Chapter 85 The Arrival Of The Enemy Army

Chapter 85: 85 The Arrival Of The Enemy Army

85

The Arrival Of The Enemy Army

Vaelra fell silent.

The queen stared at Yun Che.

"Are you aware of the risks? And are you certain about what you mean?"

"Of course."

"And you still intend to go?"

"Of course."

Ariselle remained silent for several seconds. Only the sounds of the warriors working could be heard.

Then she spoke again in a tone that allowed no questions:

"He will go."

Vaelra turned toward her.

"My queen "

"I have already decided."

Ariselle’s voice was not loud, but her tone left no room for anyone to argue.

She looked at Yun Che.

"You will receive information about the approximate position of the enemy’s logistics."

Yun Che nodded.

"Thank you."

"Don’t thank me."

Ariselle stepped slightly closer.

"Come back alive."

Yun Che remained silent for a moment before replying:

"I’ll do my best."

Ariselle narrowed her eyes.

"You are a key piece of my army. It is crucial that you return alive."

A small movement passed through the queen’s eyes when Yun Che placed a hand over his white mask.

"I’ll come back with gifts."

Before Ariselle could respond, hurried footsteps echoed along the path. A warrior came running toward them.

She was out of breath.

"My queen!"

Ariselle immediately turned toward her.

"What happened?"

The warrior tried to catch her breath.

"The scouts..."

She swallowed hard.

"They spotted the enemy army."

Ariselle looked toward the mountains.

***

After days of advancing through the mountains, the army had finally reached its destination the Beastmen and Lizardmen.

More than thirty thousand soldiers occupied roads, valleys, and natural passages. Beastmen walked carrying spears, axes, and swords, while the Lizardmen advanced alongside them with shields strapped to their arms and weapons ready.

The sound produced by that many people was almost impossible to describe.

Thousands of footsteps echoed through the mountains, making the ground tremble beneath the organized march.

The wheels of the carts creaked over the stones, the chains of the beasts clinked, and orders were shouted from one column to another.

And, occasionally, a roar caused dozens of soldiers to turn their heads.

Among the columns were carts carrying food, large containers of water, medicines, weapons, spiritual crystals, and materials used to keep the troops moving.

There were soldiers responsible exclusively for distributing supplies.

The scouts advanced far ahead, while messengers constantly moved between the different units.

Even after watching that march for several minutes, it was impossible to see its end.

Varkhan stood on a natural elevation while observing everything from above.

The enormous Beastman resembling a tiger kept his arms crossed over his chest. His yellow eyes swept across the troops attentively, without the slightest sign of the carefree arrogance some of the other commanders displayed.

Beside him, Rhaena held an open map.

The wind moved a few strands of her black hair as she compared the information received from the scouts.

"We received another report."

Varkhan did not take his eyes off the army.

"Speak."

"The mountains begin to narrow from here onward. The scouts have identified several natural passages."

Rhaena pointed at the map.

"Some of them appear to lead directly into the regions occupied by the Medusas."

Varkhan remained motionless.

"They have had time to prepare. Therefore, we cannot launch a direct attack. The narrow mountain passage will not allow our entire army to pass through."

"Yes."

Rhaena raised her eyes.

"And that is precisely the problem. We must divide part of the army and send it toward the narrow passage. The army will be divided into several units, each with its own function. Two of us will have to lead ten thousand soldiers to attack the narrow passage."

She partially closed the map.

"We know that Queen Ariselle and the four elders are at the tenth stage of the Profound Nascent realm. And their human is also at that level."

Varkhan frowned slightly.

"Six tenth-stage cultivators of the Profound realm."

"Exactly."

Rhaena slowly breathed in.

"Six tenth-stage cultivators against our fifteen."

A small smile appeared on Varkhan’s face.

"A considerable difference."

"Yes."

Rhaena did not smile.

"But it is not a difference we should waste."

Varkhan remained silent.

Rhaena continued:

"We don’t know how many formations have been repaired. We don’t know how many traps have been prepared. We also don’t know if there is any passage that would allow them to attack our troops from the sides."

"Then we’ll find out."

"That is exactly what I intend to do."

She pointed toward a region on the map.

"The narrow passage ahead appears to be the most obvious and convenient entrance."

Varkhan studied the mark for several seconds.

"Too obvious."

Rhaena raised an eyebrow slightly.

"I thought the same."

"If I were in their position, I would leave an apparently vulnerable passage. It is..."

"...a very likely point for an ambush. But even so, if we secure this narrow passage, we will have a relatively safe entrance into their territory."

"Most likely, they are planning to prevent our soldiers from advancing directly through the narrow passage. So their greatest strength should be there. That is why we should use only ten thousand to test the waters."

Rhaena closed the map.

"Exactly. We will not underestimate our opponents and send the entire army."

Varkhan finally smiled.

"Then we will divide them and launch separate attacks from several points on different mountains while keeping forces on standby to provide an immediate response and a larger force with the logistics."

Rhaena nodded.

"The force at the narrow passage will initially have only ten thousand soldiers, who will enter in waves, considering that it will not be possible for everyone to pass at once, while a force of eight thousand will remain on standby."

Varkhan looked at the mountains again.

"Ten thousand."

"They will be responsible for the initial penetration."

Rhaena pointed toward the terrain behind the narrow passage.

"The standby force will remain prepared to advance if we find a genuine opening."

She raised another finger.

"It can also reinforce the first force if we encounter greater resistance than expected."

One more finger.

"And it will prevent the Medusas from trying to abandon the mountain range after the battle begins. We must cover the entire mountain range with part of our army, identifying escape routes and secret passages."

Varkhan slowly nodded.

"Good."

Rhaena continued:

"In addition, three secondary forces will move through different regions."

"How many soldiers?"

"Smaller forces."

"Objective?"

"Find other entrances."

Varkhan looked at her.

"We want to force them to divide their forces."

"Yes."

Rhaena pointed to three different locations on the map.

"If there is a side passage, we need to find it. If there is a defensive formation, we need to discover where it begins..."

"...And if the Medusas are concentrating their forces in only one region, we need to force them to decide which part to protect."

Varkhan remained silent for several seconds.

Then he asked:

"And the Elementals?"

Rhaena closed her eyes for a moment.

"Officially, they will not participate in the war. But even so..."

"Officially?"

"The Earth Elementals refused directly, and they are pacifists, so we can believe their statement that they will abstain from the war."

She opened her eyes again.

"The Fire Elementals also refused to fight."

Varkhan let out a brief sound of disdain.

"Then we don’t need them."

Rhaena looked toward the mountains.

"We should not think that way."

Varkhan turned his face toward her.

"Explain."

"A war of this scale can create opportunities that the Fire Elementals will definitely take advantage of."