This story is part of the Wanderer series.
“Princess.”
Walking up the steps of the ruined castle’s shattered watchtower was Miyako, in vibrant light armor, shoulders swinging forward and back as she confidently strode towards the three saluting lieutenant colonels. Her eyes were slowly dimming, indicating the use of her power to arrive here.
“Welcome to the frontier,” Katsuo finished as she came to a stop in front of them.
Looking up at him, she curtly nodded. The other two lieutenants straightened, blinking uneasily.
“I fear our slow results have brought your unexpected visit?” he ventured.
“No,” she said, glancing beyond him at the muted landscape. “There were other matters I had to attend to here. Now that they are done, I reasoned I should pay you a visit.”
Katsuo tilted his head, raising his eyebrows, but just as quickly dropped them with a smile. “Very well. Does the colonel know you are here?”
“General Asahi and his lieutenants will return to the front as expected in a few day’s time. I am not taking their place. They should be a little slower getting here, being in a horse carriage.”
“Of course.”
Keeping her eyes on the distance, Miyako took a few steps towards the tower’s ledge. The three men stepped to the sides, releasing their clasped hands.
“It appears the Adders were pushed into the inner walls of their city since I last visited.”
“Yes.” Katsuo crossed his arms. “They are completely surrounded and besieged. The colonel is intermittently bombarding them throughout the day to remind them we are here…”
Pausing briefly, he squared his shoulders and shone a smug grin.
“… If in any case they do forget.”
Miyako narrowed her eyes, making out blackened brick shards sticking out of the earth in the distance, the remnants of the city’s outer walls. The collapsed barrier exposed heaps of rubble behind it, stretching from corner to corner like a mountain range.
“The colonel is hoping to submit them without too much destruction, but their resolve is proving to be much more stubborn than he thought.”
“How long has it been, at this point? Three moon’s time?”
“Seven, if you consider the moons we’ve been knocking at their gates.”
Miyako exerted a breath of annoyance. “Do they still not yield? We have destroyed them beyond recognition!”
He shrugged, his metal armor clinking as he did. “They cling to false beliefs they can yet turn the tide of the war.”
Straightening back a little, Miyako brought up her hands to grip her forearms in the manner she typically would when dressed in robes. Her eyes began to glow again as she reached out with her energy to observe the shattered city.
Sensing the release of her aura, Katsuo swiped a brief glance towards the princess without moving his head. Then, he stared off into the distance with her.
“The outer perimeter of the city is gone, but the heart is relatively intact. The colonel is gradually destroying a few sectors a moon to hopefully get them to come around.”
The princess furrowed her brows in disapproval. “We cannot waste summer’s time held back here. Our army must carve a land route towards Callistus to support Admiral Yanagi’s campaign.”
Katsuo suddenly gripped a fist in front of him. “I agree! I’ve been trying to convince the colonel to let me rain fire upon their city, but he believes it would be better to break their will through starvation rather than sharp defeat.”
The princess did not respond, continuing to survey the city. All of a sudden, Katsuo’s furrowed face lit up with a realization, pointing down towards the princess with a wide grin. “Since you’re here… want to destroy them with me?”
Miyako turned her head, looking up at him with expressionless, glowing eyes, discerning his burning desire for a fight. After a brief while, she returned her gaze to the horizon.
“I will speak with the colonel first, and gather a sense of what he is planning. If I deem it insufficient, then we can start with localized destruction, to let the Adders know the royal mages are here.”
He chuckled as he crossed his arms again, satisfied with the answer. “Whatever it is your call.”