"Meow, what's that in the distance?"
Hikari put her ladle in her mouth and chewed. She turned her head towards the massive floating zeppelin in the distance.
Covered in an outer steel carapace. At the helm, a golden embroidery of the symbol of the Herdial royal house.
A massive floating battle ship. Cannons pointing out of their ports all round.
She could sense an immense mana coming from inside the core.
"It's big."
"I know. Meow! Nom* Nom* Hey! Zark what do ya think?"
"Uhh... crunch*"
"What ya eating meow. Oh it's the glowing berries from the spire city. Rurrrr…. they taste bad…"
"Bad"
"I know. Meow. My papa says that food is getting short and we may have to start eating the glowing berries soon." Camilia shivered in her fur.
"Uhhh... mana...."
The sound of horses.
The scout master dismounted and approached Hikari.
"Good morning, Ladies and gentleman. Splendid job so far. We pushed the cultists back to Carla, their last stronghold. I'm sure you see that floating fortress. Looks like it will all be over soon."
"Nom* Nom* They are really bringing the big guns now meow."
"And Hikari, The shipment of handcannon ammunition has arrived."
"Yes, scout master"
Hikari grabbed her belt and stood up.
"It's in those crates over there."
Hikari strides over, flipping open the lid with her finger, pinches one bullet and drops it down the barrel of her hand cannon.
She aimed it towards the straw dummy.
The wood was abruptly smashed into pieces.
Not a trace of smoke.
The bullet was fired by focusing Hikari's telekinetic power into one point.
She kept the handcannon back into her holster.
"Now, we are entering the swampy area around Port Carla. I need you to carve a path forward. Carla is an old delving point. So expect some mutated monsters ahead."
Hikari assembled her armour.
…
A massive claymore came crashing down on the unassuming boulder. The hissing of steam rising from the searing heat of the claymore.
The troll growled. It reached for its club.
Hikari dragged her claymore it, slicing it in half.
She hacked away at it several more times.
She knows from experience that a swamp troll could regenerate in less than a day even when sliced in half.
Splash. She waded back onto the main road. If it could be described as such.
A column behind her tries their best to create one.
The lumberjack chops away the thick roots.
The geomancer hardens the ground.
The engineers lay wooden planks into a road.
Hikari hacks away the vines and branches with her short sword.
The splinters from her throwing glaive is enough to kill.
The mangrove trees themselves are too massive for her to check through.
A curved path around them would have to do.
Her senses tingled.
She turned, a giant crocodile lunged out of the water and swallowed a man whole.
Muskets were fired to no effect.
As the crocodile opens its mouth for seconds, a giant claymore skewers it from above.
Crack! With a push of her giant arm, the claymore cracks through the beast's skull.
It stops struggling.
"This is my dinner?"
…
She returned to the camp. Dragging the crocodile behind her.
Camilia gleefully pranced towards her.
"Oh hey, nice catch. Meow"
"Yes."
"Hey, I saw a spot where we get a good view. wanna come with?"
"Sure."
Later, Hikari followed Camilia to a mangrove tree large enough to be a landmark.
She remembered seeing it from miles away.
Its branches were thick enough to support even her weight.
From the top, they got a full view of the port city of Carla.
An imposing circular outer wall like a colosseum.
Spires that once held zeppelins still intact. Standing tall as they have done for centuries.
It looked completely abandoned.
"Meow. I don't see any hooded man. Meow could have sworn I saw hooded men running away to the city."
Boom! A cannon ball smashes into the outer wall. The Herdial sky fortress has begun shelling the city.
Boom! Another shell.
The duo watched the bombardment.
Camilia covers her ears.
Despite the bombardment, the fortress remained completely still.
"Lets go back."
"Meow! It's too noisy here. I can carve up that crocodile."
…
"Silora's bottoms, we're sure that every scout had seen the cultists converging on Carla? Are the cultists really just playing dead on us?"
"Shall we send a scout team? Maybe the cultists all stabbed themselves in the stomach?"
"Good plan. I say we just keep shelling them. We'll eventually hit their powder magazine."
"Let's just storm the stronghold as we planned."
Hikari carved up the crocodile meat as she listened to the officers bicker in their tents.
Thin slices. As thin as possible. Otherwise they don't cook.
Camilia shreds the meat into even smaller slices.
"Alright, get in line!"
Hungry men lined up for the meat.
"Is the leather enough for a new pair of boots? Perhaps running shoes?"
Hikari thought as she separated the meat from the skin.
In the neighboring camp, she could hear the sawing of wood.
Siege ramps were being assembled.
The problem is carving a road wide enough through the swamps to get them to the walls.
The crackling of firewood as the crocodile meat was being roasted.
Dropping them into the cauldron wouldn't cook them.
Camilia tore into a piece of cooked meat. She purred with satisfaction.
Hikari's mouth watered.
Several knights grabbed some skewers and pushed the meat onto her sword.
She ate.
…
Another day, Hikari had carved deeper into the swarm.
"Seven giant crocodiles, eight trolls, five carnivorous plants."
She counted as she sat atop the mangrove.
Boom. Boom. The sky fortress continued its shelling.
She saw many shells landing in the interior of the fortress.
But nothing was happening.
The roads were getting closer and closer to the fortress walls.
The troops had set up tree houses and looked out posts on the sides of the mangrove trees.
The swampy ground had been flattened enough for cannons to be towed forward.
Hikari circulated her mana. Her normal mana exercise like the one she would perform at the estate. Nothing had been happening for the past few days.
…
Hikari strided back into camp.
She dragged another giant crocodile by the tail behind her.
Only two today, the crocodiles had learnt not to mess with her anymore.
Special roasting pits had been set up to cook the meat.
It appears that the men would be disappointed today.
…
Hikari sat above the mangrove tree.
"Three giant crocodiles, three swamp trolls."
The route to the Carla fortress had been cleared.
She's pretty much hunting for the trophy at this point.
"They should sell well enough to buy a feast."
Like the troops, she felt like going home.
The shelling of Carla continued.
One more battle, and she can march back.
…
"A carnivorous plant cluster and ten dire Ents. Several dozen men got eaten."
She rested atop the mangrove.
The troops ran into a lot of monsters as they set up their cannon line.
"No crocodiles today?"
"No."
Camilia's ear's drooped.
"Ah, but meow found a lot of rats. The doctor says they are poisonous. But I ate them just fine. Want some?"
"They're too small."
"Oh right."
The beastkin snuggled.
They watched as the shelling from the ground began.
There was not a hint of even a musket coming from the fortress.
…
"Nothing happened today."
Hikari watched the siege progress from atop the mangrove.
Hiding under the cover of a siege rampart, the troops approach the wall.
There was no resistance.
With explosives, they blew holes into the wall and entered the fortress.
"Looks like it'll be over now."