Even as Lucas continued explaining the various details about the explosion, the defence of the town, the deployment of military assets around the South-West Province, and so on, he was also paying attention to the battle happening in the west.
Without his Soul Sense, Lucas had even less of an idea about what was going on, but from the frequency and intensity of the explosions he was hearing, he guessed that the situation had reached a kind of climax.
One particular set of clashes was significantly louder than the rest, making it fairly obvious who the involved parties were. From what Lucas could tell, it seemed his Master and her opponent were now engaged in an all-out close-quarters melee, with both sides trying to overwhelm the other.
The battle between the Spirit Initiates and the Fifth-Order Beasts, on the other hand, seemed to have become lopsided with the addition of Vanessa and Sir Green. As for how Lucas reached this conclusion, it was mainly because the screeches and roars from the beasts had become more frequent and pain-filled.
Even so, Lucas sensed that the humans weren't pressing their advantage too hard, probably choosing to engage in a battle of attrition.
They must be waiting for Master's fight to be settled. If she wins, the beasts will likely flee, but if she loses… Lucas didn't dare to think about the consequences of his Master being defeated.
Although he hadn't seen Celestina really fight before, from what little he did know, Lucas guessed that even if all the Spirit Initiates currently in Redwood Town joined forces, they wouldn't be her match. Any beast which could meet his Master blow-for-blow would surely be able to slaughter the entire town on its own if there was no one left to constrain it.
"I hope Master wins…" Lucas muttered unconsciously as he finished telling Tina about everything up until last night when the evacuation plan had been set in motion.
Tina hadn't asked any questions so far, as everything she wanted to know, Lucas had promptly explained; but when he made this last comment, she couldn't help becoming curious, "You mentioned your 'Master' just now. Who were you speaking about?"
"Ah," Lucas, hearing this question, realized he had made a mistake. Celestina had told him to be careful mentioning their Master-Disciple relationship to others without her permission as it might cause him some trouble.
Still, looking at the slightly aloof girl before him who, for the first time, seemed interested in actually having a conversation, Lucas figured there was no harm in talking to her about it.
"My Master is Marquess Celestina Balfour," Lucas thus answered half proudly, half sheepishly.
Contrary to the boy's expectations, however, instead of looking impressed, or looking surprised, the expression on Tina's face instead filled with intense disbelief as she stuttered, "W-What? What did you just say?"
Lucas could never have anticipated that this simple admission would cause such a huge reaction, and he was beginning to regret his decision. Unfortunately, the water had already been spilt, so he could only brace-up and repeat himself, "Marquess Celestina Balfour is my Master."
Tina seemed to fall into a dazed state when she confirmed that she had indeed heard Lucas correctly. A million thoughts swirled around her head in an instant before she suddenly seemed to think of something and hurriedly questioned, "When you say Aunt Celestina became your 'Master', you mean you became her 'student', right?"
Unlike before, when she had maintained a calm and indifferent air, with her voice steady and even, Tina was now blurting out her words as quickly as possible and with very obvious distress in her tone.
Warning alarms were going off inside Lucas' head as he subtly felt a threatening aura coming from Tina, yet he knew it was too late to backtrack, so he honestly shook his head and replied, "N-No, Master formally accepted me and my Big Sister as her Disciples."
"How?! Why!?" Tina shouted wildly, anger and unwillingness covering her beautiful face as she reached out and grabbed Lucas by his shirt.
The threating aura coming from Tina erupted at that moment, and the raw physical strength she used to lift him up made Lucas wince, but what was truly shocking to him, was the strength and quality of the pressure Tina was giving off.
Feeling the distinct fluctuations of both Spirit Qi and Soul Qi, Lucas was filled with astonishment. Tina's aura wasn't anywhere near the level of a Spirit Initiate, but the fact that she had Soul Qi at all could only mean one thing, she was in the Sea Establishment Realm!
What's more, Lucas was certain Tina's situation wasn't anything like his own unique condition, having prematurely opened his Soul Sea.
No, the girl in front of him had reached her current Realm the traditional way.
But… how was that possible?
If Lucas had to make a guess, he would put Tina's age at 16 years old at the very most. While her figure was mostly hidden, he could tell from her height, face, and voice that she wasn't yet fully matured, but at the same time she definitely couldn't be considered a child.
She was surely older than Eris, but not by much.
What did that mean?
It meant that Tina, at the mere age of 15 or 16, had cultivated all the way to the Sea Establishment Realm!
Impossible?! How could anyone so young… Suddenly, Lucas recalled a story his parents had told him not long ago, about an incredible genius being born into the Royal Family of their kingdom.
Supposedly, the youngest daughter of the current king had reached the Core Formation Realm at the age of 14. It had been such a shocking tale that Lucas couldn't have forgotten it even if he tried to.
Rapidly putting the pieces together, Lucas became more and more convinced about his conclusion, A high-noble girl a few years older than Big Sister Eris, from the Royal Capital, in the Sea Establishment Realm… it must be her! If I recall correctly, her name was…
"Christina Rockwell?" Lucas asked in a hesitant, somewhat dumbfounded tone.
If Tina had been taken off-guard before, allowing her emotions to run wild when Lucas admitted to being Celestina's True Disciple, she completely lost her composure now that her true identity was 'inexplicably' exposed by a mere countryside brat she had never met before.
Flipping from anger to panic in the blink of an eye, Tina, or rather Christina, released her grip and stumbled back a few steps, tripping over her own feet and falling on her butt. With utter disbelief on her face, she pointed shakily at Lucas and stammered, "H-H-How… How d-did you… I mean…"
Seeing this reaction, any doubts Lucas had disappeared. He was now absolutely certain that the girl in front of him was none-other than the youngest princess of the Rockwell Kingdom's Royal Family.
On top of that, it seemed that the unbelievable rumours his parents had told him about Christina's Innate Talent were actually a severe underestimation.
According to his mom and dad, Direct Descendants of noble families were considered geniuses as long as they reached the Sea Establishment Realm by the age of 25. As for Christina Rockwell, she was supposedly a once in a 1,000 years genius who had reached the Core Formation Realm last year, soon after she turned 14.
When he first heard this rumour, Lucas couldn't believe his ears. He always knew the disparity between 'ordinary' people, like his very ordinary self, and those born into money and status was big, but he still couldn't imagine a 14-year-old reaching the Core Formation Realm.
It just didn't seem possible.
Now, it seemed, it was Lucas who was lacking in imagination. If a 14-year-old Core Formation Practitioner was a once in 1,000 years genius, what did that make a 15-year-old Sea Establishment Realm Practitioner?
A freak?
A monster?
She certainly doesn't look like a monster… Lucas randomly thought to himself as he gawked at Christina.
With his mind in chaos, the distant battle faded into the background as Lucas' head went blank. It wasn't until a few seconds later that he came back to his senses and began to panic.
No matter how shocking a revelation Tina's identity and cultivation were, none of that mattered right now. He had more pressing problems to deal with!
A real-life princess had fallen into the dirt right in front of him!
Was he supposed to kneel down?
Beg for forgiveness for his prior rudeness?
Offer to help her up like a gentleman?
Pretend like nothing happened?
Lucas didn't have a clue what to do next, and it seemed Christina didn't either!
The countryside boy and royal princess stared dumbly at each other for nearly a minute before the silence was finally broken by the sound of a loud stomach growl.
Snapping back to his senses, Lucas wasn't even sure if it was his or Christina's stomach that let out that audible complaint, but upon seeing the previously cream-coloured face of the young girl before him turn bright red, the answer became obvious.
Caught in a completely awkward position and overwhelmed by the utter ridiculousness of the situation, Lucas instinctually blurted out the first thing that came to mind, "Uh… umm… I'm a bit hungry too… so uh… do you… wanna get lunch together… or something?"