The Water Magician

"Dammit, a betrayal? Which noble has betrayed us?"

"Your Excellency, it's everyone. All the northern nobles..."

"That's impossible..."

He certainly hadn't anticipated that much.

Minister of Military Affairs Elliot was by no means incompetent.

He knew that the Imperial Army was trying to entice the northern nobles to their side.

He had also considered that betrayal from the northern nobles might occur once they joined the battle.

However, the betrayal of 'all the northern nobles' was something he could not have foreseen.

In fact, even Arthur, the advisor who had been listening beside him, was left momentarily frozen in shock.

This was not just a trivial matter of the battle's outcome; the betrayal of 'all the northern nobles' could have an immense impact on the fate of the kingdom, which he realized in an instant.

But...

"First of all, we need to escape this place."

"Indeed."

Both Minister of Military Affairs Elliot and Advisor Arthur decided to focus on what was necessary now.

"All members of the magical association, those with earth attribute magic, use mud techniques. Fire attribute users, create fire walls, and wind attribute users, use wind pressure. In any case, strive to delay the combat. Stop the enemy's advance!"

Advisor Arthur shouted with all his might.

"Hurry, the enemy isn't just the nobles! The Imperial Army is charging from the front as well!"

Both he and Elliot, who was also a high-ranking noble, shouted...

"Deputy, shouldn't we conduct a charge?"

Deputy Jurgen asked.

"Not necessary. That's for the knights to do. We will advance slowly."

There was no hesitation in Oscar's instructions.

The enemy had begun to falter, but their formation had not completely collapsed.

From a distance, they could see units engaged in delay combat.

If they got caught up in that and lost valuable subordinates, he wouldn't be able to face Fiona.

"Listen, don't get too far ahead. We are magicians. Leave close combat to the others."

In times like these, it was best to utilize their status as 'magicians.'

Of course, this unit had no trouble handling close combat, but the fact remained that they were magicians.

The Imperial Mage Brigade began to advance slowly.

Royal Knights Zack and Scotty, despite the chaos, were fighting against the approaching noble army.

"The rear guard has the highest probability of death, it seems."

"Even so, in this situation, the knight orders have no choice but to take the rear guard."

In reality, the Court Magic Guild, which was responsible for delay combat, and the Royal Knight Order, the strongest in close combat, were serving as the rear guard.

"Hey, Zack, that kid over there."

Scotty pointed to a rather short magician.

Using a staff much larger than her height, she froze the ground and made the enemies slip. From the perspective of delay combat, she was quite effective.

However, there were still soldiers from the noble army trying to get close, and every time they approached, she sent out ice spears to take them down while freezing the ground again.

"Alright, Scotty, let's go support that magician."

When Zack said this, Scotty nodded and the two ran over.

Before long, they stood alongside the water attribute magician.

"I'll take care of the enemies approaching us."

"You focus on freezing the ground."

As Zack and Scotty said this, the magician nodded while still facing forward.

What they didn't know was that this magician's name was Natalie Schwarzkopf.

She was a master of water attribute magic in the kingdom, the daughter of the Schwarzkopf family, and had served as a messenger between Ilalion and Abel.

Having just returned from the City of Run, her first mission was to participate in this battle...

Truly, things were not going well...

The three of them were engaged in delay combat.

"Looks like our allies have retreated significantly."

"Really the very last of the rear guard. All that's left is that pair."

The three spotted a pair of a magician and a knight who were also serving as the rear guard.

"Is that Lord Arthur Velasis and... could it be our captain Lord Dantan?"