160 Sieging Fort Necross

Expecting a massive fortress that rivaled the Silver Palace in size, Paul was surprised to find that Fort Necross, once home to the legendary Five Elements Demon King, was a relatively small castle town, smaller than the private estates of most Asuran Nobles.

Surveying the fortress from a distance, Paul noted that it was separated into five sections by thick ramparts that ascended towards a glistening black keep like a set of stairs.

The first three sections of the fortress were an ordinary-looking castle town, the buildings resembling roughshod abodes, while the second and third had markedly more ornate structures, presumably belonging to soldiers and members of Atofe's Elite Guard. As for the remaining two, the fourth section resembled a parade/training ground, while the final section housed a rather imposing black keep, its surface smooth and polished like an eerie black gemstone or some sort of futuristic metal.

While the rest of the fortress, including its ramparts, appeared relatively ordinary, the keep looked like something straight out of science fiction. It was clearly a castle, complete with battlements and several towers, but it also resembled a series of black, predominately windowless skyscrapers that had been merged like a crystal cluster. Stranger still, the keep showed no signs of wear, tear, or even uncleanliness despite existing for thousands of years and enduring countless sieges.

Providing some insight into the fortress's rumored impregnability, Ganyu telepathically informed, ("There are Mana pathways permeating much of the fortress's structure, similar to a living organism. There is a possibility it can defend itself autonomously.")

Lending further credibility to Ganyu's claim, Venti playfully mused, "That would explain why most of the guards are just lazing about. They're all sleeping, drinking, brawling, or playing dice. I can't sense a single person tending their post seriously."

Since she was the only one that could see clearly from several kilometers away, Venti was providing tidbits of information as Ganyu flew around at a safe distance above and away from Fort Necross. The latter was outfitted with a total of 127 anti-wyvern ballistae, a countermeasure against the local Black Drake population, so approaching within eight hundred meters was exceptionally dangerous.

Unsurprised by Venti's remark, Paul nodded and replied, "That sound's about right. Most of Atofe's Elite Guard are hundreds of years old, and their strength is rumored to be around the threshold for a Saint. It would honestly be stranger if they were super alert."

Furrowing her brows, Jean asked, "Are you sure about this, Paul? If that rumor is accurate, we could quickly find ourselves overwhelmed. Saints shouldn't be looked down upon."

Nodding her head in agreement, Eula appended, "At the very least, you should consider staying back with Lilia, Ghislaine, and Ganyu. If we die, it's no big deal; you can always resummon us. If you die..."

Understanding what Eula was trying to say, a wry smile developed across Paul's face as he resisted the urge to sigh. He knew how foolish it was to assume people would act and behave a certain way based on his previous life's experiences, but he refused to live the life of a coward. He probably wouldn't be the one to defeat Hitogami, but he would be damned if he just sat back and observed the fight from a safe distance...

"Relax. Unless we go out of our way to slaughter her men, I can't imagine Atofe going out of her way to try and kill me. If she refuses to back down after we seize her throne room, we'll flee the Demon Continent and return at a later date. Worst-case scenario, I'll end up in a tower or a prison cell until Ganyu returns with reinforcements and you girls regain your strength in the IOF."

Unconvinced by Paul's words, Xinyan voiced the concern shared by most of the girls present, her expression revealing her deep concern as she asked, "And what if she decides to follow through on her previous threat? I don't want you to have to experience something like that..."

Closing his eyes, Paul exhaled through his nose before opening them to stare directly at Xinyan as he said, "If she follows through on her threat, I will endure and seek revenge. Others have experienced much worse and survived, so I'll eventually bounce back. After that, she only has herself to blame for what happens..."

Before Xinyan could respond, Paul cast his steely, green-eyed gaze over the rest of his companions and added, "You all entrusted yourself to me when you joined the IOF. To that end, I am prepared to endure as much as necessary to ensure you never have to suffer. If you're worried about my mental wellness, never compromise with the enemy or put yourself in a situation where I wouldn't be able to forgive myself. I would rather hate someone for doing something to me than lament being unable to protect the people I care about...never, ever forget that."

Finished with what he had to say, Paul promptly turned away to deter any responses and conceal his awkwardness. Unfortunately, Venti didn't care about his attempts to play off his embarrassment and try to act cool. The moment he turned around, she pounced on him from behind, her massive breasts pressing into his back as she hugged him tightly and mused, "My hero~" before playfully biting the lobe of his ear...

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After learning from Aldrich that Moore had been defeated in an instant, Bhathia and Regas, the remaining Heavenly Kings, were feeling nervous for the first time in centuries. They believed in their Mistress's strength, but Moore was comparable to a seasoned Northern Emperor due to his mastery of various weapons and his ability to shorten the incantations of Advanced and even Saint-Ranked Magic Spells to just a handful of words or phrases.

As not even their Mistress could defeat Moore as quickly as Aldrich had attested, Bhathia couldn't help remarking, "That slimy bastard has to be lying..." while biting the nail of her right thumb.

Responding to the red-skinned woman, Regas, an androgynous man with ashen-purple skin, silvery hair, red eyes, and long, pointed ears, replied, "It matters not. We will remain here and watch over the fortress until our Master's inevitable return."

Though he wasn't a Demon like the majority of Atofe's guards, Regas, one of the few surviving Drow Elves, had near-absolute trust in the abilities of his Mistress. He had witnessed her facing off against Perugius and his allies more than a dozen times during the war, so, while he didn't doubt the veracity of Aldrich's report, he believed that Atofe would, at the very least, return alive.

Shifting her glowing red eyes to her colleague, Bhathia snorted when she witnessed Regas polishing one of his curved, scimitar-like blades. He only ever did as much when he was feeling nervous, so a teasing sneer marred her face as she said, "With our Mistress and Moore away, it's up to you to repel anyone who dares attack the keep. It must be frightening, not being able to hide in the back with your little bow and arrows."

Narrowing his eyes, Regas venomously replied, "I understand you're afraid, but how do either of us benefit from you inciting a quarrel while our Mistress is enthralled with the enemy? Unless, of course, you have betrayed us...?"

With her eyes releasing an intense, fiery-red light, Bhathia levitated from the ground, staring down at Regas as she growled, "You long-eared sack of refuse. You dare to accuse me of treason!?"

Unsheathing a pair of forearm-length daggers that doubled as magical wands, Bhathia was seriously considering teleporting Regas to the center of a Black Drake nest when the sound of an explosion promptly drew their attention. Immediately after that, the sound of an alarm bell echoed from outside as the keep's walls began to glisten with purple and green light, a tell-tale sign the fortress's defenses had been activated.

Unable to conceal the panic in her gaze, Bhathia exclaimed, "The enemy is here!? What about Lady Atofe...!?"

Ignoring his colleague's outburst, Regas unsheathed his second curved sword before sinking into his shadow and racing towards the keep's singular entrance at extreme speeds. There were other ways in and out of the keep, but they involved trespassing a room that suppressed Magic or sneaking in through an underground labyrinth. Neither would result in the soldiers sounding the alarm, so Regas assumed the enemy was attacking from the front.

Seeing Regas 'run' off, Bhathia furrowed her brows and clicked her tongue before crossing her daggers over her chest and teleporting outside, high in the sky and away from any conflict. The fortress would have no way of resupplying quickly without her power, so Moore had ordered her to avoid fighting unless she was certain of her victory.

Upon reaching her destination, the pupils of Bhathia's eyes contracted to the size of pinholes when she saw the state of the courtyard preceding the keep. It hadn't even been a full minute since the explosion that drew their attention, but nearly every member of their Elite Guard had been defeated, their 'corpses' littered about the courtyard or slumped down atop the ramparts they were charged with protecting.

Before Bhathia could fully grasp the situation, a sword-shaped flame more than three meters across and triple that in length barreled toward her with the speed and intensity of a living drake. She managed to slice through it with relative ease, but there were an additional sixteen blades right behind it.

"Impos-"

Unable to finish her utterance, Bhathia's body was promptly enveloped by the rapid-fire Magic spells. Flame Slice was only an Intermediate-Ranked Fire Magic, but it was still a three-verse Spell. Even with Truncated Spell-Casting or Chanting Omission, it wasn't a Spell conventional Mages could cast multiple of. Even if they could, they would utterly exhaust their Mana, leaving themselves exposed and vulnerable.

Unleashing a surge of magical power, Bhathia broke free from the sphere of flames that had formed around her, shouting as she prepared to make her opponent pay for their indiscretion. Instead, goosebumps developed across her body as she emerged to find a laser-like beam of bluish-white flames obstructing her view like a pillar.

Reacting instantly, Bhathia created several layers of Intermediate-Ranked Barrier Magic between herself and the beam of light. They were ultimately unable to stop the beam's passage, but they bought her just enough time to dodge to the side.

Not recognizing the Spell, Bhathia exclaimed, "What the fuck was that!?" as she continued to take evasive action. There were no additional attacks, but she didn't feel safe despite being hundreds of meters in the sky.

Seeing her target flee to the opposite side of the keep, out of her line of sight, Xinyan clicked her tongue and muttered, "I missed..." in an audibly annoyed tone. She didn't know how powerful the woman in the sky was, but she wanted to contribute to the conquest of the fortress rather than leaving everything to Ei, Jean, and Eula.

Having heard Xinyan's remark, a wry smile developed across Paul's face as he said, "I don't know about that. Considering how fast she took off, I think you did a good job. After all, if your attack had landed, you may have inadvertently killed her..."

With Paul following his words by caressing her head, a faint blush colored Xinyan's cheeks as she lowered her head and stared at him with upturned eyes. She knew using melded Plasma Magic was a little overkill, but she never had the opportunity to use it as it was too dangerous to use indoors or anywhere near the ground. After all, even the coldest Plasma she was able to generate was around 10,000 degrees, more than enough to ignite wooden structures or set the surrounding grass and trees on fire.

Interrupting Xinyan's presumed apology, Paul moved his hand from her head to her cheek, gently caressing it as Jean and Eula bullied Regas in the background...

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