Chapter 269: You Must Live On

In the moments before the Imperial Court turned its attacks toward the escaping women and children, farewells were still being forced upon those who refused to leave. Even Arvid felt that the day of his redemption had finally come.

He looked toward Freya, who was desperately forcing her way through the men blocking her path, trying to return to the formation gathering outside the gates. Blue lightning flickered wildly around her body, forcing several warriors to struggle just to hold her back as the Imperial Court army continued rushing closer.

Arvid remembered when Freya had still been a young girl, chasing her dreams with a fire that no one in the Thunder Dragon Clan could suppress. She had wanted to become the strongest female general in their history, and every time she spoke of the future, thunder would rumble within her young heart as if the heavens themselves shared her excitement.

Yet Arvid had taken that future from her on the day he introduced her to Prince Thor. At the time, he had believed that he was securing her place within the Thunder Dragon Clan, but instead, he had watched Thor slowly take away her freedom, her passion, and everything she had once dreamed of becoming. He had watched the thunder inside her fade once before, and he would not stand aside and watch her life disappear as well.

“Lady Freya, follow the order and flee with the others!” Arvid roared loudly enough for his trembling voice to reach her through the screams and thunder of the battlefield.

“Arvid, I will stay! I am not a coward, and I will not abandon all of you just so that I can—”

“Enough!”

Freya’s entire body shook the moment her uncle roared at her. Throughout all the years he had watched over her, defended her, and silently carried the guilt of what his decision had done to her life, Arvid had never once raised his voice at her like this.

“Uncle, please…” Her eyes filled with tears, but the blue lightning rushing toward her forced her back before she could reach for him, its sharp crack swallowing the rest of her plea.

“Do not cry, and do not look back,” Arvid said, his lips trembling despite the firmness of his voice. “Once again, I am placing our future in your hands. I kept telling myself that it was over, that I would never use you or hurt you again, yet here I am, asking you to carry another burden.” He swallowed hard as their eyes met. “Do whatever you can to restore the Thunder Dragon Clan, Freya. You know how.”

She shook her head, unable to answer him, but another bolt of Arvid’s lightning struck at her feet before she could step closer. Freya spread her wings instinctively and rose into the air, forced toward the women and children gathering above them. Her hand remained outstretched for a moment before she slowly drew it against her chest, her uncle growing smaller beneath her as the sounds of battle swallowed her voice.

None of them wanted to flee, and none wished to be spared at the cost of those they loved. They had been prepared to die together today, but if they did, everything their king had built and everything they had worked so hard to achieve would die alongside them.

They could not throw it all away, however desperately they wanted to turn back. With tears blurring their vision and anger toward the Imperial Court Empire burning within their hearts, they forced themselves to join the others, clinging to the thought that one day they would return and make the enemy answer for what had happened here.

Gertrud watched from nearby, her throat tightening as she witnessed the bond between Freya and her uncle. She held her siblings close and urged them higher into the air so they could escape safely, yet she could not convince herself to follow. Throughout her time in Voidstar, she had felt useless. Everyone else had worked hard to build something from their new lives, while she remained the same girl who always needed to depend on others.

“Go ahead. I will be right behind you,” she whispered to her younger brother. He held their little sister’s hand, but neither moved, their frightened eyes fixed on Gertrud as they waited for her to join them.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I will be there. Just go,” she insisted, gently pushing them toward the others.

However, the moment the children disappeared into the crowd above, Gertrud turned in the opposite direction. She spread her wings and flew toward Eberhard, who stood firmly overlooking the Imperial Court army, his wind magic gathered around him as he prepared to shield the fleeing people.

“Miss Gertrud, you are in the wrong formation.” He gave her a wide smile, recognizing a determination in her expression that he had never seen before.

“I must protect them. My siblings are the only ones who can secure a future for the Wind Dragon Clan,” she answered, glancing toward the children disappearing among the wings overhead.

“And what about you?” Eberhard asked, studying her face.

“I am going to become the warrior I should always have been. For every one of our people who dies, I will take twice as many of theirs.”

Green winds circled Gertrud like spinning blades as she turned toward the Imperial Court soldiers, who were hurriedly raising their weapons toward the sky. She could see their magic gathering, their attention shifting toward the escaping women and children, and understood that those shielding them would scarcely have a chance to fight back.

“Hahaha! Good, I love your fire!” Eberhard laughed as he turned toward her. “You are a true warrior of the Wind Dragon Clan, Miss Gertrud. Your brother would be proud of you, despite the madness that consumed him.”

Gertrud straightened at his words, tightening her fists as she prepared to stand beside him.

“Listen closely. When the enemy comes, you must—”

His fist struck her in the stomach before she could react, driving the air from her lungs. Her winds scattered as she doubled over, staring at him in disbelief while his other arm caught her before she could fall. She tried to speak, to pull away from him, but her body would no longer obey, and darkness slowly closed around her vision.

“You must live on, for the Wind Dragons and for Voidstar,” Eberhard said, his voice reaching her as her strength faded. “I will not allow another one of you to fall to madness. Not again…”

He signaled to a nearby Wind Dragon woman, who hurried forward and took Gertrud into her arms. Neither spoke, a single nod passing between them before the woman spread her wings and carried Gertrud toward her siblings.

As the women and children climbed higher into the sky, the first wave of enemy magic swept toward the escaping formation, threatening to swallow everyone in its path.

I’m back from my holiday. Thank you for waiting