Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 531: Broken

September 20th, 1733 A.D., according to the common human calendar, was still over a month away from the true winter in the Valeria Empire’s official calendar. Yet Liya Tower, the military stronghold situated at the nation’s northernmost frontier, had already begun feeling the approach of blizzards due to its high latitude.

Howling winds carried snowflakes deep into the knights’ armor. The shrieking gales blended with the metallic clashing into a sharp, unceasing whine, like iron being hammered repeatedly beneath a forge’s bellows. Occasionally, explosions from catapults and offensive spells punctuated the soundscape, forming the battlefield’s unchanging symphony.

On the city walls, Lyra gently wiped her cheek with the back of her leather-gloved hand. Her long, delicate lashes glistened with tiny droplets from melted snow. Her clear, sapphire-blue eyes reflected the sunlight above, radiating a tranquil brilliance like a starlit sapphire sea.

No matter how many times she experienced it, facing a scene resembling hell itself, she still couldn’t fully adapt.

Lyra exhaled softly. Before she could steady her breath, her knight’s blade had already slashed forward, its searing light cleaving through the thin veil of white mist exhaled from her lips, and struck directly into the ranks of the Church Knight Order.

Shields shattered under the blade’s force, armor burned apart by the radiant edge. Blood erupted from the gaps, splattering across Lyra’s vision and deepening the weight in her heart.

The city wall’s last remaining defensive magic circle had become as fragile as an eggshell under the Church Knights’ relentless phalanx assaults. No matter how much mental energy she poured in, she couldn’t fundamentally restore these already shattered runes.

At this rate of attack, the barrier’s complete collapse was less than half an hour away. Once this faint, translucent defense fully disintegrated, the defending soldiers on the wall would be fully exposed to bombardment from light-element magic. That would be the moment Liya Tower Fortress fell.

Would the fortress, defended for months at the cost of countless soldiers’ lives, truly fall today?

There was no time to dwell. The battlefield changed in an instant, any lapse in focus could bring a fatal strike. Lyra tightened her grip on her longsword, her clear gaze growing ever more resolute.

No matter the outcome, at this moment, she was the Empire’s Knight Commander. Throwing her entire life into battle was the best choice.

Switching from one-handed to two-handed grip, she plunged the sharp blade into the wall beneath her feet. Radiant light surged forth like an ocean, rapidly spreading across most of the high wall.

[Luminous Torrent] activated. Every soldier standing on the wall received enhanced physical abilities, and their resistance to light magic significantly improved. Specifically, light arrows weakened by the defensive barrier were now unable to pierce their skin.

In the magical world, there was a universally acknowledged principle: when mages of the same elemental specialization fought, mental energy quality generally outweighed elemental affinity. For example, if a middle tier Magnus and a peak tier Magnus cast the same spell, and their elemental affinities were similar, the peak tier Magnus would dominate by drawing in the majority of elemental particles.

However, when opponents were of equal strength and mental energy quality was comparable, elemental affinity became the decisive factor. Mages with mediocre affinity would suffer from deteriorated spell effects and be easily crushed by those possessing high affinity.

Fortunately, Lyra’s current strength had reached the pinnacle among mages capable of participating in this war. Facing the Church Knight Order, who wielded the same light-element magic, her advantage was immense. She was both the sharpest spear and the strongest shield.

The moment [Luminous Torrent] appeared, every person on the battlefield, whether defending the wall or attacking, had their attention drawn to Lyra.

The next second, Lyra, now drawing maximum aggression, immediately faced the Knight Order’s fiercest assault. Simultaneously, even Astrid, who had previously conjured numerous ice spikes, clearly received reduced attacks.

The silver-haired, black-dressed Imperial Regent sensed the shift in ambient light-element particles, turned her gaze, and looked upon the pink-haired knight clad in sacred armor, shining brilliantly under the light. Her crimson eyes rippled faintly.

Lyra’s fighting style was indeed somewhat reckless, bordering on suicidal.

Relying on her extremely high light-element affinity, she was playing the role of a warrior-tank. It wasn’t surprising her squad consistently had the lowest casualty rate; after all, who would ignore such a glaring target?

But... this was probably exactly what Lyra intended.

Her own slight increase in danger didn’t matter much, she had the Holy Sword and Holy Armor as safeguards, making instant death nearly impossible. This way, casualties among the defending forces could be drastically reduced.

Truly, a straightforward, beautiful fool.

Watching Lyra’s smooth, silken pink hair flutter in the wind, her clothes and skirt gently swaying, her white silk-clad legs standing straight beneath pristine armor, Astrid’s gaze swept over the girl’s finely chiseled face illuminated by light, and silently began chanting another ancient spell.

Originally, her mental energy reserves weren’t high. Casting those two spells had already sufficiently demonstrated the Regent’s presence alongside the troops.

There were still many procedures to follow. If she depleted her mental energy now, unnecessary risks might arise.

But since Lyra had done this, Astrid could afford to expend a few more ancient spells, ease the pressure on the front lines, and weaken the Church Knight Order to the greatest extent.

The next second, a massive volley of arrows flying toward Lyra froze midair due to ice-element magic. The hardened metal arrowheads fell like rain onto the frozen ground, many striking the helmets of Light Knights.

Lyra immediately noticed the anomaly. Only one person could create such a wide-area effect with ice magic.

Astrid Calliste.

Though she had no time to locate Astrid’s exact position, the certainty that the other woman stood on the same wall, fighting side by side with her, warmed Lyra’s heart.

Her sword didn’t feel heavy. The sharp blade sliced through waves, cleaving the sea of light. Lyra’s blue eyes now glowed with a warm orange light as her entire body bathed in holy radiance.

They could endure. Liya Tower Fortress might eventually fall, but not today.

Flecks of light drifted down onto the battlefield, transforming into scorching flames. Lyra stood alone on the wall, gripping her sword with both hands.

Middle tier Magnus-level light-element magic: [Flickering Light, Phantom Shadow].

.............

"Deputy Captain, the magic Circle is complete."

Amid the battlefield’s chaos, the knight Deputy Captain, clad in pure white armor, received the report from his aide. With a subtle shift of consciousness, the blood staining his leg armor vanished, returning it to its original pristine state.

"Relay the message to all knights. Maintain the original siege plan."

Aiming his bow at the pink-haired knight on the wall, enhanced by multiple holy lights, Deputy Captain nocked another arrow. The pure white bow’s tip ignited with sacred light, its sharp arrowhead pointed directly at Lyra.

"Don’t startle her. This is the decisive moment Commander Kales has been waiting for. Once the wall collapses, every living force on the Valeria Empire’s side, except mages and knights of Master Knight rank or higher, will perish here."

Magnus and Master Knight could escape using magic flight or mental wings, making them difficult to eliminate.

But ordinary soldiers armed with magic-powered weapons, restricted to ground movement, would have almost no chance of escaping the net they had woven.

Especially considering, from current observations, the Valeria Empire had no idea the Church of Light possessed such a covert offensive, or containment, method.

Meanwhile, Lyra, who had held on for thirty minutes, felt a slight weariness. Channeling mental energy at full capacity while fending off a downpour of attacks with her Light Sword had drained her significantly.

Yet something unexpected occurred: the defensive barrier she had anticipated would shatter first still hadn’t broken. A faint, translucent force field remained.

It was as if granting them continued hope to hold on.

Moreover, the Church Knight Order’s assault appeared slightly weaker. If this matched previous patterns, it was the precursor to their retreat.

Something felt wrong. Lyra frowned, her fingers tightening around the sword hilt.

Putting herself in the enemy commander’s position, facing a crumbling wall and prolonged lack of results back home, could she really restrain the impulse to push forward and seize the battlement?

Especially now, when breaking through Liya Tower Fortress was nearly within reach. It made no sense not to continue the assault. Lyra even suspected that before the next charge, her side might receive a retreat order.

What did the Church of Light intend? Did they still plan, as before, to starve out their soldiers, relying on advanced medical capabilities and superior individual combat strength to wage a prolonged war of attrition?

As thoughts raced, a violent tremor suddenly shook the wall beneath Lyra’s feet. Compared to previous impacts from Light Knights’ light hammers, this vibration felt like an earthquake, as if the fortress’s outer wall had been struck directly from above by a high-speed flying sky dragon.

This magnitude... earth-element magic? 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Had the magic runes protecting the wall completely failed? Yet the sentries responsible for monitoring hadn’t sent any report.

Lyra, positioned farther from the impact point, felt weaker tremors. From the corner of her eye, she saw several soldiers on the wall flung violently into the air, falling behind like broken kites.

Next, it would be their turn.

Beneath the wall, Church Knights had inscribed a magic Circle with their lives. The intricate runes carved into the ice plain, previously obscured by blood and dirt, now glowed with a gentle light. Illuminated by the holy radiance projected from above, the heat instantly evaporated the blood, causing the runes to emit magical fluctuations.

The last defensive Circle shattered under the tremor, unable to regenerate. Lyra stared at the delicate magic runes on the ground. She raised her sword to destroy them, but a sturdy shield blocked her strike, the high-rank knight who had been aiming arrows at her earlier. Deputy Captain, using Master Knight-level mental energy combined with reinforced metal, perfectly deflected the blow.

The next second, the fortress’s surrounding wall began to sink and collapse. Stones and ice shattered continuously, accompanied by soldiers’ cries of weightlessness.

One of the Church of Light’s secret arts: a large-scale combined magic, [Holy Radiant City].

The previously dispersed Church Knight formations now converged into multiple focal points of the combined spell, using mental energy to communicate with light-element particles, forming and concentrating the magic’s effect.

More light surged from beneath the ground, tightly binding stones and bodies like a prison.

The wall had shattered. The defensive Circle had completely failed. Soldiers who should have breathed easier upon seeing a retreat imminent were now overwhelmed with panic. The intense sensation of weightlessness barely ended before the light rose past their ankles. They fired their firearms at the glowing ground, but the effect was minimal, utterly failing to help them break free.

The instant the wall collapsed, Lyra understood the Church of Light’s ultimate objective. Their attack wasn’t meant to breach the fortress, it was meant to annihilate all defending forces within Liya Tower.

Thus, the Church Knights could eliminate Valeria Empire’s veteran troops, hardened through numerous battles. Then, before the winter blizzards fully arrived, they could exploit the Empire’s weakened defenses and insufficient reinforcements to advance deep into the warm heartland.

Behind the Holy Armor, semi-transparent light wings stirred the air, lifting Lyra beyond the influence of [Holy Radiant City], hovering mid-air. She spotted, near distant catapults, countless pure-white figures hidden beneath concealment magic.

Church Knights, mounted on heavily armored steeds, charged from the plains toward the fortress. The collapsed wall had become a slope, insufficient to halt their iron hooves.

Within [Holy Radiant City], the first wave of knights reaching the wall engaged the defenders in close combat. Soldiers who had previously relied on magic equipment to barely withstand the Light Knights now lost their height advantage. They instantly became as defenseless as blank sheets of paper, torn apart in mere one or two moves.

Watching crimson blood gradually flow into Liya Tower Fortress’s interior, Lyra hovering mid-air felt a flash of anger in her eyes. Her legs clad in Holy Armor naturally parted as she swung her Holy Sword horizontally, forcing the foremost Church Knight to retreat.

They couldn’t continue fighting. Immediate withdrawal was essential.

Once glass cannons were engaged in close combat by knights, shattering was inevitable. Moreover, these defending soldiers weren’t even proper cannons.

Once heavy cavalry entered the battlefield, a massacre was certain.

Lyra barely managed to block the vanguard of Pheris Kingdom’s advance force from attacking the soldiers. The distant cavalry approached the fortress at extreme speed, no more than ten minutes remained before this place became a living hell.

"Order the soldiers to retreat, Lyra."

An elegant female voice reached Lyra’s ears. The pink-haired girl turned and saw Astrid standing behind the collapsed ruins.

The silver-haired beauty, exuding a cool aura, stood upon the frozen earth. Her night-sky-colored high heels pierced the hard ice. As mental energy radiated outward, transparent sheets of ice spread across a vast area, covering parts of [Holy Radiant City], allowing soldiers to break free from the light’s constraints and retreat.

Behind Astrid, at the ends of various streets, the silhouettes of magic-powered airships began emerging from the mist.