"Was it an enemy attack?" Aston’s eyes widened in horror.
He looked around and saw that everything within a hundred-meter radius was covered by a barrier.
Worse still, a terrifying aura emanated from it, making his hair stand on end.
It wasn’t just Aston who was shocked—Galian and the rest of the soldiers felt the same way.
The battle halted, all eyes fixed on the barrier with full alertness.
"What’s going on? Who activated this barrier?" one of the Black Wings soldiers asked in surprise.
"Could it be our mage?" Another replied, his tone doubtful.
At once, they turned toward the high-level mages and sages in the back row—but all they saw were faces as shocked as their own.
That alone proved the barrier was not their doing.
"Aston Valmire, is this your doing?" Galian asked coldly, his sharp gaze fixed on him.
For some reason, his gut told him Aston had something to do with it.
But Aston didn’t answer. At first, he thought this was Galian’s doing.
Yet Galian’s reaction made that suspicion seem wrong, leaving only one possibility—an enemy had intervened in their fight.
Noticing Aston still didn’t answer, Galian felt his anger flare. His body darted forward, sword raised high.
"Aston Valmire, I didn’t want to kill you at first. But your actions and stubbornness have pushed me beyond my limits! Now, die!"
Startled, Aston hurriedly tried to block the attack—but it was too late.
The strike passed through his sword and aimed straight for his neck.
But suddenly...
Badump!
Galian’s heart raced. The sharp edge of his sword stopped just two centimeters from Aston’s neck.
"What...? What happened!" Galian’s eyes widened in horror and fear.
His body felt stiff, completely immobilized.
Aston, equally shocked, didn’t hesitate. He delivered a powerful punch to the side of Galian’s face.
Bang!
Galian’s body flew ten meters before rolling across the grass.
Pain lingered where he had been hit, and Galian felt his jaw throb intensely.
"It hurts..." he groaned softly, holding his face.
But the next moment, confusion returned—he couldn’t understand what was happening to his body.
Could this... be because of the mysterious barrier? he thought.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to think—Aston was already running toward him, sword in hand.
Galian scrambled to his feet and jumped, but the strangeness in his body returned.
His strength felt halved, as if something was draining it from him.
"How is this possible!?" he exclaimed in shock.
"Die!" Aston roared, swinging his sword to the side.
Galian swung his own sword to block the attack—and managed to stop it.
But the impact was so strong that he felt the bones in his arm shift.
Bang!
Aston kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying five meters across the ground.
Why is Galian so weak? Aston wondered.
Earlier, Galian would have easily withstood that attack—but now, he could barely stay on his feet against even the simplest strike.
Wait a minute... Aston’s eyes narrowed as he glanced at the red barrier surrounding them. Don’t tell me all this has something to do with it?
The thought made sense, and joy exploded within him. He didn’t know who had done it, but whoever it was had helped him and his troops—and he felt intensely grateful.
"Everyone!" he shouted. "This magic barrier is our good fortune! It’s weakening Galian and his army! Take this chance to finish them off!"
Upon hearing that, the Valmire family’s soldiers and mages froze.
They stared at the Black Wings troops with hungry, eager eyes.
The Black Wings troops, too, were taken aback by Aston’s words.
At first, some wanted to argue—but soon they realized he was right.
"What’s going on? Why is my strength reduced by fifty percent!?" One soldier shouted in panic.
"Mine too! I only have half my strength!"
"Damn! Me too! How is this possible!?"
Panic ran through the soldiers and quickly reached the mages.
"My mana’s down by sixty percent! How is this happening?" A Sage-level mage shouted, fear clear in his voice.
Losing that much mana was a huge problem—especially for mages.
They could no longer cast the powerful spells that had once dominated the battlefield. The Sages, who had been unstoppable, were now almost useless after losing sixty percent of their mana.
"That’s real! Hahaha!" A Valmire soldier laughed, thrusting his sword forward. "Everyone, attack them!"
"Attack!" the others shouted, charging toward the enemy.
The Black Wings troops panicked and tried to retreat, only to realize the magic barrier was trapping them as well.
No matter how hard they struck, it held firm—strong and solid like an unbreakable iron wall.
Grimacing, they had no choice but to face the Valmire family’s army, which was already charging toward them.
In an instant, the brutal clash resumed. But unlike before, this battle was now completely dominated by the Valmire family.
...
Knock!
"Father, may I come in?" Elina called softly.
"Come in, Elina. The door is unlocked."
Ragan’s voice came from inside. Elina immediately opened the door, stepped in, closed it behind her, and walked over to him.
"Good afternoon, Father," she greeted respectfully. "I heard from Mother that you called for me. Did you need something?"
"Yes, I did call for you, and it concerns your older brother," Ragan replied calmly.
Although Elina’s expression remained calm, her heart was racing.
What exactly is going on? Why is he suddenly bringing up my brother?
She tried to anticipate the various issues her father might discuss about him, but nothing came to mind.
"Sit down first."
Ragan’s words pulled her out of her thoughts. Elina nodded slightly and sat on the chair beside him.
Leaning back, Ragan asked, "Did Nolan tell you where he went?"
Elina shook her head. "No, Father. I don’t know. Brother didn’t say anything except that he had important business to attend to."
As if expecting that answer, Ragan let out a small sigh and rubbed his temples.
"Your brother is still in the eastern region, involved in a major conflict."
"A major conflict?" Elina’s eyes widened. "What do you mean, Father?"
She straightened in her chair, her face showing anxiety and panic.
Ragan was silent for a moment before replying, "It’s the conflict between the Valmire family and the Castellan family."