Chapter 105: Chaos of Battle

The discontent among the beasts was quelled by Chu Tian with just two sentences, and the war soon returned to its proper course.

At the moment the Reich Empire lost Klyns, suffering a severe blow to its military strength, everyone expected Makori to seize the opportunity to launch a decisive attack and crush his opponent at once. However, in reality, Makori continued to conduct small-scale charges daily, yet the final battle never came.

Ten days passed, and all the generals grew impatient, but Chu Tian remained leisurely, wandering around the beast encampment every day. Through his gold coin policy, he had forged a strong bond with the beasts. Chu Tian’s position within the Caesar army was quite unique. In terms of rank, he was no lower than Makori or Damar, and the title of Holy Priest had become more of a symbol. Yet, he never attended military meetings nor led troops into battle. During this period, Chu Tian’s sole duty was to examine the health of the beasts and warhorses.

Others were unaware of Makori’s intentions, but Chu Tian, as the veterinarian, understood clearly. Every day, Caesar’s hired beasts would join the iron cavalry for a small-scale charge, but after each charge, a few beasts inexplicably failed to return, including Kuata and Chu Tian’s own guard, Anna. Adding to this, Fena, commander of the Sacred Phoenix Legion stationed in the southern frontier, had not appeared at Quarry Fort for some time. From these signs, Chu Tian guessed that Makori was preparing for a major play.

On the twenty-fourth day of the eighth month, in the year 719 of the Phantom Beast Calendar, a day destined to be forever etched into the history of the Phantom Beast Continent, Makori finally received the message he had long awaited, and the entire war machine of Quarry Fort roared to life.

At dawn, Chu Tian was awakened by the thunderous roar of iron cavalry. The little white beast sleeping by his ear was disturbed as well, grumbling and giving Chu Tian’s ear a sharp nip.

“Praise be to the Goddess of Life!” Chu Tian rolled his eyes and rubbed his ear, sighing—some things just become bearable with time.

“Boss!” Peiqi knocked on the door and called out from outside, “Marshal Makori has launched the decisive battle!”

“Finally, it’s begun? Heh heh.” Chu Tian dressed quickly, carrying Little White out of the bedroom. “What does Marshal Makori want me to do?”

Chu Tian was more on vacation than a participant in the war. Makori knew she had little military skill and allowed her to do as she pleased. So, Chu Tian’s young master had Peiqi shadow Makori, while she found her own place to relax. If Makori needed anything from Chu Tian, it would be communicated through Peiqi.

“The Marshal requests you to head to the beast camp, ready to treat injured beasts at any time,” Peiqi said, hesitating before adding, “Boss, can I...?”

“No problem, you go!” Chu Tian knew what Peiqi wanted. As a former centurion of Caesar’s iron cavalry, Peiqi’s greatest wish was to fight on the battlefield, not guard a boss who didn’t require protection. “Also, bring all my guards with you.”

Chu Tian was a duke of an enemy nation and was entitled to three thousand guards by regulation. Under Peiqi’s training, these three thousand were no less than elite Caesar iron cavalry.

“Thank you, boss!” Peiqi’s eyes lit up. After a brisk salute, he hurried away.

No sooner had Peiqi left than Chu Tian took a communication stone from his waist. “Hey! Apache, be careful out there—Peiqi will be on the battlefield too!” Chu Tian never neglected his subordinates, always considering everything from gold coins to safety.

After preparing, Chu Tian gathered Dio and Barbosa and casually strolled to the beast camp, which lay just beyond the gates of Quarry Fort. Even from behind the gates, the thunderous sounds of battle were audible. Inside the camp, aside from the busy priests, there wasn’t a single beast in sight—they had all gone to fight.

“Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!” As Chu Tian arrived, a dozen soldiers rushed in bearing a huge stretcher. “Great! Prince Vladino is here too!” The lead soldier excitedly said upon seeing Chu Tian. “Your Highness, please check on Kato!”

How did he get injured so quickly? Not very impressive. Chu Tian approached the stretcher and clicked his tongue. Damn! To survive such injuries, Kato was tough.

Kato, an eighth-rank beast with a rooster’s head and humanoid body, had no major issues except his snake tail. The lower part of his tail had been viciously torn off. Kato lay unconscious, with the severed tail placed on his chest.

“Who put the tail on his chest!?” Chu Tian frowned. Such carelessness was like wishing Kato’s death.

No one dared answer Chu Tian’s question. Fortunately, Chu Tian had no intention of blaming the soldiers. “Hmm, not bad. Luckily, he was brought in just in time.” He then took out surgical tools. “Dio, watch carefully—I’m going to teach you how to treat severed limbs!”

Reconnect a severed tail? The soldiers stared in shock. Surely the Holy Priest was extraordinary—performing feats no one else on the continent could accomplish!

Chu Tian cleaned the wound, aligned the broken bone, sutured the nerves, bound the muscles, and finally stitched the wound with surgical thread, coating it with ninth-rank healing ointment. In less than half an hour, the procedure was complete. Though surgeries on Earth were never this simple, the magical tools forged with the full power of the nation’s magic greatly shortened the process.

Despite the amazement of those around, Chu Tian’s heart ached. Another bottle of ninth-rank medicine wasted! At this rate, his resources would soon be depleted. Kato was an eighth-rank beast; whoever wounded him must have been eighth-rank as well. To heal Kato quickly, Chu Tian had no choice but to use a treasured item.

Splash! A cool splash of water revived Kato. “Huh? I’m not dead? Haha, I’m not dead!”

“I told you, with me around, none of you will die in this war!” Chu Tian packed away his tools.

“Ah? You saved me, Your Highness? Thank you!” Kato expressed his gratitude, but his expression soon darkened. “Alas, my tail is gone; I’ll never walk again!”

Kato had yet to realize his tail had been reattached—a feat unheard of on the continent.

“Look for yourself!” Chu Tian gestured to Kato’s lower body.

“Ah???” Kato’s eyes widened and mouth gaped open, speechless.

More beasts were carried in, many wounded soldiers as well. Soon, with the arrival of a large group of priests, the beast camp transformed into a temporary battlefield hospital.

Every priest entering the camp showed the same reaction: first rushing urgently due to the growing number of wounded, then pausing in awe upon seeing the pride of continental priests—the idol of imperial priests! Then, all began working frantically. To treat the wounded alongside the Holy Priest was a lifetime honor they would boast about. Finally, every priest’s gaze toward Dio grew red with envy, for he was receiving Chu Tian’s personal guidance. Such glory drove them mad with jealousy.

“Hey! Stop daydreaming! Go get your revenge!” Chu Tian nudged the dazed Kato. “You’re fully healed!”

“Ah! I’m going now!” Kato nodded blankly and turned to leave the camp, though his mouth remained agape.

Praise be to the Goddess of Life! Such naïve fellows—what’s so extraordinary about attaching a tail? Chu Tian shrugged and picked up his scalpel again. “Dio, how should we treat burns?”

——————————————————————————————————

Outside Quarry Fort, the battle raged fiercely.

Apache had reverted to her form as a thunder eagle, circling high in the sky. Beneath her beak, magic poured down like a torrential rain upon the battlefield. Without any ninth-rank beasts to oppose her, Apache’s role quickly became apparent. After a dense barrage of magic, the enemy’s defenses were shattered, creating a wide swath of open ground. The Caesar iron cavalry charged forward in perfect formation, seizing the position. Thus, Apache’s magical bombardment and Caesar’s cavalry charges pushed the entire front line rhythmically and swiftly toward the Reich.

Whenever the Reich attempted to strike Apache with magical cannons or crossbows, she would spread her wings and soar into the high sky, unleashing an even more furious magical onslaught. With the support of ninth-rank beasts, victory was firmly in Caesar’s grasp.

However, not all fronts were as smooth as Apache’s. The Reich still possessed many seventh and eighth-rank beasts. In a corner of the battlefield beyond Apache’s magic reach, a towering gorilla tens of meters tall was tearing into Caesar’s beasts.

The gorilla let out a howl, pounding its chest. With a mighty punch to the ground, the earth shook, and the cavalry charging before him were thrown off their mounts.

At that moment, Arroyo, who had just been knocked unconscious by the gorilla’s blow, was quietly carried away.

Suddenly, the gorilla roared again in anger. Just moments ago, Kato’s body had been taken away, and now Arroyo must not be allowed to leave. Without evidence, Prince Zaplan would never believe his battle achievements.

But the gorilla’s outstretched hand suddenly froze—he saw something unbelievable. Kato, the very same beast he had torn in two with his own hands, had returned!

“Brothers, charge together!” Kato had not only come back but brought many other beasts with him. Kato was cunning; though seeking revenge, he understood the strength differences among same-rank beasts. The gorilla before him had reached the peak of eighth rank, with power surpassing many ninth-rank beasts. So, Kato had gathered a group of comrades from the camp before daring to strike.

“Kato, you’re not dead!?” The gorilla asked in a deep voice, astonished. “Impossible! I tore you apart myself!”

“Yo, Kahn, didn’t you say you killed Kato just now? How is he still alive?” a sarcastic voice chimed in. Its master was Rafe, an eighth-rank golden beetle, followed by several Reich beasts. But Rafe was not here to help. “Falsely claiming battle achievements violates our contract.”

Rafe then looked at Kato. “Heh heh! Mr. Kato, I’m not here to fight you. I’m here to capture the liar who falsely claimed credit.”