Chapter 480 479: Pushing The Limits



The next morning we had to - sadly - return to the training grounds, all the other Knights just as reluctant as us as we filtered into the sandy area, where an angry Demon Wolf prowled around.

"You only got that break because the Empress decreed it! Don't think today will be any easier... if anything, I'm pissed she let you all have a break to begin with!"

Everyone flinched at her growl, and we all exchanged glances as we prayed that the Empress would come back to save us once more.

Sadly, it would seem that the Empress had acquiesced to her crazy wife's demands as she made herself scarce; as did Lady D'Arcon, making us all understand just how ticked Lady Fenryas was as she thoroughly beat each of us into a pulp, mixing training and venting her petulant anger on us all.

That day, we returned to how we 'trained' on the first day, throwing ourselves at the ticked off Demon Wolf over and over again.

The only healers we had were Jahi, myself, and two other 'magically attuned' Knights, whose expertise ranged as far as... mending broken bones and knitting flesh back together at a slow pace.

As such... well, Jahi and I were placed in a rather precarious position, as the Marquess, Belian, Sker, and a Tortoisekin named Xietian standing in front of us and trying to provide protection as we worked on casting magics over the group, keeping them fresh and ready to fight.

Gold and blue light bathed the training grounds, making Lady Fenryas' silver eye gleam maliciously as she began to work her way towards us, swatting aside the various Knights around her and ignoring the arrows that shattered against her black flesh.

"I knew you two would be a problem... Damn Light Magic... and you! Crafty bitch, aren't you? Enchanted weapons, Ice Magic, all hidden from me! Mm, I'm going to enjoy this..."

Her large scythe rose and fell as she approached, Jahi and I blanching as we began to layer spells on ourselves as well as the Knights in front of us.

A dome of golden light surrounded us, while cloaks of water draped themselves over our shoulders, giving us some passive regeneration; though whether or not that would truly help was yet to be seen.

The Marquess and Belian shrouded themselves in their own mana, moving forwards to meet the Demon Wolf and become the center of the fray, giving the other Knights some breathing room as they shifted towards more supportive tactics.

With a constant stream of injured coming our way, the two of us were working hard to keep the Knights healed and ready for battle, sending them back as quickly as we could so that we could remain away from the frenzied Demon Wolf, who was making her way over towards us.

We both knew that eventually she would target us, as it was the logical decision to make; we were combatants in this large spar, and as such we would be targeted, especially because we had 'targets' on our heads anyways.

Jahi was high value due to her lineage, whilst I was a woman who 'slighted' the Demon Wolf, earning her ire for my 'easy' victory over the monster two days ago.

So, as we watched the various Knights get stomped into the ground by what felt like war incarnate, we readied our weapons and prepared to meet her heavy scythe, gritting our teeth as the Marquess only bought us 45 seconds with Belian and the others.

Thankfully, the passive healing of the Water Cloaks and Jahi's dome were working overtime to get them back on their feet, so after we were floored they should be able to continue on...

For another minute, anyways.

After she punched the Marquess in the gut and left her kneeling on the ground behind her, the Demon Wolf sneered as she raised her scythe, using the thick blade to block the barrage of icicles I sent her way.I think you should take a look at

"Spellswords... so damn annoying to fight. I shouldn't have sent you to Princi."

Her silver eye met mine, and I shuddered at the promise of pain that laced the single orb, before she snarled as she blocked the cleave of Jahi's great sword, which was covered in Light Mana.

"I was going to get to you later, but fine..!"

With the Demoness taking point, I weaved more and more spells together, casting support magics and offensive spells as quickly as I could, giving Jahi more speed, healing, and whatever else I could before sending another barrage of icicles towards Lady Fenryas.

A thin plate of metal encased each point of contact on her skin, blocking the ice and negating its damage entirely as she focused on Jahi first, hooking her scythe over the blade and yanking back, trying to wrench it free from the Demoness' hands.

Managing to get it free in time, Jahi tilted the sword and stabbed forwards, only to sputter as Lady Fenryas mirrored her, jabbing the head of the scythe forwards and into the Demoness' chest, sending her staggering backwards.

The back of the scythe thudded hard against the side of Jahi's knee, and she hissed as she was forced to the ground, her leg unable to support her weight.

With her down, Lady Fenryas blocked my flurry of blows with ease, staring at me quietly before catching my wrist.

Pulling me forwards, she slammed her head against mine and released me, allowing me to stumble back as my vision spun, a trickle of blood warming my face.

"At least try to attack from somewhere besides the front..."

I... don't remember what happened after that, my vision going dark, only for me to awaken prone on the ground, my head pounding hard.

Sitting up, I groaned as the world spun around me, though it eased up as my mana got to work... which allowed me to see the various slumped bodies of the Knights, all of us in terrible shape.

Standing tall in the center was Lady Fenryas, and she was looking over us all silently.

Minutes passed, before we all stood up and faced her once more, the woman simply hoisting her scythe as she beckoned for us to begin again, wanting to push us to improve.

Sadly, that previous attempt only lasted around a dozen minutes, and we still had many hours to go...

That meant we needed to get better, or we'd be here for what would feel like eternity, the damage to our bodies only piling up more and more as our mana dwindled.

Despite being so powerful, there was only so much our own natural healing could do, and that was something that we all wondered if we could improve if this was to be our fates going forwards...