System's POV

Chapter 1307: War Of Dominion [Part 3]

Deep underground, a battle was being waged.

It had been three days since the Rebels had unleashed their Army of Azothralls, which were currently facing off against the underground forces under Azoh’Dar’s command.

The Golden Azothrall had been at the front lines of the war. But his rank was only High Archon, so he was barely enough to help defend his people from the army several times stronger than his own.

’If not for Zion’s runic formation, all of us might be dead by now,’ Azoh’Dar thought as he retreated with the other named Azothralls.

They had held back the line repeatedly for the past few days, but that was all that they could do.

The disparity in strength left them no choice but to defend, using the Runic Formation to either give them a temporary boost in strength or help them change the underground terrain to their advantage.

While Azothralls could remain awake for days, even Azoh’Dar was starting to feel exhausted from the hourly battles that had now become a routine for them.

“Look over there!” one of the named Azothralls, Azoh’Nai, pointed toward Rocky, who was currently facing off against the Azothralls with green markings on their bodies.

From time to time, it would open its mouth, and from there, Giga and Stacy would unleash their Giga Destroyers covered in flames, making it seem that Rocky was unleashing a dragon breath attack.

The Giga Destroyers were very corrosive, melting the bodies of the Azothralls who all had the strength of Monarchs.

Heeding Thirteen’s orders, the underground defenders under his command prioritized targeting the Azothralls with green markings because they had the most numbers and were also the weakest.

Rocky efficiently employed hit-and-run tactics. However, it would fight for a long time as long as there were no golden or red-marked Azothralls in the vicinity.

“Should we help Rocky?” another named Azothrall, Azoh’Zir, asked.

“No,” Azoh’Dar replied. “Helping it will just complicate things. We’re better off fighting other enemies.”

The leader of the Azothralls gave the Hellfire Bal-Boa one last glance before going to another battlefield, where his fellow Azothralls were fighting.

While the underground battles were fierce, the battle above ground was just as chaotic.

The engineers under Castor’s leadership had modified the cannons of their Airships, increasing its range.

The sounds of shields breaking had been an everyday occurrence inside Velgrande. While the soldiers inside it were relatively safe, the stress and anxiety they felt were increasing day by day.

At first they were happy because the shields were holding up, but the constant thought of “what if the shields break?” hung heavily in their minds.

Castor and Regulus were masters of psychological warfare, and they planned to continue increasing the pressure on their opponents while waiting for the cooldown of their legendary relics to end.

By then, they would infiltrate the city once more, hitting the defenders where it hurt the most.

In order to help calm the nerves of the soldiers, Erasmus and Zion would give a speech whenever the battles came to a pause.

This was the best they could do for the time being to keep their soldiers sane while they did their duties.

Erasmus stood at the edge of the balcony overlooking the city plaza, where the soldiers gathered. His voice carried confidence, even though his heart was heavy.

“We endure because we must,” Erasmus declared. “For our families. For the lives we protect. Every second we stand firm is a victory.”

Zion followed shortly, thanking everyone for their hard work and dedication to protect their empire from those who wished for its destruction.

The speech helped, at least for a time.

But the truth was… the cracks were already forming.

These cracks weren’t the cracks on the shield that protected the city, but the cracks in a person’s heart when they were under great pressure.

———

Inside the Flagship of the Rebel Army…

“Look at them tremble.” Castor sneered. “Fear breaks armies long before steel ever touches flesh.”

Regulus folded his arms. “So you say, but our side is not faring any better. Our soldiers are more exhausted than the defenders.

“We’ve traveled a long way. Many of them lost their friends, families, and acquaintances in the process, and they’re starting to question if fighting in this war is really the right thing.”

Castor frowned, knowing Regulus was right. His soldiers were very exhausted in the war, so he decided to unleash the Azothralls so his people could rest.

Cranky had terrorized them so thoroughly that some soldiers would wake up or cry out the moment they heard anything unusual in their surroundings.

Simply put, they had become paranoid, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that even the two Celestials were affected by it.

Unfortunately, the longer this battle lasted, the more their sanity and loyalty faltered.

“If only we weren’t forced to use our relics in Lyra.” Regulus sighed. “We might have broken through those walls by now.”

The Celestial glanced at the towering city walls of Velgrande, which they could still see even from miles away.

Their soldiers were currently taking a break after an hour of bombardment, which was something that they looked forward everyday.

“Let’s retreat for a few miles so the soldiers can properly rest,” Regulus proposed. “Although that Celestial who regularly harasses us is no longer around, we should not take any chances.”

“You’re right.” Castor nodded. “Tell the men to retreat fifty miles away from the city.”

This distance could easily be covered in the span of a few minutes, so it wasn’t a big deal for them.

And just like what Regulus expected, the soldiers looked quite relieved after they could no longer see the city from their vantage point.

But they weren’t the only ones who felt this way.

The soldiers defending the city also breathed a sigh of relief, and Thirteen gave the order that everyone take a proper rest.

Soon, either the Defenders or the Rebels would reach a breaking point. Once that happened, Thirteen believed that the desperation would force both sides to fight more aggressively, rushing to finally end this war of dominion.