Chapter 421: Chapter 421 - Tamers War - Minor Interruption Kharzan recovered abruptly, as if awakening from a deep sleep, only to find that his army’s front line was in total chaos. The methodical advance he had been observing minutes before had stopped completely, with soldiers running to reorganize formations that had been shattered by something he couldn’t see clearly. Valdris seemed to be trying to calm things down, moving between section commanders while discretely directing some of the closest leaders to form a protective semicircle around Kharzan. It was obvious they had been trying to hide his "switched off" state from the rest of the army. The realization was deeply disturbing. How long had he been unconscious? What had happened during that gap in his awareness? The questions multiplied in his mind. "What happened?" Kharzan asked, his voice sounding hoarser than usual. "My Lord," Valdris immediately approached, visible relief on his face. "Sirius launched a powerful attack against our front defenses." Kharzan looked ahead, where he could see a massive gap in what had been his front wall. Earth elementals worked feverishly to close the breach, but the damage was impressive. The destruction was more than just physical... It was psychological. Seeing their carefully constructed defenses reduced to rubble in a single attack had shaken the confidence of soldiers who had believed themselves invulnerable behind their earth walls. "Casualties?" "Surprisingly few, my Lord. Although it was visibly impactful, it generated almost no casualties," Valdris reported. "But it did completely stop our advance by lowering front-line morale. But more importantly..." "...Are you feeling well?" Kharzan didn’t fully understand what had happened with his own consciousness. He really didn’t feel bad, affected, or with less energy. But it was something to analyze later... this wasn’t the time to doubt while in the middle of a battle. "Restart the advance," he ordered, pointing toward the front line. "And fortify the front with more earth elementals, in case Sirius decides to attack again." ♢♢♢♢ With Kharzan back in command, military organization reestablished quickly. Soldiers responded to clear orders, formations reorganized, and the advance began to resume its previous pace. But they had barely managed to resume the march when Valdris approached again, his expression grave. "My Lord," he said in a low voice, "there’s another situation that occurred while you were... indisposed." "What now?" "Goldcrest castle was attacked." Kharzan stopped abruptly. "What!?" "Preliminary reports indicate a massive attack in the center of our territory. We don’t have complete casualty information yet, but..." Valdris hesitated. "It appears Selphira Ashenway was involved." The rage that erupted in Kharzan’s chest was so intense that for a moment he couldn’t speak. His family, his home, his son... The images that flashed through his mind were almost unbearable. Kassian facing Selphira alone. His family caught in the crossfire of a battle they had no part in starting. He was ready to leave and take on the old bast... Bu then he became sluggish again. As if someone had flipped a switch in his brain, Kharzan found himself disconnecting from the world around him. His legs wobbled, and only Valdris’s quick action prevented him from falling completely. "My Lord!" Valdris held him, but Kharzan was no longer really present. Once again, Valdris found himself assuming leadership at a critical moment, silently cursing whatever was affecting his commander. And right at the worst possible moment. "General Valdris!" A soldier came running from the flank, his urgency cutting through the air like an alarm. "New enemy contact!" "Report," Valdris ordered, keeping a stabilizing arm on Kharzan while trying to process multiple simultaneous crises. "A gap opened near the wall’s flank, sir. In a large noble house beside the road. It appears wall troops are attacking our right side heavily." ’An ambush right now,’ Valdris realized with growing alarm. ’Sirius kept us distracted at the front and forced us to concentrate earth elementals in him while others positioned themselves for a flank attack.’ The result was undeniable, even as it threatened to destroy them. The enemy had orchestrated a perfect coordination of distraction and assault, using their own defensive instincts against them. "Numbers?" "Difficult to determine since they’re in the tunnel and emerging from the property, sir, but seem significant. And there’s more... Sirius is charging another attack. The glow is even more intense than the first time." Valdris cursed. A flank attack coordinated with another frontal bombardment could completely destabilize their formations, especially with Kharzan incapacitated. "Anything else?" The soldier pointed toward the rear guard, where a massive dust cloud was approaching at high speed. "From the rear guard, several kilometers away. The culprit of that dust cloud will reach what was our new frontier in a few minutes." Valdris felt as if the ground was opening beneath his feet. Frontal attack, flank attack, attack from the rear guard, and his commander incapacitated by some inexplicable force. He looked at Kharzan, whose vacant expression confirmed there would be no help from that direction in the immediate future. ’Twenty thousand soldiers under my command,’ Valdris thought, ’and enemies converging from three different directions.’ In the distance, he could see the growing glow indicating Sirius was preparing another devastating attack. Time was running out to make decisions that could determine whether Kharzan’s army would achieve its objective, or become the grave of thousands of soldiers. ♢♢♢♢ Julius received another message while finishing positioning the wall army he had managed to gather in record time. Three thousand five hundred soldiers had responded to the urgent call, running several kilometers from their dispersed positions along the abyss wall. The last to arrive looked slightly agitated from the run, but most were young people between twenty and twenty-five years old with decent beasts thanks to their privileged location near the city center and the bridge. Most came from well-off families in the city’s inner zone, Silver ranks with resources that had allowed them to educate and train their beasts appropriately. Their bodies could endure much more than a simple run of a few minutes. But nothing had prepared them for what was coming. Real war had arrived at their doorstep, and Julius could see in their faces that nervousness that characterized young soldiers facing their first real conflict. They were grim... these were the sons and daughters of privilege, raised with the finest training and equipment, but untested in actual combat. "Attention," Julius addressed the section commanders gathered before him. "You only have to buy time. Maintain defensive formations, support Sirius when necessary, and be prepared for a quick retreat if the enemy proves too aggressive in reaching the bridge. We hit and run all the way there." The soldiers looked calm with the clear orders, but Julius remained internally worried about having to work with soldiers so young and inexperienced due to their location. It was a problem Arturo would have to solve in the future... the distribution of veterans and young people from good families would have to be more functional. ’The area near the bridge can’t be left in inexperienced hands now that Yino has shown its claws,’ he thought while observing the young officers organizing their units. The message that arrived, however, made Julius save that concern for another moment. There were much more important things requiring his immediate attention. Arturo already had the resources they needed to maintain the bridge blockade for a prolonged time and had achieved evacuation of the most important zones in time. It was news that relieved one of Julius’s major tactical concerns. But that wasn’t all. According to the message, Larissa had slipped into the situation upon discovering several clues about what was happening and had demanded to receive and make some communications. Julius sighed. His younger sister had the habit of getting involved in matters that were technically outside her jurisdiction. But to his surprise, it wasn’t some bad news from his mischievous younger sister. Apparently she had communicated with Liora and even with Luna, who had been left at Ashenway castle with access to rapid messaging. And they had something that could change the course of battle. ’A "new weapon",’ Julius read, raising an eyebrow with genuine interest. ’That Arturo will review and attempt to prepare for efforts if we hold out a bit as planned.’ It was intriguing but frustratingly vague information. What kind of weapon? Developed by whom? And why were Larissa and the girls involved in something that sounded like advanced military research? The pieces didn’t quite fit together in his mind. Larissa was brilliant, certainly, but she was still young. Luna and Liora were even younger, despite their considerable talents. What could they possibly have developed that would be militarily significant? ’Ren?’