Early the next morning, Steinbeck Fief’s army set off from Antaur Town for the fight to cross the river. They wanted to quickly breakthrough Olm Fortress and press on towards the core of the Needham Plains. As the sun rose, a wooden boat set off from Antaur Town’s docks towards Olm Fortress.
Because Earl Winissa had given Miss Yani that boat, the Earl’s flag waved above the boat. Seeing their lord’s flag, the warships guarding the Aldington River released it without close inspection. Earl Winissa happened to have been busy these past two days, so these subordinates were ordered to avoid disturbing her unless an emergency occurred.
“Miss Yani, you came back! Unfortunately, Her Excellency Earl Winissa has asked for isolation these past two days; it’s inconvenient for her to receive the guest. Please…”
“It’s okay. I forgot something when I came here last. I’ll return after taking them. There’s no need to disturb Senior Schoolmate Winissa.”
Miss Yani disembarked from the boat with a pure expression. When she landed in Sieg Port, the largest harbor of Olm Fortress, some soldiers greeted her. Those soldiers knew of her good relationship with Her Excellency the Earl, so they didn’t closely examine her boat. After Miss Yani left with the soldiers, dozens of shadows flashed out of the boat. Assassin Miss Jenny with her assassin team had infiltrated Sieg Port.
The soldiers in Sieg Port Garrison were relatively lax. They thought themselves safe because they were separated by the Aldington River. While the guards yawned, a pallid light would glimmer around their necks before they would silently collapse in a pool of their own blood.
“Miss Jenny, all the guards have been disposed of. No one slipped through the net.”
“That’s good. Earl Winissa was too careless. There are less than 100 soldiers here. Move according to the plan. Don’t delay the master’s attack plan.”
While Miss Yani stalled, the assassin team led by Jenny secretly took over Sieg Port. After taking out all the guards, they seized the dozens of unmanned boats there.
On the other side of Aldington River, Steinbeck Fief’s troops had assembled at the empty port. In front of the army stood Moon God Clan’s Princesses, Goddess Atimia and Goris. They were wearing black cloaks to conceal their appearances. Although they hadn’t recovered their full power, they would provide magical guidance. With their assistance, a strange, colossal magic array was quickly created. The pattern in the middle was Moon God Clan’s symbol.
“Master, the magic array is complete, but we don’t have enough magic power to activate it. It’s up to you now.”
“No problem. You two can rest; leave everything else to me.”
Atimia and Goris respectfully bowed to Clyde before retreating to the back of the army. As God Race members assisting monsters in attacking the Human Race, they had abandoned their faith. However, these two goddesses belonged to the Moon God Clan while the Human Race of the Ximengsi Continent believed in the Heavenly God Race. The Human Race of this place didn’t count as their believers. Therefore, under Clyde’s demonic persuasion, these two goddess sisters’ guilty consciences were swayed, and they drew this Atmosphere Magic Array that could change the weather.
Clyde was not a magician, but there was someone with him who could activate this magic array. This was naturally Miss Sigrid, a genius magician from two hundred years ago. At his signal, she walked out in her grey robes to the center of the magic array and chanted in the Moon God Clan’s language, which she had learned from the two goddesses yesterday. As a genius, she had mastered the incantation for this magic array in just a day.
“Sigrid, you can do it! The crux of this battle depends on you.”
“Not a problem. I’m already very proficient.”
The huge magic array emitted a deep blue radiance, and the sky above Antaur Town suddenly turned cloudy, but it differed it from the gloom of an Undead calamity. This time, it resembled normal weather. The warm temperature began to drop. Soon, snowflakes fell, and the originally fast-flowing Aldington River began to freeze.
“What’s with this weather? It changed so suddenly. Isn’t it spring? Attention fleet! Return to Sieg Port; otherwise, we’ll be trapped when the river freezes.”
“Captain, Sieg Port is on fire! We can’t return now!”
“What! The port is on fire? What are those guards doing…”
The warship fleet cruising Aldington River planned to dock at Sieg Port to avoid the foul weather. However, unbeknownst to them, Jenny had already captured Sieg Port, and according to the plan, she had set the docked boats on fire with burning chemicals. The flames had quickly spread throughout the entirety of the port. Like this, the largest harbor controlled by Earl Winissa was swallowed by a sea of fire. Those troops in the warships were helpless. Even if they wanted to find somewhere else, it was already too late. Their anchors became mere decorations since they were unable to move anyway. As for Miss Jenny and the others, they quickly left after setting the fire. They didn’t care about Sieg Port and moved to the next location before the defenders could arrive.
In the commander’s bedroom of Olm Fortress, Earl Winissa rested on her bed. A silver-haired beauty sat beside it. Her silver eyes emitted a pure and flawless luster. Her expression was something a human could never possess. Upon careful examination, one could see the shadow of a beautiful unicorn behind this figure under the candlelight.
“Zhenni, I trouble you every time. Honestly, I’m embarrassed. You don’t need to help; I can take care of myself.”
“Winissa, why are you speaking such nonsense? We are friends. We don’t have a simple relationship of master and the mount. You human girls are so troublesome. Every now and then, you all have these peculiar moments. Other races’ girls don’t have this characteristic.”
“This… this is a special test given to us humans by the deities!”
This silver-haired beauty Zhenni was actually Winissa’s mount. Her unicorn could take a human form. Every time Winissa suffered abnormalities, Zhenni would come take care of her. They had maintained this tacit understanding for many years. Zhenni began to prepare a medicine soup while Earl Winissa looked out of the window in confusion. If her vision was right, there was heavy snowfall outside. But now, it was not winter.
Unicorns were sensitive to dark auras, but this weather change had been caused by the magic array of the Moon God Clan, not dark magic, so Zhenni hadn’t sensed anything. Thus, she didn’t care much about it and continued to prepare the soup. Now, Miss Yani arrived at Earl Winissa’s residence and saw Zhenni. This was the first time she had seen Earl Winissa’s mount and couldn’t help but dazedly stare at this silver unicorn in a human form.
“What’s up? Miss Yani, Winissa needs some alone time right now!”
“It’s okay. I just forgot to take something. There’s no need to disturb her.”
“Then, do as you please. I have something to do.”
Zhenni didn’t care about Yani’s visit and continued with her task. After she left, Yani finally sighed in relief. Miss Jenny who had been hiding behind her emerged from her stealth state. Like thieves, they snuck to the Earl’s study. Although the door was locked, it couldn’t stop Jenny with her assassin background. She took out a thin wire and skillfully picked the lock. During the entire process, she made almost no sound. With her talent, it was a waste of talent to not become a bandit.
“Big Sister Jenny, you are so proficient. In the past, were you…”
“Yani, don’t let your imagination run wild. When I worked as an assassin, I liked to study locked doors, so I learned a lot of bandit skills in passing. This… are you sure that you didn’t misremember? Is that sacred item of Earl Winissa’s truly here?”
“How could I misremember? Last time when I wanted to look around this room, Senior Schoolmate Winissa prevented me, saying that the sacred item was enshrined here.”
Jenny quickly pried open the study door. The bookshelves brimmed with books, and they quickly found that sacred item. It was a beautiful crystal ball with the God Race’s pattern on its spherical surface. Approaching the crystal ball, they felt a warm radiance. This was the sacred item that Earl Winissa had used to set up the sacred magic defense barrier, “Sacred Heart”. Allegedly, a certain Valkyrie had bestowed it to her.
Jenny carefully examined this crystal ball before taking out a small sack. After rummaging around in it for a while, she found a similar crystal ball. Gently replacing the true sacred item with a fake one, she completed the stealth operation without anybody the wiser. After taking possession of the sacred item, they quickly left the study. Even as they left, Earl Winissa, who was stuck in her bedroom, remained unaware that she had lost her last trump card. She would have never thought that her pure junior schoolmate Yani, who she trusted, would take it while Zhenni took care of her.
“Zhenni, how come I feel somewhat cold? Did the weather change?”
“It’s nothing. The weather is not a problem; you just have to rest well!”
Zhenni didn’t particularly care about the abnormal weather. This made Earl Winissa miss her final chance to discover the abnormality before the true battle. Her subordinates also feared being punished for neglecting their duties due to the fire in Sieg Port, so they tacitly covered up this matter. As Clyde’s party launched their attack, Earl Winissa remained unaware.
