Frostfire Legacy

"Plato...!" Faeloria growled in a mix of surprise and anger. 'He's already fallen into the enemy's hands!'

Thinking about everyone's natural resistance to mental attacks and the added protection from the anti-brainwashing mask, Faeloria was the only one in their group who could fight an Aracelli Race member head-on. However, Plato was second in ranking, as he specialized in defenses.

'And making him fall in seconds means...!'

The realization came instantly, followed by her immediate command. "Everyone! Retreat! Protect the civilians and retreat to Gravene Tower!"

In their current situation, Faeloria couldn't afford to protect everyone while fighting. As such, the best choice was to let everyone but the combatants evacuate the battlefield.

"GO!"

"...!"

The rest looked slightly reluctant at first, but after hearing her desperate voice at the end, they had no choice but to follow her orders. "Chief, be careful!" Kelek and Ellen exclaimed before quickly escaping with everyone else.

"You think I'd let you!"

The man of the Aracelli Race raised his voice, commanding everyone nearby who was under his control to block them. However...

*BAM!*

"I'm your opponent, bastard!"

Faeloria's attack was still too much for Plato to handle. His defense broke, allowing an attack to reach the man's face. Like a bullet, he flew straight toward the wall, crashing against it, and creating a large dust cloud.

"... Bitch," but of course, he wouldn't fall so easily. "If you're rushing to your death, then let me do the honors! DIE!"

In a flash, not only Plato but a few more familiar faces appeared. Some of them were from the Black Numbers like him, while there were a few from the Hit Squad too. Faeloria frowned hard. The situation was more urgent than she had imagined!

She quickly activated her defensive bracelet, covering herself with a barrier that protected her from all directions.

*CRACK!*

But as expected, they were too powerful for a mere artifact to stop. The defensive barrier was destroyed within seconds, exposing Faeloria to their attacks!

Using the short moment bought by her artifact's protection, she finished casting a spell, creating a large fortress of ice and stone around her.

"Higgit Tiroe Sirreo Frysta Ambuor Gala Skild! Frozen Earth Emperor's Rampart!"

It was a high-level spell cast within one second, a feat only possible because of her raw stats and maxed-out speed-casting level!

*BAM!* *BOOM!* *CRACK!*

But even that tough-looking protection didn't seem like it would last more than a few seconds against constant attacks from over a dozen enemies. Faeloria gritted her teeth hard, hesitating.

If she attacked, there was a high chance that the members of Black Numbers and the Hit Squad would die. However, if she remained passive, her loss would be a fixed outcome.

"You leave me with no choice!" Although it pained her, there was only one thing she could do. "If you die, blame me all you want!"

Waving her wand, the Frozen Earth Emperor's Rampart started to regenerate. Furthermore, cannons and ballistas appeared on the outer walls, all aiming at the enemies surrounding her—technically her comrades.

Hesitation flashed on her face for a brief moment before turning to a flat expression, completely erasing her emotions. "... Fire." And with her command, all hell broke loose.

*BOO-BOO-BOO-BOOOM!*

A series of explosions echoed as solid metal cannonballs and icy arrows flew from all around. In a flash, the entire surrounding of the rampart turned into a devastated land, not only burned but smashed by projectiles into pieces.

Faeloria stood at the top of the tallest spire and watched the destruction all around. It was horrible, and it was something she did... voluntarily.

Her eyes scanned the place and quickly found everyone scattered all over. Some were relatively fine, losing an arm or a leg, but as expected, some were beyond help. One even had his head smashed to bits by a cannonball, dying on the spot.

"..."

Faeloria's heart remained frozen. She had prepared her mind for it, but as expected, it still didn't feel too good.

"Ahhh, you messed up my pawns real good, you bitch."

And right then, the man who was the ringleader of this chaos appeared before her, walking in mid-air. His lazy smile, full of leeway, made Faeloria irritated. "Killing your allies, what a bad bitch you are." He grinned, taunting even harder.

"Don't worry, bastard." But Faeloria's heart remained firm, unperturbed. "Your death will be more than enough to pay for their sacrifice!"

"Keh!" He laughed, completely looking down on her. "You can't even look straight at me, and you'll defeat me? Stop talking nonsense!"

*Snap!*

"And you don't have the right to fight me, bitch."

Along with his snap, more and more people appeared. Of the two dozen mixed members of Black Numbers and Hit Squad, half managed to survive. Despite losing some of their limbs, they moved desperately, trying to do their best to attack her.

Furthermore, backup arrived from all over. Hundreds of civilians, carrying knives, bars, and other makeshift weapons, appeared from alleys and roads, surrounding her.

"... You disgusting fucker!" Faeloria cursed, seeing what the Aracelli man was planning.

He planned to waste Faeloria's energy fighting and killing those she should be protecting, thinning not only her battle potential but also her mental strength!

"This... is too much!"

Even Faeloria couldn't force herself to drag civilians to their deaths.

Members of the Black Numbers or the Hit Squad were still fine since they swore to lay down their lives to protect the residents of Orinfeld City. However, what good would it do if she killed the ones she should be protecting?

"Ahahah! That's it, that's the expression I wanted to see!" The man cackled excitedly. "Anger! Hatred! Despair! That fits you a lot better, you fucking bitch!!!"

The man was not worried, as if he was sure of his victory. However, little did he know that what he did just made his life shorter—Faeloria was pushed to the edge and now had no other option.

With a small voice, which magically echoed all over the place, she chanted.

"Yggdrasil, grant me your strength; let your roots bind my foes and your lifeblood fill my veins."

"...!"

The man of the Aracelli Race felt the rapid change in the atmosphere and, at the same time, received a premonition of his brutal death!

"Let your servant preach to the world of your magnificence! World Tree's Fury!"

At that instant, an entire section of Orinfeld City was covered by a forest of gigantic roots. Whatever was happening inside, nobody but those concerned could ever know.