Chapter 59: Stop Looking at Mine

The ground beneath the man cracked before sinking several inches under the pressure. His body shifted with it, forcing the attack away from its original direction, and the mass of Mana passed across the side of the western approach before exploding against an empty section of ground.

Elinox was already moving before the explosion finished.

Wind Mana pushed her forward while Lightning gathered around one of her arms, and she crossed the distance between them fast enough that the enemy High General had only enough time to turn before her attack reached him.

Their Mana collided.

The impact threw dirt outward and sent a vibration through the surrounding field.

The man slid backward, leaving long marks beneath his boots, but he managed to stop himself without falling.

Elinox watched him.

The High General she had encountered at the enemy station would have been thrown much farther by that attack.

However, this man recovered and retaliated.

A large concentration of Mana moved toward Elinox, forcing her to shift the Gravity surrounding it and drag the attack away from her body. It struck the ground beside them and tore through the soil while the enemy High General moved through the debris to attack again.

Elinox used Wind Mana to avoid the next strike before sending Lightning toward him.

He blocked it.

The collision pushed them apart.

Even from this distance, Elinox could hear the enemy army continuing its advance behind him.

The man looked toward the western station again.

She noticed.

Gravity pressed down around his body much harder than before, sinking the ground beneath him while Elinox moved back into his path.

"If you’re here because I destroyed your station, then fight me," she said. "Stop looking at mine."

The enemy High General forced himself through the increased Gravity and gathered more Mana around his body.

Elinox’s eyes narrowed.

Then, the two High Generals collided again.

Zishan had been staring at the distant battle when Commander Holtz called him from behind.

"Soldier Walker!"

He turned and saw the commander approaching with the same Lieutenant who had been present earlier. Both officers had probably been moving between different parts of the western station because soldiers continued passing around them carrying weapons, ammunition, and supplies toward the defensive line.

Zishan closed the System panels before they reached him.

He had already gained nine Levels in front of enough people during the Stampede. The last thing he needed was Commander Holtz asking him how he had suddenly become Level 59 while standing beside a supply wagon doing absolutely nothing.

Commander Holtz stopped near him and glanced toward Elinox’s fight before returning his attention to Zishan. "High General Holmes spoke with you earlier."

Zishan blinked.

That was what this was about?

The Lieutenant was also looking at him with obvious curiosity, which made Zishan remember exactly what the two officers must have seen.

Elinox had walked over to him and Ollie, surrounded the three of them with Water and Light Magic, and hidden them from ordinary sight for several minutes. Then, when the station horns sounded, the barrier disappeared, and everyone suddenly saw the youngest High General in the Kingdom standing beside Zishan as though they had been discussing some important military secret.

That was probably what these two thought.

Zishan tried to imagine their reaction if he told them that they had been arguing about frosting.

Commander Holtz asked what she had wanted, while the Lieutenant added that Zishan had been covered in injuries earlier and now appeared completely fine.

Zishan thought about vanilla cupcakes, homemade jam, red velvet, cream cheese frosting, and the fact that Elinox had healed him because she was happy to meet someone who knew what cupcakes were.

"You wouldn’t understand." When neither officer looked satisfied with that answer, he gestured toward the battlefield. "It wasn’t anything important for the battle. There’s literally an entire army coming toward us, so can we worry about that first?"

Commander Holtz clearly knew what he meant. He was just curious about what they had talked about. After all, they rarely got the chance to see a High General up close, much less watch one privately speak with an ordinary soldier for several minutes.

He ordered Zishan back to his assigned area before warning him not to disappear somewhere else the moment something caught his attention.

"Why do you say that like I’m some stray dog or cat?"

The looks he received from the commander, the lieutenant, and even Ollie were enough to make him close his mouth.

"..."

"Fine."

Commander Holtz left with the Lieutenant before Zishan could defend himself.

The western station had become much busier while he was distracted by the rewards. Artillery crews were moving ammunition into position and checking their weapons, archers had already climbed onto the raised sections of the defenses, and Mages were being distributed along the barricades with enough space between them to cast without interfering with one another.

Soldiers continued moving supplies behind the line while officers shouted orders from different sections of the station.

The approaching army had also gotten much closer.

Zishan could now make out different groups inside the formation instead of seeing one enormous mass in the distance. There were soldiers carrying different weapons, officers moving between them, and several Magic Beasts large enough to remain visible even while surrounded by hundreds of people.

He wasn’t surprised to see beasts among them.

Larper Forteza had already proven that the Kingdom of Degenerates trained Beast Tamers for military use, and there was no reason to believe one Level 99 Corporal was the only person on their side capable of controlling Magic Beasts.

Zishan was still trying to count the different Magic Beasts mixed into the enemy formation when a large shadow crossed the ground. He looked up and found a winged beast circling above the advancing army, but it wasn’t until the creature banked and exposed its broad wings and lion-like lower body that recognition hit him.

"No fucking way..."

He moved closer to the barricade to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. There was absolutely no way he could forget the Highland Griffin that had nearly killed him during their first meeting.

He had watched her fly east toward the Kingdom of Degenerates after she recognized that she had been manipulated. Now, she had returned with their army, keeping pace with the other tamed Magic Beasts as though she belonged there.

Zishan kept staring at her, trying to understand what could possibly have happened after the last time he saw her.

’What the fuck happened to you?’