NOVGO.NET Chapter 366: Follow the Dragon Rider!
Chapter 366: Follow the Dragon Rider!
“This… this doesn’t make sense.
Why now, of all times…?”
Halrick spoke with a pale face, and then he finally heard a voice.
“Do you believe me now?”
The Sergeant didn’t respond. He continued to watch the incoming army with a scope, frozen in fear. Seeing his state, Kael glanced at Lavinia, who was staring back at him. The two nodded at each other, as if reading each other’s mind and—
“Get into positions, now!”
He raised his voice, taking charge. He still did not know much about the Velmourn Army, and honestly, most of the Ants weren’t here, so he wasn’t in a position to get any real-time updates either. However, the current man in charge was frozen in fear, and he did not know who the next man in charge was or what his mental state was like. Therefore, he stepped forward.
“…”
“…”
The soldiers froze.
They didn’t know what to do. The Sergeant in charge still hadn’t said anything. He seemed like he was thinking about something, but the Bell was rung thrice, red smoke was seen—they needed to get into action. They knew it as well, but…
“I SAID GET INTO POSITIONS,
NOW!!”
Kael shouted, his voice shuddering through the soldiers’ ears, and as if that wasn’t enough—
“RRRROOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRR!!!”
Igni walked out of the Sanctuary, his roar reverberating through the soldiers’ ears, instantly bringing them out of their reverie and—
“F-Follow the Dragon Rider!”
They didn’t know who said it, but after one stepped forward,
“Follow the Dragon Rider!”
“Follow the Dragon Rider!”
“Follow the Dragon Rider!”
The chants began, and the frozen soldiers started moving according to their words. Kael, too, glanced at one of the soldiers and,
“You.”
Kael pointed to a young soldier nearby.
“Head straight to the Matriarch and tell her what’s happening.”
He ordered.
“L-Lord Kael b-b—”
“The matter regarding Drakthar Ships has been solved. The Drakthars are retreating. Now leave!”
Kael informed, and for some reason, with Igni standing right beside him, his words became so much more reassuring and difficult to go against.
“Y-Yes, Sir!”
The soldier saluted and rushed off.
“We will hold as long as we can!”
Kael shouted.
“YEAHHH!!!”
The soldiers shouted. A group of them climbed on top of the walls with their bows, while the ones with close-range weapons prepared to move outside the walls to engage in close-range combat.
Something that made Kael frown in confusion.
“Shields at the front! Spearmen on the second line! The archers and mages will support you from above! No matter what happens, do not let the enemy breach through the doors!”
One of the sergeants, Sergeant Leron, who commanded his unit, ordered without stopping. Kael walked towards him and—
“We are outnumbered, and the Stonefangs are known for their strength. Why move outside the walls to engage in direct combat? Shouldn’t our men stay inside the walls? The reinforcements will arrive soon. There is no way they would be able to break through before that.”
He questioned.
If they faced the Stonefangs in direct combat, there would be too many casualties. It was much better to stay at the Walls and hold till the main army arrived.
Or at least, that was what Kael thought—and he was correct—but…
“We need to protect the Wall.”
The sergeant answered with a grim look on his face.
“The Winter hasn’t even begun. This is just the first attack. More tribesmen will attack later. We do not have enough materials to reinforce the Wall. If it weakens, it is only a matter of time before we are trampled.
The Wall is the last line of our defense. We need to protect it, even if it means losing some of our men.”
He explained, and Kael’s very spine trembled at those words.
This…
This was completely opposite of what he had learned…
It was the Walls that protected humans from external threats. They were supposed to take damage in the humans’ stead—but here…
Here it was the opposite. The number of resources at Ashen Heights was so low that Walls became… much more valuable than human life…
Here, to protect whatever little resources they had left, humans gave their lives instead.
Here, the humans protected the Wall and took the damage it was supposed to take.
Here… humans were used as… meat shields…
It was repulsive, but both Kael and Lavinia could see that the Velmourns did not have any other option. Neither the sergeant giving the orders nor the soldiers moving out of the Wall had good looks on their faces. Clearly, every single one of them was scared, yet they still did what had to be done.
Or at least…
What should be done.
But…
Kael didn’t like it.
“What about traps? Do you have any traps installed? We can slow them down with those, can’t we?”
He asked, racking his mind to come up with any way that could protect even one more life.
“…Traps are a waste of resources.”
Leron answered in a low voice.
He knew how absurd his statement was but… for the Velmourns, it made sense. Traps needed to be reinstalled after every use, and this reinstalment needed resources. Some traps became completely unusable after one use—they needed to be recreated as well. Not to mention, most of the traps only trapped a few enemies. Against a complete army, they weren’t of much use, especially when so many resources were wasted on them.
Kael stood in silence when he heard those words. Throwing life away like this just didn’t sit well with him. Lavinia didn’t miss how his fists started to tremble in helplessness. In the end, she took a deep breath, as if preparing herself, and then—
“Stop them.”
She spoke up, instantly attracting Kael and Sergeant Leron’s attention.
“Stop the men from going out.
I’ll slow the enemy.”
“What…?”
Kael’s expression changed. Leron’s reaction, however, was stronger than his.
“Don’t be foolish, Lady Lavinia. This is the first time you will be facing the Stonefangs. You have no idea how ferocious they are. Stopping them alone isn’t possible—you might even lose your life.”
The sergeant tried to explain.
“I have heard from my daughter how exceptional of a Mage you are. She constantly talks about how you teach her things she had never thought of before.
Your presence is extremely essential for the Velmourns. You cannot overexert yourself here. I won’t be able to take responsibility if something happened to you.”
“I have no plans on risking my life here.”
Lavinia clarified with a cold look on her face. Her purple eyes then looked right into the Sergeant’s and—
“I was able to teach your daughter new things because the magic knowledge here is extremely primitive. Your mages do not understand the true application of magic.”
She spoke inexpressively. Then suddenly, the air around her seemed to turn heavier and—
“A Mage’s true value shines during a war.”
She declared, and then turned towards Kael.
“Can you stop the airborne enemies?”
She questioned.
The Stonefangs were strongest on the ground, but this didn’t mean they didn’t have a flying unit. Even if they stood on the Walls, the Velmourns would need to focus on the flying enemies who would have no trouble passing through the walls.
“I can.”
Kael nodded.
Airborne battles had now become his strongest suit. If he was with Cirri, it was nearly impossible to defeat him in the air.
Lavinia nodded back.
“Then I’ll take care of the enemies on the ground. You take care of the airborne, together with the flying unit. The rest of the soldiers will hold behind the Wall till the reinforcements arrive. How about it?”
The Princess questioned, and Kael nodded with a big smile on his face.
“Alright.”
Then, the Dragon Rider glanced at the soldiers and—
“Soldiers! To the Walls!!
None of you will go beyond the Wall till I tell you to!!”
He instructed, his words shocking the soldiers.
“But we cann—”
Sergeant Leron tried to say something but—
“Sergeant, I am in charge here.”
Kael spoke, overwhelming Leron with his presence.
“I will take responsibility for everything that happens here on out.
Now follow the orders you were given.”
He ordered, and the only thing Leron could do was—
“Y-Yes, Sir!”
—Salute and move as he was told.
Kael nodded as he once again turned towards the surprised soldiers and—
“WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?
TO THE WALLS!
NOW!!!”
He ordered, and the soldiers moved.
“Y-YES, SIR!!!”
As the soldiers went to their positions, Kael glanced at Lavinia, and for a moment, it was as if time had slowed down. Their eyes conversed—all their tensions, all their plans, everything was shared—until finally—
“I need to go beyond the Wall to prepare my magic.”
Lavinia spoke in a low voice. Kael stayed silent for a moment, and then he glanced at his most trusted ally.
“Promise you will keep her safe.”
“I will, Father.”
Igni smiled as he gently pressed his forehead with Kael’s. The father and son closed their eyes for a moment, calming their nerves, before Igni finally glanced at Lavinia and nodded.
Lavinia nodded back as she climbed on top of the Dragon, and the Dragon flew away.
Kael watched as they flew away, and after about 10 seconds, as if something pulled him out of his reverie—
“FLYING UNIT!
REPORT TO ME!!”
He shouted as he jumped in the air and opened his Sanctuary, letting Vitaria and Cirri out. Cirri quickly dispersed into air, preparing to fight together with her father, while Vitaria jumped into his arms with a chuckle.
“It is time to play~~”
The fox laughed as her purple eyes shined playfully.
Poor Stonefangs…
It didn’t seem like the upcoming war would be very fun for them.
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