Compared to the mountains towering on the horizon to the northwest, the ones we were flying amongst now seemed downright small. But they were still mountains, and the mix of altitudes as valleys and peaks blended into each other must have done something to the air currents. Wind assaulted us constantly. Because of the terrain, our force couldn’t move at their top speed, but we were still making good progress.

The spirit beast beneath me pulled into a tight dive to the side, and I tightened my grip on the leather saddle. The guard seated in front of me glanced back quickly, before he again focused on steering the bird through the mountainous terrain. I looked up, noting that the other birds surrounding me were slowly changing position, as if they were rotating through a formation, but still kept up. Their cocoon made it harder to get a sense of our surroundings. But I could tell that qi was pretty dense here, though calmer than in a real anomaly.

Under different circumstances, I would have been excited about the flight. But right now, even the coolness factor couldn’t distract me from pre-battle jitters. I tried to breathe deeply and center myself, to get the anxiety, adrenaline and anticipation under control.

Then we took yet another turn, and our target spread out before us. I sucked in a breath as I stared at it. To the right, the mountain climbing up before us ended abruptly in a chasm. It looked like some angry titan had swung a knife and cut straight through the mountain, through rock and stone and ice, until it finally leveled out into a valley far below. It had to be at least a kilometer deep, maybe closer to two, and three or four kilometers long, but narrow. A remnant from an old battle between really strong cultivators, perhaps.

But I only stared for a moment before I turned my attention to the structure rising from the left mountain. It was built like a traditional fortress, but the walls were camouflaged with ice and even a few stunted plants to make it blend into the landscape. They couldn’t quite hide the large enchanted weapons set up now, or the people crawling over it. The Zarian must know we were coming, now.

Well, it didn’t matter. We were almost upon them.

The guard sitting in front of me pulled our mount upward, and the others followed, spreading out somewhat to shield me from possible attacks. Some of them were on flying swords, but most rode other spirit beasts. I crouched down to get a better look at the battlefield.

Our elites were the first to start fighting. From both the group of Velisha surrounding their two airships, as well as the one from Terbekteri, elites on spirit beast mounts or flying on their own power barreled into the fortress. A large flash ensured, and one of the outer walls collapsed with a deep, thunderous rumble. The elites in the group from the Empire proper were a little slower, but they showed more discipline, adjusting their formation as they blanketed one sector of the castle with a haze of different attacks. Soon, it looked like two of the towers were on fire, even though I’d have thought they were made of stone.

Of course, the Zarian didn’t just sit by and let this happen. Their own elites rose into the air to meet ours and tried to drive them away from the fortress. Some of them split off to head towards the airships and others fliers still coming in. At the same time, soldiers poured out of buildings and hidden nooks. Despite parts of their castle burning around them, they were calm and organized. Some groups moved off to try and deal with the damage our attacks were doing, while others formed up to meet the oncoming charge.

They don’t even have wide area shields. I guess those might have been easy to detect, and they preferred stealth. I frowned. Does that mean they don’t have variants that can go up quickly, or do they and just don’t want us to know?

My own group drew nearer slowly, and the guards started pelting the fortress below us with attacks. I summoned my spear from my storage ring, trying to find a good angle to point it at my targets. But most of my attention was captured by the rest of the battle. The bulk of our forces reached the fortress, and it started in earnest.

I winced as one of the airships lit on fire before it could settle into position. Hatches opened and lines fell out, soldiers rappelling down or fleeing on flying swords. The airship tumbled in the air for a bit, managing to stay up long enough to get the troops out, before it started tilting downwards, arcing to the ground. It disappeared behind a mountain ridge, but I could hear the crash a few moments later.

Gritting my teeth, I extended my domain, gripping onto the spirit beast to anchor me, a bit like I would with a flying sword, and grasping Fides in it. I gathered qi, pulling it through the spear and forming a technique, before I released it. One of the Zarian soldiers below me, who was setting up some kind of weapon emplacement, cursed and dodged to the side as the black sphere hit it and started to eat through the materials.

The airships pulled back as the soldiers started advancing, most on the ground, but some in the air. The walls weren’t much of an obstacle as the cultivators climbed and jumped their way farther into the fortress. But by now, Zarian resistance was getting stiffer. I saw many soldiers on both sides taken out of the fight. The variety of elemental techniques used stirred up dust and fog, decreasing my visibility.

“We need to go lower,” I called. “Join the attack, or at least get me a better vantage point.”

Judging by Aston’s grimace, he didn’t like that, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he led our group on a careful course through the air, dodging the worst of the fighting. He aimed for a reasonably level courtyard at the outer edge of the fortress, up on a ridge so it had a good view, and not heavily defended at the moment.

I wished the others were here, but dismissed that thought. Lei, Kajare and Yarani had all joined other teams, with a lot of guards, while Tenira stayed behind at the command center for the operation. That was the smart strategic choice, since I could ask them about those other parts of the attack in detail later. Plus, no bunching up high-value targets all in one spot.

My guards fell on the few Zarian defenders like hungry wolves, just with more magic. I barely had time to get a single attack off, watching as it ate into the shield of a Zarian soldier, before they’d finished securing our new position. Most of the enemy were dead, though a few of the guards went around collecting those who weren’t, giving them a bit of first aid and gathering them in a sheltered spot farther in. Hopping off the bird, I grimaced, but didn’t complain that they could have spared more of them. This was war, and I needed to focus on the battle, anyway.

It seemed to be going well. Prince Jian led a group of Velisha warriors in clearing out the side of the castle close to us. He was pretty weak on his own, but I saw him throwing himself into fights against soldiers who were clearly stronger. His guards stepped in to save him, but he barely paused. To the other side, more soldiers had gathered and thrown up a large qi barrier. I noticed a group of Imperial soldiers methodically batter it with different attacks, trying to bring it down. After a moment, they were joined by a group of Terbekteri soldiers led by Hajake. More of his people pushed on into the fortress’ highest reaches, but the area around him seemed clear.

I put my spear away, pulled out my qi communication talisman and called him. “Hajake, how’s your status?”

He looked around until he found me, then nodded and answered into his own device. “We’re fine here, Sister. The fighting should be dying down in this area.”

I smiled. “That’s good, everything seems to be going well here, too.” I hadn’t taken control of the battle, since I wasn’t the best suited to that, but it was easy enough to see how things stood. “Do you think we should push on further into the upper area of the fortress, press the attack?”

He frowned. “Perhaps. I’ve heard the Zarian are organizing below, some distance from the fortress, and the other areas seem to have some trouble.”

Great. I sighed and started calling the rest of the commanders, trying to get a better idea of the situation as a whole. Most of them agreed we should press the attack. Two of them also supported Hajake’s information, talking about a buildup of Zarian soldiers that might be preparing to relief the fortress, or assault it if they were too late to stop us.

Our soldiers were careful to keep the wards stopping scrying the fortress running, but it would have been too much to hope that the Zarian wouldn’t respond.

At that moment, Jian doubled back to join us. He gave a quick bow, then glanced at the side of the deep chasm. “My lady, we need to send someone to deal with that. We could lose our advantage here if we’re pinned between two forces.”

I nodded. “Yes, I was just considering that. Since your and Hajake’s forces are occupied, I’ll send one of the Imperial units down. Or two.”

He smiled. “I was about to suggest that. I hope you have a strong wind affinity cultivator. And a good commander. It looks like there are a few local spirit beasts and even spirits joining them. The Zarian must have been busy bargaining with them.”

Crap. None of the local Imperial commanders beyond those commanding regular squads were a wind cultivator. I’d need to send someone in the seventh stage, probably, but there was a reason those elites weren’t usually placed in command of lower stage troops.

I glanced at my guard. “Aston, you take a few of my guards and take charge of squads three and four. Get a few of the elites as well, I’ll leave that to you.”

He frowned. “Your Highness, I’m here to protect you.”

“Which you can do by ensuring no one attacks us from behind,” I replied. “You’re the best person to deal with this.” Especially since Mior’s presence would be good for dealing with those spirits, but I didn’t say that in front of Jian. I glanced at him. “I’ll stay close to Prince Jian.”

The Velisha raised an eyebrow and hesitated for a moment, before he bowed his head. “Of course. With both of our guard details joining up, you’ll be quite safe.”

Aston sighed. “As you command, my princess.” He turned and chose a few of the other Imperial guard, before he rose into the air and flew towards the elites. Their battle seemed to be almost over, with most of the Zarian elites fled or lying on the ground.

I didn’t like sending him away, but as a captain of the Imperial Guard, he had the status to lead a sizable force, and make strategic decisions, if necessary. Besides, the Zarian were almost defeated here. The only real threat were reinforcements, or perhaps some people barricaded in the uppermost level of the fortress.

Sighing, I focused on my qi senses for a moment. I couldn’t sense the spirits accompanying the Zarian reinforcements, which meant they were probably some distance away still. Well, Mior would have warned me if they were close. But I made a mental note of that, anyway. I suspected that possessing a mortal host put a limit on some of the spirit’s abilities, and this supported the idea that it might hinder or limit their senses.

“Perhaps we should check the remainder of these buildings,” Jian suggested. “They seem to be empty, except perhaps for a few stragglers. But it’s best to be sure, and we’re the team most free to check them at the moment.”

“Good idea,” I agreed. I pointed at some of the buildings on a lower plateau. “Let’s start there and work our way closer to Hajake’s people.”

We made our way over carefully, and I took a moment to assess how the rest of the battle was going. It looked like Hajake was sending some of his people to join the elites fighting further up the mountaintop, while he and the rest of them were clearing out the buildings around the area they’d fought. A few Imperial units did the same on the other side, and from the reports I’d gotten, the rest of them were similarly occupied. Except for the group guarding the airships and some of the mounts, of course. They’d retreated to a more easily defensible position on the next peak.

Soon, we reached the first of the buildings. I hesitated for a moment, taking a look around. This section of the fortress was a bit of a closed-off area, built on a shelf of rock close to the canyon, and in the shadow of another few rocky protrusions farther up. I felt uneasy about something, although I couldn’t quite pin down what. Perhaps I was sensing the qi of something the Zarian had left in one of the structures here. Considering the location, a trap wouldn’t make sense, though, that would just rip a hole in the fortress.

Still, I hung back and let Jian enter first, then the majority of my guards, before I walked into the building. It was pretty bare, just roughly hewn stone, but my attention was drawn to the recesses set into the walls and floor. Perhaps they’d anchored enchanted compartments or items. Curious, I followed my guards deeper into the structure. From here, I could see there were corridors connecting it with the other buildings in this area.

Jian had just turned a corner at the end of another corridor when I sensed more than heard a faint vibration from above, as if something heavy was scraping against the ceiling. I looked up and instinctively took a step back, closer to the exit, but there was a hint of a sound from closer above that, too.

The next moment, everything came falling down.

I barely had the time to pull up a qi barrier, which caught the first of the rocks from above. I tried to move out of the way, but my flimsy barrier buckled, and I was pelted with a hail of rocks and wood. Then the ground gave out.

For a moment, I fell, before I landed hard on another stone surface, this one uneven rock. My head thudded onto the ground. I tried to get up, to make sure I’d prepared my defensive talismans correctly, to get out of here. But moving only brought a wave of pain and dizziness, and darkness claimed my vision.