Weakest Beast Tamer Gets All SSS Dragons

Chapter 1259 - Taming the Old World - Shadow Dragons - 6

Meanwhile, Arturo was still busy doing what he did best.

Calculating the enemy army mathematics…

He was the designated logistical genius of the capital, and factoring in the mutants' current rate of accumulation, the dense saturation of elite defenders he had positioned in every available slot, and the prison's natural repellent effectively covering an entire flank, he could calculate a crucial metric that no one else could have perceived with such clarity: the ultimate threshold of safety.

The exact numerical breaking point where their defense would finally start to shatter.

"We can sustain this perimeter for a very significant duration provided their numbers do not spike drastically," he informed Victor, never taking his eyes off his many ledgers. "If this flow is the maximum volume she intends to deploy, we have already won by the time she has enough units here. Even if they continue to arrive, albeit at a not much different pace. Since at this current rate of accumulation, it will take them a considerable time to reach approximately two hundred Platinum beasts supported by a few tens of thousands of lesser ranks; that ratio is our safe limit…"

"...Factoring in our condensed defense, the free protection on the prison flank, and the high density of Gold-tier tamers currently deployed, two hundred Platinums is almost exactly what we can endure without suffering catastrophic breaches."

"And if the volume exceeds two hundred?"

"Then we begin losing ground; we face exponentially more incoming elemental bombardments, significantly higher structural damage, and casualties likely start appearing." Arturo finally looked up from his calculations. "But currently, there are exactly 110 high rank mutants. If these one hundred and ten do not multiply excessively quickly, we can defend the perimeter without a problem. The critical factor is that if their accumulation rate doesn't accelerate drastically beyond its current trajectory, we will hold the line for at least several more hours."

Victor nodded firmly, anchoring his focus to the specific number. Two hundred; a catastrophic ceiling that remained comfortably distant. It was a concrete, manageable fact amidst the overwhelming war chaos.

♢♢♢♢

Far to the north, encrypted messages continued arriving directly into Ren's hands.

The southern Vanguard detachment was steadily crippling the enemy forces, constantly incinerating corrupted beasts using their new spiritual fire tamers as Selthia stubbornly reinforced that supposed main front.

The capital's defensive grid was holding remarkably well, with Arturo meticulously managing every single defender like a vital piece on a grand chessboard, and the isolated star prison securely covering its respective corner practically guaranteed at least three solid hours of safety.

Their entire general strategy was holding firm.

And that crucial stability meant Ren could afford to wait just a little bit longer.

He could patiently allow Selthia to sacrifice her mutant hordes in a frantic push against Yano's sovereign Black Dragon, freely burning her elite Platinums against the ancient guardian, effectively executing the grueling labor of wearing the beast down on Ren's behalf.

Every single minute he remained hidden in the shadows was a minute the corruption actively weakened itself across both the northern and southern hemispheres, gaining absolutely zero tactical ground, purely because Ren was concealed and fully prepared to steal the ultimate prize in the end.

Ren shifted his gaze toward the colossal dragon, looming just a few minutes away, and observed the endless tide of mutants marching forward to constantly crash against its massive form.

"Just a little longer," he murmured softly.

And he still waited.

Because Ren needed to precisely calculate the unfolding damage very carefully too.

Holding his position was far from a simple choice... He could not just sit back, let the corrupted beasts throw themselves against the ancient guardian, and call it a day until the very last moment; the mutants' cannibalistic trait remained a massive threat, and the heavy black swamp surrounding the northern dragon was already completely saturated with fresh corpses.

Every single mutant that fell had joined a thick carpet of mutant biological material that the remaining creatures could easily exploit. Allowing them to push indefinitely meant, to a certain degree, giving the corruption a free buffet to feed on its own fallen soldiers and ultimately reclaim all that lost energy.

It was an incredibly delicate balance.

Striking too early meant wasting the perfect opportunity to let more of Selthia's forces grind themselves into dust.

Moving too late guaranteed the corruption would use their cannibalism to recover whatever massive losses it suffered during the siege.

♢♢♢♢

The Black Dragon, meanwhile, was no longer remaining passive.

Ever since the corrupted horde began deploying long-range elemental strikes a few days prior, the entire battlefield dynamic had shifted.

The guardian's viscous swamp no longer functioned as the flawless kill zone it once was; mutants wielding fire, wind, and other affinities could now launch bombardments without physically wading through the dense black water. Even though these weakish ranged strikes packed less power than their huge platinum bodies kinetic force, the sheer saturation of bodies allowed the encroaching beasts to survive significantly longer within the dragon's immediate territory.

Consequently, the ancient beast was forced to exert far more effort than before.

It actively utilized its other abilities now, unleashing its devastating breath whenever the corrupted swarms bunched up too closely. By engaging in a genuine, grueling brawl instead of simply letting its defensive moat do all the heavy lifting, the guardian had inevitably sustained injuries.

The wounds were not critical just yet, as the creature possessed a truly monstrous vitality, but the physical toll was clearly visible.

Ren studied the colossal beast from a safe distance using his ethereal perception, meticulously reading the flow of every single mana exchange.

After a while, he noticed a crucial development: the sovereign dragon already understood the mutants' regenerative mechanics. The beast aggressively targeted the creatures attempting to scavenge the fresh corpses, prioritizing them over the ones actively launching attacks. The old guardian had quickly learned that allowing the corruption to feed meant allowing it to grow and recover, and it was brutally adapting its tactics to deny them that fuel.

"Smart beast," Ren murmured with a genuine touch of respect.

But his own squad was fully prepped.

Especially Liora.

The first tactical blueprint was based on breaching the zone at the exact optimal second to incinerate the maximum volume of bodies before the horde could consume them back.