Chapter 254: Commander Florine
I looked at the mouse kin, and I coughed a little more but turned to spit blood out. "Report," I snapped as I finally could talk.
"I have not been updated in the last hour, Supreme commander, but the Rebel combatants smashed into our defenses hard, pushing us back into the center of the nobility district. We retreated back, but our patrols came behind them as they responded to the noise. We no longer have people around the city except at our supply depots, but they have messaged that it is all clear.
We have pincered and killed a large group of them, and we are fighting them out of the nobility district. But there is more news. The front has erupted to war, and they are unable to assist us." The Mouse-kin told me.
"They had this fucking planned. Luckily, we have two headquarters, and this should not paralyze our decision-making." I replied with a hoarse voice, needing to speak aloud to think for the moment. "We need to confirm the supplies are fine and they were not taken with our own forces," I said with my mind clearing some.
"Do you want to get a messenger, Supreme Commander?"
"Can I get up out of bed?" I asked back, and the face on the mouse-kin looked unsure.
"Honestly, I am unsure. The cuts and battle damage you sustained are odd, and your blood is a little purple for some reason. Your cuts have been stitched, and the bleeding has stopped, but going to battle for you is a no."
"Is Florine Available?"
"She has taken our forces\' lead and commanded in your stead."
I pushed against the floor, and I felt the world lurch as I got to my feet and my head spun. I somehow got to my feet and fell against the wall to keep myself upright, and I shook from the pain lacing my body as I finished getting up. My mind was foggy and hard to think, but I needed to know the situation.
"Help me to Florine," I ordered. I momentarily saw the medic being unsure before helping me by wrapping my arm around their shoulder. We left the building that we were in. I could feel the movement of mana and the blast of mana clashing out loud as Wizards battled nearby. I took my first steps with the help of the mouse Kin.
We walked a hundred feet before we entered a new house closer to the current battle line.
When I entered the house, I heard Florine\'s voice and people acknowledging her orders. I almost stumbled when suddenly two people left the room and gasped. "Supreme Commander!"
"As you were, follow orders." I waved them off, unwilling to take control of the situation at this moment. I was in too much pain to be at the top of my game. Then I had the Mouse-kin bring me into the room, and Florine looked surprised to see me.
"You\'re awake?!" Florine smiled but then frowned, "You look like shit, Supreme Commander."
"Please, Continue on. I am relegating myself to an Advisory role until I have recovered a little," I told her, and Florine nodded.
"One second then," Florine said, "Sergeant, you need to take your squad, go through this alleyway, and flank the Humans. They have their position fortified from both sides but can\'t hold us off much longer. Once this resistance has been taken care of, we can focus on the main group. Tell your people to wait for the signal, and we will all attack at the same time, thinning their people.
They are trapped and unable to escape. Capture or kill, as per the Supreme Commander\'s orders, to protect ourselves most of all!" She snapped, and I watched as the Bunny-kin ran out.
"What happened?" I asked as the Sergeant ran off, and Florine turned to me.
"The attack was sudden, and the squads defending the headquarters were hit hard in the front. They followed the plan and fought a retreating battle. They had wizards all around, thickening and hindering our use of mana. There were three doing that, and one of our squads killed one of them when they broke through the attack on their side. I have someone to introduce to you after all this is over.
I believe they deserve a bump in rank as they used their squad on their own orders to hit and pincer, saving other squads that were hit harder. We have casualties. At least twenty are dead and more injured from this attack, which is a surprise from how hard they hit us." Florine said with a hard expression. "Then that same squad hit another of the Human Wizards from behind.
No one could find you, though, so I was the highest rank they could find, so I took control. Then suddenly, as the mana was no longer controlled by the Humans and evened the playing ground, you suddenly appeared in front of a squad fighting with the humans. They were in the middle of a retreat when you suddenly punched out of the void, flying and smashing into the ground.
They managed to grab you and pull you back."
"So that was what the Wizard was doing; I did not think that he was the reason that the mana was thick," I said with a wheeze and leaned against the wall. "I made a mistake and found myself inside a full group of them. I am surprised they had this many people left from our initial assault on the city and us pushing them out."
"More went underground than we thought, hiding with the other humans. We have regained control here, and the runner you saw as you came in was headed out to check on the supply points in the city. It seems that your elite army is smarter than I thought. It seems not all the Patrols ran here." Florine said, and I looked at her surprised.
"What?"
"Yup, A couple of your Sergeants reacted by reinforcing the supply points. Good thing, too. I did not want to tell everyone here, but they were hoping that everyone would run toward the Headquarters under attack. They then started to attack the supply points and warehouses. One Warehouse was set on fire for about one minute before our people responded.
The Logistics personnel also counter-attacked a group of C and D rankers and captured a group of ten after killing over forty people. It seems they did not realize we had B rankers inside the Logistics personnel."
"So? The supplies are fine?"
"To the latest reporting, yes. There were some losses, though. The most damage they did was lighting a carriage full of grain. A huge loss if you heard the Logistics Messenger talk to report to us."
"Because it is," I replied with a sigh, "It should be within manageable levels, but losing five carts would be borderline catastrophic."
"That bad?"
"That bad. We are making more back at Logistics Headquarters back in the Homeland, but it is not good. We still have to repair the ones we have. But enough about that," I coughed, and I wanted to shake my head but decided it would be stupid. "I need to meditate and heal at least these wounds. How are things now?
Can I still be out of action?"
"Yes, I have this, and it is nice to see all our people working on their own. This is one of the biggest problems the Elite army has faced yet, and they are doing great!"
"Good! Florine, Thank you for doing such a great job. After all of this is over, I put the names of good people in front of me. You can handle the rest. Use your mana near me if you need to talk. Also, we will need information on how the front with the War chief is going."
"They have not used the battle slaves yet," Florine said, much to my surprise. They are wearing our people out in the front. The battles of A tankers are getting even more intense as well. Injuries have become par for the course. But all of that could have changed. It has been half a day since the last update."
"How long have I been out?"
"A Day."
I winced, got up with the Mouse-kin\'s help, and pointed to the floor. "Help me to the floor," I ordered, and he followed through. I sighed with relief as I got down there and looked at Florine one more time: "As you were, Florine, I will be ignoring the world around me unless I feel the movement of mana or I am suitable to lead again."
"Yes, Chelsea, I will be alive when you get back."
I smiled, closed my eyes, and focused inward, pulling and converting mana to fill my Vortexes with mana. They greedily gulped that mana down, slowly regaining their robust look as I concentrated enough mana so I could soon start to heal myself.
-------
Thank you all for reading. If you wish to Support me you can read my Books on Amazon for free on Kindle Unlimited or you can directly support me at /madjic
Otherwise, I really appreciate the Comments and the ratings. They help my book reach more people. Please continue to enjoy my story!