Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 433 - Tamers War - Liability

Julius took Selphira underground alongside the wall army.

For the moment, attacks had stopped. Without Sirius at the front or Selphira pressuring the rear guard, Kharzanʼs army wouldnʼt have many reasons not to attack them full force in the worst case scenario.

So striking now that they had halted their march and enraging them was unnecessary.

Only some aerial fights for information dominance continued happening consistently, scouts from both sides trying to maintain surveillance over enemy movements mostly without engaging in serious combat.

Julius was taking advantage of this respite to absorb more soldiers from the abyss wall. His numbers had grown to 5000 soldiers, and Arturoʼs report indicated that 2000 extra soldiers were already gathering at the castle as strategic reserve and continuing to increase.

But Kharzanʼs army wouldnʼt take long to reunite, surrounding Selphiraʼs wall and recovering the strong structure of their frontal formation.

Time for maneuvers was limited.

For Julius, this was a good moment to test the golden spore bombs, and he had already requested some from flyers.

He was just waiting for results.

♢♢♢♢

In the same underground shelter Juliusʼs earth squadron had excavated, Selphira finished healing Sirius using regenerative techniques she had perfected over centuries…

The Starweaver commander was low on energy but healthy, physical wounds healed and the shock of temporarily broken bond with his tiger treated as much as possible.

Sirius thought long and hard about what had happened and how the misfortune that had fallen on his territory meant he couldnʼt support as much as he should, and now he had realized he couldnʼt even protect his family as he thought he would.

After several minutes of heavy silence, he made a decision he knew would change everything.

”Selphira... Master,” he said finally, removing the ring from his finger with slow trembling movements that showed how much the decision cost him. ”Take this.”

”No,” Selphira responded immediately, without even looking at the extended ring. ”The ring is your responsibility and belongs to your daughter.”

Selphira felt somewhat uncomfortable talking about Luna. The situation with Leonel and all the politics surrounding the ring was undoubtedly a family disgrace that, as always, she preferred not to address directly.

”As I am now, they could take it from me,” Sirius insisted, pressing the ring toward his former mentor. ”If we lose, Iʼll lose it anyway. And much more... the most important thing.”

Selphira seemed to understand the implication, but maintained her resistance.

”Iʼm going into battle directly. If I lose, itʼs also very risky for the ring.”

Sirius sighed deeply, frustration and exhaustion evident in his voice.

”If we lose you, weʼve already lost anyway. We canʼt count on the old fool for anything.”

Selphira laughed despite the seriousness of the situation and gently hit him on the head.

”You shouldnʼt speak that way about your King,” she scolded, though there was genuine amusement in her tone.

But Siriusʼs logic was sound. He was weakened, if found later targeted for capture or death. She had the best chance of using the ring effectively during the coming combat and keeping it safe in general.

Selphira ended up receiving the ring, immediately feeling it when it slid onto her finger. The 100% extra bonuses flowed through her system, amplified power, improved resistance, and most importantly, complete access to the fusion ability that could make the difference in a desperate moment.

Her mana reserves felt a bit deeper, her connection to her beasts more profound, and her overall combat effectiveness expanded by around 20% in most fields.

At that moment, Julius received information about the three spore bombs he had requested to launch for testing.

”Results?” he asked immediately.

”Effective, sir,” the messenger reported.

He basically explained the same thing that happened at the bridge, but with one important difference… here, there were many fewer soldiers with abyssal corruption.

The infection was spreading gradually.

Julius processed this information quickly, the implications becoming clear.

He realized that if the effect would be something that would expand much more in Kharzanʼs army, he had to take advantage before they found how to stop it.

”Perfect,” Julius murmured, but then made a decision that surprised the messenger. ”Letʼs save the bombs for now.”

”Sir?”

”Itʼs perfect for what we need,” Julius explained, ”but we have to make the most of it at exactly the right moment.”

If he could coordinate the maximum effect of the bombs with Selphiraʼs final assault against Kharzan, the combined effect could be devastating.

The messenger nodded and ran off to transmit the orders.

♢♢♢♢

The bridge army was pushed back significantly, and the size of their defense reduced to what was really the final bottleneck.

Now they were where they had the least possibility of pushing effectively, compressed into the narrowest possible space.

Victor was happy with the result and felt he could bombard that thin defensive line for the entire month without major problems. His position gave him absolute advantage, 180 degrees for sustained attacks.

Enemy forces barely had a narrow straight line of defense and an attack angle of about 60 degrees at maximum distance. They no longer had space for complex maneuvers.

The only bad news for Victor was that they had run out of bombs to keep pushing them.

Abyssal soldiers had suffered considerably during the bombardment. And although Victor didnʼt know it, many of them who had experienced more than one or two bombs had lost their abyssal beasts completely…

The golden spores had been more effective than anyone had anticipated.

Twenty percent of soldiers had become infected and had initially expanded the infection across the bridge, but in the end, after hours of exposure, things had returned relatively to normal.

Although he had already cut enemy advance and already gained ground he couldnʼt lose, Victor felt somewhat disappointed that the spores hadnʼt extinguished all of Yino at once.

Of course, it was asking for much, and he was still happy with what he had gained. But initially he had been excited about the possibility of total and immediate victory.

♢♢♢♢

Minutes before the situation stabilized…

Hedda had learned that an infection was rapidly expanding and was about to completely cross the bridge.

Commanders had given urgent orders: all non-abyssal soldiers must retreat from a certain distance from the bridge, and all abyssals had to advance and contain the infected before the situation worsened.

The irony… for once, being corrupted was an advantage rather than a curse.