Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1463 Is it both before and after?

Alice sat by the window, idly fiddling with the teacup in her hand.

The cup was made of porcelain, pure white and delicate, with a smooth feel when rubbed in the palm of the hand, as if it might slip through one's fingers at any moment. It was decorated with a seven-colored primrose pattern, brought to life by the fairy magic of its maker. Perhaps it was its design reminiscent of Windy City, or perhaps the primrose pattern easily reminded the girl of her cherished little hometown, which she loved dearly. After each use, she would carefully put it away, keeping it in her most important drawer to prevent any rummaging or tampering of other people's belongings from taking it for a moment—that's Alice in the story.

Of course, Alice wasn't being mischievous and had to dig out someone's hidden things. She just saw this thing on the table when she came in, so she picked it up to admire it. Along with the teacup, there was also a small tea bag on the table, emitting a faint jasmine fragrance. It seemed the host was about to leisurely enjoy afternoon tea, but something came up, and they rushed off without even having time to put the tea set away.

During this period, everyone has indeed been quite busy dealing with the threats from the Imperial Army and the Axis powers. Sister Medien and Sister Livia stayed up all night organizing medicines and medical supplies, Rorona spent almost the entire day in the alchemy workshop without leaving, and even Alice became an instructor for the newly formed mech unit. As the owner of the Cloud Whale Sky Island and the only important combat force that our side can rely on besides Hino, Ietta's responsibilities are no less than those of others.

Just like the surprise attack on the Black Blade Legion at dawn, if she hadn't single-handedly held back the enemy's Breaker formation, buying enough time for the main battlefield, this war would never have been won so easily. Just when everyone thought they could finally breathe a sigh of relief after the war, Ovira proposed such a daring plan...

While it is indeed a one-time solution, I wish it were as simple as she described.

"Ugh."

Alice couldn't help but sigh wistfully.

"Hey, Alice?" A familiar voice came from the doorway. "You can sigh now? Who upset you?"

The genius player instinctively turned her head and saw Ieta walking towards her carrying a scroll of parchment. She placed the scroll on the table with some difficulty, then turned around and snatched her favorite white porcelain teacup back from the clumsy woman's hands, complaining, "And how could you take my things like that? What if you broke them?"

"No way," Alice pouted. "I'll be very careful."

You can't tell at all.

Ieta was no longer the naive and simple country girl she once was, and she was almost immune to Alice's endless nonsense. However, she wouldn't say it to Alice's face and embarrass her. At most, she would mutter a few complaints in her mind, then take a new teacup from the drawer and hand it to Alice. She would also put the packet of jasmine tea into the teapot to brew, and soon, a light and warm fragrance filled the room.

Alice marveled at her methodical actions. The angel who used to need care and comfort, who always looked melancholy and would burst into tears after saying just a few words, had indeed grown up.

"Don't talk to me like that, Alice, with that condescending tone. Besides, you're the last person who has the right to say that, okay?" Ietta, carrying the teapot, finally couldn't help but roll her eyes. If anyone else said she'd grown up, like Ling, Ovira, or the landlady, Ietta would be happy. But not Alice. Even though the genius player had grown quite a bit recently, becoming less impulsive and reckless, how could someone who needed to grow herself have the nerve to be proud of others?
"Hehe, this is just something I felt compelled to say."

Alice maintained her shameless persona, brushing the topic aside without any embarrassment. Then, her gaze fell on the scroll brought by Ietta. While asking what it was, she opened it herself without waiting for the angel to explain.

Yes, it's a map.

The military map is extremely detailed, with all kinds of terrain and geographical features. It also marks important areas such as the Feather Mine, Black Iron Town, Rocky Mountain, and the Sea of ​​the Sea. The Black Iron Town area is marked with an X, and two arrows extend northeast and southeast of Black Iron Town, ending at two military strongholds: Yeshan Fortress and Red Sand Town.

“It’s a map sent by Mr. Kylo,” Ieta explained as she poured tea for Alice. “Didn’t Ovira say that the Dragon Fang Legion is currently stationed at Yeshan Fortress, while the Lionheart Legion is about to arrive at Redshade Town? Neither of these legions currently has a demigod in command. If that’s true, then it’s the best opportunity for us. So Mr. Kyloa decided to split up. He will lead the main force on a rapid march to seize Redshade Town before the Lionheart Legion, catching them off guard. I will control the Cloud Whale Sky Island and lead another force to attack Yeshan Fortress, harassing and containing the Dragon Fang Legion. As long as the tactics are planned properly, we should be able to annihilate, or at least repel, both imperial legions, just as Ovira said?”

"I see. So, the new mech unit I'm leading will be operating alongside you, right?" Alice nodded thoughtfully. She was no longer the clueless outsider she once was about military affairs, and she could roughly understand Commander Kairo's intentions in this deployment. After all, Yeshan Fortress was a fortress built on treacherous terrain. An attack from the land would inevitably result in heavy losses. However, both the Cloud Whale Sky Island and the new mechs possessed air strike capabilities. The former could easily destroy the enemy's defensive equipment. As long as they had a high vantage point, bullying a legion without demigods or holy relics was more than enough. As for Red Veil Town, the situation was similar to that of Black Iron Town. Entrusting it to the Holy War Army, which was more adapted to the local environment, was indeed a suitable choice.

“Yes, the new mech unit has already landed on Cloud Whale Sky Island. I just went to find a suitable place for them to stay. Fortunately, the sky island is large enough, with plenty of spacious flat land. The landlady also agreed that the hotel will provide them with food and water, so there shouldn't be any problems in the short term.” Ieta paused here, then added, “By the way, they also asked me if they had seen you, Alice. Speaking of which, aren't you the commander of this unit? Why are you hiding here alone?”

"Am I really the commander?" Alice felt that this question was debatable: "I don't understand these things, and I've never commanded them. Well, if they think that 'fighting this' and 'fighting that' count as commanding, then I have nothing to say."

Earlier, a genius player might have thought of this as a strategy game, but now she no longer thinks that way.

“Don’t be so modest. Didn’t Mr. Kylo praise you? He said you have a lot of talent in this area,” Ietta said seriously.

Alice looked at her in surprise: "You actually told me not to be modest? You didn't treat me like this before. If it were Lin Ge, he would definitely tell me not to be too proud or arrogant."

"That was before. Now, Lin Ge would definitely praise you too."

"It would be nice if that were the case."

Alice was speaking when, as if remembering something, she couldn't help but sigh again. Although she didn't say anything, Ietta miraculously understood the meaning of the sigh and fell silent as well. After a while, she whispered, "Don't worry, Ling, Sister Ovira, and Leticia... everyone will be alright."

"I'm not that worried, I just feel... a little strange." Alice's statement was ambiguous.

"What's strange about it?" Ieta asked. "It's this plan that Ovira proposed." Alice fiddled with the map, gesturing on it: "We'll take care of the Dragon Fang Legion and the Lionheart Legion, Hino will take care of the Imperial Demigods and the two Axis legions, and Miss Cheryl will hold off the witch and the construct mechs until the Nibelungen arrive, then we'll use the Fairy Sword and the power of the Nibelungen to repel the witch... This plan sounds wonderful, but don't you think it's too radical?"

Ietta thought for a moment, her eyes showing some hesitation: "It is indeed a bit radical... right? But it's the best solution under the current circumstances, isn't it?"

“I know, I’m not saying radical is bad, but the question is, why did it have to be Ovira who came up with such a radical method? If it were Linger, Miss Neville, or even Leticia, I wouldn’t be so surprised, but it’s Ovira…” Alice suddenly paused, her expression shifting between light and shadow. After a moment, she slowly exhaled, leaned back in her chair, and looked somewhat dejected. “That’s why I think Ovira has been acting a bit strange lately, hasn’t she?”

"Huh? Is...is that so?"

Ieta didn't immediately grasp the situation. These two things seemed completely unrelated; how could a genius player be connected? And regarding strange behavior, Miss Angel thought carefully but couldn't find anything different about Ovira compared to usual. Perhaps after Xia left, her attitude towards her companions became more responsible, almost like she had become a different Xia, but that was still within the normal range, right? However, her impression of Ovira only went this far. Later, she went with Ling and the others to the bottom of the abyss to search for Nibelungen. If anything had changed during that time, she certainly wouldn't know, but…

“But there’s still Linger!” Ieta emphasized. “If there’s anything wrong with Sister Ovira, Linger will definitely notice and he’ll definitely be able to fix it!”

"That's right."

With this thought, Alice felt at ease. She knew that Ovira cared about Ling's thoughts more than anyone else, so as long as the young man was still by her side, she didn't have to worry about anything unexpected happening.

"Alright!" Alice suddenly perked up, slapping her cheeks hard with a crisp slapping sound. "In that case, we have to do our best! We must carry out Ovira's plan smoothly and not let her and everyone down!"

"Yes, that's true."

Although she knew Alice well enough, Ietta was still not used to this over-the-top style, and an awkward smile appeared on her face: "It's good that you're motivated, but..."

"But what?"

"Let's finish this jasmine tea first, it's getting cold."

"Oh."

……

Unlike Alice, Cheryl, far away in Blackfire Fortress, couldn't possess that kind of confidence. Perhaps it was a deep-seated inferiority complex at play, or perhaps the weight of her responsibilities made her hesitant to have high expectations. Always being prepared for the worst—this was the most valuable lesson the second leader of the Holy War Army had learned over the past decades.

Miss Ovira's words still echoed in my ears.

"The witch is heading towards the Feather Mine."

"At this speed, we expect to arrive around dusk."

“Miss Cheryl, I need you to hold her off for a while, at least one night.”

"Only in this way can we usher in a turning point."

She had planned everything perfectly, but could she really do it? To stop the legendary witch and the construct that supposedly conquered the Mikkelsen Corridor all by herself... Cheryl couldn't help but feel a little suffocated at the thought of the enemy's strength. In her life with the fairy sword, she had encountered many powerful enemies, but only the witch was so powerful that she felt she could not defeat her.

The witches who secretly ruled the extraordinary order of the Western Continent, who successively established and overthrew the magic and sorcery system, who terrified outsiders and believers, and who even forced the great magician Solomon to leave his homeland, their authority far surpassed that of powerful beings such as the God of Calamity or the Infinite Dragon God, who had long since disappeared from the world.

And will I have to fight against it?
Her slender hands trembled slightly. The Serphis beast, perched on the railing of the corridor, glanced at the girl, then leaned closer and gently rubbed its head against the back of her hand. A warm sensation spread through the area where they touched, which eased Cheryl's somewhat tense mood a little.

"Thank you, Serphis." She gently stroked the guardian beast's fur, touched by its concern, yet also feeling a pang of guilt for her own hesitation before the battle even began. "If it were my brother, he certainly wouldn't have done this, would he?"

After all, he is the true heir to the Fairy Sword.

Cheryl stood in the corridor, gazing at the land at the far end. Low-hanging clouds foreshadowed the approaching storm, blurring the line between day and night. This parched, barren land truly needed a rain to send away the departed souls and nurture new life. But what nourished it would never be ordinary raindrops, but the blood of warriors, believers, and idealists.

This was true in the past, and it will be true in the future.

Give me some cats