World War

Pernok absorbed the spiritual power of those who died on the wilderness.

Synchronization rate – 73%

Jan, Daas, and the Jester’s spiritual power led to the greatest synchronization rate increase.

Though he’d consumed considerable spiritual power, his body wasn’t tired.

The body that had repeatedly surpassed limits sought a new battlefield.

“They attached two 13 Lords to Tyr. If there are at least two at the coast, did the rest attach to the Holy Kingdom?”

The 13 Lords led by Chris.

And tens of thousands of troops.

He’d thought that alone might annihilate the Holy Kingdom. But one thing bothered him.

“What the hell is the Hegemon Emperor doing?”

Ludmila had devoured Rakis’s castle.

It was the first humiliation since Rakis’s founding.

It wouldn’t be strange if the Hegemon Emperor, known as quite a warmonger, grew indignant at this and drew his sword.

But no news came from the capital.

Now when Chris was presumed heading to the Holy Kingdom. When he heard no news of the Hegemon Emperor whom he considered another variable, several concerns crossed his mind. However, Pernok soon shook his head.

This was a war waged by gathered great powers.

He couldn’t perfectly control all strategies and actions.

If there were some variables, he had to eliminate the biggest risk factors first to end concerns.

“Neither Rakis nor us have anywhere to retreat.”

Once begun, whoever would throw bold moves and pay the price.

Just as Jan had joined hands with 13 Lords to kill Suira.

Chris also made the resolute decision to kill the Holy Kingdom first.

That place where each nation’s total war would occur would become this war’s decisive battlefield.

Sssswish!

Pernok’s body smoothly scattered without even leaving afterimages.

He had to arrive at the Holy Kingdom before news of this place spread.

“Block them!”

Garth’s shout echoed atop the castle wall.

Bright flames were spreading everywhere even in the dead of night.

“Tyr is no longer an ally! Shoot! Kill them all!”

He’d been defending the border remaining in the kingdom per Pernok’s instructions.

Though the fact he alone remained here when all alliance forces had advanced seemed like a waste of combat strength, he interpreted it positively.

Fighting Rakis would certainly bring countless sacrifices.

As himself ranked first in military hierarchy, the probability he’d become a sacrificial lamb was high.

How had he obtained Barganta’s Grand General position?

When he’d obediently accepted it thinking it Pernok’s favor, the incident occurred.

Suddenly suspicious movements were felt from Tyr, then forces not in reports began pounding the border.

Since he hadn’t even properly prepared for the unexpected event, Garth was breaking into cold sweat busily going around the castle walls.

“Bring more mana cannons!”

“There are no more mana cannons to deploy!”

“What? Shouldn’t there be 50 at the border!”

“We gave 30 to the coastal occupation forces!”

“Why are you saying that now!”

“When you arrived here, I already reported…”

BANG!

Tyr’s artillery pounded the castle walls. There were countless ones who sat down unable to keep posture.

Targeting the shaken gap, ladders were placed on the castle walls and giant iron hooks flew over.

“Avenge His Highness Suira!”

“Don’t leave a single one alive!”

“Pound the castle gate!”

Forces stationed at the border were merely 30,000.

In contrast, Tyr’s forces scraped together even garrison troops to reach 60,000.

Moreover, since they’d brought even the naval army’s siege weapons and leisurely pounded the castle walls, even Garth had difficulty concentrating on defense.

Who could have expected Tyr, whom he’d thought an ally, would suddenly launch a surprise attack?

‘Damn! We sent all usable mages to war too…’

Above all, Tyr’s level 7 mages were troublesome. He couldn’t think of a method to counter Tyr’s unique siege tactics of casting levitation magic on cavalry to send them over castle walls.

“Grand General! Cavalry inside the castle walls!”

“The front and back of the castle gate are surrounded by Tyr!”

“Concentrated fire on the west wall! At this rate the wall will collapse!”

“Grand General! Make a decision please!”

The enemy’s preparations were formidable. Tyr’s morale charging with blazing eyes seemed to pierce the sky.

The side being unilaterally attacked didn’t even give time to catch one’s breath. Everything was disadvantageous.

‘I must surrender the border and quickly request reinforcements from His Majesty.’

If he resisted to the death, he might have endured until daybreak. But Garth didn’t take risks.

Because all the time spent climbing to this position flashed through his mind and his life was more precious than the castle.

“We abandon the border!”

“Pardon?”

“As long as we can’t block the enemy’s levitation magic, confrontation disadvantages us!”

“However, we can still hold…”

“We head to the next castle! We’ll hold there and await His Majesty!”

When adjutants sent flustered glances, Garth seized the horn and blew it himself.

Woooong-!

At the signal announcing retreat, soldiers who’d been fiercely fighting became bewildered.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

And Garth, who descended the castle wall first before anyone, beheaded a cavalry member and mounted the horse.

“Hurry and withdraw forces!”

“However! There are 20 mana cannons here!”

“There’s no time to gather them individually! Anyway, we’ll reclaim them when His Majesty comes!”

“But…”

“What are you doing! Hurry!”

He decided to retreat leaving some forces on the castle.

It was the moment Garth grabbed the reins with explosions that made the night sky bright as day behind him.

A sword surging from the shadows simultaneously pierced the horse and Garth’s body.

“…?”

Garth’s eyes widened as he fell from the horse.

Before he knew it, surrounding shadows distorted and pitch-black silhouettes suddenly popped up.

‘Shadow Clan…’

Suddenly, rumors that Tyr had a mage clan specializing in infiltration came to mind.

Naturally he’d thought it nonsense.

If such a tribe existed, they would have appeared on battlefields with Rakis and their identity revealed.

But he hadn’t seen the Shadow Clan in alliance army formation.

No, what importance did such things have now?

Circular membranes formed where shadows surged, and countless silhouettes burst out from there.

‘Long-range… movement… magic…’

A special-type spatial movement mage commonly called portals had connected inside and outside the castle.

Levitation magic was merely a trick to deceive eyes.

The real thing was precisely movement magic.

“Pr, protect the Grand General!”

While thinking he seemed to understand why Tyr was called masters of siege warfare, Garth’s head fell to a sword extended from shadows.

“Open the castle gate and don’t leave a single one alive.”

The shadow’s indifferent voice swept Barganta soldiers who’d descended the castle walls.

The castle gate opened in an instant and Tyr’s army flooded in like a tide.

It was the moment the border was about to easily pass into Tyr’s hands.

BANG!

Suddenly a roar tearing apart the night sky was heard from the south.

Not only soldiers atop the castle walls but even Tyr looked back there and widened their eyes.

“Re, Rezhen!”

Salavan was leading a large army and firing mana cannons indiscriminately.

Bang bang bang!

Tyr forces who hadn’t entered the castle were swept away by firepower penetrating from the flank.

“By condemning Tyr who disturbs the alliance! We shall properly establish the alliance army’s justice!”

At the voice shaking the battlefield, Tyr was flustered and Barganta’s morale surged again.

“Charge!”

When Salavan pointed his sword at Tyr, cavalry began charging and mana cannons swept Tyr in curves.

Barganta’s castle wall defenders handled the Tyr special force that had entered the castle.

As the battlefield’s momentum instantly reversed, Tyr’s screams crying out were heard everywhere.

Salavan clicked his tongue bitterly watching Tyr gradually wilt.

‘Ultimately, it’s come to this.’

When Tyr included Jan as vanguard commander, Pernok had sent Salavan a letter.

It was a request to immediately lead reinforcements and join the border if Tyr showed strange movements from the capital.

Ultimately, as Pernok said, the feared event became reality.

He was fortunate to arrive before Tyr occupied the border.

“But why did this fellow think of fleeing first? To think there was such a coward under King Pernok.”

Salavan shook his head looking down pathetically at Garth who’d somehow entered the castle and become a cold corpse. Then he climbed the tower and shouted watching the retreating Tyr.

“Pursue the remnants and thoroughly imprint the price of betrayal!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Rezhen’s cavalry began chasing Tyr’s remnant soldiers.

The coast’s battle was tilting toward the alliance army’s side.

To the strategy of covering even atop hills with seawater to infiltrate the Scale Tribe, land humans had no proper way to resist.

Above all, the fact that Breia and Zer were blocked by alliance army Magus acted as an adverse factor.

“Has your skill rusted, Breia!”

When the enemy priest gathered hands as if in prayer, surroundings around Breia distorted and strong pressure burst out.

Though Breia shook it off and leaped, the pressure continued clinging.

It was an annoying Magus Arts without form that continued following until it pressed down marked targets.

Even power that pierced everything required something materialized before one’s eyes, but this pressure was difficult to shake off. Moreover, the ‘Loss’ that dominated this area was also a problem.

‘Loss gnaws at mana, and pressure heavily presses down the body.’

It felt like moving with several layers of weights attached to his body. Moreover, water was now swallowing the hill and surging greatly.

When the Green priest earnestly manipulated the sea, everything except those aboard ships began being swallowed by water. Breia was no exception.

Loss, pressure, water.

When all three struck at once, Breia had difficulty displaying even a bit of his advantages.

It felt like being caught in a snare.

‘The Marquis…’

Zer’s side also had an equally poor situation.

Though Ruin was also a formidable opponent, when the bizarre power called Origin added, Zer’s specialty ‘beheading’ didn’t proceed properly.

No matter if mana covered in hundreds, thousands of blades, when Loss disrupted the flow and Origin blocked like a shield to offset it, Zer also grew distressed.

As long as he too was human, it was impossible to continuously hold his breath underwater and pour out full strength.

‘Even if I somehow kill the Mage Association Head, I too must prepare for excessive bleeding. I can’t handle all the fleet’s bombardment that will follow, those suspicious brats… and even the Holy Kingdom’s priests.’

If the enemy commander were only Ruin alone, he’d gladly bring victory with his life.

But this place had the Holy Kingdom’s priests and even the intact enemy fleet.

Killing only Ruin wouldn’t accomplish things.

Rather, reckless action could make Rakis’s defeat more humiliating.

‘I’d like to immediately bring the bastard who planned this tactic to Rakis. These fucking bastards.’

Rakis forces’ blood being torn apart alive submerged in water began mixing with seawater. Since even siege weapons were submerged in water, there were no proper means to respond.

Boom!

Zer kicked off water and surged into empty air.

Simultaneously he scattered mana and tore apart the pressure enveloping Breia.

Zer stopped Breia who immediately entered combat readiness.

“We retreat!”

“…!”

“We reorganize combat strength!”

At the unbelievable order, Breia’s expression who looked back hardened.

The sea was already being filled with Rakis’s corpses.

“Do you intend to flee like a coward?”

“Let’s settle this on this spot, Breia!”

Though Breia also wished to resist to the end, he barely suppressed the impulse while grinding his teeth.

More fatal than losing the coast was the 13 Lords’ deaths.

The moment both Breia and Zer died here, enemies would rapidly erode Rakis’s western castles beyond the coast.

Bang!

Breia who’d made a decision pierced a hole in one corner of Loss. Zer scattered magical blades to block the priests and fled together with Breia.

Ruin stopped the priests who tried to pursue.

“They’re not ones we can easily pursue. Rather than meaningless waste of combat strength, we must attack western castles beyond the coast now. Only when we draw boundary lines based on there and perfectly control the coast will there be no setbacks to future reinforcements and supplies.”

“Mm… though it’s regrettable, this isn’t a war that ends quickly…”

“Let’s do that. Anyway, the moment news spreads that the coast was conquered, won’t the alliance army advance all at once? The 13 Lords will ultimately reveal themselves.”

And forces disembarked from the fleet easily occupied Rakis’s coast. Without even time to reorganize, they immediately advanced to Rakis’s western border.

The Holy Kingdom’s main force was quiet.

Only the alliance army’s victory reports were transmitted, and until reaching Rakis’s eastern border, enemies didn’t even show their noses.

But soldiers’ expressions were full of tension.

United solidly with religious faith, they showed no small leisure for war for the Holy Kingdom’s sake.

They merely silently dressed in armor and advanced forward.

Around a fortnight after the alliance army began war.

Arisha, who’d been hearing news of Tyr’s betrayal, silently stood up.

“They’re coming.”

The five priests also sensed it.

The giant presences approaching from far beyond the border.

“King Pernok’s concern that they might have drawn even elders into the 13 Lords may be true.”

Together with Chris, the presence of a new S3 Magus stimulating Arisha was felt.

But no one here showed signs of fear or tension.

Because they also had a ‘treasure’ that had long been hidden in anticipation of such a moment.

Arisha stood up holding an old wooden box.

“We shall bring down God’s stern judgment upon them.”

All three denominations’ priests came out of the barracks in postures praying to God.

Giant manas beyond the border distorted the atmosphere and were approaching here.