Free City's forces split into three and closed in on the New Royal Capital.
To the south, Francois led the Hellfire Legion. To the east, Little Smo and the Blade of Freedom pressed forward.
The Red Witch led the western force. Though she had been the slowest to advance, she sailed her fleet past numerous Towns and straight to Wojin Bay, just over six hundred li from the New Royal Capital. Her people began handing out leaflets and preparing to land.
Across the Kingdom, the Blade of Freedom had already kindled sparks on every side of the New Royal Capital. All they needed was for Free City's forces to draw near and feed those sparks until they became a raging fire.
Amid all this, "Let Magic Fly," which had been promoted throughout the Rikaner Kingdom for some time, finally premiered.
Truth be told, after seven Magic Films from Annan in three years, audiences had grown a little weary of them—
Mainly because there were too many imitators, all adapting familiar classics and legends. Annan was not starring in this one, either, making it hard for a Magic Film to spark the kind of widespread discussion the earliest ones had.
Even so, Free City's reputation for quality drew plenty of viewers to the premiere of "Let Magic Fly."
After watching it, those viewers fell into two camps.
The first saw none of its deeper meaning. They were simply amazed that a Magic Film could be made this way. Its sharp dialogue, brisk pace, and touch of dark humor went far beyond what adaptations of classics had managed.
The second camp heard certain lines and began drawing parallels with the conflict between Free City and the Rikaner Kingdom. That was when things got interesting.
Before long, they watched it a second time,