The Story of the War in Blackwinter

Death Valley.

Legia woke up. This time, sleep felt deep and peaceful for her.

In the past few days or weeks, her sleep had always been accompanied by a sense of high tension, leaving her devoid of energy upon waking.

But unexpectedly, sleeping in Death Valley, a place renowned as cursed and deadly, felt more peaceful than staying at Skaldia or Marina. Legia smiled bitterly, feeling her body refreshed.

She believed that the presence of Lord Millard truly provided a sense of protection. As long as he was here, even in Death Valley, everything felt calm.

Legia got out of bed, tidied her hair, and walked out of the inn.

She gazed at the deserted yet serene front yard, illuminated by the orange glow of the setting sun. The chirping of insects in the dark woods created a peaceful atmosphere.

"Is this really Death Valley?"

Legia couldn't help but wonder, considering the name of the place she currently found herself in.

She then walked towards the front of the shop. Entering the door, she found the Shop Owner absent behind the counter.

She called out for Cien, but after a moment passed with no response, she realized that the Shop Owner wasn't there. Legia proceeded to the backyard of the shop.

There, she still couldn't find anyone. There was no sound of people working in the forge either. Then, her eyes were drawn to the cave ahead.

"If I'm not mistaken, Jamie said there's a garden in there."

Her pair of feet casually moved towards the mouth of the cave. Inside, she was greeted by the sight of a cave filled with various plants, although most of them had not grown very tall. But, they are already up to her calves.

Amongst the plants, Legia could see a man watering them while humming a tune.

"Jamie."

The man turned towards the origin of the calling voice.

"Lieutenant! You're awake!"

"Yes, where is Lord Millard?"

"Mmm, usually at this time, if he's not forging, he'll be in the workshop. Mr. Millard is very diligent, once he starts something, it's difficult to stop him.

"But when mealtime comes, he'll take a break. Always on time! So, if the Lieutenant wants to meet him, it's better to wait until dinnertime," explained Jamie, who had memorized the Shop Owner's habits.

Legia understood and chose to wait. There is a responsibility she has yet to fulfill to Cien.

Cien had given her a message to deliver to Signa, and that message had at least had an impact on the situation in Huntara. Maybe.

Therefore, Legia felt a sense of responsibility to inform him about the current situation in Huntara. But since her arrival, Cien had told her to rest instead.

Legia let out a long sigh and offered to help Jamie water the garden.

.

.

.

Night arrived.

Legia had been sitting and waiting inside the shop, in front of the display window. She didn't dare disturb Cien's concentration while he worked.

Before long, Cien appeared, walking lazily while holding his stomach. As he passed by the shop, he noticed Legia was already there.

"You're here. Come on, let's go up and have dinner. Then I'll listen to your story," Cien said, inviting Legia to have a meal together.

Time passed, and they finished their dinner.

Legia emptied her glass in one gulp and began to recount what had happened in Huntara.

The details of Legia's story were scarce, as the woman only relayed what she had heard.

Legia hadn't participated in the war in Blackwinter or in the eastern region of Huntara.

After completing her mission of escorting Princess Sravati and delivering a message to Signa, she went straight to where Viscount Amary was located.

Her meeting with the Viscount was relatively easy and brief. Legia hadn't expected that simply mentioning Cien's name would provide a direct path to meet the Viscount.

When Legia handed over the letter from Signa, the nobleman didn't show any suspicion towards her.

Instead, he expressed gratitude and asked Legia to convey gratitude to Cien.

Upon hearing that, Cien could only laugh dryly. Perhaps the Fire Glove and Bluminous had elevated Cien's status in the eyes of the Viscount.

After that, Legia left the Huntara military camp and returned to Skaldia, where she stayed in a small inn.

Initially, Legia thought about returning to Death Valley immediately to fetch Jamie. However, she felt that leaving at that moment would be a blunder.

At the very least, she had to leave after receiving information about the war in Huntara, to be able to inform Cien and the Ethyria Garrison.

Therefore, Legia stayed in Skaldia for the next week.

During her time there, she gathered information at the city's bars, from traders, and also from some soldiers who had stopped by after the war in Blackwinter.

"So, Blackwinter was successfully reclaimed?" Cien asked.

Legia nodded, answering the question. She then continued the story of the war in Blackwinter based on the information she had obtained.

On that day, the day of Princess Sravati and Reiss' planned agreement, arrived.

Princess Sravati deployed all the Huntara forces present there to launch a full-scale attack on the northern part of Blackwinter.

Initially, many thought that the Princess had gone mad and sent her soldiers to their deaths. However, this perception changed as the war dragged on and seemed to reach a stalemate.

Suddenly, there was commotion at the northern gate of Blackwinter. Shortly after, a large magic circle appeared above the enemy's rear formation.

The magicians in Huntara camp believed that this magic circle was a Rank 10-level spell.

Naturally, this surprised everyone on the battlefield, except for one person—the Third Princess, who instead ordered her entire army to advance and charge at the enemy with all their might.

In perfect harmony with the Third Princess's command, a fire spell instantly descended, engulfing almost the entire enemy backline.

Thousands of lives vanished in an instant, demons and humans alike. No exceptions.

Panic arose among the enemy ranks as the Huntara forces felt a mighty gust of wind pushing them forward.

With all their strength, the enemy's front line began to head towards destruction. At least until a demon figure emerged and took control of the situation.

The Demon was said to possess power equal to that of the Champions. It wielded a mace and unleashed relentless dark magic upon the Huntara forces.

The victory that seemed within reach quickly vanished when that demon appeared.

The war once again reached a stalemate. Huntara should have had a much greater advantage over the enemy, considering the remaining number of their forces.

Unfortunately, the presence of the Demon halted the progress of the Huntara troops.

No, it wasn't just a halt. At that moment, they felt the Demon pushing back thousands of Huntara soldiers.

The frustrated Princess realized her plan had failed. However, unexpectedly, a white-haired woman appeared and managed to stop the demon in its tracks.

The woman introduced herself as the Huntress, an adventurer from Marina hired by Reiss.

Those who witnessed the battle between the Huntress and the Demon knew that the adventurer's strength was no match for the Demon.

Nevertheless, with unwavering determination, the woman continued to confront the Demon, even as wounds adorned her skin.

Seeing the perseverance of the Huntress, the Huntara soldiers refused to be defeated.

With all the strength they had, they began to annihilate the Blackwinter forces while Huntress was busy dealing with the troublesome demon.

Time passed.

As twilight approached, the Huntress was kneeling before the Demon.

She could no longer withstand the strength of her formidable enemy. Her right leg and left arm were even difficult to move.

The soldiers could hear the Demon praising Huntress for fighting him for a long time. But he said it was time for Huntress to rest.

The Demon was about to decapitate her, at least before he heard the shouts and the sound of thousands of troops running from behind the Huntara forces.

The reinforcement troops led by General of Huntara, Grid Whitehunter, had arrived. The thousands of soldiers brought a breath of fresh air to the Princess's troops.

After Grid met with Sravati and learned about the battlefield situation, he immediately ordered his troops to launch a full-scale attack. He instructed them to end the war before sunset.

Grid didn't stand idle either. He entrusted the command of the rear lines to the Princess. Meanwhile, he himself charged at the Demon, rescuing Huntress.

Grid gave some healing potions to Huntress, and together they faced the Demon.

The Blackwinter war grew increasingly chaotic. The Huntara troops felt that victory was within their grasp, at least until a large gate appeared in the sky.

Surprisingly, the gate was one of the Demon's powers. He still had the ability to unleash powerful magic when facing General of Huntara and Huntress.

"My name is A'wan! One of the Demon Generals from Abyss. I hereby decree the annihilation of the entire Huntara army!"

The gates in the sky opened, and thousands of winged demons descended like bats, attacking the entire Huntara army.

Panic began to grow in the minds of the entire Huntara soldiers. But, suddenly, a large red circle appeared again in the sky.

But this time, the magic circle was directed towards the big gate and all the demons within.

A massive burst of fire engulfed the gate and the demons, leaving the Demon General A'wan in disbelief.

"Ho-how is this possible? That spell again?! Who did this?!"

"IT WAS ME!!"

A woman clad in knight's armor suddenly appeared, brandishing her spear. She was from the Viscount Amary's knight battalion.

Together with General Grid and the Huntress from Marina, the Woman Knight successfully defeated General A'wan.

There are many rumors here.

Some say that it was the General's own sword that killed A'wan. But there are also those who claim that it was the Huntress's rapier that managed to decapitate the Demon.

However, there is one rumor that is widely believed. The rumor is that it was the Woman Knight's spear that successfully took the life of the General from the Abyss.

Legia doesn't know which rumor is true, but at least she knows that the three individuals who fought against the Demon General A'wan are now hailed as the heroes of Blackwinter.

The Huntress from Marina, the White Ghost Grid from Wynteria, and Jeanne, the Knight of Amary.

All three of them are highly respected by the people of Huntara.