CHAPTER 297: REINFORCEMENTS ARRIVE

"Yes. Right now, Isolde in Solmaria is holding a barrier alone to keep the Aeon at bay. But she’s reaching her limit."

"That’s urgent. Got it. I’ll gather them right away."

Aaron quickly pulled out a piece of paper, wrote names in a neat line and handed it to the nearest mages.

"Summon them," he instructed.

The mage ran off and Aaron himself followed immediately.

Although all the magicians were probably fully occupied making Magic Stones and Magic Cannons, Aaron quickly gathered twenty of the mages he needed.

He also joined them himself.

"Wait, what about the Magic Cannons?" Shiao Yi asked in surprise.

Aaron said casually, as if it were nothing. "Leave that to Reks. He’s far more capable than I am. Besides, if I don’t go, nothing will get started, right?"

He said it not out of pride but as a simple fact.

As the strongest barrier mage in Rosaria and possibly one of the best in the world having him join was a huge relief for me.

"Then, let’s go."

While holding hands with the magicians, he grouped all of them like a bundle and then he teleported them to Solmaria Kingdom.

They’re arrived at the ruins of Isolde’s inner palace.

Aaron whose experienced with teleportation, was fine, but the others were temporarily unable to move as they adjusted to the sudden shift in space.

"Wow... what a disaster. the Aeon did this, huh?"

Aaron let out a voice of shock as he took in the devastation.

Similar exclamations and angry remarks came from the magicians who had just finished adjusting to the teleportation.

Shiao Yi chose to remain silent, not correcting their misunderstanding.

Shiao Yi thought to himself that Dominic had smashed part of a castle even in Dalmasca, made a giant crater in the desert and triggered a volcano in a hidden northern village...

So, yeah.

He was indeed a walking disaster.

And yet he was entrusted with diplomacy... Was that really okay?

Once things had settled, Shiao Yi jumped back toward the Aeon.

After the first jump, the disorientation didn’t occur again, the body remembered and adapted to the teleportation.

About an hour had passed since then.

In the bright morning sunlight, he could see around two hundred knights engaged in battle with the Aeon.

The teleportation circles were fixed in place and the knight order were being sent one after another from Rosaria.

Among them, Dominic’ golden hair shone brightly.

He had already returned to the battle.

Seeing him so energetic was a relief.

Shiao Yi instructed Aaron and the other magician to deploy their barrier magic circles and hold the Aeon in place.

The magicians initially hesitated in front of the strange enemy.

It was a massive shapeless mass stretching and inflating across the sky but seeing Aaron courageously erect the barriers encouraged them to follow.

The Aeon was immediately blocked by the barriers, but its sharp tentacles still pierced through, attacking both the magicians and knights.

Still, at least it could be prevented from spreading uncontrollably.

If it were allowed to move freely, defeating the Aeon would be impossible.

Once the barriers were confirmed, Shiao Yi ran to Isolde.

Her face looked pale and worn.

She and Siobhan who supported her were slumped on the ground, yet still using their remaining magic to the limit.

"The reinforcement will continue the barrier, so you can release your magic now. Thank you for your hard work. Go to rest."

Isolde who is too exhausted to speak nodded her head weakly and then collapsed, releasing her consciousness entirely.

"I’ll move you to the palace," Shiao Yi said to Siobhan who could not stand while holding the unconscious Isolde in his arms.

Together, they teleported to the palace study.

Inside, the officials and soldiers were still busy directing evacuations and managing the city.

They were startled by Shiao Yi and his group appearing suddenly, but the chancellor noticed Isolde and shouted orders.

"Take Queen Isolde and Lord Siobhan immediately to the guest room! Call a doctor! The others continue as instructed!"

Shiao Yi ran alongside the chancellor’s group while explaining the situation so far.

"The Kingdom of Rosaria has sent reinforcements. We couldn’t have handled this alone."

"This is a crisis threatening the entire world. Queen Isolde did well. Thanks to her, the Aeon can still be held here. Now it’s up to us, evacuate immediately. This place is too dangerous."

"Understood. We pray for your success."

After seeing them safely turn the corner and leave, Shiao Yi teleported back to Rosaria.

Holding the Aeon with barriers, or cutting down the tentacles that emerged from them, was just for buying time.

This could not continue indefinitely.

It was a race against time.

Whether the limits of the knights and magicians would be reached first, or whether the preparations to confront the Aeon would be completed first.

Shiao Yi focused entirely on using his teleportation to gather Magic Stones from every location.

...

As evening approached and night was drawing near, the line of people waiting in front of the magic stone factory was still long.

After finishing his job, Edward joined the long line without hesitation.

This was a town far from the royal capital.

It had been several years since magic stones could be produced.

Now, in any slightly large town across the nation, there was a magic stone factory.

Because the magic stone factories were directly managed by the government, there was always work.

Even people who could not get a stable job could earn wages just by supplying their own magic.

The factory also served as a support system for people with low income.

The magic stones produced could be used by each town and any extra stones were bought by the country.

Since the factories were built, poverty had been reduced, abandoned children had disappeared, people’s lives improved, and as a result, public safety also became better.

Ever since the government suddenly sent out an order from the royal capital that afternoon, asking everyone to help increase magic stone production, the line in front of the factory had never stopped.