HPDBC Chapter 445 The Calm before the Storm
Chapter 445 The Calm before the Storm
Time passed with care for Asura's desperate need for more, a brutal fact of life. No matter how powerful he had become, he couldn't stop time or death.
As the chill of autumn crept in from the east, the empire's formidable army loomed ever closer, a shadow of impending doom.
"There are more than thirty thousand troops, Lord Asura." Ignis stood beside him in the main halls of the Arachneas palace, a look of dismay on her face. She then began to list the various types and layouts of the enemy formations.
"Ten thousand standard warriors, five thousand elite archers, seven thousand elite warriors, three thousand cavalry. The remaining are reserve warriors and engineers they seem to have brought with them two different types of machinery this time and seven catapults."
'It looks like they are going to crush us with pure force, though different machinery? Will they use the same barrier from the previous battle... I must be prepared.'
Asura leaned back in his chair, overlooking the eager faces of his subordinates and allies, a dark, gloomy weight spreading through the room. "Did you manage to gain any information about the barrier from last time, Helia?"
'Look at her face—she's so tired I can see the dark bags under her eyes, and even her hands tremble slightly from all the writing I've forced her to do...'
"My Prince, we have managed to secure several different hypotheses regarding the strange core. However, we still need more time to find a way to prevent its current ability."
She paused for a moment as if looking at Asura's face to gauge his reaction and disappointment with the gentle words. "Forgive me." However, he didn't look affected, instead giving her a slow nod and rubbing his chin.
"It seems that it might take a while, can you slowly continue the work for me, Helia?"
"Of course, My Prince."
Helliana let out a sigh, though she was Asura's lover and Fiancée. It made her feel horrible to be useless and unable to help him during this difficult and dangerous time. "I will take my leave. Please excuse me."
"Helia, make sure you eat and get some rest. I am worried about you." Asura's gaze flowed across her body, lingering on her stomach before returning to her beautiful face. He felt relieved with her blushed cheeks and the subtle nod she gave before leaving the room.
"Ahem! Prince Asura, the enemy, could attack at any moment. Shall we proceed with the meeting?" Shizuka's stern but pleasing voice sounded after she cleared her throat. As the queen of this nation, she all but gave decisive power to Asura due to his relationship with Rasha and how Asura dealt with the empire so far.
Her eight dazzling eyes watched his reaction while also gazing around the room to ensure the atmosphere didn't decline. 'Morale is at a low—the queen is trying her best to assist me, but there is a limit to how far we can carry this uphill battle.'
"Understood, Your Highness. I believe that we should ensure that our warriors and knights have enough rest, the empire will likely attack with tactics to drain our limited strength to avoid needless casualties.
Night raids, stopping us from resting or getting any peace." Asura stopped to catch his breath, watching the eyes and reactions of the people around—Gaius and Danos were there, both of them with energetic faces.
"What would you do to avoid this, Prince Asura?" Sigurd asked with a charming smile, sipping on her black tea.
'Thanks, Sigurd. You asked so the other's wouldn't catch me off guard, right?'
"As was stated before from our scout's report, the reinforcements from Silvara should arrive in two days, three at the latest." Asura looked towards the elder, her powerful aura like a true empress despite being retired. "Thus, we will defend the walls with the minimal needed forces, allowing the majority of our forces to rest at night.
To make this possible, the strongest warriors will defend the wall in a rotation."
"Understood, Lady Sigurd, Warchief Gaius. This Queen will also believe in Prince Asura and his people. I cannot thank you enough for coming to our aid. Now, it seems that our fate might very well rest on your shoulders, Young Prince."
"Queen Shizuka, our paths are the same. I will walk along it beside you for every step—do not fear, the Kingdom of Silvara will not forsake you."
In reality, the reason the elder pushed Rasha towards Asura was for this reason.
However, she could have never known he would have walked down this path even without her doing so. Asura hated the empire, and with this chance to lessen their power, he would do anything to do so.
"I understand."
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
"..."
The others nodded and smiled in return, though several left right away, including Rasha. She seemed to be a little awkward, glancing at Asura and wanting to say something. However, the meeting was already over, and she couldn't stay behind.
"Thank you all for your time—I'll see you later."
Stay updated with empire
Asura remained in the main room, watching as the others departed, though some, such as Gaius and Ignis, stayed behind to keep him company and discuss the strategy.
'Tomorrow should be fine, but the following days might become hell... I wish I had the answers or power to stop the people around me from suffering.'
A sigh escaped his lips while the many faces of those who fought with him, for him and beside him appeared in his mind, with a deep pain in his heart.
***
Lorem and her knights marched through the dead lands, now closer than ever to Asura and the battle. They began to slow their speed. Although she wished to rush right to him, a messenger was waiting who explained the details and plans Asura would take.
'That fool, he is more concerned about us than himself.'
"Alright, everyone, we will set up camp tonight because the future battle seems like it will be a tough one. Our Prince has asked us to make sure we are at our best!"
Lorem's scarlet eyes twinkled in the sunlight. She understood his reasoning, but if the empire attacked tonight, then Lorem worried about the casualties and damage caused because they waited an extra day.
'Whatever, I can just punish him when he returns....'