Published: January 12, 2026
With the appearance of the dragon, the enemy forces quickly shifted their formation to respond.
However, their response seemed nothing more than blindly keeping their distance from the dragon. They deliberately used powerful magicians as bait, while the soldiers merely showed a superficial encirclement posture.
“Well, given the opponent, it can’t be helped,”
I said as I smiled deeply while looking at the scenery below.
That dragon was slowed down using a large quantity of Black Orbs, its limbs restrained by heavy chains, and only then did the puppet magic take effect.
An extraordinary amount of funds, personnel losses, and time were invested. It would be a massive loss if it failed.
However, judging from the current battlefield, it was achieving tremendous results. The group of magicians controlling those horses were undoubtedly from the Ventury Knight Order. They unleashed powerful magic that quickly destroyed the castle gates without holding back, yet the dragon barely sustained any damage.
On the contrary, it was cornered and had to be supported by other magicians.
“Honestly, it would be ideal to deploy the Wyverns here and finish this quickly... but we cannot afford to let our guard down.”
If the enemy had been the same as before, our forces, now strengthened with new troops, would have ended this in a decisive victory.
But the previous battle had unexpected outcomes. Although the plan to capture the crucial Scudetto was accomplished as scheduled, the losses exceeded predictions by a huge margin.
Therefore, fast riders were dispatched to call for reinforcements to replenish our forces sequentially.
Aside from the main force led by my brother for the capital city invasion, if the other two armies had managed to take control without injury, my evaluation would have plummeted significantly.
“It’s all because of that mysterious group... damn them!”
I shouted and turned around.
Behind me, Vice Commander Freitliner was looking at me with a stern expression.
Though my younger brother, he was a timid man. Despite having participated in several wars already, he still only assisted me and our other brothers. Perhaps it was no surprise, as both his swordsmanship and magic abilities were low.
“...Freitliner. From now on, split the troops and advance. You will use the infantry to attack from the right flank. Use Black Orbs to restrain and lure the dragon. I will guide the cavalry from the left flank.”
I gave the orders, and Freitliner smiled vaguely, bowing several times.
“So, as expected of Brother Bashis. The dragon in the center, explosions of Black Orbs from both sides, right? And finally, the Wyvern?”
He responded with a sycophantic tone and face.
I clicked my tongue in frustration at his spineless expression, lacking both pride and resolve as royalty.
“Fool. Have you already forgotten the last battle? Back then, the Wyverns waiting on the walls and those flying in the air were indiscriminately killed. Those on the ground had their heads cut off, and those in flight were pierced through the torso with spear-like weapons and killed.”
“So, you’re saying we won’t use them? Even though they were just replenished...”
“Dragons and Wyverns are precious. Losing any more would be a grave mistake. Their use is reserved for when we take the capital city. Until the final decisive battle, we conserve strength and burn it down with overwhelming power during the final invasion.”
After explaining part of my strategy, Freitliner blinked, finally understanding, and applauded.
“I see. As expected of Brother Bashis. So, for now, repelling them is enough?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Their formation is so spread out because they fear the dragon. If we slowly harass the thin parts of their encirclement, we can easily achieve a complete victory. At the very least, we will capture Marquis Fertio’s head, and in the subsequent pursuit, crush more than half of their forces.”
“I, I see…”
Freitliner gave a half-hearted response, seemingly not fully grasping the meaning.