Stormy Final Battle

Drenched in rain, the True Order army was forced to stay in their shelters as they regrouped. A single mana enhanced tornado from a Ural Bay storm could strike with the force of a grand ranked spell. No less than five spawned from the storm last night.

The resulting chaos blew away a third of their forces. Then the storm eagles swooped in for an easy feast. They couldn't stand the mocking and jeers of the defenders on top of the walls. Their army still numbered over one hundred thousand strong, even after those losses.

An emergency meeting was held by the True Order officers.

"We can't take any more losses like what happened last night! Our army might still number many times more than the defending army, but if we take another blow like that keeping the province under control will be difficult."

"There's only so much that we can do to prepare for the storms blown in from the Ural Bay. They are already wild. With the mana from the battlefield that strength is magnified by several times."

"Alright. Then let's stop the long, drawn-out battle and just smash through the walls. If we take the city, then the battle will end and we can shelter inside the barrier."

"What?! Are you crazy? That could destroy everything! We need to conserve our strength and the city's potential. Forest Waypoint is the key to controlling and civilizing the Saintlenee province."

"I agree. Most importantly, swords don't have eyes. We know that the Forolan heir and a couple other targets are inside the city. What if he dies? Or is horribly injured? The Prophets will never forgive us."

The tent went silent at the mention of the Prophets. Offending them was tantamount to seeking death. The Prophet of Terra would let his beasts rip them to shreds, but the Prophet of Truth would make them wish to death. The officers shuttered at the last punishment personally ordered by their leader.

"Let's just get rid of those storm eagles first and maintain our pace. If the weather looks stormy again, we can pull back and let it run its course. The city's barrier can't take many storms of that magnitude in a short period of time."

"In fact, that would be better for us in the long run. We can take down the barrier without destroying hard to replace infrastructure. The weather is already bad. If we push the magical beasts a bit, I'm sure that we can cause a few more catastrophic storms in the upcoming weeks."

The True Order army instantly went on the offensive again. Their magical beasts fought with the storm eagles. In less than a day, the storm eagles were killed or driven off. Still, that was more than enough time for the defenders to catch their breath.

The drawn-out clash between the city and the army continued. The True Order kept grinding away at the defenders, but didn't dare to go too far. They needed the city intact. Stallesso took the opportunity to fiercely counterattack.

Knowing that the enemy wanted to take the city whole, he dared to focus on destroying the enemy army. Though initially in the hundreds of thousands, over half had fallen in battle a month after the siege began. The True Order side became more impatient and ruthless as the days passed.

Forest Waypoint wasn't doing so well either. They had large reserves of food and water due to stockpiles for supplying expeditions. However, the frequent magical storms decimated the barrier even more than the invading army. It wouldn't last longer than another two weeks before failing.

The final battle for the sitting neared. There was no way they could maintain the barrier for much longer. Once it failed, the True Order would seize the city. Sensing imminent defeat, Stallesso decided to take a risk. The defense couldn't be saved, but the civilians could.

Another storm was building up over the city. The True Order's forces on the east side were much more thinned out by the magical storms than the other places. This made them more wary and quicker to retreat behind their own barriers. If one was fast and sneaky enough, slipping through enemy lines was possible.

Another storm was approaching. Weather forecasters predicted that this one would be fiercer than all the others combined. The barrier would likely fail. After that, the city and all of Saintlenee province. The civilians had to flee before the True Order took over, or else the magical beasts would keep them trapped.

The military issued an emergency draft and plans for citizens to evacuate the city. They would break through the east just before the storm hit. The True Order would be hunkered down behind their barriers. After the military cut down any magical beasts that were sent out, the civilians would flee.

The storm would cover their escape. If all went well, they would arrive at the Glacier Mountains or Northern Divide Mountains before the True Order forces mounted an actual search. They should be too busy conquering the city.

A skeleton crew of soldiers and high-ranking officers was selected to stay behind and maintain the barrier. Stallesso Forolan and the Nafriton professors were among them. He could not leave without tipping off the True Order that something was going on.

The Halcyon Guards would lead the mission to break through enemy lines. A handful of them would escort Daren out of the city, then cover his retreat. He would leave disguised with the other Nafriton students. President Bennett and the Student Council would lead them.

The Student Council invited Daren, Chris and a few select others to a secret meeting. Corrine Bilton wasn't invited. Though influential, she wasn't important enough or had any tactical experience. She failed to listen in on the meeting.

She realized that the students were likely plotting a way to leave the city. If Daren Forolan escaped again, she couldn't imagine the Prophets' fury. Corrine couldn't let that happen, yet she couldn't pass any messages out of the city walls.

Her eyes flashed. There was a way to let her allies know where she was after leaving the city. Corrine relaxed as a plan formed in her head. The hidden chess piece prepared her move. As long as Corrine didn't expose herself, her future path would be as smooth as glass after this.

**********

The ferocious storm finally arrived. The dark clouds climbed even higher as the mana from the battlefield was sucked into the storm. As predicted, the eastern forces quickly retreated behind their barriers. Luck seemed to be on the city's side as even the scouts were pulled back.

The civilians prepared to evacuate. Many chose to stay behind. They either didn't want to get caught up in the storm, or simply couldn't leave. Families would be split apart forever thanks to this decision. Valuable goods were either prepared for travel or destroyed. Nothing would be left behind.

Just as rain began to fall, Stallesso launched an attack, pretending to make an attempt at getting the True Order caught in the storm. At the same time, the gates on the east side opened. The Halcyon Guard charged out and cut through the random magical beasts still wandering around.

Civilians fled the city behind them. The groups split up to sneak out through different paths, though most fled north east towards the Glacier Mountains or south west towards the Northern Divide Mountains. President Bennett led the Nafriton students east towards the Ural Bay. With luck, they could meet up with one of the university's research ships.

Some deity seemed to bless the fleeing people. The wind kept their scents away from sharp noses, and the storm blocked light that would expose them. Yet, the magical storm seemed to stagnate over Forest Waypoint. It only seethed with displays of thunder and lightning.

With that extra time, most of the civilians fled past the enemy line before they were exposed. The Nafriton students traveled swiftly towards the east. They had to walk a fine line in between the camps to avoid detection.

Corrine slowly made her way to the back of the group. The fourth years originally placed her in the center which was the safest to her dismay. She couldn't pull off her little trick with everyone watching. Not much time was left.

Her body tensed as they approached the back of the enemy line. Their route twisted through the True Order's siege, but that would only buy her so much time. In the darkness, she activated her ring type artifact.

This ring has been her trusty companion for ages, and helped her to set up her opponents on many occasions. Corrine held her breath as she activated its magic. The other students were too busy fleeing to notice. Still, the True Order camps appeared undisturbed.

Blood dripped down her chin as she fiercely bit her lips. Corrine's hands tightened into a death grip around the reigns. The final camp appeared in front of them. The group suddenly turned and skirted around the borders of the camp's detection range.

The Nafriton students sighed in relief as they passed the easternmost camp. Corrine internally cursed those lazy scouts. She would have to start the next plan. Then laughter and cheers were cut short without warning.

Alarms started blaring in other nearby camps. Hordes of magical beasts were released from their cages. The guards turned back to block the students' escape.

Rain began to fall as Corrine secretly sighed in relief.