Xiao Xun took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was already past ten in the evening. "There's no time to delay, we depart now."
The three Grand Legion Commanders said in unison, "Your Highness, we can go. You should remain and command the rear."
Once the Grand Legion Commanders spoke, the Legion Commanders echoed the same sentiment.
"Do you think I'm really after some petty country? My main objective is to see what this so-called Calamity Legion is like, and what kind of ability they possess to conquer such a large country in such a short period."
Regardless of how the officers tried to dissuade him, Xiao Xun's mind was made up. He now had not only over a hundred thousand troops but also the Twelve Star Envoys. Conquering a small country would be like crushing dried weeds.
After mustering all the forces of the two Grand Legions, Xiao Xun sat on the back of the two-headed dragon, Bolgard. He thought, "Another country surrendered, its royalty wiped out. This country should have shown me favor, so why would they attempt to assassinate me?" He couldn't understand it, but he felt that things were not that simple.
At that moment, the army was assembled. With a single command from Xiao Xun, the two Grand Legions would pass through the plains, cross the high mountains, and then they would see the villages of Midoya.
Xiao Xun still felt something was amiss. He turned his head to look at the envoy of Midoya, who was hanging high on a cross, and said to Aries beside him, "Find those two scouts for me."
Seeing so many people, Xiao Xun was starting to have trouble distinguishing faces. He had forgotten what the two scouts looked like.
Aries brought the two scouts, who knelt on the ground and saluted Xiao Xun.
"Who are the two of you who brought this envoy back?"
The two scouts lowered their heads, not daring to speak. They had heard that the Duke had been assassinated, and in this situation, it was likely they were to be sacrificed as a prelude.
The two knelt on the ground, trembling, neither speaking.
Xiao Xun roared, "I asked you a question, you must answer!"
The two scouts looked at the person before them, who seemed gentle and weak, yet erupted with such powerful force. They were terrified and collapsed onto the ground, sweat beading on their faces.
At this moment, one of the scouts said to Xiao Xun, "Reporting to Your Excellency the Duke, I brought him back."
Xiao Xun squatted on the dragon's back, "Then tell me in detail all the specifics of encountering this person!"
The scout said, "After I finished gathering information in the country of Midoya, I planned to cross the border back under the cover of night. Unexpectedly, I encountered this envoy on the way. After he spoke, I brought him with me."
Xiao Xun pondered, "Were there any changes in between? Did he not say anything else?"
"No, I have told you everything I know."
Xiao Xun looked at the scout before him, "As a scout, your duty is to gather intelligence. Nothing else concerns you. In your next life, do not act on your own accord again."
The scout knelt down, "Your Excellency the Duke, spare my life, Your Excellency the Duke, spare my life!"
Xiao Xun said to Aries, "Confine him to the dungeon for now, and I will deal with him upon my return."
Then he said to Cancer, "Notify the messenger to sound the horn, prepare for attack."
"Yes!"
With the blare of the rhinoceros horn, all personnel of the two Grand Legions began to pour out like a tide from the gate built between the hills. This time, the cavalry would be the vanguard, tasked with capturing the commanding heights and hidden sentry posts along the route to Midoya's capital before dawn. After dawn, they were to encircle Midoya's capital.
Xiao Xun stroked Bolgard's soft wings and thought, "When will they become hard and strong? Should I give it some calcium supplements or milk, maybe it will grow faster. I wonder how dragons nurse their young, do they have milk? When its wings are strong, it will carry me to the sky to fly, just thinking about it is exciting."
After this thought, he felt something was off. "When its wings are strong," he mused, "this is what my mother often says. Does it mean if these dragon wings become strong, it won't obey anymore?"
He continued walking forward, lost in thought. It was autumn, and in the mountain passes, the temperature dropped sharply, making it incredibly cold.
Xiao Xun wrapped himself in his cloak, envying the Phoenix Legion. Most of them were fire mages and were not afraid of the severe cold.
Finally, being too cold to bear, Xiao Xun hid inside the war chariot. Although its speed was slow, it was very warm inside. Moreover, with the energy emitted by the magic stones, it was even too hot with just a cloak on.
Thus, Xiao Xun slept in the war chariot all night. By the next day, they were already close to Midoya's capital.
It was surprisingly smooth, so smooth that it was almost abnormal.
Xiao Xun asked the soldier driving the war chariot, "Has anyone intercepted us along the way?"
The soldier shook his head, "Reporting to Your Excellency the Duke, I'm not quite sure. We are in the middle of the convoy. Regardless, I haven't stopped the chariot along the way. Based on the speed, even if there was an obstruction, it wasn't serious."
Xiao Xun looked out the small window of the war chariot, "Where are we?"
"According to the report from the forward messenger, in about ten minutes, we will see the city walls of Midoya's capital."
Xiao Xun snorted, "No matter what tricks you play, they will all be useless against me."
After saying that, he stopped the war chariot and said to Aries, "Help me get a map of Midoya, preferably one showing the adjacent areas. I suspect this is a premeditated trap by the enemy."
The journey was too smooth. Not only was there no one to intercept them, but there were no civilians either.
With the vast army passing through, the civilians showing no reaction was too abnormal. Even if there were no civilians, the sounds of poultry and wild animals were not heard.
No one noticed these things, and the scout hadn't mentioned them either.
Upon discovering the problem, Xiao Xun ordered the entire army to halt, then retreat fifty miles, occupy the high ground with advantageous positions, and begin constructing defensive fortifications.
This was Xiao Xun's intuition. It had saved his life many times before. His seemingly careless attitude was just an act for the scouts.
Because he couldn't determine if there were enemy spies among the scouts at this moment, and it would be too troublesome to find them, he could only follow the enemy's lead.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have left one legion behind. But at this moment, he felt uneasy and his intuition told him not to advance further.
He said to Aries, "Relay the order: everyone is to construct defensive fortifications. Remember, everyone. Not just the laborers, as long as you have two hands, you must build."
Aries saluted Xiao Xun and vanished from his spot.
Xiao Xun looked down at Midoya's capital from a height. He turned to Aries and asked, "Can you take me inside with magic?"
Aries replied, "No problem."
"Then, once we go inside, can we still get out?"
After saying this, Xiao Xun didn't know why he asked such a question.
Aries lowered his head and pondered for a moment, "If there are no magic interference stones, then there's no problem."
Xiao Xun looked at Aries in surprise. "Is there such a thing as a signal jammer?"
Aries said, "Yes, but its effective range is very small. A piece the size of a fist might have an effective range of less than a few meters. Exceed that, and it cannot be restricted."
Xiao Xun wanted Aries to take him inside to investigate, but knowing about such an item, he hesitated.
If the other party had enough magic interference stones, then for every person he had, he would lose that many.
These mages, after losing their magic, would be worse than farmers. Because they had powerful magic to rely on, they would not train their bodies to be strong. They feared that by focusing on one, they would neglect the other, becoming proficient in neither and becoming a laughingstock.
Paladins were an exception, but paladins were rare in any legion, perhaps only two or three in a large army.
Vincent was famous precisely because he was the most renowned and capable paladin on the entire continent. With his blessings, the cavalry was invincible. Even facing certain death, as long as Vincent led the charge, they would fight with the resolve to break through any formation and never retreat.
The Phoenix Legion originally had six paladins. During the Battle for the Defense of the Holy Roman Capital, two were killed.
Just as the foundation of Xiao Xun's fortifications was being laid, the city gates of Midoya were thrown wide open. Giant, six-legged, earthy yellow locusts flew out from the city and headed towards Xiao Xun.
Those locusts were massive and flew at extreme speed. The sound produced by the friction of their wings was incredibly irritating.
Xiao Xun ordered the magical cannons on the war chariots to fire at the locusts. The huge fiery energy blasted them apart. To his surprise, when one large locust exploded, countless smaller locusts emerged from within.
"They play like this too?"
Xiao Xun was stunned. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation. Not only were the defensive towers not built, but even if they were, they couldn't withstand the onslaught of these locusts.
The sky was covered by a swarm of locusts, an endless, sky-obscuring mass that plunged the entire land into darkness.
Fortunately, the vast majority of the Phoenix Legion were fire mages, and insects were most afraid of fire. They gathered together and directly activated the magic fire formation.
Even so, these locusts charged forward relentlessly, paying no heed to their own lives. They grabbed people, bit off their necks at extreme speed, then devoured their bodies, leaving their heads to fall.
Xiao Xun's side had the two-headed giant dragon, one spewing cold air, the other spewing fire. Moreover, the aura emanating from the dragon made these locusts hesitant to approach.
The two Grand Legion Commanders, faced with this scene, were in despair. They walked up to Xiao Xun and asked for instructions, "Your Highness, what do we do now?"
One of the Grand Legion Commanders said, "Your Highness, let's retreat! If we don't retreat now, we'll all be wiped out."
Xiao Xun looked at the locusts before him and knew that even retreating would be too late.
Aries said to Xiao Xun, "My lord, let me take you away!"