Zoja raised her hand. "Stop" a wave of air arose and the spear stopped in mid-air before it could reach the Ageless Witch.

She looked at Bilal with a side-eye. "Is that it?"

"Well done, but what about others?"

Countless spears were thrown and the unit composed of Core Formation cultivators decreased, not all could block those attacks, whose location was uncertain.

Imperial guards were mingled with refugees, they even wore the same attires as them.

"Shit, defend the attacks and break the encirclement." She yelled.

"But mam, there are refugees!" Prince spoke

"Fuck them, we have to survive first. Kill all in the way and breakthrough, we will be wiped out otherwise."

But it was not as easy as said, unlike her others were in a state of turbulence. Except for Zoja and a few others who were veterans, the remaining unit was inexperienced, including Atra.

They were strong but they never fought and felt the sensation of war, they only handled fee small skirmishes on the border.

Another spear flew towards the prince, and Atra clenched his axe to counter it. "Your highness, be careful." The same red-eyed young man jumped forward to defend the prince.

"You fool, get back" Atra cried as he grabbed the man by his collar and threw him behind. He swung his axe to tackle the upcoming spear.

~CLANG~

His axe vibrated and his hand shook in response.

"ATRA! STAY AWAY FROM THAT MAN" Zoja yelled.

"Huh! Who?" Atra was puzzled.

"You stupid bandit" the man uttered as a bluish light brimmed.

~SCOOCHT~

A short sword pierced the abdomen of Atra. Blood gathered in his mouth. "Who *cough* are you?"

"Your legitimate prince, Ezra Zephyr." The werewolf prince said before slicing Atra up to his jaw. The sword cleaved organs and bones alike as if it was cutting a piece of butter. It was Efsa, the sword made of items that are even rare in the higher realm.

Atra fell to the ground, his blood made a puddle. "This incompetent was your crown prince? I believe my expectations were higher for a country of bandits."

Zoja gave Ezra a deadly glare.

"Don't be angry, Ageless Bitch... I mean Witch. He didn't think for a second how a mortal detected a spear thrown by a cultivator, you should thank me for killing such failure."

"Haha, indeed he was a failure. But... you won't be alive anymore." She curved her hands and a ball was cast. The ball grew 4 batwings of air. "Bell of Help" she raised her hands and the ball flew upward at tremendous speed.

"This will notify everyone in Bishnigam, soon the generals will arrive." She said with a happy grin on her face.

Bell of Help was a spell that has very small damage, but it has tremendous value in war. The mana is compressed in the ball through the forceful air magic, the mana particles fight against each other for space.

Creating a blasting sound, the ball can create 4 blasts resembling the chimes of a bell. With each chime, one batwing vanishes, the wing made of air will carry the chime faster than normal.

Four wings will travel in four directions, after the 4th blast, the mana ball will disperse and creates a light display, resembling an aurora.

The chime will catch reinforcement's attention while the aurora exposes the location

"Hahaha, let's wait then." Ezra chuckled.

Zoja was puzzled, she looked at the Bell of Help above.

The ball reached the sky and vanished, with no blast, no chime and no mana display. She looked at Ezra in bewilderment.

"What did you do?" She was frustrated.

"Well... you are not the only sorcerer who can use Air magic."

She turned his sight to Bilal, who was calm like a lake.

"It's unacceptable, a werewolf with air magic!"

"Ageless Witch, what is your family name?" Bilal asked.

Zoja's eyes twitched. "I have no family name."

"You are a human, it's acceptable for us beastmen to not have any family name but it's considered a disgrace for a human to not have a family name. Perhaps, you are a bastard daughter."

Bilal hit the vital point. "You rascal, it's you who is a bastard, how dare you." The mana raised in her body but she didn't attack, one mistake and she will lose her life.

"Oh, then there remains only three more possibilities. One that your family is destroyed and it's forbidden to use its name. Second, you betrayed your family and they banished you.

And third" Mana rose abruptly in Bilal's body as he said. "Third is when you betray your family and join hands with enemies, resulting in the annihilation of your family. Which one is your case, Zoja Wontir?"

Zoja's eyes widened, and her jaw dropped. She lost her rationality as she sputtered "How... how do you know this name?... who are you?"

"You don't deserve to know that" Bilal declared.

The surging mana downturned in her body, and she fell to her knees. "Please answer me, you can kill me later if you want. You said your name was Bilal Coldbone right? Tell me Bilal how... Coldbone!" She recalled something, his body trembled as she looked at Bilal. "Are you Yubisa's offspring?"

The latter didn't answer, but the change of facial expressions indicated.

She lowered her head. "Your mother was a nic..."

~WHOOOSSH~

Before she could finish, an arrow pierced her heart. Blood oozed out like a fountain. "Don't take her name with your heinous mouth." His anger was not hidden.

With the death of Atra and Zoja, the entire unit crumbled short after. The thousand core formation imperial guards mercilessly slaughtered the Bloody Hyenas.

Subsequently, Ezra signalled and the remaining troops arrived at the scene. Only old Imperial Guards continued their cultivation and reached the Core Formation stage. The young cultivators and sorcerers were told to halt their cultivation and meditation when they reached the Qi Brightening stage and 2nd Circles, respectively.

That was the reason only Imperial Guards were allowed to disguise.