The march of the allied army had been largely uneventful. A few settlements they passed through surrendered without offering much resistance. Wilted had organized her rebellion well. With Master's army pulled back to Dritzuut, her rebels easily took control and opened the gate for Jack's army to rush in. The settlements were occupied without the loss of civilian lives.
Jack received daily reports from the members of the Dogs of War and the Jackal Crews. They spotted no hidden troops or traps. It seemed Linda was resolved to have the final battle at the capital.
After several days of marching, the capital, Dritzuut, finally entered their sight. With the buildings' weird mushroom-shaped roofs, the huge capital looked like an alien city.
Like the other country's capital, the palace had the most impressive look and was the biggest structure. It was easily seen from outside the capital. The palace had several towers that also ended with mushroom-shaped roofs.
The capital wall was tall and it looked sturdy. Jack did not doubt Master must have focused on repairing and strengthening it while his army was on their way here. The glow from the rune diagram on the wall was strong.
"You've finally arrived? Did you go sightseeing first or what?" Jack received a message from John.
The fleet John led had arrived two days earlier. The ships were steadily floating on the lake beside the capital. Staying out of range of the siege weapons inside the capital. John waited for the land army to arrive before taking any action.
"They didn't engage you when you arrived?" Jack asked.
"No, I also expected them to come out and fight us while you are still away," John said. "They were unexpectedly calm about the whole situation."
"Maybe it's because they didn't have any ship to engage your fleet. Sending fliers to engage you might cost them too many casualties before the real battle begins," Jack presumed.
"Maybe… But honestly, I don't like this calm. It's like they still have something up their sleeves," John said.
"Whatever it is, we will find out soon," Jack said. "Do you want to do the honor of knocking on their door or should I?"
"Go ahead. We will advance and open fire when you do," John replied.
Jack gave the order. The siege weapons moved forward to get into position. The army adjusted themselves to protect those siege weapons. The mobile fortress also advanced and stood next to the siege weapons. They then opened fire.
Jack had those siege weapons focused their attacks on the main gate and its surroundings. Several magic walls and other defensive spells appeared in front of the gate before the assault arrived. Those spells couldn't nullify all the attacks. They were destroyed and the remaining shells from the siege weapons struck the gate. The rune diagram flared brightly as it tried to resist the impact.
Upon that first round of knocking, John commanded the fleet to approach the capital and attack.
Dritzuut bordered the lake on its Northern side, while the main gate was at the Eastern side. These two sides were repeatedly bombarded both by Jack's siege weapons and John's fleet.
Some shells shot out from the capital in retaliation. Jack and John were ready. They had troops with defensive skills to protect the siege weapons and the fleets.
These back-and-forth bombardments continued for days. On the third day, the main gate and northern wall's HP had been reduced to around 30%. On this same day, a person floated from the battlement above the main gate. Jack's dragon eye identified this person from a distance.
"Hold!" He ordered the siege weapons to stop their assault. John didn't follow. The fleet continued to bombard the northern wall.
Jack flew into the sky as that one person from the capital flew out.
"What is this? Coming out like this, are you proposing a duel?" Jack said to the person as they met halfway between the allied force and the capital.
"That is not a bad idea," Master replied. "A duel will spare our armies from unnecessary casualties. We should just settle this dispute between us man-to-man. If I win, your army retreat. If you win, you get the hostages."
"Very funny hearing you said that. Are you so desperate that you resolved to this?" Jack mocked.
Master smirked. "And here I thought this proposal for a duel is to your liking? Isn't this more your style?"
"I can't deny that. Unfortunately, I'm no longer that independent player who goes where I please and does what I please. I have people who depend on me. I can't betray their trust. My army overpowers yours. There is no need for me to accept this duel."
"Even for the sake of the hostages?" Master asked.
"How do I know you haven't done anything to them?" Jack asked in return.
Master pointed behind him. Jack looked at where he was pointing. The direction was to one of the open balconies of Dritzuut palace. It was very far but Jack's dragon eye managed to make out some sort of a large cage on that balcony.
"Your friends are there. You can go there and make sure," Master offered.
"Are you taking me for a child? Why would I go in by myself into the enemy's territory? How about this, you have your army gathered at the capital's plaza, open the gate. My army and I will go in and make sure that my friends are still fine."
Master chuckled. "So, no duel?"
"Wait, I have another way to check their well-being," Jack said and took out his Staff of Illios. He fed 1,000 mana cores into his staff and a projection image appeared beside him. In that projection, the cage on the balcony was seen up close. Jeanny, Leavemealone, and Red Death were inside.
Master frowned at the display. He had seen Jack use this magic staff during the battle in Hydrurond. He was surprised at the time because he couldn't recognize this magic staff which was supposed to be either legendary or unique grade. Now that he saw the projection. He knew it from the eye sculpture on the head of the staff. It was the Eye of Illios.
How did Jack transform that legendary artifact into a magic staff?
While Master was in puzzlement, Jack used his Inspect on each of the ones in the cage.
"Hm… They still have their levels. You didn't reduce their levels. That was nice of you," Jack remarked.
"So, should we duel?" Master asked. His mind was still bewildered by Jack's magic staff but he didn't show it.
"Sorry, I can't play with you. As I said, I have responsibilities. If our situation is flipped and it's me whose army is inferior to you, then I will agree to a duel. But if it is so, you won't be proposing a duel then, will you?"
Master sneered. "You keep on saying that my army is inferior to you. Why are you so sure about that?"
Jack didn't like that sneer. "Are you saying it is not so?"
"How about we find out!" Master exclaimed. His voice was powered by mana manipulation.
At the end of his voice, a thundering roar was heard. A huge dragon with obsidian scales descended from the sky.
