First Seat of the Queen’s Ten.
Tinel takes pride in this title. As someone who the Exalted One acknowledges, she takes pride in her work. The power to smell the truth, and detect information on its essence is an ability that distinguishes her from the others.
Most often, she is in charge of creating Security Details for Sofalia. It is also she who is responsible for the ill King’s security. No lies, assassins, or poison can get past her. But the truth of the matter is her specialization lies elsewhere.
As someone who can smell the truth, she is best at tracking and information gathering, and lately… she is taking an interest in the art of war and killing. Before, she was not quite open to the idea of combat as she was too aware of the abilities she possessed.
In terms of combat power, she is just disgustingly weak. That is especially true before becoming a member of the Order. Among the ten, she is the weakest. However, that quickly changes after she reaches Tier 7.
Flying across the stratosphere, she smells the information of the Prime Minister who should be frantically escaping at this moment eastward, trying to return to his true homeland.
It makes her wretched how this Prime Minister can easily discard his natural citizenry as a member of Blumend just because another country offers him blinding wealth.
Tinel has carefully remembered the Prime Minister’s smell, so there is no way he will escape. "That old coot will die."
Standing on a single arrow, Tinel continues to fly at impressive speeds from the cover of the clouds. As a Tier 7 Arrowmancer, this feat is not anything great for her. It is a hybrid class that deals both with magic and rogue arts.
Hybrid Legacy Pathways are rare for a reason. It is because of its versatility and power. From above the clouds, Tinel can see a couple of Wyvern Riders and several cavalry escorting the Horse Carriage which seems to be under the effects of several enchantments.
Tinel cannot imagine the amount of wealth that is required for a carriage to be that fast. The Wyvern Riders give the impression of being unable to keep up with the vehicle too. On top of that, the horse dragging the carriage seems to be undead.
It is technically a carriage that can go on forever.
But for Tinel, it is easy pickings for her. According to the Advisor, the differences in levels, or Legacy tiers per se, are unbreachable. This means that anyone who is below Tier 7 will have no chance of victory against her.
Wyvern Riders are at Tier 6. Meanwhile, the cavalry forces will be Tier 5 at best.
There is a dissertation paper about Legacy Pathways that the Exalted One personally pens and recommends to the Queen’s Ten to read. STRF has even made the dissertation paper a highly classified knowledge of equivalent value to the highest tier skills available for exchanging contribution points.
The idea is exactly like this… there are categorizations even among Legacy Tiers. For example, Tier 5 and below are in the realms of mortals. Below Tier 5, an individual is limited to doing superhuman feats, but above that? They can start tapping into the supernatural energies that dwell within the world. They can start interacting with data.
Only in Tier 6 can an individual start expressing truly monstrous aspects. Past Tier 6, their abilities will only get more and more exaggerated.
For the Wyvern Riders who are at Tier 6, it is the feat of taming wyverns and making them their Spiritual Beast Companion that makes them supernatural.
Tinel who is at Tier 7 can do far more than the feats of a Tier 6. For example, as an Arrowmancer, she can make arrows do anything that is within the bounds of her imagination with respect to her level, and the skills she develops from them are just outright incomparable to merely taming Wyverns.
When Tinel is at Tier 6, Whisperer, the best she can do is imbue supernatural effects on her arrows and traps not any less than making them explode, create illusions, and even sing. As a Tier 7, her Value of Existence has reached another realm.
~Snap!
Now… With a snap of her fingers, she can summon multiple arrows of magical effects. "Skill: Arrows of Light." Pure light elements dance around her fingertips and start orbiting around her. She doesn’t stop at that. "Skill: Arrows of Flame." This time, pure fire elements orbit around. "Skill: Arrows of Wind." Next is the pure wind elements which similarly orbit around her. "Skill: Arrows of Steel." Silvery lights of pure earth elements viciously orbit around her.
The soldiers, escort guards, cavalry, and the Wyvern Riders finally realize the commotion happening above. Hiding beyond the clouds is the dreadful power of a Tier 7 Arrowmancer. The sky darkens, and the colorful display of the world’s elements dances behind the clouds.
No matter how they react, they will be helpless in what ought to come. They are already too late by the time the first signs appear.
Ultimate Skill— Arrow Magic: Infinite Rain of Arrows
Ultimate Skill— Arrow Art: Multiplying Arrows of Reflection
Consecutive execution of ultimate skills will drain her dry, but the power it wields is so catastrophic, that any mortal can only face despair. There are no exits… no second chances… there is only certain death.
From Tinel's palms, a magic circle about two meters in diameter extends itself.
Meanwhile, below her are a series of arrays, scattered across the clouds. The mysterious illusory orbs of crystalline mirrors spread a kilometer and maybe even more in the sky. They are like the minefields floating deep under the ocean, except they are not underwater, but within the clouds…
Arrows which are imbued with the different elements of light, flames, and wind rush down from Tinel's magic circle like ballistic missiles at a fire rate of one arrow every millisecond. The arrows accurately hit an orb, and every time they do, they multiply into hundreds of arrows, all of them homes into a target with pinpoint precision.
It is raining hell.
The light is blinding, and the arrow it carries possesses penetrative properties that even their high-quality armors cannot defy. Those who luckily maneuver and escape the deadly arrow of light will die just to another arrow. The fiery arrows are mortifyingly horrifying as the flames make waves of hot crimson. Screams echo, and the hellscape only continues to get worse.
Even the Wyvern Riders are not spared. The arrows of winds have both penetrative properties only minutely weaker than the arrows of light, but very effective to flying units. However, that is not where the real danger comes from.
The problem lies in the arrows of wind proliferating various massive tornadoes in succession. And worse, after getting intimate with the flames, the tornadoes similarly become fiery hot and deadly crimson.
The almost imperceptible arrows of light only become more accurate as chaos creates more chaos. Not to mention the pure arrow of steel that weighs heavier than a mace which causes blunt damage to the tougher armor that mixes in the crowd of soldiers and escorts alike.
It is a death sentence already by this point.
No. It is mass killing. This is the power of a high-level Legacy. Just with Tinel’s power alone, she can decimate a relatively large army. She doesn’t know what to feel at the destruction she wrought. It is not that she is an emotionless machine that feels nothing.
In fact, she is feeling sorry.
All of these lives have to die because of one treasonous minister. With her power, there is an option of single-handedly subjugating the Prime Minister, but that is too much wishful thinking. She is not a child. She knows her priorities. In front of her is the enemy, and so she shall kill them.
Not to her surprise, the Prime Minister is still alive. The old coot is enshrouded by a thick blue barrier with powerful wind elements. According to their research, the Prime Minister’s combat abilities are very weak, not even Tier 6. However, his connections with the Trininty of the Sky are quite strong.
Tinel observes the barrier the old coot is using. It is roughly a tier around her level. She judges that it must be a gift from the Magic Sky, a famous mage who is secretly affiliated with the Skyvan Empire.
Considering the presence of Wyvern Riders, the Prime Minister should also share a strong connection with the Wyvern Lord, a character who hails from Eslan Kingdom.
The chaos is yet to stop as Tinel’s Mana is yet to hit bottom and her Will’s momentum remains unhindered. With a thought, Tinel redirects multiple arrows in the Prime Minister’s direction.
All of the arrows which are imbued with four different elements come crashing down at him at once, thus ending the Prime Minister’s life as if Tinel is blowing off a candle.
It is truly a miserable end for a betrayer.
Tinel remains hovering in the air. She should clean up now. There are not many of the Prime Minister’s forces anyway. In fact, their numbers barely qualify them as an army. From what she smells, all of them are their own countries’ loyal subordinates.
If they are simply Blumend soldiers who are attracted by the Prime Minister’s words or have been coerced or manipulated by the other nations, Tinel might decide to spare them. But no.
All of them are traitors. Every one of them is rot. Thus, she shall purge them all.
