Before long, the woman was summoned to the general's tent, where she saluted her superiors. "Brigade Commander Christina Kalmar at your service."
"I called you here because three enemy Divisions appeared in our back ranks, and I want you to lead a Legion against them. The Featherwind Sect, the Ten Dawns, and Her Highness's unit will act as support. Your objective is to delay the enemy forces for as long as possible."
"You want me to lead a Legion?" she asked incredulously.
"Will that be a problem?" General Petra returned.
"No, I understand. I will obey."
"This will be an important operation, so failure will not be permitted. I'm trusting you with this."
"Understood. I promise to return victorious!"
Outside, when she and Elizabeth reached a quieter place, she gave her a long sideways gaze. "Elizabeth… did you have a hand in this?"
"There wasn't anyone else, so I said your name."
"I knew it!" Pinching the girl's cheeks, she continued angrily, "Why did you have to say my name? You should know that I'm a Brigade Commander and not a Legion General! One has five thousand soldiers, and the other has twenty thousand… That's a four-times differences! I don't have anywhere near enough experience to lead a Legion properly, especially for such an important task. Are you trying to humiliate me?"
Elizabeth mumbled through her pinched cheeks, "Of course not! Auntie Christina, you're too modest. I've looked through your records from Fortress Fallinard and under your leadership, the fortress solved every problem swiftly and thoroughly. It was practically perfect management! Even Lord Korogin wrote high praises of you. Otherwise, he wouldn't have tasked you with protecting me while I was on New Havens."
"This is this, and that is that. That doesn't have anything to do with leading a Legion."
"Then what about your battles in the Samfeng Province? You won every battle, and almost overwhelmingly too. Your leadership in the southern front was also crucial for when we were sieging Guanhuang… Some other Legion Generals don't have anywhere near as many achievements as you do! Please, Auntie Christina, we're in a tough spot and we really need your help."
The woman released the girl's cheeks in resignation. "Alright, I guess I shouldn't turn down a request from our kingdom's little princess. I'll have to think of something. Still, this is a tall order for me… Commanding the Featherwind Sect, the Ten Dawns, and Her Highness's unit… What is the last one supposed to be?"
"I'll be joining you on the battlefield too."
"I knew I had a bad feeling about this…"
The legion and related parties assembled as Commander Christina held a quick strategy meeting. The Brigade Commanders were obviously unhappy to see her prompted, but they restrained themselves. They knew this was not the time to sow discord. Of course, the other reason was because of the others present. There was the bird who casually killed thousands in an earth-shattering attack, the acting Sect Master of the Featherwind Sect, Elder Argo. Next, there was one of the strongest Arcanists in the Zino Kingdom, the pseudo-leader of the Ten Dawns, Ten Dawn Yvonne. And finally, there was the former heir apparent of the Alzar Kingdom, the Royal Army General, Princess Elizabeth herself! This lineup was enough to make anyone behave. That was why Commander Christina's willpower had to be applauded. She assumed leadership over these powerful figures without skipping a beat and issued her orders. The meeting was short and succinct due to that, which was a good thing because they had little time to spare. Elizabeth walked out and saw her friends waiting nearby.
"How did the meeting go?" Benedict asked.
"Good. Freon, Auntie Christina wanted to caution you against using your fire-type spells. We don't want you to ignite the forest and cause more problems."
"I guess that makes sense," Freon sighed.
"Will you manage? I know you specialize in fire-type spells."
"I have ideas."
Elizabeth nodded. "You and I will act as support with the Ten Dawns and the Arcanists in the rear. The chances of a fight will be low. As for Benedict and Shirley…"
"We'll be fighting on the frontlines, right?" Shirley concluded.
"This won't be a short fight that's decided in minutes where allies are all around you, but a long fight that's decided in hours where allies might be nowhere to be found. It'll be far more dangerous than yesterday, so I want you two to be careful. Don't get caught in a bad spot," she cautioned seriously.
"You take care of yourselves too. There's no telling what might happen, so promise me that you'll return alive."
"Stop it. That sounds like you're cursing us," Freon replied.
"Huh?" Shirley snapped back.
While the two bickered, Benedict raised a good point, "What about the Featherwind Sect's flying ship? Why can't we use that again?"
"Oh, you mean at like the Shinzhu River? Unfortunately, that doesn't seem possible anymore. Their ship's power source, which fuels their flight and defensive capabilities, took heavy damage from the battle with the Sword King. When the Imperial Council brought out ballistae today, they concentrated their attacks on the ship, pushing the power source over its limits. It's no longer functional. Elder Unvo is currently piloting the ship outside the battlefield before it crashes."
Benedict felt guilty because of his master, though he had no way of knowing that the true culprit behind the ship's damage was the battle against the Luminous Central Origin, almost two years prior. He wondered, "They can't fix it?"
"According to what they told me, the power source needs repairs and refueling. The refueling can be done by themselves, though it would take a lot of energy to do so. The repairs, however, can't be done without special materials and craftsmen, neither of which we have on hand. To be honest, I don't even know if they exist in the human world… Nebulous Star Root, Uncrowned Millennial Horn, wood from a Lime-touched Rainbow Grotto, and the breath of a King Lightning Wisp…"
"They sound like fantasy words to me."
"Right?" Elizabeth sighed. "Either way, their ship won't be operable anymore. We'll have to rely on our own two feet from now on."
"Which means we can't escape if things turn for the worse," Freon pointed out.
"Then we'll have to make sure that doesn't happen!" Shirley declared.
A horn blowing interrupted their conversation. It was time for battle. Elizabeth donned a solemn expression. She simply said, "Good luck."
The enemy's three armies were located to the left, center, and right. They were fifteen thousand soldiers in total, less than Commander Christina's Legion of twenty thousand, and yet, she knew not to underestimate them. Aside from the obvious Perception Realms with Martial Energy lurking in their ranks, there was no telling what other tricks the Imperial Council had at play. It was prudent to proceed with caution. To combat this threat, she would dispatch three thousand and the Featherwind Sect, five thousand and the Ten Dawns, and finally seven thousand. The remaining five thousand would act as support. Originally, Elder Crus and Ludin were not meant to participate. Elder Crus's Demon Wind Resurrection and specifically Elder Ludin's Seven Encloses Heaven barrier were General Petra's final trump cards in this battle. She intended to use them when the Imperial Council's reinforcements came, except the situation called for it. She had no choice. The beautiful seven-pointed barrier manifested, as the elder birds unleashed their attacks within. A massacre unfolded on the left front!
At the center, Elizabeth readied her bow, while Freon raised his wand. They, the Ten Dawns, and hundreds of Arcanists and archers stood at the crest of a hill, poised to unleash their strongest methods all at once. It was the only side where they had a clear line of sight to their enemies, so they were going to make the most of it. Elizabeth was fine, but she cast a curious gaze at Freon. She wondered what he had planned. Meanwhile, Freon closed his eyes and focused. A martial artist and an Arcanist were similar in that they both typically focused on a single path and rarely branched from it, so it was not like he would randomly showcase a new type of spell. Cases like his sister, who used water and wind-type spells, were rare, yet he was not completely out of options. The requirement was that he could not ignite the forest with his fire-type spells. He also needed something that had a wide area of effect, low interference strength, and high lethality. Then, he had just the thing. This was a spell that he once used at his home, the Low Gaseous Fog fire-type spell Fire Needles.