Less than four months remain until the conclusion of the Lazarus Project.
Carvel Horin shifted his strategy, transitioning from relying on others to harm Eren and his allies to direct and forceful retaliation against the forces of Edinburgh.
The previous approach had burdened House Horin's finances without yielding substantial results, prompting them to reconsider their tactics.
House Horin now concentrated on bolstering Layos' war campaign to strike back at Eren. They recognized that they no longer required the assistance of fringe elements within Edinburgh to target Eren, as his Guild was inevitably deploying members to the battlefield. This provided House Horin ample opportunities for retaliation.
The clan extended its support not only to Carvel but also to other clan members active in Layos' army. House Horin equipped them with rare artifacts and expendable ranking resources to eliminate the enemy. These valuables, previously secured in House Horin's vault, were unleashed to demonstrate the clan's prowess to Edinburgh and to dissuade other houses causing unrest within Layos.
Wherever Carvel Horin fought within Layos' ranks, victory followed. This trend persisted even when he faced one of Edinburgh's most renowned Rankers, Manas Reach. In a matter of hours, Carvel's forces overwhelmed Manas' contingent.
Manas Reach spearheaded Edinburgh's pseudo Spirit Beast Program, commanding a company of Pseudo Spirit Beast Spell users. Edinburgh believed that Manas and his unit would pose a strong challenge to Carvel Horin and his wyvern, Akass. Yet, their assessment proved incorrect.
Manas had achieved considerable success over the nine years of battles against Layos, progressively expanding Edinburgh's territories. While he suffered a handful of defeats, he managed them skillfully, preserving his company's core strength amid the chaos of war.
The pseudo Spirit Beast Program had significantly empowered Edinburgh, and Manas' unit performed admirably against Layos' regular Rankers. Each member of Manas' company wielded a Pseudo Spirit Beast spell, enabling them to dominate opponents and secure contested lands.
Unbeknownst to Manas and Edinburgh, Layos had devised countermeasures against the pseudo Spirit Beast users. They harnessed draconic creatures, leveraging their power against their adversaries.
In their initial clash, Manas failed to overpower the opponent with his Pseudo Spirit Beast spell. He could only inflict minor injuries on Akass, the wyvern. He had to combine the powers of all his companions and their respective Pseudo Spirit Beasts to inflict some serious damage to Akass.
Yet, even this was insufficient to subdue Akass. It appeared that the wyvern had no adversaries among Rankers below the Grandmaster Rank. Given that the mana beast fell within the B-Rank classification, Edinburgh couldn't enlist Grandmaster Rankers to neutralize the threat, presenting a predicament that confounded Edinburgh's forces.
Thus, Akass had transformed into a symbol of dread for Edinburgh's military, sowing destruction wherever it engaged in combat and exacting a heavy toll on the lives of numerous Rankers from Edinburgh due to its formidable power. Manas, despite exerting all his strength, couldn't vanquish the wyvern.
This inability forced him to acknowledge the inadequacy of Edinburgh's Pseudo Spirit Beast program, which had been specially devised to counter Layos' forces. Or it could be said that Layos' approach to handling the situation was more effective.
The elves of Layos had ingeniously formulated their own techniques for subduing these formidable draconic creatures, showcasing their resourcefulness in managing these potent entities. Employing their distinct methods of taming the creatures not only demonstrated their strategic acumen but also proved economical, saving them from costly war-driven endeavors.
Nevertheless, these draconic beings were fiercely proud, making it impossible for the forces of Layos to rely solely on their method of control. They had to treat these creatures as allies, offering rare ranking resources in exchange for their willing cooperation.
Otherwise, the creatures might have engaged in self-destructive conflicts with Layos' forces, despite the elves' unique beast-controlling methods. This was why Carvel needed to invest a substantial portion of his family's wealth to control Akass.
Still, Layos' approach emerged as a more cost-effective alternative compared to Edinburgh's elaborate Pseudo Spirit Beast Program. While Edinburgh meticulously charted its path for the war, Layos adopted a pragmatic strategy to counter Edinburgh's program, ultimately proving to be the most effective course of action.
This marked the second encounter between Carvel's and Manas' companies in the battlefields of their respective kingdoms. During their initial clash, Manas had adeptly employed Anfang Alliance's rules as a protective shield, managing to salvage most of his core team and himself from Carvel and Akass' onslaught. This maneuver allowed him to survive the skirmish, even though he had lost the battle and the contested land.
Now, facing each other once more, Carvel was resolute in preventing Manas from evading him again. After a fierce engagement with Manas and his forces, Carvel emerged victorious. Although Akass played a significant role in this triumph, Carvel's personal vengeance against all of Edinburgh's forces was evident with the way he had clashed with Manas' forces so aggressively.
Frustrated by his inability to target Eren directly, he was determined to compel Edinburgh to dispatch Grimdawn back to the battlefield by eliminating their esteemed Rankers, no matter the cost. He was sure that the enemy kingdom and Eren himself wouldn't be able to ignore the pressure of the masses that'd come up with his aggressive stance and Edinburgh's casualties on the battlefield.
Driven by his mission to confront Eren personally, Carvel didn't allow Manas' to declare surrender, resulting in Manas' demise during their second encounter. Manas reach died while inflicting a severe injury on Carvel as well as Akass.
Many of the key Rankers who had been part of Manas' leadership in the Pseudo Spirit Beast Program also met their end, leaving only a few survivors. If Arjun still served in Edinburgh's army, he would have likely perished, having enrolled in the Pseudo Beast Program.
Fortunately for him, Eren's guidance had extricated him from this perilous situation. Presently, Arjun and his comrade Lyon belonged to the White Raven Guild, both retaining the Pseudo Spirit Beast Spell thanks to their past affiliation with the Edinburgh Army. Despite this, their allegiance had shifted, rendering them beyond the kingdom's control.
AN: Manas Reach and the Pseudo Spirit Beast Program were introduced in chapter 714. The Pseudo Spirit Beast Spell was first mentioned in chapter 585. Eren instructs Arjun and Lyon to leave the Edinburgh army and invites them into his guid in chapter 900.
