Troublesome Aftermath

In the end, the attack on the Academy came to a rather brutal close.

Most of the soldiers from Ikor refused to surrender and were slaughtered to the last man. The several hundred mages were equally loyal to the Queen; some killed themselves on the spot, while others launched frenzied counterattacks, only to be frozen into ice sculptures by Benjamin.

The ensuing battle lasted nearly an hour. Though it had been almost entirely one-sided, even the simple act of killing had left their hands numb. Thus, when the battle finally ended, everyone wore exhausted expressions. Even the students who had hidden within the Academy and barely fought felt dizzy at the sight of the devastated streets.

By rough estimates, Ikor had dispatched four hundred and sixteen mages and fifty thousand soldiers in this sneak attack—a feat that could be called unprecedented in the history of warfare. Benjamin found it difficult to imagine how the Queen had brought so many people so close without anyone noticing.

But it was all over now, and he could not be bothered to pursue the matter further.

At the camp in the town, they recovered the Academy's captives. It turned out that when the sneak attack began, the Academy's mages had fought a series of battles against Ikor's forces in the town streets. Naturally, the Academy had suffered a crushing defeat. The main force retreated to the Academy and used runes to hold their defenses. More than twenty mages had been captured by Ikor, while over a dozen had died in those battles.

It was a regrettable outcome, but at least they had defended their home.

The students took to the streets to clear the battlefield. Wallis began planning a memorial service, the final exams were about to begin, and the town's reconstruction plan had