Chapter 99: All-Out War Begins
Over the next few days, the atmosphere in the entire Dragonite Kingdom became electric. The Kingdom of the Land had made such a huge fuss mobilizing its army, only to get punched in the face three times by their own Lord Lan, and was now cowering like a turtle. News of this had spread throughout the kingdom.
Well before this, Liz had already issued a declaration of war, so everyone knew they were going to fight. At that time, people had been a little worried.
Worried, not afraid. Not a single citizen of the Dragonite Kingdom feared war. The people who had survived the Tribal Period had hearts of iron. Any tribe that hadn't been through seven or eight tribal wars didn't even have the face to speak.
A national-level war was a first for the citizens of both kingdoms. In the eyes of most who weren't personally involved, it was just a larger-scale tribal war. At most, they worried about whether they could win.
But now, they weren't worried at all. At least within the capital, a large chorus of voices had risen up, hoping Liz would lead the full army in a single charge to the Land Kingdom's capital, take out Sakaki the White, and claim more territory for their kingdom.
But a war between two nations was obviously more complicated. How could they be so rash as to charge in with their entire army like in the old days?
This was illustrated by a new problem that had caused a dispute between Liz and Will. In this second life, Will and Liz had never had a conflict, because neither of them was a simple, naive child, and both had relatively peaceful and gentle personalities, often compromising for the other. This was their first real argument.
The issue was where Will should be deployed when the war began.
Liz insisted that Will should lead the sea-based force. Because he was the one who had pioneered the sea route, he was the most familiar with it. With him leading, they could greatly reduce the sea unit's losses and speed up their arrival to support the main front. Besides, on the main front, the Dragonite army was already stronger than the Land army. To put it bluntly, even if the Land army had some scheme, as long as the Dragonite army didn't stupidly follow them into the forest, the Land army couldn't do anything to them. They could easily hold their ground until the sea unit arrived. Therefore, the main front was not lacking Will's top-tier combat power.
But Will believed he should stay by Liz's side to prevent any possible accidents. The Land Kingdom's "probing" attacks these past few days were a joke to many, but Will, who had personally participated, felt that something was wrong. The enemy was clearly trying to provoke them into declaring an all-out war. Sakaki was not an idiot; it was obvious he had a secret plan that he believed would lead him to victory. And this plan could only be used during the final, all-out war.
Furthermore, there was a high probability that this plan was targeted directly at Liz.
In that case, Will, of course, had to stay by her side to protect her. Moreover, the entire reason he had worked so hard for so long was to protect Liz. Helping her protect the kingdom was secondary. Her life came first. The sea route was already cleared; what danger could that unit possibly encounter? Could they coincidentally run into another Land Kingdom naval force? What if something happened to Liz on the main front while he was gone?
If the leader was lost, the Dragonite Kingdom would fall all the same. Will didn't think the people would place their hope in a beast they couldn't even properly communicate with. And he didn't think that if Liz died, he would have any desire to protect her kingdom. At most, he would grab a few members of the Dragonite Clan and run.
This day, Liz was in the study, still trying to persuade him. Will just crossed his arms and turned his head, completely ignoring whatever she was saying, which was making her want to cry. If she wouldn't listen to reason, then there was no point in talking. When the time came, the wings were on his body. He would fly wherever he wanted.
BANG.
The study door was violently thrown open, and Hestia rushed in anxiously.
"Lady Liz! The Land army has emerged from the forest! This time, the enemy force is massive, roughly estimated at fifteen thousand! They are advancing towards us. It seems they intend to start the final, all-out war!"
"...Prepare my horse. The entire army moves out," Liz said, her brow furrowing slightly, but she was not panicked.
"Yes!" Hestia nodded and left.
"Lan, there's no more time to argue. You must go lead the naval force! Go now!"
"Hmph." Will just glanced at her, looking completely unconcerned. He even plopped down on the floor, which almost made Liz die of anger. Looking at him, she knew he still intended to go with her to the main front. This was the first time Lan had ever been so disobedient!
"Lan~ I'm begging you. Just this once. Whether the naval force can successfully flank them is related to the lives of thousands of soldiers. It could even affect the entire war. We absolutely cannot lose," she pleaded.
Will sighed. In the end, he compromised. Liz was the commander of this war. She would be the one to bear the consequences of any wrong command. This time, their hearts were not linked as one. She didn't let him do as he pleased, and he chose to trust her judgment.
"Thank you for trusting me, Lan. I love you~" Liz, seeing him finally relent, broke into a smile. She bounced over and kissed his cheek. "I'll be waiting for you on the main front. Even if there's an accident, if you don't come, I won't die."
"You'd better not," Will grumbled. He flew out the window and headed towards Jubilance Town at full speed. The naval force was already stationed there, ready to depart at any time. With his speed, he could reach it in just a few dozen minutes.
"...I'll be waiting for you," Liz whispered, watching his distant figure.
She then turned, went downstairs, and, with Hestia's help, donned her armor, mounted her horse, and led the army towards the Mt. Silver Road.
Sakaki had a plan. Liz, of course, knew this. She knew it even better than Will; after all, she had watched with her own eyes as he had taken down the Silph king and seized the throne. So, she was naturally wary of his bizarre actions these past few days and had her own countermeasures. She didn't know what his specific plan was, but the Dragonite Kingdom was prepared with three hands.
The first was the main frontal assault. If they could push all the way to the Land capital, that would be best. But this was unlikely. As mentioned, the moment the Land army retreated into the forest, their advance would slow, and their casualties would rise. They might still win, but at a high cost.
The second hand was the naval encirclement. This was the most crucial part. Until the naval force arrived, they could not fully commit to chasing the enemy. They had to fight slowly, drawing it out, to give the naval force time to come up from the forest and block the road.
The third hand was the measure to prevent Sakaki's secret plan. Liz had summoned the Beedrill swarm to the capital.
Yes, the very swarm she had brought out of Mt. Silver all those years ago, the one that had been personally raised by Will in his first life. Their numbers were now at five hundred. The Beedrill Alpha, Wally, was a high-level Lv. 55, and his strongest lieutenants—Milly, Frost, and Rusty—were all around Lv. 45.
The Beedrill swarm was not part of the Dragonite Kingdom. They listened only to Liz's personal requests, and that was only because Wally and the others still saw her as "clan." Once they passed away, the other Beedrill would likely no longer obey her. Normally, they occupied their own territory in the Mt. Silver range and did not interfere with the kingdom. Only when Liz was in a true crisis would Wally lead his swarm down the mountain to help.
With five hundred Beedrill and the hundred or so Pokémon from the academy guarding the capital, Liz felt that whatever trick Sakaki had, it would be useless against such a force. After all, her own top generals only had Pokémon at Lv. 50 or slightly higher.
Mt. Silver Road.
"General Hephaestus!"
"Speak," the young man with fiery red hair said, brandishing his spear, already eager for battle. Beneath him was a majestic Rapidash. The flames burning on its body gave off an intense heat, and no ordinary horse dared to come within three meters of it.
"The Dragonite army is on the move."
"Did the Dragonite Queen come?"
"No, their advance force is led by General Drake."
"Hmph. So she suspected something. It's all that useless Artemis's fault, taking two years and still not finishing that road, dragging this out for so long." Hephaestus's expression soured upon hearing Liz wasn't there. He had hoped to take her head himself and return for glory; perhaps the boss would have even made him a duke.
The messenger beside him didn't dare to respond and just kept his head lowered in silence.
"Fine. Proceed according to the plan. Engage them a few times, then retreat into the forest."
"Yes, sir!"
Within Mt. Silver.
"When do we move out?" Artemis asked the tall man beside her. Although she was reluctant, this man was stronger, his status was higher, and she had to obey his command.
"Not yet. We at least have to wait until the flying unit has departed. And the Dragonite Queen hasn't appeared yet. We'll wait until she shows up," Ares said, crouching calmly in the tunnel, in no hurry at all.
On the other side of the Mt. Silver Road.
"Lady Liz, are you only sending General Drake's unit?"
"To fight a whelp like Hephaestus, he is more than enough," Liz said, dressed in her silver armor and white cape, turning her head to look south. The towering Mt. Silver range blocked all of the sea breeze, but she could feel that Lan was on the other side of that mountain, fighting with her.
"When do we advance?"
"Wait. Slow them down. Let the naval force circle around."
Liz retracted her gaze and looked toward the road ahead, where the faint sounds of battle were already drifting on the wind. The first fight had begun.
"Roar-char..." Behind her, Charizard stood on the ground, growing impatient. He had never been in such a large-scale war and was eager to rush forward and spit fire on a few hundred people for his queen.
"Gliscor," Scorp reached out and patted Charizard, reminding him to be patient. He kept in mind the words Will had told him before he left: they must stay by Liz's side at all times and protect her. They could not, under any circumstances, rush into the enemy camp on a whim and leave her alone.
Besides them, Iris had even sent her Little Splasher and Nattie to join them. Their levels were too low to make a difference on the main front, but they were more than qualified to stay by Liz's side and provide support. Nattie, in particular, could fly into the sky and use her psychic powers and keen eyes to scout the area, ensuring no one could sneak up on the queen.
Mt. Silver, Middle Ring.
In the cave, the old Scyther felt the earth tremble. It walked outside, frowning as it looked towards the southern sky. It felt a sense of unease.
"Scyther?" another Scyther came out of the cave, saw its leader, and shrugged. "Scyther."
"...Scyther!" The old Alpha nodded firmly after hearing his words.
One minute later, ten Scyther flew out from the middle ring of Mt. Silver, heading straight to the south.
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