A woman stood atop the magnificent Great Dividing Walls, gazing down at the battlefield strewn with thousands of corpses. Most of them had fallen to trebuchets, ballistae and volleys from archers.
With the Goshen Longbow Archers in their ranks, Ashbourne’s ranged units were complete—capable and powerful enough to wreak havoc in the ranks of the enemies.
Like the sight before her, the results were clear: thousands of barbarians lay scattered across the grassy plains, their curved swords glinting among the bodies.
But this woman knew that these men had been sent to die.
They were not the real army.
For the past two months, they had been at war with Count William Tigris, who had turned the Wildlands his stronghold.
With the barbarian clans gathered under his banner, he was able to amass a great army capable of standing toe to toe with the Ashbourne elites—not through skill, but through sheer numbers.
Count Ashbourne commanded over 100,000 men capable of fighting, yet they had a little over 20,000 on these walls!
And the county wasn’t just fending off the barbarians; rival noble houses circled like vultures around a dying animal. She knew that the noble households wanted to feast on this juicy meat which was the Ashbourne county.
Sadly, the county was at its weakest now that the Count was away.
Batting her long lashes, the beautiful fairy turned away. After straight two months of ceaseless battle, she had grown used to seeing corpses!
“What is he planning now?” Sapphira muttered to herself.
From the first week of the war, she had moved over and joined the battle alongside her healers and knights, who were now known as Temple Servants.
The reason was that she had awakened a new talent that was unlike any seen before, a power that marveled all the top figures of the county.
Her talent was similar to that of a summoner but her summons empowered her Temple Servants, making them several times stronger than they were meant to be.
Over these past two months, she had been given several titles:
Destroyer of Men!
Resplendent Lotus Sword Queen!
Ashbourne Saintess!
Her fame has spread beyond the borders of the county—into the territories of Dukedoms, other counties and even the outskirts of Intis kingdom.
Several nobles had also written letters promising to have her as their wife on the grounds that she abandoned the county.
Unfortunately, all the letters ended up in flames, burning as she watched their ashes scatter in the wind.
Clad in a silver breastplate pressed against her white flowing gown that fluttered ever softly, Sapphira stood with quiet grace. The leather belt around her willowy waist tilted slightly to the right because of the weight of the sword strapped to it.
Her right hand rested firmly on the sword’s hilt.
“Ah…”
Her light pink lips slightly parted and a soft breath escaped them.
Lifting his head, she gazed at the forests beyond the plains solemnly. “What is he planning now?”
She turned. “I have to report to the Regent. We lost four hundred in this battle and…” her eyes flickered to the fallen barbarians on the battlefield.
“They lost over three thousand.”
Calmly, she walked past several towering Aegis Legion soldiers stationed along the wall. Their massive builds, impressive weaponry and oppressive presence were nothing more than a passing breeze to her.
The sun shone on them casting long shadows over the walkway.
Two months of intense war weighed heavily on the economy of the county, especially now that the teleportation channels have been deactivated.
Revenue was low.
There was no one they could trust so it was better to face enemies outside the walls than fester them within.
Baron Claude Flameheart, ruler of Goshen, had argued this countless times in the council meetings, yelling about how they were destroying what Asher had painstakingly built.
The county had stopped growing. They were able to sustain themselves—for now. But for how long?
And then it dawned on Sapphira.
Count William’s plan was cruel in its simplicity. He wanted to starve them, to incite rebellion from within. Though the plan was simple, it was effective.
He was using their wall and lack of allies against them!
‘Where are you?!’
Sapphira turned her gaze to the north, lingering at the top of the Great Dividing Wall before stepping into the lift that carried her to the ground.
Below, hundreds of white tents stretched across the field, each crowned with the black Ashbourne flag. Soldiers bustled about—some clad in full armor, others in tunics and pants and those who were in the logistics department could be seen all around, doing their own thing.
To her right, men chopped wood to set up massive flames in the flame towers that would help them keep watch during the nighttime.
Their banter fell into her ears as she walked by. Unfortunately, all eyes began to veer towards her.
Even after fighting alongside them for months, they still gazed at her with awe and reverence.
At a mere word from her, all these men could become her servants. Some would even kill for the chance. This was the extent of the side effect of her talent.
She was a glorified object for men.
They all wanted to claim her for themselves.
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Even to the extent that they would kill anyone in their path.
Revealing a small smile, Sapphira waved at them in greeting, but her simple gesture led to chaos as some waved back fervently.
Luckily, these men were on her side. Instead of trying to fight over her, they would fight for her.
Just then, a golden-haired woman with sharp facial features and a pair of dragonfly wings fluttering on her back descended from the sky.
She wore a breastplate over her priestly garment, like Sapphira. But unlike Sapphira, she carried both a sword and a metal lantern, its blue flames glowing ominously.
That lantern held the life force of the summoned creature Sapphira had placed inside her. Once the flame died, the creature inside of the priestess would split apart—crippling the priestess forever!
This was the reason only those who were loyal to a fault dared to receive this gift of power.
“I greet the Grand priestess.”
The healer fell to one knee.
“Mia,” Sapphira addressed her, her voice cool and commanding, her mind still preoccupied with the thoughts of the county. “Is there a problem?
Mia hesitated. “It’s about the Count… He’s back.”
Mia looked at Sapphira.
Sapphira’s expression didn’t change—at first. But then, slowly, her eyes widened, showing signs of doubt.
Mia wouldn’t lie or joke about something like this.
“Where is he?”
“Ashkelon. He has summoned all nobles, counselors and generals to meet him in Nineveh. In three days,”
Three days? It was impossible. The journey from the Great Dividing Wall to Nineveh would take two weeks on horseback—unless, of course she accessed the teleportation channels!