068 TO RESCUE THE PRINCESS

068 TO RESCUE THE PRINCESS

"Enough talk!" Ma-san growled, his eyes flashing with fury. "These bitches attacked our sect while we were away. We can't let them go unpunished. Whether the stones are here or not."

Princess Bara's replied, "You may be stronger than us, but don't think we're weak. Pursuing us here is a waste of your time. The ship is already gone."

But Ma-san's patience had run thin.

He came to reclaim their relic stones and failure to do so, their next motivation was to exact revenge on these women who stole their relic and ransacked their sect while their strong mages were diverted away.

With a wave of his hand, he and his mages began to chant, and the sky above darkened. Large magical circles appeared, glowing ominously, and from them, conjured swords of pure arcane energy rained down upon the settlement.

The Amara warriors screamed as the onslaught began.

Powerful blades of light tore through the village, cutting down warriors where they stood, the air filled with cries of pain and despair.

"Gather around! Prepare the Mirror of Gullee!" the shaman shouted, rallying those who still stood.

The remaining warriors quickly formed a circle, channeling their remaining strength into the powerful ancient artifact. The mirror shimmered, absorbing their pooled blood before releasing a brilliant beam of energy that shot through the air, disintegrating one of the attacking mages in an instant.

"What the hell is that?" Ma-san's eyes widened in disbelief. "How did these women acquire such a powerful artifact?"

"Stop talking and just attack them!" another mage screamed. "They'll kill us all if we hesitate! There are more of them than us."

The battle raged on, the ground shaking with each explosive clash of magic. The mages unleashed another barrage of conjured swords, but the Amara warriors retaliated with a second beam from the mirror, cutting down another of their attackers.

"This isn't working, Ma-san," one of the mages, Ma-re, shouted over the din of battle. "At this rate, we'll all be dead before we can wipe them out!"

Ma-san's face twisted in frustration as yet another of his comrades fell, reduced to ash by the devastating power of the mirror.

"We could call upon the forbidden sacrifice spell," Ma-re suggested desperately.

"No!" Ma-san snarled. "We've yet to recover the relics. We can't weaken ourselves with such a costly spell. There are more battles ahead. We need our strength."

"Damn it!" Ma-re cursed as he watched another mage disintegrate in a burst of light.

"We can't leave empty-handed!"

In a sudden burst of movement, Ma-re dashed forward, dodging past the remaining warriors. Princess Bara, spear in hand, rushed to intercept him.

But Ma-re was not interested in combat.

With a swift incantation, he conjured a glowing lasso of magic that whipped through the air, coiling around Bara's body like a serpent.

"No!" the shaman screamed in horror as Princess Bara was dragged toward Ma-re, struggling futilely against the magical bonds.

"We'll take this bitch," Ma-re declared triumphantly. "She'll know where the relic stones were taken."

Before the Amara warriors could react, the mages retreated into the shadows of the forest with Princess Bara in tow.

"Damn it!" Leo shouted as giant magical ravens burst forth, racing to assist Princess Bara.

But his efforts came too late.

The enemy mages proved far stronger, Leo's raven couldn't even reach the mages. In the end, the princess was taken away, vanishing into the chaos before his eyes.

The sky, once filled with the sounds of magic and battle, grew eerily quiet.

A warrior turned to the shaman, desperation in her eyes. "Should we pursue them?"

"Look at your condition. You are in no state to fight any longer. You are lucky they left otherwise your entire clan would be killed," Leo told them.

Around them, the battlefield was littered with the fallen Amara women. Using the Mirror of Gullee had taken a toll on them with their lives. Many of these warriors died while projecting from the mirror.

The survivors were pale and trembling, weakened by the blood sacrifice required to power the artifact. The settlement lay in ruins, and more than half of their people lay dead or dying.

"Our friend is right. If the enemy hadn't left when they did," the shaman whispered, her voice heavy with grief, "we would all be dead, either by the mages' hands or by the toll of the mirror."

The attacking mages failed to grasp the true nature of the Mirror of Gullee.

Had they realized that the artifact drew its power from the life forces of the Amara women, they might have pressed their assault a little longer, knowing the women would eventually exhaust themselves.

Instead, unaware of this critical weakness, they chose to retreat, mistakenly believing that there was no further advantage to be gained by continuing the fight.

----

The settlement lay in ruins, black smoke curling from the remains of smoldering fires. The air was heavy with the cries of the wounded and the faint stench of charred wood.

The shaman turned to Leo, her face pale and drawn. "What do we do now?" she asked, her voice barely audible over the moans of the injured.

Leo's eyes were fixed on the horizon where the enemy mages had vanished, taking Princess Bara with them. His expression was resolute.

"We have to go after them and rescue Bara," he said firmly. "We can't let them get too far."

The shaman gestured to the battered warriors around them. Many were slumped on the ground, clutching wounds or leaning against what remained of the settlement's walls.

"Look around, Leo," she said. "We're barely standing. How can we make a journey in this condition?"

Leo's gaze softened, his brow furrowing in thought. After a moment, he looked back at her. "If you don't mind cramped quarters," he said cautiously, "you can take shelter inside Letcha's magic space. It's the fastest way to transport everyone safely."

The shaman's eyes widened in surprise, but before she could respond, Letcha broke in with a loud protest. "What? No! I am not agreeable to this!"