ALL NOVEL Chapter 50
Chapter Forty-Nine: The Battlefield of the Princess
In the Tapaya Basin, fierce fighting continued unabated.
The ferocity of the undead is truly incomprehensible unless you experience it firsthand. Although Liliya knew their weakness was in the brain, how many people would actually pay attention to protecting their only critical spot during battle?
More often than not, Liliya’s sharp sword and wind blades could only strike the arms and thighs of the enemies. Unless she directly severed a limb or even cleaved them in half, these undead swiftly recovered as if nothing had happened.
A mere three hundred cult members clung stubbornly to Liliya’s over a thousand elite troops. Even when losing ground, they showed no signs of retreat.
It was clear they were intentionally stalling, waiting for reinforcements.
Reinforcements from the Beastmen.
This couldn’t continue any longer.
Lost in thought, the blue-haired princess gracefully sidestepped a large blade swung by an undead, but the opponent swiftly changed tactics, immediately slashing horizontally toward Liliya.
The girl lightly tapped her toes on the ground, and a gust of wind surged, propelling her into the air like a nimble bird.
Although she avoided the immediate crisis, this was actually the wrong response; in mid-air, she couldn’t control her body freely, making her especially vulnerable in a chaotic fight.
“Hey, are you looking to die?”
The experienced enemy seized this opportunity, predicting Liliya’s descent, and struck out with a third slash aimed right beneath her!
At the same time, several shadows shot out from his sleeves, targeting Liliya’s eyes and throat like floating weeds in the air. The ruthlessness of his methods made it clear he was a seasoned assassin.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The princess rapidly shook her long sword, easily deflecting the high-speed daggers that once would have been invisible to her. But those were merely distractions and smoke bombs; the real killing move was right beneath her!
“Whirlwind!”
Calmly under pressure, Liliya gently stepped on the boundless Void, causing a gust of wind to stir. The cultist was left agape as Liliya really managed to hang suspended in the air for a moment, narrowly avoiding the swinging blade?
A melee… mage?
That thought flashed like lightning through the undead’s mind.
But in a duel between skilled combatants, victory or defeat hangs by a thread. When that massive tiger-headed blade awkwardly passed beneath Liliya’s feet, it had already sealed the fate of that cultist.
Swish.
The swirling blade of air easily severed the stunned foe’s head, sending out a burst of sticky black blood that was entirely blocked by an invisible air barrier surrounding Liliya.
In just a few moves, she had slain an undead with at least Ink Steel-level power.
This was something unthinkable for Liliya just two days ago.
The several new skills she learned after leveling up completely compensated for the princess’s lack of combat experience and technique.
She hadn’t turned into a purely long-range mage as Miss Vilyric predicted. Instead, she integrated agile and powerful airflow magic, developing a combat style akin to that of a magic swordsman.
The reason she made this choice was that Liliya’s current environment didn’t afford her the luxury to hide in the back, protected at all times, and there seemed to be a warrior spirit hidden within her, already hinted at during her first encounter with the Beastmen days ago.
“Whirlwind,” “Barrier of Air,” “Blade Enhancement”—these simple yet practical skills consumed little mana and had quick casting times. There was no need to worry about running out of mana and becoming an easy target. If used correctly, they could yield explosive combat power rivaling that of earth and even sky-tier levels.
Repeated battles had proven this point.
Having slain several enemies in quick succession, Liliya had also figured out a simple battle philosophy—do not trade wounds with the enemy.
Seek opportunities in defense; once you take action, you must deal significant damage to the opponent—at least sever their limbs. Otherwise, you’ll be dragged into a protracted stalemate.
Dealing with the undead doesn’t necessarily require destroying the brain, as Hua suggested. Severing arms or cleaving in half—any attack that causes substantial harm to their bodies can effectively weaken their combat strength, at least for the lower-tier undead.
These cultists generally ranged from Mithril to Ink Steel in strength, and the occasional earth or sky-tier presence was already tied up by the shadow guards. Though troublesome, Liliya was confident she could gradually wear them down without incurring significant losses on her side.
Not glancing at the headless corpse that had fallen, the girl didn’t turn toward new enemies. As the commander, she must remain calm and adapt to the situation.
Time was running out.
Liliya sensed a looming danger, and the air began to fill with the distinct odor of beasts, indicating that the Beastmen reinforcements might be arriving sooner than expected.
“Where are the shadow guards?”
“Here!”
Several shadows emerged beside the princess. Despite their weapons being streaked with dark blood, it didn’t affect the calm and composed aura of these elite shadow guards.
“Order the entire army. Do not engage the enemy. Destroy the magic circle and food supplies. Seize any materials for teleportation we can take; if we can’t take them, destroy them on the spot. Once the objectives are complete, withdraw quickly from battle and retreat to the basin’s exterior to meet up with the reinforcements!”
“Understood!”
Swish, swish, swish, the shadow guards immediately obeyed without any unnecessary chatter.
These elite attendants under the princess had impressively high efficiency.
Before long, the situation shifted from four or five silver-armored soldiers besieging one undead to only half the strength holding the enemy back while the rest swiftly rushed into the wooden houses and the main hall, beginning their destruction and setting fires everywhere.
Initially, Liliya had thought of searching the hall where the Throne was for possible evidence of collusion between her elder brother and the Throne of Immortality—or even with the Beastmen—but now it was obviously no longer an option.
Evidence could be sought later; the princess couldn’t exchange lives for bits of political capital. Otherwise, she’d be no different than those princes.
As for the chance that other Throne members were in the hall… to be honest, it was very slim. The Throne of Immortality couldn’t possibly operate solely in the United Kingdom or the Beast Kingdom. Deploying four Throne-level combatants here should have already been their limit.
It’s worth noting that even in the capital, the City of Courage, there are only three resident legendary adventurers, and one of them was even nabbed by Liliya.
The worst-case scenario didn’t happen. Soon, the central hall was engulfed in roaring flames. The undead desperately tried to regroup but were firmly entangled by the remaining troops, completely reversing the battle dynamics.
“Your Highness! It’s nearly burned down, and we’ve secured the valuable goods; please give us further instructions!”
Perhaps because the shadow guards were all immersed in various battles, only Emily, the vice commander, hurried over to report. She appeared to have gone through several fights as well, bearing three or four wounds despite being a geo-tier warrior, though thankfully they were not severe.
Liliya observed the battlefield around her and saw soldiers and shadow guards retreating from the burning buildings in the distance, feeling slightly reassured. While it was unfortunate she couldn’t completely annihilate this base of the Throne of Immortality, it was time to retreat.
“Alright, command the entire army to fight while retreating, orderly evacuating to the basin’s exterior; retrieve your mounts. If the enemy relentlessly pursues, let the accompanying cavalry—who!!”
“Your Highness, watch out behind you!”
The roar of the princess and Emily’s shout coincided, with the latter leaping and throwing her short knife while the princess reacted astonishingly quickly, directly turning and slashing at the air with her sword!
Don’t think the same trick will work twice!
Ever since being attacked by that terrifying assassin before, Liliya had maintained a hundred percent awareness, continuously consuming mana to use airflow magic to monitor environmental changes, wary of potential assassination attempts.
With Miss Vilyric and Hua, two legendary experts, absent, she became even more cautious, which allowed her to detect this attack in advance and respond.
Ping! Zizzzzz…
The nearly purple-tier new sword clashed with the suddenly appearing sharp claws, producing an ear-piercing screech and sparks.
Though Liliya’s sword had blocked the enemy’s deadly strike, she was still shaken enough to feel numbness in her hands, staggering back several steps, where Emily rapidly steadied her.
What an incredible assassin!
Since obtaining the refinement of the Ascendancy Box, this was Liliya’s first time finding herself at a disadvantage during a power clash.
This guy is also a legend!