One hundred lindwyrms were crossing the river along with the Empire’s army. That was a much larger force than the one they’d sent to the fortress line. And this time the area had no walls, Carrion Cannons, or Dreadnought Swarms. How were we going to defeat them now?

“Well, we just have to do it, with or without our best assets. If the enemy’s attacking, we’ve got to respond. Thankfully, we have the Worker Swarms right here, so if we take them along, we could build some walls. And from there...I hope we can win somehow.”

The Dreadnought Swarm was too slow, and it was still in the fortress line in the northeast region of the Union. It would take dozens of hours to call it over, and we didn’t have that kind of time.

“Konrad! The Phros River is under attack! They have a hundred of those lindwyrms!” I called out.

“What?! A hundred more of those things?!” Konrad replied, balking.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have any allies to help us this time around. Think you could handle it?”

“Sure we can. Like hell we’re gonna hand our land over to them on a silver platter.”

He gathered his subordinates, who had been busy with carpentry work, and briefed them about the situation.

“Let’s meet at the Phros. And if possible, let us emerge victorious,” I said.

“Nah. We’ll definitely win, right?”

While one monster after another crossed the Phros River, Konrad and I made our way there as quickly as possible.

♱

The Phros was a long river. Since it was heavily used as a waterway, it was well maintained and had multiple ports. This meant that if one had to cross the river, it was risky but still manageable.

The problem was that this applied to Nyrnal as much as it did us.

Still, even a hundred lindwyrms weren’t nearly enough to completely occupy the banks of this vast river. After landing, the lindwyrms spread out and deployed under multiple commanders to fully exercise their great strength. They broke through the defensive line the Eastern Trade Union had painstakingly set up and marched on the country.

But therein lay our chance.

At present, I was huddled in the riverside headquarters tent with Konrad, Keralt, Sérignan, and Lysa.

“The enemy was foolish enough to split up its forces. This means we can try to take them out one by one,” I said.

“They launched an invasion to stop us from crossing the Phros ourselves, and to do that, they spread their troops quite thin. That means that each individual point is only lightly defended. By contrast, our forces are consolidated here, so we can pick them apart. I think that’s our only chance of winning.”

In this operation to invade via the Phros, Nyrnal had only concentrated their lindwyrms when they initially crossed, then spread them out to expand the size of their front. This meant we didn’t have to deal with a hundred lindwyrms at once, which was good news, to say the least.

“Let’s start by hitting the units at the edges of their formation, since those are less likely to receive support,” I said. “We’ll have the Worker Swarms build walls as well. After that, when the lindwyrms charge the walls, we’ll use Carrion Cannons and Toxic Swarms to weaken them with poison. This should allow the mercenaries, Sérignan, Lysa, and the Swarms to take them out. Honestly, I’m not sure if we can even win this battle. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

I looked around everyone present. They all nodded. Apparently, they had my trust.

“What will the Adventurers’ Guild do?” I asked Keralt.

“We’d like to help the mercenaries and serve as scouts,” she replied. “If my assumptions are correct, the enemy might just retreat.”

They might indeed. It was a strange conclusion, given they’d brought a hundred lindwyrms to the fold, but there was a method to her madness.

“All right, everyone. Let us begin. The operation will commence as soon as the Worker Swarms finish building their walls. Take them out carefully, one by one. Don’t go overboard, though. We’re in this for the long haul. Every person we lose will impact our chances.”

“You got it. As you wish, Yer Majesty,” Konrad said with a hearty grin.

With that, our counteroffensive was ready to launch. Would we be the victors in this battle...?

♱

“The first one got caught up in our walls! Our ranged units are hitting it now!”

Thirty minutes after our attack began, the first lindwyrm was drawn to the walls. It tried to bust through, but the Carrion Cannons and Toxic Swarms poisoned it, wearing down its defense.

“Sérignan, take it out!” I ordered.

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

At my order, Sérignan jumped over the walls and lunged at the lindwyrm. Those creatures were so massive, they made Sérignan look like a child by comparison. Despite their size difference, she challenged her opponent with an iron will.

“Haaah!”

Swinging her black, corrupted holy sword, Sérignan tore through the lindwyrm’s sturdy scales and slashed its flesh. The lindwyrm howled in agony and twisted its body in an attempt to shake her off.

“Your resistance is futile, serpent!”

Sérignan spewed a thread from her tail, slowing down the lindwyrm’s movements. It choked the lindwyrm, trapping it in place and exposing it to more of the Toxic Swarms’ stingers. She struck it with blow after blow the whole time.

“Groooar!”

The lindwyrm roared and thrashed its head violently, smashing Sérignan into the ground. For a second, I went pale, fearing that might have killed her, but I could still feel her will in the collective consciousness.

“Sérignan! Tch! Lysa, cover for her!”

“Right, Your Majesty!”

As the lindwyrm moved in to stomp on Sérignan with its powerful legs, Lysa shot at it with her bow. Her bolt pierced one of the lindwyrm’s eyes, prompting it to scream and shake its head in agony.

“Keep it up, Lysa!” I called out and then looked over at Sérignan. “Can you still fight, Sérignan?!”

“I can keep going!” Sérignan replied, rising to her feet.

She then fired her threads again, binding the reptilian’s legs and yanking the lindwyrm off-balance. It wasn’t enough to defeat the creature, however. If we could at least get it to completely topple over, we could deal some major damage!

“It’s our turn, boys!”

That was when Konrad appeared with his mercenaries. They scaled the walls and hurried over to Sérignan’s side.

“Come on, men, pull!”

Konrad and his men grabbed Sérignan’s thread and began pulling it with all their strength, attempting to drag the lindwyrm into falling over. Sérignan alone wasn’t strong enough to completely tow the giant lizard’s weight, but perhaps their combined efforts would topple it! I narrowed my eyes, desperately hoping.

“It’s falling over!”

They’d done it! By pulling on Sérignan’s thread, they were able to bring the monster down to the ground. I could feel the rumble of its heavy form hitting the ground from afar. The lindwyrm let out a dull howl, its giant body jerking around on the soil.

“Now!” I ordered.

“Now’s the time!” Sérignan’s voice intersected with mine as she bolted toward the prone reptilian.

The lindwyrm kicked its feet in an attempt to resist, but Sérignan jumped over it and thrust her black blade into its flank. Blood spurted out, staining Sérignan’s pale armor crimson.

“Keep going, Sérignan!”

She desperately swung at it time and time and time again, hellbent on tearing apart the monster several times her size.

“Lysa! Keep covering for her! Don’t stop shooting, but make sure you don’t hit Sérignan!”

“Understood! I’ll kill this thing, no matter what!”

Lysa kept shooting arrows laced with a paralyzing poison to stop it from moving. And it seemed the poison was starting to kick in, because its movements were becoming sluggish.

“Groooaaar!”

Even as it endured the poison, the lindwyrm howled and tried to get back to its feet, swinging its tail to sweep away the attackers swarming it, including Sérignan. Her body went flying, but she spun in midair and held up her longsword without breaking her stance.

“Are you okay?!” I asked her.

“I am fine! I can still do this! We’re almost done!”

Right, just a little more. Just a bit more and it would die! Between the Toxic Swarms’ venom, the Carrion Cannons’ decay, Lysa’s paralyzing poison, and Sérignan’s persistent attacks, it should keel over at any second now. We’d be in trouble if it didn’t... This was just the first one!

“Haaaah!”

Sérignan stabbed her blade into the lindwyrm’s throat and shoved it as deep as she could.

“Grrrgh...”

With that final, faint gurgling sound, the lindwyrm stopped moving.

“Great! Good work, everyone. That’s one down. There’s still a lot of them left, but we can beat them!”

“Understood, Your Majesty!” Sérignan replied.

Could she really do it, though? Beating just one of them took this much effort, and there were still ninety-nine of them left. Regardless, we had no other choice. If we let the Empire through, Khalkha would be in trouble, as would every city along the way.

“Konrad! The second one’s trying to break through! Can you help?!”

“Sure can! Leave it to me!”

I was already using the Ripper Swarms to scout ahead, and the second lindwyrm was attacking the walls. The walls were built on an angle, and he was breaking through them one by one.

“Get the second one! We’ll be in trouble if you don’t hurry!”

Hurry up, hurry up! We don’t have time!

The lindwyrm army was closing in on us, and we only defeated one so far. Considering what was to come, we’d have to defeat at least seventy of them if we wanted to quash the invasion. In other words, we had sixty-nine more of those lizards to go.

Their invading army was absurdly large. But we still had to defeat them. I’d promised the Swarm victory, after all!

♱

The second lindwyrm broke through our walls, and while the Worker Swarms behind it hurriedly built a second layer, it didn’t change the fact our first layer had crumbled. This was shaping up to be a fierce battle.

Until we got to the next layer of wall, I had the Genocide and Toxic Swarms attack the lindwyrm. They bit into it, swarming it with sheer numbers and tearing away its flesh. It resisted desperately, breathing fire and shaking off the Swarms to crush them underfoot.

They were dealing damage to it, but we were taking heavy casualties. We didn’t have an endless supply of Genocide Swarms, and losing too many here could impact future battles. Still, I ordered them to attack and buy us all the time they could, even at the cost of their own lives. They answered my orders faithfully, and as each one died, it chipped away at my heart.

You went too far, Nyrnal. Prepare for dire consequences.

My heart burned with hatred for the Nyrnal Empire as I sat on a Ripper Swarm’s back and ordered it to follow Sérignan. Lysa, Konrad’s cavalry, and the rest of the Ripper Swarms followed. We were making way for the toppled walls.

We soon found the second lindwyrm. The Genocide Swarms had been mostly wiped out, but they’d definitely dealt significant damage. Its scales were torn off, its flesh was bruised, and it was charging forward with a pained howl.

“Sérignan and Lysa, start attacking it! The Genocide Swarms can’t hold!” I shouted.

“By your will, Your Majesty!” Sérignan replied.

“The Genocide Swarms have gravely wounded the lindwyrm, so you should be able to finish it off. But don’t be careless. It’s still dangerous, and who knows what the cornered beast might do when it’s fighting for its life!”

As I gave that warning, I had the Ripper Swarm carry me to a spot with good visibility. The lindwyrm was terribly injured, so hopefully killing it would be easier. However, I had to account for the possibility that it wouldn’t be that simple. I needed Sérignan to kill the reptile before it pulled any tricks.

“Ready to attack?” I asked her.

“I am ready,” Sérignan said. “I can sever that serpent’s head whenever you wish.”

“Lysa, can you cover for her?”

“I found a good spot, Your Majesty. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Lysa was situated on a small plateau, her face facing leeward. A perfect sniping position.

“Konrad, what about your mercenaries?!”

“What else are we supposed to do? Point us in a direction and we’ll bash skulls!”

He had nerves of steel, which was always heartening.

“All right, begin! Everyone, attack!”

At my order, Sérignan swooped down on the lindwyrm, readying a slash.

“Haaaah!”

Her blow shook the lindwyrm but didn’t quite slay it. The creature set its sights on Sérignan and attacked. It swung its thick tail and gnashed its fangs at her, attempting to bite.

“Guess it really won’t be so easy!” I muttered.

As she avoided its attacks, Sérignan couldn’t get an opening to attack. Lysa riddled its hide with poisoned bolts, but its assault only eased a little.

“Genocide Swarms, aim at its legs!”

The few Genocide Swarms that remained chomped on the lindwyrm’s legs, slowing it down. It tried to stomp them out, but even so, the only thing it could freely move now was its tail.

“Lysa, blind it!”

“Got it!”

Lysa nocked an arrow and carefully aimed it at the lindwyrm’s eye. She then fired at the creature’s shaking head, piercing one of its eyes. Partially blinded, the reptile rampaged even harder, thrashing so violently that Sérignan had to momentarily retreat.

“Lure the enemy this way, men!” Konrad yelled.

He and his mercenaries fired their crossbows at the lindwyrm, drawing its attention toward them. The creature fell for their taunt and began charging toward the mercenaries.

“Now, missy! Do it!”

Konrad and his men fell back, and at that moment, Sérignan fired a thread that coiled around the creature’s neck. Following the firm thread, she closed in on the enemy and thrust her longsword into its neck.

It couldn’t even let out a death rattle before her blade sank into its throat and severed a major artery. The lindwyrm feebly tried to resist, but Sérignan held on tightly and severed its head altogether.

“That’s the second one!” I pumped my fist victoriously.

There were still ninety-eight lindwyrms on the battlefield. This battle was far too reckless, and Sérignan was getting exhausted. We were losing Genocide Swarms, and the only one who could still really fight was Lysa. Even if none of Konrad’s men died, they would inevitably get fatigued from all this fighting.

Could we really do this?

♱

The third lindwyrm had already broken through the Genocide Swarms’ attacks and was charging the second layer of walls. It was clear they were moving faster than we could handle them.

“Sérignan, hurry up!” I urged her in a panic. “The lindwyrm could break through the second layer at any second! If it succeeds, it’ll be free to attack us!”

“Understood, Your Majesty!”

The enemy was moving even faster than I expected. By the time we finally defeated a lindwyrm, the one after that was beginning to bust through our defenses. At this rate, we wouldn’t be able to hold them at bay. Without at least one more force on our side, it’d be impossible to stop them.

“Make it here, please...!”

Sérignan eventually defeated the third lindwyrm with some effort. Lysa and Konrad’s mercenaries cooperated to help her too. Their coordination was getting progressively better, but I was afraid it wasn’t fast enough. At this rate, we wouldn’t be able to stop the lindwyrms.

“Hey, queenie! I get the feeling we won’t make it!” Konrad shouted at me.

“No, we won’t.” I shook my head bitterly. “The lindwyrms are going to break through. And then we won’t be able to stop Nyrnal’s soldiers coming in from behind them. But that doesn’t mean we’re all out of options.”

I still had an ace up my sleeve.

“Fire Swarms, self-destruct,” I ordered.

The moment the lindwyrms thrust their heads through the wall, I had the Fire Swarms hiding behind it self-destruct at once. The shockwaves of the explosion rattled the lindwyrms, nearly tearing their heads off.

“Now the second layer is basically gone. I just hope the damage they dealt is enough to buy us more time than the walls did. Because if it doesn’t...we lost this battle.”

I turned to Sérignan, who was fighting off the lindwyrms. The explosion damaged many lindwyrms’ heads, rendering them dizzy and disoriented. This allowed Sérignan to effortlessly slay them. She bound them with her threads, and Lysa shot at their eyeballs, allowing Sérignan to sever their heads.

When that wasn’t enough, the mercenaries used their impromptu battering rams to tear large holes into their flanks. The battle was becoming progressively more organized, and a fourth, fifth, and sixth lindwyrm died.

“This is still too slow...”

But even as they made steady progress, I felt panic settle in. The lindwyrms that got bombed were starting to go around and circumvent my forces, and the ones flooding the remains of the wall were exceeding what Sérignan and the others could handle.

“We’ve got no choice... Launch a second attack.”

The units responded to my orders at once. Fire Swarms charged forward, riding on the backs of Ripper Swarms. The Fire Swarms couldn’t move well on their own, whereas the Ripper Swarms were agile and able to carry them. This allowed me to compensate for the Fire Swarms’ slowness.

This wasn’t a tactic I could do in-game, but now things were different. I wasn’t clicking my units and commanding them directly. My heart surged with emotion. The Fire Swarms rode over to the lindwyrms, whereupon they jumped onto the lizards’ backs and self-destructed. The lindwyrms were greatly staggered, and I could tell they’d taken major damage.

But that wasn’t all.

I had the Ripper Swarms and Fire Swarms keep charging into the lindwyrms. The cluster of lizards fell into a state of chaos. Some of them started fleeing into the river, while others had their heads blasted by the explosions. Sérignan managed to sever a few heads herself.

“Sérignan, you’ve done all you could here. Handle the ones over there. Please.”

“As you wish!” Sérignan said.

That’s reassuring.

“I’ll try to get them too!” Lysa exclaimed.

I’m counting on you.

“Ya can count on me!”

I do, Konrad.

“Let’s do it!” I said.

Konrad’s mercenaries and Lysa shot barrages of bolts dipped in paralyzing poison at the lindwyrms’ faces and sensory organs. Blinded, the lindwyrms went on a rampage, destroying everything in their way. They were unmanageable, so I figured we might have to wait until they exhausted all their strength.

“Haaaah!”

Meanwhile, Sérignan kept up her attacks. She charged the creatures, thrusting her sword into their chests and slashing their throats. Her strength was awe-inspiring. I couldn’t believe the way she fought the rampaging lindwyrms unflinchingly. If I had to face these raging beasts, I’d only be able to run for my life.

Lysa and Konrad seemed to feel the same way because they were watching her fight with eyes aglitter. Even without them helping her, Sérignan cut down one, two, three lindwyrms in quick succession.

“We need to come up with a plan, though.”

We couldn’t rely solely on the Fire Swarms’ suicide bombing and Sérignan’s power; it just wasn’t a viable tactic. We needed a better way of doing this—a way that didn’t push all the fighting onto Sérignan.

“That makes ten!” Sérignan declared as she cut down another one.

That just left ninety more lindwyrms—ninety more rampaging beasts.

“We’ve got wyverns coming from above!” one of Konrad’s mercenaries said.

Of course they had to interfere now of all times, the pests. The lindwyrms forced my Toxic Swarms into retreat, and I didn’t have any antiair units.

“They’re diving down!”

There’s no way we’ll make it! I thought, despair setting in.

Just then, Lysa moved in. “Aaah!”

She fired a bolt that pierced one of the wyverns’ heads, sending the beast plummeting to the ground. She fired again and again, taking out three wyverns one by one.

Right, I still have Lysa!

Still, she could only handle so many. The rest swooped in and breathed their fire. Jets of flame rained down on Sérignan, hiding her from sight.

“Sérignan!” I called out, both with my voice and through the collective consciousness, praying that she’d respond.

“I’m all right, Your Majesty!” she said.

But she wasn’t totally fine. The wyverns’ fire had hit her. Her pale armor was charred black, and her body was burnt in places.

“That’s enough!” I cried. “We’re abandoning this defensive line, fall back!”

“No, I will hold them back here!”

Through the collective, I could tell that we had no more defensive lines prepared. And so, Sérignan raised her sword, ready to hold the line.

“What are you just staring at her for?!” Konrad shouted to his mercenaries. “We’re mercenaries, not rubberneckers! Fight, men!”

“Yes, sir!”

Konrad and his men continued shooting poisoned arrows at the lindwyrms, doing their finest to help Sérignan.

Lysa approached me. “Your Majesty, if I may...”

“What is it?”

“Sérignan’s at her limit. I’ll stall them with my arrows, so use that time to build another defensive line. The enemy’s definitely bleeding. If we can just hold them back for a bit longer, we should be able to get them to retreat.”

She had a point. If we killed this many of their precious lindwyrms, the enemy would recognize the losses they were taking. If I was reading this correctly, the enemy wasn’t actually trying to head into Khalkha from here. They had their hands full holding the river.

“All right. I’ll have the Worker Swarms build a third defensive line. They can’t fight directly, so doing this will be their direct contribution to the war.”

With that, I ordered the Worker Swarms to get to work. But the farther we fell back, the longer our walls needed to be, and I couldn’t tell if the Worker Swarms would make it in time. I hoped with all my heart that they’d make it because if they didn’t, Sérignan would be in danger.

“Raaah!”

Sérignan cut down more lindwyrms. They’d grown sluggish because of the poison, while she was swift. But her speed was starting to decline. Lysa was right; she was approaching her limit.

I’m sorry, Sérignan. I forced you into this. But still, hold on. You’re our only hope. Konrad and his men can’t stop the lindwyrms on their own. Neither can Lysa. You’re the only one who can stop those things. So please...

“I am a knight! The Queen of the Arachnea’s knight! No matter what comes to pass, that will never change!”

My emotions seemed to reach her through the collective consciousness, causing her reaction speed to spike. She cut the lindwyrms down one by one, whittling their numbers down at a startling rate.

“Sérignan, are you really...?”

Even if they were weakened by the Fire Swarms’ suicide bombing, these things had some of the highest defense in the game, and slaying them was no easy task. The fact that Sérignan could do it bordered on being a miracle. Yet she persevered.

While the third defensive line was being built, she slew fifteen more lindwyrms. I watched it all from atop a hill.

“Your Majesty,” came a voice. A Ripper Swarm had come to stand beside me. “The Adventurers’ Guild says your prediction was correct.”

“That’s what I thought. Then they should retreat any minute now.”

It had all felt strange to me. Aligning thirty thousand troops and one hundred lindwyrms along the vast Phros River didn’t make sense. If they really wanted to seize the Phros, it would have been more efficient to focus their forces and push the enemy into towns they couldn’t defend. But aligning their soldiers in a uniform line? Surely they wouldn’t be able to occupy the river that way.

It had occurred to me then that the enemy must have a different goal.

All at once, the remaining lindwyrms suddenly turned around and returned to the river. There were no foot soldiers in sight. The reptilians entered the water with a splash, pushing their way against the stream and reaching the other coast.

The lindwyrms couldn’t cross water in the game, but this was reality.

“Huh...?” Sérignan looked on with shock as the lindwyrms retreated across the river to the other bank.

A moment later, an explosion shook the air. Flames rose up in the floodplain, and stones audibly smacked the ground.

I knew it...

I could make out shouts from Konrad’s mercenaries over the roaring flames.

“The ports are on fire!”

“Great boulders are blocking the river!”

“Your Majesty, what is this?” Sérignan asked me, flustered.

“All along, the enemy intended to render the Phros River uncrossable, so I wouldn’t be able to invade them through there,” I explained. “Their army wasn’t going to march on Khalkha to begin with.”

This was their true objective. They wanted to burn down the ports, block off crossing points using boulders, and torch the boats so we wouldn’t be able to cross the river. If we hadn’t gotten in their way, they might have decided to march into Khalkha as well. Our efforts weren’t in vain, at least; we’d minimized the damages to just the Phros River.

“But this means the enemy can’t cross the Phros normally either. Is the Nyrnal Empire trying to end the war with this?”

With the river blocked, they had no way to invade us. The alliance we’d made with the Eastern Trade Union hadn’t actually helped us march into Nyrnal’s homeland, but what could the Nyrnals be thinking? Now they had to move all their supply lines and armies over to the Hapul Wetlands. The fighting would die down.

What was Emperor Maximillian up to? I had to figure that out right away.