Regina leaned against the battlements, watching the enemy army slowly advancing on the castle. They seemed to be taking their time, which she didn’t mind. It gave the defenders more time to prepare, and gave her time to regenerate some more mana. Of course, it was probably still smart of the intruders to go carefully and not rush in. They had to be making preparations of their own.

“This fort has never fallen to an enemy short of a monster horde,” Baron Neralt said. He stood a few meters away from her, watching the fields below the castle and the river flowing around it.

Regina turned to him, her interest peaked. “Another monster horde before the most recent one, too?”

He shook his head. “No, that was the only one.”

Regina nodded. She understood a bit better now why that one was apparently considered so sinister.

She kept looking out at the fields, listening to her hive’s psychic link in the back of her mind. She had been hoping to unlock a new Drone Template with this newest level. Especially a new type of Swarm Drones, since she’d gotten the last one ten levels ago. But it hadn’t happened. Maybe there would only be a new one at the next Tier, when she reached level 40.

If the war continues like this, that won’t even take long. Regina shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. It was long enough now that she needed to comb it properly. At the moment, there was dust and even a few tiny bits of debris stuck in it, which she combed out with her fingers.

She had healed a few of her drones and allied soldiers, but not everyone. None of them had an injury that would be fatal, even if it went untreated for a few hours. And she needed to conserve every bit of mana she could. Regina glanced at her mana level.

Mana: 1847/6250

She sighed to herself. Her mana was regenerating at a decent rate, overall. She was pretty sure her mana regeneration was based on some percentage of her mana pool. Presumably, one that varied based on the eggs she had in development. Increasing just her mana pool’s size, like when eggs hatched and she immediately added a new batch of the same size, sped up her mana regeneration slightly. Considering what she’d heard from Janis, Regina figured that her mana pool would be at least ten times or so the size of a normal mage at her level if she had as many drones as her hive limit allowed. Even now, it was probably several times the size.

“Ira,” Regina turned to look at her remaining senior Attendant, “if your mana is recovered, go and heal our fighters. Keep about a fifth of your mana pool in reserve.”

Ira nodded. “Yes, my Queen.” Then she turned and made for the stairs leading down.

Vin, one of the other Attendants, stepped closer to her. Regina glanced at him for a moment and gave him a nod before turning back to watch the castle’s surroundings.

Feel free to wait, she thought. The more time passes, the better.

They seemed prepared to oblige her, at least for now. A lot of torches burned, presumably making it easier for the humans to see in the growing darkness. Regina didn’t have that problem, and she idly wished there were less fires. Still, it sufficed to give her a good view of the enemy. Looking through the eyes of a few Winged Drones she carefully sent closer to the attacking army gave her an even better look.

Exhaling deeply, she turned her focus to her mana sense and reached out to her surroundings. She could feel the water rushing down in the river, just past the wall, which almost directly reached the island’s edge here. In fact, the river was swollen with recent rains, perhaps even from some storm caught in the mountains further upstream, and it lapped directly at the stones of the castle’s wall. Regina sent a trickle of magic into it and watched a ripple form in the river’s surface, which was quickly swallowed up again. It would take a lot of mana to affect the river in a meaningful way.

She stayed up there for what felt like hours, although she still hadn’t gotten the hang of estimating the passing of time by the movement of the sun and stars, but she doubted it was really that long. Still, her mana climbed up a little more, and she heard the defenders on the wall shift. Some went down for a short break, getting a meal from civilians in the yard. Those huddled in the houses and even the underground parts of the fortifications, including the cellar where Regina and her first drones had stayed overnight once. It felt like ages ago, Regina mused as she glanced in that direction. Despite everything, she was very glad to be up here rather than down there right now.

She also looked for the gnomes, but couldn’t see them. She assumed they were sensibly staying inside. Most of the human villagers were doing the same, from what she could tell. Many of them looked worried, presumably concerned about both their homes and possibly friends or relatives among the fighters.

Regina frowned, turning back to look out at the scene beyond the castle’s walls. The village still stood, the intruders hadn’t burned it down yet. I wonder if that is because they want to take it over, or for some other reason? Maybe even to keep the road open behind them?

Finally, they started moving, and Regina tensed as she realized they were going to start the attack. The light of their torches flickered over the water of the river, which was dark except for a few points of light sprinkled across it, reflecting the starry sky up above. The moon was only a thin crescent half-covered by a cloud. At least the dark of the night hid Dark, who was circling above the water on silent wings. She’d decided to leave Arcanis inside. The large Mana Beast was hunched on one of the battlements, scratching its fur and shifting with nervousness. A soft touch of Regina’s mind calmed her, and the monster turned to look at the approaching army, snarling softly. Regina felt her entirely natural desire to chase away intruders into her territory, a surprisingly familiar sentiment.

“Here they come,” Neralt muttered. He glanced at Regina. “May I call the volleys?”

She looked at Anuis, who nodded. “Yes,” Regina answered. “Just make sure to coordinate with our elven allies. And, of course, wait for the proper time to engage.” He was a lot more experienced than her at this kind of thing, so this was probably best.

She wondered what the enemy leaders were thinking. They could hardly march up to the castle walls, could they? The bridge was taken down, too, the gate closed and barred. And they didn’t seem to have any fliers with them. Are they going to, what, evaporate the water with fire magic? This is a river, not a small, stagnant moat.

She got her answer when the army paused a few meters away from the waterline, the front ranks splitting to allow several groups of people closer to the front. In the time they had waited, they had apparently constructed wooden scaffolds, which they now brought to the fore. Presumably, bridges or overpasses to cross the water, and probably ladders to scale the walls, unless they had something planned for the gate.

“Hm. Pretty simple,” Regina mused quietly. “I guess they do outnumber us significantly.”

“Tactics like these usually assume heavy losses on the attacker’s side,” Neralt quietly confirmed. “But they are the only thing to do when assaulting a position like this.” He didn’t say ‘this is why I wanted to fight here from the start’, but she heard it anyway.

Still, their enemies were protecting what they brought. Anuis nocked an arrow and set it alight with a whispered word, then sent it shooting down at the attackers. Her aim was perfect, hitting one of the wooden beams dead center. Or rather, it would have, but the arrow stopped just ten centimeters or so above it, its fire winking out. Regina thought she saw a faint blue flash. Magical shields.

Neralt examined it with narrowed eyes, then glanced up after a few seconds. “Archers, make ready,” he commanded. He paused for a few seconds while they prepared, then continued. “Loose a volley - now!”

A curtain of arrows fell from the castle’s defenders who stood on the walls and towers, falling upon the enemy siege apparatus. They sparked off their shielding, but Regina could now actually sense the mana in use. One arrow — fired by Anuis, she realized after a moment, flying with more force than the others — actually punched through, striking the junction of two wooden logs. Unfortunately, this one was not a fire arrow, and while it probably damaged the mechanism, it didn’t accomplish much overall.

“We could probably wear out their shields this way,” the baron assessed. “But it would take time, most likely enough for them to cross.”

“We could try using more force,” Regina said. She glanced around, nudged a few of her drones, then continued, “I’ll use a flock of Winged Drones.”

Twenty of the flying drones rose into the air, most of them clutching a barrel or wooden casing filled with explosives. Regina drew a steadying breath, then fired off a Fireball to give them some cover and as a distraction.

The magical attack slammed into the ground just before a group of gathered human soldiers, right at the edge of the river. Sparks and even splashes of water flew into the air, and for a moment, she could see a big section of the shield. The Winged Drones dove immediately, letting their cargo drop and turning back.

Like Regina had suspected, they were dealing with not just one large shield, but several zones. Some of them actually collapsed under the weight of the attack, her mana senses registered it, like a soft pop. Some of the wooden scaffolds ripped apart, wood starting to burn with a glow that illuminated the scrambling soldiers around them.

Unfortunately, the humans were spread out, using several approaches. Some of them fell to the flames, but others remained protected, working feverishly to complete the crossing. They had to be using magic or specialized Abilities, bringing the simple wooden bridges down with one end across the river. Already, soldiers were starting to cross them.

Regina tried another bombing run, this time using a few more Winged Drones. A few of the rough footbridges broke, sending soldiers trying to cross them into the raging waters. But others endured, the waters suddenly smoothing around them, wood emerging unscathed or even straightening again.

“Throw down caskets!” Ben called. Regina glanced at him, then watched as the containers, filled with alcohol and most of them set on fire, rained down onto the bridges and crossing soldiers. Some were turned away before they struck. Others hit and even managed to set them ablaze, but were quickly extinguished. Still, at least it slowed the enemies’ advance.

“We should keep most of those in reserve to use against closer assailants,” Anuis commented. Regina nodded.

She centered herself, making herself wait as she watched more men crossing the river and approaching the castle. Even if they managed to cross, there wasn’t exactly much room below the walls. And their army was still spread out, only the vanguard managing to even partly make it onto the island. She swept her gaze across them, noting Classes and levels. Unsurprisingly, these all seemed to be pretty high leveled. Their Classes were about what she’d expected based on her prior experience with human soldiers, although she noted a few that seemed to be magic-using Classes, including two Mages, a Water Mage and a Wood Mage. She hadn’t known that was even a thing.

A bolt whizzed past her, and she leaned back. The attackers were trying to cover their approach with arrows and other ranged weapons. Neralt had the defenders respond, not in orchestrated volleys this time, but freely, letting them pick off targets of opportunity.

“Can’t you do something with the river?” he finally asked, turning to her. “We are thinning their numbers, but too many of them are still waiting to cross soon.”

Regina narrowed her eyes and nodded after a moment. “I’ll try.”

She exhaled, deliberately relaxing her tense muscles, and closed her eyes for a moment. Then she focused on the water rushing by below. She refused to be hurried and instead slowly sank her attention deeper into it. In the background of her mind, she caught Ben calling commands at the drones, but she paid it no mind.

She had a lot of mana, compared to any ordinary mage, and she was going to need it. The volume of water in the river was high, and trying to move or stop it felt like trying to fly with her wings half-furled. But she didn’t have to stem it entirely. Instead, Regina just focused on holding it back, on grabbing some water and pulling, building pressure in the river.

Finally, she carefully extracted her attention from the river and turned to her surroundings, still holding the mana working. It felt like pressure was building behind her eyes, and she knew she couldn’t hold it for much longer, especially with the way her mana was draining.

Far more soldiers were already across the river, and Regina almost blinked. They were trying to get ladders secured against the walls. More soldiers were crowding the bridges, and the pressure from the defenders must have lessened, maybe focusing on the fighters closer to the walls.

She snarled and hissed softly, too focused on what was in front of her to notice if anyone reacted. She mentally pulled on her mana and the water in her grip, then all at once slackened her grip and gave it a mental shove.

At once, a cry rose from the enemy soldiers. Regina squinted and watched. The river’s water level had dropped precariously, but now the wave building just in front of the of the island’s beginning swelled to refill it explosively. Regina focused once more and twisted mentally, guiding it into the branch with most of the army.

A moment later, it reached the improvised bridges and covered them and the soldiers using them. Regina saw one of the scaffolds torn in half by the raging water. Others fared little better.

“Now!” Max called. “Drop the next wave of bombs.”

She blinked and focused on the Winged Drones, telling them to do as he said. Then Regina staggered against the balustrade, watching.

The rest of the defenders took advantage, as well. A new wave of tar and burning liquid, along with improvised incendiary grenades, hit the soldiers who still had sure footing. Regina took a moment to breath, noting that she only had a few hundred points of mana left. She leaned forward to try and get a better view of what was happening.

She spotted an enemy soldier clinging to a protrusion of rock on the wall that had definitely not been there before. Regina hesitated, then decided she might as well. She focused on her newest Spell again, guiding her mana and sharpening her senses.

It was a faint sensation, far more so than even the river further away, but it was enough. Regina grabbed onto it and compressed it with her mind, staring unblinkingly at the man. For a moment, she thought it didn’t work. But she could feel that it did. The man toppled off the wall, falling to strike two soldiers hunkered down below, drops of blood spraying into the air from burst blood vessels.

Someone grabbed her arm and pulled her back. It took Regina a moment to realize that it was Max. “You’re exhausted,” he told her. “You did a lot, just rest for a minute while we finish up.”

Regina hesitated for a moment, then she nodded. She stepped a few meters away and sat on the edge of the battlements, where she was hopefully not in the way.

After a few seconds, she tipped her head back and looked up into the sky. A larger group of Winged Drones was taking to the air. Right now, she was glad that they had rationed their explosives carefully. She closed her eyes and slipped into the mind of a drone, watching as they canvassed the remains of the human army that was still on the other side of the river, the drones dropping bombs and causing mayhem. This time, return fire was scattered and quickly petered out even when it wasn’t doomed to miss.

Regina smiled to herself, content to let her mana regenerate for a bit while the battle concluded. She would need a lot of it later for healing.

Finally, after a wait that seemed to drag on, loaded with tension, even though she knew it wasn’t really that long, she got another notification she’d been hoping for.

You have leveled up You may now select another Ability

Regina stretched and stood up. Janis was right, she reflected. War does make for the quickest leveling.