"Alright, let's end this here," Lucian turned towards Aeon, "you win this round."
Before Aeon could respond, Leona chimed in, "Wait, why?! I haven't lost yet. Is it because I used magic? There were no rules that prohibited that!"
Aeon smiled crookedly. Although there weren't any rewards for the victor, ever since they were young, Leona had always been keen about winning. She would always keep track of how many battles she won. It was her pride. Her lashing out right now was not something new to Aeon.
His win was quite surprising though. Their fights usually ended when someone falls from the stage. That's why they were so intent on staying at the center. If Leona used magic, then he would just use his. There was really no reason to stop the battle.
Lucian was still trying to explain something when Leona suddenly went past him.
Aeon was still wondering why he was pronounced the victor when a figure suddenly pounced on him. Aeon fell down with a yelp. He then found his long hair being yanked by the demoness sitting on top of him.
What the heck?
Lucian hit his face with his palm. He thought things would be different now since Aeon and Leona were already adults. It turns out, Leona still held the same attitude towards Aeon. Leona had a short temper. But only Aeon made her furious without even doing anything yet.
Aeon was mischievous and playful. But because Leona always bullied him, he was quite tame in front of her.
Lucian picked her daughter up like a bag of trash while she was still clawing at Aeon. Then, he apologized. "I'm sorry, Aeon. You understand."
"Yeah…" Aeon replied.
He had claw marks all over his face, and his hair was a disaster, but he was afraid that he'd provoke the demoness if he said more.
Leona escaped from his father's grip and harrumphed. She still couldn't accept her loss.
The castle was silent for a while until the sound of drums echoed through the air at exactly 10 o'clock.
Aeon's head immediately turned towards the closest window. He knew that sound. That was the sound of war drums being played as a signal for battle. The sound of metallic boots soon added to the rhythm.
"War drums?" Aeon asked the emperor for an explanation.
"Yes. Today is the day we launch our counterattack," Lucian answered.
There was no need to mention who they were going to fight because everyone should already know.
Lucian expected Aeon to be hyped, but the next thing Aeon said caught him off guard.
"Why didn't you tell me? I want to fight too!" Aeon volunteered.
Indeed… Wait, no! Fight in a war?!
Lucian wanted to cough up a mouthful of blood.
Aeon was only 20 years old. If he sent him there and died, he didn't know what Devon would do to him in Hecate's paradise after death.
In the end, he was able to collect himself. He tried his best to act calm while shaking his head to appear firm. "This isn't a fight you could participate in just yet."
"Listen to the old man, Aeon. Even I'm benched," Leona followed up.
Nice backup, Leona! But wait. Old man?!
Lucian balled a fist in front of him and grit his teeth. But he couldn't bring himself to punch her daughter. In the end, he could only calm down. He turned towards Aeon and said, "That's also part of the reason you're here, to prepare you for such battles. Even though I just thought about it, ehem. I will be teaching you advanced magic concepts."
"Advanced magic concepts?" Aeon said as he looked at his uncle. His interest was instantly piqued. Though it appeared that he wasn't fully convinced yet.
"Yes. They might be too soon for you to learn, but at least it would give you a goal," Lucian explained. Inwardly, he was already coughing up buckets of blood. He was making up a bunch of bullcrap on the spot to distract Aeon from the battle. He knew how stubborn Aeon could be.
If he could sneak out of class to get captured by another empire, then him joining a chaotic war wouldn't be surprising!
He had to make him stay put.
But Lucian was quite nervous. His excuse was a bit far fetched. Even his daughter was giving him weird glances.
Advanced magic concepts. Those were for C-ranked mages and above and are not even taught in Academies. Surely, Aeon wouldn't qualify for one. But it should catch his attention!
Leona was shocked by her father's weird behavior. She just thought that it was his way of helping Aeon in his father's stead.
"Alright, should we start now?" Lucian asked.
"Reynold!" he called out.
A guard suddenly stepped into the entrance.
"Sire!"
"Can you take Aeon here into the study? We'll catch up in a bit."
"Yes, sir!"
The guard names Reynold walk stiffly towards the platform then dragged Aeon away.
Aeon was confused about what was happening, so he just let it happen.
The two soon disappeared in the hallway.
Lucian and Leona were quiet for quite some time.
It was Leona who finally broke the silence after a full minute.
"Why did you stop the duel?" she asked.
Lucian sighed. He knew she was going to ask.
"You must've felt it," Lucian said. "That savage aura."
Leona slightly trembled. She was reminded of the fear she felt earlier. Leona turned away. "What about it?"
"When Aeon gave off that pressure, I knew that you wouldn't be able to take his next hit. I was unsure if he knew how to control his power, so I stopped the battle," Lucian explained.
"I wasn't taking any chances."
Leona was obviously devastated by the revelation. She didn't voice out any doubts. If her father said it, then it must've been true. Then that could only mean that she was still weak.
She wasn't discouraged though.
Leona started walking briskly towards the other exit.
"Training?" Lucian asked.
"Yeah," Leona responded.
Lucian sighed once more. He couldn't understand how Aeon could give off such a feeling. The pressure was so strong that even he felt it. This feat wasn't impossible. He knew someone else who gave off a similar feeling when fighting seriously. However, that was only achieved through countless battles.
Aeon had been a captive. Although he had more freedom than the rest, he should still be constrained.
So where did he develop that aura?
The war drums continued to beat.
….
It was midnight when the mages arrived at their designated spots.
They had a total of 2,700 mages split into three groups to attack from three different sides.
Meredith's men were assigned to attack the northern side of the town while Shilla's and Solemnus' attacked the east and the west respectively.
In the end, only two other empires decided to cooperate in this joint effort. Many people were discontented, but they couldn't do anything about it either. Wage war against those who don't assist? That would be really stupid at a time like this.
Nevertheless, this was a force to be reckoned with.
Two thousand seven hundred mages above C-rank.
If they wanted to blow up an entire town, they might even be able to do so. Blowing up a city might even be possible if they had enough time to cast. However their goal today was not to do that. Nor is it to recapture. They just needed lots of captives while saving as many citizens as they could. Thankfully, the invaders all had common features that separated them from the natives of the continent.
"White hair and pale skin," the General of Meredith's Wyrmroth City, Troy Coffer, reminded. "Those with these features are the enemy!"
The soldiers tucked their hands behind their backs in a silent salute.
Counterattack on Cresselia Town, commence!
Estimated number of enemy mages: 1200!
Using the cover of the night, they moved out.
Due to the curvature of the land, the western brigade would either be discovered first or last, depending on whether or not there were enemy mages or scouts holding the high ground. Regardless, this would put them at an advantage.
And so, every brigade held the same pace.
Not long after, the night sky on the western part of the town began to reflect colorful lights birthed by magic spells.
As expected, the enemies did not overlook the small hill.
No matter, Coffer thought. He signaled towards his men to execute their response.
Being found early meant that that part would be reinforced with more mages. And this is good for them because that would mean fewer enemies within the town. However, they just wouldn't let Solemnus' soldiers become bait. Although they were purposely assigned there because their lineup proved to be stronger in terms of control and stalling, they still needed aid.
Half of the northern brigade split to attack from the sides. This would alert the northern side of the town but would leave the eastern one open.
Cries of magical beasts filled the air. No one was surprised because they knew about the enemies using magical beasts for a long time now. In fact, they were relieved that they only heard those and not roars of colossal beasts. It wasn't a secret that the invaders were not able to control colossal ones. Those creatures might have been too much for them to handle.
Everything proceeded just as planned. Nothing was beyond their expectations.
The northern team advanced faster.
They began seeing hooded people atop the town walls as they grew closer. Without a second thought, they began casting their own spells.
In a matter of seconds, the northern wall and its gate were engulfed by magic.
The scene, although destructive, was beautiful.
However, the experience was fleeting.
The lights that devoured the northern wall were extinguished just as fast as they blazed. Where the northern brigade previously stood was now filled with dust.
The ground they were stepping on suddenly collapsed.
….