Chapter 76: A Heavy Burden (Third Update!)

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  "Are you backing off?"

  Rour sat on his horse, holding a battle report from the front lines delivered by a messenger.

  Hmmm... Won but retreated, this Adrick, you also felt something was off, right?

  Lu Ru rubbed his chubby face hard, kneading the fat on his face into lumps, while his subordinates beside him looked at the general's movements with a mixture of amusement and indifference.

  As an infantry corps, Rouran's troops moved northward at a slow pace, and his troops were also responsible for carrying a large amount of baggage and military supplies.

  The generals of the Sixth Legion were not in a hurry to rush to the front line - as the saying goes, the commander is the backbone of the army, and the character of a commander often leaves a deep impression on the troops he commands. Therefore, the style of the Sixth Legion has never been like that of the Thirteenth Legion, which was known for its iron-like discipline.

  In fact, during this expedition to the north, General Rour's heart had been filled with a deep sense of foreboding, a peculiar intuition that he was born with. Every time he encountered danger, this feeling became particularly strong. Rour had been in the military for many years and had gone through countless battles, managing to escape safely every time, with more than half of these escapes thanks to his keen intuition. This time, as they marched further north, this sense of danger grew stronger with each step, to the point where even in the cold weather, Rour was drenched in sweat, his quilted armor liner soaked through.

  Rouru thought for a moment, then made a decision: "Gather all the war horses of our army, and also the scouting camp... Hmm, let the flag team behind leave one thousand people! Form a mixed rear team, separate from the main force and move slowly in the back, remember to keep a distance of one day's journey with our main team at all times, don't get too close, nor allow yourself to fall too far!"

  The rabbit general let out a sigh and a bitter smile appeared on his face: "I hope my premonition this time is also correct."

  As he spoke, he patted the fat on his face and cursed with a smile: "Hastings couldn't kill me, this time Odin's leading general, is he more ruthless than Hastings? Hmph!"

  ※※※

  The 13th Legion was indeed one of the empire's most elite legions, and after Adrick gave the order to retreat, the warriors, although somewhat puzzled in their hearts, still resolutely carried out the order.

  After reorganizing, the Thirteenth Legion quickly withdrew from the battlefield, retreating across the flat plain with General Adrick personally leading a flag battalion in the rear guard to prevent pursuit by the O'Din people.

  A distance of ten li is neither near nor far, and with the speed of cavalry, it only took a meal's worth of time to arrive at the designated assembly point.

  Sosia, still dissatisfied with the habit of charging with heavy cavalry, couldn't help but run to Adrick again after reassembling.

  "General, I really don't understand. Since we've won, even if we didn't charge into the valley, at least we could have stayed in the valley and pinned down this Odin's legion to death. Why do we..."

  Adric sat on his horse, eating his dinner. He swallowed a piece of hard dried meat mixed with cold water, wiped the water stains from his mustache, and narrowed his eyes to look at the number one general under his command, with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.

  Taking a deep breath, Adrick's eyes were slightly dim: "Sosia, how many years have you followed me?"

  Sosia with a thick beard thought for a moment: "In the Thirteenth Legion, it's been nine years now. When you first came, I was just a deputy battalion commander."

  Adrick seemed to smile, his eyes still maintaining a stern gaze as he turned to look at the cavalrymen lined up beside him. The horses' hooves and the clanking of armor were the only sounds that broke the silence.

  The general's eyes became complex, he lightly sighed and then bitterly smiled: "Sosia... I'm afraid I won't be able to stay here for too long."

  Sosia's face changed suddenly, and then she heard the general's worried voice: "I've been in the 13th Legion for nine years. Is it usual for an officer to stay in one legion for so long? Hmph... Two years ago they wanted to transfer me away. As a lifelong imperial soldier, you should understand that the commander of the main force cannot hold his position for a long time. This is to prevent generals from becoming too powerful and rebelling. I've already stayed in the 13th Legion for nine years, which is the limit. If I'm not mistaken, after this war, at most one and a half years later, I'll be transferred away from here. Maybe I'll go to the Osgerian military department as vice minister, or maybe I can go to a local area to take charge of a military district as governor..."

  Sosia's face turned extremely ugly, her lips opened and closed, staring at Adrick, unable to say a word.

  Adrik's large palm patted on Sosia's shoulder, saying in a low voice: "My old friend, we have fought side by side for nine years. I think you are the best candidate to succeed me. You fight bravely and I will give you the most elite heavy cavalry banner of the 13th legion. Over the years, your prestige has also been established, and you have enough understanding and feelings for this army. I have no doubt about your ability. However..."

  "General pointed to his own head: "You still need to use this more! The 13th Army is an iron army, a fearless and forward-iron army! But in addition to bravery, as the commander of an army, you also need to use your brain! You're not brainless, it's just that you're too used to solving problems with force. This is indeed a manifestation of your bravery, but if one day you become the commander of an army, bravery alone is not enough."

  Actually, Adric had another sentence hidden in his heart for many years, but he never dared to say it out loud, just because this sentence was too sensitive, and if he said it, he feared that it would hurt the morale of the army instead.

  (Advance, or die... This slogan is indeed very stirring, but the 13th Legion has been carrying this slogan for too long! It's been so long that it's almost suffocating under the weight of this slogan! An army on the battlefield only knows how to charge forward fiercely, and its effect can never truly control the situation! A true invincible army should be able to advance and retreat with a plan! But carrying the heavy burden of "Advance, or die", the entire 13th Legion is trapped in a state of frenzy: thinking that bravery can solve everything, thinking that as long as they dare to fight to the death, they can defeat the enemy. But this way of thinking... is fundamentally wrong!)

  If it's just a camp or a small detachment of a flag team, then having a powerful and unparalleled slogan as the soul of the army is enough. However, the 13th Army Corps is an army corps! It's a regular army corps that fights independently! So, in many cases, when facing war, what's needed is not just "advance", sometimes it's also necessary to learn "retreat" or even "defeat"!!

  But these words, others can't say, and as the commander of the 13th Legion, Adrick is even more unable to say!

  (This fervent slogan can usually inspire morale and turn into infinite combat power at most times. However, sometimes it may even end up killing this army...)

  ※※※

  Xia Ya sat quietly on the bed, his eyes tightly closed, with a fire fork placed horizontally on his knees and the magic crystal held in his hand.

  "You don't need to think of a way to 'merge' with this magical crystal, because in fact, when I hid my soul inside this magical crystal, I discovered that your soul imprint had already been deeply imprinted on it! Perhaps you yourself are unaware, but you always managed to burst out with incredible power in times of crisis, precisely because the soul imprint was triggered, allowing the magical crystal to exert its original effect."

  In the depths of his mind, the dragon's voice was narrating in a cold tone.

  "Hmm, has it already 'merged' long ago? When was that? Xia Ya furrowed her brow, deep in thought. (When did I start wearing this stone around my neck? Hmm, even I've forgotten the exact date, it's as if old man had put this thing on my neck since I was very young. Perhaps, old man deceived me and made some moves without my knowledge...)

  "I may not be able to tell you exactly how to control that mysterious power, but based on the explosion of energy within this magic crystal when you previously burst out, I can roughly analyze some things. The main source of this power is... killing intent! On the battlefield, experiencing life and death at the critical point, walking between life and death, bursting out with that killing intent! Your killing intent, as well as the killing intent of those who want to kill their enemies! This stone, accurately speaking, is just a special magic crystal. It can absorb the surrounding killing intent, convert it into a powerful force, and then burst out. As the owner of this stone, what you need to do is understand its rules, and in future battles, you can actively use this power..."

  "After careful consideration, to stimulate the outbreak of this power, external pressure is needed. When you are pressed by external pressure to a certain extent, your soul will emit fluctuations and trigger the soul imprint in the stone, activating this power."

  As a dragon, although I lost my physical body, I retained most of my spiritual power and can still barely exert some of the special powers unique to dragons. Although it's only a tiny fraction of my original strength, it just so happens to include... Dragon's Majesty."

  As soon as the words fell, Xia Ya suddenly felt a tightness all over his body! An intangible oppressive feeling enveloped him! It was an invisible and untouchable sense of pressure, as if there was a dangerous aura looming above him, wrapping him tightly around! His heart suddenly started racing, breathing rapidly, and the hairs on his body seemed to stand up - just like a wild beast encountering danger, tensing up its body and curling into a ball!

  "Calm down! Feel this pressure! My soul power can't withstand this pressure for too long! You carefully feel the oppression, your own consciousness... every subtle feeling, every subtle vibration... damn it, I've never met a human as stupid as you!"

  In the end, the voice of the dragon in his mind became urgent and exasperated...

  Xia Ya suddenly opened his eyes, and at this moment, his eyes had turned completely blood red! He jumped up abruptly, as if he had lost his mind, let out a loud roar, and swung the fire fork fiercely towards the surroundings...

  BOOM!!!

  A loud roar, several blood-colored lights transformed into more than a dozen light blades, shooting out in all directions. The military tent was instantly torn to pieces under these light blades, collapsing with a loud crash!!

  Several thick wooden stakes supporting the tent split and fell on Xia Ya, instantly crushing the bed under him.

  Xia Ya suddenly came to, coughing pitifully amidst the dust, tears streaming down his face as he scrambled out from under the rubble and collapsed onto the ground, still managing a rather unglamorous mouthful of mud.

  Suddenly she flipped over, Xia Ya jumped up, stared wide-eyed at the fire fork in her hand, and then suddenly laughed loudly to the sky.

  "Hahaha! I feel it! I feel it!!!"

  In his mind, the dragon's voice grew weak and said: "Fool! You're truly a foolish human! You've only sensed it once, and you're still far from being able to use it accurately! What are you proud of!"

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