Through the Overseers, Princess watched the annihilation of the Arachna. She studied how the humans defended against them.

"Hope you don't mind that," she said, her eyes glancing at Paleknight.

"Even if your highness decided to let them be, I wouldn't object."

"You won't let them be anyway."

"They are for the celebration for your rebirth, your highness."

"An announcement of my existence."

"Your arrival will help us prevail against the Great Races."

Princess smiled but didn't reply. She fixed her attention at the scene and leant against the throne. The room was quiet, with Angelica watching her and Paleknight guarding, supervising, her.

"If the Spirit comes, are you confident?" she said.

"To kill it is difficult. Your safety comes first."

"Hers too." Princess turned to Angelica. "No matter what happens, stand beside me."

Angelica nodded. She helped Princess cleaned her body while peeking at her azure eyes which occasionally glowed.

"How will the Arachna Queen meet me?" Princess said.

"Her majesty will send someone to escort you. For now, I'm your sole protector."

"Why are you so sure of your capability?"

"Her majesty assigned me. She has never been wrong."

"Does that include my death?"

"Perhaps only her majesty knew the truth."

Princess stared at Paleknight before shaking her head. "Go somewhere else. I'll play with the army now."

"As you command."

Paleknight bowed to Princess before taking a step back. Its body submerged under the shadow and disappeared.

"Come look."

Princess tossed the magical cube forward. It floated mid-air and peeled into countless layers of thin sheets, forming a flat-screen that displayed the reality through the eyes of the Overseers.

"What do you think they will do?"

"The most likely scenario is to make an all-or-nothing charge."

"The difference in quantity is too much." Princess giggled. "Try again. If you were them, how would you deal with it?"

"We can't escape. The citizens and the soldiers won't comply. We'll wait for the reinforcement inside the defence line. The fortress and its supply can last for at least a month."

"Their military resource won't be sufficient, though they can hole up inside the underground complex."

"Threaten with mutually assured destruction seems to be the most reliable way."

"I would have thought so too if not for the Northern Treaty." Princess closed her eyes and reminisced about the distant past.

"What is the Northern Treaty?" Angelica said.

"Wait and see. I'll show you what I know about the art of war."

Princess touched the gem in her chest. It glowed and flooded the screen with Fons.

The spiralling swarm of Arachna formed countless small groups. Their composition included spiderlings, Spitlings, and Drillers. They split into two rows with most of the Spitlings at the rear, the first row composed of the spiderlings and the Drillers.

They formed a spearhead and rushed to the wall, leaving a sizable gap between their formation.

"Won't the humans wrap around the gap?" Angelica said.

"If they do so, it means that they have more resource than we anticipated. If not—" The defence line shifted its target and slaughtered the approaching Arachna. "—they'll do that."

After the initial blasts, the scattered groups merged despite the casualty and pushed through the field of corpses. The bullets failed to destroy them before they reached the wall. With their grinding teeth, the Drillers punctured the metal surface and ground it into dust. Their screeching noise echoed the battlefield as the vibration spread upwards and reached the turrets attached on the wall.

Like before, the electric field activated. It swallowed the Drillers and the spiderlings, though those in the distance remained unharmed. While the androids retreated from the danger zone, the Spitlings shot down a few turrets.

"Like this, I force them to waste their precious power." Princess pointed at the damaged wall and showed Angelica the second row of her Arachna.

She flooded the battlefield in the same manner: the spiderlings paved the way for the Drillers, and the Spitlings ensured that constant pressure was on the defenders.

Atop the metallic wall, flashes of light burst upwards and descended onto the battlefield. The ice shards, the gust of poisonous gas, flaming spheres, they bombarded the Arachna and razed their formations to the ground.

"They finally deploy the Arbiters," Princess said.

"It's a bold move to use humans in the war, especially the Arbiters."

"If they don't, they won't have another chance."

In a rapid onslaught, the Arbiters wiped out the Spitlings and left the second tide in disarray. The androids and the turrets cleaned up the remainder with ease.

"The city's got a talented strategist. Let's see how good he is."

As one of the greatest strategists of The Empire, Princess adored the talented and the hardworking. Though she wasn't human anymore, her mindset had never changed, not when it carried a great significance to her.

Princess deployed one of her Overseers and arranged the Drillers and Spitlings to form a group. They covered the Overseer and flooded into the battleground, their movement faster than before.

When looking from above, the dark purple swarm danced in a strange pattern. The Arachna shifted in and out of the effective firing range. They baited the Arbiters to prepare their spells. The preparation phase became chaotic as the androids failed to eliminate the Arachna.

"General, the Arachna tide is moving erratically," the operator said. "The Arbiters request for assistance."

"Tell them to wait for my command. Don't let them waste any more spell."

"But if they—"

Venetus stared at the operator, who fell silent under his cold gaze. No one dared to question him. The Arbiters retreated. The androids and the turrets filled in. They ignored the teasing spiderlings and focused their attention at their destinated point.

The concentration of the androids shifted in the same rhythm with the Arachna's music of war. Their pace adjusted under the enemy's influence, turning from fast to slow, swift to sluggish, the ever-changing ritornelle.

"The movement is excellent." Princess softly clapped. "Better than some of the generals I knew."

The Arachna tide continuously scattered and merged. They formed four groups, then two, then six, their numbers fluctuating, their pace chaotic. The androids failed to keep up their momentum. Some Arachna slipped into the unprotected area and wreaked havoc.

Colourful lights rained from the wall. The Arbiters arrived to substitute the holes in the defence, despite their exhaustion of continually shifting their places. The red bots flashed against the green dots.

"This pattern," Venetus said, his eyes narrowed.

He issued his commands. His pupils stared at the display. The formation was ever-evolving, cutting and refining the inefficient part, becoming self-sufficient.

"This philosophy." He clutched his armchair and shook his head. His gaze, previously disinterested, became fueled with the flame of hope and anxiety.

The second phase ended in a draw. The Arachna managed to damage the wall, but they also sustained heavy casualties.

"A particular one. Let's see how he fares against a master," Princess said. "The third phase: the symphony of regression."

The Arachna tide broke into fragments and scattered around the city. They moved without any pattern, full of openings. The Arbiters watched the closing and opening of the gap, but under the direct command of the general, they resisted their urge to move out of formation and killed the strayed Arachna.

"As you said, the symphony of regression," Venetus whispered. "The way to break it is to never play with it."

"General, we need your input."

"Standby. There is no use in breaking our formation to kill a few Arachna."

In unresponsive behaviour, the defensive force remained steadfast. They only moved to repel the Arachna who got too close while leaving the free kills alone.

"Why don't they try to reduce our number?" Angelica asked.

"They know their force isn't strong enough to divide and conquer. If they did so, the remaining force couldn't cover the wall." Princess, using Fons as a highlighter, emphasising on the part of the wall. "Though their movement is too clean."

"Too clean?" Angelica leant to the screen and squelched her eyes.

"Their reaction speed is as if they expect the plan." Princess poked Angelica's cheek. "I only show this formation to my students, some dragons, and some scholars."

Those that could be within City D-34 were only a handful.

"Are they your friends?" Angelica froze before studying the screen harder.

"They used to be. I'm not sure if they're willing to be now," Princess said, "He probably is willing, that boy."

"What is his name?"

"Venetus Lapisa, one of my pupils. He's an obsessive strategist with no coherent style. I teach him the reactionary approach."

"Who are you, mistress?" Angelica asked, her voice trembling.

"Just a person who died in the middle of nowhere. I'll assume Venetus has become famous, hasn't he?"

"He's one of the greatest minds of The Empire, but there is no reason for him to come to Sector D."

"No, this should be him. This mindset is unique to him. You'll see soon why he would come here." Let's see how far he had progressed.

If that was him, she might have a chance. The Arachna Queen, Paleknight, City D-34, and Northern Mistwood—everything was falling into their order.