"Martina, we"re saved! The Lanthanorians have come to save us!"
The display trinkets went blank after the King"s statement, but the images they had seen stayed in the eyes of the watching Eldinorians and humans.
After a few moments of shocked silence, Maylana hoisted Martina in the air and said these words, echoing the thoughts of many around her.
Some were still skeptical, as they didn"t want to get their hopes up, but many were simple citizens like her, who trusted Katerina because of the many times they had seen her campaigning to become the Queen.
"Really, Sister Maylana? My parents, too?"
As the little elf said this with hope in her eyes, Maylana"s face hardened.
Her parents…had been among those who hadn"t been able to get inside before the red veil crossed them.
Still, she didn"t want to break that news to the little elf just yet.
She had been crying non-stop since hearing the scary things said by those around her, and she had just calmed down.
Maylana couldn"t possibly put the little elf under any more grief right now.
So, she chose to lie.
"Yes, of course! I didn"t see them, but they must be somewhere inside!"
As she saw tears of happiness come in the little elf"s cute, large eyes, she felt guilt racking her heart, but she put it aside.
Turning around, she saw the red dome again, from which she had averted her eyes till now as she didn"t want to see it"s inexorable advance forward.
Now, finally, with hope and grat.i.tude filling her, she waited to see that veil disappear.
Just like her, many had turned to the veil, thinking that there might be some spell cast that would neutralize it.
While they did so, they couldn"t help but think back to the solemn faces of the Lanthanorians, which made them applaud that gesture even more.
So, when they saw those same Lanthanorians fly into the sky from the central tent after a few minutes, all of them looked up to see what they were going to do.
Among the Lanthanorians, there was just one team of elves, who were the misfits of the army.
They were the weakest regimen, and they were actually constantly mocked for their choice to work together after forsaking the individuality of elves.
No one knew that this would be the day they would rise to fame.
800 Lanthanorians and 200 elves split apart into 10 teams of 100 each before heading in the direction that had been a.s.signed to them.
With bated breath, all the Eldinorians followed the team that was closest to them.
Those who were inside the circle and couldn"t see anything cheered when the display trinkets flew into the air again, showing the scene of a team approaching the veil.
The cheering continued when each team spread out after their arrival, before raising their hands and closing their eyes with expressions of stern concentration.
Initially, nothing happened, or at least, nothing was visible in the trinkets.
However, if someone with elementary vision could view the area near each of these teams, they would be able to tell that the elementary particles were slowly being molded into something huge.
Nothing needed to be said about the teamwork of the Lanthanorians. The defining factor of their Mage army- the Mage constructs required hundreds of hours of time to be spent honing the skill of a Mage to do their own part in casting a major spell, without interfering with the others.
If it was simplified, then it was a lot like rowing back on Earth, where each member on a boat had to train for long hours in order to be able to match the timing of all the others.
Initially, the spells sputtered and faded, making those watching panic a little as they saw the veil inching closer to all of those soldiers.
However, the cheers suddenly surged when a sound was heard through the trinkets, accompanied by a sight which made some rub their eyes and hope that they weren"t dreaming.
Scwing!
A tall golden barrier sprung into existence in front of a particular team of Mages from Lanthanor, and it s.h.i.+ned so bright that those on the borders who were watching that spot directly had to close their eyes and turn away.
This wasn"t even what shocked people the most.
No, the most miraculous thing was that as soon as the barrier went up, the red veil that hadn"t paused since it had come into existence finally halted.
At least, in that area, it did not move forward, and as over a million people watched, the veil even started to grow slightly faint in that spot.
Yes! It was working!
The cheers which had paused resumed with vigorous intensity, but just as it seemed that everything was going to be ok, a scream sounded from the trinket which made horrified silence return.
It was the scream of one of the mages in that team, who had just fallen down with a contorted expression on his face.
"Jimmy? Jimmy, get up!"
The Mage beside him, who seemed to know him, abandoned his post without thinking and bent to touch the man.
As soon as he did so, that contorted expression relaxed, and the man went still.
With shaking hands, that Mage checked the pulse of the one on the ground, and from the shocked expression on his face, the fate of that man became clear.
At the same moment, the squadron leader of that team shouted, "Gawain, get back to your post!"
As if he couldn"t believe it, that Mage, whose face had become white after having the blood completely drained from it, screamed, "He"s dead, sir! He"s dead!"
"I KNOW! WE KNEW WHAT WE WERE GETTING INTO! WE WERE TOLD THIS MIGHT HAPPEN! IF YOU"RE SCARED, YOU SHOULD HAVE TURNED BACK WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE! NOW, GET BACK INTO YOUR d.a.m.n POSITION! DON"T YOU DARE DISGRACE OUR KING IN FRONT OF SO MANY PEOPLE!"
Each word seemed to thunder into the young Mage, but it looked like it was the last line which had the most effect.
Slowly, he rose up from the dead body and raised his hands again, which made the barrier that had dimmed before get slightly brighter.
The people of Eldinor had thought that they had had enough shocks today that nothing would be able to surprise them again.
They now realized that they had been very wrong.
The cheers did not resume. Instead, grave expressions appeared on those watching when another display trinket showed something similar happen in a different team.
How could they cheer when they were seeing people unrelated to them giving up their lives for their sake?
At this moment, the silence seemed loud, as if it were boring into the ears of the Eldinorians and humans while they witnessed the sacrifices of the Lanthanorians.
By now, 10 barriers had gone up, but around 10 Mages had already fallen.
9 from Lanthanor, and one from Eldinor.
As the seconds ticked by, more and more started to fall, while the Eldinorians" wide-open eyes were witness to the heartbreaking expressions of loss and desperation on the faces of all the soldiers.
Their friends, whom they considered closer than family, were dropping like flies, and they could do nothing to stop it.
h.e.l.l, they might soon be subject to the same fate, which made them curse whoever was the one responsible for this abhorrent deed.
With each second, the way the Eldinorians viewed Lanthanor changed.
First, it had just been grat.i.tude.
Then, it was shock and disbelief, as they couldn"t believe that these soldiers had signed up for this willingly.
Finally, it was adoration, which was the point at which the cheering resumed.
"Hail Brave Lanthanor!"
"Hail our saviors!"
"Hail King Daneel!"
Everything was visible in their eyes. Those eyes which had once held scorn, were now blazing with admiration, while the figures they were seeing became idolized in their hands.
Watching everything from the air, Daneel folded his hands.
He was smiling inwardly at the fact that his plan was going brilliantly, but he only had a grim expression on the outside as he was, after all, a King who was seeing his soldiers die.
In all the spots where the barriers had sprung up, the veil was beginning to thin, and this seemed to be having an effect on even the parts of the dome which weren"t being obstructed.
Still, those parts were quickly approaching the spot where the border line of those gathered was, which added a hint of panic to the cheers.
By now, over half the soldiers had fallen, and the other half had very fatigued expressions on their faces.
It looked like they would give out at any moment, but they were holding on by sheer will, just like a candle which would blaze the brightest before going out.
After shooting one final look at all the people and judging that it was enough, Daneel sighed, drawing Katerina"s attention to him.
"I did not wish to reveal this, but it seems to be the right time to do so. Besides, how can I let my people die without fighting alongside them? Go down to your scholars. There is something I must do."
Boom!
As soon as the last word left his mouth, a loud sound that was akin to that of a thunderclap echoed throughout the area where everyone was gathered.
As one, they all turned to the source of the sound, which was a spot in the air right at the center of the circle they were huddled in.
A single man stood there, and as almost everyone watching had been thinking about his figure which they had seen in the display trinkets when he had arrived, they recognized him.
His hands were outstretched, and his palms were facing up, where a blazing, golden sun had come into existence at some point.
Curious, all those present who could do so switched on their elemental visions, and let out a collective gasp as they marveled in the complexity of that spell.
Katerina had floated down to those 50 elf seniors and ministers, and as she turned around to gaze at that sun, she, too, felt more shocked by its sight than anything else she had seen before.
"H-he put together layers and layers of barriers…so many of them! Such beautifully complex spellcasting…only an Exalted Warrior can be capable of this! The Central Continent…has given birth to an Exalted Warrior level Mage! I cannot believe it!"
Awe filled the minds of those who could understand just what this meant, while the rest just gaped, unable to even comprehend what level of power this was.
However, all of them had the same reaction when that sun moved upward, to the center of the dome and began to melt the veil that had already gotten quite transparent.
They were all…stupefied.
One man was doing more than hundreds combined, and it seemed that this was the last push that was needed.
Puchi!
The veil broke, letting the sunlight that had been dimmed till now fall on the awestruck elves and humans of Angaria.
That man was still standing there, and right now, he looked like some G.o.d that had descended to help them.
"We-we"re saved?"
"We have been saved!"
"WE WILL LIVE! THANK YOU, KING DANEEL!"
Tears flooded the faces of many, as they let themselves finally feel relief.
One thing was clear: on this historic day, that man and his actions, had forever been branded into their hearts.
Each and every action of his would be replayed millions of times all over the continent, while thousands of versions of everything that had happened would proliferate, with some even claiming that he really was a G.o.d who had reincarnated into that form to fight evil.
Yet, at that moment, the one who was responsible for it all was completely tongue-tied, due to a voice that had just sounded in his head.
[Achievement Unlocked: Out of the shadows, into the light
Out of the shadows, into the light: By saving over a million individuals who have all begun to idolize you as a deity, you have stepped out of the shadows into your true role of rising to become a World Dominator. Congratulations!
50,000 EXP received.]
5-50,000?! What the heck!
However, Daneel had no time to dwell on this. The steps of his plan here were done, but there were still things he needed to do.
Just for safety, he patted his pocket, inside which were hidden 6 trinkets.
These 6…were the real trinkets that Eldra had made.
"System, prepare to awaken those put to near-death sleep using Drakos"s fake blood-purifying formation, and make sure that the Mind Control spell on Eldra is still making it look like the real spell has killed everyone here. She will soon be lead to the real location of the Empire Spirit"s body, which is when we should be ready to swoop in and acquire the Grand Inheritance parts. Time to make that bi*ch, Dinora, pay."