Philippe Villiers de L’Isle-Adam sighed. He and his knights had been expecting a fierce battle against Suleiman, but they hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon. Atop his fortress walls, the leader of Rhodes stared at the enemy boats in the ocean, blockading the harbor. Philippe turned around, and he was greeted by the sight of a marching army, Suleiman’s army. With his small army of six hundred knights and forty-five hundred soldiers, it was going to be nearly impossible to defend Rhodes from the army of a hundred thousand men outside. However, it was his duty to do so. Besides, it may have been impossible, but there was still a chance. If Suleiman wanted to conquer Rhodes, he’d have to breach the walls, and the most effective way to do that was via gunpowder mines planted beneath them. Philippe had already drilled his men in countermining tactics; he wasn’t going to let the fortress fall that easily.

The thing was … the formation that the Ottomans took, it was a bit … odd. Philippe tapped on his second-in-command’s shoulder. “Look there,” he said and pointed. “What do you see?”

“It looks like the Ottomans are getting ready to charge?” the second-in-command said. A wrinkle appeared on his forehead as he squinted, his eyebrows nearly touching. “That can’t be. A charge is suicidal.”

“That’s what I was thinking as well,” Philippe said and crossed his arms. He tapped one finger against his metal armguards. “Logically speaking, the enemy forces should spread out, make sure none of us can leave the fortress to spring an attack on them. Then, they’d bombard our walls and try to breach them with mines. I heard their emperor, Suleiman, was a young genius who shut down a rebellion and conquered Belgrade, but this formation, I can’t make head nor tail of it.”

“Wasn’t there a rumor?” the second-in-command asked. “Suleiman is employing a devil-worshipping witch who boasts superior physical strength. She brought down the walls of Belgrade by herself.”

“Do you really believe that?” Philippe asked and snorted. “If people could really wield inhuman strength such as that, the borders of kingdoms would be changing without end. Witches are real, but they don’t have these kinds of abilities. At most, they can manipulate the weather or cause a bad harvest. I’ve never heard of a witch capable of destroying a fortress alone, and I’ve been given access to many confidential files as the Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.”

The second-in-command’s eyes widened. “What kind of information were in those files?”

“Fool!” Philippe resisted the urge to hit his second-in-command’s head. “They’re called confidential files for a reason! If you have time to think about such things, think about what our enemies are plotting.”

“It really does look like they’re planning on charging us,” the second-in-command said. He pointed. “Look, their cavalry are getting into formation.”

Philippe’s brow furrowed. “It’s a bluff,” he said and shook his head. He turned around and shouted at a few soldiers who were standing below the wall. “The first regiment, get the geophones and patrol the fortress, especially near the walls. No doubt, Suleiman has sent some people to dig and undermine our foundations whilst hoping his cruddy formation will distract us.”

Once a group of soldiers ran off, Philippe turned back towards the field of Ottoman soldiers. Judging by the animated gestures of a few men dressed in fancy clothes, it seemed like Suleiman’s advisors were trying to persuade the young leader to take a different plan of approach. Philippe sniffed. It seemed like the emperor of the Ottomans was only so-so. However, Philippe didn’t let his guard down. His men were outnumbered twenty to one after all.

“It looks like they’re sending an envoy,” the second-in-command said and pointed. A lone figure was running ahead of the enemy’s still formation. Confusion spread on the second-in-command’s face, and he rubbed his eyes before squinting hard. “Is that a little girl? Grand Master, am I seeing things correctly?”

Philippe frowned. “That does seem to be a little girl,” he said. His frown deepened into a scowl. “To think he’d send a young child as an envoy. Did he think we wouldn’t give his envoys a chance to speak? We’re knights!”

“Grand Master,” the second-in-command said. “The girl is running really fast, faster than a horse.”

“No,” Philippe said and rolled his eyes. “That’s your mind playing tricks on you. We’re far away; the girl’s speed is simply a matter of perspective. Do you think a young child can run as—” Philippe’s mouth froze midsentence, and his eyes bulged.

“Grand Master, the girl just jumped over the trench!” the second-in-command shouted.

“I saw!” Philippe said. “The trench is over twenty feet long! How could a little girl jump that far?”

“Grand Master! Grand Master!” the second-in-command shrieked. “The little girl, she’s, she’s, she’s—”

Philippe smacked the second-in-command on the back of the head. “Shut up! I have eyes! I can see for myself!” He said that, but he was seriously doubting whether or not his eyes were working. If they truly were working, then that little girl had punched the tenaille apart into three pieces. “Jesus Christ!” The girl picked up a broken piece of the defensive structure, and the massive stone that was nearly as tall and as thick as the fortress walls was tossed aside like a pebble. The remaining two pieces flew through the air moments later as well!

“Grand Master! If she can do that to the tenaille, what’s going to happen to our walls!?” the second-in-command asked and clutched onto Philippe’s arm.

Philippe stood in a daze. Moments later, he snapped out of it and whirled around. “All of you, get up here! Bring the cannons! Bring the gunpowder mines! Hurry, hurry!”

Like wild animals in a burning forest, the soldiers dashed throughout the fortress, gathering everything they needed. However, by the time they made it to the top, it was too late. The little girl had reached the bottom of the fortress walls, and her arm was drawn back, her body taut like a bow. A majestic white cat sat on top of her head. It covered its ears as the little girl’s arm punched forward, striking the stone ahead of her.

The fortress walls collapsed.