“So, that woman’s dead,” Major General Jack said, letting out a sigh.

  “This is no time for jokes,” Major General Olivia snapped. “We may have the upper hand, but I’ve just received word that the Eleventh and Twelfth Legions are pulling back due to lack of supplies. The attack on the supply base before this battle crippled them.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “Still, shouldn’t we just pull back and regroup in the Empire? We’ve got more than enough resources there, and we can plan our next move.”

  Olivia shot him a look. “We can’t just run. The Empire has vast resources, yes, but if they start throwing everything at a small nation like the Shiena Kingdom, the citizens will start questioning their rulers, and rebels will seize the opportunity.”

  Jack chuckled. “And let’s not forget, if we retreat now, heads will roll for it. The Empire has a rule, run from the enemy, and your head will roll, literally.”

  Olivia frowned, clearly frustrated. “We lost 2,000 men, and they lost 3,000. We still have the numbers, but if we keep going like this, those losses will keep piling up.”

  There was a silence before Major General Claudius spoke up, his voice calm. “Speaking of the force, who’s taking over Alysia’s position?”

  Jack snorted. “You will. After all, you didn’t exactly contribute much during the last battle, did you?”

  Olivia scowled. “He’s right, Claudius. If you’re just going to stand around doing nothing, you might as well take charge of Alysia’s force.”

  Claudius sighed, stretching his arms. “Fine. What’s our plan now?”

  Olivia didn’t hesitate. “Claudius, you’ll take the center. I’ll handle the right flank, and Jack, you’ll be on the left. We’ll leave Alysia’s forces in the rear to provide support.”

  Jack raised an eyebrow. “Nothing else? No specifics?”

  “You’re not going to listen to me anyway, even if I gave you every detail.”

  Jack grinned. “Fair point.”

  “Failure is not an option. If any of you fail, I’ll make sure I’m the one to cut you down myself.”

  Both Jack and Claudius exchanged a glance. At that moment, they shared the same thought: Women are scary.

  [(0)]

  “I propose we retreat immediately.”

  Brigadier General Devon’s voice cut through the tense atmosphere, but the rest of us remained silent.

  “We’ve already lost 3,000 soldiers. If we drag this out any longer, we won’t be able to avoid a devastating blow.”

  No one argued with that. While my force had managed to inflict heavy damage on the Imperial army, the main force wasn’t faring well. We were simply outnumbered.

  “Our goal was never to win outright. We targeted their rear to disrupt their supply lines, weakening their front line in the process. According to our latest reports, the Imperials are already pulling back due to supply shortages. I say we’ve done enough.”

  “But what’s your proposal?” Brigadier General Lily asked, her gaze fixed on him.

  “We fall back to the main Shiena Kingdom force and regroup there.”

  “And let the enemy do the same? We’ll be back in a stalemate.”

  The room erupted into arguments. Officers voiced their frustrations, debating the best course of action. Meanwhile, General Cedric calmly sipped his tea, his eyes closed, as if completely unfazed by the chaos around him.

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  I stayed quiet, turning over our options in my head. Winning this battle was nearly impossible, even with the MPA 63 units. We simply didn’t have enough. Out of the 50 we started with, we had already lost five, leaving us with only 45.

  But I wasn’t keen on retreating either. If we pulled back now, the Imperials would simply resecure their supply lines, undoing all our efforts.

  “Silence.”

  Cedric’s voice rang out. Instantly, the room fell quiet.

  “Marshal Vespera and I already decided on a plan before this battle even began.” He set his teacup down, his expression unreadable. “It was a gamble from the start, which is why we kept it secret. But now that we’re at the edge, it’s time to reveal it.”

  The word gamble immediately put me on edge. From experience, both in this life and my past one, I knew that gambles rarely worked out in anyone’s favor. But at the same time, if there was even a chance this plan could turn things around…

  Cedric’s gaze suddenly locked onto me.

  “And the key to this plan’s success…” He paused, letting the tension build.

  “Is you and the MPA 63 force.”

  “…Huh?”

  The stunned reaction wasn’t just mine. A chorus of confused voices filled the room as every officer turned their eyes toward me.

  “Now, I will reveal the plan.”

  [(0)]

  The force of the 9th Corps didn’t appear where the Imperial had anticipated. In fact, they were nowhere to be found until a scout reported back in.

  “Lady Olivia, the enemy are retreating!”

  “What?”

  Major General Olivia, along with Jack and Claudius, was stunned to the core. Retreat now? While both sides had forces? It was almost unthinkable. However, the next report had a pale face for three of them.

  “They are retreating to the front line! It looks like they are going to join the fight in order to retake Fort Stonebridge!”

  “What?” Jack screeched. “We need to go there immediately!”

  “Wait.” Olivia replied coolly, her calm expression returned. “It will be a trap, a trap to lure us in.”

  “But what if it’s true? Then we will let the enemy isolate the main army!”

  “Then what about this?” Olivia said. “Claudius, your force would track down the 9th Corps main army while I and Jack will try to get into a trap. If it is a trap, we will simply break it and rejoin you.”

  “Fine.” Claudius nodded, his closed eyes suddenly flung open. “It looks like this will be a rough fight.”

  “It will be.”

  The Imperial army split their force into two groups as they each charged to where 9th Corps were going.

  [(0)]

  I wanted to cry. Really.

  Below me, the Imperial forces marched toward where the 9th Corps had retreated. I clung to the branches of a sturdy tree, doing my best to stay hidden as they passed beneath me, their armor clanking, their boots pounding against the earth.

  Once enough of them had gathered, I let out a soft whistle, mimicking a bird. A few soldiers glanced up, frowning. But by the time they realized something was wrong, it was already too late.

  I drew my small bow, notched several enchanted arrows, and let them fly.

  The moment they struck the ground, fire exploded outward. Flames roared to life, consuming the oil-soaked straw we had carefully hidden beneath layers of grass, leaves, and flowers. The thick floral scent had masked the oil perfectly, no one had noticed a thing.

  “Fire!”

  “It’s enchanted arrows!”

  “Mages! Medics!”

  Panic spread through the ranks as shouts rang out.

  Using the flames as cover, I activated my MPA 63 and dove in, Lura and the rest of my unit following close behind. By the time the Imperials realized we were attacking, it was already too late. We cut through their ranks, striking down anyone who blocked our path before retreating just as swiftly.

  As we fled, Cedric’s brilliant plan echoed in my mind.

  "The main force of the 9th Corps will be moving to the front lines to assist the 1st Corps in retaking Fort Stonebridge. Once we secure it, we’ll regroup and launch a full offensive. However, we need someone to stall the enemy here, someone with a small force, just enough to make them think the retreat is fake and keep them pinned down."

  And, of course, that someone was me.

  Our job was simple in theory, ambush the Imperials and convince them that the retreat was fake. If they took the bait, they’d stay put instead of pursuing the main force. The problem?

  We had only 1,000 men.

  They had over 70,000.

  And we had to hold them off for more than a month.

  “Quickly! Cover our retreat!”

  I fired another round of enchanted arrows, fueling the blaze and cutting off the Imperials’ pursuit. As the fire roared higher, their pursuit ground to a halt.

  The first plan had worked.

  We had succeeded.

  But from this day forward, hell had officially begun.