「In the Beastman Camp」
"What's going on?"
The cry of the Blazing Flame Storm Phoenix carried all the way to the Beastman Camp, startling Kase, who had been lying in his bed.
"Your Highness, has something happened?"
The Fox Race woman beside his pillow opened her blue eyes and spoke into Kase's ear.
It was a tradition in the Beastman Army for high-ranking officers to bring along a few beautiful women for their own pleasure when on campaign.
In the past, when the Beastman Empire was at its peak, even elves could be found in the Beastmen's tents.
Of course, such sights were rare now.
Kase shoved the Fox Race woman aside, threw on his battle armor, and grabbed the scimitar bestowed upon him by the Beast Emperor before striding out of the tent.
He had heard it clearly just now—that was the cry of a Blazing Flame Storm Phoenix.
As far as he knew, the only person in all of Sunset Fortress, perhaps even in the entire Frank Kingdom, connected to a phoenix was the very man he was worried about: Leo.
Kase looked over and saw a massive, fiery-red sphere atop the central tower of Sunset Fortress, frantically devouring the surrounding Magic Energy.
'A Forbidden Spell?!' Kase was inwardly astonished.
'Only a Forbidden Spell could have such a powerful magical aura!'
Leo was already a Magic Master, equivalent to the Golden Tier, but he hadn't yet taken that step into the Legendary rank. How could he possibly cast a Forbidden Spell?
Kase was surprised for a moment, but that was all.
Forbidden Spells were certainly terrifying, but they had one major weakness: they had strict casting requirements and took a long time to cast.
"Your Highness! This is bad! Your Highness!"
Kase frowned and looked over. It was the priest assigned to him by the Beast Emperor.
"What is it? Why are you in such a panic?" Kase berated him.
"Your Highness, the... the aura of Magic! There's Magic all over the land, and it seems there are Magic Arrays all around the outer camp!" the priest said frantically.
"What! Are you serious?" Kase exclaimed.
Now it was his turn to panic. A magical aura covering such a vast area—could this be any ordinary Array?
"How is that possible? Where would they have found the time to prepare such a large Array?" Kase said, doubtful.
Seeing that Kase still wouldn't believe him, the priest was on the verge of tears.
"I don't know, but the magical fluctuations are real. Your Highness, you must go see for yourself," the priest said.
Led by the priest, Kase came to one of the Magic Arrays. Several goblin priests were gathered around the Array. The entire formation was floating in the air, now glowing a solid red.
Kase's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot as he took in the scene.
"What are you all standing around for? Order the vanguard to become the rearguard! Have the First and Fifth Legions hold the line!" Kase commanded.
"And you, investigate this immediately! Find out what in the world is going on!"
...
Kase's orders were quickly relayed to every camp. Even Dor had no choice but to obey the Prince's command, halting his attack and beginning to withdraw his troops.
A spell with a range of dozens of miles was simply too terrifying. They couldn't take the risk. If the Frank Kingdom had truly paid a steep price to bring in a few Legendary Mages to set a trap for them, they wouldn't be able to handle the fallout.
For now, they just needed to evade this Forbidden Spell. The Beastmen's strategy on the Western Front had always been to play it safe.
Robson stood on the city wall, watching the breathtaking scene unfold. Dust plumed in the distance as an army tens of thousands strong retreated.
He had just received the news from Count Offman.
It was indeed a Forbidden Spell, one that Earl Leo was casting at the cost of his own life force.
However, the Forbidden Spell's power was nowhere near as terrifying as the Beastmen imagined.
The only unfortunate thing was that not all of Lord Robson's soldiers had reached Tier 3 yet; about two hundred were still left.
'Once we break out, there probably won't be any troops below Tier 3 left...'
Robson felt his soldiers had wasted a good night's sleep.
There wasn't much to be done now. He had Viscount Fuman arrange a proper meal for the soldiers.
Of course, it was heavy on oil and salt. Without enough fat, a man's stomach would grow hungry too quickly. Robson had no intention of sending his boys into battle on an empty stomach; that would be irresponsible with their lives.
After eating and drinking, all they could do was sleep. After all, the Frank Kingdom had no precedent for sending prostitutes to the battlefield. The women found on the battlefield were typically those whose male family members had all died, forcing them into service out of desperation.
But such cases were rare, few and far between.
...
The two sides, which had been locked in fierce combat, came to a halt just like that, and a strange silence fell over the battlefield.
The Beastmen were held in check by that inexplicable Magic Array, daring not to advance under such uncertain circumstances.
The humans, on the other hand, had been scrambling all night. Many had received the news in a hurry and were completely unprepared.
In this situation, Robson's advance warning proved to be invaluable. If nothing else, among the West City Nobles, Lord Robson had established a reputation for looking out for his colleagues.
Things were hectic, but fortunately, Count Offman had long been prepared for such a chaotic situation. Everyone's escape—no, breakout—plan was still proceeding in an orderly fashion.
...
Meanwhile, on the Beastmen's side, the scouting parties sent out earlier were now returning to camp one by one.
When the priests pieced together all the disparate bits of information, they reached an embarrassing conclusion.
"You're telling me these markings are the Godslaying Array?" Prince Kase's face was livid with rage.
The Godslaying Array. It sounded impressive, but anyone with a basic knowledge of continental history knew that the so-called "gods" existed only in the legends of the First Epoch, living on in the half-true histories of the Elf Race.
In the last thousand years, the most active deities were the Human Race's Lord of Dawn, Lodestar, and the human mother goddess, Sophia.
But even so, those were stories from several thousand years ago, back when the Human Race had not yet risen to prominence. Their authenticity was highly questionable.
"So you're saying that I, a Prince, and my army of several hundred thousand, were bluffed into retreating by some strange runes that wouldn't even fool a child?" Prince Kase roared.
The priest knew he couldn't escape blame this time and stepped forward to explain.
"Well, Your Highness, we were also wondering how the enemy could have arranged these runes in such a short amount of time."
Of course, he had no way of knowing that this was one of the retreat routes that Earl Leo and Count Offman had prepared together for the fortress's army.
It was just that Count Offman had received a message from the Siriel Defense Line ahead of schedule, so he deployed it early.
"Please, my lord, allow us to atone for our failure. I am willing to lead the priest division in an assault on the city," the priest pleaded.
"Hmph! You're the one who said it. Don't blame me for being unreasonable. Take the First Wolf Cavalry with you. Before dawn! I want to be eating my breakfast on the walls of the East City Gate!" Prince Kase said furiously.
As if granted a royal pardon, the priest uttered a few quick "yes, sirs" and retreated from the tent.
After the priest left, Prince Kase sat down and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The priests were his Magic Corps, and the Wolf Cavalry was his Extraordinary Corps. Using these two prized units to assault the city was truly a last resort.
But he had no choice. Who was to blame for his own monumental loss of face? To think he'd been scared into retreating several miles by something completely fabricated.
The Beastman Empire did not look kindly upon cowards, and his several brothers were not exactly kind-hearted characters themselves.
The Beast Emperor was old now. For this southern campaign, he and his brothers were each leading their own armies. Anyone with eyes could see what that implied.