Raising the Northern Grand Duchy as a Max-Level All-Master

Chapter 119.2

“Oh... hmm...?”

She blinked, her expression confused, but quickly composed herself.

“Chairman? Are you all right? What happened to the battle?”

Oh, I see. She’s sticking with the Mary persona.

“I’m fine. Thanks to you stepping in at the critical moment, I survived.”

“Is... is that so?”

“Indeed.”

I matched her tone, deciding to treat her as Mary for now.

“Your skills were incredible—almost at the level of a Sword Master.”

“I... I don’t really remember much...”

“Is that so? Well, it was still remarkable.”

My casual response seemed to put her at ease, but she cautiously examined her own body.

I noticed her stealing a glance at the necklace’s mana stone.

“??”

Her condition was better than expected, and the necklace appeared intact.

Seeing her tilt her head in confusion made me smile.

“Did... did you treat me?”

Arina, still wearing Mary’s face, inspected herself before turning to me with a tense expression.

“Your mana seemed completely drained, so I administered some mana potions.”

I shrugged as if it were no big deal.

“What about... my mana core?”

“It didn’t seem severe enough to check your core. Why, should I?”

“N-no, that’s fine! Never mind...”

Though she tried to act normal, her unease was evident.

I figured as much.

From behind my back, I discreetly activated a small mechanism.

Flash!

A faint light pulsed from her necklace before fading away.

Looks like you’ve been duping me all this time, haven’t you?

As Jormungandr and its army of monsters launched their fiercest assault yet, the Renslet soldiers, knights, and even civilian volunteers fought desperately on the wall to hold back the invasion.

The three northern paragons—Isabelle, Balzac, and Sun—focused their efforts on countering the white serpent, the most threatening foe.

“Aaaaah!”

“Renslet! Rune Renslet!”

From rank-and-file soldiers to high-ranking knights, from nameless volunteers to mages of the Arcane Guild, and from common worshipers to high priests of the Renslet Church—

Everyone gave their all from their respective positions.

“Ah! Her Highness!”

“Protect Her Highness!”

Soldiers who narrowly escaped death glanced at the shining spire where Arina’s illusion stood.

Even the priests, weary from tending to the wounded, would steal a glance at the radiant figure of the Grand Duchess, standing like a beacon of hope.

As long as that light remained, the Great Northern Barrier would hold.

This conviction was shared by everyone in the High Tower.

[Roooaaaaarrr!]

But the same truth held an ominous flipside.

If Arina’s illusion fell, it would deliver a catastrophic blow to the defenders’ morale.

[Sssswoooosh!]

Jormungandr, fully aware of this, saw the spire as a target that must be destroyed.

“Stop it! Stop that thing!”

“It’s going for Her Highness’s tower!”

After biding its time and probing for openings, Jormungandr seized the perfect moment.

Boom!

Rumble...

It unleashed its full power, focusing all its magic and attacks on the spire housing Arina’s illusion.

The tower crumbled.

“Noooooo!”

“Her Highness! Her Highness is gone!”

“This... this is a nightmare...”

At that moment, the defenders of the Great Northern Barrier saw the end of the siege coming into view.