Chapter 422: 422 - Tamers War - Temporal Captivity

Chapter 422: Chapter 422 – Tamers War – Temporal Captivity

The end of the message contained a direct request from Arturo: reports on the battle situation and whether he had made contact with Selphira and Sirius.

Julius mentally reviewed what he knew.

Sirius had executed his first attack according to plan, causing significant disruptions in the enemy advance. The second attack was charging now, and from what Julius could observe from his position, it would be even more devastating than the first.

The effect it had on Kharzan’s army also seemed more significant than expected for some reason.

But he still didn’t have very relevant information about general progress or the strategy of what would be Selphira’s plan.

‘She’s always been like that… fair and participative, but distant from others.’

He needed to stop Kharzan and his army a bit longer for Selphira to arrive, and then see what exactly her plan would be once she was in position.

‘I’ll have no choice but to adapt to the situation and support her to try to extract Kharzan from the heart of his army,’ Julius reflected. ‘It’s the only way to try to stop things and buy time to accumulate our remaining troops at the bridge.’

The strategy was risky… it depended on Selphira being able to force a personal confrontation with Kharzan, separating him from the massive protection of his nearly fifteen thousand soldiers, who could gather to become twenty thousand. But it was their best option to avoid a more prolonged war that could devastate the kingdom.

Julius observed his 3500 young soldiers, then toward where Sirius was preparing to launch another devastating attack, and finally toward the horizon where he knew Selphira was approaching thanks to his intelligence soldiers.

‘Everything depends on the next few hours,’ he thought. ‘Either we end this quickly before they can reach the bridge, or we prepare for total war in the heart of our territory.’

He took out a small piece of paper from one of his pockets, beginning to compose a message for Arturo that would transmit both optimism and the serious reality of what they were facing.

♢♢♢♢

Leonel dragged Kassian along with several of his relatives, directing them toward what would clearly be their temporary prison.

The structure he had prepared was a crystal chamber, not as elaborate as Selphira’s creations, but functional for keeping important prisoners confined.

Unlike his adoptive mother, who had openly declared she didn’t care if the Goldcrests escaped once outside the territory, Leonel wasn’t so humanitarian. Everyone could serve him as political pieces, and he intended to use every available advantage to establish his control over the conquered territory.

“Inside,” he ordered with authority that sounded only slightly forced as he threw Kassian into the room as the first tenant. He was new to the role of conqueror, but was determined to prove he could handle it.

Kassian felt how the abyssal energy within him responded to humiliation and rage. The purple marks between his eyes and temples pulsed with power that wanted to be released, his beasts stirring beneath his skin like caged monsters that had caught the scent of blood.

But he managed to control himself.

Leonel and his retinue weren’t just any group either.

He had come prepared with experienced soldiers, all with beasts of considerable rank and training that showed in every movement.

Kassian wasn’t certain he could win in a direct confrontation, especially surrounded and in territory that was now under enemy control.

So he endured…

It was judicious but no less highly humiliating.

Kassian and Leonel were from close generations, although Leonel was older, not by too much. Perhaps enough for an advantage in experience, but not so much as to make direct competition impossible.

Still, Leonel was on top in this situation and Kassian knew it. He was in a territory almost empty of good soldiers, he had Selphira’s backing and her loyal and strong soldiers… Above all, they had several Gold-rank beasts at hand.

Although he didn’t like the arrogance of Selphira’s “Nepo baby” at all, and although the irony that he himself was considered an arrogant “Nepo baby” by others didn’t occur to him at the moment, Kassian knew he would have to wait for his opportunity.

‘I’ll pay him back someday,’ he thought while getting up from the floor in the crystal prison. ‘Soon even… When our circumstances are different.’

“Sleep comfortably,” Leonel said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ll be important guests for a while.”

♢♢♢♢

Once Leonel left them locked up, Kassian’s mother, a middle-aged woman whose dignity hadn’t been broken by circumstances, immediately approached to check on him.

“Are you hurt?” she asked, her soft hands searching for signs of physical damage.

“I’m fine,” Kassian responded, though his pride was considerably bruised.

Other relatives also approached, sisters, cousins, uncles, some members of lateral family branches who had been in the castle when Selphira attacked. All showed signs of shock but maintained the composure expected of high-ranking nobles.

“Stay calm,” Kassian told them, naturally assuming the leadership role even in these reduced circumstances. “This is temporary. Political situations change rapidly in times of war.”

He invited them to “meditate”.

Everyone seemed to understand something. They sat calmly and closed their eyes.

Kassian went to a corner of the crystal prison, where the formations provided the best visual coverage from any external observation. There he sat in meditation position, closing his eyes as if he were simply processing the day’s events.

It was a “distinguished” way to act during this kind of situation in political conflicts: it gave the sensation of appearing honorably defeated and resigned while keeping the mind clear and alert for future opportunities.

The crystal surrounding them was beautiful in its cold way, creating light patterns that would have been impressive in other circumstances. But Kassian wasn’t admiring the craftsmanship.

‘Leonel has our territory for now,’ he thought while maintaining controlled breathing and serene expression. ‘But territory is only as secure as the force backing it. He has few soldiers. And wars change quickly… Right, Ravenspire?’

In the silence of the crystal prison, surrounded by his family in patient waiting, Kassian began to hear the voice of a three-legged crow invisible to others… it was time to plan not just escape, but revenge.

After all, the Goldcrests hadn’t maintained power for generations by being easy to intimidate.

♢♢♢♢

Selphira was already near the new frontier, that foolishness, that small “fence” Kharzan had wasted his time and resources building.

From her elevated position on her massive white serpent, she could see the gap of several hundred meters they had opened in the original barrier and how they had begun stretching it into the city’s territory like a scar on the earth.

Since entering Kharzan’s territory without them being able to do anything to stop her or even observe her properly, Selphira had been considering what exactly to do with that meager construction.

Destroying it completely seemed like a good initial idea… to lower enemy morale and demonstrate the futility of their improvised defenses.

But in the end she had decided to better help them.

Although it seemed counterintuitive, Selphira was determined that the barrier wouldn’t be 5 meters high but 50… And she would gladly help expand it that way.

‘After all,’ she thought with an icy smile, ‘a high wall will feel safer so no one can enter… or leave.’

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