Siege on Yongtein (13)

The kingdom continued to retreat, while the council hounded them on all sides and at the center of this conflict were the Ten Dawns. Their performance with the Yin-Yang Arrow and Mirage Valley was simply too eye-catching because everyone realized how great of a threat they were. Every Perception Realm focused their attacks on them. To fend off the mad charge of thousands of Perception Realms equipped with Martial Energy was a lost cause. The kingdom's vanguard crumbled and scattered like dust in the wind. Any defense was meaningless! Despite using a corridor to retreat, the Arcanists and Ten Dawns found themselves fleeing at full speed on horseback, and even then… their backs were drenched in sweat from the nightmare behind them. It was like a monster was opening its mouth to swallow them whole! The council's momentum seemed endless! However, the Arcanists were rapidly approaching the edge of the dead zone. Once out, they would retaliate with another round of magic!

Things did not go according to plan when the size of the dead zone was much larger than anticipated. After all, the Imperial Council was also using Martial Energy which added to the interference. Boom! There was an explosion of Martial Energy behind the Ten Dawns as hundreds, if not thousands, of flying strikes tore through the kingdom's vanguard. They were getting increasingly closer! Ten Dawn Iris gritted her teeth and hastily erected another wind curtain, but that was a mistake on her part, because she did not actually have the strongest defensive spell among her companions. Ten Dawn Yvonne and Rosemary had her beat in that regard. The woman had moved on reflex and the interference meant that just one spell could be active at once. It was too late to dispel it! Boom! Hundreds of flying strikes slammed into her spell with monstrous energy. They might have weakened from the interference, but the sheer quantity was enough to overwhelm her. A few stray flying strikes broke through and nearly diced them into pieces. Their safety net shrank rapidly until… their horses cried out in pain! Their legs and calves were sheared clean off! The resulting momentum sent everyone spiraling out of control before crashing into the dirt. They were too injured to move, and their enemies were quickly upon them. It looked hopeless.

"We'll help you!" someone shouted.

Three people charged in and dismounted, leaving the Ten Dawns dumbfounded. Anyone who willingly threw themselves into this situation had to be insane or suicidal! They wanted to see who could be so stupid. To their surprise, it was the princess's friends: Benedict, Shirley, and Freon! They had come to the frontlines willingly! Although admirable, the Ten Dawns wondered what these three could do.

"Freon, take them away. We'll stop the enemies here," Benedict declared.

"Alright."

"Wait! You're not seriously going to fight them, are you? You'll die!" Ten Dawn Iris yelled. She could not imagine a single scenario where they survived. They were only throwing their lives away!

"Don't worry!" Shirley returned with a smile. "We know what we're doing!"

"Pardon my rudeness," Freon said. He slung the woman's arm around his shoulder, while he used his wand in his free hand. The spell, Spring Step, was invoked the next second, launching them high into the air. The sudden movement scared the woman senseless. "Please stop moving. It's making it harder to concentrate," he exhaled.

She wanted to ask what he had planned when her eyes shot open. Through her Magic Perception, she could clearly sense Freon forming another Magic Circle… Unbelievably, he was double-casting! The woman was stupefied. This was an extremely difficult skill that required very precise energy control and concentration to succeed. It was not something an ordinary person could do! Even the Ten Dawns, hailed as some of the greatest Arcanists in the human world, struggled here. That was why it was largely believed that double-casting was a skill that only the exceptionally prodigious Condensed Drop could accomplish. That is, until today. Freon pointed his wand back and casted the fire-type defensive spell, Infernal Gate! Whoosh! A huge wall of flames burst forth from the ground between Benedict, Shirley, and their enemies. The interference eventually suppressed it, but it remained a formidable obstacle. Once he got Ten Dawn Iris to a safe place, he hurried back. He had four more people to evacuate!

At the same time, Benedict and Shirley fearlessly drew their weapons. Despite Freon's Infernal Gate, the battlefield was always expanding and evolving. It could not fend everyone off forever. Another massive volley of flying strikes sliced through the flames, while their enemies circled around to advance directly. Anyone looking at this scene would think the same… that it was certain death! Admittedly, Benedict and Shirley found themselves sweating too. It sounded easy, but the slightest mistake could spell death. They were literally playing with their lives here! They could not afford to mess up. The two sides were about to clash when streaks of light flew past and exploded on the council's side. Benedict and Shirley could not help but grin because they saw it clearly. Those streaks of light were energy arrows! It was Elizabeth!

At an earlier time at the general's tent, Elizabeth exclaimed, "Is that true?"

"Yes…" the messenger gulped. "The dead zone is larger than expected, and their Perception Realms are breaking through. We are urgently requesting orders and reinforcements!"

"I'll go," Elizabeth declared as she jumped to her feet. She grabbed her bow and started to walk out when Sir Winstin and the other knights stood in her way.

"Your Highness, please reconsider. The battlefield is too dangerous, and Your Highness has an important role as the Royal Army General. Trusting in our abilities is something that Your Highness should do," General Petra hurriedly said.

"Rest assured. I won't be entering the battlefield myself," she said, much to the confusion of everyone present.

"Then what does Your Highness intend to do?" the general asked.

Tapping her Whiteangel Bow, she replied, "Your answer is right here."

When she walked outside the tent, it was unsurprisingly hectic. Officers, messengers, and soldiers rushed around, shouting, trying to coordinate this massive battlefield. She and General Petra might have overseen the highest level, but there were thousands of people below them that dealt with their own problems. Managing an army of nearly two hundred thousand soldiers was definitely not a trivial affair! Elizabeth only saw a mere fraction of the true effort that went into making everything work. People stopped to salute her, but she stopped them. It was a waste of both their times. She walked to the edge of the camp where a steep cliff was and brandished her bow. From here, she had a sweeping view of the entire battlefield and most of Yongtein. Although it was a bit too far to make out the exact details, it was an excellent place for the kingdom's camp to set up.

Sir Winstin and the knights accompanying her found her actions baffling. The distance from here to the battlefield was large enough to necessitate a Martial Perception just to see it clearly, so what could Elizabeth, who was not even a Perception Realm, do with her bow? Furthermore, supposing she could use her spells over such a large distance, the interference strength in the dead zone would weaken them to the point of being useless. No matter how one looked at it, this seemed like an exercise in futility. 

She ignored their curious gazes and focused. Her Half-Condensed Drop's Magic Aura erupted. Holding her bow with one hand and the bowstring with the other, she casted the spell, Far Sight, a simple eyesight-enhancing spell. Her vision then magnified a dozen times over, allowing her to see the Ten Dawns and her friends with shocking clarity. At the same time, an energy arrow materialized between her fingertips. She plucked her bowstring back and loosed it. Bang! Her longest ranged spell, Sky Piercer, resembled a streak of light as it crossed the skies and exploded in the enemy lines! She did not let up. Using swift and practiced motions, she summoned more and more arrows to blast the front lines with pinpoint accuracy. It was like a meteor shower descended on the battlefield! Her lethality, even at this distance, was shocking to say the least, much less the fact she was double-casting too! What was once thought to be a near-legendary skill, exclusive to Condensed Drop Arcanists, was casually executed by Elizabeth and Freon. No one could believe their eyes.