Arthur and Sylvie walked down the hall to the floating castle's teleportation gate, as Regis remained in Arthur's aether core as his secret weapon. Only a handful of people knew of Regis' existence, not even the other Lances were aware of him, all so Arthur could bring him out at just the right moment.

In a matter of hours the Alacryan fleet would arrive, and either Arthur's plan would work or fail. Just like in the previous timeline, as Arthur approached he saw Virion, Alduin, Merial, and Tess waiting to send him off. He and Sylvie received well wishes from everyone, but when it came to Tess Arthur wasn't sure how to act. Luckily she did.

"Good luck," she said, and wrapped her arms around his neck to bring him down and kiss him on the lips. It wasn't as passionate as they had in the past, but considering how the past week had gone, he felt amazingly better.

After the massive amount of truth Arthur and dropped on her, Tess needed time, a lot of time. She wasn't sure who Arthur was anymore, was he the boy that saved her life and she grew up with? Or was he a fifty year old king from another world? Her confusion led to questions, and having lunch and sometimes dinner together every day, where they discussed his past life over a meal. There it was mostly only business, she was never affectionate, though she desperately wanted to be. She saw how much this was hurting him, how sad and scared he was, but she knew she had to stay strong. She needed to understand who Arthur really was, and if his past life affected how she felt about him.

After breaking the kiss she moved to his ear away from her family.

"Be careful and come back to me," she whispered, and released him.

With a renewed spark of hope Arthur gave his first genuine smile since he returned to the castle.

"I'll always come back to you," he replied, and kissed the back of one of her hands, getting a nice little blush from her.

"I'll see you all in a few days," Arthur said, and exited through the portal.

—————————————————————

"Hello General, Lady Sylvie," an armored soldier greeted as they exited the portal. "Welcome to Etistin."

"Thank you, can you direct me to the command center?" Arthur replied.

"I'll take you there personally sir."
With that Arthur and Sylvie followed the soldier through the city, where all sorts of preparations were being made. The civilians were evacuated for their own safety as soon as the fleet was spotted. Now the city looked like a large military base, with knights and adventurers from all three races doing everything from moving supplies to training. Barriers were being erected as supplies were being strategically placed. The plan for the worst case scenario, being they couldn't hold the Alacryan's back, was that several groups of soldiers would continue fighting in the city to provide time for the wounded and a majority of the survivors to escape.

In the last timeline this strategy was also in place, but after Nico and Cadell forced Varay, Aya, and Mica to retreat, all hell broke loose. Nico began to massacre the retreating soldiers, seemingly for his own entertainment. Not until Cadell intervened did Nico stop, but it was too late for anyone to stop the chaos.

—————————————————————-

Arthur and Sylvie were led up to the top of a tower in the now fortified castle. They entered a circular room with Barion in the center on a raised platform where he overlooked an earthen table that resembled the battlefield, with three dwarves surrounding it changing the topography in as close to real time as possible. And surrounding them were desks of individuals with communication scrolls, who no doubt would be relaying updates to Barion as well as relay his orders after the battle began.

"Bairon," Arthur greeted as he approached the center of the room.

"Arthur," Bairon replied, sounding slightly annoyed.

"So what's our status?" Arthur asked.

Bairon grunted. "Everything is almost ready. General Varay finished with the battlefield a few hours ago and is recovering before the battle begins, and our last divisions of soldiers are arriving at the ice field now."

"Very good," Arthur replied emotionlessly as he looked over the map.

"You're enjoying this aren't you," Barion asked, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "You know, being in charge."

—————————————————————

Five days ago

"So did you hear? Apparently Arthur wiped out the whole horde of beast moving on the wall all by himself," Bairon said, trying to make small talk with Varay as they walked down the halls to their meeting with Commander Virion about the upcoming Alacryan fleet.
"I did. I'm curious how he managed it. I didn't think he had any area of effect spells," she replied, showing a rare curiosity.

As they approached the room they both stopped and their eyes widened. It was only for a second, but they knew they felt it, the strength of an Asura mana core. Quickly they moved again and burst into the room.

"Good morning," Virion replied, and raised an eyebrow at their entrance, and noticed them both looking around. "Are you looking for something in particular? You are in the right room."

"It's just..." Bairons voice trailed off as he couldn't understand why there was no one else in the room.

"We felt a powerful presence," Varay said, finishing Bairon's thought. "But clearly we were mistaken. It felt like an Asura."

"Hahaha," Virion laughed. "Now I understand. Hahaha."

"What's so funny?" Bairon asked, looking from Virion who was laughing, to Arthur who just sat there with a smile on his face.

"While fighting the beast horde, Arthur reached beyond a white core," Virion stated as he calmed down.

"What?!" Bairon said in shock as both he and Varay's heads shot to Arthur in disbelief.

Arthur just weakened his control over his mana, revealing his mana was stronger than a white core, then took it back under control.

"My mana isn't as strong as an Asura yet, but I can see why you made that mistake," Arthur said.

In truth, he believed if he could find a way to combine both his Aether and mana, he could actually rival one.

"Alright, now that the mystery has been solved take a seat you two." Virion then stood up and picked up a long straight wooden stick. "To begin I'll tell you the facts we already have to work with." He then pointed the stick to a map already on the table that had several small wooden ships on it to represent the Alacryan fleet.

"The Alacryan fleet is three hundred ships strong. Our best estimates suggest that each ship can hold roughly two hundred soldiers each. Giving them a fighting force of about six thousand soldiers." He then pointed to several knight figures. "Currently there are three thousand Dicathen soldiers stationed in Etistin, but by the time the ships arrive we should have at least ten thousand soldiers waiting for them."

"Ha, it seems we'll have the advantage here. There's no way they'll be able to overcome that great of a number difference," Bairon scoffed.

"Don't underestimate them. They've been preparing for this war for a long time, well before we even knew that they even existed. I can't imagine they would make such a tactical error in a head to head battle," Arthur chimed in, playing that he knew nothing about future events.

"Arthur's right," Varay said in agreement. "They've been for the most part controlling this war. With the exception of our recent victories at the Wall and Elenoir, any victories we had were costly."

"Which is why I don't want the soldiers to know our enemies numbers, the last thing we need is for them to be cocky that we'll win," Virion added, then sat down. "Now a command center is already being established inside Etistin castle. With the aid of diviners who can share their senses with their bonds, and directly communicate with captains on the ground, we'll have skilled dwarf mages create a map of the battlefield to for the most part show the course of the battle so Barion can command the troops accordingly."

"Wait me?" Bairon said, sounding surprised.

"Yes you. General Leywin actually recommended you for this. He actually made a very convincing argument," Virion replied.

"Thank you, I won't let you down," Bairon said, then eyed Arthur suspiciously.

"That said, you won't be in complete command," Virion added.

"What?!"

"Arthur will be in overall command of the plan, but he says he won't undermine you unless absolutely needed. He has already suggested a plan that I'm considering endorsing, but we want both of your opinions first," Virion said then gestured to Arthur.

"Thank you. The plan will be fairly simple. Since the Etistin shore isn't large enough for a battle of this scale, General Varay will create an ice field that stretches half a mile out." Arthur then looked to Varay. "I understand this will probably take some time, so I recommend starting right away since you'll be needed a lot on the day of the battle."

Varay nodded in acknowledgement, and Arthur continued.

"As the first ships approach, maybe several hundred feet from our new frozen shoreline, Sylvie and I will attack the ships from underwater and begin sinking them."

Both Bairon and Varay now looked at Arthur with a new level of seriousness.

"Then as the survivors try to swim to shore, Varay I want you to come across and freeze the water around the ships."

"Only a soulless commoner like you could ever come up with such a disgraceful idea like this!" Bairon spat. "To slaughter, even our enemies in such a way..."

"Do you think they would give us the same kind of courtesy? We are fighting a war against an enemy that has slowly been chipping away at our army, and shows no sign of stopping. What I'm doing is trying to save as many Dicathen lives as possible while killing as many of them as we can. So sorry if the idea of a Lance bloodying their hands is a problem for you, but this is war, and we are still soldiers," Arthur shot back, making no attempt to hide his annoyance.

"Arthur makes a good point," Varay chimed in. "Alacrya has shown they are perfectly fine using even more distasteful tactics and savagery. Those that I freeze will die quickly and painlessly. In a sense it's even merciful."

Bairon just became silent, allowing Arthur to continue.

"We won't use this strategy against the entire fleet, for one the soldiers shouldn't get used to the idea of victory being handed to them. But the main purpose of attacking the ships is to try and draw out any scythes or retainers that could be on one of the ships. Better to engage them in the beginning. The psychological effects of defeating one would have a tremendous effect on both sides, and if we can get lucky enough to take down more, that much better."

"Arthur," Virion said, an expression of worry all over his face. "I'm worried about you. I can't see dealing with more than one retainer at a time as a good thing."

Arthur smiled confidently.

"Who said I was aiming for retainers?"

—————————————————————-

"Not really. Being in charge just makes things easier as long as everyone does as they're told," Arthur replied, then turned around to leave.

"Are you saying I don't follow orders?" Bairon asked accusatorily.

"Not at all," Arthur said looking back. "You always follow orders completely and to the letter, with no exception."

Arthur and Sylvie left the room and flew down towards the shore. There they could see the thousands of soldiers moving into relaxed formations as they awaited the beginning of the
battle. Even though Arthur knew things would be different this time, he wondered how many of the soldiers would lose their lives.

Last time Curtis was among them, using bloodshed as his way to cope with the loss of both Kathyln and Lilia. But when things fell apart he stepped up as a leader and organized a staggered retreat, saving hundreds of soldiers, and bringing many of them to the sanctuary. This time however there would be no retreat, no matter how bad things got Arthur was determined to ensure Dicathen would be victorious.

"Hey look, it's Elsa!" Regis announced as they flew over the ice field, and he spotted Varay.

"As funny as that one is, no one else would know the reference."

"I know, but it's hard to just let it go."

"Pfft," Arthur laughed.

"Regis, start sharing," Sylvie chimed in.

Since completing their mission in Elenoir Sylvie and Regis' relationship had become a little less aggressive. Not because they came to an understanding, but because Regis began sharing every pop culture reference he had from Arthur's previous life so she wouldn't feel left out.

"Genera Varay," Arthur called as he came in for a landing beside her near the edge of the ice.

"General Arthur."

"Excellent work on the battlefield, I hope you had enough time to recover."

"I finished it yesterday so I'm ready."

The three of them stood in silence as the first ships approached, all filled with Alacrya's prisoners. In the previous timeline Arthur had a problem fighting the starved prisoners since their only purpose was fodder to weaken the Dicathen soldiers. This time however he didn't even bat an eye at this fact. It was a simple matter now, they needed to be defeated regardless. They were there to fight, and that's what they were going to do as soon as they disembarked.

After a few more minutes the ships had gotten close enough, it was time to begin.

"Good luck. If a scythe or retainer shows up just focus on defense until I can get to you," Arthur said, as Sylvie transformed into a dragon.

"Do you really think I don't stand a chance against either of them?"
"I think you might be able to handle a retainer, but their magic tends to be different from ours. If you can't figure it out quickly they can easily overwhelm you. Hence why I said to wait for me, two minds are better than one."

"Three minds," Regis stated.

"No, four," Sylvie added, then jumped into the water, using pure mana to make her tail a flipper like Arthur taught her in the previous timeline.

"You two do realize that any one of us could handle a retainer right?" Arthur said as he removed dawns ballad from his dimensional rune and secured it to his hip.

"I'm just thinking for her benefit, since you know every lady benefits greatly from being with me," Regis replied in a lewd tone.

"I'm sorry, but I see very little benefit being anywhere close to you," Sylvie shot back.

"Yup, just a fun outing with the kids," Arthur commented then dove into the water.

Using wind magic to create an air bubble around his head, and water magic to propel him through the water towards the first ship. Thanks to their bond Arthur could tell that Sylvie was already a couple dozen feet away headed to her first ship. Both were using mirage walk to avoid detection, but Arthur still felt concerned about Sylvie.

"Don't worry about me, worry about keeping up," Sylvie replied.

BOOM

Sylvie blew up her first ship.

"So it's a race you want," Arthur replied with an amused tone.

He came up to his first ship and focused wind mana into his sword, while still in its scabbard. Arthur drew his sword, and the blade of wind cut the ship in half, as well as halfway through the one beside it.

"Ooo, two for one special. Try to keep up now gecko." Regis chortled.

BOOM

"So says the weapon that's completely useless right now," Sylvie teased and moved on to her next target.

"Regis, B4," Arthur said in an effort to distract him, as he felt his anger building from his hurt pride.

"B4?"

Arthur then sliced through another ship with a water blade.

"Gasp! You sunk my battleship!"

Below water the race was on to sink the most ships, while above it looked like the ships were mysteriously blowing up one after another. Varay watched from above as she looked for her path that would keep her out of their way while also completing her portion of the mission. One after another ships went down from explosions, to just being cut in half by various elements. As she saw the survivors beginning to surface she thought about how helpless they were against this strategy. She almost even felt sorry for them, but reminded herself that every Alacryan they killed was another Dicathen that survived.

Once she saw her course she dove down and began freezing the water, ships, and soldiers. Occasionally other Alacryan ships would try and take a few shots at her, but they were quick to sink after that, from either Arthur or Sylvie. She wasn't sure if they were aware of what was happening on the surface, or if she was just lucky. Either way she was grateful that they were on the same side.

After sinking a little over a dozen ships each, they burst out of the water and flew up to meet up with Varay.

"What a beautiful sight," Regis commented as they saw the ice glistening from their aerial view.

"Do you think this'll be enough to draw out a Scythe or retainer?" Varay asked.

"Hopefully we'll see soon, but just in case."

Arthur's body sparked with electricity as he formed five blue flaming spears encased in black lightning, and hurled them at five ships closest to the shore, and blew them up.

"Let's wait on the shore and see what happens next."

The three descended and landed on the frozen shore, just as several ships collided with the floating sheet of ice. Spells from the mages collided in an attempt to break up the ice as the ships began pushing it along, so very slowly.

"Wow, this is so boring," Regis commented. "This is almost as bad as watching paint dry."

Suddenly the frozen sheet was ripped apart by a forest of black metal spikes that came up out of nowhere, then sank back down into the water. The four of them then felt a sudden pressure as a figure shot up into the air from one of the ships, and was moving closer to them.

"Just hold back and wait for right now," Arthur told Varay. "I'd like to test him out first."

"Is that a scythe?" She asked as she hid the fact that the pressure had shaken her nerves.

"Yup," Arthur replied.

"Here he comes," Regis said excitedly as he began humming the Imperial March.

The scythe landed a few feet away, just close enough so his face could be seen.

"Hey there old friend."