Instant Cast Magic?
The madness in Olivier’s eyes receded slightly.
This was her third time facing Winnidith’s magic, but just like the previous two times, she hadn’t sensed the slightest fluctuation in the other’s mana before the spell fully activated.
‘If she’s allowed to grow, she’ll probably become terrifying, right? What a shame. I can’t kill her here.’
Olivier looked up at Isabella with a smile, her entire demeanor reverting to that of a deranged lunatic.
“Isabella, what’s the meaning of this? Have I not yet earned your trust?”
“On the contrary, the real question is, why would you trust me so much?”
Isabella retorted.
“I understand that leaving Elaril unchecked would endanger the entire world.”
“But leaving you unchecked would definitely endanger the entire Empire. I’m not as noble as you think. Faced with a choice between the world and the Empire, I choose the Empire.”
“My, my… that is… quite an unexpected answer.”
Olivier covered her face in apparent distress, as if she genuinely hadn’t considered this point.
“But, you know, if today’s events were to get out, it would surely affect the image of the Empire and the Robert Royal Family, wouldn’t it? The esteemed Imperial Princess, faced with a great moral cause, actually chose her own small circle. Aren’t you worried about how other nations will view the Empire?”
“Take the Elven Princess beside you, who has no claim to the throne, for instance. What would you think?”
“I would prioritize killing you, because you’ve made me very unhappy.”
Leah raised her spear in response, stating firmly.
“And then I would do everything in my power to stop the disaster you mentioned!”
“Wow, what a passionate speech~ Clap, clap.”
Olivier made all the Alundin people under her control applaud in unison, the synchronized clapping sounding like an audience watching a highly satisfactory comedy.
“You!”
Leah was nearly driven mad with rage.
Emerald fighting spirit and mana were already gathering at the tip of her spear.
“Isabella, I can go now, right? I can go up there and slaughter her, right?!”
“Of course.”
The moment Isabella finished speaking, Leah shot toward Olivier like a golden cannonball.
At the same instant, Olivier had Kieran block the attack.
But how could Kieran, who hadn’t even fully recovered from his injuries, possibly withstand Leah’s assault?
He held out for less than a few seconds before the longsword in his hand began to show signs of cracking.
“So fierce.”
Olivier complained lightly.
But Leah’s target was her.
To save her own life, she stretched out her arm toward Leah.
In the next moment, a small black sphere that Leah would probably never forget for the rest of her life appeared in Olivier’s hand.
“Vilda!!!”
Leah shouted.
In her vision, the figure of Olivier casting the magic overlapped with that of Vilda who had ambushed her this morning.
One smiled with a bewitching allure, the other remained silent, heartbreakingly so.
BOOM!
Terrifying black mana shot straight into the sky.
Even the mana shield Etheriel urgently deployed couldn’t hold for more than a few seconds before being blasted open, leaving a hole the size of a head.
Around the edges of the hole, the pitch-black mana gnawed away at the surrounding shield like greedy locusts.
As for Olivier, Leah’s figure had long since vanished from in front of her.
A moment later, Leah appeared beside Isabella.
On her fair, delicate right arm, a patch of unquenchable black flame now burned.
But she had no mind to care about her own condition now.
She demanded in shock and fury.
“How can you use Vilda’s technique?!”
“Ah, so you really didn’t listen to a word I said earlier, did you?”
Olivier seemed somewhat dejected.
She had spoken nothing but the truth, so why wouldn’t these people listen?
‘Real women are truly too troublesome. Thankfully, I only need a real body. I don’t need a real heart.’
“Why don’t you think about it? Since generations of Light Elves have carried out the encirclement and extermination of Dark Elves, what could the first Dark Elf to reach the Eternal Bright Fortress possibly possess?”
“So, the correct answer is, Miss Vilda wields our magic.”
Olivier kindly reminded her.
“And, your time is running out. There should be about three days left, I think, before Miss Vilda turns into nutrients for the Sacred Tree and can never be saved.”
!!!
“What did you say?!!!”
Leah’s fighting spirit began to run wild uncontrollably.
Vilda, her best friend, the other half that accompanied her birth.
Even though they were now forced to be enemies due to their opposing stances, the beautiful memories of the past and the instinctual dependence made it impossible for her to truly hate Vilda.
‘She must be punished. She must confess everything to me. But before that, she must survive!’
“Calm down, Princess Leah.”
Olivier smiled at her, placing one hand over her chest and giving an elegant bow.
“As long as you all agree to let me return safely to the Kingdom Territory, I will naturally tell you everything I know.”
“Including what you most want to know: why Miss Vilda betrayed you.”
Leah frowned slightly.
She didn’t quite trust Olivier’s words.
Besides, whether she could leave here safely or not had little to do with Olivier herself.
“We will have Miss Vilda tell us these things herself sooner or later. Thinking you can buy your life with this information is rather naive.”
With a single sentence, Isabella made her stance crystal clear.
Windwhisper Fortress housed fifty thousand Imperial troops, and Marshal himself was stationed at Yalan Fortress.
If she sent someone to request aid, with Princess Leah by her side, the Imperial army would soon march in force into the City of Emerald Shadows.
At that point, neither Elaril nor Olivier would be a match for the Empire’s iron cavalry.
“Let me guess, are you planning to have the Imperial army attack the City of Emerald Shadows?”
But Olivier saw right through the source of her confidence, for a very simple reason: because she had already done the same.
“The Empire is indeed closer to the City of Emerald Shadows, but who told you we haven’t made preparations?”
Olivier snapped her fingers.
“Remember the trade route the Kingdom was preparing to establish with the City of Emerald Shadows? Actually, it was completed long ago. As early as three hundred years ago, it was used to maintain contact between the Kingdom and the Dark Elves.”
“But now it’s different. Elaril has already expanded the teleportation magic array to a scale of a thousand people. And the key to activate it is right here in my hand.”
Olivier shook her arm.
Beneath her wide red robe, a blood-drop-shaped bracelet was clearly visible.
The bracelet shimmered with a strange red light under the moonlight.
“You can certainly dispatch the Empire’s iron cavalry, but I can also summon a continuous stream of Kingdom soldiers. How about we let the armies of both nations start a great battle in the City of Emerald Shadows then?”
Olivier winked at Leah, whose face was growing darker by the second.
“After all, no matter who wins in the end, the ones who will suffer the heaviest losses will definitely be the Elves. I hope Her Highness Princess Leah won’t be too sad when that happens.”
Tch!
Olivier’s words pierced Leah’s heart like an arrow, simultaneously awakening her to her own identity.
She was the Elven Princess, and also the future Elven King.
She had to prioritize the safety of her people.
“Isabella, you…”
She suddenly turned to look at Isabella beside her, only to find that this Imperial Princess was already seething with rage.
‘She’s threatening me.’
‘Using all sorts of reasons, moral imperatives, realities, sowing discord. The more meticulous her methods, the more dangerous she becomes in my eyes.’
But the tragic part was, even if she could kill Olivier now, she and Winnidith would undoubtedly die here as well.
It would take time for the Imperial army to arrive, but Isabella had no doubt that a force had already been assembled on the Alundin side, just waiting for the teleportation array to open before charging into the City of Emerald Shadows.
‘She had underestimated Olivier too much.’
Isabella’s nails dug deeply into her palms.
Gnashing her silver teeth, she forced out the two words.
“Deal.”