Change of Plans

The massive black dragon flashed past, cavalry streaming after him like a surging river.

Caesar maintained his altitude and distance, glancing back from time to time with utmost vigilance. To him, luring the pursuers was even more dangerous than fighting their army before.

Unlike dragons that relied on magic to fly, Caesar soared through the sky purely on the lift generated by the beating of his flesh-and-blood wings. That was why his wingspan was extraordinarily broad, now exceeding twenty meters.

The size of such a dragon as a target was self-evident.

When he relied on his wings to stay aloft, an injured wing meant losing the ability to fly. He had to treasure his fleshy wings dearly; the javelins and crossbow bolts of the cavalry behind him were no joke.

That was also why, at the very first moment of the ambush, Caesar had preferred to land, fold his wings, and fight the army at close range rather than sweep over their heads and kill them with his breath.

Yet despite Caesar's meticulous thinking, he had still suffered when fighting humans.

He had assumed from the outset that his first charge would scatter the army, allowing him to attack at will. Naturally, he had thought that humans facing a dragon's assault would be like rats at a loss, scurrying away with their heads in their hands.

But in truth, only rabble made up of low-level adventurers would make such mistakes and lose their nerve in a situation like this. A truly well-trained regular army's first thought was to meet the enemy and strike back.

Though the black dragon had chosen his moment for the ambush well—at the hour when humans were most prone to fatigue during the day—Roy's army had still reacted immediately. A force of over a thousand men formed a defensive formation in an instant. Shield bearers, crossbowmen, and mages all took their positions, halting the black dragon's charge. After the first volley failed, spells came screaming in, ballistae stood ready, and they unleashed their full firepower.

Such terrifying discipline and quality had been beyond Caesar's expectations. Medieval armies on Earth in his previous life could never have achieved this; perhaps only the later modern mechanized forces could compare.

Had the black dragon's body not been tough enough, and his mental fortitude reasonably firm, such a counterattack would probably have stunned him senseless and left his mind blank.

"I was still too subjective."

Puffs of white vapor poured from the black dragon's nostrils as he reflected. In Eladia, he could only be considered a ignorant child; there was still much he needed to learn.

Compared to those on Earth, the humans here were practically a different species. They were not frail in the slightest. On the contrary, they were exceedingly formidable.

It was a simple truth: in such a cruel world where monsters ran rampant, if they were not strong enough, there was no way they could have developed to the point of founding nations.

One had to know that Eladia held countless powers, great and small, and innumerable intelligent races. Yet now, only humans still had nations remaining. The rest had either been crushed by them or vanished in the river of time.

Half the land in this world was now under human control. In truth, they were the race with the greatest voice in Eladia. No small number of dragons died at human hands every year. Forget dragons—some of humanity's peerless legendary mages were simply madmen. They had even committed acts like slaying gods.

However, formidable as the people of Eladia were, they were not without weaknesses.

Caesar frankly admitted that he was no match for this army. If he could not beat them, he could not beat them; there was nothing shameful about it. With his current abilities, it would be difficult to destroy such a regular army in a head-on clash.

But this army's strength lay in its organized, large-scale combat power. If these people were made to line up and fight the black dragon one by one, even ten thousand would not be enough for him to swat away.

As long as he could scatter the army and break it into isolated pieces, he could fight them.

Caesar became even more certain of his plan.

It was just that their commander was equally clever and seemed able to guess his intentions. Caesar had tried accelerating to stretch out the pursuers, but the knights behind him would rather widen the gap than abandon their comrades. Throughout the pursuit, they steadfastly maintained their formation.

It seemed they had already prepared themselves for an ambush.

If I change plans and join the orcs in attacking the cavalry at the same time, would that work?

Caesar calculated inwardly, considering his options. The battlefield changed in an instant; with the original plan difficult to carry out, he had no choice but to make adjustments and devise a new strategy.

This group of cavalry included thirty knights and one archmage. If they did not disperse, they would be difficult to crush even if they faced attacks from both himself and the orcs at once.

Even if he won, the orcs would inevitably suffer devastating losses.

Besides, leaving aside whether Caesar could accept such an outcome, his opponent was so intelligent that, having guessed the cavalry might encounter an ambush, Roy would never sit idly by with his hands tied and watch the cavalry be slaughtered.

That fellow would most likely lead men behind the cavalry. Though they would be a step slower than the cavalry force, they would be perfectly positioned to encircle the orcs ambushing the cavalry in turn. What would happen next needed no explanation.

A rash move could very well leave him utterly defeated.

Caesar did not dare gamble. He was not Roy, and unlike his opponent, he did not hold so many cards. He had only a small Stone Crow Clan and absolutely could not place his bet on his opponent.

Placing one's hopes in an opponent's stupidity was no different from digging one's own grave.

"However."

The black dragon narrowed his eyes and muttered, "Your men can follow behind and spring a counter-ambush, but those heavy weapons can't move that fast."

Caesar set his sights on the ballistae that had left such a deep impression on him.

"Luna, I need your help."

Amid the howling wind, the black dragon spoke softly to the little one on his neck. "Go now to the orcs' designated ambush site. Tell them to abandon the ambush, take Sifu, and circle around by another route to the battlefield where I encountered the army earlier."

"If the main human force is still waiting there, lead them here and ambush these bastard knights."

Caesar twisted his body, slanting aside to evade a javelin hurled from behind. His long flight training played a crucial role at this moment. "If Roy splits his forces again and they are short on manpower, have Sifu lead the orcs in attacking that force. Kill whoever you can, but those ten armor-piercing ballistae must all be destroyed."

"Mm."

Hidden among the spikes where Caesar could not see her, Luna nodded hard. Then worry appeared on her face. "But there is a human archmage here. He's very powerful. You..."

"Don't worry about me. You must be fast, as fast as possible."

The black dragon clenched his sharp teeth and solemnly instructed her, "If they split their forces, they will certainly consider the dangers to follow. The orcs must race them for time."

"After you leave, I will turn back once and attack the cavalry, keeping these people pinned here."

The strange dragon glanced back at the surging pursuers, his amber pupils flickering. "For the rest, I hope Sifu will not disappoint me."