Novel Full Chapter 662 662: Breaking Into the Fortress
Flattering voices kept echoing around the crown prince, and he stood there smiling proudly as he looked toward Withered Tree Fortress.
In his mind, his strategy had already succeeded completely. It wouldn’t be long before Withered Tree Fortress was destroyed. Once that happened, the Serpent Empire would be fully swallowed by the Stellar Empire, and he would become the undisputed heir to the throne.
As he was daydreaming about what he would do once he became emperor, a voice broke the harmony.
“Your Highness, I don’t think this is the time to relax. We’ve only gained a small advantage for now. I believe the Serpent Empire must have hidden reserves waiting to be used.”
The one who spoke was none other than the governor of the Atacama Desert, a man the crown prince had always despised.
The crown prince shot him a cold look.
“Of course I know that. I don’t need you to remind me. And let me remind you—commanding the battle is not your place.”
With that, he led the people around him forward, heading closer to Withered Tree Fortress. He had decided he needed to be nearer so he could direct the fighting more easily.
The governor stayed where he was, shaking his head slightly.
Though he had risen thanks to the Stellar Empire’s prime minister, he was genuinely loyal to the Stellar Empire itself. He would never deliberately try to sabotage the crown prince.
But ever since the crown prince arrived in the Atacama Desert, he had treated the governor like a thorn in his side. Only because the governor kept backing down had open conflict between them been avoided.
“I just hope the crown prince’s judgment is right. Once this battle is over, maybe I’ll finally be transferred back to the empire’s heartlands,” the governor sighed softly to himself.
He truly didn’t want to stay here any longer. Yes, he held great power in the Atacama Desert, but in the end, it was still a desert. Life here was far harsher than in the imperial homeland.
Meanwhile, at the junction of the eastern and southern Walls of Withered Tree Fortress, the battle between Azka and Aldany had reached a fever pitch.
Both had already played all their trump cards.
Aldany was now surrounded by powerful curse energy. Every one of his attacks carried a venomous curse. Azka had already been hit by six of them, and his condition was grim.
Though his mystical beast was sharing some of the burden, Azka could still feel his very soul being weakened.
“Trash will always be trash,” Aldany sneered, now that he clearly held the upper hand. “I will always be the obstacle you can never cross. You’re only fit to serve as my pawn.”
Azka didn’t lose control just because of Aldany’s taunts.
He didn’t even bother to answer them.
Instead, he kept thinking about how he could keep fighting Aldany. He had already admitted to himself that he couldn’t completely defeat him. But he also couldn’t let Aldany move on to another battlefield. That meant he had to hold him here, no matter what.
A moment later, he finally came up with a way.
“I really can’t beat you,” Azka said calmly, “but can you beat me? Your curses are nasty, I’ll admit that. But my mystical beast can share the burden of those curses. To crush me with curses alone would take a very long time.
By the time you finally wear me down, this whole battle will already be over. No matter who wins or loses, your own end will be miserable. Even if we lose, you won’t have earned much credit.
Your new master won’t reward you at all. On the contrary, he’ll think you purposely held back during the fight. And when that happens, you’ll be cast aside by the very master you now serve.”
Azka threw the words back at him like a blade.
Aldany was completely enraged.
He hated hearing anyone call the Stellar Empire’s crown prince his “master.” Even though in reality he had no choice but to follow the crown prince’s orders, he still wanted to keep some shred of dignity in front of others.
But now, it was obvious—that dignity was nothing but a fantasy.
“Enough!” Aldany roared.
He stopped wasting words and launched a full assault on Azka. This time, he poured every bit of his curse power into the attack. On top of that, he chose to take a risk by striking Azka’s body directly.
He had no intention of dragging things out any longer.
As their battle grew fiercer, the area around them became completely empty of soldiers. The shockwaves from their clash alone were enough to kill ordinary fighters.
Meanwhile, on Connell’s side, after breaking through the outermost gate of Withered Tree Fortress with his Royal Guards, he found himself temporarily stalled.
Most people, faced with such a situation, would have chosen to play it safe. Even if they didn’t retreat, they would at least set up a defensive line on the spot.
But Connell wasn’t like most people. He decided to push forward with the Royal Guards, deeper into the fortress.
“Stay sharp, everyone! We’ve already come this far—there’s no turning back. The only path left is forward!”
With that, he charged ahead once more, straight into the heart of the fortress.
The Royal Guards behind him all wore grim, heavy expressions.
They felt that Connell’s approach was far too reckless.
At the start, his bold moves had impressed them, but once his decisions pushed them into real danger, they began to think more carefully.
The Royal Guards themselves already held high status. They didn’t need to earn great achievements on the battlefield to advance their positions. All they had to do was show up, survive, and then their military record would allow them to rise quickly through Aredale Academy’s ranks.
For them, staying alive was what mattered most.
“We can’t keep pushing forward! All we need to do is hold here and wait for the reinforcements His Highness will send. We’ve already fulfilled the task His Highness gave us!” one of the Royal Guards shouted loudly at Connell.
But Connell didn’t even respond.
In the end, the Royal Guards split apart. Some chose to keep following Connell deeper into the fortress, while others stayed behind.
This sudden split immediately eased the defensive pressure on Withered Tree Fortress.
General Sost, seeing this, finally let out a long breath.
“Looks like the enemy’s will isn’t as firm as we thought. Some of them are clearly terrified of dying in battle,” he muttered to himself.
Just as he relaxed, the members of the Ancient Academy made their move.
Up until now, during the battle, most of them had been supporting the Stellar Empire’s vanguard under Maxwell’s command. They hadn’t fought on the front lines but instead provided long-range fire support.
But after a while, the Stellar Empire’s crown prince grew dissatisfied with them. He felt the members of the Ancient Academy should also be thrown directly into combat.
When a messenger arrived with the crown prince’s order, Maxwell accepted it without hesitation.
“I understand. Go back and tell His Highness we’ll take action immediately.”
After the messenger left, Maxwell turned his eyes to Julian.
“It’s your time now. I imagine you’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while, haven’t you?”
Julian gave no reply. Without a word, he simply turned and walked away.
Maxwell watched Julian’s back as he walked away and let out a cold laugh.
“Stop pretending. Even if you succeed, our senior brother won’t reward you much. You’re only making up for your past mistakes.
No matter how this battle ends, I’ll be the one to receive his reward. Because throughout the fight, I’ve been using my intelligence.”
The other members of the Ancient Academy heard Maxwell’s words, but all of them acted as if they hadn’t.
After all, both Maxwell and Julian were among the stronger members of the Academy. Their status wasn’t as high as Harbor’s, but it was still far above that of the ordinary members.
Faced with a conflict between the two, the rest naturally didn’t dare get involved.
Julian moved quickly and soon reached a spot not too far from Withered Tree Fortress.
There, he summoned one of his mystical beasts.
It was his strongest mystical beast aside from Chrono Rabbit—the Tunnel Worm.
The Tunnel Worm was weak in direct combat, and it was extremely timid. Even when forced to fight by its Beast Master, it usually held back.
But outside of battle, its support abilities were extraordinary.
The Tunnel Worm could connect two locations that weren’t too far apart, creating what was essentially a wormhole. It could also partially hide the space around itself, allowing its master to hide inside and avoid being easily detected by enemies.
Julian had summoned the Tunnel Worm for exactly this reason—to use its wormhole ability to slip directly into the fortress.
Taking a deep breath, he looked at the Tunnel Worm half-burrowed in the ground.
“I’m ready. Open the wormhole now!”
As soon as he spoke, a glowing white sphere appeared in front of the Tunnel Worm.
This was the wormhole that led straight into the heart of Withered Tree Fortress.