Gacha Kingdom Building
Chapter 244 - 244: Together (01): Mia's Side

-This chapter is written using Mia's POV-

Amencia's barriers finally fell after standing for months.

Its walls, impressive as they were, were broken and crumbled minutes after a barrage of magic from Isabella's army.

The soldiers, experienced after many battles, knew that they couldn't waste the opportunity and poured into the city in droves.

However...

Miwen and I, as well as some of the girls, weren't able to make it into the city in time.

Miwen, worried about our energy, didn't want us to fight unnecessary battles, and so, we were told to wait for the first waves to clash.

A few of us forgot or disregarded that almost instantly, but I won't name names, and that wasn't the biggest problem.

No, the real problem was that we couldn't reinforce them. We couldn't even tell their whereabouts or their condition.

We felt a tremor on the ground, and then, pristine water jets poured out, forming a new water barrier around the city, the likes of which we had only seen in the first days, and that Beatrice had promptly shut down.

For Hamperlon's mages to have managed to scramble something of this magnitude in mere minutes was hard to believe.

More realistically, we had fallen into their trap.

Miwen: "...Well played."

I was already worried about our men being trapped, and seeing Miwen admit defeat without even trying didn't help.

Especially since he forced the three who were too cocky or too distracted back to his side using his Gift's systems.

For him to do this instead of having us reinforce them through the same means probably meant he thought it would be too dangerous.

Mia: "What now?"

Miwen: "There's nothing much we can do. To save the ones inside, we need to bring down the barriers, but... The ones inside will have to target their mages for us. And well..."

Mia: "Hm?"

Miwen: "Don't worry. I'll handle it."

As his gaze fell upon the city through the barrier, he looked amused in a way I had not seen in a long time.

He wore the same smile on his face as when he was planning to mess with one of us, so surprisingly, I became a little calmer.

I had doubts that Hamperlon's trick was the sole reason for him to be this way.

He might not realize how much of a sadist he truly is, but... I could tell he already had an idea of how to turn the tables on them.

Sure, their first move was effective and caught us off guard, but it wouldn't be enough.

Our attack, which began in the morning, only saw the new barriers come down in the evening, only an hour or two before sunset.

This time, everyone was a little worried to take the first step towards the city, but...

Miwen: "Let's go."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the girls and I stepped ahead.

A few brave soldiers followed right after, and we crossed through the same holes and crumbled walls as the men before us.

The scenery ahead of us was one of pure chaos.

Buildings and houses were destroyed and burning, so much blood had been splattered throughout the streets that their stench became nauseating for me.

There was so much smoke everywhere that breathing became hard, and I felt my eyes burning a little.

Yet, I didn't take my eyes off the corpses and weapons lying on the streets.

All this death was caused by my selfish desire for revenge, so... While I didn't regret it one bit, whether they were enemies or allies, I felt like I shouldn't look away.

Well, it's not like I could watch it all patiently either.

Almost as soon as we walked inside, we were already targeted by arrows enhanced by ice magic.

Miwen: "What did I tell you about saving your mana?"

Claire: "Eh? I gotta warm up though. After all, It's been a while."

As always, Claire jumped at the first chance she got to use her magic, and with a wave of her hands, a horizontal slash of fire caused the arrows to burn, and whatever effect they were supposed to have upon impact was completely overpowered by her absurd magic.

At the same time, with the few seconds she had to see the arrows and their trajectory, Ellie found the ones who shot them, and before they could hit, she had already determined their fate.

Her only mistake was casting wind magic to protect her own arrows and shoot them through Claire's flame, since there was a chance the pyromancer could take this as a challenge, but she was so quick that the idiot might not even have noticed it.

Hell, she acted so naturally that, if not for the sound of men falling from rooftops, I'd have doubted my eyes.

Beatrice: "Sorry. I was a little too slow."

Licia: "Don't blame yourself... You already did great."

To make it as hard as possible to destroy and sabotage the new barrier protecting the city, the mages behind it made its system as different as possible from the previous one while maintaining the same characteristics.

However, since Beatrice had already disabled the first one, she had a good idea of how to handle this and, like they did, she only had to adapt her approach a little.

Well, I said a little, but she looked exhausted after it.

It was thanks to her that a job that might've taken days was reduced to just a few hours, so no one could complain that she fell a little behind her usual self here and there. It's just the toll it took.

Miwen: "Angelica and Eir, scout from above. Ellie, if you can, try to find high ground to support us. I'll help you get it if needed. Anna and Skuld, you are the frontline. Mia and Liefdis, take care of the back for us. The rest focus on supporting them."

This was pretty different from our usual formation, but it wasn't just because of the addition of the Valkyries.

Licia, Claire, and I were already determined to face the white and black knights, so we were left with less demanding roles.

With Angelica patrolling the air, there was almost no chance that we would be caught off guard, and Eir could section off an entire block with her barrier magic, preventing us from being surrounded.

Although the enemy might've never have expected reinforcements to come so soon, they had clearly overwhelmed the previous force, and almost every corner we took, there was someone to fight.

We didn't enter the houses, but we could hear screams and cries from everywhere.

Hell, there were men, women, and children still running through the streets as swords clashed around them. Any missed swing could take off a head. Not to mention the chaotic projectiles, flying in almost every direction...

Every street we rushed through was a mess. Every battle was more unpredictable than the previous, and we could never be sure if we had cleared it or not.

It was tough, but eventually, we reached close to the palace where King Gerbil should be.

But before we could enter it, standing guard was the black knight.

Claire: "Finally showed your face, huh?"

Licia: "Hm? I can't see his face though..."

Claire: "Well, soon enough we'll get a good look."

With the way they treated him so casually, it was easy to forget that they had previously lost.

I couldn't help but wonder if this was alright... They should definitely take it more seriously...

Miwen: "Are you sure about this?"

Licia: "Yeah, you can go ahead. We've got a plan."

Miwen: "Right. Skuld, can you guys watch over them for me?"

Skuld: "Leave it to us."

As promised, Miwen refused to leave them alone.

His orders were simple: Skuld, Eir, and Liefdis were to interfere whenever they thought there was a chance Licia and Claire could lose, no matter how much the two might disagree or complain, it wasn't their call to make.

And so, all five of them took up arms.

The Valkyries were behind them, making sure no one else would interfere, and as their swords clashed, the opportunity for us to enter the palace was created.

It was poorly lit inside, the workers had all fled already, so unlike the streets outside, it was surprisingly quiet inside.

As we made our way to the hall, we met no one...

Beatrice: "How suspicious..."

Right...

Sure, the second prince was as good a guard as Gerbil could hope for, but still... If he were truly here, there's no doubt he'd have more of his men with him.

Miwen: "Do you feel his scent?"

Mia: "Everywhere, but... It's quite strong. Even if he's not here now, he definitely hasn't gone far."

Miwen: "I see... In that case-"

Mia: "...!"

As soon as we stepped foot into the hall, I heard a huge stomp on the floor above.

The ceiling crumbled before us, and before anyone could understand what happened, I tackled an insanely fast shadow that tried to punch Anna.

But... Even after doing my best to send it as far away as I possibly could with a punch of my own, they barely moved a few feet away.

Before the debris cleared out and we could see them better, I already knew their identity.

Hah...

I felt all the strength leave my body.

My arms and legs were trembling just at the sight of her.

Just like when I was little, nothing had changed. Just the thought of going against her scared me senseless.

My instincts were screaming that I couldn't win.

That my only hope was to run away as fast as I could.

All the determination I had gathered was fading, just like that.

From deep inside my heart, I felt like I should hide. Facing her... Was something I could never do.

I almost convinced myself of this, but...

I felt a hand reach for my shoulder.

His hand.

Miwen: "...Are you sure?"

That I could defeat her? No.

But that I had to? Yes.

Miwen: "I could help you."

More than he already had?

There's no way I could ask for that.

I'd never allow myself to.

Miwen: "Aw."

I took his hands off my shoulders.

I might've gripped them a bit too hard, but...

Mia: "I'll tell you how I won later, so... Wait for me, ok?"

Miwen: "Of course. But did you really need to crush my fingers?"

Mia: "A-Ah... I was triggering my Gift."

Miwen: "Didn't your punch already-"

Mia: "We can't waste any time, so you should go now. I think he went for one of the underground tunnels. I'm almost sure it was the leftmost one."

Miwen: "I see. Thanks."

As soon as he turned his back and all that I had in front of me was her, the fear came back, but...

Miwen: "Anna, Bea, Angie. I'm leaving her to you."

Anna: "Don't worry. We'll make sure she's safe."

Really...

Can you not stop worrying about me for even a second?

If it's like this...

Miwen: "Mia!"

Mia: "Yes?"

Miwen: "I know you got this."

Before my mother could target the one who turned his back on her, I walked forward.

I hated to admit it, but he encouraged me.

After a deep breath, I cleared my mind and decided...

This time, I would stay with her until the end.