Chapter 676: Escalating Tension

"Dammit!" Lelumi Xetuka cursed in response, noticing that she hadn't arrived in Tentuna City but instead in dangerous territory, Ampor City.

Ampor City's higher-ups were also part of the Talon Secret Organisation. And since they had wiped out Xetuka Kingdom's Xerusi City, officials of the Burnak Kingdom had arrived here to conduct an investigation.

Arriving here at this time was practically declaring war. And even if she didn't, the fact that the first princess of the Xetuka Kingdom appeared here could be interpreted as their retaliation.

Or at worst, if news of her being held captive in Ampor City spread out, then even if the Xetuka Kingdom was aware of the underlying plans, it would be forced to take action. Otherwise, they would lose their credibility.

After all, a monarch that discarded its own royalty wasn't worth fighting for.

"Freeze!" A group of Birdmen Witches noticed her, for she arrived right next to the City Lord's residence, garnering the attention of everyone that detected waves of Space Mana.

They surrounded her as their feathers coiled into dolls of various sizes, all bearing resemblance to her appearance.

But an instant later, they all caught fire, causing the Birdmen to flinch as they threw the dolls to the ground, watching them turn into ash immediately.

"I dislike you making dolls out of me." Lelumi Xetuka said curtly, looking around as she noticed a Birdmen Pseudo-Saint that had arrived at the scene, immediately flying towards him.

"Stop!" The Birdmen surrounding her shouted in response, alarmed that she would attack their prince.

"It's fine." Granak Burnak, prince of the Burnak Kingdom, a Pseudo-Saint Witch fluttered his wings, motioning for them to stop upon seeing that Lelumi Xetuka didn't exude any killing intent, recognising her as he said in surprise, "First Princess?"

"Yes," Lelumi Xetuka nodded in a hurry, saying, "Are you aware of what's happening behind the scenes?"

"Talon took action." Granak Burnak nodded, "I know of that."

"Thank goodness," Lelumi Xetuka sighed in relief as she said, "I planned to arrive at Tentuna City to mitigate this situation and prevent war from erupting. But one of our Space Mages was from Talon and modified the magic circle at the final moment to send me here."

"Well, too bad though." Granak Burnak smirked all of a sudden as feathers streamed out of his wings in large numbers, erecting a myriad of curses.

"Again?" Lelumi Xetuka was flustered as her figure shot backward, dogging all the curses directed at her as she flickered as quickly as possible, 'He's from the Talon Secret Organisation too?'

"Just how many are freaking hiding in plain sight all along?" She muttered, feeling a stinging sensation all over her body as myriad curses were unleashed onto her.

But then when landed on her, a formless barrier created using a mixture of Fire and Wind protected her, vaporising the curses. The wind first cushioned the curse, preventing them from coming into contact with her while the fire used the stalling tactic to burn the curse away.

As a Fire and Wind Warrior, her defences were impeccable, allowing her to guard against the curses to a certain extent.

Though, if she continued to stay here for an extended duration, she would exhaust herself. After all, there was a Pseudo-Saint among the opponent too, one whose curse affected her the most. This was not to mention the dozens of Grandmaster Witches and over a hundred Master Witches.

Swoosh!

Her body flew through the air by generating intense gales, speeding towards the Xetuka Kingdom in a hurry as multiple curses continued to land on her.

"Tch!" She clicked her tongue, condensing a fire whip that she lashed out, burning the feathers flying at her before it smacked a Grandmaster Witch, turning him into ash.

Unfortunately for her, the battle was on such a large scale that everyone in Ampor City lay witness to it, staring at the terrifying Wind and Fire Mana being used extensively, something only Human Pseudo-Saints could do.

It further sealed the fact that the Xetuka Kingdom had become antagonistic towards the Burnak Kingdom.

"Lelumi Xetuka! How dare you attack my kingdom!" Granak Burnak bellowed in fury as his voice resounded throughout the city, "You'll pay for annihilating Buhan City!"

"Lelumi Xetuka...? Isn't that the Xetuka Kingdom's first princess?" A commoner muttered in disbelief before his brows scrunched up, emitting fumes of anger, "So, it was true. Buhan City was razed to the ground. Only a Pseudo-Saint is capable of this."

Lelumi Xetuka was a rather famous character, known as the iron wall that protected the Aira—the northern range separating the Xetuka Kingdom from the Giant Kingdom of Gormana. People, even in the Burnak Kingdom, its northern parts, were aware of her, knowing that she wielded wind and fire.

Therefore, they connected one to two, understanding that if it was her that attacked Buhan City, it was possible to raze it to the ground at such a rapid pace and catch them off guard. After all, her speed as a Wind Warrior allowed her to travel at a terrifying pace, silent through the night before burning Buhan City using her powers as a Fire Warrior.

Her fame was instantly converted into infamy which made the people believe that it was indeed Lelumi Xetuka that had razed down Buhan City.

"Fuck!" Lelumi Xetuka cursed in response, aware that she had been victimised, the cause for the disaster, 'Is that why only fire attacks had been launched at Buhan City? Just how far have they schemed around?'

The mana signature left in the ruins of Buhan City was Fire Mana, on the level of a Pseudo-Saint. So, there was no way she could pull herself out of this.

"Dammit, I've been had." She glared at Granak Burnak, continuing to escape as hundreds of angry Birdmen chased after her.

Any Witch at the Master Realm and above took flight to chase after her in anger, with Granak Burnak taking the lead.

As the people of Ampor City witnessed the conflict, news regarding it travelled across other cities as forces from there too took flight, chasing after Lelumi Xetuka to exact revenge.

Even though the authorities that were privy to the Talon Secret Organisation's scheme tried to rein in things, everything spiralled out of control as people took charge on their own. This was not to mention there still being moles of the Talon Secret Organisation on all sides, causing the situation to escalate further.