Thops hid inside the Academy with Shrimp-Meat Boy. Through a small window in the wall, they could see some of what was happening in Gatefront Town.
The sunlike Frenzied Flame Ball was especially conspicuous. It was hard to miss.
When it actively attacked, the Frenzied Flame Ball was even more terrifying. The Sky-Cutting Frenzied Flame it spewed could be as thick as a tree.
It could also control those afflicted by the frenzied flame, making them spray flames at the Academy gates in perfect unison. The Cuckoo Legion was driven back again and again. They had intended to fight the afflicted in the streets of Gatefront Town, only to be forced into retreat instead.
In the end, they opted to blanket the area with arrows, crossbow bolts, and magic. Only then did they halt the afflicted's advance.
Now both sides were trading ranged attacks, wearing each other down.
Looking through the barricades at the afflicted's orange-yellow eyes, the Cuckoo Knights felt sick.
The yellow frenzied flame looked almost like a flowing liquid, something thick and viscous. It was a deeply unsettling sight.
Huddled in the room, Shrimp-Meat Boy asked anxiously, "Do you think we're going to die?"
Thops turned to comfort him. "Of course not. The Academy is huge, and there are so many people here. Those bad guys won't get in. Besides, the Lunar Princess is here to hold the fort."
"But I haven't seen Caria's army coming," Shrimp-Meat Boy said worriedly. "I've heard for ages that the royal family and the Academy don't get along. Looks like it's true."
Thops forced himself to stay calm. "It's all right. Sellen and the two masters are here. They're more than enough to deal with those people."
"I wonder where that silly big brother and Helena are." Shrimp-Meat Boy cupped his cheeks in both hands and curled up in a corner, missing Zhao Si.
"They should be back soon." Thops had no idea when Zhao Si would actually return. He was only saying it to comfort Shrimp-Meat Boy.
Shrimp-Meat Boy was downcast. "I wonder if that silly big brother can deal with those people."
"You think he's powerful?" Thops asked as he sat down.
Shrimp-Meat Boy nodded. "His face looks pretty stupid, but there's something extraordinary about his presence."
"I didn't realize you had such a discerning eye," Thops said with a smile.
"Of course. How could I catch tasty shrimp in the lake without a good pair of eyes?" The moment Shrimp-Meat Boy mentioned his trade, his pride returned.
He took great pride in that work.
"Being able to catch crayfish right under a giant lobster's nose is pretty extraordinary too," Thops said.
Listening to the commotion outside, Shrimp-Meat Boy asked, "When is this ever going to end?"
Thops sighed. "I don't like war either, but someone always starts fighting. Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone could just sit down, talk things through, and seek knowledge together?"
He was a simple man who disliked conflict. Nothing would please him more than someone who could resolve these disputes.
Could you do it? Zhao Si's figure appeared in Thops's mind. This rather peculiar man had treated him as an equal and given him the opportunity to study under Sellen. Surely he could resolve the trouble before them.
Outside, Shabriri gazed at the impregnable Academy, deep in thought. Bewitching people and controlling those afflicted by the frenzied flame were his specialties. Waging war was not.
"This is the drawback of having no lord." Shabriri racked his brains, but even after thinking for ages, he could not work out how to break in.
He did know, however, that his side was ill suited to a war of attrition. The afflicted might seem numerous, but ultimately they were just people stolen from the surrounding area, a motley collection with no elite troops or formidable commanders.
The strongest fighters among them were probably the bandits and soldiers. Compared with the Cuckoos, who trained with Caria's army as their hypothetical enemy, they were nowhere close.
Shabriri's only hopes were the frenzied flame's terrifying infectiousness and its ability to burn everything away. As the afflicted sprayed flames without restraint, Gatefront Town and the space before the Academy gates became a barrier of fire that left the Cuckoos unable to advance.
The Cuckoos had never expected to encounter an enemy beyond all their expectations before they had even raised the banner of rebellion against Caria.
Dragging things out into a war of attrition was not good for the Academy either. As Shrimp-Meat Boy had mentioned before, Liurnia's terrain was not particularly suitable for farming. Worse, the young laborers from some nearby villages had become bandits, and now they were attacking the Academy as victims of the frenzied flame.
In other words, the Academy's food reserves were a problem. Feeding just the Cuckoos should have been manageable, with enough to last three to five years, but there were also the surviving residents of Gatefront Town.
With all those mouths and animals to feed, the supplies might not hold out. War really was not as simple as the sorcerers imagined.
The sorcerers had contributed a great deal to the exchange of ranged attacks with the afflicted. Now they were all dizzy and bleary-eyed, recovering their focus in the Cuckoo Church.
It was not as though the sorcerers had made no preparations. They knew to deploy in shifts, with five people to a group and three groups to a squad, taking turns one group at a time.
When one group exhausted its focus, another took over. Even so, recovering their depleted mental energy-their focus-was no easy task. They had no Cerulean Crystal Tear Flasks, and treasures like Starlight Shards were hardly something readily available for everyone to use.
The best method was probably sleep. Only after resting for a while could they return to the field.
War waited for no one. On the frenzied flame's side, the enormous Frenzied Flame Ball empowered the afflicted, letting them spew flames endlessly as though it cost them nothing.
Up in the watchtower, Sellen and the two masters also witnessed the hellish devastation.
Azur could not help saying, "The sorcerers' shortcomings have been laid bare."
"A few Enhanced Pebbles can hardly decide the outcome of a war. The Cannon of Haima has a wide area of effect, but its range is limited. It cannot threaten the enemy's core," Lusat said, identifying the problem as well.
That enormous Frenzied Flame Ball was certainly the core, but the two sides were so far apart that their magic simply could not reach it. Absurdly, however, the Sky-Cutting Frenzied Flame spewing from that giant fireball could strike the Academy walls.
"It seems only your Legendary Sorcery can decide the course of this war," Sellen said.
"Legendary magic takes a great deal out of us. We'll be weakened after casting it." Azur sounded a little worried. "Then we'll have to rely on you."
Lusat nodded gently and patted Sellen on the shoulder.
Sellen answered the two masters firmly. "No problem. I'll take good care of you both."
Merely comprehending Legendary Sorcery had exacted a tremendous price from the two masters. It was not a financial or physical price, but a mental one. These two masters were truly extraordinary: they had connected with the cosmos through human minds.
The primeval origin Azur had glimpsed was darkness, a vision of undivided chaos; the origin Lusat had glimpsed was the instant a vast star cluster was destroyed, a supernova
explosion.
Both men had witnessed astronomical wonders they did not understand. Gazing into the darkness had robbed Azur of his senses and filled him with terror, while everything within Lusat had collapsed along with the star cluster's destruction.
It had taken the pair a very long time to regain their sanity and resume teaching. But everyone in the Academy remembered their deranged state. Their glintstone modifications only made matters worse, leaving no one willing to study under them except Sellen, who had never forgotten what she owed them.
Casting the Legendary Sorcery they had acquired through such means might well cost them their sanity again. Yet to end the war, they had no choice.
Azur walked to the Academy gates. The sorcerers and Cuckoos there cleared a path for him, eager to see what this living legend would do. Lusat remained in the watchtower on the wall, preparing to cast his spell.
Both took out painstakingly crafted staves, the glintstones at their tips far larger than those on other staves.
Azur's glintstone head shone. He recalled the darkness he had glimpsed, and a chill crawled over his entire body. Whoever gazed into the abyss was also gazed upon by the abyss, and terror filled his heart. Seizing that instant of icy fear, he thrust his staff forward and unleashed his Legendary Sorcery—Comet Azur.
This spell could only bear his name.
An exceptionally thick, azure beam of comet light erupted. Azur poured forth magic like a human laser cannon. A torrent of stars, a colossal comet, pierced the wall of frenzied flame and shattered the afflicted clustered in the streets.
The brilliant comet made even the frenzied flame pale in comparison. Under its sweeping assault, the thin wall of fire slowly went out.
Not to be outdone, Lusat's glintstone head shone as well. He recalled the instant that star cluster was destroyed, a dazzling yet extraordinarily dangerous spectacle in the dark heavens. It made him feel that human strength could never defy the laws of the cosmos, that his own life was worthless and utterly insignificant. Seizing that feeling, he swung his staff and released his spell-Comet of Destruction.
He had named this spell himself.
Twelve dark meteors flew from the tip of his staff, spiraling downward around the comet. Following its guidance, they hurtled toward their target-the Frenzied Flame Ball.
The comet cleared the way, and the meteors followed.
Together, the two men brought an astronomical wonder down to earth. Here, the romance of magic was revealed.
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