Chapter 389: The Descent of the Divine Messenger

After an entire night of discussion, Colin, a veteran legendary mage, was utterly impressed by Donald, this mage genius. After all, although Donald was less than one-tenth of Colin’s age, the knowledge and experience he possessed came from divine sources such as ancient evil gods, the Goddess of Night, and the Destroyer Monarch, as well as the vast knowledge stored in the Supreme Brain Aethersian—far surpassing that of ordinary gods—and information gleaned from the Book of Truth.

To put it simply, Colin’s path to knowledge relied on self-exploration without teachers or textbooks, while Donald had been taught by renowned masters since childhood and could even use the internet to look up information when stuck. This difference explained why it took Colin nearly a hundred years to become a Golden Strength warrior yet he still couldn’t break through to the level of a legend, whereas Donald smoothly reached legend status with a solid foundation.

Thus, whenever Donald mentioned certain knowledge during their conversations, Colin would be in awe. The knowledge he already understood made him sigh that if he had known it earlier, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time on his journey to legend status. As for the novel knowledge he had never heard of before, it made this over-200-year-old mage realize once again the importance of having a teacher and a systematic inheritance.

If only he had been taken as a disciple by a famous master at a young age like Donald, he would have avoided many detours in his cultivation and could have achieved Golden Strength before the age of fifty!

Yet Colin knew no one was to blame—his innate talent was simply poor. As a former mage once said, it was already a great fortune for him to become a full-fledged mage. Those of his generation with what could only be called mediocre mage talent could at most become apprentice mages or focus on alchemy.

Colin still remembered those young people who were in the same situation as him—they remained stuck as apprentices their entire lives and never broke through to become full-fledged mages; by now, they had long turned to dust.

So, for him to have risen from such poor talent through his own efforts to become a legendary warrior in a kingdom was enough to fill him with pride!

In the blink of an eye, it was already the third day since the kingdom’s expeditionary forces set out for the rebel areas in the south. The small towns and villages initially occupied by the rebels were reclaimed with astonishing ease. Even as the main army arrived, the local inhabitants of those areas, who had been conscripted temporarily by the rebels, abandoned their weapons and fled without a fight.

The small bands of mercenaries or bandits leading them, facing the unstoppable momentum of the kingdom’s army, dared not resist fiercely and could only retreat to other areas, waiting for their own forces to launch a counterattack.

It was astonishing that the southern rebels, numbering around 50,000, were being pushed back step by step by an expeditionary force of less than 20,000, with no ability to resist at all.

However, figures like Count Dawson, who were part of the expeditionary forces’ leadership, were not so optimistic and remained highly vigilant.

This vigilance was clearly necessary, as by the fifth day of the battle, the expeditionary forces had already reclaimed one-third of the rebel-held areas. When the forces stationed in the outer regions north of the six core towns were defeated by the allied forces, they faced their first setback.

Inside the temporary command tent of the central army, a general below was reporting the current situation to the expeditionary forces’ decision-makers.

“When the first unit on the right wing attacked a town in the northwest of the rebel-held area—also one of the six southern towns, Kusui Town—our forces encountered a fierce counterattack. A group of over a hundred powerful knights and several hundred elite swordsmen scattered the 3,000 troops from the right wing attacking Kusui Town. That force suffered at least a tenth of its losses and was forced to retreat. Fortunately, their commander was an excellent general who made the right decisions in time, regrouping his troops outside the town to form a defensive formation, which temporarily halted the enemy’s fierce attacks. Meanwhile, the expeditionary forces in other directions also encountered similar situations.”

When Count Dawson, the commander-in-chief, heard about the situation, he was not surprised. He tapped the table and said, “What do you think of this situation?”

An senior officer immediately replied, “Those several hundred elite swordsmen aren’t much of a threat. Even if each of them is at a high level of Black Iron strength, they can’t gain an advantage against an enemy force ten times larger. The key to determining the outcome of this battle lies with those over a hundred unknown cavalry!”

Everyone present was knowledgeable in military affairs, and even mages like Donald and Colin had some understanding of this.

They all knew that knights clad in sturdy armor and strong armored warhorses possessed terrifying momentum when charging, turning ordinary soldiers into piles of flesh. If the expeditionary forces hadn’t quickly assembled and built defensive fortifications, they might have been defeated by these hundred knights and then executed one by one by the rebels.

Prince Duri spoke up, “Fortunately, the number of these knights isn’t large. For this campaign to suppress rebellion, the royal family has ordered the Order of the Glorious Knights to serve as a sharp sword, to prevent the rebels from having any strong advantages.”

The group discussed for a while, referring to the sand table formed by the magic array on the table, before finally deciding to send reinforcements.

Marshal Dawson immediately ordered the knights of the Order of the Glorious Knights and the court mages to be divided into several small teams to support various fronts. While they didn’t expect to make significant progress, it was crucial to stabilize each front and hold the rebel forces in place.

Meanwhile, as the commander-in-chief, he would lead the elite forces from the central army straight toward the rebels’ temporary capital, using their overwhelming strength to force the rebels to use their most powerful tactics in a head-on confrontation.

Once the main rebel forces were eliminated, the remaining rebel factions would be nothing but a ragtag bunch. Marshal Dawson was confident he could encircle them within the rebel-held area and then deal with them one by one.

Unless the rebels could escape to places like the Two-Legged Dragon Swamp, a deathly wasteland.

This was a straightforward strategy rather than a covert one, leaving no choice for the rebels but to accept it. Refusing would mean abandoning their temporary capital and shifting positions, which would severely damage morale.

In a direct confrontation, the kingdom’s expeditionary forces held a clear advantage. No matter how powerful the forces backing the rebels might be, they couldn’t openly send thousands of troops to support their puppets. Such an action would no longer be covert support or interference in another country’s affairs but outright aggression.

In that case, other countries on the continent, already dissatisfied with the ways of the Church of the Three Glorious Gods, would have the right to intervene, ensuring that the rebels’ plans would fail utterly.

Moreover, it would be a costly effort with no benefits, only increasing resentment from other nations toward them.

The Celts believed the rebels wouldn’t engage in such a self-defeating strategy. Thus, the rebels could only rely on surprise attacks, and the direct assault led by Dawson and the Celtic coalition hit right at the rebels’ weak points.

After some explanations from Duri and others, Donald also understood Count Dawson’s decision. He admired how this veteran marshal truly was a stalwart on the battlefield and a pillar of the kingdom’s military forces. Even the powerful warriors under them no longer looked down on this old man, whose strength was only at the peak of the Silver rank and who was too aged to improve further; instead, they held him in high respect.

Bitterwater Town was one of the two outermost towns among the Six Southern Towns. Due to its proximity to the west and its influence from the sandstone region, the groundwater there had a bitter taste, hence the name. Because of the complex terrain of the Six Southern Towns, the main army did not pass through the two large towns but planned to recapture Bitterwater Town first before heading straight for Dragonshadow Town, the rebel stronghold located behind it.

A force of tens of thousands naturally couldn’t move as quickly as a small squad of dozens. Coupled with the unfavorable terrain in the southern region, the soldiers from Dalaran became objects of envy among the other allied soldiers. This was because the soldiers of Dalaran could travel comfortably aboard large magical flying ships, while they could only trudge through the muddy or overgrown southern wilderness alongside the main force.

Such advantages were beyond envy—after all, Dalaran had a powerful and caring mage lord. Within just a few days, Donald’s reputation among the allied forces soared. In terms of how often he was mentioned by the soldiers, he had already surpassed important figures like Count Dawson, Prince Second, and the legendary mage Master Colin.

As the main army rushed toward Bitterwater Town and the rebels found themselves in dire straits, several extraordinary figures had already gathered in Bitterwater Town. Faced with the undeniable onslaught of the Kingdom of Selt’s invading forces, even the most slow-witted rebels could figure out their marching plans. Neither rebel leader Andrew nor the forces behind him would allow their army to be defeated and their ultimate goals thwarted.

However, the invading forces employed open and straightforward tactics. No matter how clever Andrew and the high-ranking leaders of the Dawn God Church were, they couldn’t change their disadvantaged position. So they decided to play along with the enemy’s tactics, revealing their cards early in Bitterwater Town, hoping to stop and defeat the enemy before reaching their base at Dragonshadow Town.

Just as the Celt Expeditionary Forces gathered in Bitter Water Town to launch an attack, aiming to wipe out the less than 2,000 rebel troops there in one fell swoop, an endless brilliance as if reaching the heavens erupted from the center of Bitter Water Town. In the blink of an eye, it covered an area within ten miles, including the soldiers of the expeditionary forces, who were all bathed in this light. Many of them couldn’t help but show expressions of awe, peace, and even ecstasy. Only in the area where the high-ranking leaders of the allied forces were located did several domain barriers of various colors rise, blocking out that light which seemed capable of soothing the soul!