Night battle (3)

The Four Cardinals watched everything play out as they approached with the Phoenix Division. The man with the saber said, "The Alzar Kingdom is retreating. How calm-headed."

The large shielded man spoke in a deep voice, "Faced against three divisions, it is surprising they did not immediately surrender. Do they think they still have a chance to survive?"

"Ridiculous. They're merely delaying the inevitable. Rather than letting this go on, a wise man would have surrendered by now," the woman scoffed.

Cardinal Hui narrowed his eyes and focused on Lord Korogin like a hawk. His senses reached their peak. Even at this distance, when Korogin was quite far away, surrounded by thousands of soldiers, he could spot him easily. This was something that not many could do, even for his fellow Cardinals. Cardinal Hui had a particularly strong observational ability! In turn, Lord Korogin felt a shiver down his spine as an intense bloodlust washed over him. Sir Winstin reacted as well, sending out a piercing gaze towards Cardinal Hui. The two monsters stared at one another, crossing the incredible distance, as if they were standing in front of one another!

Cardinal Hui smiled before breaking his gaze. "As we expected, Lord Korogin is here with Sir Winstin. Our informant did not lie. That would also explain how calmly the army acted. He has assumed direct control of the army."

"What should we do, Cardinal Hui?" the Phoenix division general respectfully asked. As the emperor's personal guards, although they did not have the authority to command the divisions, they had significant sway. On this battlefield, they were almost the emperor's representatives!

"The Alzar Kingdom retreating was a wise decision. Although they lose the initiative, they also lose the magical interference hindering them. It would be foolish for us to proceed after they revealed their large-scale tactical spell. Although our show of force did not prompt them to surrender, they are still heavily outnumbered and demoralized. It won't take too much to rout them at this point."

"I understand, Cardinal. We will follow your plan," the general said, relaying his orders to the rest of the divisions and the encirclement troops. Following that, the divisions began to split up to surround the Alzar Kingdom's army!

Meanwhile, General Gordon had mixed feelings on the battle's outcome thus far. Although Lord Korogin's actions helped stabilize the army and buy them some time, it did not solve their crisis. They were still heavily outnumbered without a clear path to retreat. Furthermore, he was clearer about the Ten Dawns and their spell, Torrential Blizzard, than most. Its power was frightening and in the right circumstances it was a powerful trump card. However, it was a one-off spell! Tengon and Nassandra were doing their best to appear unfazed, but in reality, their cores were severely depleted. They needed time to recover. They were effectively taken out of the battle!

As for why the Arcanists platoons could not replicate Torrential Blizzard, it was practically impossible. Firstly, considering the total amount of Magical Energy available to the Ten Dawns versus the platoons, the Ten Dawns were a level greater! For five hundred Arcanists to not match two people was baffling, but that was the truth. The difference between Gaseous Fog and Condensed Drop Core Levels was as unbridgeable as the gap between Fundamental and Perception Realms! Of course, Magical Energy was not interchangeable with combat power. Tengon and Nassandra could not actually defeat five hundred Arcanists by themselves.

The second reason was that combining Magical Energy into the same spell was extremely difficult and required months of relentless practice. Spells needed absolute concentration and control. The slightest mistake in controlling Magical Energy could cause a volatile backlash. The consequences of the backlash would only increase with spell complexity. For example, a backlash with Torrential Blizzard could cripple Tengon and Nassandra or outright kill them! With great power comes great risk! To coordinate with another person meant to create a balance between each other and perfectly harmonize the flow of Magical Energy. It was hard enough with two people. For a platoon to consider it was suicide! Therefore, that Torrential Blizzard was the first and last to appear in this battle!

Lord Korogin knew this as well and used the Xingyuu Empire's fear against them. The Xingyuu Empire dared not launch a decisive strike against them, although they had the complete advantage. However, he really was at a loss for how to escape. His invasion plan hinged on the element of surprise and speed. Up until a few days ago, the number of people who knew of his plans were a handful of only the most authoritative and influential figures. He suspected there was a traitor in the Royal Assembly, however, this exceeded his expectations. His heart shook with tremendous killing intent. He should have thoroughly purged any traitors like the Golden Nightmare! His life was of little consequence, but the ramifications of having a Xingyuu spy in the Royal Assembly was… unfathomable!

An hour passed where the two sides exchanged a few clashes. On the surface, the Alzar Kingdom's position was unbreakable. Its defenses were sturdy, its formations were solid, and its leadership was quick. Crushing this army would not be easy. However, they were surrounded by thousands of enemy soldiers. No matter how someone looked, it was hopeless. Death was inevitable! As Cardinal Hui expected, the Xingyuu Empire did not need to do anything. Their mere presence was enough to instil unrest in the Alzar Kingdom!

Two hours passed, then three, and finally four. Eventually, the dawn arrived, washing over the battlefield in a sea of light. However, the coldness of the battlefield lingered. For the weaker-willed Alzar soldiers, they were already panicking. Morale was at an all-time low. Many officers were proposing to surrender, to end this dreadful deadlock! Some soldiers even directly rebelled, attacking their officers or rushing to the Xingyuu side to surrender and beg for mercy. The worst part was that the Xingyuu Empire accepted these soldiers' surrender! Cardinal Hui had specifically arranged for this to create more pressure on Lord Korogin.

Lord Korogin held an emergency meeting with the other generals and officers. The mood was overwhelmingly oppressive. How could these wily old foxes not know what the Xingyuu Empire was doing? However, they were helpless to stop it. The Xingyuu Empire was magnanimous while the Alzar Kingdom was cruel and stubborn! Lord Korogin even suspected that more than half of the officers here would have defected, if not for the fact that Lord Korogin revealed himself. Not to mention, the influence that Sir Winstin had was immense. A single word from Korogin would kill dissenters! But they realized why everything had gone astray… If they were on the Xingyuu's side, they would also fight tooth and nail to kill Korogin.