Chapter 45: Mediocre Smir
After the initial Flame Sword attack ended, Airael’s assault didn’t stop there.
After a brief charge, she unleashed a much wider Flame Sword energy toward the gathered Elven Lords.
The enormous flame blade, stretching dozens of feet long, enveloped the elves just like the previous set of three flame sword strikes.
Unlike before, this more massive Flame Sword emanated an even stronger aura.
The oppressive heat made the three Warrior Lords in the front swallow hard.
Despite their confidence in their gear and the magic of Smir and Mason behind them, facing such a formidable attack was still mentally taxing.
Generally, warriors would try to dodge a mage’s attack whenever possible, only bracing themselves if there was no escape.
But now, they had to maintain their formation.
If the three of them moved aside, it would give Airael a clear shot at the mages behind them.
The Warrior Lord at the back wouldn’t be able to focus on defending against the two mages while welcoming the Flame Sword.
Thus, they had to block Airael’s attack, this intimidating Flame Sword strike, one by one.
In this process, Smir and Mason, the two mages, would assist them with all their might.
The massive Flame Sword collided with the three Warrior Lords in the front.
Under the Flame Sword’s assault, the Earthen Yellow Shield surrounding them rippled continuously.
The three Warrior Lords pushed down hard with their feet, bracing against the shockwave so they wouldn’t be thrown back.
While the Earthen Yellow Shield could block the Flame Sword, they still had to withstand the shockwaves on their own.
The Flame Sword’s erosion lasted several seconds.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, a sigh of relief escaped the warriors’ lips.
Even though their Earthen Yellow Shields were gone, so was Airael’s Flame Sword.
As they stared at the scene before them, Airael curiously turned her gaze to Smir.
She had not paid much attention to this particular Elven Lord before.
Mainly because Smir was so mediocre.
His territory was located “inland,” neither prosperous nor too impoverished.
Smir himself was a rather unremarkable figure.
His personal strength wasn’t anything special, and his governance skills left much to be desired.
However, now it seemed this guy, while appearing bland, still had some merits.
The two Flame Sword attacks earlier were simply probing strikes, yet Smir’s defensive magic could easily withstand both, especially the second one—this was something Airael hadn’t anticipated.
The second attack was considered a genuine strike from her.
It appeared that the Elven Lords shouldn’t be underestimated; the intel collected by Linis might not be entirely accurate. No one knew if these Elven Lords had any hidden talents up their sleeves after thousands of years.
Feeling Airael’s gaze, Smir followed it and met her eyes calmly.
“You’re not bad!”
Airael complimented him with a smile.
“However, this is just the beginning.”
As her words fell, Airael once again raised her sword in the morning light.
With a golden magic circle rapidly ascending from the hilt, flames along the blade seemed to come alive, extending along the sword’s length.
In no time, the sword in Airael’s hand transformed into a massive Flame Giant Sword, dozens of meters long.
Seeing that colossal Flame Sword, the three Warrior Lords in front nearly cursed aloud.
They were still reeling from the earlier impact of the Flame Sword.
There was no way they felt confident they could withstand this attack head-on.
From the prior exchanges, Airael had already picked up on their formation to a degree.
The three Warrior Lords at the front, armed with shields, formed a defensive line.
This line wouldn’t budge easily; they’d adopt a strategy of physically blocking her attacks to protect the Elven Lords behind them.
Under these circumstances, even if Airael managed to slip past while they blocked her attack, there was another Elven Lord waiting to intercept her.
As long as that particular Elven Lord could stall her momentarily, the three Warrior Lords could regroup and surround her.
Therefore, the best method to deal with their formation was to crush it with overwhelming force.
As Airael prepared for this strike, Smir and Mason were also gearing up their magic.
They were acutely aware that Airael’s real attack was fast approaching.
The previous strike had already been powerful, making the next one incomprehensibly fierce. Without their help, those Warrior Lords could never withstand it.
But upon witnessing Airael’s offensive, they too were taken aback.
Even ignoring the colossal size of the flames, the intense magical fluctuations made their hearts skip a beat.
For Airael, her magic power felt limitless.
“Are you ready? My attack is coming!”
Airael called out a warning to the Elven Lords, then swung her immense Flame Giant Sword down upon them.
It was aimed directly at the three Warrior Lords in front.
The three Warrior Lords, seeing the Flame Giant Sword descending from above, couldn’t help but feel a strong urge to retreat.
Smir and Mason hadn’t yet empowered them with magic, and they didn’t want to take this level of damage head-on.
Moreover, even if they were enhanced with magic, this attack was no joke.
Though the attack might be blocked, they still had to endure the shockwave caused by it.
The magnitude of the impact from such an assault was beyond imagination.
Just then, a water-blue barrier rose above them, intercepting the descending Flame Giant Sword.
The Water Barrier!
It was Mason’s magic.
The three Warrior Lords felt relieved upon seeing Mason’s spell successfully stop the Flame Giant Sword.
“You all hurry and attack Your Majesty! I can’t hold this Flame Giant Sword for long!”
Seeing his magic block Airael’s attack, Mason sighed with relief and quickly directed the three Warrior Lords.
The first hit had been thwarted by the sudden appearance of the Water Barrier. Just as Airael was preparing for a second strike to smash the barrier to smithereens, she noticed the three Warrior Lords charging toward her.
They clearly had changed their tactics from defense to offense.
Contemplating this, Airael quickly understood.
Sustaining against her powerful attacks was not a wise choice.
Therefore, launching a counterattack to distract her attention was fully justified.
