The attack on the city was a demonstration of power.

As Tim watched them, circling in the air and gazing through the eyes of several flying drones, he hoped the message was received. They had worked under some difficult constraints, especially when it came to avoiding civilian casualties and collateral damage.

Too much damage would make it pointless. They weren’t here to destroy the country, after all. Their actual goal was closer to the opposite.

Tim absentmindedly patted his mount’s shoulder and turned it to head further east, towards the army Lyns had left. Their real goal, in more than one sense. Tim was mostly alone, now, but he’d wanted to be close enough to be able to work effectively for this battle.

He was a bit tired, he had to admit. He’d spent most of his time on the southern front, preparing to fight and organizing the campaign against the gnomes, before he’d hurried into Cernlia for their new plan. At least the Hive had a few rather fast Winged Drone Mounts now.

Behind him, the strike force that had been assigned to threatening the city retreated in good order. They were short on sapient drones, especially now, but the Winged Drones’ natural tendency for coordination and obedience to their superiors helped it go smoothly. They were even better at staying in formation than War Drones, all things considered, which he supposed was necessary because of the flying. Right now, there were far fewer drones than had set out to fight. A quick estimate showed a third to half of their number as losses. Tim grimaced, but continued on, trusting in those of his siblings who remained and leaving the task of a more detailed accounting of casualties to them.

Lyns’ army, which he supposed he had to get used to simply calling the Cernlian army nowadays, wasn’t actually too far from the capital. The farthest eastern reaches of Cernlia had already come under Lyns’ rule with no bloodshed, just their local lords promising him their allegiance. They’d remain unbothered out there, regardless of who won the civil war. Although that region was more sparsely populated, since it tended to be a bit arid. The really important area was the region east of the country’s capital, which had a few natural resources and a higher population, even if it had suffered from the war more. This was what Lyns had wanted to secure. There were quite a few castles where belligerent lords could hole up and frustrate him, so the plan had been to take the most important ones traveling in an arc through the region, as Tim understood.

Of course, by now, that wasn’t really the problem. At least, Tim seriously doubted Lyns was mostly concerned with hypothetical Cernlians that weren’t yet loyal or planned to rebel. He couldn’t just leave them alone, especially if he was concerned about another rebellion against his rule which might get help here, but he had to realize the Hive was the bigger problem.

Regina’s declaration of war should have arrived on time. And then some … appropriate flair, Tim thought with a small grin. Technically it was all in Kiara’s name, of course, not that it made much difference when the Hive would be fighting … along with the Cernlians whose support they could gather.

Of course, it probably would have been more sporting to deliver the declaration of war at least a day or so before they attacked, but that would not have left much room for the element of surprise, compared to doing it shortly beforehand. And given how the marquis had instigated this conflict, he didn’t feel particularly guilty about it. Although Tim did wish he could have seen Lyns’ face when the letter arrived. Or the one from Kiara, he’d heard she’d sent one along, too.

The biggest problem might be proving it to outsiders to avoid the appearance of the Hive being aggressive and expansionist, he mused. Which would be a hard sell. And it wouldn’t exactly be a wrong impression, would it? he considered, but dismissed the thought. He trusted his Queen to guide the Hive, and if she wanted further wars then he would cheerfully fight them, even if he wouldn’t be able to see the obvious benefits and reasons for this one. Either way, there remained the issue of foreign politics … but he didn’t think it really mattered that much, he concluded after thinking about it for a moment. The gnomes already hated them. Nerlia would be watching carefully and probably be secretly glad. The Esemen would just try to take advantage of anything and believe what suited them. The elves were unlikely to take a stand against the Hive at this point, and hostile to Nerlia and Cernlia anyway. Anyone else, they would probably see what they wanted to see, believe what fit their preconceptions and what allowed them to stay safe.

Still, as Tim flew on to the next station of his mission, he reached out to Ray and a few others of the Hive’s diplomats, to check on how they were handling things.

Ray seemed happy enough to chat and assured Tim that they were going to gather all the evidence they possibly could. It’s one reason we attacked so quickly, and getting Margaret Szertyn out is definitely going to help, he told him. Besides that, we’re also working on the other Cernlian notables.

Tim was slightly surprised at that, but not in a bad way. That’s good, I guess, he answered. They were trying to get everyone they could on their side, after all.

I’ve been talking to Via and going over the information from Madris, Ray assured him. We’ve got this handled. Although I may ask you to approach a few people, in particular.

Sure, I’ll do what I can to help, Tim agreed readily. Then paused, as he remembered something. Ah. Using my Royal Champion status again?

See, you’re smart, not just a musclehead, show everyone that, Ray said cheerfully.

Tim snorted, amused despite himself, before he turned his attention back to his surroundings. He was getting close to his target now.

It was, unfortunately, pretty difficult just to maintain access to the army, given its current distance from the Hive’s territory. It was why most of their gathered ground troops — and, perhaps more importantly, Delver allies — were unable to effectively participate right now. But the Hive did have a sizeable number of Winged Drones, and it wasn’t beyond reasonable flight distance. The psychic link might feel a bit strained due to the distance as well, but it was still perfectly functional. Especially with Regina moving east.

On some level, he wished they could just bomb the army into oblivion. Unfortunately, the plan had to be a bit more complicated than that.

Tim tugged his mount down to lose some altitude and get closer to the action. By now, he’d reached the other drones waiting for him, who were a bit more spread out than the army they’d sent to the city.

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The first wave had already started, he noted as he focused on them more intently. Forming a rough circle, they’d brought the Cernlian army to a halt and were cutting its movements off without truly hurting anyone. Tim knew there probably would be some casualties, but keeping those down and minimizing any bloodshed was one of their priorities.

The goal was to show the Cernlians that they could destroy them, after all … but not actually do so. There was more to it than just intimidation, but it would take a real idiot to fight against someone who they knew could kill them and was only holding back out of mercy. And Tim knew Regina was prepared to fight properly if it was needed after all. Even Kiara, after everything that had happened, would approve it even if she didn’t like it. Although he hoped it wouldn’t come to that for her sake, as well. He was pretty sure Kiara would regret it, and it wouldn’t exactly be good for them if she bought her throne with blood, either.

So, Tim focused on the mission and the way the Cernlian soldiers spread out below him. They were obviously hesitant, he didn’t need to have Regina’s psychic abilities to tell him that. The Hive’s flying drones did make for a rather intimidating sight. Especially since Ada had taken it upon herself to make them a little more intimidating by arranging some maneuvers.

Having fun? he asked her drily.

Oh, sure, she answered breezily. He could tell she was distracted watching the unit of Winged Drones that was currently dry-running a bombing attack above the human army.

Well, at least it was better than whatever the heck she’d done before. It looked like drawing in the air, but the arrows might have been meant to be actual arrows instead of symbolic art.

This is actually helpful, Tim, she told him, a bit more seriously. We are demonstrating our maneuverability, control and coordination. Most of these soldiers have seen enough of us to know what it means. Besides, you know we can still seamlessly start an attack if we have to.

I guess, he conceded. Don’t forget that we will have to fight, though. Unless we’re a lot luckier than I’m expecting.

She sent a wordless acknowledgment, and Tim focused on the army below to look for the people who would probably be deciding this. A lot depended on whether the army would just hunker down or try and counterattack (assuming you counted this as an attack). And that would probably depend on the loyalties and goals of the people in charge.

Tim frowned as he finally found Duke Bluegrass. The older man looked just a bit bedraggled, and he wondered if he’d heard about his daughter’s arrest. The fact the two of them had been in separate places was already suspicious, and made him wonder if the ‘king’ had insisted on it to get leverage. Right now, the duke appeared to be having a shouting match with someone Tim vaguely recognized as a Cernlian general from the information the Hive had collected.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Bluegrass was having a lot of success with getting the other man to see things his way — if he had to guess, to settle down and talk to the Hive’s drones. Instead, the guy evidently shouted over him, turning and gesturing at a group of men lingering nearby. They sprang into action and a few runners were sent off to other parts of the army.

It had been on the move, so a little spread out, but they had kept their supply wagons well-protected towards the back of the formation, and elite soldiers seemed to be scattered all through their column, if he guessed correctly. They’d clearly anticipated some potential trouble.

Let’s step this up a bit, Tim decided, talking to Ada and the others. Show them a few explosions, especially cutting off the way back. He sent them a mental impression of what he meant, and they agreed.

A moment later, the sapient drones present relayed his orders to the Winged Drones and they started moving, letting the Hive’s psychic link coordinate them. He redirected a few units and checked to make sure they were all moving properly.

Quickly, the strike he’d ordered started. A small wave of Winged Drones descended a bit and dropped small bombs in a coordinated line, like a strip of dominoes getting knocked over.

Dust rose into the air and he watched humans scream and retreat, although none of them had been hit. Instead, the Hive carved a line across the terrain, encircling the army with a bit more than a half-circle, getting close to their supply wagons. It was a clear statement: They had them trapped and could strike at their leisure.

Of course, it didn’t go unanswered. Tim knew they’d probably already been preparing to attack. Now, as if in answer to their explosives, a rain of javelins and Magic Missiles rose into the air. The Cernlians had clearly adopted this as a common tactic, Tim noted, trying to stay dispassionate as he watched some of his drones fall to the enemy fire.

The Hive retreated upwards just a little without making it seem like they were doing so, taking advantage of the return of the drones he’d employed. They were high enough up that he knew most of the soldiers down below wouldn’t be able to fight them at all, but his nerves still felt taut.

What now? Ada asked. Do we fight back? Talk to Bluegrass?

Tim frowned, looking at the human nobleman again. He was gazing upward. Then, slowly and deliberately, he raised one hand and waved just a bit, before he turned to go.

Keep getting closer, Tim directed. Wait for the army to split in two. They’ll probably start fighting each other soon. We need to attack those against us, and focus on encouraging everyone to pick the right side at the same time.

True to his words, he’d barely started turning his mount around to get a bit closer before the sound of fighting started in the camp.

Tim watched, switching between the eyes of several Swarm Drones. It was obvious things were heating up, and lines were being drawn. As soon as he recognized the first proper border between groups of soldiers fighting, he directed some of his people to start interfering.

A few more bombs fell, screams rose into the air closely followed by arrows and Spells.

It was chaotic, and he was immensely grateful for some of the sapient drones further away stepping in and helping them sort it out. He had underestimated how hard it would be, how the smoke and chaos of the army devolving beneath them would hinder any attempt to organize and realize what was happening. If he’d expected neat and proper delineations between groups lining up to fight for and against a side, he would have been immensely disappointed.

After considering it for a moment, Tim nudged one of the War Drones they’d brought along, currently riding a flying mount, to the ground. It was a relatively high-level one, but a rare Skill made it too valuable to risk in fighting under normal circumstances. Regina had spoken through it a few times and it had developed an Ability accordingly which made it easier. Now, she wouldn’t want Tim to get down there and risk his life, but the drone doing it was okay.

It took him a bit until he managed to safely guide the drone down. Sensibly, Duke Bluegrass stayed back from the worst of the fighting, surrounded by a few knights. They raised their weapons as the drones approached, but the Duke held up a hand to stop them.

“Greetings, Hive Drone,” he called up at them. “May we count on your help?”

Tim focused on the drone. He activated his Skill, which helped a little; Queen’s Charge wasn’t really designed to boost something this delicate, but Regina had ordered him to function as speaker for her today.

“Yes, if you support Kiara. We do not want to kill allies,” the drone responded as it set down and crawled from the Winged Drone. The words were garbled, but understandable, he hoped.

Bluegrass tilted his head and frowned, then nodded. “I have made tentative alliances with others, and we have tried to pull our forces together. If you could start at the northern end, perhaps?”

“Okay,” the drone responded according to Tim’s direction. “This one will stay to relay. Also … your daughter was arrested, we took her out.”

Bluegrass’s eyes widened. “Margaret? Is she safe?”

“Yes,” the drone nodded.

“Good,” he sighed. “Then — I will help you convince some of those who are wavering of the justice of your cause. Our cause, I mean. All hail Princess Kiara … first of her name?”

The drone almost laughed. Judging by the Duke’s grimace, it didn’t seem very much like a laugh, but the man still turned and started organizing his men to coordinate with further strikes from the Hive.

The battle would continue, but Tim had no doubt about its outcome now.