"Animals that can talk?" Benedict was scratching his head. "Is it possible that all animals can talk, and they just decided not to?"
"Well… I can't prove or disprove that…" Freon replied hesitantly.
"Huh? Does that mean that the animals I've eaten could think and talk like a human?" Shirley clutched her stomach. "I think I'm going to be sick."
"What about plants? Do you think we could have talking trees?" Freon pondered. "Or maybe inanimate objects too?"
"I don't like the sound of that," Benedict grumbled, feeling uncomfortable at the thought that everything around him could be 'watching'.
"Don't be ridiculous, Freon," Elizabeth chastised.
"I mean… you are asking us to believe in giant talking birds. To be honest, I still refuse to believe it until there's proof right in front of my eyes."
"Do you two not believe me either?" she asked Benedict and Shirley.
"I don't think you're lying, but…" Shirley awkwardly answered.
"It is hard to believe that two birds were nearly responsible for wiping out the entire fleet," Benedict added. "If the Featherwind Sect has more people like that, then… the Alzar Kingdom is in for a rough time."
"Forget rough time, we might be dead before we know it," Freon furrowed his brows. "According to what Elizabeth said, this is a 'Rank 3 civilization' meaning they have Rank 3 Kings and we don't have a single Rank 3 King on our side. This is bad news."
"Isn't your uncle a Rank 3 King too?" Shirley remembered.
"He is… but he's in the Zino Kingdom and I don't think he'd want to fight alongside the army either." Thinking about his uncle's hatred for the Zino Kingdom made him confirm this. He was unlikely to lift a finger to help. "What about you, Benedict?"
"I don't know where the Sword King is and I don't have any way of contacting him either."
"You can't contact your own master?" Freon looked at him funnily.
Benedict shook his head. "He said he would be finding inspiration for the next step in his training. He wants to break through to the realm above Instinct Realm."
"The realm above Instinct Realm?" Freon's jaw dropped. It was already ridiculous enough that the Sword King was a once-in-a-century prodigy, capable of breaking into the legendary Instinct Realm, something that no one accomplished in the last hundred years. Now he wanted to push beyond that? What was he trying to do? Ascend to godhood? What was wrong with people like him?
"I don't know what to say," Benedict smiled wryly. Training under his master made him realize the monstrous gaps between realms. The Sword King might be capable of seemingly impossible feats, but if the Sword King was truly intent on climbing from Instinct Realm to something even higher… He had to say that his confidence was not high. It was probably impossible for a human to achieve!
"Is there nobody else?" Freon looked to Elizabeth. As the heir apparent, she should be privy to knowledge that few had access to.
"I haven't heard of any other Rank 3 Kings in the Alzar Kingdom," Elizabeth denied. "Unless you want to count Lord Wenmord."
"Then there's no one else we can count on?" Shirley asked with worry.
"I only managed to persuade them with my master's help, but… I don't think we can count on my master too much."
"Your master… Where is your master then? If they helped you, then they should be nearby, right?" Freon wondered. "How come I don't see them?"
Elizabeth sheepishly smiled and placed her bow on the table. "My master is… right here."
Once again, everyone was perplexed by her statement and looked at her weirdly. Even Shirley, who was usually on her side, did not know what to say. Children talking with their imaginary friends might be a normal thing, but someone as old as Elizabeth doing it? It made them seriously question her sanity. Faced with their criticizing gazes, Elizabeth's cheeks flushed hot red in embarrassment. Of course, she knew how silly she sounded, but it was the truth! That was why she wanted to yell at her master for putting her in this awkward spot. It was Rena's fault for being uncooperative and refusing to reveal themselves. Unfortunately, Rena was stoic and unresponsive as usual. They clearly did not care enough.
The girl exhaled a violent breath. "Don't worry. One day, I'll make my master meet you three."
"…" her friends were rendered speechless again. What were they supposed to say to that?
"Okay… so from what I understand, the Alzar Kingdom doesn't have a Rank 3 King to rely on," Freon summarized. "What did the Featherwind Sect want? You said a communication array?"
"Do you think it's possible to make one?" Elizabeth asked with hope.
"I haven't heard of it before, so I don't know," he shrugged. "But from what you described, it definitely seems beyond our current capability. Projecting a message across vast distances? I don't know any Arcanist nor spell capable of that."
"But why do they want it?" Shirley interrupted. "Are they trying to contact their friends?"
"How did the Xingyuu Empire get in contact with these people anyways?" Benedict asked the critical question. "Giant talking birds… We should have heard something about this in the Alzar Kingdom, but we didn't hear anything like it."
"We'll have to explain everything to Admiral Aura and General Dennis and see what their thoughts are. In my opinion, the northern offense should be called off. It's too dangerous to continue," Freon concluded. "If we get hit by a Rank 3 King's attack without any defense, it'll be worse than what happened today. We'll really be wiped out before we know it."
Elizabeth easily agreed, having witnessed the Lannisail explosion herself. Something potent enough to erase the vast Lannisail property from existence, send tremors throughout the capital cities, and be visible from several provinces away… Something like that could easily destroy the Alzar Kingdom's fleet in its entirety without resistance! Of course, it was hard to say exactly what a Rank 3 King was capable of. Perhaps the Lannisail explosion was an exception above exceptions and a real Rank 3 King might be unable to do the same. She had no idea. Only during a Battle of Kings could one properly gauge a King's strength! Nonetheless, if Ludin and Crus were already this strong, then their leader had to be stronger. This was something Elizabeth had to worry about.
Hours passed agonizingly slowly. However, under Admiral Aura's leadership, the Alzar fleet successfully rallied together. She was called the Noble Protector of the South for due reason, having played a pivotal role in the Teria Sea Campaign at its height! Dressed in numerous military accolades, she was one of the most accomplished of any active admiral. This was why General Dennis stayed in the background and allowed her to take charge. The ocean was her battlefield! Although Admiral Kang sprung a devious two-stage ambush on the Alzar fleet and cleaved his way through the formation, he was ultimately unable to capitalize on the opportunity.
As Admiral Aura expected, by maintaining distance from the Xingyuu fleet, there was nothing that Admiral Kang could really do. Chasing a fleeing enemy was an art in and of itself! It became a game of cat and mouse to see how far either could go. And it seemed that the heavens themselves were being merciful that day when the weather took a turn for the worse. With heavy rain and a heavy fog covering their tracks, they gradually left their enemies behind. As they lost sight of their pursuers, everyone finally heaved a sigh of relief and cheered. They celebrated living through that nightmare! It was loud enough that even Elizabeth and her friends heard it below deck.
But when the celebrations ended, a somber mourning replaced it, amplified by the depressing weather surrounding them. They simply lost too much in that previous battle. Ludin and Crus's assault was short but extremely devastating, and Admiral Kang's fleet sunk their fair share as well. According to the reports that Admiral Aura received, they lost almost eight thousand soldiers out of twenty. That was forty percent of the fleet, a crushing defeat… She sighed. As the leader of this operation, she had to always act in the kingdom's best interests. Naturally, she wanted to do something about those left behind too. She was not a cold and unfeeling woman, but this was the reality of being a leader. Either you burnt yourself out worrying about everyone… or you learned to ignore the smaller details and became a cold and calculating leader.