Become their wicked yet gentle lord.

"Ryuka! Let us lead the knights in a charge!"

Hetia, observing the changing battlefield situation, couldn't help but shout, but Ryūka, with a gloomy face, looked at the enemy troops covering the mountains and fields and asked:

"Charge? Where to charge? The enemy outnumbers us several times over, and they are all scattered. Even if we had twice as many knights, we still couldn't stop the attack from three sides."

Unless we concentrate our forces and attack Clovis's main camp! Ryuka bit her lip. It seemed that the enemy was spreading their forces and waiting for her to do so. If she took the initiative to attack a prince, the problem would be serious.

Not to mention, those ten heavily armored warriors were charging forward with heavy steps, seemingly reckless, braving a hail of bullets under the buff of shamanic magic! Even if a fully armored warhorse were to collide with them, Ryuka felt that he would be torn to shreds!

"What do we do? The enemy is getting closer and closer!"

The magical bombardments and cannons effectively slowed the enemy's advance, but after dodging a round of explosions and fire, they slowly continued their advance, staying close to the ground. More importantly, even though some were shot or blown to pieces, the dispersed numbers greatly reduced the deterrent effect of these soldiers' deaths on their allies. Not seeing the deaths of those around them lessened the fear of the surviving soldiers, who, emboldened by the bounty, pressed forward until they were unlucky enough to be hit.

"Lucha!"

Hetia and Hefren called his name anxiously, and Hefren even drew her longsword, unable to resist rushing forward.

The boy remained silent, lost in thought... lost in thought...

The enemy advanced with overwhelming numbers and a dispersed fighting style. The benefits of each magical bomb and magical cannonball were disproportionate, trading expensive magical crystals for a few lives. Even if they won by unleashing their full firepower, it would be a mess, not to mention they simply didn't have that much resources.

Compared to individual soldier quality, the enemy consists mostly of full-time and apprentice knights and mages, or at the very least, trained regular soldiers, while our side is mostly peasant soldiers. They can handle favorable winds, but their fighting spirit will collapse if they face adversity...

"retreat."

Ryuka calmly uttered two words.

"What?" the female knights exclaimed in surprise. To them, the word "retreat" meant defeat.

The boy they were following had never failed in front of them.

"The highly mobile, regular knights will stay behind to cover the rear, buying time for the magic lance team, magic cannons, and magic bombardiers to retreat! Everyone, fight and retreat towards Sochi City! We've already held them off for many days; our strategic objective has been achieved. There's no need to pay a heavy price in this fight. Their tactics are effective in open field battles, but they're useless against Sochi City's strong defenses!"

Giving them more territory would only mean giving up a few villages or towns, but talent is what Liuxia values ​​even more.

"But we're still dozens of kilometers away from Sochi! What if we get caught up on the way?"

“We can’t catch up,” Liu Xia said calmly. “The enemy has abandoned their cavalry charge, so they won’t be very fast. Moreover, they are very cautious. If they advance recklessly, we can stop at any time and fire a few shots behind us. So we are fighting and retreating at the same time.”

However, to instill fear in the enemy, Ryūka could not simply retreat and allow their morale to soar. They needed a way to teach the enemy a lesson and maintain a cautious approach.

"Hetia! You rush to Sochi and gather the garrison to prepare for their arrival! Hafran! You protect Anyaberg and the artillery units during their retreat! Have Baron and Luca lead the knights to harass the opposing infantry! Megan! You take command of our recruited mage troops and have them retreat alongside the magic lance team, attacking as they go! Remember, mages shouldn't waste magic on retaliating. Earth and rock mages and ice mages should build three-meter-high ramps every so often after retreating a certain distance, allowing the magic lance team to occupy the high ground and launch a counterattack. Fire mages should create fires and lava along the way to slow their advance! Keep the morale of the recruited troops stable! Don't let them collapse during the retreat! Intimidation is your specialty!"

Ryūka quickly issued a series of commands. The three female knights couldn't help but ask:

"how about you?"

Chapter 25 High-Altitude Vision

"Of course I'll stay behind to cover the rear; no one is stronger than me. I'll leave the command of the rear entirely to you. I'll use this to communicate with you at any time about the enemy's pursuit and adjust our retreat rhythm accordingly."

Ryuka smiled confidently, shook the magic crystal ball in her hand, and Hetia and the others immediately expressed their concern.

"What are you talking about? You're the commander-in-chief, and the youngest at that. Of course, the task of covering the rear should be left to the older sisters."

Ryuka couldn't help but laugh; they were actually putting on airs as 'older sisters' at this moment. But the three female knights' expressions were firm, so Ryuka had no choice but to take out a K18 potion and wave it around.

"Don't worry, with this here, even if a Heavenly Realm expert comes, I can still stroke a couple of his beards before I leave."

Besides Megan, Hetia and Hafren both knew how potent the potion was. Even after Hafren used it, she was confident she could escape from her father's clutches, and since Ryūka was even stronger than her, there was no need for her to worry.

"Okay, but promise us you'll be careful."

On the battlefield, no words were needed. The three female knights gave Ryuga a deep look, nodded, and then retreated at top speed, conveying the order for an orderly retreat to their respective units.

Ryuga turned to look at the battlefield before them, a sense of unease spreading through their hearts. At this moment, someone had to step forward and give them hope, otherwise the order to retreat would only lead to their complete collapse.

"No matter what, I was the one who sent them to the battlefield, so it wouldn't be right not to do something..."

For some, war is art, a game of strategy, an extension of politics. But for the soldiers fighting on the plains north of Sochi, war is a matter of life and death. Their hearts pounded at the limit, their minds raced at unprecedented speeds, strategizing how to kill their opponents efficiently and survive.

"Mage! Raise the earthen wall a little higher! Then we can hit the enemy behind that slope! Mage! Why the hell did you run off first?!"

"Damn it! Where are our mages?! Tear down that earthen wall! Ice mages and water mages, stop attacking! Go put out the fire pit ahead!"

"Alright! Let's retreat! Release lava behind the earthen wall! They'll be in big trouble when they jump over!"

"Hey, you heavily armored barbarians! Hold them off for me up front! I'm going to go and kill those lowly bastards with magic guns!"

"Clergy! Clergy! My intestines! Mother!"

With both sides on edge, a figure broke through the Linhu Territory's army formation like lightning and pierced straight into Clovis's army.

"It's the Governor! Cover for the Lord!"

"Are you stupid?! The order is for us to retreat! The governor will definitely cover our retreat! He's so strong, you don't need to worry about him! Retreat now!"

Upon seeing Liu Xia, the soldiers of Linhu Territory felt a sense of reassurance. After the order to retreat was given, some soldiers, believing their forces were about to collapse, secretly fled even with Megan's intimidation. But after Liu Xia charged forward, these soldiers felt reassured; with someone covering their retreat, their escape wouldn't be exposed to the enemy. They regained their composure and fought their way back in an orderly fashion.

Ryūka moved across the battlefield like a ghost, utilizing the trenches and terrain. He abandoned his warhorse and heavy armor, wearing only light armor for ease of movement. The enemy's dispersed formation was indeed effective against the magic-powered guns and cannons, but it also allowed a master like Ryūka to move through unopposed territory. If elite knights and mages were united, even Ryūka couldn't guarantee a flawless charge, but now… [The rest of the text appears to be unrelated and possibly machine-generated gibberish.]

"Sorry, I'll lie down for a bit."

He completely ignored the attempts of ordinary soldiers and mages to stop him, charging precisely to a knight. In an instant, his longsword pierced a gap in the knight's armor, and blood splattered out like spilled pie filling. But before the knight could even let out a cry of pain, Ryuga had already charged towards the next knight.

The knight howled as he tore open the straps of his armor, desperately trying to cover his wound and suppress the gushing blood, calling for the help of the priests and mages. He was thankful that Ryūka had been too confident and hadn't killed him with a single sword strike.

"Funny boy."

Inside the military tent, Clovis looked at the image in the crystal ball and gave Ryusha an appreciative smile.

After a moment's thought, Clovis understood that Ryūka's decision not to kill was not a mistake or a sign of compassion, but rather a deliberate attempt to slow them down.

He specifically targeted elite knights, most of whom came from noble families or were the darlings of the nobility. Once they were seriously wounded, the others dared not leave them unattended. Their curses and wails effectively deterred the other ordinary soldiers.

The mages who wanted to go up and cast a healing spell had to be wary of the pinpoint fire from magic guns hundreds of meters away. Although they were retreating, no one dared to risk their lives to see if the enemy had left any troops to block them.

“A wounded soldier often requires several people to help him. This is different from the past, because when fighting at close range and facing the enemy's swords, no one can pay attention to the cries of those around them…”

Clovis stroked his beard, marveling at Ryukyu's behavior.

"Did this young man come up with this idea on the spur of the moment, or did he consider it after changing the mode of warfare?"

Unlike Clovis's praise, Hudson stared at Ryukyu with disgust and said, "Your Highness, if this continues, our pursuit will be disrupted by him alone!"

"Order the knights to avoid him, preferably to lure him deeper into the territory, and then have our senior officers assemble to surround and annihilate him, preferably capturing him alive..."

After taking down dozens of knights and mages in succession, Ryuka adjusted her breathing and keenly sensed that the enemy's formation was changing.

The number of knights and mages he could find was dwindling, leaving only ordinary soldiers who were paralyzed with fear at the sight of him. There was only one explanation: either he had killed all the knights and mages, which was clearly impossible, or they had managed to precisely avoid him in the chaotic and scattered battlefield.

If that's the case...

Ryuga immediately scanned the battlefield frantically and finally spotted something unusual in the sky.

That was the flying familiar controlled by the other party, also a hawk circling high in the sky, with a faint reflection flashing on its talons.

"Let the mage-controlled familiar carry a crystal ball to overlook the battlefield? It's hard to spot without careful observation, but if he could issue orders to the dispersed frontline troops..."

"Got it!" Ryuu's gaze pierced through the battlefield ahead. At various points along the battlefield, hidden observation posts hastily constructed by mages resembled semi-buried bunkers, each with only a small window at the front. Outside, signalmen and buglers used sight and sound to direct the soldiers in front and behind. If he wasn't mistaken, these observation posts should contain crystal balls that allowed direct communication with Clovis.

"Interesting. Things have changed so quickly in just a few days. Human agency is truly remarkable."

Ryūka's expression turned solemn. From this moment on, for the first time, he realized he might have underestimated Clovis. Ever since his initial contact with the Third Prince's faction, he had always held the upper hand, even the Sochi incident hadn't slipped out of his control. This had led Ryūka to believe that Clovis was nothing to fear, just a prince of high rank and power. But now, it seemed that wasn't necessarily the case.

"Either his previous subordinates were incompetent, or he now has a highly skilled person in his army. In any case, I should be cautious. Well then... let's give it a try!"

Ryūka immediately held his breath and focused his mind, controlling the flow of magic and operating it in a way he had never tried before, according to his understanding of magic. Chaos and pain followed, and Ryūka's eyes flickered incessantly under the purple-black witch's power, his vision and consciousness tearing apart. A wisp of black energy gradually appeared on his body, but his painful appearance only made the surrounding enemy soldiers more fearful.

In a temple that does not exist in this plane, the horned girl, who had only recently awakened because Ryuka had collected some of her faith, opened her eyes from her meditation.

"This is... the fluctuation emanating from Ryūka? A quasi-god level entanglement of rules? What is he doing?"

Because of the contract with the divine messenger, the bored Chloe keenly sensed this fluctuation. Although she didn't know what had happened on Ryūka's side, considering that besides her contract, he possessed two other powers that could rival those of gods, she suspected the reason lay here.

"An interesting kid. I wonder who benefited from making him our divine messenger. Although I feel he could do it himself, we should still give him a hand. After all, what if he needs help in some emergency? If he dies, I won't have anyone to find a replacement."

Kuroel muttered to himself, without using his limited divine power, but through his connection with the divine messenger, he transmitted a hint to Ryukatsu's consciousness.

"Uh--"

Ryuga felt the tearing sensation within his body. He only wanted to slightly change how he used the witch power he obtained from Kania. He thought it was just a simple matter of changing the application of magic, but the resistance he felt was unexpectedly great.

The process was incredibly painful and slow. Just as Ryuga was about to give up in the tense battle, a moment of clarity flooded his mind, as if he had suddenly discovered a shortcut in complex calculations, which helped him successfully rewrite the operating rules of the witch's skills.

Suddenly, a feeling of exhilaration swept through his body. Liu Xia closed his eyes, which were constantly flashing with purple light. When he opened them again, his eyes were one black and one purple, and his magic power was flowing steadily within his body.

"I just wanted to maintain my own consciousness and activity while controlling my familiar, I didn't expect it to be so troublesome..."

Ryuu was somewhat annoyed. If it weren't for that sudden flash of inspiration, his attempt would probably have been much more difficult, certainly not something one should do on the battlefield. But he couldn't dwell on that now; he was focused on slowly adapting to his new perspective.

In his mind, two different perspectives overlapped: one was the battlefield as he saw it with his own eyes, and the other was the panoramic view from the sky, controlled by his familiar. This scene not only made him feel dizzy and confused, but it was also as if non-existent limbs had suddenly grown out, making it difficult for his mind to process and control.

While Liu Xia was adjusting, some bolder enemy soldiers gradually surrounded him. Although the young man, who held a high-ranking position, had been standing still for several minutes, these ordinary soldiers still dared not attack him, fearing that they would be killed if they turned around.

At that moment, Ryūka merely glanced at them, and the trainees and ordinary soldiers scattered as if they had seen a demon, which made Ryūka somewhat wryly smile. But he finally got used to the new perspective; the 360-degree unobstructed aerial view combined with his own line of sight gave him a complete grasp of the entire battlefield situation.

His own army had retreated to a kilometer away, gradually widening the distance between itself and Clovis's army. The opening he had created in front had halted the enemy's advance, but enemy troops were still slowly pursuing his forces from both flanks, and were indeed moving to the sides, bypassing him.

Meanwhile, Ryūka clearly observed that a group of knights and mages were rapidly moving towards him in a surrounding formation. Without the threat of magical guns and cannons, the knights mounted their warhorses, and the mages flew swiftly close to the ground. From his observation, the dozen or so men and women were all high-ranking officials, and the one closest to him was the bear-like barbarian giant he had seen earlier.

He brandished his frost iron shield, dented from the magic cannon fire, and strode towards him, shattering the remaining ruins and earthen walls of the battlefield. He was now less than two hundred meters away. 'Giant Bear' Weston also looked at Ryusha ahead, grinning as he weighed the giant shield in his hand. He was confident that once he got close enough to the boy, he could block all his attacks, allowing the great knights and mages behind him to surround and capture him.

Ryūka grinned. If he had been engrossed in chasing down the enemy's elite troops, he would have unknowingly fallen into their trap and been surrounded. Facing a dozen or so Grand Masters attacking together, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold his own. But now, as if he had a vision cheat, Ryūka naturally wouldn't fall into their trap so easily.

"Let's give them a small gift first."

Ryuka picked up a staff left behind by the enemy, her left hand clenching it tightly, magic surging within it, igniting a raging fire that formed a hard shell of ice around the flames. The two completely different magical spells were separated by precise control of magic, without canceling each other out.

Feeling the ice shell compress the fire element inside to its limit, Ryuka weighed the Explosive Ice Spear, which had a staff as its magic core, and silently adjusted the angle of the charged attack with the help of the high-altitude view.

What was he doing? Weston watched Ryūka's javelin-throwing stance, and even from a hundred meters away, he could feel the astonishing magical power contained within the ice spear in Ryūka's hand. Yet he wasn't afraid; he was confident his giant shield would be enough to withstand it. But what Weston couldn't understand was that Ryūka's raised, charged angle didn't seem aimed at him at close range, yet the Great Knight behind him hadn't even appeared in Ryūka's field of vision…

Could it be?

"Oh no! Watch out!!!"

Watching Ryūka unleash the ice spear with a thunderous roar, Weston was astonished by his physical prowess as by the incredible magic! Weston even saw a sonic boom erupt around the ice spear as it left Ryūka's hand, causing the incredibly powerful ice spear to fly right over his head!

Despite Weston's shouts of warning to the senior officials behind him, the astonishing speed had already chilled the burly man to the bone.

"Ok?"

A high knight behind was galloping towards the location ahead as instructed by Clovis. He had just heard Weston's voice when a flash of icy blue light appeared before his eyes...

Chapter 26 The End of the War

A blinding trail rose from the horizon like the dawn, traversing most of the battlefield and leaping into the eyes of the charging knight. Before he could even reminisce about the past, the great knight was struck head-on by the ice spear.

Boom!!! Like a scene from hell, a violent explosion of flames spread outwards. This was pure magic without any complex spells, engulfing everything in his sight. The icy shell turned into mist, swirling with dust that obscured his vision, freezing all the high-ranking officials who intended to surround Ryūka in place!

Only now did they realize that conquering the fertile land of Sochi would not only present obstacles such as the scorched-earth northern ruins, new magical weapons, or war tactics that changed the mode of warfare, but also that young man with astonishing strength and talent.

"Goddess! Did you bestow everything upon that person?!"

These proud noble generals had their psychological defenses shattered with a single blow: his outstanding appearance, his formidable strength, and most importantly, the territory beneath his feet.

To ordinary people, the Sochi Plain was nothing more than a large expanse of fertile farmland. But for these nobles from the north, it was a fertile base that guaranteed the food supply for their territories, and the best-located granary in the entire Otus Empire.

Far from the empire's political center and situated at the easternmost tip of the continent, this place boasts an excellent location, free from powerful enemies and celestial-ranked guardians, yet connecting to southern trade routes. For decades, the Payne family had sought to gradually control this region, beginning with a marriage alliance with the Duke family. However, all their calculations, aimed solely at this one territory, were effortlessly seized by some unknown upstart!

They had once been ambitious, believing that every step their horses took would bring them countless riches in the future. But now, their steps faltered, for no one dared to face the next attack from Ryukyu.

"What are they doing! That kid is just one person! How much magic power can he have? An attack like that can't last forever!"

Hudson cursed as he watched the image ahead, but the next second, an eagle swooped down in front of their familiars carrying the crystal ball, its sharp claws tearing the familiars apart and disrupting Clovis's overall command of the battle.

Clovis looked at all this and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "That's how the so-called coalition is. Everyone has their own thoughts, so naturally they won't fight to the death. Father has always wanted to take back the fiefdoms of the lords in various places and promote the provincial system for this reason... Never mind, his army has already retreated. He was just covering the rear."

Clovis waved his hand, ordering the siege of Ryūsha to be abandoned. He sighed meaningfully, showing no sign of joy at the successful experimentation of his new combat tactics and magical equipment.

Clovis thought, "If only I could capture this boy." Furthermore, he realized the fragility of the noble coalition forces from this war, and couldn't help but feel that his father's idea was correct. Even the Twelfth Legion, which wasn't his trusted confidant, was far more obedient than these nobles when carrying out the most dangerous vanguard missions.

"Hehe, I'm getting more and more greedy..."

Clovis couldn't help but laugh at himself. If it weren't for his father's attempt to implement the provincial system, which the nobles opposed, he wouldn't have received so much support from them. In a sense, his contest with Ryukyu was also an exchange of two political paths; after all, that kid had said in his previous speech that he would gladly accept the emperor's appointment as the governor of Sochi Province…

"Let's stop here and let them go back to Sochi. We can slowly take over another twenty kilometers of territory. Considering the width, we can also carve out several more viscountry lands."

Clovis gave this order. This fertile land was unlike the undeveloped, impoverished backwaters of Linhu Territory; a land spanning ten kilometers in length and width was sufficient to establish a medium-sized town, enough to satisfy the appetites of a viscount or several barons. However, considering that the inhabitants had all been relocated by Liuxia, rebuilding villages and towns with the relocated population might take one or two years.

A muffled bugle call echoed across the battlefield. Weston paused upon hearing the ceasefire signal, then looked at Ryusha before him. The young man, who had already forged a new Explosive Ice Spear, was calmly observing him.

Thump! Weston planted the heavy shield on the ground, a gesture indicating he would not advance further. A former barbarian, he was well aware of the unwritten rules among the Autus nobles; their wars were merely for profit, not for bloodshed. Moreover, what appeared to those involved as a territorial dispute would, once word spread throughout Autus, become merely a localized conflict stemming from Clovis's attempt to enter Sochi as a legitimate punitive expedition, which Sochi refused.

This is the unwritten rule in internal strife: both sides must save face. Even the cause of this conflict will be attributed to two fallen frontline officers, keeping the leaders of both sides clean. Perhaps one day at a social banquet in the capital, Ryūka and Clovis will even exchange smiles and greetings. Weston, however, scoffs at this aspect of the Autus nobility's ways.