"The army is pretty big, but with the support of the Oracle and the will of our people, we can take care of them. The barrier would be broken soon enough. We will attack then," the Spirit Warrior told Alice.

"Alright. If you say so, I'll use my blessing to increase all your strength in this war," Alice nodded.

She had received a lot of special skills because of receiving the unique class of Divine Oracle of Spirit Realm.

One of those skills was Stat Enhancement. Despite being a low-level player personally, she had many general-level skills that had a large area of effect. It was as if her class was specifically made to help the army she led.

The Stat Enhancement was something that allowed her to increase the stats of every warrior that was under her by a certain amount.

The Increased amount and percentage depended on the people she was using the skill on.

If she used it on one, the effects were best, whereas if she used it on a large number of warriors, the effects were somewhat less.

"That would be perfect. Stay behind and rest after casting your skill. We should handle the rest. If we can't, then we would call for more help," the Spirit Warrior said before he respectfully bowed his head and left.

...

"The barrier is going to be broken soon. How long do you expect it to last?" Ryder asked the High Dukes, wondering the exact time. He hadn't known about the barrier much, so he couldn't say how long they had.

The armies were already in the position to start the battle as soon as the enemy barged inside after breaking the barrier.

"Half an hour at best," High Duke Oris said, giving his estimate.

"I think the same," High Duke Mila agreed as she gazed at the barrier.

"It's my first time leading a war, so I don't know much. I'll depend on you all to give me the right advice at the right time. Let's make sure that we will win the war with the least casualty," Ryder said respectfully.

He knew that he was pretty weak in Divinity, at least when compared to the High Dukes. In any case, he could only depend on them to win the war. Moreover, it wasn't anything shameful to depend on his High Dukes as a Prince. They were there to help the Royals, after all.

"Of course we would. We would help to the best of our abilities," High Duke Oris said.

The other High Dukes also agreed. Only High Duke Magna didn't say anything.

Ryder gazed at him, smiling wryly, wondering why that guy was always so stern-looking. Did he not like him?

"What about you?" Ryder asked High Duke Magna.

"It's my duty to help the Empire. But it's not my duty to answer every sentiment-filled question. We are the High Dukes of the Empire. It's our purpose to protect the Empire. And if you still have to ask us if we will or won't, then doesn't that mean you're doubting our will and resolve?" High Duke Magna asked, squinting his eyes.

The Dukes stood in the back, hearing the conversation of the higher-ups. Hearing High Duke Magna's reply, they could feel the tense atmosphere.

Was everything not right between the High Duke and the Prince?

"Not at all. I'm not doubting your resolve at all," Ryder replied, smiling wryly. He couldn't believe the simple question of his was seen as him doubting the abilities of High Dukes, but he could see how that misunderstanding was created.

He didn't even know what to say in reply, so he changed the topic, "I have a question. Instead of sending our soldiers first, how about we go in ourselves and take their commanding authority out, ending the war right away? We won't have to sacrifice our warriors?"

"That's a noble thought, but that's not possible. They might already expect us to attack. It's easy for them to take steps to put us at a disadvantage on their land. It's not as easy to attack an enemy base; otherwise, wars wouldn't use any soldiers at all," High Duke Magna was the first one to answer, refusing the suggestion.

"Moreover, fighting alone against millions of soldiers while also taking care of the attacks of the strongest enemy that can bring a lot of people down. That's why wars use soldiers here to dwindle down the number of soldiers of the enemy that can interfere in the battle against the peak powers," High Duke Eston chimed in, agreeing.

"Oh, so it's like a game of chess. Where you try to decrease the pieces surrounding the enemy King to leave no way for it to escape," Ryder muttered as he rubbed his chin.

"Chess?" High Duke Mila inquired, confused.

"Nothing. But if it's about decreasing the number of enemies, we can send our top powers to kill their soldiers and help our soldiers right away," Ryder replied.

"That's what we do. We try to attack them, giving them as much damage as they can while trying to get the most advantageous position. And if there's a hint of a crack in the defence of the enemies, we barge inside to finish the job once and for all. Unfortunately, with time, the enemies had gotten stronger and smarter," High Duke Mila explained.

"How was the last war with the Death Domain? Did you wait till all the soldiers were dead?" Ryder inquired, wondering how the previous King got the victory.

"Last war lasted for a long time. Many soldiers from both sides died, including a few of High Dukes. In the end, the battle between the two kings happened, not on the battlefield, though."

"It happened far away from our eyes. Both Kings disappeared at once. Only our Demon King returned after an hour. Signs of battle were clearly visible. It seemed like he had gone through an intense weapon. Anyway, he declared victory before he again disappeared, never to return again," High Duke Oris said.

...

The conversation between the High Dukes and Ryder continued as he tried to come up with a plan to deal with the upcoming battle. But in the end, he knew that he could only treat it as a war game.

He had played many strategy war games previously. Even though none of them were VR and this realistic, he felt he could do what he wanted. He had a good idea of his abilities. He didn't know about the abilities of the High Dukes, but he had faith that they could take care of the enemies too.

Time kept passing slowly, and soon, half an hour was over. The barrier had become so dim that it wasn't even visible anymore.

To make sure that the barrier was broken, Spirit Warriors attacked the barrier with their sword. The attack passed through without any obstruction.

"The barrier is broken!" The Spirit General declared in a tone filled with fighting spirit.

He raised his silver heavy sword high in the sky before he commanded, "Warriors of the Spirit Realm! It's time to take or revenge for everything these Demons did to us! Go ahead and destroy them all! When this war ends, there should be no demon realm anymore! Attack!"

With his command, he used a skill called War Cry that filled his soldiers with a strong fighting spirit and a will to win at any cost, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

...

"It's time. Give the command for our soldiers to advance." High Duke Oris told Ryder as he watched the enemy soldiers step inside the Demon Realm.

It was Ryder's responsibility as the Prince of the Demon Realm.

"Yes." Ryder once again started rising in the sky to make himself visible.

"Sigh, there he goes again with his minute-long speech! Couldn't he simply tell them to attack like a normal person?" High Duke Magna complained, rolling his eyes.

Ignoring his words, Ryder focused on his soldiers.

"Warriors of the Demon Realm, it's time to show your strength! Go show your prowess and wipe the enemy that dared to step inside out pure land!"

He kept it short this time while also infusing his words with a commander class skill to fill his warriors with strength and motivation to fight.

"Yaaa!"

"Attack!"

"We will kill you all!"

The soldiers of the Demon Realm also started running towards them Spirit Realm warriors, flourishing their weapons, prepared to cut the enemy in half.

Ryder landed on the ground after commanding.

"So the first stage of battle will be led by the Marquis and the soldiers while we protect them from a stronger level of attacks, right?" Ryder asked, frowning.

"That's right," High Duke Oris nodded.

"I have a plan that I want to put forth," Ryder suggested as he rubbed his chin.

"You might think it's a waste, but I know it is useful," he added.

"What plan?" High Dukes asked, wondering if the plan was good and useful. If it was, why did Ryder seem so uncertain as if they were going to say no?