Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1451 Will she be here?

At dawn, Black Iron Town was as bright as day, as the flames of war ignited the sky.

The Black Blade Legion stationed here had probably never imagined that the enemy would dare to launch a preemptive strike, so their defenses were very lax. They were unaware that the vanguard of the Holy War Army had gotten close enough to them. It wasn't until the explosions roused them from the darkness that the entire camp erupted into chaos, like boiling water. Then came the clamor, the curses, and the cries of agony. Many Black Blade Legion soldiers didn't even know what had happened before losing their lives in their sleep.

The team responsible for carrying out the demolition mission possessed a keen battlefield instinct. The demolition sites they chose almost completely destroyed the enemy's outer defenses, a result perhaps stemming from years of honed experience. For this team, which evolved from miners, gunpowder and smoke had become instinctive. The techniques used for blasting rocks and mining, if applied to killing and warfare, would be even more efficient than weapons.

Having gained the upper hand, the Holy War army launched a relentless offensive against the enemy. They were well aware of their disadvantages, such as insufficient manpower, outdated weapons, and limited time. Their only advantage was their high morale, so they gave the enemy no chance to breathe. Their fearless fighting style even instilled fear in the Imperial soldiers, who felt as if they had returned to the pioneering war a century ago. In that well-known battle, the Imperials thought they could easily conquer this primitive and wild land, but they were dragged down by the barbarians of Atoliga for nearly half a century, and the price they paid was far more painful than they had imagined.

This is the fundamental reason why the Empire has always disliked the province of Atorica. In their minds, every Atorica has restless blood flowing in their veins; they are the greatest destabilizing factor in this land. Before these dangerous elements are completely eliminated, the province of Atorica cannot be fully considered Empire territory. The Assyrian holy war two hundred years ago and the surprise attack tonight are merely further confirmations of this view.

The enemy commander had reacted and was attempting to reorganize his formation. From the flank and rear of the camp, enormous winged snakes rose like a flock of crows, their storm temporarily extinguishing the fires caused by the explosion. These were the Winged Serpent units belonging to the Black Blade Legion's Spellbreaker phalanx, renowned for their swift, efficient, and ruthless fighting style. They often coordinated with other mobile units within the Spellbreaker phalanx, such as the Scale Shadow, Dark Night, or Shadow Veil units, to carry out special operations such as infiltration, flanking maneuvers, and even airdrops. They cut off and annihilated the enemy's vulnerable rear forces, like a dagger hidden in the shadows, ready to appear from any direction at any moment.

Within the Blackblade Legion, plagued by lax discipline and low morale, only the Spellbreakers, Formation Breakers, and City Breakers—the three phalanx units—could be considered elite. The Winged Serpents, being the only air force among these three phalanx units, were precisely why Commander Kylo chose them as the primary target for the raid. This highest-ranking officer of Blackfire Fortress not only personally participated in the operation but also devoted himself to its planning, devising a comprehensive and well-developed battle plan before the operation even began.

Because he knew that he only had one chance.

Seeing that the enemy had deployed its most important Winged Serpent force, Commander Kailo, who was overlooking the entire situation from a high vantage point, remained expressionless. He simply said to the person beside him, "It's your turn to step in, Miss Alice. Please lead your troops to intercept the enemy's aerial units. If the battle goes smoothly, it may soon come to an end."

"give it to me!"

Alice was brimming with confidence. In fact, she had already begun to feel excited after hearing Commander Kylo's words, "Your troops." This was a strange experience for a genius player; she felt like she was playing a real-time strategy game, with the tutorial guiding her through the action. However, she quickly shook her head, trying to dispel this feeling and repeatedly reminding herself that she could no longer treat this world as a game. The people before her were not virtual data, but living, breathing human beings, whether allies or... enemies.

We can't make the same mistake again, Alice!

She silently made up her mind, then turned and left, disappearing from Commander Kylo's sight. Not long after, the latter saw a squadron of new-type mechs take off from their own ranks, like birds spreading their wings, heading towards the enemy's air force. Soon, the two sides were entangled in combat. The contrast between the agile and nimble Winged Serpent Knights and the tightly packed formation of the new-type mechs was particularly striking, even their combat styles were vastly different: the former were accustomed to long-range mobile warfare, while the latter excelled in close combat.

Overall, however, the latter still holds the advantage, not only because of the tactical and psychological benefits of the surprise attack, but also because the mech unit has a particularly outstanding leader. She leads from the front, fighting with a ferocity even more resolute than the soldiers of the Holy War Army. But she is clearly an outsider; what are her reasons for fighting, and what are her motivations?
Looking upwards, further into the sky, in the dawn light, one can vaguely see an enormous shadow, like a deep-sea monster lurking in the deepest part of the clouds, looking down upon the human battlefield. From time to time, a chilling rain of arrows falls from the cloud whale's back, like sharp blades descending from the sky, cleansing all things.

That was the camp of the Breaker Formation. Considering that this was a force with superior battlefield mobility and rapid response, even if the raid succeeded, it might not yield effective results. For the sake of stability, Commander Kailo specially arranged for the Cloud Whale Sky Island to suppress the enemy's positions from the air, ensuring that the Breaker Formation's range of activity was restricted outside the battlefield area, preventing it from exerting its proud mobility and having any additional impact on the battle. As for the final Citybreaker Formation, having lost the cover of the first two formations and been stripped of its offensive capabilities, it was destined to become a mere spectator, its threat level far less than that of other miscellaneous forces. Therefore, Commander Kailo only arranged for two teams to contain it, ensuring that it could not join the battle before the dust settled on the main battlefield.

Thus, under the meticulous tactical deployment, the Black Blade Legion was like an old and sluggish machine, dismantled into pieces. It could even be argued that the outcome of this premeditated raid had already been decided on the commander's tactical map, and the remaining stage was merely execution and cleanup.

However, for the Holy War Army, the outcome of one battle is far from enough. The Black Blade Legion is merely the weakest of the enemies they will face. The real challenge will come later.

Hopefully, by then, we will be ready.

Commander Kylo slowly withdrew his gaze, staring at the battlefield under the dawn, his heart still heavy.

...At the same moment, in the distant sky, someone was also watching this battle, not at all surprised by its occurrence and outcome.

It seems the Imperials ultimately didn't take their warning to heart, or rather, those who received the warning didn't pass it on in time—or perhaps intentionally. It's long been known that the Imperial army is riddled with factions and complex positions, with conflicts between legions even more severe than mortal enemies. If those who received the warning were deliberately concealing this information with the intention of suppressing the Black Blade Legion, it wouldn't be entirely incomprehensible.

Pereike put down her tactical binoculars and sighed silently, but the sigh was drowned out by the howling wind and quickly disappeared, as if it had never happened.

Beneath her feet lay the mighty armor forged from steel and alloy, the prototype of the God-Titan, a construct that had once shone brightly in the Battle of the Mikkelsen Corridor, striking fear into the enemy and inspiring awe in allies. It hovered steadily amidst the chilling storm at an altitude of 3,800 meters. It raised its left hand, palm slightly open, forming a stable platform that provided its master with the best possible view.

Against the backdrop of clouds and mountains, the slender, humanoid mecha stood proudly, exuding an aura of holiness and grandeur. The star-blue magical energy gushing from its rear reactor was dispersed into a magnificent ocean by the howling wind, further highlighting its colossal, storm-ridden presence. Only the pilot of this mecha knew that it possessed no qualities worthy of mortal worship, but rather was a symbol of destruction and slaughter, ending one war only to inevitably usher in a hundred more. Unless death or defeat, the battle would never cease.

Even the impending war is merely a trivial step before it faces its inevitable demise.

How did things come to this? With the situation now settled, Perec began to ponder this question, focusing on the internal conflicts within the Imperial Army.

Dragonfang and Lionheart are both elite legions directly under the Imperial military, while the Black Blade Legion is backed by several powerful nobles with deep-rooted backgrounds. Dragonfang and Lionheart are stationed in the core provinces of the Empire, protecting the King, while the Black Blade Legion is relegated to the desolate and barren Atorica to guard the mines. The members of Dragonfang and Lionheart are all human, elite forces relied upon by the royal family, while the Black Blade Legion is primarily composed of non-humans, including werewolves, giants, and dust elves—races considered minor even within the Empire—making its fighting strength a ragtag army…

Having listed all these factors, it's not difficult to understand the internal conflicts within the Imperial Army. Whether it's the direct line of the royal family versus the nobles leading the troops, the local forces versus the troops stationed abroad, the elite human troops versus the mixed-race alien forces… the conflicts are essentially political, unrelated to military matters. What's surprising is that they can so readily extend these political conflicts to the military, seemingly without any concern that their internal strife will give the enemy an opportunity to exploit.

Perhaps in the eyes of the arrogant and overconfident Empire, even with the loss of a Blackblade Legion, they still held a significant advantage. Since victory was already assured, wouldn't it be a win-win situation to seize the opportunity to suppress their rivals before welcoming it?
The Holy War Army's intentions are not difficult to guess. Threatened by both the Imperial Army and the Axis powers, and unable to cut off their own forces, their only chance of survival lies in weakening the enemy's fighting strength before the encirclement closes. Therefore, the Black Blade Legion, arriving first and isolated, is destined to be their primary target. Even the Plague Witch Perec, new to the battlefield, could grasp this, let alone experienced soldiers.

Considering that the two sides could be considered allies in this war, Pereike issued warnings to both the Dragon Fang and Lionheart Legions after consulting with the two legion commanders. However, it still happened, right under everyone's noses. This may show that war is not subject to human will; it has its own set of operating mechanisms. Anyone who wants to control the war for their own use must first understand it, and then... integrate into it.

I'm not someone who can understand war, so I probably wouldn't find it easy to immerse myself in it.

The wind at 3,800 meters was biting and piercing, lifting the lonely hem of the girl's dress. Only from this height could one see beyond the towering cliffs of the Atoliga Wilderness, witness the battle taking place 1,500 kilometers away, and see it come to an end. Although it seemed like it would take some time to finish, the outcome was already decided. Even if the Black Blade Legion didn't face annihilation, it would at least be completely withdrawn from the war, becoming an observer, watching its rivals reap the rewards. Perhaps that was the intention of the commanders of the Dragon Fang and Lionheart Legions? Therefore, they couldn't possibly send troops to support them, and they had ample reasons to refuse: too far away, insufficient preparation, fear of enemy ambushes... any reason would do.

Even the slow pace of the two legions' advance could be reasonably explained. Pereike didn't want to assume malicious intent, but reality often is like that. She was now faced with a choice: to consider a bolder strategy. Since the Holy War Army had launched a surprise attack on the Black Blade Legion, it meant that the Feather Mine was currently undefended, or at least not heavily guarded.

So, perhaps there is a possibility that, without waiting for the Empire's two legions to complete the encirclement, the Holy War Army can be driven into a corner, and then the Holy War Army can achieve its own goals...

However, before considering this possibility and putting it into practice, there is a more practical problem to solve; otherwise, everything is just castles in the air, with nowhere to start.

A knight named Shino Chin Gostaff.

A young girl's kingdom in the name of victory.

Where is she right now?
Are they waiting in comfort at the Feather Mine? Did they participate in the raid against the Blackblade Legion? Or... are they waiting right in front of me?
Give me some cats