CHAPTER 440: CHAPTER 25: EXPEDITION (5)_2

"Who knows? I only care if we have enough food," another soldier replied casually, sounding just as dejected.

"Are you saying we don’t have enough food?"

"No, we have plenty. They’re transporting food using the ’Magic Portal’ now. It’s much faster than using manpower. I even suspect they’re preparing for us to lay siege here for three to five years. With that much food, we might not even finish it in three to five years."

"I hope we can finish this quickly. It’s too cold here; it’s unbearable. What if I accidentally freeze to death?"

"Don’t worry, they’ll turn you into a Skeleton Soldier to keep fighting."

"Uh... I’m suddenly not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing."

From a distance, Yilin, riding a horse with Abi Robbs by her side, looked at the two soldiers on the tower who were chatting boldly.

Now, similar boring conversations were happening everywhere.

"The soldiers have already started to slack off," Abi Robbs whispered, "You can’t blame them. They can’t even see where their enemy is. Although everyone knows there are black dragons in the city, it’s been days since anyone has seen them."

Yilin remained silent, not answering.

She continued forward, winding through a few streets on the edge of Black Dragon City, arriving in front of a tall castle connected to the third inner wall.

The third inner wall was also the inner wall of Black Dragon City. Beyond the third inner wall was the residential area; there were no other significant military structures in the city. Initially, Augustsburg had stood on this castle, staring down Richie.

Now, it had become Richie’s temporary residence.

Yilin finally stopped at the inner gate of the castle. Two Undead Knights guarding the door stepped aside to make way for her.

Still on horseback, Yilin continued further inside until she reached the central spiral staircase. Only then did she dismount and began to walk up the stairs step by step.

She pushed open the door to Richie’s temporary study at the top.

Richie was sitting at the desk, writing something.

Looking up, he folded the paper he had written and put it into an envelope, saying, "Yilin, is there something you need?"

"When are you planning to launch the attack?" Yilin asked.

"I don’t know. It depends on how long they can hold out. We need to wait for an opportunity."

"The soldiers have already started to slack off."

"I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter, does it? Even if they’re not slacking off, they are no match for the black dragons. I just need them to stand there. I’ll figure out how to win the war."

"But you had them lead the charge at the beginning."

Richie stopped what he was doing and quietly looked at Yilin. After a moment, he softly asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

"You’re not Gray. Who are you really?" Yilin asked, "Where is the real Gray?"

"I don’t want to answer that question because it’s meaningless. We are on the path to victory, and until we reach the end, I have no time to answer such baseless questions." Before Yilin could speak again, Richie turned his head and shouted, "Escort Duke Beisher out."

Immediately, two Undead Knights entered from outside the door and stood behind Yilin.

Looking at Yilin, Richie said meaningfully, "Go back. Asking nothing is the best choice for you and your people."

Yilin’s breathing grew heavier, and she clenched her fists, but she had no choice other than to follow the two Undead Knights out.

*How many times had this happened?* Richie couldn’t even remember. *Every now and then, Yilin would come over and question him. Fortunately, Yilin still maintained her reason, clearly knowing her own position. In the Southern Alliance, nobody could influence Richie’s decisions, or rather, ’Gray’s’ decisions. He held absolute authority.*

*Even without considering the vow between Gray and Yilin, Yilin was just another lord among many, and a relatively weak one at that.*

*Being questioned too often, Richie had become numb to it.*

After Yilin left, Richie turned his head and asked softly, "How is the Magic Portal preparation coming along?"

Delia quietly appeared behind him and replied softly, "The experiment was completely successful."

"Good, but we still need to wait."

...

The winter sun quietly shone on the earth. The snow covered the ground, sparkling brightly in the sunlight.

Clouds rolled in the sky.

It was yet another ordinary day in the siege, with silence all around.

As the sun set, night fell.

At night, Augustsburg quietly appeared at the central area of Black Dragon City—Gustav Palace Square.

Around him, many Black Dragon Clan members had gathered, all maintaining human forms and wearing common Black Dragon City residents’ clothes.

The Gustav Palace Square, located at the center of Black Dragon City, was far enough from the city walls controlled by the Southern Alliance while also being the most spacious place in Black Dragon City. Opening the Magic Portal here was perfect.

On the dark square, Augustsburg glanced at the city walls lit by torches in the distance and quietly said, "Begin."

Silently greeting, several Black Dragon Clan members maintaining human forms and wearing black robes immediately scattered. They began drawing a huge Magic Array on the open ground with a black dye.

The others stood quietly in the dark, waiting.

Due to the accumulated snow, they even needed to clear the snow while drawing the Magic Array. Of course, this wasn’t a difficult task.

Meanwhile, the black dragons assigned to the rear silently took their positions around the square.

...

From the city walls, the square remained pitch black and barely visible. The soldiers continued chatting as usual.

*If it were a Lich, they would probably see it immediately.*

...

Starting at sunset, the Magic Array was completed by around eight in the evening.

It was a massive, hundred-meter diameter circle filled with complex incantations.

Looking down at her pocket watch, the black-haired Dragon Clan Girl asked Augustsburg, "Shall we begin?"

Glancing at the city walls again, Augustsburg softly said, "Let’s start. Everyone, prepare for battle!"

"Yes!"

Soon, black mist emanated from the bodies of the Black Dragon Clan members, revealing their dragon forms. This included the black-haired Dragon Clan Girl and Augustsburg.

Apart from the fifteen hundred black dragons prepared for battle, what would it be like for fifteen hundred dragons to gather together? The entire square was filled to the point of overcrowding. Only the Magic Array’s area remained empty.

...

"What’s that?" a Southern Alliance soldier, who had just taken a sip from his water bottle, paused, squinting into the distance.

Soldiers around him also crowded over, craning their necks.

Without moonlight, they could still see the massive shadows moving on Gustav Palace Square in the dark, like small hills.

The first soldier rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.

...

"Begin!" Augustsburg shouted.

Immediately, a dozen black dragons around the edge of the Magic Array started chanting the incantations. Magic Power began to gather, and a fierce wind arose. Even the clouds in the sky swirled into a vortex.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed, illuminating the world and the dragons gathered in the square.

...

"This is bad! It’s the black dragons! So many black dragons!"

Suddenly, soldiers on the wall were in an uproar, with the entire Southern Alliance army instantly mobilizing.

The sounds of running, shouting, clanging armor, and incessant warning bells echoed non-stop...

...

In the castle study, Richie, dressed in heavy armor, stroked his sword hilt and quietly watched through the window.