"Have groups 3 and 4 pull back. Group 13 should reinforce Group 7 on the right and have Group 9 move to higher ground… They don't have a clear line of sight, so instead of firing randomly, it would be better if they spent time moving to a better position. Chief Anders and you, Chief Yan, take groups 1 and 6 with you and drive straight forward."
"Commander… We can't just…"
"Why not…" 'I figured something like this would happen… I can't believe they just decided to put me in charge and expected the soldiers to listen to me…'
"You're asking us to suddenly take them all head-on by ourselves? We can't take them all on with so few numbers."
I sighed. "Are you going to follow orders or not?"
"Well…"
I uncrossed my legs and raised my head from my hand, pushing off my armrests as I stood from my seat. "That's fine… This is the last order anyway, so I can just do it myself."
'Of course, it's Lord Elianara troops that won't follow my orders… A simple display of power should change their minds, though…' I glanced over at him as he supervised the suppression. He wasn't as hostile as I once thought… But his command unfortunately took me at face value, I.E., A little girl… Grabbing my sword, I latched it onto my back and whistled for Fritz, who came running in a flash.
'Actually… Thinking about it, they've never seen me in my dragon form… I guess I'd be hesitant too, taking orders blindly from a little girl… It's easier to think when I'm smaller but but if my goal right now is a display of power, I should have handled this differently..' Jumping up onto Fritz, I pulled out my demon blood-coated sword and rested it on my shoulder. "You two stay here where it's nice and safe..." I grumbled. "Uh… Hey Fritz… I know I probably don't have to ask, but is it ok if I stand on you? It won't like hurt your back or anything, right?"
She neighed so smugly that I almost regretted asking, confirming that it wouldn't be a problem. Though neither of us was particularly tall, we were at least on a hill, and atop her, it became easy to see the entire plains.
'Looks like my other orders went through at least.' I enhanced my voice with magic to project, strengthening my diaphragm and audio waves. "GROUP 1 AND 6, FOLLOW ME!" I shouted with a bellowing roar before tapping Fritz with one of my feet. 'Charging head first into a swarm of angry Hoovra… 'They may be monsters… But they still act like bison or other such creatures… So, in other words… If I charge in head first like this…'
Thankfully, the other two groups I shouted at followed orders, and we assembled into a spear formation, charging straight at them. Instead of taking us head-on, they split their head in half and ran straight down the narrow valleys we had built with the help of barricades. I did have to cut down two or three that felt especially aggressive… But the rest ran right into the narrow kill lines just like I planned, and in the end, we managed to dispatch all of them without a single injury, much less casualty.
When it was all said and done, I was still standing on Fritz proudly, like a stone in the middle of a rushing current, an unmoving rock changing the flow of the water. 'I'm pretty proud of this one. Still, this is my third suppression… Should there really be this many monsters nearby such a populated city? No… They're being driven south… No doubt another tactic from the empire as they prepare for war… It's unsebtling.'
I looked down with a sigh as I carefully sat back down on Fritz and rubbed her neck. "Good job, girl. You broke one monster's neck with one kick… Honestly, I bet they were more scared of you than me…" I put my sword back in its sheath and slowly relaxed as the adrenaline surge wore off. "Oh no… I got blood on your fur… I'm sorry, girl. I'll wash you down when we get back. This shouldn't take too long."
She neighed happily, almost prancing, as we rode back to center camp, where I quickly retook the commander's chair. "Report."
"Uh.. Well… Commander…"
"Speak up already…"
"It's just that… If you touch any documents like that… The blood might blot out the writing…"
'I can't be that bloody can…' I thought back to when I had slashed a monster clean in two as each half flew past me on opposite sides. 'Oh… No, I probably am…' "Just… Bring a towel…"
While I waited, the logistics officer gave her a report. "Of our current supplies, we are at full capacity on medical supplies. Our rations are at 80 percent. Of the 50 soldiers, one is sick, and one sprained his wrist after drinking too much, 0 other incidents."
I glanced over at my supervisor, raising an eyebrow. "I feel like it says something when your men get more injured from drinking than they do fighting. Not sure what exactly it says… But it's definitely something…"
He just laughed.
I sighed, leaning back in my chair and wiping my hands. "Ok, if that's all, then let's start harvesting the monsters. We need to cure the meat for the villages before it goes bad. We also need to take the leather… Oh, if we have nothing better to do with it, I'll purchase it. There were over 30 Hoovers… So this will take the rest of the day. We can spend the night here and head out tomorrow. We have plenty of supplies, so it shouldn't be a problem. Groups 2 and 5. Ander's squad, and Yan's too. Post them on watch in case there are any stragglers or more monsters. Groups 1 and 10 are still rowdy, so have them sent out into the forest as recon. They seem to still be itching for a fight so they can go hunting. Then, while you guys finish writing reports and all that stuff, we can have the other guys harvesting." I finished wiping my hands, washing them quickly in a small bucket of water.
"Yes, please read over this record and sign it with confirmation."
I quickly glanced over the document presented to me. It was accurate with the events… But…
"Is something wrong?"
"Uh… No, no… Sorry…" [And then the monsters fled in terror as commander Siyasavide began to tear them apart, making them scream as she mercilessly cut them down and bathed in their blood. While fleeing, they were massacred by our waiting troops.] "This is… A bit much… Don't you think?"
She tilted her head. "Was something wrong? If so, please mark down corrections, and we will validate them between officers."
"You make it sound like I slaughtered most of them on my own when I only killed around 4…"
"Hmm?" She slowly approached and read over it. "No, see, at the bottom of the report are the official statistics. You and your mount together killed 6, a fifth of the beasts. And more than anyone else. Perhaps you weren't keeping track? U-unless you really think it's wrong…"
I sighed, slowly writing my signature. "No… Sorry, the report is fine…" 'I guess it's not inaccurate…' The knights were already each acting on their orders, it seemed I didn't need to bark at them anymore. Although… While walking around, I did end up needing to teach a few guys the proper way to skin the monsters… Or at least a better way than they were using…
'30 is a lot for a monster this size… Honestly, it should be enough to jump-start Nayana's leatherworking industry. I think I'll send it to the town hall and have them distribute it to the proper craftsman. Hm… I still have plenty of money left over from my winnings, so this should be fine, right? No. I should sell it to the craftsmen at a discount, then I can make back at least principal costs.'
When all was said and done, I lay in my hammock, staring up at the ceiling of my tent. 'I've already been a commander for nearly a month now. I've killed plenty of monsters, and I've more than proven myself… But there is still going to be a practical exam even for me… I wonder what that will be?' I rolled over, gently gripping the fabric around me and inhaling the thick scent of blood and sweat that didn't even bother me anymore. 'I bet HE will be there too… With all the other commanders… Why does he still make me nervous after I beat his face in… Well… No point in worrying about any of that. Tomorrow, I get to see Rune again, I bet she'll be excited when I tell her about the strategy I used… Or, at the very least, the meat I'll bring home…'