Within the military camp of the Fire Feather Army, Sky (Yudel) arrived in front of the assembled troops awaiting their departure orders, surveying the entire scene.
10,000 warriors led by General Long at the forefront.
10,000 warriors of the left flank commanded by General John Limo.
8,000 warriors of the Demon Wolf Cavalry led by General Iwan.
And 250 Holy Light Priests led by Lilith (Lilianna).
28,250 souls, this was the full force Sky (Yudel) was about to lead on a mission to crush the 300,000-strong Blackwater Army, a task nearly impossible to accomplish.
"Warriors, brave sons of Fire Feather," Sky (Yudel) spoke loudly, "More than a decade ago, the vast armies of the Blackwater Empire invaded our nation, ravaged our homes, and murdered our families. We have not forgotten this blood debt. And now, they are coming again, preparing to breach Deerfield city, opening the gates for an eastern invasion into our homeland once more. Can we allow this?"
"No, no, no!" the assembled warriors roared in unison.
After a brief pause, Sky (Yudel) raised his right hand, and the Fire Feather warriors immediately quieted down to listen to their Holy King continue.
"Many say the Blackwater Army is invincible in battle. To our west, now stands 300,000 of their troops. They do not yet know we are here; they do not yet know that their unbeaten myth will end with us today. I have told you, and I have shown you, that with a resolve to embrace death, no enemy can stop us from our victory.
Look behind us at the Deerfield River. Crossing it yesterday, I thought to myself, I no longer plan to cross back over this river from here. Either I will die today on the plains of Deerfield, or I will lead you all the way into the capital of the Blackwater Empire. Thus, those ferries and warships, we will not be needing them anymore."
Saying so, Sky (Yudel) summoned his Dragon Halberd with a wave of his right hand, which descended from the sky into his grasp. Crimson flames erupted beneath his feet, lifting him gently into the air, over 10 meters high.
Then, with a fierce swing of his Dragon Halberd, a dragon-shaped mist of blood shot forth, smashing into the main warship's hull with a thunderous boom. The ship was breached, water surged in, and it began to sink slowly.
From the air, Sky (Yudel) proclaimed loudly, "We have no other paths left, nor does the nation of Fire Feather. Before us lies only one route, to the west, to defeat our enemies, to claim our victory." He took a deep breath and ordered, "Burn the boats!"
Upon receiving the command, the strategists like Chester, who were previously positioned on the ships, began igniting torches and breaking open the ship's holds. Various types of ships crowded at the riverbank started to blaze fiercely, sinking slowly.
The wind from across the river grew stronger, fueling the flames even more intensely.
Every warrior of Fire Feather, witnessing the burning ships, had their initial shock gradually transform into resolute determination.
"Other than victory, we have no path left. Warriors, follow me to battle!" Sky (Yudel) descended from the air, and the Demon Wolf King, Moonshadow (Lumiay), approached his side.
Sky (Yudel) mounted the Demon Wolf King, which raised its head and let out a piercing howl before stepping toward the camp's main gate.
Following closely behind him were the tens of thousands of silent warriors of Fire Feather.
Behind them, the flames engulfing the ships painted the entire river and half of the sky red.
Watching the troops leave the camp, Xavier muttered to himself, "Making such a spectacle should have caught the attention of the Blackwater Army by now."
Beside him, Chester chuckled twice, "If the enemy hasn't noticed this display, they don't deserve their reputation. This tactical setup is quite unique, eh? Was this your idea for the Holy King?"
Xavier hurriedly shook his head with a smile, denying, "Not at all, not at all. It's all due to the Holy King's wise and mighty strategies; I merely offered some advice."
Chester patted his shoulder, "You've got potential, kid. Keep it up."
The morning had passed, the sun climbed higher, and the wind grew ever stronger.
Marvin, a minor officer in the Blackwater Army and a centurion, led a patrol of about 100 men, responsible for patrolling and guarding a section of the supply line.
As usual, he woke up early, dispatched the patrol squads, and then personally led a group of over 50 men on their daily patrol.
The Blackwater Army's logistical system was quite unique, extensively utilizing a combination of magic and bio-engineered creatures in a semi-enclosed defense system known as the "Magical Bio-Corridor," officially named the "Magical Tunnels" by the Blackwater Empire.
The structure of the "Magical Tunnels" comprised two main components.
First, it used rapidly growing vine plants, bio-engineered using magical creature technology as the primary structural framework. These vines could grow quickly, intertwining tightly and could be directed by magical forces to take on various shapes as needed. Regardless of the harsh conditions, as long as sufficient magical energy was provided for cultivation, they could wildly proliferate, forming a wall over a man's height within weeks and maintaining life for up to 18 months. These vines were tough, thick, and not easily combustible, retaining their structural integrity even after death, making them an excellent temporary military construction base.
Then, the Black Feather Army's accompanying bio-magic experts would cultivate a type of shell-bearing parasite on the vine walls. These tiny creatures, no larger than 1mm, reproduced rapidly with short lifecycles. Catalyzed by magical energy, they could reproduce a generation every 3-4 days, with each generation living no longer than a week, dubbed the "Magical Rapid Growth Bugs" by the Blackwater Army.
Before dying, these bugs would secrete a potent adhesive fluid, sticking their bodies to surfaces, so after several generations, the magical vines would be covered with a layer of these bug corpses. The backs of these corpses featured an extremely hard chitin shell, providing both high physical and magical resistance, effectively armoring the vines with a layer that only thickened over time.
Marvin, leading his team, observed the Magical Tunnels and their surroundings. Suddenly, he frowned, pulled the reins to stop his bio-engineered dragon steed, and dismounted.
The dragon steed was a product of bio-engineering, merging thin dragon bloodlines into horse stock through selective breeding. After selection, the qualified foals were raised together, fed a diet rich in magical fodder, allowing these bio-engineered dragon steeds to inherit the various advantages of dragon bloodlines, such as strength, endurance, and intelligence far surpassing ordinary horses, and even possessing some magical abilities.
This process was akin to mass-producing semi-magical beasts, semi-demons, or semi-spiritual beasts as mounts, enabling the rare and slowly reproducing magical, demonic, or spiritual beasts to be equipped on a large scale within the Blackwater Army, forming structured combat units.
Indeed, only the Blackwater Empire, with its strong development in magical civilization and magical creature bio-engineering, had the strength and technology to develop bio-engineered dragon cavalry on a large scale.
Marvin approached a section of the Magical Tunnel's outer wall, touching it carefully before kneeling to examine the connection between the wall and the ground. Finally, he stood up and instructed a soldier behind him, "Mark this location. The growth of these magical vines is slightly delayed, possibly due to a shallow soil layer here, not allowing deep root penetration. Have a earth-elemental mage come over to shatter the underlying rock layer to facilitate root growth. And remember, when the mage comes, bring some magical energy crystals to catalyze the growth of these vines."
The Blackwater Army mandated that officers above the rank of centurion undergo basic military knowledge training, with military instructors offering courses within the army. Thus, officers in the Blackwater Army generally possessed a higher level of cultural and academic knowledge compared to commanders in other nations' armies. For instance, Centurion Marvin could identify issues with magical plant growth and propose solutions.
"Understood, Centurion," the soldier replied, diligently noting the location of the vines.
Marvin dusted off his hands, looking eastward, "The wind is strong today, coming from the east, huh?" His brows furrowed again as he squinted towards the eastern horizon.
As a bio-magical warlock from the Blackwater Army, Marvin had a certain magical aptitude and had undergone basic magical training, roughly equivalent to a 3rd level intermediate mage. Additionally, as a bio-magical warlock, he had undergone several bio-enhancement modifications, bringing his physical combat abilities to the level of a 3rd level warrior. Thus, his true combat strength could be considered on par with a 4th level mage or a cultivator in the Innate Stage.
Marvin's eyesight had also been enhanced through bio-engineering technology. Coupled with his 3rd level intermediate mage and 3rd level warrior abilities, his long-range vision was exceptionally strong.
Similar to the cultivation and magical systems, the Blackwater Army's unique military training system also had corresponding levels, each reflecting different combat power levels.
1st level for recruits, 2nd level for battle soldiers, 3rd level for warriors, 4th level for martial soldiers, 5th level for sharp soldiers, 6th level for generals, 7th level for marshals, and the legendary 8th level for war gods.
It was this standardized training system, combined with elemental magic and bio-engineering technology, that had enabled the Blackwater Empire to dominate for a century. The military system of the Blackwater Empire was a semi-industrialized military system integrating elemental magic and magical creature bio-engineering.
Using his enhanced vision, Marvin saw a bio-engineered dragon steed charging towards them from the eastern horizon.
He quickly mounted his own steed, telling his soldiers, "Follow me."
Over 50 bio-engineered dragon steeds headed towards the east to meet the approaching rider.
Soon, the scout riding the dragon steed from the east adjusted his course slightly and headed directly towards Marvin's group.
Marvin could now clearly see the face of the person approaching—it was one of the scouts he had sent out to patrol towards the east that morning.
"Centurion, Centurion Marvin," the distant scout sped up, quickly reaching Marvin. He dismounted from his dragon steed, stumbling towards Marvin.
Observing the scout's pale face and the blood still flowing from his wounds, Marvin's brows furrowed even more.
Marvin dismounted, catching the injured scout, and called out, "Medic, cast a water-element healing spell on him."
A pale blue magical light fell upon the scout, improving his complexion somewhat.
"What happened?" Marvin asked.
Panting, the scout urgently replied, "The Fire Feather Army, from the east, the Fire Feather Army is coming."