“In war, commoners become soldiers. Nobles grow rich selling to them.

  Those at the top sit comfortably while sending thousands to die.

  After the war, commoners search the fields for their dead.

  The nobles grow richer. The men at the top smile, because it is over.”

  By Reis, former soldier and later turned to bandit.

  I was still in shock as I rode my Saky toward the bandit encampment, leading 300 troops, a hundred of them equipped with the new Mana-Powered Armor Type 64.

  I mean, how could I not be? A person I had spent years with had just disappeared, branded a criminal. I was struggling to accept the situation.

  Instructor Demo was someone I had wanted to kill. After all, he had nearly killed me multiple times, after all, but also someone I respected. Someone I had grown fond of, truth be told since he was the reason I was able to make it this far.

  But I had no time to dwell on it. We will be approaching the bandit hideout soon. I sighed, pushing thoughts of Demo aside. I could deal with those feelings later. Right now, I had a mission: exterminate the bandits.

  With roughly 500 members, the bandits would need a base nearby to store supplies and feed their people. They didn't have the luxury of advanced logistics or transportation like the military, so they couldn't operate from too far away. They had to have established something close to the Citadel.

  Of course, there was always a chance their hideout was further out, deeper in the mountains or hidden in one of the surrounding forests, but that seemed unlikely. Especially since Brigadier General Ovras had mentioned they didn't use Sakys during their attacks.

  I ordered scouts to fan out, searching for any signs of movement: smoke from campfires, trails through the woods, anything that might lead us to their location.

  "Yes, ma'am!" they shouted, spreading out and keeping sharp eyes on the terrain.

  Bandits might lack formal training, but when cornered, they could be unpredictable. Ambushes, traps, hidden paths. They would use whatever they had to survive.

  But we had elite soldiers, especially with the MPA units. I had no intention of letting this drag on longer than necessary. Find them, eliminate them, and get back to my original mission: aiding the 4th Corps.

  "Ma'am, we found no signs of them," a scout reported, returning as we slowly advanced. "We think they must have traveled deeper into the wilderness."

  "Then we keep moving," I said, turning back to address the troops. "Stay alert! Be ready for anything!"

  Hours passed. The sun sank low on the horizon, casting long shadows over the forested hills. The air grew thick with tension as we rode in near silence, every soldier watchful.

  Then, one of the scouts who had ventured further ahead returned at a gallop. "Ma'am, we've found something! There's a trail just north of here, faint, but it looks recently used. And there's smoke rising in the distance."

  I let out a tired sigh of relief. Finally, a lead. "Show us the way."

  The scout nodded, and I signaled the rest of my unit to follow. We moved swiftly but cautiously, staying as concealed as possible. It was difficult to remain hidden while riding Sakys, but we managed.

  As we neared the location, I caught the faint scent of smoke drifting through the trees. Soon, the source became clear: a cluster of tents hidden in a small valley, shielded from view by surrounding hills.

  The bandit camp.

  I motioned for the soldiers to halt. Dismounting quickly, I crouched behind a line of bushes to assess the situation.

  The camp was larger than I had expected. Beyond the tents were wooden barricades and several hastily constructed watchtowers made from logs. From the looks of it, they had been here for a while. This was no temporary camp.

  I scanned the camp for weak points. Their defenses were sloppy, but with numbers like theirs, a frontal assault could turn bloody fast. We needed to be strategic.

  "We'll hit them from both sides," I whispered to my officers. "50 MPA cavalry, including me, will attack from the front. The rest strike from the rear."

  "Yes, ma'am," the officers responded quietly as we prepared for the attack.

  I would lead the 50 mounted troops, all cavalry equipped with MPA armor and lances, the ideal weapon for mounted combat. My armor was lighter than the standard issue, which helped my Saky carry the extra weight without strain.

  The remaining 250 soldiers, including the other MPA units, fell under the command of First Lieutenant Henry, the same officer who had been leading the supply convoy when I had first left the secret laboratory and traveled to Fort Kespare. Apparently, he had stayed behind at the fort and hadn't been promoted since.

  Still, his cavalry force should have no trouble handling bandits.

  After watching Henry's group disappear into position, I waited ten minutes, then signaled my units to advance. Moving as quietly as possible on Saky-back, we closed the distance, then broke into a charge.

  "Hmmm? What's that noise?"

  "Nothing. Probably just Toin farting again."

  "Hey!"

  It took a moment for the bandits to realize they were under attack. By then, it was too late.

  With my newly acquired enchanted sword Windwhisper in one hand and a lance in the other, I drove straight toward the two guards at the entrance. The lance punched through the first guard's chest while Windwhisper cleaved through the second. Blood sprayed as the light vanished from their eyes instantly.

  Windwhisper was supposed to have various magical abilities, but they all required mana, something I didn't possess. For me, it was just an exceptionally sturdy light sword. Sadly.

  The wooden gate stood before me, but I didn't slow down. Using my momentum, I slammed into it with a lance while slashing with Windwhisper simultaneously.

  Normally, a Saky would have stopped. But with my strikes weakening the gate's structure, it groaned and collapsed inward, allowing us to pour through.

  "What the hell?!"

  "We're under attack!"

  "Someone get the boss!"

  The bandits scrambled to mount a defense, but we were faster. Sakys trampled through their disorganized ranks while riders drove lances through bodies with brutal efficiency.

  Archers in the watchtowers were nearly useless. We moved too fast, and we were already among the bandits, meaning they couldn't shoot without hitting their own men.

  "Run!" one bandit screamed.

  "You idiot! If we run, we're dead anyway!" another barked back.

  "That traitor! He didn't warn us this was coming!"

  The word traitor caught my attention. I quickly scanned the battle and spotted a man towering above the others—tall, heavily muscled, with a massive axe strapped to his back. Clearly the boss.

  "Surround that one, but don't kill him!" I ordered, dismounting from my Saky and cutting down any bandits in my path. "Leave him alive. Everyone else dies or captures."

  "Yes, ma'am!"

  The bandits blocking my way didn't stand a chance. Even without my Saky, I had Windwhisper and the MPA-64, weapons that felt almost like cheating with the power they provided. And of course, I had plenty of mana crystals at my disposal to keep the armor running.

  "There's a girl!"

  "She's from the military! Kill her!"

  At first, the bandits thought I was an easy target. They quickly realized their grave mistake. I cut down anyone who came close. Compared to Imperial soldiers, these bandits were pathetic.

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  When they tried to switch their focus to easier prey, they were met with charging Sakys bearing down on them. A terrifying sight that shattered whatever morale they had left.

  My force of 300 soldiers was composed of veterans. Though we had a few new recruits, the majority had fought in battles far bloodier than this. The Forest of Jade, the Plain of Imoras. Comparing these bandits to the Imperials we had faced was laughable. They were nothing but trash.

  I pushed forward, quickly reaching the bandit boss. He was locked in combat with three of my cavalrymen, who were struggling to hold their ground. The moment he raised his axe to cut one of them down, I intercepted.

  Our weapons clashed, the impact ringing out above the battle. His eyes widened in surprise at the sight of me: a girl in armor, effortlessly matching his strength.

  His shock quickly turned to fury. With a grunt, he swung his axe again, faster and harder. I sidestepped the blow, feeling the rush of air as the blade barely missed. Without hesitation, I countered, driving my sword toward his midsection.

  But the boss was quick. He twisted away, then launched a powerful overhead strike.

  I raised Windwhisper to block. The impact reverberated through my arms, his raw strength was impressive. But brute force alone wasn't enough. He grinned, bearing down on me, his axe grinding against my blade.

  "Not bad... for a little girl," he taunted, pushing harder.

  I met his grin with a smirk. "You haven't seen anything yet."

  Using the pressure he was applying, I twisted sharply, breaking his hold and forcing him to stumble back. Taking advantage of his loss of balance, I released Windwhisper and hurled it at him.

  He raised his axe to deflect it, but I was already airborne. I drove my boot into his face with a devastating kick, sending him sprawling backward. He hadn't expected me to abandon my weapon.

  Before he could recover, I seized his throat and squeezed. With my enhanced strength and the MPA-64, it took almost no effort.

  “F-fuc…”

  The boss's eyes rolled back as he collapsed unconscious. He wasn't dead, but he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

  When the remaining bandits saw their leader fall, terrified murmurs spread through their ranks. Their morale shattered completely. Now their focus shifted from fighting to fleeing.

  “Don’t let them flee!” Henry shouted from overhead, a new wave of soldiers on Saky appearing. “Don’t let a single one escape.”

  But Henry's force of 250 had already moved to block their retreat, charging in from the rear and cutting down anyone who tried to escape.

  Trapped between two forces, the bandits fought like the desperation of cornered animals. It didn't last long. With the cavalry completely surrounding the camp, their will to fight crumbled. Many began throwing down their weapons.

  We couldn't leave the surrendered bandits conscious, not while the battle still raged around us. My soldiers knocked them out. After watching their numbers dwindle, the rest surrendered in a mass.

  "That was easier than I thought it would be," I sighed, reflecting on all the effort we had put into preparation. Though it was worth it when I heard that only nine soldiers had been lightly injured.

  "Tie up the prisoners, disarm them completely, and send a Wind Bird to the Citadel requesting transport carriages," I ordered. Messengers shouted in acknowledgements as Wind Birds took flight toward Staedergh Citadel.

  The bandits had accumulated significant supplies in their camp, most of it stolen. What I didn't understand was the contents: the majority of their stockpile consisted of seeds.

  Seeds? Not food, weapons, artifacts, or medical supplies, but seeds? I couldn't make sense of it. Were they planning to plant crops? Start a farm?

  Though that wasn't my immediate concern. I just needed to get to Fort Cainhorn. Still, if Ovras had sent us out here for seeds, I would have words with him.

  "Ma'am! Lady Aria!"

  First Lieutenant Henry rushed toward me, his expression urgent. "We found a slave in one of the tents."

  "So?" I raised an eyebrow.

  It was common practice that if slaves were found in enemy territory, the commanding officer could choose to free them or claim ownership. I saw no reason for Henry to report this with such alarm.

  "Ma'am, it would be better if you saw this yourself."

  His tone carried genuine urgency. Despite his somewhat disrespectful approach, I followed him toward the tent, curious about what had caused such commotion.

  When he opened the flap, I stepped inside. A single metal cage sat in the center, already surrounded by several officers whose expressions mirrored shock and disbelief. I approached and peered inside.

  My breath caught.

  Sitting cross-legged in the cage was an extraordinarily beautiful woman with striking, otherworldly features. Her skin was pale as fresh snow, her hair dark as midnight. Crimson eyes watched us warily. Around her slender neck was a thin metal collar, the unmistakable mark of slavery, though it seemed inadequate to contain the presence she radiated.

  What caught my attention most were her ears: long, delicate, and unmistakably pointed.

  "An elf..." I whispered in disbelief.

  The elven race had supposedly left this land generations ago. Yet here one sat before me, caged like an animal, her very existence a mystery.

  [(0)]

  It turned out the traitor feeding information to the bandits was a low-ranking officer and mage named Reis. He'd been a farmer before the war started.

  Apparently, he came from the same village as many of the bandits. When he heard they were starving, he couldn't help but assist them in raiding supply convoys. As it turned out, the final straw was when his friends had starved to death.

  But things spiraled out of control soon after that. The bandits grew greedy, demanding more and more. When Reis tried to refuse, they took his family hostage. From that point on, he had no choice but to feed them information, whether he wanted to or not.

  A trial would be held later, but from what I could see, Brigadier General Ovras didn't seem inclined to punish Reis too harshly, especially after witnessing the heartbreaking scene of his family reunion.

  "Reis!"

  "Mom! Dad! I'm so sorry!"

  Reis's parents had both been enslaved by the bandits. After being transferred to the Citadel, they would be placed under our protection. Though that wouldn't spare them from punishment for their own involvement with the bandits before their enslavement.

  All of this information came from the bandit boss himself. Under pressure, he had spilled everything. I had ordered twenty of my soldiers to drag him behind their Sakys at full gallop during our return journey.

  They had done their best to keep him alive, but it was essentially torture. By the time we arrived at Staedergh Citadel, the bandit boss had confessed to everything.

  "However, the real problem remains," Ovras said, studying the rough reports and sketches of the elf on his desk. "I don't know what we should do with her."

  As for the elf, apparently even the boss didn't know much about her. One night, some of his men had found her unconscious in the woods and brought her back. Seeing an opportunity for profit, he'd collared her and made her a slave.

  "Can't we just send her back to her homeland?" I asked, taking a sip of the tea that had been brought out.

  Ovras and I sat in his office while the elf remained in the adjacent room under the watchful guard of female soldiers. We were trying to determine her fate.

  "We can't," Ovras replied. "We'd need to cross the ocean to reach her homeland, likely somewhere in the southern land. That would require at least a destroyer to make the journey safely. Sea monsters make regular ships far too dangerous, and we're hardly in a position to spare a warship just to transport one individual."

  "I didn't even know we had a navy," I said, my eyes widening.

  Now that I thought about it, it was odd I'd never considered it before. But the mention of a destroyer in what I'd assumed was a medieval fantasy world caught me completely off guard. I'd expected something more like frigates or ships of the line.

  "Oh, certainly. We have a navy, though it's small, just a single Corps," Ovras said. "The 10th Corps, also known as the Sea Dragons. Ten destroyers, three light cruisers, two heavy cruisers, and one battleship."

  "That's... surprisingly large," I said, even more taken aback than before.

  I was already shocked by the mention of a navy, but the scale of it, along with those strangely familiar military terms, left me even more curious. I couldn't help but wonder what these ships actually looked like in this world.

  "Anyway, that's not important right now," Ovras said, waving it off. "The point is, we're not likely to be able to transport her home."

  "Then shouldn't we contact her homeland?" I suggested, thinking it through.

  The elf most likely came from the southern continent. There was no other explanation for how she had ended up here. I had a hard time imagining she had drifted all the way across the ocean, especially since trade routes had been shut down.

  The Emavia Empire wasn't a possibility either. They had banned demihumans like elves, dwarves, and beastkin entirely, treating them as little better than objects. While some refugees fled Imperial territory, no one would be crazy enough to run toward a nation we were at war with.

  As for the northern lands, they were far too cold and barren for elves, who thrived in natural environments.

  Ovras then sighed as some kind of mysterious aura drifted from him. "I doubt they'd make the effort to retrieve a single elf. On top of that, sea monsters still infest the trade routes. It's not worth the risk for them."

  "So, in the end, it's up to us to decide," I sighed.

  It wasn't an easy situation, especially given that she was an elf. If we freed her outright, there was a real risk she would be recaptured by slave traders operating in the dark.

  Then there were the cultural differences. She wasn't just from another nation, she was from an entirely different part of the continent. Adapting to life here would be incredibly difficult.

  I also couldn't ignore the possibility that she might be a spy. She could be an infiltrator from another nation, and we needed to remain cautious.

  But keeping her in the military wasn't much better. It would cost resources, and justifying that expense for one person was difficult.

  "Actually, it's up to you to decide," Ovras said suddenly, his expression shifting into an unsettling smile. "Even if she's an elf, you technically hold ownership over her as spoils of war."

  I wanted to shout at him for shirking responsibility, but I couldn't entirely blame him. The situation was unprecedented, and there were no regulations or laws in place for handling it. If I were in his position, I would probably want to shift the burden onto someone else too.

  I thought hard about what to do with the elf. My options were limited. I needed her nearby, under supervision, which meant keeping her within the military. But how? Nobody would trust a foreigner, an elf, no less, without good reason.

  Then, an idea struck me.

  "I'll make her my aide!"

  "I'm sorry?" Ovras said, genuinely looking surprised as his face shifted.

  "Under military regulation number nine," I said calmly, recalling what I had been forced to memorize when Brigadier General Devon had caught me 'bored' and made me study the entire manual, "any officer is permitted to conscript non-combatant personnel into the army during dire circumstances. We're currently in a war for survival. I'd say that qualifies."

  Ovras stared at me for a long moment, clearly thinking it through. Finally, he sighed.

  "You do realize that rule only applies to citizens of the Shiena Kingdom, not foreigners, right?"

  "Yes, but she's a slave with no legal citizenship anywhere," I countered. "Her homeland has refused to send aid to her, and as a slave, she has no rights under any nation's law. That means she exists between a foreign citizen, but also not protected by any foreign power. As spoils of war under my command, I have the authority to integrate her into my unit as non-combatant staff."

  Ovras studied me for another long moment, then a slow grin spread across his face. The shadows in the room seemed to deepen, and his violet eyes gleamed with something between amusement and approval.

  "Then I'm all in," he said.

  Seriously, this guy was terrifying.