A burning rock shot high into the sky, then came crashing down with all its might onto a green meadow. Far from that field, Princess Tiana's palace still stood tall—untouched so far by the Deryal soldiers. But it was clear that the palace was their main target. Everything they wanted centered around bringing it down, because to them, everyone inside was nothing more than a hostage.
"Free the demi-humans from this palace and we'll stop the attack," read the bold words inscribed on massive banners waved by the Deryal forces.
In a more distant area, soldiers were gathered—some standing, some sitting. Tents had been set up, and knights moved around under the command of another knight. They were energetic, moving with strength and discipline. Near the front lines, where catapults were lined up and ready to launch massive stone balls, mages were reinforcing the projectiles with fire magic.
"Three more rocks... Launch!" shouted a mage with sharp blue eyes and hair poking out from under a tall hat.
Following the command, the fire-enhanced boulders were launched. Two of them crashed into trees, but one managed to strike the palace wall. Yet this was not seen as good news by the Deryal soldiers. After that hit, the bespectacled mage began shouting at the knights handling the catapults.
"You idiots! I told you not to hit the wall!"
"We're sorry, Sir Lumis! It seems the rock was a different weight," one knight replied.
"Yeah, it was the mages' fault!"
"Hey! You lot—make the rocks all the same weight!" Lumis barked at the mages, who continued forming new stone balls with their magic.
At that moment, another knight stepped forward. He was tall and clean-shaven, with long, damp hair and nearly closed eyes. His height was striking—he was the tallest in the entire camp. His sword hung at his side, and his silver armor gleamed each time rocks hit the ground near the palace.
"We're falling behind schedule," the knight said calmly.
"Jeol... always interfering. Shut up and leave me alone," Lumis snapped, trying to ignore him and walk away.
"Hey... don't forget there are two people in charge of this camp. Me… and maybe you," Jeol said as he gripped Lumis' shoulder firmly.
"Fine. What is it?"
"We need to press forward with a small attack. Keeping up this long-range stone assault will only raise suspicions we don't want. We'll send in some knights."
"What you're saying makes no sense."
"How so? This will help our spy carry out the next phase of the plan."
"Ah… I see what you mean. We want them to send as many mages as possible," Lumis said, catching on.
"Exactly, you blind bastard," Jeol muttered.
This was the Deryal army camp—the one responsible for attacking the palace. It sat on Yarum territory near the border, making this a highly dangerous situation that could lead to serious tensions. And that's exactly what was happening inside the palace, where servants were running around in panic, some even considering ending their own lives. And yet, amidst all the chaos, one person remained calm.
"We're all going to die!" a servant screamed as he pounded on the palace gate.
"Let us out!"
"Calm down!" shouted a female servant with silver hair and tall rabbit ears—Bonnie.
"I know the situation feels hopeless, but where exactly do you plan to run? Abandoning this place would be treason. You can't leave the palace without orders from the authorities!" Bonnie added.
"What the... are you expecting us to fight?" one servant exclaimed.
"No. All I want is for you to stay calm."
◆ ◆ ◆
High in the sky, a pure white owl flew swiftly, carrying a rolled-up letter tied to its leg. As it soared above the land, the buildings below grew taller and taller, until it reached a towering palace—an imposing structure unlike any other in the region. This massive, gleaming white palace stood out from everything else. The owl darted inside with incredible speed and delivered the letter to Adalos, who sat on his throne before his council.
"A letter from the palace," announced one of the council members.
Adalos took his time reading it, his expression shifting with each line. When he finished, he set the letter aside. A long silence followed, as if the king were searching for the right words. But in truth, Adalos was deep in thought, consumed by the letter's contents. At last, the king spoke: "Let the war begin… It's time to start planning."
"What new information do we have?" asked a man with damp brown hair and sharp eyes.
"They've begun bombarding the wall. Some of their soldiers have advanced as well. These are new movements—we haven't seen anything like this since the conflict began."
"As I said earlier, I support sending a large number of mages."
"Yes, that's the best option. We'll send more mages than warriors."
"Think carefully… what comes next?" Adalos asked.
"If we send a large number of warriors, they'll die easily. That would be a guaranteed loss. But with mages, we gain both offense and defense. It's the better option, and I support Sir Migller."
"Hold on. You know this move is a major gamble, right?" Vinnel added.
"Of course. But the other option is far more dangerous."
"You support this decision only because you don't trust the knights, but I assure you—they're not forces to be underestimated," added Vinnel.
"Actually, I agree with Sir Vinnel. Sending more warriors instead of mages is a better choice, far better than this reckless option."
"And reinforcing them with some priests would be good as well."
"Then it seems we'll begin a vote," said Adalos.
After that, everyone wrote their opinion on a slip of paper and handed it to the king. The choice seemed difficult, and more than anything, they were facing a critical moment with very little time. Delaying decisions now would be like letting your enemy strike while you just sit there saying, "Let me think." So solving issues like this with a quick vote was better than drowning in deep thoughts in the middle of a war.
"Alright, the most favored opinion is to send a larger number of... mages," declared Adalos.
"Yes, it's the best option," said a thin man with a light beard and a long, damp mustache—Migller.
"Come on, this is so shallow. They only picked the first option because the kingdom's top strategist said it," Vinnel muttered.
"Alright, now we need to think about the attack strategy… the number of soldiers, support, supplies, weapons, and armor."
"I've already thought about that... We'll send five hundred warriors to the enemy camp, and their objective will be clear: destroy it. Of course, they won't succeed, because the catapults will be in their way. But in doing so, we'll waste Deryal's catapults, and then our mages can attack from the palace," said Migller.
"That would cost too much. More than a hundred soldiers might die for this silly plan… Listen closely, Mr. 'best strategist in the kingdom'—we'll send a smaller group of warriors supported by priests. All they'll do is sit just within range of the catapults while being protected by mages."
"And the point of that?"
"It'll reduce casualties. And we'll also bait some of Deryal's warriors into combat."
"Reduce casualties? Are you insane? What if they ignore the warriors and just keep launching attacks at the palace?"
"What kind of idiot would ignore a large group of warriors just sitting there and instead focus on bombing a palace that's clearly under magical protection?"
"Vinnel's idea is better. The mages can even create a fake barrier to make it seem like the palace is well protected, forcing the enemy to attack the warriors instead," murmured the elder Velmhor.
"Exactly. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
"It's a good idea… but can the mages really create a fake barrier?" asked Adalos.
"Well, there are two famous types of defensive spells. The first are sustained spells, and the second are infused spells. Sustained spells continuously drain magic as long as they're active. On the other hand, infused spells absorb all the magic they need upon casting, so if they cast an infused barrier, they can't fake it—it'll consume a fixed amount of magic from the start.
"But with a sustained barrier, it constantly absorbs magic every second it exists. It won't stop unless it's canceled or the caster runs out of magic. So sustained spells are ideal for faking a barrier. However, I doubt we have many mages capable of casting them, so we need to run a count," explained Velmhor.
"That would just cause more delay. So we'll go with Migller's suggestion again," said Adalos.
"These mages… they're just a bunch of failures," grumbled Vinnel.
It seemed the council had decided on a strategy that would sacrifice a large number of warriors instead of conducting a light assessment of the mages' ability to use sustained spells. But in the end, it didn't matter. What mattered was whether this strategy could stop Deryal's dangerous attacks on Tiana's palace grounds.
"Alright, Vinnel, go gather the appropriate warriors. Timpos, you gather the mages. Nirrel, you gather the priests," ordered Adalos. With that, the three left to carry out their assignments.
"What about the heroes? I haven't heard anything about them being involved in this war."
"I have a plan to involve them in the war. Also, I still haven't received a reply from Laos. But they're essential—we need them in the middle of all this," answered the king.
"Seriously, there are so many issues beyond this war… What really concerns me is those damned dwarves and their protests."
"Yes, that's a very serious problem. I also want the heroes to get involved with that."
"By the way, what about Arthur?" asked one of the council members.
"He went to Bardel. It seems he'll be back in a month."
"That's ridiculous. The kingdom's problem is that the people we rely on most don't seem to care."
"But he didn't know about this war."
"Even so, he's one of the strongest individuals in the kingdom. His presence here is crucial. And besides, what could he possibly be doing in Bardel that's more important than this war? By the Moon Goddess!"
"Apparently, his fiancee is there. He went to marry her in celebration of killing Zabus."
Speaking of Arthur, far away from Yarum, grains of sand were dancing in the air. The sun was blazing, and the place stretched endlessly—a vast golden desert that extended beyond the horizon. Footsteps were drawn in the sand by someone walking across it, wearing a cloak that hid their face. That person kept advancing through the golden desert until, suddenly, a giant worm leapt from beneath the sand.
Its appearance was overwhelming. The ground exploded and sand flew for miles. The force of its emergence created a storm that blew the traveler's cloak away, revealing the face of a young man with fair skin and thick blond hair. After gazing at the worm for a moment, he grasped the handle of his legendary sheathed sword and muttered with a faint smile: "Been a while since I saw you."