The Longinus Continent, which had enjoyed several years of peace, suddenly became lively with war during the period of time when Ye Yin Zhuâs group left Konya City for Sacred Heart City. This was actually not because of the Mjolnir beastmenâs surprise attack on the Milan Empire. After all, this was a routine border war and was unlikely to have any effect on the interior regions of the continent.
This sudden war that emerged, however, affected the entire continent. It was a war between two countries, and these two countries even belonged to the same faction.
In the northern regions of the Longinus Continent, the heart of the region had always been the Milan Empire with their allied countries being Ascoli, Florence, and Palermo. In the southern regions, the Blue Dias Empire ruled. Similar to the Milan Empire, the Blue Dias Empire also had three allied countries: the Stormli Kingdom, the Wavast Kingdom, and the Arcadia Kingdom. These two power blocks were separated by Falan, located between the two sides. It was precisely because of Falanâs oppressive influence that the two sides were constrained from entering into a tremendously large clash.
From an overall strength perspective, Milan was the most powerful of the four northern countries, so it was the dominant power there. At the same time, however, there was the enormous threat of the Northern Wasteland. Even if the Milan Empire considered invading the south, they couldnât send too many troops to do so, as some needed to be diverted to guard against the Northern Wasteland. Along with this, in the past, no country dared to offend Falan, so for a century, peace reigned on the Longinus Continent.
As the Milan Empire began to deal with the Northern Wastelandâs autumnal plundering, disharmony began to emerge within the southern regions of the continent. Within the Blue Dias Empireâs subsidiary kingdoms, war was unexpectedly brewing between the Kingdoms of Wavast and Arcadia.
The instigator of this matter just so happened to be Ye Yin Zhu.
When Ye Yin Zhu left Desolate Jade Sea back then, he had pa.s.sed through Arcadiaâs capital, Luna City, and came across several provocative Wavast mages. The outside world had been strange to him, and when he was confronted with an opponent in such a high pressure situation, he used a surprise sound blade attack. He had killed the mages of Wavast Kingdom, and amongst those casualties was an Indigo Rank mage. In hindsight, he couldâve avoided the problem by walking away from it, but he did not. This brought the Kingdom of Arcadia no small amount of trouble.
As one of the most powerful country on the continent, even the Milan Empire treated mages as treasures, not to mention a second-rate kingdom like Wavast. When they suddenly obtained news of the magesâ disappearances, their first reaction was to pressure the Kingdom of Arcadia. The Kingdom of Arcadia naturally hadnât admit to anything. Or possibly speaking, the Arcadian royal family also had no idea where those Wavast mages had disappeared to.
Both parties entered a momentary deadlock afterward. The Wavast Kingdom relied on the fact that their strength far surpa.s.sed Arcadia and forcefully demanded compensation from the kingdom. It could be a.s.sumed that they had exploited this opportunity to squeeze as much profit as possible from the Kingdom of Arcadia. If it were not for the Blue Dias Empire and Falan, then with Wavast glaring at Arcadia like a tiger watching his prey, perhaps Arcadia would have long been forced to become a part of Wavast.
Against the expectations of the Wavast Kingdom, however, the Kingdom of Arcadiaâs royal familyâs manner was absolutely unyielding this time, in spite of everything. They fundamental
ly didnât acknowledge the Wavast magesâ disappearances in Luna City. Both sides immediately entered a stalemate.
The Wavast Kingdom naturally wouldnât let something like this pa.s.s. The Blue Dias Empire declared their neutrality in this situation, so Wavast sent a hundred thousand armed forces, using this army to pressure the Arcadian border.
Feir City, a strategic city on the border of the Kingdom of Arcadia.
With Arcadiaâs power, even if the entire country was flipped over, barely eighty thousand troops could be mustered. As for the quality of the troops, wellâsince the people of Arcadia had always been lazy in nature, the troops of Arcadia were naturally unable to compare with the Wavast Kingdom. From these eighty thousand troops, not even a Dragon Cavalry Legion could be formed. Their opponent, however, consisted of the elite of the Wavast Kingdom.
Wavastâs show of strength was comprised of two Dragon Cavalry Legions and a twenty-thousand-strong Heavy Cavalry Legion. Within the Wavast Kingdomâs army, there were even a hundred mages of every discipline, the vast majority being Fire mages.
Atop the walls of Feir City, all of the high-ranking military officers of Arcadia had grave expressions as they stared at the huge thirty or so Wavast garrisons stationed outside. Their hearts were heavy. They clearly understood that since the Wavast had dispatched their troops already, it was no longer a simple matter of demanding compensation. If their army was to be defeated, then the aftermath was too horrible to contemplate.
These Arcadian generals hadnât wielded a weapon for several years. Most of them were puzzled as to why the Arcadian royal family was so unyielding at this time. This was a war that was absolutely impossible to win!
Yesterday, the Wavast army had already arrived outside of Feir City and spent a day consolidating their forces. Today, they could clearly see from atop the city walls that a large fraction of those military forces had begun to mobilize. It appeared that they were planning to launch an all-out attack upon Feir City.
âGreat Master Qin Shang, what should we do now?â The Kingdom of Arcadiaâs Marshal, Solskjaer, was somewhat panicked as he questioned the older mage beside him.
Qin Shang calmly smiled and said, âDo not worry and just look down. Marshal Solskjaer, please order all of the cavalry under your control to prepare to attack at any moment. Since his Majesty the King appointed me as the highest ranking military commander for this war, I absolutely cannot disappoint him.â
âAffirmative. I will obey your directives. But, Great Master Qin Shang, I believe it is better if we continue to hold fast. The opposing side has too many Heavy Cavalrymen. As soon as we commence war on the battlefield, Iâm afraid our soldiers will be unable to resist!â
Glancing at Solskjaerâs alarmed vissage and rotund belly, Qin Shangâs gaze displayed a trace of disdain. He faintly said, âMarshal Solskjaer, you should understand that first of all, as a soldier, you must face the enemy with courage and gaze into death with equanimity. As the commander of the entire army, if you fear battle, then how can this war be won? At the moment, I ask the Marshal to execute my orders and immediately prepare the arrangements.â
Even if Solskjaer had always been arrogant in the past, he didnât dare to have even the slightest amount of disrespect for this old mage before him at this moment, especially when he saw the magic emblem upon the otherâs chest. He suddenly realized that the old man before his eyes could truly be counted on and hurriedly agreed, descending the city walls.
Qin Shang sighed lightly. âIf we are to depend on these generals of Arcadia, then this war wonât even need to break out.â
âFortunately, weâre not depending on them, no?â At Qin Shangâs side, with aged facial features, was a man with long, ash-grey hair draped over his shoulders. The old man brimmed with the aura of the blue sea that then turned into mulberry fields, an air of unyielding arrogance within him as he coldly spoke.
Qin Shang smiled slightly and said, âOld friend, I understand that you look down on these types of soldiers. Alas, we are currently given no leeway. If it were possible, I believe that you would have definitely been the best marshal.â
Ye Li glanced at Qin Shang. With a low voice, he said, âI hope the war this time will be the prelude to the rise of our Eight Eastern Dragon Sects.â
A bright radiance flashed through Qin Shangâs eyes. âDefinitely. What we should do is pave the road for the youth. I believe that Yin Zhuâs generation will perhaps become the core strength of the Eight Eastern Dragon Sects. Our dreams can finally be realized.â
Ye Li turned to look at the city below. âThey have come. You should go prepare. I will take my leave now.â As his voice faded, his body disappeared from sight like a faint violet phantom. Watching the gradually approaching army of the Wavast Kingdom, a tinge of violet light br.i.m.m.i.n.g with murderous intent flitted across Qin Shangâs eyes.
âAccording to our intelligence reports, the enemies only a.s.sembled eighty thousand troops. The fighting capabilities of Arcadiaâs soldiers has always been widely known to be poor, so donât even bother mentioning how theyâd fare against our hundred thousand troops. Even if we only had ten thousand Heavy Cavalry, I am sure we will be able to seize them and tear them to pieces.
âThis time, I want to use an irresistible, powerful force to destroy all of Arcadiaâs defenses, forcing them to acknowledge that they had offended our Wavast Kingdom in the end. Have the army forge onward. The Heavy Cavalry will flank the Dragon Cavalry, and the Dragon Cavalry will be responsible for defending the mages. At the same time, the Light Cavalry will be arranged into two wing formations while the infantry brings up the rear.â