Chapter 769: Dark butterfly

"Who are our enemies?"

"A group of dark races that don’t distinguish between good and evil: Abyssal Devil Rays, Dark Sphinxes, Shadow Banshees, Black Scale Serpents, Night Stalkers, tentacle monsters... you’re sending cavalry to deal with such enemies, aren’t you afraid of the losses?"

Orion knew this from deep experience.

In Orion’s first few wars, Thundar’s cavalry regiment would charge forward regardless of casualties, no matter the enemy.

The cavalry charges were certainly effective, yielding great results.

However, when Orion discovered that the cavalry regiment’s losses were too great, that the Icefield Snow Wolves bred by the Horde couldn’t be replenished fast enough, and that knight training couldn’t keep up, Orion realized that this was not how cavalry should be used.

After realizing this, Orion and Thundar gradually became more restrained.

For example, in the last battle, during the invasion against the Hellhound knights and Bloodreavers in the north, the cavalry regiment did not appear on the front line.

Thundar had arranged the cavalry regiment behind the cave spiders and undead armies, utilizing their mobility to quickly kill all enemies that broke into the battle formation.

This ensured the stability of the formation and also guaranteed the safety of Lorelia.

At the same time, they also reaped considerable battle achievements.

And in that great battle, the losses of the cavalry regiment were extremely few.

"From the beginning of the war until now, how much has your cavalry regiment lost?"

"Forty percent!"

"When you first arrived, what was the total number of the cavalry regiment?"

"Three hundred thousand!"

"Which means, you now have only one hundred and eighty thousand cavalry, less than two hundred thousand."

Orion’s questioning was calm, while Isabella’s voice gradually diminished; she seemed to have realized something as well.

"This is waste. Extravagance."

"Such a reckless waste of soldiers!"

Orion snorted lightly. Although this wasn’t his cavalry regiment, such waste was, in fact, unnecessary.

What was lost was the overall strength of the allied forces.

Alexander watched the silent Isabella, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly, a hint of slyness in his eyes.

Alexander had discovered this problem during the first large-scale battle.

At that time, Alexander had reminded Isabella, "This is a waste, don’t you feel bad about it?"

At that time, Isabella, with her cavalry regiment and Spider Queen Lolth’s Blind Spiders, had easily taken a lord’s territory.

But flushed with victory, excitement, and fervor, how could Isabella have possibly listened to advice then?

"She is already much more restrained now!"

"After several consecutive fierce battles, the allied forces suffered heavy casualties. Although she still dispatches cavalry to the front lines, she has become more and more hesitant."

As he spoke, Alexander suddenly chuckled.

That kind of laughter was like the unrestrained teasing one would show after exposing the embarrassing secret of the little girl next door.

Of course, the undercurrent of this ridicule was affection.

This time, Alexander was here to mentor a newcomer.

The more difficulties and doubts Isabella encountered, the faster she would grow.

"Mr. Alexander, please say no more!"

Her inner embarrassment and private thoughts laid bare by Alexander, the proud and thin-skinned Isabella could no longer maintain her composure. After a delicate shout, she whipped her horse and rode off.

Orion also chuckled along with Alexander a few times. Seeing the proud Isabella too embarrassed to show her face was quite interesting.

"Bro, Isabella is special to you, isn’t she?"

Only after Isabella was far away and her figure could no longer be seen did Orion tentatively ask.

Hearing this, a brief, hazy look appeared in Alexander’s eyes, but it quickly vanished.

"You may not believe it, but I spent some time training in her world."

"I’ve known her mother since we were children. After Isabella was born, I watched her grow up."

"What I didn’t expect was that she is also an Awakened one, and I happened to discover it."

"She’s the daughter of an old friend. I’ll help her out if I can."

Orion didn’t speak, quietly listening to the story from Alexander’s mouth.

Orion’s expression was placid, his face showing no trace of curiosity.

However, beneath his calm facade, Orion’s love for gossip was erupting like a volcano.

"Oh my goodness, Alexander, you’ve known her mother since you were children? What exactly is your relationship?"

"I feel like Isabella is very close to you, and what is your relationship with her?"

"Could it be that both mother and daughter like you?"

"And what about Isabella’s Archlord father?"

"Didn’t he notice what was going on?"

...

It had to be said, an overactive imagination was a terrifying thing.

With his own imagination filling in the blanks, Orion had even concocted a story of a silent and reclusive boy, who, without any outstanding achievements, was abandoned by the girl he grew up with for a powerful future Archlord.

The boy then traveled far away, cultivated an earth-shattering level of power, and returned to his hometown to reminisce about the past, only to find that the girl from his memories had long since married another and given birth to a little girl.

Gazing at the married woman before him, and the little girl smiling happily at her, Alexander finally had an epiphany.

From then on, a great assassin was born, hiding all emotions in the shadows.

Hmm, this ill-fated relationship between Alexander and Isabella, how should the story resolve itself?

Orion’s eyes also became slightly hazy. This storytelling business was truly addictive.

"Put away those evil, dirty, messy thoughts in your head. My relationship with Isabella isn’t as sordid as you think."

Orion whipped his head around, staring at Alexander in utter shock.

That terrified gaze was clearly telling Alexander: How did you know what was in my head?

"Your expression just now was just like Leonidas’s. Your eyes were darting about, and you had a lewd smile on your face—it’s a disgusting expression."

Alexander’s gaze grew colder and colder, and increasingly unfriendly. He could guess what Orion was imagining.

"Hehe, don’t mind it. I just heard a story and couldn’t help but think about what came next. It’s a very normal thing."

"Giant, stop your wild thoughts. This is not a normal thing."

There was no comeback for that. It was clear that Alexander had seen something in Orion’s eyes just now, and his attitude was not good at all.

Chaos Continent, Phoenix Butterfly Ridge.

The races on this continent were, for the most part, native inhabitants.

The Dark Butterfly race was also native. After the world was corrupted by the evil being, everyone’s days became difficult.

This was especially true for those factions that had not found a patron; they lived in constant fear day after day.

Phoenix Butterfly Ridge, under the sunlight, the valley was filled with clusters of fresh flowers, their petals swaying gently in the wind, while butterflies danced among the blossoms.

This continent was named Chaos Continent, but compared to Dusk Continent and Dawn Continent, it actually appeared somewhat brighter in comparison.

It seemed that even the principles of the evil being were weakened here.

Sophia stood in a pavilion on top of a peak, overlooking the beauty and tranquility of the entire valley.

The people’s lives were, for the time being, still peaceful, but anyone knew that such peace would not last for long.