After reassuring her knights, Evelyn commanded the soldiers to continue with their operation.
Moments later, looking down on Stonewall from up in the sky was Evelyn. She had casted a spell to make her unnoticed by the gargoyles down below.
[Bara Arts, Mirage Cloak]
A spell to hide one's appearance.
[Bara Arts, Magic Cloak]
A spell to suppress one's mana radiation to blend with the surrounding, making one's magical presence undetectable.
"(That should do it. Now, let's scout the enemy.)"
[Bara Arts, Partial Eagle Eye]
A small magic circle formed in front of one of Evelyn's eyes. It enabled her to see objects in the distance more clearly. In this case, she used the spell to scout the gargoyles' whereabouts.
"(Based on the mana presence and visual evidence, I spied 20 gargoyles. 22 in addition to the two we just killed. The number is consistent with the report.)"
After looking around the town, Evelyn Leonardo managed to pinpoint the remaining 20 gargoyles hiding in Stonewall.
Two were sitting still by the town gate (2/20).
Three were perched on top of a clock tower by the town square (5/20).
Five were perched on top of a fountain in the town square (10/20).
Four were sitting on the fence of town chief's house next to the town square (14/20).
Six were hiding inside the chapel by the town chief's house (20/20).
Having located all the enemies, Evelyn was ready to start the operation.
[Bara Arts, Silent Voice]
"Attention, all knights! Attention, all knights! This is your commander speaking! I've confirmed the location of all hostiles. Archer Squad, standby for orders!"
After hearing Evelyn's words, the Leonardo soldiers hiding in the woods prepared their weapons.
Twelve of the soldiers armed themselves with bows and arrows while the remaining eight with long spears. They let their horses tied by the trees, waiting in the forest.
Once they were ready, Evelyn relayed her first order.
"Attention, all knights! Attention, all knights! Two gargoyles are spotted on the town southern gate. Archer 1 and 2, proceed to the tree line and take aim on the two gargoyles. Do not cross the tree line! I repeat! Do NOT cross the tree line!"
"Yes, my lady!" replied two of the twelve designated archers.
The two archers then separated themselves from the group and headed to the tree line by the border of Stonewall.
They crouched by one of the trees and readied their bow.
Each of the knight aimed their arrow on the eye of one of the gargoyles.
"Report status, Archers!" said Evelyn.
"Archer 1 ready, my lady. Aiming the gargoyle on the northeast side of the gate."
"Archer 2 ready, my lady. Aiming the gargoyle on the southwest side."
"Any signs of movement?" asked Evelyn.
"None on the northeast one."
"Same with the southwest."
"Roger that, Archers. Fire on my mark." ordered Evelyn.
The two archers pulled the string of their bow even further and held their breath. Their aim was steady.
"Engage targets in 3…2…1…Fire!"
The two archers set their arrow loose.
The two bolts hit the gargoyles right in the eye that the two creatures immediately fell to the ground.
"Archer 1, direct hit."
"Archer 2, direct hit."
"No mana activity detected from the two gargoyles." said Evelyn. "Targets eliminated. 18 gargoyles remaining. Well done, Archer 1 and 2!"
The soldiers behind them let out a big smile at their successful ambush. But before they could be overwhelmed with premature joy, Evelyn kept them on track with the operation.
"Attention, all knights! Attention, all knights! The remainder of the enemies are hidden inside the town. Time to move into Phase 2 of our operation. We are going to proceed into Stonewall. I repeat! We are going to proceed into Stonewall! Advance with stealth and caution!"
"YES, MY LADY!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the province, Bryce and his knights were on their way to join Duke Shaughnessy's forces.
During their rest stop, the knights conversed with the Baron Leonardo.
"My lord, do you really believe Lady Leonardo will be successful in the extermination quest?"
"Didn't you witness their strategy meeting before we departed?" asked Bryce. "Have you ever seen someone as commanding as my daughter?"
"Haha, to tell you the truth, seeing the little lady yesterday reminded me of those higher ups in the Imperial Army. You'd thought she had been to countless battles for how intimidating she carried herself in front of those soldiers."
"There's also those weird and sophisticated words she came up with for relaying orders. I've never heard of them before."
"'Affirmative.' 'Engage target.' 'Confirm.' What knight commander uses those words in their mission?"
"Just what happened to Lady Leonardo, Sir Bryce?" asked one of the knights. "She was bedridden all this time and suddenly she turned into a talented magician and military expert. The Lady Leonardo I remembered wasn't like that!"
Bryce's expression turned bittersweet at the sound of those words.
Indeed, those thoughts had been haunting him and Hannah ever since Evelyn woke up.
They had many questions for their daughter. Questions that they knew they wouldn't be receiving the answers to anytime soon.
Bryce could only sigh and took the silver lining behind this phenomenon.
"I don't have all the answers at the moment. But I'm sure we can trust my daughter. I believe she is destined to accomplish many great things. And her quest in Stonewall will only be the beginning of her story."