Facing the attack of Steinbeck Fief’s troops, the periphery of Joyce Fortress fell. Viscount Aaron took his surviving 10,000 troops and withdrew inside the fortress. All the arrow towers, mangonels, and other defensive fortifications had been destroyed. In fact, this war was already decided. The defenders’ defeat was only a matter of time.
Filled with complex emotions, Viscount Aaron stood on the inner wall of Joyce Fortress and watched the surrounding Steinbeck Fief’s troops. The other side’s combat power had far exceeded his expectations. They were not general miscellaneous mobs but were comparable to the empire’s regular elite troops. Those 20,000 vanguard troops of Steinbeck Fief were Undead in disguise, so their combat power far exceeded ordinary human troops. They wore heavy armor, but their movements were nimble as if they wore only light armor, which was basically impossible for a human army.
At the last moment, Princess Natalie showed mercy. She waited for Clyde’s return to make the final decision. She didn’t want to wipe out the enemy army. After all, she was a human princess commanding over 30,000 troops, of which over 20,000 were Undead monsters. From the beginning, she had felt qualms about massacring the human army. If the commander were someone else, like Ancient Demon King Andrisno, it might have been another story. Viscount Aaron would have already been wiped out.
“It’s my loss. Ai! If I had known this earlier or if I had never accepted their messenger, I might have stalled a few more days.”
“Your Excellency Viscount Aaron, the other side… the other side has a Dragon Knight!”
“Why are you all panicking? That is…”
While Viscount Aaron lamented their situation, his subordinates’ frightened voices rang all around. Looking up, he saw a huge bone dragon flying in the sky. For eyes, there were only holes with burning blue flames. He could feel its chilly gaze.
There were not many records of bone dragons in Ximengsi Continent since there were only a few Dragon Knights in the entire continent, and they were mainly concentrated in the four super empires located at the borders. In fact, he had not even heard of sightings of a bone dragon, this kind of high-level Undead monster. When the bone dragon drew close, most of the soldiers were so scared that they knelt. Under the pressure of the dragon’s might, these soldiers who had persisted until now without compromising gave up. Like a real dragon, the bone dragon also had dragon might, but Viscount Aaron didn’t have any Light Church’s priests to use light blessings to increase their fighting spirits. Now, they couldn’t bear even this bone dragon’s simplest breath attack. They would be massacred one-sidedly from a single attack.
Viscount Aaron’s handsome face was filled with cold sweat. The dragon’s might forced all the subordinates around him to the ground. Only he alone remained standing while holding his spear, confronting this bone dragon. As the chief commander, he could not kneel; otherwise, the his troop’s morale would completely collapse. No matter how difficult it was, he had to persist until the final moment.
“Big Brother Aaron, don’t be nervous. It’s me!”
“Eh, Yani, you! Didn’t you go to Earl Winissa’s place? How…”
“Big Brother Aaron, it’s a long story. You…”
“Say nothing, Yani! I will never submit to darkness. Considering our sibling relationship, just leave!”
Viscount Aaron looked at Miss Yani riding on the back of the bone dragon with disbelief. His younger sister, Sky Knight Yani, stood on the dragon’s back with a delicate complexion. She clearly wanted to say something but was hesitating. Yani was not a Dragon Knight. Originally, she didn’t have the qualifications to control a dragon, not even an already-dead bone dragon. However, Ancient Demon King Tinas had summoned this bone dragon, so strictly speaking, it couldn’t be considered her mount.
Viscount Aaron interrupted Yani’s attempt to persuade him. From his younger sister’s expression, he could guess what she wanted to say. Her armor had not changed; it was still her original Sky Knight Armor, but the cross necklace she usually wore was missing. These small details explained many matters. Removing the cross necklace that symbolized the light coupled with riding a bone dragon that symbolized the Undead, he could guess that Yani had already fallen.
Just as the conversation between Miss Yani and her brother sunk into silence, Clyde appeared behind Yani and broke the awkward atmosphere. He still wore the common soldier armor of Adrian Empire without a military rank symbol. When Viscount Aaron saw Clyde, he turned solemn. Clyde’s military rank was not important. When Clyde had appeared, the love in his sister’s eyes had been apparent. As her big brother, Viscount Aaron knew his pure, younger sister well. A single glance was enough to explain many problems. He was certain that something must have happened between Yani and this man.
“Who are you? What is your relationship with Yani?”
“I… I, Clyde, am just a passing soldier. As for Yani, your younger sister is very good…”
Clyde intentionally added weight to the words “very good” while displaying a wicked smile. Upon seeing this, Viscount Aaron was so angry that he nearly rushed at this handsome man. What “very good” meant… As a man, how could he not understand? However, after seeing his sister’s admiration, Viscount Aaron was helpless. It seemed the wood had already been made into a boat. That man had already ‘cooked the rice,’ so it was too late to recover anything. He could only hope that Clyde wouldn’t just fool around and would treat Yani sincerely.
“Speak! !hat do you want?”
“Your Excellency Viscount Aaron, rest assured. I am serious about Yani. I will not use her as a chip to negotiate with you. However, regarding our peace talks…”
“No negotiations! Unless… unless I am not the commander. Defeat me, and I will hand over my authority. Use your strength to prove yourself!”
Viscount Aaron knew very well that the situation was hopeless. To avoid unnecessary casualties and give himself a suitable reason for stepping down, he proposed a one-on-one duel. This duel between the representatives of the two armies, would determine the fate of Joyce Fortress. If Viscount Aaron won, Clyde’s party should release the siege and sign a truce lasting several days to allow time for the other side to evacuate. If Clyde won, Viscount Aaron would give up his position and surrender.
On the inner wall of Joyce Fortress, the battle between Clyde and Viscount Aaron began. Yani stood at one side as a witness to the battle that would determin the future fate of Joyce Fortress. Ancient Demon King Tinas also acted as witness. Merely, she remained hidden on the back of the bone dragon, so ordinary people couldn’t see this terrifying female Demon King.
The profession of Viscount Aaron was Senior Knight. He couldn’t summon any mounts in this kind of place, and using a mount to fight would anyway be unsuitable here. Dropping his shield used only when mounted, he held his spear and initiated a knight charge towards Clyde. Although Clyde’s strength was currently unknown, Viscount Aaron didn’t look down upon his opponent. He went all out from the very beginning. When he charged, his spear seemed to cut the air around him.
Clyde didn’t dodge. He also didn’t carry a shield. He only held a sword. Since Viscount Aaron had used his all-out move from the beginning, he guessed that the Viscount wanted to end the battle in a single move. Thus, Clyde decided to help him achieve his aim. In the presence of Yani, Clyde didn’t want to kill Viscount Aaron because doing so would not conform to his principles. Thinking this, Clyde held his sword across his chest so that the blade blocked the tip of Viscount Aaron’s spear, causing an intense collision.
Originally, Viscount Aaron had planned to knock Clyde away by relying on the inertia of his charge. His plan failed. The spear in his hand seemed to have struck a steel plate, and the force rebounded, directly forcing Viscount Aaron to retreat several steps. His spear also fell to the ground. Facing the rebound force, Viscount Aaron suffered internal injuries, and blood flowed out from the corners of his mouth. As for his opponent, Clyde stood still without moving even a single step. The weapon in his hand showed no signs of vibrating from the collision nor any signs of bending. It was like his previous attack had never happened.
“Cough cough, I… I’ve lost!”
“You let me win, Your Excellency Viscount Aaron.”
“No… you won! Such defensive power…”
After a moment’s silence, Viscount Aaron lowered his head in dejection and admitted defeat. The other side’s defensive power exceeded a paladin’s for sure. He was unable to break through their defense. In fact, he guessed that the other party hadn’t attacked due to his younger sister’s face. After admitting defeat, the matter of Yani turning to the dark camp was already beyond his concern.
After seeing that both parties were fine, Yani sighed in relief. She then stepped forward and comforted her big brother. Nevertheless, before comforting her brother, she sought Clyde’s permission with her eyes. After all, he was her master. Otherwise, she might experience various shameful punishments.
“Big Brother Aaron, no need to worry! Mas… Clyde, he isn’t…”
“Okay, Sister Yani, you don’t need to say anything. I want to ask you one thing: did he force you?”
“No… no, I went of my own free will!”
Facing her brother’s question, her face became bright red as she shyly lowered her head. Although Clyde had done many bad things to her at that time and taken advantage of her difficulties, she was too embarrassed to reveal those matters out loud and tacitly agreed to them being voluntary. Seeing her shy expression, Viscount Aaron understood everything. His younger sister had grown up. He turned around and sternly examined at Clyde. Clyde didn’t mind this and calmly met his gaze.
“Your Excellency Clyde, I hope you are sincere to Yani. She is quite pure and easy to deceive. If you aren’t good to her, even if I am not your opponent, I will also…”
“Your Excellency Aaron, you can rest assured. I will not bully Yani.”
“Clyde, Big Brother Aaron, can you two not talk about my affairs here? I’m here, and this is a public area!”
“Yani, you are an adult. Oh, that’s right! Come and take this rank of nobility.”
“What… come and take!? Big Brother Aaron, don’t crack a joke.”
