Probe

The tension was palpable in the air, and I found myself looking toward the frontlines from my office, my curiosity piqued. I was just about to delve into the system, seeking a way to bolster my power, when the Empire's forces sprang into action. There was no grand speech, no thunderous boom. It was a symphony of movement and mana, a dance of power. My rift transported me to the city wall, where I could oversee the sprawling trench system outside. I was a mere spectator, but the spectacle before me was anything but mundane.

My surprise that they had just settled in before this symphony was absolute, and I was sure that Isabelle felt the same. They had seemingly settled in before launching this attack.

I watched as spells in the tens of thousands started to shoot from the wall of steel of the Empire's army, leaving the robed men behind that steel. Mostly, Bunny-kin intercepted those spells with barriers coming up and counter spells raging out—lightning strikes, ice spikes, fireballs, and various other spells from Wizards that were not typical. Bunny-kin had a more diverse variety of Wizards, while those of the Empire seemed to be able to work together to increase their strength marginally. 

Spells shot over and started to hit the earth, and many of those wizards could easily hide behind. Their spells shot out, and the movement of the empire stepped forward. Their steel and shields block spells, or the men or women behind them die. There was so much happening on the battlefield that there was not just one place to watch. 

Much to my surprise, the main army showed discipline and stayed in the trenches; the wizards continued to be the primary source of battle. Their spells shot into the crowd of steel, and it was death. The Empire marched into the hail of spells, and their wizards intercepted most of them. It was a slaughter of massive proportions, but they marched into it. Their armor takes the less powerful spells and breaks to B rankers.

I was impressed by their armor and shields. More often than not, they held against the onslaught of C-ranked wizards' spells. But with those C-ranked wizards, there was a mass of B-ranked wizards. Few defended the homeland. Our tribes were left with only A-ranked wizards to defend our villages and cities and only a few adventurers to keep the bandits out. 

That was not for me to worry about as the Empire walked into that hellfire under my eyes, and they reached the trenches and began the melee. It was harsh, but the Empire had to endure a massive march into our teeth and were already more worn than the barbarians inside the trenches. Isabelle ruthlessly took advantage of that, and our army swarmed them quickly. It was a quick battle, and more spells shot more directly into the trenches; the no man's land was littered with steel corpses, but inside the trenches was our playfield now. The barbarians were now used to battle inside them, and many worked their way through the empire; yet another retreat was sounded in the battle, and the Empire backed out. 

It was almost magical how they backed out as a cohesive whole. Their shields blocked more, and as soon as the main army tried to follow them, the flow of the battle changed. Our Wizards shot into the back line, and the barbarians clashed against steel and swords. The exchange rate became much less favorable, and the Empire continued to retreat. I frowned as I watched the Beast-kin bodies start to litter the no man's land as the Empire retreated before Isabelle called off the retaliation strike. The Empire walked back with only spells to greet them, with thousands of fellow soldiers missing and littering the battlefield. The battle was heavily on our side, but that retreat was actually better for the empire than it was for the beast-kin nation, and I did not like that.

During that entire battle, not one A ranker showed their face, and I returned to my office through a rift, my mind contemplating the last battle. It was considered a victory but only minor. In fact, I would consider it one of our most considerable losses so far in this war. But it was a victory nonetheless, and I will be called forward to talk about it soon.

I was worried about the lack of intervention from either side's A rankers. It was like neither side was tipping their hand, and I wondered if they knew our numbers. It was time to look at my system. I needed to see if there was anything I could use moving forward.