Chapter 288: Acceptance

The war with the enemy raged on as the days turned into weeks. Compared to the battles that had taken place before, when the allied forces had to defend the border cities, the battles now were more like skirmishes.

Small squads of Magi fought against the combined force of orcs, trolls, and ogres. However, if there was one thing that had gotten more intense, that would be the presence of magical beasts.

There was an abundance of these corrupted beasts within the jungles of the Murky Mountains. They posed a great threat to the allied forces, thus the headquarters of the three main camps focused a lot of manpower toward fighting them.

As for the orcs and the rest, their camps were situated further in the depths of this sinister mountain range. Most of the enemy forces were patiently waiting for the day of the decisive battle, sharpening their weapons.

Whereas the allied forces were facing one setback after another. Not only had they lost four cities to the enemies, but now they even had to enter the Murky Mountains and first deal with the threat of the corrupted beasts.

Not to mention, taking back the cities that they had lost. Moreover, there were quite a number of enemies that had slipped past the defenses and had ventured further into the heart of the Southern Federation.

The allied forces had to deal with them as well.

All in all, things didn't look good for them. The only silver lining was that the allied forces had the number on their side. But if one took the magical beasts that had been corrupted by the orcs into account, then the size of the two armies balanced out, more or less.

Night had fallen and the twin moons cast a soft glow over the eastern camp. A small number of Magi could be seen guarding the perimeter of the camp.

While majority of the Magi were inside their living quarters, resting after a day of gruesome and bloody battle. Although they were resting, they would be ready at a moment's notice in case of any emergency.

Lisa tried her best to fall asleep, however, the shadows of her thoughts made it difficult for her to do so. She struggled deeply to find solace in her slumber, but she couldn't.

Her eyelids trembled and she clutched at the bed sheet from time to time. She was perspiring heavily, the bedding already soaked in sweat. The atmosphere inside her tent was stifling, haunted by the silhouette of her past failure.

She was having a nightmare.

The same nightmare that wouldn't let her sleep ever since that fateful day. It was a cycle of relentless torment. Not only on the battlefield but also in her sleep.

In her dream, she saw Galriel fall from the city wall, her cry for help echoing in her ears. Lisa reached out to grab her hand, but no matter how much she tried, she always failed.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open and she abruptly sat up on the bed. She gasped for air, her body trembling. She looked around to see that she was still inside her tent.

"Another one..." she smiled bitterly and buried her face in her palms.

The guilt weighed heavily on her heart.

Unable to bear the suffocation inside her tent any longer, she decided to get some fresh air. She changed into a comfortable pair of clothes and wrapped herself in a thick, woolen cloak.

It was quite chilly outside at this time of the year, after all.

Lisa emerged from the tent and looked around at the camp. It was lit up by the warm glow of the oil lanterns. A few Magi could be seen patrolling through the camp.

She raised her head and glanced at Selene and Luna for a while. The twin moons illuminated her pale face, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes.

The following moment, she chose a random direction and started walking, hoping to clear her mind. The camp was a maze of dimply lit paths. Occasionally, she could hear the sound of snoring from a few tents.

Lisa walked around aimlessly, her footsteps silent, and her mind wandering about. The twin moons cast an ethereal glow over the camp, however, she alone seemed detached from it all.

A long time later, she found herself arriving at the edge of the camp. What she saw there took her by surprise. She could see the outline of the mountains looming in the distance, but this wasn't what surprised her.

It was a lone figure, wearing comfortable black robes that gently fluttered in the cool wind, standing before an easel and gracefully painting on a white canvas.

"Adam?" Lisa softly muttered in surprise, slowly making her way toward her friend.

As she drew closer, she saw that Adam was painting the scenery laid before him - the Murky Mountains, the trees, the clouds, the night sky, and finally the twin moons.

What she found really shocking was that he wasn't using any colors from a palette. Instead, he seemed to be gathering the mana from the surroundings at the tip of his paintbrush and materializing the desired colors!

This truly astounded her. Transforming mana into colors and using it to paint? This was simply unheard of.

Yet, amidst her shock, she slowly found herself calming down as she glanced at the painting. Something about the painting was very soothing to her soul.

And before she knew it, she found herself standing beside Adam and gazing at the painting in a daze, her mind feeling relaxed by the moment.

Suddenly, she was jolted out of her thoughts when Adam asked her gently, "Galriel still visiting you in your dreams?"

"You..." Lisa was speechless. She hadn't even mentioned this to Edward, so she couldn't understand how Adam would find out.

"How did you know?"

Adam glanced at her and smiled sadly, "Because she visits me in mine too."

Lisa was about to speak, when all of a sudden, the painting on the canvas started to dissipate. It was more like the colors were leaving the canvas and melding back into the atmosphere.

"W-What's happening to the painting?!" She asked with a dumbfounded look. Never had she seen something so strange like this.

Adam glanced at the painting turning back into small motes of mana. His lips parted and he said slowly, "To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders."

Lisa turned to look at him and asked in confusion, "What are you trying to say?"

Adam looked into the distance and smiled, "In acceptance of the natural order of things, one finds peace amidst the ups and downs of life."