|I'M THE OP VILLAINESS| {Yuri}

CHAPTER 26『AURELIA VS GOD[S]』

"Ho? Are you approaching me, little girl? Instead of running away, you're coming straight to me?"

"I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer.", Aurelia intimidatingly said to Apollo with a smile.

Wait, deja vu. I believe I've heard this before. Anyway, it seems this campaign has been quite underwhelming. Some weeks before, we went all the way to the South Gate; young men, entrusted with the vision of an ambitious, yet controversial princess, me, came under my wing.

The orders of the Crown Princess fell to the ground like insects and flies in a frozen winter morning, to the ears of my companions. It didn't matter that my sister was essentially sending me to my "death", or that the orders were from her herself.

The men, inspired by me, fight to expand our glorious Empire. A blunder from Aristea. She wanted to give me an army and send me to die in the unforgivable heat in this bloody desert. She hoped that the expedition would last longer than our supplies, or that I won't have the strategic prowess to combat the enemy, or maybe both, to ensure that I perish quietly, under the radar.

She essentially gave me command of a big portion of the Imperial Army, and expected me to lose. Yeah...I think she didn't think this out very thoroughly.

But I cannot blame her. She's Aristea after all. Who knows what is going on inside her idiotic mind.

A light, hot breeze of air was passing inside my helmet, making me unconsciously, look behind me: the vanguard of the army started taking prisoners of the enemy after the battle. It only lasted for some hours. The enemy began routing since our first contact, for 20 kilometres, some of them with some on armour, which is something really commendable. Until our cavalry arrived, that is. I'm surprised they ran this far on foot.

My many hundreds of thousands of men, except the vanguard, were looking at the man in front of them, this self-proclaimed God that stopped the battle near its end.

I could see that he shielded the Commander of the Eastern Boshin Empire. A beauty of dark skin, blonde and dark mixed hair. She was dressed in a traditional Eastern uniform, with gold and precious stones all around her. She's gotta be a noble or something.

Eh, I'll just take her as a prisoner when Aurelia defeats this impostor of a deity.

"Tsk."

I looked on my right at the sound of a click of a tongue, only to see a quite annoyed Octavia, crossing her arms in front of her torso, tilting her head, as she watched Aurelia catwalking with confidence towards the false deity.

From my left side, emerged from a magic void, probably from an alternative, safe, pocket dimension, a stone-faced Artemisia who stood by my side, not reacting to the peculiar incident.

"Great battle as always, Your Highness. You have my wholehearted congratulations."

"You're a bright strategist. Without your help from the shadows, we couldn't have lowered the amount of water that flowed on the river. We'd have to lose precious time and fly all the way to the other side."

"I'm just doing my part, Your Highness, and I'm honoured that you happen to praise my ignorant self."

"Jeez, you guys are being so melodramatic."

A voice from behind us, on a horse, just happened to appear, with some prisoners and soldiers behind her. Hybris. Lannes Hybris.

Ah, the girl that some months before was a crude plebeian. Oh, don't get me wrong, she's still androgynous and blunt, and is lacking some manners, but I believe she's on the right path.