The Duke’s Eldest Son Escaped to the Military (171)
Translator: ChubbyCheeks
55 The Defensive Battle at Command (6)
The stronger and faster charge of their opponent made all of the officers flustered. But Ariel, who was standing at the highest vantage point, remained calm. In fact, she knew that she couldn’t afford to lose her composure at this juncture so she had to maintain her cool with all her might.
“Everyone, focus! Is this what you want to show the Commander?!”
Ariel’s yell brought everyone back to their senses.
They all recalled the longing that they had for the Commander’s trust.
They might have been dumped with a sudden crisis but this was also their first large-scale battle without their Commander. They knew that they shouldn’t act like fools and throw away this golden opportunity to prove that they were worthy of their Commander’s trust.
“Don’t stop the bombardment!”
“Have you reloaded the mana stones in the magic cannons?”
The artillery unit reloaded their canons at Dominic’s orders. The magic unit also lined up and gathered mana together to express their magic.
The magic unit lacked high-leveled wizards among their ranks, so they learned to gather their mana together to use magic. To become just a bit more helpful, they abandoned their unique pride and arrogance that valued individualism and moved to practice joint magic casting. However, what they studied and learned was not those large-scale explosion magic nor those violent storm magic that could sweep away everything.
“Slippery Earth.”
The spell that came out of Allan Reishor’s mouth was magic that could turn the ground slippery, the only difference was that it was made into a large-scale so the effect could be expressed into a wide area.
Compared to the soldiers of the Field Army, the numbers of the wizards in the magic unit was almost like a drop in the ocean. Even their level was not comparable to high-leveled wizards. So, even if they practiced joint magic, the magic that they would be able to create would be no better than any large-scale bomb or cannon attacks. So, they thought hard and long about what they could do and came up with this.
To counter the water buffaloes’ mindless charge, they reduced the friction on the ground and made it slippery. To effectively use their magic against the giant ants, they would create lava on the ground and stop their tracks. For aerial monsters, they would create storms and prevent them from flying freely.
Instead of focusing on useless direct attacks, they turned the other way and created magic that would provide a helpful environment for their comrades. This was the solution that the lacking magic unit found to make up for their insufficiencies.
And the same was true for the spiritists.
Instead of forcing themselves into a dire situation by participating in direct combat with their measly numbers, they took on the role of the support units. They would go down and carry support supplies, heal the injured and even repair the collapsed and used traps.
They all faced the fact that they were lacking and found ways on how they could be helpful.
What they did sounded easy but in fact, it was an extremely hard decision to make. This was especially true for Peter and Alan, who both took the elite course. And they only made this decision thanks to Iron.
‘We can’t remain protected!’
‘We have to at least be a bit helpful! As we are now… we will probably remain as a vain and show-off unit!’
They were disillusioned with themselves. Over the course of their stay in the Southeast, they realized that they had been performing poorly and were only depending on Iron’s protection. They felt furious at themselves after knowing that they were useless and that the only thing that they had to show was their useless pride as a wizard and a spiritist. So, to make up for their past, they volunteered to go down to the bottom themselves and help.
And this was the result of their conviction.
― Moo… Moooooo!
The water buffaloes slipped and skidded as they crashed down on the ground with their twisted legs.
This was a magic that they had not seen before. After all, the magic unit had saved this magic oly for dangerous situations since they knew that their opponents could use their heads and adapt to repeated patterns. It was also because of this reasoning that they were able to break the charge as the enemies got tangled together.
With the leading water buffaloes down, the following groups naturally fell down.
This gave the artillery unit enough time to shoot their canons and bombs once again. They were also able to reload the magic cannons and attack them with its bright and searing light ray. Even those who were able to escape these bombardments and come close had been showered with magic bullets.
The only problem was their tough and durable skin. Their tough skin was able to endure the constant bombardments and allowed them to come closer to the gates.
“Is the difference between having a sanctuary and not having one really this big?”
Ariel looked at the water buffaloes bitterly.
She thought that the power of the cannon shells, the bombs and the magic bullets blessed with holy power could work to some extent even with the absence of the sanctuary. But she was slapped by reality. It was just her conceited thoughts.
At the very least, the magic cannons were able to show some sort of effect against them but it was only because they had used mana stones that were filled with Iron’s holy power. It was a special magic cannon created by combining purification magic and Iron’s holy power and was not a magic cannon that was simply equipped with destruction magic.
“Get ready for battle!”
The soldiers stationed at the wall gripped their spears tightly while the storm troops prepared themselves at Ariel’s cry.
“Hoo…”
“Why? Are you nervous?”
Ludem teased Rodem after seeing him let out a long breath.
“Isn’t it because it has been a long time since we last fought without our eldest brother?”
“Hmmm… Without a doubt, you’re nervous. Right?”
The twins looked back and saw the other storm troopers sweating with tension. They all knew from their past experience that these mutated water buffaloes’ mindless charge was extremely powerful.
Saeriden spoke after seeing them.
“Did everyone forget which family we belong to?”
All of the members of the storm troops looked at Saeriden. Almost all of them belonged to Leohardt and their eyes were all shining after hearing his words. No matter what the others said, Saeriden was Leonhardt’s direct descendant. The same was true for the two team leaders, Ludem and Rodem.
“Since when did the lions get so cowardly?”
His words immediately changed the expressions of the storm troopers.
“We enjoy the danger. Lions are not cowards.”
“That’s right.”
“Yeah. We’ll just die if we can’t stop it.”
Lions were not afraid of death.
With the Lion Family descendants’ increasing momentum, the rest of the storm troopers morale also began to rise.
“Come.”
While the storm troops were busy increasing their morale, the tangled water buffaloes began to rush forward once again.
The defeating sound explosion from both the artillery and the traps rang loudly as they watched the earth-shaking charge come closer to them.
The troops tried to reduce the speed of the charge even just by a bit by wrecking and ravaging the ground with magic and bombs and even creating walls but they were only able to stop a few water buffaloes with those tactics. The others would just jump over with their powerful legs or hit the walls with their tough horns.
In the end, they also reached the iron gates.
Thud!
Their charge immediately distorted the magically treated iron door in one go. But since the gates stopped their charge at least once, it had already done its part. With their charge stopped, countless magic, cannons, bombs and bullets rained down on them.
No matter how tough their skins were they wouldn’t be able to hold out the fierce attacks from the troops in such a short distance. In the end, they died one after the other. But the problem was that they were only the vanguard. As their second line and third line rushed forward, the distorted gate was forced to open up bit by bit and was eventually pierced.
“It’s finally our turn! Let’s all enjoy this together!”
With Saeriden’s yell, the beast’s fierce qi spread wildly around the castle gates. Even the fearless water buffaloes flinched as the wild lion qi encroached upon them.
The storm troopers took advantage of the gap and sliced the necks of the ones who were able to squeeze through the gates.
“The castle gates have been pierced! Knight orders gather at the gates!”
The knights on the walls immediately gathered at the gates after hearing Ariel’s orders.
― Mooo!
It was difficult to defend against the mad dash of dozens of water buffaloes that pierced through and completely opened the gates with just a small number of the storm troopers. So, several knights also jumped up to try and stop them but several of them had been thrown away and their defense line was eventually pierced. Eventually, the water buffaloes rushed off inside the camp.
But it was not just the storm troopers and the knights who stepped up to block their charge.
The rangers hiding all over the place popped up and lured the water buffaloes into the traps, successfully scattering their tightly knit group and killing them. Meanwhile, the soldiers moved the carcass of the freshly killed water buffaloes to create another defensive circle that would stop their momentum.
After the gates had been broken through, the storm troopers and the knights did not force themselves to stop the charging water buffaloes. Rather than stop them, they instead retreated and moved with the soldiers. They weaved around and in between the buildings and used the familiar terrain to kill the scattered water buffaloes.
“We can do it.”
Ariel mumbled to herself as she looked at the situation by the gates.
Although the gates had been pierced through, what they were doing was still enough.
The water buffaloes forced themselves and squeezed through the opened gates. However, they had been scattered and it was now easier for the soldiers that were hiding through the buildings to deal with so they could now kill them one after another. If this situation continued, then they would be able to prevent them without receiving much damage.
Just when Ariel’s mouth was going to quirk up at the thought…
“Captain!”
The assisting officer pointed somewhere with his finger. Ariel followed his gaze and saw a mass of black approaching at a distance.
Ariel had fought a lot of battles in this place and was now fully aware of what those were.
They were smart bastards, who knew how to dig into gaps and were the mutants that boasted the largest number in the entire Southeast.
“Giant ants corps! All the soldiers on the wall, prepare for battle!”
The officers and soldiers fighting chaotically against the water buffaloes looked straight ahead after hearing Ariel’s roar.
The officers had no choice but to space out for a bit after seeing the sea of black approaching their way. Then, they gathered their senses as they urgently issued orders.
“Airships, try to stop them as much as possible! Drake units, make sure to protect the airships from the male ants!”
The drake unit and airships that were dropping bombs from above moved to prevent the huge giant ant corps that were moving towards them from afar after hearing Cardro’s orders.
The wizards also immediately saved their mana as they prepared for magic to deal with the giant ants coming from afar.
However, all of their traps had already been spent and the gate had been breached. In other words, they were in an extremely dire situation.
They were also still not finished with the mutated water buffaloes yet. They were still running rampant around the castle grounds. But they were now presented with another crisis. They now needed to deal with the giant ants on top of the water buffaloes.
Fortunately, the water buffaloes were able to deter and stop the giant ants as they stomped on them. This gave the Command enough time to restock their consumed ammunition and cannon shells. They also took this opportunity to reorganize and refine their battle line for the upcoming battle.
“We’re going to block them. Make sure that you are determined. There’s nowhere to retreat.”
“Yes!”
All of them had firm and determined looks on their faces as they answered Ariel.
While everyone was risking their lives to protect Command and trying to get over the desperate situation that they were suddenly put in, Iron was also fighting to prevent the giant worms’ corps with all his might.
As the great worms, covered with their thick black outer shell, and the giant worms, which haven’t evolved yet, flocked to where he was, Phoenix, Thunderbird and Two Moons showed their strength and stopped them.
Then, something moved under the ground and appeared.
The giant armored worm, which greeted and made Iron flustered when he first came to the Southeast, glared at Iron venomously.
“Long time no see?”
Iron greeted it happily but the murderous intent that it was releasing just became heavier.
The giant armored worm had grown stronger in the time that they had not seen each other. But perhaps it was because it had distributed most of the void energy to its subordinates during the time that they had not met that its growth was significantly small.
However, that was his fortune. It meant that there was still hope.
“Hoo…”
His three divine beasts had to work hard and focus on dealing with the huge number of great worms and giant worms which forced Iron to deal with the giant armored worm alone.
However, it looked like the bastard was already tired of waiting. It immediately rushed forward with its gigantic body.
Then, the surroundings suddenly brightened as holy power spread out from Iron’s body.
“Baepsae, if you please.”
― Tweet!
The tiny Baepsae nodded its head and flew up after telling Iron to be careful as it amplified the power of the sanctuary.
The sudden onslaught of divine power made the giant armored worm paused in its tracks. However, it was only for a moment. Its gigantic body rushed forward once again and tried to swallow him whole. However, instead of clashing head on with the charging giant armored worm, Iron chose to evade. But the giant armored worm sent out hundreds of thousands of its steel-like outer shells to attack the swiftly evading Iron.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
“You look like you find this extremely fun, huh?”
Iron looked at the giant armored worm looking arrogantly at him as it let its shells fly towards him. It seemed like it believed that this attack would be the end of everything.
So, he raised his steel mana to give this arrogant bastard a proper beating. He pushed forward and approached the arrogant punk as he crushed the flying shells.
Stepping out from the onslaught of steel-like shells, Iron jumped around and tried to climb on top of the arrogant bastard’s head. But it had already experienced it once and was already aware of what Iron wanted to do. It quickly bowed its head and avoided Iron’s sword. It was a swift and quick move that was uncharacteristic for its gigantic body.
“Tch!”
Iron landed on the ground and immediately went into a defensive stance to counter its squirming and lashing.
Compared to its arrogance earlier when it sent the hundreds and thousands of shells towards Iron, the giant armored worm was now looking at Iron warily.
It finally realized that a single move alone was not enough to deal with Iron. However, it still believed that it was the one at an advantage. After all, its contaminated mana and its physical prowess were all superior to Iron.
Iron was also aware of this. He knew that it would still be difficult for him to fight toe to toe with it despite his physical prowess going beyond the human’s limits with his title effects. However, he could still endure it well.
“It would be amazing if I can endure and stop you with just my qi alone.”
Iron murmured towards the giant armored worm.
“Come.”
***
