Ch.884March Forward

The Heavenly Horse Persiella personally commanded the main forces of the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace as they began their march toward “Small Forest.”

Trampling and destroying every sect that stood in their path.

“Sect Master, the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace is coming. What should we…”

The righteous sects in the path of the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace’s advance had to make a choice.

Whether to swallow their indignation and retreat, promising to settle the score another day, or to maintain their pride through futile resistance only to face annihilation.

“…We retreat. They are not opponents we can face with our sect’s power alone. Preserving our strength and joining Small Forest would be the wise choice.”

Most chose the former.

Damaged pride could always be recovered through eventual victory. How could it compare to the lives of all sect members?

Moreover, they had a perfect justification.

The pretext of needing to aid Small Forest, the leader of the righteous sects preparing for all-out war against the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace.

What better excuse could there be for retreating without fighting?

Thus, they abandoned their territories, gathered their valuables, and withdrew. The Heavenly Horse Divine Palace advanced with unstoppable momentum through territories that offered no resistance.

The time for battle was approaching.

—-

“—That’s how things stand. At this rate, it won’t be long before the Divine Palace and Small Forest clash.”

The fifth apostle, Bernard Feiler, secretly contacted Feirius to report everything that had happened, unknown to the other Dragonborn.

Although Bernard no longer trusted Feirius after the deaths of Ragnar and Meiharin, reporting was a separate matter.

He wanted to become stronger than he was now, and only Feirius could make that happen.

“Hmm…”

After hearing the report, Feirius let out a soft groan and lightly tapped the armrest of his chair, contemplating.

The imminent clash between the largest powers in the Dragonic Kingdom had moved a step closer. He pondered whether this would benefit or harm him.

“What are the chances of victory?”

“Impossible to say. There are too many uncertain factors.”

Bernard couldn’t be certain. There was too little information to make a definitive judgment.

Persiella’s military might had reached the limits of the current era, allowing her to scoff at and crush ordinary traps, but…

Would Small Forest really be unaware of this? Especially after hearing about the annihilation of the Volcano Sect?

That seemed unlikely.

“If the trap they’ve prepared is based on Persiella’s capabilities from the last great war, there won’t be a problem… but if they’re hiding a ‘variable’ or a supreme master comparable to Persiella, things could become very troublesome.”

That was Bernard’s conclusion.

“Are you asking me to investigate?”

Feirius asked. Was he being asked to scout Small Forest and uncover the nature of their trap?

Difficult, but not impossible.

He could simply insert souls he commanded into small animal or insect corpses and dispatch them as scouts.

Such attempts would be immediately detected in the Empire or Hestella where priests were abundant, but he could manage to infiltrate the sects of the Dragonic Kingdom somehow.

“That’s part of it… but I contacted you for something else as well.”

“Something else? What is it?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Heaven’s Wall—how long until its destruction? Can it be destroyed with this battle?”

“Hmm…”

Feirius fell silent for a moment.

To destroy the stubbornly enduring fourth Heaven’s Wall would require at least thousands more deaths.

That’s why he and Bernard had been trying to instigate an all-out war between righteous and evil sects, planning to destroy the Wall with their deaths.

However…

“This battle alone won’t be enough. Unlike our plan, only the main forces of both sides are clashing. We’ll need at least two thousand more deaths to reach a sufficient number.”

The great war between all righteous and evil sects might end up being just a clash between Small Forest with a few righteous sects and the main force of the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace.

Even if both sides were completely annihilated, the numbers wouldn’t be enough to break the Wall.

“…I see.”

Bernard let out a quiet sigh.

He lamented that while the first three Heaven’s Walls had been so easy to destroy, the fourth had become frustratingly difficult to break.

“That’s unfortunate. I understand. I’ll contact you again if there are any changes.”

With those words, the magical light in the crystal ball that Feirius had been looking into faded.

In front of the altar in the now-darkened underground temple, Feirius quietly organized his thoughts.

‘There have been some deviations, but… things are still proceeding smoothly.’

As long as the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace didn’t lose or face mutual destruction, the number of sacrifices would continue to grow.

Breaking Heaven’s Wall might be delayed a bit, but it could still be accomplished.

‘Still, I should make some preparations. I need to check on the movements of the ‘variable’ as well.’

The variable.

The otherworldly soul occupying the body of Haschal Median Aishan-Gioro.

The only foreign element that had intruded into this world where everything had been predetermined from beginning to end.

True to the title “Fate’s Variable” that Feirius had given it, that soul was like an avatar of chaos, distorting all predetermined fates simply by existing in this world.

‘It seems to have become unusually quiet lately… which is precisely what worries me.’

In Feirius’s judgment, the likelihood of it intervening in the Dragonic Kingdom’s civil war wasn’t very high.

The position of Queen of Hestella was like shackles binding her ankles, preventing her from moving freely.

While she might intervene in matters concerning the Empire, the Holy State, Hestella, or the eastern regions, it wouldn’t be easy for her to get involved in the affairs of the northwestern Dragonic Kingdom.

‘It wouldn’t be easy… but it’s not impossible either.’

That’s why Feirius couldn’t rest easy. If by some chance the variable were to intervene in the Dragonic Kingdom’s affairs, breaking the Wall would become a distant prospect.

‘…I should check.’

Feirius decided. Though it might be a somewhat risky approach, he needed to investigate the capital of Hestella to confirm the Queen’s movements.

Another four days passed.

—-

The Heavenly Horse Divine Palace, which had been advancing unstoppably toward Small Forest, faced new resistance and halted.

“The supply unit was completely annihilated?”

“Yes! I’m deeply sorry. Those guerrillas from the Army Sect…!”

The Army Sect, the only major righteous sect that had adopted regular army formations and tactics to grow into a military force.

Instead of directly confronting the main force of the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace at the height of its momentum, they ambushed the Divine Palace’s rear supply units and burned all their provisions.

Just as the military tactics they had learned and practiced dictated.

No matter how powerful a force might be, it cannot function properly once its supplies are cut off.

The Heavenly Horse Divine Palace, on the verge of clashing with Small Forest, now had to deal with the Army Sect’s guerrilla forces first.

“Such petty tactics… Tasios. I’ll give you three hundred palace members. Go chase away those soldier-playing fools and return.”

“Yes!”

Of course, the Army Sect’s guerrilla forces were only capable of minor operations. Facing the main force of the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace head-on was impossible.

Before the separate force of three hundred led by the Four Heavenly Blade Master Tasios, the Army Sect’s guerrillas had no choice but to retreat after losing thirty percent of their forces.

The time they bought was only five days. Just five days, but…

Those five days changed many things.

======[ Haschal ]======

“…And so, the Army Sect is currently discussing the dispatch of additional troops.”

Kalix Terban, a Dragonborn with black scales, said as he set down his cup of green tea.

Perhaps he had grown stronger through various real battles since I last saw him, as his protruding snout and half-grown wings were more pronounced than before.

Since learning from Diarma that I was staying at this hermitage on the mountainside, Kalix had occasionally visited me for conversation.

Although we had been somewhat friendly during our special admission student days, we weren’t close enough to be called best friends, so it was rather awkward for me…

Well, it was helpful in its own way.

It alleviated the boredom of being cooped up in the quiet hermitage all day, and I could also hear detailed updates about how the war was progressing.

“Wouldn’t it be better to stop them? There’s no particular benefit to dragging this out.”

“The Army Sect doesn’t know this yet. However, Diarma said she would send an envoy to the Army Sect’s main camp to explain our situation… so the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace probably won’t halt its advance again.”

That’s good then.

Though it was regrettable for the Army Sect, which was trying to hinder the Heavenly Horse Divine Palace, their assistance wasn’t something to be grateful for but rather an interference.

From my perspective, I needed to defeat Persiella quickly and end this war.

Fortunately, the guerrilla force that had clashed with the Four Heavenly Blade Master or whatever had ceased their operations and retreated.

If not for that, I might have been grazing on grass for another fortnight.