Chapter 443: The Battle To Protect The Borderlands [Part 2]

The Fireshard Catapult was the Aslan Tribe’s strongest siege weapon.

It was the upgraded version of the Darkmane Tribe’s Fire Catapults, and their massive difference showed in the previous war.

And yet, even this powerful bombardment failed to destroy the magical shields protecting the Britannian Army.

"Tell Otto to target the Mana Batteries that help the mages keep the shield working," Conall advised. "That way, he wouldn’t need to target Vogel. The Vermilion Bird General would be forced to defend the batteries instead."

Leone nodded before giving Daedalus an order. "Find the location of the Mana Batteries."

"On it!" Daedalus replied.

The grimoire then scanned the formation of the Britannian Army before pinpointing eight locations that were strategically spread out, forming an octagon.

"The Mana Batteries are all pulled by wagons, giving off a blue light," Daedalus reported. "They are powered by magic crystals. However, they are also heavily guarded. Several mages and knights are stationed to protect each of them.

The young man nodded and immediately relayed this information to Otto.

After confirming his next target, the Horizon Archer shifted his attention to the Mana Batteries.

Vogel, who was now paying attention to the rear of their formation, suddenly saw something a mile away.

"Damn!" Vogel immediately understood that the enemy archer had stopped targeting him and was now trying to destroy the Mana Batteries instead.

His arrow had stopped Otto’s attack from reaching his target, but their battle had only begun. The Horizon Archer attacked different Mana Batteries at a time, forcing Vogel to concentrate his attention on him.

But during all of this chaos, Duran gave an unexpected order.

"Forward march!" Duran shouted amidst the explosions in their surroundings. "We will destroy that fortress!"

"""Yes!"""

The army then began to move, drawing closer to Leone’s fortress.

Those who were watching this battle from the ramparts thought that the enemy would retreat. However, they were wrong.

Duran made the right call.

Since their magical shields were holding up, they didn’t have to fear the enemy’s siege weapons.

They could simply ignore the bombardment and focus on destroying the fortress. That way, they would finally be able to crush the annoying members of the Aslan Tribe that had been a thorn in their side since the campaign began.

Seeing the enemy’s advance, Leone didn’t hesitate and gave the signal to retreat.

"Everyone, retreat!" Leone ordered.

The main reason why he didn’t ask the Pteranodon Riders to attack the enemy from the sky was to give them plenty of leeway to make their escape if the enemy ever decided to push through.

Aside from that, he didn’t want to give Vogel a chance to attack them.

He believed that as long as Vogel saw a chance, he would sacrifice one or two of their Mana Batteries just to wipe out Leone’s entire forces.

As the shamans stored their Fireshard Catapults inside the storage rings that Leone had given them, they hurried toward their Pteranodons, which were already waiting for them to climb on their backs.

"Go now!" Leone held the reins of his Pegasus, Arion, and took off to the skies.

One by one, the Pteranodons followed behind him.

This retreat wasn’t missed by Duran’s watchful eye.

"Vogel, they are escaping!" Duran shouted.

The Vermillion Bird General turned to look behind him and saw hundreds of Pteranodons taking flight.

Seeing that his enemies were now finally within his strike range, Vogel didn’t hesitate to turn around and aim his arrows at their retreating foes.

"Vermilion Rain!" Vogel roared as he unleashed three burning magical arrows from his bow.

After traveling for a few seconds, it split into hundreds of flaming arrows, immediately raising the temperature in the place they passed through.

If nothing was done, it would hit the Pteranodons that were trying to flee from the fortress.

Naturally, Leone could feel the danger approaching him from behind. But he didn’t turn back.

Not even once.

Why?

Because he had dependable comrades who would protect him and his army with all their might.

Lord Azar stomped his right foot on the ground, creating a giant boulder that was as big as a small hill.

He then used a palm strike to send it flying toward the flame arrows in hot pursuit of his allies.

Astravor, on the other hand, stood between the Aslan Tribe and the flaming arrows. With a flap of his wings, he unleashed dozens of Wind Blades, clashing against the Vermilion Bird General’s attack.

Conall, who flew behind the rear of the formation, raised his magical shield before uttering a word.

"Aegis!"

A second later, a translucent barrier of emerald light manifested around him, blocking the arrows that managed to pass through Astravor and Lord Azar’s counterattack.

Vogel unleashed a second volley, but they were repelled just as easily.

Meanwhile, Otto had managed to destroy two of the eight Mana Batteries and even damaged a third one. Although the attack couldn’t destroy it completely, it still hindered it from operating normally.

This caused the magical shield that protected the Britannian Army to flicker a few times, but it still held on until it was deactivated by the mages operating it.

The soldiers started cheering because this time, they hadn’t been the ones forced to retreat.

It was their enemy!

However, instead of occupying the fortress, they simply moved around it.

Duran had no intention of occupying the enemy fortress, believing there might be traps waiting for them there.

Besides, their mission was not to build forts in the Borderlands. Their mission was to head to Eden as fast as possible and regroup with the Aurelion Empire’s army.

Over the next few days, the repeated battles between the two sides began. Mile by mile, the Britannian Army advanced steadily despite Leone’s repeated guerrilla warfare.

On the fifth day since the campaign started, the Britannian Army had managed to cover nearly seventy miles of land.

The morale of their army was at an all-time high. But while everyone was rejoicing, there was someone very worried about his son.

’Leone, please don’t do anything reckless,’ Marco thought.

Edward, who was his eldest son and Leone’s older brother, stood beside his father.

Every time General Duran had ordered his father to take on dangerous missions, the person who took command of the Frontera Family’s private army was none other than Edward.

Although it didn’t show on his face, Edward also worried for his brother’s safety.

Meanwhile, twenty miles away from where the Britannian Army had decided to set up camp for the night, Leone’s elite forces were having an important meeting.

"They might not be able to arrive there tomorrow, but on the day after that, they will certainly reach the Aslan Tribe," Vlad said in a serious tone. "We’ve tried everything, but we were eventually pushed back. I am afraid that we might fail the mission..."

Leone’s vassals were aware of his mission to delay the advance of the Britannian Army for seven days.

Judging by their enemy’s advance, it was highly likely that they would reach the Aslan Tribe on the seventh day.

All of them looked anxious and worried.

They all looked at their Great Chieftain, who was currently enjoying a cup of hot cocoa.

He had bought the hard chocolate tablets from the Arcane Shop. Contrary to his subordinates’ anxiety, the young man sipped cocoa calmly, even looking quite relaxed.

"Great Chieftain..." Otto sighed. "I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to delay their advance properly."

"No." Vlad shook his head. "The fault is mine. My strategies didn’t work. I failed my role as the Aslan Tribe’s strategist."

*Squeak* Blitz offered Vlad a berry to make the teenage boy feel better, but Vlad was too sad to eat right now.

Still, he thanked Blitz for his concern before shifting his attention back to the young chieftain who stood as their pillar.

"I understand that all of you are worried," Leone said. "You have played your roles perfectly. We have done everything we could. It just so happened that our enemies are very formidable. However, that doesn’t mean that we’re out of options."

The young chieftain finished drinking his hot cocoa before shifting his attention toward the captain of Lost Paradise, Conall.

"Sir Conall, do you think Great Grandpa is already on the move?" Leone asked.

Conall smirked in response. "Knowing the Master, he will move once midnight strikes."

Leone also smiled evilly because he had already prepared a backup plan. He wasn’t someone who took things passively.

Before the Britannian Army even set out to the Borderlands, he had already discussed a strategy with his great-grandpa, Lugh.

The old man liked the idea very much, even promising to drag out some helpers with him.

A few hours later, just as midnight was about to strike...

Lugh sat on the back of his trusted White Dragon and lightly patted its neck.

"It’s time," Lugh said before looking at the mighty army before him.

An army that numbered over ten thousand, composed of the Helion Family’s private army.

He and his son Andreas had painstakingly made their preparations while evading the notice of the King of the Radiant Empire.

It wasn’t an easy task. If they were found out, they would immediately be ordered to stop whatever they were doing.

The King of the Kingdom of Britannia and the King of the Radiant Empire had agreed on a non-aggression pact, with the Kingdom of Britannia offering a large sum of money to make it happen.

Of course, since this was a secret agreement, the Helion Family was not informed.

And Lugh was going to use that exact excuse to invade the Kingdom of Britannia!

What non-aggression pact?

Was that edible?

If we were told about it, we wouldn’t have started this invasion. We’re not the ones at fault, you know? Why weren’t we informed?

Now that the northern border of the Kingdom of Britannia had lost its general, as well as a good fraction of its manpower, Lugh no longer needed to worry about being shot from the sky.

The Hero of the Radiant Empire then raised a magic crystal close to his lips and spoke to it.

"Are you guys ready to rumble?" Lugh asked.

On the far west of the Kingdom of Britannia, where the Barbarian King of the West ruled, over ten thousand barbarians were hiding in the hills near the border of the Kingdom of Britannia.

Hiding alongside them were thousands of Elite Warriors of the Beastman Tribe, who were also their allies.

"We’re ready," Alaric, the Barbarian King of the West, replied through the communication crystal.

A chuckle escaped Lugh’s lips before he drew his sword and pointed it at the fortress in the distance.

"Brave warriors of the Helion Army!" Lugh roared. "When morning comes, that fortress and the lands past it will be ours! Follow me and charge!"

As soon as he gave the order to charge, the White Dragon took off to the skies and flew towards the fortress.

Several Wyvern Riders then followed behind Lugh, flanking him in a formation.

On the ground, the knight cavalry of the Helion Army charged across the land. Their destination was the fortress before them.

At the same time, the barbarians and the beastmen also made their move.

Leone’s plan was simple.

While the defenders of the Kingdom of Britannia were away, it was the perfect opportunity to invade their lands.

Since Britannia had always tried to invade the lands of others, what was stopping them from doing the same?

An hour later, flames rose up from the fortress that was once guarded by the Vermilion Bird General.

And high above the sky, Lugh’s loud laughter was carried by the wind, thanking his no-good great-grandson for helping him bring down the fortress that had made the Helion Army suffer for the past few years.

At the same time, the barbarians of the West and the beastmen had also unleashed their bottled fury, destroying the fortress Duran had defended for a long time.

For the first time in many years, the Kingdom of Britannia faced a crisis they had never experienced before.

And it all began when their King exiled a happy-go-lucky young man to the harsh land of the Borderlands.

The same young man who was currently sleeping soundly while being hugged by Yuni and Aria, who had both accompanied him for the night.