It's already night and a loud explosion had just happened outside which made the wall near the explosion catch fire.
Yumiko called upon a Higher Spirit and well, they're really handy. Lending her an explosive power like that, such a great way to create a disturbance.
The lower-ranked Dark Elves were now in some kind of panic. With the higher-ranked Dark Elves not appearing yet, they don't know what to do.
And following that were us, slowly backing away from that burning wall. We're not alone so it didn't look like we're deliberately running away.
It was at this moment when a silhouette flew by from above us, followed by 3 more and a group of 20 uniformed Dark Elves in some kind of a squad formation following them on foot while dragging along huge chests of weapons.
"2-leaf pick up the bow and arrows! 3-leaf to the front! Hurry up!"
One of the 3 silhouettes who were following the two stopped above us. This one's a 4-leaf Dark Elf, with ash-gray hair and his body couldn't be seen properly as if there's some kind of screen making his figure obscure. His voice uttered the orders for the lower-ranked Dark Elves inside the fortress before he continued to fly towards the source of the explosion.
From that, it's safe to say that the first one who flew by was probably one of the Peak 4-leaf then those following after him were also 4-leaf Dark Elves but weaker than him.
So, she only managed to draw out one of them? The other one was probably left to supervise the opening of the breach.
However, with that number, it's already equivalent to 4 Noble Spirits with one being a member of the Council of Twenty. Will Yumiko be fine there?
Jayna looked at me and nodded. She also has the same thought as me.
The Orb of Concealment could already be used but since we're blending in with them while looking for a potential target, we couldn't just vanish on the spot where numerous eyes could easily see us.
For the time being, we'll act like a normal 2-leaf and get our bow and arrows. We'll slip out later when the chaos and confusion heightened. This way, we could also see Yumiko's state outside.
After lining up for our bow and arrows, we were organized to follow a group of 2-leaf Dark Elves back to the side where the explosion happened.
When we arrive there, the fire was already put out. Looking at that wall, the fire failed to do much damage to it.
From that, it seems I have to re-evaluate the sturdiness of this fortress. It's not as poorly built as I first thought. The wood was so sturdy that even a Higher Spirit's power failed to deal considerable damage to it.
I kept Jayna close to me as we started climbing up the rampart so when the time comes it will be easy for us to slip out.
We were only told to wield bows and arrows. At least, the leader of this fortress knows not to send their lower-ranked troops to become cannon-fodder.
There's also the possibility that they became this cautious because of their dwindling numbers. Being pushed out to one corner, they started to preserve themselves. If not for the discovery of this breach, they'll probably wait for the time when the portal widened and someone stronger takes the reins before they show themselves again.
"Is that the Priestess?"
Someone near us asked.
A distance from us could be seen a young girl in her shrine maiden outfit, her brown wings flapping as she hovered in front of the four Dark Elves who flew out earlier. Just like the one who stopped earlier, the others also looked like ghosts floating there as their figures couldn't be seen properly, especially the one leading them.
Is it a skill that is unique for 4-leaf Dark Elves? Maybe. The 3-leaf Dark Elves even if they're a lot different than the typical 2-leaf, don't have an aura like that.
Focusing on the young girl, there's no doubt that it's Yumiko. That revealing shrine maiden outfit is something unique to her. Transforming to her Earthly Angel form, she probably chose not to channel another Higher Spirit.
Is she thinking of fighting them all alone?
The twins were probably somewhere near her. Those two will be waiting for our signal before their turn will come according to our plan.
"Priestess, to raise a ruckus all alone. Have you lost your mind because of the breach?"
The leading Dark Elf spoke. There's a certain smugness coating his words.
"Of course, you'll know the purpose of why I'm here. Let's keep this simple, okay? Can I ask you to stop?"
Yumiko answered with her normal tone. There's even a smile on her face as if she only asked a simple thing from them.
"Stop joking. You alone are not enough to threaten us."
Still maintaining his smug. The leader shrug off Yumiko's request.
"Did that old thing fail to knock some sense into you, Ouram? Tell me, since when did that old thing leave me alone? So choose, you either stop what you're doing or wait for him here."
Yumiko stated like it's a known fact and upon hearing her words, the Dark Elf she called Ouram flinched back as he stared at the space behind Yumiko.
That Peak 4-leaf already encountered Yumiko and the Spirit King before. Now I'm really curious as to what the Spirit King wants from Yumiko. From her words, it's like the Spirit King is an old acquaintance who's always chasing after her but they don't have a bad relationship.
"Marshall, let's kill her now before the Spirit King arrives!"
One of the three 4-leaf Dark Elves shouted as he produced a gray dagger, it's exuding something gooey-black that at one look, you could tell it's poisonous
Is the dagger itself producing that? Really, why are they not as covert this time? And that guy is too hot-blooded for a Dark Elf.
"Idiot! You've never encountered her before, have you?"
Ouram slapped the Dark Elf to stop him. He's probably well aware of Yumiko's true strength, with or without Spirit Channeling.
"You all could have continued waiting on that little corner of yours, but instead you started meddling with my old portal traces. Haa."
Yumiko sighed and shook her head as her wings started to spread wider. When it reached a certain size it started to shine brilliantly, illuminating the dark night which made the Dark Elves who were accustomed to the dark cover their eyes.
Also, when the light from Yumiko's wings hit the land, I heard various gulping sounds around us among those who already recovered their eyesight.
Since it's dark earlier, only when Yumiko shined on the ground did the numerous spirit beasts marching towards their fortress appear within our sight.
There were various types of beasts that could be seen but those who were in some kind of Humanoid form stood out the most. They don't look like Spiritas, so, the only explanation for that is they are Transformed Spirits among the Spirit Beasts.
When it comes to Noble Spirits among them, I still have no way to know how they will look. Maybe if I see one, my Adaptability will pick up it's difference among the Transformed Spirits out there.
Now, the question is, did Yumiko call upon them? Could it be she also has a connection to them?
Ah. I don't know. It could be that or maybe it's just a coincidence. This fortress was constantly attacked by them after all.
"Go back inside! The Spirit Beasts are here again!"
Ouram shouted to the three behind him as he started to fly back inside.
"Too late."
Yumiko muttered as she flew towards them, her hand was now holding a shiny gohei adorned by brilliant gemstones, the white streamers at its sides were also shining brilliantly. Aiming the tip of it at them, a beam of light was produced and was shot towards the four 4-leaf Dark Elves.
When they were hit by that beam of light, the dark and gloomy aura surrounding the four were slowly being dispersed, revealing their formerly obscure bodies.
"Huh? Our aura!"
One of them shouted in surprise.
"Forget retaliating, continue on back to the fortress!"
Ouram shouted in panic. He even looked back to see Yumiko preparing another shot, this time it's a huge ball of blinding light as she shook the gohei above her head. It appeared that Yumiko was already accustomed to their weakness but those lights didn't do any damage. What she did was like casting illuminating spells which prevented the Dark Elves from continuing to act covertly. That made them have no choice but to fight head-on or else they'll be spotted easily no matter how hard they try to walk in the shadows.
"L-look."
Another one beside us muttered as he pointed behind Yumiko. From where he's pointing, a silhouette was slowly growing larger until a figure could be seen in it as it approached this location. And upon seeing that, the startled Dark Elves were shaken further as some of them started to panic while most became confused at what they're supposed to do.
The Spirit King really appeared…
I saw Yumiko flinching at where she was as the ball of light dispersed from her gohei, she looked back and when the silhouette registered in her eyes, she started backing away with a wry smile on her face. She expected it but still, the persistence of the Spirit King is making her uncomfortable.
"Stop running, Yumiko!"
A loud aged voice rang out from the silhouette that's approaching us. When it reached a certain distance, I could finally see its true form, a huge blue dragon was flying towards us. No, flying towards Yumiko.
"The Spirit King! Hurry and raise the fortress' defense. 2-leaf Dark Elves, start shooting down those beasts."
With the appearance of the Spirit King, Ouram and the three managed to escape back to the fortress and as soon as they did, Ouram issued his orders.
"Jayna, it's time."
The confused 2-leaf Dark Elves were starting to come to their senses because of that shout from Ouram so I grabbed Jayna's hand and took a step back before enveloping us with the Aura of Concealment. With the current state of chaos, our disappearance went unnoticed.
Leaving that rampart, we started moving further inside.
With Yumiko and the Spirit King there, all their focus was pointed outside, they wouldn't have any idea that there's someone who infiltrated inside.
The story between Yumiko and the Spirit King can wait, just based on that voice, it didn't have any animosity towards Yumiko. She could handle it, right?
Finishing the task of closing the breach comes first. But yeah we really need to find a replacement for our disguise soon. The 3-leaf Dark Elves from earlier weren't at the rampart, they're waiting at the gates and there's also those 3-leaf Dark Elves like the two I saw earlier whose duty was providing Dark Energy to the Dimension Breacher and that's the kind of identity we need.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶