They were watching the battle from a slightly elevated position on their komodors, horses and rinos. Both sides had reached out to the flanks to flank each other, but since both sides were making the same move, it was a straight line battle with no one dominating.

“Cornelia.”

Yu called out to Cornelia and she immediately turned to face him. Her chest was relieved, as if she had grown wings because she had confessed her feelings for him. She felt like she could fly now.

“I wonder if there are no secret passages under this city? I mean, shouldn't there be ways for the city lord to escape? I would build it under the castle.”

“There are two, but they're both under enemy control,” Cornelia replied. “We thought about infiltrating through them earlier, but Cecilus reported their location as well.”

“Brother like brother...”

She had only learned of Cecilus's death this morning, but being with Yu made her forget the death of the brother she had never loved. Yu was the best drink Cornelia had ever tasted.

“I haven't fully tasted it yet, but... I'm sure I will.”

Still, she felt embarrassed towards Yu because of her brother and it made her angry. She hid her anger because she didn't want to appear angry in front of Yu.

“Soon royal soldiers will come out of the city and attack our army from behind.” Yu was looking towards Vermia. “They are probably waiting for us to move first. Once we join the vanguard, they will be able to flank us.”

“So do we wait a little longer?” Sivina asked.

“The enemy army outnumbers our vanguard. If we wait, the vanguard's flanks will fall back, they will be surrounded and destroyed,” Keichi said. “And even if the vanguard is suppressed, there is a possibility that the wizard will mobilize and destroy the entire vanguard.”

Their army numbered around forty thousand, including the losses from last night's siege, and they sent ten thousand soldiers against Yu Zao's army of twenty thousand.

“Yes, we must act now to neutralize the wizard,” Yurine said. “I can feel the intense mana in that army even from here.”

Keichi tilted his head and looked at Yurine. When Yurine noticed his gaze, she looked up and locked eyes with Keichi, who was sitting on top of his komodor. Behind Keichi sat Akalda.

“What are you looking at?”

“Yurine, you should speak to him a little more gently. After all, even though we are not from the same country, we are fellow countrymen.”

“Yu...” Yurine sighed, confused. “Hmph!”

“Thank you for motivating me with such sweet responses.”

Yu pinched Yurine's cheek and leaned his head down to place a kiss on her hair.

“Don't worry, I'm not trying to steal your father's attention,” Keichi said. “I was just going to give you some advice. What you need to focus on is a chain, that's what you're going to connect with.”

“Chains?” Yurine took the advice, but it was Yu who asked the question.

“Saying more than that doesn't work, I'm sorry.” Keichi turned his head back to the battlefield. One side was still unable to dominate the other. “Considering the difference in numbers, it won't be long before the royal soldiers have the upper hand.”

She had seen the army of the Cathedral of Libra up close, and there was no doubt that it was far more experienced, far better equipped than the army of both the Cathedral of Virgo and Cornelia.

Perhaps this army was strong enough to defeat the army of Virgo and Vermilia on its own, but the royal army was another matter. They grew up in better conditions in the north of the country, had no shortage of supplies and fought with strong motivation.

“The opponent must have thought that after the troops from the city surrounded us, we would try to break the siege with a second contingent. There are still more than thirty thousand soldiers in the city. They won't send all the soldiers, but if they send twenty-five thousand, the difference will be five thousand...”

Cornelia couldn't tell if Yu was talking to himself or telling them something.

“The opponent must have sent troops from far to our right flank. They will try to prevent us from breaking the siege formed by our cavalry and the soldiers coming out of the city. Fifteen thousand troops with Cornelia and Sivina to reinforce. You, I, Yurine, the roarons and Jaime will go to hunt the enemy troops.”

SH spoke looking at Keichi. Keichi was listening calmly, but Cornelia had an objection.

He was going to be purely emotional, but she had a strong belief that if she was separated from Yu, he would be harmed. She wanted to be there to protect him.

“Excellent plan, sir!” Jaime pulled his rino to Yu's side and lowered the visor of his helmet. “I will do my best.”

“Yu-” Cornelia had just called out to Yu to object to the plan when she was interrupted by Keichi.

“Yu-” Keichi stopped when he realized he was speaking at the same time as Cornelia. “Sorry, you go first.”

“No, Your Eminence, I apologize. Please tell us,” she said, giving priority to Keichi.

On an equal footing, she would have wanted to take the first floor because she didn't like him very much, but Keichi, as a religious leader, was in a superior position to Cornelia. He should have had the first say.

Keichi nodded his head in a polite nod of thanks. “Cornelia should go with Ana in the back, she already has her commanders with her.”

“I'm in,” said Sir Devan. Cornelia had forgotten his presence because he never spoke. “I will not leave the lady alone.”

"Thank you, but-” Cornelia started to speak, but Keichi interrupted her again, turning to Yu.

“Sivina, you and I will intercept the troops the enemy has sent, then make an attack from the right flank. We'll get behind them if we can, the sorcerer is that way. We'll go straight to the wizard. And leave Jaime to help Cornelia, it won't be good for him if he comes with us.”

When Keichi explained his plan, Cornelia would not object, even though she wanted to be by Yu's side. She had seen Sivina fight and she believed that Yu would be safe with her.

And Yurine and the roarons would be with him.

“Nothing good is going to happen for Jaime, huh?”

There was a slyness in the depths of Yu's voice. Cornelia, who had been paying attention to Yu's every detail, felt a strange mixture of joy, sorrow and mild jealousy in those words.

“Even though I believe Jaime can defend himself better than I can defend myself..." Yu smiled as he spoke like a nursery rhyme. “If you say so, I accept.”

“But Mr. Valarfin!” & “But Yu!”

Jaime and Yurine spoke at the same time and their voices blended together. Cornelia could understand Jaime's objection, but why was Yurine objecting?

“I should be with you as a squire!” & “Why do you accept what he says so easily?!”

Jaime and Yurine spoke at the same time again, but Yu didn't answer either of them. Instead he looked up the hill, neither Yu nor Cornelia could see the cavalry behind.

“Do you believe that three thousand cavalrymen can succeed against more than twenty thousand enemy soldiers?” Sivina asked.

“They don't need to destroy the enemy, they need to help Cornelia's troops turn around and destroy the enemy.”

“I don't understand.” Not understanding Yu's answer, Sivina chose to be more descriptive. “Cornelia will be fighting Yu Zao Long's soldiers. Meanwhile-”

“Look at the field, Sivina. If I can understand it, you can understand it better.”

Yu pointed his finger at a landscape of hills and forests, big and small. Two armies were fighting on the edge of that land.

On the city side there was the Jade Lake, so armies could not move out that way, and to the east there were more hills and trees and armies could not move out there either. So they had limited space in the area where they were fighting, and that was an advantage for the small number of armies.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Because as long as Yu Zao's soldiers did not overlap each other, he could not attack their soldiers with all his might.

The same was true for the soldiers leaving the city. Even if twenty-five thousand soldiers left the city, it was impossible for twenty-five thousand of them to attack Cornelia's troops at the same time.

“Even if they are slightly outnumbered, they will not be able to use their troops to their full efficiency when they are on an uneven field.”

“You seem to be saying something different from the question I asked...”

Confused by the answer, Sivina was about to repeat her question, but Yu stopped her by raising his hand.

“In short, Cornelia's troops cannot easily get past the Libra troops and reach Yu Zao's troops because the rugged terrain does not allow it. Cornelia's troops will attract troops from the city. Cornelia's mission is to destroy the troops leaving the city. The cavalry is there to help her do that.”

Yu looked at Keichi before speaking again. “Have you ever heard of a strategy called Blitzkrieg?”

“Yes, I heard it in the games, but I don't know what it is,” Keichi replied.

“Blitzkrieg was about breaking the defensive line, so I don't know if we can call it exactly that, but the logic is similar. The task of the heavily armored cavalry is to break through enemy lines. They'll be constantly moving, they'll break through, and they'll prevent the enemy from forming up. This will give Cornelia the help she needs to destroy them, it's up to her skills.”

Cornelia had read about similar strategies in the books, so it came easily to her, but Sir Devan did not understand.

“Bliztkrig-”

“Blitzkrieg.”

When Yu corrected Sir Devan's mispronunciation, the man showed his displeasure by clicking his tongue.

“I like the pronunciation of German words, don't pollute the language.” Yu spoke as if he wanted to irritate Sir Devan even more. “Thunder Warfare, if you can't say the first one, you can use this one.”

After these words, Sir Devan was too proud to show that he didn't understand and remained silent. Every moment that passed without Yu, the other men became more inferior, more intolerable in Cornelia's eyes.

“Then there's nothing more to talk about,” Keichi said.

“Yes, let's begin.”

***

“Why don't we burn him now?” Fâ's voice was in Yu Zao's mind.

“Because a knight of my blood, a Long, who wants to fight with honor.”

He didn't think it was dishonorable to use magic, but it was clearly unfair to use it against an opponent who had no intention of using it.

“Even if he is a Long, he is far from your nobility, Your Majesty. You must not allow such a person to distract you.”

Fâ insisted on killing the person who introduced himself as Link Yachi Long immediately, but Yu Zao would not do that. He was going to fight him.

“Virgo Knight Link Yachi Long,” repeated the knight in front of him. He had a long, slender body and a slightly feminine face, but like any man in battle, there was an air of death in his eyes.

“King Yu Zao,” Yu Zao replied. He liked to keep it simple and disliked titles. After all, everyone knew who he was, from the baby in swaddling clothes to the old man on his deathbed.

“You are too kind to an enemy soldier...” He felt Fâ sigh.

Yu Zao was tall and muscular, his big body made people think he was rude at first, but in fact he was kind. He was thoughtful and cared about people.

There were times when his patience ran out and he would not tolerate certain things, of course, but every human being is capable of acting out of character from time to time.

Either Link Yachi Long had been careful not to overuse the mana in his body until he came here, or he had an incredible concentration of mana in his body.

Because he was thrown at Yu Zao like lightning. If Yu Zao was a normal person, he might have a hole in his stomach right now, but he was not a normal person, he was the special one chosen by the Ruby Dragon.

He roared and swung his Fâ. Yu Zao was stronger than Link and when Fâ hit the sword in Link's hand, Link's arm went up. He hadn't dropped the sword, but it was in the air.

Before Link could put his sword back down and take his guard, Yu Zao brought his left fist towards him. His aim was to punch him in the face, but he failed. Link tilted his head to the side and grabbed Yu Zao's arm, with the support of his arm he jumped up and tried to kick him in the head.

Yu Zao ducked to avoid the kick and just before he lost his balance, Link let go of Yu Zao's arm and landed back on the ground. When Yu Zao tried to bring his sword down on Link's head, Link jumped to the right, and when Yu Zao made another move, Link jumped again in the same direction.

Yu Zao tries to hit him with his sword, Link dodges the moves by hopping like a rabbit, all the while spinning around Yu Zao.

He stopped turning and swung his sword to cut Yu Zao's neck, but Yu Zao used Fâ to counter the move. Then he pushed Link's sword away and Link fell back.

Yu Zao and Link jumped at the same time, but neither of them jumped to attack each other. They were on the battlefield and surrounded by people killing each other.

When cavalry from both sides rushed at Yu Zao and Link, they both jumped and avoided them. More cavalry then came between them and Yu Zao lost sight of Link.

“Did he run away?” asked Fâ.

“I don't think so.”

There were maybe two hundred, maybe two hundred and fifty Longs, but even Yu Zao didn't know them all. Link Yachi was not among the Longs he knew.

Still, he didn't seem to be the kind of person who would immediately decide he was going to lose and run away.

When he saw two knights coming at him, he formed his left hand into a fist, raised it up and raised an earthen pillar from the ground. While one of the knights was collided with earthen pillar, another one walked past his friend and tried to stab Yu Zao with a spear.

“DIE!” shouted the knight with the figure of a scale on his chest.

But Yu Zao did not die. He dodged the spear and brought the Fâ down on the knight's head. He struck with such force that the steel helmet on the knight's head caved in and the knight's eyes exploded.

Yu Zao had seen different kinds of death on the battlefield, but this one was on a different level of brutality. He felt ashamed for doing such a thing, but he kept fighting.

“Your Majesty! Please don't be distracted!”

Fâ turned his flames into a ring around Yu Zao and spread them around with an explosion. In an instant, Yu Zao's enemies surrounded him and flew away screaming and burning.

He was not happy about it, because the people who were burned were Moranian. Everyone who died here was Moranian. Their families were among the people Yu Zao wanted to protect.

Yet these people had been deceived by Zodyanism and turned into beings who survived for the benefit of a small coterie and their followers.

He was enraged.

“HAAA!”

He turned around and saw the blonde knight flying towards him, about to bring his sword down on Yu Zao's head. He immediately raised Fâ and met Link's sword.

In a nimble move, Link took support from Yu Zao's sword, and spun in midair to get behind Yu Zao.

“Ah!”

Yu Zao was about to turn around when he heard a voice coming from Link. He turned around and saw Link lying on the ground with a black burn mark on his armor.

“FA!” Yu Zao shouted angrily.

When Link got behind him, Fâ used flame magic to protect him.

Fâ did not answer, and when the two cavalrymen passed in front of them, Link stood up. He pointed his sword again and charged towards Yu Zao.

Their swords clashed and clashed. Yu Zao was also fast, but Link was faster. Still, Yu Zao's blows were stronger than Link's.

Yu Zao thought he had a gap and swung his sword to cut Link's neck, but Link ducked, and now it was Yu Zao who gave the gap. Link brought his sword forward and tried to stab Yu Zao in the leg.

Yu Zao narrowly avoided the sword entering his leg, but again Link's sword grazed the part of Yu Zao's leg not protected by armor. Enraged by this move, Fâ again tried to use his flames to burn Link, but this time Link dodged all the flame attacks.

“FOR THE KING!”

Another royalist soldier was attacking Link from behind with a war cry. Maybe, just maybe, he would have succeeded if he hadn't howled, but all he had done was give Link away.

Link turned, met his sword with his own and took out the dagger tied to his belt and plunged it into the soldier's eye. He released his grip as the dagger exited the back of the soldier's head.

Now that soldier was taking deep breaths, unable to believe that he was in the moment of death. He looked at Yu Zao with his good eye and then fell to the ground.

“Surrender is an option,” Link said. “Don't you say you fight for the people? Here, your people are dying!”

Ignoring the other soldiers running around him, he spread his hands and showed Yu Zao the view.

If Yu Zao had seen this scene for the first time, he would have been horrified and questioned the wisdom of what he was doing.

But it was not the first time. It was a sight he had seen many times before.

“It is much better for them to die for prosperity than to live a life contrary to human dignity at the behest of the Church of Andromeda.”

“Do you decide death?”

Link overcame two more soldiers who tried to kill him, while Yu Zao killed an oncoming cavalryman with Fâ's flame magic.

“No,” he replied quietly. Then he spoke, growing louder with each word. “But it's better than people starving to death; better than women, girls and boys being raped in cathedrals; better than fathers who can't provide for their families committing suicide out of pride.”

Yu Zao hated that people didn't want to see it. Azer was such a perfect tool, creating intoxication that no alcohol could create, making people ignore it all.

“Of course the so-called upper classes cannot understand these things, how do they know what the people are suffering? And even if they do, do they care? Do you care, Virgo Knight?”

“I care,” Link replied.

“Then why are you with these rotten people?” he asked. “I didn't decide anyone's death. I told them that if they wanted this system to end, they had to risk death and they did. That's all.”

Yu Zao beheaded another attacker and pointed the glowing Fâ's spike at Link.

“Since you are of my blood, I will give you an opportunity, join me.”

“No,” Link replied immediately. “Peace will never come from our hands.”

Link said no more and jumped on him. He swung his sword at Yu Zao's right leg, Yu Zao defended it with Fâ.

Link immediately followed up with a second attack, this time on Yu Zao's left leg, but Yu Zao countered.

Link attacked at a speed that Yu Zao had difficulty reacting to. Again and again he attacked his legs.

“Left leg, right leg.”

“Left leg, right leg.”

“Left leg, right-”

This time Link's sword did not go for Yu Zao's right leg. Link spun around not once but twice and brought the sword down on Yu Zao's left arm.

Fâ, held in Yu Zao's right hand, came down to defend the right leg. Link's sword failed to sever Yu Zao's arm from his body, but Fâ burst into flames, leaving a deep gash that made Link roar.

But Link stayed by Yu Zao's side at the risk of getting burned. As he brought his sword down on Yu Zao's neck, he was simultaneously exposed to Fâ's flames, letting out an ear-splitting scream.

The only thing in Link's yellow eyes was the will to kill. The basic instinct of a man, the savage nature that comes out when he has a sword in his hand, was engraved in those yellow eyes and in his terrible roar.

When Yu Zao managed to pull his head back, his face was deeply scratched from his right temple to his left temple.

Link did not stop and swung his sword again.

But he was on fire, burning, and the desire to kill made him predictable.

Yu Zao ignored his face burning from the sword cut, just as Link ignored the flames, and stopped Link's sword with the steel piece of armor on his left wrist.

As he moved his left arm, Link's cut burned and hurt him more, but he ignored it for dear life and punched him in the face with the hand that held Fâ.

The punch broke Link's nose and knocked him back.

“Why did you burn it...”

Yu Zao wasn't asking Fâ a question. Yu Zao didn't even want to kill Link.

But now Link was on fire, and even if Fâ's powerful flames were extinguished, he would surely die from the burns.

Link was a Moranian and he didn't want him to suffer too.

When he started the war, he intended not to use magic, but if he did not use magic, Link would continue to fight and suffer.

To end his suffering, he raised his sword, shared his mana with Fâ, and Fâ turned completely red.

When he brought Fâ down on Link, Link chose to defend with his own sword instead of dodging, and that was the wrong choice.

Fâ cut Link's ordinary sword and landed on Link's head, slicing him two.