"Hm."
Artoria remained in a meditative state, eyes closed, as she asked, "What about Falmuth's army? Have they set out?"
"Not yet."
"Hmph."
Artoria shook her head. "The humans of this world are far too inefficient."
The girl opened her eyes, her emerald gaze tinged with impatience.
"Damien mentioned that the Eastern Empire's military prowess far surpasses the Western nations," Artoria said. "In that regard, I'm a bit jealous of the Snow Empress."
The Snow Empress handled the wars in the East, a completely different front from the human battlefields Artoria focused on.
The monsters assigned to them by Damien also differed.
The Snow Empress commanded the Tengu, adept at aerial combat, and the onis, with an average strength of Special A-rank.
Though their numbers were fewer than Artoria's forces, their overall combat power exceeded hers.
"That's just how Western human nobles are, Lady Artoria."
Souka added, "The Holy Empire of Ruberios moved pretty quickly, didn't they?"
"Hinata Sakaguchi, huh?"
Artoria had accepted Damien's appointment to intercept the Western human armies.
She didn't take the Kingdom of Falmuth seriously.
Her 30,000 Lycanthrope warriors alone could annihilate their army.
The remaining Dragonewt and Star Wolves had other roles.
The Star Wolves would block the kingdom's army, leaving them no escape.
Meanwhile, she would lead the Dragonewt across the front lines to test the mettle of the Awakened Saint, Hinata Sakaguchi!
---
"Why'd they stop moving?"
"What's the hold-up?"
At the city gate, wagon ruts crisscrossed the cobblestone road, the grinding of wheels against stone creating a rhythmic cacophony like urgent drumbeats.
The city guards' sharp eyes scanned the crowd, vigilant as hawks, scrutinizing every passerby.
This was a border city of the Ingrassia.
It also served as a fortress, guarding against invasions from neighboring countries and wild monsters.
Upon learning that Falmuth was preparing to invade the Jura Forest, Shizue barely paused before hurriedly taking the children from the academy to return.
She rented a spacious carriage, carrying five young children.
The two girls were Chloe Aubert and Alice Rondo.
The three boys were Kenya Misaki, Ryota Sekiguchi, and Gale Gibson.
"War?"
But just as the carriage was about to leave Ingrassia and enter Falmuth, they were stopped by the city guards.
"Yes, because Falmuth is assembling a large army, the Ingrassia is temporarily closing its borders during this period."
That's what the guards said.
This caused a commotion among the crowd, especially the merchants who traveled between nations. Being unable to leave was nothing short of catastrophic for them.
"How can they do this?!"
"My shipment's due in just a few days! If I can't get back, I'll go bankrupt!"
"Ingrassia has no right to restrict our freedom of movement!"
"This isn't fair!"
But despite the complaints from merchants and travelers, Ingrassia deployed its army, swiftly suppressing all dissent.
Seeing this, Shizue's expression grew grim.
Because just moments ago, she had tried using teleportation magic to take the children directly to a preset coordinate in the Jura Forest.
But!
The teleportation magic failed.
How could this happen?
Shizue immediately looked up, her eyes glinting with golden light.
In the next moment, a faint blue magical barrier appeared in her vision.
"A barrier?"
Shizue saw the magical barrier enveloping the border fortress city.
It was this barrier that blocked her teleportation magic.
"Shizu-sensei?"
A timid, bunny-like black-haired girl softly called Shizue's name.
"What's wrong, Chloe?"
"Are we... stuck here?"
"..."
If this were the old Shizue, she would have complied with Ingrassia's policies for the children's safety.
But the current Shizue was no longer the Elemental of Flame.
She was now a near-Demon Lord-level being with hundreds of thousands of EP!
A mere group of ordinary soldiers couldn't possibly stop her.
Should I break through?
Shizue was absolutely confident she could slip away with the children unnoticed by anyone in Ingrassia.
Once outside the barrier's range, she could immediately activate teleportation magic to enter the Jura Forest.
But something about this feels off.
Her teleportation magic was among the most advanced general skills.
Anything surpassing it would have to be at least a Unique Skill.
Shizue didn't possess a time-space Unique Skill.
But was it really necessary for Ingrassia to go to such lengths just to prepare for a war?
Such a massive magical barrier consumes enormous amounts of mana and resources every minute.
To be this cautious just because Falmuth declared war on the Jura Forest is incomprehensible.
One might think Falmuth was attacking Ingrassia itself!
There's definitely something wrong here!
The only reason Shizue could think of was that the barrier's creator wanted to trap certain individuals in the city.
A mage capable of setting up a barrier of this level.
And at a time like this...
With all these factors, Shizue couldn't help but suspect someone was targeting her.
It wasn't paranoia.
In this city, it was hard to imagine anyone else warranting such treatment.
"Whatever."
Shizue now had three options: stay, call Damien, or fight her way out.
Damien's spatial magic could cross thousands of kilometers, teleporting her and the children directly back to the Monster Kingdom.
The final option was to break through and complete the teleportation in an area free of the barrier's interference.
I can't trouble Damien.
Then I'll have to fight my way out.
In just a dozen breaths, Shizue analyzed and made her decision.
With a wave of her hand, an invisible mana barrier instantly enveloped the carriage carrying the children.
***
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