"Shit..." Cassian muttered, the word slipping out without thought. He wasn’t the only one—everywhere he looked, soldiers, mercenaries, even hardened adventurers were staring at the field in stunned silence.
The battlefield ahead of them was littered with thousands of monster carcasses. And not weak ones either. Any single beast out there would’ve been enough to force a dozen first-circle warriors to fight for their lives.
Yet, in less than half an hour, a few hundred well-equipped soldiers and a hundred or so mages had turned the entire wave into nothing but meat and broken bone. And all of it had happened under the command of the infamous Karmen Princess—Aria Kiew Karmen. She’d struck once herself, then left the rest to the formation, her voice guiding the soldiers like clockwork as they tore through the horde.
The shock hit hardest among the Morningstar Guild members and the mercenaries the prince had hired. The rumors they’d heard painted her as arrogant, reckless, always charging ahead without sense. But what they’d just witnessed was the complete opposite—controlled, ruthless efficiency, using a fraction of her force to crush overwhelming numbers.
Cassian found himself staring at her white-and-gold armor at the center of the field, the pristine crescent blade still glowing faintly blue, and couldn’t help but think: This didn’t match the stories at all.
And she’d only attacked once herself—the complete opposite of the rumors. The soldiers around him looked just as confused, even the reinforcements from Magisteria City, who had gotten used to hearing all kinds of bad talk about her. From what Cassian could tell, a fifth-circle warrior like Aria could’ve wiped out those monsters alone in a few minutes if the stories about her strength were true. Instead, she’d used her troops with near-perfect precision, showing the kind of control only a commander at the top of her game could have.
Even Naset Lawk looked impressed as he stepped forward to greet her. Cassian couldn’t see much with the crowd of soldiers moving in to show their respect, but what little he caught only added to the picture: the Princess was nothing like the rumors.
That alone made something in his gut twist. Someone higher up was pulling strings here, sowing confusion and chaos for their own gain. And if Cassian had to bet, the ones worth watching were the prince and the oh-so-helpful mage uncle standing quietly behind the scenes.
"The situation here is nothing like the rumors..." Wanni muttered as the soldiers from the battlefield began filing back into camp.
"No kidding," Robert said, shaking his head as he and the others followed, still looking half-stunned. "Fucking hell, the first line was all regular soldiers. I still can’t wrap my head around it. Those monsters hit like a nightmare and they just... held. With nothing but those damn shields. Even if they were mana-enhanced, it’s still unreal."
Alix nodded in agreement. "She’s right. Every mage and soldier in there is a node in what’s basically a huge spell or spell array. All of them share a connection, and the mana flows through every line." She tilted her head toward the formation’s center. "And guess who was controlling the flow of that juice? Our Princess herself. That’s how it held so clean."
SHe let out a low whistle. "Still, keeping that kind of channel stable with that many people in it? That’s no small trick."
Cassian still didn’t really get half of what Alix and Shera had explained about formations, and he didn’t get the chance to ask either. Alix suddenly snapped back into her usual tone and said, "Alright, enough about this. Cassian, if you’re done with your tent, go fix up mine. I’m going to talk to the commander, see what we’re doing when we’re not needed on the field."
Every single one of Cassian’s teammates gave her the same deadpan look, then turned to Shera like she was supposed to step in. Shera just lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. "Orders are orders, guys."
"You could help us, you know," Lumine muttered, sounding just a little pissed.
Shera jabbed a thumb at her own half-set-up tent. "Yeah? I’ve still got mine to finish, so good luck with that."
Cassian let out a long sigh and muttered, "Fine. I’ll do it. Not like I’ve got anything better to do than slave over someone else’s tent."
"I’ll help," Lumine said before he could complain further, stepping beside him and grabbing one of the poles.
"I’m not gonna say no to that..." Cassian muttered, already regretting opening his mouth as he glanced at the rest of his team. He waited—hoped—one of them would offer to help.
Not a chance. Every single one of them suddenly found the ground, sky, or their own boots extremely interesting.
"...fuck you assholes," he grumbled, dragging his feet toward Alix’s half-done tent.
Robert smirked, not even trying to hide it. "Hey, you’re the one who said yes. Hero move right there."
"Yeah, yeah. Keep talking and see whose tent gets ’accidentally’ knocked over in the middle of the night," Cassian shot back, glaring over his shoulder.
The others scattered with cheeky grins plastered on their faces, clearly not wanting to stick around and get cursed at by their team leader. Cassian muttered under his breath, annoyed, as he went to wrestle with the half-set tent alongside his girlfriend.
"Well, at least it’s just us," he said, tugging at a rope. "Nice to get a little alone time without those idiots hanging around."
"Mm, yeah," Lumine agreed, then smirked faintly. "Would be even better if the place was actually secluded."
Cassian gave her a sly wink. "Could make it interesting if it was..."
Lumine made a face like she’d bitten into something sour. "Is your brain ever not swimming in perverted thoughts? Ever heard of normal conversation? You rotten headed pervert."
Cassian paused, looking mildly guilty. "Alright, fair. My bad. So... normal conversation. What do you want to talk about?"
Lumine studied him for a moment, then her lips curved into a small smile. "Okay, then tell me this—what were you and Shera laughing about earlier, when you were helping her set up?"
"Oh, that?" Cassian finally got the canvas to spread properly and shrugged. "I was just trying to cheer her up. She and Altev broke up a few days ago. Didn’t even know until today."