Chapter 91: Crossroads (VI) 

 

Separately, the draconic heirs and heiresses were enough of a threat to any single force. Together however, even the fleet of flying ships and war weapons were not enough to contain them. 

 

It was fortunate then, that the young dragons rarely worked in unity. Even now it was a loose alliance and not true camaraderie. The only reason why they were working together, was that if the fleet of flying ships were to attack any of them separately, then they could only hide, or accept their death. 

 

Even now the only reason why they chose to attack was because the commander was exhausted and weak. If Lloyd was still fully healthy, his strength was enough to ensure that his fleet would win at the end of their confrontation. 

 

If he was healthy and they had attacked with all the same conditions, the stalemate would have lasted much longer, and that stalemate would have tipped towards the forces of Everrain with the heirs and heiresses slowly dropping out of the sky like flies. If he was healthy…

 

…But he was not. 

 

Empowered by the array, two individuals each assaulted a ship, and following their lead, the rest of the five draconic heirs went to support them. With three dragon children each assaulting a flying vessel, the forces of Everrain were gradually losing the battle. 

 

The assailants were not without injury and exhaustion, but the destruction and death they laid waste to the fleet was much more significant than their wounds. 

 

Thus Lloyd shouted and sent signal flares at his fleet to retreat towards one ship, and pool their efforts in living and escaping. 

 

On the surface of clouds that was slowly dissipating, Lloyd and Zan had only taken two limping steps when Zan’s weight suddenly shifted. 

 

The suddenness took him by surprise, and the swordsman had no choice but to concede and follow the direction of Zan's path. The young man's prodigious bodyweight after all, was enough to forcibly move even elephants. 

 

Lloyd looked at Zan’s face, observing his expressions to get a sense of what he was thinking and what his intentions were. 

 

The young man still had that dull, blank, numb expression on his face, but a hint of sorrow and guilt flickered on it. 

 

The two bent down, and Lloyd saw as Zan gently scooped up the broken reanimated hand that was laying on the floor. 

 

Lloyd first thought it was a type of disposable familiar, and perhaps Zan was indeed from that forbidden bloodline…

 

…But by the way he treated that thing, maybe not. 

 

Lloyd remembered that the stranger called himself “Zan” when they first enacted the rituals of the royal duel, and Zan was now staring at the broken hand with an expression of deep pain. 

 

It was similar to how he…had done so in the past. 

 

‘If I made smarter decisions…’ 

 

‘If I was stronger…’ 

 

Thoughts of that nature must be swimming in his head right now too. Lloyd saw as he let the hand rest on his forearm, where it moved feebly to spread itself more comfortably on his arm. 

 

Lloyd saw all of this, but he knew the situation was urgent. They couldn’t afford to stand here in place as if time had stopped flowing. 

 

Zan no longer moved, so Lloyd did. 

 

As he limped towards the line of rope while slightly dragging Zan to limp with him, he thanked his general of a father for the forced training of his body. 

 

The swordsman could have ordered a Rain Priest or Priestess to send a raincloud to hover them onboard the ship, but currently each of them was fighting for their lives. While some of the excellent ones could serve as individual combatants, their ability lay most in empowering and commanding the warrior-casters.

 

The micromanaging of troops, various formations, battle tactics, linked spells, and having to accurately respond to the enemies’ own actions and decisions— these were all responsibilities that the priests and priestesses were in charge of. 

 

If Lloyd was entitled and stubbornly demanded one of them to help him up, especially in this particularly intense battle, that extra burden could cost them their lives.

 

Two figures dragged themselves through the dissipating clouds. The sounds of warfare were still as loud as ever with shouts and screams filling the air, followed by the thunderous sound of the railguns’ mega blasts. Lloyd and Zan had now reached the rope, and the only thing left to do was to climb it and board his personal vessel. 

 

The swordsman glanced at the listless, red haired young man. 

 

Truth be told, Lloyd was not sure what to do with Zan after all of this. He was thinking in the present moment, and as Zan won the duel, killed a draconic heir, and even saved his life, he felt an obligation to take the stranger with him. 

 

At the very least he couldn’t leave him here. Leaving the young man here to fight for his life would leave a bad taste in his mouth, even if he was the main reason that they were in this mess in the first place…

 

“Let us board.” 

 

“I know your emotions.” 

 

“I’ve had my fill of actions that had made me also feel ashamed, disgusted and disappointed in myself.” 

 

“But our safety comes first. We can’t change ourselves if we’re dead.” 

 

“C’mon, let’s go.” 

 

Lloyd put the rope in Zan’s other hand, as he glanced upwards to check on the battle situation. 

 

As they say, when it rains it pours. Not even a second after he diverted his attention, one of the ships was fully overtaken, which tipped the scales of the battle even more towards the forces of flame. 

 

And as fate would have it, the deciding factor that led to the ship’s plunder was a certain luminous individual’s involvement. 

 

“Abandon the ships if you must! Just make your way to my vessel!” 

 

“Lara! Where—” 

 

Lloyd stopped shouting as he found his sister within the chaos and disorder. There in the skies, she was desperately holding out against three heirs that purposely targeted her. 

 

There used to be two Rain Priests by her side, but one was already falling towards the ground with a hole in his chest and his body fully charred, while the other had fallen to his knees atop his raincloud, screaming and burning to death. 

 

The warrior-casters they empowered also fell out of the skies, due to either being bathed in flames, or simply because the rain cloud beneath them had dissipated. 

 

The remaining warrior-casters at Lara’s command were valiantly defending with all their energy, but it was only a matter of time before they went down too. 

 

Leading the attack, the woman with the crimson flaming sword took a step back from the frontlines to recover some of her energy. She watched as her siblings charged forward to rain fire and blood on her enemies, before she felt a stare from somewhere and looked down. 

 

In that moment the swordsman locked eyes with that person, and in response she gave a cruel sneer.  Who else could it be but the same draconic heiress that had tried to kill him numerous times in the past only to fail? 

 

Zan similarly, also locked eyes with a familiar figure. Although they were separated by hundreds of meters, and although the clutter of warfare got in their way, nothing could stop their gazes, and then the overwhelming feelings that followed. 

 

As she stared at him from afar, Gayle could not help but feel a tight feeling in her chest, and a lock in her throat. Although she knew this decision was in her best interests, and although she knew she was choosing herself in this situation over a person she had just met, the feelings of guilt and shame would not stop overflowing from her heart and drowning her under. It was suffocating. 

 

Yet that suffocation grew stronger, and this time it did not come from her heart. The profound ability in her eyes allowed her to once again see as rivers of starlight descended from up above, and gathered towards the swordsman once again. 

 

Lloyd felt increasingly powerless and useless as he watched his sister’s forces fall one by one. Last time he was already too late to have done anything, but this time he was forced to watch as he could do nothing at all. 

 

Once Lara’s forces thinned out enough, the same display of phoenixes and dragons burst out from the heiress. There was no beauty to them anymore, only lifeless and inexpressive power. 

 

The raindrops stopped in place once again. Wherever the eye passed, for endless as the skies were, the raindrops had halted. 

 

The beating of Lloyd’s heart stopped once again. The fragments of his shattered sword started to rise from the scattered clouds and the far ground below. They started to swirl into a storm of metal and dreadful colors, hovering around and above him like a descended god that was soon to exact his revenge. 

 

Likewise, Gayle felt her intuition alert her to extreme danger. But there was another twist. It did not come from Lloyd but from the menacing and hellish red light next to him. 

 

This light was of pure destruction, and as Gayle’s magical eyes zoomed in towards the scene, she saw as Zan’s body lit up red like an activated machine, before he opened his fanged mouth to gather a red orb of annihilating energy. It was bestial, spiteful and wrathful in nature, and it was aimed right towards Gayle. 

 

Her body froze in fear for the first time in forever, but a part of her felt as if she deserved this. Maybe this was simply the price for her betrayal. 

 

The same attack that the black metal beast wolf used against Zan, was the same merciless and ruthless attack that he was going to use against his enemies. 

 

The red orb of limitless destruction started to destabilize, obviously on the verge of explosion. Zan unleashed the power of the orb, but at the last second he swung his head towards the right, and the red beam unleashed towards the heiress.