Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero: 130

Unfortunately, I’m Not A Hero: 130

…

Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

…

The command center that I created began to show issues the moment it started operating. Despite the various tests done with it in mind, I ultimately underestimated just how much space I needed to have it be anywhere close to a modern military control center.

The reports receiving section of the command center was moved to another portion of the building within the first day. The deluge of information coming every four hours from all our eyes in the skies was too much for the original staff of two dozen that we had, which required an expansion of the staff. The ones trained for the task were given volunteers to sift through the constant reports and provide reports every four hours, unless they found something of high priority in the message’s subject.

Then, there was the actual command section of the control center. I had more than a few officers and they had the communications network necessary to coordinate their forces in accordance to orders, but in the current situation they and highly-skilled messengers were locked and waiting for orders in our central command, away from their troops, and essentially sitting ducks. I had them sent to their troops and took one of their messengers each to relay their initial orders, which left a noticeable, empty zone in the command center that could’ve been used for something else.

There were a dozen other, little mistakes that added up and made it all the more ineffective, which would have to be revised later, but the most important part of the command center functioned just as I wanted it to.

Finally, after all these years, what I’ve wanted since I first took command was at my fingertips: aerial views of the battlefield.

I took the idea from my experience with RTS games back in my world and games in general. I never understood how important a real-time, updating map in combat was until I found myself without it during my command. The constant red and blue blips, the awareness of where you were always, and the knowledge of what was at your flanks and back… I wanted all of that back and I did everything that I could in order to get it, after I found out that the technology was at my disposal.

Now, I knew just about every inch of Ylstu that there was.

Now, I didn’t have to keep my forces within range of foot-based messengers centered around me.

Now, I could deploy powerful, well-equipped troops without using other people as chaff to gauge the strength of my enemies.

Now, I knew where and when to spring traps for maximum effectiveness.

There were many advantages with the current system, despite the flaws in its construction, so my command center will do for the current battles and the battles soon to come. Improvements will have to be made before the onset of the rest of the war, but for now it was more than enough. Though the coming battle was going to be difficult, I had the advantages I wanted before it would begin… and now it was just a matter of seeing whether I could do better with them than I did before I had them.

Otherwise, I just wasted a lot of money I could’ve used to hire a giant army and get things done the first time around.

I hoped that I could prove all the expenses worth it, otherwise I’d have to go back to old habits.

…

Lisette managed to find her way into the command center. Roseanne’s Royal Guard was deployed to blunt the attacks on the neighboring regions and they succeeded, especially with the support given by my forces. Between cruise-missile strikes, Goblin ambushes, Drider light infantry attacks, and my conventional forces polishing their skills, their job was bloody and brutal, but largely successful.

Still, given the Dragon’s face, I could tell that she had some bad news.

“The mercenaries hired by lady Roseanne have struck the northern and southern shores of the Empire. Unfortunately, they’ve found only token resistance since their landing, despite them beginning to erect fortifications.” The news was blunt, simple, and given to me in earshot of Henri, Ur, and A’Bel. All three knew that staying quiet about this was important. “Lady Roseanne is gathering up a force, leading a host herself from the capital, and she is using the existing rail system to her advantage. However, it will still take her a week and a half to arrive.”

I considered those words, while looking down at the information on the table before us. The table laid out Ylstu and its outskirts upon itself with sand. The table was enchanted to manipulate the small, colored particles like pixels, although these could shape themselves into 3-D models when “zoomed in.” It was a cheaper than having a magical map of the region and arguably superior. People could hide from magical maps, just like they did with scrying, but this map was linked to my best approximations of modern drones. Undead familiars used by Henri’s students were linked to the map and through their eyes the map was updated. Magical defenses were useless, unless they cast invisibility on every single soldier they had, which would be a temporary affair that would leave them vulnerable to magical artillery fire.

However, that’s enough excitement about my newest toy.

Lissette’s information was exactly what I needed before I made my first move.

Our map was now locked firmly on the large, temporary fortification erected by the Empire at the foot of Ylstu’s connection to the rest of the Kindred.

“With that fortress nearly completed, and already holding off everyone we have, Roseanne will at least be a few days late. She’ll arrive faster with the rails being commandeered, but the temporary fortress will do its job.” The Empire meant for the pincer movement they launched encircle Ylstu and for their main force to raze it. They’ve been reading my tactics and analyzing all the information I left behind, then they used it to their best of their ability to avoid previous losses. “Have you heard from my shipbuilders from Lua’Kona yet?”

“Lady Roseanne told me that the ships are being retrofitted for flight, but that will take time we do not have. She also told me to tell you that you are NOT allowed to have a fleet of flying warships. You are allowed four at most, including the one you already have.” Lisette spoke and I grunted. I’d released information on my project in Lua’Kona to Roseanne, because she would’ve found out about it anyway with her ambassadors speaking with the undersea Kindred at Lua’Kona. My plans to have a dozen flying warships was foiled and I was only getting a quarter. “She will pay restitution for the rest of the ships under construction, and half for the ones you are allowed to have.”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it… I’ll complain later.” Lisette glared at me, but I ignored her. Those ships were mine. I paid for them. If Roseanne didn’t want me to have the ability to just bombard whole sections of the continent into oblivion, then she should buy her own… from the shipyards that I invested in and developed. However, I was going to ignore that problem and leave it for Future!Hachiman to handle. The current situation was far more pertinent. “I asked them to have them flight-ready first and do their best to say they’re not ready, if Roseanne comes around. Roseanne should be able to lift up a fair amount of people with them.”

“…You knew that Roseanne would try to have them seized from the start, but had them built anyway.”

“Yes? And?”

“…What’s the phrase to say to the Lua’Kona Chieftains for access to the unarmed ships, Lord Hachiman?”

“Hikigaya Hachiman is the absolute best. Also, Roseanne has to say it herself.”

“Of course, it is… and of course she has to.” Lisette pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, before looking at the map. “Very well, I will do my best to hasten your reinforcement time. How confident are you that you’ll be able to hold for a week?”

“As confident as Roseanne needs me to be, so that she’ll move as quickly as she possibly can.” I waved the Royal Guard Captain away. Lisette gave another sigh at my words, but nodded and moved out. I refocused on our eyes on the rear fortifications and barked an order at the Witch commanding the Familiar at the location to zoom in. A frown formed on my face as I saw what was happening. “Wait, no. Just tell her to come as quickly as she can, or she’ll regret it.”

“Is that a threat, Lord Hikigaya?” Lisette grunted and turned my way. A frown nearly formed on her face, until I pointed at what I just found and had Henri muttering under her breath, while A’Bel leaned forward in excitement. The Dragon’s eyes widened at what she saw. “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yep. They’re building a shrine to their goddess and heaving in sacrifices. A lot of them.” Kindred were being walked into the foot of a hastily-built temple made by shaping stone with magic. A statue of the Empire’s Goddess stood at the center and at her feet was a shallow pool of glittering, pristine water. Kindred prisoners had their throats cut and bodies thrown in… and yet no blood or bodies tainted the pool. With each body, imperfections on the Goddess’s statue faded, stone turned into pure-white marble, and the Goddess’s sword and shield started to turn into gold. “It looks like the Empire knows that Roseanne will try to relieve us, so they’re setting up their best counter.”

“Dammit!” Lisette cursed at the sight of the statue. Technically, it was a Golem, like the ones that lived in my city, but through some esoteric bullshit and probably a whole lot of regular bullshit the Empire created simulacrums by their Goddess to fight for them. They were probably a form of Kindred, but the Empire was just covering it up, and didn’t have to worry about the messaging because they weren’t meant to last. After they were deployed, they attacked their target, and whether they won or lost they exploded in a city-busting blast. “Hikigaya, I will inform the Demon Lord to hasten her coming, but it would be best if that thing didn’t come into existence!”

I nodded at that.

“Yeah, makes sense. I don’t like the thought of something like that popping up near me, so I’ll get it done. Just get Roseanne to get here quickly.”

“Good. Farewell for now, Lord Hachiman.”

Lisette left swiftly after, and I waited until she was past the door and couldn’t hear us through the protected, sound-proofed walls of the command center. When a Kunoichi popped up later and gave me the all-clear signal, I spoke to Henri.

“It takes her a day to get from her back to the Capital, so blow that temple to pieces in an hour by collapsing this cliffside.” I pointed simply at the mountain side that was beside the mountain pass that entered Ylstu through the Kindred’s side. Yeah, I booby-trapped both sides of Ylstu. Why would I when most of my transportation was flight-based and I literally had a flying fleet of magical warships in the works, as well as one now? Walking is for losers and I could just replace the path and rails later. “Drop the mountain on them and inform Roseanne that we had to do it after we’re sure that she’s sped up her efforts.”

“Yes, my lord.” My Lich bowed primly at my commands and made a note of it. “It will be done.”

The Dwarves were quite skilled at using explosives to mine. They likened it to the magic used by their mages, which helped mine back home. The rarity of Dwarves who had magic made it so that they screened their people, and taught even those they sent out to establish new holds how to make use of it to their benefit. The technique in play with the mountainside was meant to “slough” off the hide of the mountain to reveal a lot of veins closer to the surface from a safe distance. Their people used it defensively to block the entrances of their self-sufficient holds to buy time, but they reasoned that it was workable as an offensive… and in an hour or so we were going to see if that was true, or I just wasted a lot of explosives and money.

However, while I contemplated the tactic, A’Bel struck and clung onto me with a whimper.

“Please, my dear summoner, let me fight it!’

To that request, I had a simple answer, even while she mashed my head in the depths of her deep valley.

“No.” I grunted an pulled myself out of the perky, ludicrous set clad in skintight, fantasy latex and moved onto a different objective. “There’s plenty of powerful things for you to fight, besides a suicidal Golem.”

I called out to the Witch monitoring the encampment on the Empire’s side. They were very wary of the skies, so it took a skilled Witch with a lot of control and combat awareness, and even then, they regularly had to replace their Familiars. Thankfully, we had more than a few dead, preserved birds on hand as easy replacements. By a few, of course, I mean several dozen cases filled with preserved creatures. I bought them on the pretense of collecting stuffed birds, which kept their prices lower than what they would’ve been if people knew I was using the for war.

The tactic did backfire a little though.

A lot of Harpies started trying standing stock-still and “ready” around me, until I confirmed that I was just pursuing a hobby and not a fetish.

But that was beside the point.

A’Bel had plenty of opponents to face, because the Empire brought out one of the Saints.

“There she is. Filia the Unconquered. Righteous, deluded zealot who believes that the Empire does no wrong and has made a living killing Kindred one-on-one.” I didn’t have any beef with this Saint. She was a soldier through and through who fought her hardest wherever she was sent. Dumb as a brick? Absolutely. But she was strong and did what she believed was right. Exactly the kind of opponent that A’Bel wanted. “When the Empire comes, she’s your target. You will kill her, or die trying, and give me an opening to do the same.”

I became vaguely aware that the command center was deathly quiet after I finished talking, but the silence was broken by A’Bel when she replied with a voice dripping with excitement and joy.

“It will be done, as you will it, my dear master.”

With that said, the conversations resumed and the preparations for battle continued, but A’Bel’s mirth and joy loomed in my mind as we worked.

If there was any doubt that the bloodshed in this campaign was going to immense, it died the moment that Archdemon backed down from fighting a fragment of the Empire’s Goddess.

At the very least, I hoped that after all I’ve done that it would be the Empire doing most of the dying.