Filed To Story: Queen of the Battlefield Her Return to Glory Novel Online Free
Something felt off. Starhaven and Sandoria’s armies were still fighting, and the entire city was a battlefield. It was unlikely that the enemy would actually retreat without a clear signal. The only plausible reason for their retreat was to lure Freya into a trap.
Moreover, the soldiers’ appearance indicated they were from Westhaven.
Blake couldn’t shake the suspicion that Westhaven had a specific strategy targeting Freya, possibly related to the peace treaty at Victory Pass. Despite his claim of trusting her, he always had his doubts. “Freya, come back!” Blake yelled. He tried to follow her, but the enemy surrounded him, and he couldn’t break free. He had to keep fighting, unable to spare another glance at Freya.
Freya heard Blake calling for her, but didn’t stop. She relied on her own judgment.
The retreating soldiers were clearly suspicious; possibly, they were young nobles from Westhaven seeking battle experience. Capturing them and repeating the same trick she had used before might force the Westhaven forces to withdraw completely.
She knew that to earn military achievements now, she needed to find a unique approach. No matter how many enemies she killed, Rafael wouldn’t include her name in his commendation report. “Keep chasing them! There’s definitely something off!” Freya ordered as she continued her pursuit.
Among the retreating soldiers were three or four clad in golden armor, resembling the young captives from Victory Pass.
From her experience, these weren’t ordinary soldiers-they were likely members of the Westhaven royal family or nobility. That was why Liam was pressured to sign the treaty at Fawnrun City. Such a golden opportunity was right before her! How could she let it slip through her hands?
Freya pressed forward, and both Rafael and Sophie noticed her. They exchanged a glance in the midst of the chaos. Sophie saw a look of relief in Rafael’s eyes before he leaped into the air, stepping on heads and shoulders, making his way back to the command post.
The marshal was supposed to be in the command tent, waiting with their strategists and advisors to see the battle’s outcome and then decide how to deploy their forces. With the city breached, capturing it was only a matter of time.
Sophie found it odd that Rafael, who had been fiercely fighting moments ago, would suddenly retreat to the command post after seeing Freya lured into the city. It seemed almost as if he had anticipated this. She didn’t dwell on it. The battle at hand was too fierce to allow any distraction.
With tens of thousands crammed inside the city, the fight was brutal. The long spear became cumbersome, but Sophie’s Rose Spear had a mechanism to shorten it into a more manageable length for close combat. Even in close quarters, she was formidable.
After about half an hour of intense fighting, Sophie had slain countless enemies, her entire body soaked in their blood. Due to the overwhelming numbers, she sustained some injuries.
Though the Mystic Army tried to protect her, she rebuffed them, insisting they focus on killing the enemy. She needed no protection.
Seeing their general fighting so fiercely, the Mystic Army gave their all.
After nearly two hours of fierce fighting, the Hell Monarch Army grew more determined with each passing minute. They knew this was the final battle, and they had to muster all their strength.
If they won, they could reclaim the Southern Frontier once and for all!
In contrast, the Sandoria soldiers were showing clear signs of retreat. They had left their kingdom and fought in the Southern Frontier for many years. Despite their long struggle, the Starhaven forces had never given up on the land.
By now, the Sandoria soldiers were completely worn out.
Liam and Victor were still not on the battlefield. They stood on high ground, watching the battle unfold.
The city was littered with corpses. There were fallen soldiers everywhere, and the blood almost seemed to stain the city red. The majority of the dead were Westhaven and Sandoria soldiers. The battle in this trapped city was all about courage; no tactics could be applied any longer.
Victor understood it was only a matter of time before they would have to give up the Southern Frontier. After entering Simonton City, he saw clearly that the Westhaven forces were only there to take out their frustration on Starhaven soldiers and to kill a general named Freya. They lacked the resolve to defeat Starhaven, and had no intention of dividing the Southern Frontier with Sandoria.
Their motives were driven more by anger than by a strategic goal:
Victor was furious. If not for the Westhaven forces, the Sandoria forces might have been defeated long ago. If that happened, fewer battles would have been fought, and fewer soldiers would have been lost.
“If you seek only to vent your rage, why not destroy the entire city?” he asked Liam coldly.
Victor knew Liam’s hatred for the Starhaven people was intense, having heard about the massacre of the civilians in Fawnrun City during the Victory Pass battle.
Liam’s eyes burned with fury. “War has already brought devastation and ruin upon the common. people. If I continued slaughtering them, even if they are from an enemy nation, what difference would there be between me and a beast?”
Victor watched as soldiers fell into pools of blood, his own heart trembling at the sight. At this point, he realized that adjusting their tactics was no longer an option.
“Never would I have expected you to speak such words,” he said, his face reddened by the cold wind, his words slightly slurred. “You spare the lives of the enemy’s civilians, while yours are being slaughtered. Pathetic.”
“A true warrior despises war,” Liam said, watching the snowflakes drifting through the air. “It’s snowing. This battle’s outcome is already decided. If you don’t want to lose more men, you should withdraw.”
“Have you killed the ones you wanted to kill?” Victor asked.
Liam’s lips twisted into a cold smile as he glanced towards the hastily advancing vanguard. “Kill? No.”
Death was too lenient a fate for Freya.
One of the vanguards of the Westhaven army advanced swiftly. The man, covered in dark red blood, wore a look of smug satisfaction as he reported, “Marshal, we have captured eighteen people, and the rest were all annihilated.”
Liam slowly extended his hand to catch a pure white snowflake. It quickly melted in the warmth of his palm.
It was as though he was performing a ritual.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them sharply, his gaze intense. “Send the order. All Westhaven soldiers are to withdraw from Simonton.
He patted Victor on the shoulder. “Withdraw, General Crow. You’ve already lost too much on the Southern Frontier. You won’t be able to defeat the Hell Monarch.”
Victor’s lips twisted into a grimace, and he said coldly, “You shouldn’t have come.”
He suddenly drew his sword and aimed it at Liam, gritting his teeth. “You shouldn’t have come! You gave us hope, but you didn’t fight alongside us!”
Liam sneered, and deflected the sword with a casual gesture. “You’ve fought for the Southern Frontier for so many years, but your kingdom is already empty. Your king took three million silver coins and twelve million kilograms of grain from us, just because we only wanted to use the Southern Frontier battlefield for a while. Besides, we supplied all the military expenses and supplies ourselves. You haven’t been shortchanged.”
Victor kept his sword pointed at Liam. “How many civilians did they actually massacre? Is this your way of seeking revenge? According to our statistics, the Westhaven forces have only killed a few thousand enemy soldiers in battles at llyrian. Adding today’s fight, it’s at most ten thousand. You’ve paid such a heavy price for the sake of ten thousand and eighteen prisoners you’ve taken. I really don’t understand.” Even though the Westhaven forces killed ten thousand enemies, they lost several tens of thousands of men and paid so much silver and grain.
With such a huge grudge and high cost, why not attack Victory Pass directly?
A tactic that harmed so few enemies but cost a huge number of their own was unprecedented!
Victor couldn’t make sense of it.
Liam didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped back and nodded politely. “Farewell.”
The Westhaven army sounded the retreat, and their soldiers on the battlefield began to withdraw gradually.
Seeing the situation was hopeless, Victor slowly lowered his sword. Looking up, he saw Sandoria soldiers falling one by one to the Hell Monarch Army. Even the bravest among them seemed tireless, and struck continuously with lethal intent.
Finally, he said, “Order the entire army to retreat from Simonton.”The sudden retreat of the Sandoria and Westhaven soldiers left the Starhaven army stunned.
When they heard the retreating horns, they thought the Sandoria army might be using some kind of tactic to lure them in. After thinking it over, the Starhaven army realized there was no need to chase them after they left Simonton City. Their goal was to drive them away, not wipe out the entire e army.
The Starhaven army could only watch as their foes fled, abandoning their armor and weapons in their hasty retreat.
Was victory really that easy?