381 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

Chapter 381 - Novien's Western Wall Thump, thump, thump, thump. Even as the thunderous sound of hooves shook the earth from all directions with the onset of war, Victoria's gaze was fixed on a single point. At the forefront of the advancing 4th Corps, a knight clad in red armor adorned with a golden dragon charged forward, wielding a crimson sword. - It would be ideal if our intervention could lead to the Saint Kingdom's victory. However, considering the entirety of the Empire's forces, it's admittedly difficult. Thus, our realistic best course of action is... "To reduce the Empire's superhuman strength." "Hmm?" Muttering to herself as if reaffirming her resolve, Victoria recalled Eilen's words. The knight standing beside her turned to look at her. "Aron, what did you just say...?" "Oh, it's nothing. Just talking to myself." "Hmm... It seems you are quite tense." The knight was unusually tall, over 2 meters, giving his lanky figure an even more slender appearance. For a knight, his frame was excessively thin. His silver armor, tailored to his figure, seemed slightly awkward, but beneath his helmet, he wore a confident smile. Drawing out a silver spear slung over his shoulder, he spoke: "Don't worry. As promised, I'll ensure no one gets near the mage." This strange sight of a thin spear brandishing another spear with bravado oddly reassured Victoria. The peculiar knight was none other than Anthony Everett, one of the three vice-captains of the Holy Knight Order, also known as the successor to the Divine Sword, the Saint Spear. Yet, because of this, Victoria shook her head. "There’s no need to guard me. Vice-Captain, you should focus on the Blood Knight." Victoria pointed her staff, comparable in height to herself, at the knight in red armor charging from the core of the Empire's western 4th Corps. One of the Empire's superhuman forces and the 4th Corps Commander, the Blood Knight, Orlando Brown. There was no one else besides Anthony who could contend with him on the western wall. Victoria thought her judgment was rational, but Anthony chuckled softly and shook his head. "Haha, he will likely come straight for us. Upon witnessing Aron's magic, he’ll instinctively know who has to be dealt with first." His logic seemed reasonable, yet Victoria offered a wry smile. It was a stark contrast to the persona he'd displayed when they first met two days ago. - You sent reinforcements, only to assign a babysitter? He had been openly critical, expressing dissatisfaction even before the Divine Sword. There was no helping it. Due to her petite stature, Victoria faced limitations in disguises. She had managed to appear as a diminutive male mage in his early twenties, but even that guise had become problematic. Moreover, unlike the others in her group, she was a mage, making it difficult to assess her abilities based on outward appearance alone. Thus, Victoria had unwittingly been forced to demonstrate her prowess even before the war commenced, leading to the current situation. "Are you genuinely considering fulfilling your role as a babysitter?" "It's... unseemly for a man to harbor grudges. Especially for a handsome young man... hmph." As if embarrassed, Anthony avoided Victoria's gaze, but once again brandished his spear forward. "Tactically, considering Aron's magic, this is the right move. Enough with the chatter; save the complaints for after the war." "I'll hold you to that promise." With a soft chuckle, Victoria extended her staff toward the knights charging at the forefront of the 4th Corps. Her staff, 'Kelahan's Rod,' once wielded by Juan Douglas, the greatest power in the Grandia Kingdom, began to glow a deep brown as it absorbed her mana. An artifact of the 5th circle, not for enhancing mana but magnifying mana force, its single effect began to relay its full power to her. Rumbling. As mana force surged, Victoria calmly organized her thoughts amidst the euphoric sensation. - This is better suited for you. Her mentor had given her this treasure, citing that the atlans staff she previously used was better suited for wind attributes. Likely, it was out of concern for a disciple headed to the battlefield. In gratitude for such kindness, she had to achieve tangible results. 'The golem is not an option.' The best magic she could currently employ was sealed. She was in a different situation than her companions. Though there was risk of exposure due to unique mana force colors, that was speculative at best. Having someone with the same mana force color in MacLine couldn’t be enough reason for the Empire to pressure the Kingdom. However, if golem magic appeared in battle, it would be immediately associated with the Golem School of MacLine. In recent times, the Golem School had become so renowned in the eastern continent that it was indelibly linked with MacLine's burgeoning magical prestige. Yet, even without employing golems, Victoria was confident in her abilities. She was certain her achievements were exceptional enough. 'Single attribute enhancement. This is the rightful path for circle mages.' A framework lost to modern magic. Finally, she felt she understood the reason. For some reason, in the current continent, mana had been dwindling over time. It was far easier to surpass limits by mastering other attributes than concentrating the fading mana to exceed boundaries. Of course, such a feat still required unparalleled talent. 'But that is also just a crafty trick.' A wall surpassed through a crafty trick only makes the next wall even more insurmountable. Victoria speculated that this was the reason a 7-circle Grand Mage hadn't emerged over the past few centuries. That wasn't all. Although single-attribute mages were less versatile, they exhibited far superior power in pure magical might compared to dual-attribute mages. Just as the magic she was about to cast was far more potent than that of her mentor. "Reverse Gravity." As her calm voice resonated, brown mana spread across the ground. Rumbling. The earth, eager to embrace everything within its grasp, now had its nurturing nature inverted by magic, launching the Imperial knights who had been poised to scale the wall even higher into the sky. "Uwaah!" "Argh!" "W-What is this...!" With dozens of knights suddenly catapulted skyward, the soldiers atop the wall could only watch in stupefied amazement, their eyes widening in disbelief. For those knights, who had soared two to three times higher than the 20-meter wall, the situation was even more bewildering. In that moment, a calm voice echoed once more. "Gravity Control, Heavy Pressure." Brown mana spread out once more, pulling those who had been sent skyward back down with many times the force. "Aaaah!" "No, this can't be...!" "No!" The knights became dangerous projectiles as they plummeted from the sky, crushing the advancing Imperial forces beneath them. Boom! "Aaah!" "Save me!" Knights reduced to bloody pulps along with the soldiers beneath them. Witnessing the horrific scene, part of the Imperial army's main forces hesitated, and even the knights who had managed to avoid being targets of the magic stood dazed, watching their comrades who had fallen from the wall. That moment of hesitation set the tone for the early battle. "Charge!" "Kill them!" "There's a mage with the Saint Kingdom!" "Dammit! Find them quickly!" The soldiers of the Saint Kingdom, emboldened, advanced furiously, while the Imperial knights fell into chaos. Taking advantage of the confusion, Victoria launched the Imperial knights into the air twice more before slamming them back down. Boom! "Aaah!" "What on earth!" It wasn't until that moment that the knight in red armor at the core of the Imperial army charged towards Victoria at terrifying speed. — Behind the Saint Spear. Kill the mage! The roar echoed across the battlefield. "Whew. It begins now." Wiping the sweat now trickling down her forehead, Victoria took deep breaths, conserving her mana. Watching her, Anthony grinned broadly. "See? I told you he would come this way." "Be careful." "Of course. Orlando and the Holy Law are polar opposites after all." Aiming his spear at the charging Blood Knight, Anthony no longer glanced back. His claim of being at odds with the Holy Law was no idle boast. Blood Knight Orlando Brown possessed a peculiar ability to control blood. Although it sounded bewildering, his ability was fierce enough to make ordinary soldiers vomit blood and die just by glaring at them if they were unable to awaken their powers. Additionally, any wounds inflicted by his deliberate sword strikes exhibited a curse-like resistance to healing even by the Holy Law. But that was not all. 'They say when his face turns red, his physical abilities are maximized, producing several times his normal strength.' He displayed a buff effect similar to what the Holy Knights used, and he ignored the healing abilities of his opponents. Being someone whose abilities counteracted the advantages shown by Holy Knights, Anthony was said to have struggled significantly in a previous fierce battle. His restraints almost led to their force collapsing under already unfavorable circumstances. But now, things were different from back then. "With a mage's help, things change." "I will do my best." Victoria turned her gaze forward, tense at Anthony's words. As he mentioned, it wouldn't proceed smoothly. If their superhuman opponent wasn't a fool, he wouldn't charge in solo where she and Anthony were entrenched. And she was right in her assumptions. "Clear the path for the Commander!" "Overwhelm them with numbers!" "For the Empire!" With manic determination in their eyes, the Imperial knights swarmed toward the section of the wall they occupied. An unbalanced formation, as if no regard was given to anything else. It was a desperate maneuver that eased the defense at other points along the western wall. However, when the number of charging knights reached hundreds, the target could only feel immense pressure. "Defend!" At Anthony's shout, the Holy Knights gathered, but the limits were clear, given the numeric disparity. Yet, the Holy Knights, armed with a fervent belief akin to the Empire's knights, showed no fear of hundreds of enemies. "For the divine!" "Deliver heavenly punishment to our foes!" As Anthony and the Holy Knights intercepted the Imperial knights, gravity, intensified in a small area, immobilized the feet of the advancing Imperial forces. "Aaah!" "For the Empire...!" "For the Emperor...!" The incoming Imperial knights, collapsing swiftly like moths to a flame, were a dire spectacle. Thrust. "This is divine punishment!" In the moment Anthony, completely different from the man smiling at Victoria earlier, impaled two knights at once, a flash of red streaked through the chaos. Slash. "Gah!" "The Blood Knight!" A crimson arc sliced near Anthony's neck. Luckily, the wound was shallow. An unexpected opponent appeared beside the impaled Imperial knight, his eyes beneath the helmet filled with a tinge of regret. 'Invisibility? He had such an ability?' Surprised by the new talent displayed by the enemy commander, Anthony widened his eyes. Meanwhile, Victoria, overwhelmed, shouted at the dazed Anthony. "Opportunity!" Mana surged, and for a fleeting moment, her brown eyes regained their original red and blue hues, though no one concentrated on that detail in the urgency of the situation. Simultaneously, the power that had been binding the surrounding enemies concentrated on the enemy commander. Rumbling. The instantaneous transformation and free control of the already deployed spell was another prime advantage brought by attribute enhancement. "Grr!" "Strike!" The fortunes shifted for the two superhumans, as one found their retreat suddenly slowed—the Blood Knight. The spear of the Holy Knight, renowned for its charging thrusts, extended towards him. Thrust. "Ugh!" "Take this!" The Blood Knight was staggered, driven back with a pierced side, while Anthony charged forward. In that moment, the balance shifted decisively. 'I'll finish this!' As Victoria bit her lip, her eyes caught sight of a crimson aura-infused arrow flying towards them. Whoosh. "Ugh!" The aura arrows came from somewhere, sniping the Imperial knights. Reinforcements that were both welcome and unwelcome. Because of what they signified. 'The Queen is here!?' - Remember, while reducing the Empire's forces is important, the primary priority is the safety of your group. The words of Logan, their sovereign and protector, rang in her ears like a solemn vow. Just as she was about to unleash enough magic to annihilate their enemy, Victoria shifted her mana in a split second. Her body began to glide swiftly over the stones of the wall, as if she was effortlessly propelled along its surface.