Right after Painita left the message and vanished, Emperor Morion froze, tense to his core. The Matriarch had ordered a full attack — but that was basically the same as sending everyone to their deaths.
The enemy had about the same number of soldiers, with nine and eight rings. But the Dragon-blooded Beasts were insanely tough and devastating in raw offense. On the other side, most were humanoids — not great at anything in particular, but with a huge range of abilities to make up for it.
In theory, the Beasts had the advantage in a direct fight, since there wasn't much room for fancy tactics — it was kill or be killed. Still, a small group of just over a thousand humans with nine rings could completely turn the tide of battle.
