Chapter 163. Going to War (3)
The Starling Party was organizing the supplies that had been provisioned for them. Toothbrushes, toothpaste, blankets, military boots, and any other miscellaneous tools they needed for the night. It was all military standard-issue gear.
Desir was reading the documents that were passed to him as he had already finished packing his share.
“One of the front-line units for the Outsiders is said to be the Kashuka Knights.”
The Kashuka Knights were a well-known name in the Divide Nation. For unknown reasons, they had left the country and joined the Outsiders.
“Not to mention the fact that they’re armed with the latest equipment they obtained after raiding the Prion Company… We can’t take them lightly.”
Unlike the Magic Tower that was active in several industries, Prion was a munitions company that focused its efforts solely in the military industry. Though they were dwarfed in comparison to the Magic Tower, their military-grade technology could go head to head with the Magic Tower’s best…
Having robbed a lab like that, there was no doubt that their magical armor was powerful.
The enemy that was already known for being notoriously dangerous, had grown and become even harder to defeat.
Romantica spoke, barely concealing her anxiety.
“Wasn’t it a mistake to have the Imperial Army withdraw from the eastern front to reinforce the eastern flank?”
Adjest responded.
“They wouldn’t have had a choice if they wanted to deal with the homunculus.”
Confirming the Outsiders’ attacks were concentrated on the eastern front of Lagrium Plains, the Imperial Army hurried to assemble its forces.
And as they were about to request for reinforcements from the Western Kingdom Union’s Allied Forces stationed at the western and central front, something unexpected happened.
The forces at the central front had requested aid from the eastern front.
Not only were the Outsiders advancing from the eastern front, but they were also closing in from the western and central fronts.
During the first war, both the Allied Forces and Outsiders had suffered considerable losses, so their numbers this time were smaller than before, but they were still big enough that they couldn’t be treated lightly.
The Outsiders seemed to be trying to bring an end to the battle before the Allied Forces’ greatest weapon, Zod Exarion, returned to the front lines.
The Outsiders’ numbers were concentrated towards the western and central fronts, while the forces coming towards the eastern front were comparatively small.
‘The problem is that the homunculus is a part of the Outsiders’ forces heading towards the central front.’
In the end, the Hebrion Imperial Army determined that the right tactical move was to send their troops to the central front, only sending enough forces to replace the ones that had been injured maintaining the eastern front.
Having finished organizing his supplies, Pram looked towards Desir.
“Desir, does that then mean that the number of Imperial troops guarding the eastern front isn’t too different from the number of Outsiders?”
“That’s right. And since our main forces have been sent to the center, it won’t be an easy fight.”
The troops sent to the central front were made up of the strongest parts of what could be referred to as the main forces of the Imperial Army.
‘This feels too much like we’re being dragged around by the Outsiders… … ’
Operating the troops in response to the Outsiders’ movements was a natural thing to do, yet Desir couldn’t help feeling anxious.
‘Am I thinking too deeply into this?’
He had no choice but to do what had to be done anyway. Desir pushed down his anxiety as he shook his head.
* * *
Thank you for reading on patreon.com/maldfrogsclub “Invoke your spells. Launch the artillery!” *BAAAAANG*
At the commander’s order, countless magical arrays filled the sky and spells began raining down on the enemies. The fire net created by the Hebrion Imperial Army was elaborate and powerful.
“Red Dragon party, full mobilization of artillery magic to push the Outsiders back!” “Blue Moon party, work with the regular artillery corps to provide further support!” The flow of the battle was simple.
Magicians of the Fourth Circle or higher, those able to utilize artillery-level magic, acted as the primary source of firepower.
As they slowly cut through the enemy troops, relying heavily on the tactical deployment of their magical supremacy, they made way for the infantry troops to cut down the survivors with the support of the lower leveled magicians.
That was the situation.
On a battlefield, the artillery troops’ role was crucial. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the flow of the battle depended on their performance; on whether they could gain the upper hand or not.
As a matter of fact, it could be said that whoever gained victory was being determined by each sides’ Fourth Circle magicians.
However, Desir led his party members not to the artillery troops, but towards the infantry at the frontlines.
Inside a deep, long trench.
A platoon commander in charge of one of the primary units spoke to Desir as if he thought it was strange.
“Why are you joining the infantry troops when you’re so skilled? I’d assumed that you’d be joining the artillery troops for sure.”
“The artillery has enough power for now. Therefore it’s natural for us to join the troops where we’re needed more.”
Upon hearing Desir’s reply, the platoon commander seemed to be moved.
“…… It’s the natural thing to do, but it’s also not easy to do so. We’ll do our best to assist
you.”
At his unexpected fighting spirit, Desir smiled bitterly before turning back to the front. *BANG*
*CRASH*
There was an explosion to one side. It was the enemy’s magical shelling.
Even though they had been prepared for the shelling by digging trenches, the damage done was significant.
A large-scale battle broke out as the artillery troops from either side acknowledged each other. The Starling Party began to initiate their counter-attack.
Romantica’s magic, which had reached a considerable level of strength for a Third Circle magician, along with Adjest’s Fourth Circle magic, did not fall behind the artillery troops. [Whisper of Winter]
The magic invoked by Adjest fell right into the middle of a group of Outsiders. It exploded and produced a haze of smoke. That smoke then seemed to crystalize, freezing numerous soldiers.
[Heavenly Spear]
The Outsiders who had been locating the Allied Forces by tracing the trajectory of their shelling magic were thrown into chaos.
When artillery-level magic was launched from the infantry’s area unexpectedly, they were utterly helpless.
But the Outsiders weren’t ones to continue taking this lying down.
Desir stared at the Outsiders’ shelling magic that soared through the sky. It held incredible amounts of destructive power.
*CRRRAACKLE*
The shelling magic was headed straight towards the Imperial Army’s artillery troops. Shelling magic that had been invoked at the Fourth Circle.
Confirming their location and trajectory, Desir reached out to the sky and began to circulate his mana.
It took him a mere moment to complete his calculations.
About 30% of the shelling magic heading their way was instantly inverted and rendered harmless.
Nullifying almost a third of the spells at that scale was in itself impressive, but that was only the beginning.
The scope of Desir’s calculations grew bigger and bigger. *CRASH*
*CRAAACKLE*
More than half of the Outsiders’ second shelling attack was inverted. The countless magic spells that had been invoked to strike down the Imperial Army had dissipated before it even had a chance to display its power.
*BANG*
The shelling magic from the Outsiders’ side that barely managed to impact the ground was pathetic compared to the uncontested firepower of the Imperial Army’s magic.
It was the infantry at the frontlines that felt themselves gradually gaining the upper hand. They were overjoyed once they realized what Desir had achieved.
Desir’s ability to invert magic truly showcased its absurd power in large-scale battles like this. “… … I swear, the opposing magic troops must have no idea what’s going on.”
Adjest was once again astonished by Desir’s abilities.
Any magician would have reacted the same way after witnessing that level of skill.
Before too long, more than 80% of the Outsiders’ magic was being inverted in every volley. Their attacks were now practically useless.
The Outsiders were taken aback to the point of being visibly agitated.
Thanks to Desir playing an active role, the Imperial Army was able to gain an overwhelming magical supremacy in the artillery battle, which could be regarded as the core part of any large-scale battle.
At the moment, the situation seemed to be heavily favoring the Imperial Army. However, the Outsiders didn’t back down and instead charged at the Imperial Army.
Now that the Imperial Army’s artillery troops had taken control of the battlefield, the Outsiders had their hand forced. The only thing that awaited them if they retreated was death. The Outsiders’ frontline soldiers were reinforced by their Second and Third Circle magicians, and they charged with their infantry unit leading the way.
‘Are they planning on turning this into a brawl?’
Desir immediately figured out the enemy commander’s plans.
If the infantry units got mixed together in an all-out brawl, it would become hard to fully utilize the Imperial Army’s artillery troops. In other words, it was a strategy to reduce the impact of their inferior artillery power.
“Charge!”
To return fire, the Imperial Army also ordered a charge.
The two sides collided.
Screaming and the sounds of weapons clashing against each other spread and covered the battlefield.
“They’re all over there!” “Attack over there first!”
Even amid a brawl, the Outsiders targeted the Starling Party. Since they were the only ones amongst the infantry using magic, it was natural that their location would be easily discovered.
“Hrragh!”
Pram stood at the front and protected the party members. He cleanly cut down any enemies that came towards the trenches.
As the brawl continued on, even Adjest gave up on invoking magic and instead helped Pram guard as part of the vanguard.
Occasionally, enemies targeting Desir came in from gaps on the side.
But Desir never paid them any attention and focused on inverting the shelling magic. The Outsider yelled and swung his sword at Desir, who was standing still.
“You stupid fool, d… … !” *Slash*
He didn’t get a chance to finish his words.
The enemies that were headed towards Desir collapsed with the sound of a sword slashing through the air.
Runel.
The silver sphere hovered around Desir and dealt with all the enemies that tried to threaten him.
Then it happened. *Rumble* *Rumble*
The ground began to shake. Desir turned towards the direction of the sound. “… … !”
A large number of cavalry troops came into sight. Not only were the people heavily armed with magic armor, but so were the horses they were riding.
[Fire Lance]
They used the magic embedded in their weapons as they charged. “Arrrrgh!”
“HRRAAGH!”
The Kashuka Knights.
The sight of them charging while armed with the newest equipment from the Prion Company made them look less like a cavalry unit, and more like an armored train.
The Imperial Army’s infantry was trampled and their formation began to collapse in short order.
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