“Send scouts into the sky, I want a full view on the battlefield so that we can mark down where the zones are. For the first zone…” Thinking about it for a moment, Shiro glanced back at the group.
Her plans were now hindered ever so slightly since there was the rule that only tier 6 or higher could become the lifeline for a zone. With how many tier 6’s they have, they can take 6 zones excluding her since they need someone to be moving around.
At the same time, claiming 6 zones would put everyone in a lot of danger as she was the only one who would be able to arrive as reinforcements should that happen. And the moment she appeared in one of the zones, they could just focus fire on another area, taking the zone and killing the lifeline protecting it.
Furrowing her brows, she thought about who would be suitable. No matter what happens, it would be annoying to trap someone in the zone.
“For the first one, why don’t I go?” Iziuel smiled as Shiro furrowed her brows.
“If I go, I can use my new skills to set up a nature domain around the area. It’ll allow me to boost allies’ recovery and form a link with everyone inside. If the healers are with me, I can keep everyone healthy.” Iziuel explained as Shiro thought about it for a moment before nodding her head.
“Alright. I’ll stay with you in the first zone for now. We have a week to collect point so there’s no hurry in capturing more. According to the event, we’ll get a share of the earned points from one of the zones that we capture so it is also viable for us to wait a little before capturing everything else. We’ll focus our strengths on keeping the first zone that we capture.” Shiro nodded her head.
“But let’s not be hasty. We need to find a zone that would be easy to defend. The first person to capture a zone becomes a target for everyone else in this event. We don’t know how many Queens there are either so it’s a little risky.”
“Your highness, we have a visual on the whole map.” One of the spirits called out as Shiro nodded her head.
Projecting the map in front of them, she made an adjustment to the holographic model of Vrish’ Lir in the middle.
Marking down where the zones are, Shiro looked at their sizes before checking back with the event tab.
Giving it a quick glance, she furrowed her brows.
“Zones differ in size. Bigger zones have a stronger barrier that can’t be broken unless certain anchor points are destroyed. Barriers will not regenerate until a new lifeline is chosen. Smaller zones don’t have anchor points but their barriers can be broken with the right amount of fire power. Once broken, they will regenerate after a day. Hmm… They both have their benefits.” Shiro muttered.
“If we choose a bigger zone, we’ll need to assign guards to anchors, preventing enemies from breaking it but the moment it’s broken, we will no longer have a barrier. The only upside to this is that while the anchors are still up, the barrier is indestructible.” Nan Tian added as Shiro thought about it for a moment.
“Let’s go with a smaller zone first. There are more downsides to choosing a big zone right now, even if it does give more points. It’s riskier and we can always launch an attack on one during the last day.” Shiro nodded as she started filtering the map.
“Right now, out of the 15 zones scattered around this country, 5 of them are large ones and 10 of them are small ones. Out of the 10 small zones, only 4 of them have an adequate amount of protection from its surroundings.” Shiro explained as she zoomed in on the map.
“Thankfully, there is one located near our current location so after we capture it. Iziuel, prepare to capture the zone with Lisandra and Estrella. I’ll send some mech units with you just in case but the three of you should suffice.” Shiro ordered as Iziuel nodded her head.
“Estrella, teleport the three of you to mech bay one. I’ll notify the three specialised pilots that will be helping you. Once you’re ready, give me a message and I’ll teleport everyone to Vrish’ Lir.”
Watching the three of them teleport away, Shiro closed her eyes and sent a notice to Shiina, Glen and another pilot named Maria.
###
Receiving the message, Shiina glanced towards the specialised pilots waiting for deployment.
“Glen, Maria, follow me. We’re being deployed to capture the first zone.” Shiina called out as Glen nodded his head.
As for Maria, she widened her eyes in surprise and almost dropped the tablet in her hands. She was a demon with light purple hair that covers one side of her face. Light grey skin and a small stature. She had a burning red pupil contrasted by the black sclera.
“Eh me?” She pointed at herself as Shiina nodded her head.
“There isn’t another Maria here is there?” Shiina raised an eyebrow.
“Ehhh how come I’m chosen?” Maria asked in confusion since there were stronger pilots other than her.
If anything, she ranked last of all the specialised pilots.
“Her highness has her plans. The fact that she chose you means that she had seen your achievements and decided that you’re the most suitable for this mission. Let’s go, we shouldn’t keep them waiting especially since they can teleport.” Shiina smiled as Maria nodded her head with uncertainty.
“Ermm… alright.”
“Just do what we practiced. I’ll act as the support mage and Glen can take the front line since he’s a close ranged sword user. Just support us from behind.” Shiina reassured as Maria nodded her head.
Dashing over to Mech Bay One, they could see Iziuel, Estrella and Lisandra waiting by the mechs.
“Sorry for the slight delay, it’ll only take us a moment to get ready in the mechs.” Shiina apologised.
“It’s fine, there’s no rush. Don’t be too stressed out.” Iziuel waved her hand with a soft smile.
“Before you go I just want to double check our formation since we might begin combat on our way there. I am a vanguard, Estrella is a control mage and Iziuel is a support.” Lisandra spoke up since this will be the first time they work with one another.
“Oh? I’m a support mage, Glen is vanguard and Maria here is a support too.” Shiina blinked her eyes in surprise.
“So mum chose a balanced team. We’ll we don’t know what we’re against so this is probably the best choice. In that case then me and Glen will travel in the front and we’ll protect you four.” Lisandra nodded.
Discussing their plans for a short while so that they understood their skills, they prepared for departure.
Lisandra stood on the shoulder of Glen’s mech while Estrella did the same with Shiina.
Sitting on the shoulder of Maria’s Mech, Lisandra glanced in and saw Maria putting on the helmet before securing herself to the cockpit.
“You seem nervous. First mission?” Iziuel asked with a small smile.
“Eh? Ah, yes it is. I did some practice in the army but this is the first proper mission since there was never a need for me to join in.” Maria looked down with an embarrassed expression.
“Don’t worry too much and just think of this as training. I’m sure that compared to Shiro’s training this is much easier. I heard that she gave you lot some last minute training so you have my condolences.” Iziuel chuckled as Maria coughed.
Remembering the face she saw when Shiro forcefully activated all of their Throne Worlds, she couldn’t help but shiver.
“Understood.” Maria nodded as she synced herself with the mech.
Going through the procedures to make sure that she had synchronised properly, she took a deep breath to suppress her nerves.
###
Receiving a message saying that they were ready, Shiro nodded her head and sat down on the chair before closing her eyes.
Projecting herself into small holograms inside their cockpits,
“If everyone is ready, I will open the portal now. Our goal is the small zone located in the city of Vandiline. It’s towards the southern section of the country. I’ll be teleporting everyone to the coast and we’ll make the rest of the journey by foot. We’ll, mech but you know what I mean.” Shiro smiled as Shiina nodded her head.
“Since everyone’s ready, let’s start this mission.” Shiro smiled.
Snapping her finger, runes appeared in front of the three mechs as a portal opened.
Walking through the portal, Shiina could see that they were on a beach. Not too far from them was an empty crest that floated in the sky.
“Activate your stealth modules and approach the city. We don’t know if there are anyone aiming for this place as well. I’ll update you once I get visual.” Shiro ordered as all three mechs turned invisible before making their way toward the zone.
