Iya Continent: Card God

In the northwestern region of the Bantu Magic Kingdom lies the Great Forest of Bigon, a magical forest inhabited by various orc races and protected by druid elders.

The old magician Matthew had naturally heard of these things, but he was still quite surprised. How could the bear-men have come to the town? Although the distance wasn't too far, it certainly wasn't close either. Judging from the distance from the forest to here, could it be that they had started their frantic run here at dawn?

"Are you alright? I'm Pinecone, the Bearman. I'm here to help you." Beneath his fierce demeanor, his voice was somewhat honest.

"It's...it's alright..." Matthew replied with a look of realization, his mind still blank.

What exactly is going on?

"Where did this bear-man come from? Kill it!" The remaining elite Imperial cavalrymen were furious.

Thinking that as long as he killed this suddenly appearing bear-man, the situation would not change.

He reined in his horse and charged forward, thrusting his spear with swift and fearless speed.

"Roar--!"

The bear-man Pinecone roared fiercely, unleashing a wild and intimidating aura of the gold level.

The battle-hardened elite cavalry of the Sun God Army were fearless, but the horses beneath them were terrified by the imposing presence and began to leap uncontrollably.

"Hey! Don't be afraid!"

The affected cavalrymen desperately tried to control their mounts. However, this opening was a dead end.

"Roar!" The burly figure lunged forward, baring its fangs and claws as it swung down.

"Clang! Bang!"

The elite cavalryman was sent flying by the overwhelming force, coughing up blood and howling in agony.

The anti-magic armor they wore offered extremely poor resistance to such purely savage attacks, providing virtually no effective protection. Furthermore, the elite cavalry present were few in number; one had already been ambushed and killed, and now another had been routed; the rest were utterly powerless to turn the tide.

"Ugh!"

Soon, the Imperial cavalrymen who attacked the town were all knocked down and captured.

Matthew, who was in charge of supervising this branch, was able to relax and catch his breath. At this moment, Pinecone, the bear-man who had finished his work here, also prepared to leave.

Matthew rushed forward to express his gratitude and inquired about what had happened.

Pinecone scratched the back of his head, puzzled, and said, "I don't know either. Linta just asked us to come and help teleport us. Afterwards, we'll go home on our own."

After learning about the Empire's strategy, Linta devised a countermeasure.

The Empire's anti-magic cavalry has an inherent advantage over the Bantu cities and towns where magic is practiced everywhere. Although there are many non-magicians within the country, this sudden outbreak of unrest has left the various branches with no time to assemble and prepare. The first battle will undoubtedly result in heavy losses.

Linta realized that he could quickly find enough allies who lacked magic but were capable of fighting. These allies were the various orc races within the Bigon Great Forest. Among them were his old friend, the bear-man Pinecone, as well as various tribal chiefs he had become acquainted with. Most importantly, he knew the forest's guardian druid, who was willing to help as a token of gratitude for the forest's past calamity.

So, Linta went to the Bigon Great Forest and used the teleportation portal of the card space to teleport the orcs to various nearby towns. In other words, the panic and unrest that the Empire was creating within the Bantu were being gradually stopped.

……

After the northwestern border was breached, the commander-in-chief magician Fadolan is currently hiding in a mountain called Falling Valley.

Besides him, some of the twenty-four elite pioneer mages he had chosen were also hiding.

These elite students, selected from the academy, were confused. They didn't understand why Master Fadolan had brought them here. He said nothing, only instructing them to follow, using his concealment magic to avoid making a sound.

The group had been hiding here for an unknown amount of time, and the uncertainty was causing some resentment and frustration. Logically, they should be dealing with the imperial army that had invaded their territory, not wasting time here.

Just as someone was about to voice their objections, Fadolan spoke up, his voice deep and solemn, "You're here. Stay focused and don't get caught."

Upon hearing this, everyone tensed up, focused their attention, and stared intently at the entrance to the only passage through the valley.

"Whoosh! Hiss!"

In the distance, one could see an army of sun gods clad in red and black armor, riding bipedal lizards, galloping swiftly towards them.

The elite pioneer mage students were utterly astonished. They never expected that the Empire's Sun God Army would appear in this remote place, and not just any army they had ever seen before.

"As expected," Fadolan murmured.

The meaning behind his words, and my own guess, were indeed correct.

The imperial cavalry before us is a surprise attack force known for its speed and quiet operation. This type of army often launches surprise attacks on the enemy's rear retreat routes and other key locations under the cover of the main force, delivering a fatal blow to the enemy.

Fadolan had anticipated the outcome: the enemy would breach his positions and battlefields, tear open a gap in his territory, rush in, create chaos, and make it difficult to defend the front lines.

All of these are true, but I feel there's more to it than that.

This was because, apart from the special anti-magic troops, the remaining ordinary army did not cause much destruction after breaching the border lines. These troops concentrated their main forces further forward, invading from the left and right. Logically, they could have been more aggressive and advanced further.

This lack of action would cause the Magic Association to focus its attention on their location and to dispatch powerful mages to deal with the infiltrated anti-magic army. This would naturally make the process relatively peaceful.

Fadolan examined the map and noticed the location, Fallen Valley. Within the valley lay a shortcut—a path impassable to warhorses but traversable by special magical beasts. Once this path was traversed, it would provide a smooth route around to the rear of Lord Copost!

Fadolan suspected that the enemy had a sinister purpose: to send a surprise attack on the main city of Coposte. At this moment, most of the mages and seated mages in the Magic Guild within the main city had already left for the battlefield. Losing their main city would greatly weaken its defenses, and if the main city were to be breached and captured, it would have a tremendous impact on the entire Bantu, potentially causing a collapse in morale and chaos at the front lines.

"Whoosh! Hiss!"

At this moment, the lizard-ostrich entered the valley's main path. The path, overgrown with thorny bushes and stony rocks, hindered its smooth progress. However, these magical beasts stepped onto the mountainside and leaped over the obstacles along the rock face.

The pioneering magician students stared in astonishment. Was there really such a way?

Fadolan took a deep breath, raised his hand and gestured, "Half of you go forward, half go back, and the rest, just go with the flow."

"Yes!!" the crowd responded and dispersed.

Fadolan's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he watched the enemy's movements. He rubbed two fingers together, creating a purple glow.

"Arcane - Mountain Awakening".

As the magic was released, the mountain wall that had been traversed suddenly began to tremble. The entire immovable rock mountain seemed to come alive, shaking its rubble and awakening.

The elite raiding troops of the Sun God Army, though surprised by what had happened, remained remarkably calm.

"Go to a safe place, don't panic!"

With his other hand, Fadolan had already gathered magic power, ready to leap towards his opponent for a safe attack.

"Death!"

The magic was unleashed; a torrent of elemental magic poured down from above, striking the raiding troops.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a streak of light shot out, and the anti-magic power directly neutralized Faldoran's magical attack.

Fadolan gritted his teeth and glared at the distant object from which the shot had come.

It's that archer general from the bird-man race again!