On the harsh dessert of Hanhua, two armies were enganged in close-quarters combat. The sounds of spears and swords clanking and men screaming as they were stabbed and sliced filled the desert. The Army of the Kingdom of Herldorin, composed of 100,000 foot soldiers crossed the borders of the Kingdom of Atira, and sparked another war between the two rival countries.
The Kingdom of Atira had only 80,000 foot soldiers to defend itself, they were being beaten back and reduced to 5,000. Their men fell in droves, their King could see it. As he stared from the safety of a sand dune a kilometer away from the fighting, he watched as his army was on the verge of being defeated. Standing beside him was an old man whom the King trusts as an advisor. The Grand Mage of Atira, Hazelborn.
"My King, won't it be wise if i intervene?"
The King smiled.
"No, our men are fighting valiantly on the sands, not until the last man falls, you won't do anything"
But the Grand Mage wasn't content.
"But your majesty, your daughter is there in the fighting! What would happen of the crown princess was to die in the hands of the enemy? Even worse, captured!"
The King maintained his smile and composure and looked at the old man.
"Hazelborn, you didn't quite understand me, I said, when the last MAN was to fall, not the last soldier"
Hearing this, the Grand Mage was relieved, he did not question further and proceeded to spectate the battle through this ball of magic.
The battle continued in rage, in the midst of it all, a fierce dual was about to commence.
The Princess of Atira, wearing her signature golden-plated armour and wielding her father's sword, was about to duel with the crown prince of of the Kingdom of Herldorion, crown prince Leonardo IV.
They faced against each other as the battle raged around them, the prince was handsome, golden hair and a beautiful face. The Princess was also beautiful, on would see them being a nice couple together, but they had other things in mind.
"Your sword carries the blood of my brothers"
The Princess knew what the prince had done prior to the war.
"Oh ho, so you know dear princess?"
"I am no fool to see through your lies, Leonardo!"
Before she was crown princess, there were two princes, her older brothers who she loved dearly. A few weeks before, the princes visited Herldorion to negotiate peace concerning the border conflicts between the two nations, a messenger came to the palace and told the King and the princess, that the brothers were killed by the crown prince.
"Alright, I'm giving you a chance, Princess, your beauty is quite unrivaled among the women in the land, become my concubine and I'll spare you and your father"
The Princess frowned.
"I will never, be the wife, of a disgusting person, such as yourself"
The Prince smiled.
"So be it then"
The crown prince charged atnthe princes with incredible speed, the princess was surprised and barely blocked the prince's sword as he swung it to decapitate her. The two exchanged swings and punches, the princess was having trouble.
'This is the power of a mid C-rank, its got to be it!' She thought.
The Prince's strength and skill were in early C-rank, the princess struggled as the Prince's attack become more and more powerful. The prince then swung his sword towards her head again, the princess raised her sword to block it. The two sword swords met and the prince's sword shattered the sword of her father.
She managed to dodge the attack, but her sword was no more.
'No! Father's sword!" She cried in her heart.
The pain of losing another thing loved by her family crossed her heart. The pain was almost unbearable for her, she collapsed into tears.
The Prince walked towards the Princess, grimacing.
"Oh poor girl, if only you accepted my offer, such a waste to cut your head off"
The Prince raised his sword and prepared to cut the princess' head off. The Princess suddenly lunged at him, her face was horrifying in the prince's eyes, the once beautiful look that the princess once sported was replaced by a menacing stare comparable to a savage beast. The Prince panicked and swung his sword, the princess caught it mid-swing with her right hand. Using only her hand, she crushed the prince's sword.
[C-] ➡ [C] ➡ [C+]
The Prince's stumbled to the ground, fearful for his life. The enchantment magic that the princess suspected faded along with the prince's confidence. She stared down on him, her eyes glowed red, replacing the blue irises she had.
"T-This is not possible! Y-you just transcended to early C-rank just weeks ag-"
Before the prince could finished, the princess swung her hand against his head and it flew.
The Prince was decapitated, his head fell right beside him. The Princess' look dampened and she got her knees, her eyes return to normal.
[C+] ➡ [C] ➡ [C-]
She then held a golden necklace on her neck.
It is a magic artifact made by one of her brothers since her 10th birthday, it has a special ability to increase the ranks or the strength and speed of the person who wores it and uses their mana to activate it and make their ranks grow higher. But unfortunately it only took 10 seconds until the person return to its original rank, and it will only used once a day.
As she hugged the artifact tightly, she couldn't hold up anymore and collapsed into tears once more.
'Brothers.. I have done it... I've avenged you' She thought in her heart, no longer in pain.
The Princess was loosing consciousness, she could feel her head becoming light, and her body numbing. She tried to stand up but alas, she fell to the ground.
The King saw everything from the magic ball held by the Grand Mage. He gave out a sign.
"Do it"
The Grand Mage bowed, he looked towards the magic ball in the battlefield, seeing that only the princess and the enemy remained, he didn't hesitate.
He clasped his hands and closed his eyes.
"Enchanteus Wirls descend on the desert, feel the might of the sovereign Url"
Dark clouds suddenly formed over the battlefield, the men on the ground looked in confusion, until...
"COME DOWN! URL OF ATIRA!"
A vile ugly projection of a beast suddenly descended from the clouds, its size was upto a 100 meters, the men on the ground were immediately struck with fear upon gazing at the massive creature.
The beast came down on the ground, striking it with immense force. The entire army of Herlderion was crushed under the beast's weight except for Atira's armies and the unconscious Princess.
"Hmp"
The King was pleased.
The Grand Mage looked at his King and bowed.
"I cast a protection barrier around the Princess and our men to protect them"
The King smiled.
"You have never failed me, I expected nothing less"
The Grand Mage bowed once again in honour.
"Shall I call on the Cavalry to retrieve the princess and our injured men?"
The King nodded.
"It's time for Princess Evelyn to rest"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Evelyn slowly opened her eyes, she was in a room, her room. She was lying on her silk sheet bed, her room was magnificent, laced with gold and silver, painted in yellow. Her furniture was also spectacular to see.
"I'm home huh" She Whispered
"You're finally awake" A crude voice echoed from the corner of her room.
"You don't have to hide, Gerald"
"HAHA" A man in a suit of armour came out of the dim-lit corner, Gerald, Princess' bodyguard and one of the best Generals in the Kingdom of Atira, and a powerful early B-rank.
He was an honorable man, had a wife and three kids, with two years in-between them.
"You look quite cheerful today, Gerald"
"Oh well, it was quite a pain to be held back by the King's orders"
"You were an experienced cavalryman. You had no reason to waste your energy on the sub-par army of Herlderion"
"Haha, you credit me too much, your highness"
"I'm only speaking the truth" She said as she smiled.
"Are you feeling better your majesty?"
The Princess assessed her body.
"It seems so, my heart has been calmed, i have avenged my brothers and chopped the head of the Prince who took them away from me"
"Indeed, we saw his head next to his body and you"
Although fulfilled, she was still thinking of the magic that was cast on the Prince, she was able to sense it, she knew it was enhancement magic.
"Where is my father right now?" She asked.
"Your father is having a meeting in the War Council, something about ceding a bit of land to the Herldorion Kingdom as an assurance of peace"
She gave out a deep breath.
"I understand. My Father is ever so kind"
The Princess and the Knight both smiled.
"Would you like to visit your mage friend, Samantha? To cheer you up?"
The Princess' face lightened a bit.
"Sure, its been a while, She was sent to the Fortress city near the Theocracy Border right?"
"Yes, your highness, she was sent to look after the city since the garrison was temporarily relocated to the border with Herldorion"
"Right then" She said as she stood up.
"Let's go, Gerald"
As the two were about to exit, a maid opened the door.
"Your Highness, the King requests your attendance"