---Sarah's POV---

 

Everything is falling apart. It has been two weeks since my poor son, Max, has gone into a coma. This alone is too much for me, yet things have only gone worse as waves of demonic monsters started to appear. I thought my husband would easily take care of the sudden attack, I desperately hoped so. However, he has gone missing along with the elite Phoenix unit while on a mission to find the source of this disaster.

 

I later found out that the entirety of the continent has been overrun by demonic creatures, and worst of all, demons began to appear. This can only mean one thing; a new demon king has awakened since the last one three centuries ago.

 

Dear lord, why did this tragedy have to befall onto my family? Why does Max have to go through any more suffering?

 

As tears were about to form in my eyes, I heard a knock on the door. I promptly wiped my face before opening the door. Sisley gave a respectful bow and started giving me a report.

 

"Hello my lady. Today, a group of 80 new refugees have arrived in front of the gate. As you ordered, only formal citizens of Osmium were allowed to stay in the boundaries of the fortress, while the rest were turned away after giving them minimal rations."

 

"More refugees? We might have to rethink our policy later since we already are overcrowded with over 3000 people to take care of. Fort Erosion is barely able to house a thousand, many of whom sleep on the ground."

 

This is too much already. I am barely able to keep up with what I remember from what I studied back in the royal academy. Managing a refugee camp within a warzone is far beyond my capabilities.

 

"... My lady, please stay optimistic. Although the number of people staying here is enormous, the food situation is of no concern since a large caravan of 20 wagons filled with brown rice has recently arrived. Furthermore, Fort Erosion has been outfitted with defensive artillery and the Soul Stabilizers are surprisingly effective against demonic attacks."

 

"Yeah, you are right… By the way, you should stop referring to me as 'my lady' and act more casually. We are half-sisters after all."

 

That's right, my father, just like many nobles, had an illegitimate child and decided to abandon her. I, however, couldn't let my sister be thrown away, so after I got married to Magnus, I chose to bring her along under the guise of being a maid. She takes her job way too seriously even when we are alone.

 

"I fear that I might slip up if I do that, please forgive me."

 

"Nevermind, did the doctor say anything new about Max's condition?"

 

As expected, Sisley slowly shook her head with a dark expression. What actually happened to my son? He was born with manaphobia, even with the Phoenix blood running through him. It must be my fault for something so horrible to befall my dear son.

 

It hurt my heart every time I saw the amount of determination he had as he studied magic, something he would never be able to use in his entire life because of me. He always tried to hide his feelings by claiming that he hated magic, and such consideration broke my hurt even further.

 

His current state must have also been my fault, as I had a feeling an entity was watching my son since his birth. This is why I appointed my sister, who is the one I trust the most, to be his personal maid. I should have pressured my husband more to get Max stronger protection other than the rabid dog he sent, claiming that Hunter is more than capable of the task. I am such an idiot for being convinced so easily.

 

I really don't deserve Max. He is a genius who never gave up even when I caused his life to be such a mess.

 

"Now that I think about it. Max must have predicted this to happen since the time he ran away from home years ago. Why would he demand a knight order otherwise?"

 

"I agree with you, my lady. I made a mistake in assuming his peculiar actions were done to merely satisfy childish desires like other noble children. I can see that investing so much gold on an abandoned fortress situated in the middle of a peaceful region wasn't on impulse. There is also the fact that he ordered so much rice before the demonic invasion, which cannot be a coincidence."

 

"Right, Max really is a genius... Did you check up on Alex?"

 

"I am really sorry, my lady. He still refuses to come out."

 

My first son, Alex, had it the hardest when Magnus disappeared. I knew something must have happened when he was in the royal academy, but every time I try to approach him, he pushes me away and finds an excuse to keep his distance. The pressure was too much for Alex, and now he locked himself in a room and only opened the door for food and water. I could have used his help in managing the fortress, but I can't find it in my heart to force him out when he does not want to go outside.

 

And my daughter… I hope Alice is safe within the royal capital. It should be better protected than this fortress. Besides, she has astonishing magical talents which were reinforced even further with the help of Max's guidance, so her situation is probably better than over here. Maybe that's why he did not stop her from leaving.

 

"Alright, Sisley, thank you for helping me ou-"

 

"Lady Sarah! Lady Sarah! A group of soldiers carrying the flag of Fenrir are demanding our resources!"

 

"Ok, take a moment to catch your breath and calm down, Chargers Leader Leona."

 

The girl was desperately gasping for air while her tail shook in panic. I wonder if it is true that men from that ducal family came here to make trouble at such a bad time. Moreover, fights between nobles are forbidden by king Lawrencium, so such a blatant provocation does not make any sense.

 

"Please guide me to where the soldiers are. I will deal with it."

 

I give my best smile to Leona to try to reassure her everything is fine. I have to maintain my image as a composed leader so morale stays high.

 

Sisley and I followed Leona to meet the heavily armed men wearing the Fenrir's emblem in front of the gate. The largest knight gave me a mocking smile after recognizing who I am.

 

"Ah, Lady Sarah of the Phoenix family. I hoped to see Duke Magnus himself, but alas, he seems to be busy and left all his duties to his wife."

 

I frown. How dare a mere knight talk with such disrespect. I will make sure the king hears all about this once the demonic invasion stops.

 

"Oh, please don't glare at me like that, Lady Sarah. It isn't good for your skin!"

 

"If you have a good reason for coming here, then I sure hope you give it to me quickly. I am too busy to deal with the likes of you."

 

"Hahaha! You want to know why we are here? Sure! The newly appointed Duke Mark Fenrir has sent a request for half of the Phoenix's food supply and 200 hundred men. These conditions must be fulfilled to support the valiant efforts of the Fenrir's army to protect the kingdom."

 

Protect what! The region is currently overflowing with all kinds of abominable monsters, yet you have the audacity to demand resources for 'protection'? Don't make me laugh!

 

And Duke Mark? What happened to the previous one?

 

"We have nothing to spare for dogs like you! Begone before my patience runs dry! If you want help, go seek it from the royal family."

 

The knight looked shocked for a moment before he started to laugh loudly. He must have gone mad.

 

"Bwahahaha! You, you really don't know? Alright men, we sent the message, so let's go back before the woman living under a rock gets mad."

 

This bastard, if not for the current circumstances, I would have ordered his execution on the spot. What is he even laughing at? As the soldiers moved out of sight, a refugee who seemed to be a merchant slowly approached me.

 

"Umm, may I have a word, your ladyship? Do you really not know about the incident that happened in the royal capital?"

 

A chill ran down my spine. Something happening in that city would be a major problem since it is the administrative center of the nation. More importantly, Alice is there.

 

"You see, those damn demons somehow infiltrated the city. One of them even flew out of the castle! Although the royal guard repelled the attack, the whole place has gone completely chaotic, even to a point that there were rumors the king was killed!"

 

"What!?"

 

I couldn't keep my composure once I heard that there is a chance King Lawrencium is dead. Without his leadership, Lanthanum could easily collapse with no guidance. I can easily imagine wars sprouting everywhere by those who greed for power. This has to be the reason why the Fenrirs decided to make such a bold move against us.

 

*Ding* *Ding* *Ding*

 

"Alarm! The monsters are coming!"

 

A bell rang, signifying a new wave of demonic monsters is charging at the fortress right now. I immediately climbed on the defensive walls, where archers and cannons were getting ready for the assault, to witness the fight. All refugees who were camping on the perimeters rushed through the gates to seek shelter from the impending threat. If the gate ever falls, a massacre will ensue. I must do everything in my power to prevent this from happening.

 

Once I reached the top of a tower, I detected the abnormal movement of the trees near the horizon. Based on how violently the leaves shook, there must be around 50 mid-ranked monsters. We fought off attacks on this scale before, but it was always tough.

 

"Prepare the cannons! We cannot afford having a malfunction like last time, so make sure everything is in order! three cannons will be stationed on the southern wall and the other two will take positions on the western and eastern walls respectively. Snipers are to stay on the southern wall and prepare to shoot down anything the cannons miss. Move it!"

 

The one giving these orders is Martin, who is acting as the commander for organizing our defense. I feel ashamed for letting a 17-year-old handle this duty, but, frankly, I have no talent in leading an army, which is why all I can do is use support magic when possible.

 

"Hold it… Hold it… Now, fire!"

 

*BOOM* *BAAM*

 

Just as an insectoid monster revealed itself in the open, two cannons fired towards its direction. A double explosion followed which engulfed three monsters inside the blast radius. Unfortunately, these creatures have tough magic shields so they survived the shots, albeit with heavy injuries.

 

A pack of 13 large gray wolves appeared following the insectoids and mindlessly dashed through the smoke and another cannon volley soon followed. I could not stand idly by, so I entered a combat stance and began reciting the magic formula for the spell 'ice mist'. Although I cannot deal much damage, this should slow down the monsters' speed and make it easier to hit them.

 

Once I finished casting the spell, a violent freezing gust of wind blew smashed against the frenzied wolves. Their rough fur began to solidify, and their speed gradually slowed down. This allowed the cannons to have an easier time taking them out.

 

This pattern was repeated a couple more times with the occasional monster lucky enough to escape cannon fire being quickly shot down by the archers. Things were going well, but my mana is running low, and I bet constantly firing shells is straining the ammo supply. At least the wave is almost over… hmm? Is that tree walking?

 

No, that is not a tree. No, no, no!

 

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!"

 

*SMAASH*

 

A giant boulder destroyed a portion of the southern wall and took out a cannon with it. I stood back up to glare at the troll which caused this damage. I only have enough mana for another high-rank spell, what do I do?

 

"Lady Sarah, could you please use a spell which can immobilize that thing? Even a second would be enough."

 

"Huh? Oh ok."

 

I replied in confusion to Martin with no idea about what he planned to do. Shouldn't we use all our firepower to attack the troll at once and finish it off before it regenerates?

 

"Thank you. Please wait for my signal before firing the spell."

 

I began preparing an 'earth shift' spell to make a hole under the troll which should at least make it stumble. I don't know what this will accomplish, nevertheless, I trust Martin, who stopped all demonic waves until now. Surely he has a solid plan against a high-rank monster.

 

"Once this cannon fires, I want your ladyship to activate the spell. Do not hesitate."

 

Once the magic formula was ready, I prepared to cast it once I heard the blast. As I thought, this spell drained all my remaining mana so I will be out of the fight after this. I must not fail.

 

The troll had slow, but wide steps which eventually closed the distance to around 250 meters from the wall. It was then that I noticed that the gate was open, and troops were organizing in front of it. Wait, the plan couldn't be?

 

"Now!"

 

*BOOM*

 

This was the signal. I shut off my train of thought then immediately fired the spell. The ground split under the troll which made it fall on the ground face first.

 

"Nice job! Now, everyone, CHARGE!!!"

 

Eh!?

 

"No! You can't-"

 

It was already too late, all soldiers rushed with their weapons high in the air, with no fear in their eyes as they faced the troll. I closed my eyes. Once I heard the screams, I covered my ears as well as tears flowed down my face.

 

I don't want to do this anymore.