Behind-Enemy Reconnaissance (Part 1)

Gazing at the utterly silent abyss, Sordil felt a sudden, inexplicable unease. Just to be safe, he switched to Poison Dragon Mode, preparing to gather intelligence on the enemy. Meanwhile, Hadessta led his main force to the edge of the abyss, but strangely, the abyss was eerily quiet.

Sensing something was amiss, Hadessta immediately ordered his troops to halt. Then, he pointed to two of his men and said, "You two go and see what's going on in the abyss!"

"Yes!"

After receiving their orders, the two immediately broke away from the main force and cautiously made their way slowly toward the abyss.

"You two be careful, come back immediately if anything happens!"

Hearing the clapping behind them, the two nodded vigorously and continued to grope their way forward. However, nothing happened until they reached the edge of the abyss. Mustering their courage, they glanced into the abyss and found nothing but some severed limbs.

Just as the two were about to tell Hadessta about their discovery, Sordil, who was behind them, shouted first.

"Everyone be careful! The enemy is not in the abyss, but underground in the southeast!"

After roaring, Sordil unleashed a Poison Dragon's Roar towards the southeast without a word. The earth dragon squad, which had retreated to the second line, was the first to react. They immediately used their earth magic to erect a slightly curved rock wall in the southeast, perfectly protecting the troops in the danger zone.

Just as Sordil and the Earth Dragon squadron completed their protective measures, the ground to the southeast suddenly burst open. Immediately afterward, the dragon horde from the Western Continent burst out of the hole in the ground and launched an attack on the nearby army.

"Boom!"

The Rock Wall, struck by countless breaths, crumbled instantly, turning into plumes of dust that swirled in the sky. However, the few seconds the Rock Wall Rock Wall bought was enough for the dragons beneath it to escape the danger zone, and also gave Hadessta time to organize an effective attack. So, in the instant the Rock Wall collapsed, the main force's counterattack arrived before the dragons of the Western Continent.

"Boom"

"Bang"

As the two sides engaged in face-to-face combat, a sudden aerial Cannon Battle erupted. Above the southeastern position of the battlefield, various colored breaths scattered in all directions. Some breaths collided in mid-air, creating extremely violent explosions, while others fell to the ground, carving large craters into the earth.

About four or five minutes later, the Western Continent side, with fewer men and mostly wounded, could not withstand the pressure of the Cannon Battle and slowly withdrew from the battle. As the victorious side, Hadessta led his men in a token pursuit before returning to camp. After returning to camp, Hadessta ordered everyone to go back and rest, while he himself headed towards the medical camp.

"Sordil, we've repelled the enemy. What's the next step?"

While continuing his Healing Magic, Sordil looked up at Hadessta and said, "Old Hadessta, first help Old Man Radel restore the canyon's terrain, then choose a suitable place to set up camp. After the army is settled, we'll head to the Chigengster Plains to meet up with the others and discuss our next move."

"Okay, I'll go arrange those things right away!"

Chigengster Plains (i. e., the central battlefield)

Just as Sordil was preparing to head to the central battlefield for a war council, the leaders of the two defeated armies that had fled from the southern and northern fronts arrived at the command post of the only surviving central army. Looking at his two old friends, covered in dust and blood, the central army commander Kelsu, asked in surprise, "Goodpes, Delsd, what happened to you two, you're in such a sorry state?"

Touched on a sore spot, Goodpes and Delsd's faces instantly darkened. However, such a major defeat couldn't be hidden, so the two had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Last night..."

The two men who spoke at the same time exchanged a glance, and then said in unison again, "Goodpes / Delsd, you go first!"

"No, please go first!"

Seeing the two of them Kelsu was a little confused, so he asked hesitantly, "You two aren't trying to show off your affection in front of me, are you?"

Who's showing off their love?

Faced with the two perfectly synchronized once again, Kelsu said nothing. He simply extended his hands in a gesture of invitation, letting them confirm who was showing off their affection. The two, already seething with anger and humiliation from their defeat, were further provoked by Kelsu's unintentional teasing. In an instant, they were overcome with shock and rage, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

After being subjected to several doses of PDA, the straight-laced, lifelong single Kelsu couldn't take it anymore. He roared at the two 'showing off their love,' "After you two are done showing off your love, have someone call me out!"

Seeing that Kelsu everyone, Goodpes and the other man said in unison for the umpteenth time, "You stop right there!"

Kelsu turned around angrily, ready to teach these two forgetful guys a lesson, to show them how to understand human language, and to teach them how to respect single people. But before he could even speak, they launched a 'mixed doubles attack' on him.

"(Female; Delsd) Kelsu, what's wrong with you? Can't you listen to me properly?"

(Male: Goodpes) Exactly! Can't a person even speak?

"I..."

"(Woman) What do you mean, 'what do you mean, 'I'? We already said we had something important to discuss with you, why are you running away?

"(Male) That's right! You misunderstood both of us, and we explained it to you properly. How dare you run away from it?"

"You..."

"(Male) What do you mean 'you' and 'me'? Stop talking to us about 'you, me, and the three of us.' Your first task is to listen to us recount what happened, and then obediently apologize to us!"

"No..."

"(Woman) No what? Is Goodpes wrong? Or are you saying you've misunderstood both of us but refuse to apologize?"

"This..."

"(Male) Stop with the 'this and that' and just say what you have to say, or I won't hesitate to team up with Delsd to beat you up!"

"(Woman) Yes! Say what you have to say quickly, or if you keep dawdling like this, the two of us will team up and beat you up!"

Having been successfully driven mad, Kelsu dared not speak again. He roared to the sky, then covered his head with his hands and soared into the air.

"Ah!"

The two culprits, Goodpes and his companion, exchanged a glance and then, for the nth time, said in unison, "What's wrong with this guy?"

Oddek, who was meditating, was suddenly shaken awake by Belserion. After sighing, Oddek forcibly suppressed his displeasure and asked in a calm tone, "Belserion, didn't I tell you not to disturb me unless it's important?"

Belserion seemed not to hear Oddek's rebuke. He dragged Oddek outside the camp and pointed to a dark shadow in the sky, saying, "Oddek, look! What are they doing?"

Upon seeing the situation, Oddek's displeasure vanished instantly. However, being Thought Body, he lacked Sordil's ability to switch between various modes, so he could only stare wide-eyed at the black shadow roaring incessantly high in the sky, just like everyone else.

"So, have you figured out their purpose?"

"My Sage Dragon, I am just an ordinary person now. If you can't figure out what the other party is trying to do, then I'm even less likely to understand!"

"Oh no! What should we do?"

Seeing the bewildered Belserion, Oddek shook his head and said, "Don't worry, I'll tell Sordil about the situation and see if he has any ideas."

"Okay! Okay! Tell him what happened here!"