Chapter 250 : Intense War
The situation had become extremely critical.
In just three short days, the Bright Ember Kingdom had lost all territory except the royal capital.
Although evacuations had been carried out in advance, faced with the demons' fearless attacks, no one had any good solutions.
Every day, catapults would roar to life, hurling flaming stones into the city.
Even though Insolania was a miraculous capital protected by magical arrays, under the continuous bombardment, many streets had been affected by explosions.
Many citizens had been injured, many soldiers had died in battle, and smoke filled the sky—even during the day, the complete sun couldn't be seen.
...
These past few days, Lonis had also been extremely busy.
Princess Sethilu still sat in her wheelchair, unable to move. So these past few days of pre-battle mobilization, protective speeches, and battlefield supervision were all handled by her.
"It's Her Highness the Princess?!"
"Warriors, take up your weapons and defend our country."
...
"Everyone, please do your utmost to treat the wounded... Please don't worry, as Princess Sethilu, I will stand with everyone until the very last moment."
"Princess Sethilu, Your Highness, we will fight to the last moment."
...
"Now is a time of difficult circumstances. I hope the people of the underground commercial street can unite and donate some supplies... If the demons breach the city walls, we will all suffer devastation."
"Food and weapons... is that acceptable?"
...
...
Although Lonis's sincerity and courage truly inspired many people.
But as the price, every day Lonis was extremely exhausted, almost running breathlessly, not even having a proper meal.
However, this wasn't what made Lonis most anxious.
What frightened her most was... she hadn't seen Elucia for three days.
Since the demons launched their full-scale assault, Elucia had locked herself in a small office, refusing to see anyone.
Lonis felt this was the black-haired girl's punishment for herself.
She had to think of countermeasures against the demons in this lonely and heavy environment, she had to defeat the Trickster Demon Lord's plan and provide everyone with a path to survival from desperate circumstances.
But... there was no possibility.
Strategy only worked to a certain extent, and now that war had begun, all that could be done was direct battlefield confrontation.
The demons had already cut off their supply lines, so tactics like flanking, circling behind, surprise attacks, or persuading surrender were impossible.
Candel was indeed the only piece Elucia held that could reverse the situation. But after her defeat, her prestige among the demons had diminished greatly.
Even if she stepped forward, she couldn't possibly stop the demon army. Moreover, with the blood storage burned down, some demons blamed her even more.
...
"Has Elucia still not come out?"
Dragging her exhausted body, Lonis returned to the Time Shuttle.
Although she wanted to knock on that tightly closed door and call for Elucia to come out... she had no confidence in her heart.
After all, this had happened.
Elucia's strategy had been completely calculated by the Trickster Demon Lord. Even if she went to comfort her, what could she say?
Elucia was such a proud and strong girl, unlike herself...
...
(No!)
Just as Lonis was hesitating, she suddenly remembered Elucia's face.
Although this girl was somewhat scheming, she also needed her companionship... So now, she definitely had to reach her side.
So Lonis borrowed the key from the dean and rushed into the room like this.
The black-haired girl sat with her knees drawn up on the bed.
Her ink-black hair fell from her back to the bed like gorgeous silk ribbons.
But compared to usual, Elucia looked much more haggard now. She no longer had her usual vitality and cunning. Even when Lonis entered, she only turned her head slightly and asked in a hoarse voice:
"Lonis, what are you here for..."
"Elucia, don't worry, I'm still here by your side."
Thud—Lonis lunged toward Elucia.
If it were the usual Elucia, she would probably get angry and give Lonis what for immediately, but at this moment, she just tilted her head and said weakly:
"Lonis, don't disturb me. I'm about to think of a countermeasure against the Trickster Demon Lord."
"Huh?"
"Trust me, this time the Bright Ember Kingdom absolutely won't repeat Snow Kingdom's mistakes. I can't possibly lose to that demon again."
Elucia seemed to want to push Lonis away, but how could the silver-haired girl let Elucia push her away?
In fact, Elucia's haggard and exhausted appearance made Lonis's heart ache... She hated the Trickster Demon Lord to death, and hated everyone who had hurt Elucia.
"Elucia, stop thinking about it. What you need to do now is rest!"
"Rest? No, how could I rest... Right now the entire Bright Ember Kingdom has fallen into war because of me. If I don't think of a countermeasure, more people will die."
Elucia looked at Lonis in a daze, and from the girl's dark circles, Lonis also realized her wife seemed to have not slept for three days.
This made Lonis regret deeply—why hadn't she burst into the room earlier, come to Elucia's side sooner?
Elucia being so exhausted now was entirely her fault!
If she hadn't told Elucia she wanted to end the war quickly, Elucia wouldn't have used such risky tactics, leading to complete failure.
So...
...
"Elucia, go to sleep quickly! If you don't rest, I'm going to get angry."
"Angry..."
"That's right, I'm going to put those little toys on you, then tie you up and force you to sleep in bed."
"Oh...?"
Hearing Lonis say this, Elucia's originally dull eyes finally showed a hint of life.
This black-haired girl looked at Lonis somewhat irritably, her teeth slightly clenched, saying "fiercely": "Lonis, do you think that because I'm very tired now... I don't have the strength to bully you..."
"Hmph, of course I wouldn't dare. Because my wife Elucia is a big tsundere, so of course she wouldn't dare bully me."
"Tsundere, mm, right, I'm a tsundere... No, no! Who's a tsundere?!"
Elucia wanted to shake her head energetically to appear spirited, but three consecutive days of exhaustion made this girl feel dizzy, and she could barely recognize even Lonis clearly.
So...
With a sudden surge of courage in her heart, Lonis pounced and knocked Elucia down on the bed.
This was also the first time Lonis had "actively" pushed down Elucia. That soft feeling lingering at her chest, and the faint scent from the girl's body, smelled absolutely wonderful.
But rest was still the priority now, so Lonis didn't let lust go to her head, but said:
"Elucia, go to sleep quickly."
"Uh..."
"Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep!"
"Ah, really, so noisy. I'll sleep, okay..."
Because she was already exhausted to the extreme.
In Lonis's embrace, this black-haired girl slowly fell into slumber.