Nine hours.

  That was how long it took for Astral Empress Nohrell to retaliate.

  As the dust settled, Aurora crouched low, her cape shielding the girl beneath her. If she had been a fraction of a second late, Cartier would have turned to mist like the rest.

  Fortunately, Ventiff’s cape had absorbed all the damage.

  Who would have thought? The mindless beast that once threatened the extinction of all races now protected her. The irony was almost cruel.

  Aurora swiftly scanned the ruined village. Burnt wood and smoke choked the air. Her gaze narrowed as she spotted movement on a nearby hill — ten Armatus Lancers stationed in formation, their massive nozzles humming with charged energy.

  BZZZZZZZST—WHACK!

  “Phoros!” Aurora chanted, her silver eyes glowing. The arc barrier materialised just in time, deflecting the energy blasts.

  “Heh… this is nothing,” she muttered through gritted teeth.

  “Ah! I’m scared!” Cartier shrieked, cupping her feline ears as the thunderous bombardment finally ceased.

  Then came the sound — the deep, reverberating roar of Arcanite engines. Tens of thousands of them filled the sky like a swarm of insects.

  On the deck of a colossal battlecruiser, Nohrell Voss Fenrith stood at the open hangar, her silver hair billowing in the wind. Beside her stood Suingi Marchand, her prime advisor, his hands tucked behind his back.

  “Transfer command to me — direct control,” Nohrell ordered.

  Suingi tapped swiftly on his datapad. “Transfer complete. You are live, Astress Nohrell.”

  Her heterochromatic eyes glinted with pure malice. “Watch your empire crumble beneath my feet.”

  Then she dived.

  Headfirst, she plummeted towards the ground at a speed that defied gravity.

  The impact rocked the battlefield.

  “Hippos Theios!” she chanted, her voice echoing like divine judgment.

  As the dust cleared, she emerged — armoured in regal gold-plated armour, her ethereal steed radiating celestial energy.

  A long, golden scythe rested on her back, its curved blade pulsing with terrifying power. The metal burned with blue heat, distorting reality itself.

  “Aurora!” Nohrell roared from atop her steed, her silver fox tails waving hypnotically.

  Aurora’s sharp eyes tracked them. “Seven… eight tails.”

  So, according to what I know, her power is based on the folklore of the nine-tailed fox goddess. I killed one. Jovian killed another.

  If she’s going all out to kill me, that means she’s down to eight — not at full capacity. Within these nine hours, her mana regeneration only allowed her to cast the duplication once.

  She made a note of it.

  Without hesitation, Aurora extended her palm, a portal swirling open before her.

  “Coward!” Nohrell reacted instantly. Her steed galloped forward, closing the distance in a blink. The golden scythe arced toward Aurora’s throat.

  Time seemed to slow.

  “I’m sorry, kitten,” Aurora whispered before pushing Cartier through the portal.

  Then she roared, “Magnetos Hippos Theios!”

  Siiiiiinng!

  Nohrell’s scythe rebounded off the invisible barrier. The resulting shockwave exploded outward, shaking the earth.

  “Damn you!” The blast flung Nohrell across the battlefield, sending her rolling three hundred metres over scorched ground. She scrambled to her feet, and within moments, her celestial steed rematerialised beneath her.

  Magnetos, the barrier that deflects physical attacks, combined with divine summoning. A masterclass of arcane execution.

  “Do not call me a coward, fox!”

  Aurora glared down from atop her black steed, Ventiff’s cape billowing in the wind.

  Nohrell gritted her teeth in fury. “Kill her! Artillery, fire!”

  Above, the fleet of Armatus rained high-yield missiles and plasma rounds upon her.

  Aurora barely glanced up at the sky, now obscured by the onslaught.

  She reached out.

  A sword handle formed in her palm.

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  “Phoros Thanatos-spatha!”

  The blade took full shape. Instantly, a translucent barrier enveloped her.

  The explosions rippled across the battlefield, thick smoke and debris disintegrating into the air.

  Nohrell straightened, unshaken. She scoffed at the sight of Aurora’s untouched barrier.

  I never expected to kill her outright. I just need to drain her mana. Wear her down.

  The fleet continued its relentless assault.

  “Come on… come on!” Nohrell’s lips curled in anticipation. Even a slight wavering in Aurora’s barrier would confirm it was working.

  The black smoke expanded, consuming everything within a hundred metres.

  As the battlefield flattened, the wind howled through the clearing, revealing the aftermath.

  At the centre of it all — Aurora still stood.

  Her barrier still hummed, pristine. The ground beneath her had been carved into a massive crater.

  A bead of sweat trickled down her cheek as she exhaled.

  “Futile,” she called out, taunting.

  Nohrell’s face burned with rage. “Close combat — Charge!”

  Hundreds of Armatus plunged toward Aurora at full torque, their ionised blades glowing red-hot.

  Aurora’s steed neighed sharply, rising onto its hind legs before soaring into the air.

  “Charge!” Aurora’s voice rang out as her Thanatos blade ignited with purple flames.

  Each swing cleaved through the Armatus’ super-duplex alloy without resistance.

  Her steed galloped through empty air, accelerating beyond ultrasonic speed.

  In less than ten seconds, hundreds of enemies detonated into microbombs.

  Nohrell’s eyes widened. “Incredible—” She snapped back to reality. “Keep attacking her!”

  “For the Dunkelheit!” The knights surged forward, gold, silver, and bronze — a tide of warriors willing to die for their cause.

  Three hundred knights rammed their Armatus into the airborne steed, a black shadow against the storm-lit sky.

  Aurora swung relentlessly, carving through them. Each explosion tore apart the sky.

  Wave after wave.

  Hundreds. Thousands.

  Minutes bled into an hour of ceaseless war.

  Their numbers never dwindled.

  Eventually, a single bead of sweat slid down Aurora’s forehead. Her grip loosened — just slightly.

  With a defiant warcry, “For Dunkelheit!”

  He seized the opportunity. His ionised blade slashed toward her.

  She parried — only for him to twist mid-strike, redirecting the blade.

  It landed squarely on her shoulder armour.

  In return, Aurora’s sword ran through his Armatus’s torso and into the cockpit.

  He had accepted death for a single chance to land a blow.

  Aurora glanced at her armour.

  A scratch.

  “Can’t you see?! It’s in vain!” she shouted, her voice tinged with exasperation.

  From a distance, Nohrell observed the fleet’s dwindling forces. “Tsk! Half of them… already wiped out. I underestimated you,” she muttered, her mind racing for a new strategy.

  “Halt! Retreat!” she commanded.

  At the same time, Aurora cleaved through the last Armatus. The remaining forces scrambled away like cockroaches under a light.

  “Foolish—”

  WHACK!

  Ten Armatus Lancers fired their beams simultaneously.

  Caught off guard, Aurora was thrown off her divine steed. The momentum hurled her across the battlefield, skidding through the dirt for over a hundred metres.

  Before she could recover, a blue scythe hurtled toward her throat.

  “Magnetos!” she chanted, and the invisible force field deflected Nohrell’s blade.

  Their struggle began — offence against defence.

  Nohrell poured every ounce of mana into her weapon. “Die already!” she roared.

  Aurora’s injured leg buckled.

  Then — CRACK!

  Magnetos shattered for the first time in centuries.

  The scythe connected.

  “Ah!” Aurora gasped as the blade sliced her armguard, grazing her skin. The shockwave sent her flying.

  She twisted mid-air, barely managing to land on her feet.

  BZZZZZZZZST—WHACK!

  “Phoros Iasis!” Aurora chanted. Her barrier crumbled under the impact, but her wounds closed instantly.

  Her fair skin and silver hair were now sullied with ash and bloodied soil.

  “Hahahahahaha!” Nohrell’s laughter reverberated across the battlefield.

  “You can’t hold your barrier anymore,” she taunted.

  “You’re worse than the Celestius of Aries when I sent my Armatus fleet to butcher his prime disciple.”

  “I need to take out those long-range attacks first...” Aurora strategised, her heart thumping erratically.

  “Another beam will fire soon. I’m getting a sense of its size... I’ll dodge instead — no more barriers.” Aurora thought to herself. “Thanatos Spatha!” She summoned her dark blade.

  “Fire!” Nohrell commanded with a smirk. The Lancers charged their energy weapons, the nozzles pulsating.

  Whoooosh—Boom!

  She roared, “Hippos Theios!”

  Blazing beams pierced through the air, converging on Aurora's location.

  A divine steed materialised beneath her, galloping forward with extreme precision, evading the attack. “I timed it perfectly!”

  “This elusive witch!” Nohrell gritted her teeth and urged her steed forward, accelerating at an imperceptible speed. The sheer force of her movement displaced the air around her as she surged towards her opponent.

  “All in!” Nohrell raised her scythe, its edge gleaming with deadly intent. “Enneaphanía!” she chanted. Spectral riders materialised, mirroring her movements — Eight riders in total.

  “Bring it on!” Aurora bellowed, pushing her divine steed to Mach 10. The immense air resistance shredded its innate barrier.

  Her blade trailed to her side, blazing with purple flames, leaving behind a luminous streak.

  From above, Suingi watched, witnessing the most powerful joust in history. Aurora became a celestial bullet wrapped in a purple glow, racing towards an army of spectral riders cloaked in divine white flames.

  The two forces closed the distance in an instant.

  “Aurora!”

  “Nohrell!”

  Each cried the other’s name.

  BOOOOOOOM!

  A colossal explosion erupted, its shockwaves cascading through the battlefield. Multicoloured mana surged into the sky. The entire world trembled as the clash unfolded.

  The aftershock violently rocked the Armatus fleet and cruisers.

  “Such power... ah!” Suingi staggered, quickly gripping the wall for balance.

  A massive cloud, kilometres in diameter, obscured his vision.

  “Astress?! Astress?!” Suingi called out.

  “Miss me already?” Nohrell’s voice crackled through the comm. She was exhausted but unharmed. Her keen eyes scanned the surroundings for her enemy.