Chapter 862: Baiting an Ultimate With Invulnerability

So far, the troops have thoroughly mastered only these three modes of Civilization Aura.

Other uses exist, such as strengthening mental resolve or enhancing the body and aiding recovery.

Those, however, are useful only in particular situations.

For now, Peace Haven's army concentrates on mastering the three main modes.

In this battle, for instance, the troops have used neither "Fight" nor "Suppress." They have relied entirely on "Defend."

It was a wise choice. That immense barrage of formation magic did little more than cool the two warbands down. It inflicted almost no casualties.

Even the faint defense left on the soldiers after the "Defend" aura fades shows how hard the attack struck.

The spell attack was immensely powerful. Without the "Defend" aura, they would have suffered heavy casualties.

Invulnerability used to bait out an ultimate!

Well worth it!

But the two warbands from Peace Haven's Southern District did not push so deep just to draw out one big attack.

As soon as the barrage ends, the two ballista companies behind them lock onto the enemy spellcaster contingent.

All right!

My turn for an ultimate. Hope you've got invulnerability too!

The bandit army is on its last sliver of health. It has no defense left.

Ten Thunderclap Ballistae unleash a furious bombardment. Explosions tear through the enemy spellcasters' position.

The bandit commander would like to destroy these vicious human weapons, but each ballista company has a thousand-man combat battalion guarding it.

Breaking through to them is impossible.

Both warbands also have cavalry. Between them, there are four cavalry companies.

Now joined into one force, a thousand cavalry patrol near the ballista companies, ready to charge to their aid.

One observer laughs. "Bold tactics! Without that way of linking fighting spirit, they'd have suffered terrible losses!"

Another adds approvingly, "A risk, but it's hit the enemy's concentration of professionals hard."

"Disrupting the enemy's deployment of professionals will spare us a great many casualties over the whole battle. That's a considerable achievement."

Another observer asks, curiosity edged with greed, "General Pabos, this way of linking fighting spirit is quite unusual."

"It could be enormously useful in the Calamity War. What would we need to pay for Peace Haven to share this tactic?"

Pabos wears a gentle smile. "Pay? We're all part of the human alliance. No need to talk as if we're strangers."

"It's very simple. Hold fast to the ideal of fighting for humanity's peace, and you can move the gods."

"This is a gift from the gods. Perhaps the Lord of the Holy Spirit is showing Peace Haven his favor!"

The others can only laugh awkwardly and agree. Senar gives Pabos a surprised look.

"Tsk! You're so young, and you're already learning your father's bad habits. You've certainly inherited his thick skin."

"Lying through your teeth! Forget church buildings. Is there even a single symbol of the church anywhere in Peace Haven?"

"And you call this a blessing from the Lord of the Holy Spirit?"

"If we weren't on the Abandoned Continent, divine punishment would have landed on your father's head several times by now!"

Pabos spreads his hands and murmurs back, "You saw how shameless they were about asking, Commander. Why shouldn't I be just as shameless about answering?"

Senar smiles and shakes his head. He finds that he does not dislike Henwell's family.

Compared with Henwell, the young Pabos is far easier to like.

Clever, brave, eager to learn, modest.

Those qualities make the boy a pleasure to talk to.

Henwell? Better not. The man is stressful just to look at.

Those qualities are also a large part of why Harry, Senar's elder foster brother, takes Pabos seriously as a student.

Pabos has tried all kinds of ways to treat Harry's lame leg.

Eventually, he discovered that Harry's leg stopped hurting only when Harry was close to Henwell.

Harry's leg had been injured long before. Someone had broken it when he was stealing to keep Senar alive.

Later, after Senar's powers awakened, certain people wanted to erase his past. They devised a trap to keep him occupied elsewhere.

By the time he found out, Harry's tendons had been severed and his knees smashed.

Extraordinary methods had been used. Even now, Senar has been unable to heal his brother's leg completely.

To make sure Harry could no longer stay beside Senar, those people had applied poison to his injuries and laid a curse on them as well.

Any attempt to stand or walk brought agony to his leg.

But they had underestimated the man who had been both brother and father to Senar. Leaning on a walking stick, Harry had endured excruciating pain to stay at Senar's side for years.

He had offered counsel and found ways to turn events in Senar's favor, guiding him into the position he now holds.

Yet the leaders of the church and the empire have always looked down on this thief born a slave.

By teaching Pabos, Harry also wanted to prove that he could help shape a man fit to be a king.

He had wanted to follow Henwell too, but Henwell made it clear that he had no shortage of advisers, especially ruthless strategists.

Harry understood. Henwell had clawed his way out of the same hell at the bottom of society. When it came to vicious schemes, Henwell was no less capable than Harry.

So he began teaching Pabos.

He grew fond of the warm, cheerful boy, who seemed able to bring light into the darker parts of his life.

Better still, as he continued teaching Pabos, he discovered that his lame leg also stopped hurting when he was near his student.

Did he envy Pabos for being born into such a family?

Of course not. He had been born in darkness, endured evil, and learned every twist of intrigue. He still yearned for the light.

A man with nothing in his heart but darkness, deceit, and gloom could never become so formidable a strategist.

With Pabos, and indeed throughout Peace Haven, Harry encounters something entirely new.

Everyone here, from the people of Blood Hill Manor to the ordinary residents of Peace Haven, treats him as a human being.

Many people dislike him. But they do not discriminate against him.

They do not look down on him for his birth or his disability. That is one reason he has gradually lost the wish to leave Peace Haven.

But a painful dilemma lies ahead.

He knows that Henwell and his younger brother are both determined to claim control of the Mobile Strike Group.

He cannot advise either side.

On one side is the younger brother he raised, the family member at the center of his life.

On the other is his student, the heir to his teachings, the one who will carry on his ideals.

The older man and the boy are chatting easily before him. One day, they may well be enemies.

Harry's feelings are tangled. For the first time, he understands that life can demand a choice this difficult.

While Harry is lost in thought, a messenger hurries over with a verbal message.

Drums and horns sound the retreat.

The human troops slowly disengage, form up again, and settle into an alert defensive posture.

The bandit army's defensive perimeter shrinks further. Now almost any ranged attack can cause serious damage.

Senar says to Pabos, "Marshal Luke wants me at the temporary headquarters. It's probably about the enemy professionals trying to break out. Stay here and command the troops."