It was early in the morning and the Morning Star has just started its daily cycle, basking its radiant light under Aludia.
The serene scenery displayed by the mountain ranges from afar was disturbed by a ruckus of magical beasts charging towards Sokovo Stronghold in pure rage.
"You call this an unnatural phenomenon? There's nothing strange about this. Are you making a fool of me now?!", High King Garron glared at the warrior who called him out atop the wooden wall.
Everyone thought that the king-level beasts were joining the charge but it was only a bunch of commander-level beasts and their minions.
"No, High King! I'm not talking about the charging magical beasts! I'm referring to those group of warriors stationed over there!", the warrior pointed northwest of their position.
There was a small forest in that direction. Several human figures could be seen, lying in wait with the intent to charge back at the magical beasts.
Taken aback, "Those are not my men! I have not yet ordered anyone to attack yet!", High King Garron wanted to reprimand the person assigned to this unit.
"High King, these must be reinforcements from the nearby strongholds or villages. Perhaps they have not yet received our distress call?", said one of his aides.
"That's strange.", Xerga replied, "They should have gone over here to discuss matters first."
Regardless of reasons, reinforcements must always rendezvous with the reinforced unit in order to understand the general situation.
If they did not want to meet with them, either they were insubordinate or they were just fools.
"Those are not reinforcements.", Jinmu responded, intriguing them.
They were not reinforcements from the other strongholds? How could this plain-looking young man be able to know everything?
"Father, Jinmu is right. Those are not reinforcements.", Olivia concurred.
"What the hell are these young ones talking about? Hey, how did you end up here anyway?", a high-level warrior retorted.
These youngsters didn't have the slightest idea of what they were talking about.
"Olivia, explain yourself.", High King Garron ignored the warrior's doubt. It was better to listen first for now since everyone was at a loss on what the hell was going on as well.
Maybe Olivia and Jinmu have a certain reason as to why they said those people in the forest weren't reinforcements.
Olivia glanced back at Jinmu. The latter nodded at her and started his explanation.
"High King, you have fought some weird-looking northerner earlier, right?", he asked.
High King Garron's eyebrows furrowed. Mentioning those poor souls who were implicated by the Siegfried Clan's vile plans angered him.
"Yes, we did. What about it? Don't tell me those people out there are similar to the ones we fought earlier?", a dark foreshadowing presented itself in his mind.
"Exactly.", Jinmu bluntly answered.
Xerga quickly rejected such thoughts, "Impossible! How can you know at this distance?! Even the High King couldn't manage to do that so what makes you able to do it instead?"
Jinmu sighed. These people won't be able to understand since the answer to Xerga's question was forbidden knowledge.
"We will observe, shall we?", Jinmu replied, "Those people will attack the magical beasts not to deter them but to corrupt them. You will understand once it happens."
He didn't explain any further since they won't believe him anyway.
"What nonsense?!", the High King's subordinates threw another fit of rage again. These youngsters were becoming increasingly annoying by the minute.
"High King, I think these young ones are here to cause trouble. What about…"
High King Garron dismissed, "Enough. We'll observe for now and see what happens."
He did not have any intentions of rescuing the reinforcements because they were not in the position to do so even if they turned out to be real northerner warriors who were too hot-blooded to blindingly charge at an unstoppable enemy.
Their only choice was to hole up inside the encampment and wait for the beasts to arrive. It was a safer place than any other right now.
The subordinates cursed inside after hearing their High King's choice. They could only wait for the reinforcements to reveal their realness and scold these children for their inexperience and dishonest actions in front of their elders.
Five minutes passed and a cold breeze blew towards the small forest in the distance.
The warriors mounted their horses in an unnatural synchronized manner, tightly holding their weapons and shields.
The leading warrior's horse neighed, whipping its mount, and charged forward. His men followed him in silence. Only the stomping of the horses' hooves upon the soft snow could be heard.
This strange phenomenon intrigued those from the encampment.
There was no shout, no words of bravery, or any other sort of noise that was prevalent when northerner warriors charged at their enemies.
As their figures basked under Aludia's light, High King Garron and those who doubted Jinmu and Olivia soon widened their eyes.
Those people were disfigured in all sorts of ways. Some had their arms torn off while others have a grotesque mouths absurdly dislocated.
High King Garron could feel his hair stand on end. The aura that they emanated was deathly and full of dread.
His senses tingled on the western side of their encampment before he could view the long-awaited conflict between the two parties.
That aspect that worried him was emitting a strong malevolent intent.
"Xerga, go to the west and check out what's happening!", High King Garron quickly ordered.
His older brother nodded to his command. High King Garron was able to sense everything within a few kilometers of his position.
Another tingling sensation erupted within him, alerting the High King. This time, the feeling came from the east.
"Vargo Clan, Velos Clan, go to the eastern perimeter and see what is going over there as well!"
"The Nahorva Clan and Marneski Clan shall go to the south and reinforce that area! The rest will stay with me!"
"Yes, High King!"
Everyone moved out, not daring to question their High King's orders. Olivia and her classmates could feel the pressure rising over their heads.
Was this what it took to be a student of the Heavenly Magic Academy?
The challenges that the other students faced were barely anything worth compared to what they were experiencing now. Their lives were on the line, and the lives of everybody else depended on them too.
"Father, what is going on? Tell me!", she begged. It didn't feel good to be left out in the dark.
"I hope it's a false alarm but there are hundreds of thousands of people marching towards our position right now!"
They were all taken aback.
"A-a hundred thousand people?! Our people inside are only three-quarters of that size!", said one of his aides.
If everyone single one of those hundred thousand people were enemies, they would be left with no strength to spare when the magical beasts start their assault.
"Damn it! The Siegfried Clan has thought their way through!", High King Garron cursed. They have abandoned their dignity and honor to seize the throne for themselves.
Meanwhile, Veron's head was calmly observing the sky all this time. He was unbothered by the chaos erupting below.
This caught the attention of Lucan and his niece, Haera.
"Uh, sir… why are you looking at the sky right now? Is there something up there that we should be worried about as well?"
He was gradually losing his mind over what was going on. They didn't want to face another threat, particularly one from above.
Lucan would teleport himself back to the academy when that happens.
"It's not us who should be cautious. It should be them.", Veron vaguely replied.
He closed his eyes and felt the vibrations in the air to investigate the arrival of a strange and large creature.
'A dragon's breath carrying intense flames. It's arguing with somebody but they seem to be friendly with one another.'
Veron then detected a large mana disturbance near the dragon. He opened his eyes and instantly used the wind element to create a massive defensive barrier.
'Heaving Current!'
The wind surged and started rotating counterclockwise, pushing everything outward. Those who were right outside the defensive barrier were instantly pushed very far away.
His actions alerted the others. What was this grandmaster magus up to now?
"Ah, sir Veron. They are really enemies, aren't they?", Lucan wanted to hear something else come out of Veron's mouth.
"Just shut up and brace yourself!", Veron was annoyed.
"High King, above us!"
When High King Garron lifted his head, he noticed the sky swirling above them. The shift in the weather worsened their unease.
"Mr. Veron, do you have any idea what this is all about?!", he panicked.
There was a huge possibility that this was the work of an archmage. High King Garron wouldn't be able to save his subordinates if their new 'enemy' decides to launch a powerful area attack.
Amidst his worries, he was instantly blinded as several flashing fireballs descended from the sky. The heat was so intense that the space warped around them.
"Cataclysmic Firefall!"
A dragon bellow was heard, stumping their minds.
The screams of anguish from the undead beings in the far distant followed. The divinity radiating from the massive fireballs consumed every undead and demonic essence that was corrupting them.
They slumped to the ground, unconscious but not lifeless.
The remaining people inside the encampment gritted their teeth and held on for their dear lives. It was so hot even though the fireballs were still far away.
Then as if someone turned off the lights, the searing heat vanished and the coldness gradually returned.
Everything became normal once again.
High King Garron and the rest of the people opened their eyes. The fireballs were nowhere to be found.
A sonic boom resounded and someone landed on the ground not far away from their position. The snow exploded in all directions, covering the entrance of the strange newcomers.
"See, I told you. You don't have to worry about every damn thing, human brat!", a draconic voice reprimanded.
"What a pesky dragon lord you are! You should have let me in for some fun!", a young human voice replied.
"And what? Let everyone die instead?! You stupid human brat, you want me to face the consequences of that master of yours?!"
The young human sniggered, "Well, that is a problem you will have to face then, not mine."
While the two beckoned at one another, the four students were shocked to hear this familiar voice once again.
"Solordo!"
This chapt𝒆r is updated by free(w)ebnovel(.)com