Chapter 62: The Defiant Retreat and the Wyvern’s Shadow

The term ‘Dibiles’s people’ encompassed not only the soldiers of the Kingdom of Dibiles itself but also those from its various vassal states.

Responding to a sudden command, soldiers from both the kingdom and its affiliated states began to withdraw from the fierce battle.

The order had been issued by a figure within the allied forces—the sole individual bold enough to openly challenge You.

This was the same fiery Legion Commander who had previously sent the Pegasus Knightage to assault Little Eagle and other demonic creatures.

Impulsive and short-tempered, he often approached situations with an almost foolish obstinacy.

Yet, despite his flaws, he possessed a profound humanity, unable to bear the sight of his soldiers dying meaningless deaths.

His inherent goodness alone made the Legion Commander seem more honorable than many others on the field.

His subordinate soldiers, remarkably compliant, swiftly pulled back from the central line upon his command, instantly transforming into a ‘reserve unit.’

****

The timeline rewinds to this very morning.

As You deployed the various national armies, he had accounted for the losses Dibiles’s soldiers sustained yesterday. Consequently, he had not assigned them to the vanguard for today’s battle.

Indeed, thanks to their previous casualties, these soldiers were merely designated as ‘third-line vanguards’ within the troop formations.

This positioning meant that while other nations’ armies suffered devastating losses, Dibiles still preserved more than half of its fighting strength.

Including the forces from its vassal states, Dibiles commanded a grand army of 100,000. Even after accounting for losses up to this point, a formidable 54,200 soldiers remained.

If these remaining forces were fully committed to battle against Wang, they could significantly deplete the target’s stamina.

Yet, as if determined to spite You, the fiery Legion Commander chose this crucial juncture to issue an unalterable command:

“Soldiers who have successfully retreated, from this moment forward, we shall abandon this meaningless battlefield and begin our journey back to our homeland.”

“You!”

You’s venomous gaze snapped across, his eyes like an enraged python, poised to swallow the Legion Commander whole.

The Legion Commander, however, was not one to be easily intimidated. With blood surging to his head, his words crackled with defiance.

“Why are you staring at me? If you intend to wage a war where we ‘kill a hundred but lose a thousand,’ my subordinates and I want no part of it. We’d be better off returning home immediately!”

“Hmph!”

You let out a disdainful snort, his nostrils flaring impolitely towards the Legion Commander as he spoke with unusual cunning.

“Have you no concern for your village’s populace? Did your king order you here simply for your grand army to return home empty-handed?”

“It’s certainly better than your brain-addled choice, sacrificing our nation’s entire army for the sake of a few thousand people.”

“You mustn’t speak like that. The demonic forces pose a significant threat; if we fail to eradicate them now, our Seven Nations will eventually suffer immensely.”

“While I may lack your long-term vision, I clearly understand that if we continue this fight, Dibiles will be utterly destroyed immediately!”

“Even if our nation is doomed to fall someday, it’s better to prolong its existence, even for a short while, than to face immediate annihilation.”

“You… you will regret this! Dibiles, a weak nation such as yours, cannot possibly withstand the repercussions of simultaneously offending six powerful countries.”

At this juncture, the Kingdom of Dibiles had not yet earned the moniker of the ‘Dibiles Empire.’

Among the Seven Great Nations, it was the weakest, its position remarkably precarious.

Its standing among the seven was akin to ‘the tail of a phoenix’ – merely a notch above the ‘chicken heads’ of numerous smaller and medium-sized states.

As You’s blunt threat implied, the stakes were incredibly high.

Should Dibiles truly antagonize six powerful nations, its demise would be but a matter of time.

Yet, before that could happen, the Legion Commander defiantly laid down his challenge, glaring fiercely at You and the three others.

“If your six nations wish to unite, you must first survive this day’s ordeal—that is, assuming your six nations don’t fall before then!”

Having delivered his scathing retort, the hot-tempered Legion Commander turned on his heel and departed. Even You could not openly obstruct him.

An irrational ally, once turned into an adversary, was an opponent one could never confront directly.

Otherwise, even if You managed to slay the Legion Commander, he would undoubtedly face a desperate, retaliatory assault. Sustaining a broken arm or two in the process was far from impossible.

And so, under the silent, resentful gazes of others, the entire army of Dibiles turned about, beginning their march homeward.

His decision to retreat from the battlefield was made on a whim, yet the Legion Commander would never live to know its profound impact.

He would never realize how his hot-headed choice irrevocably altered the destiny of Dibiles!

In that moment, his mind was consumed with thoughts of seeking His Majesty’s forgiveness upon his return, and the impending question of what name to bestow upon his soon-to-be-born child.

“If it’s a girl, I’ll name her… Restiel! What a pity I’m merely the king’s younger brother; no matter how exceptional my daughter might become, she’ll never be able to ascend the throne as queen.”

With a series of long sighs, the Legion Commander led his entire army away from the perilous battlefield.

As the grand army majestically departed, the three individuals beside You watched, dumbfounded. Their already unsettled moods plummeted into outright panic.

“What do we do now?”

“Excluding the soldiers annihilated solely by that monster, and the forces of the nation that just abruptly retreated, the allied army’s total strength is now less than 160,000!”

“In just one morning, our total troop count has dwindled from over 740,000 to less than a quarter of its original strength. Can we possibly continue this fight?”

“We can fight!”

The unexpected defection of an ally had entirely stripped the composed expression from You’s face.

It took more than a dozen deep breaths for You’s grim features to gradually soften, slowly returning to their former composure.

Between the overwhelming might of his foe and the outrageous behavior of his own allies, You found himself with no other recourse but to play his trump card prematurely.

From Wang’s perspective, the sunlight above suddenly began to dim, as if something immense had materialized in the sky, obstructing the celestial rays from reaching the earth below.

Wang, noting the appearance of the colossal shadow, instinctively wished to glance skyward.

Before she could, however, she first needed to dispatch the enemy soldiers pressing in around her.

With a swift, practiced motion, Wang unleashed her longsword, its keen blade whirling into a deadly dance of ‘sword flowers.’

In its deadly arc, the blade not only deflected the spears thrusting from both her left and right. Then, in a seamless motion, it slammed into the chest of an enemy cavalryman on her left, sending the heavily armored foe crashing from his mount.

With one strike finding its mark, Wang leveraged the recoil to swiftly reverse her grip on the sword.

In the very next instant, the blade’s edge sliced across the waist of an enemy cavalryman on her right. A grotesque crimson spray erupted.

Having neutralized the immediate threats, Wang seized the fleeting moment, tilting her head back to gaze at the heavens.

As that remarkably brief upward glance concluded, Wang’s eyes transmitted the observed scene, converting it into vital information within her mind.

A single keyword surfaced in Wang’s thoughts.

‘Flying Dragon!’

The true culprit behind the immense shadow was a terrifying, fanged, and clawed sub-dragon species, soaring high above.

Creatures known as ‘Dragons’ did indeed exist on this continent.

However, in contrast to the ancient, true dragon species, sub-dragon creatures had only begun to be discovered by people in recent years.

Among the more renowned sub-dragon species was the ‘Flying Dragon’—the very creature You had unleashed, now circling ominously above the battlefield.

More commonly, this type of dragon was referred to as a ‘Wyvern.’

To illustrate the distinction, one might consider true dragons and wyverns akin to a wild wolf and a husky – superficially similar, yet fundamentally different.

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