Chapter 129. Reinforcents Arrive, the Hydra Clan Slumbering Underground
A few days later, after the four Royal Legions led by three Archmages reached the border, the offensive of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom and the Reinhardt Kingdom did indeed slow.
However, the two kingdoms were clearly unwilling to let the matter rest there. Reinforcents were continuously gathering at the frontier, and across the plains on both sides of the fortress, tents stretched out in endless rows as the atmosphere grew ever more tense.
Within the magic array deep inside the fortress, Keli sat with her eyes closed in ditation, trying to draw mana from the earth veins.
Suddenly, the magical elents around her began to stir violently, and a familiar pressure ca from the enemy camp across the way.
It was the aura of Legendary Combatants. With a rough count, there were no fewer than seven or eight of them.
Keli’s eyes snapped open, a trace of gravity flashing through them.
Her figure shifted, and with the support of the magic array, she teleported into the sky above the fortress, her robes whipping loudly in the wind.
Almost at the sa mont, another Archmage, Irene, appeared at her side, her brows tightly furrowed as she stared at the enemy camp.
“Keli.”
There was a faint tension in Irene’s voice.
“They have brought at least seven Legends. That is more than twice our number. Should we activate the preset ‘Starfall’ magic array?”
Keli shook her head, her gaze sharp as a hawk’s as it swept across the faint magical halos flickering within the enemy camp.
“Not yet. They are only testing us. They have not dared step within ten li of the fortress. If we activate the grand array now, we will only expose one of our trump cards.”
With a wave of her hand, a pale golden magic barrier spread out above the fortress, concealing both their auras within it.
“Send word to the Royal Capital and have His Majesty transfer four more Legends here. Also notify the frontline soldiers to pull back the periter. All mages are to enter combat readiness. No one is to attack without orders.”
“But would that not leave us too passive?” Irene asked, puzzled.
“If they suddenly strike—”
“They will not.”
Keli cut her off, her tone firm.
“A clash between Legendary Combatants affects the whole situation.”
“If Silver Oakleaf and Reinhardt truly dare to let their Legends fight to the death here, it will only benefit Dragon and Kadiya, who are watching from behind.”
As she spoke, a long howl rose from the opposing camp. A streak of fla-wreathed Dou Qi shot straight into the sky, an unmistakable act of provocation.
Keli’s eyes turned cold. A cluster of ice-blue mana gathered at her fingertips, and with a light flick, it beca a streaking teor that slamd precisely into the flaming Dou Qi and annihilated it without a trace.
“Kroll’s fortress is not a place where just anyone can behave atrociously.”
Keli’s voice, amplified by magic, carried clearly to the opposing side.
The aura there noticeably faltered, and no further move followed.
Irene let out a breath of relief, though worry still lingered on her face. “I am afraid they are holding back sothing bigger.”
Keli looked toward the darkening sky at the horizon and said slowly, “Then let them hold it back. Our mana reserves are greater than theirs, and our fortress works are stronger. If this drags on, the only ones who will grow anxious are them.”
Night fell, and the magic lamps of the border fortress lit up one after another, bathing the walls in a brightness as clear as day.
The camps on both sides remained silent, yet both were secretly gathering strength, waiting for the inevitable eruption to co.
Inside the main tent of the allied forces of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom and the Reinhardt Kingdom, the candlelight swayed, casting the solemn faces of two n over the military map spread across the table.
Prince Miller of Reinhardt tapped a finger on the spot marked “Eastern Frontier Magic Ore Mine,” his tone laced with mockery.
“So Silver Oakleaf has been hiding a ticking bomb underground like this. Were you not afraid it might blow up in your own face one day?”
The prince of Silver Oakleaf lifted his wine cup, the liquid inside rippling in fine waves. He let out a cold laugh.
“We originally intended to spend three years slowly extracting that magic energy storage site. Who could have guessed that the plan would not keep up with the change in circumstances, and Kroll would take advantage of the opening and snatch up a ready-made prize?”
His finger struck the map heavily.
“They think they have gained so enormous bargain?”
“Hmph. Deep inside that vein lies a pack of sleeping Hydras. Back then, when we tried to probe the place, we nearly ended up feeding those two Hydras guarding the territory. Now, at least, they can finally be put to use.”
A ruthless glint flashed through Prince Miller’s eyes. “What are you planning to do?”
“What am I planning to do?”
The Silver Oakleaf prince drained his wine in one gulp and slamd the cup down on the table.
“We wait. Once Kroll’s reinforcents reach the border and enough people have gathered, we will wake up the ‘things’ inside that vein.”
“At that ti, not only will Kroll’s people be buried with them, we can also drive those awakened Hydras straight toward the Kroll Royal Capital.”
He leaned over the map, his voice dropping so low it was like the hiss of a venomous snake.
“The Hydra Clan is the most vindictive of all. Once their sleep is disturbed, they will surely slaughter everything within a hundred li.”
“Even if the Kroll Kingdom can block our armies, can it block a horde of enraged ancient magical beasts?”
Hearing this, a cruel smile curved across Prince Miller’s lips.
“A fine plan. Let the magical beasts do the killing for us. It will crush Kroll’s montum and shift the disaster onto them. When that happens, Dragon and Kadiya will not be able to sit still either.”
“They cannot very well stand by and watch the Hydras charge all the way to their own doorsteps.”
“Exactly.”
Calculation glead in the eyes of the Silver Oakleaf prince.
“Pass down the order. Tell our hidden agents near the vein to prepare themselves. Once Kroll’s reinforcents cross the Blackwater River, they are to detonate the magical-energy fuses we buried there in advance.”
Outside the tent, the wind swept past with a mournful wail, lifting sand and grit that rattled against the canvas like so ominous warning.
As the two n stared at the territory of the Kroll Kingdom on the map, it was as if they could already see the magical beasts rampaging across the land and cities collapsing before them.
What they did not know was that above the fortress, Keli was staring toward the Silver Oakleaf camp, a faint crease between her brows.
Just now, for the briefest instant, she seed to sense once again an extrely faint aura that belonged to an Abyssal Magical Beast.
Though it had vanished in an instant, it stirred a powerful unease in her heart.
“Irene,” Keli suddenly said, “sothing feels wrong. Go and inspect that underground magic energy reserve yourself.”
Though Irene was puzzled, Keli’s expression was so grave that she did not dare delay. Her figure flashed and vanished into the shadows of the fortress.
The underground magic energy reserve was thick with elental aura. The magic crystals embedded in the stone walls emitted a dim blue glow, turning the passageways into sothing dreamlike.
Irene followed the mine tunnel and inspected it all the way through, brushing her fingertips over every rock wall that might conceal a chanism. She even used a detection spell, yet all she sensed was the magic energy slowly flowing in a certain pattern, with nothing abnormal about it.
About half an hour later, she returned above the fortress and shook her head at Keli.
“The magic energy below is indeed surging sowhat, but it feels like the natural fluctuation of the vein itself. I checked three tis very carefully and found nothing unusual.”
Keli still was not at ease. After pondering for a mont, she said, “I will go take a look myself.”
Her figure fell underground like a streak of light, and her search was even more ticulous than Irene’s had been.
She even dismantled several old magic arrays and swept the core region of the vein inch by inch with her ntal force.
Yet the result was exactly the sa as Irene’s. Other than the normal flow of magic energy, there was nothing else.
“That is strange.”
When Keli returned to the sky above the fortress, her brows were drawn even tighter.
“That feeling of unease was clearly very strong. Why can I not find anything?”
Irene also found it baffling. “Could it be that we are simply too tense? After all, they brought seven Legends with them...”
“No.”
Keli shook her head and cast her gaze toward the Silver Oakleaf camp once more.
“That feeling did not co from Legendary Combatants. It felt more like... sothing from the abyss, carrying the taste of destruction and madness.”
She paused, then said in a low voice, “Pass down my order. The guards in the mine tunnels are to double their vigilance, especially around those abandoned old mine shafts. Not an inch can be overlooked.”
“And also notify the Royal Capital. Have the Alchemists’ Guild send over a few masters skilled in breaking seals.”
“I suspect they may have hidden sothing deep within the vein and used a special kind of magic to conceal its aura.”
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