Princess's Struggle for Survival-Chapter 437: Like those elemental crystals that vanish in an instant in our hands, we will be forever buried in this frozen tundra beneath our feet, along with all our ideals and pursuits

Chapter 437: Like those elemental crystals that vanish in an instant in our hands, we will be forever buried in this frozen tundra beneath our feet, along with all our ideals and pursuits

No one expected that the Kingdom of Velys’s attack would last for three days and three nights without interruption. During this period, the two armies only had a very short time to rest, and for most of the other time, they were fighting desperately. The entire outer wall of the Liya Tower fortress was already filled with a strong smell of blood.

Watching their comrades who once fought alongside them getting injured one by one, their lives taken by stray arrows from unknown sources, under the dual pressure of high pressure and high casualty rates, the morale of the defending side inevitably declined. Everyone became dazed and anxious, fearing that the person whose body would be pierced by a sharp blade tomorrow would be themselves.

The only good news was probably that the soldiers from the secondary fortress miraculously held the city walls, blocking the Holy Church Knights’ offensive outside the defense line. Their logistical supply lines were not cut off, and they could still eat beef pies filled with ingredients and drink hot water to warm themselves every day.

However, this limited sense of comfort only kept them from breaking down entirely or deserting the city. Feelings of fear, anxiety, and frustration continued to build up within the army camp.

No one knew when the string stretched in everyone’s mind would snap due to some incident, ultimately leading to a completely uncontrollable situation.

Everyone had a surge of suppressed anger with nowhere to release it.

On the border of the Valeria Empire, a sturdy fortress stood on the frozen tundra. A little after six in the evening, the sun, high in the sky, completely sank behind the ridge, and a heavy darkness imperceptibly covered the sky.

Losing the support of the surging light element particles, the Holy Church Knights’ defensive formation began to weaken, and their offensive was slightly suppressed. Lyra gripped her longsword, her sky-blue pupils fixed on the neatly arranged Temple Knights not far away.

As she expected, after the sun set, the Holy Church Knights, who had launched several waves of attacks, already showed signs of fatigue.

Twenty minutes later, the military formation changed its head and tail, retreating in an orderly fashion. The defending soldiers on the city wall all breathed a sigh of relief, secretly grateful that they had survived another extremely dangerous battle.

As for pursuing the retreating enemy, firstly, their frontal strength was not enough to pursue heavy-armed knights, who were all executive-level individuals. Secondly, in continuous battles, the morale of the soldiers defending had been shattered by devastating magic spells. Self-preservation was already difficult, let alone leaving the city to engage the enemy.

Now, all they wanted was to rest as soon as possible, even if they were to die, they wanted to die in their sleep.

In a short while, most of the guards on the city wall withdraw, leaving only the most important sentry posts still holding firm. Lyra waited until all her squad members had left before twisting her wrist, sheathing her translucent knight’s sword, and striding down from the defensive point with her long legs.

Due to the climate, people living on the tundra often finish dinner early. Situations like today, where war affected them and dragged on until it was completely dark, were rare.

Entering the temporary dining hall, Lyra went to her usual seat. Several squad members were also seated nearby, eating quietly with their heads down. Upon seeing Lyra, they all greeted her.

"Baroness Lyra..."

"Squad Leader..."

Compared to the rather noisy dining environment a month ago, the dining hall was now extremely quiet. Apart from faint chewing sounds like mosquitoes and the occasional muffled thud of a weapon bag falling, there was almost no other sound.

Lyra looked at the numb faces around her, a hint of solemnity flashing in her eyes.

"Everyone did well today. After dinner, go back and get a good night’s sleep."

The atmosphere was too oppressive, making even talking and chatting uninteresting. Everyone was like a machine that received orders and followed them mechanically, ingesting energy mechanically, numbly standing on the city wall, spewing flames with magical weapons, and then falling like ears of grain.

Long hours of combat wore down the body, while dull pain tormented the spirit. The dining hall, piled with black stones, now resembles hell.

"Yes, Squad Leader Lyra."

The squad members responded in low voices, their tired eyes bloodshot.

Compared to the Holy Church Knights, who were fearless and seemed completely brainwashed by the so-called Holy Light Scripture, their morale here was already nearing freezing point.

If this continues... even if the Kingdom of Velys didn’t launch an attack, this once-impenetrable fortress will disintegrate from within...

They needed someone to stabilize military morale, such as Duke Charles or Hibbort Valeria.

But both of them were likely thousands of miles away in the imperial capital.

Taking a sip of hot mushroom cream soup, Lyra unconsciously lowered her gaze, looking at the wooden grain next to her plate, her knight boots, which encased her slender white feet, slightly touching the table leg.

Although Lyra had expected the journey to be extremely difficult before setting out, the reality proved to be far more grueling than she had ever imagined.

At that time, she had only easily obtained the title of Honorary Knight by defeating Iris in the arena, becoming a Baroness personally conferred by the Emperor.

Now, countless soldiers sacrificed their ideals and futures, giving their lives on the high walls to protect the land behind them.

This was a difficult and protracted war, and they, as the protagonists, should be praised even more.

Her vision blurred for a moment, then Lyra refocused her mind. Her pink lips, stained with soup, slightly parted as she lightly bit into the beef pie in her hand.

Thick sauce combined with firm meat particles, mixed with a hint of starchy aroma, creating a long-lasting and satisfying taste.

Under immense pressure, the easily satisfied desires of the palate became one of the few outlets for soldiers to release stress.

Taking small bites of the beef pie, Lyra’s gaze slid down from the lunchbox, past the sword-shaped light mark on her fingernail and the protruding white armor on her chest, landing on the exquisite scabbard at her waist, engraved with pure silver patterns.

Three days ago, how did the sword she swung at the military formation break through the Holy Light defense?

Was it because of the Lightfall, when the light element particles were less active, causing the entire defensive field to become weaker than before, or was there another reason?

Recalling the scene carefully, at the moment light and darkness intertwined, a distinct dividing line appeared before Lyra’s eyes. The sharp edge of the Sword of Light cut into the middle of the fine line and exits at the end of her vision.

Sword energy surged. At that moment, everything in the world seemed to become clear: shattered armor, bodies cut in half, blood splattering, and even space revealed its delicate texture to her, like the surface of wood.

Carefully pondering this inspired sword strike, Lyra vaguely had a premonition that if she could comprehend it, she might be able to open the door to the Crusader rank.

"Clatter..."

Just then, a crisp sound came from behind Lyra.

Turning her head, an iron lunchbox had fallen onto the floor tiles, its corner hitting a hard object and denting inward, spilling the thick soup everywhere.

This should have been just a small interlude during dinner, but that crisp sound seemed to not only hit the ground but also strike everyone’s tottering hearts.

The next second, a gloomy-faced man stood up, slapping the table with force, his voice loud and hoarse.

"Are you blind?"

The one stunned by the shout was another defending soldier, slightly smaller in stature but still robust.

It seemed he hadn’t paid attention earlier and bumped into the other person’s mushroom soup placed on the table.

Seeing that the culprit didn’t offer any explanation, the man’s pent-up anger immediately found an outlet. He took a step forward and grabbed the other person’s sleeve.

"Not speaking... Did you do it on purpose?"

Saliva splattered, landing on the soldier’s stubble. As the atmosphere escalated again, everyone, whether dining or waiting, turned their attention to the center of the conflict.

A guard maintaining order nearby quickly stepped forward, about to prevent the conflict from escalating. The man felt a gust of wind from behind him and instinctively elbowed backward, directly hitting the unprepared middle-aged guard who had just come from the front line.

Bright red liquid gushed from his nostrils, turning into blood on the ground.

The appearance of bleeding was like opening Pandora’s box. The soldier, whose collar was grabbed by the man, suddenly reacted, a surge of nameless anger rising in his heart. He slammed his head heavily into the forehead of the person in front of him.

"What are you, anyway?"

"Want to fight?"

Dazed by the impact, the man heard the provocation and immediately stabilized himself, embracing the soldier’s shoulders, using his arms as shackles, and thrusting his knee upwards.

The sound of scattered plates echoed in the dining hall, mixed with heavy footsteps. The two soldiers, whose minds were on the verge of collapse, wrestled together like wild beasts unleashed, without any discernible pattern.

They didn’t use their mental power, or rather, their mental power had long been exhausted on the city wall. The current fight was merely a pure physical confrontation and emotional catharsis.

A faint breeze brushed past Lyra’s ear, making her pink hair sway slightly. Watching the bare-knuckle fighting in front of her, the girl’s numb mind became even more muddled.

Can’t you... stop fighting...?

Her vision was suddenly stunned by a sharp gleam of light. Lyra caught a glimpse of one of the soldiers placing his hand on his waist, and scattered cold glints pierced through the outer wrapping, revealing the tip from the coarse cloth.

That was a dagger.

At the same time she realized this, Lyra instantly stepped forward, swinging the cold scabbard at the man’s wrist, then flicking it upwards to hit the thick arm that was restraining him, separating the two in a flash.

Seeing someone stop the fight, both parties involved looked at each other with anger. When they saw a pink-haired knight, whose figure was slightly smaller than theirs, their pupils were slightly constricted.

Lyra Beckett, a peak tier Master Knight, one of the strongest defensive forces on the entire city wall.

The mere unconscious aura of a strong person was enough to curb their desire to continue fighting with weapons.

"You’re disturbing others’ meals."

Lyra gently parted her lips, not drawing the dagger from the man’s embrace for the surrounding onlookers to see.

She didn’t want the situation to escalate further and provoke more soldiers.

"If you have any objections, go to the judge. Don’t fight in public."

Hearing Lyra’s words, one of the soldiers wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, lowered his head, and spoke softly.

"Who knows where the Judge is now..."

"...Might even be dead."

The low voice echoed in the room, and for a moment, the entire dining hall fell silent.

He was right. With the ever-increasing casualty rate, including the military judge, no one knew if they would live to see tomorrow.

They were like walking step by step into darkness, with no hope in sight.

"..."

Noticing the gazes from those around her, Lyra stood with her sword. The intricately carved scabbard in her hand gleamed with a silvery metallic luster under the light.

"So, that’s your reason for violating military discipline?"

The pink-haired girl’s tone was calm, her blue eyes silently surveying the dining hall.

"Rather than venting your anger on the enemy, you prefer to inflict it on comrades you live with day in and day out?"

As soon as the words fell, Lyra heard a faint rustling sound, the familiar scraping of military boots on the ground.

Although she was somewhat unaccustomed to the position of a superior, in this dimly lit military dining hall, she, as the squad leader and a peak tier Master Knight, was indeed the highest-ranking individual present.

She had to do something to salvage the shattered morale.

"This is not what a knight should do..." Lyra lowered her voice, simultaneously returning her scabbard to her waist.

"...However, I can understand."

"In this cold, dry black fortress, every day we face enemies surging like tides, endlessly magical bombardments."

"Watching comrades fall one by one around us, we too must face the fear of injury and the threat of death. Even armor and shields made of iron will wear down in war, leave alone us, living people."

"All of you who have persevered until now, regardless, cannot be associated with the word ’coward’."

Seeing that the soldiers around her were no longer agitated, Lyra gently stroked her scabbard. Her pure white silk gloves gleamed slightly under the light, revealing a small smudge of dust.

"I can feel your pain."

If it were anyone else saying this, the soldiers might feel resentful, but the pink-haired girl in front of them insisted on staying at her defensive post every day, continuously supplying mental energy to support the defensive barrier, sharing life and death with all the defending soldiers.

Her words, indeed, carry more conviction.

"Everyone sitting here right now is a lucky survivor of the war..."

"You withstood the bombardment of fire element magic, dodged life-taking arrows, and repelled wave after wave of enemies attempting to climb the city walls. It can be said that Liya Tower fortress has held out until now, thanks to all of you."

"You are heroes of the Empire, existences more dazzling than the title of Honorary Knight."

Feeling the atmosphere slightly lifted, becoming less powerful, Lyra softly exhaled in the candlelight, then spoke.

"However, what’s hard to accept is that this life will continue, and currently, there’s no end in sight."

"We will continue to defend the city walls until we run out of the last magical weapons and exhaust the last bit of mental power."

"Then, like those elemental crystals that vanish in an instant in our hands, we will be forever buried in this frozen tundra beneath our feet, along with all our ideals and pursuits."

"As if it were a predetermined fate."