NSLICE-00P had spent only an hour or two in Castra Turannia, so it did not take her long to catch up to the Dobhar force. Soon she landed in front of a surprised Uscfrea. The moment the Mana Barrier dropped, Estrith gripped the ground with all her might, trembling as she lay upon it.

“Queen of the Dobhar…p-please never do that again.”

“Negative Response: This unit cannot comply with that request, as flight is considered as a necessary capability for this unit.”

Uscfrea raised an eyebrow but bowed the NSLICE-00P.

“My Queen, you’ve arrived more quickly than expected. I thought you had business in Castra Turannia?”

“Affirmative. Explanation: The war indemnity is paid and all contract obligations with entity ‘Empire’ have been fulfilled.”

Uscfrea began nodding before suddenly freezing in place.

“My Queen…did you say…you paid the indemnity?”

“Affirmative.”

Uscfrea blinked.

“By yourself? With your own money?”

“Affirmative.”

“...just the first payment, right?”

“Negative. Clarification: This unit delivered the amount stated by the contract.”

Uscfrea stared for a second before bowing his head.

“My Queen, we thank you for your generosity.”

“Acknowledged. Recommendation: Subordinates should continue on transit route. This unit will begin patrol routines to ensure safe passage.”

Uscfrea watched NSLICE-00P as she flew back up into the sky. Then he shook his head.

He was more and more confused about this strange mercenary…and worried what she might want in exchange for the indemnity...but she was right in that they should get moving. They needed to regroup with the Home Fleet as soon as possible.

So he shouted at the Dobhar, and they started to move once again.

…After he picked Estrith up off the ground, that is.

A few days later, the Dobhar army was nearing the coast. They could see the Legion's coastal fort atop the cliff, and would soon see the Home Fleet in the ocean beyond.

NSLICE-00P was flying in the sky when she suddenly turned her head. She quickly descended to where Uscfrea led the column.

“Warning: Friendly maritime units are under attack by hostiles. This unit is engaging termination protocols. All friendly units should do likewise.”

Uscfrea’s eyes had just started to widen when NSLICE-00P’s eye turned red and she engaged her combat mode. She didn’t wait for his response as she shot back into the air, zipping past the coastal fort and flying out over the sea.

Hundreds of small rafts made of wood and bone filled the sea near the shores. They were moving towards the shores, trying to land on the beach. At the far end of the fleet, NSLICE-00P could see water splashing and zoomed in.

Black and white whales were attacking the ships. The orcas breached out of the water and slammed into the rafts, breaking them apart or tipping them over. Spear-armed Dobar fell into the water, only to be assaulted by the whales. The few Dobhar warriors left behind to defend the fleet fought back with their harpoons, but were struggling to deal any serious blows.

Just behind the thin line of Dobhar warriors were the ships of the Home Fleet, filled with young mothers, Dobhar pups, and elderly. These were moving as close as they could to the shore, trying to escape the battlefield.

Uscfrea grit his teeth as he reached the edge of the cliff and saw what was happening.

“Those idiots! I told them to move onto the land!”

The former king let out a shout and the Dobhar army began to rush down the cliff. But it would take them some time to climb down to the shore and then swim out to the battle.

The orcas then let out a mana-filled cry, all as one. The Dobhar warriors out at sea, as well as the non-combatants behind them, clutched at their ears and started to tremble in place. One of the whales broke past the defensive line and bumped into a raft. One of the pups on-board was knocked off the ship and fell into the water. The orca spun around and rushed straight towards the pup. The pup’s mother cried out, shook out of her daze, and dove off the ship…

NSLICE-00P then pumped out her mana into a massive Aurora Barrage magic circle. All the Dobhar’s eyes turned towards the sky, their eyes widening at the glowing lights above.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Beams of light descended on the sea. They began to strike the orca that passed the line, just as it approached the pup. The monster let out a cry and dove back under the water. The Light Beams followed but lost power quickly once they passed the surface of the ocean.

But the monster had abandoned its pursuit. The Dobhar mother managed to grab her pup and climb back onto the raft.

NSLICE-00P continued after the orca, moving closer to the frontlines. She could have Supercharged and fused all the Aurora Barrage beams together to try and take down her underwater target with raw power, but she decided not to. It would be inefficient if she had to do that for every target on the field…and she had already acknowledged Light Beam’s inefficiency against water. So first, she wanted to determine which of her available attacks would be most efficient under these conditions.

She already knew her physical weapons would be inefficient. She hadn’t been equipped with a naval warfare loadout when she arrived here, after all. Regular firearms just weren’t going to do that well against underwater targets, though they could be used whenever the whales broke the surface. Bullets could even ricochet off the water, creating an unacceptable risk of friendly fire.

So instead, she redirected the Aurora Barrage assault to the frontlines, trying to provide covering fire for the Dobhar engaged there. Meanwhile she charged the energy channels in her arms, preparing to test some infused Mana Beams once again. And this time, she happened to have a new attribute to test first.

So she chased after the orca she had already struck, moving down closer to the water.

And then she opened fire with the white and golden Holy Attribute-infused Mana Beam.

The beam passed straight through the water and pierced right through the orca. It let out a horrific wail, its black mana streaming off its body and scattering under the golden beam.

You have slain Dread Orca (Level 63)!

Gained 29 Personal XP and 3 Dungeon XP!