VBNWDW - Chapter 93
Chapter 93
No matter how reluctant the dragon was, she had to return to the wretched battlefield and face the tedious back-and-forth of combat.
Another city wall was breached. Although the dragon's power had been weakened, she was still immensely formidable. However, she was lazy by nature and wanted to give others a chance to train, so she usually only acted at the beginning of a battle. After dealing with the most threatening Advanced Mages, she would lazily retreat to her tent.
But even this was a tremendous help. After all, everyone knew that before the dragon's arrival, the outcome of a war was primarily determined by which side had more Advanced Mages.
As a result, the Roy army had suffered almost no defeats these past few days, and their morale seemed to grow with every battle.
But that night, Ivo suddenly sought out Yueqing.
"You're saying you feel a sense of suppression?"
Inside the tent, the silver-haired, dark-skinned woman put down her quill. The page she was writing on was half-finished, the ink still wet. She looked up in surprise at the person opposite her.
Yueqing spoke again. "You're already an intermediate mage. I've eliminated all the Advanced Mages on the field. A battlefield filled with resentment should enhance necromancy, not make you feel oppressed."
Ivo nodded slightly in agreement.
The reality was even better than what Yueqing had described. For instance, because she had spent so much time on the battlefield, her power had progressed much faster. She was now faintly touching the threshold of an advanced mage. Had she been in the peaceful city of Anthelia, she would have needed another year and a half of hard work to reach this point.
Yueqing's brow furrowed. She immediately thought of the light element's restraining effect on Ivo.
But the Heracles Kingdom clearly worshipped the God of Nature. Besides their own wood-element mages, wood mages from neighboring countries often left their homelands and changed their nationality out of faith to join the Heracles Kingdom. Therefore, they had the largest number of wood mages. Even if there were one or two light mages, it shouldn't have affected Ivo to this extent.
The one that should have been able to affect Ivo was the former Roy Kingdom. When the Temple of Light existed, it had accepted a large number of light-element mages. Now, some had died in the sacrifice, some had left the Roy Kingdom, and the rest had joined the Dragon Academy. It was nothing like its former glory.
"Are you sure you didn't misinterpret the feeling?" Yueqing asked once more.
Ivo nodded affirmatively. She had a reserved and cold personality and wasn't one to make pointless jokes. Yueqing knew this, of course, but she couldn't help but ask again.
Her fingertips tapped on the table as she recalled the earlier interrogation of the Purple Cloud Eagle.
Under duress, it had immediately confessed the full details of its deal with the Heracles Kingdom.
They had only asked the Purple Cloud Eagle to launch a beast tide on the Roy border on the day the dragon was attending the birth of her child. In return, they would give it a vial of the God of Light's holy water.
The Purple Cloud Eagle, having lived deep in the mountains for a long time, only knew that the Roy Kingdom was protected by a dragon, but it didn't know about the relationship between this generation's queen and the dragon. Misled by the humans, it assumed the dragon would have to return to Dragon Island to attend the birth. After all, dragons were notoriously protective of their young and their partners. How could she possibly remain in the Roy Kingdom under such circumstances?
Furthermore, the thunder element and the light element were compatible. The Purple Cloud Eagle had coveted this holy water before, but it was something only the Temple of Light possessed—a gift from the god to his followers, with a few drops bestowed every ten years.
The previous Head of the Temple of Light had relied on a single drop of this holy water to break into the ranks of Magisters.
So, after some hesitation, the Purple Cloud Eagle gritted its teeth and agreed. It figured the dragon would be gone for at least a few months. By the time she returned, even the traces of the beast tide would have vanished. Besides, it hadn't harmed the dragon's contract partner. Given the lazy dragon's nature, she probably wouldn't bother to deal with it.
At first, Yueqing had also wondered about the source of this holy water. But the Roy Kingdom wasn't the only nation on the Chryse Continent that worshipped the God of Light. Although the holy water was rare, it wasn't impossible to obtain if one offered sufficient benefits in exchange.
So, after some thought, she had put the matter aside. But now…
There were no light mages present, yet Ivo could feel a sense of oppression.
Several possibilities flashed through Yueqing's mind. The easiest to execute would be a large-scale magical blessing. This method was not uncommon; it was the most prevalent way for gods to solidify faith, usually channeled through the divine statues in their temples. As long as one knelt piously, one could receive a blessing.
For example, the God of Light's blessing could speed up wound healing and eliminate minor physical ailments. The blessing of the Beast God in the Atl Kingdom could strengthen the body.
Although the effects were very faint, they were still quite tempting for ordinary humans.
But a blessing strong enough to make Ivo feel oppressed would have to be more potent. Moreover, it would need to be reapplied every few days to prevent the magical elements from fading.
Yueqing couldn't help but frown.
This small blessing shouldn't be underestimated. On the surface, its impact didn't seem significant. But if two soldiers of equal strength were fighting to the point of exhaustion, the one with the divine blessing would undoubtedly recover faster, increasing their chances of winning.
Furthermore, on a battlefield where blades had no eyes, injuries were inevitable. Those who recovered faster would have a greater advantage.
If not for the dragon, and if this war dragged on, the Heracles Kingdom would certainly be the victor.
The God of Light, was it…?
Yueqing's eyes darkened. She looked at Ivo and said, "We'll test it again tomorrow."
"Yes."
The city of Anthelia, as yet untouched by the flames of war, was as peaceful and prosperous as ever. Aside from a few more people on street corners debating the state of the world, nothing had changed.
The council hall, however, was noisy and crowded. The previous chairs were no longer sufficient, and most people stood around the stone table, loudly voicing their opinions.
These were all talented individuals recommended from various regions after Metis seized power. In the beginning, some incompetents had managed to squeeze in through various means, but they were later weeded out by Metis's tests, leaving only the truly capable.
However, because the system was not yet fully established, the current council hall was more chaotic and noisy than before. Many matters required the Queen's analysis and final decision.
Metis, seated at the head of the table, rubbed her brow. In her other hand, she held a letter. It was so noisy around her that she had been unable to finish reading it for some time.
She couldn't help but let her thoughts wander. When Yueqing was here, she had mentioned that this council hall was no longer suitable for the future of the Roy Kingdom. It would be best to build a new one, with the throne placed at the highest point to create distance between the monarch and the ministers.
But there had been too many things to do. The craftsmen had to repair the city walls and build the academy. A few days ago, an enemy nation had attacked, so the matter had been postponed.
But now, after surveying the room, Metis decided to arrange for this to be done sooner.
Before she could think further, a soldier burst in, knelt on one knee, and shouted, "Your Majesty, the army led by Talia has fallen into a trap and suffered a major defeat at Lilo City!"
"What did you say?!"
"A major defeat?"
The voices in the council hall abruptly fell silent.
Everyone was either surprised, shocked, or in disbelief.
First, because the Roy Kingdom had not suffered a single defeat in a long time.
Second, because two-thirds of the Roy Kingdom's forces were under Talia's command. General Dion and General Ogechi were both capable of leading armies on their own, and the commander-in-chief, Talia, was a veteran of a hundred battles and familiar with the enemy nation. Her abilities were there for all to see. Even if she were to be defeated, it shouldn't have been a major one.
While everyone was in a panic, Her Majesty the Queen had already composed herself. She asked in a deep voice, "Recount this battle in detail. Do not omit a single thing."
The man accepted the order, took a moment to catch his breath and clear his thoughts, then began: "Before the great defeat, everything was going smoothly. We broke through two cities without the men even complaining of fatigue. They were even clamoring to follow Your Majesty's footsteps and march straight to the Atl capital."
Although Talia was pleased, she was much more level-headed than the others. She didn't rush to continue the attack but instead had the army rest in the newly captured city while she and the others planned their next move. They didn't set out again until three days later.
"That day was strange. We had only been marching for half a day when we found Atl soldiers hidden on the cliffs of a canyon. They threw boulders, oil, and torches at us. Caught off guard, we could only raise our shields to defend ourselves."
"General Talia reacted the fastest. She ordered a retreat while telling the mages to summon defensive spells. She herself took out a sixth-tier scroll."
Recalling this, a trace of fear appeared on the soldier's face. He swallowed hard before continuing, "But that didn't last long. Large numbers of soldiers poured down from both sides of the canyon. Perhaps because we were already injured, even though they weren't numerous—maybe twenty or thirty thousand—they managed to kill many of our men."
"And the mages seemed to have been frightened as well; their spellcasting speed slowed down considerably. General Talia was worried about a landslide and didn't dare use any high-powered scrolls."
"After a brief stalemate, General Talia saw that our forces were weakening. She had no choice but to shout for us to break through. She led us in a concentrated charge at one point, and we managed to fight our way out."
"Then, General Talia had me ride back to deliver the news while they led the army to retreat to the previous city."
After listening, Metis had him repeat the story once more. Confirming that nothing had been left out, she fell silent in thought.
Half a day wasn't a long time. Even if the Atl Kingdom wanted to set an ambush, they shouldn't have received the news so early and been able to lie in wait in the canyon.
Twenty or thirty thousand soldiers fighting against an army of one hundred and fifty thousand, and they had gained the upper hand.
The mages' spellcasting speed had slowed down considerably…
Metis looked down at the letter in her hand. It was a message sent by Yueqing, in which she wrote about her suspicion that the God of Light might be involved.
If that were true, then the Atl Kingdom must have also received help from the God of Light.
She raised her eyes and looked at the people around her. Without concrete evidence, she decided to keep this news to herself for now.
This was making an enemy of a god. No matter how capable everyone was, they were still guided by the idea that gods were supreme and omnipotent.
If they knew that the Roy Kingdom was being targeted by the God of Light, panic would surely spread, and it would be difficult to muster the courage to fight back.
After all, it was a god.
She waved her hand, and the council hall became noisy again as everyone began discussing what to do about the situation.
Metis secretly lowered her eyes, hiding the worry within them.
She could only hope that Yueqing's guess was wrong. Otherwise, the Roy Kingdom might be facing a war of unprecedented scale.
She took a deep breath and continued reading the letter. Besides this matter, the rest was just a series of informal greetings.
It asked if Metis was feeling better and told her not to worry too much, rambling on for a while before finally adding a line at the end.
How is our adorable Poached Egg?
Metis, who had just been worried, couldn't help but smile. She suddenly said, "It's Wodaixina."
A thousand miles away, the dragon naturally couldn't hear the Queen's correction. She stood in the capital of the Heracles Kingdom, looking up at the luxurious and magnificent structure.
That was the royal palace of the Heracles Kingdom…
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