The Vastness of Magical Destiny

Dragumo had no idea that he and his army had been scrutinized by Komer and a lady like a herd of animals, simply because his Lord could not control his own lust, treating the other as beastly as he’d savaged. At that moment, he was fretting over the attrition of his two thousand soldiers. They had embarked from Bruce with a full complement of two thousand men, but by the time they arrived at the dock on Lake Nissai, twenty-six had been lost without exception, either drowned in the river or devoured by the fierce Yuaikroc that lurked in the river. The Yuaikroc was one of the fiercest magical beasts in the Nissai River, but they mostly hid in the swamps around the rivers and lakes shrouded by the forest, never merciful to invaders of their territory. And from the river harbor dock to Quke Valley, thirty-three more soldiers were lost to the battles with Gray Wolves and Ogres.

Having lost nearly seventy warriors before even engaging, Dragumo was seething, yet he had to admit that in terms of combat ability and experience, his troops were significantly lacking against these ferocious magical beasts. Yet looking at Solonberg and Ilot, who had accompanied his army, the two viewed the magical beasts as a rare opportunity to enhance their skills. They slew them along the way, even actively provoked them, leaving no peace throughout the journey. Their display of formidable prowess almost brought Dragumo and his Half-beast men to the verge of worshipping them, especially Solonberg, who single-handedly fought two Ogres and bisected one with his Knight’s Sword, eliciting the utmost respect from the Half-beast Warriors.

Of course, Dragumo was aware that in a real large-scale battle, he would still have to rely on his own Half-beast soldiers. Knights might be valiant, but in army troop combat, individual strength recedes to a secondary role. So while envying Solonberg’s personal prowess, Dragumo focused more on rapidly acclimatizing his remaining nineteen hundred or so soldiers to the environment and further strengthening their discipline training.

Komer silently stood in the forest outside the barracks, observing the training condition in the ground. It must be said that Fran’s training had indeed been quite effective. These robust but unruly Half-beast Warriors now at least appeared orderly at a glance, and to laymen, they were already intimidating. Katya had been thoroughly conquered by these fierce and terrifying Half-beast men, and as for Palermo, a merchant’s eye held no particular skill in discerning warriors - beyond his incessant praise, he only pondered how to make the Livonian Folk accept this reality without becoming flustered.

However, Komer knew that although this army seemed ferocious, it still lacked a true baptism by war. Fortunately, the Noble private soldiers gathered around Hoffman didn’t fare much better. His Half-beast Army should still hold a certain advantage over them. The only concern was the Royal Court Magicians. Although this army had gone through preliminary resistance training against Magic Attacks, such was only routine. Regular Fire Magic and Thunder Magic attacks still posed a considerable threat to them. It was perhaps in their species’ nature, and not something a few drills could eliminate.

Another key issue was the insufficient numbers. Two thousand soldiers could not assure Katya’s ability to withstand Hoffman and his Blood Lion Corps, which had even garnered support from Two Great Lords of the North, with their numbers officially exceeding ten thousand. They appeared strong and formidable, prompting an increasingly aggressive stance from Katya’s side, with even some calls to arms, demanding that military might solve those in the Southwest Region that did not obey Godeburg.

Komer sighed lightly; the forces in his hands were too weak. Yet, even so, the maintenance of five thousand troops had already caused financial strain on Caucasus. If not for the accumulation from vigorously developing business and trading away mines these past few years, even sustaining three thousand troops would have been challenging. However, this was a battle that concerned Katya’s ascension to the throne, and just as crucial for him. As long as they could triumph in one battle, all the pressure he bore could be resolved.

Komer’s sigh was immediately detected by a Half-beast Sentry patrolling the training ground, who lunged towards him, his Long Spear nearly reaching Komer’s throat before realizing it was the Lord overseeing the training. Not quite sure how to handle the situation, the Half-beast Sentry looked to the approaching Squad Leader for guidance.

"Oh, my Lord, is that you? What brings you here? Are we to go into battle soon?" With a wave to dismiss the Sentry, Dragumo looked surprised to see Komer standing alone outside the training ground.

"Yes, I came to see how the training was going. Dragumo, how’s the morale among the soldiers?" Komer glanced past a Half-beast soldier puffing out his chest, and seeing that the Lord himself had come for inspection, the Half-beast soldiers were all the more spirited. With the adjustment of the troop formation, their roars grew even more robust and orderly.