Remy didn’t drink it without question.
He took the time to smell the wine, then pulled the goblet away with his face retching. “Ugh, this smells like a horse’s arse,” he groaned. “Tempeste, are you sure this was the right potion?”
Beads of sweat rolled off Nijana’s forehead. Tempeste, however, remained calm, looked Remy in the eye, and said, “Yes.”
“You seemed to have gotten over your father’s death rather quickly,” Remy said. “My apologies for that, but you know as well as I do, his rule kept us apart. His end is what will bring us together again.”
“I understand,” Tempeste lied, so Nijana hoped. “I stand ready to be the queen and guide our nation to a new beginning.”
“We will guide the nation,” Remy cut in. “We will be married after this. You will be my queen, and I will be your king. I am glad you finally came to your senses. For a moment, you had me worried.” He raised the goblet up. “To new beginnings.”
And drank it.
The dark elves stood back to watch as Remy dropped the goblet and walked to Asteria’s Sword. He didn’t walk in a straight line, more like a zigzag one as if he had several bottles of wine and not one cup. The potion worked instantly.
The fae in the chamber laughed and murmured among themselves. The imperials knew something Remy and the dark elves didn’t. Remy reached for the hilt of the sword then stopped with his hand above it. He angled his gaze up to a female fae Ranger.
“Hey, Emeraldal,” Remy said to her.
“Hmm?”
“Is that fuck face, Serzax here?”
Emeraldal grimaced. “. . . yes?”
“Go fetch him for me.”
“Why?”
“To show him . . . this!” Remy turned to the dark elves watching him. “My friends, kill the fae before they betray you!”
“Now?” One dark elf asked. “Is it not too early?”
“Oh, fuck it! I’m going to be a Paladin soon!” Remy’s slurred voice said.
Every dark elf in the throne room turned their weapons to the now frightened imperial fae. In return, the fae buzzed their wings, hovered above the shiny floor, and drew their weapons.
Emeraldal’s grimace became an angry scowl. “You cannot be serious? What are you doing?!”
“I’m speedin’ things up!” Remy said, while clinching Asteria’s Sword with both hands.
He fell on his ass, laughing on the way down.
The muddle potion worked. Remy wasn’t thinking straight and ended up pushing his plan ahead too fast. Guy was right. This was the way to save the kingdom, get the two sides to betray each other early. There was just one problem.
Nijana and Tempeste found themselves in the crossfire of a deadly confrontation between the fae and dark elves.
Chapter Seventy-Two
The siege of Lumière brought a pause to Guy and Rachael as they neared the city’s walls. It’d be a matter of time before Lumière’s defense collapsed, allowing the New Svartálfar airship fleet farther out to come in and conduct mop-up operations, unopposed. Guy got a firm hold on his Svartálfar’s Halberd, and Rachael withdrew her Enseigne’s Divine Saber, the flames reflecting off their weapons and armor. Behind, Synaria and Hugo approached with their PKer team, waiting for the order to strike.
“Holy fuck,” Guy said and walked closer to the falling city’s main gate.
“It’s just like Muruai, Guy,” Rachael said.
“Only, the people here are a high enough level to fight back,” he said.
Averyl was silent. Guy wasn’t able to guess what sort of emotions were going through the fae princess’s mind. Did Averyl have someone important to her living in the city? Would she be capable of staying focused and keep him and the others healed?
“What do we do?” Rachael asked. “Just walk on in?”
“Wait for us, first of all,” shouted a familiar voice to the side.
The two turned around and watched as Kam and Henrietta raced toward their group. The faun and librarian stopped to take a breath, huffing and puffing. They were a few levels higher than Guy remembered. Kam was a level 19 Spell Lancer, and Henrietta a level 17 Berserker. Their flushed faces suggested they had been running for a long time.
Guy was glad to see them alive and well. “How the fuck did you two . . .?”
“No time to explain, lad,” Kam said after catching his breath, his hands raised to Guy. “Just do not go charging in. The fae glided off the mountains and should be dropping into the city, assuming they had not already.”
Guy gritted his teeth. “Damn.”
“Why the mountains?” Rachael asked. “Couldn’t they have dove from their airship?”
“An airship nobody saw because it landed farther away,” Kam said.
“Makes sense when you think about it,” Synaria said as she joined the conversation. “Lumière got hit from two sides, the dark elves hiding in the Sirocco, and now the fae gliding off the mountains. No one could see both attacks coming until it was too late. Rather brilliant planning on their part.”
Time was wasting, and Guy was getting sick of hearing light elves echoing their blood gargling screams as they fell to their deaths. He led the charge into the burning city, its buildings reverberating from the hooves of horses running, swords clashing, Mage spells exploding, and blazing houses crumbling to ash.
Not all the homes were on fire. Several dark elves and fae hadn’t gotten to all the residential areas yet. Guy spotted a party marching toward one untouched cluster of households, having killed the light elves guarding it. Dark elf Mages lined up with their tomes in hand and hurled Fireball after Fireball into the homes, shattering their windows and creating a glow of flames to brighten the darkened house interiors. The fire and smoke forced the families that hid in the homes into the streets. And right into the murdering gazes of the dark elves.
Not on Guy’s watch.
He led his party to attack the dark elves from behind and charged to the closest Mage in the middle of casting a spell. Averyl used Chastisement on that Mage, and made their skin broil as the damage-over-time spell brought down their HP. Before the Mage spun to see what the fuck had happened, Guy plunged his Svartálfar’s Halberd through their back, pushed the tip deeper to puncture their body, then yanked it free.
His attack drew the dark elves away from the burning houses and panicking civilians. They had a new set of targets: Guy, Averyl, Rachael, Synaria, Kam, Henrietta, and a bunch of angry PKers led by Hugo. Guy, with his party at his side, met the dark elves in a violent street fight, targeting the dark elf healers first. None survived Henrietta’s vicious cleaves or the speed at which Synaria’s daggers moved, only for Synaria to fade from sight. The bunny girl Assassin reappeared with a Backstab and giggled.
Guy and Kam were like battle twins. They were two level 19 Spell Lancers twirling and thrusting their ethereal lances, impaling anyone who couldn’t get away in a synchronous motion, then using Become One with the Elements simultaneously. Guy was a light spirit, and Kam became a water one, and together the two kept the dark elf Spell Lancers, who also shifted into their spirit form, away from the group.
Fae imperials dove into the battle from above. Rachael and Averyl spread their fairy wings and flew above the houses to meet them, starting with their unsuspecting Clerics and Medics. Averyl distracted the Clerics with Chastisement, cursing them to the pain of their skin boiling. The Clerics panicked and tried to cleanse away the curse—
Rachael put them to her Enseigne’s Divine Saber.
The city streets rained red with fae blood.
Rachael rotated and flew to the next imperial healer, used Gravity Swing, and knocked them out of the sky with her blade’s edge. The imperial died upon impact when hitting the ground.
Instead of supporting the dark elves, the imperials flew to meet Rachael and Averyl’s flying threat. An imperial Berserker drifted through the air for Averyl with their axe raised high. They cut red lines across Averyl’s frame and slender arms. Rachael
hovered ahead in defense of Averyl, her blade jabbing rapidly. The imperial lifted their axe’s haft toward Rachael’s incoming sword slashes, deflected those, then cleaved to knock Rachael back. Rachael just shook off the pain, grinned as her wounds sealed shut, and flew for the Berserker again, yelling a war cry with the Enseigne’s Divine Saber thrusting forward. Rachael’s Regeneration buff and casting the spell Medica kept her HP high, and Averyl’s continual casting of Chastisement kept the Berserker’s HP low. Averyl proved herself to be an incredible Cleric since she used Medic as a subclass. That and Chastisement’s DOT was fucking nasty. The imperials couldn’t do anything to stop the two.
Averyl and Rachael systematically removed Berserker after Berserker from the sky, while flying circles around to escape from their axe swings or let Chastisement slowly kill them. Down below, the PKer Gunners fired their muskets or flintlocks, Rangers nocked and launched arrows, and Mages cast devastating Fireballs and Lightning Whips up at the imperials, providing further assistance. Imperials who found themselves with wings on fire plummeted to their deaths. The rest tried to retreat and took an arrow or bullet through their wings instead. Their bloody wings failed to keep them stable in the skies, making it easier for Rachael’s Enseigne’s Divine Saber to come slicing down into their shoulders. Rachael kicked the dead imperials down and waited for Averyl to cast Starlight Recovery. Once healed, the duo pivoted in the sky and met the next fae.
The imperials had flown to their own deaths.
Guy addressed the PKer party. “Permakill them.”
“Gladly,” Hugo said, and took out his anger on the lifeless dark elves and fae below.
“Have your Clerics and Medics resurrect any civilians,” Guy added. “We’ll have Averyl do the same on our end.”
Averyl and Rachael ran out of flight time and landed with Guy and the others. He couldn’t spot any more imperials in the skies, but knew they had to have been more in the city. The question was, where? A young elven couple approached Guy and Rachael; their eyes opened wide with hope.
“Thank you!” the woman said.
The man nodded. “We are in your debt, star-dwellers.”
A new Quest screen flashed into existence.
The Siege of Lumière City
Objective: Save as many civilians in Lumière City as possible.
Issued by: White Dragon
Reward: 3000 Experience Points
Accept quest? Yes/No
It put a pleasant grin on Guy’s face as he accepted it.
“Well, well, the White Dragon lived through the sentinel’s attack.”
Rachael viewed the details through a Quest screen that flashed ahead of her. It was the same quest. She tapped the accept button, making it disappear. “It wants us to pitch in.”
The White Dragon was still a thing and now guiding Guy and Rachael with secret messages sent via quests. Guy looked to Hugo, then staggered backward. The elven PKer and his group turned the dead dark elves and fae to soul crystals quick. Guy brought up the quest he received, then shared it with the PKers.
“Spread out and save as many people as you can!” Guy said.
“Where should we take them?” Hugo asked. “I would rather not spend this siege working as a fucking babysitter for these folks.”
“Our camp in the woods is not too far,” Synaria said. “The survivors should be safe there.”
“That works for me!” Guy said and ambled into the siege. “Hugo, your team takes the civilians out to safety. Averyl, Henrietta, Synaria, Kam, and Rachael, with me.” He looked at the castle sitting at the top of the hill. “We’ll fight our way to the castle and save who we can on the way there.”
Flight Time Remaining: 0 Minutes 18 Seconds
Xanthe gave her wings the rest they needed as she came in for a landing. She stood on the roof of a house in Lumière City, one of many that the dark elves and fae had not torched. Though she felt that would change soon. After all, the residential area she touched down in was the same one Leafblade and his minions had landed in.
She saw the path of destruction the dark elves left in their wake from the home she stood on. They focused on carving a path up the hill and into the castle, setting the idle airship docks ablaze before moving out to the rest of the city. The light elves fought valiantly to defend their homes, but were losing ground from the dark elves in the streets, and now the fae were dropping in on their heads.
Enough watching. Xanthe leaped off the house and hit the ground with a thud.
She lost HP from the fall damage, bringing her from 829 to 729 HP and she didn’t care. Leafblade was among the fae pushing through the neighborhood. She had to find him before another young elf grew up living the same life as her. She had to find him to put smiles on the millions of dead shadow angels watching her from the abyss. Xanthe withdrew her twin Aspirant’s Blades and walked silently through the streets—
Fae wings buzzed above.
She tightened her grip on her weapon hilts and looked up.
It was Zuran.
The dark-skinned fae landed beside her and retrieved his casting tome—
Then a Quest screen appeared, brightening his and Xanthe’s face from the holographic light.
The Siege of Lumière City
Objective: Save as many civilians in Lumière City as possible.
Issued by: White Dragon
Reward: 3000 Experience Points
Accept quest? Yes/No
“I appreciate the tip, White Dragon,” Xanthe said, then pushed the screen aside, unveiling her target.
Leafblade (Berserker) | LVL: 23 | Rank: B
“But . . .” she continued. “I have unfinished business here!”
Xanthe never accepted the quest. She just rushed to Leafblade, her arms spread wide to the left and right, each hand holding the blades out.
“Xanthe, wait!” Zuran shouted to her from behind.
She did not wait. How could she? Despite Zuran yelling, Leafblade kept his back turned to her. The slaughter he was about to participate in distracted the fae general and he likely could not hear Zuran over the grisly din of the siege—swords and lances striking, arrows and musket bullets cutting through the air, and multiple thundering blasts from Mage spells.
It was the perfect surprise attack.
Xanthe leaped and soared with the aid of her raven wings, and landed upon Leafblade’s back, dug her twin scimitars into it, yanked them out, then split open his fucking fairy wings with one swift slash. Leafblade’s scream was music to her ears.
The fae general shoved Xanthe away, unsheathed his two-handed sword, and heaved its blade in her direction. She saw Leafblade’s rotating body holding the sword steadily in slow motion, thanks in part to the adrenaline flowing through her. Xanthe ducked fast, escaping the sword’s edge as it passed above her head, swept her leg across the stone road, took out Leafblade’s legs, and made the big man lose his balance. He hit the ground back first with a thud, allowing Xanthe to leap onto his downed body and drive the Aspirant’s Blades into his chest—
Leafblade head butted Xanthe off.
The impact sent her up and down, but she still maintained her grip on her weapons. Leaping back to her feet, Xanthe twirled with the Aspirant’s Blades out, hitting him a few times as he got up. She stopped at his left arm and cut again. Leafblade retorted by swinging his greatsword in an upward motion. Xanthe saw it coming. She somersaulted away from the enormous sword and landed just in time to position the Aspirant’s Blades ahead, blocking his next attack.
“Hello, again, Xanthe,” Leafblade said. “Care to finish where we left off?”
She smiled. “Thought you would never ask.”
Clang.
Their weapons clashing reverberated on the walls of the houses around. Xanthe would shove him back if she had the strength. All Xanthe could do was keep her weapons out as Leafblade continued to push his blade down upon them. If only her strength were higher.
It could be . . . she thought. I still have that strength
potion Averyl found. That shall be a card to play later.
The two came to stand face to face, weapon to weapon and embarked in a race to see who could get AP first. A race she would win, of course, being a dual-wielding raven-winged vixen.
Xanthe winced midway into her fight with Leafblade. She remembered she was still using the support sigil build. Fuck. Perhaps that’s why Zuran called to me. He wanted to remind me I was rushing in without the proper sigil setup.
And looking at her HP, now at 600, Leafblade had no intention of giving Xanthe the time to pull various sigils from her inventory and make the change. Xanthe had to make do with what she had. She had to be the one to get AP first, then use Sensual Tango so that it would transfer Leafblade’s AP to her. As long as a healer did not show, Xanthe would gain the advantage.
She raised her weapons and searched for a chance to strike Leafblade’s body rather than the mass of his giant sword. Leafblade did the same and winced that her agility made her a hard target to hit, a target who blended dancing and swordplay to fight against a man who used pure brute force.
Xanthe looked at her flight time.
Flight Time Remaining: 1 Minute 57 Seconds
Still not enough to fly for a reasonable amount of time. At least Xanthe ensured Leafblade would never fly again until a healer tended to his shredded fae wings. Other than the level difference, it was an even match. She just needed Leafblade to ease up on his swings a bit, so that she could retrieve the strength potion, drink it to increase her combat skill, and make up for the fact that she fought Leafblade alone.
And why am I alone? Where did Zuran go? I could really use his spells now . . .
Xanthe and Leafblade’s fight spilled into a burning elven neighborhood, its streets littered with dead families who failed to escape the sieging fae and dark elves. Leafblade stopped to admire the devastation, grinning as the flames brightened his face with an orange glow.
“Looks familiar?” Leafblade asked her.
“Yes, like my hometown when I was a child.”
Mirror Princess: A LitRPG Space Fantasy (Sword of Asteria Book 2) Page 55