CH245 Fragments of Schaumer

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"Looks like your forces are losing," Jared remarked coldly.

"Tch!" General Vance gritted his teeth in irritation.

Neither of the two Saint-ranked Generals had moved beyond clashing their domains. Yet even in this probing contest, it was clear Jared held the upper hand.

But the Dark Knight didn't press for the kill. His instincts whispered caution.

'He boldly declared my death… Those eyes… he must have something hidden.'

Years of battlefield experience gnawed at him, warning of a trap.

So instead, Jared shifted his focus to psychological warfare.

"There's no point trying to provoke me," Vance sneered. "Not when your fort's gate is about to fall."

Jared's gaze turned toward the gate.

Indeed, the Dark Hounds had wreaked havoc since splitting up, slaughtering the Kellerman elites. But in doing so, they had seemingly abandoned the Fort's gate.

And there, the Kellerman army hammered away with massive battering rams, determined to smash their way through.

"Is that what you think?" Jared's voice rumbled with amusement beneath his helm.

As if to answer him, the sky stirred.

A vast spell formation unfolded high above the Kellerman ranks, blazing so brilliantly that even the magically inept could see its structure.

In the fort's central plaza, Alex sat cross-legged and as if in a trance, his hand raised toward the sky. Through the Control Formation beneath him, he channeled the mana of the Grand Array Formation into a single, devastating structure.

The spell was one every mage—especially fire mages—recognised instantly.

[Fireball]

But this was no ordinary fireball.

This was a monstrous orb, tens of metres in diameter, swollen with fire mana harvested from the battlefield's countless fire-related battle spells and siege attacks. Its surface churned more like molten lava than flame.

Even with the Control Formation handling most of the burden, the feat pushed Alex to his limits. Every thread of mana had to be guided slowly, carefully, lest the colossal weave collapse.

That slowness became its own weapon.

The fireball swelled at a pace just fast enough that the Kellerman mages couldn't stop it—but slow enough that every soldier beneath it was forced to watch its birth.

Every second of its looming growth carved terror deeper into their hearts.

Boom!

The fireball descended only ten metres before striking earth. There was no colossal explosion, no deafening shockwave.

But there was heat.

An unbearable, merciless heat.

Even before touching the ground, the soldiers directly beneath were reduced to nothing but blackened husks. And when the fireball landed, those charred remains disintegrated further into drifting ash.

Under Alex's precise control, and its own magical defences, the Fort and its walls–for the most parts—were left untouched. But the Kellerman forces—almost a thousand strong—were wiped away in an instant, consumed by an inferno that erased their existence.

Utter terror spread across the enemy ranks. Weapons clattered to the ground as soldiers collapsed where they stood.

The mages were the worst affected. Their courage shattered, their wills broken.

To them, only one explanation existed—some Grand, perhaps even Legendary Mage, had to be hidden within the Fort. None of them dared cast a single spell before such a presence.

"The young master's plan worked," thought Colonel Hoist, the Fort Commander, Jared's adjutant, and every Fury officer in the know.

"Push them back into the flames!"

"Surround them! Don't let them escape!"

"Let them burn in the flames of our fury!"

The cries thundered across the battlefield. Fury morale soared sky-high, while Kellerman spirits plummeted.

Against the raging backdrop of the inferno, the two Saint Generals stood locked in their silent duel.

"I told you," Jared's voice rumbled like iron from beneath his helm, "my liege's heir is no useless half-wit in over his head. Surrender. This battle is over."

"Jared Rivia! How dare you!!" General Vance roared, rage-filled flames to erupt from his throat.

In that instant, he understood.

He had been played.

The Dark Knight had never intended to duel him. He had closed in only to stall, to keep Vance pinned at bay—too far to intervene, and too late to stop the [Grand Fireball].

Every step, along with every taunt, and their clash of domains, had all been part of a grand orchestrated plan.

'Damn it,' Vance cursed inwardly. 'I thought I sealed every path of survival, but I miscalculated.'

His sword drooped to his side as his gaze lifted toward the night sky, aflame with Alex's magical inferno.

'I accounted for Drake Fury's response. I accounted for Jared Rivia's presence. But the wild card I overlooked… Alex Fury, a mere brat.'

The thought of that youth—bearing the face that resembled the one he loathed above all—burned in his chest, stoking his rage even higher.

"I see… I fell right into your trap—no, that brat's trap..." General Vance muttered.

Jared's brows furrowed beneath his helm. The man's voice was calm—eerily calm.

"Hehehe..." Vance chuckled darkly. "Surrender? Don't make me laugh!"

His aura erupted once again, wild and suffocating.

"Do you think I'll allow this war to end like this? After everything I've poured into it... after everything I've lost? Nay!"

He raised his blade, pointing it directly at Jared.

"If the army has failed me, then I'll see it through myself! First, I'll cut you down. Then, I'll dismember that heir of your liege—the one you so proudly guard. Only then will your lord taste the despair I felt… before I cut him down as well!"

Jared's frown deepened.

He braced for a reckless charge—but it never came. Instead, Vance drew a scroll from his waist and tore it apart by flooding it with Saintly power.

In an instant, Jared's Saintly energy, his Saint Domain, all vanished.

No… not vanished. Locked. Trapped within him, unable to manifest.

And shockingly, the same affliction bound General Vance himself.

"That scroll! How…? The Domain Prohibition Writ should be extinct! No one should—" Jared froze as realisation dawned.

"Hehehe…" Vance's laughter grew heavier. "So you see it now? Do you finally remember who I am?"

Jared exhaled slowly. "I see... you're the last of the Schaumer. Casper Schaumer, was it?"

"Tch, took you long enough." General Vance—or rather, Casper Schaumer—laughed harshly. "Did you think this day would never come, Jared Rivia? That day when your liege spared me to a life of misery decades ago?

"Now, I've returned… to take from Drake Fury what he stole from me!"

"With your pitiful strength?"

"You're right. With my power alone, I could never defeat you." Casper's eyes glinted with burning hatred. "But with the final heirloom of the Schaumer bloodline—the Domain Prohibition Writ and its bloodline talent—I will strike down Drake Fury and everyone else around him with my own hands!"

He spread his arms wide, the sealed battlefield humming with oppressive tension.

"Now that you can no longer use your saintly power, Jared Rivia… you are not my equal. Prepare yourself. Today, you die!"

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