[ What is this… ]

Soon the darkness covered their view of the skies, extending down to the edge of the sandy coast, and finally blocking any and all passages leading into the forest.

Confusion, shock, and anger were just some of the many sentiments of the elven knights now trapped inside the barrier.

They knew it was created by none other than the pieces of Lucile. Most of them have heard of what happened in Taglagas, yet they never thought they would also witness such magic.

While most would want to procrastinate in situations where monsters hopelessly outnumbered them, the elven knights could only trust their archery.

Even now, the magic-made fortress created by Naell was little by little being chipped away. They feared that by the time the monsters would breach the fortress, they would be fully overwhelmed by their numbers.

Meanwhile, outside the barrier, the knights that supposedly the reinforcements were stunned. Many of them were helplessly mad as even their strongest attacks failed to make a dent on the darkness covering their way.

• Yes, your grace, the collective mana, and aura of the high knights have failed.

Reported the knights to the queen and her people inside Awdita. There was no room for doubt as even from the castle window, the ominous casted barrier could be seen.

And from the description Taglagas had given them, they were sure that it was the same magic that was used in Esuela dio sa de.

Even in the castle, the elves were panicking, to the extent where most wanted to call for the return of the supporting knights they had just sent off.

For the queen, that was a reasonable plea as the defense of the castle should be the priority. Yet she was still adamant as she could not abandon the hope of rescuing her people trapped inside the barrier.

Even so, it could be seen that she was troubled, as on the off chance that an invasion on the kingdom would be attempted, many of her people would perish from her adamance.

As the prospect continued weighing her down, and with all the noise coming from her council, she with a heavy heart said, “Order for their retr—”

Yet before she could voice her command, Duchess Fle put a hand on her cousin’s shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry.”

With a tap on the floor as well, all the people inside looked to the duchess, and when all eyes landed on her she added on, “And fear not, descendants of the celestial of nature, for only the sun can reach the top of our kingdom.”

That managed to calm all of them down, as they immediately apologized for their blunder. Mistakenly they had forgotten the Duchess Fle, [ Green Witch ] Mistaya was with them.

If their queen was the voice and head of the kingdom, it was the duchess who was the ears and its eyes, so long as the two were inside Awdita, even if it was Lucile herself, the kingdom’s walls would not falter so easily.

Queen Selve D’ialim smiled at her cousin, and with a resolute voice, she then said, “Order the knights to form a patrol near the vicinity of the barrier and of our kingdom. Let us protect both in the name of Natura!”

[ Blessed be Mundo! ] Collectively shouted all with uplifted spirits.

“Thank you, cousin, I just hope I am making the right decision.” In a whisper said Selve to which in return Fle smiled and replied, “Don’t worry too much, we are here and they are there.”

Implicating her trust in their people and with Naell and Owly.

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.

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The tide of the battle shifted as fast as when the barrier was created. It was currently in the favor of the pieces of Lucile and their monstrous companions.

Out of all the elven knights that went toe to toe with the monsters, most were injured and in need of serious healing. Further, not much could be said about the ones defending the high ground, as the number of enemies didn’t dwindle enough for them to rejoice.

While the fortress stood tall, they knew it was only a matter of time before Naell would eventually have to let it go.

All of them knew that the one who got bombarded with most of the offense was the young master of Beryldot. Still, they were surprised by his mana capacity as even now they couldn’t sense its limit.

The burden he carried could be detected even from afar, as Naell, who had never once gotten hit, already spewed blood twice.

It first occurred when he turned an explosion that came from the barrier into mere snowflakes; the second was during his casting of the [ ice palace ] to upgrade their foothold.

Truly both of these counter attacks were impressive feats considering how during that time enemies also flocked to Naell to try and intercept his casting. However, because of that, it was inevitable that he already reached the limit of where his body could sustain the mana he was using.

Of course, none of the adventurers nor the elven knights knew these specifics, and so somehow seeing Naell’s pain with no real knowledge of the cause made them guilty.

However, as it should have been obvious that a seemingly limitless pool of power would have backlash somehow, all watchful eyes there could see that for Naell, his weakness was his body.

The elves especially guessed that much; afterall who better to guess than a race known for their own slender and deceptively frail bodies. In fact, when they first met Naell and were oblivious to his skills, his physique became his memorable quality.

None in Awdita could admit it, but Naell had them all beat—and this was the true reason for why some of the elves appeared rude to them without intending to.

All of them simply did not know how to address and mingle with a being who looked far more “elven” than them. With pale skin and hair seemingly luminescent when under rays of the sun, all that he was missing were the pointed ears they took pride in.

It was their pride that stopped them from accommodating Naell since they knew their shop, inn, and even company was lacking for such an esteemed guest.