They plunged directly into the muddiest and most dangerous core of the region.

Like phantoms, they moved at high speed through the waist-deep mire, their slick, serpentine tails allowing them to traverse the bog as if it were solid ground.

They took the most efficient path, making a beeline for Black Stone Territory.

The Swamp Magical Beasts along their path, from ferocious croclizards to herds of spike-backed wild boars, all recoiled in terror, clearing the way. They sensed the troop’s unified intent and the suffocating, venomous aura it exuded.

Their animal instincts screamed at them that this troop was not prey, but an incarnation of death—purer and more efficient than they could ever be.

...

The next morning, the first rays of sunlight pierced the horizon’s thin mist, gilding the silhouette of the Black Stone Mountain Range in pale gold.

Raylo lifted the heavy flap of his campaign tent, and the crisp morning air rushed in, carrying the damp scent of vegetation and the lingering smoke of an extinguished campfire.

The camp was already stirring.

His gaze swept across the camp.

Knights were polishing their armor while the Pegasi pawed restlessly at the ground in their makeshift stables, whinnying intermittently.

Everything was orderly, yet charged with the grim tension of a coming war.

[Daily Intelligence Refresh]

[1: The "Dark Scale Guard" from Jade Swamp was fully deployed last night. A total of three hundred Tier Three Snake-man Warriors are moving at high speed toward your territory along Scorpion River Valley. They are expected to arrive at the Black Stone Territory border tomorrow morning.]

[2: In southern Jade Swamp, a new Snake-man Battle Group has assembled under the command of Snake Woman Najasha. This eight-thousand-strong force will reach the Black Stone Territory border tomorrow afternoon. It includes the three-thousand-strong Demon Serpent Legion that originally guarded the Demon Serpent Temple.]

[3: Snake Woman Najasha, riding her Corrosive Poison Wing Dragon, has reached the southern edge of the Black Stone Mountain Range. She has secretly spied on you on multiple occasions. She appears to be waiting for the Dark Scale Guard to get into position and for the Snake-man Battle Group to finish assembling.]

[4: The Young Black Dragon, "Black King," defeated the Three-headed Snake Monster, "Blood Throat," and has occupied a portion of western Jade Swamp. However, intimidated by threats from the swamp’s depths, "Black King" has temporarily halted any further expansion.]

[5: Evelyn, one of the candidates for Saintess of the Light Holy See, caused a sacred white oak, dead for a century, to sprout anew during a public blessing ceremony. The upper echelons of the Holy See consider this a "Miracle," greatly boosting her renown.]

[6: The Duke of Lion, previously presumed dead, has made a miraculous recovery after being treated with a Holy Light Divine Technique by one of the Light Holy See’s Red-robed Bishops. His personality has changed drastically since his recovery, transforming him from a mild-mannered traditionalist into an ambitious expansionist.]

[7: The Legendary Mage "Star" Delin has appeared at the Observatory on the central peak of the Black Stone Mountain Range. He is searching for a "star being led by a Giant Dragon."]

[8: A crazed vagrant has arrived in your territory. He repeatedly mutters about "walking armor" and a "golden king."]

[9: Thirty kilometers west of the stone wall entrance to the "Giant Dragon Realm" lies the Gray Mist Valley. Behind a waterfall on its western cliff face is a cave concealed by shrubs, inside which grows a patch of "Dragon Blood Grass," a key ingredient for concocting High-Level Potions and strengthening draconic companions.]

[10: The Head of the Demon Serpent, "Ice Wind," is a Catastrophe-Level item. Even with the help of your two Giant Dragon companions, you, an Earth Knight, still cannot fully control this powerful artifact. Currently, you can only use your Spiritual Power to leverage the Head of the Demon Serpent and unleash a portion of its Power of Calamity. The Head is highly active; after its energy is consumed, it will automatically absorb ambient energy from the world to recharge.]

’Tier Three Snake-man Elites, an eight-thousand-strong battle group, and a Domain Level Snake-man powerhouse lying in wait.’

’The Snake Woman Najasha clearly has no intention of giving me any breathing room. Her opening move is one of overwhelming force.’

’With Black Stone Territory’s current forces, clashing head-on with an army of ten thousand isn’t impossible, but it would be a brutal war of attrition.’

’The lives of my Knights are not just cold numbers.’

Raylo’s gaze shifted from the military map to the menacing serpent head on the table: "Ice Wind."

It was a full size larger than the largest Knight’s helm, its entire form a strange, ice-blue color, as if carved from Ten Thousand Years Profound Ice.

The scales on the head were shut tight, yet the terrifying power contained within was still palpable.

The most terrifying part was what lay beneath its closed eyes, where a destructive, ice-blue storm seemed to swirl and roar.

This Catastrophe-Level item lay there silently, like a slumbering, ancient beast.

Even just sitting there, it seemed to freeze the surrounding air, exuding a bone-chilling cold and a pressure that bore down on the very soul.

Raylo stood and lifted the tent flap.

The pleasant sunlight had chased away the morning chill, but it could not dispel the pall of "war" that hung in the air.

Ed was striding over, his armor stained with fresh mud. Fatigue was etched on his face, but his eyes were like fire-quenched steel—resolute and bright.

"My lord."

"The third trench for the outer defense line is complete," Ed reported. "It’s wide and deep enough to stop a charging Giant Beast. All the Knights are armored and ready."

Raylo nodded, his gaze traveling past Ed toward the defense line being fortified in the distance.

The soldiers bustled about like ants, driving massive, sharpened timbers into the ground to form a dense cheval de frise.

Raylo had lunch with the Knights.

The Pegasus Knights sent out to scout began to return in succession.

A Pegasus Knight descended from the sky on his mount. The Pegasus’s chest heaved violently as hot air billowed from its nostrils.

The Knight vaulted from his mount, his breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Report! We’ve spotted a massive Snake-man force about ten miles out! There must be over two thousand of them—a black mass stretching as far as the eye can see! They’re marching on Black Stone Territory!"

Soon after, a second Pegasus Knight landed.

"Report! On the eastern side of the Black Stone Mountain Range, we’ve spotted an elite Snake-man squad! About three hundred of them, clad in ink-green Scale Armor and moving as swift as the wind. They aren’t with the main force. Instead, they’re advancing stealthily through the mountain shadows, heading... straight for us!"

The name flashed through Raylo’s mind: ’The Dark Scale Guard.’

"Where are they now?" Raylo asked.

"My lord, they’re just three miles out, on a peak at the edge of the Black Stone Mountain Range! I didn’t dare get too close. There’s a powerful aura coming from that squad—as strong as Lord Golden Dragon’s!"

Over the next few hours, the Pegasus Knights streamed in like a swarm of homing bees, constantly bringing new reports.

"The main Snake-man army has reached the border and is making camp!"

"We’ve spotted nearly thirty enslaved Swamp Giant Lizards among the Snake-man forces!"

All the intelligence pointed to one fact.

The enemy was at the gates. A battle of unprecedented scale was imminent.

Raylo returned to the command tent, where Ed and several of his senior Knights were waiting.

On the military map, red arrows representing the enemy pointed from all directions toward the heart of Black Stone Territory’s defenses.

"My lord, we..."

Ed’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, his eyes burning with the will to fight.

"Wait."

Raylo said only one word.

He walked to the table, his gaze once again falling upon the ice-blue serpent head, "Ice Wind."

He reached out, his hand stopping short to hover in the air just above it.

Wisps of chilling air seeped from the serpent head, coiling around his fingertips like living, venomous snakes.

Because of the "Ice Wind" Demon Head’s presence, the temperature inside the tent was a good ten degrees lower than outside. A layer of white frost had even formed on the edges of the parchment on the table.

「The next day.」

Raylo had the Knights eat an early lunch.

When he stepped out of his tent and looked to the sky, the sun was already at its zenith, its scorching rays beating down relentlessly.

On the distant horizon, a black tide was slowly stirring—the great army of the Snake-men.

They were not in a hurry to attack. They, too, were waiting.

Raylo mounted Baofeng, who was already waiting at the ready.

The Storm Griffin King sensed his master’s will to fight. Its tawny Iron Feathers bristled, and it let out a shriek that could pierce clouds and shatter stone.

He soared into the sky, the entire battlefield unfolding beneath him.

Black Stone Territory’s line of defense stretched across the plains like a sturdy dam.

And before that dam, nearly ten thousand enemies stood in grim formation.

Farther still, a figure appeared on the horizon, riding a hundred-meter-long Winged Dragon.

’The Snake Woman, Najasha.’

Across the vast distance, his gaze met hers.

The air seemed to congeal.

The wind died. The calls of birds and beasts fell silent. All that remained in the world was the dead silence between the two opposing armies.

Suddenly, a long, piercing blast from a horn echoed from the rear of the Snake-man Army Array, shattering the silence.

War had begun.