The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 172

Chapter 172

The thought made Eric and Mavis freeze for a moment.

It was as if something cold and eerie scraped down their backs, making their skin crawl.

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Both of them quickly shook their heads, dismissing the wild idea from their minds-‘No way, that’s impossible,‘ they told themselves.

Nova was just like them–a girl in her late teens or early twenties, still in the prime of her youth. Sure, she was on the action team and a bit more capable than your average student, but at the end of the day, she was still just a regular kid.

‘How could she ever be…?‘ they both thought, finding the idea too ridiculous to even finish.

‘A mercenary?‘ The word hung in their minds, sounding even more absurd the longer they thought about it.

“Yellowcat,” Nova called, her voice crisp and authoritative.

She turned, eyes locking on the girl in the pale yellow jacket–Yellowcat, with that flawless, doll–like glow- delivering her words with the unmistakable edge of a boss issuing orders.

“On it, Nova,” Yellowcat replied, stepping forward.

“Seal off all the doors and windows on the first floor of the armory,” Nova ordered.

“Haul every heavy machine gun and piece of artillery up to the rooftop, then set them at each of the four corners for maximum coverage.”

Her voice was cool and steady, every word landing with authority.

Decked out in head–to–toe black, with sleek, straight hair spilling over her shoulder, she cut a striking figure.

In the

eyes

of the Suntry Academy crowd, she was the picture of a badass commander.

‘Ace Commander! That’s her!‘ the students‘ minds buzzed with excitement.

“On it!”

Yellowcat responded without a hint of hesitation, standing at attention and ready to execute Nova’s command.

Next, everyone gawked as Yellowcat grabbed a heavy machine gun with just one hand and hauled it up stairs like it was nothing.

the

Each gun weighed around 89 pounds, but she picked up one in each hand, as if she was just carrying a couple of watermelons, and effortlessly carried them upstairs.

‘That kind of strength… one student thought, utterly floored,

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Chapter 172

The guys from Suntry Academy just stood there, mouths wide open in disbelief.

One of them couldn’t help blurting out, “Dude, what did she grow up eating to be that strong?”

“You think that’s impressive?” Columbus drawled, clearly unimpressed.

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“Back in the day, my dear goddess could lug four heavy machine guns at once, making laps–never even started breathing hard!”

Everyone–including Eric, Mavis, and even Vivian–gaped at Nova, utterly stunned by what they’d just

witnessed.

“Columbus,” Nova called out, her voice calm and commanding.

The second he heard his ‘commander goddess‘ summon him, Columbus lit up like he’d just gotten a shot of pure adrenaline, practically bouncing right over to Nova.

“Hey! My angelic goddess! What are your orders?” he grinned, eyes shining.

“Go bury every stick of dynamite and bomb in the ground around the armory,” Nova commanded, her voice cool but totally in charge.

Whenever Nova gave commands, that effortless boss energy just radiated off her–like she was born to lead.

Columbus snapped right to it–barely needed telling twice.

“Got it! On it!” he shouted, dashing off like he’d just won the lottery.

Everything Nova had Yellowcat and Columbus up to? Just her usual battle setup before the action starts.

This time, though, they were gearing up for a minor clash, so her deployment was pretty basic—nothing fancy, just covering the essentials.

For Nova, charging into chaos without a plan was never an option.

“So…what about us?” Eric asked, sounding eager to pitch in.

Even Mavis, who was always so dignified and reserved, couldn’t help getting swept up in momentum; for the first time, her eyes widened with genuine curiosity.

She found herself standing at attention just like Yellowcat and Columbus, waiting for Nova to give her orders, ready to jump into the fray.

But all they got was a single, blunt reply.

“You two don’t need to do anything,” Nova said, her tone flat and final.

The meaning was clear: ‘You’re not needed here.’

That stung a little for Mavis and Eric.

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*****

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An hour later, on the rooftop of the armory–a fortress stacked with defenses and towering above everything -the place was turned into a battlefield ready for war.

Up here, it looked every bit like the front lines of the conflict.

With all the weapons stored inside, the building itself was a fortress–built tough to protect the arsenal from surprise enemy raids or incoming explosions.

This was easily one of the most solid, impenetrable spots on campus.

Honestly, you couldn’t ask for a better location to set up a command post right on the front lines.

The area around the armory was packed with mines and bombs, and up on the rooftop, heavy machine guns were stationed at each corner–lined up like sentinels, locked and loaded, ready to blast anyone who dared approach.

Smack in the middle of the roof, a bunch of artillery sat in wait, turning the whole place into a fortress about to unleash hell.

Up on the rooftop, with the desert wind swirling sand around her boots, Nova casually held an eight–power scope between her fingers–calm and precise.

Right then, in that exact moment.

Nova squinted, peering through the crystal–clear lens, her gaze locked on a hundred elite soldiers inching their way toward her position.

“Nova, are they getting closer?” Yellowcat asked, keeping her voice low and steady.

She’d just loaded a shell into the massive artillery gun, planting her foot for balance as she gracefully adjusted the barrel.

“Lock on at twelve o’clock, range about three kilometers. Wait until they’re inside two kilometers, then open fire,” Nova replied, her words cool and commanding.

Nova replied.

On the battlefield, most commanders rarely carried binoculars themselves.

If they needed to scout the distance, they’d simply borrow a pair from someone on their team.

That’s because most commanders were rarely the ones fighting on the front lines.

Wins and losses often came down to the strategy and decisions of whoever was calling the shots.

So when two armies clashed, figuring out how to take down the enemy commander was always the priority

on both sides.

In ancient Zoria, there were countless legendary battles where assassinating a rival commander would send

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their hundreds of thousands of troops into chaos, turning them into headless chickens and leading to total defeat for their side.

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