I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 220
“Aha, if the Lady uses defensive magic, it could reveal that we have new personnel on our side.”
He immediately understood and began discussing the timing of the attack with the Grand Wizard.
“This time, they won’t fall for it so easily.”
“We need to be cautious this time.”
General Panet instructed the knight who had accompanied the Grand Wizard, and he pulled a transparent orb from his cloak. When he blew on it, it began to glow.
“From now on, we will commence the operation. It will be different than usual, so I’ll let everyone know to stay alert.”
“Each individual has different characteristics, so I’ve registered my breath in the communication orb. It’s technically tied to our unique magical signatures.”
As I looked on with curiosity, Tess quietly explained.
“The castle is under my control, so it’s fine here, but outside, there’s a risk of eavesdropping, so we don’t use it.”
Ah, that’s why they were signaling with flags below.
“They must have been quite startled by the previous attack. They’re likely analyzing our strength. Since Lady Hardland seems completely unfazed, we could launch an additional attack, but…”
General Panet’s gaze subtly shifted toward me.
“It’s too early to reveal our cards.”
The General smiled slightly and continued.
“This time, our forces should focus on conserving their strength. We’ll dodge magical attacks and blend in among them as much as possible before retreating quickly.”
Tess nodded in agreement.
“There’s a high possibility they will cast offensive magic before mixing with our troops. Grand Wizard.”
“Haha, understood.”
One attack from me and one defense from the Grand Wizard.
Since we have only two magical uses available to our army, this should be manageable.
My attack felt more powerful than usual, but the army that frequently suffered might think we had prepared something revolutionary.
“And while we need to devise our future plans… the Lady should remain quiet for the time being.”
General Panet advised, perhaps sharing my thoughts. Soon, as the General had anticipated, an offensive magic attack came in, and Tess, wrapping himself around me from behind, whispered.
“Euseniel, do you understand how the magical array is structured?”
“Um…”
While it’s easy for me to unleash my magic, analyzing someone else’s power is quite challenging.
“The caster tends to use magic rather clumsily. The distribution of their mana isn’t even.”
I stared intently at the fire attacks descending from the air, close to the castle wall.
“See, the fireballs should fall at uniform intervals, but they’re all over the place, right? Look, there are gaps too.”
“That’s true.”
“It seems they sent someone who isn’t a Grand Wizard to prevent a repeat of the earlier attack.”
If another wave of attacks similar to mine were to come in, they likely held back their elite forces temporarily for defense.
“So, does that mean the current attack was carried out by a high-level wizard?”
“Yes. They claim to be advanced sages. While Euseniel could cast a spell of that scale alone, normally it requires the combined power of two or more.”
“Hmm…”
I understood why Ber had taken me out to practice magic on the plains outside Alrin. He had mentioned that casting magic in the capital would devastate it.
“Isn’t there a vulnerability in having two or more people cast magic together?”
“Yes, exactly. That’s one factor, and this place has quite a bit of accumulated mana, which can be disruptive. That’s why the magic isn’t manifesting as I anticipated.”
It felt akin to places like Guana Mountain or the Kirik Mountain Range. No wonder this thick aura seemed odd.
“But Euseniel, you did well.”
The compliment made my face heat up, as if he wanted to reward me for it.
Thank goodness I was close to the wall, focused on looking out from the watchtower, and Tess was holding me from behind. Otherwise, I might have given away a foolish expression!
The Grand Wizard allowed no fireballs to hit the ground.
“What a beautiful shield.”
The defensive magic he conjured was a translucent barrier, with the symbols of the eagle and dragon—mythical beasts of the Northern Empire—intertwined.
Above it, the bright red fireballs crashed noisily, while below, a battle raged on.
Clang! Clang!
The metallic sounds carried from afar, faint yet incessant, conveying a sense of hostility.
A cloud of dust rose over the barren plains where not a single blade of grass could be seen.
After the magical assault ended, the Grand Wizard also dispelled his magic. He appeared quite tired, and another wizard next to him supported him.
“The attack lasted longer than usual.”
“It seems like they have gathered in groups of three or more.”
“It looks like they’re retaliating for the earlier attack.”
For a while, close combat continued.
“I expected them to launch additional attacks, but they haven’t. It seems they were frightened by the previous assault. They likely want to conserve their energy in case another attack comes.”
“I think the same. Euseniel’s attack appeared difficult to block with ordinary defensive magic.”
“Then our forces should slowly…”
General Panet gestured to a knight holding the communication device.
“We should retreat.”
As the knight conveyed the command through the communication device, the sound of a trumpet echoed, and the soldiers stationed on the walls vigorously waved their flags.
Soon, our forces were divided into ten orderly groups. The mass that had been wreaking havoc on the Southern Empire’s troops moved in a zigzag pattern to confuse the enemy.
They were cautious about gathering in one place to avoid being hit by magical attacks.
One by one, they entered through the open castle gates.
“Wow…”
An involuntary admiration escaped me, mismatched with the situation.
Strategizing in my head was difficult enough, but executing those plans was no easy task either. To ride like that with such proficiency must have required extensive training.
No matter how skilled one was with horses, moving as a group was a different challenge entirely.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
As the last group passed back through the gate, Tess disappeared into thin air.
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