Military Camp Interior
"Her Majesty last came here not long ago, yet she's back again. Far out, this is annoying."
The residents of the town weren't excited about the upcoming war by any means. As the frontlines at one point, the North had been on the victim's end of a massacre. The residents were cognizant of what war consisted of and its consequences, which was why they chose to leave one after another unlike the excited and enthusiastic businessmen who scurried to the North. As a consequence, it became extremely difficult to put together a group of people to welcome the Queen.
Angelina never had the patience to attempt something so tedious. Moreover, the owners of the fields with green plants in them had departed. If someone didn't take it upon themselves to take over, the food prepared for winter would be history again. Angelina and Anna were forced to hire workers to take care of the farmland. The North suffered losses every time Queen Sisi visited. Understandably, then, nobody welcomed her.
Her Majesty's army could arrive tomorrow. They could already see the freckles of flames from their camp in the distance were akin to a devastating bush fire their camps in the distance at night. Queen's military might was admirable as always. In comparison, such a standard had never been seen from the elven side. Nobody doubted humanity's prospects in the campaign. The question was, what was the story in the forest?
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Current time in humanity's camp.
Queen Sisi's tent was bigger than any other. All of her luxury living needs were placed inside. She even brought a bathtub with her. She had to bath once each day; it was tradition, one that she would not sacrifice despite joining the army in the war. The only occasion she didn't adhere to her bath routine was during the previous war, where she didn't remove her armour for four days straight.
Queen Sisi didn't believe that she needed to burn her boats against the elves to display her courage and determination. She couldn't fathom defeat when her army looked so dominant. Her soldiers staunchly believed they would emerge victorious. The military forces that had always been tasked with guarding the city interior had never experienced real warfare. Further, the soldiers, who had always been dissatisfied with the field soldiers, also argued the field soldiers purposely exaggerated their stories to extol themselves. The garrison soldiers wanted to triumph as the field military did in order to prove that they were, in no capacity, inferior to the field soldiers.
"Zero didn't follow?" Queen Sisi admonishingly looked at a young officer. She played with her burgundy hair and stated, "My word. I, personally, came here, yet he stayed at the imperial capital. I feel that he, too, similarly to the field soldiers, is no longer loyal to me and courageous. I do not wish to see them alive when I return."
"Your Majesty, it is not that Zero did not want to join you here. His child has just been born, so he did not come this time. However, he will bring reinforcements after he sorts out his child."
"His wife gave birth to their child; what does it have to do with him?" Queen Sisi ambled out of the tent. She peered toward the town. Lip tugged up ambiguously, she asked, "I wonder what Little Doggy is doing at the moment. Is he reacting as if the enemy has come, or does he have his own plans? Or, has he fled?"
"According to our messenger, he has already left. Reportedly, he went with a dwarf to check out land. It is likely that he sold a block of land to a dwarf and is going to examine the land with the dwarf."
"It's my land, yet he's reselling it." Queen Sisi was always strangely jumpy about territory.
The officer took a second to opine, "You did gift it to Lord Veirya."
"I told her to go and guard the land. I didn't tell her to sell it to other races. I don't know what Little Doggy and Veirya are thinking, but I am unhappy about them selling my territory off. I can overlook the mine because the buyer is my merchant, but what are they doing this time? They are selling land to a dwarf. If they have the audacity to sell that piece of land, does that not prove that they would be willing to sell my imperial capital, too?"
"I am sure that is not Lord Veirya's intention?"
"Really? I want to hear Little Doggy's explanation for this." Queen Sisi went back into her tent. She stroked her finger. Then, she slouched back in her soft chair and waved: "Leave. There's nothing else. Oh, right, go and write a letter; tell the garrison soldiers next to the field military that, if the field military tries anything, kill them in my name. The field military is split amongst themselves. If we gather our forces, they may not be our match. While we are at it, take their families hostage. I do not want to be dealing with people scheming behind my back while I am fighting on the frontlines, understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The field military didn't participate in the war. Lots of the soldiers had prepared themselves, but Her Majesty did not give them the order to march. The soldiers from the field military divisions did complain it was dangerous to attempt the campaign against the elves. Even so, they were willing to go out of their duty as soldiers and their loyalty to the Queen. Nonetheless, Queen Sisi didn't ask them for their protection in the end. To the contrary, she lost trust in them. The situation was lethal. It was lethal for a soldier to lose the trust of the one they devoted their loyalty to.
The field military officer didn't comment. The high-ranking officers, in particular, didn't articulate their opinions. Therefore, their soldiers were in no place to speak on the matter. Queen Sisi didn't have spies in the field military faction. That was why she did not know what they were doing. Accordingly, she had a number of garrison soldiers keep tabs on them when she set out for the campaign. They were ordered to eliminate the field military as soon as they tried anything. Queen Sisi was quite confident, nevertheless.
The Northern militaries' tradition was absolute loyalty. Queen Sisi's current behaviour might not align with their own opinions, but they had inherited the bloodline of their noble households. If they harboured any ulterior motives, the internal structure would crumble. Regardless, that wasn't an adequate reason to let her guard down. Arrogant she may be, she was very cautious, nonetheless.
The elven forest was right up ahead. Queen Sisi shut her eyes as though she could smell the leaves and greenery from the forest. Those scents were her dream. Queen Sisi knew what she wanted; she used everything at her disposal to seize the throne. Thus, she was determined to use her throne in exchange for something. For example, to erase the humiliation she suffered in the past.