Chapter 138. War, the Hydra Clan’s Sche
After the golden figure of the Grand Elder of Dragon Island disappeared completely behind the clouds, the Legendary Powerhouses and knights of Iron Skull Fortress finally dared to slowly gather around. The way they looked at William carried both reverence and relief.
William smiled at them, though a trace of relaxation remained hidden in his eyes.
The Silver Oakleaf Kingdom had colluded with the Hydra and caused the Dragon Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom to suffer grievous losses. There was no way those two kingdoms would simply let this go.
Sure enough, at dawn the next morning, a secret report from the Shadow Guard was delivered to the Study.
The handwriting on the coded letter was rough and hurried, yet it seed to burn with a wildfire of rage.
The Dragon Kingdom, the Dwarf Kingdom, and the Kadiya Kingdom had already ford a coalition army. Bypassing the Hydra-occupied region around Magic Serpent Fortress, they were advancing straight toward the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom.
To end the war quickly, envoys from the three kingdoms had arrived in Kroll Kingdom overnight, requesting passage through its territory.
“What did Father King say?”
William pinched the secret report between his fingers and looked at the Shadow Guard mber who had co to deliver the news.
“His Majesty has already agreed to grant them passage,” the Shadow Guard mber replied with a bow. “He also ordered the Gold Legion to escort the coalition army through the kingdom the entire way while… monitoring their movents to ensure they do not disturb the kingdom’s borderlands.”
William nodded.
This move by Kroll II was a steady one. He had both done the three kingdoms a favor and used the excuse of escorting them to keep the coalition army in check, preventing the flas of war from spilling into Kroll Kingdom itself.
“This ti, the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom is being attacked from both front and rear.”
William walked to the window and looked out at the morning mist beyond the fortress.
“Colluding with magical beasts and betraying their allies—those two cris alone are enough to damn them beyond redemption.”
The Shadow Guard mber added, “According to reports from the front line, the border garrison of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom had already collapsed into total disorder at the very start. The coalition army of the three kingdoms is attacking with trendous force.”
“Especially the Dragon Rider Legion of the Dragon Kingdom, which rarely shows itself. It has now appeared on the battlefield and is pursuing the enemy relentlessly. They clearly hate Silver Oakleaf to the bone.”
William thought back to the brutal slaughter above Magic Serpent Fortress and to the mournful cry of that fallen Dragon Rider. The destruction of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom would be nothing more than the consequence of its own actions.
“Keep watching the battle situation and report back imdiately if anything unusual happens.”
He turned and gave the order. “Also, keep a close eye on the Hydra’s movents.”
“Yes.” The Shadow Guard mber accepted the order and withdrew.
Only William remained in the Study. Morning light fell across the map through the lattice window, and the territory of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom had been circled in red ink, like a piece of rotten flesh about to be gnawed clean.
William gazed at the region marked as the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom, his fingertips rubbing slowly along its borders.
If not for the ever-present threat of the Hydra hanging over Iron Skull Fortress, he would have found it almost impossible to restrain himself. He would have wanted to personally lead a legion into the war. The Silver Oakleaf Kingdom’s lands were rich and fertile. Who would not want a share of them?
But before long, new intelligence from the Shadow Guard made him put that thought away.
The description in the secret report was shocking. The Hydra Clan had actually allowed the knights of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom to ride on their backs, forming a bizarre “Hydra Knight Order.”
Those enormous beasts, covered in dark green scales, carried knights on their backs and spewed venom while clashing head-on with Dragon Breath. They were actually fighting the Dragon Kingdom’s Dragon Rider Legion to a standstill.
William frowned. He thought of the Dragon Kingdom’s Dragon Rider Legion. More than half of them were in truth lesser-dragon riders, mounted mostly on wyverns or scaled drake beasts. Against savage creatures like the Hydra, they naturally held no advantage.
The fighting on the front line grew more brutal by the day. Every battle report that arrived seed steeped in the sll of blood.
Yet another matter concerned William even more.
In this war sweeping across several kingdoms, not a single captive had been sold off as a slave.
In the past, no matter how chaotic a war beca, there would always be rchants taking the chance to traffic prisoners of war. But this ti, the captives of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom seed to have vanished into thin air. Even the Shadow Guard could not find a trace of them.
William tapped his fingers against the table.
“The Silver Oakleaf Kingdom has the Hydra backing it. Have they all beco food for the Hydra?”
He thought of the mountains of bones piled up inside Magic Serpent Fortress, and his stomach churned.
If that was truly the case, then the cruelty of this war was likely far beyond imagination.
“Have the Shadow Guard watch the rear of the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom closely, especially the areas near Magic Serpent Fortress.”
William gave the order to his subordinates.
“I suspect the alliance between the Hydra and the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom was made for the sake of humans. Could they be trying to devour massive amounts of flesh and blood in order to ascend to Demigodhood?”
The wind outside carried a chill as it swept past. The banners of Iron Skull Fortress snapped sharply in the air.
William looked toward the distant battlefield, and unease rose in his heart.
This war might be becoming far more complicated.
At this mont, the situation on the battlefield had beco increasingly deadlocked. With the support of the Hydra Clan, the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom—relying on the many Hydra that possessed Legendary Combat Power—was gradually suppressing the combined offensive of the Dwarf Kingdom, the Kadiya Kingdom, and the Dragon Kingdom.
Half a month later, the coalition army of the three kingdoms was already showing signs of exhaustion. Many legions had suffered heavy losses in the fierce fighting, and the Dragon Kingdom, in order to preserve its strength, had pulled its Dragon Rider Legion back ho early.
Because the three kingdoms had their own agendas from the beginning, they were unable to form a unified and lasting fighting force. Faced with a long siege that showed no sign of ending, they tried to win over neighboring kingdoms as allies, only to be t with indifference.
The surrounding kingdoms all chose to watch from the sidelines, hoping both sides would fight until they were weakened equally so that they could reap the benefits in the end. As a result, no one was willing to offer aid.
The coalition army of the three kingdoms had fallen into a dilemma, unable either to advance or retreat. And although the Silver Oakleaf Kingdom temporarily held the upper hand, it too had to endure the constant pressure of prolonged warfare while facing three kingdoms at once.
In the audience hall of the Silver Oakleaf Royal Palace, candlelight flickered atop bronze lampstands, stretching Odyssey V’s shadow long across the floor.
He tightened his grip on his scepter. The gem-studded head of the staff glead coldly from the force of his grasp. Opposite him floated the phantom of a Hydra, its scales flashing with a dim green sheen, its nine pairs of serpent eyes filled with indifference.
“What exactly are you waiting for?”
Odyssey V’s voice carried suppressed fury.
“Do not forget our original agreent. You said the three kingdoms would be crushed within half a month. And now?”
He suddenly pointed out the window, as though he could see the distant battlefield through the palace walls.
“The corpses are piled into mountains, and the slaves you wanted have been carted off to Magic Serpent Fortress wagon after wagon. Yet the war has dragged into a battle of attrition.”
The Hydra phantom flicked its tongues rapidly. All nine heads turned toward him at once, and the contempt in its tone nearly overflowed.
“Human king, patience is a virtue.”
One of its heads lowered slightly, and a trace of calculation flickered through its serpent eyes.
“We are mobilizing more of our kin from deeper within. Be patient.”
It paused, its dim green gaze sweeping over the human king seated upon the throne.
“You will not lose this war. In the end, the territories of those three kingdoms will all beco part of your realm.”
To calm this restless human, the phantom added, “Tomorrow, new mbers of our clan will arrive at the front line. That will be enough to let you see the hope of a swift victory.”
Before its words had even finished echoing, the phantom scattered like smoke, leaving behind only a faint bloody stench in the air.
Odyssey V leaned heavily back against the throne, his chest rising and falling violently. He stared at the spot where the phantom had vanished, and a trace of unease flashed through his eyes.
These Hydra had been strange from the very beginning. Their hunger for corpses and slaves had gone far beyond the bounds of rely “assisting in war.” It felt more like they were carrying out so kind of ritual.
But things had already reached this point, and he no longer had any road left to retreat upon. The wrath of the coalition army of the three kingdoms and the doubts of the nobles within his own kingdom were both forcing him to trust the promises of these foreign creatures.
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