The war so far had been an exhausting one for both awakeners and soldiers alike. General Ro and the president of Union's Awakeners Association reached the military base of Ravin shortly after the situation of Blacksilk subsided.
"If things go one like this, our losses would be irreversible. Even if we can push the Ilios Empire back, our forces would be too weak to fend against any future threats."
The Major General and Captain of Unbroken Corps tapped his finger on the long table. His name was Ilia Perli, one of the strongest people in the Union. He was also the commander of this battle.
They were sitting in a war room with maps, monitors, and a hologram simulation of the battle. The squads were already engaging with Iliosian soldiers in skirmish battles as they tried to invade using the complex territory. The reports the scouts gave were quickly analyzed in the command room before soldiers were mobilized.
General Ro saw many other military figures like generals, commanders of defense, agents from intelligence departments, and powerful awakeners.
"How about General Ilia steps in personally?" Asked one of the younger people in the room with hesitation. Everyone looked at him like he was the stupidest person alive.
"You want a battle of such scale happening near our borders? Are you out of your mind? That's the last resort if everything else didn't work." Said an assistant of the general with a snap.
"The main army of Ilios is organizing its troops and advancing this way as we talk. We already have our hands full with the scouts they're sending and we need to establish a proper plan."
Throughout the meeting, it was decided that they would do as General Ilia says. Their army would be split into two wings as they try to use the territory to outflank the enemy. The mechas would be their main attack force in addition to the awakeners. Mana guns and other stationary forces would be spread along the high walls of the border.
The reports flooded in signaling the fast approach of the enemy. The lands surrounding the border was mostly a flat grassland filled with weed and mottled with trees. There were a few forests and a hill nearby that would be used to outflank the Ilios Empire.
The Major General stood with his hands behind his back as he studied the ongoing battle. The drones flew into the sky as they showed the terrain. The incoming army has already dyed the horizons with their gleaming armor.
"Prepare the ship." The Major General order and the subordinates hurried about. After a few minutes of going through corridors, the commanding personals were already aboard the ship that flew into the sky. It looked like a fighter jet but it hovered there, surveying the surrounding. A metallic piece of geometry that was the workmanship of engineers and runes masters.
The battle began as the two armies met. Abilities and guns were launched at both sides as the causalities rose. The commanders of two the two sides showed their abilities as they directed their armies to feint, ambush, and breakthrough each other's formations.
General Ilia's face turned grim as the battle went on. Their numbers and formations were similar, but their individual powers were far apart. However, he used the Unbroken Corps to defend against the Paladins. Their mana guns were defended against by special shields that reflected mana.
"Sir, our left side has been breached. We need more soldiers to head that way."
"Several Mechas are down!"
The command center was chaotic and the major general started planning for a way to counteract. He thought about stepping up personally to fill in the void and push the forces away, but he didn't know if that would mean the enemy's strongest would step in as well. If things went that way then both sides would suffer a lot.
"Sir, an unidentified flying object has been spotted!"
"You mean a UFO?" The Major General turned around in shock. This was out of their calculations. If it was enemy deployed, it would spell doom for them. "Show me!"
The screen changed in the flying command center revealing a giant dome in the sky. As soon as everyone saw it, they recognized it. It was the Calamity Spider coming their way.
"General Ro!" Major General Ilia shouted with a grim face. "I thought you've reported that the Calamity Spider has been taken care of!"
"Sir, we've already received reports that it has been stolen by Mistletoe after we left it in the association's hands." General Ro answered in a hurry. "We had no idea it would come to the battlefield." It was understandable as Mistletoe was seen as a band of thieves and nothing more.
"What are they planning?" Major General Ilia mumbled with a frown as he looked at the screen. He didn't wait long to find out as the runes started glowing on the giant dome. Fire snakes sprouted in every direction as it attacked the Iliosian Army.
"It's helping us?" General Ro stood there with a stunned expression. "Mistletoe is defending the kingdom?"
***
The news of Mistletoe's actions turned the world upside down. A gang that has been thought of as puny thieves turned out to be patriotic.
The whole world debated the matter as the voices calling for Mistletoe's execution died down. Soon, people started posting how their views of this group changed with their actions. They also started to seriously admire their capability of stealing the fortress to use it in the war against Ilios.
After all, Ilios must have had a hand in the Calamity Spider. They could argue that they simply choose the appropriate timing to attack, but no one would buy it. Everyone must have realized that the Calamity Spider was activated by Ilios.
Soon, theories started emerging that it was Mistletoe that had stopped the Calamity Spider in the first place. After all, news that the spider stopped attacking suddenly couldn't be contained with so many witnesses. Now, a plausible theory was presented.
Mistletoe's fame surged as people began to see them not as selfish thieves, but rising peasants who only stole from the nobility. It was true that Mistletoe has never harmed the public, only a select few who were already filthy rich.
Cries of cheers filled the houses of the Yalveran Union as they looked at the footage of the fortress attacking their enemy. When the kingdom was facing a threat, it was Mistletoe that has risen to the occasion even though they could have chosen to flee.
When the news of the Ilios Empire retreating was broadcast, people flooded the streets as they happily sang and cheered. Some of them cheered for the army, some of them praised the royal families, but most of the common people cheered for Mistletoe.
Even though the Ilios Empire retreated, the Yalveran Union still suffered a lot of causalities. The happiness of their survival turned into mourning when the bodies of the dead returned. Soon, that mourning turned to rage against the royal family and the crazed prince.
Times of unease would follow as the royal family lost a part of the people's trust. However, the war has ended faster than anyone had realized. It should have taken a month or two, but it ended in a day because the Yalveran Union received aid from a powerful ally, Mistletoe.
As for the fortress, it flew into the distance again before disappearing from everyone's eyes. Without asking for a reward, the gang slipped back into the shadows awaiting the next threat to defend against.
***
Arthur opened his eyes in his room in the mansion. Calling it a room was an understatement as it was more like a suite than a room. Since they had supplies in their storage artifacts, the group decided to spend a few days lying low in the fortress.
Mana was needed to supply the fortress and they had already exhausted most of the mana crystals the fortress had to begin with. However, Si promised that Idris, who had stayed in Blacksilk with Reece, would supply the needed crystals for the group's stay.
Lying there in bed, Arthur remembered the screams of the Iliosians troops that he had killed or injured. He didn't want to estimate a number as it scared him to know how many lives he had taken.
He didn't see any nightmares of hallucinations that one would expect from someone who killed a part of a giant army. He was unusually calm and he had to debate whether he was denying reality or that he had finally accepted that life worked this way.
Blacksilk city was filled with citizens as well, and the Ilios Empire had no qualms about endangering them all. In a way, his actions have helped more people survive being massacred or refugeed.
He sat from his bed. His room was split into a living room and a bedroom. There was also a tub built into the ground where water runes glowed. It was more like a giant hall with each section being either raised or lowered than the rest.
The blood on his hands wouldn't be washed away no matter how many times he tried, so he better learns to accept it. After all, if he wanted to save people then he would have to kill others. This time, he was the one to decide who to die, tomorrow could be different.
That's why he needed to get stronger to be the one choosing.