Azula did not waste much time, and took the initiative to attack and cast a spell.
Gelu Terminus, this spell creates a boundary of cold aura in a radius of ten to twenty meters around the caster depending on the strength level. The effect of this boundary would make anything, animate or inanimate slow down upon invading the area.
This slowness was not related to time, but cold. After the spell was cast the guards all took up their arms and were ready to deal with the assailants, but the other party was not weak either.
A deep voice sounded, "Scintilla bulla."
The dark surroundings lit up with gentle ember glow. The five cloaked figures were covered in ember glow. This spell provided them a bubble of fiery sparks. The mage in the ground has directly countered the front boundary.
Four assailants rushed forward and the guards countered them, the battle escalated in a blink, the four killer guards were able to tackle the eight guards from the princess's camp with great ease.
It was to a point where they seemed like bullies dancing with children. Priscilla stood beside Azula and said, "Your Highness, we will be hard pressed at this rate. They cannot hold on for loner."
Azula nodded and said, "You are correct, however, we have to make sure that the enemy does not have much cards hidden in their sleeves to take us by surprise."
Rectus said, "That is why you sent the child to check the palace. To find if there was any hidden assailants?"
The princess confirmed his theory with a deep nod. She said, "Quies, go deal with one of the killer guards quickly."
Quies nodded and said, "Yes, your highness."
That said, the man walked outside the pavilion and his figure flickered to appear in from of the enemy, the former battle celebrity did not look as imposing as he was in his battle armor, but the power behind his punch was not weak at all.
Quies was a direct person, he did not have the patience to be all warm and fair with his enemy, and thus, he punched at the killer guard. The later only had a pair of fearless eyes appearing under the covered face.
The killer guard dodged the incoming attack quickly and then he dedicated himself to contend with Quies, as the latter was a bigger threat to him.
Rectus also sat inside the pavilion and he waved his hands, it seemed as if he was fanning himself, but in reality he was having a showdown with the fire mage in front of him.
He was casting wind blades and gusts to consume the mana of the assailant faster. Magic spells had a weakness, if you are being disturbed while casting a continuous spell, like the bubble of sparks, the mana will continues to restore the spell.
Rectus was exploiting this weakness, if the mana is wasted, the mage will be a sheep for slaughter. The elusive mage was a smart guy and he used the 'so-called' weakest element to defeat a lot of people and make a name for himself.
The enemy mage was irritated, if he did not maintain a barrier his allies would slow down and the princess guards will kill them easily. At this moment he was not angry at Rectus, but a guy who was supposed to arrive quickly and help them.
They had information that the princess was ice element user, and she had two mages beside her, one fire elemental and one wind elemental. So, to counter the wind and fire, they had brought an earth elemental to help them, however, the person was missing.
…
While the battle raged in the back garden of the palace, Valerian was combing the palace premises with his gaze. His silver eyes were at this moment shining with different colors of the elements.
He was using a spell to detect the presence of mana or the people. He was wearing the black suit of an attendant and was acting on the instructions of the princess.
Earlier when he was about to go back to his training, the princess stopped him and said, "Valerian, can you do something for me?"
Valerian was surprised and asked, "What can I do for you, Your Highness."
Azula beckoned him close and whispered in his ear, "At night, we will have a battle in the gardens. The assailants will try to harm me critically, so I will keep all the guards around me.
The enemy has no information regarding you so they will not know that you are my hidden card. What I need you to do is to find any allies of the assailants hiding or moving inside the palace and stop their actions by any means necessary. Can you help me do this?"
Valerian was surprised to find that she needed him to kill someone, however, he realized that if the enemy will search the palace, even with their target inside the gardens, then it meant that the other people inside the palace were to die.
The enemy did not plan to leave behind any witness. Valerian nodded and accepted the task. He has been moving around in the palace for a few minutes and the noise of the weapons colliding could be heard clearly.
Since the palace was shrouded in darkness, Valerian has cast a spell called Magia Oculos. This spell allowed one to look in the dark and detect presence of magic.
Valerian moved around the palace, very slowly, Quies had told him, when approaching or looking for an enemy, be very patient and cautious of every step you make. Suddenly, Valerian found the air in front of him had a slightly green hue to it.
This was called the mana leak, every mage gives off the elemental cover they use. Valerian slowed down even more. He approached the place and the concentration of the green hue was getting stronger and stronger.
After a few steps he found a man moving around the rooms of the maids, he seemed to be trying to find something. Valerian began to think about how to kill this guy. He was told to do something. He had killed Gloria and Emundatio before, so this was the third time he was in a situation where he might need to kill someone..
He recalled in one of the lessons with Priscilla, the maid has told him to use long distance spells to attack targets at a longer distance.
After he decided what he would do, Valerian set his gaze at the enemy in front of him and thought, 'Umbra Spiculum.'
A spike of shadow/dark element appeared and flew through the void. The enemy mage was alerted and was about to cast a defense spell but the spike had already stabbed him in the throat.
Valerian was smart and aware that if a mage cannot speak or chant the name of the spell, they will not be able to cast it. It was not like everyone could imagine the effects of the spell like he did.
The mage clutched his throat trying to figure out what just happened when Valerian rushed up to him and punched him in the back of the head.
He could not bring himself to kill when he could stop the guy by knocking him out cold. After the man fell down on the ground, Valerian cast a healing spell to stop the bleeding and plug the hole back to normal.
But he double checked that the person was unconscious, before he decided him to the garden.
…
Quies had killed a killer guard and was facing another one while Priscilla had caused two assailants to move to their knees with a combination of long range spells. The attack was nullified.
Rectus had made the fire mage lose his battle power and the latter did not want to be captured alive so he stabbed his own heart with a dagger.
The killer guards would kill the targets or they will kill themselves, but they will not be captured alive. Azula looked at the last warrior that Quies was dealing with and she calmed down.
Priscilla was able to take on the two killer guards with ease because they were warriors and she was a mage. Quies ducked and side stepped to get away from the sword slash and then his dagger was flung at the enemy.
The killer guard was stabbed in the chest, and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
Quies looked at the injured and tired guards and said, "You will all train with Valerian from tomorrow on. Also, go search the palace if anyone is alive."
The guards gasped and were all standing up when they heard footsteps approaching them. When they all turned their heads they found a silver head shining under the moonlight moving toward them as he dragged a man from his leg.
They were shocked and by the time they could react, Valerian was already in front of them. The boy looked at the darkness and cast a spell, 'Luminare.'
The surroundings were lit up, and the people were shocked. Azula opened her eyes wide and cried, "First Brother."
Valerian was shocked, the person he attacked was the first prince…