The Only Way to Achieve Peace [Seeking Recommendations]

The destructive fire elements swirled in a rhythmic pattern, acting like a massive vortex that drew in all surrounding flames. The fire cloud absorbed the elemental energy from the heavens and earth, each pulse thrumming with the power of wind, lightning, and fire.

Jaina held her right hand as if supporting a heavy object, slowly moving her staff to guide the forming fire cloud in the air. With her left hand, she channeled elemental energy, pouring every ounce of her strength into the staff. As more surging magic flooded into the cloud, it began to stir, accelerating rapidly as it flew straight toward the dark clouds raining down pillars of ice.

The young woman chose not to target the enemy fleet. Instead, amidst the expectant gazes of the crew, she commanded the hurtling fire cloud to slam into the dark clouds with incomparable momentum.

The two extreme forces of frost and fire collided in an instant. A powerful surge of mana erupted, and the resulting gale scattered everything in its path. The fireballs and ice pillars vanished completely, leaving the clear blue sky revealed to everyone once more.

"Long live Jaina!"

"Long live Proudmoore!"

"Long live Kul Tiras!"

"..."

In an instant, cheers engulfed the Mist of the Maiden. From the captain to the sailors, everyone was jubilant, their spirits lifted.

The obstacles on their path had been cleared, and the distance between the Mist of the Maiden and the enemy ships had shrunk to less than a mile. If they could just push through the blockade, the port of Boralus would be right before them.

Yet, at this moment, one person on the ship was shaking his head with a bitter smile.

An ice spear as thick as an arm had pierced Morton's left shoulder, and the blood flowing from it had stained half his arm red. Although a Tidesage could use the power of flowing water to treat such external wounds, maintaining the water elementals needed to keep the Mist of the Maiden afloat in this severely injured state was likely impossible.

Jaina, standing beside Morton, noticed his condition immediately. She quickly turned to use the power of frost to seal the bleeding wound.

As Morton was injured, the Mist of the Maiden, which had been racing forward like a bird in flight, suddenly lurched and plunged into the sea, its speed dropping instantly.

At the same time, on the enemy ships, a dark cloud saturated with freezing energy began to condense once more. Though slow, it was steadily growing. The omen was clear: the enemy mages had recovered and were beginning to brew their second attack.

The Mist of the Maiden had lost speed, Morton was severely wounded, Jaina's mana was exhausted, and the enemy's next strike was imminent. The battle, which had previously tilted in their favor, had suddenly taken a sharp turn, and everyone's spirits plummeted from the heavens to the depths of the abyss.

Jaina's naturally fair face was now devoid of all color. Having never encountered such a desperate situation, the young woman was completely at a loss. The massive contrast left her without direction, and the mana she had been struggling to output finally ran dry.

Is war destined to end only in slaughter? Is peace truly so difficult to achieve?

The young woman sighed, feeling a pang of regret for her choice. If she had unleashed that Flamestrike on the enemy flagship earlier, what would the outcome have been? Jaina could not imagine, for her mana had been drained by that forced casting. Now, she only felt waves of dizziness in her mind, and her frail body swayed backward uncontrollably.

Jaina tried to reach out and grab something to steady herself, but her hand grasped only empty air. Sighing at her own helplessness, the young woman's vision went black, and she collapsed.

However, the hard deck she expected to hit her back never came. Jaina could clearly feel a broad palm supporting her waist and back, giving her enough strength to steady her footing so she wouldn't fall onto the deck in front of everyone.

"Winning the battle is the only way to achieve peace! Want peace? Just keep winning forever!"

A voice reached the young woman's ears. It was so familiar, as if she had heard it just days ago, yet it felt so strange, as distant as if it came from the edge of the world.

The person who appeared was, of course, Liam. The prince, who had been watching the spectacle for most of the time, felt that if he didn't intervene, he might lose his own life here. Although in his memories Jaina lived a long life, his memories did not include himself, a stowaway, participating in this voyage.

Long before the enemy mages had struck, Liam had sensed something was wrong and had immediately snuck back to the cabin to find Coral, who was being "grounded."

"No! No!"

"Ten more acorns!"

"No, it hurts too much! No!"

In the cabin, Liam and Coral were in the midst of intense bargaining. However, it was clear that Coral had developed a temper from being locked up; being unable to speak for days made her indifferent to the conditions Liam offered.

"Then what do you want? Shall I find you a few pretty female parrots?"

Coral's dark, bead-like eyes rolled, seemingly tempted, but in the end, she didn't agree. Instead, she looked at Liam craftily. "I want figs!"

At the mention of figs, Liam felt a headache coming on.

This fruit was a rare dried fruit that grew on the continent of Kalimdor, found only in the territories of the Night Elves. Every year, only a few daring fools managed to smuggle out a tiny amount. Liam had no idea where Coral had heard of them, but she had been obsessed with them ever since.

But there was no help for it; the situation was dire. Liam had no choice but to grit his teeth and sign the unequal treaty.

"Fine! Figs it is. Once we settle the business here in Kul Tiras, I'll take you to steal... I mean, harvest some. That good enough?"

"And pretty female parrots!" Coral added.

"..." Liam felt he had nothing left to say to this silly bird.

Having settled things with Coral, Liam turned his gaze to Wilton, who had been watching the show.

"There is a small island south of Boralus with a place called Stormsong Monastery. You go there first, disguise yourself as an apprentice, and infiltrate the place. See if there are any promising recruits. The Tidesages have faith that is too firm; we can't easily sway them, so we have to start with the apprentices and initiates. You handle the specifics yourself."

Listening to Liam speak as if he were giving his final instructions, Wilton was speechless again and blurted out, "Where are you going?"

He froze after saying it. It was a question he felt he had asked countless times, and it seemed he would have to keep asking it in the future...

"Coral and I are going to take care of the enemy fleet, and after that, my identity will certainly be exposed. To provide you with cover and let you work better, I have no choice but to reluctantly go and draw the pursuers' attention myself."

Liam spread his hands with a look of grievance that made Wilton's teeth ache.