Micchi Versus the New World - Chapter 112 (Patreon)

Alt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1z14MXfqMw2ucvX8XZSS5-YRhFFhdRlLUxUE99FgCrKk/edit?usp=sharing

Chapter 112

Loraine and I rode towards Fort Allo on Kawa. We were flanked by twenty other soldiers from the garrison, their horses galloping faster than ever before. If what Bryon and that dark elf commander said was true, then Anya needed to be warned. I highly doubted she would get fucked in any way, but better safe than sorry.

The gates opened wide to let us in, and we came to the square in which almost 50 people were trapped in pillories, dressed in nothing but their underwear, rotten fruits and vegetables at their feet, covered in filth, and ugly crying. Many were too bruised in the face to see or say anything.

"I… I don't believe it. They were all caught?" Bryon muttered to, trembling fingers clutching the metal bars of the cage I had brought him here in.

"What the fuck happened here?" I asked.

A human soldier of Fort Allo raced up to welcome us.

"Commander Micchi! We weren't expecting you," he said.

"Where's Anya? Who the hell are these bozos?" I questioned him instead.

"Commander Anya is sleeping in her quarters after a long night of drinking. The people before you are who she discovered trying to sabotage our supply lines to Garrison Arackus."

We missed the fun already.

"The hell? So, I didn't need to worry after all?"

The cobblestone road encircled a fountain and forked into four paths throughout the town. While not as big as my Garrison Arackus, what Fort Allo lacked in size it made up for in lavishness. It was a pretty town, protected by modest walls and a pristine keep. The soldiers here sounded and looked half-decent compared to mine, too. What gives?

I hopped Kawa and walked up to the entrance to the keep with both hands cupped over my mouth.

"Anya, get your ass down here!"

The nearby guards swallowed hard and straightened their backs. After a minute or so, Anya came stumbling out of the keep looking like shit.

"Ugh… Micchi…" Anya croaked, hand clutching an empty bottle of liquor and other to her head. "Not so loud, man… Shouldn't you be at Arackus? The hell are you doing here?"

"Forget me. What happened to you? You're looking and acting like shit," I teased.

"Ah… Well, those guys over there magic-poisoned me last night. Gave them a beating before I couldn't close my fists anymore. Figured I'd drink the poison away, but my hangover is killing me worse than what they gave me—" Anya hiccupped, but not the good kind. She ran over to a plot of flowers and vomited into it.

"Wait. You beat them up because they poisoned you? Did you even know they were trying to overthrow you?"

"They were?" she asked, wiping the spit from her chin.

"You're a shitty commander after all!" I groaned.

Loraine performed a healing spell to cure her of the magic-poison. After explaining who she really had locked up in the middle of the town, she couldn't contain her laughter.

"I did think it was weird that people were sneaking around at night," Anya said thoughtfully.

"How did you get them all anyway?" I asked.

"Get a little heavy-handed and watch 'em fold like a deck of cards. One guy gave them all up. Should've seen the looks on their faces." She smirked.

"Commander Anya," Pino, who was among the cavalry that came to staff Fort Allo, began with a heavy sigh. You brushed us off when we warned you about the suspicious individuals. Your poisoning could have been prevented."

"Hey, everything worked out fine! More importantly, my sweet little kouhai was kind enough to check in on me when she was worried. You got a soft spot in your heart after all!"

I clicked my tongue and turned the other cheek.

"Yo, Micchi!" Anya hollered, beckoning me to speak with her away from the others. "Why are we just sitting around and playing defense? We should be the ones doing the attacking like Kaoru. Like Sultan Yusef and Riri, too."

"Like Chika. Yeah, I feel the same. You got something in mind?," I asked.

"The punks back there said there were a couple of camps between Amarinth and Scoth, supplying a bigger one in front of your garrison. I say we drop in and say hi," she suggested, piquing my interest.

When we returned to Arackus, I had Nadia pull up a map of the Frescian Pass. With the main camp destroyed, the ones that had been supplying it were probably confused about what to do next. The best time to strike was now.

Before I gave the order, someone interrupted us with a knock on the door.

"Commander, a citizen of Amarinth has come to seek your aid," the guard said.

"A civvy from Amarinth? Bring 'em in," I called back.

Instead of a prisoner of war or some defecting soldier, it was a dark elven munchkin who had been brought in. She was dressed in a cute, sleeveless frock. Her hands were pressed together, obviously a little spooked to be around us.

"She came alone. There is no magic on her whatsoever. No letter either," another guard added.

"The fuck? We ain't taking orphans. Send her back then," I said.

"Micchi." Loraine put on her scolding voice that sent a chill up my spine, then walked over to kneel down in front of the girl. "What's the matter, dear? Are you lost? Do you have a name?"

"M-My name is Lecia. I don't know who to turn to for help anymore… but my village is being harassed by the Sultan's army. My mom and dad were taken prisoners… Can you please save them for me?" the girl tearfully asked.

Must have been one of the camps we were planning to attack. Probably got desperate after we sacked their main forward base.

"Oh, you poor thing. Gentlemen, will you bring something for Lecia to eat and drink?" Loraine asked the guards, both of whom straightened up and went to do as asked.

"I'm the commander here…" I grumbled.

She picked Lecia into her arms and brought the girl closer to the table. "Can you tell us where your village is?"

Lecia pressed a finger to her chin while her eyes scanned the map, then pointed to a flat piece of land near a thin creek that ran through Frescia.

"How many people does the Sultan have over there?" I asked, but the girl hid her face in Loraine's chest.

"You can tell her. Micchi has a scary face, but she's actually very nice." Loraine cradled Lecia until she was willing to meet my eyes.

"There's a lot… Maybe more than here?" she answered.

That wasn't much at all. It also wasn't all too far. We could get there within the day.

The guards came back with a full course meal for Lecia, who gorged fappily on everything given to her. Loraine was pretty smitten by the kid. Since they were both dark elves, the two almost looked like a family.

"Nadia, I want a hundred at the gate in ten minutes. Get going," I ordered.

"Yes, Commander!" Nadia clicked her heels together and rushed out.

When we descended from the barracks, three people rode past the gates into the garrison. One of them was carrying the giant.

"Chieftain! Or should I say Commander now?" Thelesia smiled, whose horse was fixed with a harness to bear the 'UNBREAKABLE SPIRIT' flag.

Hurai and Pino rode up alongside her.

"Commander Anya told us to give you back up, but what exactly are we supporting you for?" Cavalry Captain Pino asked.

"Glad you asked." I smirked. We're going on the offensive."

"WHAT?!" the three of them exclaimed.

"B-B-But our orders are to maintain the border. Only Kain has authority to lead an invasion into Amarinth!" Pino explained in a desperate attempt to convince me otherwise.

Nadia rushed up to me, panting with her hands braced against her knees. "Commander, I've assembled our forces at the eastern gate. The rest will stay here to man the garrison."

"Good." I whistled for Kawa, who came running with her tail wagging sweeping the ground in excitement. She dropped low enough for me to jump on, then I helped Loraine up with the kid. "Nadia, you're the boss while I'm gone. Everyone else, let's ride!"

Despite their protests, the three of them followed after me. Probably because they had no other choice anyway.

We rode across Frescia, a stretch of land that belonged to Amarinth. The narrow pass opened up to craggy desert plains, sparse in vegetation but in no shortage of monsters to hunt. None of which wanted to fuck with us.

Lecia's home, Valhar Village, made their living on a creek rich with fish called desertfins. Even as we galloped along the bank, the schools of fish swam to match our pace. They were fast. Looked tasty, too. I could imagine why the Sultan's forces wanted to take hold of Valhar.

The sun was still high when I saw the enemy encampment coming up in the distance. Dark elven soldiers were moving cargo around the camp and dropped everything at once to fall into formation. Bright lights flashed like fireworks, shooting into the sky toward us.

"Micchi, we're under spellfire!" Pino warned, riding up next to me.

"Am I supposed to care?" I asked.

"We care! We won't survive like you will!" he cried.

"Tch. Alright… Thelesia, buff us with haste and magic resistance!"

As a dragoon, Thelesia casted spells that enhanced a few people at a time. Those spells got stronger and reached more people thanks to the enchanted flag acting like a megaphone. Loraine and the mages among us raised their hands to the sky, creating a barrier to block the volley of spells.

"Commander, what's our plan of attack?" Pino asked.

"Plan? The only plan I got is to charge ahead. If you wanna take over, be my guest. Listen up, everyone! Pino's the commander here!" I shouted.

"You're handing command to me in the middle of a headlong charge?!" The cavalry captain wailed. "Fine! Left wing, Hurai is your lead. Go around left of the camp and block off any of their attempts to escape. Right wing with me to secure the village. Everyone else with Micchi to do whatever she wants!"

"Good shit, commander! Now let's run these fuckers down!"

Kawa picked up speed as the second volley of spells fired toward us. Hurai and Pino split the main force into three by going their separate ways, leading to enemy spells missing and striking empty space.

My group barreled through the camp like an avalanche, blowing past the line of soldiers, and knocking down tents.

"Loraine, stay with Kawa and the kid!" I shouted behind me.

"What about you?" Loraine asked, shielding the child with her arms.

"I'm gonna have some fun."

Drawing Sacchan from the sling, I leapt off Kawa and watched my raiders continue their stampede. The ensuing left many of the dark elven soldiers, still out of armor and without their weapons, scrambling in confusion. These dumb bastards had no idea what hit them.

"I-It's the champion of Lannarkis! Run!" One dark elf tucked tail and ran for his life.

"Aw, man. Where's the fun if you just hightail it out of here?" I threw my hands in the air in frustration.

Another group of feeling soldiers accidentally knocked down a barrel. Water and flopping desertfin fish flowed out of it. Our hunch was right. They were collecting resources after losing all their shit from the main camp.

"D-Do you think she heard us?"

"Shut up! She will if you keep talking!"

"Sh. Both of you be quiet!"

There was sniveling inside a tent. It sounded like a couple of dark elves were hiding to ride out the raid.

"Here's Micchi!" I poked my head in to find three dark elf soldiers huddled up in the back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The elementalist in me blasted them out of the tent with a fireball. As the tent incinerated away, I stepped over the burning debris and pressed a foot on top of a dark elf made crispier from the spell.

"Take me to whoever your commander is," I demanded.

"Y-Yes, ma'am…"

While stark naked since the fire burned away their clothes, they led me to the largest tent. So their leader was inside while all this shit was going on? Either they were a coward, already gone, or didn't give a shit.

"C-Captain Gondo? The commander of Garrison Arackus is attacking and wishes to speak with you…"

"What's with all the ruckus? I haven't even finished dinner yet!" An ogre of a dark elven man stomped out of the tent. He was decked out in a full suit of armor to fit his size, wielding the half-eaten roasted leg of an animal in one hand and a giant greatsword in the other.

"You're Gondo? More like Jumbo. When the fuck did Amarinth start employing inflated hot air balloons into their military?" I smirked.

"You… calling me fat?! I don't care if you're champion of the Lannarkis Ring or the King of Scoth. No one insults me!" Jumbo bellowed, face taking on a shade of red.

"Uh… Captain, I think it really is best we surrender! Please?" the dark elf who led me here pleaded.

Captain Gargantuan over here wasn't having any of it. He backhanded his three subordinates away and took a lumbering step towards me.

"My armor and weapon are enchanted by the best Amarinth has to offer. I'm not afraid of you, little girl!" Jumbo Gondo swung the giant sword at me, but I stopped the blade in my free hand.

"Enchanted, huh? Sad thing about enchanted items? They can still break." I crushed the sword and ripped it out of his grasp.

All that bluster vanished.

As he turned to run, I put Sacchan down and grabbed him by the armor. With my fingers crushing into the enchanted metal, all it took was a little bit of strength to lift him up.

"Alright, Fatso. Wherever I throw you, I want you running back to me to work out all this weight. Otherwise, I'm sending my hound after ya. Capiche?"

"W-Wait, I surrender! Can we negotiate instead?" Big Jumbo begged.

"You had your chance, bitch!"

Ignoring his pleas, I chucked him into the sky like a shot put.

"My name is Gondo—!"

The defeated elf gaped in the direction his superior officer was sent flying until I walked up to him.

"Congratulations. You're the new captain, and I'm accepting everyone's surrender on your behalf." I grinned.

"I-I accept…"

My troops rounded all the Amarinth forces up. Both sides got roughed up, but not any worse than the enemy. I left the prisoners in Pino's capable hands and headed into Valhar.

Loraine was there, holding Lecia's hand as they entered the fishing village. The girl let go to run into and embrace her parents, who couldn't be happier to see their daughter safe.

I grabbed Loraine's hand and entwined our fingers since she looked lonely.

"Aren't you sweet?" Loraine smiled.

The villagers of Valhar cautiously approached us.

"You're from Scoth. Are you here to take over the village?" a distressed, elderly woman asked us.

"Nah. Our beef ain't with you," I said.

"Beef? B-But we don't have your beef! All we have are fish!!" some young fisherman cried.

"Wait… What I mean is—"

"Loraine and Micchi aren't bad!" Lecia exclaimed, surprising her fellow villagers. "They came to help!"

"Loraine? As in… Loraine Arselios? You're the daughter of Laeeq Arselios?" Lecia's mother asked.

"By the Oasis Throne, it is her!"

"Laeeq's daughter has returned to reclaim the jewel of Amarinth!"

Their hesitation of us was replaced with relief and joy, but it was Loraine who was touched most of all.

Lecia startled Loraine when she took her other hand and asked, "Does that mean you're a princess of Amarinth?"

Loraine looked me in the eyes as if searching for courage. Whatever went through her mind, I knew she filled with resolve when her grip on my hand tightened. She turned her attention back to the villagers.

"No," Loraine began. "My name is Loraine Arselios, and I am not a princess. I am the true Sultana of Amarinth, and I have returned to claim the throne from my uncle Yusef."

That declaration brought cheers to the people of Valhar. It brought gasps and elation to even the dark elven soldiers who were supposed to be our enemy. I knew right away as Loraine settled a warm gaze on me that we were going to cut Sultan Yusef's reign short.