For a moment, Claudia did not move. The bow remained drawn. The arrow held steady. But her fingers, they hesitated.
Just slightly.
The wind brushed past her face, carrying the scent of salt and something heavier beneath it. War. It was already here, whether she released the arrow or not.
"I am sorry, my lord," she said..Her voice did not tremble. But something inside it shifted. "But I only serve your sister, and she has given her commands."
The words settled between them. Then she let go. The arrow cut through the air, fast and straight, aimed for Edmond's chest.
It should have landed. It did not. Edmond moved. Not back. Not aside, but forward.
The sword of Odin flashed..It was not just speed..It was precision. The blade met the arrow mid-flight and split it cleanly. The broken halves spun uselessly into the sea.
No pause followed. No hesitation. Behind Claudia, the maiden warriors reacted instantly.
Strings pulled. Arrows raised. A line of steel and tension stretched across the shore.
Then, release. The sky filled again. Dozens of arrows, cutting through the air in a tight wave, aimed directly at Edmond.
He did not step back. He raised the sword. For a brief second, nothing happened. Then the blade pulsed a sharp, bright light.
It did not spread outward. It pulled inward. The arrows shifted. Their paths bent. Not wildly. Not chaotically. They curved toward the blade, drawn like something unseen had reached out and grabbed them like magnet.
Edmond moved once. A single, clean motion. The sword cut through them. All of them. Wood snapped. Iron tips shattered. Splinters scattered into the air before falling harmlessly into the water. Not one reached him. Not one.
The girls froze. The silence that followed felt heavier than the clash itself.
Rita's voice broke it. Soft, almost disbelieving. "So the legends are true." Her eyes remained fixed on the blade. "The sword of Odin has divine powers."
No one argued..No one laughed. Because they had just seen it.
Then, they heard the sound of footsteps behind them. The formation parted without command.
Maria stepped forward. Calm, and measured. Like she had expected this moment.
The army behind Edmond pushed closer to the shore, their numbers clearer now. Larger. Heavier. Enough to press against the edge of confidence.
Maria did not look at them. Not yet.."Black water," she said.
The words snapped the warriors back into motion. Sachets were raised again. Hands tightened around them.
"Aim!".Arms stretched forward. Eyes locked on the ships. "Loose!" The sachets flew. Dark shapes cutting across the air, dropping toward the advancing fleet.
For a second, it looked like before. Like the fire would come again. Like the sea itself would burn. But Edmond had already moved.
His hand lifted. A signal. His men reacted instantly. Ropes were pulled. Mechanisms shifted.
And then, something rose. Large, and wide. Like a shield, but not of iron.
Cloth. Reinforced. Spanning across the ships like a massive umbrella. The black water struck. But not where it needed to..It hit the covering.
Spread across it. Dripped uselessly into the sea. No fire followed. No flames climbed. Nothing burned. Maria stilled. Just for a moment. Her eyes locked onto Edmond. He met her gaze.
There was no anger in his expression. No rush. Just certainty.."I taught you all that you know," he said.
His voice carried across the water. Clear, and sharp. "I taught you how to fight and how to think."
A pause, just enough. "Do you think you can outsmart me in war?"
Maria did not answer. Not because she had nothing to say. But because the answer sat right in front of her.
The black water. Her strongest edge has been neutralized. Just like that.
The air around her shifted. Not outwardly..Her stance did not break. Her grip did not loosen. But inside, something tightened.
Then Edmond raised his sword. The blade caught the light again, but this time it did not pulse. It simply held.
"We take over the city," he declared, his voice rising now, filling the space between sea and shore, "in the name of Odin and Freya, for the benefit of Robert Rendel."
His soldiers answered immediately.."In the name of Odin and of Freya, and for the benefit of our king, Robert Rendel!"
The sound rolled forward like a wave, Heavy, and relentless.
Maria watched them. Her stomach twisted. Not from fear. From clarity. The numbers were no longer abstract.
They were there. In front of her, at least five times bigger, maybe more.
And they were not slowing. They were coming. Still, she did not step back. She did not lower her weapon. She looked at her soldiers instead. At the faces behind her. The ones who had trained with her. Fought with her. Chosen to stand here.
"Are we afraid to die?" she asked..Her voice cut through everything. Sharp, and direct.
"No!" The response came fast, and loud. From every direction. It did not sound forced. It did not sound rehearsed. It sounded rea
Maria held their gaze for a moment. Then she spoke again. "It is our part to die courageously in battle." The words landed harder this time. " That is the only way we can be welcomed to the great hall of Odin."
A pause.
"But more than that," Her grip tightened on her sword. "It is the only way we can stand here, and not regret it." The wind picked up slightly. Pulling at cloaks. Shifting hair. Carrying the weight of what was coming.
Maria raised her sword high above her head. "We defend this city," she said, her voice rising again, "in the name of Odin, and of Ago, and for the throne of our king, Drexo Dragarian!"
Her army answered. "We fight for the king!" The sound crashed outward. Steel lifted. Feet shifted. The line held.
Across the water, Edmond's forces surged forward. Closer now. Close enough to see the details in their armor. The set of their jaws. The readiness in their movement.
Metal flashed. Weapons drawn. The distance closed. Maria stood at the front. Still, and unmoving.
But she was not blind. She saw it. All of it. The numbers. The strength. The shift in the tide of battle. She understood what it meant.
There would be no clean victory here. No easy turn. No sudden miracle. Just war. And the cost that came with it. Maybe death for her and her army. Her jaw tightened slightly. Her grip steadied.