Quadruple split.

Chapter 2813 Diamond Fortress
Game time: 13:45 PM
Southwest Continent, within the Griffin Dynasty, Diamond Fortress, Star Garden

Snapped--

With a crisp cracking sound, the glass teacup in Kao Xinglan's hand fell to the ground and shattered into more than a dozen pieces, scattered on the dark blue floor tiles like stars in the sky. His face, which, although not particularly handsome, was quite pleasing to the eye due to its excellent maintenance, turned deathly pale, and his forehead was covered with fine beads of cold sweat.

"you you……"

The temporary head of the Diamond Fortress, Kao, who hadn't considered his responsibilities until last night, took a deep breath, strained to place his trembling right hand back on the armrest, and took almost a minute to regain his composure before remembering how to speak. His voice hoarse, he addressed the collateral relative kneeling before him, "Say it again..."

"Yes, Lord Kao."

Luke Xinglan, the only one among the fortress's high-ranking officers with a high level of command skills, who had indeed been incorporated into the command system by the former supreme leader and was still heavily relied upon by Kao Xinglan, swallowed hard and said in a dry voice, "I just received news that Blue Crystal City... has fallen."

"!!!"

Since he had nothing left to throw, Kao didn't make the same ear-piercing noise as before. Instead, he stared at Luke kneeling before him with bloodshot eyes and furiously shouted, "How is this possible! How is this possible! Blue Crystal City was right behind us! We won that damned battle yesterday, making those madmen from the Dream Kingdom crash their heads against the fortress until they were bleeding profusely, so why was Blue Crystal City still breached! Tell me, why?!"

Luke, his face even paler than Kao's, his head drooping lower and lower, remained silent for a long time before finally saying, his face ashen, "We've been tricked..."

"Cheated?"

Kao stared blankly at Luke, repeatedly asking, "What? We were tricked? How were we tricked?! Tell me quickly, what exactly happened!"

"This is just my guess..."

After yesterday's battle, which was ostensibly a great victory but was actually a Pyrrhic one, Luke, who was still in high spirits and beaming with pride, first muttered something under his breath before stammering, "According to my speculation, when those people from the Dream Kingdom attacked us yesterday, they probably only used a portion of their forces... or rather, a small portion. While our attention was diverted, their main force, along with those refugees from [Diru City],... bypassed our defenses."

Kao gave a bitter laugh, his face contorted as he asked, "You mean those madmen who nearly breached our defenses yesterday, almost burying us alive in the fortress, were just a small fraction of Ramorok's forces? And he escaped with the main force? He bypassed them?"

Luke nodded stiffly and replied, "Yes...that's how it is...although I was just guessing..."

"That's bullshit!!!"

Kao slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, roaring, "Even someone like me, who isn't particularly skilled in military strategy, knows very well that if the enemy had been able to commit twice their strength yesterday, our Diamond Fortress would have been breached long ago! And now you dare to say that was only a small portion of their forces? Are you trying to fool me?!"

"No, sir, I wouldn't dare!"

Ruk, who was kneeling on both knees, was sweating profusely and said in a trembling voice, "I didn't mean to lie to you at all, it's just... it's just that after I learned that Blue Crystal City had been breached, when I subconsciously reviewed the situation, I noticed that something seemed off about yesterday's battle."

"..."

Knowing that he could probably only rely on Luke at this moment, Kao's facial muscles twitched. In the end, he sighed dejectedly, sat back heavily in his chair, and glanced at the other person listlessly: "Speak."

“I…I realized that although we had a tough time defending yesterday, it was based on the premise that we genuinely wanted to hold the city, and the enemy genuinely wanted to break through.”

Luke didn't dare to be negligent and immediately said in a fast-paced manner, "But upon closer reflection, there are actually many incomprehensible and even inexplicable aspects to the enemy's offensive yesterday. Although I was blinded by the hope in my eyes at the time and didn't think too much... and didn't have the energy to think too much, it seems now that what the enemy was pursuing at the time... was probably not to conquer our [Diamond Fortress]."

"What do you mean?"

Feeling a chill run down his spine from the other person's words, Kao shuddered and quickly asked, "What did you mean by that?"

"It's just...it's just...sigh..."

Rook sighed, and instead of immediately explaining, he looked up at Kao, who had always treated him well, and said with a wry smile, "Give me some time to put my thoughts into words."

"……Um."

Kao nodded, then waved his hand with a stern face and said, "Get up, sit down and talk."

"Thank you, sir."

Luke breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up and sat down in the chair below Khao with gratitude. To be honest, with his half-epic physique, he could kneel in front of Khao for a whole day and night without feeling tired, but what was really important was this 'attitude'.

Letting him sit means that Kao still trusts him and intends to continue to do so.

Whether it's a desperate measure or a last-ditch effort, at least for now, Rook remains Káo's 'loyal servant,' and if he performs well enough, he might even go further and become his 'confidant.'

Although it may sound unbelievable, this is the 'rule' of the Griffin dynasty aristocracy, a 'rule' that everyone agrees with and diligently practices.

Even if everyone shares the same surname, and even if collateral relatives have advantages over direct relatives in terms of talent, age, strength, potential, and many other qualities, the former can only serve as appendages or even slaves of the direct relatives in most cases.

Admittedly, in some small families, ability is indeed more important than bloodline. But that is only because capable people are enough to help the family advance further and become legitimate. For example, in a hereditary baron family, if someone has the opportunity to win the hereditary viscount status through their ability, then they may indeed receive more resources and their status should not be too bad compared to the direct descendants.

but……

In a behemoth like the Star Blue Clan, even if Luke were only a half-step epic, or even if he were a genuine peak epic, he would still be destined to lick shoes, wipe butts, and serve as a servant to those incompetent direct descendants.

Of course, if someone can create a 'legend,' bloodline will definitely not be a problem. Not only that, except for not being able to get their hands on the position of family head, their status will immediately be elevated to the highest level. In other words, the whole family will become superior people, and the next generation can even compete for the right of inheritance!
This is precisely why, even those powerful figures in the history of the Griffin Dynasty who were humiliated in their youth and broke through to the legendary level rarely broke with their own families. The reason for this is actually quite clear with a little analysis—

To become a legendary powerhouse, one must have been an exceptionally talented individual in their youth. The fact that such a person could be bullied so severely suggests that their status within their family was extremely low, and that their family's power must be immense. Once they become legendary, their personal and close relatives' status within the family will immediately rise to a level second only to the family head. Under such circumstances, very few people would be willing to give up the opportunity for upward mobility for their partner and children because of the grievances they suffered in their youth.

Moreover, with the tacit understanding among the various families, even if someone is alone or a legendary-level powerhouse who has a deep-seated grudge against their family has betrayed them, they will not be accepted by other families. Although there is the option of joining the royal family, everyone knows that in the Griffin Dynasty, the strength of the royal family and the noble alliance is not on the same level at all, so this situation is ultimately an exception.

In short, finally free from fear and dread, Ruk, who had abandoned the city, calmed himself down and began to focus on the current situation. About five minutes later, he broke the suffocating silence in the room—"A desperate battle is very different from a real siege. Similarly, from the perspective of the defender, the methods are completely different. The most important thing is that a desperate battle does not require consideration of any 'follow-up' issues."

Rook sat up straight, pressing his knees as he slowly explained, "The reason Ramorok was able to hold us off with only a portion of his forces is mainly because... because the power disparity between the two commanders is too great. So even though he was the relatively passive attacker, he could deceive me by employing tactics that were destined to cause large-scale casualties, but wouldn't result in a huge kill ratio in the short term. So... so..."

"Go on."

Kao sighed and said calmly, "The other party is that monster from the Dream Kingdom who once caused a lot of casualties in my Griffin North, but ultimately managed to escape unscathed. I'm not going to cause you trouble just because you're far inferior to him."

"Yes, my lord."

Luke nodded and said with a wry smile, "So I was fooled like that. Now it seems that although we thought it was a Pyrrhic victory, it was only because we suffered heavy casualties in the early stages while defending the fortress, and even had the illusion that the first defense zone was about to be breached. But the truth is that in the final stage of the battle, more than 70% of the enemy's manpower died from exhaustion within half an hour."

While trying to follow the other person's train of thought, Kao asked directly, "So?"

"so……"

Rook clenched his fists and said with a gloomy face, "If I had been able to react when the first defensive zone was almost breached the first three times, and had directly abandoned the outermost edge and turned to a war of attrition with them, I could have avoided 80% of the subsequent casualties. But at the time, I thought that was the most important moment and ordered everyone to hold the front line at all costs. As a result, not only did I fail to discover Ramorok's conspiracy, but I also caused the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers for nothing."

"They are just people of lowly status. They will die and be replaced. You don't need to care too much about them."

Kao casually offered a word of comfort to Luke, then asked, "But I'm curious, since you can deduce it so accurately now, why didn't you notice anything back then?"

"Because it only took Ramorok half an hour to fool me, and by then, I was already so tormented by the intense pressure that I could only think through instinct."

Rook hung his head in frustration and said in a dry voice, "On the battlefield, even a moment's hesitation or a minor mistake can lead to irreparable consequences. Yet, Ramorok has managed to deceive me until now through his ruthless methods, which leave no one a way out..."

Kao nodded: "Yes, I understand."

"And, sir, don't forget."

Rook gave a bitter laugh and said helplessly, "Even if I had divine help in seeing through his scheme, it would only have greatly reduced our subsequent casualties. He didn't care about that at all, because from beginning to end, Ramorok's goal was probably [Blue Crystal City]."

Kao's face grew even paler, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "That bastard—"

"Even if I could miraculously realize this, I probably wouldn't have been able to do anything at the time, because if we wanted to go out of the city to intercept them, what we needed was not to reduce casualties, but a more aggressive attack to kill all the enemies in a short time."

Rook stared blankly out the window, his gaze unfocused, and said in a daze, "But by then I had no chance. If I wanted to fight back, I could only realize the situation when the other side made their move and inflict at least a 1:3 casualty ratio. That way, I would have a chance to catch up with Ramorok at night, and then... uh."

"what happened?"

Kao looked at Luke, who suddenly shuddered, and asked, "And then what?"

"Then……"

Rook turned his head blankly to look at Kao, swallowed hard, and said in an unusually hoarse voice, "I will... lead my men to face Ramorok, who still has at least half of his fighting force."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Kao's eyes widened suddenly, and after a long silence, he shook his head and said calmly, "Don't worry."

Luke's eyes widened in astonishment. "You...you're telling me not to worry?"

"Of course you don't need to worry."

Kao forced a smile, revealing a look that didn't seem very relaxed: "If what you just said is true, then you'll probably need to pass three, four... or even more tests before you have a chance to face Ramorok, right?"

“Yes, sir, I must keep making the right decisions until…”

Do you remember how many tests you passed in total?

“…zero, sir, I only just…”

So why are you worried?

"Uh?"

"Ramolock is not an enemy you are qualified to face, Rook, so leave this problem to those who are qualified to have a headache, and you..."

"I?"

"Come have a drink with me now. I have a bottle of good wine that my aunt gave me. You should try it."

"But sir, Blue Crystal City..."

"Blue Crystal City belongs to Ramorok now, my brother. If you don't want to relive that embarrassing fear, you'd better put it behind you and Ramorok."

"...You are right."

Chapter 2804: The End
(End of this chapter)