Entering the Climax of War

 "I see," the Baron said, already receiving the new reports from the special battle group.

 He then turned towards his council, a serious expression on the normally calm man's face.

 "It seem your intel is correct, Elder Miri. The Esel Barony had went to bed with two other baronies on his side," the Elder nodded.

 Though the new development could not be called anything other than possible dangerous for them. After all, with the assistance of the two baronies, the pressure on his Mariz Barony had increased significantly.

 "What should we do? Should we request for help as well," the Baron shook his head.

 "There is not enough time. You should know about the bureaucracy and politics between us. It will be hard to gain their helps in time for them to be actually helpful," the General merely nodded, knowing his idea is not feasible. 

 "Still, as long as we played it safe, we will be able to gain a lot in this war," the Baron said in a serious tone.

 "Thankfully, due to the Secret Realm, our experts had slowly rises, likely outnumbered them even if the experts of the two other baronies entered the battlefield," he had sent more and more of his elites into the Secret Realm to cultivate, not to mention the numerous resources they had collected from it.

 As long as they able to hold on, the advantage will slowly shifted towards Mariz Barony. 

 "So, we are going to keep to the plan, will we?" the General asked, earning a nod from the Baron.

 "It's not ideal, but I did not want to send my troops into pointless battles were they will die without gaining much," he said, showing his experience in leading armies before he was granted a nobility and Nobledom.

 His subordinates nodded, as he soon dismissed them. The Baron take another look at the map on the table, already envisioning several plans to deal a heavy blow to the coalition of three Baronies.

-x-

 The war soon escalated as the once stagnant front line was embroiled with conflict once more. This time, the Mariz Barony was not able to hold on to their territories, slowly being pushed by the sudden increase of soldiers.

 Despite the soldiers unable to hold on, the experts and elites of Mariz Barony did not make their move, both sides knowing that by doing so, the advantage will be squarely on the invaders, as they would be able to attack the experts who was aiding the soldiers to maintain the balance.

 Still, the Esel Barony and their allies started to suspect something wrong. The coalition should be able to do massive damage and pushed back even further, yet for some reason, they could not push as far as they thought possible.

-x-

 "The Mariz should done something to allow them to hold on to most of their territory," the Baron of Esel exclaimed, looking at the comprehensive map with a frown. Besides him are his two Generals, advisors in the war. 

 Aside from his are the representative of the two baronies he worked with in attempt to capture the Mariz Barony.

 "Yes, but until we knew what they did and what they are planning, we can't do anything about it," his Right General said, the Left General agreed with his fellow.

 "In that case, we have to prepare to make another deep push," he said with a frown, knowing something is wrong, though whether it stem from his force or Mariz Barony is up for for debate.

 "Yes my Lord," whatever the reason, the Baron of Esel knew he could not back down now, as he had invested too much in the invasion, all for the sake of expending his territory and gaining more resources.

-x-

 "Kill them all!"

 "Fight!"

 "Arggrh!"

 "No! Don't-"

 The sounds of battle cry and screaming filled the battlefield as both side do their best to regain the8r advantage, though from the look of thing, the Mariz Baromy slowly find themselves being pushed by the invaders.

 Still, they knew they killed a lot more people, showing their strength, and might to the soldiers of Esel. However, despite more of the opposing side meet their ends, the tidal of wave of soldiers began to erode the staunch defender as they slowly pulled down by fatigue.

 "Hhhrrgguuh!" the sound of a horn filled the battlefield, signaling to the Mariz Barony to retreat. They quickly obeyed the order, retreating in an orderly fashion in hope of getting put of the battlefield as quickly as possible.

 The soldiers of the other side is not keen of them retreating however, and do their best to impede them. However, some experts from their side aided the evacuation, helping in reducing the total losses that the Barony would suffer if they lost a lot of their troops.

 When the other side deployed their experts, the experts of Mariz Barony began to fight while slowly retreating, giving the soldiers time to escape the battlefield. 

 And so, another battle ended with the retreat of Mariz Barony.

-x-

 "My Lord, they are getting close to the Secret Realm," the Captain told the Baron, who nodded at the new information. He pondered over his decision and what he should do before deciding to stop the at all cost.

 "Prepare to engage them at the battlefield. I will enter the it myself," he said with a serious expression. Hearing this, the captain bowed to the leader of the nation as he left his office, ready to entangle in the battlefield, his cultivation at the Genesis Spring is one reason of his utter confidence.

-x-

 Two armies soon come face to face with one another, the only thing separating them are a single plain, large enough of a battlefield for the armies. Though, one did not need a sharp eye to tell that the Mariz Barony's is smaller than Esel Barony's.

 The Baron of their respective nation soon flew upward, giving each other a glance before lightly erupting their power, both side showing their cultivation at the peak of Genesis Source.

 "Retreat and leave this place, and maybe we let you live," the Baron of Esel exclaimed, his words are haughty, showing his utmost confidence in his forces.

 The Baron of Mariz merely snorted at the man's arrogance. "If you want to fight, let's fight!" he said boldly, earning a snort from the other side.

 "If you want to die so much, army, attack!"