Reincarnated as a failed hero?! Watch me Defy Fate! - Chapter 180

Chapter 180: Serena: Before the Storm, Under the Stars
Serena’s POV:

It’s been several months since I was assigned to the battlefield against the Gildoria Mercenary Kingdom. I, the hero of the Winterbell family, along with the hero of the Stormheim family, Theresia von Stormheim, have been tasked with repelling Gildoria’s invasion of the Braveheart Kingdom.

At first, I didn’t expect the war here to be this intense. Before Theresia and I arrived, the Braveheart forces here were led by Captain of the 7th Division, Garron the Iron Wall, and Captain of the 8th Division, Tanya the Storm Witch.

Back then, the Braveheart army numbered only 1,400 soldiers, while Gildoria’s forces were double that — about 3,000, composed mostly of mercenaries ranked Silver and above, which are equivalent to B-rank Knights. That was one major reason why our army was being pushed back.

Another reason was the presence of over a dozen Gold-Rank Mercenaries, whose strength was nearly on par with the division commanders of Braveheart. Their numbers overwhelmed both Garron and Tanya.

But the two most unbeatable foes among them were the Mercenary King and Mercenary Queen — the strongest warriors in the Kingdom of Gildoria. They only took the field when their forces were driven back to Drakenfort Fortress — the border stronghold protecting Gildoria from Braveheart.

Garron and Tanya once managed to push back the Gildoria forces during a surprise night raid. Caught off-guard by the tactic, the enemy retreated to Drakenfort.

When the Braveheart forces reached the fortress and tried to seize it, the Mercenary King and Queen suddenly appeared to defend it.

They swiftly defeated the Braveheart forces, seriously wounding Garron and forcing a retreat. Braveheart suffered 400 casualties in that battle, while Gildoria lost only about 200.

That left us with just 1,000 soldiers, while they still had 2,800.

Garron recounted the terrifying aura of the Mercenary King and Queen, saying they felt like the final guardians of Gildoria.

He described the Mercenary King as a tall man with long brown hair and an eyepatch over his left eye, with a cold, sadistic expression. He wore heavy dark red armor, carried a massive shield bearing Gildoria’s emblem and a silver longsword.

The Mercenary Queen was a red-eyed woman with short red hair, clad in light armor, and wielding a wide array of weapons. She was said to have mastered all weapon types, carrying swords, axes, and bows — but her main weapon was a crimson spear radiating a terrifying aura.

Garron and Tanya both said that fighting them felt like facing heroes from Braveheart, except the King and Queen relied solely on Aura — possibly a Force Aura stronger than even our nation’s heroes.

After hearing all this, I realized we couldn’t take Gildoria lightly — especially not those two. They might be even stronger than Theresia and me… perhaps even on par with King Aslan von Braveheart himself.

From what I’ve heard, they’re still young — only a few years older than I am. That means their full potential might not have even awakened yet.

Once Theresia and I arrived, we reorganized our strategy. Theresia suggested I take command of the Braveheart forces.

I agreed and developed a new strategy. Theresia’s division and mine combined gave us 500 troops, and with the remaining forces from the 7th and 8th Divisions, our total force reached 1,500.

I looked toward Termina and Saintes Irene. They both nodded with confidence.

“We can definitely beat them. Don’t worry, Serena-chan! Let’s show them the strength of Braveheart’s heroines, fufu…” Theresia said confidently.

“Theresia’s right… I believe in you too, Serena. You are Serena von Winterbell — the Frostblade Empress — one of Braveheart’s strongest heroes.”

“No need to worry about the wounded… I, Saintes Irene, will treat every injured soldier. Leave the rear lines to me,” she added.

That gave me full confidence.

I created a plan to push Gildoria’s army back to Drakenfort within three weeks at best — one month at the latest. If we were lucky, we might defeat the Mercenary King and Queen… or at least force them into a truce.

To execute this, I split our army into four divisions. Garron and I would serve as the frontline shield and spear, breaking enemy lines. Theresia and Tanya’s divisions would provide mid-range support. Finally, I formed a rear division led by Saintes and Lyra, supported by other support-type mages, who would cast buffs and tend to the wounded. Theresia and Tanya’s divisions would protect them.

The strategy worked — within one month, we had pushed Gildoria back to the midline.

But we couldn’t push beyond that. Gildoria’s guerrilla tactics were clever, keeping us from advancing. On top of that, the Mercenary Queen began leading from the front, and she was far too strong to defeat easily. I never got the chance to fight her one-on-one — she was too fast, and always knew when to withdraw her troops.

If I had the chance to fight her alone, I might be able to win.

As the months passed, the war on the eastern front against the demons worsened. For some reason, Gildoria intensified their attacks in our region as well.

Braveheart finally sent reinforcements — though many of them were freshly trained knights.

Among the new arrivals, I saw a familiar face — Lyra! It had been a while since we last met. The last time was when I caught her sneaking around during my date with Naoki, along with Milly and Freya, back in the capital.

I greeted her warmly, and she seemed happy. She told me she was assigned to my division. I welcomed her gladly and introduced her to Saintes. They quickly became close friends.

Theresia also reunited with her younger sister — Termina von Stormheim — who had been assigned to her division. It had been a long time since they had last seen each other.

With the 300 reinforcements, I had to revise our strategy again. Our total force now stood at 1,700.

I briefed the new recruits and redistributed personnel to each division with precise adjustments according to their roles.

When I finished explaining, no one objected. But then — timidly — Lyra raised her hand.

“S-Serena-sama… would it be alright if I joined you on the front lines?” she asked.

We were all stunned — Lyra was famous as a support-type mage who would’ve been a perfect fit to assist Saintes at the rear.

“Lyra… explain why you’re making this request.” I tried to understand her reason.

“I… well, even though I’m a support-type mage, I also possess powerful offensive water magic. I’ve been training hard. I often fought alongside Naoki-sama as a double-role — both as a sub-damage dealer and a supporter. I believe I can contribute effectively on the front lines — not just by healing the wounded, but by dealing damage too,” Lyra said, her eyes filled with determination.

I smiled when she mentioned fighting alongside Naoki. That was part of the promise Naoki and I had yet to fulfill. I… felt a little envious of her.

But I could clearly see Lyra’s resolve. She wasn’t the same girl I first met. Now she could show her strength. She had grown.

Saintes suddenly said, “Let her join, Serena. I can handle the rear lines myself. Lyra’s right — I’ve seen her abilities, and I can vouch that she can minimize casualties on the front line.” She said that with a gentle smile.

“Very well… I’ll approve your request. But I ask one thing, Lyra — don’t overexert yourself. If you’re overwhelmed, retreat to the rear and regroup with Saintes,” I said, and Lyra nodded happily.

It was such a relief. Even though the majority of our commanding officers were women, we were the strongest! We would show the kingdom that we were more than capable of completing this mission!

I continued with my briefing.

Garron and I would be the vanguard, the focal point of the assault — we would be the first to engage the Gold-Rank Mercenaries. Furthermore, once we had pushed Gildoria’s army back to Fort Drakenfort, Theresia and I would personally step forward to negotiate with the Mercenary King and Queen, in an attempt to propose peace.

If we could find common ground, that would be ideal. But if negotiations failed… then we would have no choice but to fight them with everything we had — and I wouldn’t hesitate.

After the meeting ended, we agreed to execute the plan the following morning. There was no time to rest easy — this was going to be a long battle.

…

Once the meeting was over, I ordered everyone to rest and take shifts on night watch.

I should’ve taken the chance to sleep while I could, but I found myself wide awake. My mind was racing. Thoughts of the ongoing war, the worsening battles in the east against the demons, the condition of the Braveheart Kingdom… and Naoki.

I missed him so much. I wanted to snuggle up to him, to hold him. The way his face turned red when I teased him — it was so adorable.

But right now, Naoki was working hard, completing his Hero’s Trial. I hoped he would finish soon… so we could meet again.

“Ugh… this isn’t good. I need to calm myself down.” I got up from my bedroll and stepped outside the tent.

I wanted to clear my head by gazing at the moon on this beautiful night.

As I walked, I saw Lyra sitting alone, staring up at the stars, lost in thought. It turned out she was on night watch duty.

I was curious about what she was thinking, so I greeted her.

“What’s on your mind, Lyra? You’ve been spacing out for quite a while, hehe.”

“E-Ehh? Serena-sama?? Shouldn’t you be resting?” Lyra looked flustered.

“I couldn’t sleep… Let me keep you company, Lyra. Besides, it’s been a while since we last saw each other, hehe.”

“Ahh, okay…” Lyra replied shyly.

“Hmm, what’s this? Let me guess… you’re thinking about Naoki, aren’t you?” I teased, trying to read her thoughts.

And it turns out I was right. Lyra looked all flustered and her face turned red.

“H-Huh? Naoki-sama? N-No… I was just thinking about something else…” she tried to make an excuse.

But eventually, she couldn’t deny it.

“It’s true, Serena-sama… I was thinking about Naoki-sama…” She said that while covering her embarrassed face with her hat.

I smiled faintly at her confession and said, “Heeh, what a coincidence… I was just thinking about Naoki too. Let’s share stories about him, hehe.” I laughed happily, thinking that maybe, just maybe, I could ease my heart a bit by talking with Lyra tonight.

Lyra looked surprised, but eventually nodded in agreement. Slowly, we began to exchange stories with each other.

….

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