Chapter 394: The Battle of Dalaran

After resolving a major crisis, everyone present, including the rebel soldiers, breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Selt I, the Holy Spirit floating in midair, gave Donald an approving glance.
Then this great founding monarch pointed his knight’s sword in the direction the high-ranking members of the opposing church had retreated to and declared firmly, “Your schemes will never succeed against absolute strength. For countless years, this land in the North has been a forbidden zone for the Gods’ Church. Even your Dawn Lord Church cannot set foot here!”
As he spoke, under the terrified expressions of the Dawn Lord Church’s high-ranking members, a golden glow enveloped them. Immediately, all the church members were captured, except for the archbishop who, realizing the situation was dire and having used a divine power scroll to teleport away as soon as the divine messenger’s self-destruction attempt failed.
Among them, that legendary holy warrior put up the strongest resistance, still struggling to escape. But surrounded by Selt I’s intense golden light, this holy warrior, whose legendary strength relied partly on the gifts of a true god, was easily overwhelmed.
If it had been a sword sage who had reached legend through self-training, Selt I, who had not surpassed the demi-god limit, might not have been able to subdue him so easily. But the power of the Holy Spirit, though similar to that of a true god, had a restraining effect on divine power, allowing him to capture the legendary holy warrior so smoothly.
After capturing these clergy members of the Dawn Lord Church, Selt I did not kill them. Hundreds of clergy members at various ranks were invaluable assets to any church, even one as powerful as the Dawn Lord Church.
These people would serve as the best bargaining chips for Selt’s future negotiations with the Dawn Lord Church. So Selt I merely sealed their ability to resist, leaving it to the allied forces’ high-ranking officials to escort them back to the capital, Kosovo, for imprisonment.
Then Selt I gave a brief briefing to the allied forces’ high-ranking officials before disappearing from everyone’s sight in a burst of golden light.
As Selt’s guardian Holy Spirit, staying outside the range of his altar for too long would deplete his stored faith power, leaving him in a weakened state. After all, the Holy Spirit was not a true god. Though he could wield powerful faith energy, he was also subject to stricter faith constraints—much like totem gods. This was his greatest flaw.

If it weren’t for the pressing demands from the Church of the Lord of Dawn, Celt I wouldn’t have rushed over in such a hurry. That last attack had already cost him a great deal of strength. With their leaders eliminated, the rebel soldiers from Bitterwater Town scattered in chaos even before the allied forces attacked—some surrendered, others fled. Having witnessed the power of the allied forces’ many strong warriors, along with their numbers being more than ten times larger than their own, how could these disorganized troops dare to continue fighting against them? Donald took the opportunity to send his men to chase after the fleeing rebel groups, with Uther, George, and Bush leading the charge in a real combat mission, which was far more effective than hundreds of simulated drills in their own territory. There was no need for a powerful figure like Colin to worry about consolidating the gains and settling matters, so this legendary archmage went to Donald’s temporary camp to talk. “It seems the Lord of Dawn truly values this land in the north, even willing to sacrifice a Glory Messenger!” Donald replied, “With the power of the Church of the Gods spreading across half the continent, and countries like Andrei and Polin suppressing the growth of the Church of the Three Glorious Gods, our north has long been a forgotten piece of land. Many churches want a share of it, and the Lord of Dawn is just the first to reach out and test the waters!” Colin nodded worriedly, then said with a smile, “I’m just complaining a bit. Those powerful forces are beyond our control. It seems His Majesty is quite impressed with you, Donald! I wonder if you’d be interested in joining the royal guard. We could discuss it often then!” Hearing this, Donald shook his head and laughed, “I’m already an upright noble of Celt, a member of this kingdom. When the kingdom is in crisis, I must step in to help! So there’s no need for me to join the royal guard.” Seeing this, Colin smiled regretfully. He had actually asked on behalf of the royal family, at the request of His Majesty the Fifteenth. But knowing Donald as he did, that monarch also knew it was unlikely to succeed in winning him over. So whether this invitation was accepted or not didn’t matter much. Since Donald already had a good relationship with the next king and close ties with the Ansel family, the rise of Dalaran could only bring benefits to Celt, with few drawbacks!

Yet he couldn’t help but envy mages like Donald who had such freedom as lords—unlike himself, who had no one close besides the royal family, devoted his entire life to magic cultivation, failed to leave any descendants in his youth, and now was old with no one to rely on.
As the two archmages were conversing, Prince Duri entered with a hint of concern on his face.
“Duri, aren’t you busy handling military affairs in Bitterwater Town? What brings you here?”
The prince looked troubled as he said to Donald, “The old marshal already has plenty of men; I’m just there to help a bit. But there’s bad news I must inform you!”
“Oh? Go on then!”
“A message just came from the royal military headquarters—your domain has been surrounded!”
He watched Donald’s reaction anxiously, only to see Donald seem unfazed, as if it weren’t his own domain that was under attack.
Seeing this, Duri grew puzzled.
“Huh? Aren’t you worried?”
Donald smiled.
“I’m certainly a bit worried, but I know the people in my domain won’t disappoint me. It’s just a rebellion led by a few nobles from the old prince’s faction. Even with the support of the Church of the Dawn Lord, it won’t shake the foundations of Dalaran! So I’m not in a hurry to return.”
“But you’ve taken most of the strong warriors and troops from your domain. Dalaran has no army left—how can it defend itself against the large rebel forces from the North Counties?”
“Don’t worry! You needn’t feel guilty. Even after I leave, my domain is guarded by a legendary archmage. With the power of the mage tower, even demi-gods won’t be able to escape!”
“And as you know, both Sun Island and the Forest Elf Alliance have officially relocated some elves here. Even if Dalaran has no soldiers, the Church of the Three Radiant Gods wouldn’t dare touch an inch of elf territory!”
Hearing Donald’s words, Duri finally felt relieved. After all, it was he who had gone to Dalaran asking for Donald’s help. If Dalaran were to fall into crisis because of this, he would feel even more guilty!
Leaving aside the final stages of the campaign in the Six Southern Towns, just the day after Donald left the North Counties, the armies of Viscount Macbeth and the lords from two of the neighboring prince factions began to encircle Dalaran.
Coincidentally, at that time, the female sword saint Abel returned from the royal capital, accompanied by her disciple Cornelia, and was staying at the lord’s manor, received by Countess Catherine.

The intelligence agents in Dalaran were immediately informed of the rebels’ movements. The Macbeth faction also had no intention of being too secretive, as they believed that by surrounding and isolating Dalaran, there would be no resistance left in the entire Northlands.

The situation was serious, but the people of Dalaran weren’t overly anxious. For the rebels to enter Dalaran through the gateway of Windchime Village, they would have to pass through the Twilight Forest north of Stonehold, and the defensive barrier of the mage towers in the forest covered exactly that area. Taking a detour through other routes would surely waste a lot of time.

Dalaran wasn’t a territory that could be bullied at will. After discussions among its leaders, it was decided that in addition to the mages defending from the mage towers, other armed forces would be sent to intercept the enemy troops.

Initially, the plan was to appoint the strongest warrior present, the Female Sword Saint Abel, as the commander. Clinton was also a candidate, but he was currently advancing through the Silver rank and needed to stay at the Adventurers’ Guild, making him unsuitable for combat at the moment.

There were other Silver-rank warriors, but they were only suitable for small-scale battles and lacked leadership skills.

Unluckily, although the Female Sword Saint was highly skilled in combat, her focus was entirely on mastering swordsmanship, leaving her ignorant of military leadership. At that time, she recommended her disciple, Princess Cornelia of the Ansel family, to take command!

Some of the more experienced officials in the territory, such as William and Barn, opposed this proposal. But for some reason, the three most powerful figures in the territory at the time—Elder Mage Messehl, High Lich Master Chikofield, and Lady Countess Katherine—overruled everyone else and supported her choice. Thus, the decision was officially made!

Having a young girl as the commander seemed like a joke to the enemy generals. Although there were women in positions of power in this world, she was the young princess of the beautiful and cultured Ansel family, barely seventeen or eighteen years old. Even if she had inherited family knowledge and some military theories, along with her own Silver Swordsmen skills, she was still far too inexperienced for those who had led troops for decades.

Moreover, Dalaran was known for having few soldiers. Its army, including the militia and guards, numbered no more than a thousand. Even the largest unit, the Holy Shield Infantry Regiment, had grown to just under five hundred after several expansions.

Is it because they lack a lord to lead them that the people of Dalaran have lost their heads, or do they look down on them, which is why they entrusted their only forces to a girl? Yet it was this girl, Cornelia, who was not even twenty years old, who dealt a severe blow to the rebels in both frontal battles and jungle guerrilla warfare!