Global Beast Mastery: Only I Can See the Hints

Chapter 671: Chapter 671: Cleaning Up the Aftermath

After saying that, the crown prince left right in front of everyone.

With the crown prince and the royal guards gone, the remaining generals and governors of the Stellar Empire looked at each other in silence.

A moment later, the governor assigned to the Atacama Desert stepped forward and said,

“Since Your Highness has made his decision, then we will act according to it. The real battle will come in fourteen days, so let’s clean up the aftermath as quickly as we can.”

After those words, he also left with his subordinates.

And so, the generals of the Stellar Empire began leading their soldiers in retreat.

With the Stellar Empire army pulling out, this battle had finally come to an end.

Although Charles and Harbor had agreed the real showdown would happen in fourteen days, giving the impression that both sides had plenty of time to prepare, the truth was far from it.

Both sides had to first deal with their own aftermath.

On the Stellar Empire’s side, once all soldiers returned to Gold Fortress, they had to be reorganized.

After all, the attack on Withered Tree Fortress had caused heavy losses. Some generals now had barely any men left to command.

On the Serpent Empire’s side, the cleanup was even greater.

With Withered Tree Fortress gone, the Serpent Empire’s last line of defense could only be set at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.

And they also had to quickly decide on the tactics they would use in the final battle to come.

But before that, Charles and the leaders of the Serpent Empire still had other matters to take care of.

While the Stellar Empire forces were retreating, Charles finally reached the deepest part of the Withered Tree Fortress ruins.

There, he saw the Gem of Light, still glowing with golden light.

“The Gem of Light still holds great power. If we move it to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, it should be able to play a role,” Charles murmured to himself after studying it carefully.

He believed the defenses at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis were far weaker than those at Withered Tree Fortress.

So to strengthen its defenses, he had to bring the Gem of Light back with him.

Once he confirmed the Gem wouldn’t be damaged by moving, he ordered the Twin-Winged Savage Gold-Eater Beast to carry it away.

A quarter of an hour later, Charles and his mystical beast returned to the surface.

By that time, General Sost had already gathered the surviving soldiers from the ruins together.

The Serpent Empire had suffered far greater losses in this battle than the Stellar Empire.

At the very start of the fight, the Serpent soldiers had already taken heavy casualties. And when Withered Tree Fortress was completely destroyed by the overwhelming power released by the Dark Demigod, the Serpent Empire’s losses became even worse.

Now, within Charles’s line of sight, only a handful of Serpent soldiers remained, and every single one of them carried wounds.

When General Sost saw Charles, the heavy look on his face finally eased a little.

He quickly walked up to Charles.

“I’ve gathered all the survivors I could find. Aside from the men standing before you now, everyone else has been killed.”

At this point, General Sost suddenly fell silent.

His emotions were complicated, so much so that he couldn’t even bring himself to continue speaking.

Just then, Azka, standing behind General Sost, stepped forward.

“The Stellar Empire’s army has already retreated. Doesn’t that mean we won this battle? The Stellar Empire shouldn’t be able to attack us again so easily, right?”

His eyes locked tightly on Charles as he asked.

Behind Azka, Connell was also staring at Charles, waiting for his answer.

Charles hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he chose to tell the truth.

“I didn’t win a complete victory against Harbor. Although I wounded him badly, if I had kept fighting, I would’ve faced serious danger myself.

More importantly, if I hadn’t agreed to a temporary truce with him, the Stellar Empire might have used their sheer numbers to wipe out the Serpent Empire completely.

That’s why we agreed to a fourteen-day truce. The final showdown will come after those fourteen days. And the battleground, I believe, should be set at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.

With Withered Tree Fortress reduced to ruins, Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis is the only stronghold we can still defend.”

As soon as he finished, the atmosphere grew heavy.

It was General Sost who finally broke the silence.

After steadying himself, he said slowly,

“I believe your decision is not wrong. The Serpent Empire has always been weaker than the Stellar Empire. Our only hope of true victory lies with you.

If you can’t defeat Harbor easily, then even if you manage a narrow win in the end, the Serpent Empire will still be destroyed by the Stellar Empire.”

Charles showed a look of relief on his face.

He had thought his earlier actions might cause him to lose General Sost’s trust.

But now it seemed he had underestimated the general’s wisdom.

As soon as Sost finished speaking, the expression on Azka’s face finally softened as well. Connell, on the other hand, had always trusted Charles completely, so he never thought there was anything wrong with Charles’s decision.

“Even though the Stellar Empire’s army has retreated, we shouldn’t stay here any longer. Let’s head to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis as soon as possible. Only there can the wounded soldiers be treated, and only there can we carefully discuss the next battle plan.”

Charles made the proposal directly.

Naturally, no one objected.

So they all set out at full speed toward Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.

At the same time, back at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, Zara and High Priest Kent had already received reports from the battlefield at Withered Tree Fortress.

When they learned that Withered Tree Fortress had been completely turned to ruins, both of them grew very tense.

They were deeply worried that the final battle might end in the Serpent Empire’s defeat.

Zara even spoke out directly to the High Priest.

“The fighting must be brutal. I think it’s enough for you to stay here at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis. I’ll lead the elite soldiers of the Oasis to support the battlefield at Withered Tree Fortress.”

But High Priest Kent immediately refused without hesitation.

“Absolutely not! We must act according to Charles’s plan! If you take the elite soldiers of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis away to reinforce Withered Tree Fortress, then if something happens here, there won’t be enough power left to protect Her Majesty the Empress.

Don’t you care about the Empress’s safety?!”

Faced with the High Priest’s sharp words, Zara’s mood worsened.

“Then tell me, what should we do now? Are we supposed to just sit here and wait? What if Charles and General Sost end up failing?!”

Kent gave no reply.

Because deep down, he believed that if Charles and the general truly failed, then no matter what they did here, nothing could turn the situation around.

Though the two of them argued fiercely, in the end they both calmed down.

After waiting for another half a day, more reports finally arrived at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis.

Zara and High Priest Kent at last learned the outcome of the battle at Withered Tree Fortress.

Both of them felt a little disappointed, but in truth, they also knew this result was something they had already expected.

“This result is neither good nor bad for us,” High Priest Kent said slowly.

“Even though Withered Tree Fortress has been reduced to ruins and can no longer be used, through this battle we still managed to inflict heavy losses on the Stellar Empire.

We can also use these fourteen days to strengthen the defenses of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis. Holding the final battle there gives us far better odds than before.”

Though his tone was heavy, High Priest Kent was actually more optimistic than he had been earlier.

Zara, however, was far less optimistic.

She cared deeply about Charles’s condition.

“How is Charles’s health? The report said he didn’t achieve a complete victory against Harbor. Could it be that he was badly injured by Harbor?

If his condition is truly terrible, then our chances in the final battle at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis will drop very low.”

Zara’s worries were, in truth, the same worries High Priest Kent carried.

“You’re right. But the reports didn’t mention Charles’s current state. We can only wait patiently until Charles and the others return to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis. Only then will we know the answer,” High Priest Kent replied calmly.

Zara nodded.

“You’re right. Stay here and keep waiting patiently. I’ll go check on Her Majesty. We absolutely cannot allow her condition to worsen.”

After saying that, Zara left at once.

High Priest Kent, too, was deeply worried that the Serpent Empress’s health might decline during this time.

They already had more than enough problems.

If the Empress’s condition suddenly worsened, they would be left in chaos, and the entire Serpent Empire might collapse because of it.

“Let’s hope no accidents happen before Charles returns,” High Priest Kent murmured to himself.

By the time he spoke those words, Charles and the others had already reached the point where they could see Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis in the distance.