236: decisive battle

On a plain in the western region of the Stag Territory, the elites led by Horn were camping and resting.

After leading his knights into the Stag Territory, Horn had been wandering around the area. In several months, he had only fought one battle, and since then, he had been idling about with absolutely no intention of engaging in combat.

"My Lord, the people from that side are here again."

"Bring him over."

Horn looked at the tactical map, his mind occupied with unknown thoughts.

A moment later, a mysterious person clad in a black robe arrived before Horn.

"Excellency, I have brought some supplies and provisions. This is a token of my master's goodwill."

Horn replied indifferently, "Your master is truly kind-hearted."

"If there is nothing else, please leave. This is not a place you should be."

The Black-robed Person hadn't expected Horn, who had been quite easy to talk to last time, to be so cold this time.

"My Lord, our cooperation last time was very pleasant. My master is very satisfied and wishes to continue our collaboration."

"Continue the collaboration?" Horn looked the other person in the eye.

"Yes, continue the collaboration. The rules remain the same as last time."

"The weather is getting cold, and my knights and I are about to return. If you want to continue the collaboration, the rules must change this time."

Horn shook his head and then stated his demand.

"It won't be a fifty-fifty split this time, but a thirty-seventy split."

"A thirty-seventy split?"

The Black-robed Person hidden under the hood hesitated for a moment, but then gritted his teeth and agreed to Horn's proposal.

"Thirty-seventy it is. This is the intelligence on the target."

The Black-robed Person handed Horn a piece of parchment.

"Viscount Ebony?"

"My knights and I will set out now. This transaction will be completed within five days."

The army Horn brought this time numbered only three thousand. Although small in number, they were all very powerful, and every member was a knight Professional. At Horn's command, the previously silent camp immediately sprang to life, and the three thousand elites rushed toward their target.

Five days later, Ebony Castle, which had a long history in the western region of the Stag Territory, was breached. The once majestic castle was now in ruins.

"Alright, the transaction is over!"

"A pleasure doing business with you, My Lord."

Horn ignored the Black-robed Person and left directly. The Black-robed Person silently watched Horn lead his army away until the troops disappeared from his sight.

"My Lord, why didn't we keep them? An Earl is a big fish."

The deputy behind the Black-robed Person was somewhat confused as to why Horn was allowed to leave. This was entirely a huge hidden danger; if they could have kept him, they could have not only eliminated the danger but also dealt a massive blow to their opponent.

"Stupid!"

The Black-robed Person scolded his subordinate.

"What do you know?"

"That Earl Horn's wife's surname is Asriel. Behind him stands the Golden Royal Family. Who would dare take his life?"

"Furthermore, that man's strength has reached the peak of the Gold Rank and has already touched the threshold of the Legendary rank. Who besides His Grace the Grand Duke could keep him here?"

"You and me?"

Hearing this, the deputy lowered his head and remained silent. Clearly, neither of them had that kind of strength.

"Alright, let's get down to business!"

"Leave no one from the Ebony Family alive. Not a single living soul can remain in the castle. Kill them all."

"Since they were disloyal to the Grand Duke, extermination is their only end."

Over a hundred black-robed warriors rushed into the broken castle to massacre the crowd that had already given up resistance. Wails and blood filled the entire castle.

Once everything was over, a raging fire burned everything to ashes.

At the eastern border of the Rage Bear Territory and the Stag Territory, where the Magic Stone Vein Plane Passage was located.

Belmont led over a hundred thousand elites in wait, facing them was the Stag Territory's army of a hundred thousand.

Heisenberg was looking at his opponent with interest. The man who once blocked him was no longer there; his son had become his new opponent.

"Your Grace, please uphold justice for the Ebony Territory and the Twin Rivers Territory. This time, we must make the brutal people of the Rage Bear Territory pay in blood."

"Rest assured, as your Grand Duke, I have an obligation to seek justice for you. This time, I will certainly make Rage Bear pay the price it deserves."

"Victory shall belong to the stag!"

Heisenberg stood up, the unique Legendary armor of the Grand Duke of Stag making his figure appear extremely tall and majestic.

"Victory belongs to the stag!"

Wave after wave of cheers, like a tsunami, crashed from the Stag Territory's army toward the raging bear army. Heisenberg stood suspended in the air above his troops.

The purple rune on Belmont's forehead flashed as the power of thunder condensed and he flew into the air as well. Seeing the phantom of the Thunder Magic Bear, the army of the Rage Bear Territory also erupted in a mountain-shaking roar.

The first formal meeting of the two new Grand Dukes of the Northern Border was not in a luxurious castle banquet hall but on the battlefield. In a kingdom that had been at peace for so long, this was a first.

Thunder and flames exploded and danced in the sky, while the armies of both sides on the ground watched the performance of their respective Grand Dukes nervously.

Most people expected this battle to end in a draw again, so that the war could conclude smoothly and everyone could go home.

At least, that was what the soldiers at the very bottom thought; they longed for the end of the war.

Only a very small number of people desired a change. Whether in the Rage Bear Territory or the Stag Territory, there were some who did not want the war to end in a draw; they did not want peaceful coexistence.

What they wanted was blood and fire!

Horn stared intently at the battle in the sky. As time gradually passed, the thunder became increasingly violent, and Horn's eyes were filled with thunder and flames.

Suddenly, soaring flames covered the entire howling Magic Bear. The giant Magic Bear burned in the sky like an oversized torch.

"Your Grace!"

Several cries of alarm rose from the Rage Bear Territory's ranks. Everyone could see that the Grand Duke of the Raging Bear had fallen into a disadvantage, which threw the grizzly bear fief nobles into a panic, while the Stag Territory's side broke into cheers.

With a bang, Belmont was knocked back into the Rage Bear ranks, smashing a large crater into the ground. The burning flames scorched the nearby earth, and several unlucky soldiers were burned to death on the spot.

"You have lost, raging bear!"

"You are not as powerful as your father. It seems you have not perfectly mastered that power which does not belong to you."

Heisenberg stood in mid-air, looking down at Belmont from above.

"Lose?"

"raging bear will not lose!"

Belmont struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with resentment, and he shouted angrily, "Warriors of Rage Bear, crush those stag people!"

"Attack!"

At Belmont's command, the Rage Bear Territory's army of over a hundred thousand charged toward the cheering Stag Territory's ranks.

Belmont's roar to attack was so loud it covered the entire battlefield. The troops directly under the Raging Bear Family were the first to strike, and the other soldiers of the Rage Bear Territory subconsciously followed Belmont's order, charging out along with the units beside them.

The gathered grizzly bear fief nobles hadn't even reacted before they saw their own troops being swept along in the charge.

"This?"

"My Lord, what should we do?"

Horn's followers looked at the charging troops. Their army was off to one side and was less affected, still under control.

"Our Grand Duke is truly acting on impulse!"

"But this is fine too. Since things have escalated, there's no need for restraint. Let's make the commotion even bigger."

"We will follow as well, but don't get too far ahead. Just stay at the back of the formation and let the Raging Bear Family's troops hit the hard nuts."

At this moment, Heisenberg's expression in the sky was extremely ugly. He hadn't expected things to turn out like this.

"Fool, brainless fellow. Compared to your father, you're simply far too inferior."

A Legend was not invincible. Facing an army of over a hundred thousand, a Legend could not engage in a direct confrontation, especially when there were many transcendent elites among them.

Having just finished his fight, Heisenberg's consumption was not small either. Defeating Belmont had not been as easy as imagined, and now he could not directly interfere with the chaotic battle below.

"Attack! Attack!"

"Completely defeat the people of the Rage Bear Territory for me!"

The war had now evolved to an uncontrollable stage. Heisenberg could already imagine the questioning from the Golden Royal Family.

The Royal Family could turn a blind eye to previous skirmishes, but now that the two Grand Dukes of the kingdom had started an all-out war, the Royal Family would no longer remain indifferent.

"What a nuisance!"

"How can there be such a fool!"

Looking at Belmont commanding the army, Heisenberg's anger flared.