Volume 2, Chapter 19 – Ambush

“Tch, you golden-haired loser.” ¹ goshh so salty… /bonk

Fia quietly clicked her tongue and raised an eyebrow at Liti. She squeezed Liti’s cheek hard, then smiled and answered Estelle—it was a good thing Estelle hadn’t heard Liti’s words, or if she had known Liti compared her to a dog, Estelle would have gotten serious with her.

“No trouble at all. What’s the situation like outside?”

“The same as what we saw last night. We’ve encountered many of my people fleeing. I’ve already pointed them in the direction of the camp. As long as they go there, they’ll be guaranteed two meals a day. But if they don’t want to go to the camp, there’s nothing I can do. I’ve done all I can.”

“You’ve already done more than enough, Estelle,” Fia comforted. “When we gathered this morning, I heard some soldiers were no longer calling you Third Miss.”

“What are they calling me, then?”

“They’re calling you ‘Lady Estelle.’ In their eyes, you’re already the next Count Oro.”

Leaning back against the carriage, Estelle’s expression held a hint of helplessness.

“…It can’t be helped. My father and my sister Noreen aren’t here. That boy Norton lacks the temperament of a leader. They can only rely on me.” At this, Estelle’s expression became complicated. “There’s no sign of my father or my sister Noreen among the survivors in the city. Four days have passed. They should have contacted me by now. But there’s not a single word. Maybe what you said is right, Fia.”

Estelle was referring to what she had said last night: “It’s best not to get your hopes up.” Fia had a feeling about this. After searching the survivors’ camp for Count Oro to no avail last night, Estelle had been silent all the way. Although Estelle had said that as long as she hadn’t seen their bodies, she would assume Count Oro and her sister Noreen were still alive, in her heart, she had probably already accepted the truth.

This was not an appropriate topic.

Estelle herself seemed to realize the gradually heavy atmosphere. She smiled and looked at Fia.

“What’s this?”

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“This” referred to a semi-transparent barrier in front of Fia. This was the effect of [Bee Shield]. Normally, [Bee Shield] was a semi-transparent magical shield with a hexagonal pattern. Its defensive capabilities and size were similar to a knight’s shield. The advantage was that it could appear anywhere around the body at the user’s will. Because it was a non-elemental magic, it was not countered by any elemental magic.

Because [Bee Shield] belonged to the higher-tier type of First-Tier spells, lower-tier spells like [Fireball] or [Ice Bullet] would have a hard time breaking through the defense of [Bee Shield]. Of course, if one were to use [Bee Shield] to defend against a powerful Second-Tier spell, it would be quite difficult.

In addition, because [Bee Shield], like the spatial force of [Telekinesis], was not an extension of the caster’s body, it could not move with the caster at high speed. If Fia created a [Bee Shield] above her head and then used [Flight] magic, her head would collide with the [Bee Shield].

Interestingly, this time, [Hypercomputation] did not directly enhance the defensive performance of [Bee Shield], but instead gave it great plasticity. For example, Fia could enlarge or shrink the [Bee Shield], and the defensive performance of the [Bee Shield] would change accordingly. The smaller the area covered by a single [Bee Shield], the higher the defensive strength would be.

What Fia was doing now was combining countless thumbnail-sized shields into a beehive-like defensive force field. The defensive strength had reached a breathtaking level—exactly how strong, Fia was not sure. She would only be able to get detailed data by going outside and trying to blow it up with magic.

When Estelle came in, Fia was just trying to combine the [Bee Shield]. Now, the [Bee Shield] had been compressed to the size of a thumb, and the shields were emitting a blue glow, a symbol of mana, due to the extreme pressure.

With a face full of curiosity, Estelle first gave a look of apology to Anastasia beside her, then walked past Anastasia and came to Fia’s side, tapping the [Bee Shield] force field in front of Fia.

Her finger and the force field made a clanging sound.

“It looks like the First-Tier spell [Bee Shield], but it’s completely different. I’ve never seen this magic… Is this elf magic?”

“I guess so?”

Fia politely averted her gaze.

Estelle was leaning in, which allowed Fia to catch a glimpse of the view inside Estelle’s collar—although Liti had reacted in an instant, letting out a “hmph” and reaching out to cover Fia’s eyes, Fia had still caught the initial glimpse due to irresistible forces.

If Claire and Anastasia were considered well-developed, then Estelle was of the type that was just right for a lady, creating a sense of aesthetic beauty.

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Estelle was really too careless around her own sex.

“Miss Estelle, over here.”

With an exceptionally serious expression, Liti pointed to her own chest like a disciplinary committee member. Estelle was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted and straightened her upper body.

“I-I’m sorry. Thank you for the reminder.”

“Miss Estelle’s noble etiquette still needs a lot of improvement.”

Although she had the appearance of a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl, Liti’s expression and demeanor were like that of an adult.

As expected of a proper princess, Fia lamented inwardly. When Liti is serious, there is not a single flaw in her actions.

Anastasia, at the side, changed the subject in a timely manner.

“Now that we can see Oro City, it’s time to get ready for battle. I heard from Your Highness about the situation inside the city. Most of the city is now covered in chaos. I think as soon as the convoy gets close to the city, they will quickly launch an attack on us. Even I have only fought chaos in the temple of Aurora City. They have no fixed shape or weakness. Ordinary swords can’t completely kill them even if they cut them in two. We must be on high alert.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. Yesterday, Fia and I learned a way to deal with chaos from the survivors.” Saying this, Estelle took out a flask filled with a liquid from her storage item. “This contains the church’s [Tears of Life]. They were originally cheap items used by ordinary people for prayer, but for some reason, they have the effect of turning chaos into ordinary objects. If you coat a weapon with it, any chaos that touches the weapon will turn into a puddle of water, just like a slime that has had its magic core removed.”

The reason the survivors in the city were unharmed was that they discovered that the [Tears of Life] made the chaos fearful and unwilling to get close.

As for why the [Tears of Life], which had not a single trace of mana, would be effective against chaos, neither Estelle nor Fia could explain it. Time was short, and no one had the opportunity to investigate this.

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“What we really need to pay attention to is how the chaos came from the Abyss to the World Tree Continent, and the collusion between Darkborns and chaos. Last night, the Despair Demon General showed the ability to control chaos. Darkborns are already difficult enemies to deal with. If they can also control chaos, all living things on the World Tree Continent will suffer a devastating blow. We must inform every country on the continent about this and make them vigilant.”

Estelle handed the flask containing the [Tears of Life] to Anastasia. Setting Fia aside, Anastasia was the strongest person in the convoy. It was only natural that useful items should be given to the strongest fighter.

“We only have a limited amount of [Tears of Life]. Please be frugal with it.”

“Mm. After we return to the Elf Kingdom, I will inform His Majesty of the situation.”

“The Elf Kingdom is a powerhouse that is second to none on the northern continent. We cannot do without you in dealing with Darkborns and chaos. In a moment, we will charge in through the western city gate. In the western district, there are warehouses for weapons and provisions. Although they have been occupied by chaos, there might be supplies that have not been destroyed. Also, from what I know, there are still survivors in the ruins of the city. If possible, I hope we can minimize the damage to the buildings, as there might be people still alive inside.”

“I’ll take care of that.”

Fia agreed for Anastasia. [Telekinesis] could be used to great effect in this situation.

Estelle hesitated for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

“Thank you. I actually came here for one more thing. I plan to publicize the fact that Fia eliminated the Despair Demon General. Now that the city has been destroyed, everyone lacks the courage to fight the chaos. If we can spread the news that Fia eliminated the Despair Demon General, who caused this disaster, then everyone will regain their confidence and cleanse the chaos from the streets.”

“That’s fine by me…”

Fia’s face showed hesitation.

The problem was on Estelle’s side.

Estelle did not believe that the Despair Demon General was still alive. But if the three Despair Demon Generals that she had killed last night were all doppelgangers, Estelle’s publicity would surely have the opposite effect.

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The Despair Demon General’s answer to the magical disaster had been “it was both my doing, and not my doing.” Although it was hard to understand, the Despair Demon General’s tone at the time did not sound like he was lying. In other words, the matter was not as simple as Estelle thought. Simply eliminating the Despair Demon General might not solve the problem, and there might be even greater trouble waiting for Estelle.

Fia couldn’t help but want to warn Estelle. However, just as Fia was about to speak, the carriage suddenly lurched violently.

Along with it came the soldiers’ cries of shock and the horses’ pained whinnies.

“Enemy attack! It’s an enemy attack! Lady Estelle! We’ve been ambushed!”

As the shouts fell, the entire carriage instantly went dark. Almost subconsciously, Fia held on to Liti.

“Anastasia, protect Liti. I’m going outside!”

“Yes!”

Pulling open the carriage curtain with a yank, Fia went straight out into the open. Estelle had already gotten out of the carriage. She was looking up at the sky with a grave expression.

“Chaos again.”

Centered around the clearing where the convoy was located, countless chaos surged up from under the ground, forming a dome that enveloped the entire convoy in darkness.

The smell of blood that filled her nose made Fia look down. The two eight-legged horses were impaled from below by spikes of chaos. They were lying in a pool of blood. Such a sight was not only on the eight-legged horses but also on other horses pulling the carriage and even a small number of soldiers who were walking. They had all been gravely injured in the first wave of the chaos’s surprise attack.

First, I’ll clear the chaos. Then, I’ll use [Elementary Hydration Spell] to heal the soldiers and horses.

Having made her plan, Fia began to act.