Dragon Monarch System Chapter 1278:- Unfortunate Side Of War

"But I did win though!" Hearing this, Athena immediately raised her head and glared at him.

"That’s not the point!"

"I know." Aditya replied calmly.

However, Athena was not finished. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? If you had been even a little slower, you would have died! And look at the condition of your body! You can barely stand properly!"

Aditya did not argue with her. He understood why Athena was so angry. After all, she had been forced to watch him suffer serious injuries while being unable to do anything to help him.

However, Aditya also believed that his decision had not been completely wrong. "Athena, when you’re fighting against a Seventh Order cultivator, simply having more physical strength, greater speed, or a larger amount of mana isn’t always enough to guarantee victory."

Athena became silent hearing this. "Especially when you’re fighting someone like Andris, who specialises in overwhelming physical strength. If I had tried to defeat him by directly competing against his strongest ability, I would have lost."

"That’s why I needed a plan. I needed to find something that would allow me to take him by surprise. Even if an opponent is stronger than you, there will always be moments when his attention is focused somewhere else. The important thing is recognizing those moments and using them properly."

Athena could not deny that his words made sense. After all, she was the Goddess of Wisdom. She understood better than most people how important careful planning and proper timing were during a battle.

And after hearing Aditya’s explanation of how he had defeated Andris, she had to admit that his plan had been extremely clever. He had recognised that Andris was physically stronger than him and had decided not to compete against him directly.

Instead, Aditya had used his speed to survive the earlier exchanges while secretly preparing hidden attacks with Raiketsu. He had then waited until Andris became confident enough to believe that the battle was already over.

At the final moment, Aditya had activated those hidden attacks to distract Andris before using teleportation to appear behind him. The entire plan had depended on creating a single opportunity. And Aditya had managed to use that opportunity perfectly.

Athena had to admit that very few people would have been capable of coming up with such a plan while fighting against a powerful Seventh Order cultivator.

However, there was another important reason why Aditya had succeeded. And that was his teleportation ability. Without it, the entire plan would have been almost impossible to carry out.

Even if the hidden Wind Scars had managed to distract Andris, Aditya would not have been able to move from the bottom of the crater to a position directly behind him within such a short time.

And considering the terrible condition of his body, there was no way he could have relied on his physical speed alone to accomplish that. In other words, Aditya had not only used a clever plan, but he had also carefully combined the different abilities available to him.

His speed had allowed him to survive the earlier exchanges. Raiketsu’s hidden attacks had created the opening he needed, and his teleportation ability had allowed him to take advantage of that opening before Andris could react.

Each ability had played an important role in his victory.

Athena understood that without any one of those abilities, the outcome of the battle could have been completely different. However, even after recognising how clever his plan had been, she still could not accept how much danger he had placed himself in.

"All right, I admit that your plan was clever." Athena finally said.

Aditya smiled slightly.

But the next second, the smile on Aditya’s face froze upon hearing what she said next. "But that doesn’t change the fact that it was extremely reckless!" Athena immediately added.

"Who told you to fight him one-on-one in the first place? You had your grandfather and Lou Han here! Why couldn’t you just let them help you?"

Hearing this, Aditya could only smile wryly. He did not say anything in response. After all, he knew that Athena was not completely wrong. If he had allowed his grandfather or Lou Han to help him, the battle against Andris would have been much easier.

He might not have suffered such serious injuries. But Aditya had wanted to test his own strength against a Seventh Order cultivator. He wanted to understand how powerful he had become and how far he could push himself against someone who had reached a higher cultivation realm.

And now, he had finally received his answer. Although he had managed to defeat Andris, the difference in their physical strength had been enormous. Nevertheless, Aditya had no intention of explaining all of this to Athena right now.

He could clearly see how worried she was about him. Arguing with her would only make things worse. Seeing his helpless smile, Athena let out a long sigh. She knew Aditya well enough to understand that he was not going to apologise for fighting Andris.

However, she was also relieved that he was still alive. After looking at him for a few seconds, Athena gently reached out and wiped some of the blood from his cheek.

"Just don’t scare me like that again." She said in a much softer voice.

Aditya smiled faintly before nodding his head. "All right."

Although Athena was still worried, she decided not to continue scolding him. After all, what Aditya needed right now was proper rest and treatment for his injuries.

"Well, now that the first day of the war is over, I think it’s time for us to retreat." Aditya said while looking toward the battlefield.

The ordinary soldiers from both factions had already withdrawn from the area, and the only major battles still continuing were between the Seventh Order cultivators. Aditya had already accomplished more than enough for a single day.

He had killed an enormous number of enemy soldiers, forced the Emperor Faction to retreat, and defeated one of the Thirteen National Treasures of the Celestial Dragon Empire. There was no reason for him to continue fighting in his current condition.

"Once we return, I can finally focus on healing these injuries." Aditya added.

"That’s exactly what you should be doing right now."

Aditya then turned his attention toward Malakor Harrington, Lou Han, and the other Seventh Order cultivator fighting on his side. Using his mana to make sure his voice could reach them despite the distance, he called out to them.

"Grandfather! Lou Han! You three can continue fighting! I’m heading back!"

Hearing his voice, the three Seventh Order cultivators briefly glanced in his direction. Seeing that Aditya was still alive and capable of speaking, they felt relieved.

"There’s no need to worry about me. I’ll be returning with Athena. You guys can come back after you’re done dealing with your opponents."

Malakor looked at his grandson’s terrible condition and immediately understood why he wanted to leave. Although he wanted to check Aditya’s injuries personally, he was still occupied fighting his opponent.

Furthermore, he knew that Athena would take good care of Aditya.

"All right! Go back and recover! Leave the rest to us!" Malakor shouted.

Lou Han also nodded while keeping his attention on the enemy standing before him. "Understood, Your Majesty!"

After receiving their responses, Aditya prepared to leave. However, just as Athena was about to help him, Aditya suddenly remembered something. "Wait a moment. There’s one more thing I need to do."

Athena looked at him in confusion. "What is it?"

Aditya did not immediately answer. Instead, he lowered his gaze toward the massive crater below them. Andris’s lifeless body was still lying there.

Seeing where Aditya was looking, Athena immediately understood what he wanted to do. Without saying anything, she loosened her hold on him. Aditya then activated his teleportation ability.

In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Andris’s corpse. Looking down at the lifeless body, Aditya remained silent for several seconds. The man lying before him had once been one of the most respected and feared individuals in the Celestial Dragon Empire.

However, despite everything that had happened, Aditya still respected Andris. After all, Andris was someone he had known since childhood. Back when Aditya was still the Crown Prince of the Celestial Dragon Empire, Andris had spent time with him on several occasions.

Although he had never officially become Aditya’s teacher, he had still been someone Aditya had looked up to during his younger years. Of course, Aditya was now aware that Andris had originally wanted to become his teacher partly because of the power and status that such a position would have provided.

However, that did not erase the memories they shared. Nor did it change the fact that Andris had been an extremely powerful cultivator who had earned his position through his own strength. More importantly, even during their final battle, Andris had treated Aditya as a worthy opponent.

And before dying, he had openly admitted that Aditya had surpassed him. For these reasons, Aditya believed that Andris deserved at least a proper burial. He did not want the man’s body to be treated like those of the countless ordinary soldiers who had died on the battlefield.

During wars involving hundreds of thousands of soldiers, it was almost impossible to arrange individual funerals for every fallen soldier. Usually, after the fighting ended, the bodies would be collected and placed inside large pits dug into the ground.

Once the pits were filled, they would simply be covered with soil. In many cases, hundreds or even thousands of fallen soldiers would be buried together in the same mass grave. Although this was a common practice during large wars, Aditya did not want Andris to receive such a burial.

A man who had served as one of the Thirteen National Treasures of the Celestial Dragon Empire deserved something better. At the very least, Aditya wanted him to have a proper grave where his name and achievements could be remembered. Furthermore, regardless of the fact that they had stood on opposite sides of the battlefield, Andris had still been someone who had almost become his teacher.

Andris might not have officially taught him, but Aditya still considered him an elder from his childhood. That alone was enough for Aditya to show him this final bit of respect.

’Regardless of which side you chose, you remained loyal to the throne until the very end.’Aditya silently looked at Andris’s face.

’You fought for what you believed was right, and I fought for what I believed was right. Unfortunately, only one of us could walk away from this battle alive.’ For a few more seconds, Aditya remained standing there.

Then, he slowly raised his right hand. With a single thought, he placed Andris’s lifeless body inside his storage ring. He would arrange a proper burial for Andris once the situation allowed it. At the very least, he wanted the man to receive the respect that someone of his position deserved.

After storing the body, Aditya looked at the now-empty spot inside the crater. Although he had defeated Andris and emerged victorious, he did not feel any particular happiness from killing him.

To Aditya, this was simply another unfortunate part of war. Sometimes, even people who respected one another were forced to fight because they stood on opposite sides. And when that happened, only the stronger or smarter person would survive.

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