NOVEL NEXT 0053
With no further assassins appearing, Sarah's assumption was proven to be correct. Though all lucky streaks had to come to an end at some point.
Over the past days the amount of beasts Nia and sometimes Sera met had sharply declined. Maybe a sign that they were slowly getting depleted, however that wasn't how the Realms worked. For one Eas could simply respawn species on the brink of extinction, if the party actually managed to deplete life in the realm, but that was unlikely in the first place as still numerous creatures roamed the realm in other locations. Much more likely was that the creatures noticed the anomaly in the region and were starting to consolidate their powers, not unlike what the humans did.
"So the beast army is approaching..." Having received the info from the guide, the mage sighed. She had prepared for such an occurrence, though with the humans also participating in the war, any bigger actions wouldn't go unnoticed. If the beasts were just low level beings, Sarah and her party could have tried to slowly reduce their numbers with the help of their traps, but as even some level 100 entities were part of the swarm, that would be basically impossible. If she was generous in her assumption, Nia and Sera could maybe kill one each with the help of the traps they had set up previously. Then using the mana she had collected, taking out three to four others could be barely possible, assuming she could somehow close the gap and sacrifice them.
However she would basically lose all of her progress, only kill six of who knows how many high level beasts and still have to deal with countless beings of a lower level who could easily eliminate her.
Sarah's initial plan of simply flooding the area to delay her enemies, then, once they come closer again, trigger all the traps to thin out the herd and gain a slight boost to her progress before switching locations, was basically off the table. It would just attract the humans and who knew which annoying affinities they could have.
Though... Her enemies wouldn't be the only ones who would receive reinforcements. Sure, she hasn't seen those who chose her side in the war, but as the rewards were pretty even, both factions should have similar strength.
"Hey, Sera, you would be on board, if i did a probably pretty dumb gamble, wouldn't you?" Weighting security against further accelerating her spell and witnessing more magic, the mage asked her sister. If she had used only cold logic, the former would have won, but then she also would have never reached another world.
"Sure!?" The warrior wasn't quite sure what her sister was talking about, but she would only rarely turn down gambles, as long as they seemed fun.
"Why do i feel like i should stop you?" Nia interjected.
"Well... Most likely you would be against it, but two are for it so... I guess bad luck?" Smiling, the girl didn't wait for their guide to figure out what she had planned and maybe actually stop her.
With a though her previously compressed soul orrery expanded. While the souls remained invisible, the soft glow of the spell circles which composed the external parts of the skill started to spread through and above the forest. Layers upon layers of spell circles could be seen unfolding themselves covering a good part of the forest and reaching into the sky. Even Sarah was a bit surprised by how much the skill had grown in a physical sense.
Abandoning her previous stealthy approach, Sarah focused instead on speed. Using the mana gathering aspect of her skill to the fullest extent, she simply hoped that her allies would be faster than her enemies. If not, fleeing using her space magic was still an option.
Obviously such actions didn't remain unnoticed by either camp and even some scavengers reacted to it. A part of them chose to raise their prices or relocate to find better spots for ambushes while others evacuated, assuming that either the following fights would cause more destruction or in preparation for the activation of the spell. With multiple changes in the remaining time, it was hard to trust the timer. In other wars they might have stayed till the last hour, but in this one they chose to err on the side of caution.
Though the waves weren't limited to just the Flame Sea Shore.
"Why do i have to go? I'm not even in your church and i always thought you were hostile towards 'those purity fanatics'!" Annoyance could be heard out of the voice of a young seeming woman.
"I know, but everyone else with a low enough level is currently busy and it doesn't happen every day that those fanatics grovel in front of our door, begging that we save them. It would be the perfect demonstration of the might of the phase elements and get them to be in debt to us!" An older appearing man answered.
"You know that i don't want to have anything to do with the church and the clan!
Sure, i'm thankful for getting trained and all. I can also see that archery is the best fit for someone with mana affinity, if they don't want to become a pure mage, and that having more than one class would make any advancements slower while also reducing you attribute points. But as i have already discussed with you countless times, i would like to keep my freedom instead of simply being trained to become one of the fighters for the clan or church.
Why should i risk my life in your pointless conflicts with the other clans and churches? Just split the damn resources! Just rotate who gets new realms, instead of fighting over them between each other while allowing third parties to take them from you! In the end you trade them anyway, if their affinities don't fit."
Another arrow penetrated the already spiked target with a notable sound.
"Jeanne-"
"No! Dad, i'm 22 and more than old enough to decide my own future! Others have to decide things on their own 20 cycles earlier!"
Sighing the man thought for a moment. "Then how about this. Just do us this favor and you can cut your ties with the family. No future request, no search parties when you don't send a message when you are out."
Eying him suspiciously before firing another arrow which obliterated her target, she relented. "Fine. But i want a contract!"
...
After reading one last time through the contract and making sure that there weren't any traps in the wording, she signed the document. Jeanne still didn't like that she ended up going to the war, but at least it would guarantee her freedom in the future and while she had to try to disrupt the ritual, neither was she required to fight nor to join a side or actually succeed.
Quickly storing her most important possessions, she soon met up with her guides from the fire and earth church at the entrance of her family's mansion. A few introductions later, they left. While her parents had also come to see her off, she didn't even spare a glance in their direction.
"Was this really such a good idea?" Jeanne's mother asked.
Thinking for a moment, the girl's father answered. "I don't think we would have been able to hold her here for much longer anyway. Besides, she will sooner or later realize why the conflicts are necessary and while we can't contact her from our side, she is always free to return."