Becoming the Wasteland Overlord With My Harem System!-Chapter 206: Faceoff of Princesses (1)

"Oh, all of them died..." Nina muttered casually.

Her tone lacked any hint of remorse or concern, as if she were merely stating a fact. Her expression didn’t even change at all.

"Well, it’s a given," Eve replied, sounding only partially disappointed by the outcome. "They were really weak."

Arianne, gazing at the enemy in the distance, added, "Those minions did say their leader was guarding Princess Tiffany, so their chances of succeeding were nil from the start. But it serves as a form of harassment, at least."

"True. With this, they shouldn’t act rashly and send more assassins..." Teruria added, then lifted her gaze. "Wait, has the enemy’s presence... increased?"

"Huh?"

At her words, everyone turned their attention to the enemy army.

True to Ria’s observation, their numbers did seem to swell. The enemy troops were still multiplying. It began with about three thousand, but in mere seconds, it exploded to over ten thousand!

"So she brought out the shadows already?" Arianne mused, frowning.

"S-She must be trying to intimidate us with sheer numbers," Sophia suggested. "But rather than just a threat, she’s showing us that no matter what we do or what underhanded tactics we employ, she’ll emerge victorious in the end..."

Earlier, they had been outnumbered ten to one, but now the odds appeared even more disheartening. Even with Sophia’s army at full strength of 5,000, she was convinced there was no way they could win!

"They’re multiplying like cockroaches..." Arianne grumbled. "Shall I thin them down, Princess Eve?"

But despite their overwhelming numbers, Eve’s team remained unafraid.

While it posed a significant risk to Sophia and her troops, Eve, Arianne, Nina, Teruria, and Fenrir, along with the eight other members of the sniper squad, would remain safe.

"No need."

Eve shook her head, preventing Arianne from acting on her own.

"It’s not our fight in the first place," she clarified, then turned to the one who should determine their course of action. "Sophia, what do you plan to do?"

"I..."

Sophia hesitated.

Although she had Axel’s support, she was uncertain whether these few girls could help secure victory in the impending battle. After all, three of them—Ria, Nina, and Fenrir—were only present temporarily and might not be willing to join the fray.

If worst comes to worst, all of them might perish in the chaos of combat!

Yet, she also recognized she had some advantages.

"Tiffany shouldn’t know that my brother is dead," she stated. "As long as we keep that information secret, she won’t be able to truly unleash her full power."

Kyle was a General, after all. He not only commanded the wyvern troops, the most formidable fighting force of the Alcott Empire—now tragically resting in peace—but if they were still in play, they could have easily dealt with Tiffany’s 10,000-strong army like an untouchable bully.

Thus, Tiffany would need to restrain her forces, keeping part of them close.

This way, even if Kyle attacked, she should be able to manage it. Even if she considered an unexpected event had happened, she wouldn’t assume that what she could see was "everything" Sophia currently had.

"She must be thinking like that," Sophia remarked with a smile.

Going all out exposes her to a higher risk of being attacked, and killed, by Kyle.

However, exchanging blows with Sophia would simultaneously divert some of her forces. The risk was present, regardless of the choice...

Eve, grasping what Sophia intended, nodded.

"So you mean that as long as the phantom of that bastard lingers in her mind, she wouldn’t dare expend her energy elsewhere?"

"Exactly."

Sophia nodded firmly.

"Therefore, we should be able to push it into a standoff—a peace talk."

"Hmm..."

Arianne hummed, considering that her decision might be unwise. Still, it was Sophia who had to determine their course of action, so she could only sit back and observe how it would unfold.

...

Two hours passed quickly.

During that time, the two armies stood just a hundred meters apart, close enough to see each other’s expressions—a clear contrast between them.

Sophia’s men were visibly nervous; some trembled with pale faces. In contrast, Tiffany’s men stood proud and strong, their eyes fixed ahead, exuding confidence that they would win, no matter what happened.

In the center, two figures faced each other.

One wore a striking blue dress that stood out against the barren wasteland, while the other donned armor reminiscent of the Valkyrie Knight Order. Shiny, silvery-white, with hints of blue and gold.

On one side was Princess Tiffany of the Alcott Empire, and on the other stood... Nina!

Indeed, Sophia had not stepped forward, despite being the one who insisted on a "peace talk" between the two sides.

Nina represented her because the otherworldly witch princess felt compelled to intervene—mostly just her being a busybody. But at the same time, she was the most eloquent among those present.

And aside than that...

"So, you’re Princess Tiffany?" Nina began, her lips curling into a confident smile.

"It’s nice to meet you. I’m Ethernina from the Axevaria Kingdom, here in place of Princess Sophia, who is feeling a bit under the weather."

The witch princess appeared friendly and approachable, her words neutral and devoid of any sarcasm.

However, Tiffany, standing before her, furrowed her brows.

’Something about her bothers me,’ she thought. ’But I can’t quite put my finger on it.’

For one, she had never heard of this "Axevaria Kingdom" that Nina mentioned, which deepened her frown.

’Given the circumstances, she must be the backer who helped drive away the shadows.’

While her conclusion was partially accurate, it was also partly mistaken. She remained oblivious to this fact. All she considered was that since Nina was being friendly, there was still an opportunity to win her over to her side, away from Sophia.

Before long, Tiffany’s frown transformed into a thin, friendly smile.

"Indeed, I am Princess Tiffany Alcott of the Alcott Empire. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Ethernina," she greeted.

"Forgive my ignorance, but I haven’t heard of the Axevaria Kingdom before. Is it a new kingdom, perhaps?"

"Why yes, of course." Nina nodded. "We just formally announced ourselves as a kingdom about a month ago, so I guess it’s understandable that you haven’t heard of us."

"I see."

At that moment, Tiffany’s smile grew even wider.

A newly formed kingdom.

It certainly lacked backers and connections, especially in this godforsaken time of strife and chaos. In short, if she could demonstrate her value to Nina, there was a high chance that Nina would switch allegiances...!

Nina, of course, was fully aware of Tiffany’s thoughts. Word for word. Almost as if she were reading a book.

But that wasn’t all Nina was doing either.

’Alright... done.’

Silently, her "preparations" came to a close.

And now, it was finally time for the next step of their plan.