They were breaking through.

Fanilly had only been engaging briefly, forcing a knight back just long enough for them to be pushed back by one of Gertrude's spells, but she could tell her knights' efforts were paying off.

Individually, they truly were more potent. But their opponents knew that.

Killing them was now resulting in simply being bogged down, as Erion's Knights used their own bodies as a method of catching their blades.

It was gruesome, but it only made sense. This was a world where they could not perish permanently, and even if they could they were fighting as if this was a true battle rather then a test of skill.

How else could this be a true test, after all?

Fanilly's blade slid along the blade of a tall silver-armored figure. But rather then aiming for a gape in his armor, she instead forced his sword aside and pushed him into an awkward position, leaving him wide open one of Gertrude's shooting starts to send him reeling.

Their line was weakened. From deaths or even momentary incapacitation.

Her knights' efforts could open a hole, but it needed to be fast enough.

To hit hard enough.

To open the gap long enough to reach Prince Erion, for the mere chance to strike at a legend.

Fanilly sucked air in through her teeth and stepped back.

"Lady Gertrude!" she called, "There! The line is weakest there!"

Her knights had made sure of that. Everything had lined up for this moment, this opportunity.

They'd break through, and reach him---!

Death wasn't necessary. The line only needed to break completely for just long enough.

"Show them what you can do!"

Appealing to her pride had worked the first time, so Fanilly had to guess it would work the second.

"What [i]only[/i] you can do!"

With that, she was already running. The very instant Lady Gertrude's spell struck, before Erion's Knights could recover, that was when their moment would come.

The longer they tried to fight it out, the more opportunities to keep them back would arise, so now was their chance---!