Sorry for the one week delay, but Tears of the Kingdom is so good. No spoilers, please.
Chapter 94 – Blood of the Eagle and Lion Pt 4 (Great Tree Moon)
Dorothea couldn't believe what she saw. The wave of fire that had been conjured had only lasted for a few seconds once it was unleashed, yet it had claimed thousands of lives in the blink of an eye. She could not make out any of the Alliance's heroes in the smoke, though Claude still flew over the central hill on Simurgh's back.
It was a Hymn, that much was certain to her. But it was not a Hymn she knew. And even then, the amount of Mana required to unleash so much power was beyond belief. No one should have been able to channel so much power, let alone control it.
It took Dorothea a moment to realize Byleth was shouting at her.
"Dorothea! Dorothea!"
Shocked, the diva remembered she was still in a battle. She turned as Byleth shouted, "Try to put out those flames! Everyone else, help the Alliance with their wounded!"
As Byleth and the others tried to make their way through the inferno on the central hill, Dorothea assumed her stance as Lana and Cia, who hadn't fully recovered from the last Hymn, channeled what Mana they could to the brunette.
Dorothea began to sing.
Stodai…ita…
Aiyama imaya
Adiya
Ah…
The sky above began to fill with clouds as Dorothea sang the Litany of Rain.
Maiya…
Kosta via
Aiya aiya
Ah…
Asta diya ah, miya…
Ah…
…
Cornelia leaned against a tree as she watched the Imperial Army rush into the flames, driven by their Emperor to brave the inferno and slaughter their enemies. Amid the crackling of the fire, the Duchess could hear the screams of the wounded and dying.
But then a voice broke out over the chaos of battle. Cornelia recognized it as Dorothea's, and immediately the Duchess could tell the Hymn the girl was trying to use – the Litany of Rain.
The Duchess looked up at the sky as rainclouds formed over the inferno in the center of Gronder Field.
Kosta lamiya yoso
Yadaei, yadaei
Arta miya
Sortioche
Amiya…
Saya…
Rain began to pour from the clouds as though they were the edge of a waterfall. Cornelia was impressed for a moment; Dorothea had more talent with Hymnos than the Duchess had originally thought.
The Agarthan sorceress smirked. No matter how hard the girl tried, it wasn't going to be enough.
Amiyasa ameyi sameiya
Sama
Kamayana ame isameiya
Ah…
…
Dorothea watched the rain fall upon the flames, yet the fire did not dim. To her horror, the Litany of Rain was doing nothing to the flames. The water was evaporating into steam before it even touched the raging inferno.
She continued to sing, desperate to douse the fire.
Stodai…ita…
Aiyama imaya
Adiya
Ah…
Maiya…
Kosta via
Aiya aiya
Ah…
Asta diya ah, miya…
Ah…
The rain continued to pour from the clouds, but the hellish inferno Cornelia had created kept raging on. Only small flames on the rim of the inferno were showing any signs of dimming. It was simply too hot for the water to do anything.
Dorothea kept singing.
Kosta lamiya yoso
Yadaei, yadaei
Arta miya
Sortioche
Amiya…
Saya…
Amiyasa ameyi sameiya
Sama
Kamayana ame isameiya
Ah…
As Dorothea kept singing, Lana and Cia panted with exhaustion. They were nearly tapped out of Mana to give to the brunette.
Seconds later, the twins both fell to their knees and gasped loudly as their connection to Dorothea was severed. Dorothea, feeling the connection break, stopped singing.
Dorothea then fell to her knees as she saw the fire continuing to rage.
Her efforts had been for naught.
"No…" Dorothea said in soft despair.
…
Dimitri watched the Imperials charge into the raging fire that Cornelia had unleashed. He could not see the full extent of the damage the Duchess had caused, but he knew he wouldn't get another opportunity to eliminate the Alliance Army like the one in front of him.
Having briefly pulled back from the front of his line, Dimitri turned to Dedue and said, "Dedue, take your forces and assault the Alliance's position. The Duchess has given us an excellent opportunity to crush Claude's army."
"As you command, Your Highness," said Dedue.
Dimitri then turned and said, "Sylvain, take your cavalry and flank the Alliance from the north. Run down any who try to escape."
In protest, Sylvain said, "Dimitri, are you serious? The Alliance is–"
"I will not repeat myself, Sylvain," Dimitri interrupted. "Do as I have ordered."
Scowling, Sylvain turned his horse around and led three battalions of Loyalist cavalry to the north.
At the same moment, Ingrid finished stabbing a member of the Black Eagles in the chest, sending the Imperial elite toppling off his mount as she swung his blood away from Luin's edge. She then looked down to see Dedue advancing on the Alliance's eastern flank, the Duscuri leading five battalions of heavy infantry into the flames that scorched the central hill. Ingrid also saw Sylvain riding to flank the Alliance from the north.
Whatever misgivings Ingrid may have had about attacking the Alliance, she put them out of her mind. Her duty as a knight in service to King Dimitri came before any of her personal feelings about his decisions.
As Dedue and Sylvain moved out, Dimitri looked toward Edelgard's camp and said, "Rodrigue, the time is now. Carve a path through the Imperials. No one is to touch the Emperor – she is mine to kill."
Despite knowing Dimitri's plan was practically suicide, Rodrigue said, "As you command, Your Highness."
Dimitri then raised his head and fixed his gaze on Edelgard. With the fog covering Gronder Field having burned away, Dimitri could now see the Emperor clearly.
No one would stop him from reaching her.
Nothing would stop him from enacting his revenge upon her.
Dimitri roared like the lion he was named for and charged forth, slashing, stabbing, ripping, and tearing through every Imperial who came in his path.
…
Hilda coughed loudly as she tried to move through the smoke and fire. The attack had caused devastating losses for the Alliance, including the destruction of nearly all their siege weapons. Worse, she could hear the Imperials making their way through the Alliance's broken front line, a position she couldn't get to with all the flames in her way.
She prayed that Balthus was alright. He had been at the front, where the brunt of the damage was inflicted.
A new set of shouts from the east caught Hilda's attention. Alarmed, she swirled around to see Dedue and several battalions of Loyalist heavy infantry charging toward them.
"For the King!" shouted the Loyalist soldiers in chorus.
Knowing a fight with the Loyalists was now inevitable, Hilda readied Freikugel and shouted, "Drive them back! Don't let them through!"
Hilda's fighters, who were still recovering from Cornelia's spell, rushed to meet Dedue's forces in close quarters. Within moments, however, the Alliance's line quickly began to buckle against Dedue's heavily armored warriors.
A Fortress Knight smashed through two Alliance swordsmen before turning just as Hilda swung Freikugel at him, carving through his armor like paper. Hilda then shouted as she swung around, slashing through two more Loyalist soldiers.
Unlike how she was mostly, Hilda knew she could not hold back. If Dedue got through her line, the Loyalists would massacre the Alliance before they could regroup.
Then, just as she thought about the Duscuri, she heard him roar as he charged at her. Hilda swung around and then darted back just in time to avoid his axe.
Scowling, Hilda said, "Dedue, what are you doing?! We're on the same side!"
"That is not how His Highness sees it, Hilda," Dedue replied as he readied his axe and shield.
"And what about you? You know this is wrong!"
"His Highness's enemies are my enemies. Now, stand aside or you shall be cut down. You have never been the type to risk your life for another."
"Well, in this case, I'm making an exception!"
Hilda shouted as she swung Freikugel at Dedue's shield. The force of the blow sent the Duscuri general skidding back, yet he remained standing.
Despite the regret Hilda felt at having to fight an old classmate, the pinkette roared as she charged at Dedue again.
…
Ladislava was amazed at the destruction Cornelia had caused. The Crimson Warrior had no skill in magic, but she had never seen such a powerful spell before. And despite the efforts of the Church's singer to douse the flames, the fire kept on blazing.
Having pulled away from the battle with Ingrid's Pegasus Knights, Ladislava watched as the Church Army's soldiers rushed to aid the Alliance, even if that meant braving the inferno. The wall of flames between the Church and Edelgard's camp protected their flank just as much as it did for the Empire, at least from Hubert's ground troops. The Emperor's majordomo was in the process of regrouping his forces, which had suffered heavy losses.
Raising her lance, Ladislava shouted, "Eagles, on me!"
The Black Eagles broke off their fight with Ingrid's fliers, leaving the regular army's Pegasus and Wyvern riders to handle the Loyalists. As soon as they regrouped with their leader, Ladislava flew toward the Church's army, which was focused on rescuing the Alliance.
As the Black Eagles drew closer, however, Byleth spotted them through the smoke and shouted, "Seteth, keep the Black Eagles off us!"
Seteth then shouted, "Fliers, on me! Flayn, stay here and aid the others!"
"Brother, wait!" Flayn said in protest, but Seteth was already soaring up to meet the Black Eagles with his squadron.
"For the Goddess! Attack!" shouted Seteth.
Seteth's fliers roared as they met the Black Eagles in air-to-air combat. The battle above became a frenzy as fliers darted in and out of the smoke billowing from below.
Seeing a Church flier above her, Ladislava leapt from Fenix's saddle and slashed through both the Pegasus and its rider with Longinus. The Crimson Warrior's victims tumbled out of the air as Ladislava plummeted for two seconds before Fenix swooped in and caught her in his saddle. But shortly after this, she heard one of the Eagles cry out as Seteth ran him through, unseating the Wyvern rider and sending him falling to his death.
Recognizing the green-haired advisor, Ladislava and Fenix banked toward him, though Seteth saw them coming. Rather than match Ladislava's attack, Seteth swerved and dodged her dive, prompting the Crimson Warrior and her mount to pull up and turn back toward him, maintaining their speed as they flew. Seteth and Hyperion whirled around to meet her, only for Seteth to be briefly surprised when Ladislava leapt from her saddle at him.
Responding quickly, Seteth raised the Ochain Shield and blocked Ladislava's strike as she landed on Hyperion's back.
The two struggled against each other as Seteth said, "Stand down, Ladislava! You and the Empire will not prevail on this day!"
"I've heard that before, Seteth," Ladislava replied. "And I say to you again that I will not yield. I will see Her Majesty's vision for Fódlan realized, whatever it takes!"
Ladislava tried to shove Seteth off Hyperion's back, but the advisor pushed back as the Major Crest of Cichol flashed in his eyes. With supernatural strength, Seteth shoved Ladislava back hard, sending her falling off Hyperion. Within seconds, however, Fenix had swooped in and caught his partner again as the two broke off from attacking Seteth.
Elsewhere in the battle, Trauare shouted "Wasserstrahl!" as she sent a concentrated jet of water at two Church Wyvern Riders, blasting them and their mounts out of the air. Thanks to the rain that Dorothea had called upon, the blue hydromancer had a lot more water to work with.
But as she readied another spell, she heard the familiar whistle of a Cutting Gale heading toward her. Trauare aborted her spell and pitched Zorne into a dive, avoiding the deadly wind attack. Whirling around, Trauare saw Flayn riding on Sumia as the green-haired girl readied another spell.
"Big mistake coming after me!" Trauare said as she readied another water spell. She then directed her trident at Flayn and shouted, "Eislanze!"
A barrage of icicles rocketed toward Flayn, who raised a ward with a surprised "Oh!"
To Trauare's surprise, Flayn's ward blocked the entire barrage.
Scowling, Trauare spun her trident and, with a cry of "Wasserklinge!", she sent a blade of water toward Flayn.
Just as before, however, Flayn's ward repelled Trauare's spell.
Now angry, Trauare readied a more powerful spell, drawing water from all around her.
"Let's see you stop this!" Trauare said before she spun her trident over her head and shouted, "Es regnet Sperrfeuer!"
This time, a large barrage of watery arrows rained down toward Flayn from above, as deadly as a barrage of real arrows. The green-haired girl raised her ward to the attack and, to Trauare's shock, blocked the powerful spell, which failed to do much to Flayn's ward.
"W-What the hell?!" Trauare said in disbelief.
Lowering her ward, Flayn replied, "My turn. Prepare yourself!"
Flayn launched another Cutting Gale spell at Trauare, who raised her own ward in defense. Unlike Flayn's ward, however, Trauare's struggled to block the wind attack. Flayn shouted again as she sent another Cutting Gale at the hydromancer, this time shattering Trauare's ward.
As her magical defense broke, Trauare was knocked back on Zorne's saddle and, with a series of panicked yelps, Trauare fell off the back of her Pegasus.
"Trauare!" Ladislava shouted, seeing the water mage unseated and plummeting.
The Crimson Warrior dove toward Trauare. Seconds before Trauare would've hit the ground, Ladislava grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto Fenix's saddle behind her. Fenix pulled out of his dive, narrowly avoiding the ground.
"Th-Thanks, Ladi," Trauare said in relief. "That was too close."
Zorne dove in to pick up Trauare as Ladislava said, "Don't make a habit of this, Wrede."
"Hey, don't blame me! That girl didn't look that tough!"
"We can argue over it later! We've still got a battle to–"
As Trauare got back onto Zorne's saddle, the two aces heard a chorus of war cries and turned to their source.
To Ladislava's shock, the Loyalists were plowing straight through the Imperial lines, led by the King of Lions.
Who knew Flayn could be so difficult for mages to handle?
I do wonder if I'm slightly stretching it with regards to the fire and rain part. Fire can burn hot enough to evaporate water, but it has to be REALLY hot to stop the water from working entirely. It's why most firefighters these days prefer foam instead of water. However, I'm not sure if having the fire that hot would make it deadly to go near it or not.
Also, as I said before, sorry this chapter got delayed by a week. Tears of the Kingdom is amazing. I'll try not to delay the chapter next week.