Outside the opaque barriers that had sprung up around the globe which was being targeted by Daneel, the Axelorian Commander had a surprised expression on his face due to seeing the arrow he had shot out with all his strength simply passing through as if the barrier wasn't even there.
However illogical it was that Lanthanor had managed to obtain this many barrier trinkets, he had assumed the worst possibility: that the same money which had funded the damn space lock trinkets which were currently preventing his soldiers from escaping had also been spent on the barriers.
Yet, seeing that he had been fooled again, he gave himself up to the rage that had been building inside him since the moment he had seen the pristine walls of the Lanthanorean Kingdom.
First, it had been the memory of having to leave after arriving at the same wall with an army many times larger.
Next, it was the realization that whoever was commanding this battle had managed to hoodwink him by shooting arrows that were somehow embedded with space lock trinkets.
This wasn't something difficult to figure out, and when the anomaly of the arrows which had missed their targets surfaced, the Axelorian Commander had ground his teeth so tight that they had almost chipped away due to the extreme anger and frustration he felt.
Setback after setback. Since that damn brat had ascended the throne, Axelor had been fooled more times in less than a year than it had been in the past few decades.
As this thought came into his mind, the matter about the King's wellbeing also reared its head, making him doubt whether they were all playing into his hands.
Alas, it was too late to go down that line of thought now. Everything was already in place, and his King had already given his orders.
After reporting about the situation of the soldiers being unable to retreat, he had been given the order to kill as many Lanthanoreans as possible before making their way back with as many Axelorian Soldiers as they could save.
Of course, the option to abandon the killing to focus on saving was also there. Yet, this was the order they received.
Thus, in effect, their original plan with the Withering Leaf Sect to hold the army here for as long as possible was already scrapped.
Instead of the Sect backstabbing as he had warned the Sect Master about before, it seemed that they were the ones who were going to to leave without caring about the other party.
Ruthless, decisive, selfish. These were the words which best described the Axelor Kingdom, and also the reasons why they had always been rejected as allies by almost every force in Central Angaria.
As his goal was to take down as many Elites as possible, the Axelorian Commander had made his way to the globe where the response from the Eminent Human Mage who had been in charge of it was cut off the earliest.
Thus, he now found himself face to face with 'Kellor'.
Daneel had only been able to watch on with bloodshot eyes as the arrow had killed 5 of his soldiers in one go.
It had simply been too fast, and his body and mind hadn't been fast enough to be able to react except for giving him enough time to save himself.
Of course, he was also an Exalted Human Fighter, which was information no one else on the continent knew right now.
Thus, he had been able to estimate that this was definitely only the full power blow of an individual who was definitely below the Warrior Level.
Still, if he managed to enter the globe, it would result in a massacre due to his soldiers being attacked from two sides.
Thus, with no other option, Daneel discarded the spell to knock all the enemies out and proceeded to walk outside the opaque barrier.
As he did so, he came face to face with the first enemy he had faced after taking the throne of Lanthanor.
BANG
As soon as Daneel appeared in front of him, the Axelorian Commander stepped down hard on his left foot which was behind him before shooting forward like a bullet.
This was war; no useless dialogues or statements were necessary.
Of course, although he felt happy inside that he had hit the jackpot by being able to find the man who was probably in charge of the Kingdom if the news about the King's status was true, none of it showed on his face.
Instead, his face was set into an expression of dead concentration as he unsheathed the two axes on his back in mid-air on the way to the Grand Court Mage of the Lanthanor Kingdom.
Musing to himself that fighting, in reality, was indeed very different from the showy choreographed action scenes in the movies he had watched on Earth, Daneel smoothly conjured a wall of earth in the trajectory in which the Axelorian Commander was shooting towards him.
He was in the guise of Kellor, so he couldn't display his prowess as a Paragon.
As someone whose talent stemmed from being a woodcutter, Kellor had focused most on Earth and Wood elemental particles, along with a smaller focus on metal.
As for the other elementary particles, he was only moderately skilled in them, making it so that he seldom used them in battle unless there was any specific need like when he tried to drive away the Tenebrous Flame using a tornado.
BOOM
As someone who was well versed in fighting with Mages, the Axelorian Commander knew that any physical barrier conjured in so little time definitely wouldn't be very strong.
Thus, he simply broke through it before taking another step on the ground, as the position of his opponent had changed.
Indeed, Daneel had jumped to the side after conjuring the barrier. Above his head, a thick log of wood had begun to form on which layers after layers were being added by the second.
At the top of the block, a glint could be seen, indicating that something metallic would soon come into existence.
Seeing the Axelorian Commander shooting towards him again, Daneel had no choice but to slow down the conjuring of the axe above him to point his hand forward.
A shower of sand flew up from the ground, obstructing the vision of the commander while Daneel changed his position again.
SHWING.
Yet, to his surprise, the sound of a bowstring snapping was heard from behind the thick cloud which completely obstructed even his position.
An arrow came shooting out of the cloud in his direction, as if the commander had anticipated the movement beforehand.
Having just rolled on the ground in order to shift positions, Daneel had no time to move again. Thus, he only activated his barrier trinket and braced himself.
BANG
With a sound reminiscent of the banging of drums, Daneel found himself flying back due to the sheer force of the arrow.
Although it hadn't managed to penetrate the barrier, it still injured "Kellor" due to the instantaneous movement his body had had to suffer.
At least, that was what the Axelorian Commander thought as he ran through the dust.
Because he was an Exalted Human Fighter himself, Daneel hadn't taken any damage.
Still, he bit his tongue and coughed out blood as he had to keep up the guise.
This was how typical top-level Mage vs Fighter battles were carried out: typical Mages would try to conjure their strongest spells in order to break through the barrier of the opponent to defeat them in one go, while Fighters would either try to close the gap before this happened or used long-range weapons such as arrows to slow down the conjuring.
As the two carried on their fight oblivious to the battlefield in which numerous globes were being flipped along with numerous soldiers giving up their lives, a small group approached the gate of Lanthanor City.
Covered in cloaks, they looked like they had traveled a long way.
Approaching the soldiers guarding the gate, they reported the same names they had given when interrogated at the border wall.
Indeed, they hadn't faced any trouble at the border wall due to a little help from the Knight who had been captured.
Near their undergarments, they had small pouches which had the ability to escape the devices used by the forces in Central Angaria to detect trinkets.
This was the same way in which the Tenebrous Knight had managed to sneak into the Kingdom while holding onto all the trinkets he had used during the fight with the King.
After a few seconds, the soldier gave the message which made expressions of frustration appear on their faces.
'The Capital is currently under lockdown. Please wait to the side, where you will be notified and escorted inside after the lockdown has been lifted."
Under the watchful eyes of a few soldiers, they helplessly walked to an area which had been set aside for all those who had wanted to enter the Capital since the morning.
Revealing the hood which covered his forehead, the Vice Sect Master of the WIthering Leaf Sect cursed at their luck which was still down in the drains before saying,
"I have orders from the Sect Master. The Axelorian Army is retreating before the appointed time, but we will continue our mission. It is time to get our revenge for all the elders who gave up our lives for us. Prepare for a direct assault."