‘I hate journalists. And elf too.’

  By General Cedric Airviss, Commander of the 9th Corps

  Atop the walls of Fort Cainhorn, a woman with long violet hair and deep purple eyes stood in military uniform, gazing down at the Imperial forces gathered below. They were fresh troops from the Twelfth Legion, the Ninth and Tenth Divisions, who had recently joined the siege along with other units.

  "I suppose this explains why 50,000 additional troops suddenly put you in such dire straits," the violet-haired woman said with a slight smile. General Sionia Erlynn, commander of the 3rd Corps and a Wild Magic wielder, observed the battlefield with interest. "They have quite a few mages down there. Most of them are at least 3rd Order, from what I can sense."

  "What do you think happens when you suddenly face two more divisions on top of the four you're already fighting?" A man with short brown hair and rippling muscles stood beside her, his veins bulging as he gripped the battlements.

  This was General Declan of the 4th Corps. "The only one who has my sympathy is our late commander of the 5th Corps, he saw an opportunity to strike at the enemy, only to get surrounded and slaughtered by their reinforcements."

  Months ago, the 4th and 5th Corps had been locked in a stalemate with the Second, Third, Fifth, and Sixth Divisions from the Twelfth Legion at Fort Cainhorn, one of the kingdom's major fortifications.

  With numbers at 80,000 against 100,000, it had been a close-fought battle. Hungry for glory, the 5th Corps commander, General Pipon, had made a reckless decision to launch a night assault on the enemy camp.

  Declan hadn't exactly stopped him since he had found no reason to intervene, especially since Pipon was taking his entire corps with him. Even if the attack failed, Declan had reasoned, it would inflict significant damage on the Imperials and buy them more time.

  What Declan hadn't anticipated was that the Imperial reinforcements would arrive that very same night.

  The next morning, the enemy had displayed pikes along their fortifications, each one bearing the severed head of General Pipon, his aide, and several other high-ranking officers. The Imperials had celebrated their victory right in front of the fort's walls, their jeers and cheers echoing across the field.

  Morale had plummeted. Half their force, gone in a single night.

  Thankfully, the entire Mage Division from the 3rd Corps, 500 mages directly under Sionia's command, had arrived. And while it felt bad to say about the fallen, these mages would accomplish far more than 40,000 regular soldiers ever could.

  "Ma'am!" A scout called out, scanning the Imperial lines through a spyglass. "They're beginning their siege!"

  "Right on schedule," Sionia said with a grin, turning to nod at the troops manning the catapults. "Load the seeds!"

  Declan watched in silence. He didn't shout Are you out of your mind? Seeds? because he knew better. He had seen what Sionia could do.

  The catapults fired, launching their projectiles high into the air. But instead of rocks or flaming pitch, small cloth sacks sailed through the sky, bursting open and scattering their contents across the Imperial formations.

  The enemy soldiers stared in confusion. Then they began to laugh.

  "Look! They're throwing seeds at us!"

  "They've lost their minds!"

  "At least we'll have plenty of food when they grow!"

  Declan glared murderously at the jeering Imperials, his jaw clenched tight, but said nothing. He knew what was coming. The seeds landed, spreading across a wide area as the Imperials readied their own siege equipment.

  Then—

  "What the—?!"

  Trees erupted from the ground. Flowers bloomed in seconds, their petals dripping with poison. Carnivorous vines burst forth, writhing like serpents. Monster plants, things with teeth and thorns as long as swords, rose up among the Imperial ranks.

  Men screamed as roots wrapped around their legs, dragging them down. Vines constricted throats and crushed ribs. Thorns pierced armor. Poisonous spores filled the air, sending soldiers into convulsions.

  "Mages! Kill these things! Now!" an Imperial officer shouted.

  Despite the chaos, they were still a trained army. Mages began casting frantically, unleashing torrents of fire, ice, and wind. Fire scorched the plants but also burned their own soldiers caught in the growth. Ice froze the vines solid, along with anyone trapped within them, but at least it gave infantry room to hack through the frozen plants. Wind slashed through foliage effectively, though it struggled against the thicker growths.

  "Archers! Nock arrows!" Sionia raised her hand, and a hundred mages stepped forward, each holding an enchanted bow. "Take aim. Fire!"

  A hundred arrows sailed through the air, each one accelerated and guided by magical enhancement by the mages. They arced high, then descended upon the Imperial mages who were too focused on their spellcasting to notice the threat.

  "AHHHHH!"

  Screams echoed across the battlefield as arrows found their marks. Each one struck a mage, some in the shoulder, others in the leg or chest. Most wounds weren't immediately fatal, just incapacitating.

  But Sionia simply smiled, raising her hand once more. She closed her eyes, channeling the last reserves of her vast mana pool.

  The seeds embedded in the arrows sprouted.

  Roots burst from the arrowheads, burrowing through flesh and bone. Vines erupted from wounds, spreading like wildfire through bodies. Mages who had been wounded seconds ago now convulsed as plants grew inside them, piercing organs and tearing through muscle. Even the medics who'd rushed to help them were caught in the carnage as the vines lashed out indiscriminately.

  "Now begin the bombardment!" Sionia shouted, releasing the last of her mana. The plants remained standing, now fuel for what came next. "Burn them down!"

  The catapults fired again, this time launching oil-soaked rocks wrapped in flaming cloth. Fire arrows followed by the hundreds, raining down upon the battlefield.

  The plants that had been killing Imperial soldiers now became their funeral pyres. The flames spread rapidly through the dry wood and oil-soaked vegetation, creating an inferno. The screams intensified as men were caught between the crushing vines and the consuming fire.

  The smell of burning flesh drifted all the way to the fort walls.

  "This is why I kept insisting we needed a Wild Magic user here," Declan murmured, his muscles flexing beneath his uniform as he clenched his fist. "Not children who can't do anything without orders."

  "Come now," Sionia said with a pained smile, draining a mana potion in one gulp. "At least they're good in combat."

  They both turned to look behind them. Two children, one boy, one girl, stood motionless near them, their expressions blank. These were the homunculi assigned to the 3rd and 4th Corps.

  However, the

  "Where's the 5th Corps' homunculus, anyway?" Sionia asked, watching the Imperials begin their retreat across the scorched battlefield.

  "You didn't read the briefing, did you?" Declan sighed heavily, his mind flashing back to the bright explosion that had lit up the night sky when the 5th Corps was annihilated. "When they think they're about to be killed, or worse, captured, they detonate themselves. There's a mana bomb planted in their heart as a failsafe."

  Sionia's eyes widened in shock. For a long moment, she said nothing. Declan had nothing to add either.

  They simply stood in grim silence, watching the surviving Imperials flee in disarray back toward their camp, leaving thousands of dead and dying behind.

  When the smoke finally cleared, the casualty reports were staggering: over 7,000 Imperial soldiers dead, including more than 200 mages.

  The defenders of Fort Cainhorn had lost none.

  [(0)]

  Thankfully, I managed to find my way out of the underground laboratory on my own. No help needed. Good job, Aria.

  However, the researchers above wanted so much feedback about the MPA-64 that by the time I finally escaped with my armor and the hundred units for my troops, the sun had already set. My 3,000 soldiers and I had no choice but to spend the night in Heartspire.

  The next morning, we departed for the Eastern Line.

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  Progress was agonizingly slow. We were approaching a war zone, and attacks along the route were common; bandits, enemy scouts, even aggressive wildlife. We had to move cautiously to avoid ambushes.

  Fortunately, we made it through without incident. After two weeks of hard riding on Saky, we finally reached our first destination: Staedergh Citadel, the gateway to the Eastern Line.

  The Citadel was strategically important. It served as the connecting point between the Eastern and Northern Lines, and the surrounding region contained several productive mines rich in iron, mana crystals, and other essential resources. In fact, mineral production here was second highest. Naturally, it was heavily fortified, with the entire 3rd Corps stationed as its garrison.

  Unlike our arrival at the capital, the 3rd Corps was well-informed and waved us through with minimal questions.

  I had heard that the 3rd Corps, also known as the "Mage Corps", boasted the highest numbers of battle mages in the entire army. Their commander, General Sionia Erlynn, was a formidable mage herself and a Wild Magic wielder to boot.

  After a day of rest, I was summoned by General Sionia's aide, Brigadier General Ovras.

  Apparently, Sionia herself had already deployed to Fort Cainhorn, leaving her second-in-command to manage the Citadel.

  Frankly, I wished I could have declined. Being summoned by high-ranking officers over and over was getting tiresome. I really wanted to avoid yet another meeting with someone who probably just wanted to size up the "Fifth Hero."

  However, the messenger had made it clear: this was a direct order. Even if I tried claiming I had urgent orders to reinforce the 4th Corps and couldn't spare the time, I didn't have the authority to refuse.

  That was how I found myself standing outside Ovras's office.

  I entered and saluted immediately. "Major Aria of the 9th Corps, reporting as ordered, sir."

  "Brigadier General Ovras of the 3rd Corps," he replied with a smile that immediately put me on edge, the kind of smile that belonged to a mastermind behind the scenes. He gestured to a chair. "Please, sit."

  I accepted, though I remained wary.

  Ovras himself was... unusual. He had long black hair, sharp features, and violet eyes that seemed perpetually half-closed, making me wonder if he could even see properly. Though he was supposedly in his late forties, he looked no older than his late twenties.

  Strange. Though I had heard that powerful mages could retain youthful appearances through their vast mana reserves, so perhaps it was normal for someone of his caliber.

  "So, you're the hero everyone's been talking about," Ovras said casually, studying me with those unsettling eyes. "When I first heard about you, I imagined someone with muscular, maybe cold hearted like our homunculus. But you're nothing like that. In fact, you're rather cute, and emotional."

  "Thank you for the... compliments, sir," I replied carefully, finding both the word 'cute' and his entire demeanor deeply uncomfortable.

  He had just openly acknowledged what I was, an artificial human. While it was somewhat uncomfortable, I guessed there was nothing to worry about considering his relaxed expression, but I couldn’t let my guard down. This was exactly the kind of person who plotted complicated schemes behind that pleasant smile.

  "Oh, it's nothing," Ovras waved it off, though his expression shifted slightly. "Let's get to the point. The reason I called you here is to ask you to assist a unit from the 3rd Corps."

  "Begging your pardon, sir, but I was ordered to proceed directly to the 4th Corps to provide reinforcements."

  "I'm aware of that." Ovras gestured toward the map on the wall, marked with arrows and X's. "But this is important. The unit I need you to help is responsible for supplying Fort Cainhorn. A bandit group, roughly 500 strong, has been harassing our convoys as they pass through, significantly slowing our supply lines."

  I studied the map, noting the routes and natural chokepoints. "Sir, with all due respect, why can't the 3rd Corps handle this? Protecting supply routes falls under your jurisdiction."

  I didn't voice the rest of my thoughts: Sure, this mission might benefit Fort Cainhorn eventually, but the 3rd Corps had plenty of capable soldiers stationed at Staedergh Citadel. Why pull me away from my orders?

  I was supposed to reach the 4th Corps as quickly as possible. Fighting bandits could delay us, or worse, we might suffer casualties, leaving me unable to help the 4th Corps at all. The next wave of reinforcements wasn't due for another two weeks.

  Ovras's gaze, or what I thought was his gaze, sharpened. "Normally, yes. Unfortunately, many of our forces were recalled to reinforce the 1st and 2nd Corps. Several of our elite units were dispatched on direct orders from the king, and the rest are defending the Citadel. We simply don't have the manpower to spare."

  He turned his back to me, his voice growing calmer, almost expectant. "The supply line is critical to Fort Cainhorn's survival. We need someone capable of moving quickly and dealing with these raiders decisively. That's where you come in."

  The whole scene felt like something from a movie, the shadowy mastermind ordering his subordinate to carry out some questionable task.

  "And of course," his eyes suddenly opened fully, revealing unsettling violet irises that locked onto mine, "I want to see the differences between our homunculus and you, Aria."

  I stayed silent for a long moment, discomfort crawling up my spine. I didn’t really like the fact that was seeing me as something to be toyed with. Though if I were in his position, I supposed I would be curious about the performance differences too, especially when it came to weapons.

  But focusing back on the mission itself: 500 bandits was a staggering number. We could actually fail if they would prepare an ambush, or if they had mages among their ranks. Even a disorganized mob could overwhelm an unprepared force through sheer numbers. I couldn't afford to underestimate them.

  "Yes, sir," I finally said. "I'll accept the order to eliminate the bandit group."

  "Thank you very much," Ovras said, his smile widening slightly. He looked genuinely pleased. "They've been quite the nuisance, and I'm grateful for your assistance."

  His reaction felt oddly lighthearted considering the seriousness of the situation. I remained silent for a moment, debating whether to voice the question nagging at me. Finally, I spoke up.

  "Though I must ask... why would bandits attack a military supply unit?"

  Ovras's smile faded slightly, his expression growing more thoughtful. I continued, "Even with the kingdom struggling, it's hard to believe a mere bandit group would be bold enough to steal from an armed military convoy. They must know it could lead to execution. It doesn't make sense."

  Ovras leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping lightly on the desk. "You're not wrong," he said. "It is unusual, and it's crossed my mind as well. Normally, bandits target merchant caravans or poorly defended villages, not armed supply units."

  "Then why are they doing it?"

  His gaze drifted toward the map, one eye opening slightly wider, the violet gleaming in the light. "That's what bothers me. They've hit several convoys now, and each time, they were oddly well-prepared. Almost as if they knew the exact route and timing in advance."

  "You think someone's feeding them information?"

  Ovras nodded slowly. "It's possible. Someone inside our ranks, or at least close to the military, could be leaking intelligence. That's why I need this handled discreetly. The bandits are the immediate problem, but if there's a larger conspiracy at play, we can't afford to tip off whoever's pulling the strings.

  I mulled over his words. Bandits attacking supply lines didn't add up,not without some motive. Money, revenge, or worse: deliberate sabotage from within.

  "Can I ask another question, sir?" I asked.

  "Of course."

  "About the elite units you mentioned, why were they recalled to the capital?"

  "You didn't hear?" Ovras looked surprised, but quickly returned to his neutral expression. "Oh, well. I suppose the military didn't want the news spreading and affecting morale, but I'll tell you."

  He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a poster with a very familiar face printed on it.

  "A month ago, Instructor Demo, candidate for the title of Fifth Hero of the Shiena Kingdom, known as the Deathgod of the Eastern Line, was placed on the wanted list after killing more than a hundred high-ranking personnel."

  "What?" I could only gape at the poster, my brain refusing to process the information.

  He had killed over a hundred people? Why? And most importantly, where was he now?

  [(0)]

  Atop the eastern wall of Fort Kespare, two figures walked casually along the ramparts. One was a striking woman with blonde hair that seemed to sparkle under the moonlight. She wore a long trench coat and carried a leather case in one hand and a strange device resembling a microphone in the other.

  She was beautiful, with pointed ears barely visible beneath her hair. An elf.

  Beside her struggled a short young man with brown hair and a thick beard that covered most of his face. He carried a bulging bag filled with various gadgets, his short legs working overtime to keep pace with his companion. A dwarf.

  "Arr ye sure we won't get cauh’?" the dwarf said, his thick accent heavy with worry.

  "Yeah," the elf grinned, spinning around to face him while walking backward. "Don't worry! As long as we have this artifact active, nobody can see us."

  "Ye mean th' Vivexn 1392," the dwarf sighed, carefully scanning their surroundings. "Are ye certain this be th' right place... t' interview a body?"

  "Yep!" The elf kept walking forward with great enthusiasm. "Remember that 'little man' Cedric I interviewed? He turned out to be a general. That newspaper sold thousands of copies. I'm not about to miss another chance to interview someone destined for greatness."

  The woman's name was Eliza, and the dwarf was Ronwan. They had secretly infiltrated Fort Kespare to interview a very special person for their newspaper, which they had distributed back in their homeland: Major Aria, the Fifth Hero of the Shiena Kingdom.

  Though Eliza had quite a history with the commander manning the fort, and in the end, she was banned from entering the fort ever again. However, that wasn’t going to stop her. After all, journalists would travel all over the world for stories, and wouldn’t stop because of one stupid warning.

  "We are so lucky we were able to hear the news when we arrived.” Eliza grinned. "We will be the first one to get the story!"

  "Aye, but wha' if she don' want t' talk?" Ronwan huffed, adjusting his heavy bag. "Or worse, wha' if th' guards catch us 'fore we even find her?"

  "Ronwan, my friend," Eliza said with a dramatic flourish, "that's what makes this exciting!"

  "Well—" Just as Ronwan was about to respond, two figures suddenly appeared from around the corner. Guards on patrol. When they spotted Eliza and Ronwan, they froze for a split second, then leveled their spears at the intruders.

  "Halt!" one of the guards barked. "What are you doing here? State your identification and purpose!"

  "See?" Ronwan sighed, already reaching into his bag. He pulled out a small spherical gadget and rolled it across the stone walkway toward the guards.

  The guards tried to kick it away, but before they could react, thick mist erupted from the device. They coughed and waved their hands frantically, trying to clear the smoke, but it was no use.

  "Got you," Eliza grinned, darting forward through the mist to touch both guards simultaneously.

  Her Wild Magic activated.

  Instantly, the guards' eyes glazed over, becoming foggy and unfocused. They went rigid, like puppets with their strings cut. Eliza straightened up, adopting the posture and expression of a military officer.

  "Good evening, gentlemen," she said smoothly. "I was just taking a walk to get some fresh air. I'll be heading back now. You may continue your patrol."

  "Of course, ma'am. Our apologies for disturbing you," the first guard said mechanically, turning to leave with his companion.

  "Wait," Eliza stopped them. "Tell me, where is Major Aria? I have something urgent to discuss with her."

  "Major Aria, along with 3,000 troops, departed Fort Kespare for the Eastern Line," the guard replied in a flat, emotionless tone. "She is no longer at the fort."

  "Damnit," Eliza cursed under her breath.

  Ronwan just sighed, already trudging toward the spot where they'd tied their climbing ropes. "Le's go, lass. We've nay more business 'ere. Th' story's already gone."

  "Fine," Eliza muttered. Before leaving, she snapped her fingers in front of the guards' faces. "You never saw me. You never saw the dwarf. All you see is the night around you. Nothing happened here."

  "Nothing happened," the guards whispered back in unison, their voices gradually returning to normal with each word.

  "Huh?" One of the guards blinked, suddenly alert again. "What are we doing here?"

  "Patrolling," the other guard said, looking confused. "Strange... I could've sworn I was just talking to someone."

  Neither of them knew what had happened. Neither remembered. They exchanged puzzled shrugs and continued their patrol, disappearing around the corner.

  Eliza watched them go, then hurried after Ronwan with a frustrated expression.

  "So we came all this way for nothing," she grumbled.