Chapter 165: Going to War (5)

It became readily apparent that the Outsiders were targeting the supply routes.

In response, Desir hurriedly informed a nearby officer about the current situation and declared that he would be stepping forward to defend the supply routes.

However, the response he got was tepid.

“I can’t move that many troops just by listening to you. For now, I’ll report it to the superiors.”

Maintaining the frontlines would become impossible if they lost control of the supply routes. There was no way someone who’d been promoted to officer wouldn’t know that.

However, any and all problems that arise from a personal judgment to move the troops would become his responsibility.

‘He just wants to avoid responsibility and follow the system.’

Desir relayed the same information to the other officers, but the responses he got were all the same.

Deciding that he couldn’t delay this any longer, Desir spoke to Radoria and Kelt.

“I think that at least we, as people that have the right to act independently, should start moving first.”

Radoria and Kelt expressed their agreement as they nodded.

They had been thinking the same thing as Desir, so they quickly began gathering their party members.

In no time, the number of people they gathered neared a hundred.

Looking at their skills individually, the quality of their troops was rather high, but they could hardly be called a large group. With these few people, dealing with the two thousand people heading towards the supply routes was an impossible task.

Just then, someone approached them.

“Are you Desir Arman?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I am Lieutenant Colonel Yuta of the Imperial Army. Our infantry battalion will join you in supporting the supply routes.”

Hebrion Academy’s party members let out a sigh of relief.

The infantry battalion had around four hundred troops. Even when combined with the Hebrion Academy’s party members, their entire force would only consist of five hundred people, but it was still a much better situation than before.

“Colonel Ranphell thinks quite highly of you.”

Colonel Ranphell was the regiment commander that led the 1st Infantry Regiment stationed on the eastern front.

He had heard about Desir’s achievements on the frontlines, leading him to entrust his troops to him.

‘So they do have a commander with good judgement.’

They didn’t have a second to waste. They immediately made their way towards the supply routes.

It was about twenty minutes later, as they were making their move.

*Bang*

*BANG*

As they got closer and closer to the harbor, the sounds of explosions got louder and louder. Black, ashy smoke was billowing up.

The magician in charge of surveillance informed everyone.

“Large amounts of mana are being unleashed at our destination!”

Hearing that, everybody looked towards the harbor that was slowly coming into sight.

And once they saw the Outsiders surrounding the harbor, they were lost for words.

The equipment the Outsiders occupying the supply routes were equipped with was identical to what the Kashuka Knights were armed with at the front lines. But the weapons weren’t the only problem.

“That flag… Isn’t that Raden, the King of Mountains?”

“The rumors that the Lion’s Mane Magic Corps and the Gandel Institute’s expelled magicians joined the Outsiders… Were they true?”

Among the members of the Outsiders’s forces busy attacking the supply routes, were groups so infamous that it would be surprising if there was anyone that didn’t know their name.

It wasn’t a surprise that the Imperial Army was struggling since the group was made up of talented individuals that could even compare to the Allied Forces’ strongest troops. It was amazing that they had even managed to hold out this long without knowing if they had reinforcements.

Each of the factions within the Outsiders proudly held up their own flags.

Looking at the Outsiders shouting in glee as they rampaged, they looked more like they were competing against each other, more than as if they were fighting with their lives.

Desir’s gaze landed on the Outsiders’ magician troops that were busy firing at the city’s walls from the hill facing the main gate of the harbor city.

‘The first target we need to take care of is the Lion’s Mane Magic Corps.’

The Lion’s Mane Magic Corps includes three Fifth Circle magicians. They were a notable group even within the Outsiders.

A Fifth Circle magician was a fearsome being, on the level of being a strategic-level weapon in their own right. For the Lion’s Mane to have three of them, it went without saying that they were extremely dangerous.

“Kill them! Burn them all!”

“I’ll create gusts of wind with magic so invoke some flame magic.”

With the magic of the three Fifth Circle magicians, the Empire was accumulating more and more fatal damage.

Desir spoke to Lieutenant Colonel Yuta.

“I think we should put off joining the garrison for now and deal with their artillery troops first.”

“Agreed. I’ll instruct the troops to do so.”

After witnessing the force of Fifth Circle magic firsthand, Yuta had no choice but to agree with Desir.

“When I give the signal, I’ll start attacking the troops stationed on that hill immediately.”

“I’ll be invoking shelling magic.”

Other parties that had realized Desir’s command abilities during the party competition also followed Desir’s orders.

‘Right now, while they still haven’t noticed us, is our golden opportunity.’

After giving his instructions, Desir started inverting the magic that the Fifth Circle magicians were invoking.

Compared to the magicians he’d been dealing with lately, it was certainly a more difficult task.

‘But it isn’t hard.’

In Desir’s eyes, they were all about the same.

Unfortunately, everything didn’t go perfectly this time around.

*Whip*

“There are enemy reinforcements at the back!”

It was a stroke of bad timing. Of all the people, it was the magicians invoking detection magic that noticed their presence.

For Desir’s unit, which had been preparing to launch a surprise attack from the rear, it was a rather troublesome situation.

One of the Fifth Circle magicians leading the Lion’s Mane Magic Corps reached out to Desir with a sneer covering on his face.

“Hah, such fools. If you thought close combat was worth a try, you’re sorely mista… … ”

“Be quiet.”

With a flick of Desir’s hand, the magic that was being invoked by the Fifth Circle magician scattered like an illusion.

“Huh… … ?”

“Now!”

While the Lion’s Mane Magic Corps couldn’t hide their bafflement, the Red Dragon party opened fire with their magic with Radoria in the lead.

[Fire Cannon]

[Blaze]

The flame magic raged uncontrollably right in the middle of the Lion’s Mane’s formation. Unprepared for enemy attacks from the rear, they were utterly exposed to the unexpected attacks and left in an utterly defenseless state.

“Hrrugh!”

“Aaarghhh!”

With firepower as their specialty, the Red Dragon party’s shelling was remarkable. In an instant, the enemy’s formation began to collapse.

The Lion Mane magic knights immediately tried to fight back, but the group made of magicians were helpless in front of Desir.

Two Fifth Circle magicians, with power comparable to strategic weapons on their own right, died without even getting a chance to fight back.

Thanks to Desir, most of the Lion’s Mane’s forces were neutralized, and even what was left of it had been severely damaged by the Red Dragon party’s shelling.

The Imperial Army’s infantry followed suit and charged at the enemy.

“Do anything necessary to stop the enemy from getting closer!”

The Lion Mane magic knights fought back desperately.

[Fire Burst]

But having lost too many of their troops already, their actions looked like a futile struggle of a writhing, disgusting insect.

In the end, the magicians that could not offer much real resistance had allowed the enemy to approach and ended up being slaughtered mercilessly.

Determining that they had done enough, Desir yelled out.

“We must regroup quickly before we’re surrounded!”

They had succeeded in neutralizing the force of the Fifth Circle magicians, but that had exposed their presence to the rest of the Outsiders.

“Stop the enemies before they join together!”

The Outsiders hurried to move to prevent the garrisoned forces in the town and Desir’s reinforcement force from joining up. They surrounded the castle and began sending troops to reinforce the gate.

From the number of troops alone, the Outsiders were at an advantage, but fortunately, they had deployed their infantry troops in a round formation surrounding the harbor.

It wasn’t impossible to break through such a formation, so long as they focused their efforts and cut through at a single spot.

Hebrion Academy’s magicians invoked magic in large doses to stop the Outsiders’ troops from gathering.

*BANG*

The magic invoked by the promising magicians of the continent’s best institution did not fall behind in power in comparison to the magic invoked by the Outsiders’ magicians. If anything, they were superior.

Someone from the Imperial Army called out to Desir.

“The enemy is invoking magic at us!”

“We’ll deal with it so focus on running!”

[Tales of Water]

[Ice Whisper]

With Desir’s inversions and the Hebrion Academy students’ magic, the magic being shot towards the reinforcements could mostly be stopped.

“Hrrgh, ugh!”

Though the magic that couldn’t be stopped caused some casualties, they had no time to hesitate. They had no choice but to leave them behind.

“I can see the end!”

As the reinforcements neared the gate, the garrison that was protecting the city started to respond.

“Open up! We must open the gates now!”

The garrison started opening the castle gates. At the same time, they also sent out troops to help the reinforcements get inside safely.

[Burst Fire]

[Sand Ground]

Thanks to the garrison’s support, the reinforcements began to enter the castle smoothly.

“Hurry!”

Desir remained outside the castle until the end and did his best to invert the Outsiders’ magic that was being blasted at them.

It was right then.

Desir suddenly sensed tremendous bloodthirst. At the same moment, Runel, which had been concealed within his sleeve, popped out.

*Clang*

The hatchet heading straight for Desir’s head collided with Runel, causing a shrill cry to reverberate throughout the battlefield.

The hatchet was extremely small, but it seemed to be carrying a powerful aura. The fact that Runel, an A-class artifact, was shaking violently was proof of its power.

Desir looked towards the direction the hatchet came from. There stood a man who seemed rather disappointed.

The power of his aura told him that the man was at least skilled enough to be in the Bishop Class.

A Bishop Class that was nearing the King Class at that.

Someone as skilled as whoever threw the hatchet wasn’t that common on the continent.

Desir could easily deduce the man’s identity.

‘So he’s probably Raden, the King of Mountains……”

Lined up behind him were others that showed the same amount of vigor. They were the true main troops of this raid.

Desir felt his gut tighten. He had a premonition that this would now become a tough fight.

“Desir, please hurry!”

Desir could hear Pram’s voice by his ears.

“… … ”

He turned his gaze away from Raden and headed into the castle.

* * *

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Countless people died and an ocean of blood was spilt.

The massive harbor was dyed red with blood.

On the land littered with corpses stood one person, alone.

Not a single breathing creature remained around the woman adorned with a mask decorated beautifully with jewels and feathers.

Even her allies stared at her from afar with eyes full of fear.

Feather Mask smiled as she watched the Imperial Army’s reinforcements join.

She didn’t know how important that place was, nor did she know what the current situation meant.

No, she didn’t want to know.

There was only one principle that made her move.

A simple principle. It was frightening due to its sheer simplicity.

Des1re.

A desire for blood.

But she only looked at one place, paying no attention to the ground soaked in blood.

“So that’s the boy Crow Mask wouldn’t stop blathering about.”

She smiled sensuously with a slight hint of excitement.

“What is the color of your blood?”

—-

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QC: Nhan