Chapter 266

Chapter 266

The East Constantine Forces—led by the imperial faction—signaled the start of the civil war by cannon fire.

—Warning! Warning!

—Enemy mortars incoming!

—Holy warriors are to mobilize immediately!

The mobilization order was given, but Siegfried did not move an inch.

“Aren’t you going, hyung-nim?!” Seung-Gu asked.

“Get down!” Siegfried shouted in response.

“Huh?” Seung-Gu tilted his head in confusion.

“You too, Hamchi!” Siegfried shouted and said, “Don’t be stupid and run around! Just get down until the bombing stops!”

“W-What do you mean by that...?” Seung-Gu asked.

“Didn’t you serve in the military?! You’re supposed to leave it to luck while you’re being bombarded!”

“Ah...!” Seung-Gu gasped upon recalling his tactical training during his mandatory military service. Thê source of this content n/o/v/(el)bi((n))

It was utterly foolish to run around while the enemy was firing their artillery, as it was impossible to avoid them. After all, the mortar shells flew at speeds that human eyes couldn’t follow, so how could they avoid them in the first place?

On top of that, a mortar shell would explode upon impact and throw shrapnel around the zone of impact in a V-shape, so getting down on the ground was the best way to increase one’s chances of survival.

But what if someone started running around in hopes of evading the mortar shells?

The chances of them dying from the shrapnel would dramatically increase.

The true horror of enemy artillery fire was not the blast but the shrapnel they unleashed upon explosion.

It would have been splendid if they could find cover behind rocks or trees to protect themselves from the enemy’s artillery, but their current location was a plain field filled with tents. There was no cover.

Therefore, Siegfried decided to follow what he learned during his mandatory military service and get down on the ground while hoping to survive the barrage.

After all, it wasn’t like these kinds of survival methods were going to change just because he was currently in a game.

“Just get down if you value your life!” Siegfried shouted.

“I will block it!” Seung-Gu responded and waved his Mechanic Force.

Wooong!

He understood what Siegfried meant and came up with a clever solution that would definitely guarantee their survival. Dozens of magic circles appeared on the ground as soon as he waved his Mechanic Force, and his Iron Golems emerged from them.

“Come over here and form a barricade!” Seung-Gu commanded his golems.

The Iron Golems rushed into action and towered above Siegfried’s party.

It was a human—no, golem bomb shelter.

Shwoooong... Kaboom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The rest of the enemy artillery finally landed as soon as the golem bomb shelter was formed, and they wreaked havoc throughout the plains.

“Ack!”

“Uwaaaak!”

“Kuheok!”

The screams of the Adventurers who were running for their lives or rushing into battle reverberated throughout the plains.

A shrapnel was sticking out of someone’s eye, while someone else looked like a pincushion.

However, the most gruesome death was probably the Adventurer, who received a direct hit from a mortar shell while running away.

Meanwhile, Siegfried’s party was safe thanks to his quick thinking and pure luck. The golem bomb shelter protected them, but it was a relief that mortar shells didn’t fall on their location.

Of course, there were mortar shells that crashed nearby that unleashed their deadly shrapnel, but the Iron Golems were protecting Siegfried and his companions. In addition, they were prone on the ground.

Their quick thinking indeed saved their lives.

“Ah, I thought my eardrums were going to burst...” Siegfried grumbled while rubbing his ears after the artillery barrage finally ended.

“I thought so, too, hyung-nim,” Seung-Gu replied as he got up/

“Hamchi’s ears hurt, too! Kyu!”

“My ears are extremely sensitive, so it is truly difficult for me to withstand such loud noises, Your Majesty.”

“Ack!?Where the hell did you come from?!”

“Hiiik!

“Kyuuu!?You scared the shit out of me!”

“If they’re advancing at this speed, then...” Emperor Frederic muttered as he scanned the map, and then he pointed at the map and said, “Let them. We’ll pull back.”

“Y-your Majesty!” exclaimed the adjutant in charge of relaying the emperor’s commands.

He tried to convince the emperor. “If we pull back our armies, our soldiers on the frontline along with the cities and villages will be—”

“We’re abandoning them.”

“...!”

“Sacrifices are necessary for the greater cause! We have to be prepared to give things up to win this war!”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty! I shall relay your commands!” the adjutant replied as a chill traveled through his entire body upon witnessing the emperor’s callousness.

The emperor was indeed correct to pull back the armies, but the issue was the coldness he gave off as he gave the command.

‘The Genesis Guild is with those bastards. This is going to be extremely difficult. I need to find a solution to this,’?Emperor Frederic thought.

He felt uneasy about the current situation.

He had issued the command to retreat without batting an eye for the greater cause,?but he knew very well that he had to devise a solution against the Genesis Guild. He needed it as soon as possible.

***

Meanwhile, the papal forces immediately went on the counter-offensive as soon as the artillery barrage ended, and they easily broke through the imperial forces’ lines.

They were getting victory after victory on the battlefield, and the army’s morale was extremely high—except for Siegfried’s morale.

The Genesis Guild was actually behind the string of victories the papal forces were winning, and Siegfried disliked that.

Shwaaaa!

It suddenly started raining on a sunny day without a single cloud.

Holy Rain!

It was the wide-area buff skill that spanned over one square kilometer and doubled the combat abilities of any ally that was showered by the rain.

However, that wasn’t the end of it.

Wooong! Wooong! Wooong!

A gentle wave emitted from Chae Hyung-Seok’s body was soon replicated by the numerous Buffers of the Genesis Guild. This was his skill called Heavenly Resonance. It connected all ally Buffers into one massive network, which massively amplified the effects of their buffs.

What did that mean?

It was a buff for the Buffers’ buffs!

Chae Hyung-Seok possessed an overpowered skill that allowed him to amplify the buffs of the Buffers around him. It was an understatement to call such a skill overpowered.

“Die!”

“Kill them all! Hahaha!”

“These fuckers are a piece of cake!”

“They’re so weak!”

“Piss off, trash!”

The West Constantine Forces gathered around Chae Hyung-Seok, and the Genesis Guild bulldozed through the East Constantine Forces, creating a sight reminiscent of an absolute slaughter.

The entire scene looked like a swarm of locusts wreaking havoc and laying waste to everything in their path. It was an unprecedented scene as well.

‘I’m the main character of this war, and no one can say otherwise! I need to use this opportunity to get back up on my feet!’?Chae Hyung-Seok thought with a confident smile.

However, his expression froze upon seeing a few odd messages on the chat room of his livestream.

[RicF]: Oh my god! Who’s that cool guy?!

[DungBeetle]: That’s a normal attack...? Are you sure that’s not a skill? Did he just kill a Level 150 knight with one normal attack?

[OnePacThreePac]: Who is that guy?

[Keeeeacc]: His damage is insane...

The viewers didn’t spare even a glance at Chae Hyung-Seok.

Someone else had taken all of their attention away from Chae Hyung-Seok.

—[Bam!]: Siegfried? Isn’t he the winner of the World’s Greatest Survival Tournament? That first Adventurer to become a king?

—[HappyRaccoon]: His control is awesome!

—[Class5300]: Is he really Level 219? He’s killing people with higher levels than him as if they’re just a bunch of goblins...

The viewers were captivated by an Adventurer wearing a red cape and fighting on the front lines.

Siegfried van Proa.

He was the winner of the World’s Greatest Survival Tournament and the first Adventurer to become a king, and he was captivating the war’s viewers worldwide.

It was funny, but Siegfried had stolen the spotlight from Chae Hyung-Seok on the stage that the latter had made for himself!