Naturally, her confidence was not unfounded. Ten Dawn Yvonne Malkhorn was a woman who stood head and shoulders above her peers. According to what people said, the Conquestian reigned over the oldest generation, Ten Dawn Nassandra reigned over the newest generation, and Ten Dawn Yvonne reigned over the current generation! She was a powerhouse of magical prowess with her foot halfway into the realm of Medium Condensed Drop. In terms of Core Levels, she ranked third in the entire human world with only the Conquestian and Protector Avin as her superiors! The other Ten Dawns and Arcanists were not pushovers either. They were taken by surprise before and without sufficient preparations, falling to Elder Ludin and Crus's simultaneous attack was quite normal. However, they were not fools. They reflected and improvised new strategies after the fact. If they were still helpless after all this, then they would honestly be hopeless.
While this conversation was underway, they moved back to the central manor. Could they have continued trying to break out of the illusion spell? That might have worked, but it was a risky gamble. The spell might have hidden traps or mechanisms built-in that could wreak havoc on their forces. After their previous run-in with the Featherwind Sect, caution was essential. In addition, rather than fight a disadvantaged battle in the middle of the streets, their chances were better here. The central manor had a metal fence surrounding the property with a narrow gate. It was probably the most defendable position in this town. The soldiers rushed to shore up whatever makeshift defenses they could, such as broken logs or thorny plants. Despite the threat of imminent battle, it was surprisingly serene like the calm before the storm.
Elizabeth was about to conclude her conversation with General Dennis when a scout rushed up to say, "Your Highness and General Dennis, Imperian Qiang and the Imperial Princesses are headed our way with their detachment from the Lotus Division. What are your orders?"
"This would mean that it's highly unlikely they're responsible for the current circumstances," Elizabeth said what they were thinking.
No one would bring their leaders to the frontlines, even in the most childish of strategies, especially with someone as important as Imperian Qiang, the patriarch of the Li Family. Although Elizabeth was the current heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom, that was a slightly misleading title. Her right to the throne was semi-revoked with the inheritance race and judging by the fact that she was allowed to participate in the Second Great Kingdom War, it became painfully obvious that the Royal Assembly gave up on her. They killed her off politically. As for why they decided to do this, Elizabeth had no definite answers. Regardless, it revealed that Elizabeth's importance to the Alzar Kingdom was delegated to an outcast princess. The difference between someone like her and Imperian Qiang was night and day. Imperian Qiang commanded the Li Family as their patriarch and aside from the elder council, he wielded genuine authority and power.
"Then they've been betrayed by the elder council," General Dennis said plainly. "Do not engage. There's no need to start a fight unprovoked. It would be playing into our enemy's hands if we started fighting amongst ourselves. That said, keep a close eye on their movements. We don't want to give them any opportunity to ambush us."
"I will relay your words to Brigade Commander Reno," the scout said.
Before long, the people from the Li Family showed up on the other side of the manor. Tensions were sky-high as they suspected the Alzar Kingdom with their Arcanists were responsible. Only Imperian Qiang and Princess Ming had different thoughts. They trotted up on horseback with their Protectors behind. Sir Winstin and the other Royal Guards stood in front of Elizabeth, their weapons in hand already. Compared to their previous dispute, there was genuine bloodlust bursting from their bodies. At the slightest provocation, they would immediately attack! Naturally, the Li Family's Protectors were not ones to fall behind and they assumed battle-wary stances. Elizabeth looked at the Imperial Princesses' faces, but it was too dark to see them clearly. She was about to open her mouth when the sound of battle began.
***
Elder Crus and the other birds were stunned to see their acting Sect Master pull this move. In front of them, the falcon's aura seemed to pierce through the heavens, growing monstrously heavy and powerful with every passing moment. White Martial Energy shrouded him like a king's armor, while the wind whipped around like a tempest. Elder Argo was at the center of a great storm! It felt like one step from the Half-Rank 3 King level! A normal bystander would be outright terrified and might pass out from the sheer mental pressure alone. Dying from shock would not be crazy either. This was Elder Argo, the acting Sect Master of the Featherwind Sect, a former Half-Rank 3 King powerhouse standing at the brink of Rank 3 King! It felt like his powers had not waned at all!
He gazed down at Liguang and the central manor where his enemies were assembling. Closing his wings, he concentrated and strained his Martial Energy to activate his martial technique. A second later, his energy manifested in a ghost-like mirror image of himself. Compared to Elder Crus's Demon Wind Resurrection technique, it was much more compact and smaller, making its visual impact far weaker. Anyone would be inclined to believe it was thus physically weaker, but Elder Crus would disagree. Size was not everything. Her version focused on large-scale destructive power, so her power was dispersed over a larger area. It was the classical case of quantity over quality. Elder Argo's version was the opposite. He condensed all that extraordinary power into a compact form, thus amplifying its power to an absurd level. The phantom had grown more tangible than its normal illusionary counterpart and it released an aura strong enough to be felt throughout Liguang!
Everyone felt showered by his monstrous all-encompassing aura. Although it could not compare to Sword King Sin or Protector Avin, Elder Argo did not lose out in his potency. Putting it another way, the human Rank 3 Kings' auras had breadth but no depth. They bested Elder Argo in terms of sheer energy volume, which was granted considering they were Rank 3 Kings. Even one-tenth of their energy was enough to overwhelm him. However, both Sword King Sin and Protector Avin were inexperienced at proper energy utilization and manipulation. How could their skills compare to Elder Argo, who had access to the true world beyond humanity? The vast plethora of techniques and spells was a million times greater than humanity! Therefore, Elder Argo's energy manipulation was far more refined and potent, having reached a sublime level. Putting it into words… If the human Rank 3 Kings' auras felt like a vast ocean, then Elder Argo felt like a frigid bone-chilling tempest! They were qualitatively different!
When Elder Argo and his phantom raised their wings like a sword and slashed, the whole world was bathed in white light! Demon Wind Requiem, the pinnacle art of the Featherwind Sect, activated!
***
The instant that aura swept through, everyone jumped into action. Protector Chang and Tai apologized and grabbed the Imperial Princesses by the waist, then used their incredible physical ability to rush back to the rest of their forces. Imperian Qiang was also 'abducted' by the Four Dragons of the Loon Family. Sir Winstin, the Royal Guards, and the Grand Knights arrayed themselves around Elizabeth and her friends. Without a need to say anything, the soldiers instinctively raised their shields to the sky in neat, orderly lines. The Arcanists on the Alzar Kingdom's side also deployed their magical barriers. The Ten Dawns and their direct subordinates deployed especially eye-catching barriers around Elizabeth, raising the defensive power to another level. Despite everyone reacting blindingly fast, they barely had time to react before the attack came.
The first thing they saw was the light. Initially, it was a thin white line, like a shooting star, that stretched from horizon to horizon. It was conspicuous but unassuming. However, it quickly grew wider and wider like a pair of hands tore open the firmament to reveal the boundless heavens! The dark night sky was cast away and painted into a pure white, so much so that people briefly thought that night turned to day!
A beat later, the wind pressure blasted into everyone like a tornado. The trees fell, windows shattered, and doors broke as all the garbage in the streets was wiped up. Even Elizabeth could feel her feet sliding across the ground. Everyone struggled to stay in position in the wake of this monstrous storm. As the attack drew closer, everyone could faintly make out the shape of a gigantic bird wing. All this passed in a fraction of a second as the attack finally landed! Boom! A humongous explosion instantly shook the land to its core.
The spectators outside of Liguang sucked in cold breaths, whether they be from the Alzar Kingdom, the Li Family, or the Imperial Council. Their hearts froze in disbelief, their bodies ran cold with sweat, and their minds lagged to a halt. No one moved a muscle as over fifteen thousand soldiers failed to register what happened. Rather than an attack, it was more like a natural disaster, a divine act of providence! It was something that transcended mortal limits. This was the retribution of a god!
Even the Imperial Council's division generals were dumbfounded at the sheer power of the Featherwind Sect. It blasted through all their expectations and even more. Maybe it was not the Featherwind Sect, but the moon falling out of the sky? That would have been more reasonable than imagining a person could do this. They had to wonder why they were here if the Featherwind Sect could do this. They were stronger than any army! Just as everyone thought that Liguang was reduced to nothing, the dust cloud gradually lifted.