Chapter 436 -
From the day Banes' army claimed the Ironvale Fortress, Taranis knew that once the war with the empire's army began, the citizens of the country would be slaughtered in the war of awakeners.
To prevent this, he handed Tartaglia a chart on which the array for advanced teleportation was drawn, along with a few High Tier Grade 3 Soul Stones required to activate it. Of course, the array had been given to Taranis by Ume, along with several others that could aid him in the war. Tartaglia and several other array experts from his sect spent days inscribing the array across the entire country.
However, using the array solely for the teleportation of citizens would have been a waste of energy and resources, so Taranis devised another plan.
Unlike a regular teleportation array, the advanced teleportation array could transport people to any location by inputting the exact coordinates of the destination. Thus, two locations were set within the array. Non-awakeners would be teleported to the grounds beneath the Hundred Sky Mountains, while awakeners would be sent to the Sentinel Line, the farthest location from the Ironvale Duchy. It was a perfect plan to avoid a bloodbath while simultaneously reducing the enemy's forces.
Now the question arose: which location would the emperor target to breach the city walls?
At the fortress gate, Taranis, Vyaghra, and Jambavan stood as absolute defenders, while the other Sect Masters held back the Dukes. It was therefore obvious that the empire would target the rear of the country, where the defenses were minimal.
However, there was still one problem. The array could easily teleport non-awakeners and those at lower realms, but it could completely fail if it attempted to teleport a cultivator of the Eternal Sage realm without their consent.
Keeping this in mind, Taranis gave Erik one condition. If he wanted to protect his people, he would need to hold back the Eternal Sage while allowing the maximum number of knights from the army to enter the city.
---
The presence of the millions of soldiers who had entered the city suddenly vanished.
"Wh-what have you done!?" Hector demanded, his eyes widening in shock and confusion.
"H-hehe... you might have won the duel, but I am the real victor, Hector," Erik grinned through his bloodied teeth.
Desperation and fear surged through Hector. He clenched his fist, punched Erik in the face, and demanded,
"Where is my army?"
"Hehe—"
Slam!
"Answer me!"
"Hahah—"
Slam!
.
.
.
Erik continued to laugh until his jaw was completely broken from Hector's punches.
"You bastard!" Hector muttered, veins bulging on his forehead in fury and frustration.
He drew his spear and thrust it toward Erik's throat.
Just as the spear was about to strike, the ground beneath Erik shifted, materializing into a shield and stopping the attack.
"I acknowledge you as a true knight, Erik Ironvale," a deep voice laced with respect echoed.
Hector's eyes shifted to the broken wall from where the voice came. A mountainous man, over eight feet tall, with a broad chest and thick muscles, stood there with his arms folded.
"Ti-Titan El Rockbane?" Hector murmured, stepping back.
Hector's personal knights, who had remained behind until now, immediately moved forward, forming a protective formation around him.
"Your Highness, we need to retreat," one of the guards suggested. "Even all of us together aren't a match for him."
Hector already knew it. The man before him was the mightiest Eternal Sage in terms of physical prowess. His punches were powerful enough to destroy mountains. Together with his knights, Hector might exchange a few moves with him, but nothing more.
Hector gritted his teeth in frustration and gave the order to retreat.
---
Slap!
A sharp sound echoed through the meeting camp as Kharos struck Hector in front of all the Dukes.
"Who told you to accept Erik's challenge?" Kharos said, his voice louder than usual. "If you had entered the city directly, the teleportation array they set would have failed. Your recklessness cost us the loss of one million soldiers!"
Hector clenched his fists and muttered, restraining his anger despite the humiliation,
"I'm sorry, Father."
Kharos was about to scold him again, but then Brandon suggested,
"Your Highness, we can announce a temporary truce until the army returns."
Kharos released a sigh, calming himself, and murmured, "The three million soldiers we currently possess are enough to secure victory over Banes' army now that their strongest warrior has fallen."
"But we will suffer heavy casualties at the hands of the key figures in their army," Merlin added, voicing Kharos's concerns.
Kharos nodded and continued, "We will wait for one month for the army's return. If they do not return by then, we will attack the fortress again."
The other Dukes nodded in agreement. They did not know where the army had been teleported, nor whether all of them would return willingly, knowing they had been used as mere shields in the war. Some, if not most, might abandon the war altogether. The thirty days were meant to adjust their strategies and reorganize their forces to compensate for the sudden reduction in numbers.
The Dukes left the camp, leaving Kharos and Hector alone.
"How could he slap me in front of everyone?" Hector muttered inwardly, clenching his fists. "Adam's lust caused a thirty-year war against the demons, yet he was never blamed for it. And now I am humiliated for something that was completely unavoidable."
Seeing the troubled expression on Hector's face, Kharos spoke, his voice calmer now,
"Hector, I hope you learn from this incident and do not repeat—"
"Whatever!" Hector retorted, then left the camp with heavy stomps.
The next seven days were unusually peaceful. There were no screams, no clash of weapons, no splatter of blood. The army recuperated, and the truce allowed them to regain their confidence and strength.
They wished the peace would last forever, that they would never have to shed blood again.
However, their hopes were shattered on the eighth day when something completely unexpected happened.
---
"Y-your Majesty!" A guard rushed into the meeting camp, worry and fear etched across his face.
Kharos, who was in the middle of a discussion with the Dukes, turned to him and asked, his eyes narrowing in annoyance,
"I hope the news is crucial enough for you to barge into the meeting like this."
The knight flinched under Kharos's oppressive aura but continued, breathing heavily,
"Y-your Highness, the scouts have detected Banes' army marching toward us."