The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 1000: Volume 32 Dark Clouds - 18 Turning the Tables

Chapter 1000: Volume 32 Dark Clouds Chapter 18 Turning the Tables

Dragumo sighed, for the reinforcements from Caucasus would not be arriving any time soon. Although the first batch of reinforcements had already entered the city, these green recruits could not yet be called true soldiers. Perhaps they would grow through this baptism of blood, but did they still have a chance?

The Cretans besieging the castle seemed determined to capture these castles. Dragumo realized he had underestimated the courage and determination of these Cretans. They were still unrelenting despite the heavy price they had paid. But looking at it from another angle, he understood them. If he were in their shoes, he would not back down without a fight either.

Although the three thousand reinforcements were incorporated into his main forces, their rate of casualties was at least three times higher than that of his troops, who had been trained meticulously. Lacking experience in dealing with magic attacks and the combat skills to fend off enemy advances directly led to their severe casualties. Dragumo found this heartbreaking, but such was the price of growth.

Dragumo pondered how much longer he could hold on under the current state of the conflict. Every bit of strength that could have been mustered had been used. Newman and his team had done their best, while the city’s defense works had been nearly destroyed by the enemy magicians. Fortunately, the intensity of the enemy’s magic attacks was also declining significantly.

The awoken Livonian Folk seemed to be at the end of their rope, and Dragumo even worried that they might turn traitor in an act of desperation, hoping for the Cretans’ forgiveness. Fortunately, this had not happened yet, but as the situation dragged on, it became an increasing possibility. Dragumo never trusted the character and integrity of these mortals.

The last Siegebreaker catapult finally fell apart.

The continuous launching had exhausted the soldiers operating it, and also depleted the ancient catapult. After it launched its final stone with all its might, the throwing arm seemed to have broken from overexertion. The recoil from the snapped magic metal spring sent the entire frame crashing apart, even knocking down several unsuspecting soldiers.

Dragumo had no interest in going over to check on them now; he had more pressing issues to consider. The catapult falling apart was one thing, but if the soldiers’ morale dropped, it might never be recovered, implying the collapse of the entire battle line.

A loud outcry from the city wall suddenly jolted Dragumo’s senses. Could it be that what he feared had happened? Was there a breakdown among the soldiers? A wave of unspeakable despair swept through Dragumo’s brain, but he immediately calmed down. Even if there had been an accident, he had to turn it around!

He dashed to the base of the city wall and leaped up the internal staircase to the battlements. To his surprise, the situation seemed not as bleak as he had anticipated. The soldiers still held their spears and giant shields, staunchly maintaining their positions, but their gazes towards the bottom of the wall were a mix of oddity and surprise, and their expressions filled with confusion.

Following the direction of everyone’s eyes, Dragumo saw a scenario unfold before him that he could hardly believe.

The Cretans seemed to have suddenly halted their attack. Even their front-line commanders seemed bewildered. They appeared to be in the midst of a confused command transition, with the chaotic orders making the situation utterly disorderly. The whole course of the war was abruptly interrupted, leaving even the Half-Beast soldiers somewhat at a loss with the unexpected developments.

Dragumo immediately judged that this was not any feint or trickery. The Cretans would not use such a realistic performance to deceive him. They knew he would not launch a counterattack from the city under these circumstances, but the current behavior still tempted Dragumo. If there really was an accident, it would be an opportunity to turn defeat into victory, but could this be a trap?

Fumel issued his orders almost biting through his lip, aware of the potential consequences. He knew that if he could delay until the evening when the conflict subsided, it would be much better to withdraw as a matter of course. He was also aware that the current situation was highly likely to provoke a counterattack, but he had no choice.

If he couldn’t withdraw his army from the battlefield and regroup quickly to head north in the shortest time, the entire invasion of Nicosia might result in the burial of the entire Knossos Army there.

Fumel never hated the Basarabians more, those shameless people who were even worse than the Beastmen of the Northern Wasteland, not following any rules. Claiming they would not intervene in the dispute between the Northern Alliance and the Nicosians, maintaining a hypocritical stance of indifference, they had unexpectedly marched east with no forewarning at this critical moment!

They had set out with an army thirty thousand strong, including ten thousand rapid cavalry. This deluge of an army had flooded into the Black Forest and Livonia, instantly breaking the fragile Black Forest defenses. The defense system collapsed, with his own forces unable to respond properly before retreating.

In Livonia, their vanguard moved so swiftly they were almost non-stop. In the span of one day and hundreds of miles, they were already dangerously close, less than eighty miles away from his location.

This was an utterly and perfectly designed conspiracy! A major, shocking conspiracy aimed to trap Knossos completely!

With fingers close to crushing the horse reins in his hands, Fumel shook with agony. Facing the chaotic scene before him, he could only hope that the opponent either overextended themselves or was too apprehensive and unaware of the situation to engage in battle. Only this could give his already fatigued soldiers a chance to withdraw. But would that be successful?

There was no time for deception, no time for illusions. Any delay might lead to the annihilation of his entire force. Fumel had no choice but to issue the command for a full retreat, saving whoever he could. If the enemy truly intended to sally forth from the city, he had no choice but to fight it out to the end, whatever the outcome might be. (To be continued. For further developments, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, and support the author by supporting the authorized readings!)