"What is the status of the Guild members? How many are ready?" Alistair asked.

He and Guildmaster Arianne had arranged a meeting in the soundproofed Guild room, away from any prying ears. This time it was just the two of them. Alistair felt that it was better for Melina not to get involved in any of the actual war planning.

She had her hands full baking pastries with spells baked inside. She had discovered a few interesting things about her spellbound pastries. One—they wouldn't remain inside a regular person for an indefinite amount of time. In fact, the peak effectiveness of the spell remained for about a day before it grew weaker and eventually became unusable. That was usually within three days for regular townspeople.

However, it wasn't the same for everyone. Elves and drow could maintain the spell within themselves for about a week, and it also remained at peak effectiveness for three days. The same went for magically inclined people like Leon and Adrien.

System users were a different matter entirely. Alistair could use one of Melina's pastry spells for a whole week without its effectiveness diminishing, and it remained within him for three weeks. This time was even longer for Elowen, who still could access the <Water Bubble> spell she gave him.

Alistair could only imagine how long an actual elven mage with a System could hold the spell. Somebody like Lord Eidranis, for example. Perhaps, for such a powerful creature, there was no meaningful time limit at all.

"Lord Sinclair?" Arianne addressed him, for Alistair to realize that his thoughts had wandered away and he hadn't heard her reply.

"I apologize. Could you repeat that?" He said.

Arianne sighed. "It seems like the stress is even getting to you. Not that surprising, given that almost all of the snow has melted now. I said that we have a little over two hundred adventurers at our disposal. Many of them have been hired during the last half a year and are still undergoing training. If we're talking about fully trained and experienced members, then we have a bit under a hundred. The original members of the Sunglow's Guild."

Alistair frowned. That wasn't much at all. What could such puny numbers accomplish against the Church? They could easily gather at least twice as many System users. Regular adventurers without the System couldn't really do much against them.

Melina could probably mitigate that to an extent by equipping these adventurers with a few attack and defense spells. But for how long would those last? System users could activate many spells and skills using their natural mana reserves.

"Do you know how many elves will come from Euroa?" Guildmaster asked.

"A hundred at most. They are not supportive of our plan to destroy the Sacred Treasures, not to mention that they still want to keep most of their forces in Euroa for their own defense. Elowen said that we're lucky to get that many. They really weren't happy to hear about Melina's plan," Alistair explained.

"Okay, so that's three hundred. What about Sinclair soldiers?" Arianne asked.

"There's currently around fifty of them in Sunglow. Father said that he could send as many as four hundred once the battle began, but they wouldn't be able to come instantly. It would likely take them two or three days to arrive."

"I don't think we could hold out that long…" Arianne noted.

Alistair nodded. If the Church came on foot, then they could use the stone wall for their defense. But he did not doubt that they could come on ships. Sunglow didn't have any defensive naval force. There simply hadn't been any need until now. It was a small town, and nobody really cared about it.

But even a few battle-ready ships would have been a great help. He wondered whether he could request a few ships from Fenrora, but any movement from Fenrora's navy would instantly be noticed. It could set other nobles or even the King on edge.

"What about His Majesty? Isn't he aware of the situation here as well?" Arianne asked.

"Father did contact him, but His Majesty replied that he wouldn't be mobilizing the Royal Guard, afraid that it might frighten the citizens," Alistair explained. The real reply from His Majesty had been much lengthier and flowery than that. The sly old fox had used every bit of word manipulation he knew to weasel himself out of the conflict entirely.

"He had no trouble sending the Royal Guard to Sunglow and questioning everybody here!" Arianne angrily slammed her fist against the table.

"He doesn't want to get involved until he is certain of the winner. He doesn't want to sully his name in the eyes of the people," Alistair said.

"Coward…" Arianne scoffed. "I suppose it's all up to us then. I hope Melina can pack some powerful spells in her pastries, because at this point, it's the only hope we have."

"We have to decide what to do with citizens during the conflict? Where could we evacuate them to? Town Hall could be—"

Arianne laughed. "Evacuate? Sunglowers? Young Lord Sinclair, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you couldn't convince a single Sunglower to evacuate and leave their home behind. Each and every one will do whatever they can to defend their home, especially when it's the Church coming. In fact, I believe they will be delighted to have an excuse to harass the Church goons in earnest."

"Many of them are not fighters, we can't have them—"

Arianne raised her hand. "Fighters or not, they will want to contribute, and there's nothing you can do to stop them. I suggest you think of a way you could use a mass of non-soldiers. Where to best position them so they could safely do their bit."

Alistair rubbed his temples. All of these people… It wasn't like he hadn't noticed that Sunglowers were all just as stubborn as Gilbert and Melina when it came to such things. But hearing that he would somehow have to deal with all of them at once made his head hurt.

Nonetheless, Alistair wasn't about to give up. He had been a [General] after all, and even though he had severely limited access to professional soldiers and had to work with a bunch of untrained civilians, he was sure that he could do it.

"I'll think about it. We still have time, I'm sure I'll—"

All of a sudden, a troubled knock resounded on the door of the meeting room, stopping him mid-sentence. Nobody should be bothering them at this time. Everyone had been warned not to bother them. Meaning, if somebody was knocking, then the message was likely urgent.

Worried, Alistair walked up to the door and opened it. Remi was there, gasping for breath, sweat dripping down her forehead. That certainly wasn't a sight Alistair saw every day. Remi was always so energetic and hardly ever worn out by physical exertion.

"What's wrong, Remi?" Alistair asked.

Remi walked inside the room and closed the door, making sure that nobody would be able to hear her message. "A Church ship has been spotted at sea by Aeriganta!"

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"What?!" Alistair and Arianne gasped at the same time.

"Why would they come now? The ice in the sea has barely melted a few centimeters. It'll still be a good while before ships can move into the harbor. We still have fishermen ice-fishing near the shore," Arianne said.

"I have no clue. It's just what Aeriganta saw once she swam out into the sea. Frankly, it was a miracle she even spotted them. Had she swam in any other direction, then we would be none the wiser," Remi said.

Alistair rubbed at his temples, feeling his headache intensify. The Church was already on its way to Sunglow. No doubt they intended to catch Sunglow unawares by arriving earlier than expected. But how would they enter the Sunglow? Were they really just going to abandon their ships at sea and march on ice?

While it was still thick, it was risky to move a large number of people on it. They wouldn't be able to advance quickly. Most likely, they would have to go in groups, waiting for the first group to arrive on shore before the next one could go.

"Actually… we might be able to use this to our advantage…" Alistair said.

"I'll have to thank that siren later. She might have just saved our collective hides with her little excursion," Arianne smiled. "I'm going to get adventurers ready."

Alistair nodded. "Give an hour to work on a plan. After that, I'm summoning the whole town. Remi, inform the elves on Euroa at once."

"On it!" Remi said and left the room in a hurry.

"One hour? Is that enough to form any sort of plan?" Arianne asked.

"I suddenly got inspired," Alistair said. "Besides, I wasn't a [General] in my past life for nothing. I got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"I shall trust you on that. Good luck, General," Arianne saluted and also left the room.

Alistair waited for the door to close before he jumped to the shelf and composed a hurried message to his father. While he certainly hadn't expected the Church to arrive this soon, perhaps it was for the best. They could take advantage of the ice. Alistair would make them regret their rush. Perhaps, this would be one of the things able to tip the battle in their favor.

Not to mention that knowing of their arrival in advance was a blessing in its own right. This would give Sinclair soldiers more time to arrive. Alistair kept his message short: "The Church is a day away from Sunglow shores. Send your forces as soon as possible. Don't approach the ice near Sunglow harbor."

This message, written by Alistair, used the skill "Instant Message" and allowed the System to take care of the rest. The paper message was written on crumpled-up paper and disappeared. It would reach the Duke within a few minutes.

With that done, Alistair reached out to his bond with Mango and urged the little fox to come here and bring Melina along with her. He could trust the fox to get it done.

Melina was in the middle of making a batch of cloud muffins filled with barrier spells when all of a sudden, Mango grabbed onto her apron and pulled incessantly.

"Mango, I'm making muffins. These are very important. I'll play with you once this batch is done," Melina said.

She could feel the pressure building each day. It felt like Heiliger could arrive any day, although everyone kept saying that the ice layer in the sea was still too thick. That they wouldn't be able to travel with the sea frozen.

But Melina was already making preparations. Giving Lord Eidranis that spell was one of the first steps she had taken. She had also made a bunch of chocolate chip cookies with fire spells in them. Those will go to the Guild. Meanwhile, these muffins would go to all the Sunglowers so they would be able to protect themselves.

Mango continued pulling on her apron, going so far as to start growling at her. That was something new. The ice fox never growled.

"Mango, what is up with you?" Melina asked.

"Yip-yip!" Mango ran around her a few times, then zoomed to the door, scratching it.

"Do we have to go somewhere?" Melina asked.

"Yip-yip!" Mango nodded, looking quite frantic. Maybe Alistair had instructed Mango to bring her to him over their bond.

"Did Alistair ask you to do this?"

"Yip-yip!" Mango jumped up to confirm her words.

"Okay, let's go!" Melina nodded, hurriedly putting on her coat, not even bothering to take off her apron. If Alistair wanted something from her, then it must be urgent.

She left the bakery in a hurry, Mango zooming ahead of her. Due to being basically locked up in the bakery for days now, Melina failed to notice how much warmer it had gotten. Warm spring breeze rustled her hair as she ran, and the first greenery was already poking its way out of the ground. It wouldn't be long now. Soon, Heiliger would arrive.

Melina didn't realize that the time had already run out. When she arrived at Town Hall and received the news from Alistair, her heart sank. Despite the thick layer of ice remaining in the harbor, the Church was already on its way to Sunglow, no doubt trying to catch them by surprise.

"I've never been more thankful to let that siren live than now," Alistair said. "If Aeriganta hadn't noticed their ships, I don't know what we would have done. Now we have time to prepare, as short as it may be."

Melina's mind haywired. Tomorrow. They would arrive in Sunglow tomorrow. While she had a feeling they might arrive sooner than anyone anticipated, she wasn't quite ready for this.

"I… I'm heading back to the bakery…" Melina said, her mind already spinning out of control as she thought of all the pastries she had to make. There would be no sleeping tonight, and she would have to employ all her helpers. Gilbert should also be involved.

But the math in her mind didn't line up due to one important detail. The ovens were as fast as they were. While her <Haste Bake> effectively reduced cooking time in half, it still had a one-hour cooldown. It would be far too slow.

"If only Sienna were here, I could make way more pastries," Melina cursed. "I need to start distributing the ones I have made."

"Melina, calm down!" Alistair said, grabbing her firmly by the shoulders. "We'll manage this."

His steady voice did give her strength, and she allowed herself to take a deep breath for a moment. "I-I'm just worried. I haven't made too many proper pastries yet. Not to mention that there's still a ton of pastries for stamina boosting, healing, and elemental defense. I won't be able to make that many pastries in the bakery."

"What about the Baking Hall? It has plenty of ovens, no?" Alistair pointed out.

Melina felt foolish for not realizing that sooner. With the students gone, the Baking had been left mostly unused for the second half of the winter. But this was the perfect time to utilize the huge space.

"I'm heading there as soon as I gather all the ingredients," Melina said.

"What do you need? I can't imagine you have enough ingredients for the whole town?" Alistair asked.

"I've been stockpiling some things that don't go bad—flour, sugar, nuts, chocolate, and such. But I need eggs, milk, and butter."

"I'll send every bit I find to the Baking Hall and anything else you might find useful," Alistair assured.

Melina was about to turn to leave when she turned back to him. "What about defenses? Do you perhaps need me—"

"No! Leave the defenses to the Guildmaster and me. I'll make the official announcement in less than an hour and get everyone working. Your only task is to make pastries," Alistair said. "Fire spells, lightning spells, and a few wind spells for area control for the attackers and barriers for civilians for defense. Any elemental and stamina boost, along with healing, is great, but don't worry too much about healing. The Guild already has a good stock of your waffles and potions."

Melina nodded and ran off. Her mind raced with a list of ingredients and spells she needed to make, as well as how to best "package" them. She needs to pack as much punch in as small a package as possible. Making large pastries would only waste people's precious time. Something bite-sized would be perfect. Bite-sized spell pastries.

"I'll need your help, Mango! Ice-cream shall return on the menu," Melina said to the fox, running by her side.

"Yip-yip!" Mango exclaimed, running by her side.

A few people stared after Melina in surprise. It wasn't every day that you saw your local baker running around at breakneck speed. She saw that she caused a nervous stir among them as she ran past them without answering the queries or even returning a greeting.

But there was no time. Each second wasted talking was a second not spent cooking. Her pastries might be the only thing to save these people from Church's wrath. She still desperately wished for Sienna to be here. Even with the many ovens in the Baking Hall, the wyvern would be far more helpful as she could just leave the cooking part to her and not worry about burning something by accident.

"RAWRR!" A loud bellow resounded behind the wall.

Melina stopped, and people looked fearfully towards the source of the noise. But their fear quickly disappeared, and smiles spread on their faces. Melina also couldn't help but smile with joy.

Above the treetops flew the familiar shape of a certain Hearthfire Wyvern.