Although Orion believed that he had already accepted and fully integrated into this world, embracing its reality, he couldn't deny that there were still many aspects he wasn't entirely accustomed to.
And one of those aspects, in particular, was the sight of a dead corpse.
Until this point, the closest thing to a corpse that Orion had encountered were the petrified villagers within the Village Chief's compound and the pit filled with the lifeless remains of infants transformed into stone by the Vylkr vines. While these experiences were still relatively mild compared to the gruesome scene before him, they had been enough to trouble his senses.
Thus, when Orion laid eyes upon the numerous mangled and severed corpses of hundreds of Prismerians, both men and women, a deep frown etched itself across his face. An overwhelming feeling of disgust welled up within him.
Shifting his gaze from the severed corpses of the deceased descendants of the forgotten clans, Orion directed his attention towards the three lifeless figures clad in pristine, oversized knight armour, sprawled awkwardly at a distance from the royal carriage.
His focus then moved forward to another figure that seized his interest.
"Is that...?" Orion wondered as his eyes widened in recognition.
Observing the bluish, scale-like armour enveloping her body, forming a sleek bodysuit that accentuated her remarkable figure, Orion didn't need to speculate further to realize who it was.
Observing Queen Selene's slowly walking forward, while the royal carriages were flanked by two knight-like armoured guards resembling the deceased figures lying on the ground, Orion couldn't shake the feeling that something had gone awry.
Just from the name, he deduced that these knightly figures were the Starforged Knights. With three of them already dead and Queen Selene now resembling a supernatural warrior goddess, poised for battle, Orion immediately concluded that the situation had escalated.
Turning his gaze away from the window, he fixed his attention on King Brylon, who was comfortably reclining nearby.
"King Brylon, what does it mean if the Starforged Knights can't handle the situation or are killed?" Orion asked, his eyes locked on King Brylon's form from the corner of his vision.
King Brylon, who had kept his eyes closed, promptly opened them to gaze at Orion. "The Starforged Knights, while not the absolute strongest division in the Crystaforged clan, still rank among the finest. If they were to ever fail, it would imply they were facing an upper-ranked division significantly more powerful," King Brylon replied, a furrow forming on his brow as he maintained eye contact with Orion. "But why are you inquiring about such a matter?"
Orion sighed and withdrew his head from the window, widening the curtains enough to create a viewing gap for the king as well.
"Why don't you take a look as well?" Orion suggested.
King Brylon's brow furrowed slightly as he attempted to quell any suspicions about the young man's hidden intentions.
After exhaling deeply, he leaned in to catch a glimpse of the ongoing scene outside.
What he witnessed left him utterly stunned.
"This..." King Brylon exclaimed as his eyes fell upon the lifeless bodies of several Starforged Knights.
His gaze then shifted to his queen, who was clad in one of the Crystalforge clan's intermediate specialties. She seemed to have activated yet another one, 'Wave's Barrage,' as her form pulsed with a soft, pure light, conjuring arrays of spikes and swords that surged forward with incredible speed. They struck and obliterated the massive rocks at a distance.
Meanwhile, Orion, positioned beside the king, couldn't resist looking as well upon hearing the thunderous sounds resonating from outside.
"BOOOOMMM!!"
"BOOOMMM!!!"
Observing Queen Selene wreaking havoc on the terrain around them, Orion witnessed the emergence of two figures rushing towards her. Soon, more joined their ranks until their numbers reached ten.
Thankfully, Queen Selene's stubborn creation of crystalline spikes and swords of various sizes and lengths had already dispatched two of her attackers. As the last one fell, the sound of teeth grinding against each other became audible to Orion.
Orion shot a glance at King Brylon, who seemed to be boiling in anger as he muttered through his clenched teeth, "Gemheart Clan... This ambush is the work of the Gemheart Clan... TCHH! I knew something was amiss when he decided to leave the banquet early," grinding his own teeth in frustration.
'The Gemheart Clan,' Orion thought, his mind drifting back to his encounter with Zephyrion Gemheart.
He now realized that the tension between the two clans had escalated far beyond mere political rivalry. They seemed to harbour a burning desire for each other's demise.
Orion kept his eyes trained on the ongoing battle between Queen Selene and the remaining ten black-cloaked individuals. This was his opportunity to gauge her power and compare it with what he knew of his village.
Also, he remained vigilant, ready to step in if the need arose.
"BAAMMM!!!"
"BAAAMM!!"
The ground tore open once more as Queen Selene missed her target yet again. These cunning opponents continued to dart around, dodging her attacks without making any effort to confront her directly.
Despite managing to eliminate two of them through surprise attacks, the remaining eight divided her attention, preventing her from focusing her attacks on a single individual without interference.
Ordinarily, facing such foes would pose no challenge for her, and she could dispatch them swiftly. However, their agility, combined with their coordinated tactics, and the ease with which they dispatched three Starforged Knights, led Queen Selene to conclude that they were indeed a top-ranked division.
As for which clan they belonged to, she decided to figure that out later, after she had completely dealt with them.
Glancing up at the still stable barrier, Queen Selene deactivated her "Wave's Barrage," feigning a bit of weariness from continuously unleashing such an attack.
"Swish!" Immediately, a shadow darted towards her from the corner of her eye. Smiling subtly, Queen Selene promptly activated an advanced Crystalforge Clan specialty, "Artificer's Masterpiece," which emitted an incredible, blinding light.
