The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 451: Volume 9: Phantom of the Ancient Castle - 9: Showdown

Chapter 451: Volume 9: Phantom of the Ancient Castle Chapter 9: Showdown

Seeing that everyone’s attention had been drawn to himself, Komer took the opportunity to introduce Rebry and his entourage.

After Rebry and Mihailovich demonstrated some beginner Star Magic and earth-based magic, the so-called rebel leaders were already fully convinced, prostrating themselves in admiration.

The Half-beastman warriors, who prided themselves on their martial arts, couldn’t believe their eyes after witnessing the two Dark Knights perform their acrobatic feats. Whether it was the Knight Spears cutting deep fissures into the earth, or the long swords slicing through giant trees with ease, it all made the martial arts of the Half-beastman warriors seem like child’s play.

Words backed by strength possess the most persuasive power. After witnessing the abilities of Komer’s guests, the beastmen willingly handed over their command of military forces.

With the help of the two Dark Knights, Komer conducted a major purge of the more than 30,000 armed slaves. Over 20,000 were disbanded, leaving only a combat force of 9,000.

This force of 9,000 underwent a crash course in the simplest military training, then were made to experience a magic attack up close. In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.

Ever since Leon’s uprising began to grow, Balmore felt an ill premonition.

He did not know if his premonition was accurate, but he became more convinced of it as Leon’s rebellion grew increasingly more intense, even defeating the Noble private soldiers owned by the local Aristocratic Mine Owners.

The speed at which the rebel armed forces swelled could only be described as rapid, and information from all sides indicated they were receiving substantial support in the form of weapons and food. In Bruce, a blockade against these supplies had been in effect for quite some time. This meant that there must be some force backing the rebellion.

Apart from Caucasus, no one could provide such support to the rebel forces. Without the support of Caucasus, and with Bruce already sealed off, it wouldn’t take long before the rebels would start killing each other for lack of food, or be annihilated one by one by the Noble private soldiers for lack of weapons. But with strong support from Caucasus, everything changed.

Although Homer’s army easily eliminated the rebel forces in the North during the Banassia battle, Balmore’s heart still hung in suspense. To resolve the issue in Leon, the Duke sent an additional 4,000 soldiers, bringing the record-breaking total stationed at Bruce Fortress to 6,000, along with a Baron as Commander. What’s more surprising is that the Duke also arranged for three Mages and two Magicians to accompany the force, demonstrating his determination.

Balmore suspected that the Duke had plans to move into Caucasus after resolving the Leon issue, particularly now that the kingdom’s entire attention was drawn to the stirrings of the beastmen in the North. It was an opportune moment to deal with this hidden threat.

But Balmore worried that from the very beginning, Caucasus had a hand behind the uprising in Leon. Now that Homer’s army had entered Leon in force, would the master of Caucasus simply stay quiet and uninvolved?

He wouldn’t fail to see the hidden agenda behind Homer’s deployment of such a large force. So, what kind of reaction would he have in response?

Fortunately, this time the Commander was the newly appointed Baron Haranto. All Balmore had to do was assist Baron Haranto in commanding the army. As for the rest of the strategic and tactical arrangements, they were all up to the somewhat stubborn Baron Haranto to decide; Balmore only had to obey.

Balmore held no prejudice against Baron Haranto, who he considered a standard military man, with a sizable reputation within the Knights regiment. But Haranto was too fond of face-to-face, direct confrontation, and the victory in Banassia inflated his confidence to a point where the persuasion of others could hardly reach him.

In his eyes, sending such a massive army to suppress a rabble of rebel slaves was overkill. Those bumpkins, having witnessed a few simple spells from the Mages, were so panicked and disorganised they couldn’t even form ranks, hardly giving the assembled troops a chance to demonstrate their capabilities. But would the same be true in the assault on Mandu?

Balmore had his doubts. People shouldn’t stumble in the same place twice. Although the Half-beastman slaves were dim-witted, they wouldn’t be unprepared and repeat their failure. However, current intelligence indicated that the Half-beastmen were ready for battle near Mandu, seemingly prepared for a decisive battle with Homer’s army. Could there be any conspiracy behind this?

An image of the enigmatic smiling face of the Baron Lord from Caucasus involuntarily surfaced in Balmore’s mind.

The moment Baron Haranto laid eyes on this army, he sensed something was amiss. This army was much smaller in number compared to the rebel army in the last battle in Banassia. According to intelligence, the number of rebels in Mandu should have exceeded that of Banassia, yet the situation in front of him did not match up.

Even though this army was smaller in number than in Banassia, the fervent zeal exuded by the fully armed Half-beastman warriors indicated that this was not the same dispirited and low-morale force reported by intelligence. The events of Banassia should have already reached these simple creatures’ ears, and they should be aware of the kind of strike they were about to face. But the situation seemed entirely different. What had caused such a dramatic change?