Phantasia: The Princess Knight

Chapter 179: Finding A Weakness Part Three

"Incoming!" Alicia yelled out as a group of one hundred demonic plagues charged at Alicia and her group. 

This had been the scene for a few days now as they slowly, meter by meter, did their best to reclaim the land. The process was very slow due to the intricacies of the barrier itself. It took ten mages to form the barrier and each mage had to move a separate magic circle into place without the magic circle dispersing. This task was very delicate and very time consuming. On top of this, they had to fend off attacks from the demonic plagues. 

Alicia and her unit plus the knights were all doing their part in defending the mages as they worked and placed down the barrier magic circles. Unfortunately, such a task was not simple and many had already sustained injuries, Alicia's team included. 

"Just a little longer! We just need to hold them off a little longer and we can retreat back behind the barrier!" Alicia yelled. 

She herself was growing tired. The speed of the demonic plagues was so fast that just to keep up one had to push themselves to the limit. It was not an easy task at all. The more you pushed the more magicules you drained from your body. As such it was better to rely on your sword instead of magic in order to last as long as possible. This, of course, would result in close combat with the demonic plagues, causing people to get injured by their razor sharp claws.

Finally, after a grueling hour of battle, Alicia saw the barrier becoming firm and solid again. She smiled as she yelled out: "Fall back behind the barrier! Fall back!" Her order echoed down the defensive line.

Alicia had already gotten word that they would be getting a large group of soldiers from the military to bolster their defense. This would allow them to push further than they had originally planned. "Princess how many more days until the soldiers get here?" 

"By my calculations, by the time we actually actually reclaim two kilometers of land back, they should be here. So around three to four days at most. " Alicia answered.

"Princess, at this rate... " The knight wanted to say that they would not last that long if they kept moving the barrier.

Alicia's face was sullen, she knew what the knight wanted to say, but she was also annoyed by this line of thinking: "I know But what choice do we have? It is for the survival of our kingdom. If we let these lands get ruined by the foul air, we will not have enough food to support our citizens. What is a country without its citizens? If the citizens become disgruntled by the ones who rule over it they will turn against the king himself.

"Are you not a knight?

"Are you not supposed to uphold the virtues of being a knight?

"Where are your virtues?

"Where is your Courage?

"Where is your Strength?

"Where is your ability to show No Mercy to those who try to harm the lands, its people, and the king of this land? 

"Just because the situation is not favorable does not mean we should turn our back on everything for our own safety! 

"Am I, Alicia von Alastine, not here fighting alongside you?

"Receiving the same injuries as the rest of you.

"Putting my life on the line in order to make this land reclamation happen?

"As a knight of my kingdom, my home, I am disappointed in you!" 

Alicia now more than ever would not allow a knight of such high ranking to act in such a manner. What they were doing was for the wellbeing of the kingdom. Whether they got injured or not as long as they were able to reclaim the farmlands that were essential to the kingdom, everything would be fine. Alicia would rather be injured than to see her kingdom fall into unrest due to this new threat. 

Alicia's words affected the knight deeply. He realized how stupid he was being. He looked at Alicia and dropped to one knee, stabbing his sword into the ground and bowed his head. "Princess, I, Holden Hille, have had my eyes opened today. I swear on my sword to assist Princess to the end, even if I must give up this old life of mine." 

"I will be counting on you." Alicia said, finally retracting her stern gaze and giving a gentle one. "All we need to do is hold on a bit longer. Once the reinforcements arrive we will be able to rest."

While the land reclamation was going on, Alicia never once forgot her original task of capturing the demonic plagues. She had already sent back ten so far for testing. Dr. Feanreal was working hard on finding a weakness that would allow them to all gather together in a location they designated, allowing for an all out attack on them. 

They could only use this method because speed, attack, and the pure number of them far exceeded the knights and the military. By finding out what can lure them away to certain areas will allow for a tactical advantage. Although they were superior in some ways, intelligence wise they were still just demonic beasts. 

Four days passed and Alicia and everyone else were in tatters. They were all covered in wounds and seemed to have gone through hell. But they had preserved and lasted these past four days as they continued to reclaim more and more of the land as the pushed the barrier forward. It was far from enough but it was more than Alicia had originally expected to be able to reclaim. They pushed forward knowing that reinforcements were coming, allowing them to have the ability to reclaim even more. In just a little over a week, they had reclaimed over two and a half kilometers. This might not seem like a lot but that was two and a half kilometers of farmland. 

Seeing the group of soldiers coming towards her, a man sitting high up on a horse road ahead until he stopped in front of Alicia. His sharp gaze fell on to the little girls smiling face causing the mans eyes to soften as he burst into laughter. "Haha, little lass long time no see! You have grown bigger! But I must say you have seen better days!"

***

Please support the author at [w.w.w.w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l.c.o.m./.b.o.o.k./.14.8.1.3.6.1.6.5.0.6.7.7.8.9.0.5./.P.h.a.n.t.a.s.i.a.%.3.A.-.T.h.e.-.P.r.i.n.c.e.s.s.-.K.n.i.g.h.t.]remove periods for address since some sites monitor warnings like this.