Chapter 483 - 388: War for the Nation’s Fate
Chapter 483: Chapter 388: War for the Nation’s Fate
"Ed, assemble the Moonlight Knight Order. We ride out of the city to welcome the Duke!"
Ed accepted the order and quickly departed.
Half an hour later, Raylo arrived at the castle square.
The entire Moonlight Knight Order had already gathered.
Baofeng answered his summons and landed in the square, letting out a clear, piercing cry.
Raylo mounted Baofeng, and together with the Moonlight Knight Order, he rode out of Black Stone Castle.
They traveled ten kilometers.
At the far end of the plains, the horizon seemed to be shrouded by a moving black cloud.
It was the Thunder Dragon Knight Order!
This was the very foundation of the Thunder Dragon Duchy, the greatest power Aiden Duke relied upon to suppress all opposition and expand his territory.
Every single Knight was a battle-hardened elite.
One could say that Aiden Duke had poured at least half of his entire fortune into this Knight Order.
In the sky above, two enormous figures could be faintly seen moving in and out of the clouds. They were the great Thunder Dragon Astra and his mate, who was also the Giant Dragon partner of Gaius, Commander of the Thunder Dragon Knight Order.
Raylo was slightly taken aback.
’The Duke has brought all of the Duchy’s strongest trump cards. This show of force doesn’t look like reinforcements; it’s clearly an army geared for all-out war.’
Raylo led the Moonlight Knight Order to a halt, waiting in place for the "black cloud" to approach.
The Thunder Dragon Knight Order stopped ten kilometers from Black Stone Castle. The massive army slowly parted to either side, opening up a path.
A magnificent carriage, pulled by four extraordinarily spirited white horses, slowly drove forward.
The carriage came to a steady halt, the door opened, and Aiden Duke stepped out.
Raylo stepped forward and performed a Knight’s salute.
"Black Stone Territory welcomes you, Your Grace."
Behind him, the Moonlight Knight Order knelt on one knee in perfect unison.
Aiden Duke’s gaze swept over Raylo and the Knight Order behind him, a flicker of approval in his eyes.
He strode forward, raised Raylo with both hands, and then clapped him heavily on the shoulder.
"You rascal..."
Aiden Duke looked him up and down, his tone tinged with a hint of teasing.
"Keeping such a huge secret, and you even kept it from me. No wonder Astra thinks so highly of you."
The "secret" he was referring to was obviously the news about the emergence of the Heart of the Giant Beast.
The chance to advance to the Catastrophe Level—the weight of this gift was enough to drive any Giant Dragon mad.
Raylo gave an awkward laugh and straightened up.
"Father, why did you bring the entire Thunder Dragon Knight Order?"
"I had no choice."
Aiden Duke glanced toward the distant Jade Swamp.
"If you want to snatch food from the mouth of that kind of existence, and you don’t bring enough men, I’m afraid there won’t even be any bones left."
From behind the Duke, several people stepped forward.
These were the powerhouses Aiden Duke had brought with him on this trip.
He turned to the side and began introducing the people beside him to Raylo.
"I don’t think this man needs an introduction."
Aiden Duke pointed to a man beside him clad in Heavy Armor, whose aura was as harsh and severe as a frosty winter.
"’Frosty Winter’ Elvin, Vice Commander of the Thunder Dragon Knight Order."
Elvin nodded at Raylo.
"Last time, thanks to Your Highness’s intervention, you helped me capture that elusive Mage from the Abyssal Sect."
"Chief Court Mage, Master Herast."
An old man wearing a Magic Robe embroidered with stars gave Raylo a gentle smile.
"The Empire’s Eastern Border Guardian, ’Iron Blood’ Luke."
The Duke said with a laugh.
"Your former Commander-in-Chief. You earned a great deal of merit under him."
Luke nodded at Raylo.
Raylo was even more astonished. The Eastern Duchy bordered the Fiery Sun Kingdom, and Luke was in charge of defending the Eastern Territory against them. For the Duke to be determined enough to recall him from such a critical position... it showed just how determined the Duke was to succeed on this expedition.
"And these two..."
Aiden Duke pointed to two other men.
"The pillar of the Western Territory, ’Red Blade’ Marquis Kadar, and ’Wind Caller’ Master Lorrian."
These few people, along with Aiden Duke himself and Gaius by his side, were all Domain Level Powerhouses renowned in their own right.
Almost the entire top-tier fighting force of the Thunder Dragon Duchy had been mobilized.
Raylo was utterly shocked.
He knew his father would take this seriously, but he never expected him to take it *this* seriously.
This was no longer just a matter of being determined to win; this was a gamble with the fate of the entire Duchy.
"Alright, this isn’t the place to talk."
Aiden Duke waved his hand.
"Let’s head into the city first. Don’t leave my Knights standing around like fools."
"Yes, Father."
Raylo snapped back to his senses and immediately stepped aside to lead the way.
"Raylo, have your men find an open space outside the castle. Just ensure there’s food and water."
Aiden Duke re-entered his carriage, his voice drifting out from within.
"We are soldiers; we’re used to living in tents. Just have the Thunder Dragon Knight Order make camp outside the castle. We won’t enter the city, so as not to frighten your subjects."
"Yes."
Raylo commanded the Moonlight Knight Order to clear the path ahead, leading the vast procession toward Black Stone Castle.
The colossal army began to move, its march kicking up enough dust to blot out the sun.
A few dozen minutes later, the column arrived at Black Stone Castle.
Inside the carriage, Aiden Duke lifted the curtain and gazed past the castle, toward the highlands east of Black Stone Castle.
At first, he paid it no mind, assuming they were just ordinary hills.
But soon, he noticed something was wrong.
Those "hills" were moving, and there were a great many of them.
When he saw clearly that the slowly moving "hills" were actually Giants, each over ten meters tall, even he couldn’t help but reveal a look of astonishment.
He narrowed his eyes and counted carefully. The Giants were gathered in a massive camp, with cooking smoke curling into the air and frequent activity. Their numbers... there were probably over a hundred of them.
Aiden Duke’s expression froze.
He dropped the curtain and leaned back against his seat.
’The report I received previously stated that Raylo had subdued a dozen or so Hill Giants, including a Domain Level one named Kado. But the scale of what I’m seeing now—how is this just "a dozen or so"?’
’This is clearly a complete, powerful tribe of Hill Giants!’
’That rascal...’
’How long has it been since he left the National Capital? And without a sound, he has managed to pull off another huge surprise.’
「That evening」
The banquet hall of Black Stone Castle was brightly lit.
The long tables were laden with wild boar roasted until it sizzled with fat, golden ale, and fresh fruit, but the atmosphere was not as lively as a typical banquet.
Aiden Duke sat at the head of the table, his wine cup half-full, his mind clearly not on the food.
From time to time, he would gaze through the window at the Hill Giant camp outside the city, where a few tall bonfires flickered.
"Raylo."
The Duke cut a piece of roast meat with his knife and fork, asking without looking up.
"Feeding those big fellows must be quite expensive, isn’t it?"
Hearing this, Raylo gave a wry smile.
"They eat a lot, but thankfully, their diet is broad. They’re not picky."
"Hah."
The Duke chuckled softly and asked no more questions.
...
「The next day, just as the sky began to lighten」
The Thunder Dragon Knight Order’s camp outside Black Stone Territory was heavily guarded.
In the Central Army Main Tent.
Raylo, along with Ed and Alex, strode toward the tent.
He lifted the heavy tent flap.
Inside, Aiden Duke sat in the center. At his sides were ’Frosty Winter’ Elvin, ’Iron Blood’ Luke, ’Red Blade’ Marquis Kadar, and the other top-tier powerhouses of the Duchy.
Gaius and Master Herast were seated to his left and right.
Raylo brought the two men forward to salute.
Aiden Duke’s gaze swept past Raylo, then lingered for a moment on Ed and Alex.
He of course recognized these two veterans who had served in the Thunder Dragon Knight Order for many years.
But now, the fluctuations of Fighting Spirit surging from their bodies already indicated their rank as Sky Knights.
The leap from a Tier Three Earth Knight to a Tier Four Sky Knight was a heavenly chasm, one that had blocked the path of countless gifted individuals.
These two, after only a short time under Raylo’s command, had both broken through.
The Duke’s eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. He said nothing, merely withdrawing his gaze and giving Raylo a slight nod.
"Be seated," the Duke said.
Once Raylo was seated, the meeting officially began.
"Raylo, you are the one most familiar with the situation in the Jade Swamp. You report."
Aiden Duke got straight to the point.
Raylo already had a plan in mind. He stood up, walked to the sand table, and began to speak with a calm expression.
"The core of the Jade Swamp is the Nine-headed Demon Serpent Hydra. According to the intelligence I’ve gathered, one of Hydra’s Catastrophe Level Avatars, ’Thunderbolthead,’ has already descended. This Avatar possesses its own independent consciousness and Catastrophe Level Power."
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the tent grew tense.
Even for these battle-hardened Domain Level Powerhouses, hearing the words "Catastrophe Level" made their expressions turn incredibly grim.
Raylo didn’t pause, continuing his report.
"Besides the Catastrophe Level Avatar, on the outskirts of the swamp alone, there are at least ten or more Domain Level Powerhouses. As for how many Domain Level Powerhouses and Demons are hidden in the depths, the number will only be greater than on the periphery."
His finger swept across a large area on the sand table.
"What’s more troublesome are the battle groups formed by the endless Demons within the swamp. According to estimates, each of these Domain Level Demons can command a Demon battle group ten thousand strong."
One hundred thousand!
Even ’Iron Blood’ Luke couldn’t help but frown at this number.
A war between two human kingdoms would be on this scale.
"That’s not all."
Raylo’s tone grew even heavier.
"Several other forces, not to be underestimated, are also entrenched around the Jade Swamp. To the east is the Catastrophe Level Necromancer from the Undead Canyon, Modi Caesar. To the west is the Young Black Dragon from the Black Dragon Mountain Range, the ’Black King,’ who is cunning, greedy, and very active. To the south, in the Black Water River, there’s an Eternal Giant Turtle that has lived for who knows how many years. However, that old turtle just suffered a major loss at the hands of the Demon Serpent Avatar, so it’s probably hiding in the depths of the Black Water River to recover."
"While these powers might not get directly involved, it’s highly likely they’ll show up at a critical moment to get a piece of the pie."
After speaking, Raylo returned to his seat.
The entire tent fell silent, with only the occasional sound of heavy breathing.
The information Raylo had laid out was like a series of great mountains, weighing down on everyone’s hearts.
After a long while, Aiden Duke finally spoke, his voice breaking the silence as he made his decision.
"The situation is worse than we thought, but it’s also within our expectations."
His gaze swept over everyone present.
"In this war, the Thunder Dragon Knight Order will be the main force, with Gaius as Commander-in-Chief. Relay my orders: summon all the enfeoffed Lords of the Northern Territory. Command them to lead their most elite troops and assemble at Black Stone Territory within seven days!"
"Any who fail to arrive by the deadline will be stripped of their titles!"
"Yes, Your Grace!"
Gaius rose to accept the command.
"As for the Nine-headed Demon Serpent’s Catastrophe Level Avatar..."
Aiden Duke stood up, exuding an aura of domineering power that could look down upon the world.
"My partner Astra and I will deal with it personally."
His eyes grew sharp as he scanned the crowd.
"Gentlemen, the Heart of the Giant Beast is the key to Lord Astra’s advancement to the Catastrophe Level, and it is the guarantee of our Thunder Dragon Duchy’s future. This war is a war for the very fate of our Duchy—we cannot afford to lose!"
"For the Duchy!"
All the powerhouses in the tent responded in unison.
...
When the meeting ended, Raylo returned to Black Stone Castle.
Standing on the castle’s terrace, he could see dozens of Iron Feathered Eagle Knights taking to the sky from the army camp outside the city, flying toward the various territories of the Northern Territory.
The scent of war was already starting to fill the air.
There was just over a week left until the emergence of the Heart of the Giant Beast.
The days passed, one by one.
The Lords of the Northern Territory answered the Duke’s call one after another, and armies with distinct banners converged from all directions.
Outside Black Stone Territory, the encampments stretched for several kilometers, their banners so numerous they blotted out the sun.
While Raylo was busy arranging the reception for the various Lords and coordinating supplies, he also seized every available moment to hone his Spiritual Power and Fighting Spirit.
Amid the tense and orderly wait, time marched on to the eighth day.
At dawn, a clear, resounding Horn blast echoed throughout Black Stone Territory.
The Duke’s order had been given.
Raylo donned his Armor and walked out of the castle into the blinding sunlight.
He saw Ed, already fully clad in armor, waiting for him outside the gate.
"My Lord, it’s time to depart."
Raylo nodded.
Outside the castle, the vast army had finished assembling.
Aiden Duke was mounted on his Giant Dragon partner, the Thunder Dragon Astra, looking down upon the army that represented the full might of his Duchy.
"Entire army, march out!"
The Duke’s voice, like rolling thunder, spread in all directions.
"Our target is the Jade Swamp!"
The immense army began its slow advance. A torrent of steel kicking up a sky-full of dust, it marched majestically toward the swamp to the east, a land filled with both death and opportunity.