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Although Dixie wasn't particularly good at extremely long-range weapons, there were many others in the empire's army who were, and they were more than happy to join in on the fun.
Being able to participate in a 'sport' with their empress... it was like a dream come true. Had it not been for the limited long-range weaponry, even the regular soldiers would have jumped to join them atop the wall.
While they couldn't really shoot whoever they wanted… even a blind man might hit something when there were so many 'targets' packed together, and they weren't particularly picky.
It might have been a waste of bullets, but they had plenty in stock, and since each life they reaped now could end up saving one of their own later, Emilia naturally didn't mind. As for becoming a 'prime target' for the enemy by standing out like that... none of them seemed to care about such a thing.
Anyway, if the enemy had the ability to shoot them down, they would have definitely slaughtered their empress already. Plus, being right by her side... even if they died for her, wouldn't it be the best way to go?
If Emilia could hear their thoughts, she would have definitely kicked them in the butt. After all, she always believed in teaching the enemy a lesson, and self-sacrificial thoughts like that were simply not her style.
Instead of shielding someone you liked from the spearhead with your body, why not kill the enemy first? Anyway, if you died, wouldn't the one you were protecting be skewered seconds later anyway?
Luckily, she couldn't read minds, and Crystal was being kept far from the front lines.
The soldiers of the Federation could only keep their heads down and try their best to remain behind 'cover', though the continuous 'bangs' and the disgusting smell of burnt flesh and blood let them know full well just how effective such a strategy was.
The only 'fortunate' thing was that with so many 'comrades' to share their misfortune, their individual probability of doom was quite low, though that was quite miserable on its own.
Of course, not all of these soldiers were greenhorns, and while many were indeed shaking in their boots while moving forward, there were quite a few who only felt more excited with every step forward.
After all, the enemy might have the advantage now, but as long as they covered the next few hundred meters… the tables would definitely be flipped.
Even Emilia couldn't help but sigh in her heart when she noticed that even with dozens of heads exploding every second… the momentum of the Federation's army barely seemed to take a hit.
Of course, their attempt at copying her 'strategy' had failed spectacularly, though that was no surprise given that she had both the high ground and the initiative. Not to mention, the enemy 'sharpshooters' weren't nearly as good… especially after they died.
In fact, it wasn't really their fault. After all, not only did Emilia prioritize taking them down, but even the 'inaccurate' snipers by her side seemed to suddenly get better when it came to people targeting their princess.
Obviously, the enemy commanders couldn't let this situation continue.
The actual loss might be minor and more than acceptable, but if they kept getting one-sidedly bullied like that for a long time, it would definitely destroy their army's morale!
But of course, even if they knew what needed to be done, no one wanted to be in the position of the scapegoat who would be hated by their own people.
'The orders from above will come soon, anyway. They must be even more anxious than us, after all.'
Their intuition wasn't wrong, and as they expected, the commanders soon received the fateful authorization.
Even if they already knew it was going to happen, their expressions turned grim.
This wasn't a battle in which they would only lose grunts.
The costs didn't matter, but if they couldn't emerge victorious… they could forget about returning alive.
After all, retreating… was not an option.
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Although most of her shots kept meeting their mark, Emilia's brows remained furrowed as she kept randomly taking down enemies that caught her eye. 'Why are their leaders all so cowardly? Can't they even show their face?!'
Of course, if she could end this fight with a challenge for a 'one versus one' or even a 'one versus many' duel, that would be even better, but the crimson-haired girl knew that was only a pipe dream.
Not to mention that her reputation would have already made any enemy with even a semblance of intelligence wary of accepting such a 'bet', but clever and insidious snakes like the ones who led the Federation would never accept a 'confrontation' like that even if they'd been certain they would win.
Putting themselves at even the slightest risk was not their style, after all. And Emilia didn't need to guess to know that even if they might be using some means to observe it, those people couldn't be even close to the battlefield today.
It was quite unfortunate, since she didn't even have the option to try ending the battle by taking off the enemy leader's head. Killing the military commanders and all might be a blow to the enemy's morale, but Emilia knew it wouldn't stop the war.
Her enemy had hundreds of those 'pawns' they could easily afford to lose, after all. At most, they would only curse at her for having made her waste them, but that was it.
The more she thought about it, the more infuriated Emilia became. Unconsciously, even the sniper in her hand was imbued with trace amounts of chaos energy, making the 'explosions' on the battlefield even more 'dazzling'.
Cynthia hesitated, but after noticing that the chaos energy only seemed to cause the effect through its aura and wasn't being consumed by her partner's unconscious actions, she decided not to interrupt her. 'It's all good as long as she doesn't put herself in too much danger, anyway.'
"What an amazing shot!"
"Ahh! Why can't I hit them right in the middle of their brows too?!"
"Hit it! I hit it!"
But unfortunately, while Emilia's fireworks did motivate the empire's soldiers, they completely failed to have any deterring effect on the enemy.
After all, not to mention that the visibility from the ground wasn't as good and no one could see far, they simply had no time to pay much attention to the increased level of brutality with which the heads of their companions were exploding.
"All units, charge forward!"
"Ignore all obstacles and keep moving!"
Even though she knew that it was impossible to send them packing without a real 'fight', Emilia couldn't help but be shocked at the speed of their advance.
The enemy army seemed to not even try to come up with new strategies, and just rushed towards them irrespective of any traps on the way.
Explosions went off one after another, and even the 'fanatic' soldiers by Emilia's side shuddered as they watched metal and flesh alike fly into the air mixed with the dust and smoke.
Some people in the Federation's army obviously didn't want to rush to certain death, but there was no avoiding it.
The moment they paused, they would be dead anyway.
"Insubordination is treason, and you will face not only death, but disgrace! Keep charging!"
Obviously, to convey orders on the battlefield, someone had to stand out.
Emilia hummed. "Looking so imposing, he must be important, right…?"
The cover of the vehicle he was hiding in and the megaphone in his hand did little to help the man, and with a bang, his head exploded 'beautifully'.
"There… much better."
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This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶