“Welcome, Your Highness.”

  “No way, she’s actually here!”

  “Straighten yourselves, gentlemen.”

  As Alexa, Phoebe, and Wilhelm entered the meeting room of the command tent of the Army of the Leine, the gathered generals and staff officers inside all stood up and ceased their previously loud discussions and talks. Within seconds, a small line of men on both sides of Alexa and Phoebe formed, all of them holding their hats on the side as they bowed their heads.

  When Wilhelm walked past them on the other hand, salutes were given to him. Alexa continued walking, ignoring the overly formal response by the military officers, going straight to three officers standing on a wide table ahead of her.

  She especially eyed the old man with an outrageously thick white mustache and monocle, who was in the middle of the three leading officers of the Army of the Leine, whom she suspected was General Stefan von Bismarck, the overall commandant of the Army of the Leine.

  She pulled a chair in the middle, which was probably meant for Wilhelm, before sitting on it, making herself comfortable. She even removed her pair of gloves, placing it on the table beside a pile of papers. A toothy grin appeared on her face as she stared up at the man in the middle.

  “Well?” Alexa asked. “Are we going to start now?”

  “Yes, Your Highness,” the general nodded. “I didn’t expect your presence here. Apologies if this…command post is a bit uninspiring."

  “No worries,” Alexa waved him off with a shrug. “Phoebe, sit beside me, please. Everyone, be at ease. I am just here to observe and learn.”

  Both Wilhelm and Phoebe pulled chairs beside Alexa, with Wilhelm groaning slightly as he took his seat on Alexa’s right side.

  “You probably shouldn’t have barged in here like you owned the place,” Wilhelm chided.

  “Why not? You’re all my soldiers. I’m just making things abundantly clear. Right, Phoebe?”

  “Absolutely, Lady Alexa.” Phoebe’s eyes shone excitedly in agreement. Alexa’s pleasant smile grew wider, while the old general in front of her ordered the officers around them to settle down.

  When that was done, a ring of quick introductions began. As she thought earlier, the old man was indeed General von Bismarck. He would personally lead the XX Corps into battle soon.

  On his left was a man in his forties, a commoner named Nicholas Alte. He was a lieutenant general, and he would command the VII Corps to battle. To his right was General Clemens von Blucher of the XI Corps, the younger brother of another General Blucher who led one of the component armies of the 1st Group Army in the east.

  The rest of the names of the officers were a blur to Alexa’s mind, as they were mostly low-level colonels and majors who were in charge of the battalions and brigades that made up each corps of the Army of the Leine.

  In any case, the leadership of the Army of the Leine was a wide array of nobles and commoners, each of them seemingly respectable in Alexa’s eyes. Unfortunately, the officers of the IV Corps were not present, as they were unable to link up with the Army of the Leine after they were routed in battle earlier.

  For an hour, the details of the situation on the ground filtered to Alexa’s ears. Troop numbers, their positions, and the recon reports from the cavalry squadrons—all of it was read aloud, and Alexa understood barely anything about it.

  Quite frankly, she was just smiling and nodding along as the group of old men around her discussed the problem at hand. Even Phoebe was the same; her earlier curiosity had now turned into her just awkwardly staring at whoever was speaking.

  But, in the end, Alexa did piece some of the information together to create a sensible image in her mind.

  “So we’re going to attack and engage the enemy near Fort Henderson?” Alexa asked, frowning. “It sounds like…they’ve taken a more defensible position.”

  “We’ll reduce their positions in the distance with our bombardment regiments,” Clemens said, resting his chin on his hands. “It should be a simple affair. We have more shützes than they do, after all.”

  “The supplies for that aren't going to last well beyond the second or third day.” Nicholas glanced at a paper in his hand. “Given our current supply of magic crystals, we’ll be operating at fifty percent firepower and thirty percent after the opening days.”

  “A decisive victory is needed!”

  “No, we should hold back our troops until they’re demoralized.”

  “A proper cavalry charge on their right flank will do the trick, I reckon.”

  “We can cut off their supply lines after engaging them, no?”

  “But that places our cavalry force at risk if they have reinforcements.”

  “Don’t we have Battlegroup Clausewitz en route here?”

  Alexa found her head spinning as various groups of officers began throwing their suggestions around, almost unprompted. It was ad hoc, almost unprofessional, as groups of them began pairing up in trios or duos to discuss the situation at hand.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Various proposals were thrown around, ranging from insane things like throwing everyone straight into the line of fire to overly cautious officers insisting that shützes alone will win the day. On the other hand, the three leading officers in front of Alexa lent their ears to all the various opinions around them.

  Until Wilhelm raised his hand.

  The voices began to drown out in a second, then they turned into murmurs, and then they completely died out. Wilhelm kept her hand up before smiling.

  “I’ve got the perfect idea,” Wilhelm said, turning his head to Alexa and Phoebe. “Since our two fine heroines insisted on coming here, perhaps they’ll be our most useful piece, no?”

  What?

  “I was under the opinion that you were preparing for a feint attack to bait them into our center,” Stefan said, narrowing his eyes as he stared at Wilhelm. “That sounds like you’re just throwing a wildcard for no reason.”

  “For good reason,” Wilhelm calmly said. “The saintess’s reputation is far and wide at this point. Most importantly, she’s the most powerful individual we have on our side.”

  Murmurs behind Wilhelm grew again, as officers began voicing their doubts and criticism behind him. Many still refused to believe that Phoebe was that capable; others insisted that sending young girls into battle was morally reprehensible.

  But Wilhelm pushed on, even as Alexa stared at him wide-agape.

  “We’re going to form a special battalion to escort the two,” Wilhelm said. “The plan is simple. They’ll go to Fort Henderson offering to parley. Naturally, the enemy will probably try to attack; that’s when Her Holiness will come in.”

  “U-um, I don’t really want to actually kill people though—” Phoebe squeaked out.

  “Her job is to protect Her Highness and the battalion escorting them with her magic. On the other hand, while the enemy is distracted, we’ll amass extra forces on our east flank. Then we’re going to attack and break their weakened east flank.”

  “Hey, listen to her,” Alexa called out, appalled.

  “Once the enemy realizes that the saintess is untouchable and that their right flank is wavering, they’ll be quite nervous and prone to mistakes. That’s when we’ll launch a bold attack to crush them.”

  “M-me, untouchable?” Phoebe asked.

  “Yes,” Wilhelm grinned as he looked at Phoebe. “As the saintess, surely, you can protect a few hundred men and Lady Alexa, no?”

  Alexa wasn’t sure about Wilhelm’s plan, and why was he placing so much of the battle on their shoulders? It was strange, but Wilhelm did probably have a good point. If Alexa and Phoebe were so untouchable, and if they could replicate what they did earlier in Rumpalz.

  Then we’ll be good distractions…

  +++

  So it begins.

  Henry, alongside the leader of the Second Continental Army, General Horatio Dupont, a Galenan officer from the south, watched as the horizon from Fort Henderson was lit up by distant shützes opening fire. Within seconds, the skies were filled by glowing fireballs, which bore down on the lines held by the Second Continental Army.

  Henry lowered his telescope with a shrug. Beside him, Horatio signalled his officers on horseback to begin moving out before shaking his head.

  “Shit,” Horatio cursed as he moved close to Henry. “They’ve got us outflanked. Bastards are moving in on our east flank. I’m going to order the men to cover that area.”

  “Tell me, how long can you last here?” Henry slightly pulled the reins of his horse, who whinnied below him. “I’m going to need precise numbers, because I’ll be maneuvering in reinforcements.”

  “Six to eight days, give or take,” the general grunted. “Maybe ten if I stretch it any longer. I doubt the enemy will be able to mount an attack immediately, especially when our boys are anchored on a fortress.”

  While there were many doubts in Henry’s mind, he knew that Horatio was right. The Second Continental Army numbered around ninety thousand troops. Their western flank was protected by thick forest, their eastern flank was heavily bolstered by troops, and they had the high ground on the relatively flat plains southeast of them.

  Meanwhile, the center of the Second Continental Army was anchored on Fort Henderson, which was a star fortress that would be difficult to take even with shütze bombardment. All in all, they were in an advantageous battlefield, and stopping here was the only option they had during the retreat.

  But that’s what’s bothering me.

  Henry narrowed his eyes as he looked at the enemy lines. They weren’t deploying themselves immediately in assault formations; instead, they were starting to dig in, slowly but surely, while their shützes opened fire.

  It was a strange combat decision. Was Wilhelm planning to grind him down with attrition? But why? And why pick this field for battle when Wilhelm’s forces would be slowed down?

  “Sir Henry,” an elegant feminine voice distracted Henry to his right. His ‘secretary,’ who continued to stay by his side, Elisabeth, was on horseback too. Her gloved hand extended a metal flask in his direction, a small smile on her face. “You look troubled. Perhaps some water will help?”

  “Perhaps,” Henry took the flask with gratitude. He still wasn’t entirely sure about Elisabeth’s loyalty, as there was very little reason left for her to continue working with him, but he kept her around, mostly to observe her.

  She did help, here and there, which was nice, but it was hardly work that Henry wouldn’t care to lose. Partly, he was just curious. What was this girl planning to do to claw her way up the social ladder again?

  It was painfully interesting.

  He sipped the water without any care. She could poison him for all he cared; Henry acquired powerful healing potions from his adventures. There wasn’t much the girl could do to harm him.

  As usual, nothing happened. It was just normal water, refreshing and welcome, something that Henry appreciated, especially with the heat of the battle. When he gave it back to her, he muttered a small thanks to her.

  Then, she leaned closer to Henry.

  “I’ve been hearing that Alexa Theresa is more active in the front lately.” She narrowed her eyes on the battlefield. “Do you reckon that we’ll find her here?”

  “That’s unlikely,” Henry answered. “Last I’ve heard, she’s with Battlegroup Clausewitz, not the Army of the Leine.”

  “Ah…what a shame.”

  “A shame?” Horatio stared at the young girl before laughing. “Are you perhaps hoping to meet a former peer of yours? Maybe to beg for forgiveness?”

  “I have staked my person and honor to the ‘revolution,’ sir; I find this insulting.”

  “Bah, he’s just keeping you around as a mascot. Loyal to the revolution…pfft.”

  “Horatio,” Henry called out, his tone disgruntled. “You’ve got a battle that you’re managing, right? Focus on it.”