"Josh and Scott, how many times do I have to tell you two to stop arguing? There is no point in this."
Hearing this both Captains froze. The duo stared at their master in silence. After a few seconds of silence, Scott quickly put his bow inside his storage ring. Josh followed Scott and put his greatsword in the tent. Both of them pretended as if nothing happened.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Scott changed the subject. Inwardly he felt embarrassed for behaving like this in front of the Emperor.
"Amber used the Solar Cannon to defeat the Qeyesha Empire's troops. I came here to lend a helping hand and finish this battle as soon as possible. But it seems the battle hasn't even started yet."
Scott nodded his head in agreement and added. "The enemy has stopped advancing. I feel the enemy has become cautious and has decided to not recklessly charge into the battle."
"That is very possible."
"But it does not mean that we will wait here for the enemy."
"Your Majesty, you can't mean....." Josh couldn't even finish his words.
"Yes, prepare yourself. We are going to attack the Echo Nexus Empire's troops." Scott and Josh exchanged a look before smiling.
With Aditya by their side, who in this world can stop them? Who in this world can defeat their King? Having the Dragon Monarch by their side, they had nothing to fear.
Scene change_____
On the other side,
The Echo Nexus Empire's troops had set tents and were resting. It was obvious that they were not going to step inside the Echo Dominion Empire and start the war.
The army of 1 million troops was doing many kinds of activities. Some soldiers were using this opportunity to sleep and recover their energy. Some troops were busy playing card games. Some of them were in charge of cooking wheat and meat that they bought with them.
A few thousand troops were responsible for constantly scouting the surroundings and keeping a watch on the borders. If the enemy were to move, the scouts would be able to report as soon as possible.
In the dark forest, The Echo Nexus Empire's troops had set many campfires. The light of the Campfires could be seen many kilometers away. This part of the forest had no trees. The place where they had stopped was an open space near a small river that flowed from the Echo Dominion Empire. Being close to the water, allowed the troops to bathe, get access to drinking water, and wash their clothes.
Many soldiers were sitting around the Campfires and sitting idly. They were talking among themselves; telling each other their life's stories and laughing. Some of them even formed groups containing hundred or thousand of soldiers. In each group, there was a person who was either telling others stories and rumors or making them laugh through jokes. Overall, the atmosphere was very pleasant. No one looked worried about the upcoming battlefield. It was as if the Echo Nexus troops did not felt any pressure.
Around 10 meters away from the small river, there were hundreds of gigantic cooking pots set on fire. Cooking food for a million troops is not a small thing. More than 20,000 soldiers were working on making food. A few thousand soldiers were constantly stirring the cooking pot. The others were either cutting the vegetables or doing other small chores. In short, no one was just idle standing and wasting time.
Of course, the Commander and the Vice Commander of the Echo Nexus Empire's army wouldn't eat such basic-level food. The Commander had bought a professional chef with him. While the soldiers were going to have meat soup and bread, the Commander and the Vice-commander were going to have luxurious food freshly made by the chef. This was a luxury that only the top level of the military was able to enjoy.
A strong appetizing smell of the meat soup drifted in the air. The soldiers inhaled this aroma and suddenly started to feel very hungry. To them, even this kind of food was very high standard. After all, not everyone in this world is blessed to be able to eat meat every single day. As vegetables were cheaper and easier to get, vegetables were what they ate mostly. However, there were some exceptions for the soldiers that came from middle classes families.
"I can't wait to have dinner. It's going to be very delicious."
"Can't you think of anything besides eating? Why are you all not worried about this war and our upcoming battle?" It was only a matter of time before the battle between both sides took place. If the enemy were to advance into Echo Nexus Empire, then the battle will take place much earlier. In his opinion, instead of relaxing, they would be on their guards and sharpen their weapons for the battle.
Among the 1 million, there were many who thought this way.
A Captain ranking soldier who had worked under the Commander decided to reply and clear his doubts.
"We are not being careless or anything. But we are not absolutely certain when the enemy is going to attack. Instead of waiting for the enemy throughout the entire night without taking any rest, the Commander wants us to rest properly and preserve our stamina. Our Scouts are really hard-working. If anything did happen, we will be notified." Hearing this, all the soldiers nodded their heads.
"Captain, are you not scared? I heard that the Istarin Empire has bought their troops. Meaning, we just won't be facing troops from just one Empire."
"Why we should be scared. Did you forget who our Commander is? With him here, how can we lose this fight?" The source of their confidence was their Commander who was the most powerful Peak 5th-order cultivator in the Echo Nexus Empire.
While everyone was busy with their activities, a loud voice reached their ears. "Everyone's Food is ready." Hearing this many of the soldiers cheered. Some of them began to droll from the appetizing smell of the food and hardly was able to control themselves.
As prepared to eat, suddenly a bright golden beam of light lit the entire forest. The area around the tent had become bright. Everyone realized the light was getting brighter. Before everyone could stand what was going on, they were horrified to see a giant golden beam of light heading in their direction.
Just as the golden beam of light was about to devour them, a man stepped in front of the beam and stopped the attack from ending their lives. A giant dome-like barrier started to form around the entire camp. Using his body, he stopped the beam of light from going any further.
Boooooooooom!!!!!
A huge explosion took place. A giant mushroom cloud rose in the air. The sound of the explosion reached the ears of the near cities in both Empires and the citizens were able to feel the heat of the battle. The explosion had shaken the entire camp. If not for the dome-like barrier that the man had built around the Camp, the shockwave would have wiped out the entire camp in a matter of seconds. The shockwave had cleared everything within a few kilometers range. The tall trees, grasses, and magic animals, everything had disappeared; leaving behind a large space.
However, the explosion did not harm the man nor did the terrifying shockwave. He did not protect his body with any armor. He did not protect himself with any artifact. Nor did he use any mana to shield his body. He took the explosion and remained completely fine; there wasn't even a single burn mark on his body.
"The enemy has attacked. Everyone get ready to fight." Unfortunately for the soldiers who were relaxing and were excited to have food, their wishes remained unfulfilled. The enemy was here and they needed to fight.
All the troops took out their weapons and wore their armor. The archers got ready to fight by loading their bows with arrows. The foot soldiers got ready to use Magic Cannons. The knights got on their magic mounts back and were also ready.
As everything died down, the dome-like shield started to disappear.
Aditya who was around 3 km away, narrowed his eyes as he saw a shadow figure stopping the Solar Cannon's attack from destroying The Echo Nexus Empire's troops.
'He is a powerful one.' He can sense it. This man was far more powerful than Victoria or any other Peak 5th-order cultivator that Aditya has met since the start of this War. Aditya suspected that no one in the Istarin Empire and in the Echo Dominion Empire would be strong enough to defeat him. He was the only one who had some chance of defeating him.
Sensing his presence, Aditya was feeling fortunate that The Echo Nexus Empire's troops did not attack. If the fight had started, then that man alone would have wiped out every single one of their troops.
Really Thank you very much to all those who sends support with valuable golden tickets. I hope we can keep it up!!!
