Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 321 Pre-emptive Strike

Inside of a large, two-person tent, Snow watched as a human man slept near her feet. She had woken up a few hours ago to trade shifts with him for their pre-arranged sleeping schedule. His purple hair fluttered slightly with each of his sleeper breaths, and she felt a strange urge to brush it out of his face.

It was unexpected when he approached her in the evening to ask what was on her mind. Other than Yue, no one else ever really seemed to care about her state of mind. Corva would notice occasionally, but usually her mind was distracted by her next extensive set of plans.

The sudden ask took her off guard, and she ended up answering his questions about what was on her mind without intending to. Somehow, this man was calm to talk to, and it brought her comfort to share her plight with someone else. Though she wanted to, she did not really delve deeply into the part that Lucius played in the experiences she shared with Desmond.

There was the possibility that he would have reacted negatively if she explained too much about it.

However, as the night went on and she sat in the light of the lanterns, she realized such thoughts were silly. Even without knowing him for a long time, Desmond was not a person who would react that way. He seemed like a straightforward person who she could trust.

Snow tightly hugged her knees to her chest as Desmond stirred. She quickly retracted the hand that had tried to brush his hair without her own notice. The human's beautiful blue eyes looked up at her and smiled, though he groaned as he sat up.

"I may not be all that old, but I definitely shouldn't sleep on the ground like that. Next time, remind me to bring my sleeping mat out here." He said with a laugh. Experience more on empire

"Next time? Who said there would be a next time?"

Desmond gave her a gentle smile. "Well, I highly doubt our one conversation fixed a lifetime of struggle. Also, you said yourself that Corva would join up with Lucius for a while and that you and Yue would do the same. I imagine we will find ourselves in a similar scenario in the future."

"I see…"

Desmond slowly rose to his feet before vanishing behind the curtains to his private space. Snow could hear him rustling around and getting his armor and clothes prepared. With a heavy sigh, she set out to do the same and quickly equipped her own light armor. It looked like plate armor, but was exceptionally lightweight and made little sound as she moved.

Due to the movability of the material, it was less protective and more easily pierced and broken than actual plate armor, but its appearance would give many enemies pause and treat her as a different type of warrior than she was.

For Desmond's part, he exited his part of the tent with medium plate armor that was black. The pauldrons on his shoulders were accented with a bronze-colored metal. Strapped to his back was a spear with a bronze-colored shaft and two mithril spearheads.

It was easy to recognize the impressiveness of Corva's craftmanship. Snow decided it would be best not to disclose the actual cost of the weapon he was gifted. If he knew it would fetch tens of millions of gold on the open market, he might never use it. Worse yet, he might try to spend his life earning the money required to repay it.

Snow wondered for a moment if Lucius and Corva would settle the cost somehow. She imagined that Kalliope's weapon and his own gauntlets were similarly impressive as the spear. Desmond seemed to investigate her facial expressions, which caused her to blush slightly before coughing and leaving the tent.

The morning sun was beginning its rise over the horizon. The beautiful oranges and golds blanketing the sky with the gentle roar of the river in the background made for a picturesque scene. Were it not for an impending battle, it would be very peaceful and calming. Unfortunately, reality set in quickly as the voices of men arguing approached.

One was the camp leader from the night before. He seemed to have additional issues with their plans that he thought of overnight. Snow sighed and prepared to intercept him before Desmond could. She returned the favor since he had taken care of the arguing last night.

As the shouting and whining elf approached, Snow suddenly felt a chill settle in her chest. Her eyes went wide as she felt a massive influx of mana fill the air. A second light threatening to overwhelm that of the rising sun appeared from across the river and flew in their direction.

Dozens of mages throughout the camp attempted to cast defensive spells, while others opted to attack the enormous ball of fire bearing down on them. Snow shouted orders to the soldiers, but before a single word could be uttered, the air was taken from her lungs. Desmond tackled her from the side while diving into a small divot on the ground.

Her ears rang from the powerful explosion of the fireball striking the center of the camp. An intense heat rushed over their bodies, forcing her to sweat. Only a few moments later, the heat vanished, and she and Desmond jumped to action.

"Organize those left in the main camp! Advance toward the bridge!" Desmond shouted while running toward the area where several of their mages had been staying. Most of that area was ablaze, with several screams crying out for help. "I'll gather the mages and archers, or what remains of them! Press the attack; we have to stick with the plan."

The man ran off quickly to gather their men. Snow briefly glanced his direction before beginning her own march through the remnants of their camp. Several commanders had already started to gather and collect what soldiers they could. Several Light Mages had also started constructing emergency areas for healing the wounded.

They had already started triaging measures, with several of them dedicated to quickly healing minor injuries while another group dedicated themselves to serious injuries. Joining alongside them were a few Dark Mages taking on the gruesome task of palliative care.

The pre-emptive strike against their camp had done a decent job of creating chaos. Were this done against an army of any other race, it might have worked well enough to sow a destructive amount of disorder. However, as elves, they had much better control of their emotions and many of them were practiced in the art of war and triage for centuries.

Of course, the enemy knew this, being elves themselves. Which likely meant that this had been done with the miniscule delay in mind. Snow quickly looked to the bridge and saw that a massive enemy force had amassed upon it. Their own forces had already put together a decent defense, but they were quickly being overwhelmed.

"Ma'am!" a voice called out, "Orders?"

The voice belonged to a stoic-looking elf who tossed her a voice amplifier. She quickly snatched the cone-shaped object out of the air and yelled her commands into it, "All forces, assemble at the bridge. Do not let those traitors take this bridge. Should we fall, so shall the entire Southern Front! For the glory of the rightful queen: Letheya din Aedrider!"

She decided at the last minute to add a little extra flare to her speech. Sometimes, energy and inspiration were all that a soldier needed. Reminding them of what or who they were fighting for could improve their moods. Not feeling helpless or feeling like you are fighting for justice or righteousness on your side could be a powerful feeling.

Her rousing speech was met with uproarious applause and shouts of affirmation. Laying it on thick seemed to be the right choice as hundreds of elves charged toward the defensive line as support. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a purple-haired human charging through the burning remains of camp and pulling elves from the debris.

The sight brought a small smile to her face before she turned around and rushed the bridge alongside the soldiers. Those who could be roused to the bridge's defense were already roused. Any who remained were not in fighting condition immediately and would need treatment before rejoining the fight.

There were already a few sergeants at the medical clearing who were working on gathering together the healed fighters and sending them toward the front. Knowing that, Snow decided her presence was better served on the actual field of battle. She was a much better fighter than a leader.

Blood had already stained the bridge from prior engagements, but with this fresh battlefield appearing, the water of the river below also changed color. Their own side was being slaughtered. Ice, Water, and Earth magic flew in every direction, forcing her to take precautions on approach. One spear of Earth Magic nearly struck her in the leg, but she could dodge at the last minute.

She hoped Desmond would arrive quickly and begin the construction of the dam. Up front engagements were not her specialty either. Usually, she opted for more roundabout methods.