Atlantis Chronicles Episode 15

Episode 15: The Fall of the Empire

Synopsis:
Cover Character: Taqis The
Duchy of Plato has shaken off its previous decline and resolved the problem of roaming barbarian soldiers. The Grand Duchess, with ulterior motives, sets her sights on Ying Mulan for revenge! Rig, who has agreed to lend a hand, has his plans completely disrupted by the magical beacon fires of Saint Hualong! Adding
insult to injury, bad news arrives from the north—the greatest nation on the continent of Atlantis has fallen! The invaders seem to be the demons, whom Lord Salle longs to return to!
Faced with this war whose influence is growing ever larger, how will Rig, caught up in the chaos, cope?

Characters:
Taqis: The Grand Duchess of the Duchy of Plato, who, for the sake of consolidating her rule and her own safety, does not hesitate to use Rig.
Rig Ampa: A rogue mage empowered by a demonic core device, a near-celestial-rank mage coveted by international powers, unwittingly drawn into the complex vortex of war.
Kona: A dragon girl, absent-minded and fond of collecting gold coins and magic crystals. The longer she lives in human society, the wiser she becomes.
Divirachi: A dark-skinned, tall bard who follows Rig and records heroic deeds.
Ying Mulan: Marshal of the Southern Islands Allied Forces. Due to being manipulated, the allied forces are driven into a desperate situation and forced to seek Rig's help.
Audrey: A mage from the Medivh Realm, skilled in spatial magic, with a seductive and alluring personality, and prone to jealousy.

Chapter 1 Rig's Troubles
"What is that?" Rig asked in surprise, looking at the magical flames that had half the sky red.
"The highest-level alert of the Saint Hualong Empire, 'Beacon Fires Everywhere.' All Saint Hualong military personnel who see this beacon fire must immediately report to the nearest Saint Hualong army."
As an outstanding military genius, Ying Mulan was clearly very familiar with the military knowledge of various Atlantean countries, but she too was puzzled.
Rig scratched his head, surprised. "Could it be that the expeditionary force's main camp was attacked?"
"Impossible!" Ying Mulan categorically denied. "It's said that there are only three such general mobilization orders in the entire Saint Hualong Empire. Even if the entire 300,000-strong expeditionary force were wiped out, they wouldn't be qualified to issue one. Only..." Ying Mulan's expression turned strange. "Only the Saint Hualong Empire itself is in danger of annihilation."
Rig was startled. "The Saint Hualong Empire being annihilated?"
What a joke! It's widely recognized as the most powerful country on the Atlantis East Continent. People would be happy if Saint Hualong didn't destroy other countries, let alone destroy it? Who could destroy such a colossal empire?
Among the three major countries of Atlantis, the Medi Kingdom is the most powerful, but the Western Continent, far overseas, while aggressive, poses no real threat. After all, there's a vast ocean separating them. Leaving aside how to transport its army, the logistical supply lines alone would be enough to cripple the entire fleet of the Medi Kingdom.
The Eastern Lai Continent and the Northern Che Continent are connected, but the only major power on the Northern Che Continent, the Northern Ross Federation, is a loose federation composed of various non-human races. These dozens of alien races, driven by humans to the icy wilderness, have inconsistent governance, diverse customs, and while their military strength appears formidable, it is purely theoretical…
Only the Saint Hualong Empire, the most powerful human empire on the Eastern Lai Continent, possesses an unimaginably large population, dozens of provinces, hundreds of counties, an active army of nearly three million, and the most fertile land and forests.
If the Saint Hualong people, who have always considered themselves the legitimate descendants of the Great Hua Empire, weren't so complacent and arrogant, and if the empire's high-ranking officials weren't constantly embroiled in internal strife, and if the imperial family weren't completely sidelined and rendered powerless, then the Saint Hualong Empire might truly have been able to restore the supreme glory of the Great Hua Empire a thousand years ago.
Even so, the strength of the Saint Hualong Empire in Atlantis, especially on the Eastern Lai Continent, is absolutely unparalleled. But how could such a powerful and terrifying empire issue a legendary, one of only three of its kind in the entire empire, a top-level magical alarm signal in the southern border?
This baffled not only the ignorant rogue but also Marshal Ying Mulan, a military genius and outstanding commander.
Affected by the magical flames, the entire Chicken Intestine Ridge descended into chaos. Barbarian soldiers emerged from their caves and tents, gesturing and discussing the red light filling the sky.
Fearing an enemy attack, Ying Mulan quickly tidied herself and went out to order increased vigilance and patrols.
A short while later, she hurried back into the magic-free zone, where she saw Rig standing with Divirachi and King Lear, beckoning to the rogue with a strange expression.
"What's wrong?" Rig asked, approaching with a puzzled look.
"The Saint Hualong Expeditionary Force's camp is on high alert, and all the soldiers are busy breaking camp..."
Ying Mulan whispered.
Rig paused, then said, "It seems they're really in big trouble back home!"
"What did King Lear say?" Ying Mulan asked softly.
"What could he say! The old man said he'd never seen a sky full of beacon fires in his entire life!" the rogue said, somewhat dissatisfied. "We're all locked up by you! What could we possibly know?"
Ying Mulan pondered for a moment, then whispered, "Can I ask you for help?"
"Help with what?" the rogue asked, somewhat puzzled. "Do you want me to go and gather information from the expeditionary force? Are you worried that the magical beacon fires are fake, and the expeditionary force will attack your camp while they're setting off?"
“Exactly.” Ying Mulan nodded, then said cautiously, “All the assumptions you’ve made are certainly possible. But the most crucial thing is that without concrete intelligence, I can’t make a decision about the next course of action. You promised to let me and my men escape danger, and you’ve taken the deposit; you can’t go back on your word!”
Rig was speechless for a moment, then finally said, “You trust me that much?”
Looking into the rogue’s eyes, Ying Mulan said firmly, “I can only trust you!”
Surrounded by the nations of the Scorpion Tail region and the Saint Hualong Expeditionary Army, Ying Mulan and her tens of thousands of men were now at their wits’ end; any straw could break the camel’s back.
Rig suddenly smiled and nodded, “Just wait for my news! However, I’m taking Divirachi with me.”
“Why?” Although Ying Mulan had never taken that big black man seriously, she still found it strange to hear Rig make this request.
“He’s my legendary chronicler! If I don’t take him with me, he’ll keep nagging me about it. Don’t you know? Anyone with a brain wouldn’t become a bard!” the rogue said helplessly. “Besides, with King Lear in your hands and I’ve already taken your deposit, what else do you have to worry about?” Ying Mulan gazed
at Rig for a long time, as if trying to etch his face into her heart. After a long while, she slowly nodded.
Rig packed a small bundle and set off with Divirachi. Although King Lear was furious, he was helpless under the spell-blocking barrier.
“Rig, are we really going to help Ying Mulan escape?” Divirachi asked impatiently as they walked out of Chicken Intestine Ridge.
The rogue glanced at the charcoal-faced man: “What suggestions do you have?”
"No!" Blackie immediately repeated his old tune: "I'm a very self-disciplined bard, I only faithfully record the words and deeds of the legendary protagonist, I won't actively influence or interfere with the protagonist!"
The little rogue, already immune to such talk, even though he had used this excuse to bring Divirachi out, couldn't help but roll his eyes and say disdainfully, "Hey Blackie, from the first time we met, you've been spouting this million-word epic of heroism, it must be hundreds of thousands of words by now, right? The problem is, I've never seen you write a single word!"
Divirachi paused, a hint of embarrassment appearing on his dark face, then coughed and stammered, "Actually... well, I've been rehearsing it in my head... By the way, why do you call me Blackie? My surname isn't Blackie!"
A loud bugle call suddenly rang out. Many soldiers with bows drawn and arrows nocked suddenly emerged from the high ground on both sides, layer upon layer, numbering in the thousands, while dozens of fast horses galloped out from behind the ravine.
The mounted knights, fully armored, their sharp lances gleaming in the sunlight, the gleaming blades even faintly revealing a hint of blood.
Divirachi and Rig stopped simultaneously, knowing they had entered the encirclement of the Southern Frontier Kingdoms.
"I am Rig Ampa, a student of the Plato Duchy at the Saint Hualong Platinum Magic Academy. This is my companion, Divirachi. We are both magical cavalrymen of the first expeditionary force of the Saint Hualong Empire. May I ask which army you are leading?"
The rogue shouted hoarsely in Donglai with a Cretan accent, holding up a Saint Hualong Empire expeditionary force identification badge.
Rig's name was already renowned throughout the Southern Frontier. Even on the front lines, these soldiers, though they had never seen Rig, knew the name of the magical little mage Plato.
"Is it Lord Ampa?" a joyful voice came from among the knights. From the distinctly Saint Hualong accent in their address, Rig knew these dozens of knights belonged to the five thousand vanguard cavalry of the expeditionary force.
Dozens of knights galloped over, dismounting before reaching Rig and Divirachi to pay their respects.
The young rogue, even if he knew these knightly etiquettes, wouldn't have cared. Looking at the knights, he asked curiously, "Why are you all here guarding?"
One knight chuckled and replied, "Because the countries in the Scorpion Tail region basically don't have cavalry units, to prevent surprise attacks from these barbarians, we've divided into many small teams to patrol in shifts. Of course, our main role is to relay messages and stabilize the morale of the southern border kingdoms!"
Even with no military knowledge, the young rogue understood the symbolic significance of these iron-blooded Saint Hualon cavalry in the armies of various countries. He nodded and smiled, saying, "Thank you for your hard work. Um, may I ask where the army of the Duchy of Plato is stationed?"
The knights, who had been laughing and joking, suddenly fell silent. Seeing the strange expressions on the cavalrymen's faces, the hooligan asked in astonishment, "What's wrong?"
A Saint Hualong cavalryman, clearly the captain, said, "Don't you know, the Ampa Cavalry? On the very first day the encirclement of Jichangling was formed, the 30,000 troops of the Duchy of Plato withdrew, and they even took our 3,000 vanguard cavalry with them!"
"What?" Rig was startled. "The Duchy's army left a long time ago? And they took 3,000 cavalry with them?"
Rig and Divirachi looked at each other, both astonished.
"What did they do?" Divirachi asked疑惑地问道.
The captain hurriedly said, "A barbarian army has entered the territory of the Duchy of Plato. Grand Duchess Plato led all the troops in pursuit, along with the Archmage Susan."
"Oh!" Divirachi suddenly realized, muttering, "No wonder the cavalry went along too, so Vice Dean Susan is also there!"
Rig, however, was anxious and said to the captain, "Give us two horses!"
The captain's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Yes! Rig, please allow our expeditionary force's vanguard battalion, third battalion, fifth squad to accompany us."
"Accompany us? What are you following us for?" the hooligan asked, puzzled.
The captain chuckled, looked around, and whispered, "We want to follow the magical little mage and pick up some military merits! We patrol around the hills every day, we're practically professional horse handlers."
"Then let's go!" The hooligan was quite decisive, not even asking whether it was appropriate for these dozens of Saint Hualong Empire cavalrymen to follow him, a Platonic man, and hurriedly mounted his horse. He pulled on the reins and galloped forward, only turning back sheepishly after a few steps, asking, "Which way?" The Scorpion
Tail region was mountainous, with dense valleys and rugged roads. The continuous warfare in the southern borderlands had deliberately or unintentionally damaged many roads, making travel even more difficult.
Rig, concerned for Lady Eva's safety, had ridden several fast rides, leaving both rider and horse exhausted, finally entering the territory of the Plato Duchy a day later.
The barbarian invasion had brought devastating destruction to the southern border kingdoms. Especially in the early stages of the invasion, the barbarian army, in order to establish their authority, massacred several coastal cities, causing unparalleled destruction.
The Plato Duchy, located in the central part of the Scorpion Tail region, suffered relatively less damage, but both sides of the road were lined with ruined villages and towns. Many burned houses still emitted lingering smoke, and arrows and javelins, as well as half-burnt flags, could often be seen embedded in the walls.
Many new graves lined both sides of the road, presumably containing corpses. These weren't the benevolent burials of the barbarian or ducal armies, but rather the desperate measure of nearby villagers fearing the decaying bodies would spread plague.
The southern border region has a humid climate, and the mountains and forests are often filled with highly poisonous miasma; the local people have thousands of years of experience in preventing plague.
"The fighting is fierce! The barbarian army has been burning, killing, and looting, while the Duchy of Plato has been pursuing them relentlessly. There must be many casualties on both sides," Divirachi remarked with some emotion, looking at the increasing number of graves along the road.
Rig frowned. "Aren't these guys going to attack Crete? Aren't they wasting time by burning, killing, and looting all the way?"
"They're looting food!" A squad leader from the vanguard of the Saint Hualong expeditionary force immediately saw the key point and replied, "These barbarian soldiers don't carry any supplies on their march; they have to loot as they go, so their movement is slow!"
Rig naturally knew that the barbarian army that had been fleeing from the Cross River Valley was practically penniless, and the barbarian soldiers trapped on Chicken Intestine Ridge had even been eating tree bark and grass. This barbarian army that had marched to Crete would naturally not be carrying any supplies.
"Hurry, hurry!"
Rig urged repeatedly, his anxiety growing as he got closer to home. Although he knew that the entire army of the duchy was pursuing this barbarian army, including Teacher Susan and three thousand Saint Hualong cavalry, he couldn't relax until he saw Lady Eva safe and sound.
"Reg, if we keep running like this, the horses won't be able to take it," Divirachi kindly advised.
After a day of continuous high-speed travel, even the burly, bandit-like man with the dark complexion looked exhausted, and the horses beneath them were soaked in sweat.
The young rogue himself was also aching all over, his muscles feeling like they were about to fall apart, and he could barely grip the reins. But with red eyes and gritted teeth, he roared, "That's my mother! My mother!"
"I know that's your mother, but can't you be a little more rational?" Divirachi retorted without backing down. "All the troops of the Duchy of Plato have gone there, along with three thousand cavalry from Saint Hualon. Can we outrun them? Besides, there's Vice Dean Susan and Konami. And the barbarians know that's your hometown, where your mother is. They might dare to plunder on Ying Mulan's orders, but no one will dare to act recklessly. What are you worried about?"
Rig paused, staring at Divirachi as he panted heavily. Divirachi glared back defiantly. After a long standoff, the rogue took a deep breath, a hint of weariness in his eyes, and whispered, "Whatever."
Divirachi turned to the cavalry and said, "Rest!"
Then he looked at Rig and said, "You're not in good shape. The rope is too tight; it'll break easily..."
"Nonsense!" Rig glared at Divirachi again, then dismounted, walked to a corner, leaned back, and closed his eyes to rest.
The cavalrymen dismounted, but instead of resting immediately like Rig, they first removed the saddles and bridles from their horses, then drove them to the nearby riverside meadow before returning to rest.
Divirachi, naturally, wouldn't do such things. He sat down next to Rig and whispered, "Rig, what's wrong with you? I've felt something's off about you since we left Chicken Intestine Ridge."
"What's wrong with me?" the rogue said coldly, barely opening his eyes.
"Prolonged war can make people irritable and even mad, especially in places like Scorpion Tail, which haven't experienced war for centuries. Ordinary people can only drift along, but those with some ability, watching their homeland being invaded and ravaged time and time again without being able to do anything about it, experience a more intense sense of frustration than ordinary people!"
Divirachi analyzed in his usual calm tone. "But I think it's not just that; you're also panicked and fearful!"
"Panic and fearful? What do I have to panic and fear?" Rig said dismissively.
Divirachi said calmly, "I naturally don't know why you're so flustered and fearful. I just want to say—calm down. As long as we keep trying, everything will get better, at least tomorrow will be better than today. Now, don't say or think anything, just rest and recover your strength, and get going as soon as possible!"
After saying that, Divirachi fell silent, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.
Although the little hooligan didn't move at all, not even lifting his eyelids, his heart was in turmoil.
Countless chaotic thoughts churned in his mind like waves, stirring his entire heart into chaos.
"You are indeed panicking!" Lord Bead's voice echoed in the little rogue's mind. "The big black guy is right."
"Sall." Hearing Lord Bead's voice, the little rogue's heart suddenly calmed down. He asked strangely, "Why am I so panicked?"
Lord Bead calmly said, "Because you've grown up and realized that all of this isn't a game!"
"What do you mean?" Rig asked in astonishment, "When did I treat all of this as a game?" The Demon Core was naturally very clear and understanding of the psychological changes of its symbiote. It said calmly, "The deal you made with Ying Mulan! You promised to help her and her subordinates escape and leave Southern Xinjiang, but now you find that this promise has made you go against your beliefs about the country! You don't know what to do, so you're very anxious."
The little rogue paused for a moment and honestly admitted, "Lord Sal, what did you say? I don't quite understand!"
"You..." Lord Bead fell silent.
The scoundrel said impatiently, "Sall, what did you just say? What's wrong? Are you mute?"
"I'm saying that after you traded Ying Mulan's asshole for the safety of her men, you now find that the Duchy of Plato harbors a nationwide hatred for these barbarians. Don't you know whether to keep your promise to the young lady of the Ying family or betray your country and help these barbarians? Because even a fool knows that the Grand Duke of the Duchy of Plato died at the hands of the barbarians, so the Duchy will never let them go. After wiping out the barbarian army that invaded Crete, the Duchy's army will definitely come back to intercept and kill them at Chicken Intestine Ridge. Tens of thousands of barbarians without food will be trapped in a desperate situation, and their annihilation is only a matter of time!" Lord Pearl said impatiently, "What you're really concerned about now is whether Ying Mulan's virginity is more important than avenging your Grand Duke!"
"You're talking nonsense! Do you think I'm that vulgar and shameless?" The scoundrel immediately became furious.
The Demon Core Lord scoffed, "If you were truly that shameless, you wouldn't be so flustered like a headless fly. It's precisely because you still have a few shreds of conscience at play that you're caught in the middle, torn between fulfilling your promise to Ying Mulan and the unyielding national and personal vendettas of the Duchy. With a symbiotic partner like you, I'm truly unlucky."
"Promises...national hatred..." The young rogue felt overwhelmed, and for a moment he didn't pay attention to Lord Bead's sarcasm. He just asked worriedly, "Is that really true?"
Sensing the rogue's fear, Lord Bead sighed and said, "If you were older, you would find that the logic of human moral norms is quite chaotic; betrayal and treason are commonplace in human history. If you understood that, you wouldn't be so confused about your current predicament. But you are still too young, and you have seen too many heroic biographies and magical plays at the Platinum Magic Academy. Those fancy and gorgeous things are just made by art magicians to fool simple-minded guys like you!"
"Lord Saler, stop talking about this useless stuff and get to the point!" the rogue groaned weakly in his mind.
"This... is quite difficult. The Duchy of Plato is determined to eliminate the barbarians, and Ying Mulan sees you as her only hope for escape. If you could give up either side, you wouldn't be so frustrated, but to have the best of both worlds is absolutely impossible!" Lord Bead analyzed with its usual calm.
Hearing this, the little rogue was extremely disappointed and said, "Aren't you supposed to be very powerful? The so-called most wise and great core of the demons? How come you're stumped by such a small matter?"
"What does this have to do with me?" Lord Bead scoffed, "What benefit do I get from helping you solve your problem?"
The little rogue immediately retorted angrily, "No benefit. Don't you always look down on humans and gods? What gives you the right to look down on them? Solve this enormous problem, and I'll admit that the demons are truly the greatest!"
"An enormous problem?" Lord Bead sneered and said disdainfully, "The goblin city at the foot of Chicken Intestine Ridge is very large. With Audrey, that space mage, hiding tens of thousands of barbarians on Chicken Intestine Ridge inside, it's easy!"

Chapter Two: The Encirclement of the Duchy
"Strange, you just dozed off against the wall, how come you've become so radiant?" Divirachi looked at the energetic Rig with a strange expression.
The horse-riding rogue laughed loudly and replied, "That's because I've discovered that there's really nothing of a importance in Atlantis!"
Then he shouted at the Saint Hualong cavalry, "Move out! Move out!"
Divirachi was even more puzzled and leaned closer to the rogue, whispering, "Is it because you sent a cavalryman to deliver a letter to Ying Mulan? Can you tell me what that letter said?"
Rig glared at the charcoal-headed man and frowned, "Why are you asking so many questions?"
Divirachi glared back at the rogue with righteous indignation and roared, "I'm your historian! A million-word epic, I need to collect every single detail about you! How could I let go of something as important as writing a letter?"
The rascal and the charcoal-headed man stared at each other for a long time, but seeing that Divirachi was so persistent that he didn't even blink, Rig finally surrendered and whispered, "Actually, that letter wasn't for Ying Mulan, it was for Audrey!"
"Audrey?" Divirachi exclaimed in surprise, "That blue-haired divine magician from the Kingdom of Medi? When did you become acquainted with her? How come I didn't know?"
"I don't know her. I just told her that if she could help me kill these barbarians, I would consider joining the Kingdom of Medi. You know, that Magic Beacon has appeared, and I always feel that Saint Hualong is a bit unreliable..." the rascal said casually.
Divirachi suddenly realized, "Oh yeah, there's that troublesome Magic Beacon! I forgot about it. So, you're planning ahead."
"Planning ahead my foot! I'm just grasping at straws in my desperation. Let's get going!" Rig shouted again, urging his warhorse to charge ahead. Divirachi shook his head, still puzzled, and muttered to himself, "It doesn't make sense! A nap and his personality changes drastically. He's practically a different person!"
Divirachi, of course, didn't know that when the long-standing, deeply troubling problem in Rig's heart was effortlessly solved by the Bead, the little rogue was completely convinced of the power of this mysterious and magnificent Demon Core, Number Forty-Seven, Lord Saler. After
the Bead obtained the core box and gained the ability to absorb energy on its own, the communication between the Demon Core and its symbiote became increasingly distant. It spent its days hiding in the synchronization space, doing who-knows-what.
Having become a magician, the little rogue had developed a bit of a magician's temper, no longer constantly ordering the Bead around, and trying to solve his own problems as much as possible. Of course, this was mainly because most of the time, the Demon Core simply ignored his commands.
However, through today's exchange, Rig realized that the matter that had caused him so much anxiety and distress was resolved effortlessly by Lord Bead.
Overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude, Rig naturally regarded Lord Bead as his spiritual support, making his surge of pride and high spirits a natural consequence.
At dusk, Rig and his group caught up with the rear guard of the Plato Kingdom's army. This was a supply corps searching for food in nearby villages, but the barbarians had already burned and slaughtered them along the way, leaving them with very little. They had only managed to gather some food by searching deeper into the mountains, thus wasting considerable time, but they happened to encounter Rig and his
group. Although the soldiers didn't recognize Rig, they had heard of the magical little wizard's reputation and were naturally very enthusiastic towards him.
From them, Rig obtained the most detailed information: the barbarian army that had attacked Crete had failed, but had been blocked in a mountain range thirty miles from Crete.
After the death of the Grand Duke of Plato, the entire duchy was gripped by fear and anxiety when Grand Duchess Taqis suddenly returned to Sandonia.
Faced with the ravaged capital and the wailing of the people, Taqis decisively issued a nationwide mobilization order, then assembled troops from the vicinity of Sandonia and marched towards Chicken Ridge.
The Grand Duchess's order was a nationwide mobilization; messengers on horseback carried the message to every city in the duchy, including Crete.
Although Crete had just experienced war, it immediately mobilized its entire army in response to the Grand Duchess's command. However, due to the distance and time difference, the troop movement was naturally delayed by several days. Therefore, shortly after the Cretan army set out, they encountered a barbarian army charging like a pack of wolves.
The Cretan army immediately deployed its defenses along the mountain range, blocking the path of the tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers.
"Uncle Hank can hold off tens of thousands of barbarian troops?" Upon hearing this news, Rig felt like he was dreaming, but the supply officer continued to explain, making him immediately realize the truth.
Crete's garrison numbered only a few hundred, but the militia, tempered by battle during the defense of Crete, numbered a full three thousand. Furthermore, after the siege of Crete was lifted, hearing that it was the hometown of the magical little mage, protected by numerous high-level mages and even dragons, the troops and civilians scattered by the barbarians from the surrounding towns flocked to Crete.
By the time Hank received the Grand Duchess's nationwide mobilization order, Crete had over forty thousand people, and its militia and army numbered nearly six thousand!
Of course, trying to stop the three great families of the Southern Islands and their barbarian armies with only six thousand militia and soldiers was a pipe dream.
But Crete had another advantage. When Rig left Crete, he left behind nearly a hundred fairies, who in turn subdued nearly five thousand wild demon barbarians who worshipped the demon race.
Whether fairies or wild demons, they were all natural jungle warriors. Furthermore, the terrain Hank chose, while not as treacherous as Chicken Intestine Ridge, was still easily defended and difficult to attack. Therefore, this ragtag army of just over ten thousand managed to hold off tens of thousands of barbarian troops.
Having fled all the way from the Cross River Valley, the barbarian army, lacking supplies and provisions, relied entirely on the encouragement of their barbarian generals to rampage and plunder in Crete. Unexpectedly, they were trapped in the desolate mountains, and their fighting spirit was naturally low. Adding to this, Grand Duchess Taqi and her large army soon caught up from behind. With no way to go and no way to retreat, these tens of thousands of barbarian soldiers were like rats trapped in a snare, with no way to escape.
Rig was overjoyed upon hearing this and urged them to take him to the main camp. The soldiers of the scavenging team were naturally happy to take the opportunity to shirk their duties and escorted Rig and the others directly back to camp.
The Scorpion Tail region was mountainous, densely forested, and full of rugged and complex river valleys and shallows. In this terrain, encircling a force of dozens or hundreds of men would be an impossible task, but blocking an army of tens of thousands would be a piece of cake!
This is why powerful nations throughout the history of the Eastern Lai Continent, such as the Holy Hualong Empire, have never had the desire to conquer the Scorpion Tail region. It's not that these great powers didn't covet the forests and mineral resources of the Scorpion Tail region, but rather that the cost would be simply not worth it.
The grain-gathering team, unlike Rig and his group, didn't all have horses. Rig, eager to get going, asked the Holy Hualong cavalry to give up a horse, and set off with the team leader. Galloping swiftly, they soon saw the camp of the Plato Duchy.
The duchy's army had been besieging the barbarian army for two days. Dressed in simple uniforms, they were equipped with bows and arrows, swords and axes, and even civilians carrying hoes and kitchen knives to help in the battle. They had set up defensive lines along the rugged mountains, blocking every road.
A motley array of flags fluttered on every position: those of the regular army of the Duchy of Plato, those of the garrisons of various cities, and, of course, many more of the spontaneously organized militia and volunteers—their flags even more bizarre, with some simply hanging brightly colored bedsheets on their flagpoles.
Rig stared at a checkered bedsheet flag for a long time before barely managing to decipher the bold, flamboyant characters: "Sixth Squad, Tiger Head Village, Citizens' Heroic National Protection Corps, Gavis Town, Duchy of Plato." Half the words were misspelled, and the dark red ink made one question the pigment's composition.
These diverse flags were planted on every nearby hilltop, standing out conspicuously amidst the verdant forest.
Looking at these flags that almost blotted out the sky, Rig felt a surge of excitement.
He now truly understood the Duchy's determination to avenge itself against the barbarians. The general mobilization order issued by Taqis was driving the garrisons stationed in the most remote areas to rush here day and night! In this war, this small southern principality has shown a desperate, all-or-nothing attitude.
The barbarian army was also scattered among the hilltops and jungles, some distance from the army of the Duchy of Plato. They carried few banners, and even lacked tents; they were thinly dressed and their faces were haggard. Rig, with his excellent eyesight, could even see the grotesque, smeared faces of many of the barbarians.
Each barbarian unit was mixed with members of their respective clans, those in red being the Lin family's Red Army, those in green the Footmen's infantry, and those in white the Sky family's Eagle Cavalry. These soldiers from the three great families of the Southern Islands were also dejected and bewildered.
The trees near the battle lines had been cleared for use as building materials. Both armies had constructed numerous palisades and arrow towers along the mountainside in front of their lines, forming a dense, fortified fortress, seemingly prepared for a prolonged stalemate in the forest.
On both the hilltops defended by the Duchy of Plato and the barbarian army, campfires emitted plumes of white smoke. This was to ward off the miasma and flies in the dense forest, and to protect against the dampness and the cold of the night. Above the mountains, frightened flocks of birds circled and soared in the sky, their cries of despair echoing from the loss of their homes.
These fortifications, built purely to utilize the terrain, naturally lacked any real formation. The barbarian army, in particular, having lost their advantageous position, desperately tried to compensate for their losses by haphazardly and crampedly arranging their wooden huts, covered in branches and leaves, with only narrow paths barely wide enough for a single person to walk through. Hut after hut stretched endlessly towards the distant mountains, a dark, imposing mass that seemed to stretch to the horizon.
The combined forces of both sides exceeded 100,000 men; on a northern plain like Bojing, they might not even fill a single corner. But in the narrow valleys of southern Xinjiang, the sheer number of enemy and friendly forces created a palpable sense of impending doom.
The densely packed tents conveyed an immense pressure, making the very air heavy with a chilling atmosphere.
Although the young rogue had seen such a massive army before, he had always remained an observer, unmoved. Now, here stood his own people, his own countrymen, with whom he shared blood. Looking at the soldiers thronging about, a surge of boiling blood welled up within him.
Rig knew that the Duchy of Plato had gathered almost its entire army here. Though only tens of thousands, the sight was a sea of heads and a forest of spears.
This was the largest number of soldiers the Duchy of Plato had ever assembled since its founding. Since the barbarian invasion, the duchy's army, terrified and easily routed, had rallied under the stimulus of the Grand Duke's death and the call of the Grand Duchess, forming a massive encirclement with their own flesh and blood, ready to avenge their blood feud with the barbarians.
On the tip of every soldier's spear and on the top of every flag, a small piece of black gauze was tied—the Plato people were in national mourning for their fallen Grand Duke.
Soldiers from every town, village, and estate of the Duchy of Plato, whether former regular troops, garrison troops, or newly armed militia, had all shed the fear and trepidation that had gripped them since the beginning of the war.
Everyone fell silent. Some were silently repairing fortifications, sweat pouring down their faces; others were repeatedly wiping their weapons; still others were staring intently at the enemy's location from the trenches with grim eyes.
"Such a heavy killing intent!" a Saint Hualong cavalryman couldn't help but mutter softly, and all the Saint Hualong cavalrymen's faces hardened.
As professional soldiers, they naturally understood the oppressive atmosphere before a life-or-death battle. The longer this oppression lasted, the more silent it became, like a fire covered with straw—once it erupted, it would be all the more dazzling and bloody.
Facing the pressure from the Duchy of Plato, the soldiers of the three great families of the Southern Islands also clearly felt it.
These family soldiers, who had been in a superior position since the invasion, naturally showed a hint of contempt and arrogance towards the Scorpion-tailed people.
They shouted and mocked loudly from behind the palisade, causing a commotion, but to the Saint Hualong cavalry, these family soldiers were clearly putting on a brave front, using this method to mask their inner fear and unease.
On the contrary, the dark-skinned barbarians remained indifferent, busy smearing themselves with various tree sap and mud.
These barbarians were brutal, fierce, and extremely stupid, brimming with boundless energy, each one as aggressive as a savage. They watched the performance of their clan soldiers with indifference, while busily stuffing edible tree bark and grass into their mouths and chewing voraciously.
Whether they were wild or civilized, the barbarians of the Southern Islands were extremely superstitious; the words of their tribal shamans were considered absolute. Queen Ginny, who performed miracles, was a true god in their eyes.
Since they were sent here by the gods, these barbarians completely disregarded the army before them; when the drums of attack sounded, they would simply carry their crude weapons and charge forward, overturning and smashing down any obstacles in their path.
These savages were often astonishingly brave, but if a battle went poorly, they were faster than anyone else at fleeing. They dared to venture into even the densest forests and vanish without a trace.
At the very center of the barbarian camp were rows of massive palisades, three or four meters high, blocking all possible views inside. From within came muffled howls. The enormous sound made Rigg's heart sink; it was the sound of the Lin family's Vajra and Berserker Bears.
These giant beasts, originating from an island in the southern archipelago, were the Lin family's greatest asset and their trump card in attacking Crete.
Rigg didn't know how many beasts were in the palisades, but initially, Lin Fengqi, with only five thousand Red Army soldiers, was equipped with more than thirty Vajra and Berserker Bears. Now, this was the entire army of the three great families in the Scorpion Tail region; the number of giant beast legions was likely considerable, not to mention the Heavenly Family's Dragon Eagle Brigade!
The Lin family's behemoths, the Tian family's dragon eagles, the Ying family's black cavalry... these were all the trump cards of the invading coalition from the Southern Islands.
While the Walkers didn't have their own unique legions, they were masters of siege weaponry. This vast wooden palisade was clearly their creation.
Compared to this, Ying Mulan's camp on Chicken Intestine Ridge was practically a child's toy. If it weren't for the terrain of Chicken Intestine Ridge being so advantageous for defense, Ying Mulan's camp would have been breached long ago.
"Rig!" A green figure leaped and ran towards them. Before Rig could react, he was slammed off his saddle with a loud "bang."
The unfortunate warhorse neighed in fright, then collapsed to the ground, its hooves buckling. The other warhorses scattered far away, and the cavalry couldn't hold them back.
The one who could enter with such imposing power was naturally the green dragon girl, Kona. Her dragon might was unstoppable for any low-intelligence creature, even these battle-hardened warhorses.
"Reg, where have you been? I haven't seen you in ages!" Konam's green hair flew wildly, her pretty face beaming with a cute smile. The little rascal's forehead bulged with veins as he roared, "Can you get off me before you ask me a question?"
"Ouch!" The green dragon girl then realized she was sitting on the little rascal's chest, her green skirt billowing, revealing even her snow-white legs. Konam quickly reached out to press down on the hem.
It has to be said, the green dragon girl is becoming increasingly integrated into human society; she never cared about being exposed or anything like that before.
"Get up!"
Reg was practically gritting his teeth. The green dragon girl's powerful impact was even a bit too much for the little rascal's body, modified by Master Bead, let alone with Konam sitting on his chest the whole time. He couldn't catch his breath; anyone else would probably have fainted by now.
Konam jumped up, pressing on her skirt, then grinned foolishly at Reg. The little rascal struggled to his feet. He wanted to drink...?
He scolded the impetuous fellow a few times, but seeing Kona's bright, sunny smile, he suddenly lost his temper.
Looking at Kona's expectant eyes, he helplessly stretched out his arms; the green dragon girl cheered and threw herself into Rigg's arms.
"Rigg, I missed you so much," Kona's voice was soft and sweet.
"Yeah, I missed you too!" The little rogue wasn't lying. How many times had he been manipulated, how much he missed Kona, his powerful henchman! Especially when he was trapped in that twisted anti-magic field.
Then the conversation took a dramatic turn, completely unexpected.
"Rigg, I want to mate!" The green dragon girl looked at Rigg with a charmingly innocent expression, her beautiful eyes sparkling.
The little rogue immediately broke out in a cold sweat, hissing, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I want to! I really want to!"
The little green dragon shook Rigg's arm, as if begging for a favorite toy. Although this little green dragon appeared completely human, she was a pure green dragon at heart, naturally disregarding human morality and etiquette, saying whatever came to mind—a perfect reflection of her straightforward dragon nature.
However, Rigg couldn't be so carefree. This was the main camp of the Plato Duchy, surrounded by a dense crowd of soldiers drawn by curiosity.
After all, the arrival of the magical little mage was incredibly exciting news, already spreading throughout the camp.
The Plato Duchy lacked the strict hierarchy and cumbersome etiquette of the Holy Hualong Empire; a mass exodus was perfectly normal.
Then many overheard the conversation between the green-haired girl and the magical little mage.
Although both spoke Donglai language with a Plato accent, many soldiers understood them. Most soldiers didn't recognize Konami's human form, but the green dragon girl's beauty and innocence were undeniable.
Therefore, everyone looked at Rigg as if he were a rogue who had seduced an innocent girl into committing a crime.
Sensing countless piercing, menacing gazes, Rig quickly flashed a fawning smile. "Um... 'mating' is a very ancient ritual in Saint Hualong... just like our handshake..."
The surrounding crowd suddenly understood, and the Saint Hualong cavalrymen all looked up at the sky with teary eyes.
"I'm so itchy, I have strange dreams every day..." The green dragon girl, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, continued speaking.
Rig had to explain again, "She hasn't bathed for many days. You all know it's inconvenient during wartime..."
The surrounding soldiers continued to understand, and the Saint Hualong cavalrymen's faces turned red.
"Let's go mating!" The little green dragon excitedly grabbed Rig's crotch, and everyone's gaze immediately froze.
"Um... the ritual... of not bathing..."
The little hooligan stammered, a white light flashing around him, and then he and the little green dragon disappeared from everyone's sight.
The soldiers of the Plato Duchy remained bewildered, while the Saint Hualong cavalrymen burst into laughter.
They naturally knew that this lovely green-haired girl was a student at the Saint Hualong Platinum Magic Academy, and also the green dragon who could transform into a human.
Perhaps not every soldier in the Saint Hualong Empire's expeditionary force knew this, but the most elite vanguard battalion had memorized this essential intelligence and information long before setting off.
Moreover, they had fought alongside the Grand Mage Susan against this green dragon at Chicken Intestine Ridge.

Chapter Three: The Little Green Dragon Wants to Mating
"What's wrong with Kona?" Looking at the green dragon girl tightly wrapped around him, Rig asked, quite puzzled.
The Beaded Lord was silent for a moment, then uttered an answer: "Pressure!"
"What?" Rig clearly heard those two words, but still asked in astonishment, as if he didn't understand the meaning of the word at all.
This little green dragon, Kona, besides liking magic crystals and magic plays, had always acted carefree; what pressure could she possibly have?
"Even a carefree little rogue like you feels restless and uneasy from the continuous wars, so of course this green dragon will feel the same restlessness and pressure. What's so strange about that!" Lord Pearl said casually.
"But... she's a dragon!" the little rogue said incredulously. "Aren't dragons the creatures that love war the most?"
"You've watched too many magic shows, haven't you? Which of those screenwriters has ever had contact with real dragons? They're all just making things up in their rooms. Don't you know what dragons really like the most?" Lord Pearl teased.
The little rogue naturally knew that Konami's favorite things were treasure and watching plays, but he still said incredulously, "Okay, even if she doesn't like war and feels pressured, why would she want to do 'that'?"
Rig remembered that Konami had told him before that dragons only mate once a year, so the little green dragon was never very enthusiastic about such things. Apart from a few times on the way to the Holy Hualong Empire, after arriving in Platinum City, Konami and Rig slept for real, simple reasons.
"She's in a human body now." Bead-sama clearly had no intention of being the little rascal's teacher, explaining simply, "The conditions for arousal in a human body and a dragon body are naturally different. Besides, you've eaten the Fruit of Life, and your body contains a large amount of life energy. This vitality will naturally induce female creatures to feel close to you."
"Oh." Rig nodded, seemingly understanding, and cautiously asked, "Sall, do you still absorb life essence water?"
"With the core energy box, my energy needs aren't as urgent as before, but dragon life essence water is hard to come by, so it's good to have some stored up." Bead-sama answered confidently.
Since opening her own synchronization space with the demon-armored energy core box, Bead-sama indeed no longer pressured her symbiote as much as before, constantly threatening to drain her until she dies.
However, similarly, the little rascal couldn't use Bead-sama's abilities as easily as before; many times, it depended on whether Demon Core Number Forty-Seven was in a good mood.
The little rogue naturally didn't know whether this change was good or bad. However, regardless, Rigg knew that if he were in trouble, especially in a life-or-death situation, Lord Bead would never stand idly by.
Before, it was because Lord Bead was too lazy to change symbiotes; now, it was because Rigg's body contained Lord Bead's primordial energy.
Lord Demon Core Forty-Seven, who regarded primordial energy as the highest principle, naturally wouldn't allow his most precious primordial energy to disappear in Atlantis, even if it was only a tiny fraction.
At this moment, Kona finally came to her senses. She turned her neck against Rigg's chest, asking curiously, "Where is this place? Why are those colorful walls moving around?"
"This is my synchronization space!" Rigg once again attributed the credit to Lord Bead. There was no way around it; the existence of Lord Demon Core Forty-Seven, Lord Saler, was an absolute secret.
"What is a synchronization space?" the green dragon girl asked, completely bewildered.
As a low-ranking green dragon, relying solely on her powerful physique and venomous dragon venom to fight, Kona naturally wouldn't understand what a synchronized space was. Although she was a formal art magician at the Platinum Capital Magic Academy, how she got in... well, that's another story...
"It's a magical illusion. We stay inside for a long time, but outside it's only a moment, and we won't be discovered!" Rig searched for words to describe it, but Kona's eyes lit up instantly, and she exclaimed excitedly, "It's an upgrade room! Wow, that's great!"
"What upgrade room?" the little hooligan asked, somewhat confused.
"It's the upgrade room in Gods and Demons! Many people join the game late, have low levels, and get bullied, which makes them resentful. Then Dios introduced a strange room where you get three times the time and five times the monsters in a day, but the price is ten times that of a normal map. Yeah, a lot of rich people go in, and their levels rise very quickly. That's the upgrade room!"
The little green dragon rambled on, then sighed, "I don't even know what level my account is anymore! You know, I don't have to pay to enter the upgrade room!"
"That swindler!" Rig gasped. Three times the time, five times the monsters, but ten times the price.
That guy is really ruthless! However, Rig asked curiously, "Why doesn't he charge you?"
"Because I'm your girlfriend! Dios said you're a major shareholder, so my game fees are deducted directly from your bonuses! I collect a lot of treasure coins in the game, all from him, saying it'll be deducted from your bonuses!"
The green dragon girl blinked her beautiful long eyelashes and said happily.
The young hooligan felt a chill run down his spine: "Damn it, that swindler probably already deducted all my bonuses, right?"
He quickly asked, "Kona, were you the only one he gave me things?"
"Of course not. Teacher Susan, Lophis, Mivian, Bao'er... Dios also said he deposited a lot of items into Aegris and Espira's accounts, but they've been out and haven't returned to the academy."
Kona counted on her fingers, then excitedly asked, "Reg, Dios said we girls are Reg's 'girls' group.' He also said he'd give me a Golden Horn when we go back this time, so I can establish a 'God's Gang.' Hmm, I really want to go back to playing games."
"God's your mother!" The young hooligan let out a long howl to the sky, tears streaming down his face... This "girls' group" or "God's Gang" thing, forget about bonuses, I bet when I get back to Platinum City, that bastard will pull out a thick stack of bills for me to sign.
"Rig, I really want to mate!" Kona roared again, and then the green dragon girl began to tear off Rig's clothes.
"Slow down, slow down, don't tear them!" Rig cried out in pain. After days of trekking and fighting, his clothes were already in poor condition, and with the little green dragon's immense strength, they were quickly reduced to strips.
"Rig, I miss you so much, do you miss me?" The little green dragon looked up at Rig and asked earnestly.
"Of course I do!" the little rogue answered immediately and decisively.
In fact, when there was nothing to do, he seemed to think of Agris; when he was in heat, he thought of Espira or Wen; when he used magic, he thought of Susan. Only when fighting would he think of Kona, whose fists were more effective. It's just that as a mage, the times when he needed to use his fists to fight others were very few and far between.
"I missed you so much too. Fighting isn't fun at all, watching others fight is much more interesting," the green dragon girl complained, reaching out to grab Rig's large, fleshy member.
"Ah! Wait a minute!" The little hooligan jumped in fright, quickly pulling Kona into his arms.
The little green dragon's strength was astonishing; even with the protection of the Bead, Rig didn't dare to be too careless, and quickly launched a gentle offensive: "Kona, let me see if you've lost weight!"
"No! Although fighting is boring, transforming into a dragon has its advantages; I can eat a lot! Yesterday I ate three cows and four pigs."
The little green dragon's answer left the little hooligan speechless. The cruel reality resounded in his mind: the beautiful little woman in his arms was a dragon! A dragon!
Thinking of this, the little rogue felt a chill run down his spine and forced himself to change the subject: "Konam, where's Agnes? I haven't seen her."
"She went back with Teacher Susan. That guy, he seemed to be in a hurry!" Konam said indifferently.
As a dragon, even though she was an exchange student at the Saint Hualong Empire's Platinum Capital Magic Academy, she didn't have Saint Hualong Empire citizenship. Magical beacons and supreme orders never fell on her.
It was Agnes, a magician officially registered with the Magic Association, who had to arrive at the designated meeting point as quickly as possible.
Of course, Susan, as a super-rank magician and a member of the Magic Association's council, was even more obligated.
"I haven't even seen her," the little rogue sighed inwardly.
Although Agnes had always kept her distance from him, she had silently done many things for him. The little rogue seemed to like her a lot, but they had been in the Southern Frontier for so long without much opportunity to communicate, which really made him very melancholy.
"Don't think about her!" Although Kona was brazen, she was still a female dragon. She keenly sensed the little rascal's distraction and grew angry. Grabbing his groin, she began to roughly twist it.
"What the hell! It's going to break! It's going to break!" the little rascal screamed in terror.
"If you dare think about anyone else, I'll eat it!" the green dragon girl said through gritted teeth, a hint of anger appearing on her delicate and beautiful face.
"Wow, my Kona is jealous now!" the little rascal said with some surprise.
The green dragon girl's mind was still immature; among dragons, she was just a little girl. Her favorite games were watching magic shows and saving gold coins and magic crystals. As Rig's most legitimate girlfriend, she didn't mind her boyfriend's infidelity at all.
This made the first dragon rider somewhat regretful. A girlfriend being generous was good, but if she didn't get jealous at all, didn't that mean this boy wasn't very important to her? At least it's not as important as those magic crystals and gold coins, right?
Of course, the little rogue actually thought those magic crystals and gold coins were more important than himself, but not as important as a magical drama. This was something that could only be tolerated by his uncle and sister-in-law. After all, the little rogue was recognized as the number one genius in the history of Platinum Capital Magic Academy, wasn't he?
Today, Kona was actually jealous, which was a real surprise!
Rig hugged Kona in his arms, stroking her snow-white, delicate, and extremely elastic skin. The Divine Dragon Transformation Technique sculpted the most perfect human body, with every muscle and skin exquisitely crafted.
Of course, "most perfect" refers to the explosive power. The aesthetics of the dragon race are completely different from those of humans, and "most perfect" is definitely not "most beautiful."
But the Divine Dragon Transformation Technique improved by Lord Bead certainly wouldn't turn Kona into a muscular woman. Although the green dragon girl's human form wasn't as stunningly beautiful as Agnes, she was definitely a femme fatale. It's just that Little Green Dragon has always been carefree and her personality is like that of a little girl, which makes people overlook her beauty.
Feeling the boundless vitality of the youthful body under his palm, Rig is also a little excited. He kneads Kona's firm and round breasts, kisses her snow-white and smooth skin, and the two equally naked bodies rub against each other.
A moment later, Kona cried out, "Ah! Rig, I want to mate!"
The little rogue was somewhat amused and exasperated. The green dragon girl was clearly not very romantic, straightforward and decisive.
You see, Kona had only been intimate with the little rogue two or three times before, a number that could be counted on one hand, making her less experienced than any of Rig's women.
Rig gestured for Kona to kneel and curl up on the ground. The green dragon girl didn't object much to this position; in the little green dragon's mind, this was the most correct animal mating position. Male-on-top or female-on-top were not orthodox dragon practices!
Rig took a deep breath and walked to Kona's side. He didn't immediately begin mating with her as Kona had instructed, but instead began to admire the green dragon girl's beautiful body with an artistic eye.
Kneeling on the ground, Kona's extremely beautiful and sexy buttocks were round, full, firm, and high, her skin as smooth and delicate as snow. This beautiful curve perfectly showcased the youthful vitality of the green dragon girl.
Rig reached out and caressed Kona's exquisite buttocks, feeling the smooth, delicate skin, her slender waist, and her long legs complementing her alluring, snow-white, round buttocks. In an instant, Rig's blood boiled, and a low growl escaped his throat.
Uncontrollably, Rig buried his face between Kona's beautiful, round buttocks, using his entire face to feel the firm, plump shape of her buttocks.
Rig, as if in a trance, extended his tongue, licking from Kona's soft buttocks, down her cleft, her anus, and finally down to her tightly closed vaginal opening, sucking on her labia and clitoris with smacking sounds.
After a long while, Rig raised his flushed face. Excitedly, he climbed onto Kona's back, straddling her long, slender legs. He gripped her firm, round buttocks tightly with both hands, forcefully shoving his rock-hard penis into the green dragon girl's tightly closed buttocks. He thrust impulsively a few times, but to no avail.
Rig, panting heavily, used both hands to forcefully pry open Kona's round buttocks, revealing a pink, tender opening to her vagina.
Rig was extremely excited. Without thinking, he freed one hand, grasped his penis, and placed it between Kona's protruding buttocks, aiming at the pink opening and thrusting it in hard. He felt the head of his penis sink into a warm, moist sensation in an instant; he had succeeded.
Rig embraced Kona's slender waist and, with overwhelming force, plunged his entire burning-hot penis in, all the way to the hilt.
As an incredibly hard, scalding hot penis accurately plunged deep into the green dragon girl's vagina, both Rig and Kona cried out in pain simultaneously.
Rig felt countless scales gripping his penis tightly, while the green dragon girl felt a burning pain rapidly spreading from her lower body throughout her entire body.
Well… the green dragon girl had been fighting frequently lately, using many dragon clan secret techniques, some specifically for healing wounds… so, poor Kona, today it was like the little rascal had deflowered her again.
"Ugh…it hurts…no…"
The green dragon girl's eyes welled with tears from the pain, and she involuntarily swayed her hips, struggling to shake off the little rascal's excruciating penis.
Rig, however, stared wide-eyed. An incredibly intense pleasure spread from his penis to his entire body with the swaying of Kona's round hips—it was truly a bittersweet experience, so pleasurable that Rig couldn't help but shiver.
"Bio-engineered armor activated!" Rig first secured his penis, then began thrusting excitedly and frantically into Kona's vagina, his hips slamming harder and harder against her round, high buttocks, moaning, "Oh...baby...your ass is moving...it feels so good...it's amazing...don't stop...harder..."
The little green dragon, though confused, obediently continued to rotate her round buttocks, hearing the young man's apparent pleasure.
Rig groaned, his hips grinding against Kona's buttocks with each twist. After a while, the little green dragon seemed to tire; she stopped rocking, bending over and forcefully closing her snow-white thighs, clenching her buttocks.
Rig felt Konammi's buttocks clench tightly, her scaled vaginal walls gripping his penis so tightly it was practically impenetrable. This pleasure made his blood boil, intoxicating and soul-stirring, and he involuntarily moaned softly, "Baby...it feels so good...be gentle...you're squeezing so tight...I'm going to ejaculate easily...baby...be gentle..."
Konammi wasn't intentionally trying to please the scoundrel; the green dragon girl was just making these movements subconsciously due to the pain.
Hearing Rig's repeated pleas for mercy, the more rational Konammi felt that since she had initiated the act of mating with Rig, she should take responsibility for it. So she relaxed, determined to ignore the pain that was making her uncomfortable.
Rig noticed that Konammi had relaxed her beautifully rounded buttocks, and the feeling that his penis was about to ejaculate because of her tight vaginal grip subsided temporarily with the relaxation of the vaginal muscles.
Rig was completely intoxicated, and he thrust boldly between the green dragon girl's slender waist and round, bouncy buttocks. A pair of hands caressed the smooth, white skin of her back, sliding down her ribs before grabbing Kona's delicate, pert breasts and thrusting into them.
"Ah...it hurts..." Kona cried out, her brows furrowed as she knelt there.
The physiological conditions of dragons meant that their virginity was more painful than that of humans, so they wouldn't experience pleasure so quickly.
Especially now, with this mating position and the deepest penetration, it was like adding fuel to the fire for Kona.
Rig frowned, reluctantly pulling his throbbing penis from the green dragon girl's vagina. He embraced Kona's supple body, forcibly supporting her as she bent over, kneeling on the platform that had risen from the synchronized space.
Rigg pried open Konam's plump buttocks, made even more rounded and jade-like by her kneeling posture. He saw a sticky, viscous white fluid between her slightly engorged labia. Rigg couldn't help but gasp. He gripped his wet, viscous penis and eagerly thrust the head into Konam's vagina between her buttocks, mingling with the viscous fluid as he forcefully pushed in!
Rigg's strength was so intense that Konam involuntarily swayed her hips, resisting the dull ache and numbness deep within her vagina from the impact.
Rigg embraced Konam's slender waist, kneeling to push his penis even deeper, and began to violently thrust in and out of the green dragon girl's vagina.
While copulating, he also reached out and grasped the small, sagging breasts on the green dragon's chest, pulling, grabbing, kneading, and squeezing them—a cruel and inhuman act of torture.
Strangely, Konam felt no pain; instead, she felt an indescribable comfort emanating from the kneading and pulling of her breasts, an unparalleled pleasure. Deep within her lower body, it felt like a burning flame.
Only when Rig's hot, hard penis thrust in forcefully did the emptiness and slight itch subside, replaced by an ecstatic pleasure that spread rapidly through her vagina.
Soon, Rig was panting heavily, his hands gripping Konam's firm, round buttocks, helping her sway and twist in circles.
This churning stimulated Rig, who cried out "Oh, oh!" and his eyes glazed over. Konam, propelled by the momentum, involuntarily rubbed and spun her beautiful buttocks, her vagina, filled with lustful fluids, gripping Rig's burning penis, spinning incessantly, faster and faster.
Kona felt Rig's penis growing thicker and thicker inside her rubbing vagina, and heard the faint moans coming from his throat. Kona couldn't help but get excited and swayed her beautiful hips even more vigorously.
Amidst the frenzied, surging waves of pleasure, Konam suddenly felt an unprecedented, unparalleled ecstasy wash over her, sweeping through her entire body from the depths of her vagina. This bliss was so intense and enduring that Konam found her lower abdomen and vagina spasming with ecstasy.
Almost simultaneously, she felt the throbbing, swirling penis inside her ejaculate streams of scalding fluid during its rapid thrusting, spraying deep into her convulsing vagina, burning her with an almost unbearable, soul-crushing pleasure.
Konam continued to rotate her round hips, but the speed gradually slowed, until finally she came to a complete stop. Rig, panting heavily, was convulsing with pleasure and limp, lying motionless on Konam's kneeling back.
After a while, Rig's penis, having ejaculated, slowly softened and was squeezed out by Kona's spasming vagina. The semen and vaginal fluid trapped inside flowed out in a grayish-white stream from between the green dragon girl's engorged and protruding labia, stickily covering Kona's entire vulva and running down her inner thighs.
A few dewdrops of milky-white fluid also dripped from a patch of light green pubic hair, clinging to her skin, seemingly about to fall.

Chapter Four: Kill Them All
"Rig, the Grand Duke is dead, and I want you to avenge him!" These were the first words Lady Taqisi spoke to the hooligan.
There was no command, no request, no euphemism, and no politeness; it was spoken as if it were the most natural and obvious thing in the world.
It was as if Rig Ampa, the Platonic Little Wizard who had caused a sensation in the two empires, was just any servant in the Grand Duke's mansion.
The tone of his words, "I want you to avenge him," was as calm as asking Rig to pour a cup of tea.
“Yes.” Rig’s reply was even more unexpected, without even the most basic “as the Grand Duchess commands.”
Okay, even if this little rogue hadn’t received proper court etiquette, couldn’t he at least say “yes”? And
he actually spoke to the Grand Duchess in such an equal tone?
The generals and nobles of the duchy in the camp were dumbfounded, but the Grand Duchess nodded, her expression obscured by the black veil covering her face. She said calmly, “Count Philip, Rig is new here; please introduce him to the situation.”
Count Philip was an elderly man nearing sixty, with white hair and beard, every strand neatly combed.
He was not tall, and a red and gold-trimmed cloak trailed on his back.
His chest was adorned with numerous badges of various sizes, a gold sash draped diagonally across his straight uniform, and his white-bearded, gloved hands gripped the hilt of his sword.
His trousers were pressed so perfectly smooth there wasn't a single wrinkle, and his gleaming boots stood at the most impeccable military posture.
Rig stared dumbfounded at the count. If it weren't for the inconspicuous uniform, the rascal would have thought he was facing a royal guard from the Holy Hualong Empire.
Indeed, only the Holy Hualong Empire had such royal guards, standing ramrod straight like javelins. The entire Atlantis, including the powerful Kingdom of Medi, while possessing its own ceremonial guards, lacked the extreme strictness and discipline of the Holy Hualong Empire's royal guards.
After all, the Kingdom of Medi was less than three hundred years old, incomparable to a nearly thousand-year-old nation like Holy Hualong, especially since Holy Hualong was the sole descendant of the Great Hua Empire.
Could this Count Philip have once served as a royal guard in Platinum City? Rig wondered, without malice, as he faced the composed commander of the Plato Duchy's army.
"Your Excellency Ampa, the southern bandits below the mountains number over 50,000 and are completely surrounded. Their forces are mainly infantry and giant beastmen, with a small number of eagle riders. Half of them are scholars and half are natives, and their fighting strength is far superior to ours."
Duke Philip's face was grave. "Our soldiers are equal in number, and although we have used the terrain to our advantage to surround them, the prospects for victory are not optimistic."
Rig looked at the impeccably dressed Earl-General, whose chest was practically overflowing with medals, then at Grand Duchess Taqis, and suddenly asked, "Grand Duchess, how do you want me to take revenge?"
Taqis paused, then said coldly, "Kill them all!"
Her hand, gloved with black gauze, pointed towards the direction outside the camp.
"I'll go kill them!" The rogue turned and left, not even glancing at the generals and nobles. Several staff officers, their faces flushed, carrying huge sand tables, stared blankly at the magical little mage striding away, dumbfounded.
A dazed advisor unconsciously loosened his grip, and the heavy sand table crashed down, followed by a scream from the camp.
"Are you stupid? Why did you run out without listening to the intelligence?" Lord Bead, bewildered by the symbiote's actions, asked curiously.
"Listen to what? I wouldn't understand anyway!" the rogue said nonchalantly, "Just charge in."
"Have you ever fought a war?" Lord Bead asked in surprise.
"No," the rogue replied matter-of-factly, "But you have!" The
wise Demon Core was speechless.
Lord Bead wanted to tell its symbiote that the scale and scope of the war between gods and demons were incomparable to the small-scale wars currently waged by humans.
Moreover, in its more than one hundred lifetimes as a symbiote, it had never served as a strategist! While
Saint Hua Rong certainly relied on it to establish the Great Hua Empire, there had only been one Saint Hua Rong in over a thousand years! Besides, Saint Hua Rong had never relied on Lord Bead to fight; fighting was commonplace for him.
Fortunately, the little rogue was just talking; he didn't intend to rely on Lord Pearl to fight the war. He wanted to find the Saint Hualong cavalry.
The Saint Hualong cavalry naturally wouldn't obey the orders of the Plato Duchy, so when Vice Dean Susan left, she entrusted all the cavalry to the green dragon girl.
Kona, of course, wouldn't command them in battle; when there was a battle, the little green dragon would charge in herself. So these three thousand cavalrymen were just sitting there eating for free, treated like decorations.
"You want to kill the fifty thousand barbarian troops below Guangling?"
General Feng Zhenshan, the vanguard general of the expeditionary force, was a general from the northwest of the Saint Hualong Empire, which partially bordered the Northern Che Continent. When the Northern Che beastmen couldn't survive in the freezing cold, they would raid and plunder the Saint Hualong border, so he was very experienced in combat. But upon hearing the little rogue's request, this battle-hardened imperial general was immediately dumbfounded.
"They have fifty thousand, and we have fifty thousand too! One kills one, isn't that enough?" Rig said casually.
"Hmm. If Plato's 50,000 men were all mages, even if they were all beginner mages, wiping them all out would be a piece of cake," Divirachi said sarcastically from the side. "Unfortunately, they aren't."
Rig kicked the charcoal-headed man, leaving a clear footprint, and then ordered him, "Hurry up and come up with a way to kill these 50,000 men!"
"Why me? I'm just a bard!" the charcoal-headed man immediately cried out as if he had been greatly wronged.
The little hooligan glared at him and said righteously, "Because you're writing my biography! If the plot isn't good, if you can't kill these 50,000 barbarians, the readers won't be satisfied, and then your lousy book will sell poorly, and you'll become a laughing stock in the Atlantean literary world..."
Divirachi's dark face immediately became serious: "That is indeed a problem!"
"So, you need to get this sorted out quickly. Otherwise, you should switch careers and write time-travel novels!" the hooligan said mercilessly. The
charcoal-headed man paused for a moment before sheepishly replying, "Actually... time-travel novels are quite popular..."
Rig ignored the man and turned to the vanguard general of the Saint Hualong Expeditionary Force, asking, "General, do you have any good ideas?"
Feng Zhenshan looked at the palisades in the valley and said in a deep voice, "The individual combat strength of the barbarian army far surpasses that of the duchy's soldiers. If we don't use the terrain advantage to fight them head-on, the duchy's chances of victory are slim."
"You mean..." Rig asked, looking at General Feng.
"Get them moving, force the barbarian army to fight a breakout. The duchy will use the terrain to block them, depleting the barbarian army's strength, and then launch a surprise attack from the center with a strong force, surrounding them from all sides and attacking from the middle. The barbarian army will inevitably be thrown into chaos!" General Feng explained simply.
Rig paused, "Force them to break out?"
Even a fool would know that if the barbarian army could break out, they would have already charged out! The fact that they've built such high palisades is precisely to prepare for positional warfare.
Under such circumstances, asking them to abandon the meticulously constructed wooden city of the Walkers and instead attack the mountains surrounded by the armies of the Duchy of Plato would be utterly foolish!
"A swift victory is the only feasible method. Otherwise, we can slowly wear them down. The barbarian army is trapped in the valleys and running out of supplies. If we continue this siege, they will be annihilated within a month at most, without even a fight! It's just a matter of time, but it will save us a lot of trouble," General Feng said frankly.
Rig glanced at Feng Zhenshan and asked, "Can you stay here for a month?"
"Impossible!" General Feng replied decisively, "The highest imperial beacon has been lit. Although we don't know the reason, according to imperial military law, we must reach the expeditionary force camp within three days. Fortunately, we are all cavalry, and our speed is relatively fast, so we can only stay here for a maximum of two days."
Rig naturally knew that the Holy Hualong Empire's magical beacon was the highest-level general mobilization order. For General Feng to allow these three thousand vanguard cavalry to stay here for two days was already the limit he could manage, out of consideration for Teacher Susan and the magical little mage. Allowing these cavalrymen to remain would be a violation of military orders, and the most serious ones at that.
"How... should we let them break through?" Looking at the densely packed barbarian soldiers in the valley, Rig was momentarily at a loss.
Divirachi leaned over and chuckled, "That's easy, just scare them!"
"Scared?" Rig looked at the honest smile on the charcoal-faced man's face and couldn't help but ask, "How are they scared?" "
Let the three great families and these barbarian soldiers know that if they don't break through, they'll be annihilated."
Seeing Rig's still blank expression, Divirachi said angrily, "Are you from the Platinum Capital Magic Academy or am I? Aren't you in the Magical Drama Directing Department? Do I have to remind you of these deceptive tactics?"
"Deputy Commander, there's important military intelligence." A red-clad Lin family officer rushed into the tent: "It's extremely urgent!"
"We're trapped here, what could be so urgent? Has Ying Mulan's defense line been breached? We can't help you either." Lin Fengqi said coldly, her tone revealing impatience.
The Lin family officer paused for a moment, then said, "There's no news from the Marshal, but we're about to be in big trouble!"
"Are other countries in the Scorpion Tail region surrounding us too? Or is it the Saint Hualong expeditionary force?" Lin Fengqi said unhurriedly, "This valley is a dead end, but with this wooden city, even if there are 100,000 troops outside, it won't be easy for them to devour us, right? Be careful not to break their teeth!"
"Vice Marshal, the sentries in the tower just reported that the Duchy of Plato is building magic arrays on several mountaintops, and those in charge of the magic arrays are all super-rank mages!" the Lin family officer said urgently.
"A high-level mage? A magic circle?" Lin Fengqi's expression changed instantly. He stood up abruptly, his hands trembling. "What are they trying to do?"
"It should be a forbidden spell, and a large-scale one at that." The Lin family officer said cautiously, "Deputy Commander, the terrain here is much smaller than Henghe Valley. If those high-level mages use a magic circle to create a large-scale fire-type forbidden spell, our fortified city will become a fire pit from which we can't escape!"
Lin Fengqi knew, of course, that the Buxing family had built this fortified city entirely with wood. Although they had taken many measures to defend against enemy fire attacks, these methods were all against the enemy's ordinary rockets and torches.
If it were a forbidden spell from a high-level mage, it could even melt stone, let alone this wood that had only undergone simple fireproofing.
"Notify the Tian family and the Buxing family, as well as several tribal chiefs and a high shaman, to come for a meeting!" Lin Fengqi said quickly. "We cannot sit idly by and wait to die!"
A moment later, the leaders of this barbarian army gathered in Lin Fengqi's camp, and everyone's face was extremely grim.
Lin Fengqi's face was cold as he said in a low voice, "Everyone, we've reached a critical moment. What suggestions do you have?"
"Wasn't it agreed that the Marshal and the Kingdom of Medi would hold back the army and mages of Saint Hualong? How come those super-rank mages are here again?" the general of the Walking Family asked in confusion.
"I sent people to check, and indeed, several hilltops are building magic arrays. Moreover, according to the Eagle Whistle's report, there are indeed super-rank mages directing them. Judging from their clothes and appearance, they should be some super-rank mages from Saint Hualong." The general of the Tian Family sighed and said, "However, not all of Saint Hualong's super-rank mages have come. Some should still be with the Marshal."
"At this moment, this fortified city is a death trap!" Lin Fengqi said slowly, "Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"What suggestions do we have? If we stay here any longer, all 50,000 of us will be boiled alive. We have to break out. Even if we can get half of them out, it's better than being cooked in one pot!" the general of the Walking Family shouted.
The Tian family general nodded, saying, "Our only way out right now is to fight our way out. The only question is where to break through?"
"Breakthrough?" Lin Fengqi's handsome face was filled with gloom. "On the mountain ridge in front are the Cretans and those barbarian demons who have surrendered to them. Our Vajra and Violent Bear are completely ineffective against those demons. That green dragon is constantly flying in the sky. The Tian family's dragon eagles are okay for occasional reconnaissance, but they are completely unreliable for a breakout. Let alone seeing that green dragon, we don't even dare to spread our wings when we hear its roar. Without the giant beasts and dragon eagles, what do we have left? Only people to fill the gaps!"
The Tian family general sighed, his mood low, and said, "I feel like we've been tricked by Ying Mulan again."
"Tricked?" Lin Fengqi sneered disdainfully, "When she proposed the division plan, wasn't it our own choice to have one team snipe the enemy and one team launch a long-range attack?"
"How could we have known that the Duchy of Plato would go so mad this time? The entire army is pressing behind us, and the people of Crete have even laid an ambush on the treacherous hills. To make matters worse, those thousands of wild demons are completely obedient to the Cretans because of those demons. Those barbarians are natural-born forest warriors, and we have no siege equipment, not even enough to eat," the footman general lamented, full of complaints.
"Stop talking!" Lin Fengqi said coldly, "No matter how much we hesitate, it's useless. The mountains held by the Cretans are the narrowest and most treacherous, making a breakout from there virtually impossible. Tomorrow, we should focus on the other defensive lines. They also have 50,000 men, and we have about the same number. Our three families' elite warriors will fight to the death. Even if they have the advantage of terrain, can these Plato Duchy troops, who haven't fought in centuries, hold us all? Besides, the army behind them doesn't have any fairies to help them!"
At dawn, the four gates of the barbarian fortress opened, and the barbarian army mobilized in full force. Horns blared, drums thundered, and the swarm of soldiers shouted themselves hoarse as they launched a fierce attack on the duchy's encirclement.
The duchy's soldiers, who were on high alert, felt the entire earth tremble. In this life-or-death moment, the barbarian soldiers, with no way out, unleashed a murderous aura that soared to the heavens.
Thousands of tall, burly barbarian soldiers, carrying wooden shields, launched their first wave of attack. Bare-chested and unarmed, they charged relentlessly up the rugged slopes and steep cliffs.
The duchy's defenders rained arrows down, and barbarian soldiers fell screaming in agony. But many more shield-bearers braved the arrow storm, frantically climbing upwards, using their rudimentary shields and bare flesh to close the gap with the duchy's lines.
After nearly half their numbers were wiped out by the arrows, the survivors finally crossed the treacherous slope. Shields were pieced together to form a shield, and then the foot soldiers charged forward with shouts.
They pushed shield carts made of wood, providing cover for makeshift catapults and ballistae, before unleashing a barrage of heavy weapons upon the duchy's defenses. Then the main force of the barbarian army launched a fierce attack on the hilltops defended by the duchy. Their numbers were so vast that the hillsides were filled with a dense mass of heads and the glint of weapons, the deafening shouts of battle echoing through the sky.
Dozens of arrow towers, erected by foot soldiers, began to suppress the duchy's arrow barrage from a higher angle. Using the shield-carts forming a fortress, the barbarian soldiers, carrying rudimentary shields and wielding a motley collection of weapons, began a slow, large-scale advance towards the duchy's defensive line.
Of course, not every barbarian soldier could rush to the narrow hilltops; most were crammed into the valley, shoulder to shoulder, row upon row, so crowded they could hardly breathe. Every barbarian soldier knew that the mages of the Plato Duchy were preparing magic arrays and forbidden spells on the mountain; staying inside the fortress would mean certain death, and since the fortress occupied a large portion of the valley, all the soldiers were crammed outside.
The barbarian generals knew that they were now racing against time. Once the magic circle is activated, there's not much difference between being inside and outside the fortified city when facing a forbidden spell cast by several high-level mages.
Lin Fengqi only hoped that the conditions for using the magic circle and the forbidden spell were extremely demanding, and the time required was quite long, allowing them to use this time to close the distance with the Plato Kingdom's army as much as possible.
Once the distance is close, to avoid casualties among their own people, the high-level mages naturally wouldn't dare to use their forbidden spells so recklessly.
That's why they mobilized all their soldiers from across the mountains and plains, regardless of family or tribe, indiscriminately advancing in squads and groups towards the duchy's defensive lines.
The barbarian soldiers were so densely packed that the duchy's archers didn't even need to aim; row after row of archers took turns firing in dense bursts, thousands of powerful bows continuously firing arrows, raining down on the barbarian soldiers like a storm.
Even with shield carts and shields providing cover, many barbarian soldiers still fell to the ground every moment, their corpses piling up layer upon layer. But they pressed on, scaling the shields and charging straight to the duchy's defensive line. There, however, countless rocks rained down from above, crushing them and leaving them bloodied and bruised. Then, massive, burning logs tumbled down, carrying the acrid smell of charred flesh.
The steep, narrow mountains were incredibly difficult to climb. Sometimes, the barbarian soldiers would painstakingly climb to the top, only to be pounced upon by the duchy's soldiers before they could even get a foothold. A flurry of swords and spears would send them sprawling to the ground.
Because the crowd was so dense, the barbarian standard-bearers were completely immobilized, becoming easy targets for the archers.
The barbarian commanders brandished their longswords and shouted orders, but amidst the deafening battle cries, the soldiers couldn't hear their commands. But not hearing didn't matter; there was only one order: attack, attack, and attack again!
Under this command, the barbarian soldiers recklessly scaled the steep cliffs with their bare hands. Even amidst fierce attacks from the duchy's army, including arrows and rolling stones, and countless casualties, they pressed forward relentlessly. Many elite barbarian units were routed and routed before even reaching the duchy's defenses. Terrified by the brutal attacks,
many
soldiers wanted to retreat or even flee.
However, on the narrow slopes, this was impossible. Waves of soldiers surged forward, and the cowardly barbarian soldiers had no time to dodge. Some were pushed off the slopes and tumbled off the cliffs, while others were trampled to death on the ground.
Wave after wave of barbarian soldiers charged upwards, ignoring fear and the consequences, each step trampling countless lives.
The fervent battle fervor and deafening cries of battle enveloped the mountains in a bloody stench.

Chapter Five: A Bloodbath Like a Song
The barbarians launched a relentless, relentless attack, piling up mountains of corpses and seas of blood before the duchy's defensive lines. Under this fierce onslaught, the duchy's defenses were finally breached in large sections by the barbarian soldiers.
Wielding maces, swords, and axes, the barbarian soldiers surged into the duchy's lines through the breaches.
The soldiers of Plato's duchy refused to yield an inch, fighting tenaciously behind the palisades.
Barbarian soldiers and duchy soldiers engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the narrow battlefields, swords clashing, spears flashing, and fierce battles raging along every defensive line.
The two sides gritted their teeth, countless strange and unusual weapons clashing and hacking at each other, the air filled with the glint of blades, the constant screams, and the deafening shouts of curses.
The fearless barbarian army fought to the death, gaining the upper hand on several defensive lines in an instant. A continuous stream of reinforcements surged forward, quickly establishing a numerical advantage. Barbarian flags were even planted on several hilltops, and the barbarian soldiers erupted in a deafening cheer.
Just then, dazzling magical light began to shine on the hilltops. The Holy Hualong Empire's military organization was complete; although the vanguard was entirely cavalry, it also included a significant number of mages.
At this crucial moment, these mages intervened, inflicting heavy casualties on the barbarian soldiers. The Duchy's army, its morale soaring, stormed the hilltops, recaptured their flags, and launched a counterattack. Elite columns of shield bearers, swordsmen, and spearmen gradually forced the barbarians back.
Archers relentlessly fired arrows from the gaps in their ranks. In just moments, the barbarian soldiers who had stormed the hilltops suffered heavy losses, leaving behind thousands of corpses before being driven back down.
During this time, the foot soldiers' arrow towers, catapults, and ladders took the opportunity to approach the defensive line. The barbarian archers suppressed the duchy's archers, and the catapults hurled stones and logs indiscriminately onto the hilltop. The vicious barbarian soldiers, with daggers in their mouths, axes on their backs, and large swords in their hands, scrambled to climb upwards.
Despite the rain of arrows and the bloodied carnage caused by falling rocks and timbers, the barbarian soldiers, reckless and fearless, launched a second, fierce attack supported by arrow towers and catapults. After suffering heavy casualties, they broke through the duchy's lines for the second time, engaging in another fierce hand-to-hand battle.
Every hilltop and defensive line defended by the duchy was now under relentless barbarian onslaught, wave after wave of attacks. The barbarians breached multiple lines repeatedly in a short period, but they met with the duchy's desperate resistance.
The Platonians displayed unparalleled resilience and tenacity, refusing to retreat and displaying unwavering courage. With the assistance of the Saint Hualong military mages, they repeatedly drove the enemy back.
On the blood-soaked battlefield, soldiers clashed again and again, the deafening shouts and screams mingling together.
Every defensive line was shattered and constantly shifting, one moment captured by the barbarian army, the next recaptured by the duchy.
Countless battles raged on every hilltop, the corpses piling up, the wounded lying in pools of blood, groaning in agony, yet no one on either side could offer aid.
The soldiers were bloodthirsty, wielding swords and spears, hurling axes and daggers. Their weapons were stained with blood, their ground slippery, the bodies beneath their feet unrecognizable as either dead or alive, friend or foe. They only knew to relentlessly crush their opponents, one after another, until they too were felled. The thick stench of blood permeated every hilltop.
Spears broke, swords dulled, soldiers charged bare-handed, grabbing and kicking, biting throats, gouging eyes, attacking every vital point—their ferocity could only be described as madness!
Both sides had large reserves, but the narrow terrain prevented them from launching a full-scale assault to inflict heavy losses.
On a plain, these tens of thousands of troops might have been decided in an hour, but in the rugged mountains, it had become a protracted war of attrition.
Overall, the duchy's defenders, benefiting from the terrain, held a slight advantage; at least their reinforcements wouldn't suffer significant losses en route. Every barbarian soldier who reached the top of the hill left behind a trail of fallen comrades.
Even so, the barbarians' ferocity and madness began to put pressure on the duchy's soldiers. After all, the southern islands had been at war for years, while the Scorpion Tail region had enjoyed centuries of peace. While the duchy's soldiers were brave and tenacious, they lacked the bloodthirstiness and brutality of their adversaries.
If it weren't for the Saint Hualong military's mages providing crucial magical support to the duchy's army at every critical moment, the duchy's defenses would likely have collapsed long ago. However, the number of mages was limited, and their magical power was even more so. Faced with the relentless, wave after wave of barbarian attacks, the intervals between the mages' reinforcements grew increasingly longer.
The sun climbed higher in the sky, its blazing rays unable to deter tens of thousands from their desperate, life-or-death struggle in the mountains.
Approaching noon, after several hours of fierce fighting, the barbarian offensive continued. They left piles of corpses on the hilltops, yet wave after wave of reinforcements continued to pour into the battlefield. The
air was thick with the stench of blood; every inch of ground was covered in mangled flesh, and streams of blood flowed into small, pooling pools. The duchy's soldiers were all pale and terrified; with so many of their comrades falling, the Platonic spirit of heroism had gradually faded.
"The barbarian army is pressing forward across the board, and our morale is already starting to weaken." Divirachi keenly sensed the shift in the enemy's position and said to Rig, "It's time."
Rig turned around and looked solemnly at General Feng beside him, saying, "General Zhenshan, I entrust this to you!"
Feng Zhenshan grinned and replied, "My cavalry have been holding back all morning, Rig, rest assured!"
A giant green dragon, accompanied by a loud roar, soared into the high sky, its enormous form almost obscuring half the sky.
Although this green dragon was so arrogant, both sides were already familiar with its presence, and the fierce battle did not even slow down for a moment because of its appearance.
With a long roar, the green dragon spread its wings and plunged into the barbarian army's camp in the middle of the valley. Immediately, a great fire broke out in the already empty palisade. The barbarian army's last escape route had been cut off.
Of course, Kona would not set the fire; it was Rig, the magical little mage, who did. Although the little rogue's magical level was not very high, he was quite proficient in using fireballs, which had almost become his specialty.
Moreover, while the magic circles used to intimidate were not forbidden spells, they still amplified fire magic. Combined with a large quantity of magic crystals, the raging fire quickly engulfed the entire fortified city.
Simultaneously, on a fiercely contested defensive line, a large number of archers from the Plato Duchy suddenly surged forth, their dense rain of arrows sending barbarian soldiers and their horses sprawling. Then, a resounding bugle call rang out, and a massive, dark mass of cavalry charged down the slope.
Throughout the Scorpion Tail region, cavalry was practically a legendary unit. Apart from a few duchies with a very small number of ceremonial cavalry, no duchy or prefecture would spend a fortune maintaining a real cavalry force. The complex terrain and humid climate of the Southern Frontier region meant it was unsuitable for cavalry warfare.
If the Southern Frontier region was unsuitable for cavalry combat, the southern islands further south were even less suitable. Theoretically, neither the three major families nor the various barbarian tribes should have been completely clueless about cavalry warfare.
However, there was an anomaly in the Southern Islands named Ying Mulan. Ying Mulan's dominance over the Southern Islands, routing the three major families, was all thanks to her three thousand Black Riders. If it weren't for the fact that each of the three families had its own elite forces to counter her, Ying Mulan would likely have already established a true British Empire in the Southern Islands.
Even so, the terrifying impact and destructive power of cavalry were already well-known to the barbarian army, deeply ingrained in the hearts of every barbarian soldier!
The standard strength of the Saint Hualong Empire's expeditionary vanguard was five thousand men, but only three thousand had come with Susan.
The vanguard was naturally the elite spearhead of every army. Ying Mulan's Black Riders had roamed the Southern Islands for years, and since invading the Scorpion Tail region, they had never encountered a worthy opponent. However, in the battle to blockade Jichang Ridge, they fought the Saint Hualong expeditionary vanguard to a standstill, with both sides suffering heavy losses. The strength of the vanguard cavalry was evident.
The three thousand cavalrymen all wore green armor, wielded sharp lances, had sabers at their waists, and short swords at their sides.
The warhorses' limbs and vital areas were also covered with a layer of soft armor, and each horse had a small round shield hanging from its saddle.
These fully armed Saint Hualong cavalry surged out of the hillside like a tidal wave, moving slowly at first, then gradually accelerating with the incline of the mountain road, their hooves thundering like lightning.
Despite the sheer number of enemy troops below, a dense mass of dark heads filling the valley, the three thousand iron cavalry seemed to see nothing, charging like a flood into the barbarian army's mountain of swords and spears.
The cavalrymen, steel spears in hand, pointed forward, used the momentum of the downhill charge to fiercely ram into the barbarian ranks. Amidst the shouts of men and the neighing of horses,
they carved a bloody path through the barbarian army like a tumbleweed. The giant dragon in the sky and the raging fire behind them had already filled the barbarian soldiers with fear, but the torrent of Saint Hualong cavalry left them no time to react, and they were swept away in disarray.
The three thousand cavalry did not linger in battle, ignoring the remaining barbarian soldiers who had been forced back to the sides. Using the momentum of their horses, they launched a deep assault into the barbarian ranks in the valley, trampling through them like a whirlwind, leaving swathes of barbarian soldiers dead.
The cavalry formation was like a sharp dagger, cutting deep into the barbarian ranks, leaving behind a vast expanse of corpses and blood.
Faced with this unstoppable offensive, the three major families and the barbarian tribes had no time to adjust. Their armies were swept away and utterly routed by the Saint Hualong cavalry, falling in a flash. The barbarian soldiers screamed in terror and scattered in all directions, trying to escape these demonic killing machines.
The high-ranking generals of the three families knew that in this situation, if they could simply halt the Saint Hualong cavalry's charge and slow their horses, a mere few thousand cavalrymen would become lambs to the slaughter in the narrow valley.
They attempted to stop the flow of this torrent, but also due to the narrow terrain, the three families' most formidable personal guards were blocked by their own troops, trapped in the chaos and unable to move, helplessly watching their ranks being swept away by the surging iron torrent.
Enraged, the barbarian generals ordered the execution of the soldiers blocking their path, further fueling the chaos.
The advancing, retreating, and fleeing ranks became a complete mess.
The sudden incursion of the Saint Hualong cavalry caused immense panic among the barbarian soldiers. Having received news that the duchy's army was about to destroy the palisade city with massive magic, these soldiers had been attacking the hilltops with a death wish since dawn.
They had never imagined that an enemy force would disregard discipline and penetrate deep into their territory, wreaking havoc. This unexpected turn of events left the barbarian soldiers bewildered. While the soldiers at the front were still desperately attacking the hilltops, those at the rear were panicking and trying to turn back to fight.
The barbarian army's fierce offensive, which had been relentless since morning, was suddenly cut off. Many barbarian soldiers at the front lines were slaughtered, and the rear guard couldn't be replenished in time. The duchy's soldiers seized the opportunity to reinforce their lines and reinforce their manpower, securing the hilltops and sections of palisade once more.
"Block them! Block them!" The enraged senior generals of the three major families urged their elite troops to stop the Saint Hualong cavalry at all costs.
The elite troops, ordered to intercept but constantly squeezed to the perimeter, finally erupted in anger after being repeatedly reprimanded. At a single command, a dense rain of arrows felled a large number of the barbarian soldiers crowding in front of them. Then, a large contingent of soldiers charged into the crowd
, weapons in hand. Faced with the elite soldiers' attack, the panicked barbarian soldiers had nowhere to run and could only scatter to the flanks, plunging the valley into chaos. However, the Saint Hualong cavalry had already turned their horses around and seized the opportunity to charge into another group of barbarian soldiers, hacking and slashing, leaving the elite soldiers who had
managed to break through to the front watching in disbelief as they disappeared into the distance. Besides the elite troops of the three major families, many barbarian soldiers tried to stop this raging, storm-like torrent of steel. They wielded spears and broadswords, their weapons clanging against the cavalry armor, but only leaving small dents on the moving helmets and breastplates.
These fearless barbarian soldiers were kicked and knocked down again by the thunderous charge of the Saint Hualong cavalry.
Large herds of warhorses galloped over them, leaving only a trail of blood and gore.
The valley was littered with the corpses of barbarian soldiers, yet the Saint Hualong cavalry's relentless offensive showed no sign of stopping.
Like an unyielding tidal wave, they relentlessly pounded the barbarian lines. The barbarian
formation crumbled, their ranks collapsing, and soldiers fled in panic, relentlessly pursued by the Saint Hualong cavalry, driving them through the mountains and plains.
With tens of thousands of his men routed by a few thousand cavalry, the three great families' Gao Hu was enraged. However, the chaos of the battlefield had long since disrupted their orders, and the towering fire in the fortified city led all the barbarian soldiers to mistakenly believe that a terrible forbidden spell had been unleashed.
The shadow cast by the devastating earthquake in Henghe Valley sowed a heavy pall over the superstitious hearts of the barbarian soldiers. The morale ignited by Lin Fengqi and his men's desperate struggle for survival vanished under the flames.
The barbarian army was routed, with large groups of soldiers fleeing in panic, driven away by the cavalry of Sheng Hualong.
The barbarian soldiers dared not look back; the entire force scattered, and soldiers joined the torrent of deserters in the chaos.
The leaders of the three major families tried to stop the collapse, but it was futile; the barbarian soldiers had lost their minds. In the crushing chaos, they abandoned their spears, swords, and bows, trampling and shoving each other.
The Sheng Hualong cavalry could no longer move quickly among them; they could only hack and slash from horseback.
The barbarian soldiers, so close at hand, only thought of escape; not a single one picked up a weapon to fight back against these infantrymen now on horseback.
The resounding bugles and the rapid drumming of war drums echoed from the surrounding mountains. Soldiers of the duchy shouted, weapons in hand, charging down from their lines into the valley where the enemy forces were collapsing and in despair. Seeing the entire duchy of Plato launch an attack, yet the legendary, terrifying forbidden spell failing to materialize, Lin Fengqi finally realized it was all a deception and a trap. He was so distraught he nearly vomited blood.
However, he was powerless to regroup the scattered troops across the mountains. Even with a legion of dozens of giant beasts composed of Vajra and Berserker Bears, facing tens of thousands of duchy troops attacking from above, the high-ranking officials of the three major families could easily escape, but a decisive breakout to reverse the tide of defeat was nothing short of a pipe dream.
With the order for a general attack given, the Cretan garrison at the forefront also mobilized its troops to storm the valley. Dozens of fairies, leading thousands of wild demons, roared in, while a giant green dragon in the sky arrogantly sprayed a vast cloud of dragon saliva. Lin Fengqi immediately realized that his own behemoth legion and the Tian family's Dragon Eagle troops had also become unreliable.
"Vice Commander, the enemy is overwhelming! We must break through!" Several personal guards rushed forward, draped Lin Fengqi in ordinary soldier's clothes without explanation, and dragged him towards a mountain ridge.
Lin Fengqi wanted to shout, wanted to draw his sword and fight to the death, but an officer's words brought him to his senses: "Vice Commander, this must be a conspiracy by the Ying family! If we don't go back and tell the family elders the truth, the Southern Islands will truly be unified by the British Empire, and all these soldiers will have died in vain!"
"Ying Mulan!" Lin Fengqi cursed through gritted teeth, swept into the chaotic throng by his personal guards.
The 50,000-strong barbarian army was utterly defeated in a single day, fleeing in disarray, their armor and weapons scattered, the valley filled with a deafening clamor.
They fled aimlessly, relentlessly pursued and slaughtered by the Saint Hualong cavalry and soldiers of the Duchy. These barbarians, who had been ruthless and brutal since invading the Scorpion Tail region, were now as docile as lambs, refusing to resist even with swords at their throats.
However, the Duchy's army launched a full-scale attack, naturally creating gaps in their defenses. Although these gaps were too small for large armies to pass through, stray barbarian soldiers always managed to escape.
Lin Fengqi's elite personal guards, protecting him, were fortunate enough to escape through one such gap. Facing the pursuing Duchy army, the guards protected Lin Fengqi, back to back, shoulder to shoulder, wielding their longswords, carving bloody paths through the enemy lines.
When Lin Fengqi finally broke through the encirclement, he found that of his thousands of personal guards, fewer than ten remained!
Of the Lin family, the Tian family, the Bu family, and dozens of affiliated barbarian tribes, tens of thousands of soldiers, aside from a few hundred who had escaped, the vast majority remained in the desolate land below Qingye Ridge, either dying in battle or surrendering!
At this moment, Qingye Ridge had become a sea of jubilation. Tens of thousands of ducal soldiers cheered and jumped for joy, tears streaming down their faces.
Every hilltop was adorned with waving flags and resounding drums, as soldiers and militia alike embraced each other in celebration of victory. Deafening shouts rose and fell, countless voices merging into one:
"Long live the Grand Duke! Long live the Duchy!" The sound echoed through the heavens.
This was the most glorious day in the history of the Duchy of Plato. They had personally defeated the enemy who had murdered the Grand Duke, avenging the hundreds of thousands of their compatriots who had perished in the southern frontier.
Since the start of the war of aggression, the southern barbarian soldiers, portrayed as invincible through successive battles, had crumbled before them. The myth of the invaders was not only shattered but also crushed by their heavy iron fist.
From this battle onward, the Duchy of Plato had risen from a second-rate nation to one of the strongest states in the Scorpion Tail region.

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