Chương 38: [BL] 37. Strength [5]

What have I just done? Willow could not even appreciate the very fact that she was literally flying across the sky. The Huntress Wing came naturally to her, like a part of her body that had been with her for her entire life. The Rune Cost might suck, but in exchange she could use this new part of her with an expertise that would probably have taken her years to learn. Clutched in her hands was her Bow of Frost with a normal arrow drawn, ready thanks to a kind [Archer] that gave her his full quiver.

Willow glanced at the [Bannerlord]; he cut through the sky above the banner that he used like a hoverboard. Although the man did not bother balancing his arms inside, he tucked them behind and calmly soared through the sky far faster than Willow.

"You sure that was fine, right?" Willow shouted over the wind.

"Why, of course! If she still chose not to come then," the man did not finish his question, leaving it unanswered.

"Then what?" Willow shouted at him, but the old man bent his body down and launched with three banners spinning around him. [You're leaving the Bannerlord territory] [Bonus Attributes removed] The man had made Willow disrespect the princess openly in exchange for his cooperation. She clenched a fist around the arrow, and it snapped. She huffed and tucked her wings to launch downward, where a group of horsemen covered foot soldiers.

She glanced at the [Bannerlord] as she approached the ground, scowling at his figure that grew smaller and smaller.

"Willow!" Below, Shera no longer wore her class outfit. A rip tore her brown tunic with a trace of blood all across her open stomach. Thankfully, it looked like she appeared fine as she led a horse where three injured legionaries were being hauled upon. Willow landed and ran toward her. Five horses were being led, and the animals looked like they were on the verge of just galloping forward, but the weight of the injured kept them down—behind further lines of injured soldiers still making their way toward them.

Willow spotted Leynah and Drey directing everyone. All around them was the contrasting nature of ice and fire. Hundreds of frozen crystals jutted from the ground, reflecting the morning stars. Lava flowed through the cliff crevice, melting most of the crystals. The lava's heat and smoke made the humans tread carefully.

"Erick? Maxim?" Willow caught Shera's shoulder. The other girl told the front soldiers to go without her.

"Erick is fine. He is escorting the rear guard along with those tier-threes. Also, who is Maxim?"

"He is a Veteran—" A banner plunged from the sky above. Its butt-end lanced deep into the ground just beside Shera, who let out a scream and flinched backward. A small tremor shook the earth for a brief second and then settled down. Shera's hand clutched Willow's mantle as she hid behind her, peeking at the two still-fighting Tier-fours. Yes, two. Where the hell is he?

"I think I should run to this princess fortification…" Shera mumbled.

"Yeah, go. I will help with the evacuation." Willow's wings beat once, pushing a cloud of debris off in a flap, and when she was about to take flight, a figure dropped from the sky. The [Bannerlord] casually landed right atop his banner on one foot while the other one was dangling. She let her wings down and shouted at the old man.

"Why are you still here? Go fight!" The lord—named Kroos glanced back and gave her a smile.

"This old man will just die if I go," Kroos shrugged, opening his hands. Maybe she should just bloody drag him by force? Could she lift him by her shoulder, then throw him to the Imp and Lich Queen? Maybe that was too barbaric, but the situation calls for it. That would be an elderly abuse, however--"Instead," Kroos clicked his finger, and the tremor started once again. Willow reached backward when Shera screamed, pulling the other girl close to her chest. She was now vulnerable without her class.

The circle of ground underneath them rose upward. Not just that, their color shifted, or perhaps their reality. Dark, grey granite stone replaced the earth somehow, and a battle parapet also rose around them. She knelt along with Shera, who crawled toward the parapet, and Willow followed. Beneath the tower, an ivory small castle was assembled from pure air with four similar towers around it; on each stood banners. Right in the middle of the fortress-like castle's roof, another banner hung.

[You're inside the Lord's Castle] [The Lord recognizes you as allies] [+100% all Attributes] The magic was not over. A moat appeared around the entirety of the castle, and a wall connected from one tower to the others, forming four wall walks from each tower. The materialized drawbridge led from the opened collosal wall gate into the battlefield. A giant seemed to be the only one who could handle such a gate.

A red carpet lay out and rolled across the bridge into the ground, stretching toward where more survivors were running.

"The carpet will enhance their dexterity," Kroos said atop his castle. He plopped down, landing with his hand still behind his back, and casually watched over his battlement. He turned toward them.

"You girl, I will not commit a banner to recover your runes. A runic bath has already been drawn for you inside the castle, so please rest up and allow yourself to relax." If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. As if on cue, a stair wall appeared, big enough for a dozen people to march down into the castle grounds, where a stone floor dominated the courtyard and onto the castle with an open gate.

"A bath will be nice," Shera mumbled and shot Willow an apologetic look.

"Go, I already recovered mine." She peeked at the man beside Willow and bowed a quick thank you, then made her way down carefully as if not trusting the stairs.

"You can do this?" Willow said, more to herself, before she shook her head.

"Will this keep us safe?"

"It will, but just keeping us safe is not enough for me. Let's take the Riftborn down."

"How?" Kroos summoned another banner; this time it shone with golden light and the white fabric of the flag swooshed into golden as the wind rippled through it. The [Bannerlord] reached up and took the banner pole. A trace of gold made its way through Kroos's hand and to his head, gathering, and in one booming voice he screamed.

"Archer!" Golden mists shifted all around Willow and throughout the wall walk. Out of them came soldiers in bronze plate—different from the legionary armor that wore in war skirts and breastplates—these soldiers were wrought from conjoined plating of yellowish-gold, and each had a different type of helmet. In their hands were longbows already drawn. Dozens of them filled the wall, which was fifty paces long.

They craned their bows up, and Willow was so taken aback by the display of power that she did not notice both tier-fours had stopped fighting. They were staring down. Their small figures hovered in the air, and each of them was out of breath.

"Fire!" The snap of bowstrings lashed together, and a hail of arrows arced upward. At first, she did not think they would reach, but they did, splitting into fifty each. The two tier-fours, however, dealt with them in different ways. The ice queen covered herself with compact ice, and the arrows dug uselessly against it; while the imp swooped downward with a childish grin, dodging every arrow in one fell swoop and arcing upward again toward the castle wall.

"Why, how cheeky," Kroos commented, and summoned another banner.

"Ballista!" Two dozen ballista lined the wall upon the [Bannerlord] command after appearing in golden haze with three summoned around Willow atop the tower she stood on. Their wood was smooth and traced with goldish colours; their bolts already propped and without needing anyone to fire them, the bolts soared through the sky. The Imp, taken aback by the sudden hail of bolts, hovered backward and fire ran across its tridents.

It deflected one bolt and brought another down in a blur of movement—it wielded the fiery tridents like a swirling light. When the last of the bolts was gone, another hail returned, and this time the Imp was not fast enough to deflect them. One of the bolts scraped over its upper shoulder, and a trace of blood followed its arc. The Imp had to hover further backward and summoned its laughing fire face, shooting the spell off in a burst of hot air.

Willow pulled her mantle around her as the searing heat burned her skin, but the figure of Kroos against the bristling fire kept her straight until an aegis appeared like golden turtle shells, spreading the flames across the barrier. In Kroos' hand was another banner that burned away and snuffed out.

"Hm, tougher than I thought," Kroos commented as the flames died out and bristled over the ground and across the red carpet. Willow made her way hesitantly beside Kroos and leaned forward, ignoring the glare the Imp gave her. Beneath, more and more humans were still running. She could see Leynah, Drey, and Erick alongside Maxim and five other legionaries still escorting the slowest one who did not get the privilege of riding a horse.

"My lady, I had summoned the bridge for your golden knight. They're making their way toward us; should I send them to aid the evacuation?"

"Yes! Yes, please do… I should go too."

"No, please stay, my lady. I might get a use out of you, and also…" Kroos looked upward, and a flying figure crossed the castle's towering roof. [Valkyrie—Level 35] The princess Elesis looked like she had been summoned out of a storybook in Willow's eyes. She had never seen someone so beautiful, with her hair being a mix between red and brunette cascading behind her. She took one look down, gripping her spear tight; her bronze armor gleamed with an orange flame running through it and into her spear.

It appeared that the princess was hesitant to enter the castle.

"Is she hesitating?"

"Hah!" Kroos let out a rich laugh.

"We're not on the best terms."

"But still—" A crack reverberated through the sky. Willow's eye immediately went to the cocoon of ice the Lich Queen was supposed to be in, but the ice had cracked, and she disappeared and reappeared right above the princess—the imperial princess did not see the backhand coming, and hurtled right through the castle's middle tower and plunged right inside with a crashing sound accompanying her. Willow's jaw dropped.

"Is she dead?"

"She would be if not for my Lord's castle," Kroos drew a sharp sigh.

"Foolish girl. Well, not a girl, I suppose. Can you believe she is in her twenty-seven summer? One ought to grow up upon reaching such an age."

"Can you help her?" Kroos summoned another banner and said:"Cavalry!" Willow stared deadpan as, through the drawbridge, groups of golden cavalry charged through the carpet along with Willow's Olympya's knight and Josha, who had apparently been waiting. This guy probably sending a message or some kind…

"The princess—""Will live. Now, the Imp… hm, looks like it has had enough." True to his word, the Imp already turned his back and flew like a streaking meteor far away through the sky. A knot inside her untangled, and Willow let a small smile; now the other problem is—"Look up." The Lich Queen had not have enough fighting apparently for she built a long spear of ice that draped shadows over an entire walkway and pointed it downward, right at Willow. She did not even bother with the castle…

"While I can block that, it will cost me too many of my banner runes, and if the imp returns, then I cannot guarantee our safety. So, my bright lady, may I humbly ask you to cast your most powerful spell?"

"Me?"

"Yes, please trust me, your humble servant." Are you? Willow did not have the luxury of doubting the man's word. The man let out a small chuckle when light brimmed across Willow's body and she changed her class. [Wind Mage—level 16] The intent of the hero vanished like a passing wind. Now? Now she did not care about the princess. She looked at the incredible cold that gathered upward and the tier-four Lich Queen with a black-veined face that stared down at her with a hatred she did not know where it came from.

But that did not matter. She wanted to meet her spell.

"You're a sight to behold in this time of apocalypse, my lady," Kroos swooped a hand into an exaggerated bow. Willow pointed her palm upward and—like a foolish child—she thought she could catch the humongous ice spear with her open palm. A new banner appeared, and Kroos gave her another bow with a wide smile.

"Trumpet!" A triumphant fanfare boomed across the skies, resounding with a note that spoke of absolute victory. Every trace of the sound gathered into a swirling golden energy in Willow, and she let out a snarling smile. [The Grand Trumpet blared for you!] [Next spell cast will be granted +500% Arcanic] Now it's my turn.

"Dissection… Anatomist!"