The fireballs rained down, striking against the road and sending broken pieces of brick flying off in all directions. Some of the fireballs landed in the grassy areas on either side of the road, sending up plumes of dirt and chunks of grass. The neighing of the horses and the shouts of the two escort knights who had been following them from behind echoed faintly from outside the burning carriage.
Quite a few of the assaulting fireballs landed on top of the carriage, causing the white wood to splinter and burn amidst the crackling sound that naturally accompanied fires. The ceiling collapsed, nearly landing on Mikyle's lap. He used his elemental power of fire to suppress the flames long enough to pull Lianna to him. The Mana inside him burned hotly as it surged out, wrapping the flaming fireballs with its will.
"Are you uninjured?" He glanced down at Lianna from where he shielded her from the popping flames and falling pieces of wood and other material. From what he could see, he couldn't discern any visible injuries.
"I think so. We need to get out of here." Lianna's amaranth eyes flashed and her hands balled into fists as an intense fury filled her.
Mikyle looked out the window. They had just left Landberrie Street and were on the long road back to the Palace right outside the main city district. The Royal Palace, which was located in the Capital City, wasn't situated in the heart of the city but outside of it. The Royal Palace was a huge assembly of multiple buildings all surrounded by an outer wall.
The buildings inside the wall included the Conference Hall, which was where all the Council Members worked and where the King's courtroom was located. Another building was the Royal Library, which was located next to the Conference Hall, and could only be accessed by members of the council and their direct heirs, and of course, the royal family and their immediate family members. The third building that did not include the actual palaces was the State Guest House, which was a miniature palace with several rooms for foreign guests of the kingdom who visited.
The other buildings located behind the wall were the personal palaces for each member of the royal family. The King, Queen Regent, and Queen Concert all shared a Palace, The Dragon Palace. The name had been inspired by the Valron Kingdom's origin stories. The other three palaces had either been built or reconstructed when each of the princes had turned ten. Nathaniel was the owner of the Diamond Palace. Lior's Palace was named the Onyx Palace, while Mikyle's own Palace was named after the red stone, the ruby.
The Palace walls were literally in sight, just a little over 200 meters away. Knights were flooding out from the gates, rushing to their aid.
"Can you teleport to the palace from here?"
Lianna nodded. "I've recently increased my distance to three hundred meters. Nathaniel is the only one who knows of this so far." Lianna was a Space Elementalist who specialized in teleportation. She had been practicing her ability in secret, trying to increase her Mana and her control over her Elemental Power.
"Good. They're likely after you. Head back first. I'll meet you there."
Lianna hesitated, looking up at Mikyle who had her wrapped in one arm while he used the other one to minimize the spread of the flames. "Stay safe." With that same parting, a purple light shimmered around Lianna before she disappeared.
Mikyle lowered his now empty arm. He also stopped the minimal influence he had over the flames. Controlling his own flames was easier than trying to control those that belonged to someone else. It was difficult but not impossible.
Drawing the sword he always kept on his person, he charged out of the broken carriage. Two hooded figures wearing black robes stood farther away from the scene, their arms raised as they brought more fireballs raining down. Their companions, three masked men wearing clothes that were easy to move in, had their weapons drawn as they fought against the two escort knights.
One of the masked men spotted Milyle. He abandoned his opponent, leaving his teammate to deal with him. With his weapon raised, he charged at Mikyle.
Mikyle met the man halfway. Using his sword, he parried the man's horizontal strike. The swords struck together, steel striking against steel.
His opponent favored his right side, making his strikes unbalanced and easy to deflect. Although, this was something that not every swordsman would pick up on. One would have to be at the same level as a swordmaster to discern such minute details.
Keeping his strength tempered down and his surging Mana at bay, Mikyle fought against his opponent while keeping an eye on his surroundings. The knights were fast approaching and the two escorts were still locked in their own fierce battles.
The two Elemental Mages raised their arms up, their forms obstructed by the black cloaks they were wearing. Mikyle felt the Mana around the two pool together, burning hotly before it even took shape.
Fireballs sparked into existence in front of the mages, circling their hooded forms. The fireballs burned brightly, turning orange in color, showing Mikyle just how hot they were burning.
The fireballs, sixteen in total, shot forth, whizzing through the air as they hurtled straight toward Mikyle. Since they can't get their true intended target, they must have decided to focus their attacks on me. Mikyle surmised the situation with a smirk. Glancing around, he saw that the knight escorts were slowly pushing their opponents onto the defensive.
His eyes flashed back to his opponent. "Hmm. It does not appear to be your lucky day." Mikyle then sped up his movements, quickly dispatching his opponent in a flurry of movements before blocking the incoming fireballs.
As Mikyle swung his sword to slice through the elemental attack, an arrow flew through the air, embedding itself into one of the elemental mages. It appears the knights are finally closing in.
Mikyle slowed his movements down. He even allowed for one of the fireballs to slip past his defense and graze his arm. The white jacket that he was wearing singed, turning black as the fabric melted away.
"Your Highness!" A knight shouted just as Mikyle cut down the last of the fireballs.
The other knights came rushing in. They helped the escort knights knock out their attackers, restraining them for further questioning.
"Your Highness, you're hurt!" The same knight who had shouted earlier came rushing over to where Mikyle stood. Without touching him, the knight examined the burn mark on Mikyle's arm. "We must get it treated immediately."
Mikyle shook his head. "It's merely a flesh wound. I can patch it up later. The priority for now is ensuring that there are no hidden attackers left. Is the Crown Princess safe?"
The knight nodded. "She is safe behind the Palace walls. The Crown Prince is currently with her."
"Kyle!"
Mikyle turned toward the familiar voice. With his sword drawn and a hoard of knights following behind him was Lior, the youngest prince.
Lior's red eyes, which were so similar to Mikyle and the King's, looked upon Mikyle with worry. "Why would you stay behind when it was dangerous," his younger brother chided him. Lior scanned Mikyle with his eyes, immediately focusing on the burned piece of clothing. "You're hurt! Go back to the Palace. I'll handle the rest here, brother."
Mikyle chuckled softly, finding this worrywort of a brother of his cute. I wonder what Lior would do if he ever found out how strong I actually am? Hmm, he would probably still go overboard with his worrying.
"Okay," Mikyle agreed. He needed to return anyway so that he could send someone out to investigate who was behind this attack. He could almost guarantee that Nathaniel will visit Dor-Shey Da'at if he couldn't obtain anything useful out of the attackers that were still alive.