Taking the stronghold

That was the greatest difference between Diffusion Void and other tactical spells like Torrential Blizzard or Yin-Yang Arrow. Torrential Blizzard worked wonders in large open battlefields with plentiful enemies to choose from. However, it lacked the destructive capability to assault fortifications like the Yunyun Stronghold. It would be like slinging mud at a brick wall! Yin-Yang Arrow was the opposite. It had overwhelming destructive power and range that could obliterate everything nearby. Its killing potential was many times higher than Torrential Blizzard and it was considered the strongest tactical spell in existence! However, it also suffered from a critical flaw: its indiscriminate destructive power. The Alzar Kingdom wanted to occupy the stronghold, not destroy it. That was where Diffusion Void came into play because it only affected living beings, not inanimate things.

Without giving any breaks, General Dennis ordered the glider squadrons to take flight. Already on cue, they sprung into action. The Arcanists created wind spells and propelled the soldiers into the air. One hundred and fifty gliders covered the skies temporarily as they descended onto the gatehouse like vultures! They landed on the defenseless gatehouse, unsheathed their weapons, and slaughtered the unconscious people. Whether it was a man, woman, child, or elderly, they were executed all the same. No one was spared! The bloodbath drenched the gatehouse in an eerie crimson red, as the soldiers pushed to the gate controls. They were ordered to open the gates and let the army in!

The remaining defenders tried to fight back, but faced with well-trained and well-equipped opponents, they were being killed left and right. Although they outnumbered the one hundred and fifty invaders, no one took command over the battle. This meant that their combat effectiveness, when compared to the Alzar Kingdom's, was nearly negligible. It was the truest definition of a mad mob! Furthermore, the ensuing slaughter dissuaded others from acting out. Everyone hoped the 'impenetrable' walls would do most of the work, so they could pick up the slack for an easy victory. Who wanted to fight in an actual battle where their lives were on the line? But when the walls were breached with Diffusion Void, their confidence crumbled away. No one wanted to die! So, they fled! At least, they might be able to sneak away and survive, right?

In five minutes, the gates were drawn and allowed the Alzar Kingdom's calvary to charge through. Hundreds of mounted soldiers stormed into the fortress and cleaved their way through the chaotic crowds. Once they secured the perimeter, the main army advanced. Twelve thousand soldiers flooded inside and like a tidal wave engulfing the shore, they ruthlessly massacred the citizens. The soldiers then split up and divided themselves throughout the various roads and streets to meticulously stamp out any resistance. Anyone who dared to raise a hand against them was cut down! The streets were literally washed in blood and bodies as hundreds died. The resistance fell apart and everyone fled like mad dogs!

As the army rampaged throughout the north, the defenders at the other gatehouses were notably shaken, their morale plummeting. They were tasked in defending this gatehouse against the one thousand Alzar soldiers waiting outside, but the battle barely started, and the enemies were already in! What were they supposed to do now? Many of them decided to abandon ship and save their own lives, while others were debating their next course of action. Their panic was precisely what the Alzar Platoon Captains wanted to see. With a shout, the glider squadrons descended onto the gatehouses and initiated a gruesome battle. Before long, all three gatehouses were breached and the Alzar army advanced from three directions simultaneously. A three-pronged attack! There was little surprise involved and in less than two hours, the Alzar Kingdom captured the Yunyun Stronghold!

It took the rest of the day for the cleanup operations to conclude. The army needed to thoroughly extinguish any resistance and fully secure the city. They needed to search for any traps or problems that the Imperial Council might have left behind as a surprise. Countless squadrons were marching up and down the streets, while the logistics and communications divisions were busy running around, organizing everything. There were constant discussions and debates about how everything needed to be arranged. The difference between having a solid base was night and day. Before, when they were attacked by the Featherwind Sect, their outlook was poor, but now… General Dennis and the others wanted to establish the Yunyun Stronghold as their new base of operations in the Xingyuu Empire! It was their first big step in the Second Great Kingdom War!

Elizabeth was settled into a luxurious room where she wore a deep frown. Coincidentally, this was the same room that Minister Linshi and the Imperial Princesses once fought in. After Minister Linshi unleashed her double-casting spell and destroyed the room, it was eventually repaired. Elizabeth had no idea what happened in this room, since she was too preoccupied with the report in her hands. A knock on the door came, so the girl straightened out her appearance and crumpled the report into a ball. She then coughed and allowed them inside.

When the door opened, Benedict, Shirley, and Freon walked inside. None of them looked worse for wear, as they were assigned to the rearguard. The rearguard was one of the many divisions in the army that was specifically tasked for guarding the rear, such as the commanders, generals, and logistics officers. The rearguard's importance was self-evident and because of this, it was widely thought of to be the most prestigious and famed positions in the army. However, the reality was different. The real protection duty was left to the knights, ranging from High Knights all the way up to Grand Knights of the Realm! One had to know that Grand Knights stood at the Perception Realm standard, so their protection was incredibly solid. And if there were more important people present, such as General Dennis or Princess Elizabeth, then Royal Guards would also be present! Barring exceptional circumstances, they were more than enough to quell any threats, so what was the point of the rearguard then?

The true purpose of the rearguard was for 'misfits' that were ill-suited to contribute in combat. The simplest example was nobility. Just like normal commoners, nobility was still required to participate in military services. This was part of the draft that the Alzar Kingdom and the Zino Kingdom created. At the highest level of nobility, the Great and Grand Nobility could 'persuade' the kingdom to let them go. After all, they had countless connections and an enormous amount of political and economic influence. It would be trivial to bribe a few officers. Benedict was a rare outlier because of the Hawken Household's traditions, which played into why many thought the Hawkens was a fake Grand Nobility Household. So while commoners like Shirley were forced to fight on the frontlines, the lower nobility could toil out their days in the rearguard, doing nothing while finishing their required draft. That was what the rearguard transformed into over the years.

Once the gates were breached and the army stormed into the Yunyun Stronghold, Benedict, Shirley, and Freon followed in with their weapons drawn, but by that point, the battles were over, and the enemies were defeated. There was nothing left for them to do! Besides some grime on their boots and a few graphic scenes, they were untouched! Although none of them particularly wanted to fight with their lives on the line, it still felt awkward with others fighting tooth and nail, while they stood around watching. They were essentially spectators! How could any of them hold their heads high? It was obvious that they were getting preferential treatment as Elizabeth's friends. How could the army endanger the heir apparent's friends? That would be asking for a death sentence!

"You three are safe!" Elizabeth smiled and covered up her emotions.

"When we're a part of the rearguard…" Freon shrugged. "How couldn't we be safe?"

"It was shameful, standing by and doing nothing while they died on the frontlines," Benedict gritted his teeth. "This isn't why I trained so hard." Despite being a Hawken no more, some of their core values remained ingrained in his bones.

Shirley nodded and glanced at Elizabeth, her brows furrowing. "Elizabeth, what's wrong? How come you're upset?"

The girl was taken aback and asked, "How do you know I'm upset?" Through her royal training, she learned to hide her emotions very well. Besides those old monsters, she thought that no one could break her disguise.

"You probably don't know this, but when you're upset, you have a habit of squinting your left eye a little."

"I do?" Elizabeth was dumbfounded again and touched her face reflexively.

"I'm joking," Shirley chuckled. "So how come you're upset?"

She hesitated but eventually unfurled the crumpled report in her hands. "I was reading the casualty reports…" Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she continued, "From the Alzar Kingdom, we sustained a total of one hundred and seventy-three casualties, most of which came from the first part of the siege. Once we breached the walls though, there were almost zero recorded deaths."

"…" Her friends were slightly depressed but failed to see the shocking fact. Deaths were an expected part of war, was it not?

Elizabeth smiled bitterly and said, "From the Xingyuu Empire though, they sustained a total of four thousand four hundred casualties!"