***** Trigger Warning: Physical Violence/Torture *****
The stalemate between the military and the True Order continued. The True Order had surrounded the Nafriton students and staff, even taking several hostages. However, the military refused to let the True Order retreat. They didn't believe that the True Order would release the hostages safely.
Neither could do anything to the other. The battlefield eventually settled down into a state of tense uneasiness. The Nafriton students and staff retreated into the stage area. The intruders surrounded them while cautiously keeping an eye on the military surrounding them.
No one could leave, but more importantly the injured couldn't get medical care. Time was running out for the most critically injured. The commanders on all sides were keenly aware of this, but the True Order still held the advantage with the hostages that they grabbed before the military arrived.
The military commander decided to wait for some special reinforcements so he could make a risky play. If it worked, the hostages could safely evacuate. Otherwise, the True Order could flee, and take the Forolan heir with them. At that point the commander might as well wash his neck for the Forolan family.
The True Order commander grew impatient as the military kept stalling. He began to have a bad feeling. Tightening his grip on Daren Forolan, the True Order commander escalated his threats. Nothing was out of bounds from cutting off a hostage's arm to threatening to kill the surrounded Nafriton students and staff.
All threats were met with gritted teeth and a stubborn refusal to budge. The fights holding up the headmaster and deputy headmasters should finish soon. Scouts reported that the battles should end in Nafriton's victory. Even if the special reinforcements don't arrive in time, they should.
Then the battle would tip more into the military's favor. Agents of the True Order reported these predicted results to their leader, who grew more anxious by the second. He had the Forolan heir in his grasp. The other plan should be going well. Overall, the True Order would have a great harvest if they retreated now.
Without any other choice, the True Order commander decided to ruthlessly sacrifice the pawns for greater benefits. They would break through and escape via the teleportation formations at the main library. Agents began to prepare to break through the military blockade in secret. The military noticed their actions, and prepared for the worst.
Just before the True Order began its final struggle for freedom, an explosion rocked the campus. They could feel the icy mana emanating from far away. The remnants of the shock waves and light from the blast even arrived at their battle field.
Smoke trailed up from the distance. Instantly the True Order was thrown into chaos. They knew where that explosion came from. Without the support of the tracking system and teleportation magic, fleeing would be much more difficult.
The military commander was furious. He realized that those True Order snakes had another secret plan going on. All of their focus was on the awards ceremony. How did those rats get enough people in for another operation?! Fortunately, the True Order seemed just as shocked by the explosion as he was.
With that spark, the powder keg finally exploded. The True Order desperately tried to flee while military tried to hold them off. The hostages safely fled behind the Nafriton defenses, except for Daren Forolan who couldn't break free from the True Order commander.
Some agents began to reconstruct a magic formation so their commander could flee with the Forolan heir. The military violently retaliated. Whatever the intruders were building wouldn't be good for them. The battlefield devolved into chaos.
During the struggle, blurry figures flying faster than jets appeared in the distance. The special reinforcements had arrived. Cheers erupted from the military side. Their opponents could only swear and work faster to escape. At least their commander had to flee with their best prize.
The figures just arrived at the battlefield just as the magic formation was completed. All in armor, they were led by a grey-haired man with a grim expression. That man was Stallesso Forolan, the former City Lord of Halcyon. Daren struggled to break free.
"Grandfather!"
The True Order commander instantly cast a silence spell, but it was too late. The grey-haired man's eyes instantly locked onto the hostage held by the True Order commander. His expression turned ferocious as he noticed the magic formation.
"Block them for me! May magic reign supreme!"
"May magic reign supreme!"
The remaining True Order agents instantly launched their own attacks. They still needed a bit of time to calibrate the destination coordinates for the next teleportation. With the Forolan heir in their hands, the opponents wouldn't dare to cast high tier magic. This bought them a few minutes.
"Unhand my grandson! Halcyon Guards, pierce through their defenses!"
Against their expectations, the True Order didn't have a few minutes. Personally trained by the former City Lord of Halcyon, the best unit of the Halcyon Guards accompanied him on his urgent trip to Nafriton. The Forolan family spared no expense to equip them with the best gear.
They tore through the intruders like tigers through a flock of sheep. Extreme killing intent washed over the True Order commander. Fear gripped his heart as he noticed Stallesso Forolan's eyes had locked onto him.
"Never mind the exact coordinates! Set them in the approximate area and add extra height to avoid the trees!"
"But sir that's still risky!"
"JUST DO IT!"
The Halcyon Guards continued to tear through the True Order's defenses. Stallesso narrowed his eyes and started casting a spell. Just in case, he would block off the area around them. His grandson would not be taken while he watched.
The timing went down to the very last milliseconds. Daren kicked, squirmed and hit as hard as he could when the True Order commander dragged him onto the formation. He fought even harder to escape as it began to glow.
Both spells finished casting almost instantaneously. One completed a bit faster. The magic formation shuddered for a moment before the users disappeared. A large crack appeared in the sky above as the formation punctured Stallesso's incomplete spell.
The battlefield went silent. The True Order commander has escaped, and took Daren Forolan with him. The True Order agents happily cheered while the Halcyon Guards flew into a rage. Within seconds the remaining intruders were either dead or dying.
Stallesso gripped a hooded wizard by the throat. He was the last living wizard who helped set the coordinates of the previous teleportation. The hooded wizard just eerily smiled and didn't even bother to struggle. He knew that today was his final day alive.
"What were the last coordinates set on this formation?!"
The hooded wizard sneered.
"Hehe, why so glum? Your grandson's talent is wasted under your family. He will be taught personally by our glorious leader, the Prophet, and be a key figure in rebuilding this flaming trash heap of a country."
The furious grandfather squeezed his hand tightly and watched as the wizard's face turned blue.
"Last chance for a quick death. What were the last coordinates set on this formation?!"
The True Order agent's face contorted into hideous grin as he pushed his mana to the limits.
"Who… knows? *gasp* May… magic… reign… SUPREME!"
Stallesso's eyes widened as he realized what the agent's plan was. He quickly threw the agent high into the air. After a sharp surge of mana, the agent exploded. The shockwaves threw the wizards nearby to the ground, except for an irate Stallesso. The military commander cautiously approached and saluted.
"Sir! Thank you for –"
"That wretch destabilized his own mana in an attempt to harm the magic formation. I'm going to find my grandson and the villainous b***ard who took him. Take care of things here. The Halcyon Guards will aid you in securing the school."
"All of our best formation experts will help you. We will have the previous coordinates loaded immediately."
"Good. Now scram!"
The military commander hurriedly scrammed. The oppressive aura coming from the former City Lord was intense. He shuddered. Fortunately, that rage was mostly placed on the True Order right now, otherwise his head might no longer be attached to his neck.
Several military wizards hurried over to the formation, and even more Nafriton professor joined them. Daren Forolan was one of their own. More importantly, Stallesso Forolan's wrath was legendary. They couldn't refuse even if they wanted to.
The grey-haired wizard seemed to age with worry as he watched the experts hurriedly reset the formation. He ground his teeth. Every second resetting the formation was another second that Daren was taken further away from him.
A ragged blond-haired boy approached him. The pale faced young man silently knelt on the ground. He seemed frozen, like a statue.
"Speak."
"Sir, I failed. I'm so sorry –"
"Enough. I want every detail about the True Order's attack and what you know about the commander's power. Everything else will wait until later. First I need to get my grandson back."
As a reminder, I will be posting another chapter today since some previous chapters were posted at a different time due to daylight savings (I aim to post at 12 pm US central time).
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