Chapter 33:- [Bonus Chapter] Unexpected event.
9 Km away from Zraka city, a fortress was built along the borders of the Istarin Kingdom. The fortress was built on the top of a mountain. The Istarin Kingdom was known as the Kingdom of Mountain Ranges. Around 95% of the Istarin Land was covered in mountains. But except for very few mountains, almost all the mountains were not that big.
The Zraka city fortress was built on one of these mountain ranges. The border between the Istarin Kingdom and the Zulux Dynasty was separated by high mountain ranges. This made it hard for the Zulux Dynasty to invade the Istarin Land. Since the Istarin Kingdom was full of mountain ranges, in the past, Nepoca and the Zulux Dynasty never showed any interest in capturing a kingdom of no worth.
However, after years of alliance, both Kingdoms agreed to make a path through the mountain ranges. The road was curved between two mountain slopes. The road was wide enough to fit a football pitch.
"Since the enemy is going to attack from the front, we don't have to worry about the enemy dividing their forces and coming from other sides. We can give all of our focus and attention to the front."
"There is one problem. Even if we don't have to worry about the enemy attacking from other sides, from what I have heard the enemy troops' numbers are too big."
Without Aditya, his 7 generals along with 400 soldiers had reached the Zraka city fortress, which was their first and most important defense line against the Zulux Dynasty. Aditya already had informed Zayne about the arrival of his 7 generals.
Even Zayne didn't say anything but inwardly he felt slaves were not worthy of becoming generals. If the people were to learn this, the Istarin military's reputation would take a big hit. But after meeting the 7 generals, Zayne's impression of them changed. Despite being only Peak 1st order, each general was perfectly capable of taking down a 2nd-order. In the military, respect came from strength. Seeing his new allies were this strong, all the soldiers began to respect them like they did Zayne.
Currently, the 7 generals were having a meeting. While others were discussing their plans, Nathan, the leader of the Assassin division was out scouting, trying to gather as much information as possible. His role in the war was to gather information, assassin, and protect the Kingdom from the shadows.
"If you're here then who is protecting and looking after the Zraka city?" Asked Henry, the cold and quiet general.
"I have left my fiancé, along with 5,000 troops to protect the Zraka city."
Just Zayne finished speaking, and from the shadows, a figure emerged. "Nathan, did you find anything?" Scott, the dark elf and the leader of the first division asked.
"We have bad news. Even in this weather an advance party of 30,000 troops is marching towards the fortress. The commander of the advance party is no other than the right-hand man of general Darren Ellies." Hearing the words of Nathan, everyone's faces turned grim.
For a moment no one said anything. The reinforcement sent by Duke Sarlus is yet to arrive. Meaning that 20,000 troops had to face an army of 30,000.
"Duke Ryan previously had about 30,000 troops. 5,000 of them were annihilated by his Majesty. While I had to leave 5,000 troops to guard and protect the Zraka city, that means we have to fight an enemy of 30,000 with 20,000 soldiers."
"I say, this is way better than facing 60,000 enemy troops. As long as we keep our causalities minimum then we might have enough troops to even face the main enemy troops. Honestly, I don't know if this is a blessing in disguise or something else." The fox queen had matured a lot in this one week. She now can control her charm even better. Each of her words was filled with pride and dignity.
"So, we have to aim for a quick victory. Nathan, when will the advance party arrive?"
Nathan closed his eyes for a moment as if trying to calculate the time that the advance party will take to arrive. "Not more than 10 hours."
"What happened if the storm starts before the 10 hours?" Everyone looked at Amber in surprise. "If the storm does starts, then we and our troops can take shelter in the fortress but the advance party will have no way of taking shelter. I don't if the enemy general is taking a big gamble or he is just too confident. Either way, if the storm does starts, we will have a huge advantage in this fight."
"The storm would leave the advance troop tried and exhausted. We can easily kill an army of 30,000 exhausted soldiers with very few causalities."
Tyler looked at the sky which was covered with dark clouds. "Let's do hope that mother nature will help us in this war. Otherwise, the chances of winning would be very slim."
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Just as everyone hoped and prayed, after 8 hours the storm finally started. As soon as the storm started, every soldier was ordered to take shelter in the fortress.
Rumble!
Along with the storm, loud rumbles of thunder were also heard. The Istarin forces hid in the fortress and used the storm to take proper rest. While the advance party of 30,000 wasn't that lucky. They were only one hour away from reaching the Istarin Fortress when the sudden storm hit them.
Rumble!
"What's happening? I was told that the storm wouldn't start until the day after tomorrow." Standing in the storm as the loud thunderous sounds of lightning shook the earth, the leader of the advancing party looked panicked.
Aris was the name of the commander leading 30,000 troops. "The lady Tamar predicted that the storm won't start until the day after tomorrow. Was Lady Tamar's prediction wrong?" Lady Tamar was an elderly elf who served the King of the Zulux dynasty. Lady Tamar had this unique power to predict when the weather will change.
Never, even once Lady Tamar's prediction had failed. This is why, after knowing that the storm won't start until the day after tomorrow, Aris was given the responsibility of leading half of the total army to capture the Zraka fortress.
So that when the storm ends, the main army can come and launch a full-scale war on the Istarin Kingdom. "Sir, Maybe Lady Tamar's prediction isn't wrong. This was the work of some external forces."
"You idiot, don't nonsense. I have never heard of anyone who can control the weather. Even if there were some people who could control the weather, why would they help Aditya? More important this is not the time nor the place to talk about things that don't even matter anymore."
"Commander, what we should do? The soldiers are having a hard time resisting the storm." Unlike the storms on earth, the storm on this world was 10 times stronger. Due to the presence of mana in this world, every matter in this world is influenced by mana. The weather and the atmosphere were no exception to this.
While 2nd-order cultivators still can endure the storm without much effort, the 1st-order cultivators who were mostly soldiers were having a difficult time.
"We are in the mountains, there is no place for us to take shelter. At this point, it is impossible to go back. I don't even know what to do in this situation." The commander named Aris saw no path except for charging ahead and taking a huge risk to defeat the enemy with their exhausted and tired soldiers.
"We will keep charging ahead. Rather than turning around or waiting here, we will continue our march and attack the fortress. Our 30,000 number is more than enough to take down the Istarin troops and find shelter in their fortress." No one can disobey the commander's order. With Aris's orders, all the troops were forced to continue their march even in this storm. The storm had caused their speed to slow down.
Even though Aris said those words, somewhere deep in his heart he knew that the chances of defeating the Istarin troops who probably have been taking shelter in the fortress would be extremely difficult. Aris knew that this was his only option. The option of turning around and going back didn't even come to his mind as the distance was too long for the soldiers to handle.
In this strong wing and rain, each 1st-order soldier was protecting their bodies with a layer of mana. The layer of mana was reducing the wind pressure by a small margin. With each passing second, the soldiers were losing their mana which was making them exhausted.
"Let's hope that this risk will work." Aris was ready to sacrifice 2/3 of his troops if he can take the fortress. As long as he can take the fortress, he would not be punished by the Zulux Dynasty otherwise only God knows what will happen to him.
Aris cared more about his reputation and the punishment of the king than the lives of some lowly soldiers.
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"Ara! Ara! Now that I have done my part to help your dear husband, you shouldn't forget your wife. Perhaps I should ask for a reward." Standing in the sky, there were two women looking at the Zraka fortress.
One of these women was the guild leader of the Seeker of Impurity. "little Sister, now that I have done my part, can I leave everything to you? This big sister has lots of work. I have to return to my continent."
"How many times I will have to tell you to not call me sister? It's not like you're going to listen to me. I will arrange a teleportation array for your return."
"Do you think our husband can win this war?"
"I don't know. We are forbidden from directly helping him. But that doesn't mean we can't help him indirectly. With this storm, I am not about his victory but the casualties number from his side will definitely decrease by a lot."
"I really want to meet him. I wonder how much he has changed."
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[3rd Bonus chapter of this week. Another one is coming. Vote for more chapters!!!]