Ignoring anything else, Xylla clawed her way until Glassman, almost managing to wound him before the soldier noticed her and moved away just in time.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you remember me, you bastard? Yet, I remember you very well! You were the leader of those hunters!"

"Oh yeah, now I remember. You are the harpy who guided us to her village in the mountains of Galath. We sold you before I could tell you how grateful I am. That hunt was one of the most fruitful of my entire career."

Now deprived of any glimmer of reason, Xylla began to fight furiously against the captain ignoring everything else, including the gasps of her companions who begged for help as they fell one after the other.

In a few minutes she was the only one left, but Glassman himself ordered the soldiers to stay aside and let him take care of it.

On the other hand, it was quite clear that there was an abyss between the two; it was as if Glassman was able to predict all of his opponent's moves, always managing to avoid her blows and at the same time repeatedly hurt Xylla.

"You're just wasting your time, little girl. I've been chasing you birds so long I could beat you blindfolded."

"Really? And how many other villages like mine have you destroyed?"

"Nothing personal. But harpies are a valuable asset, and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life like a redneck. At least in this country money can buy everything. Even a title. Even a position like Captain of the Grand Duke's personal guard."

"And that's why you attacked my village? Is this why my family and all my friends died?"

"Wake up, little girl. This is the rule of our world. The strong prevail, the weak succumb."

At that moment, the Spear began to glow even brighter, revealing that Victor was almost ready to launch the second strike.

"You go; I'll take care of it. Soon this place will overflow with miasma. Look for the other birds and take them out."

Xylla and Glassman then remained alone in the stone room, surrounded by the bodies of the dozens of victims of the battle; Xylla was so exhausted from her fatigue and injuries that she couldn't stand, and her opponent stared mockingly down at her with his ax ready to strike.

Meanwhile the Spear was now ready to strike.

"It's over for us." Adrian said as he saw the destructive beam rising towards the sky again.

"Think positive, little girl. At least you will go to the next world in good company. A few more minutes, and all your friends out there will be completely obliterated."

The sight of her companions lying lifeless around them reminded Xylla of the true reason she was there: for something greater than her personal revenge or her anger, and on which not only the outcome of the battle but also the salvation of thousands of brave warriors depended.

As Glassman raised his weapon to finish her off, the girl summoned all her remaining strength. She first kicked him away, then she ran to pick up the sword closest to her, throwing it as best she could.

"Missed." he smiled, easily dodging it

"I don't think so." she replied in the same way.

In fact, Xylla hadn't aimed at him, but at something behind him; to be precise, to the bag full of grenades that Kata had left under the stone. And as Daemon had said, all it took was for the sword hitting the floor to produce a spark to light the fuse.

"No!"

The Captain's last-ditch attempt to prevent the explosion only served to cause him to be blown away, while Xylla was simply thrown against the wall and lost consciousness.

Overwhelmed by all that power, the Spear literally fell to pieces, and before it could reach the Steel Eagle the destructive ray dissolved.

"What's going on?" shouted an enraged Victor

On the other hand, the reaction of the Free State army was diametrically opposed.

"They did it!"

"It's time! Everyone in position! Let's get Faria!"

With almost shocking coordination, all the artillery units quickly moved to the ideal distance, and once all the cannons were in position they began to unload rivers of shots against the city walls.

At the same time the infantry's brisk march turned into a furious assault with ladders and grappling hooks, while the archers gave them support.

The defenders might have put up more than decent resistance, but the harpies who rushed into Faria at the start of the battle were sowing chaos among the besieged.

This gave a second group of raiders led by Thecla and Drufo plenty of time to infiltrate the walls themselves and reach the controls of the grates of the main gate. After having massacred the soldiers, they hurried to set the device in motion, allowing their companions to swarm into the city; at that point, Faria's fate was sealed.

"Damn you, Haselworth!"

The poorly equipped and unmotivated soldiers put up very little resistance, and within a few minutes the attackers were already near the palace.

"I want Victor! Find him!"



The shouts of victory from his companions that spread throughout the city reached Xylla, the only survivor of the incursion to destroy the Spear, through the Hollow Tower.

Wounded and exhausted, the harpy observed the slaughter all around her with her heart filled not with anger, but with sadness. After all, she told herself, it had been her fault too: she had heard her friends screaming for help as they died, but she had chosen to ignore them to get her revenge.

Struggling to get up, she staggered crying towards Kata.

"I'm sorry... forgive me, please..."

Her soul was so much torn apart that she didn't realize she wasn't the only survivor until a deformed and frightening being, with his body devastated by fire and hot steam, came up behind her wielding an axe.

"Damn you!"

The sound of a shot was the prelude to the end of Captain Glassman, who finally died after a bullet pierced the back of his head.

"Are you OK?" Daemon asked, sheathing his gun

But Xylla couldn't answer, and not because she was tired and still upset; the truth is that seeing him like this, with the light coming from the hole in the tower illuminating him, Daemon almost seemed to her like a sort of otherworldly being, a divine messenger come to drag her out of the darkness.

"Daemon, I..."

"You were great, Xylla. We would all be dead without you. You have my eternal gratitude for what you did today. I'm just sorry that many of your friends had to die. But you have my word that their sacrifice will not be in vain."

Daemon then turned his attention to the Spear, of which nothing remained but fist-sized fragments scattered throughout the room.

"It's a bit of a shame that such a special artifact was destroyed. But maybe it's better this way after all. There are powers in this world that are best not to play with."

After a while Septimus and Scalia also arrived, both elated.

"Daemon!" Scalia said. "We did it, Faria is ours! All enemy soldiers have surrendered!"

"What about Victor?"

"We've searched everywhere, but he can't be found." said Septimus crossly. "He must have slipped into some secret passage. But if he is still in town, we will certainly find him."

The three boys then reached the throne room, where Oldrick and the other Generals also joined them.

"It's been a long time, boy. I see you've come a long way."

"I'm sorry, Alfred. I would never have wanted our reunion to take place under similar circumstances."

"Do you know each other?" Scalia asked

"Sort of, but it's a long story." Septimus answered.

"The city is yours, and we are all in your power now. In the name of Gaia, I beg you to have mercy on all those who have surrendered."

"There's no need to be so formal." Daemon said. "I assure you that we have no intention of attacking you or this beautiful city. The truth is that we were all victims of Victor Montgomery's and his uncle's megalomania and thirst for glory."

The carpet at the foot of the throne was still soaked in the Grand Duke's blood; under the incredulous eyes of Alfred and the rest of the servants Daemon knelt in front of it, touching it sadly.

"I'm sorry that his Excellency had to die. He just wanted to put an end to all this, and in exchange he received death at the hands of his own son."

Everyone expected him to sit on the throne to legitimize his conquest. Instead he made Oldrick pass him the box Victor had sent him and placed it on top.

"We will honor the sacrifice of this great sovereign with our work. Starting today, a new era begins for Eirinn. This land will once again belong to its people, as Berthold Montgomery had always wanted."



Victor loved exploring the palace as a child, and by now, he knew every single secret passage.

It took more than an army of rebels and peasants to outwit him, even though he would never have admitted that he had been forced to pass through the drains to save himself.

When he emerged from the waters of the stream a few miles away he turned towards Faria, from which he could hear the cries of exultation of the victors... and probably not only theirs.

He still couldn't comprehend what was happening to him.

Two months ago, he had been the ruler of Eirinn, with an army at his command and a nation of his own, now he was nothing but a fugitive, a wanted man in his own land.

He had nothing left.

But a moment before going into hiding and disappearing into the forest he made an oath to heaven: he would take back everything that belonged to him.

He would not rest until he made Daemon Haselworth and his minions pay with interest for everything they had done to him.

"I promise you it doesn't end here." he said, gripping the musket tighter, the only thing he had time to take away. "I will return. I will return with the largest army ever seen. And I'll make you pay. Even if it takes me my whole life!"



Two days after the conquest of Faria, all the citizens attended the funeral of Berthold Montgomery which was held in the palace courtyard.

The signs of the battle were still clearly visible everywhere, but Daemon had insisted that all possible honors be reserved for the old Grand Duke, respecting the tradition that required the funeral of a monarch to be celebrated within a week of his death.

The litter carrying the body of the Grand Duke covered by the flag of Eirinn silently traveled from the entrance of the palace to the funeral pyre set up in the center of the square, carried on the shoulders of General Lefde and the few ministers who had not fled or died in the war.

Daemon and his companions watched from the front row, and they all bowed their heads as the coffin passed in a sincere show of respect.

Once the litter was placed on top of the pile of branches, Sylvie approached it to give it the traditional blessing before the pyre was lit.

In reality, her peer assigned to the diocese of Eirinn, Archbishop Albeit, should have been in her place, but he was too busy looking for a way to save himself from the Inquisition.

Sylvie had wanted to speak with him immediately after the conquest of the city, and on this occasion Daemon had understood, not without some amusement, that under her angelic face the young cleric was hiding the spirit of a lioness.

On the other hand, she had plenty of reasons to be angry; not only had Albeit, like all his predecessors, allowed himself to be bribed not to reveal the existence of the Spear to the Conclave, but when Victor had decided to use it he had done nothing to stop him.

Not to mention his sloth; that very fat prelate was the personification of the now consolidated fashion of many aristocratic families of making their scions endowed with magical powers make a career through nepotism in order to be able to count on some compliant relative within the Circle.

After Sylvie had sprinkled the body with sacred oil, General Lefde had the honor of lighting the pyre.

While the fire burned, illuminating the first stars of the evening, there was someone in the crowd who was unable to join in the mourning that made almost all the other bystanders cry and sob.

"Big sister, are you okay?"

"Yes Sapi, don't worry." said Scalia

"You seem so thoughtful. Is something wrong?"

"I said, everything's fine."

"If you say so. Come on, the ceremony is over. Now there will be a banquet, I'm so hungry."



Author's Note

Hello everyone

And with this, the second saga of this light novel (the first, the Revolution Saga, includes chapters 1 to 25) the Eirinn Saga, is over.

With the next chapter we will enter the third saga, which I predict will be shorter than the previous two, the Empire Saga - Part 1. After this there will be three more that I am already working on, and which I can already anticipate: the Union Saga - Part 1, the Connelly Saga - Part 1, and the First Coalition Saga.

How many more will there be, you ask? Still don't know. Although the basic elements of the story are already clear to me, I still don't know how the central events will develop, nor how many pages it will take me to write them.

Once again, I want to thank everyone who reads, comments and appreciates this work of mine, and although I always try to respond to everyone I want you to know once again how precious your support is to me.

See you soon!^_^