Shahalian picked up an iron arrowhead that had fallen to the ground.
"Hmm..."
Though she could not look up at the sky above, Shahalian could tell who the attacker was. Isaac Upperhills, or a mage of comparable skill, was certainly piloting the Quasar. 'If I stubbornly hold out here, I'll be captured alive.'
Shahalian quickly glanced over her bodyguards.
"You, come here. Let us exchange garments."
"R-right now, Acting Kagan?"
"Yes. Take them off at once."
Though the guard flinched with a bewildered expression, he could not disobey the Acting Kagan's stern command. In an instant, Shahalian shed her ceremonial robes and swiftly changed into the guard's plain uniform.
"What is she doing?"
"I don't know... That won't let a guard impersonate Lady Shahalian."
In this urgent situation, suddenly swapping clothes? The other beastmen nearby merely watched their leader's bizarre act. Trembling, the guard barely managed to don Shahalian's crimson robes.
"There, I've put them on. Now what should I... Guh-heok!"
A blood-flecked dying gasp burst from the guard's mouth. Shahalian had driven the arrowhead into the guard's heart. The guard's eyes rolled back, and he died instantly, without knowing why.
"I am sorry."