Grand Martial Arts Tournament

The Cuyis Tree Sea

"Sordil, you must be careful when you go to the Kingdom of Donagunov alone. Don't let that Belserion catch you."

Diphiya looked at Sordil, who was about to part ways with her, and kept giving him instructions, as if Sordil's departure meant that the two of them would be separated forever. Before Diphiya could say "Have a safe journey," Sordil quickly interrupted her.

"Diphiya, be careful on your journey and don't get hurt! Also, after you find Igneel and the others, tell them the truth about the impending attack by the dragons of the Western Continent. As for whether they decide to join the war after learning this news, respect their decision and never force them to participate!"

Diphiya looked at Sordil with some confusion, wondering why Sordil, who had yesterday vowed to gather all available forces to fight the Western Continent's dragons, was now saying such things to her. However, since it was her Sordil's decision, Diphiya obeyed unconditionally, despite her doubts. As for the reasons, she could ask Sordil later. Suppressing her doubts deep in her heart, Diphiya nodded obediently to Sordil, indicating that she would do as he said, and then turned and flew towards the Dil'dixiu Mountain Range. After Diphiya left, Sordil had no reason to stay any longer, so he turned and embarked on his journey to West City once more.

Kaysir City

"How is the situation?"

Looking at Langu sitting in his wheelchair, Keith replied helplessly, "General, last night, two more squads of soldiers deserted and escaped from the camp."

"What?"

Upon hearing Keith's reply, Langu was so angry that he almost jumped out of his wheelchair. Then, for what seemed like the umpteenth time, he silently offered his sincere greetings to all of Sordil's relatives and friends.

"General, what should we do now?"

"What should I do? How should I know what to do!"

Faced with Keith's question, Langu's face flushed red with anger. He pounded his hands on his wheelchair and shouted at Keith. Seeing Langu, his temples graying, slumped in his wheelchair, Keith silently left the room. The officers waiting outside, seeing Keith walk out with a dejected expression, all guessed what had happened inside. They followed closely behind Keith, heading towards the operations hall; the pride and confidence they had displayed a month ago were gone from their faces.

Inside the room, Langu gazed in the direction of West City, his eyes filled with nostalgia and resentment. When he was forced to relinquish command of the Western Border Army and lead his men to garrison Kaysir City, he had been filled with ambition, dreaming of rebuilding a 'Western Border Army Legion' there. But the harsh reality had Crush his aspirations. After arriving in Kaysir City, Langu finally understood why Sordil had so readily relinquished the territory he had painstakingly built in the palace.

A Lord Mayor's mansion completely looted, a ghost town where all able-bodied men had been taken, a death trap from which no military supplies could be procured, and on top of that, cunning and rampant bandits roamed every corner of the defense zone. Seeing this, Langu truly broke down. He even felt a pang of admiration for Sordil, who had managed to survive so long without starving and continuously grow his strength. Of course, if it were only this, Langu would still be confident he could resolve the predicament. But then, an even worse situation utterly crushed Langu's two divisions—they were out of food!

Since this was a garrison deployment rather than an expedition, they hadn't carried much food. After half a month of travel, their supplies were already low, and upon arriving at their post, they didn't receive timely resupply, leading to starvation. With pay and rations unpaid, rumors spread throughout the army, and desertion soon began. Initially, only one or two people deserted, but as time passed, the number increased, eventually resulting in entire units deserting. Not only soldiers, but even the high-ranking officers he had brought began to defect, leading to a surge in banditry in the surrounding area and a deterioration of security in Kaysir City.

Lacking protection, the civilians of Kaysir City fled into the city, and the villages outside gradually fell into disrepair. Consequently, the Lord Mayor's mansion was unable to gather enough food to supply Langu's army. However, without food to maintain morale, desertions and banditry would continue to rise. This created a vicious cycle that spiraled out of control, gradually pushing Langu into a desperate situation.

Just as Langu was about to go back to get a good night's sleep and forget all his troubles, Keith, who had just left the room, rushed in and handed him a parchment scroll.

West City, outskirts

A high platform made of rammed earth was nestled at the edge of a lush, dense forest. Below the platform, nine square formations of varying sizes were lined up in a row. At that moment, a silver-haired youth clad in armor walked up the steps of the platform, and countless eyes below instantly focused on him.

"Soldiers of the Western Border Army, greetings! I am your new commander, my name is Oddek! I believe many of you have heard my name but have never seen me, and of course, some have neither heard of me nor seen me. Perhaps in your hearts I am a devil, a bandit, a murderer; perhaps you curse me, fear me, and slander me. But there is one thing none of you can deny, and that is that I, Oddek, am your new general!"

Sordil paused here, observing the expressions and reactions of everyone in the audience. Most of the soldiers were dozing off with their heads down, many were looking around impatiently, a small number were staring at him curiously, and a very few were secretly scrutinizing him with hostile eyes. Seeing this, Sordil recalled his past life at school, the various assemblies held by the school leaders. What he had found utterly boring then now brought Sordil a sense of relief, because it meant that most soldiers in the Western Border Army didn't have any real affection for Langu, and he still had a chance to become a true commander in the Western Border Army.

After confirming the army's situation, Sordil cleared his throat and continued his speech.

"Perhaps some of you think I rose to power through nepotism, but I tell you, you are wrong! I defeated your predecessor, Langu, in front of His Majesty and all the ministers before His Majesty appointed me as general. I did not rely on any connections! If any of you are dissatisfied, you can challenge me now. Whoever defeats me will be the general! If you think I am too powerful and you are not confident, I can give you the opportunity to choose your own opponent. The winner will get the position, and the loser will stand aside obediently. So, do you dare to challenge me?"

As Sordil finished speaking, the audience fell silent. Those who had been dozing off instantly opened their eyes wide and stared at the stage. Those who had been looking around impatiently also turned their gazes in the same direction. Countless pairs of burning eyes were fixed on the silver-haired, silver-eyed boy on stage, and the same question arose in everyone's mind: Is this real?