Chapter 315: Full-Scale City Sabotage

The sun began to rise. Nathan was still sitting on his horse outside the northern gate of the alliance army’s camp.

Right behind him, seven unit commanders stood in formation alongside thousands of their soldiers.

They had been on standby since midnight, precisely when Ethan’s first squad entered the tropical region.

“He still hasn’t sent any word,” said one of the LionArk unit commanders, Sebastian.

Nathan shook his head. Ethan had not contacted him. That meant Ethan had not yet needed the second squad to assist with the invasion.

He refused to accept information from anyone other than Ethan. He was worried that any other report might come from a traitor within the alliance team.

If Nathan trusted it blindly, it could lead to a major disaster for the second squad.

“Maybe they’ll inform us soon.”

Nathan fell silent, still staring straight ahead, toward the canyon.

Time continued to pass. The sun climbed higher, and light filled the sky. Nathan’s attention remained fixed forward.

A group of soldiers appeared from the northern side of the canyon, clearly coming from the tropical region. Nathan spotted two riders at the very front of the formation.

There was no mistake. It was Ethan and Yuna.

They returned with thousands of soldiers following behind them. Nathan smiled and turned to the side.

“Medical team, come with me!”

Members of the priest class team moved out, following Nathan. They advanced forward to meet Ethan, Yuna, and the thousands of other soldiers.

Ethan slowed to a stop when he met Nathan, followed by Yuna and the soldiers of the combined forces.

Ethan glanced over briefly. “Lead them back to the camp, Yuna.”

“Yes.”

Yuna turned around and instructed everyone to follow her back to the alliance camp.

Nathan was confused. He had come with five priest class members to help heal the troops.

“What actually happened?” Nathan asked.

“Their cities were uninhabited, but Absolute Defense Magic was installed in every empty city.”

“Absolute Defense Magic?”

“A high-level magic mechanism to protect cities and attack anyone who approaches them,” Ethan replied.

“Really?”

Ethan nodded as he rode alongside Nathan. The two of them headed toward the alliance camp.

He explained everything, including the number of cities they had successfully conquered. From midnight until early morning, Ethan had destroyed a total of twelve cities.

Ethan had nearly died, been injured, and felt satisfied. However, not a single one of those twelve cities was a Redemption Sword City or a Scavenger City.

“I haven’t attacked their cities yet, because they’re major guilds.”

“If I force an attack, I’m afraid their Absolute Defense Magic will be difficult to overcome,” Ethan said.

Nathan listened to everything, responding with nods. Still, he was unsure what he was supposed to do now.

Ethan smiled and patted Nathan on the shoulder. The two of them arrived at the camp, and the combined forces of the second squad were ordered to rest.

They would only be prepared if Ethan needed their assistance.

“There’s no need to rush. I’ll gather all the unit commanders, explain the situation, and put together a new plan.”

Nathan nodded. Ethan had gone into the tropical region and fought there with the first squad. Nathan was confident that Ethan had a new strategy to deal with the situation.

“I’ll head to my tent, Sir Ethan.”

Ethan nodded. He walked to his tent that morning to rest. The tent flap was open, revealing Yuna inside.

She was asleep on a small sofa, clearly exhausted. Ethan smiled.

Yuna had helped him a great deal during this invasion, especially when she used her Absolute Defense skill.

Ethan produced a bottle of wine and drank straight from it without a cup. He sat on a wooden chair, savoring the wine as he reflected.

This sabotage plan might be effective, but it isn’t the main objective. What I really need to do is attack the enemy leaders and seize their core crystals.

For the second invasion, it looks like I’ll need many mages who can use Absolute Defense skills.

But having many mages doesn’t guarantee they can destroy those magic runes. Twelve cities last night, twelve magic runes, all destroyed by me.

I’m worried that if Nathan or anyone else tries to destroy the runes, they’ll be killed instead.

I could actually use Sera or Luna to destroy the runes, but I’m afraid I won’t have enough strength left when I have to fight Arthur to the death.

He had no choice. He had to do it himself, destroying the magic runes in every city.

He placed the wine bottle on the bedside table and left his tent, heading toward the large command tent of the camp, Gerrard’s tent.

The tent flap opened, and Gerrard turned along with the other unit commanders. Nathan was there as well.

Ethan’s arrival surprised Gerrard, who immediately invited him inside.

“What are you all doing?”

“We’re putting together a plan for the second invasion, to destroy those magic runes,” Nathan explained.

Ethan shook his head. “No. You must not do that.”

“The Absolute Defense magic runes are extremely powerful. You won’t be able to destroy them even if you combine all your strength.”

Everyone was shocked, including Nathan. None of them knew what kind of offensive power those Absolute Defense runes possessed, so no one dared to argue with Ethan.

Ethan’s attention shifted to the map table, where red markers marked the tropical region.

He removed the red markers and replaced them with yellow ones, a sign that those cities had already been sabotaged.

“Out of a total of thirty-three cities, I’ve sabotaged twelve.”

“There are twenty-one cities left, including Redemption Sword City and Scavenger.”

Nathan and the others looked at the map table, watching closely.

“I need one to two hours of rest. At nine this morning, Yuna and I will move out with Squad Two.”

Nathan smiled and nodded, obedient and ready to support Ethan.

“I’ll prepare the troops,” Nathan said.

Ethan nodded at Nathan, then turned his gaze back to the map. “Our target today is 19 cities.”

“After most of the cities are sabotaged, we can station our forces in the tropical region and ambush them while they’re busy dealing with the Absolute Defense runes.”

“Clearly! This will be a victory that takes full advantage of the enemy’s carelessness.”

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