Chapter 234
At the same time, the barracks in Castica were busier than ever.
Today was the day the reinforcements sent by the Imperial Palace were to arrive.
A soldier burst through the tent flap, panting.
“The reinforcements are almost here.”
“Really?”
With the looming threat of war, Han Siha had urgently requested Marcel to expedite the dispatch of reinforcements.
There were likely skilled mages and knights among them, so he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Han Siha mumbled as he propped his chin on his hand.
“They arrived sooner than expected.”
Despite his grumbling, Marcel had made the effort.
As the Emperor, Marcel knew that if Castica were to suffer significant damage, the entire empire would be shaken.
Solia nodded at Han Siha’s words and added some needless scolding.
Since the request for reinforcements, she had also been staying in Castica.
“Make sure you treat them well this time.”
Last time, when the Emperor himself visited, Han Siha had locked himself away, too busy with his own tasks, or worse, had driven him out because he was annoyed.
It was a miracle his head was still attached.
Even Solia, who usually didn’t worry about Han Siha as much as she did Adela, had been alarmed enough.
“He is the Emperor, after all… but you treat him like some upperclassman from the Academy.”
“If you treated a senior like that, you’d get dragged off.”
“Alright, alright. I promise I’ll treat them well this time.”
Han Siha waved his hand dismissively and stood up.
With everyone pushing him like that, it was only polite to step out and wait today.
They said the reinforcements were almost here, and it was getting noisy outside the barracks.
Neighhh—
Hearing the agitated whinnying of horses, Han Siha pulled open the tent flap and stepped outside.
“They seem to have already arrived?”
Just as he expected, soldiers were approaching from afar.
Mages and knights, sent by Marcel’s command, had ridden straight to Castica.
He had heard it was an elite unit, but the numbers were greater than expected.
Han Siha shielded his eyes from the sun overhead as he craned his neck.
The soldiers were galloping toward them in a hurry.
All these men were reinforcements?
On the surface, it was a reassuring sight.
But—
“Doesn’t something feel… off?”
Solia frowned as she looked back at Han Siha.
Han Siha felt the same way.
Even though Marcel’s reinforcements were expected to be substantial…
“Were there supposed to be this many?”
Though they were still far, it sounded as if there were screams.
Realizing what was happening, Han Siha’s face turned pale.
They weren’t coming here.
They were being chased.
Thud.
Han Siha dropped the staff he was holding.
A soldier beside him shouted, his voice nearly a scream.
“We’re under attack! We’re under attack!”
Countless black dots were swarming over the horizon.
* * *
The Imperial forces had dispatched their elite troops.
Gathering only the best within the empire, they were being utterly overwhelmed.
The Imperial mages personally favored by Marcel,
the knights,
and even the reinforcements—
were being mercilessly cut down.
“Damn it.”
The enemy was surging in like a tidal wave.
It had been two years since the war began.
He thought he had seen every kind of horror during that time, but this was a scene he had never witnessed before in his life.
Castica had turned into a living hell in an instant.
“Arghhh!”
The brutal scene of slaughter.
Han Siha clenched his fists, biting down on his lip.
A soldier, his face white as a sheet, ran up to him, stammering.
“W-what do we do?”
Just as Solia had predicted, Abaddon had thrown his entire force into Castica.
And that force was beyond what they had expected.
An overwhelming disparity in power.
Even though they had prepared, they couldn’t stop it.
Looking at the endless enemy forces, the first feeling that struck was helplessness.
Han Siha knew.
There was no way he was getting out of this battlefield alive.
No, he didn’t even have the confidence to try.
“Han Siha! Get a hold of yourself!”
The familiar voice snapped him out of his daze.
Adela, who had appeared beside him at some point, was shouting urgently.
“Pull yourself together! We have to hold out somehow. If we fall here, Castica is finished. Even if no one else can, you have to keep it together.”
This was the area in Castica where the most troops were concentrated.
If it fell, there was no hope for the other regions.
Han Siha finally turned his head to check on the others.
Solia and Won were also fighting.
Even if they foresaw defeat, they weren’t sitting down to wait for death.
That was the spirit they had learned at the Academy.
Adela urged Han Siha.
“We can do this. Let’s go.”
Even if they couldn’t, they had to try.
Han Siha gritted his teeth and got up at her words.
“Contact the Count immediately. Request every form of support possible. Inform the Imperial Palace as well. Tell them we don’t have much time.”
There was a limit to how long they could hold out.
With the current manpower, they would inevitably fall.
Even if the Imperial Palace sent additional forces, there was no guarantee they would arrive in time.
In this situation, the only person he could rely on was Han taesu, so the desperate cries continued.
Han Siha let out a deep sigh.
The battlefield was steeped in the stench of defeat.
Even knowing what it meant to dive into that living hell, they had no choice but to fight.
“We need reinforcements! We’re being overwhelmed!”
The soldiers, knights, and royal reinforcements fought fiercely.
They seemed to be focused only on him.
“Basilus.”
Han Siha called Basilus in a low, steady voice.
<Reversal>.
It was an ability he had never used before because of how dangerous it was.
Though Han Siha could draw on Basilus’ immense magic power for himself, the situation was different now.
He intended to pour all his strength into Basilus.
“Kuwoo…”
Basilus blinked his eyes and sat down in front of Han Siha.
Han Siha stroked Basilus’ head without saying a word.
Basilus had grown too big to be held anymore, but his innocent, blinking eyes were the same as ever.
A surge of explosive, alien power coursed through them.
Basilus, eyes wide with surprise, looked up at Han Siha as if asking what this power was.
Han Siha grinned and spoke.
“You are strong enough.”
So, you can protect this land.
“No matter what happens, your task is simple.”
Basilus would naturally prioritize protecting Han Siha.
That was the instinct embedded in both Basilus and Kloshti.
But Han Siha intended to give a completely different command.
“Kill Abaddon.”
“…!”
Han Siha transferred half of his own magic power to Basilus.
It was madness to give half of his magic when he was already lacking, but he made this reckless choice, thinking only of efficiency.
Even if he drew all of Basilus’ magic into himself, Han Siha knew he couldn’t defeat Abaddon.
Therefore, he opted for a more efficient approach.
Basilus, as a dragon, could make the best use of the magic compared to Han Siha.
Sensing something was wrong, Basilus tilted his head.
“Younuh?”
“It’s an order. Do as I say.”
Basilus’ expression hardened as he finally understood Han Siha’s command.
To Basilus, protecting his Tamer’s safety was the top priority.
However, Han Siha’s command was different.
No matter what happened, killing Abaddon was the priority.
Han Siha knew the implications but still issued the command.
He was forcing Basilus with half of his own magic power.
It was a cruel order for Basilus, but for Han Siha, it was the best choice.
Suddenly, Adela’s words from a few days ago echoed in his mind.
‘Han Siha, if you were in my situation, you wouldn’t be much different.’
‘I don’t usually bet my life.’
He had said it so confidently.
And yet, here he was, gambling everything in this situation.
‘The you I know always risked your life for things like this.’
“…That’s right.”
She had seen him clearly.
“Sorry, Adela.”
Han Siha chuckled faintly, stepping back.
Basilus nodded, flapping his massive wings and soaring into the sky.
* * *
The sight of a gigantic dragon circling overhead.
The massive shadow cast over Abaddon’s forces threw them into chaos.
The dark sorcerers were somewhat used to such things, but the ordinary soldiers dragged into this war had never seen a dragon in their lives.
It was a monster straight out of a nightmare.
“Arghhhhh!”
“A m-monster…!”
With a single breath, Basilus decimated scores of soldiers.
Some couldn’t even scream as they burned alive before their eyes; others collapsed, convulsing on the ground.
Basilus, now fueled by Han Siha’s magic, could wipe out dozens with just his breath.
He was a dragon of fire.
Basilus mercilessly trampled the mages who were trying to cast magic circles to stop him.
“Stop it! Just freeze it!”
“Gah…!”
They attempted ice spells, but Basilus’ magic breath shattered the magic circles instantly.
Basilus savagely mauled those who tried to strike him from behind.
“Grrrrr…”
But the enemy numbers were still overwhelming. To wipe them out in one go, a more powerful attack was needed.
Basilus growled deeply as he summoned a pillar of fire.
At the same time—
Bang. Bang.
Thunder roared as lightning struck the ground.
“Arghhhhh!”
It was an assault akin to a natural disaster.
No matter how skilled a knight was, they couldn’t resist lightning crashing down from above.
Screams of fury and agony echoed all around.
“Take down that dragon!”
“Attack over there! That crazy beast is destroying everything!”
Adela, Solia, and Won.
The attacks that had been aimed at them had shifted focus.
The dark sorcerers, panicked by Basilus’ appearance, were desperate to take him down.
And in that chaos, another formidable ally arrived.
Basilus howled in joy.
“Kuwooooo!”
“What the hell is that now?”
One of the dark sorcerers groaned as he raised his staff.
Two Pteranodons.
Just watching the two creatures circling above was enough to make anyone piss their pants.
If Basilus scorched everything his shadow touched, Kloshti froze it.
<Ice Blast>.
Hundreds, thousands of razor-sharp ice shards exploded in all directions.
The soldiers on horseback fell instantly, becoming tangled in a heap, collapsing like dominoes.
The dark sorcerer who belatedly tried to erect a barrier met a similar fate.
The moment he let his guard down, an ice shard pierced his heart.
“Gah…!”
Dozens of dark sorcerers died this way, and the fierce battle raged on.
It was a fight where Castica should have fallen.
Yet the tide was turning differently than expected.
The endless enemy forces remained, and most of the Emperor’s reinforcements had perished.
However, with the support of Basilus and Kloshti, a path to victory was slowly emerging.
Everyone fought desperately to protect the core of Castica.
Basilus, having cleared out the soldiers in his area, took to the sky again.
He soared as high as he could, looking down at the tiny human figures below.
“Kuwoo…”
He was fulfilling his command.
The man whom his Tamer had ordered him to kill, risking his own life.
Basilus had no choice but to obey Han Siha’s command.
Instead of protecting Han Siha, he threw himself into the battle.
The command irked him deeply, so he intended to finish it quickly.
“Abaddon…”
Basilus muttered as he sought out his target.
“Catch and crush him.”