"Hold formation! Do not panic! Stay calm!" Amid the chaos, Robert's commanding voice resounded, instilling a sliver of composure into the terrified soldiers.
His armor was battered, his hair disheveled, and streaks of blood marred his body. Grabbing a subordinate by the collar, he pushed him back into position with force, shouting, "Form ranks! Protect the master! Retreat in formation—no one is to flee!"
From the skies, griffins dove down one after another, their piercing cries imbued with a dizzying magic. Several of the soldiers under the Rowling family staggered, disoriented, their weapons slipping from nerveless fingers.
Robert snatched a bow from a fallen archer and swiftly aimed at a descending griffin. The arrow, charged with battle energy, shot forth as a streak of light. Yet the standard-issue bow, unable to withstand the surge of power, exploded mid-air in a burst of light before reaching its target.
Fortunately, the griffin was startled enough to hesitate. Robert seized the moment, retreating quickly to regroup a dozen men into a defensive circle, their swords and spears raised in desperation.
But more griffins descended, their sharp talons and hooked beaks inflicting grievous injuries. The air was filled with agonized screams as soldiers were snatched into the sky, only to be torn apart mid-air by the predatory creatures.
The carnage was chilling.
Knight Span, his sword reduced to a shattered stump, barely avoided a griffin's attack by rolling across the ground. Blood gushed from a deep wound on his thigh, leaving him struggling to stand.
Both Span and Robert were consumed by a mixture of terror and disbelief. How could such a large number of fearsome magical beasts suddenly appear in the heart of the Empire's southern territories?
As Robert's cry of "Protect the master!" rallied more Rowling knights to surround Du Wei, the griffins circled like harbingers of death, each dive claiming another life.
Blood soaked the ground, mingling with the fragmented remains of soldiers torn apart. Many had died so brutally that even their corpses were incomplete.
Du Wei narrowly escaped a griffin's talons when Joanne tackled him to the ground. A shrill cry sounded behind them, accompanied by a flash of yellow light that seemed to ripple through the air.
"Master, get up! We must leave at once!" Joanne's urgent voice broke through. She dragged Du Wei toward the cover of a large tree as Rowling's guards regrouped around them.
Despite the chaos, the Rowling family's elite guards, bound by loyalty and honor, held their ground, shielding their young master with unwavering determination.
"Solskjaer! Solskjaer!" Du Wei roared in anger.
"I'm here," came a weak reply as Solskjaer crawled out from the underbrush, his robes filthy, his face smeared with dirt.
"You useless coward!" Du Wei seized the mage by his collar, his fury unrestrained. "My men are bleeding! Why haven't you used your magic? Fight! If you value your life, attack now!"
The mage, shaken and desperate, began casting, flinging a series of fireballs skyward. Though rudimentary, his spells managed to slow the griffins' assault.
Even so, the situation was dire. Despite the disciplined resistance of the Rowling knights, each griffin's attack exacted a grim toll.
Retreating under Solskjaer's fireball cover, the group inched toward safety. But the mounting casualties weighed heavily on Robert.
"Master, today… might be our last." Robert's hoarse voice trembled as he grabbed Joanne. "I'll lead a charge to draw them off. You must take the master and run. Hurry!"
"You're throwing your life away!" Joanne exclaimed, shaken.
Robert's tone hardened. "They're predators, and we are their prey. We'll never outrun them unless we create a diversion. If you still call yourself a knight, then prove it now!"
Joanne stood stunned, the fire of determination flickering in her eyes. She clenched her sword tightly. "I'll prove it," she vowed.
With newfound resolve, Joanne stepped forward, parting the guards to confront the griffins head-on. She sliced her palm with her sword, the blood dripping onto the ground as a strange yellow aura enveloped her.
Chanting an ancient, guttural incantation, she unleashed a radiant beam that incinerated an approaching griffin in a burst of light. The creature disintegrated into shimmering motes, leaving everyone—guards, knights, and even Robert—staring in stunned silence.
Joanne's blood continued to flow, fueling the protective barrier that now surrounded them. The griffins roared in frustration but kept their distance.
"Retreat now!" Joanne urged, her voice faltering as exhaustion overtook her.
Robert supported the faltering knight, shouting for the group to withdraw. But amidst the commotion, Du Wei stood unmoving, his gaze fixed on the griffins.
"Master, we must go!" Robert urged.
"No," Du Wei said calmly, a peculiar smile forming on his lips.
"Have you lost your mind?" Robert barked in frustration.
Du Wei turned to Joanne, his voice steady yet enigmatic. "Thank you for your bravery, but the Moon Tribe's 'Anti-Magic Domain' demands too great a price. Save your strength. We've been deceived."
Deceived? The revelation sent ripples of confusion through the group.
Du Wei strode forward, breaking free from the protective circle. "Come now, show me what else you're capable of," he called to the circling griffins, his voice ringing with defiance.
As one griffin lunged, its talons pierced through Du Wei's chest. Gasps of horror rippled through the knights as his body was flung aside like a ragdoll.
"Master!"
But just as despair engulfed them, Du Wei stirred. Bloodied and broken, he stood, brushing off the dust with unsettling nonchalance.
"Interesting," he murmured, inspecting his gaping wound with detached curiosity. "So real… even the blood."
The stunned silence was broken only by Du Wei's soft chuckle, as if the carnage around him was but a game yet to be unraveled.
The scene was dreadfully eerie.
Duwei stood there, blood streaming from a gaping wound in his chest, so deep it seemed one could peer through him. Yet he appeared utterly unbothered by the torrents of crimson. Staggering forward a few steps, under the stunned gaze of those around him, a gryphon lunged at him, throwing him to the ground. Its razor-sharp claws tore at him, sending a fresh spray of blood into the air.
"Master!"
Robert's eyes burned red with anguish as he dashed forward recklessly. But before he could reach him, Duwei struggled to his feet on his own. Unsteady and battered, he smiled—a cheerful expression so incongruous, it sent chills through those watching.
The frail youth lifted his gaze to the swirling gryphons above and laughed. "If this is your illusion, then I've had enough of it. Wake me from this dream!"
Robert, gripping his sword with unwavering loyalty, launched a streak of blazing light at the nearest gryphon. The knight, in an act of sheer desperation, summoned every ounce of his battle energy, pushing his body beyond its limits. Muscles bulged grotesquely under the strain, veins threatened to burst, and blood seeped through his skin. His sword, aglow with energy, pierced the gryphon's armored feathers, sending it plummeting to the earth.
Shielding Duwei with his body, Robert growled, "Master, we've been deceived. This isn't real."
Duwei smiled faintly, blood trailing from his lips. "Indeed, Robert. Look at me—these wounds would have killed an ordinary man by now, and yet…" His voice was calm, almost amused.
Robert, no fool, began to grasp the uncanny truth. This frail boy had survived what would have felled the strongest warrior. "It's an illusion," Duwei said. "A spell of the mind—a cruel trick. But breaking it… that I don't know how to do."
"An illusion..." Robert's voice trembled with realization. He turned and bellowed, "Solskjaer! Mage Solskjaer!"
The heavily guarded mage emerged, beads of sweat glistening on his brow. He wasn't a true magician but a dabbler relying on alchemical concoctions and rudimentary fire spells. Illusions of the mind were beyond his expertise.
As Robert sprinted back with Duwei in his arms, evading another gryphon's vicious assault, he barked at the mage. "Find a way to dispel this! It's illusion magic!"
Solskjaer stammered, "I—I don't have a solution. Unless we eliminate the source, like the horned beast or the phantom wolf before…"
"Brilliant deduction!" Robert snapped, sarcasm heavy in his tone. "If we could, don't you think we would have already?!"
But Duwei, still cradled in Robert's arms, interrupted with a faint chuckle. "Robert, tell me, every knight who trains in battle energy has a critical point, a vulnerable spot in their energy flow. Where is yours?"
The knight hesitated, stunned by the odd inquiry amidst such chaos. "Why do you ask?"
"Trust me," Duwei murmured, his voice soft yet insistent. "I have an idea."
After a moment's hesitation, Robert relented. "Right below my right breast, beneath the fourth rib…"
Before the words were fully spoken, Duwei's eyes gleamed with an unsettling light. With a sudden surge of strength, the boy broke free from Robert's grasp, drew the dagger strapped to the knight's leg, and plunged it toward his vulnerable spot.
Robert could have dodged—should have dodged—but loyalty restrained him. It was his master who struck, not an enemy.
The blade found its mark. Yet to everyone's shock, as the dagger pierced Robert's armor, the illusion shattered. The gryphons, shrieking wildly, dissolved into radiant motes of light. The suffocating air twisted and warped as though reality itself was folding.
And then, silence.
The forest reemerged, tranquil and unchanged, bathed in the warm glow of the setting sun. The blood, the corpses, the carnage—gone. Those thought dead lay unconscious but unscathed. Only the warrior maiden's wounds, sustained through her arcane immunity, remained real.
As the survivors stirred in bewilderment, Duwei stood over the quivering form of a peculiar green creature—a "Fear Phantom," a beast of myth long thought extinct. With calm fury, Duwei declared, "You delved into my fears, didn't you? You sought to control me with illusions from a world you cannot comprehend. And for that, you have failed."