The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 986: Volume 32 Dark Clouds Roll In - 4 Target—Cartin!

Chapter 986: Volume 32 Dark Clouds Roll In Chapter 4 Target—Cartin!

Gazing at the dazed and muddled crowd in front of him, Fumel’s mood was utterly terrible. He had originally thought of Livonia as no more than a backyard. To the west, the Basarabians wouldn’t dare to interfere, and the Nicosians were far off to the east, separated by mountains and rivers. A force of three thousand was already more than sufficient. But no one expected to take such a tumble here.

If he could see that fool Manite, Fumel really wanted to string him up and question him on how he managed this army of three thousand. Was it possible that the Nicosians, holed up in their three small castles, could swallow up three thousand elites from the Knossos Kingdom in one gulp? Fumel didn’t believe it; there must be something fishy.

Unfortunately, like the others, that idiot Manite hadn’t been released. As the commander of the Knossos forces stationed in Livonia, it was impossible for him to be set free without a price. However, this was not a concern; once he captured the three castles and retook Livonia, everything would return to normal. Fumel believed that the Nicosians didn’t have much military strength. If they really were powerful, they wouldn’t skulk around in castles like this, which showed their insecurity.

"Hmph, such small castles think they can withstand our army’s assault? These Nicosians surely think too highly of themselves."

While observing the distinct features of the castle, Fumel was also carefully assessing its defensive system. To his relief, the Nicosians had focused too much on aesthetics and largely ignored the fortress’s defensive capabilities. With only symbolic four arrow castles and two assault towers, from what could be seen from atop the walls, the castle didn’t seem to have powerful weapons like crossbows and catapults, easing Fumel’s mind considerably.

"Sir Fumel, do we need to prepare for an immediate assault?"

"No, don’t rush it. I think we still have time. Let’s not be hasty. Since we’ve come all this way, we don’t plan on skulking back in defeat. We’ve already lost three thousand men; I don’t want to sacrifice more for a few small castles. It wouldn’t be worth it. Perhaps we can resolve this through other means." Fumel shook his head; his deputy was too impulsive and lacked a cool head, which wasn’t good.

"But we ••••••"

"Don’t be impatient. Where are our mages now?"

"They’ve already set out from the Black Forest heading south and should arrive here within two days."

"Good. Order the vanguard to advance forward, all the way to Quke Valley. Let’s see where these guys are coming from. Did they really infiltrate from the Basarabia side, or do they have other trails that go through Little Greenland Forest?" Fumel nodded calmly. "But regardless of where they’ve come from, their end will be the same. For such small castles, I believe our mages will show them what a true magic attack is, and they will regret it for a lifetime."

Before receiving the urgent report from Livonia, Komer had already realized a grave mistake he had made. Not sending enough mages with Dragumo’s forces was a blunder that could doom Livonia. Komer preferred not to dwell on regrets but rather on how to rectify this error urgently.

After immediately dispatching the mage forces led by Newman, Komer became anxious. Livonia was too far from Caucasus. It would take at least three days by boat from Bruce Fortress to Lake Nissai, followed by a few dozen kilometers of marching to Quke Valley. By the time Newman and his party set out, the reinforcement infantry had only recently departed by ship.

Komer had to hope that Dragumo and his men were clever enough to resist for a while by relying on favourable terrain. If they really couldn’t hold out, they would have no choice but to retreat into Little Greenland Forest and wait for follow-up troops.

The Cretans would have mage troops; soon, they would make Dragumo’s Half-beast Army suffer. Against the Northern Alliance’s powerful magic offensive, Komer admitted that his side probably didn’t have the conditions to achieve victory or superiority. But if Dragumo and his men indeed retreated to Little Greenland Forest, it would be a pity. The Cretans would recognize the attack routes, and once Quke Valley was completely sealed off by the Cretans, even with the arrival of supporting forces and Newman’s group, it would still be difficult to retake Livonia from the Cretans, at least at a much higher cost.

Those three thousand reinforcements also made Komer uneasy; they were inexperienced recruits, only briefly trained. Although they had basic combat qualities as Half-beastmen, they now faced the superior regular army of Knossos. It wouldn’t be an easy battle.

It wasn’t that Komer couldn’t dispatch more troops; the Bright Torrent Knights, Homer Knights, and Godeborg Knight Group were all strong and ready, along with the Furious Wave Corps formed of Barbarians. Such mighty martial power could counter any foreign force, but Komer couldn’t mobilize these forces yet. The Atticans were advancing steadily, and an inevitable head-on war loomed, while the beastmen had covertly implied they wouldn’t intervene in mortals’ wars. But Komer never trusted these appearances. To deter the beastmen’s ambition, only martial power was reliable. Komer trusted only the power in his own hands; that was the most dependable.

A complete victory at the front was the best outcome Komer wanted to achieve. He needed to defeat the Northern Alliance utterly and sweep them from Nicosian territory. Only then could Komer earn the trust of the Basarabians. The Basarabians, already struggling under the dual pressures of the Church of Light and the Northern Alliance, might see their early efforts turn to smoke if they weren’t given a boost to bolster their spirits.

As soon as Newman set off for Livonia, Komer put everything else aside. Now was his time to shine.

Advance fully!

Target, Cartin! (To be continued... For more Chapters, please visit www.qidian.com. Support the author, support authorized reading!)