Sigh

The night was already deep, but the clamor in the allied army's camp was still far from settling down. On the road to the central command camp, a scar-faced man in snow-wolf hide armor strode forward, occasionally using the sheathed Kaidan Longblade at his waist to swat aside drunken Demi-humans and Misbegotten blocking his path. Afterward, he would spit and curse a few words with a face full of contempt.

Yet along the way, aside from those bastards so drunk they could not tell north from south, no one dared trouble him. Anyone in the camp with the slightest status knew that this former mercenary from Kaidan was the Shuofeng tribe's number three figure. Even setting that aside, the cavalry longblade in his hand, which was very rarely drawn, was enough to make even the bravest Troll feel fear.

Before the man had even left the front camp's area, he saw a tall, imposing figure coming toward him. It was Soleto, who was in charge of patrolling the vanguard. By the clear moonlight, he easily made out the anger hidden in the other man's expression.

"Turak, how's the situation over there? Any concrete news?" Soleto asked bluntly.

"I just met with Clareville. There's not much chance on the Ancient Dragon side. We still have to do it ourselves—the time is set for noon tomorrow. He'll lure Hectorv's troops into appearing at Sunset Pass, and he said we have thirty-five minutes to finish the battle."

Soleto gave a cold laugh. "As long as nothing goes wrong on his end, we can finish it in fifteen."

"Of course." Turak gripped the hilt with one hand and casually tapped the scabbard against his palm, laughing contemptuously. "We know exactly what Hectorv is worth. A piece of trash who climbed up entirely on backing and influence. One-on-one, if he can take ten moves from me, I'll count it as my loss."

"But that was never the real question, was it?" He swept a glance over the chaotic, noisy camp behind him. "Have you talked to the old man?"

"Isn't that a question you already know the answer to?" Soleto replied with a dark face. "It's still the same old tune with him. Every word out of his mouth is the situation, the bigger picture. He doesn't even look at what this so-called allied army has become. Expecting these people to understand the situation is bullshit!"

Turak's expression shifted uncertainly. After pondering for a long while, he said, "I'll go see him again with you."

Ten minutes later, the two of them were cursed out by Kruger, with all kinds of odds and ends from the table still being thrown out after them—their final attempt to convince Kruger to attack Kallen City had ended in failure. The old priest had even been so angry that he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood.

"I told you before we came, it was useless!" After they had moved away from the tent, Soleto sat on a large rock, his expression dark as water. "The old man has made up his mind not to let anyone touch Kallen City. We can't even touch the outlying farms. I'd really like to see what he does if Clareville goes back on his word and refuses to hand over the goods!"

"We won't live to see that day," Turak said coldly.

Soleto froze. "What do you mean?"

"When I came back just now, I happened to hear the chiefs of several tribes gathered together to discuss matters, negotiating how the spoils would be divided after the city falls tomorrow. Frostfang and Savage Blade's chiefs even traded a blow over it and each suffered light injuries..."

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Soleto said in shock and fury. As he spoke, he started to rise and go to the front camp to check the situation. "It's not like you don't understand the current state of things. Dozens of tribes, more than three thousand people gathered together—just the smallest friction among the upper ranks could trigger a mutiny! What are you doing—"

Turak grabbed him by the shoulder. The two each strained with force, but instead, it was Soleto, who looked sturdier, who was dragged into a stumble and forcibly yanked back to where he had been.

"You're the one who doesn't understand the situation, you idiot!" Turak cursed in a low voice. "Why do you think I could hear those movements so easily? Whether it's Frostfang, Savage Blade, or whatever else, they stopped caring about Kruger's ban on infighting long ago! If we can't persuade Kruger, what would be the point of telling you a few minutes earlier?"

"Look clearly at what's in front of us. It's fucking Kallen—the only human city the entire southern Gelmir can reach. The leftovers they dump into the sewers in one month could feed a Demi-human tribe for three whole years. Now Kallen's internal affairs officer is willing to be our inside man, those Ancient Dragons successfully drew Hectorv's attention, and most importantly, half of Gelmir's Demi-humans and Misbegotten were hit by hail disasters this year, then caught a plague in the summer. Of the survivors, at least a third won't live through this winter. That's why they were willing to fight this damned battle with us!"

"And what about us? What are we?" He stepped forward and seized Soleto by the collar, pounding his own chest several times with his other hand. "We're garbage, scum, vermin living in the shadows! We're flies that start buzzing over the moment we smell a little leftover soup and cold scraps, wild dogs that will bark madly and bite each other's heads open over a single chunk of bloody carrion!"

"The situation, the bigger picture?" Turak shoved Soleto away, a hoarse, cold laugh coming from his throat. "An old Misbegotten who ran off the battlefield thinks that because he's read a few human history books and glimpsed a few great figures from a dozen miles away, he really understands the grand currents of the world? He thinks he can control this allied army of three thousand. In truth, he can't even control Shuofeng, can't even control you or me! Do you think there's no one in our central army who's gone mad wanting to attack Kallen? I'm telling you, it's everyone! They just don't dare make a sound under the 'military discipline' Kruger has clumsily imitated from humans for more than ten years!"

Soleto's face flushed red, then turned pale. His voice was dry as he said, "But Kruger isn't wrong either. If we dare loot Kallen in front of an Ancient Dragon demigod, the Golden Dynasty's retaliation will come very soon. Where can we run then?"

"I said we won't live to see that day." Turak's expression was icy. "This current 'allied army' of three thousand people is three thousand mad dogs starving so badly their eyes are bleeding. And Kruger, you, and I are merely the three stronger ones among this pack of wild dogs. We can hold them back for one more night, but tomorrow, after we kill Hectorv and Kallen's main force, anyone who dares stand in front of them for even one second will be torn to shreds by fangs and claws!"

"When the Golden Dynasty really starts its retaliation, we'll run as far as we can. Worst case, you and I cross the sea and flee back to Kaidan together. As for the others—" A mocking, stiff smile squeezed onto his scarred face. "Dying on the road after filling their bellies is still better than dying in infighting beneath Kallen City, isn't it?"

Soleto paced back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back, his brows locked in worry. "But what about Kruger? He won't agree..."

Turak was silent for a long time, then pressed his callused palm onto the hilt of his blade and said, "He's already old, and he's going to die soon—what does it matter if it's a few days early?"

"What did you say?" Soleto abruptly turned around and seized Turak by the throat, his eyes splitting with rage.

"You heard me very clearly. He dies today, or everyone dies together tomorrow." The mercenary looked coldly at the trembling Demi-human general. "Also, you don't have to be the next one in power. I can guarantee my blade is fast enough, and I can also guarantee the next Misbegotten or Demi-human I find will be smart enough."

After who knew how long, Soleto slowly withdrew his cold hands, turned around, and said in a hoarse voice, "I understand..."

At the same moment, high in the sky beyond the reach of either man's perception, a heroic, handsome youth floated in midair, gray-white dragon wings slowly beating behind him. He looked down on all the chaos, greed, choices, and struggles taking place in the darkness, and after a long while, he let out only a soft sigh.