37-126

EP.126 The Decisive Battle for the Empire’s Fate (6) 

Just moments earlier. As Yuno and Eliza each fought fierce battles against their opponents, Viscount Leberkin, acting as commander for Prinz’s army, was anxiously watching. 

‘Whew~ His Highness has to win… Until now, our side has held on and it looks even, but our troops are reaching their limits… And the enemy numbers…’ 

As he feared, Prinz’s army was slowly being pushed back. 

They tried to hold by rotating the front and rear lines, but the imperial army did the same and with twice the numbers, the imperial side had much more flexibility in managing stamina. 

Leberkin thought only a victory from Yuno could turn the tide, so even as he managed his own troops, his attention was fixed on the duels between Yuno and Eliza. 

‘Your Highness. Please win… Only then can we win this war…’ 

As if answering his prayers, Yuno was easily overwhelming Viscount Amin, nearly subduing him. 

Leberkin wanted to cheer, but his shout never left his lips a massive explosion engulfed Yuno. 

“Y-Your Highness!! Those cowardly imperial bastards!!! What are they doing, interfering in an honorable duel?!” 

When Jennifer appeared afterward, he became certain she was behind the fire magic that had struck Prinz’s army at the Battle of the Adria Plains. 

When Lichtenauer appeared and took her on, but even the empire’s strongest master fell to the genius archmage, Leberkin was plunged into despair. 

“Damn it, at this point we have no choice but to order a final, all-out assault with both the left and right wings…” 

“No. It’s too soon to give up, Acting Commander Leberkin.” 

Just as he was about to order a desperate charge, a clear, bright voice reached his ears. 

There stood Kurimu and Miruku, in traditional elven battle attire, smiling at him. The combination of beauty and boldness made Leberkin momentarily forget the battlefield and blush. 

“Uh…? Why are His Highness’s elven maids here on the battlefield…? And those scandalous outfits, please cover up a bit!!” 

“Hohoho, this is our elven battle attire.” 

“We can’t go rescue our master in ordinary maid uniforms, you know. Fufu.” 

When they said they were going to rescue Yuno, Leberkin shook his head. 

“I appreciate your feelings, but aren’t you both just low-level spirit mages? That’s the imperial Tower Master Jennifer over there possibly the strongest mage on the continent. It’s suicide!!” 

“Hohoho, you thought we were low-level spirit mages because we only used minor spirits for cooking? But we’re… not low-level at all.” 

“And did we say we were going alone?” 

Kurimu and Miruku each summoned high and advanced wind spirits, leaving Leberkin slack-jawed. 

Then, behind them, Isabella and Mari appeared in uniforms similar to Jennifer’s, and his jaw dropped even further. 

“P-Princesses too?” 

“Viscount Leberkin, move the left and right wings forward, but don’t order a reckless all-out attack.” 

“Time the final assault… to match our victory!” 

With their confident smiles, Leberkin nodded, and as he watched them fly off, he signaled the wings to advance and harass the enemy center. 

As his order went out and both wings began to move, the imperial 1st and 4th corps also deployed slowly, and the battlefield descended further into chaos. 

While Mari used spirits to disrupt the magic binding Yuno, Isabella approached Jennifer. 

“Hohoho, Master. Long time no see. But it really doesn’t look good to see you tormenting your ex-husband like that. Honestly, you’re such a shameless old lady.” 

Isabella immediately unleashed a barrage of sharp words at Jennifer and dispelled the lightning magic tormenting Lichtenauer with ease. 

As the excruciating pain vanished, Lichtenauer collapsed unconscious, and Kurimu and Miruku used spirits to carry him away and begin healing. 

But Jennifer didn’t spare a glance for Lichtenauer, only glaring at Isabella, who returned her gaze with fierce intensity. 

“Oh my, you still call me Master after just half a year of lessons? How touching. But why glare at your esteemed teacher like that, and where did you learn such disrespectful habits as breaking your teacher’s magic?” 

“Your magic was so weak it just dispelled itself. I barely nudged it with my mana and it unraveled. How are you called an archmage at that level~” 

“Is that so? Well then, let’s see what my disciple can do. You showed promise at twelve let’s see how much you’ve grown.” 

Jennifer snapped her fingers, sending a wave of mana at Isabella, who easily countered it. 

“Huh? That’s your test? That’s way too easy eek!!” 

Isabella dodged a fireball that suddenly formed behind her, screaming in surprise. 

“You’ve improved, but you really lack real combat experience. You’re hopeless at fighting other mages!” 

Taking advantage of Isabella’s surprise, Jennifer created multiple clones and began multi-casting fireballs, bombarding Isabella from all sides. With precise control, fireballs flew from the clones, forcing Isabella to defend with barriers and think of a way to counter. 

‘If I just keep blocking, I’ll lose… I need a way… Got it!’ 

Isabella cast flight magic and soared into the sky. 

“So your big idea is to run into the air? You’re still a long way off, disciple! In the sky, dodging my attacks is nearly impossible.” 

“Heh! Try saying that after you take this!!” 

As Jennifer and her clones reached her altitude, Isabella created a discharge in the clouds between them, unleashing a powerful lightning strike. 

With her modern knowledge, Isabella improvised a powerful attack spell, and all of Jennifer’s clones were destroyed. 

Jennifer’s main body kept up her barrier, so she blocked much of the lightning, but the unexpected strength of the attack broke through, visibly damaging her. 

“Hohohoho, I didn’t expect that… You really are a clever disciple. That was a wonderful attack. But if that’s all, then… hmm?” 

Isabella, signaling she wasn’t done, conjured a tiny fire spell and charged Jennifer at high speed. 

“What’s this? Did you use up all your mana on that last attack? You think a weak basic fire spell will wait, a clone? Gah!!” 

Jennifer tried to swat away the charging Isabella, but the Isabella she struck turned to dust. 

At the same time, she felt Isabella’s fist slam into her abdomen, pain clouding her consciousness as she fell to the ground. 

“Kihihihi, did you think only you could dual-cast? My talent is a match for yours!!” 

Isabella had used an illusion spell and invisibility together to sneak up on Jennifer and land a punch. With her body untrained, Jennifer was knocked out in one blow. 

“Whew~ I’m glad I trained with Yuno. Hehe, from now on, the empire’s strongest mage is Isabella huh?!” 

As she landed and tried to put a magic-suppressing bracelet on Jennifer, she was startled to see Jennifer wide awake and glaring. 

“Kekeke, Isabella… You wretch, how dare you lay a hand on my body!! And what? Who’s the strongest mage? How dare you claim that title in front of me!!” 

Jennifer, never given royal treatment even in the palace, now didn’t even treat Isabella as a disciple, showing her true nasty side. Isabella gathered her mana again. 

“Damn, she’s already recovered… She was definitely knocked out!” 

“Hmph! If you want to call yourself the strongest mage, you’d better carry a magic item that can heal you anytime, just in case. Now, keep running your mouth!!” 

Jennifer began to release an overwhelming amount of mana, and Isabella faced her head-on. 

Mana versus mana. 

For knights, it would be a brute-force contest; for mages, it was a battle of pride. 

A pure contest of magical power began, and Isabella quickly started to be pushed back. Seeing her struggle, Mari rushed to help. 

“Sis! I’ll help!!” 

But even with Mari’s support, they were still being forced back. 

“Heh! Princess Mari? You think a mere spirit user can challenge me in magic? Ridiculous!!” 

“Spirit magic is not heresy! Watch your mouth!” 

“Spirits are the purest force of nature. Magic is the real heresy, twisting nature by force.” 

With Kurimu and Miruku joining, the balance of power was finally restored. 

“Grrr!! Elves, daring to raise your heads before me… I’ll tear those monstrous breasts to shreds!!” 

“Oh my, you got angry the moment we showed up… Is it because of your little hills that can’t even be called breasts?” 

“Hohoho, our mother-daughter pair does have huge boobs. And Isabella and Mari’s are impressive too, kukuku.” 

“Shut up!! Those kinds of breasts only get in the way of training!! I’m not jealous at all!!” 

Jennifer, enraged at the four women mocking her small chest, lost her composure. 

“Hohoho, Master. You made a spell to get younger, but couldn’t make one for bigger boobs? How sad…” 

“Kekeke, sis, don’t tease her too much. Her tiny chest might go totally flat.” 

“I’ll rip off all your boobs!! I’ll cut them off and throw you in a cell until your pussies are ruined by prisoners ugh!!” 

Distracted by the taunts during the mana duel, Jennifer didn’t notice Yuno, now freed from the binding spell, sneak up behind her. With a chop to the neck, he knocked her out cold.