NOVEL NEXT Chapter 32
Chapter 32: Before the So-called Great War…
A few days later, in a temporary camp near the river in the northern Whispering Plains.
Princess Liliya was carefully reading a letter in her hands, while a pure white dove with special feathers on its tail perched innocently on her delicate shoulders, seemingly quite familiar with her.
“What’s up?”
After Liliya finished rewriting the document and placed the letter into a wooden tube strapped to the dove’s leg, she gently stroked its feathers and fed it a bit before sending it off. Only then did Miss Vilyric slowly ask a question.
“Everything’s fine. Wanku Fortress is still quite calm, and the second wave of the beastmen’s attack hasn’t started yet. The other border cities are also in a stalemate, so the worst-case scenario of a city falling hasn’t happened.”
“Isn’t that a good thing~?”
“It’s good, but something feels off…”
Liliya lowered her head, and in front of her and Vilyric lay a strategic map encompassing the entire western border battlefield.
Red arrows marking the beastmen seemed to cover and suppress the entire western border of the United Kingdom, yet there wasn’t a single spot that could breach it.
This was quite an abnormal phenomenon.
In previous autumn wars, even the old or weak beastmen sent to their deaths would invariably break through a few small towns, causing some damage to the kingdom. But this time, the elite from the Beast Kingdom were firmly blocked at the border—was that even possible?
The current situation appeared more like the beastmen’s commander was intentionally keeping the pressure high without breaking through, creating as much strain as possible on the western defense line.
Two questions arose: First, what is the purpose of creating this pressure? Second, if the aim is to increase the kingdom’s tension, why not attack the crucial Wanku Fortress?
In a moment, several hypotheses flickered in the princess’s mind, but none seemed reasonable.
Liliya also wondered if Vilyric’s presence instilled fear in the enemy. But first, the beastmen didn’t know that day’s miracle was done by whom, and second, Vilyric only used her skills once on the day of the siege, which, despite looking spectacular…
If that alone could make that group of beasts hesitate, the Beast Kingdom wouldn’t give humanity so much trouble.
There must be some intelligence she wasn’t aware of.
After thinking it over and over, the princess still couldn’t find a reasonable assumption, so she decided to stop worrying about it. After all, no matter what kind of conspiracy the enemy had, her goal remained steadfast.
For this operation, Liliya brought along 2,000 elite light cavalry, including shadow guards.
Half of these were her direct Silver-armored Imperial Guards she brought from the capital, while the other half were skilled hands drawn from Layton’s garrison at Wanku Fortress.
These warriors all had at least near mithril strength. Coupled with the special mounts provided by the western military—first-tier magical beasts, unicorns—this unit’s exceptional mobility would easily outrun even the beastmen’s wolf cavalry hordes.
To ensure efficiency, Liliya even took off her lavish royal garments that symbolized her status and swapped them for a practical light silver bodysuit that offered decent protection, tying her blue hair into a ponytail, complemented by matching battle skirts and a long sword hanging from her waist, which added a touch of heroism to the fragile princess.
Supported by Liliya, her accompanying guard Hua also changed out of her casual leather armor, donning a prized purple armor provided by Wanku Fortress.
According to Layton, this ancient magical item named Rose’s Veil was crafted by a powerful mythic species, a prince-class vampire.
Although light as a feather, its defensive power rivaled that of heavy armor, also possessing effects like reducing presence and enhancing speed and strength, but it could only be used by those who had reached legendary levels of power.
Moreover, Rose’s Veil was specifically a women’s equipment, so Layton simply gifted it to Liliya for her to distribute as she saw fit.
Though the name contained the word “veil,” Rose’s Veil was essentially a light purple fitted miniskirt embroidered with gorgeous floral patterns. It may not have reached gold grade, but it possessed the function of auto-adjusting to the wearer’s body shape.
Just that point broke through Vilyric’s understanding of game equipment, causing her to marvel for quite a while upon seeing it, feeling quite fresh about it.
Hua’s short bow, as she mentioned, was also a powerful magical item, and combined with Rose’s Veil, her combat power leaped to a ridiculous level. Even among the many strong warriors of the Beast Kingdom, there shouldn’t be too many who could surpass her.
Compared to the two girls in battle attire and the well-organized troops, only the Priestess still wore her ever-unchanged pure white holy robe, which looked quite out of place among the group.
Liliya once suggested changing her to better armor, but Vilyric politely declined.
She didn’t know how to explain… The effects of this equipment, Feather Garb: Glareya, could only be understood by its bearer, and due to its inherent presence-dulling effect, it indeed had a magnificent exterior, yet felt devoid of any magical fluctuations…
But without a doubt, this was a genuine artifact.
Possessing a considerable level of intelligence, it could automatically protect its owner, and its identity was bound, allowing only Vilyric to equip it.
Even among the few artifacts in Fantasia, Feather Garb: Glareya was an exceptional item, essentially serving as an identity mark for Vilyric as a player.
Do you remember that skill Vilyric often used, Divine Feather? The original name of that skill on the skill tree was Angel’s Feather, and it evolved into an exclusive skill due to having Feather Garb: Glareya, significantly enhancing its speed and effect.
Fantasia features an overwhelming number of hidden skills, equipment, quests, items, and even NPCs.
Therefore, depending on the opportunity, it’s nearly impossible to encounter two players with identical templates, showcasing incredibly high randomness. This is one of the key reasons Fantasia exploded in popularity.
As for how such an abundance of content was designed, players have widely varied opinions; however, the Fantasia officials have not given a direct explanation, merely stating they prepared for a long time and invested significant human and material resources, etc…
Enough chit-chat, back to Princess Liliya.
After several days of rushed travel, the surprise attack force led by Liliya successfully bypassed the beastmen’s massive blockade line, reaching the banks of the Black River north of the Whispering Plains. As long as they crossed this river and headed west, they could enter the Beast Kingdom from the sparsely populated areas.
The reason for stopping here was, on the one hand, the impending possibility of combat, necessitating rest and replenishment after days of travel weariness.
On the other hand, Liliya had already made her choice; this moment was a golden opportunity.
Retrieving the map, Vilyric and Princess Liliya entered the makeshift tent they had set up and instructed the guards not to disturb them, even Hua was temporarily asked to leave.
Next, it was time to witness a miracle.