Chapter 26: Andrew’s Helpful Words

Chapter 26: Andrew’s Helpful Words

After visiting Sal and the others, Ailia strolled along, chatting with Celia and Aurora behind her, “Let’s train together next!”

“Sure!”

Celia and Aurora nodded in agreement.

Training with Celia and Aurora, Airael wasn’t really aiming to practice magic.

No, no, she was there to refine her martial skills!

Her melee prowess was on par with Celia and Aurora, after all.

Her recent gains in magic had definitely helped boost her close-combat abilities.

But moving forward, improvement wouldn’t come so easily.

She had years of magic experience, but martial skills? Not so much, really.

In the past, martial arts were more of a supporting act for her.

But now, Airael had other intentions brewing in her mind.

Though she had only mentioned the Battle Mage concept to Arthur before, if she could truly develop something substantial, that would be an absolute win!

At the very least, she could cement her name in history!

In life, it’s all about fame and fortune.

And she was no exception.

Genuine nonchalant people are as rare as a unicorn.

Just like Arthur—he seemed so desireless before, but what about now?

His aspirations were terrifyingly strong compared to most; he was truly one of a kind!

The three found a secluded spot in the camp to commence their training.

Instead of splitting into teams, they opted for a free-for-all!

All three were enemies, and while dealing with one person, they had to watch out for the others!

Though this kind of training was exhausting, it was highly effective.

Especially on the battlefield, once a chaotic mess broke out, you really had to keep your eyes and ears peeled!

If you only focused on the foe before you, danger loomed large!

While your teammates might lend a hand, there are times you have to rely on yourself.

Under such high-intensity training, everyone was feeling the burn!

Naturally, they each had their own rewards!

Combat, particularly challenging encounters, foster significant growth in strength.

It allowed them to test themselves while gaining insights from others’ experiences.

And they didn’t hold back too much!

With two healers in the trio and plenty of potions at hand, as long as it wasn’t a lethal blow, they could be saved and recovered swiftly!

Time flew by during training, especially since they were all having a blast.

Before they knew it, they’d trained right up to noon.

Although midday sun in this season wasn’t too brutal, all three were still drenched in sweat and gasping for air.

“It’s noon already! Time to head back for lunch; let’s call it a day!”

After checking the sky, Airael announced to them.

“Understood!”

Celia and Aurora had no desire to continue brawling.

One, they were genuinely tired; two, they had already gained plenty for the day and needed some time to digest it all.

Overstuffing themselves without time to settle would lead to quite the tummy ache!

Even though it was noon, when Airael returned to the tent, Arthur still seemed to be out.

“Is the Legion Commander back yet?”

Airael asked the guard stationed by the entrance.

“Miss Ailia, the Legion Commander is still away,”

the guard replied, his head bowed.

“Alright, if he hasn’t returned, I guess I’ll have lunch on my own.”

With that, Airael entered the tent.

Before long, someone delivered her meal.

Inside the tent, Airael dined alone.

As she ate, her mind wandered to thoughts of Arthur.

It seemed that issue was truly proving to be a tough nut to crack! Another long meeting, huh?

Airael couldn’t help shaking her head.

Sometimes having too many talents can be a hassle.

With so many skilled individuals, competition is fierce.

The pie is only so big; everyone wants a bigger slice!

In such a scenario, chaos is bound to ensue.

Despite the intense competition, Airael still had faith in Arthur.

After all, not only was Arthur outstanding himself, but he also had substantial backing—right there in the camp, no less!

Surely he wouldn’t just sit idly by.

Just yesterday, they had banded together to hold down Mork.

Sure, it was a bit unfair since it was a group ambush, but what else could they do? Mork was just too strong!

But who knew when he would take action?

Reminded of this, Airael shook her head again.

With her previous bold speculation, she genuinely felt lost regarding the Tower of the Archmage—or rather, Andrew’s thoughts.

Was he a friend or a foe?

Airael closed her eyes, pausing her chewing.

At this point, both she and Arthur were in a pretty passive position!

But alas, there wasn’t much they could do.

Arthur’s “noble” identity brought some downside too.

And currently, they hadn’t established any solid ground.

In this kind of situation, if they weren’t the ones being passive, who would be?

While pondering this, Airael resumed nibbling.

However, after a long while of deep thought, she couldn’t come up with any concrete conclusions.

By the time Arthur returned, Airael had already finished her meal a while back.

Arthur seemed quite cheerful—had something wonderful happened?

“Did something good happen? You seem so happy!”

Airael couldn’t hide her curiosity.

“Ailia, it looks like we’re likely going to be the main force for the upcoming attack!”

“What’s going on?”

Although Airael had an inkling this would happen, she still was intrigued and wondered if it matched her expectations.

“Thanks to Sir Andrew, he spoke on our behalf and even used yesterday’s example of us subduing Mork to illustrate that we did the heavy lifting while he just provided some support.”

Airael nodded gently.

Andrew’s words weren’t entirely off-base.

While there might be some exaggeration, Airael had confidence in her ability to hold down Mork with or without their assistance.

She still had some cards left to play!

With those thoughts swirling, Airael voiced her doubt, “But it sounds like what you just mentioned isn’t finalized yet.”

Arthur’s expression stiffened at those words.

“Though Sir Andrew said something on our behalf, those people still refuse to yield. So, Sir Komit mentioned he still needs to carefully consider.”

Even though Komit was polite to Andrew, he held his own opinions in such matters.

After all, this wasn’t trivial; it pertained to their strategic military planning going forward.