Arc 4 Chapter 45 : Aftermath

[Siena PoV]

We lost...

Something I desperately wanted to deny after everything that happened in this battle.

From the beginning until the middle of the battle, everything had gone according to the plan I had devised beforehand. However, when the battle entered its final phase and our forces had begun overwhelming and surrounding the Imperial army, something completely unexpected happened.

At that moment, I was occupied fighting Raymond the White Knight. Yet, I caught a glimpse of our soldiers swarming toward a woman who was waving the Imperial banner.

However, a man stood in their way and refused to let them touch her.

The woman then unleashed a large-scale spell—a Buff that revitalized their soldiers and made them even stronger than before, forcing our forces to retreat after we had previously held the upper hand in the battle.

To be honest, I could have activated the Profound Codex I possessed to dispel the Buff affecting the enemy soldiers. However, doing that scale required considerable preparation and an enormous amount of Mana. I couldn't possibly use it while fighting one of the Grand Espada.

In the end, I had no choice but to order the Alliance forces to retreat before our casualties became even worse.

Out of the 70,000 soldiers we had brought with us, only 35,000 returned safely to Tusculum City.

We had lost half of the forces we had brought for this operation.

Our soldiers walked into the city with their heads hanging low. The citizens waiting along the streets to celebrate our victory looked confused when they saw the soldiers' expressions.

I then entered a meeting room with several military officials from the Alliance forces to evaluate the outcome of the previous battle.

"Everyone, I never expected the Empire to have someone capable of using an enhancement spell on such a massive scale," I said as I stood before them. "This defeat was entirely my fault. Therefore, if you want to find someone to blame for this loss, then I am the one who deserves it."

I bowed my head to everyone in the room.

The military officials from my own country certainly wouldn't be pleased with what I had just said. However, if sacrificing a little pride could keep this alliance together, then I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

"Raise your head, Major Siena."

I heard someone speak.

It was General Melisandru of the Kingdom of Draconia, staring directly into my eyes.

"The strategy you devised wasn't what caused us to lose. It was simply the Empire's good fortune," he added, looking slightly frustrated.

"Indeed. Princess Elena awakening that ability was nothing more than good fortune on their part," said Marshal Auros of the Greco Republic. "Rather than dwelling on what has already happened, we should devise a new strategy to deal with the changing circumstances of this war following our defeat."

It seemed they weren't blaming me for our loss.

That was a relief.

I had previously thought that yesterday's defeat would damage the cohesion of the Alliance forces and further lower the soldiers' morale.

"Thank you for your understanding," I said to the two of them before sitting back down. "Unfortunately, after this defeat, we won't be able to launch another offensive until we replenish our forces."

Our newest recruits could only be deployed as part of the main army after completing three months of training. That meant we would have to wait another month, since the new recruits had only begun their training when the war entered its first month.

"Does that mean we'll simply sit here while the Imperial forces recover their strength?" asked General Melisandru.

"Then do you have an alternative tactic for defeating them, General?" asked Marshal Auros.

"Even though we lost half our forces in yesterday's battle, we should still be able to attack the Imperial forces at Regium Fortress City if we join up with the remaining 30,000 troops stationed in the west," the General replied. "I'm certain the Empire also suffered considerable casualties during yesterday's battle."

What General Melisandru said was indeed true.

However...

"Do you intend to attack them again with that woman still there?" asked Marshal Auros.

The woman Marshal Auros was referring to was Princess Elena de Aragon.

It was already clear that winning a battle would be nearly impossible as long as that woman could activate her absurd spell—unless we could overwhelm their forces by at least five to one.

General Melisandru fell silent after hearing Marshal Auros's response.

"Then how are we supposed to win this war if that woman remains with their main army?" the General asked again. "Open a new front? Remember, we were just defeated because our logistical supplies were cut off!"

We had reached a dead end.

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No one spoke for several moments. The entire room fell silent, with nothing but the ticking of the clock filling the air.

"Now that we know how dangerous Princess Elena de Aragon's ability is, we should avoid fighting them in open terrain," I said, breaking the silence. "Her ability increases the stamina and strength of their soldiers, doesn't it? Then our only option is to whittle down their forces as they approach this city."

I believed Princess Elena's ability was only truly terrifying when our forces confronted them directly.

It wasn't capable of massively healing injuries like the Saint rumored to exist.

"So this time, we'll be taking a passive approach to the war?" General Melisandru muttered.

"Naturally. After this defeat, the initiative is no longer ours," said Marshal Auros.

We eventually agreed to adopt a defensive strategy for the time being.

I ordered everyone in the city to begin evacuating the civilians and strengthening Tusculum City's defenses so that we would be better prepared for the next battle.

After the meeting ended, I returned to my room to wait for someone.

I stared at the artifact I currently possessed.

I still had no idea what the artifact I had just combined was supposed to do.

Raul had told me that its new name was Legacy of Mieren Tribe. However, he hadn't explained what this artifact was capable of.

If I still had my old artifact, I would have certainly attempted to infiltrate the Imperial main force, disguise my identity, and assassinate Princess Elena to secure victory in this war.

But it seemed I would no longer be able to change my appearance like I used to.

— Tok! Tok! Tok!

I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing an eighteen-year-old young man whose expression looked as though he had committed a grave sin.

"Ezio, sit down," I ordered him.

He nodded before sitting down across from my desk.

"Tell me how that man managed to escape," I ordered again.

Ezio then took something out of his pocket and placed it on my desk.

This...

It was a sharp piece of wire.

Did that man use this to unlock the restraints on his arms?

"That man told me to convey his gratitude to Prince Vlad, Captain," Ezio said, lowering his head in shame.

Prince Vlad?

Wait...

I think I remember now.

Didn't he blind Raul's eye using this very piece of wire?

Did he keep it when the two of them confronted each other back then?

I clenched my fist in frustration at that foolish brat.

"I swear I'll teach him a lesson later..."

***

[Raul PoV]

We won yesterday's battle.

Out of the 50,000 soldiers we brought onto the battlefield, only half managed to return to our base of operations in Regium Fortress City.

All of this was thanks to Elena, who managed to use her Profound Codex at that crucial moment.

If Elena had failed to activate it then, there was no doubt that the Imperial forces would have been annihilated in that region.

"Princess Elena, you were incredible in yesterday's battle!"

"Absolutely! If you're the one leading us into battle, I'll follow you even against the strongest demons!"

Elena was currently surrounded by soldiers.

They were talking about yesterday's battle, in which they had miraculously defeated the Alliance forces despite being on the verge of being slaughtered by them.

This was why Elena was so popular among the military in the game.

She was always close to the soldiers, and they were willing to follow the Princess into any battle as long as she was the one leading them.

Now that I knew Elena possessed this ability, I doubted the Alliance forces would ever confront us in an open battle again.

That meant they would likely adopt a defensive strategy from now on.

With only 40,000 soldiers remaining, there was no way we could conquer Tusculum City, which was still defended by a larger force than ours.

For that reason, we still had to wait for reinforcements sent from the capital before we could successfully carry out our operation in this region.

Throughout this war, hundreds of thousands of human lives had already been lost on both sides.

The Empire had initially brought 120,000 soldiers into the war, but only 40,000 remained now.

I imagined the situation on the other side wasn't much different.

Both sides had no choice but to remain passive for the time being and wait for their forces to recover before launching another major operation.

"It looks like this war will continue for several more months..."

I supposed that by the time the war ended, the third-year academy students would have nothing left but their final examinations to complete their academic year.

After Elena separated from the rest of the troops, the two of us did our usual Sparring session so that I could become more accustomed to fighting with only one functioning eye.

"Why are you smiling like that at me, Raul?" Elena asked while holding her wooden sword. "Is there something funny about my face?"

"No. I'm just happy that you're becoming more popular now, Elena," I replied. "This will raise your standing as a candidate to become the next ruler of our empire."

"Heee~ Weren't you the one who said that having the support of the military alone wouldn't be enough to win the election later?" Elena retorted before lunging toward me and launching several attacks.

— Tak! Tak! Tak!

I blocked several of her strikes.

This time, my combat ability had improved considerably despite fighting with one eye.

"Exactly. We need to convince the many nobles who remain neutral to join our faction after graduation," I said while launching a counterattack.

Elena smiled and deflected all of my attacks.

"Your attack accuracy has gone down, fufufu~."

She laughed mischievously.

"If this continues, then I'll be the one winning our deciding duel at the end-of-year Tournament!"

— Tak!

Elena activated her magic and struck my wooden sword with tremendous force, sending it flying into the air.

She then pointed her wooden sword at my neck.

I instinctively raised both hands, signaling that I surrendered the Sparring match.

"I heard Vicar Lorentius can regenerate lost limbs with his healing magic," Elena said before lowering the wooden sword she had pointed at me. "With my status as an Imperial Princess, I think I can arrange for you to meet him and have him heal your blind left eye."

That was a bad idea...

A Vicar could discover my identity as a member of The Masquerade if he performed a Scan on my body.

This was because I had received one of the Profound Codices from the Keeper: Phantom Thief.

The Temple possessed records detailing the abilities of identified members of The Masquerade.

The Profound Codex given to me by the Keeper was a Copy of the abilities belonging to members of The Masquerade who had joined and contributed their powers to the artifact possessed by the Keeper.

"I think I'll find another way to restore the vision in my left eye," I told Elena.

"Hm? Why? Wouldn't it be easier to simply meet someone who can heal you directly?" Elena asked, clearly confused by my response.

"You know, having a debt of gratitude toward the Temple could end up hurting you during the succession election, Elena," I replied.

If we thought the Temple had no influence whatsoever over the selection of the next Emperor, then we would be naive.

The Temple would certainly want to cooperate with an Emperor who would readily support the Temple's agenda.

"I see... I hadn't thought about it that way," Elena murmured.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure I'm in the best possible condition when our duel comes around again," I said, reassuring Elena.

"I won't believe you can give it your all if you're still holding back by refusing to use Nature Mana."

I simply smiled at Elena's teasing remark.

After ending our Sparring session, Elena and I headed to the cafeteria to have dinner together.

Once the Imperial forces had recovered their strength, we would undoubtedly head straight for Tusculum City and conquer it.

From there, the Empire might immediately continue its offensive toward Florentia Island—the capital of the Venetia Republic.

When that happened, a disaster caused by her was bound to occur.

Therefore, I had to seize the Artifact currently in Siena's possession.

Which meant...

The two of us would meet again on the battlefield.