Meera landed with the rest of the sorceresses right behind her. Thankfully, all the Tower shields stayed in place during the flight. She had feared they would get loose and one of them would plummet to their deaths. She had healed Meryana and Faeria on the way back, so only their clothes looked bloody, but they were fine. Faeria had her eye back, and Meryana didn't die from the gut wound. Though it took her considerable concentration to manage both, flying them all and healing at the same time.

Jephena looked at Meera for a long moment, but didn't say anything.

Meera frowned at her. "What?"

She glanced at the other sorceresses before speaking. "What you did for my sisters…I thank you for saving their lives."

Meryana and Faeria nodded their thanks as well. While Gael only stared at her, though she wasn't glaring at her anymore, which Meera figured was a good sign that she might not have to watch out for her Mistblades.

Meera shrugged. "I was told to save you all. If we didn't need the numbers, I would've let you all die, but… you're welcome. Let's go brief the princess. We don't have much time before the cult attacks. I'm sure after what we just pulled off they must be going mad trying to find where we are."

Jephena nodded and looked to Meryana. "Please go fetch, Lady Duinith and Lady Firaan, along with the rest. We'll be heading to the princess's home to debrief her."

A short walk later, they arrived at Rehia's hut-turned-mansion. Meera didn't even bother knocking and simply walked in. Besides, it wasn't like the princess was going to answer the door herself. The others gave Meera apprehensive looks and then followed along.

"Rehia," Meera called. "We're back!"

"I'm in my office," came the reply.

Meera and the sorceresses went to the study. The princess, like last time, was busy examining some scrolls, which Meera found odd, given the situation they were in.

"I see, most of you came back," Rehia said. "Did Meryana fall?"

"Oh no, she's gone to get the rest of the merry bunch." Meera plopped down in her seat, while the sorceresses remained standing.

"Okay, good, we'll begin when they arrive," Rehia said and went back to her scrolls.

A few moments later, the sorceresses arrived. Everyone who was there the last time had arrived, except Firaan. Meera was more than thankful for that. Just having that woman around soured Meera's mood, and after what she had pulled off, she was in a relatively good mood. She was sure she must have killed off a quarter of their numbers all by herself. Even the sour looks from the sorceresses didn't hamper her mood.

"So, Jephena, give your report," Rehia said, once everyone was seated.

Jephena relayed the events that had transpired at the wall in great detail. She didn't skip a single moment. Even explained to everyone all the skills that Meera had displayed. That irked Meera a little bit, but the sorceress could have just as easily told all her sisters after this meeting was done. When she finished, some of the sorceresses, Kithra included, were staring wide-eyed at Meera.

"What?" Meera said. "Surprised that I would save your sisters. It's almost like what I've been saying is true that if you lot hadn't conspired to hold me prisoner, I wouldn't have brought an archdragon to your home."

That brought some of the vitriol back, but maybe they were just angry at themselves. Although they should really be angry at their leadership.

"You did good, Meera," Rehia said. "Thank you for bringing everyone back safe and sound."

Then she gave a pointed look at Duinith, but the shrewd woman said nothing. Meera doubted she even cared about the ones she had sent to the wall. They were probably all expendable in her eyes.

"We should be ready," Meera said. "After what we did, they will be coming for us soon."

"That much is guaranteed," Rehia said. "We need to strengthen our camp. Duinith, how are the preparations going?"

"Your Highness, the barrier is in place and so is the illusion; you have nothing to worry about. The daughters are on the lookout for any suspicious activity in the forests nearby. We're as secure as we can be."

Rehia nodded. "That is good." Then rubbed her chin. "Nothing worked against the wall?"

Meera shook her head. "I threw my strongest skill at it twice, and it didn't even shiver. The runes embedded in it are too strong. We need to find a way to counter them, or we'll be sitting here for months, doing nothing but shivering in the cold."

"And winter is fast approaching," Rehia said absentmindedly.

The others were quiet, but Meera could tell what they were thinking, for she was thinking the same thing. This campaign was ill-planned. If there were spies in the court, then they had no choice but to leave immediately. If they had left even a week later, they might have arrived to find the Winter Spire even more well defended. They probably only got to do so much damage because of the cult's overconfidence. They taught them a lesson that they won't soon forget.

"Safe to say that the Spire will be a fortress now," Meera said. "They won't be leaving themselves exposed anymore. So, what is our plan of attack?"

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"Attack?" Kithra raised an eyebrow. "You just said that there will be a reprisal for what you did. Weren't you just sent there to test out the wall and not start the war in earnest?"

"Oh, sorry for taking the initiative," Meera said. "I should've just tapped on the wall and told them that we're here checking out the wall, while hundreds of them were waiting to give us a warm welcome."

"You just—"

"Enough," Rehia said, her tone threatening. The sorceress shut up immediately. "The Reverent Lady made the best of the situation. The next time, we might not have gotten this chance. We dealt them a great blow today. Let's focus on strengthening ourselves and prepare of their retaliation. Lady Duinith, once Ilona has something, I want it to be brought to me immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness."

With that, the meeting concluded. Meera stood and left with the rest. She found Faeria and Meryana waiting for her outside.

Meera frowned lightly.

"We just wanted to thank you personally," Faeria said. "I wouldn't have my eye—"

"And I would be dead, if not for you," Meryana finished.

Meera was about to make a snide comment, but she refrained herself. "You're welcome. By the way, are you allowed to talk to me so openly?"

Faeria snorted. "Maybe not. But still, thank you for what you did for us."

Meera nodded. "No problem, ladies. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a lot of notifications to go through."

They nodded and left. Meera made her way to the town square, where she could keep an eye on everyone and see what and who was coming for them. She put her back to the pole, slid down, and opened her notifications.

*ding!*

[You have killed 21 Frostweavers – Level 419 - 456]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. The Mirrorborn Slayer has gained 14 levels and reached Level 646. You have been awarded 42 stat points]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror Affinity (III) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 98. All of your mirror-based attacks will get a 588% boost.]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirrorbound Sight (III) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 48]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror Tower Shield (III) has gained 1 level and reached Level 5]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Greater Vitalize (III) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 32]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror Bolt (II) has gained 4 levels and reached Level 30]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Mirror's Wrath (II) has gained 5 levels and reached Level 82]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Heaven's Storm (II) has gained 11 levels and reached Level 13]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Spectral Dominion (II) has gained 4 levels and reached Level 59]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Wild Instincts (II) has gained 3 levels and reached Level 23]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Shadow Affinity (II) has gained 3 levels and reached Shadow Affinity (III) – Level 2. Shadow Affinity will provide a boost of 6% for every level henceforth for all your shadow skills. There is a slight chance that your enemy's attacks will do no damage to your conjured shadow skills. All of your shadow-based attacks will get a 12% boost.]

Meera paused her notifications. I'm sorry, what?

The first part was nice, as that would make her shadow warriors stronger, but the second part, about only gaining a twelve percent boost, made her want to go back to the previous Tier. In the long run, the increase per level would yield a higher boost, but as it stood now, her shadow skills had been depowered.

With much disappointment, she continued with the rest of them.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Spectral Resilience (III) has gained 1 level and reached Level 2]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Iron Skin (II) has gained 2 levels and reached Level 82]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Accelerated Healing (II) has gained 3 levels and reached Level 27]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Volatility (I) has gained 5 levels and reached Level 72]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Cryoward (II) has gained 1 level and reached Level 91]

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Armor of Mirrors has gained 2 levels and reached Level 289]

Then came the deluge of skills, and it was a good thing that no one here would be caught dead trying to strike up a conversation with her. So, she sat there and went through pretty much all the skills of the Frostweavers. And she did not like any of them. None of them matched her other skills, so that she could combine them.

It wasn't like she couldn't combine them with other skills; she could, but she would be making them easier to counter for the Frostweavers. Still, there was a skill that she couldn't help but take.

*ding!*

[Class Ability Activated. You have stolen the skill Glacial Calamity– Level 191. Glacial Calamity – Type: Active. Affinity: Ice Affinity. You can call down a towering glacier from the heavens, shattering the battlefield in a storm of ice and ruin. The impact is so wide and strong that it shakes the ground and sends out waves of frost that freeze your enemies solid where they stand.]

*ding!*

[You have acquired the skill Glacial Calamity (II) – Level 73]

She should have taken a skill that would've been more one on one, given that she had enough skills that affected a large area but given that they would be in open battle soon, she could use a skill like this. If nothing else, she had pretty much figured out what skills the Frostweavers had. Though there was one skill she desperately wanted—the one that would allow her to create or melt ice. Kind of like Reflectomancy but for ice. She had seen the cultists use this skill numerous times.

She didn't even get Ice Affinity. Another thing that rubbed her wrong, but it wasn't like she could do anything about it now. She sighed internally and moved on with her lot in life.

*ding!*

[Congratulations. Replicator (I) has gained 3 levels and reached Level 36]

She wondered why her class ability leveled up so slowly. It felt like it took tens of kills between levels. She would need to ask someone if class abilities leveled up slower than skills. But she didn't have time to ponder it for long, as a gong went off, followed by the sound of glass shattering.

From her right came white clothed men and women charging out of the woods, roaring at the top of their lungs.

The sorceresses' surprise lasted only a moment before they got into motion.

How did they get here so fast?

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