{Month: Sunflare}
{Date: 1/6}
{Time: Afternoon}
I sat in the meeting room of the base, moments of my fight against Zain playing in my head on repeat. Victoria walked into the meeting room as well, Leo, Izumi, and Mira following behind her each with different expressions ranging from victorious to contemplating.
Leo sat down in a seat next to me, noticing my serious expression and tilted his head. "Sis?"
I took a deep breath then slowly exhaled, looking over at Leo and Izumi with a proud smile on my face. "The Captain told me about your feat of driving off Commander Zain's sister. It's an impressive feat especially at your levels."
Leo smiled at my praise, nodding his head with reverence and leaned back into his seat. "Thank you, but I think you should give more praise to Izumi as she dealt the finishing blows on her."
Izumi blushed madly at Leo's praise, shrinking down shyly in her seat, a bashful smile tugging at her lips. "I...uhm, it was nothing really..~ I couldn't allow you to be beaten by the Uphelian Vice-Commander."
Mira chuckled softly at Izumi's and Leo's incredible feat and show of bravery, gently rubbing their heads with gentle pride. "Well, look who's growing up in the world now..~ Going toe to toe with one of Uphelia's best and winning? Not even Stella could pull that off..~"
I rolled my eyes at my aunt's teasing, letting out a soft groan and acting like I didn't hear her, turning my attention to the map on the table. "Anyways, moving on from that...we have to refocus on Sylvannia. Our target is still East Sylvannia where Princess Ainanna resides."
"However, that's only our first stop. If we're going to go to war against Uphelia, we need every ally we can get. So, there will be a change of plans...we will target West and North Sylvannia first to weaken their kingdom...then once we have Princess Helene and Sophia, we strike Ainanna at her weakest," I strategized, circling the main bases to strike and weaken.
"The closest Kingdom to us from here will be North Sylvannia due to our slight detour. However...Water Elves and I don't get along, especially Princess Sophia's retainer," Victoria said, pointing at North Sylvannia's area of the kingdom.
"I know all too well, Victoria...but at the very least we get to settle our qualms here. It would be best for us to strike during the day since Sophia, specifically, gets stronger during the night," I said, leaning back in my seat, glancing around the table for any questions.
Izumi rose her head to ask a question, raising an eyebrow of curiosity. "If I may ask, how does Sophia get stronger at night? What makes her so strong?"
"Sophia's power follows the Phases of the Seven Moons, plus on top of that, she's an Astrologer with the power of the Zodiac, Cancer, which is stronger at night," I explained, using my magic device to display Sophia's increased stats during the nightfall.
"Not to mention, during the Seven Full Moons, that's when she's at her peak. She's practically unstoppable at that point without the proper preparation. You would need powerful enough Lightning Magic or Anti-Magic to combat a Water Elf at night," Mira added to my explanation, glancing down at Izumi.
Izumi shuddered lightly at our answer, clearing her throat and nodded with full understanding, now a bit intimidated by Princess Sophia's might. "I-I see...So I'm guessing Water Elves are the exact opposite during the day?"
"Yep, but they aren't push overs. There's a reason Sophia is known as one of the best Water Magic users in Arcania as she is the first to create Scald and Geyser Magic," I said, sitting up straight in my chair with a smirk.
"But, we have three Secret Weapons who have the ability to negate any magic using Elemental Seals. It's a shame we couldn't meet Jin's sister, because we would've been able to automatically negate Helena's magic as well with Wind Seal," I said, crossing one leg over the other with confidence.
Victoria nodded in agreement, circling Sophia's area with the quill pen and tapped upon its center. "With Water Seal, she's an easy prey for us. Capturing her shouldn't take any longer than 30 hours to complete."
Leo, Izumi, and Mira nodded at our decisive plan, concluding our meeting for the afternoon. We all split from the meeting room to begin preparing for the march on the next day, getting in extra sparring and training to get Izumi up to speed on her combat development.
{Month: Sunflare}
{Date: 1/7}
{Time: Morning}
The next morning rose, the first of the seven suns rising to cast its early golden glow upon the continent. Everyone was already wide awake, having breakfast and freshening up for the march toward North Sylvannia. Mounting our horses, we began marching toward our next destination.
Along our travels, Mira spotted something in the distance while scanning the area on her pegasus, using her magic binoculars to get a better view of the situation. Once she accessed the situation, she guided her pegasus to the ground, falling beside Blanche.
"Stella, up ahead is Ortia Palace and it looks as if there's a bit of discourse ahead. There were members wearing emblems shaped as a Black Star," Mira reported, her tone carrying a hint of seriousness and concern.
Jin overheard Mira's report, moving his horse closer to us to join the conversation. "You said Black Star correct? Those guys are a crooked faction of my kingdom named the Black Fox Clan...to think they would try to expand their influence.."
"The Black Fox Clan? My, I haven't heard of them in ages. They've truly resurfaced?" Mira asked, glancing at Jin with a mix of curiosity and intrigue.
Jin nodded, looking ahead with a serious and cold expression. "They must be trying to collect energy again to activate the shrines within the mountains of Wadataka. They might be wanting to awaken a Fox Spirit or the Sealed Light Berserker."
'Sealed Light Berserker..?' I thought to myself, glancing at Jin with a flash of intrigue in my eyes. 'What do you all truly have within your kingdom..?'
"Whatever their plan is, we can't allow them to succeed. It's been my mission to keep them at bay...and we can not allow them to hinder our mission," Jin said, snapping his horses leash and began to lead the charge toward Ortia Palace.
"All units, follow Jin and his retainers! Toward Ortia Palace!" I rallied, pointing forward and commanding my army toward the new base ahead.
The Lunia Army roared down the path toward the Palace, their voices echoing into the distance with boosted morale and determination. Within the distance, a man leaning against a tree heard the sounds of the roaring army, opening his eyes with a calm smirk.
"Hey, Ugachi! We've got company arriving soon! You might want to tell the others to hurry up before a third party teaches us!" The man with a calm smile called out to his ally, using his hands to amplify his voice.
Ugachi landed on the top of a tree branch, holding a mysterious Opal Stone in his hand and looked back after hearing his comrade's voice. He turned ahead, scanning the battlefield for his remaining allies, using his fingers to sound out a loud whistle.
A young woman huffed as she ran from a few Water Elves with a valuable magic crystal in her hands, hearing Ugachi's signal to retreat in the distance and took a sharp left to shake off the elves. She began to try to rendezvous with her leader, her feet moving fast along the ground with urgency.
"Aname!" A voice called out to the young woman in the distance, waving her arms to get her attention.
Aname looked ahead, seeing her leader in the distance, a smile of relief curling upon her lips. She began to pick up the speed, rushing toward her safety, but a figure appeared at her side at high speeds, landing a powerful kick to her cheek.
The leader of Black Fox eyes widened in disbelief as she watched Hayate land a powerful Stealth Strike upon her rookie, watching as Aname's body flew across the forest and crash into a tree. Hayate landed on his feet with a cheeky smirk, vanishing with the wind once more.
The leader grit her teeth with slight annoyance, gripping her katana tightly with her prosthetic hand. "Tansuke! Ugachi! We've got company from Lord Jin! Retreat immediately!"
"Retreat where..?" Jin's voice sounded behind the leader, his menacing aura striking a bit of hesitation into the woman.
The leader grunted softly, slowly glancing behind herself over her shoulder, feeling Jin's back against hers and her muscles tightened with hostility. 'How did he get here so fast..? From Wadataka to Sylvannia Outskirts this quickly..?'
The leader pivoted around with a swift slash of her blade, but her blade sliced clean through Jin's substitution, his afterimage glowing brightly into an energy detonation. The leader groaned as she was blown away, rolling backwards along the ground then recovering onto one knee.
'Where is he..? He's faster than the last time we fought...' The leader thought to herself, standing up on her two feet and readied her sword in front of her, her eyes glancing around her environment.
"Ms. Celica, look out..!" Aname's voice cried out from behind, rushing toward her leader's aid. She unsheathed her katana with efficiency, water energy surrounding blade with power. "Tenryu Ransei!"
Aname's voice echoed out as she sliced in a circular motion, intercepting Jin's attack and clashing with his sword with young might. She bellowed with determination, momentarily overpowering the Wadataka Warlord and catching his attention.
'Who is this girl..? She wasn't a member the last time I encountered these fools,' Jin thought to himself, parrying her signature move and countering with a palm strike to her stomach carrying dark energy.
Aname groaned in pain, stumbling backwards and clutching her stomach. She fell onto one knee, coughing lightly and looking up to see Celica rushing to her aid. "Ms. Celica..."
Celica stood in front of Aname like a protective older sister, staring at Jin with a challenging gaze. "Lord Jin, why do you continued to get in our way?!"
"Because you fools have no idea what you are doing...Our Foxes aren't like Esorian Foxes or even Earth's Foxes! Our Kitsune are Harbingers of Death, Servants of Nightglow. Have you forgotten?" Jin asked, placing his hands upon his large shurikens resting at his sides.
"I haven't forgotten who Rin and Tsumamo are, in fact, it's the very reason why we have to do this! Lady Yomi requested we gather energy to awaken the shrines! To Conquer the Cynthian Region!" Celica retorted, pointing her sword at Jin, her blade gleaming brightly in the sunlight, momentarily blinding Jin.
Jin grunted as he covered his eyes from the blinding reflections, his guard lowered for Celica to capitalize with a blitzing slash to his torso, the force of her attack knocking him backwards. Jin recovered quickly in midair, performing multiple hand seals then took a deep breath.
'Flame Arts: Spider Lily Blast,' Jin chanted mentally, blowing out a massive fireball in the shape of a red spider lily toward Celica.
Celica halted from her charge, skidding forward to try to change her direction, but her foot slipped from beneath her. She grunted softly as she noticed the fireball nearing her, a fearing light shining in her eye, reflecting the fireball.
Just as she momentarily froze in hesitation, Ugachi appeared in front of her at blazing speeds, using his flames to summon his axe, his blade glowing with a smoldering ember. "Muspell Slash," he said calmly, slicing upwards and cutting Jin's fireball in two.
The scurrying Water Elves began rushing toward the Palace for safety, the mother elves gathering the elflings as fast as they could before retreating. Aname watched as the lush grass began setting ablaze, quickly using blasts of water to control the flames before they could reach the rest of the forest.
Jin landed on the ground with gentle feet, looking up to meet Ugachi's gaze with a soft scoff. "Ugachi Koga...You still decide to align with my sister even after everything."
"You took away everything because the Kagosaki Clan wanted Lady Yomi as the rightful heir of the Head. You took away everything we loved! Your head shall be staked at the top of the castle!" Ugachi howled, awakening his full power, four fiery fox tails emerging from behind.
Jin stood up straight, glancing behind himself and noticed me watching in the background against the palace fence. None of my Lunia Army interfered with Jin's qualm, delegating in the protection of the Water Elves. He turned his gaze forward once again, placing his hand upon his katana.
"None of you understand the weight of my decision...And that's something only for me to carry, it was my decision to end the discourse between my mother and Yomi's father. It hurt me more to kill my own blood mother, but only she understood... understood my mission!" Jin declared, shadow energy surging around his body, his red eyes glowing with an awakened resolution.
Ugachi growled lowly at Jin, letting out a roar as he charged toward him at high speeds with a ferocious overhead slash, but Jin flawlessly parried his attack, knocking Ugachi off balance. Jin began rushing Ugachi with slashes beyond his current perception, his speed undetectable by even me.
Jin knocked Ugachi away with a spinning kick then vanished at high speeds, continuing to rush Ugachi with attacks as a dark blur. Appearing above Ugachi for the finishing blow, Tansuke appeared above Jin, blasting him to the ground with a large burst of wind.
Jin grunted as he crashed into the ground, opening one eye and noticing Tansuke's bulky figure crashing down toward him. Quickly reacting, Jin performed a Substitution Ninpo, his body shifting into a log as Tansuke crashed down.
Jin landed a few meters away from Tansuke, regathering himself and stared at the Black Fox Clan. 'I forget for his figure...he's rather fast. There's no way I can take all of them on alone...'
Tansuke stood up with a manly chuckle, dusting off his armor and looked at Jin with an impressed grin. "Well, well, Lord Jin. It seems I still give you trouble here and there.."
"Indeed you do, Captain Tansuke. Your skills are remarkable and I thank my sister for continuing to train you well. However, just as a skulk of foxes, you all truly play the numbers game, but are you ready to the power of a Star?" Jin asked, his dark energy forming his assassin attire, his gaze growing more serious.
Tansuke stroked his chin with intrigue, raising an eyebrow with an excited chuckle. "Whoa now, I guess things are heating up. Taking on your mother's Karma Form?"
"Prepare yourself," Jin warned, a burst of wind rushing past him and toward Tansuke at surprising and unpredictable speeds.
"Swift Storm Style: Flying Worldly Rotational Hurricane!" Hayate bellowed, striking Tansuke with a tremendous force of wind built up from Utalia's rotation and orbit.
Upon impact, a destruction force of wind blew around the surrounding area, destroying trees, expanding rivers into ponds and ponds into small lakes. Izumi and I quickly summoned a talisman to form a barrier around the Palace as the winds howled toward us.
Tansuke, at the center of the overwhelming hurricane, tried resisting the force of Hayate's ultimate technique, but the forces of wind began growing even stronger, soon blowing Tansuke off his feet. He groaned in pain as the violent winds thrashed him around within the hurricane, hurling his body through the forest.
Ugachi grunted as he tried to hurry after Tansuke, but his path was immediately intercepted by rays of water energy tagging his energy points, causing him to stumble backwards. He recovered quickly, looking up to see Ren in front of him with an icy gaze.
"Atypus Karschi!" Ren's voice echoed, launching a powerful slash toward Ugachi's stomach, his blade forming into a serpent made from water energy.
Ugachi used his axe to block his attack, but the serpent's head bit the handle of Muspell, slowly covering it in nevermelting ice. Ugachi's eyes widened slightly from the effects of Ren's technique, forced to let go of his axe to avoid being frozen.
Celica grunted softly as she noticed she was starting to lose her clear numbers advantage, her metal hand crackling with lightning from frustration. She glanced at Jin, noticing him standing in the same battle ready position. 'We have to stall long enough for Lady Yomi to make it to Sylvannia... hopefully she brings reinforcements for Jin's Karma...'