Territorial Struggle (3)
High Priestess Ireina had requested that Ardena dispatch a warrior captain to make contact with Yushin, who had ventured into the unexplored zones. She couldn't send a senior warrior captain, though. All the high-ranking ones were needed to hold off the Raging Flames Demon King. So Ardena turned to Warrior Captain of the Eleventh Seat, Liana Linehold, and asked her to lead the central knight order into the unexplored zones to reach Yushin.
Liana accepted the request without a moment's hesitation. It was a direct plea from Ardena, the warrior captain she respected more than anyone in the world.
"Warrior Captain of the Liberia Elf Kingdom, Liana Linehold. I shall carry out the High Priestess's command."
"This isn't a decision to make so lightly. The unexplored zones are a death trap teeming with notoriously vicious monsters. They're on a whole different level from the beasts that roam our elf kingdom. I'll provide support from the capital's central knight order..., but the odds of returning alive aren't high."
Ardena wore a stern expression. She almost seemed to hope Liana would refuse. Her face was filled with worry that proved it.
It was a warrior captain's duty to lay down their life for the elf kingdom—a belief Ardena had always held, and one that hadn't changed. She was ready to sacrifice herself for the kingdom and the High Priestess at any moment. But forcing that on a subordinate? She hesitated, showing uncharacteristic doubt.
"I've been prepared for this ever since I earned the title of Twelfth Warrior Captain. If I die defending the elf kingdom as its guardian knight, fighting for the High Priestess... that's no tragedy. It's the height of honor."
"Don't die."
"Understood, Senior Captain."
Liana flashed a bright smile, as if to say not to worry. Ardena nodded. Liana promised she'd return safely, even as Ardena struggled to maintain her cool facade.
Afterward, Liana began preparations to head into the unexplored zones with her assembled central knight order. Sabnack had halted her advance and was now locked in a standoff with Bariteon. Was she waiting for something? The Demon King Army's inexplicable silence felt ominous, but with Sabnack at a standstill, Liana saw this as their last chance to seek Yushin's aid.
"Liana, I want to come too. Let me."
As Liana bustled about Maherith Castle, a high elf approached her—Alonne. She expressed her desire to join the journey.
"Absolutely not! The unexplored zones crawl with savage monsters. Even seasoned elf rangers call it a living hell and steer clear. As your instructor at Bria Academy, I can't let you walk into that danger."
Liana rejected Alonne's plea outright. No way she'd allow it. She made it clear nothing would change her mind.
But Alonne's next words shook Liana's resolve.
"If I ask him, Master will agree. You know I've spent more time with him than anyone, right?"
"Y-Yeah, I know... But the unexplored zones are insanely dangerous. No guarantee we can even find Yushin safely in that vast wilderness."
"Even if we track him down after twists and turns, what if we can't convince him? It'll all be for nothing. I can do it. Let me talk to Master."
Liana had to admit there was some truth to it. Alonne might actually pull it off. She'd been close to Yushin ever since he arrived in the elf kingdom. Liana had seen them at Bria Academy, always together like siblings—or lovers—getting along so well.
So Liana started to think maybe Alonne could make it work.
"Keep it secret from Big Sis, okay?"
"...If anything happens to you, Miss Alonne, I'm as good as dead."
"Big Sis would never allow it if she knew."
"I still don't know if bringing you along is the right call."
"Yeah, got it. Thanks, Liana!"
Liana managed a weak smile in response to Alonne's thanks. Her mind screamed warnings that Alonne would be in danger, but at the same time, she felt hope that Alonne could sway Yushin. In the end, Liana relented and let her join.
The central knight order objected, saying it was too risky to bring her along. Liana insisted Alonne was essential for convincing the Diablo Slayer. Despite their dubious looks, the elf knights eventually nodded to her firm argument.
Liana and the knight order warped via gate to Santander Castle, tracking Yushin's trail. Charging blindly into the unexplored zones would be suicidal. She figured if anyone knew something, it might be Bilen Santander, head of the Santander family. So they made the castle a stopover to meet him.
"I know where Teacher is."
Leticia Santander, the family's heiress, spoke to Liana and Alonne. She knew where Yushin's group was. She'd hidden fragments of a tracking magic tool in the three carriages they'd taken.
The red-haired high elf girl pulled out a fist-sized magic stone. A dizzying light poured from it, pointing like a compass in one direction. Leticia said to just follow where it led.
Some elf knights voiced doubts and questioned her.
"Hiding tracking fragments in the carriages was a brilliant move. But they might've been destroyed en route. If we veer off into the wrong path in the unexplored zones... we could face irreversible consequences."
Leticia shot back.
"The Diablo Slayer who felled Demon King Agares is guarding those carriages. No matter how many or how strong the monsters, he wouldn't let them fall. He's surely carved through everything in his path, deep into the zones."
Her words carried unshakeable conviction. She believed in the Diablo Slayer's power, speaking with the force of someone who'd seen it firsthand.
The elf knights nodded, agreeing it made sense. With no other way to track him, they had to trust her.
"Thanks to that magic tool, finding Yushin's position will be straightforward. My gratitude, Miss Leticia."
"Warrior Captain Liana. In exchange for the tool, I have a small condition."
"A condition...?"
"Take me with you."
Liana let out a worried sigh. The Santander heiress was clad in red armor adorned with various magic stones. Seeing her geared up, Liana had half-expected this, just like with Alonne.
"No. Alonne's a special case with unavoidable reasons. What if something unfortunate happens?"
"Our Santander family failed to stop the dark elf raid—that's on us. And Teacher's subordinates are still part of our house. We have to ensure their safety."
Leticia stood firm, using the essential tracking tool as leverage. First the Valencia heiress, now the Santander one—daughters of the elf kingdom's most prominent noble houses. Liana hesitated; this wasn't her call alone. But as the mission's overall commander under the High Priestess, she had to decide.
After much deliberation, Liana agreed to let Leticia join, just like Alonne—stressing she stick close at all times.
"Didn't know noble brats like you could resort to blackmail. Lightning-fast rise to power, huh?"
"...Right back at you. Why'd you even come? Ardena Warrior Captain would've never allowed it."
"Kept it secret from Big Sis."
"Same here. Dad doesn't know. Might get disowned if he finds out."
"You really want to find Master that badly?"
"I-I told you! It's our family's responsibility too!"
Always at odds before, Alonne and Leticia found common ground this time: finding their precious teacher/master. The two high elf noble daughters checked their waist-hung swords and prepared to plunge into the unexplored zones.
To find Yushin, they entered the living hell swarming with vile monsters.
"Monsters!"
"They sniffed us out the moment we crossed the border!"
The elves, masters of horsemanship, sensed the sinister shadows emerging right after entering the unexplored zones. They received a fierce welcome. Not just beasts with razor fangs and claws, but massive serpents spewing rock-melting acidic venom.
Swinging their swords from horseback, they cleaved through the monsters. True to the central knight order's elite reputation, they unleashed sharp swordsmanship without mercy.
Wherever the dozens of elf knights advanced, monster corpses piled up.
"Stay right by my side!"
Liana shouted. Alonne and Leticia, urging their horses forward, nodded.
This wasn't their first monster sighting. They'd seen ones that descended mountains to devour livestock or attack villagers gathering herbs. But these unexplored zone dwellers were in another league—ferocious and cunning. They used expert hunting tactics to slowly corner the elves.
The relentless monster assault finally claimed casualties. An elf knight tumbled from his horse and was devoured before he could even struggle.
"Gahk!"
Somewhere, a sharp arrow struck an elf knight, knocking him off his mount. Screeeech! Skreeeek!!
A monkey monster with arms down to its knees let out a cry. It was goblin-sized, but it wielded a strongbow even elf knights struggled with and could crudely wield mana. It infused arrows with mana for deadly shots that pierced armor in an instant.
"Miss Alonne!"
At Liana's cry, Alonne tossed a spare longsword from her saddle. The elf warrior captain caught it, then hurled it with all her might at the bow-wielding monkey.
But that was just the beginning. Deeper in, the elves were quickly surrounded. Hundreds of monsters swarmed around them, roaring savagely to psychologically break their prey—a standard monster hunting tactic to efficiently take down demoralized targets.
"Stay here a moment!"
As things worsened, Liana entrusted Alonne and Leticia to other knights and charged ahead to carve a path. Monsters surged mercilessly, but Liana's swift swordplay turned the ferocious beasts into chunks of meat.
Her dazzling blade flashed through monster flesh, opening a way forward with every slash and thrust. The elves desperately spurred their horses, pushing blindly along the path she'd cleared.
But...
"Kahak!"
"N-No!!"
One by one, elves fell behind as they advanced. Horses whinnied and collapsed. Some knights had their throats torn out by agile beasts.
In the chain of deaths, the high elves swallowed their terror, staring only ahead. They lacked the courage to look back. Right behind, gruesome sounds echoed as brutal monsters greedily tore into fallen elves.
Each time, Alonne and Leticia paled in fright, hunching their slender shoulders.
"Eyes forward! Don't look back, no matter what!"
Liana yelled. The elf warrior captain, who had just bisected monsters lunging at Alonne and Leticia, swung her bloodied longsword and signaled to press on.
"Master!"
Valencia's high elf girl cried out. In this slaughterhouse of death and fear, she called for the one she wanted to see most, veins bulging in her neck.
That drew the monsters' eyes to her. They'd silence the noisy high elf girl first, then fill their bellies with her tender flesh.
"Master! Maaaster!!"
Alonne screamed. Starving monsters kicked off the ground, charging her. Liana raised her sword in horror, but exhaustion had slowed her. Her swift strikes were now sluggish—she couldn't protect Alonne.
Desperate, Liana threw her sword as a last resort.
"Ngh!"
Leticia swallowed a gasp. The magic stone pointing to Yushin blazed with light. It intensified, illuminating the surroundings like sunlight. Then, from the sky, a bolt of blue lightning crashed down.
CRAAAAACK!!!
Lightning poured. Monsters around them incinerated into ash.