As an unorganized retreat was on the verge of turning into a rout, Commander Bahamond directed officers at all levels to regroup the soldiers, and arranged for teams of professionals to split into groups to block the air elemental, covering the main force's withdrawal.
Once the army regrouped, they used the musket units and several high-level professionals as deterrence—whenever the air elemental approached, they would focus fire on it.
Faced with dense volleys of bullets, arrows, and javelins, the air elemental found it difficult to evade. Forcing its way into the formation failed, and instead it took several hits.
Its vitality was average; it did not dare to charge head-on. It could only linger around the perimeter looking for opportunities, yet it was repeatedly thwarted by the Amn forces.
At Fort Jacqueline, Anser lowered his telescope and let out a heavy sigh.
The distance was too great—he could no longer transmit commands to the air elemental, and could only watch as it rigidly executed the earlier tactics.
The air elemental's intelligence was slightly higher than that of the earth elemental, but still only 1 point.
"The four elements are still lacking. If only it were a djinni," he said, still dissatisfied.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Iris rolled her eyes at him, took the telescope from his hand, and observed the battlefield.
"Have the guards clean up the battlefield—bring back all those arcane energy turrets," Anser suggested.
"Alright." Iris waved her hand lightly.
Behind them, the knight commander Austin silently nodded, glanced once at Anser's back, then turned and left.
"Should we lead a pursuit?" Anser felt a bit regretful when the experience notifications stopped.
"Forget it." Iris shook her head slightly. "The Amn professionals didn't suffer heavy losses. If they launch a counter-charge, it wouldn't be worth it."
"That's actually very possible." Anser had already scanned them—among those professionals were three high-level ones, including the barbarian Derrick.
And that didn't even include the command team still hiding in the rear. The Amn forces had indeed come well prepared.
But no matter how prepared they were, they couldn't match the growth speed of a "genius" sorcerer—there were too many variables, so many that even divination magic might not be reliable.
Even Anser himself hadn't expected the four elements to be so overpowered—Conjure Elemental had instantly become one of the strongest spells he possessed.
'Honestly, sitting back and watching summoned creatures crush your enemies feels pretty good,' he thought with satisfaction.
His mind quietly sank inward, bringing up his character sheet.
The experience pool had reached 6,725. The earth and air elementals had earned him over six thousand experience points, including more than a dozen low-level professionals and over three hundred ordinary soldiers.
It had to be said—the Amn army had some resilience. Even after so many deaths, they hadn't collapsed.
'Professionals give so little experience. Fighting monsters is still better,' he sighed inwardly. He didn't actually like killing people—especially ordinary people.
Killing monsters or non-humans felt satisfying; killing humans carried at least a slight psychological burden.
Over six thousand experience points was enough to raise a new multiclass to level four—but clearly, this wasn't the time to think about that.
He returned to reality, focused his gaze, and saw a pretty face in front of him, her expression complex.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Instead of stepping back, he leaned forward, their noses nearly touching.
Iris turned sideways to avoid him, sat onto the flying carpet, tilted her head, and looked at him. "Were you really just a magic apprentice before?"
"Yeah. By chance, I awakened a draconic bloodline and fused it with an ancestral silver-brow subspecies lineage, becoming a variant dragon," Anser explained.
"Heh, that really is rare," Iris chuckled. "Even true dragons aren't as versatile as you. You're quite skilled with Magic Missile."
"Huh? There are people who can't use Magic Missile? Isn't that something you can do as long as you have hands?" Anser said in mock surprise.
Iris's eyebrows shot up. She took a deep breath and drove the flying carpet straight into the sky.
"Why are you getting angry…" Anser cast Fly and quickly followed.
After his interruption, Iris no longer dwelled on the bloodline issue. Her grandmother had taught her since childhood that respecting privacy was a form of gentleness.
The two of them flew one after another above the retreating Amn army. Though separated by a thousand meters, their mental states were completely different from before.
With a wave of his hand, the heavily injured air elemental flew up into the sky, circled him twice, its posture showing a trace of familiarity.
"Go back. I hope we meet again," he said, waving his hand as he ended the summon.
The air elemental silently looked at him, then disappeared into the sound of the wind. The surrounding currents dissipated as well.
"It… can understand you?" Iris asked curiously. As far as she knew, the four elements only spoke Primordial.
"It can understand, but it can't speak Common," Anser explained.
If the distance were only a few hundred meters, he wouldn't need language at all—he could transmit commands directly through the spell, which was more convenient than expected.
After all, "loudly conspiring" would be rather absurd—the creator of the spell couldn't possibly have overlooked that.
"Do you know any other fifth-circle spells? Can you keep the Amn forces here?" Iris's eyes were full of curiosity.
"I do, but I can't keep them. Let them go." Anser appeared generous on the surface, but inwardly he felt a bit helpless.
He could continue summoning the four elements several more times, but the Amn forces were already on guard—the effect wouldn't be as good as before.
He only had a bit over a hundred barrels of tar. Each barrel weighed fifty pounds—over twenty kilograms. The coverage area was too small, and it could only kill ordinary soldiers, yielding little experience.
After all, he was a Paladin. Chasing down routed soldiers in broad daylight and throwing fire oil didn't sound good—better to maintain some dignity.
After returning, he planned to send a notice in the name of the Union, demanding that Amn pay one hundred thousand gold coins in war reparations to compensate Fort Jacqueline and Durlag's Tower.
Otherwise, the two sides would remain in a hostile state—and he could justifiably send elemental creatures to attack Amn camps every day.
High-level professionals didn't grow on trees. It was impossible for them to gather so many every time and stay stationed in camps every day.
This was just his strategy. The enmity between both sides ran deep—even if the other side backed down, he wouldn't just let it go.
Time was on his side.
Iris looked at him strangely. "The people of Amn have no conscience and don't understand gratitude. Only by wiping them out will they feel fear."
"I know. This isn't over," Anser waved his hand.
After this battle, the roles of offense and defense had reversed. Whether to fight or how to fight—it was now his decision.
He had Dimension Door, Wall of Force, and Conjure Elemental—he could escape, defend, control, and attack. He already had the capability to take the initiative.
"As long as you understand." Iris knew Anser was not a traditional paladin.
The two watched the Amn army withdraw without continuing the attack. Even the Amn forces found it somewhat unexpected.
The knights of Fort Jacqueline trailed several miles behind the enemy, constantly monitoring their movements. As cavalry, they weren't afraid of a counterattack.
The castle guards and the reinforcements from Durlag's garrison were responsible for cleaning up the battlefield, gathering spoils, and finishing off severely wounded soldiers.
The earth and air elementals had struck heavily—there were very few lightly wounded.
Strictly speaking, all these spoils belonged to Anser. The firearms, ammunition, and arcane energy turrets were quite valuable—another big profit.
'Wonder if Faerûn weapons sell well in the Astral Plane?' Anser's thoughts drifted—arms trading was extremely profitable.
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