Asher and his generals all sat around a round table, staring at the scribe who was done reading the letter with different expressions.
One thing was evident in their expressions…
Disbelief!
“A dragon?!”
Paul exclaimed. Others understood why the general would react in such a manner. The dread of a dragon!
The most powerful mythical species in the legends. Creatures that existed in the First Age and Second Age. They died after the fall of the Second Age, and at the birth of the Dark Age, all of the dragons and other mythical beasts like the Firebird and much more went into extinction.
Many said, since they absorbed an enormous amount of force, Abyss force eventually corrupted them leading to their shortened lifespan, stumped procreation and in the end… death!
It was one of the reasons Mythical beasts, the ones that remained, had contracts with men, disconnecting their unreserved connection to the world and attaching it to man.
That way they lived longer but weaker than their predecessors.
“Is this a joke? Was her letter messed up by someone?” Lambert said, his expression filled with disbelief and slight anger.
“A dragon.” Aquila muttered under her breath, Eritrea kept silent while Sapphira was deep in thought.
Alec sighed.
“My Lord, what do you think?”
Asher lifted his head from the letter. “Lady Katarina’s dreams have never been proven false. She speaks the truth and it would be foolish to ignore.”
Everyone swallowed their reservations after hearing this.
“And she mentioned a wyvern.” Asher added.
“But my lord. Even a wyvern will be able to rip my armoured unit apart and its breath could kill any of us seated here. It’s well known that a fully grown wyvern can kill saints.”
A grave look took over everyone’s faces. Even Sapphira had a change of expression.
“Katarina said she saw only one wyvern and it would be a blue frost wyvern. I’ll handle it. The rest of you focus on dealing with the other part of the prophecy… Count William’s entire army.”
“We’ve been at war with the count for over two months. Why is he suddenly utilizing all his troops?” Sapphira muttered out loud.
“I am the reason.”
Asher looked at her and then at the others. “Tomorrow, we will face an army of 56,000 barbarians in the field. Tigris Black Tiger Cavalry, a wyvern and some other secrets which even Katarina couldn’t gain access to.”
The weight of this war sank deeply into the generals. Losing could mean the destruction of the wall and the fall of the county and even when they win, there would be severe losses.
However… they had to win or die on the battlefield or even worse be bound in chains and become slaves for the rest of their lives.
Ashbourne County was a safe haven for them and only until now did it dawn on them.
Lambert ground his teeth. His cavalry had always crushed their foes with little to no damages but this time they would face the fearsome barbarians.
Men born to mount horses!
And the black tiger cavalry. The most elite cavalry that had fought against the strongest cavalry in the north.
The Mormont cavalry!
“What is the plan?” Eritrea leaned forward, placing his hand on the table.
Nero took a step forward, and laid a large map on the table.
“A masterpiece drawn by Uriah. It contains an overview of the field, the entire Wildlands until the borders.”
Asher rose up pointing at areas he spoke about. “Our army will build a wall before the forest. In the baroness vision we fought on our wall and lost so we shall face them on the field. The space on the wall is limited and if it falls, those behind would also die. Hence the wall would be the reason for our loss.”
“Fighting in the field puts us at an obvious disadvantage, my lord. The wall covered our weakness but the field won’t.” Paul said.
“It’s the only way to win, General.” Alec retorted.
“My Lord, the Grand Aegis Heavy Infantrymen will hold the frontline. We should be able to hold back the barbarian horseman despite their numbers.”
“How about we stretch the shield wall to cover the width of the field?” Aquila suggested.
“It would break. We should concentrate on building a moving domain.”
Sapphira suggested right after.
Everyone turned to her.
Seeing this, she chose to continue. “The Grand Aegis shield wall should be large enough to contain the rest of the troops inside. While the others, like you, my lord, your personal troop and the cavalry would remain behind, watching from the rear.”
“A dome shaped domain?” Alec asked.
“A rectangular one should have more space for the archery units. Archers should be the best to deal with the barbarian horsemen.”
“They won’t be able to touch us but we’ll be able to reduce their numbers.” Eritrea nodded softly.
“It’s a good plan but we haven’t considered commanding knights like Cain, the Count’s first son, known to be the strongest knight in their army under the saint rank. Enos, barbarian general with a talent that allows him to create a stronger version of himself. He’s a saint-ranked barbarian and his other self is much stronger! Lastly, the count himself.”
Alec puffed out.
“The count has never fought before so we don’t know his combat ability but he won’t be weak.”
Asher picked up a cup and drank half the content. “We shall find out tomorrow. Make sure the men examine their armor, sharpen their swords and get proper rest. Tomorrow will decide the fate of our land.”
Thud!
He dropped the cup. Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire
…
After the meeting, Asher went to his tent and sat crossed legged. He began the breathing exercise until he sank into the realm of meditation.
Several hours later, he opened his eyes, feeling refreshed and with great vigor. He lowered his head to his palm burning with crimson flames.
‘Finally, I have access to synergy once more. But this flame… it’s the one that burns the soul. The Nether Flames, grantor of true death.’