Chapter 591: Chapter 591 - Taming the Swarm - 6

In the distance, a third massive signature was approaching fast, and the defenses that had seemed so stable minutes before suddenly felt very fragile.

The revelation that their most powerful tamer couldn’t stop the threat sent a chill through everyone present that had nothing to do with Selphira’s ice magic.

If freezing couldn’t contain these creatures, what could?

The question hung in the air, while in the distance, the sound of cracking ice grew louder with each passing moment.

♢♢♢♢

A little earlier, on the northern side of the defensive perimeter...

The group of ten girls, (three maids and four guards accompanying the three "princesses") arrived at the northern sector when the situation was already more or less organized under established command.

At the head of operations in this sector was Lady Morgain, a moderately prominent noble from Goldcrest territory with a solid local military reputation.

She was being directly supported by Lord Aldric of the Galeharts, a quite influential house from Starweaver territory, which would have been good for Luna, but Lord Aldric had connections with the Blackwoods and Strahlfangs that significantly complicated his loyalties.

The political web was as complex as it was treacherous, alliances built on mutual benefit rather than genuine trust, ready to shift the moment circumstances changed.

Larissa knew their political networks more or less through previous investigations she had conducted "for fun" and as part of her special in house education. Based on "discrete" movements between noble houses thanks to years of careful observation of Arturo’s meticulous tax collections, she had managed to deduce their real friendships and enmities behind public diplomatic facades.

Thanks to the kingdom’s collection system, which used specialized beasts for tracking financial movements, (there were always development priorities for the best monitoring techniques when it came to money...) many true alliances ended up being deduced by her...

It was done through extrapolating territorial economic behaviors, looking at the commercial facilities that allies gave each other and how they were systematically removed from enemies.

The fact that it wasn’t Aldric but Morgain who was here directly managing operations was also a calculated political maneuver.

Aldric at least technically belonged to this territory, which gave him certain legitimacy to defend it and would affect Sirius less. But the fact that he was present here without being in command was probably only to facilitate soldiers paying attention and following orders from someone they didn’t recognize as local authority.

While observing how they gave orders from an elevated position, Larissa immediately realized that Luna would have to supplant Lady Morgain without affecting the already well-structured stability of the defense...

Which would surely be extremely complicated, starting with the fact that Luna was clearly a child and it would be difficult for her to get attention compared to an experienced noble like Morgain.

But with the official document they had obtained, maybe they could create an interesting situation that would force recognition.

"We have to be very careful," Larissa murmured while studying the positions of soldiers and the visible chain of command. "Morgain has a reputation for being ruthless with challenges to her authority, especially from people she considers beneath her station."

"And Aldric?" Liora asked, evaluating the man who had clearly positioned himself as backup power.

"Aldric is more pragmatic. If he can see benefits or detriments that make him desist, he’ll do it."

The girls first headed toward the top of the wall to get a better view of the situation and make their presence known more effectively.

Mayo’s Royal Cloud Bird and Hikari’s Mega Firefly carried those who couldn’t make spatial jumps by themselves. The ascent was quick and agile, though several soldiers visibly worried upon seeing "girls" arriving in an active combat zone.

But the soldiers also quickly realized these were the "princesses", since very few people in the kingdom could make spatial jumps. Recognition changed their concern to curiosity mixed with respect.

From the top of the wall created by Selphira, the girls could see the massive line of mutants directly for the first time.

The sight was genuinely intimidating. Thousands of creatures extended to the horizon, a writhing mass of corrupt forms that seemed endless. The constant sound of combat, explosions, the clash of fire against chitin, minerals and skin, created a cacophony that made normal conversation difficult.

The scale was beyond anything they had imagined, even after hearing descriptions from those who had faced these creatures before.

"By the Dragons," Matilda whispered, clearly overwhelmed by the scale of the threat.

Liora, however, maintained focus on tactics.

"We should first show a bit of our power," she told Luna with boldness. "If we don’t demonstrate competence immediately, they’re going to dismiss us as girls playing games."

Larissa was completely in agreement.

"Exactly. And from up here, many soldiers will be able to see us. We need to create an impression that forces people to take us seriously."

Luna nodded, already calculating possibilities.

"To start, Liora’s showy black fire augmented by our wind elemental control, fired against the beast line, would be a good way to establish credibility."

It was a sound plan. Combined elemental attacks of the magnitude they could achieve as dual tamers were rare even among experienced tamers, and would definitely get attention.

Liora began preparing, waiting for the next round of attacks from the wall to stop for a moment during shift change. This would give her clear targeting and maximum visibility for her demonstration.

While accumulating power, her evolved demonic Bashe and Will O’ Wisp, now Silver rank, began generating an enormous ball of spiritual fire. Individually, her beasts weren’t enormous in power yet, but their synergies were remarkable when combined properly.

And augmented by elemental control from both Larissa and Luna, they began generating an attack that reached power levels very few people in the kingdom were capable of achieving, even working in coordination.

The timing was perfect. Just as the attack from the wall openings stopped to change attackers, Liora released her massive fireball.

The enormous ball of spiritual fire traveled directly toward the beasts in a trajectory that could be clearly seen by everyone present. Both the old group of soldiers and the new group rotating into attack positions looked up toward where the projectile had originated.

In addition to active combatants, all soldiers positioned on top of the wall, several messengers moving between positions, and other support personnel turned their attention toward the spectacular display.

The explosion when the fireball impacted was devastating.

Dozens of mutants were instantly vaporized by the direct hit, but what was most impressive was what happened next. The fire expanded rapidly and seemed extraordinarily difficult to extinguish, igniting new creatures that continued arriving at an alarming rate.

In seconds, hundreds of additional mutants were burning, creating a chain reaction that eliminated more enemies in a single attack than most teams managed in dozens of shots.

Hundreds of soldiers remained in complete awe at such elimination efficiency with only one strike.

"Who the hell did that?" someone was heard shouting from below.

"Came from up there!"

"Those are just kids!"

But the results had spoken for themselves. The impact crater and continuing fire had created a significant gap in the enemy line that would take time for creatures to fill.

Luna felt satisfaction but also nervousness. They had achieved their goal of getting attention, but now came the more difficult part: actually dealing with the political complications that would follow.

In the distance, she could see Lady Morgain and Lord Aldric clearly observing them, probably trying to determine exactly who they were and what they were doing in their sector without permission.

"Here they come," Larissa murmured, watching as several figures began advancing toward their position.

Luna straightened, touching the official document hidden in her clothing. It was time for the real test of her plan.

In moments, they would be face to face with experienced nobles who had every reason to resent teenage "princesses" interfering with operations that had been running smoothly.

The political battle that followed could determine not only whether they could maintain a position here, but also whether their entire plan to keep her family honor would have any chance of success.

And judging by the expressions on Morgain’s and Aldric’s faces as they approached, they weren’t going to make things easy.

♢♢♢♢

On Yino side where Victor commanded the defenses, things were also becoming difficult.

Victor had been fighting against another corrupted artifact, another creature with a giant claw similar to the one Ren had faced. His enormous earth powers, amplified by his Gold 3 Qilin, had fortunately been sufficient to keep the situation under control until now.

With help from his specialized attack groups, he had managed to systematically destroy the creature that served as host for the artifact. His earth attacks could pulverize the organic abomination, almost completely separating the artifact from its biological carrier.

But just as it seemed he had the situation controlled, he felt another energy signature rapidly approaching.

Another artifact.