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Chapter 32: Explosions and deceit

Ginevra despised lying in wait when she could charge straight ahead, blasting enemies into smithereens left and right. That didn\'t mean she lacked patience for a good ambush. It all paid off at the moment of attack, when an unsuspecting opponent showed their weakness for her to bite.

Her troops—a hundred and a half of soldiers, with only a few dozen left to guard the camp and the supplies—laid low. The quilt of Alessia\'s illusion covered them, making the entire squad indistinguishable from the shrubbery as long as they didn\'t move. It even dampened their mana pools a little, though mages like Ginevra had to force their mana as tightly down as they could.

Everything to not let Gianni detect them beforehand. Even using another exhausting illusion to give their camp an appearance of being full.

Now, after a couple hours of marching into the forest, and a few more hours of waiting and resting, Ginevra\'s lookouts told her that the enemy was coming. Right on schedule—the sun barely rose above the horizon.

Gianni was eager to get to Rocca Albornoziana, and to his son. Ginevra didn\'t care which motive took priority—as long as her ploy worked.

She turned to her soldiers, finding the hints of their figures. They wouldn\'t move without her command.

The first sounds of the enemy march reached Ginevra\'s ears. Her eyes went to the dirt road that went through the forest, and fell on the first glimpse of the enemy ahead.

She snorted. Gianni marched like a victor. Banners, horses… He only missed drummers or flutists. She imagined his troops needed this show of confidence to boost their morale, now that they knew who they were fighting against.

With bated breath, Ginevra waited for them to come closer. To the stretch or the road perfectly suited as a target for her archers and mages-knights. For herself, too.

It was close enough that Ginevra could make out Gianni\'s stern face. He was exactly like on his portraits—and so very similar to his eldest son. His mana pool appeared muted, but no masking could hide the Arcani glyphs on his armor, or on the bow of the man riding nearby.

This was close enough. Ginevra took a deep breath.

"FIRE!"

The archers shot on command. Her infantry sprang to action a moment later. The illusion, already weathered by time, shattered into nothing from the sudden movements. In a second, Ginevra\'s troops and herself were hidden only by the forest itself.

And that\'s when her blood chilled. Because when the first arrows hit the first enemy soldier… it passed straight through.

"Oh, no," near Ginevra, Alessia Montefiore mirrored her thoughts in a shocked whisper. "Another illusion… Since when did the old Oliveira have an illusionist of that power on his side?"

"And if this is a trick, then where\'s the real army?!" Luciano DiNapoli grabbed the handle of his enchanted sword with both hands.

Ginevra squinted at the woods on the sides of the road, a good few hundred meters away. She was positive she didn\'t imagine that metal glimpse in the sun. Her finger pointed at it.

"There." Ginevra said heavily. She rose to full height, then jumped to a convenient tree stump for an extra half a meter, and turned to her confused soldiers. "Men, gather on one side of the road and line up behind the trees! Take aim in that direction! Mages, prepare fire attacks! Our ambush has failed, but we still have enough power to crush our enemies, burn their houses, and make those ashen fields ours!"

The soldiers roared. The sergeants gave commands—the troops moved, changing their positions, preparing for an inevitable clash.

Ginevra turned to her lieutenants.

"Lieutenant Montefiore, keep back and make sure we won\'t have another surprise like that. Lieutenant DiNapoli, stay near me." She turned towards several nearest knights, listing their names. "You all, too. You will move at my command, or DiNapoli\'s."

The people gave their agreements. Soon, everything turned to waiting again; but this time, it wasn\'t long. A few minutes… Even in the heat of battle, it was usually a rather short time.

Now, seconds? Seconds stretched into eternity.

Ginevra\'s troops barely finished their maneuvers when the first of Gianni\'s soldiers stepped out in the view. They were on the opposite side of the road now.

The narrow line of open air stretched like a dirt river between them. Whoever stepped on it first would be the first one to be shot. But whoever stayed under the cover of trees would be the first one to be burned.

As soon as Ginevra could make out the blurs of enemies\' faces, she lifted her arm in a signal.

"Mages, ready!"

Ginevra began to chant her spell in the next breath. Not the strongest one in her arsenal, but strong enough to add a hefty dose of chaos into the mix.

"*Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand!*"

She finished at the same time as her other mages. Bolts of flames and balls of fire waited, quivered, ready to fly. Energy gathered in Ginevra\'s hand, ready for a fiery release.

"Men, fire!"

The spells flew, surrounded by dozens of arrows. And Gianni\'s men shot back at the same time.

Ginevra ducked behind a tree.

The next few seconds were a complete pandemonium. Explosions and screams blended together into a deafening torrent of sound. Only the biggest sources of destruction stood out.

Ginevra\'s Fireball spell turning from a needle-thin ray into a bellowing explosion amid Oliveira ranks.

An entire cloud of arcane arrows falling upon Ginevra\'s soldiers.

A scythe-like blade of wind that cut down a few small trees and bisected several men at once.

When the wave of magic and arrows was over, Ginevra dared to step out of her charred cover. The thick tree was smoldering in places, but it stood strong.

Ginevra looked at the enemy. They, now having much less cover—just like her side—moved into an attack, their banners flailing.

It was time to meet them face to face.