Chapter 129 - 56: Enemy Attack

Chapter 129: Chapter 56: Enemy Attack

Late at night.

All was silent.

On the walls of Seville, repair work continued.

The afternoon’s battle had been an unprecedented victory. The Demons were repelled, buying them precious time to regroup.

Several Mages had even skipped the victory feast, working tirelessly to inspect and repair the defensive fortifications on the walls, striving to make them stronger before the Demons’ next attack.

Around two in the morning.

Veronica had just finished dealing with two days’ worth of backed-up administrative affairs. Instead of resting, she came to conduct a routine inspection.

Soldiers saluted as she passed. Veronica gave a slight nod, signaling them to continue their work without minding her, then headed straight for the top of the wall.

"Princess Veronica!"

A Mage recognized her.

Veronica strode forward. "What’s the situation?"

"The initial repairs are complete, but the wear and tear from the past few days has been immense."

The lead Mage replied respectfully, "To restore everything to its original condition, we’ll need at least two to three days. Many of the Magic Circles are completely destroyed. To replace them, we’re not only short-staffed, but we also have a massive resource shortage..."

"Don’t worry about resources."

Veronica said, "Lilia brought plenty of Magic Materials with her. There should be enough for any emergencies."

"That’s wonderful!" The lead Mage’s face lit up. "That helps us immensely!"

It was true.

Veronica felt a similar sense of wonder.

’I don’t know how... but my little sister seems to have grown so much in the last six months.’

’She was sent to a notoriously barren land, yet in just half a year, she managed to raise a respectable army. She had the resources to come to my aid and even brought a wealth of supplies.’

Veronica had to admit...

...the little girl who once came crying to her after being bullied by a kitchen manager had grown into a truly mature and powerful Lord.

"However..." the Mage spoke up again, "the Demons were repelled, but they haven’t vanished. They could regroup and attack at any moment."

He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Seville’s crisis isn’t over. The consensus is that since Princess Lilia brought a powerful weapon that’s effective against Demons, we should be pressing our advantage before the enemy has a chance to react. We need to secure an even greater victory."

"Ideally, we’d find the leader behind these Demons and capture or kill it. Only then will the crisis facing Seville, and even the entire Light Kingdom, be truly over."

Demons had low intelligence, but they possessed some capacity for learning.

More importantly, Demonic Qi could assimilate human Magic attacks.

The Mages weren’t sure what method Lilia was using, guessing only that it was some powerful Magic Device. Such a device might be effective against the Demons once or twice, but once they adapted, its effectiveness would plummet, eventually becoming useless.

If that happened, the situation, which had only just started to improve, would take a drastic turn for the worse... with no hope of recovery.

Veronica nodded slightly as she listened to the Mage’s analysis.

Her thoughts returned to her conversation with Lilia in the office.

"...There is indeed something that must be done now."

"What is it?"

"You saw what happened this afternoon. Low-level Demons aren’t capable of independent thought, let alone using tactics."

In the office, the girl with the delicate features wore a solemn expression. "But in this battle, they somehow knew to lure you and your elite forces away first, and then send a separate contingent to attack the city."

"That’s not a decision a Low-level Demon is capable of making."

"You mean..."

The girl nodded slightly. "I suspect the one pulling the strings from behind the curtain is nearby."

"So, the reason you’re not going public about the Demon Crystals yet is because..."

The girl smiled. "The moment this is made public, I lose my special advantage in the eyes of our mastermind."

"Right now, he doesn’t know what methods I used. Combined with the defeat he just suffered at our hands, he’s absolutely going to stick around, waiting for a chance to strike back."

"And that gives us a chance to draw him out."

...

Lilia, just like this Mage, knew that to resolve the crisis facing the Light Kingdom, they had to deal with the mastermind pulling the strings.

That was why she’d decided to keep the matter of the Demon Crystals a secret for now—to use it as bait to lure her opponent into a trap.

On the city wall.

Veronica stared ahead and nodded slightly. "I understand."

The Mage followed up, "Then..."

"I’ve already ordered my people to draw up a counterattack plan immediately."

Veronica said, "Just as you said, the mastermind is likely nearby. This is our best chance to catch him, and we certainly won’t let it slip by."

Seeing that his Lord had already considered this, the Mage was relieved.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his expression relaxing.

This group of Mages on the wall had nearly exhausted their Magic Power repairing the Defense Arrays. The lead Mage was just about to report to Veronica and have them relieved by a fresh group when there was a sudden disturbance outside the city.

Birds burst from the forest, and a dark shadow streaked across the bright white Moon.

And there, under the moonlight, a dark figure had appeared directly in front of the city wall!

The person was cloaked in night, their face and form a pitch-black silhouette that was impossible to make out.

From the perspective of those on the wall, all they could see was the figure on horseback, holding an equally black longbow.

In the silence, the bowstring grew taut.

An ethereal blue flame instantly ignited on the Arrow’s tip!

The Mages jolted, their hearts leaping into their throats!

"ENEMY ATTACK—!"

A shrill voice tore through the night.

"Princess Veronica!"

The Mage immediately stepped forward!

’This thing knows how to use a weapon. That’s a fundamental difference from the Low-level creatures that act purely on instinct. It’s obviously a High-level individual!’

’What’s more...’

’That aura... the overwhelming pressure of a single being who feels like they could destroy the entire city in the next second!’

—’We can’t possibly fight it!’

The Mage was about to cover Veronica’s retreat when, in a fleeting glance, he noticed his Lord’s face was completely devoid of surprise.

Veronica watched the figure that had suddenly appeared, her gaze serene.

...

"So, you already have a plan?"

Back in the office, Veronica had pressed further. "We’ve just won a hard-fought victory. With morale this high, pressing our advantage is certainly a viable option. But the Demons’ movements are too difficult to track. We might not even be able to find their base."

"Even..."

’...it’s possible those things don’t even have a base.’

"After all, in many legends and the scriptures of the Church, Demons are the Dominators of the Spirit Realm."

"The Spirit Realm doesn’t overlap with the Human World, but there is a one-to-one correspondence between them."

"Those Demons might be moving through the Spirit Realm, only materializing when they’re about to attack."

"We don’t need to find them."

Lilia had smiled.

Her tone was certain. "As long as I am here, they will come."