BXBX NOVEL Chapter 253 252: Putting On A Show
When the soldiers realized that the Asmodia Heir was with them, they also looked towards the four women around her, quickly discovering each of our identities from gossip and speculation.
Leone was an easy one for any high born or influential people, and many were stunned that a Princess was on the front lines alongside them, believing that the Royal Family would prefer to remain up in their luxurious, calm palace instead.
Anput took them a few moments, but quite a few knew about Jahi and her fiancees, so they realized that this was the Begum of the Sultanate, which made them curious about what she would be like since they were all from the Empire.
They also learned of Nirinia from those that had been near the Command tent, so many of the soldiers were gathering around to observe this future Knight of Cinder, many in awe of her as they stared at something so far above them.
Then there was me; I could hear a few asking what Noble\'s Daughter I was, if I was single, how they\'d like to bed me...
It was to be expected, but I could see each of the women around me growing more and more irate as each comment entered their perked ears.
Of course, Nirinia found that rather amusing, but she could only shake her head as Jahi gestured for me to enter her tent.
Making sure everything was set up properly, Anput and I worked together to make our temporary living quarters more livable and comfortable, with the Jackalkin hardening the soft earth below us into a smooth, solid slab of rock, before I draped it with a thick blanket and some pillows.
The tent was a large size, large enough to fit all of us comfortably, so I began to unpack everything the girls needed before being dragged down by Jahi, the Demoness\' frustrations flowing inside me.
After I did my best to swiftly help each of them, I followed them outside when Nirinia called for us, only to groan as I saw her readying a large space.
More soldiers had gathered around the area, watching on in curiosity as Nirinia practiced with her large Dadao.
Seeing us reemerge, Nirinia smirked as she gave us a knowing wink, before gesturing to the field around her.
"Come on then~! Let\'s continue your training, hmm?"
Each of us groaned as she grinned at us, but we all grabbed our weapons and prepared to endure another hellish session with Nirinia.
Though, she gave me a swift shake of her head, making me sheath my blade and return to the tent, where I would watch on from the side.
"Alright Bluey, you first~!"
Spinning her Dadao in her hands, Nirinia smiled smugly at an annoyed Jahi, who unsheathed her large great sword and stepped forwards.
Tapping blades again, they nodded to one another before flickering forwards, eliciting a gasp from the crowd as the clash of metal sounded around us.
Pulling out a thin book, I took up a pen and began scribbling down Ritual Circles, a few thoughts drifting around my mind as I watched.
Since I didn\'t need to worry about participating, I focused my efforts elsewhere, enjoying this break and relieved that I had more time to devote to my arcane studies.
Nirinia understood that I preferred to remain hidden, and she had also deemed my magic a little more important then my dagger skills at the moment, telling me to focus more on my arcane skillset then my martial skillset.
As such, my training shifted from purely physical to mental, and the woman demanded I ink up a few large scale spells for the battle to come, ones that I could use without alerting friends and foes alike.
The reason that Leone remained on the field at the moment was simple as well; Nirinia wanted to send out a message to the soldiers, one that told them the Nobles weren\'t going to be treated differently than they would.
Of course, that was a lie, but the soldiers would believe that Jahi, Anput, and Leone would be treated the same as they would be, which would inspire some confidence in them, as well as quell any envious, darker feelings inside the soldiers.
So everyone watched on in awe as Nirinia and Jahi clashed, each woman smirking at the other as they exchanged a flurry of blows.
Our few days of training had yielded a large bounty for each of us, and that shone in this spar right here.
Before, none of us could truly follow what Nirinia was doing, but now I could clearly see her twist her wrist slightly, resulting in her Dadao guiding Jahi\'s blow to the side, only for her to punch forwards with the rim of her shield.
Days ago Jahi would be coughing on the ground, the air knocked from her lungs as she desperately gulped in breath after breath, but now she managed to dodge the jab, even going for a counter attack.
Releasing a hand from her sword, Jahi grabbed Nirinia\'s arm and dragged her forwards, sending the Djinn off balance before ramming her head forwards, head butting the Djinn.
Except, Nirinia was still relatively unfazed, ignoring the small cut on her brow as she yanked her arm away and pushed Jahi back, using the moment to raise her Dadao and flick it forwards, scoring a cut across Jahi\'s side.
A cut that, if she had been fighting for real, would have impaled the Demoness\' side and pulled her intestines out.
Sighing, Jahi pursed her lips as she retreated towards the tent, the battered and cut up Demoness glancing down at my scribble filled notebook as I spun the pen around.
"Kat..?"
Jumping slightly, I glanced at her for a moment before letting out a small chuckle, my hand instantly shining with a deep blue light as I healed her up, making her let out a relieved sigh.
We both watched as Anput went up next, the Jackalkin weaving around Nirinia\'s swift stabs and punches before attempting to retaliate with a dozen rapid slices, using the sharpened edge of her longsword to cut the Djinn\'s grey green skin.
After watching another few moments of that, I turned back to my notebook, tapping the pen on the paper as I frowned slightly, my mind whirring through dozens of combinations.
Jahi looked between Anput and I, her amethyst eyes searching through my own eyes as she asked "What are you working on?"
Opening the book up some more, I showed her the large, three circle wide spell that I had come up with, a Wind and Water Ritual Circle overlapping to create an Ice Ritual Circle.
"Perfecting a domain type spell... though, there\'s this small hatchling of an idea floating around, but I just can\'t grasp what exactly it is..."
I sighed as I began to tap the page again, going over a few water enchantments to worm my way through my problem.
This small idea had popped into my head, but I had no clue on where to start with it.
Water spells are vast; typical mages can only control water, but some can control other liquids as well.
They all have some form of liquidity to them, and one idea that popped into my head was a rather abundant liquid; a liquid that I had fallen in love with, a liquid that I couldn\'t wait to see again.
Blood.
Could I create a set of spells to change my \'Water\' spells to spells that utilize blood?
Could I manage to figure out how to control liquids besides water?
If I could do so, I would unlock an entirely new, and insanely vast realm of arcane study.
Vampiric enchantments to start, but what about Blood Magic in general?
Is that a possibility?
The leap from water to blood though is quite vast, as water is \'stagnant\' in the fact that it holds small amounts of mana, whereas blood is a saturated liquid, filled with a vastly larger amount of mana compared to water.
It is a question of control, of compatibility, and concentration.
To be able to control something so oversaturated with mana is a nigh impossible task, and the amount of compatibility one would need to the Water element was reaching the same levels as Leone\'s control on Fire...
Wait.
Looking up, I stared at the Vampire above me, the ashen haired woman watching Anput\'s spar with wide eyes.
She IS a Vampire, so maybe there\'s some hidden magic she and her mother have?
Or maybe her race would give her a \'hidden attunement\' to blood, since they need to feast on it to truly sustain themselves?
Frowning, I was about to call out to the woman when someone shouted "The Western Army is marching! Arm yourselves!"
Nirinia froze, before she sheathed her blade and grinned at us, ignoring the various soldiers that scrambled around us.
"Come on girls! Time to whet your appetite a little~!"