"ROAR—"
Following a deafening cry, the All-Devouring Narwhal appeared not far from the Overlord of the Vortex Osial. It slamd the god with a vicious headbutt, knocking its massive body back hundreds of ters and nearly causing it to stumble.
The Overlord of the Vortex Osial retaliated, with three of its heads firing the sa white beams of light at the Narwhal, causing it to cry out in agony.
Damn it! If I hadn't been promised freedom after this fight, I'd never be fighting an enemy this strong!
With that thought, the All-Devouring Narwhal channeled its grief and anger into strength, ramming the Overlord of the Vortex Osial once more.
"Quick, repair the barrier!"
Furina suppressed her grief and focused all her energy on helping Focalors nd the barrier.
The azure teor shower continued to rain down from the sky. If they didn't repair the barrier quickly, the casualties would only grow.
"There are so many... so many Abyss Monsters attacking!"
Before one trouble ends, another begins.
Since Aether had decided to use this opportunity to probe Fontaine's true strength, he naturally wouldn't deploy only a modified Overlord of the Vortex Osial.
He intended to push Fontaine to its absolute limit, to see if it could truly forge a new path through technology. He also needed to plunder Fontaine's technology to fulfill his own choices.
Even if this decision ant countless lives would be sacrificed, Aether's gaze remained resolute. From the mont he chose this path, he knew it would be paved with the bones of others.
He knew his sister wouldn't understand his actions now, but that didn't matter. She would understand when she, too, faced her final choice.
Forced to simultaneously deal with the disaster unleashed by the Overlord of the Vortex Osial and the siege by the Abyss Order, the casualty count began to skyrocket.
Lumine couldn't bear to watch any longer. Though Fontaine had treated her poorly, she couldn't stand by and watch these innocent people die.
So, after a brief discussion with Paimon, Lumine instantly teleported beside the person monitoring her, giving him a huge fright.
Without a word, Lumine took the one-handed sword from his grasp, then vanished in another flash, reappearing far away in the next second.
Only after Lumine's figure had completely disappeared did the man finally react. His expression changed drastically, and he rushed to find Furina and Focalors to report the situation.
But when he found Furina and Focalors, he realized there was no need to explain. A towering gray-white blade of light had just soared into the sky, slicing off half of the Overlord of the Vortex Osial's head.
"Is No. 2 helping us?"
Furina was completely stunned by the sight.
Focalors shook her head. It seed there had indeed been so misunderstanding between them.
But that still didn't explain the Abyss Order's actions. Could it really be a coincidence?
Honestly, Focalors didn't believe in such coincidences. She felt there must be another reason.
But now wasn't the ti to dwell on that; she needed to focus on controlling the barrier to help the people resist the attacks from the sky. As for the Abyss Monsters on the ground, they would have to be left to others.
Suddenly, a massive ship soaring through the sky finally grew larger from the distance, eventually reaching the island.
Then, three enormous figures leaped from the airship, crashing heavily onto the ground and creating three deep craters of varying sizes.
Only then did the crowd get a clear look at the three figures: their tallic sheen, their several-ter-tall streamlined bodies, the gaping black cannon muzzles mounted on their shoulders, and the technologically advanced swords slung across their backs. The sight was enough to make one's blood boil with excitent.
These were the latest research achievents from the Fortress of ropide: Autonomous cha.
As soon as the three jet-black Autonomous cha landed, they imdiately joined the battle against the Abyss Monsters. They moved as if through an empty battlefield, slaughtering the various Abyss Monsters and instantly relieving imnse pressure on the defensive line.
Soon, they found their true target: the Iniquitous Baptist.
The cannon muzzles on the three Autonomous cha's shoulders flipped open, and after a brief one-second pause, they unleashed a powerful torrent of elental energy—red, white, green, purple... every color imaginable. The Iniquitous Baptist's flimsy shield shattered instantly like a soap bubble, and it was then blasted into helplessness.
Seeing this, the Abyss Heralds fled as far as they could. With their frail bodies, wouldn't charging in just be suicide?
anwhile, two warheads were launched from the airship, plumting toward the densest concentrations of Abyss Monsters. The mont they hit the ground, two dazzling flashes of white light instantly annihilated over a thousand Abyss Monsters, leaving behind two massive craters. As seawater rushed in, the craters quickly transford into enormous lakes.
This once again greatly relieved the pressure on the defensive line, even allowing them to launch a counteroffensive against the Abyss Monsters.
A final figure slid rapidly down a rope dangling from the airship, landing steadily on the ground.
Wriothesley hopped in place a couple of tis, confirming his equipnt was functioning properly, then strode step by step toward the battlefield.
Not long after, a chorus of "Ora!" echoed from the battlefield.
Seeing this, both Furina and Focalors breathed a sigh of relief. And because the Overlord of the Vortex Osial was also locked in a fierce battle, the attacks from the sky gradually lessened.
Seeing that Focalors alone was enough to hold the line, Furina couldn't suppress her inner impulse and ran directly to the front lines to fight the Abyss Monsters.
"Sing in my na!"
Many people were enveloped in a blue light, feeling their strength surge. They looked gratefully toward the source, only to see Furina. Their expressions imdiately changed, and they urged her to retreat to the rear for safety, but Furina refused.
She was no longer the Furina of the past; she too wanted to beco the one who protected everyone.
At that mont, an even larger, grayish-white blade slash struck the Overlord of the Vortex Osial, nearly cleaving its entire body in two. The Overlord of the Vortex Osial let out an unprecedented shriek of agony.
Feeling the power of that sword strike, many on the island who had previously fought Lumine suddenly had a mont of clarity. They couldn't believe they had actually fought such a being to a standstill. Had she been holding back the entire ti?!
Even Focalors felt a lingering fear. Thank goodness they hadn't completely provoked such a being, or everyone present would have been in grave danger.
Even if they had ultimately managed to defeat it, it would have cost at least half their lives.
If the opponent truly was No. 2, that would be one thing. But if this was all a huge misunderstanding, this incident would surely be recorded in the annals of Fontaine's history.
Suddenly, Focalors noticed the chaotic energy core within the Overlord of the Vortex Osial's cleaved body, and her expression turned grave.
She recognized that thing. Through the water currents, she knew it was the power core of the original Ark. It had unexpectedly fallen into the hands of the Abyss Order, who had used it to modify the Overlord of the Vortex Osial, making him even stronger than before, nearly restoring him to his pri.
Just one component of the Ark possessed such power. What exactly had Fontaine lost in that incident...?
Seeing Fontaine's forces growing fiercer with every clash, Aether began to consider retreating.
This operation had indeed revealed many of Fontaine's hidden strengths, and their combat prowess far exceeded his expectations.
Although the Abyss Order had also suffered significant losses, it didn't matter; their forces would be fully replenished soon enough.
The most crucial asset was the Overlord of the Vortex Osial. He couldn't afford to lose him, especially not to his own sister's ddling.
Speaking of which, how had he beco unable to comprehend his sister's abilities? What exactly was that power? Could it be, as Ziyu had said, that the tis had truly changed?
As Aether pondered, he issued the retreat order to his subordinates.
Upon receiving the command, the Abyss Monsters breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Damn, these casualties are horrifying. If possible, next ti, please send them to attack other nations. We really don't dare co back to Fontaine.
Let's get out of here!
Seeing the Abyss Monsters about to flee, Chevreuse, who had tasted victory, imdiately ordered her squad to give them so parting gifts.
"Throw them! Don't hold back! We can't use this stuff for anything else besides fighting these Abyss Monsters anyway. Just carrying it around gives the creeps!"
Urged on by Chevreuse, everyone threw with even greater vigor.
After all the gifts were delivered, Chevreuse still held so hope for a big haul this ti.
Evidently, Chevreuse's hopes were dashed. Aether, having learned his lesson from last ti, had his subordinates detonate everything outside before returning.
Finally, Aether looked at the few remaining subordinates he had brought, not seeing a familiar face among them, and sighed softly.
Ziyu wasn't here. It seed he had sacrificed himself.
He rembered Ziyu had a younger brother nad Ziyan. He wondered about his abilities.
But Aether hesitated for a mont. Ziyan's two older brothers had both died heroically, and now he was considering recruiting him.
Should he choose from other subordinates instead? He couldn't just keep exploiting the sa family, could he?
Aether pondered for a mont before deciding to leave the choice to Ziyan. Then, he led his remaining subordinates through the spatial portal and departed.
Just after Aether left, the Overlord of the Vortex Osial unleashed power far greater than before. He briefly suppressed both the All-Devouring Narwhal and Lumine, then found an opportunity and slipped away.
Lumine had no intention of pursuing him. Her energy was severely depleted, and considering this was her brother's asset, she ultimately chose to show rcy.
She didn't know what Aether was plotting, but she trusted his character and believed he wouldn't engage in aningless slaughter.
Finally, Lumine rode the All-Devouring Narwhal back to the island. As for why the Narwhal allowed her to sit on its back—it was following its heart's choice, completely terrified to move.
When Lumine saw Paimon again, Enjou was there too. His shackles had been removed, but two Gardeks flanked him, watching him closely.
The mont Enjou saw Lumine, he beca overwheld with emotion.
"Your Highness! To see you alive again fills with such joy!"
"Traveler!"
Paimon imdiately flew into Lumine's arms.
"Traveler, how are you? Are you hurt?"
Lumine shook her head, then glanced around as if searching for sothing.
Soon, Lumine found her target and walked straight over, returning the sword she held.
The recipient took the one-handed sword with imnse excitent, his face beaming with joy and delight.
This was the sword that had severed a god's head! He could brag about this story for the rest of his life!
He decided then and there: he would enshrine this sword as soon as he got ho!
Others now cast envious glances his way, causing the man to clutch the sword even tighter, fearing soone might snatch it away.
Just after Lumine returned the sword, Focalors approached, leading a sowhat bashful Furina.
"Thank you for fighting on Fontaine's behalf to repel the Overlord of the Vortex Osial."
"I believe there may have been so misunderstandings between us before. I hope you can understand our caution in this matter. Even now, I cannot determine your true identity. I will have soone verify it, but this will take so ti."
"Once the truth is revealed, Furina and I will apologize to you before all the people of Fontaine, and we will also provide you with so compensation."
After saying this, Focalors returned the Dull Blade to Lumine, then patted Furina's head, earning a resentful glare from her. Furina then spoke to Lumine in a low voice.
"Um, thanks for your help this ti."
"If you hadn't intervened, we might have suffered even greater casualties."
"Also, the investigation into the person who died from severe injuries is complete. He died of a sudden heart attack; it had nothing to do with you."
After hearing what they both had to say, much of the frustration in Lumine's heart dissipated.
She had to admit their attitude was quite reasonable. Lumine wasn't the type to push her luck when things were going well. After all, other matters aside, it was almost certain the Abyss Order had attacked the escort convoy because of her. And since the Abyss Order's leader was her own older brother, strictly speaking, she bore so responsibility for those deaths.
Coupled with the death that occurred this ti, Lumine honestly felt a pang of guilt.
Compared to the slight injustice they had endured... alright, perhaps Enjou had endured more, but Fontaine's losses were undeniably real.
Under these circumstances, she felt it would be inappropriate to demand compensation from Fontaine, especially since Neuvillette had once saved her life.
With this thought in mind, Lumine's attitude beca much more amicable. She even suggested they could apologize privately, and an official announcent could be made to the citizens of Fontaine.
Seeing Lumine's magnanimity, Furina grew even more embarrassed. To hide her awkwardness, she spoke in a louder voice.
"Actually, you can't completely bla us for misunderstanding. After all, your abilities are too similar to No. 2's, and you even tried to fool us with stories from a novel. It's perfectly reasonable for to be suspicious, right?"
"Um... is it possible that those things really happened to the Traveler before?"
Paimon couldn't help but interject after hearing Furina's words.
"That novel..."
Paimon picked up a novel that soone had dropped on the ground earlier. It happened to be open to one of the stories, and Paimon flipped to the preface on the first page.
"Look here, 'This story is based on true events...' I think soone must have heard the Traveler's stories and wrote them down."
"Maybe the Traveler isn't famous enough yet, and her stories haven't reached Fontaine, but Miss Katheryne from the Adventurer's Guild should know about this. You can go ask her directly."
"I just rembered... I heard about a similar novel before, but it was so sudden that I didn't recall it until now."
Just as Paimon finished speaking, Enjou added in a low, haunting voice.
"Actually, if you think back carefully, you'll realize that Paimon's narration of the story was far more detailed, complete, and logical."
"Most importantly, many of the people who appeared in the story can be consulted for verification. We had no reason to deceive you with a lie that could be so easily exposed."
The air suddenly fell silent, just as feared.
After Paimon finished, Furina froze in embarrassnt. It wasn't just her; everyone present, without exception, looked awkward.
They had been engrossed in soone else's real-life experiences, only to accuse the actual protagonist of copying the plot from a novel when she appeared before them...
Fortunately, at that mont, soone hurried toward them, breaking the awkward atmosphere.
"Lady Furina, Lady Focalors, the casualty count is in."
Upon hearing these words, everyone present imdiately fell silent.
They hadn't expected the results to be tallied so quickly. Their hearts were heavy with anxiety, torn between wanting to know the detailed figures and fearing terrible news.
After receiving a nod from Focalors, the person continued.
"The injured number three hundred eighty-eight. The last two critically wounded patients unfortunately died during ergency treatnt just now. The rest, thankfully, sustained only minor injuries and are fine after simple treatnt."
"The deceased number seven hundred sixty-two. The vast majority were mbers of the Court of Justice. As the first line of defense, they held their positions to protect the civilians behind them, with so entire squads wiped out without retreating a single step."
As the speaker reached this point, Focalors, Furina, and most others present removed their hats and held them to their chests in tribute to these heroes.
The person swallowed hard, fighting back the lump in their throat, and continued.
"Among the remaining civilian casualties were many renowned philanthropists, politicians, and Guild presidents... They all perished in the attack from the Overlord of the Vortex, Osial, their bodies completely obliterated."
Upon hearing this, Focalors could no longer hide the sorrow in her eyes and let out a soft sigh.
"Good people never live long..."
Hearing Focalors' words, the others felt a wave of emotion well up inside them.
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