The next morning, just as the sky showed the first light of dawn, a grand departure ceremony unfolded outside Black Stone Castle.

Raylo sat astride the back of the Storm Griffin King, Baofeng, its tawny Iron Feathers rustling gently in the breeze.

Behind him, the Griffin Knights stood in solemn silence.

Above them in the sky, two hundred Pegasus Knights formed a white cloud.

On the ground, ten Mammoth Knights were like mobile hills, each step making the earth tremble. Twenty Earth Dragon Knights rode ferocious Earth Dragons, which periodically exhaled white smoke smelling of sulfur. Behind them were several thousand Knights in uniform Armor, arranged in neat square formations. Their Long Spears were a forest of steel, and their banners fluttered in the wind.

The banners of Black Stone Territory snapped in the wind.

Raylo gave no grand, impassioned speech.

He simply drew the Divine Weapon, Broken Flow, from his waist and pointed its tip forward.

"All forces, advance!"

As the order was given, the sound of Horns pierced the sky.

"ROAR!"

The hundred-meter-tall Golden Dragon, Sun, let out a sky-shattering roar in response.

Its colossal body rose from a valley behind them, its golden scales glittering in the morning sun. With a beat of its wings, it whipped up a gale and flew to a position above the army.

The army began to move slowly, converging into an unstoppable torrent as it advanced toward Jade Swamp.

The war had begun.

The army marched until nearly noon, arriving at the defensive encampment on the northeastern border of Black Stone Territory.

The place had undergone multiple expansions and repairs. Tall, rammed-earth walls and a forest of arrow towers stood guard, while tents dotted the camp like stars in the sky, giving it the appearance of a temporary military fortress.

Following their officers’ commands, the troops entered the camp in an orderly fashion, making camp and starting fires to cook.

Raylo walked directly into the largest command tent, where Ed and several core generals were already waiting.

In the center of the tent, a massive sand table took up most of the space. It was a detailed model of the terrain of Jade Swamp and the Black Water River, complete with mountains, rivers, and forests.

"My Lord."

Ed stepped forward and handed him a report.

Raylo took it and walked over to the sand table, reading as he went.

"What are the results of the Pegasus Knights’ reconnaissance?"

"Three groups of Knights have returned. We’ve just compiled the latest intelligence."

Ed pointed to the winding Black Water River area on the sand table.

"The situation on the battlefield is even more of a stalemate than we anticipated."

A Pegasus Knight Captain was brought in. After saluting Raylo, he began his detailed report.

"My Lord, based on three consecutive days of aerial reconnaissance, Jade Swamp has gathered at least two battle groups of ten thousand men each along the Black Water River. Their designations are Blood River and Bone Shards."

"Their offensive is ferocious, with near-constant assaults on the Black Water River’s defensive line. However, the Eternal Giant Turtle’s defense is impregnable. It uses the Black Water River as a natural barrier. Its ten thousand Fishfolk underlings are fearless in the face of death, and countless Water Element and Amphibian Magical Beasts emerge from the riverbed. The legions of Jade Swamp have been completely unable to break through the Black Water River’s defenses."

Raylo asked,

"What about their high-end forces?"

"That’s the crux of the problem."

The Pegasus Knight Captain’s expression turned grave.

"Jade Swamp has deployed two Domain Level Powerhouses: Blood River and Bone Shards, the Battle Commanders of their respective battle groups. Although they are powerful, the Eternal Giant Turtle has successfully repelled their attacks by leveraging its absolute control over the Black Water River. As long as it doesn’t leave the Black Water River, the Eternal Giant Turtle is virtually invincible. The Domain Level Powerhouses on both sides have been clashing for a week, but neither has been able to gain the upper hand."

A brief silence fell over the tent.

"Without that Poison Fang fellow, Jade Swamp has lost the one poisoned blade that could truly threaten the old turtle. Poison Fang’s Plague Domain could swiftly and directly contaminate the water, weakening the old turtle’s Power at its very source,"

Ed said.

Raylo nodded. Ed’s analysis matched his own judgment perfectly.

"So you’re saying that Jade Swamp’s main force of over twenty thousand, as well as two Domain Level Powerhouses, are all pinned down on the Black Water River front?"

"Yes, My Lord,"

Ed answered with certainty.

He stared at the sand table, but his gaze passed over the fiercely contested Black Water River and fell upon the vast, dark green area behind it, which was marked with danger symbols. His gaze turned dangerous.

"The enemy has thrown their main forces at the front gate, trying to crack the Eternal Giant Turtle’s shell with brute force."

Raylo’s finger moved away from the Black Water River battlefield on the sand table. He traced an arc that bypassed the front line, pointing directly at the enemy’s exposed heartland.

"Pass on my orders. The entire army is to rest. Send more Pegasus Knights to scout, and expand their reconnaissance range deeper into Jade Swamp."

"Yes, My Lord!"

The generals responded in unison.

「Night fell, but the command tent remained brightly lit.」

For three straight days, it was the busiest place in the entire camp.

Squadrons of Pegasus Knights returned like weary birds to their nests, bringing back the latest intelligence from deep within Jade Swamp, while older reports were quickly filed and analyzed.

The air was thick with the smells of Leather, ink, and the faint heat radiating from the Magic Crystal Lamps.

Raylo stood before the massive sand table, his expression focused.

Beside him, the large white cat, Moonlight, was curled up in a corner of the sand table. The tip of its tail swept idly across the blue sand representing the Black Water River, seeming completely uninterested in this war game of Mortals.

The tent flap was thrown open, and a Pegasus Knight stumbled inside, covered in mud and blood. His face was etched with exhaustion, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.

"My Lord!"

He dropped to one knee, his voice hoarse.

"Third Reconnaissance Squadron, reporting in!"

"Speak."

Raylo’s gaze never left the sand table.

"We followed your orders and penetrated nearly a hundred kilometers into the heartland of Jade Swamp. We avoided all large Lizardfolk patrols and discovered three targets of extreme value."

The Knight pulled a roll of parchment wrapped in oilcloth from his tunic. Ed immediately stepped forward, took it, and carefully unrolled it.

"The first is a small mountain one hundred and eighty kilometers into the eastern part of the swamp, a large Snake-man settlement we’ve designated Coiling Serpent Mountain. We estimate at least three thousand Snake-men are entrenched there."

Raylo picked up a small, black, serpent-shaped flag from a nearby box and precisely planted it in the corresponding location on the sand table.

The flag was small, but in the lamplight, its twisted serpent shape seemed to come alive.

"The second location."

The Knight took a breath and continued his report.

"About thirty kilometers southwest of Coiling Serpent Mountain is a marshland surrounded by poisonous vines that serves as a breeding ground for Swamp Giant Lizards. We personally witnessed more than twenty adult Swamp Giant Lizards nesting there, along with a dozen or so young."

Raylo picked up another black flag, this one bearing the image of a Giant Lizard, and planted it on the table.

The generals in the tent held their breath for a moment.

’Snake-men, Swamp Giant Lizards... These are both crucial components of the Jade Swamp army.’

’Destroying either one would be a massive blow to the enemy’s war potential.’