I felt like a historical marshal watching their army march along to battle. Although I should probably sit on a horse for that picture, not stand on a flying sword.

I turned and watched the mountains rising up behind the soldiers. This mountain range really wasn’t big, but its sickle shape stretched across most of the horizon from here. The Central Mountains had peaks just as high, but not directly at the edge and everywhere. I doubted that this was made naturally, but who knew?

Around me, a lot of people bustled around, both on the ground and in the air. Besides the guards, most of the members of my retinue weren’t far. They could use some of the fluent discipline the soldiers showed. A bit annoyed, I moved further away, letting them sort themselves out while I ascended further, closer to the main body of the army.

Tenira didn’t let me get away, following at once. “Don’t you trust the rest, Inaris?” she asked. “I don’t think they know that you just plan to lure the nomads out. A few of the officers were pretty surprised at the official plan, as well.”

I rolled my eyes a bit and turned around. “Well, it is a bit of a test. If the nomads don’t take the bait, I plan to continue and actually sack their base.” That would be a point of evidence on whether we had a traitor in our ranks, as well. “But don’t worry, I’m not going to kill civilians.”

Despite what I’d said I wanted to do, was the implication here, but I didn’t spell it out.

Tenira waved that away. “I understand. Let’s just hope that the raiders don’t, and take the hint.” She frowned. “We are moving pretty directly to where Aiki Ilia said, but it’s not like they could tell our exact destination just from the direction we’re going now.”

I shrugged. “We’re clearly moving to the border, so …”

Of course, we left a few task forces behind, so the nomads couldn’t simply abscond from the mountains and go raid deeper inland. At least not easily. But I didn’t worry too much. Even if they knew what we were doing, they’d still feel a need to defend their homes and families. That was why we were doing this, after all.

I just spared a second to be thankful that the capital and palace were far away from the Zarieni, not that they could realistically take it.

The army was picking up speed now, despite the lack of a road to follow. At least the grassy plain should be easy enough to handle. Although not for everyone. I watched one of my elder clan members stumbling and falling onto his face.

Tenira chuckled. “Leave it to Uncle Liarni. He’s been more interested in the local bars than the war.”

I snorted. Liarni looked to be at least sixty, and was in the fifth stage. His cultivation probably wouldn’t advance much further.

For a while, we flew above the army, beneath a few riders on flying beasts. The guards took the hint and gave us a bit of privacy. Lei walked on the ground, talking to an elite with animated gestures. Wei and a few other officers traveled in a wagon, probably strategizing.

“I just pray they’re all coming out of the battle unharmed,” Tenira said. “Most of them, at least.”

I cocked my head. “Do you actually pray? To whom?”

“Well.” Tenira shrugged. “I’ve given offerings to the Moon a few times. Like most of the family, I suppose. Maybe because it’s the most convenient option.”

“Hmm.” I’d heard there was a shrine to the Greater Spirit of the Moon on the palace grounds, but I’d never visited. Maybe I should go take a look at some point.

“I was never very religious even on my old world,” Tenira said. “And now, well, it’s not exactly the afterlife we were promised, is it?”

“Yeah, same here,” I admitted. It didn’t help that even the Greater Spirits were closer to just really powerful spirits than the kind of deity I’d associate with a modern religion. That magic existed didn’t mean there was some spiritual higher being, intrinsic morality, or an afterlife.

Although, I was reincarnated. I should probably take that into account.

We fell into a thoughtful silence. After a while, I noticed that guards and others had drifted up towards us, so we were no longer alone. The mountains seemed to move across the horizon and away, as we marched in a diagonal course from them. Soon, I could no longer make out the camp the army had built, even though they’d added a number of fortifications over the days we’d spent there.

And yet I didn’t see any sign of the nomads.

Finally, I shook my head and started to descend further. It didn’t look like they were coming. Maybe there was more we could do.

I squinted against the midmorning sun and looked for Aiki Ilia. Since I didn’t find her, she was probably with the commanders. So I maneuvered to the main wagon and jumped onto its edge, grabbing my flying sword from the air. Although I hadn’t said anything, Tenira followed.

I nodded to the guard, then unlatched the door and pulled it open. Either the wagon was deceptively small, or it was actually bigger on the inside. Although it looked cramped, it had room for half a dozen people and a small table strewn with maps or documents. They all looked up at my entrance and bowed.

“Have I missed anything?” I asked.

“No, Your Highness,” Zun answered. “We were simply going over the plans.”

I’d participated in making those plans, so I knew they didn’t need much revision. We’d prepared for the ‘contingency’ of the nomad raiders going after us in force, and drawn up plans for a battle.

I nodded and looked for Aiki Ilia. “How are things going at the nomads’ camp?”

“My men report that they follow their usual routines, my lady,” she answered. “They seem unaware of the team.”

I considered for a moment. “Is there some way they would know we were coming?”

She raised an eyebrow. “If my men showed themselves, it would certainly indicate that. It would have to be very bad luck for them to be discovered. Of course, we have to assume they’re in contact with the raiders, who know where we are heading.”

I thought for a moment. Kariva still hadn’t reported any success in finding out who had leaked the information about Mother going into seclusion. Of course, with every functionary to go through, and their guards, servants and whoever they might have told, that could take a while. But that leak was probably associated with how the nomads had known where to attack me.

“This wagon is too bumpy.” I grimaced. “Carry on, lords and ladies, but I’ll borrow Aiki for a moment. I want to know details about this camp.”

Before anyone could object, I stepped back out of the wagon, jumping to the ground. Aiki Ilia followed me quietly.

I looked at the guards and soldiers marching beside us with a bit of distance to the wagon. “You must have some way to ensure privacy?”

“Of course, Your Highness.” She took out a drop-shaped talisman and fed some qi into it. I could feel a barrier pop up around us.

Good. I asked, “Again, is there some way we can put more pressure on them?”

“The simplest would be to have my men show themselves, as I said, my lady. I could order them to act more aggressively and try to corral the nomads.”

“Do that,” I ordered. “Let’s give them a taste of fear. And tell me if there’s anything else, you should be able to get a hold of Aston.”

She bowed.

I turned away, feeling the barrier dissipate. Rather than stick around, I took out my flying sword and ascended once again.

Tenira must have left after seeing me go into the wagon. I should have said something to her, I realized. After a bit of searching, I found her accompanying Lei towards the front, the two of them deep in conversation with a few of the army’s crafting specialists.

I drifted towards the end of the army, coming back to where San Hashar and her people were. Many of them traveled through the air on their flying beasts, screening the army or scouting. My plan for them hadn’t really worked out like I’d thought. Live and learn, I guess. And try to stay with my minders more.

I traveled alongside them, watching them going about their business. Soon, I could start to pick out patterns, and the way they changed them up. After I was bored with that, I turned to the marching soldiers.

A shout rising from the army broke me from my contemplation. I glanced around, then looked back to the mountains. I saw a few dark dots that hadn’t been there before. They were growing bigger.

Wei and the other commanders must have left the wagon at some point. I could see him striding through the ranks, barking orders. The soldiers responded. Like a well-practiced move, the army stopped, then reshuffled itself. The wagons and a few other groups were moved to the back, while the soldiers rearranged themselves at the front. More of them rose into the air, and everyone spread out further.

I rose a bit to get a better view, then cycled some qi into my eyes. It looked like the main group of raiders had spilled from the mountains on foot, going in our direction. They were moving quite quickly, but the flying group outpaced them. I couldn’t be sure, but that had to be their elites. The group was too small otherwise.

I got back to Wei. “Shouldn’t we start moving towards them? We want to engage them, as quickly as possible, and it would be good to find the best ground for it.” One of the things I knew about war even on Earth was that the army getting to choose the terrain and their position held an advantage.

Wei turned his head, then bowed. “Quite true, Your Highness.” He started hollering orders again, and the army moved forward.

The next few minutes were tense, as we watched the nomads coming closer and went to meet them. After I could make out individual weapons glinting with the naked eye, Wei called a halt. We were positioned atop a wide, if rather low hill. The terrain around us was all plains, which should be good for a field battle. I joined Wei and the other commanders on the highest part, looking over the battlefield, with Tenira beside me and the rest of my retinue close by.

Suddenly, San Hashar was at my side. “Your Highness, we may have to evacuate you.”

“What? Why?”

Another general swore in a foreign language and gestured upwards. “That person is not in the seventh stage.”

I followed where he was pointing and sent more qi into my eyes. A group of nomads preceded their force, all of them decked out with obviously high-tier equipment and weapons. But one of them outstripped the rest, at the heart of their group. Even from here, I could see the haze around them, the way the air seemed to waver in their presence. Damn it! An eighth-stager!

I shook my head. “Well, what are you waiting for? Call for reinforcements!” There has to be some Imperial eighth-stager in a position to help, right?

Several people started talking and forming qi constructs. I guessed one of them would be headed to the capital, others to major cities in the region, and most importantly, one to the closest of the newly built telegraph stations. I assumed other people in the eighth stage could feel the nomad’s presence at some distance, but I wasn’t clear on the specifics.

“They must have veiled themselves quite well, and kept it up for all this time,” General Wei muttered. “At least it’s clearly a newly ascended one.”

“We should at least try to stall them,” I said. “Maybe try to negotiate?”

The commanders argued for a bit, until they decided on General Jie, who was apparently the strongest cultivator present, to approach the nomads with a few elites. The general formally saluted me and rose in the air, but not without sending a few sour looks at his colleagues.

It didn’t take long for the nomads to come close enough. As expected, their main force lagged behind, but would be here in ten minutes at most. The flying ones already took up what I presumed to be battle formations, with the elite group as the speartip. I could feel the eighth-stager’s aura pressing down on me. Now that I got a better look, he seemed like a middle-aged man with long hair. They moved forward to meet our envoy.

I couldn’t hear what was said, although the expressions on the faces of the nomads didn’t give me much hope. It didn’t take long for the meeting to end, with the nomad powerhouse sending a bolt of energy to explode between them in a pretty clear gesture.

Our envoys retreated, the general setting down close to the command group quickly. “I tried to threaten their tribe,” he reported. “Saying that we would have them all dealt with before they could intervene if they didn’t withdraw. They responded that they’d make sure to crush us quickly, then.”

I cursed, then shook my head. “Well, that’s …”

I trailed off and stared as another feeling of power came over us, accompanied by a bright flash from the north.

I couldn’t quite process what happened, except for an impression of something moving through the air. The next second, a man stood on the hill, the commanders stepping back in a hurry. He had salt-and-pepper hair with a short beard and tan skin that bore several scars. His robes swished in a breeze around him, uniform but gleaming blue. But he stood no taller than me, his lean figure a deceptive contrast to the aura he radiated.

“Lord Kiyanu.” San Hashar and most of the other officers bowed quickly.

I swallowed. And here I thought I had a handle on cultivators’ strength. He came here from the palace in what, two minutes? The eighth stage really was a jump in power.

The man nodded at them, then stepped forward and turned a searching gaze on me. I tried not to flinch under his regard.

“Princess Inaris.” He bowed. It was short and seemed perfunctory, but some of the pressure on me eased.

I couldn’t help but smile in relief as I bowed shallowly in response. “Lord Kiyanu, your timing is perfect.”

“Of course.” He grunted. “I can’t let some raiders lay waste to the Empire, and threaten Her Majesty’s heir. I owe your Mother too much for that.”

I nodded. “The palace?”

“The guards are on alert, and I called reinforcements and my personal disciples.”

That was good to hear. I glanced at the enemies. They seemed to have paused at Kiyanu’s power, but we needed to make this quick. “Can you take him away from the scene, to keep the devastation of a fight down?”

Kiyanu grinned. “That’s barely a challenge. Just watch. Or better yet, deal with the rest.”

Before I could respond, he was off again.

I barely turned in time to watch what happened. Kiyanu crashed into the nomad fighter. That one flew back a few meters, then sent out a wave of what might have been oversized hail. Kiyanu snapped his fingers, creating a gust of wind that gathered all of it up, blocking the attack. Then he shot forward again, this time in an arc that brought him beneath the now out of position nomad. The only thing I saw after that was a streak as he brought him upwards with a speed I could hardly track.

Okay, then.

I returned my gaze to the remaining nomads, the elites and the ground soldiers, who’d continued getting closer. We still had a battle to fight.