"The simple tactic of dropping a ferocious combatant - or a team of assassins - directly on top of the enemy leadership via space magic was long considered one of desperation. A trick that was suicidal for those involved at best, which was one reason it never saw prominent use in the mainlands.

During the civil war of the Al-Shan Empire between the years 630 to 670 FP however, the loyalist faction abused this very tactic repeatedly to great effect. Whether it be luck or coincidence, they just happened to not only possess a full cadre of talented space mages, but also one of the most powerful known blood mages of the era.

Such a combination allowed the normally suicidal tactic to be used many, many times, as the resilience and combat prowess of such a blood mage carried the day where others would have perished.

Given the recent crop of promising young blood mages that have made a name for themselves, I submit the motion that this tactic be studied more, either for incorporation or for countermeasures, lest our nation be left behind the times." - Derek Sigviny, Military Analyst for the Jarldoms of Jötunberg, circa 685 FP.

Rafiqa returned to her tent after the briefing, and the rather… unexpected revelation. Ying Xiao was a blood mage? And a direct disciple of the Blood Demon herself at that? It sounded unbelievable at first… but when her own father confirmed it for everyone, she had no choice but to believe it.

In her tent, the girl looked at the armor she wore, a gift from her parents when she was inducted into the military. It looked like a simple, if thick, long tunic that reached down to her knees, but looks could indeed be very deceptive.

The armor was composed of five layers in total. The outermost layers a cover made of patterned sea spider silk, tough and resilient, while also smooth and pleasant to the touch. Inside the silk were two layers of metallic mesh, weaved from metal turned into threads by metal affinity mages, and anchored on the innermost layer of sea drake leather.

Overall the armor gave her about as much protection as a good suit of plate armor, at a fraction of the weight, all while being far more malleable. As she wore it on top of her trousers and long tunic, it felt no heavier than a particularly thick piece of clothing, nor did it impede her movements.

Even with her armor, she still latched on a solid metal breastplate, bracers, boots, and hip guards on top of it. Then she took her weapon - one her parents had ordered made for her on her eighteenth birthday - from its stand.

Her glaive was longer than she was tall, with a simple curved blade designed for chopping on one end, and a spearhead on the other end. She hefted the precious weapon in her hands, its shaft made of imported ash heartwood, while the blade and spearhead crafted from adamant steel, and gave a couple swings to ready herself for what was to come before she left her tent once more.

Rafiqa Bey Leung, age 23, circa 679 FP

The soldiers had already gathered and prepared for combat by then. Faizal also arrived shortly after she did, shield and saber in hand. A thousand of their elites, soldiers in heavy infantry armor similarly armed with a large, trapezoidal shield, somewhat wider at the top than the bottom, and long, heavy sabers.

These men and women were troops trained for charges directly into enemy lines, and to break through said lines. Rafiqa and Faizal were tasked with leading them into the gate once the heavy doors opened.

Honestly, she had not been ecstatic about the proposed plan. It all hinged on how well Ying Xiao acquitted herself, as she would be sent directly onto the wall, on her own, to somehow open the doors for the others to storm inside.

It was a plan that hinged far too much on a single point, as Ayesha has complained, but the decision was final, and she had her orders. After she exchanged a nod with Faizal, they both led the troops until they were just outside the arrow range of the troops within the forts.

Youssef and his cadre had followed right behind them, Ying Xiao in their midst. Rafiqa noticed that Ying Xiao had not only worn a different armor, but so was her weapon.

She still had a double crescent halberd in her hands as usual, however the one she held now looked visibly heftier than the ones Rafiqa usually saw her use. It was a jet-black weapon, entirely made of metal, with the same sort of shine as the blade and spearhead of her own weapon, but deeper in shade.

Ying Xiao, age 22, circa 679 FP

Rafiqa knew all too well that the main reason why adamant steel was not used more widely despite its desirable qualities was its heavy weight. From the looks of it, Ying Xiao's weapon and armor were entirely made of it, with higher purity to boot. Yet the slim, small, younger girl showed no sign whatsoever of the weight she carried.

A short while after they stopped, after Youssef's cadre made their preparations, the operation began. The space mages within the cadre pooled their magic together to go through the defensive enchantments around the gate, and with a push, they warped space, as a man-sized portal appeared right before Ying Xiao, with the other end hovering around five meters over the gate's walls.

Ying Xiao stepped into the portal without hesitation, as the mages closed the gate behind her. Rafiqa could barely see Ying Xiao's figure as she fell upon the defenders of the gate. For a moment Rafiqa lost sight of the girl she had come to call her friend over the past year.

Then Ying Xiao made her presence known in a very noticeable way.

Human bodies were thrown into the air, with some even falling down from the gate to splatter on the valley floor far below. Others were already no longer in one piece as they were flung about in a violent manner.

Then after a couple minutes of such rampage, the visible slaughter ceased. Rafiqa knew that the gatehouse from which the heavy doors of the gate were controlled was on the inside, so it might just be that Ying Xiao was already inside the structure, but she couldn't help but to worry.

For a good ten minutes, which felt like an eternity to the waiting soldiers and their officers, there was no sign of change from the gates. Then it finally happened. First with a creak audible even from afar, then with a shudder, the doors began to open wide.

Rafiqa needed no other sign before she ordered a charge, as she led her troops from the front. They ran towards the opening gates, holding shields high to block the arrows fired from the top of the gate.

A few unfortunate soldiers fell to lucky arrows, but the elites charged ahead regardless. As she had led the charge, quite a few arrows flew towards Rafiqa. Most broke themselves on her shield. Others that managed to bypass her shield fell on her armor and simply failed to penetrate.

They left maybe fifteen, twenty men behind, injured or dead she had not known, but finally reached the gate, now opened wide. Immediately Rafiqa and Faizal split to the sides, each leading half the elites as they rushed towards the stairs that led towards the top of the gate.

Her shield back in storage, Rafiqa held her glaive with both hands as she met the first of the soldiers who came down the stairs to face her group. She deftly parried the man's spear to the side with the shaft of her glaive, then took his neck on a counterswing.

It was the first time she had killed another person with her own hands, but the situation kept her focused, as her body moved through motions ingrained on her muscles by years of training. She kept fighting, leading her men until they reached the top of the gate.

Her group reached the top ahead of Faizal's by a couple minutes, so she delegated the majority of her troops to him and tasked him to hold the top of the gate. Rafiqa herself led fifty of her best to follow Ying Xiao's trail inside the structure.

It was not a difficult trail to follow. Ying Xiao had left carnage and devastation in her wake. Bodies that were cut in half, or crushed until they were barely recognizable, were all over the paths she had taken.

When Rafiqa found Ying Xiao, it was by the doorway towards the gatehouse, deep within the structure. Ying Xiao had just finished a few last men, the octagonal mace in her right hand pulverized a hapless soldier's head, even as she cut down another with the large blade held in her left hand.

All around her were corpses in similarly sad states to the ones Rafiqa found on her way down. On seeing her arrival, Ying Xiao nonchalantly greeted them, as she wiped her bloody weapons on the clothes of a corpse that had stayed relatively clean.

"You're here already? Guess the gate's ours then," said Ying Xiao as if she had just taken a relaxed stroll, rather than having butchered her way down to the heart of the structure. Rafiqa noticed a few wounds on Ying Xiao, strikes that had slipped between the gaps of her armor, or struck unarmored spots.

None of the wounds were dripping blood like they should.

Nobody had objections when Ying Xiao proposed they continue to the second gate that very day. The second gate fell in the same anticlimactic manner that very evening, as the soldiers rejoiced and camped by the conquered gate.

Morale was high the next day, the common soldiers emboldened by Ying Xiao's feats, and they marched with confidence towards the third gate, which had never been conquered in its long history.

The third gate was larger, and housed at least three times the men of the previous two gates, led by a valiant general of the high magistrate's loyal forces. In the end however, none of those proved to play much role.

Despite their large numbers, the morale of the defenders shattered when they saw Ying Xiao butcher their general as easily as if she was merely wrenching a chicken's neck. The only reason she took a good while longer to open the gates was because the larger structure was more complicated inside, and it took her nearly half an hour before she found the gatehouse.

Three days after Imperial forces arrived on the island, the unconquerable third gate of the Bloodriver valley had fallen.