"As you wish, Your Majesty," Tengon and Nassandra said.
Korogin nodded in satisfaction. "We'll arrive in the Xingyuu Empire in several weeks' time south of Port Bo Dong. From there, we'll take some time to prepare before directly launching a siege on Yongtein. Here, emphasis is mainly on speed. We cannot allow the reserve armies to react nor for a prolonged battle. That is where the Ten Dawns and the Arcanists will come into play. Your large-scale destruction magic will destroy the defensive walls around Yongtein, allowing the army to storm the city. Once we take the fight into the city, we'll be able to stabilize our position and make an attack on the Imperial Palace."
The two Arcanists shivered at his words. To attack the capital city of the Xingyuu Empire was unbelievably daring! This battle would not be without sacrifices. In fact, in the worst case, none of them would be leaving alive. After all, as Ten Dawns, they knew exactly how strong the reserve armies were. Although the two warfronts did well in drawing the bulk of the Xingyuu Empire's forces, they were not stupid enough to leave their own cities undefended. This was even more so for the capital city. Trying to best them with a force of ten thousand soldiers was like trying to best an elephant with an ant. The odds were so low that it was hopeless to even think about it…
Nassandra grew downcast. When she thought about the upcoming danger, her mind fell upon her brother, Freon. The two had maintained frequent contact ever since she was deployed to the frontlines and he was sent to Port Silic. To her, Freon was less of an older brother and more of her guardian. It would be inappropriate to call him her father since she still remembered her parents. But they perished six years ago during the Xingyuu Empire's Invasion of Aereon. Such a time, for a child as young as her, was far off and distant. By now, it was hard for her to even recall the faces of her mother and father.
Her happy life with her parents and her brother was a distant memory, a sort of vague recollection of a time long since passed. Like an observer, she felt disconnected. That was not unexpected. Those six years… How much had happened to them since then? For a pair of siblings, one thirteen and the other six years old, how could they fare in such a world? The Invasion of Aereon brought a storm of fire throughout the Zino Kingdom, raging across the regions freely. It took time for the Conquestian and the Ten Dawns to successfully mount a counterattack and repel the invaders. For once in a long time, the people saw the fury of the Conquestian, the one heralded as the strongest Arcanist in the known world, the man closest to the peak of Condensed Drop Core Level, and the true ruler of the Zino Kingdom!
But it did not come at a sharp cost. Numerous accomplished Arcanists were killed in the defense, including several Ten Dawns. Even the Conquestian, who was vastly powerful, sustained injuries in the process. As was often said, in this world, unless one could climb above the heavens themselves, the many would always defeat the few! The Xingyuu Empire had prepared well in advance, while the Zino Kingdom was weak. Hundreds of thousands were killed, many of which were citizens caught in the crossfire. In addition, a significant portion of the Arcanists were kidnapped to be used for research and experimentation. The nigh-destruction of the Avalonian Army forced the Conquestian to fold his existing chain of command into the Alzar's Quinvoren Army, leading to the current day combined armies. The Invasion of Aereon later became the precursor to the Teria Sea Campaign…
With such death and destruction in the world around them, what could Freon and Nassandra do? They knew no one, much less anyone in a position of power to help them. They were helpless and forced to flee from the warfront with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the deaths of their parents weighing heavily on them. They travelled from town to town, begging and stealing what food and clothes they could. Days dragged into months, very painful months. Time flowed mind-numbingly slow. When you starved on the side of the streets, freezing to the bone, smelling like death, you wished you could die instead. It would be more peaceful. Nassandra was a child, but even she felt like giving up. However, her brother adamantly refused. His drive to live motivated him to continue, to persist against all odds!
However, that dream was destined to crumble. They nearly lasted a full year, but with the coming of winter, there was no changing how hard it would be to survive. Gradually, snow blanketed the world and enveloped it in a veil of cold. Without a place to call home, the two siblings cowered in alleyways and abandoned buildings. Their deaths were practically guaranteed. That was when an elderly man showed up, rescued them, and brought them back to Firecast, the Zino Kingdom's capital. He gave them food, shelter, money, and even an education in the academy. He offered them the opportunity of a lifetime! He gave them a new life! The two later learned that the elderly man was the Conquestian himself! And so, the rest of the tale was as everyone knew. Nassandra rose with prominence, like a rising star, in the academy and university. Finally, one year prior to the present day, she occupied one of the vacant spots in the Celestial Council of Magic, becoming a Ten Dawn!
Her heart was filled with boundless gratitude to the Conquestian, but that only came second to the affection for her brother. Freon might feel lacking compared to his prodigy of a little sister, but she also felt the same way! Without him, she never could have survived to this day. Freon was like the light in her world, a pillar of support, an eternal guardian for her. He was the only family she had in this vast and lonely world! Therefore, when she heard of his disappearance in Port Silic, waves of shock pierced her heart. She was shocked, depressed, and nervous. The weeks spent on this ship were completely and utterly nerve-wracking to her! Moreover, she was a child! It was a miracle that her emotions were still reined in, else, with her powerful magical spells, she would become a walking disaster. On this front, it was easy to see how mature her mindset was.