"Lina, lend me a sword."
"Sure."
Without a second word, Lina unslung the massive greatsword from her back and held it out to Luo Li.
"Here."
Luo Li looked down at the sword, which was wider than her own body, and then looked up to stare blankly at Lina.
"Uh... sorry."
Lina scratched her head awkwardly and quickly drew the longsword from her waist, handing it to Luo Li instead.
Taking the longsword, Luo Li began sketching and calculating directly on the ground.
"The density of a cubic meter of ice is nine hundred kilograms, right? That means to maintain stability, I need to build in a safety margin. One cubic meter of ice can support eighty kilograms, which is roughly the weight of one knight."
"There are still about sixty thousand knights left. The beastmen have five thousand flying bats, and each can carry one beastman. The remaining number of beastmen is less than three thousand, which means there are two thousand flying bats left, each of which can support at least two knights."
"The carrying capacity of a skysoar dragon is immense; one can support at least three knights. Two thousand skysoar dragons can carry six thousand knights."
"A standard airship carries a thousand people plus cargo. If we strip away all heavy objects and decorations, each should be able to accommodate three thousand people at most."
"The flying bats can carry four thousand, the skysoar dragons six thousand, and the eight magic airships twenty-four thousand."
That suddenly accounted for thirty-four thousand people.
There were still twenty-six thousand left.
She would need to create a massive ice floe of approximately twenty thousand square meters to support that many people.
That meant making a piece of floating ice with sides roughly one hundred and fifty meters long.
"Shalin!"
Aigie and Shalin were sitting on the edge of the cliff admiring the moonlit ocean, the two sisters still debating what exactly was so beautiful about such a view.
Hearing Luo Li call her name, Shalin hurriedly stood up and walked over.
"Your Highness, is something the matter?"
Luo Li nodded and pointed toward the sea.
"Shalin, with one full-power Dragon Breath, how large of an ice island can you create?"
Shalin’s body length was nearly five hundred meters, slightly smaller than the Dragon King, but she was by no means a small creature.
"An ice island? Your Highness, what do you intend to use it for?"
"Don't worry about that for now. I'm just asking how big of an ice island you can make."
"This... please forgive me, Your Highness, but I have never attempted such a thing before."
"Test it immediately. Among the dragons who came to support us this time, how many are ice dragons?"
"To answer Your Highness, there are approximately seven."
Luo Li nodded and pointed at the horizon.
"Go try it. Use your full strength. If magic works too, use your magic as well."
"Understood."
Shalin nodded. Though still filled with doubt, she took to the sky.
Under the brilliance of a blue light, she transformed back into a massive dragon soaring into the clouds. Immediately after, an immense amount of elemental power began to condense frantically.
Visible to the naked eye, ice crystals even began to form in the air around Shalin.
As she reared her massive dragon head back, she suddenly unleashed her power toward the sea.
A massive pillar of Dragon Breath, ten meters in diameter, slammed into the ocean surface.
At the very moment the waves splashed upward, they froze into a magnificent ice sculpture.
Simultaneously, the surface of the sea began to freeze rapidly.
The 'creak-crunch' sound of the ice forming was enough to make one's skin crawl.
The violent Dragon Breath continued for nearly several minutes.
The sea froze at a speed visible to the eye.
In just a few minutes, a massive ice floe about five hundred meters in diameter appeared on the water.
It bobbed slightly up and down with the ocean waves!
It was enough!
It was more than enough!!
An iceberg this massive was sufficient to carry tens of thousands of people!
Shalin descended from the sky and landed on the giant ice floe, her dragon head gazing back toward Luo Li.
The air vibrated with the unique Dolby surround sound of the dragon race.
"Your Highness the Saintess, is this sufficient?"
"It's enough. Did you use magic for this?"
"No. If I used magic as well, creating an iceberg twice this size should not be a problem."
A single ice dragon could create such a massive iceberg. With seven of them... taking turns, even without ships, it would be enough to evacuate the army normally!
The massive weight pressing down on Luo Li's heart suddenly vanished the moment she received this answer.
Luo Li's legs went weak, and if Lina hadn't been quick enough to catch her, she really would have fallen right on her behind.
Previously, she had only been considering how to evacuate normally, completely forgetting what kind of world this was.
This was a world with magic!
While magic wasn't omnipotent, when combined with a clever mind, it could evolve into countless possibilities.
If this army consisted only of humans, they truly would have had no choice but to wait for the ships to arrive.
But seven ice dragons working together were enough to create a miracle!
They wouldn't even need to abandon the horses; they could safely evacuate with every single knight.
This wasn't a gamble at all; this was a flawless plan!
At this thought, Luo Li's mood instantly brightened!
However, before that, they still had to find a way to stall the demon army.
They had to make sure the Demon Emperor didn't realize they were retreating.
The only way... was for her to personally take to the battlefield.
And not just her; even the Dragon King and the Beast Sovereign could not be the first to evacuate.
Although there was risk involved, it was infinitely better than the certain death they faced before.
Even if there was only a fifty percent chance of escape...
One was zero, and the other was five; they were completely incomparable!
"That's how we'll do it!!"
Luo Li turned to look at Shalin.
"Shalin, Aigie, head to the front lines immediately. Notify the Dragon King and cover the evacuation of the magic airships to this location. Bring all the ice dragons who are still resisting the enemy here to assemble."
The two sisters looked at each other. Although they didn't quite understand why this young girl was doing this...
They immediately agreed.
Luo Li turned back to Lina.
"Lina, get ready to move. Tell the knights that there is a hard battle ahead."
Lina's brow furrowed, and she nodded.
"I understand."
Luo Li mounted the black dragon and headed over to the beastmen's side. After landing, she explained her idea to the Beast Sovereign.
Ricardo looked as if he were staring at an alien.
"I say... just how is that little head of yours wired? To think you could come up with a solution like this?"
The Beast Sovereign curiously reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to pat Luo Li's head.
Lancelot, standing nearby, immediately stepped forward and blocked him.
"Your Majesty the Beast Sovereign, please show some respect."
Ricardo paused for a moment, withdrawing his hand with a hint of awkwardness.
However, his eyebrows shot up and a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
"I agree to this plan."
"Good. In that case, I ask Your Majesty the Beast Sovereign to organize the army immediately and head to the front lines. We need to swap out the ordinary soldiers and let them evacuate first."
"No problem."
The Beast Sovereign agreed cleanly and turned to prepare.
Luo Li looked back at Black.
"Mr. Black, you already know the plan. Please hold these two high grounds. I will head to the front lines with the army. Once the knights from the front arrive, please convey my intentions to Dominica and have her arrange the evacuation."
The dark dragon's massive head gave a slight nod.
"I understand."
Such a simple solution... why hadn't she thought of it before!
Rate on N.U.
