The Girl Who Hacked The Magic System

Normally, in a war the parties involved rally their armies, assemble them, and then make those armies face each other in big battles.

That's why the excommunication works. With the goddess awake, it's just a matter of having a big enough number of people able to cast the area version of the spell to convene before said battles.

They then cast the spell over the to-be-defeated army, and what follows is a massacre.

I thought that fighting a guerrilla war was the way to fight while underpowered by the excommunication. Instead, it was actually a way to avoid excommunication.

I mean, some of our soldiers were excommunicated. About one-third of the main army and a couple dozen of the hidden army. It wasn't nearly enough to break our fighting power.

We also directly threatened the Church, which is something nobody did before. With the goddess silent, the high command that lived in East Rising had to flee.

And we killed almost all the priests who were working with the Blessed army.

Which means that now we can hit them with a straight punch to the face, without fear of excommunication.

Also, we need to wrap this up before the Pontifex comes back with a foreign army.

:::

This is the second time we mobilize the whole hidden army. The only difference is that, this time, we're not alone. Almost six thousand soldiers of the main army will be joining the assault through portals.

Our agents have been spreading little balls of wax filled with nail pieces and hair strands throughout the city, in strategic positions.

Pieces of the body of a person are the most powerful connectives, after all. And hair and nails can be harmlessly cut off and don't decay so quickly.

Those are our latest developments in spatial technology, brought to you by none other than Yawarete.

Yeah, it wasn't me. The idea, which seems obvious in hindsight, had simply evaded me.

This thing would surely revolutionize how wars are fought from now on. I can visualize catapults throwing those small waxballs on a city in the hopes of opening portals to get their armies inside.

And maids will suffer from paranoid lords ordering deep cleaning time and again to get rid of every hair and nail bit, forbidding the use of wax in the castle, and all that.

"Your Highness, the main army is in position, just waiting for your signal."

"Perfect. We're going now; send them the signal. EVERYONE! LET'S GO!!!!"

While the army roars, I jump the portal right in front of me, followed by Ingela and her squad.

Yes, because Ingela has been personally tasked with my safety by the king. So she is to glue herself to me at all times during any battle.

The portal leads us directly to the main hall of Beaudorf's castle. The young Marquess Otbert is here, sitting on his throne, receiving messengers from two of the armies that are scattered throughout the province, and guarded by two dozen guards.

In a matter of instants, they are all dead, except for the young lord.

"Oh, hi, Young Lord. Pardon my discourtesy of arriving unannounced, but I was in need of having a little chat with thee."

I bow exaggeratedly, a caricature of the respectful bow used by the noblesse.

"How dare you… witch!!!"

"Ohh, but where are your manners, calling that name to a princess like me?"

"What do you want?"

"As I said, I want to have a little chat with you. About the terms of your surrender."

"I would never surrender to the likes of you."

"Oh, truly? What a shame; here was I, hoping that we could find a friendly agreement."

The sounds of battle throughout the city are very audible from this room now.

And exactly at this moment, another of our troops enters the hall, bringing with them a woman carrying a little baby in her arms.

I was expecting this entrance, so I don't take my eyes off him for even a split second.

And he shows no reaction at the sight of them.

"You see, you have already lost the war. You can surrender now and make a proclamation accepting King Halinard's reign and get off with a light punishment, or…"

I quickly glance at the woman and baby, his wife and daughter, in a theatrical act, then back at him.

"Or you could keep this charade of yours and spill the blood of innocents."

"You can kill them; I couldn't care less. I will never surrender to you, nor will I ever accept that king and his saint."

I half expected that answer, but not the quickness with which he replied, nor the wile in his voice.

"Are you sure, dear young lord?"

"They are just women. Why should I care? She's just a beautiful face who was too happy marrying above her social status but couldn't even birth me a proper heir. She is worthless."

"I see."

I turn my back to the pathetic guy on the throne and walk to the woman, who is openly crying, with the baby in her hands.

"You heard him, right?"

"Y-yes, Your Highness."

"What do you think I should do?"

"What will happen to me?"

"You'll have a chance to begin a new life and receive every help to build that new life from the Saint's institute. As a commoner, of course."

"Will her…"

"Yes, she will have a life, under the blessing of the Saint. No woman is worthless, on the very contrary."

"I see."

This woman has suffered abuse, both physical and mental, from that little excuse of a man. But she was still madly in love with him and thinking that she still had a way to salvage her marriage.

What I did was just to show her what he really thought. I never said that I would kill the two of them, but he jumped to the conclusion and passed his verdict.

"Do you think that she will be able to have a good life without a father?" She asks me, trying to contain her tears.

"I didn't have a father myself."

Her eyes widen at my response, as if something clicked inside her.

"Yes… you had it even worse."

"There's no slavery anymore, after all."

"Then… kill him, please."

We were talking in a low voice, having a more intimate conversation than the one I was having with the Marquess. He quickly got tired of our conversation and started demanding attention, but Ingela silenced him so we could have this little convo.

But this last phrase of hers was said with a loud and resolute tone, so everyone was able to hear.

The pathetic Marquess started to whimper, but one glance was enough for Ingela to understand my order.

That guy won't whimper anymore.

:::

The view from the balcony showed a different city from the day I hanged a man from here.

Instead of arrows and spells, I was received with cheers and applause.

The plaza below me is packed with the people of the city, along with our soldiers, both human and beastkin.

The liberation of the city was pretty quick and, with the lord dead, the remaining troops who were still resisting surrendered.

There are still some confrontations going on, but it's just some squads busting the last dens of slavers and liberating the people inside.

In one swoop, the Blessed faction lost again its head and also its rally point. If the scattered armies were already behaving erratically, now they lack any direction whatsoever.

It would have been better if the guy had surrendered, as his accepting the king would have meant the end of the legitimacy of the faction. But alas, he chose what he chose.

Now we'll stay in this city for some time. That's so the people can see and celebrate the soldiers, including the beastkin soldiers, and also so they feel safe.

If we simply vanished, it would hit the populace's morale. So we stay. And also, if they see the beastkin soldiers as saviors, it will help a lot with later acclimatizing between them.

The first leg of the war is nearing its end.