Gacha Kingdom Building

--This chapter is written using Ellie's POV--

It was hard to keep up with everything that happened in the few seconds that passed when Angelica and I fell to the ground.

Her actions surprised me. I had not noticed the movement around us yet, but I could see that something had pierced through the three we were on, and immediately after, I noticed the figures approaching us.

However, Angelica was still on top of me, and because of her, I couldn't grab my bow to fire back.

Ellie: "T-Thanks, but I need to-"

I tried to ask her to get out so I could move, but instead of repositioning or releasing me, I felt her grip tighten as she quickly jumped away while carrying me.

She released her wings, flying upwards and gaining height fast as she maneuvered to evade magic and arrows fired at her from multiple directions.

Her speed was beyond what I had seen before in her angel form, and thanks to it, we flew high enough for the soldiers to give us up as a target.

I could still hear the noises of the soldiers from both sides clashing below us, but nothing was as worrisome as her deep sigh and breath after we stopped mid-air.

It felt like she had strained herself, and frankly, were this the case, it wouldn't be surprising.

The burst upward was probably comparable to a short, explosive run; however, dancing through the projectiles must've been much more tiring.

She could have probably afforded to be a little less desperate considering her ability and speed, but...

I could imagine this was pure instinct on her part. As someone who was hunted throughout her entire life, she knows not to take any unnecessary risk, and desperate escapes like this are ingrained in her blood.

As much as this realization made my heart feel heavy, what happened next alleviated it a little.

Angelica took a second to catch her breath, and then she dove straight down, headed directly at Miwen's tent.

Unlike in her previous life, she had someone she could rely on for protection and guidance.

Someone who made her feel safe.

The same person I had...

Even through this confusion and chaos, that man was bound to be calm and rational. He was-

Miwen & Bea: "...How cute."

...Holding back his laughter as Angelica rushed inside the tent while still having me in a princess carry.

The scene was like that of a fairy tale. A shining knight coming home victorious with his princess in his arms.

Except that... It was so embarrassing for me... I didn't have anywhere to hide my face aside from her chest.

But I couldn't even do that without making the situation seem even worse.

Angelica: "Miwen... We have a problem. I didn't know what to do, so I brought Ellie here."

Ellie: "Hrm... You can let me go now..."

Angelica: "Ah... Sorry."

It's impressive how focused she can become.

Even though Miwen and Bea's reactions were anything but serious, until I asked her to, she was still holding me as tight as when we were in danger.

Miwen: "I see... Good job."

When we stepped foot inside the tent, Miwen and Bea were already preparing to head out, but Anna was nowhere to be seen.

However, it only took them a minute to get ready while Angelica explained what transpired.

Miwen: "Alright... I'm a little worried about Raella. Her orders were to stay as quiet as possible, so I'm afraid-"

Bea: "Hoh.. Oh... I swear! After all that work, if they touch the doll..."

Raella's body is a marvelous creation... One of a kind.

It took Miwen's knowledge and gadgets from his world, Elizabeth's magic control and infinite mana reserve, and Beatrice's expertise to make, and then all of the girls' combined efforts to perfect.

Bea was especially involved since she has experience making golems and could use a similar system...

She proudly declared Raella to be her most prized creation in this lifetime, even though she might be taking a little too much credit...

Miwen: "Quite. You and Angie will retrieve her. After that, you can rendezvous with us. Ellie, you and I will go after Anna and Lana. They left when they heard Angelica's shout. They are probably fighting already, so we'll give them a hand."

We quickly had our roles and directions defined, and we left the tent to deal with the situation as best as we could.

It was surprising to see how chaotic the situation had become in the few minutes between our escape and our heading out.

With everyone's role defined, we headed out and separated for a brief moment.

The situation in the camp had become incredibly chaotic in the few minutes that had passed.

I would've never been able to tell the scale from the sky, but now that I was on the ground, I could see soldiers running in every direction, scrambling for all sorts of items. There were no lines, no organization. Weapons were being thrown on the ground and handed to whoever showed up to the armory, no questions asked.

The ground was burned, wet, hard, soft... The amount of spells that hit it... The broken blades resting on it... It should've made it incredibly hard to move, yet it didn't stop anyone from going as fast as they could.

A few more disciplined men were trying to group up and ask their commanders for directions, but most were simply rushing towards the general direction of the battle with weapons in hand.

Paul, who seemed familiar with the enemy general, had asked the men to prepare a few defensive buildings, but due to everything that happened, only a small wall had been fully built, and it didn't do much, being breached almost instantly.

Its ruins were all that were left, and as the tents were on fire or being destroyed, the place quickly started to look like a hellhole.

It should have been impossible for an outnumbered enemy to pull this off, but their incredible coordination and the chaos they caused prevented us from mounting a proper response.

Despite being superior in both numbers and strength, our army seemed almost weaker in comparison during our desperate, unorganized attempt to fight them back.

Their move was bold, but at the same time, well-calculated.

It was the first time we were pushed back like this.

Ellie: "I don't understand... We were on high alert. How did they manage to get this close without anyone noticing?"

It didn't really make sense...

For such a calculated move, the timing couldn't be worse.

The incidents in the camp had already forced us to pay way more attention to our surroundings.

Assuming these two were related, part of the same strategy... They were a little counterproductive.

I would imagine they would prefer us to be lax about keeping watch...

Yet... Undeniably, they were successful at our most attentive.

Miwen: "...It's my fault. Or rather, our fault. Paul's, the other knights', and mine. We prioritized keeping pressure despite the internal problems, which caused a lot of mental fatigue. After a few days, we lost effectiveness. The enemy had already read that... Or predicted it. We were so focused on watching every movement within the camp that we became weak to movements outside it. Even if they retreat tonight without causing many casualties, this has already been a good move. It'll force everyone to be more on edge. It'll become even more tiring."

Yeah... Considering we had yet to solve the internal issue, this was definitely going to leave some long-term consequences on our morale and cohesion.

It was even worse than I imagined...

Ellie: "But you don't seem too worried though..."

We were almost at the frontline that formed, but Miwen's eyes were as focused and calm as they had always been.

If anything, I think I could see a slight smile forming on his face.

He seemed quite... Excited...

Miwen: "It was a good move, truly. But. Ultimately, it's still their loss. But now we know they have claws to fight, so... I'm looking forward to this battle. I need the experience for the future, right?"

Ellie: "Hmm... The future, huh? So this one is not a problem?"

Miwen: "...At least this time, I'm ahead of them. It will be a little more troublesome, but... If this is the best they can do, I'll pull the rug out from under them before they notice it."

I've been with Miwen for two years, but this is the first time I feel like he is being challenged in this way.

However, when I think about the future, and what he might want this experience for... I can only think of another war... Another man who he's not as confident against...

But hopefully-

Miwen: "I'm counting on you."

Ellie: "Yes!"

I didn't have the luxury to think about the future.

We were already on the frontlines, and Miwen needed my help.

Our experience together made for an incredible combo. I knew he would never let anyone past him, so I was free to shoot without worry.

Not only that, Miwen knows me incredibly well.

He is fast, and moves a lot, but he is aware of me and always leaves an opening for the angles I prefer.

Even when an opponent raises their weapon right in front of him, instead of acting rashly, he confidently focuses on the next, knowing I have him covered and that their weapon will not reach him before my arrows do them.

During our first days, while he wasn't a bad fighter, he relied a lot on calm analysis and punishing his enemies' mistakes.

However, now, he's become a good enough swordsman to win while relying only on his swordsmanship skills.

He's not on Claire's or Licia's level yet, and he lacks Mia's instincts and Anna's strength and endurance, but... He's become formidable.

One after the other, every enemy he faces is outplayed. A combination of his status and skills prevents any regular soldier from even touching him.

But it would be unfair not to praise Cassandra too.

She corrects small details that might look too important, but they are enough to make him transcend the ranks and become like a veteran.

With her in his hands, his skills go from those of a good swordfighter to a master.

She also enables him to do a few tricks.

Miwen has always been skilled with different weapons, so Cassandra often changes her form to catch enemies off guard and counter their weapons in unpredictable ways.

If an enemy is experienced and keeps up proper distance from them to abuse her dagger form's shorter reach, she might make a very small, noticeable adjustment to catch them off-guard.

If she needs to, she might turn into an axe, longsword, or a scythe to allow Miwen to clear an entire area or trap an opposing swing before turning back into something else to allow him an easy kill.

They abuse this plenty to keep up momentum and perform otherwise impossible moves... It's almost mesmerizing to see, but also a little terrifying. It's like there's nothing they can't deal with, no matter how they are approached.

The black blade, drawing blood as they don't stop moving from one target to the other, makes them seem like... Like a walking catastrophe.

But that's not even all of it. Cassandra also helps him with magic, providing support similar to Bea's.

The fact that she does all this so seamlessly is impressive, but it's even more astonishing when I remember how she usually acts...

Still... We quickly started facing some problems.

It wasn't just because of their coordination that Hamperlon's army was contending with us.

Their general's Gift also had a strong impact on the field.

Miwen could deal with the increased status of the soldiers thanks to his own being boosted by Anna's and Cassandra's, but for the rest of us, it was like we were facing monsters.

And the general in question was even more problematic.

From a distance, we could see that Anna had gained his attention after defeating a bunch of soldiers, and their battle was pushing even their allies back.

Every attack caused a small shockwave, making standing next to them incredibly hard and dangerous.

It also made supporting them incredibly hard.

You don't normally see a 1-on-1 like this in a war, but surprisingly, Anna always seems to attract them.

Anna: "Ah... Shit."

Miwen: "Not so fast..."

Anna: "Thanks!"

Unfortunately, Anna's sword couldn't keep up with her strength, and it shattered into pieces when she had finally gained the upper hand.

Luckily, Miwen and I were fighting our way through while trying to approach her, and before her attack could be countered, Miwen got in the way.

Cassandra quickly gave Anna a new weapon, but Miwen signaled for her to focus on pushing back the other soldiers instead of helping him.

Surprisingly, I felt like he wanted to experience a battle against a general for himself.

Truth be told, Miwen is not really the proud type when it comes to battles. He doesn't rush ahead when he sees a strong opponent, nor does he try to do better or stand out on the battlefield.

But well... I believe he wanted to prove himself against Hamperlon's forces for quite a while.

Even though the enemy general, Marcoler, was a few levels above Miwen, thanks to the high level of our skills, Miwen should be able to make up for it.

But effectively, Miwen was still not yet skilled enough to face him.

Anna relied on her immeasurable strength and defense to push him back while not suffering much damage, but Miwen couldn't afford that, and instead, relied on his speed.

They exchanged a lot of blows, but Miwen was definitely on the receiving end of the majority.

But then, Miwen finally escalated.

All this time, Cassandra was handling the magic.

However, as good a swordsman Miwen might now be, he's as good a mage.

The ability to combine magic and swordsmanship is not rare. But to do so effectively... I think I've only met a handful of people capable of doing it on the same level.

His ability to factor in multiple scenarios is outstanding, and he's good enough not to lose concentration even for a minute.

His spells are not only meant to reinforce his power, but they also contribute to his attacks by providing follow-ups, defense, and traps.

He hides his intentions, his patterns become unpredictable, and due to his ability to use multiple elements at once, he creates combinations that are hard to counter.

Even though his opponent could also use magic, the moment he showed his card, it became obvious he only relied on a few countermeasures prepared for certain situations.

For Miwen, who often trains with Licia, this was not enough.

Before long, his opponent was overwhelmed, and Miwen didn't have to rely on me or Cassandra.

Unfortunately... They also had a trick up their sleeves.

As a last resort, a few mages focused on buffing him. All their spells were...

All their spells were stronger... Because of his Gift...

Ellie: "Could it be..."

The few mages buffing him worked as an entire battalion, but thankfully, I was able to inflict several status effects on him to level the playing field, and with Cassandra helping Miwen and the arrival of Angelica, the battle came to a standstill again until the general gave the order to retreat.

In terms of casualties... They caused more than a hundred on our side in this surprise attack.

However, in terms of strategy...

I think they might have slipped up.