The four Royal Guards, Sir Logan, Sir Alexander, Lady Ellie and Lady Alice, reengaged the two Imperial Sentinels and held them back. With the other Grand Knights reforming the defense, she was safe once more. However, this put her in a difficult spot. Her spells, like Freon's, were wide area of effect, indiscriminate spells. In a battlefield as complex as this, where ally and foe were intertwined so deeply, she could not bring her strongest means to bear. It was the same in the Battle of Liguang. Once the fighting broke out, she could not act for fear of harming her allies. Ten Dawn Iris and Krogan had resolved this by levitating them above the battlefield and protecting them from harm, giving them the chance to attack the enemy lines at the rear but, sadly, this was no longer possible. Ten Dawn Iris was currently a Half-Condensed Drop Arcanist, and, combined with her injuries, she would probably suffer greatly, if not outright die, with another flight spell. Not to mention, Ten Dawn Krogan was no more… Elizabeth needed another solution. Thankfully, she and Freon developed one in the months following Liguang.
Elizabeth and Freon began to cast their spells, which alarmed their opponents. After the earlier spectacle, they had already gained everyone's attention. They immediately became the center of another fierce attack, only to be repelled by the combined efforts of the Royal Guards and Grand Knights. They would not let another mistake like earlier happen again. Four Magic circles soon manifested from Elizabeth and Freon's double-casting. The solution was surprisingly simple. Since attacking was out of the question, then they would assume a supporting role. As for how? Elizabeth's first spell, Wind Edge, created invisible wind blades around the Royal Guards' weaponry. Her second spell, Formless Step, generated wind tunnels around their legs. Freon's first spell, Three-Pointed Barrier, created triangular barriers around their armor. His second spell, Verdant Apathy, dulled their sense of pain.
When these four spells descended, the Imperial Sentinels felt an imminent threat to their lives. Sir Logan and Lady Ellie dashed out with their spear and sword. Whoosh! They vanished on the spot! Although Sentinel Feng kept his Martial Perception on them… Although he was a Perception Realm Expert… he actually lost sight of them for a brief instant! Elizabeth's Formless Step had boosted their speed to an unbelievable level! Shing! Two flashes of light slashed through him, as the two Royal Guards appeared on the other side of the man. His twin swords then cracked before shattering. He was stunned because their cutting power had suddenly increased as well! Furthermore, he could vaguely sense that their 'range' had widened by a very tiny, yet noticeable amount. It was like their blades had grown by half a finger. This danger of this could not understated. The more experience one accrued, the more likely they would fall for this trick. Had he not instinctively dodged at the last second, then he would have died already. Still, blood spewed from his left arm. He could not use it anymore.
Sir Winstin and the others attacked in short succession, giving their enemies no time to react. Wind blew as their figures vanished. Their speed managed to take everyone by surprise! However, their opponents, Sentinel Kong and Mao, were definitely a cut above the rest. Having seen what happened to Sentinel Feng, they planned around it in the blink of an eye. Their battle awarenesses were ridiculous! Sir Winstin charged in with his glaive, hoping to deliver a fatal strike, except Sentinel Kong expected it. He sidestepped the Royal Guard with a twist of an ankle and returned with his own fatal strike. The reversal was swift and smooth, nearly unavoidable. In fact, the sentinel almost thought it was too easy. His instincts were correct. When his glaive slammed down on Sir Winstin's back, a loud clang could be heard, as a triangular barrier appeared. This was Freon's spell, Three-Pointed Barrier! Although the barrier shattered shortly afterwards, it delayed Sentinel Kong by a second. This second was crucial in a battle between Perception Realms. Sir Winstin's glaive came swinging around at precisely this moment, inflicting a heavy blow to his opponent.
On the other side, Sir Alexander and Lady Alice cornered Sentinel Mao. The two Royal Guards were initially injured but thanks to Freon's Verdant Apathy, they could ignore the pain and return to their peak fighting condition! They were beginning to suppress the formidable Sentinel Mao! The power of Freon's spell was finally coming to light, that it was a devastating weapon on this battlefield! Elizabeth and Freon's four spells, when combined, could multiply a person's combat ability to such a degree. Like the saying goes: a carp could become a dragon! And when this was applied to a Perception Realm Master, whose might be nearly unparalleled, it became truly ridiculous. This was the solution that Elizabeth and Freon arrived at. Originally, it was meant for Benedict and Shirley, since their martial techniques would exaggerate their strength even further; however, with their absence, the Royal Guards became the next best option. Elizabeth was thankful for Freon's foresight to notify them ahead of time about the spells' effects otherwise they would have failed to adapt properly.
Elizabeth's Wind Edge and Freon's Three-Pointed Barrier were examples of an enchantment-type spell, one that imbued special properties onto an item. Similarly, Elizabeth's Formless Step and Freon's Verdant Apathy were examples of an enhancement-type spell, one that improve a person's ability. These types of spells were not new. In fact, Elizabeth had seen them performed by Ten Dawn Nassandra and Tengon years ago when she returned to New Havens. She herself had used an eyesight-enhancing spell called Far Sight earlier to attack the enemy forces. Although that were the case, the difference here laid in their application.
Previously, these spells were used outside of combat because they were complex, exhausting, and very few people could leverage their full potential. Unless one were a Perception Realm or close to it, it would be a dream to replicate the Royal Guards' feats. It might be a demerit instead. And how few Perception Realms were there in the world? Thus, the value of these spells waned in combat. That was not the case for Elizabeth and Freon though. Double-casting and Half-Condensed Drop Core Level… Their power had almost eclipsed that of the Ten Dawns. Not to mention, there were Royal Guards and Grand Knights here. This was the perfect situation for their spells. It was probably the only instance of these spells being used successfully in the human world.
The key question became: why not use the same spells to attack their enemies? For example, Elizabeth's Formless Step could slow down their enemies, or Freon's Verdant Apathy could amplify their sense of pain instead. A powerful boon could transform into a potent poison with the slightest change. That was the logical progression for them to proceed in to swiftly deal with the situation, except they did not. Not because they did not think of it or the spells did not exist, but rather because it was fundamentally impossible to do so. A person was constantly 'shielded' by a wall of World Energy, Magic or Martial Energy if they had it, and Will. These three factors created a barrier of interference that limited the effects of any techniques or spells used directly on the body. This was why Elizabeth and Freon could not simply incinerate a person from the inside out or cause them to explode. There were exceptions to this rule though or else how would enhancement-type spells work? The trick was in the Will component.
The Will was a poorly understood concept, but it could be likened to a soul or spirit. It was the final and strongest component to this barrier of interference, so much so that it accounted for greater majority of it. That was how impactful it was. Elizabeth, Freon, Sir Winstin… Everyone had Will to a certain degree, and it was this that people commonly considered the prerequisite to Rank 1 Mortal: this idea of consciousness. Further advancing up the Ranks strengthened this Will, making it more less likely to be influenced by external factors. At the same time, this Will could serve as a gateway to 'permit' certain factors through. Sir Winstin and the Royal Guards had consciously accepted Elizabeth and Freon, which allowed the spells to take effect. The same could not be said about the Imperial Sentinels. The stronger the mental resistance, the stronger the Will would retaliate. This was the biggest reason why Elizabeth and Freon could not use their spells to attack.