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“Sultan,” a man said in a small voice, leaning over on his horse towards Suleiman. He was a sipahi formation leader, tasked with leading his group of men into combat. Well, that’s what his position would’ve been if it weren’t for the little girl riding beside the Padishah. “Are we really going to allow a little girl to lead the charge? You’re an experienced ruler who has already witnessed combat on the battlefield. You should know how cruel it can be.”
Suleiman prevented his sigh from escaping his mouth, maintaining his image as a composed leader. “She’s not a little girl,” he said back, speaking at a regular volume. He didn’t know it before, but now he knew cats had a very good sense of hearing, enough for the majestic white fluff riding on Alice’s shoulders to eavesdrop on even a whispered conversation. There was no point in hiding his words. “Major General Lowenherz is a full-grown woman despite her looks, and as a witch, her combat prowess is nothing to scoff at.”
The formation leader stared at Suleiman with an odd expression on his face, which Suleiman ignored by looking straight ahead. Only the Janissaries had witnessed Alice’s brutish strength, and it didn’t feel right to have Alice demonstrate for the army. He wanted to treat witches as people, not as circus animals who’d dance at his every beck and whim. However, perhaps promoting her to the position of a general was too much. If Alice didn’t shine in the upcoming battle, who knew what sorts of slander would be tossed his way? Perhaps, at that point, it wouldn’t be considered slander anymore. The upcoming battle was going to determine his empire’s future. His ancestor had failed at conquering the stronghold of Belgrade. He wasn’t too confident in doing what his ancestors had failed in, but if he wanted to prove himself as a qualified ruler, he had to succeed.
“Major General Lowenherz,” the formation leader said, speaking to Alice from the other side of Suleiman. “How do you intend on leading the sipahis? Analyzing the battlefield and giving us orders from behind?”
“No,” Alice said. “I’m going to lead the charge.”
The formation leader almost fell off his horse. He caught himself and coughed twice before turning to look at Suleiman. The Padishah wasn’t saying anything, so the little girl truly thought she was going to be leading the charge. Even if she was a witch, weren’t witches better at cursing people? Preventing crops from growing? Making weapons magically vanish during the night? He had never heard of a witch that was formidable in battle. The little girl wasn’t even carrying a weapon! The formation leader scrutinized his Padishah’s face even though an action like that would be seen as rude. The Padishah was spoiling the girl. Did he care about her that much that he was willing to undermine the army for her wishes? However, how was he going to guarantee her safety in the heat of combat? Then, his eyes lit up as if he had received a divine revelation. This little girl was an illegitimate child of the Padishah, and a convenient way to get rid of her was through war! No, there would be easier ways to get rid of someone, but…. The formation leader shook his head. It wasn’t up to him to question the Padishah’s motives. He’d let the little girl lead the charge, and once she died, he’d take up his previous position and lead his sipahis.
“We’re approaching the only obstacle in Srem,” the scout in front of Suleiman said. “There’s one city we have to defeat before we can attack Belgrade. If we leave it be, they may send soldiers to pincer us from behind. It’s not as heavily fortified as Belgrade, and with our engineers, it shouldn’t take more than a few days to design a way to bring down the city walls.”
Alice craned her neck. On the horizon, the tips of some buildings were peaking out. She ignored the look the formation leader was giving her and stood up on the back of her horse, perfectly maintaining her balance. A city wall came into view. Upon seeing it, Alice thought it looked quite … pitiful. A single earth golem could destroy that wall in a few seconds, exposing everyone inside. She sat back down and looked at Suleiman. “Is it reinforced with….” She tried to find the corresponding word for mana but realized it wasn’t among her vocabulary, so she changed her question. “Is it a magical wall?”
A blank expression appeared on Suleiman’s face. “I’ve never heard of a magical wall. What do you mean by that?”
Alice furrowed her brow. There were supposed to be people in the world who could use mana—witches, they were called. They did seem relatively rare since she was the only witch under Suleiman’s command. The city they were attacking looked like a small one too, relatively unimportant. No one would field a valuable resource like a witch out here. “Nothing,” Alice said and shook her head. “If I hit the wall, it won’t hit me back, right?”
The formation leader looked at Alice as if she were a brain-damaged child. “The archers and gunmen on top of the wall will shoot you if you approach,” he said in a slow manner, gesturing towards the horizon where the city lay. “We’ll find the weakest part of the wall, and then our engineers will administer the right number of explosives to break it. Afterwards, we, the sipahis, will charge in and capture or kill the administrator of the city.”
“That’s not what I’m asking,” Alice said and furrowed her brow. “I mean, if I go up to the wall, and I punch it, will the wall hurt me back?”
Suleiman and the formation leader stared at Alice. “Yes…? It hurts when you punch rocks….”
Alice heaved a sigh. “If I punch the wall, will the wall punch me back,” she asked, but her question sounded more like a statement. “That’s what I want to know.”
“No, no,” Suleiman said and shook his head. “Walls can’t punch people.”
“Excellent,” Alice said and nudged her horse with her knee. It trotted in front of Suleiman’s. “All sipahis, rally behind me! We’re charging!” She didn’t even wait before smacking her horse’s rump, causing it to break out into a run.
The formation leader nearly cursed as his eyes bulged out of his head. “Sultan,” he said after regaining composure. “What do we do?”
Suleiman stared at Alice’s shrinking figure with a dark expression on his face. Just what in the world was this witch thinking?