Strategy game? Then I'll have to control you properly.

"They didn't get very far after all. It would be better to attack now before they get too far."

"The numbers seem about the same, but how many are actually soldiers?"

Unaware that someone was watching their pursuers with worried eyes, slowly chasing after the raiders and prisoners ahead.

After hearing the report from scout Rick, Attila's nerves tightened, instinctively convinced that only the final decision remained.

Why are you still afraid of anything now?

Attila gritted his teeth and stared at the soldiers watching him.

The inexplicable unease that still lingers in my heart is a remnant of the past.

As the tribal leader, Attila knew all too well how terrifying defeat could be, after all, Lillie wasn't the only one who lost her family in the war.

That fear still drags him down. The fierce resistance, the countless iron hooves trampling on that resistance, the clansmen and relatives falling one after another before his eyes.

No, things are different now.

Attila took a deep breath to calm himself, forcefully suppressing the nightmarish memories that would suddenly resurface whenever he thought about them.

The situation was completely different then. Now he has less than half the number of soldiers he used to have, but these soldiers are not those wretched guys who fight with wooden guns.

"I've never worn such fine armor in my entire life..."

These are regular soldiers wearing high-quality iron armor that can even withstand magical attacks and wielding steel weapons.

Such heavily armored cavalry is extremely rare on this grassland; only the kingdoms beyond the high walls could cultivate such soldiers.

The being that bestowed this power upon them has long transcended the realm of humanity. At least, those who have personally witnessed that being would never doubt it.

"All personnel prepare for a surprise attack when the enemy is off guard."

Thanks to those words, Attila finally made up his mind.

These soldiers, who had lost everything and been exiled to the border, regrouped and launched an attack within just a few days.

The soldiers, including Attila, had all experienced similar ordeals. For them, this was a moment of exhilarating excitement.

"Kill them!"

They charged across the gentle ridgeline, charging with the resolve to die towards the enemy forces visible in the distance.

"I see them, they're panicking."

Lillie, who was running at the forefront, noticed that the enemy had discovered them and was thrown into great chaos.

The enemy forces were indeed caught off guard, and their reaction far exceeded expectations.

"Enemy! Enemy attack! To the northeast!"

"Could it be the cavalry from the Southern Kingdom?! How did they manage to break through and get here?!"

Their panic stemmed less from the surprise attack and more from the awe they felt at the charging group's attire—a fully armed cavalry unit rarely seen in this region.

The main force of settled ethnic groups that constantly raid the borders and even massacre villages is exactly like this; they are born with fear.

In the old stories told to children, these people are depicted as demons.

"Captain! What do we do now!?"

"Fight. Whether you die in battle or are punished for failing the mission, it's all the same."

The raider captain, gritting his teeth, decided to fight.

The prisoners and spoils being escorted are property confiscated on the orders of the chieftain himself, and those who fail to defend them will be severely punished.

"That's right, we have to fight. The numbers are even, we have a good chance of winning."

The necromancer Garon also rallied the captain. His confident demeanor even gave hope to the soldiers who were terrified at the mere mention of the Southern Kingdom's cavalry.

"Galon, it seems you're quite confident."

"From the very first day I started learning from my master, I was very curious—whether my power could actually work on people outside the high walls."

Galon simply wanted to test how effective his magic was.

Of course, they shared the same goal, and immediately began preparing for battle to meet the surging enemy.

"No need to be afraid. They're just a bunch of useless trash who compensate for their lack of strength with armor! They're slow and clumsy, we can handle them easily."

The captain, an outstanding soldier, personally encouraged the troops. He wasn't lacking in confidence; he genuinely believed they could win even in a direct confrontation.

"Let's give them a taste of their own medicine first."

Seeing this, Galon chuckled and raised his staff, manipulating magic.

Several evil spirits he summoned, resembling black smoke, rose from the ground, flew into the sky, and passed straight through the charging cavalry, rushing towards the enemy.

"Chieftain! That's him!"

"There's no other way, everyone raise your bows!"

Attila also saw the enemies charging towards them, as well as evil spirits descending from the sky with black tails.

Especially those evil spirits that pounced with chilling howls and distorted faces, even their own enemies trembled with fear. But it was too late; all that remained was a direct confrontation.

"A piece of cake."

In this situation, Lillie stared at the evil spirits and gripped her sword tightly.

Although the evil spirits summoned by the necromancer Galon using dark magic were indeed the most terrifying monsters she had ever seen, they only fueled her fighting spirit. After all, she herself had recently defeated a skeletal monster far more terrifying and enormous than these evil spirits.

For Lillie at this moment, the trial of that day seemed to be the inevitable preparation for this instant.

A vow as firm as gold and stone

The rewards from defeating that skeleton monster not only work there, but also here.

The power and magic residing within her resonated and erupted through the raised sword.

This is a power that even the demon lord who attempted to erode the world could not resist; the wandering evil spirits summoned by a mere novice mage are utterly powerless to contend with it.

"That's impossible!"

Galon's shocked expression as he witnesses his evil spirit being instantly purified by Lillie's light occurs simultaneously with the scene of the two armies entering firing range and exchanging arrows.

"Damn it... ugh."

The raiders were wrong from the start; the enemy they faced was not the kingdom's heavy cavalry on the other side of the barrier.

These warriors, who came from nomadic tribes and shared the same lineage as raiders, wore iron armor only on key areas such as the breastplate to minimize weight.

Their horsemanship and mounted combat skills were in no way inferior to those of the raiders. Moreover, all the arrows fired by the raiders were deflected or bounced off by the strong winds generated by Attila.

"These bastards!"

The raider captain, who used the wind of his sword to cleave the arrows, gritted his teeth as he watched his men being shot off their horses by a hail of enemy arrows.

With things having come to this point, only a direct confrontation remained. Realizing this, both sides held their breath and raised their weapons.

"!"

A fierce collision ensued. He raised his weapon, the Moon Blade, and slashed at Lillie with all his might.

In a battle between warriors who have awakened their magic, the most important thing is to overpower the opponent with force in the very first encounter.

Lillie naturally used all her skills to parry with her sword.

"what?"

At the same time, the raider captain's eyes widened as he felt himself being lifted into the air.

Amidst the exploding column of blood, the warhorse's head burst open as if crushed, flying into the air along with the raider captain's body.

"How could this be...?"

The raider captain, who knew nothing about skills, was hit head-on by Lillie's basic skill [Strong Strike] and fell to the ground with his broken weapon in his hand.

Even as he dazedly propped himself up, he remained in a state of shock.

"You...could you be of the same race?"

He then realized that Lillie, who was looking down at him from horseback, was one of his own kind, and she simply stood still and pointed her sword at him again: "Pick up your sword again, raider."

"Who exactly are you people?" Watching his soldiers fall one after another in the melee, the raider captain glared fiercely at Lillie, whose troops, already at a disadvantage in close combat, were retreating steadily.

Lillie said coldly, "She's nothing but a pathetic wretch driven out by people like you, dreaming of revenge."

"Tsk... that condescending, arrogant woman..."

"If we can catch this woman, we can turn the tide!"

The nameless warrior dared to respond with such contempt, and a fierce glint flashed in the eyes of the enraged raider captain, whose hope was not yet completely extinguished.

The raider captain judged that the woman in front of him was his only fighting force. He thought that as long as he took her down, the remaining soldiers would be no threat. However, he was completely unaware that he had just been subdued by her skill in one strike.

"Don't think the methods are despicable; that's how war is. Charge!"

"laugh--"

The raider captain grinned and charged forward, launching a surprise attack on Lillie from all sides with his men who had come to her rescue. They were determined to capture her at all costs to turn the tide of the battle.

"Just like back then."

Lillie, however, calmly watched the enemies rushing towards her. Being surrounded by multiple enemies at the same time was not an unfamiliar scene for her.

In the past, she was unable to break through this situation and fell into crisis. In the end, she barely survived because her master, who came to her rescue, sacrificed his life.

Therefore, now is the time to overcome this challenge through our own efforts.

Lillie swung her sword at the enemy attacking from her side first, and watched as the enemy's body was cut down by her faster and stronger sword strike, she unconsciously bit her lip.