The Chronicles Of New Havens

After several minutes with the rubble and dust settling, the room finally opened to sight. Though the spell did not go as far as destroying the mansion entirely, the room was unrecognizable. Gone was the elaborate meeting room in the mansion. What replaced it was ruins. The furniture was broken into splinters, the walls were charred black, the floor was cracked, and the windows were smashed. Parts of the ceiling were falling still. It seemed like the room might come crashing down soon. Scattered around were the bodies of the Imperial Sentinels and the Li Family. Despite trying to defend themselves, Arcania was vastly different from martial arts. The former was far more difficult to defend against!

The sole standing figure belonged to none other than Minister Linshi. The translucent barrier promptly faded as she searched the room. She raised an eyebrow upon finding that the Imperial Princesses and Imperian Qiang had vanished alongside their Protectors. Upon realizing what happened, she clicked her tongue. The woman paid no attention to the dying people around her. Now that she retracted her aura completely, she casually walked out of the room.

***

In a nearby alleyway, Chang and Tai could finally breath, as they let down Xiuying and Ming. Sweat covered their brows. The spell was every bit as fearsome as they expected. In that split second, the two Protectors had picked up the two princesses and smashed through the window to escape. Before they were even half-way out, the spell detonated and propelled them further. Right now, their backs were burnt, and their arms and legs were groaning in pain. They had to push themselves to the absolute limit to bring the princesses along and survive. Overall, they looked miserable. However, they knew that if they were a beat too slow, none of them would have gone unscathed.

Ming used the wall to hold herself steady. The brush with death was striking fear into her core. Minister Linshi was far more unfathomable than she could have imagined. If it were not for Chang, she might have died there without any way to resist. Meanwhile, Xiuying was frustrated and clenched her fists tightly. Despite the truth being revealed, they could do nothing against the minister. It was like she was mocking them, their father, their mother, and the entire Xingyuu Empire! And Linshi watched as they fled for their lives… It was beyond humiliating!

"Are you alright, Your Highness?" Chang asked worriedly.

"Yes, I am," Ming replied, taking a moment to recompose herself and straighten her hair.

It was unlike her sister to be so frazzled, so Xiuying added, "Are you sure?"

Ming hesitated. "You've heard of double-casting, right?"

"Double-casting, huh? I remember hearing the term but I don't remember."

"It is an Arcanist's term for casting two spells simultaneously," she explained. "The difficulty of this technique ranks among the highest for Arcanists such that very few people have grasped it. Even among the Zino Kingdom's Ten Dawns, not all of them can do double-casting. Only Arcanists who have reached a Condensed Drop Core Level can have any hope to learn it! Back when Minister Linshi attacked us, she also had a barrier. This was double-casting!" This had grim implications. This meant that Minister Linshi was possibly on the level of a Ten Dawn!

"Surely, you must be mistaken," Xiuying urged. "Maybe it was a single spell that looked like two. There's no way that the minister could be that accomplished in Arcania…" As Xiuying said, Ming was not sure. After all, she was not an Arcanist and lacked Magical Perception. Arcania was still a developing field. There were bound to be unexplainable things in their inexperienced eyes!

"Could you two tell anything?" Ming asked of Chang and Tai. Although their Protectors were similarly inept in Arcania, they were Perception Realms! Naturally, their potential to sense things were beyond the princesses'. Barring Magical Perception, they had the best chance to notice anything abnormal.

Contrary to her expectations, Tai shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't notice anything. I was so focused on rescuing Her Highness that I didn't have the leisure to worry about other things."

"Well, sorry about that!" Xiuying teased.

"Sorry, Your Highness. I also didn't notice anything," Chang shyly answered.

Ming was disappointed before changing topics. "Right, where were the two of you this entire time? We haven't heard back from you two since we entered the Yunyun Stronghold."

"As you wanted, we were investigating Minister Linshi's affairs when we encountered some trouble," Chang awkwardly said.

"It was Imperian Qiang who bailed us out and saved us. We were just as surprised as you when we saw him. He told us what he intended to do and we followed him to your mansion to arrest Minister Linshi. The rest is history," Tai said.

"That's right! What happened to our uncle?" Xiuying was fl.u.s.tered. Their uncle was not a fighter by any means. Faced against a spell that could render Perception Realms helpless, she feared the worst.

"In the last second, I saw Jingyi and Juan dash over to help him. He should be safe," Ming said with complex emotions. In a sense, she was responsible for involving the Li Family in her problems. If she had handled Minister Linshi more carefully, things never would have developed to such a point. By now, the Xingyuu Empire might be preparing for a civil war with the Li Family… Just the bloodshed from the previous fight was immense. One could not imagine the countless conflicts spread across the continent!

"Worry not, I'm fine," a voice shouted. The four turned to see Jingyi, Juan, and Qiang approaching.

"Uncle!" Xiuying raced over happily. "I'm glad you're okay."

Qiang laughed. "That won't do me in that easily."

"Uncle, are you sure about involving the Li Family in this?"

"It's not like you to be so hesitant, Ming. Don't worry so much. The decision to involve the Li Family is mine and mine alone. It is not your burden to carry. You know I wouldn't act unless I'm a hundred percent sure of my facts. Minister Linshi was the start. We believe that most of the Imperial Council is involved in one way or another. If that's the case, then I have to act."

"That would make sense. A snake that has gone unnoticed for so long must have many nests," Tai said.

"Brother…" Chang murmured. His brother was the Prime Minister of the Imperial Council, second to the emperor himself! It was not unusual that he was moody.

"What should we do now, sister?" Xiuying asked.

Everyone turned to look at Ming as she collected her thoughts. "For now, I think we should prioritize on convincing our father and ending the war first. Even if the Imperial Council is completely taken over, with the Li Family by our side and the emperor speaking up, we should be able to suppress them! Minister Linshi mentioned that the Alzar Kingdom's fate was sealed. She was referring to both the heir and Lord Korogin. To end this war peacefully, we'll need to save both!"