Chapter 1
Inside of the Central Hall in the state of Imperial Castle where the emperor and the empress confabulate
"the announcement of the crown prince will be held on last day of Newmoon" Yu wen said while drinking the tea that her majesty serves, while sitting down on his golden chair in this long and luscious table inside the central hall
"29th day of Newmoon in the year of 635 Capricorn" Dahlia said and again serve another cup of tea to the emperor
Dahlia knows it that the emperor just wanted to say that nothing can stop the 1st prince in getting the title of the crown prince despite being the son of the 1st concubine in a sense that he is the oldest son now he is more likely to be crowned
Dahlia is the Empress of this Land Married to Emperor Yu wen who bare two child, the first Prince was born and the first concubine son become the second prince then Dahlia's second son is the third Prince.
After Dahlia's eldest son died in the battle field the 2nd prince of the 1st concubine was the only option to be crowned.
Dahlia's expression is blank even the emperor cant read what's on Dahlia's Mind.
"I want you to attend the cerem---"
"the Mother must be the one to be on the side of the prince when getting crowned, I will personally guide Lady Ru to prepare for the coronation so be at ease your majesty" Dahlia cut the emperor, upon having a blank expression while saying those phrases the emperor didn't mind to ask any more.
Dahlia is no longer the Dahlia he knows when they first met, the Dahlia now is insubstantial and vague.
"life is full of uncertainties the best way to face it is to fight it" Yu wen suddenly stood up, yet when he glimpse on Dahlia it never change her expression
"the Palace of Tranquility will always be under me, safeguarding the royalties against the hungry nobles is my duty!" Dahlia said to comfort the emperor's worry as she knows that emperor said those words as he is worries if she is still be able to do her duty as the empress of their empire
Yu wen smile and hug her at back
While in the middle of talking a few heavy footsteps heading towards the door of the central hall
"GENERAL OF THE FIRST ORDER REQUESTING FOR AN AUDIENCE YOUR MAJEST----"
"LET HIM IN" Yu wen cut off the guard then General Castor with her personal guards enter the hall and knelt
"we greet the Sun that never sets, the Emperor and the Moon that always shine, the Empress of the Empire" The latter said
"Rise, what is it that compelled you to disturb our afternoon tea?" Yu wen coldly said, the General is now visibly adjugated
"Please- my Lord, forgive me for I have committed a grave crime; I surrender myself with any form of punishment as you see fit "
"Be at ease General and state your business and raise your head! If its not of great importance, I don't recommend to interrupt the emperor's time". Dahlia said and stand up from her chair and face the group of Knights
"yes your majesty, the western regions are being attacked by dark knight shadows, the western fortress send their armies to prevent major losses but the number of monster is overwhelming, the Church of Laven also send their Holy knights to blessed the borderline but it wont hold long!"
as the general is reporting the incident, Yu wen is troubled by the fact that it happens in this crucial time, if no crown prince is crowned from the imperial house in a period of time, High nobles will start to meddle and propose to crown a prince from the other royal blood which is the Sons of the 12 Lords.
" Send the 1st Order to the western to hold the Shadow knights I will lead the royal Ar---"
"the Order of the Phoenix will deal with it! Send your troops General to the fortress to aid in their defenses! And send a command to the 2nd order to take the Princes in the Imperial castle"
'This is surely a thing done by some of our enemies to threatened and postponed the crowning. As they are trying to ignite havoc and use it as an excuse to gain the favor of the people. I'm sure this is the doings by one of the 12 lords'
Dahlia leaves the central plains and now heading to the western region riding the horses with the other member of the order of the phoenix
"how long till we arrived?" she asked to the person next to her, her right hand aide Roland Morerl
"Two days however, since the horses is under Melan's spell we'll be arriving in 45 minutes in full speed" he said, Melan's spell makes the horses feel light and increase their stamina
"ORDER OF THE PHOENIX! FULL SPEED!!" Dahlia shouts with vigor as the rest followed, matching the empress' steed.
With vast forests and mountains that could touch the heavens, this kind of geographical formation is far too difficult to traverse even for our enemies, with such a strong and advantageous plains the enemy would think twice before penetrating it.
With tall and impenetrable towers in between them, is the Iron entrance of the western fortress
Melan as the left hand aide of the empress raise the Imperial Seal.
"THE EMPRESS ARRIVES!! OPEN THE CENTRAL GATE!!!" One of the watchtower guards commanded. Then the iron gate is slowly rising.
Right before its fully open the empress enters the fortress but it does not show any sign of stopping, The Guards and knights inside the fortress started to get worried as the empress might plan on getting into the next gate which is the gate to exit the western fortress
"EMPRESS, ITS NOT SAFE TO VENTURE OUTSIDE!! THE EMPRESS MUST REMAIN AS SHE ARE!!" one of the female lieutenant exclaimed audibly but the empress didn't even bother to listen to it
As they were closing to the gate there is no sign in reopening it
"Roland, open the gate!" Dahlia said and Roland started to look for the guard near the gates lever, as he spotted it he cast a spell on the guard, Roland can control the minds of others just like a puppet
The Iron gate is now being lifted, the empress and her entourage is heading towards the exit with full speed the fortress guards were dumbfounded as they marvel to the presence of the empress and her personal knights.
"General Mckenny!!" everyone looks at the person who just appear in front of the female lieutenant
"SEND A SQUADRANT TO FOLLOW HER MAJE---"
"GENERAL AN ORDER FROM THE IMPERIAL PALACE!! LET THE EMPRESS EXIT THE FORTRESS AND THE WESTERN FORTRESS IS ORDERED TO STANDBY AND WAIT FOR THE IMPERIAL KNIGHTS TO ARRIVE!" a Guard who received the order shouted from the watch tower
'what in the world is going on? I know that the empress is strong yet I worry that its far too dangerous for her to go there!! But we cant deny the imperial palace!'
"Her majesty arrives in the western region" -Grand minister Luke Vangard
"the Empress' Mind is difficult to penetrate as if she had a spell to prevents anyone from entering"
"the Empress is the Daughter of the Llereosa Family the Moon of the Empire, the strongest family in the land there is no doubt that even the emperor 'Empathic Accuracy' wont be able to affect her majesty"
"My wife is no longer the wife I've known!, her expression changes only when in dealing with the second Prince, I can see a tender smile when with the second prince".
"Her Majesty is wiser than I, not even the Cathedral's Popes could outwit her majesty, before her majesty left, she asked the pope to restrained all churches movements except the Church of the God Laven, she even sent her Assignation squad to spy on the 12 lords until her battle is done!"
'She goes as far as sending spies on the 12 lords? Did the empress saw through their schemes?
As the emperor was pondering on her Wife's movements, he envisions the odd from it
"Grand Minister Luke, order your Dark fiend corps to Enter the 12 lords houses, task them to ask the lords to give their blessing for the coronation of Prince Deluc!" the emperor said then left the Imperial Decree office
"heed these orders, send the fiend corps as per what the emperor has commanded!" the Grand minister just said those phrases and a few white smoke suddenly appeared, smoke from the aftereffect of a teleportation spell
The Grand Minister touch the smoke in blank expression
"it seems like my men's teleportation spell is not as refine as the second Prince's!" he said, he is long been envious to Prince Davey's teleportation magic which is too clean, not even a hint of smoke or a spec of dust appears after the spell is cast, no one will notice that someone used a teleportation spell if Prince Davey was the caster.
'such refinement in teleportation is inherit only to name of the Llereosa'.
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"LUCENT BEAM!!"
The sky dimmed and several beams of light descended from the sky scattering from a radius vanquishing several shadow knights in the vicinity,
'these shadow knights kept on coming, there must be a magic circle around as their spawning point, the magic barricade set by the holy knights won't last for long; near by towns will be put in danger if that happens, the evacuation is on going and the battle is yet to reach its ends'
"Melan lead 10 knights to venture around the back forest, look for the Magic circle and destroy it at once!!"
"Yes your majesty!! Melan took 10 of her best knights and set off to heed the command given to her.
"I SHOW YOU THE WAY! **BLINDNESS INDUCEMENT**" after the spell has been cast, the entire battlefield turn into darkness with nothing to see except for Dahlia.
Then she gave Melan and her knights Lucent sight.
'I've been using my power for 4 hours already, the Phoenix order is also exhausted and the imperial army is yet to arrive.'
"Everyone retreat to the Barricade!!!" as I gave the command I began to wander around the battlefield
"how many are injured??" seeing Roland healing the remaining troops
"These are the only injured knights we have your Majesty!"
"I am relieved" as I retreat, 4 shadow knights manifested in front of us but this time these shadow knights are larger and wielded enchanted swords, one of them raise its sword with intent to attack. I began to ponder.
"**DISPERSING CHAIN!**" 7 links of chains then wrapped around the four knights and dragged them away from us, this was one of Roland's spells The Chains of Judgement
"Your majesty lets retreat at once! Melan will soon be able to locate and destroy the Magic circle we must keep ourselves safe until then!" Roland explained audibly and grabbing my hands
"YOUR MAJESTY!!" he exclaimed once more. I fell down trying to grasp my breath and I felt my sweat dripping from my cheeks, then after that several Shadow knights were charging towards us.
'these knights are fighting the newly arrived troops and it seems not to notice us, for them to pinpoint my location instantly!'
Dahlia suddenly had a hunch, she then manipulated the Gravity of the surrounding, disarming the shadow knights and preventing from harming them
She then knelt to the ground appearing to be exhausted, testing her hunch that someone was observing the battle, Dahlia is a Moonlight empress her stamina is far greater compared to a typical knights, she can even restore her stamina with mana knowing Dahlia has a huge amount of mana she can store up to ten times than that of the emperor's.
"Take the opportunity to behead these shadow knights my spell will not hold them for long so do it with haste!" I said and the fortress knights began to aid the fight.
I grabbed Roland's head and covered his eyes with my palm.
'sorry Roland but endure the pain for now, I possessed the power to imitate the powers of others when I'm touching the source of their gift since Roland's gift is in his eyes, enabling him to control and transfer his vision to someone he sees but in Roland's perspective this gift's power restricted since he has yet to unlock this gift's full potential. With his gift in my hands, I will be able to display this power to its full capacity
Roland felt the sharp pain but he was forced endure for he knows the empress will not harm him, he understands that its necessary for the circumstance that they are in.
"ANCIENT APPARITION!" Dahlia invoking those words, she then raise her head to the Moon which is just illuminating right above them, she then transferred her consciousness to the moon granting her to see everything within world. Dahlia then became omniscient as she uses this spell on the moon, everyone was captivated with the lucent light illuminating, safe guarding the two, as the spirit of the moon descended embracing Dahlia in protection.
Dahlia began to focused her attention to the battlefield, letting her sight wander to the vicinity she then discover four watchers in the nearest mountain in the eastern side of the battlefield.
Also she saw Melan still looking for the Magic circle which she already located with this power, she then launch a lucent light to the magic circle to guide Melan's troops
After that she then contacted her son Prince Davey to teleport on her location. By sending a lucent whisper with her current state Dahlia can travel half of the world
She then deactivated the spell and everything came back to normal, Dahlia felt dizzy for a moment but she then quickly regained her strength.
Roland on the other hand felt weak so Dahlia console him and order him to retreat with Davey
"What do you mean? Prince Davey? The second prince must not stray here, the prince must remain safe since they're the most likely the target of the enemy!!"
"I urge you to keep your mouth sealed for now Roland however no need to fret, no one can harm my son!" after saying that prince Davey then appear before them
Without a word Dahlia took Davey's forehead then teleported together to where the four watchers on the east side of the battlefield.
After teleporting Dahlia ordered Davey to get Roland evacuated.
"For strangers to set foot on this land and cause harm the rewards that awaits you must be a promising, this futile pursuit is only suitable to high class magician could afford, so I guess you're some scholar on small cities or kingdoms around this continent.!"
Dahlia stares at the four cloaked magicians in front of her, they wore black empty masked which held no expressions or features and a black cloak.
"your mask seems restricting your ability to speak, so lets take that off first shall we." Dahlia points her fingers towards them but the mysterious men seems quick to react, the four magician Leaped away from Dahlia and now they're atleast 4 feet away from each other
'a tactical position to gang up on me! These magician Is not easy to deal with-'
A sudden surge of air came out from one of the magicians' hand and was directed towards me. There were two on the far left and one on the far right of me.
'I don't have to counter these spells, if I do I risk myself with another attack from the other magicians. I have to evade is only recourse.
As I landed on the nearest rock, someone attempted to slash my neck 'a close combat magician'
After dodging that a restraining array then took hold my feet.
"such a trap was created for in short period of time! They're clearly not to be underestimated"
"Her majesty won't last much longer facing us.!" the tallest magician slowly approaching, his aura seems much stronger than of the other three, he seems to be the leader.
As the man points his finger on Dahlia's face a concentration of light then gathered on the tip of his finger
"If her majesty just stayed to her lavish palace, the majesty would have lived a little longer!"
A grin formed on Dahlia's face as she realized that this magician might be someone who is affiliated to the high society to talk to her like this, Dahlia's anger began to ignite with the fact that the high nobles would go this far.
To threatened the people of the western regions just to secure their place and to climb up in the noble ladder, this deed is outrageous to disturb the order of the empire and threaten its people, I'll be sure to take the head of the lord who's behind this.
"goodbye your maje-----"
The magician was so stunned to continue his words as he saw a giant clock above them, the magnitude of its size was big enough to cover the whole sky.
' a Magic circle of time at this scale!' the magicians ponder and started to rethink their actions as this type of magic can only be achieved by the highest level of magic attributes, not even the Chairman of the mana tower could not achieve this kind of magic at this scale.
A magic circle that manipulates time, the strongest kind magic of all. It defy all magic logic exist in this world, magic that creates the rules and control all sort of magic circles, this magic circle is invincible
"Now let us have a talk!" Dahlia said, with just flick of her finger the array was destroyed
"From here I can control your lives, even death has no control over here; As long you are here, your life hangs on a thread from my judgement....I AM DAHLIA MARGARET LLEREOSA AVALEON, THE MOON THAT ALWAYS SHINE OF THIS EMPIRE, WIFE OF THE EMPEROR YU WEN DESCENDANT OF LLEREOSA FAMILY THE STRENGTH AND MIND OF THIS CONTINENT, AND MY GIFT IS THE POWER OF TIME, RULER OF ALL MAGIC"
Dahlia exclaimed an introduction, strong gusts of air pulsing through with every she invokes causing the magician to trembling to their feet; their breathing heavy and each breath getting heavier followed by sweat dripping down to their heads.
Even if they kill themselves Dahlia can rewind their time, there's no escape in this situation as long as Dahlia uses her gift the only thing a person trap inside can do is to submit to her will is.
[Mother this is Davey, a high magician is coming your way, this aura is stronger than of that of the emperor get the seal of those four magicians and vanquish them at once, we can't risk anymore lives on the field the shadow knights are gone, the four magicians before you are just pawns of a much stronger opponent; waiting to strike, when we face this foe the battle would detrimental! We can't think of any countermeasure but to avoid the fight!]
Sound transmission is Davey's gift granted by the God of Wisdom, as what Davey said I also felt the presence of those magician, who are they?
"SEALING SAINT" the soul was extracted on the four magicians and turn it into an egg shape ball after Dahlia collected those she undid her magic and Davey appeared in front of her and the both warped back to the Western fortress
The sealing saint will restrict the reincarnation of those sealed souls and are bind by death in the hand of the caster
The battle is over and everything is back to how it was but the inside of the Imperial castle is in a puzzling situation
Inside the Throne hall where all the Imperial Family is present including the general and minister
"You mean there is an outsider link in this madness?" - Grand Minister Luke
"Yes my lord, as for the investigation of the western official the Magicians that Her majesty the empress had defeated was the magician of the Soul Land tower of the forbidden forest!" a messenger of the Western Region reporting all the visible evidences and deduction of the incident, as for the Lord of the western is busy in rebuilding its defenses.
"How was the casualties of the western forces?"
"I report your Majesty, my emperor that the western forces only suffered a minor losses thanks to a quick response of the Imperial forces and the reinforcement of the Church of Laven also the Arrival of the Order of the Phoenix ended the battle that was expected to persis for 3 days" after saying those the people inside the Throne hall started to look upon all the papers presented to them to evaluate and analyze the situation of the Western plains
"the coronation will commence earlier than expected!" upon hearing the 1st concubine's words the Ministers ears was enraged.
"we cant rush things out upon this crucial situation of the imperial court a sudden change of schedule will cause a ruckus in all High noble houses!" - Minister of Finance
"our enemy attacks upon hearing the decree of the Imperial Palace in crowning the Eldest Prince, this attack is done for the purpose to interrupt the coronation, if we go by their play the Imperial family will be the one placed in disadvantage, to secure the authority of the Imperial castle we need to counter their game by setting up our own rules!"
'Lady Ru has a point, if the coronation will be interrupt the high nobles whose behind this attack will have more time to prepare for their second attack and if that happens everything will be in favor to our enemies, if Prince Deluc's Coronation be delayed, the Crown Prince position will be rushed and the 12 Prince of the 12 great houses will then challenge the Imperial Blood for the crown prince position. Through this allotted time, the position will be in the mercy of the peoples favor for choosing the crown prince'
As the empress observing the debate between the Minister of Finance and Lady Ru Prince Davey suddenly points his finger to the Minister of Finance who are sitting in front of him he then shot a beam of light that destroys the post at the Minister's back, everyone was so stunned to speak even the emperor and the empress was caught off guard by Davey's action
"YOUR MAJESTY! PARDON ME BUT WHY WOULD YOU ACT SO RASHLY?" -Minister of Internal Affair
"Minister of Finance seems not to understand the situation and forget to show respect to second mother, as for his argument he was just trying to save his position, the presence of the crown prince will set the balance of power between High nobles and the Imperial Castle but it also threatens the position of some ministers in the Imperial court since the crown prince will be responsible in evaluating the performance of each minister after being crowned then all Minister who are inclined to some high nobles will be forced to resign from their position for the Imperial Court Decree, not allowing any Imperial court Official in Inclining themselves for transaction or negotiation with high nobles"
The minister who attends the counsel inside the throne hall was sweating on Davey's words, Davey does not only mean this to give warning on the Minister but also to educate his eldest brother Deluc.
"the Imperial family's future depends upon the loyalty of their subordinates but once this people starts to embrace the nobles the loyalty seal will vanish, the Imperial family must always treat the nobles as a competitor of the Imperial power, and as for those followers of the Imperial house that also serve the Noble houses must choose whose master to serve since its never been good to serve two masters at a time!" Upon Davey's teaching all the people who listens to him was in amazement, upon this youth's wisdom was far superior than of that of the eldest prince
"Grand Minister Luke and Prime minister Sima, Heed my command past down my decree to all 12 houses, the Crown Prince Inauguration will be held the day after tomorrow, the 20th day of Newmoon in the year of 635 Capricorn!" the Emperor said and all of the official position themselves in the center of the hall facing the emperor who sits on his golden throne in the throne hall with the Empress sitting beside him and the 1st concubine who sits below him in the right side corner and the princes who sits on left side .
The Grand minister and the Prime Minister then knelt in front of them together with the Ministers behind them.
Minister of Finance
Minister of War
Minister of Internal affair
Minister of External affair
Minster of Diplomatic relations