Chapter 1704: Third Stage [2]

It was like a game of chess, at least at the start.

Both teams moved their pawns into position along with stronger pieces that would control the game.

The three border cities were immediately occupied by roughly the same amount of troops. Raphael was there, as were Valerie, Melania, and Gio from the Aurora Clan.

Meanwhile, August, Cera, Bianca, and Iridia stayed back.

The nobles on their side were placed in the three inner cities and made to survey them before the troops arrived, and Seryius had mysteriously disappeared, off to accomplish a task of his own.

There were three geniuses in the border cities mainly for the sake of appearances. To make sure that the other side couldn't move rashly, they had to present a sufficient threat.

If it was anyone else, perhaps that goal couldn't be achieved, but with Valerie and Melania taking those support roles, everything changed.

The two of them had shown insane performances thus far, and more importantly, they had grown impossibly in the small amount of time between rounds.

Nobody could predict what their current strength looked like, so the nobles who mirrored them on the opposing team had to be careful.

It was odd. Since the other team was controlled by Wilhelm and Eris, it acted a lot differently from August and his people.

Originally, they had only sent three nobles to take the border cities. That changed, and one was replaced by Estavian Liqua, Wilhelm's fellow genius.

It looked like a clash between Holy Clans would spark from the start, but it didn't happen as people hoped.

Raphael was looking forward to it, but there was a reason why the Ignis Clan looked down on them so much.

Unlike the true Azure Dragon Clan before them, the Liqua Clan was sneaky and filled with people who only knew how to scheme.

It was impossible to expect them to play fairly or fight properly.

They tried to make themselves look better for the crowds in the heir wars, but Raphael knew what was at the core of their techniques.

Dirty, scheming bastards who only had a position as a Holy Clan because of a technicality.

He hated the Azure Dragon Clan just as much as anyone else in his position, but at least they were honest.

Raphael was rearing to go at the opportunity to take down the pseudo-Holy Clan that the Liqua Clan was. There were far better clans that could take their position.

Nevertheless, it wasn't time yet.

The other side's moves were oddly similar to theirs. The only difference was the distribution of troops.

He was a general, sure, but the first move in this war didn't belong to him.

There were only two geniuses actually moving around the map instead of waiting for the other side to move.

On August's side, it was Seryius Ether. From the enemy, it was a woman named Gianna Noct.

They were in charge of reconnaissance.

Both of them were in enemy territory already. The entire momentum of this battle would depend on which one was caught first.

Eris, as a member of the Noct Clan, knew a lot about concealment. In the same way, she knew how to detect it.

It was a bit more difficult when the method was using space instead of darkness, but darkness mimicked the greater law in many ways. In a sense, Eris understood how Seryius would hide himself.

The palace was already filled with traps that would undo his concealment. There were people in every city waiting for him to appear so they could mark his aura and take him down.

Seryius could feel the presence of these mechanisms from the instant he arrived past enemy lines.

'Hmm...'

It would definitely cause problems. Seryius couldn't easily enter any of the areas they'd blocked off with traps and formations.

'But, did they really think that was enough?'

He didn't know if he was being overconfident or if Eris was, but if he really wanted to get into a place, then no formation could stop him.

The main benefit of being born with a spatial affinity was the freedom of movement it granted.

And when one was a dragon on top of that, the benefits were even more pronounced.

As Seryius surveyed the enemy team's cities and decided which one he'd infiltrate first, Gianna Noct found herself in the middle of August's territory with confusion evident in her eyes.

She was hidden in the pure darkness of the world, a place that couldn't be sensed by anyone on this team but the geniuses from the Aurora Clan.

Gianna took special precautions to stay away from them, but as she looked for other traps or methods placed to reveal her position, her confusion intensified.

'Are they stupid?'

That was the first thing she could think of. They had to be on another level of idiocy to leave this entire territory as free of traps as it looked.

Unlike her team, the enemy was casual. It seemed as if they believed in their strength enough to forgo some basic defenses.

'Hmph.'

She had a natural disdain for people like August, but she'd personally witnessed Eris getting humiliated by him and his comrades.

'That brat knows how to scheme. There must be something happening that I'm not aware of.'

Nevertheless, it was her job to find out what that was, so there was nothing for her to say.

Raphael and his mercenary corps were easy to read, so she didn't need to spend too much time investigating at the border.

As such, Gianna approached closer and closer to the castle, believing that there was nobody who could make her wary other than Bianca Aurora, who was stationed there.

Her belief was wrong, but through no fault of her own.

"Have you found them?"

August stood on the castle grounds with his people.

The one he spoke to was none other than Yuna, one of his closest friends from Bastille.

"Not specifically," Yuna responded with her eyes closed.

"It's a female. She's getting closer, but I haven't sensed her exact position yet."

"I see...well, that's fine. If she's coming here, then it won't be hard for you to find her for much longer."

Yuna was a True Dragon just as everyone else in Bastille was, but dragonkind to them was what humankind was in the Heavenly World.

They lived in many places, from civilized societies more advanced than some on earth to barbaric clans that survived in the wilds.

Yuna came from the latter.

Until August came along, she and her tribe had ruled the wildlands with an iron grip, proving themselves as the apex of the food chain.

There was a lot she lacked before she was introduced to society, but there were also a lot of things she had that people born in society couldn't mimic.

One of those, the most important ability for a dragon that grew in the wild, was the ability to hunt.

Yuna was important even in her tribe for one reason above all else.

Once she caught the scent of prey...

...she never lost it until that prey was eliminated.

The hunt was different when it was part of a war, but the basics stayed the same.

Yuna focused, and she found traces of her prey.

Now, all that was left to do was wait for it to deliver itself to her.