Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 402 - Tamers War - Crossing the Bridge

People trembled around Hedda as another wave of magical projectiles impacted the improvised defenses. Around her, Yino soldiers crouched behind walls of water or crystallized earth, the purple material glowing with each impact.

The sound was deafening, a constant cacophony of destruction that made conversation nearly impossible.

”Stay together!” shouted Sergeant Korren from somewhere to her left, his voice barely audible over the constant roar of combat. ”Once we cross completely, we can disperse!”

Hedda nodded, though she knew the sergeant couldnʼt see her through the chaos of bodies and magical barriers. She found herself near the center of the bridge and formation, technically protecting one of the armyʼs healers. It was the perfect excuse to avoid being at the front, her duty along with several others was to keep support specialists safe.

The positioning wasnʼt accidental. Master Vexʼs warnings echoed in her mind: stay as far back as possible, keep your head down but your eyes open.

The irony wasnʼt lost on her. The girl beside her, Ryanna, had once served in the healing squad serving Princess Selthia but got replaced by better healers.

She was barely two years older than Hedda, with brown hair pulled back in a braid and eyes that had seen too much for someone her age. Those eyes that carried the particular haunted quality that came from watching people die despite your best efforts to save them.

”Are you okay?” Ryanna asked, noticing how Hedda constantly scanned the surroundings with the tension of someone trained to detect threats constantly. Her voice carried genuine concern, a rarity in Yinoʼs culture but predictable in the face of death.

”Perfectly,” Hedda responded, though she was actually calculating escape possibilities and evaluating the defensive capabilities of nearby soldiers. ”And you? How are you handling our first real battle?”

”Itʼs my second, actually,” Ryanna smiled nervously, her hands already glowing faintly with healing energy in preparation for the wounded that would inevitably come. ”But well… never in something so... big.”

The scale was indeed overwhelming. This wasnʼt a skirmish or border raid, this was full-scale warfare between kingdoms. Hundreds of tamers on each side would die here.

Another explosion shook everyone, this time close enough that fragments of purple crystal rained down on their positions. The Water and Wind mages on their side intensified their efforts, creating translucent barriers that deflected most projectiles, but some got through, whistling dangerously close.

”Five hundred meters more!” someone shouted from the front. ”Five hundred meters to step on enemy territory!”

Hedda felt some apprehension. Once they completely crossed the bridge, the battle would become truly three-dimensional and more individual. Soldiers who could fly for short periods could finally land safely… they had had to wait to be grouped so Victorʼs Giant Golden Eagle couldnʼt pick them off one by one in the air.

Underground, new possibilities would also open up. The bridge material, made with the skill of very powerful beasts and concentrated mana, was much harder than normal rock, which had made any excavation almost impossible during the crossing.

The bridge itself was a marvel of magical engineering, but also a tactical nightmare. The ancient structure forced both armies into a narrow corridor where superior numbers meant little and every meter had to be fought for directly.

But once away from the space that served as anchor on Yanoʼs side of the bridge, they could generate tunnels, create chaos in the city, attack from unexpected directions.

The real battle would begin when they could spread out and use their full range of capabilities.Battles between tamers had few limitations regarding three-dimensional space.

ʼOnce we arrive, abyssal abilities can also be used more freely and creatively,ʼ Hedda reflected while observing how some of her companions began using their abyssalsʼ capabilities to resist the incoming fire. ʼBut the defending side also has specialists ready.ʼ

Those defending Yano territory were no novices. Hedda had been attentive enough to realize that Yano had answered the attack with their best men.

A fire projectile passed dangerously close, hot enough to make her jumping hunter spider stir restlessly under her skin. The heat was intense enough that she could feel her eyebrows singeing, and the air itself seemed to shimmer with thermal distortion.

Instinct made her want to activate her second beast, the one that could really help her in this situation.

But she held back, it wasnʼt necessary yet.

The corrupt Burnt-Wing Bee Queen they had given her as part of abyssal beast experiments was problematic for multiple reasons.

As an experimental and unique beast, unlike the more common scorpions other agents used, it tended to generate adverse reactions like jealousy among her companions. And the distorted buzzing of the corrupt creature made even veteran soldiers nervous.

Additionally, being a Fire beast, it wouldnʼt serve much to reduce damage for others. Though for her personally, the heat resistance it provided would be invaluable amid this rain of fire projectiles.

”Hedda!” Ryanna grabbed her arm, pointing forward. ”Look!”

The front ranks of Yino soldiers had finally reached enemy territory beyond the bridge. Immediately, the formation began to change. Soldiers with excavation beasts disappeared underground, while those with flight capabilities rose into the air, dispersing to avoid becoming easy targets.

The sound of combat changed too, becoming more complex and chaotic. It was no longer simply the direct exchange of projectiles across the bridge.

”Healers, stay in the center!” ordered Captain Morse. ”Once we cross, weʼll establish defensive perimeter until assault units secure advanced positions!”

Hedda helped Ryanna brace against the jostling in the bridge flow as they advanced the last few hundred meters, while the battle evolved in real time.

From above, Victor and his Golden Eagle launched precise attacks against Yino soldiers trying to disperse in the air, but he had to deal with multiple aerial opponents simultaneously, so some survived.

But the cost was visible, bodies fell from the sky regularly, some Yino soldiers who had been caught isolated, others Yano defenders who had been overwhelmed by multiple flying attackers.

On the ground, Yino soldiers with Earth beasts quickly created improvised fortifications, while Yanoʼs underground specialists intercepted excavators before they could establish effective tunnels.

It was a three-dimensional dance of death, each combatant trying to gain advantage.

The complexity was overwhelming, tracking threats from above, below, and all sides simultaneously while maintaining formation and protecting the healers.

”Impact!” someone near them shouted. The air trembled when an explosion shook the area. ”We have wounded on this side!”

”Response teams, proceed!” came the immediate reply.

Hedda observed how soldiers with beasts specialized in underground combat disappeared beneath the surface, pursuing enemy excavators. Combat now developed on three distinct levels: the air, where flyers from both sides engaged in high-speed duels; the surface, where most main forces clashed; and underground, where specialists waged silent but equally lethal battles.

”Itʼs like being inside a storm,” Ryanna murmured, her eyes following some of the multiple simultaneous battles.

”A storm mostly of fire,” Hedda corrected, noting how the majority of attacks seemed to favor flame and heat. The air shimmered constantly with thermal distortion, and the smell of burning meat filled her nostrils.

A wounded soldier was pushed toward their position, blood dripping from a shoulder wound where crystal fragments had breached his armor.

”Healer, the damage exceeded his abyssal beastʼs plates too, the heat is making regeneration difficult!” shouted the soldier carrying him.

Ryanna immediately sprang into action, her hands glowing with healing energy while assessing the damage.

Hedda positioned herself protectively nearby.

But while observing the combat developing ahead, she couldnʼt help wondering if she would see her brother Han after all this. Was he safe if this war extended too long or was lost?

An aerial roar pulled her from her thoughts when Victor flew directly overhead, pursuing their commanderʼs Spectral Crow. The combat had evolved completely, and now every meter of space, above, below, and at ground level, was disputed territory.

Three-dimensional warfare had begun in earnest, and Hedda had the growing feeling that this was only the beginning of something much larger and more dangerous than she had anticipated.

The group Ignatius belonged to finally managed to direct a powerful attack at the center of the procession as the front had finally fallen into individual battles and the main defenses faltered.

A massive fireball descended from above, directly toward them. Hedda grabbed Ryanna and dove, pulling the healer away from her patient just as the world erupted in fire and chaos around.

♢♢♢♢

The military camp in Goldcrest territory transformed into a hive of organized activity. Soldiers emerged from tents, armor was adjusted, and Tamers with their beasts prepared for combat.

Kharzan observed from a nearby hill while his forces organized into marching formations.

Each soldier represented years of training and significant resource investment.

”The company is ready to advance, my Lord,” reported General Valdris, his weathered face showing the strain of rapid mobilization. ”Equipment checks complete, supply lines established, communication beasts distributed.”

”How goes Yinoʼs attack and our frontier wall advancement?”

”It seems Yino maintains pressure on the bridge, my Lord. And our new frontier line moves slowly but surely, it appears Yano wants to save forces and is letting the wall gain ground for the moment rather than contest every meter.”

Kharzan calculated mentally. It had taken him 3 hours instead of the 1 he had demanded to stop the stupid conflict between the Blackwoods and Strahlfangs, but that had also given his army more time to organize properly.

At least he would fulfill his promise to lead and march with his army personally alongside Valdris to the letter.

”We advance the pace. I want to reach the section that will meet with the bridge as soon as possible. If we encounter both fronts, weʼll gain a crushing numerical advantage.”

As the first units began to move, Kharzan felt a mixture of anticipation and apprehension. For years he had been planning this moment, but now that it had arrived, the weight of responsibility overwhelmed him.

ʼEverything depends on the next few hours,ʼ he thought while observing his soldiers march toward the unknown.

The next report from the front, however, would change his focus of attention later.

”My Lord,” the messengerʼs voice came tense, ”conflict has initiated with enemy defenses at the new frontier wall. Light resistance so far across most of the extension, but...”

”But what, Kazek?”

”It seems a point in the wall disappeared along with the gate, my Lord. We received no warning or notice… it was from one moment to the next and the patrol disappeared.”

Kharzan felt a chill of apprehension, but kept it out of his voice.

”Continue the advance. I want to know who crossed at that point. Send several aerial patrols and ground trackers to check the area if necessary.”

”Understood, my Lord.”

Kharzan remained looking toward Goldcrest territory, where smoke was already beginning to rise in the morning air.

The war had officially begun on his side too.

And only time would tell if he had made the correct decision.