Chapter 295: The War Begins

The whole place fell silent, and the world itself seemed to freeze as the chief commander’s voice echoed.

“My soldiers! On the other side of us stand the duke’s forces. The same person who betrayed the crown and the kingdom for his personal greed. Today, you have become the kingdom’s voice against his cruelty, and your weapons hold the power to end all of it.”

His words reached everyone and resonated deep within their hearts.

“I know you are scared. Many of you want to run away, but if you do — someday in the near future, that man’s greed will eat away at your loved ones, your home, and yourself.”

“You are not here for the king. You are here for your parents, your children, your siblings, and every person you have ever loved.”

“Stand with me and let us put an end to this!”

The soldiers slammed their fists to their chests and shouted in unison, “WOOOAH!”

The chief commander raised his sword towards the sky and brought it down to announce the advance.

Their soldiers let out another war cry, and the army moved forward.

They traversed the uneven land, and after a few minutes, the duke’s army entered their vision.

Bael, who had been viewing everything through his Zone, suddenly stopped in his tracks, and his eyes went wide.

“What the…” he whispered.

But Jareb and Henry still managed to hear him.

“What’s wrong, master?” they asked darkly.

Bael considered whether to tell them and responded after a minute of silence, “Half of the duke’s army is living shadows.”

At his words, their faces turned horrified, and Jareb mumbled, “What?! But we don’t have any ether flashbomb with us, and it’s still hours before noon.”

“That’s what he was hoping for,” Bael mumbled while clenching his left hand.

Henry and Jareb fell silent, their expressions tense.

The chief commander raised a hand, and the army came to a halt.

One of the commanders continued moving forward, and the duke’s commander did the same.

Both of them faced each other, and Lion, the commander of Leonara, shouted, “Do you really wish to feed your brethren to the Leonara Kingdom that had stood strong even after what your deceitful master did?”

Holias, the duke’s commander, shouted in response, “Heh. Strong, you say? Then tell me where your allies are? Where is the glory of Leonara that could once destroy anything it wanted? Ah yes! You lost that to Duke Clifford, the only man worthy to rule the kingdom that has already lost its royal blood and honor.”

“Absolutely. After all, who else could be the ruler of the dishonest if not that man?” Lion’s words rang across the place.

Holias and the duke’s soldiers tightened their jaws at the disrespect of their monarch, and Holias turned back to the army.

Lion let out an amused chuckle and turned back as well. Even though this time was to resolve the problem without anyone having to bleed, the two knew things had long since gone beyond that.

Once the commanders reached their respective armies, both chief commander raised their weapons and shouted at the same time, “Glory!” “Crush them!”

Their voices shook the fear off the soldiers, and all of them moved forward.

The sounds of heavy steps and metal plates scraping each other echoed throughout the place, and Bael looked around himself with a dark expression.

None of the soldiers was aware that half of the duke’s army was made up of living shadows, and the only reason they hadn’t used shadows to attack them was that there were no shadows linking the two armies.

“Blasted hell!” Bael cursed under his breath and sent a Mental Whisper to the chief commander Melvin, <Half of the duke’s army is living shadows.>

Even though Bael was able to change his voice using Illusion Zone, he couldn’t do the same with Mental Whisper, so the voice that Melvin heard was of Rion.

All of a sudden, Melvin halted his horse and looked around in confusion. “What was that?”

The commanders who were just before him also stopped and asked, “Is something wrong, Lord Melvin?”

Melvin shook his head and looked at the duke’s army with narrowed eyes. “Do you see anything wrong with that army?”

The commanders frowned and watched the duke’s army with puzzled faces.

On the other hand, Holias asked Tristram, the duke’s chief commander, “Did they find out about the shadow soldiers?”

Tristram laughed and sneered, “Do you really think those stupid bastards would be able to see them? Haha! We made them wear basic armor for a reason.”

Holias chuckled as well, and as his gaze fell on Lion, a sharp glint passed through his eyes.

Lion and Harold blinked a few times, and Lion muttered, “Is that just me, or are many of them not moving normally?”

Harold shook his head and mumbled darkly, “It’s not just you.”

Melvin clenched his fist and thought, ’It’s exactly what that voice told me, but who was it?’

Even though he wanted to know who it was, for now, he had an army to command.

He looked at his trusted commanders and said, “Stop the soldiers and let the knights come forward. Those shadows can be slain with their aura.”

Harold and Lion nodded. Both turned towards the army and raised their weapons as they shouted, “HALT!”

The command echoed throughout the area, and the confused army slowed in their steps before coming to a halt.

“Knights to the front!” they shouted, and the army followed.

At a distance from them, Jareb and Henry turned their heads towards Bael and asked, “What did you do?”

A smug smile appeared on Bael’s face, and he whispered while placing a finger on his lips, “Secret…”

They stared at him for a minute and turned their heads to the front.

The soldiers began to murmur among themselves as the knights came forward and the army moved once again.

“How the hell did they find out?” Holias mumbled, dumbfounded.

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