The consequence of the Millian Incident was already felt mere days after its conclusion. It played out in the rivalry of the decade--the clash between the 33 stars of this generation. To many, the 33 stars represent the young generation of Phantasia super rookie who would take over the world stage in the future.
Above all else, this battle was also a revenge match between two heated rivals who never saw eye-to-eye.
Rank 1 of the 33 stars: Tai Hua Tianshang—The Heavenly Daughter of Steel.
Rank 4 of the 33 stars: Chuang Tianshang—The Heavenly Daughter of Fire.
In the Tengen Continent, on the creek of Palma, two armies prepared to crash.
Coming from West, after solidifying her grip over 35% of Starland, was Tai Hua Tianshang and her Iron Army. Her force consisted of a 50,000 well-trained foot-soldiers in higher-tier C-rank, 5000 commanders of B-rank, and 6 A-rank generals led by Tai Hua herself.
It was a number that could crush a small nation underfoot. Even Cytortia herself would be awestruck at how powerful Tai Hua had become in such a short time. Her power-level was 12,573--a double of Cytortia’s estimate.
Facing this immense threat, Frisnia, the ally and neighbor of Starland, dispensed an emergency call for volunteers to drive back the plague of Tai Hua Tianshang. While not many freelancers were willing to fight a beast like Tai Hua, one person stepped forward to lead the coalition against the Iron Army. Chuang Tianshang soon arrived to lead an army of 50 B-rank puppets, a 345,000 C-rank foot-soldier, 50 B-rank commanders, 1000 X-cution unit at A-rank, and 4 A-rank generals.
Shortly, the historian of the word would agree the battle of Palma Creek was without the doubt the prelude to the new age. The fallout of this battle would create the domino effect drowning the continent in chaos.
The chaos that would reign until the dawn of hope emerged.
…
Tai Hua Tianshang investigated the map plotting the march of the army opposing her. She sneered. Frisnia must get desperate to allow Chuang to lead their coalition. Tai Hua only had to scan the report of mismatch colors and style of the uniform to know. The uneven gear and the chaotic marching orders confirmed what Tai Hua already suspected from the beginning. The foolish eunuch in Frisnia and their senile emperor didn’t see her as a threat until now.
The Heavenly Daughter of Steel gnashed her teeth in disgust. Such ignoble arrogance was the reason the world order needed to be re-shaped. The nobles had fed for long enough on their thrones. Frisnia was a good example. Where were they went she was hacking apart Starland? No, they won’t come to honor their friendship. At least, not until she was ready to march into their territory.
Tai gnashed her teeth. If this were the people who they counted on to fend off the World Enemy, Phantasia was doom. That day would happen again. The horror of the ancient era would return.
“Tai,” said the voice nearby. “You are sweating. Are you okay?”
“Don’t worry, Dia,” Tai Hua replied to her best friend in this life. “Just remembering a nightmare.”
…
Inside the command post on the other side of the battlefield, a furious discussion erupted.
“Attack now!” A woman in an ornate robe yelled. “Do you know who we are fighting? Why are we giving that monster a chance to prepare? They only have 50,000 soldiers. We have seven times that number and a thousand X-cution war-machines. If we attack first and gain the momentum, we can crush the usurper right now!”
“We can’t, Royal Consort,” a rough-looking man said. “We might have more troop, but this is Tai Hua Tianshang. She would never move unless she knows she can win. We should wait for the back up from the capital before we attack.”
“As expect from a mere mercenary,” the Royal Consort sneered. “A money-chasing hog as you only have to do what I order.”
“Look here, Milady,” the rough-looking man cleared his throat. “You are right. My men and I are here for the money. And we need to be alive to use it. So if you are going to let your ego get to your head and sent us to die like a pig in a butcher shop, I will excuse myself and pack my 45,000 brothers out of here.”
“You dare-”
Suddenly, two figures entered the tent.
“Calm down, Ruho,” said one of the figures-- a eunuch by the name of Migras. “Our guest is right. We can’t afford to underestimate Tai Hua.”
“But big brother Migras!” Royal Consort Ruho complained. “He dares disagree with me!”
Migras laughed cheerily.
“The commander has a right to speak his mind. Unlike us, he will be risking his life, so allowing him to complain a bit isn’t asking for much. The sooner this is over, the better it would be for Frisnia. That why I bring with me an expert on our target. I already believe you know who she is.”
Migras waved to his right and introduced the room to a young woman beside him.
She was a girl clothed in a golden dress with dark-orange hair. The girl was petite, but her figure contained much gravitas inspite of her height. Her chest was leaning into the flat side, but her thigh easily compensated for that discrepancy.
Upon seeing her, everyone in the room bowed.
“Lady Chuang,” the Royal Consort greeted. “Please order us to attack! Today we will root out the threat of Tai Hua Tianshang once and for all.”
Chuang took a deep breath and replied.
“No.”
Ruho glanced up. Her face was as white as a sheet of paper. The mercenary commander behind her fell off his chair from sheer shock. Even Migras whistled in amusement.
Did Chuang Tianshang, the most infamous single-minded hothead of the entire divine collective, just refused to attack. The behavior they witnessed now utterly went against everything they knew about her. The Chuang Tianshang they heard would already lead the full-frontal charge against her enemy like a bull in a china shop. Expecting restraint from her was like expecting goldfish to walk.
Chuang ignored the reaction and continued to explain.
“The X-cutions and our troop numbers indeed give us a substantial advantage,” Chuang addressed the room. “But Tai Hua is more dangerous than we imagine.”
Chuang clenched her hand.
“Those six A-rank commanders, including the Heavenly Daughter of Earth, practice the cultivation art developed by the Ancient--the pre-curser race of Phantasia. We cannot underestimate them. Within ten years, I have no doubt they will become an SS-rank capable of crushing Frisnia by their lonesome. Even now, we can’t afford to take them lightly.”
“This is all the more reason to attack!” Ruho called out. “We can’t allow any of them to escape if that is true.”
“Calm down, Ruho,” Migras said again.
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“But we have a thousand X-cutions!” Ruho exclaimed. “Even if Tai Hua is that powerful. We can still drown them-“
“Drown them with what?” The mercenary commander interrupted. “Bodies? I warn you right now. If you commit my men into a suicide charge, I will leave no matter how much you offer!”
Chuang cough.
Everyone turned silent. When did I-blast-people-and-ask-later Chuang learn tact? They could understand a reckless fool developing caution, but tact? Did Chuang eat the wrong medicine without them knowing?
“The X-cution is indeed a formidable advantage in this battle. However, Tai Hua has a hidden technique that can create a fluctuating magnetic field to stop the X-cution. This particular technique can be deployed battlefield-wide with the right instrument—the instrument that Kar'Dia can easily create.”
Everyone stood silent with surprise.
“I never know she can do that,” the commander blinked.
“No one should know,” Chuang nostalgically looked at the sky. “Tai Hua has countless closely guarded secrets and techniques of the Ancient. Even I only know a few under her belt.”
“Lady Chuang,” Migras said urgently. “Do you have a plan?”
“Yes, but it will be risky.”
…
3 Days later at Palma Creek
Tai Hua frowned. All of this was getting strange. The Chuang she knew would already mount an assault to take the momentum. Instead, her fellow student waited for her arrival patiently at the other side of the creek with her army. Tai Hua frowned. What was up with Chuang’s infamous recklessness?
“Halt!” Tai Hua ordered her army.
The experience war-machine in silver armor responded to their leader command. Time rolled as the mismatch army stared down against the unfeeling knights in steel. The tension was high enough to support a house. Finally, Tai Hua decided to cut to the chase.
“Chuang, I know you are hiding behind your army! Come out and face me! Or does this few months outside master’s arms turn you into a coward!”
Shink!
Tai Hua's eyes widened in surprise at a knife of fire protruding from her stomach. A gasp barely registered her mouth before she coughs up blood.
“Grand leader!”
“Boss!”
“Tai!”
Kar’Dia, wrapped in armored robe and shawl, looked aghast at the spell running her crush from behind. She couldn’t understand what happened until Chuang Tainshang appeared behind Tai Hua in an air of shimmering heat.
The orange-hair girl wore a robe scribbled with signs and symbols even she didn’t recognize. Chuang's hand extended a bade of flames that skewer Tai Hua through her back.
Tai Hua looked behind her.
“W-When did you-“
“When did I learn how to pull a sneak-attack,” Chuang finished the question as blood started dripping from her lip. “Actually, not that long. I have to cobble together this invisible cloak to help me pull it off. Hell, hiding from you took so much power the cloth will probably catch fire anytime soon.”
Right on cue, the cloak Chuang was wearing burst into flames.
“[Thunder Strike Nine Flash]!”
One of Tai Hua A-rank general appeared next to Chuang and unleashed his technique; ninefold sword-slash launched at the frequency it merged into one.
In response, Chuang crushed a red paper-tag she held in her free-hand, unleashing a flaming-bird construct that clashed against the swordman. The bird got cut to pieces, and the aftermath sent Chuang flying and bleeding from several cuts.
Kar’Dia couldn’t believe what was happening in that split second. Chuang was the second strongest Heavenly Daughter. Even now, her power was only second to Tai Hua. What type of nonsense made it possible for an attack this shallow to land.? That red-tag must be a precast delay spell. But Chuang was an offensive juggernaut who fought upfront. Delay spell didn’t mesh well with her style due to its bothersome inefficiency.
If Kar’Dia was honest, the opening move also made no sense. How did all their countermeasures fail to detect Chuang of all people? And what happened after that was equally strange. What caused Chuang to bleed? Moreover, what stopped Chuang from obliterating Tai Hua with a sure-kill spell in that surprise attack?
Then it hit her.
“No way.”
“What are you talking about, Chief!?” An A-rank commander arrived in front of her and fired a blast of purple energy at Chuang.
“Chuang used a spell to put herself in the near the state of death,” Kar’Dia blanched. “She knows our defense wouldn’t pay attention to a corpse, so she froze her life-activity to sneak past our defense and five-senses to land a critical before a battle start.”
“Froze her life-activity? That is pretty much killing herself!” The A-rank commander blanched. “How did she even move?!”
Suddenly the ground around them glowed like an inferno.
Tai Hua realized the spell being used and cursed through her bloody lips.
“[Flame Ascendant Ritual]? When did you discover how to store this spell!?”
The struggling Chuang looked up with stone-cold expression.
“Got you.”
The ground beneath Tai Hua’s army cracked as fires exploded toward the heaven and engulfed Tai Hua’s Iron Army.
…
The Royal Consort saw the explosion from the command tent and gave her order.
“Lady Chuang’s signal is here!” She ordered the tropes. “Use this chaos and wiped them out with a full-frontal fire!”
The allied army of Frisnia surged with power and flung every projectile they could. Spells fell from the sky and smashed into the chaotic battlefield like a rain of godly arrow.
The crescentic sound of bombshell haunted the battlefield as the colliding power altered the shape of the land.
The mercenary commander confidently rallied his men. He knew this was the moment he could finish the enemy. The infantry troop roared, preparing to rush in and destroyed the Iron Army under the magical onslaught.
However, before any troop could engage at close-quarters, a flash of fire burned before the army. The wisp of flames faded and deposited an orange-hair girl in front of the infantry.
Chuang staggered up while nursing her injury. Her lacerated dress ripped even further, and her skin bled from several cuts across her body. The girl tried to steady her breathing. It was a gamble to bypass the Iron Army by critically lowering her body's activity. And even then, she only succeeded thanked her talent as a puppet-maker. It would be quite a while before she get back to 100%.
But Chuang knew full well what that monster could do. It would take more than a lucky sneak hit to bring her down.
“Hold your position!” Chuang screamed.
“But they are down!” A random trooper yelled. “No one can survive that.”
“Like it will be that easy.”
Right on cue, silver motes of light drizzled from the sky. They fell like a soft-heavenly feather. For the troops, this phenomenon appeared harmless. Unlike them, Chuang could barely suppress her panic.
“All soldier, hear my order!” Chuang grabbed her communicator and yelled, getting on her feet and backing away. “Retreat! Disperse at once! Do not let the light-mote touch you! It is an enemy attack!”
From the command tent, the Royal Consort responded. She might be snobbish, but she wasn’t stupid. If an attack terrified someone like Chuang Tianshang, it must be something horrifying. They couldn’t take it with any half-measure.
“Every mage stop the bombardment!” The Royal Consort declared. “Switch every power available into the barrier!”
The rain of spells ceased. Instead, the trained mage of Frisnia waved their power toward the sky, covering the army in an array of barriers. It was an impregnable shield fueled by over 100,000 mages--a defense that could withstand several barrages of Earth’s nuclear weapon.
But Chuang only felt dread.
“Stop! Don’t you hear me!? Disperse!”
Just as Chuang feared, the mote of light fell through the magical barrier like it didn’t exist and rained on the allied army.
“What is this?” A soldier tried to block the mote with his shield. The mote connected with his defense, and in a flash of silver dust, his end arrived. Cut and blood appeared all over the man-body a thousand tiny blades minced him to oblivion.
His squadmate saw what happened, and they suddenly knew why Chuang called for a dispersion. The realization spread all over the army as the number of bloody drenched bodies emerged. Some unlucky ones got reduced into body-part in an instant.
“Shit!” A mage screamed as the motes of right sailed past his wall of wind. "They can't be stopped with spells!"
The speck of death got him a second later.
A soldier panicked as his comrade got reduced into mincemeat. Another man tried to stop the endless bleeding of his dying friend. Randomly, throughout the entire allied army, panic and terror spread in the rank.
“Fall back!" Ruho ordered through every communication device in front of her as she scanned the artifact monitoring the casualties. The number rose too fast. “Retreat until you are out of the range of the attack!”
…
Chuang didn’t run alongside her troops. She knew running wasn’t enough to escape this fight.
A limping woman marched through the fires. Her hand clutched the burning wound in her stomach. But, despite being impaled by a flaming knife in the back, Tai Hua still retained her composure.
“I have to admit you catch me by surprise,” Tai Hua said, wincing from her wound. “I don’t think I can run after your troop in this state. To think I have to show you my ace attack--unbelievable. I still can't believe I have to acknowledge you for taking several of my people down.”
“Lair,” Chuang sneered. “They are all fine, right? By this time, you and Kar’Dia should already furbish [Mercy of Land] onto your troop's armor.”
Tai Hua’s eyes widened.
“You know too much,” said the Heavenly Daughter of Steel. “No one in the modern era should have so much knowledge about the Ancient's artifact.”
An army marched out of the flaming creek; grains of yellow particles cladded each soldier's armor and linked them all together like beads on an unbreakable string.
“Yes, my troops are perfectly fine,” Tai Hua commended. “That is Kar’Dia's reaction-time for you. Now care to tell me how much of my secret you discover, Mrs. Tianshang? When exactly are you from?”